552 
AMERIOAlSr AGEIOULTUEIST, 
[December, 
with delight. — “ Sure, and he behaves like a Chris¬ 
tian if he is a haythen,” said Mrs. Connel, putting 
on her spectacles to examine the Chinese Christ¬ 
mas tree, and truly, it was a strange and wonderful 
work of art, over which they all grew merry. Gay 
with scraps of bright-hued paper, and strung with 
festoons of red and yellow fire-craekers, here and 
there were hung sugar toys, Chinese moon-cakes, 
tiny lanterns and banners, and strangest of all, 
several dead mice, swinging back and forth by their 
slender gray tails. — “ Why! Wing Eoo, do you 
take me for a cat, that you bring me mice to eat,” 
laughed Jim. — “ flied mousey velly nice,” said the 
Chinaman, smacking his lips, regardless of the 
horrified looks of his listeners. “ Chinamen eatee 
him every day. ” But besides these delicacies there 
was a wonderful variety of curious little figures, 
carved out of wood and ivory, as only the Chinese 
can carve, and brought from the land of tea and 
chop sticks by this poor child of the East, who 
spent his days in an underground laundry. Beneath 
the tree sat a funny black “ Josh,” with a humped 
back and sprawling paws ; rabbit-eyed ladies prom¬ 
enaded the larger limbs, while the smaller twigs 
were hung with odd Chinese animals and birds of 
all shapes and descriptions ; while on the very top, 
in place of the regulation St. Nicholas, a comical 
little mandarin, in full regalia, nodded his head 
continually, as though in grave weicome to all. 
How they “ Oh’d ” and “ Ah’d ” over each and 
every thing, while Wing Foo was the very happiest 
Chinaman in all New York, and when the wonders 
of the tree were exhausted, drew from beneath his 
robe gifts for both grandmother and Nora, a small 
package of the choicest tea, real Orange Pekoe, 
and an immense fan, painted in gorgeous coiors. 
They were just at the hight of their merri¬ 
ment, and Jim had struck up one of his favorite 
carols in which even Wing Foo joined, singing 
with all his might and main, “ Glather alound the 
Klissmas tlee,” when a cheery voice asked, “May 
I come in ?” and they looked up to see a pleasant¬ 
faced gentleman, Jim’s Sunday school teacher, 
beaming upon them.— “Oh! yes, indeed Mr. 
Goodman. I am so glad to see you,” cried Jim, 
blushing with pleasure.—“And I am glad to see 
you so merry, for I just heard of your mishap, and 
I stopped in on my way to the school, fearing to 
find you rather unhappy.”—“ So I was,” said Jim, 
looking rather ashamed, “ snivelling here like a 
regular baby until Wing Foo came with his presents 
to cheer us up. Just see the Christmas tree he has 
made me.”—Mr. Goodman was as much pleased, 
and interested as the children could desire, laugh¬ 
ing heartily at the funny mice and hard moon- 
cakes, but declaring it to be the most original 
Christmas tree he had ever seen, and when he was 
obliged to depart, asked permission to take it with 
him, to show the Mission boys what a poor, ignor¬ 
ant Chinaman could do to express his gratitude.— 
“ As for you, my dear lad,” he said to Jim, “I con¬ 
sider you a young hero, and am much pleased and 
very proud to have one of my boys thus defend the 
weak and helpless, especially if they are strangers 
in a strange land.” At which praise from his beloved 
teacher Jim felt repaid for all he had undergone. 
The long school-room belonging to the B- 
street Mission was crowded with happy, expectant 
boyish faces, and three hundred young voices were 
singing “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! in the high¬ 
est !” when Mr. Goodman entered and made his 
way to the platform at one end. As the carol 
ended he addressed the school, and the subject 
of his discourse was, “ Wing Foo’s Christmas 
tree.” He was a bright, entertaining speaker, and 
many a heart was stirred with a desire to do like¬ 
wise, a.s he told in a few eloquent words of the 
newsboy’s bravery and heroism, and how it had 
been rewarded. The little tree almost threw the 
big one into the shade, and attracted special atten¬ 
tion from some gentlemen visitors that were pres¬ 
ent, one of whom was a connoisseur in Chinese 
and Japanese bric-a-brac. He begged permission 
to examine more closely the strange little gods and 
curious beasts, many of which, he said, were of 
the most exquisite workmanship, and having 
finished his inspection, turned to Mr. Goodman, 
saying : “ The Oriental has made your young friend 
a really valuable gift; some museums would pay a 
large sum for this collection, and I will gladly give 
fifty dollars for it, if the boy cares to sell.”—“I 
will certainly ask him,” said Mr. Goodman, with a 
look of pleased surprise, and having added to 
the little tree several cornucopias of candy, and a 
beautiful little waxen Angel, that hovered caress¬ 
ingly over the hideous, black Josh, like the Christ¬ 
mas spirit of peace over a sinful world, earned it 
back to Baxter street, where he found Jim wide¬ 
awake, eagerly awaiting his return. He opened 
his eyes in amazement when told of the gentle¬ 
man’s offer, and gladly accepted what seemed to 
him a fortune, and which would make them all 
more than comfortable whfie he was confined to 
the house, only stipulating that he might be allow¬ 
ed to keep the funny nodding mandarin, which he 
declared was the exact image of Wing Foo. 
So the Connel’s Christmas was a right merry one 
after all, for Jim sent Nora to expend the first of 
his fortune in a fat turkey for dinner, while granny 
concocted a big, brown plum pudding, that came 
to the table adorned with a sprig of holly, in real 
old English fashion, greatly to the astonishment of 
Wing Foo, their only guest. The poor Chinaman 
was highly pleased with the invitation to dine, and 
although he used his knife and fork like chop¬ 
sticks, seemed to enjoy himself hugely, and when 
the feast was ended, drew extensively upon his 
small stock of English words to express his satis¬ 
faction, by rising in his chair, and declaring with 
many nods and genuflections, “ Melican man’s 
Klissmas splendifilous ! first late ! pooty good ! 
Feast of candles better than feast o’ lanterns! 
Wing Foo makee one Klissmas tlee ebely year.” 
BIG ■WING FOO IN’ DI S M A Y pafir« 551). 
Drawn and Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
