FANS. 417 



remember, when the troupe of Japanese acrobats were in 

 England, that one of them exhibited the national use of the 

 Fan in an excessively ludicrous manner. 



One of his comrades ascended to the roof of a lofty build- 

 ing, hung by his legs to one of the rafters, and held in his 

 hands a bamboo pole which was twenty feet long. Another 

 Japanese also ascended, climbed over his comrade, and settled 

 on the bamboo pole, to which he clung only by the clasp of his 

 bare feet. Suddenly he slipped down the pole, stopped himself 

 when within a few inches of the end, squatted there with per- 

 fect unconcern, though at least forty feet from the ground, 

 took his fan from the back of his neck, and fanned himself 

 while gravely surveying the startled audience. 



Perhaps some of my readers may remember Chang, the 

 Chinese giant, who, by the way, in private life was a polished 

 gentleman. He was never without his fan, always keeping it 



PALM-LEAP. JAPANESE HAND-SCREEN. 



fluttering gently with an ease only to be acquired by a life- 

 long practice, and I really think that if he had been deprived 

 of it he would have been seriously ill. How he slept without 

 it is a wonder, for in his own house the fan was incessantly in 

 motion, and was worked with apparent unconsciousnesson his 

 part. 



I have often wished that in our country the ladies would 

 manage their fans in the same quiet way when they are in a 

 church or a concert-room, for the perpetual rattle of the joints 

 is enough to distract any preacher or conductor, and very often 

 does so. 



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