Mike Dixon

The heads were part of a display and the mist was gener-
ated artificially. They reminded her of the characters in Tom
Lee‟s journal. Some stood out clearly. Others were seen
through the mist that Tom used to hide them from others.
She had the journal with her and was thumbing through
it, hoping for inspiration. She had read it from cover to cover
over the past few days: a task made difficult by Tom‟s fasci-
nation with obscure Chinese characters and his use of shorthand
notations when expressing himself in the English lan-
guage.
His way of writing names presented problems.While he
referred to his wife as Flo and his surgeon son as Jim, his
other son (who died in a pub brawl) was represented by a
character that Kirstin translated as Larrikin.
During the Second World War Tom had worked for the
Australian Government. This brought him into contact with
the Mandarin (a senior public servant?) who reported to the
Emperor (prime minister?). His contact with the Mandarin
was usually through the Knave (junior public servant?).
The Knave had some involvement with Magnolia Blossom,
whom he recognized as a grandchild. Tom recorded a visit
from the Larrikin‟s widow. She brought Magnolia Blossom
with her and another child, Porcelain Doll, whom he regarded
as the product of an extra-marital relationship.
He described Magnolia Blossom as an intelligent and lively
teenager who bore all the signs of her Lee ancestry. But the
praise ended there. The old man was clearly upset by the
girl‟s behavior, which he described as „precocious‟ and
„disrespectful‟.
The other girl was eight years younger, simple-minded
and sickly. Tom recorded the nature of Porcelain Doll‟s illness
using the English word „albino‟.
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