Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 62, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 April 1899 — THE BOY DIDN'T KNOW. [ARTICLE]

THE BOY DIDN'T KNOW.

He Was Net Familiar with the Hxpansion of Steam. ■ Like other Inhabitants of the Orient, the boy—the important functionary of the household—who may be anywhere from 15 to 50 years old, understands the whole before you have taught him half, and always adds a touch of his own to give the needed completeness to the order. James S. Gale relates a characteristic incident of the boy’s half- knowledge in “Korean Sketches:” My wife was once involved In the preparation of a dinner to be given to the distinguished Western residents of Seoul. All the courses were safely under way, and the kitchen was spread with the choicest dishes that those early days permitted. Canned vegetables, not so common there as in America, were called into requisition. “Open this can carefully, boy,” said Mrs. Gale, “and then heat the peas on the stove.” “Heat the peas and then open the can,” says the boy to himself, by way of touching off the order. Mrs. Gale withdrew to the diningroom with the satisfaction of being at last ready for the guests. Bang! went the kitchen, as if struck by a torpedo. There was a skirmish, and io! dense darkness enshrounded the whole cooking paraphernalia. When the steam and particles of exploded peas had sufficiently settled to admit of entrance the topknot of the boy was discovered issuing from behind the stove, while these words were heard: “Choson boy no savez!” There were canned peas in every course that evening, to the confusion of my wife, but the story of their presence was accepted by the guests as more than compensation. The boy was burned-by the exploding can, and to this day cannot understand why it blew up, unless the devils were in it.