The Chinese Hunchback

I am reininded of a picture I purchased some time ago. I bought it because I thought it was the ngliest picture I had ever seen. I tried to fiud ont the history or meaning of the thing for some Urne without any success nntil a few daysago, while studying Taoism, I found the ugly mau was one of the Taoist gods. In his early days his spirit had the power of leaving his body and roainingover the umverse aloue. Wheu off on one of these trips, wolves carne and atö his body. So when his spirit returned it found only a few bones. Af ter hunting around for awhile the spirit fouud the body of a dead hunchback beggar who walked with an iron cane in his lifetime. The spirit crawled iu this body aiul has lived in it eversince. Tih Kwalei, for that is the gotVs uaiae, carries a gounl on his back, which, iï the breath were blown out of it in the heaveus, wouid briug back his origiiü.l body. According to last accounts, the breath has nut flown out of the gourd. -