The Gilded Union: A Chorus Girl and a Chinese Actor Defy Convention in Seattle's Chinatown

SIR MARRIED TO STAR.

A Pretty One Weds a Chinese Actor — Jessie Kitchie's Labor to Obtain the Grant Speaks to Regard.

San Francisco Examiner, Jan. 1.

Jessie Kitchie, the chorus girl, whose ineffectual attempt to get a license to marry Ah Bock, the Chinese actor, and whose subsequent marriage to him by contract were recorded in the Examiner of December [date], was not to be foiled in her determination toward the heathen thespian by the forms of law and the rites of religion.

Last night her object was accomplished and a marriage license and a Presbyterian minister united the pair in holy wedlock.

The marriage ceremony was performed in the apartments of Ah Bock, the Chinese star actor, which were reached last night by an Examiner reporter through the side entrance to the Jackson street theater on Rich alley, which led him underground a flight of stairs and through narrow, winding passages filled with the odors of Chinatown opium-smoking and burning punk. At last the reporter reached the rooms of the wealthy Ah Bock, which were decorated with Chinese figures, tapestry, weird pictures of Josses and beautiful engravings. The first room was elegant Chinese ebony richly upholstered, and the room in an antechamber were a revelation to the visitor after witnessing the filth of the passages leading to them.

At 8 o'clock the bride had not yet appeared, but there were gathered there a motley crowd of Chinamen, Rev. Charles Oliver, the Presbyterian minister who was to perform the ceremony, and a Miss Burns, a fellow chorus-girl in the Abbott opera troupe, who had been invited as a witness. A little after 8 the bride appeared, dressed in a black surah silk gown, low cut, and trimmed around the bosom with ostrich tips, the whole being quite fitting to her blonde style of beauty.

The groom was more gaudy in his apparel than his fair companion. He wore flowing trousers of a rich orange color and a lavender blouse. His black silk cap with the vermilion button on the top sat jauntily on the side of his head. The pair stood in the center of the room, the admiration of both the Chinese and the white onlookers.

The Rev. Mr. Oliver stepped to the front, clad in the cloth of his profession, and prepared to perform the marriage ceremony. He asked for the marriage license, and the bride produced a document authorizing Miss Jessie Kitchie, aged 21, to marry Ah Bock, aged 31. The license was good in but one particular, and that was that the name of the county clerk did not appear upon it. Mr. Oliver, however, was not disconcerted by so small a thing as a signature.

"Do you, Ah Bock, take this Jessie Kitchie for your wedded wife?"

The Chinese groom was stunned by so much English at one blow, and looked appealingly at the woman at his side. An interpreter came to his rescue and he answered "Yes." The minister proceeded with the ceremony, and in a few moments pronounced the couple man and wife, for better or for worse.

Ah Bock, at the proper moment, took a solid gold bracelet from one of his capacious sleeves and slipped it on the lady's arm, it being explained that this was a modification of the custom of the whites of sealing the ceremony with a marriage ring. The marriage presents were displayed. They consisted of several large wedding cakes, the most beautiful of which was given by Hue Bock, the Chinese interpreter for the insurance companies, a number of beautiful bouquets, fruits, candies and wine.

Shortly after the ceremony the groom left to pursue his calling in the theater above stairs, and the bride left for her lodgings. It is said, however, that she will take up her residence in the rooms in which the marriage took place, Tai Kee, the owner of the building, having given up his own room for the accommodation of the couple.

Ah Bock maintained his usual imperturbable demeanor throughout. The bride, on the contrary, was overflowing with enthusiasm and emotion. She did not faint, but said that it was the happiest moment of her life. Ah Bock did not understand American customs enough to kiss her when the minister announced the knot tied; the fair Jessie put her arms around his neck and gave him a salute that indicated the depth of her infatuation. The groom seemed slightly startled, but it must be admitted that, despite his stolidity, he appeared to appreciate the favor.