THE CHINESE.

Dunstan Times, Issue 417, 15 April 1870, Page 3

THE CHINESE.

From thoir childhood the Chinese are i accustomed to gambling, and they seem to i prefer games of chance to many other kinds of amusements. Near the places of public resort is to be seen a large round table with a large circle on it, divided into eight arcs or compartments ; these divisions are an imitation of the eight kiva, or philosophical emblems of permutations. The circle is furnished at its centre with a shaft turning on a pivot, like the needle of a compass ; and the gambler, after placing his stake upon one of the compartments, whirls the shaft round with great velocity, in the ardent hope that it will point when it stops to the spot or division which he has selected. When this is the case, his stake is doubled; but it is evident that the probability of his winning is very small compared with the chances of his losing, fp. To us, the most singular amusement in which this peculiar people indulge, is the making and flying of kites ; with us, this is the amusement of boys—with them, of men. But. after all, it seems more rational than many of our pastimes ; for instance, it is less injurious than cards and dice, billiards aud skittles, and many others, because it is performed in the open air, and affords healthy exercise to the lungs and pmbs. In this amusement they leave us far behind as to the devices which are exemplified in the manufacture of their kites. They do not confine themselves to the ancient type so well known among us—to the rhombus, the diamond, and the sector;but they extend their choice of shape to that of butterflies, birds, and fish. The imitation of these shapes is very exact, and the' kite is so contrived as to mimic the action of the living creature which has constituted its model. But, in fact, the name kite, which we give to the toy in question, is the name of the, bird in English, which, no doubt, served as the original model for its construction. For this toy, therefore, we'heem ourselves to be indebted to the Chinese. Dr. Johnson says, under the word kite—“A fictitious bird, made of paper,” and cites as his authority for this meaning, an old book called “The Govcrnraont of the Tongue.” If the kite be made in the form of a fish, the tail is_made to vibrate, and the rest of the body to assume an undulatory motion, so that the kite presents the appearance of that animal mak.ng its way through the liquid air. If it bn constructed in the form of a butterfly, the kite exhibits, when agitated by the wind, the oscillatory flutter of that insect. The most ingenious and characteristic imitation of the forms of 1 irds is that of a fishing-hawk. This, from its great likeness in shape and motion, is the most apt to impose upon the credulity of the unwary spectator. These kites are often seen in the summer season, hovering over the river near Canton, just as the I birds are wont to do in the creeks and j harbors of tbo sea; and their pendant made j of sustaining themselves in the air is so i exactly copied that strangers are deceived Iby their appearance. To complete tbs I deception, an elastic piece of board is often i connected with the string, which utters a humming sound as it is put into action by the varying tension of the cord, MISCELLANEOUS. A Frenchman's Bath. — 1 go in and say I “I want a bath.” The attendant say “Yes Sir ; what ’eat, Sir ? ” I look at him. Mon Dieu? I think how foolish is this man.« I say “No thank you. He say again “ What ’eat, sir, what ’eat.” I begin to get angry. I did not think the English so barbaric people to eat just before the hath. In France we eat after the bath ; it deranges the stomach to go in hot water after one has eaten. The man turned red —angry ; he say some rude words ; then ho come back with thermometer in his hand; he call loud enough to make me deafi “What ’oat for your bath, sir, show with your finger. ” At Port Oneida, on Lake Michigan, lives, it is said, “the smartest girl in Michigan.” She is a German, about seven teen years of age, and the oldest of a family of an even dozen, living in a little double log cabin on the shore of the lake. She delights in outdoor life and employment, especially boating and fishing, and for the last throe years has been “master” of a handsome fishing craft and set of “gill-nets.’ She puts them out late in April, and continues them till late in the fall. She is out every morning at daylight, and again in the evening, except in the roughest weather. She takes a younger sister with her to help to draw in and set nets. She often brings in two hundred trout and whitebait at a haul. She dresses them, tries out the oil, and packs and sends them away to market. Her August and September catch amounted to over three hundred dollars. Besides her fishing receipts she has taken over seven hundred dollars this season for berries, picked at odd hours by herself and sister. Danger and hardship seems unknown to her. She will go out in any “blow', and come in with full sails. Her white mast and blue pennon are known by the people far along the coast. Boats salute her in passing ; boys swing their hats in proud recognition. Whenever yon commend, add your reasons for doing so ; it is this which distinguishes the approbation of a man of sense from the flattery of sycophants and the admiration of fools. Parents arc commonly more careful to bestow wit on their children than virtue : the art of speaking well, rather than doing well. But their morals ought to be their great concern. U A barrister entering the court with his ■wig very much awry, was obliged to endure a round of remarks on its appearance. At last, addressing Mr. Curran, he asked, “Do you see anything ridiculous in this wig?” “Nothing hut the head” replied the wit.