CHINA. 1751. 247 



as Well as all other eaftern nations, love opium, 

 though it is ftrongly prohibited. 



They love to play with dice, at a fort of 

 draughts c , and with wooden cards, &c. ; yet 

 the liberty of playing is under fome reftri&ions 

 among them. Their jugglers are exceedingly 

 dexterous ; one of them produced a piece of 

 wood, and after fome hocus pocus brought a liv- 

 ing fnake and a tortoife before us. They aft 

 plays in the flreets, between two of the upper 

 ftories, or in other places where there is room 

 for the fpectators. In the reprefentation of 

 their plays, they run into many grofs abfurdi- 

 ties ; fuch as reprefenting two armies by eight 

 or ten perfons, who, inftead of climbing up 

 rocks, get upon chairs, and fo on. However, 

 the companies, which confifl merely of littte 

 boys, poflefs a wondrous fluency of language ; 

 for they often a& whole days together with- 

 out flopping, making grimaces without end, 

 now fmging, now fpeaking, and all together 

 keeping exa&ly in time. When they fight and 

 wreflle, they muft exactly know how to hit the 



c This is perhaps the Cbinefe chefs or Jiang-ti, of 

 which; fee Hyde Syntagma Dijfcrt. vol. II. p. 143. Jeqq. 

 et tga. ad p. J44. F. 



R 4 blow, 



