The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-23

Inc Boston 1rd0etLer has correspondent
IN Nagasak1, Japan, who saw for himself q
Japanese show, before Japanese audience.
We quote the following, which will prove of
interest to those who attended the exhibitions
Oh the rival Japanese troupes in this city, a
couple of years ago.
JUGaLERs
On the way from the castle in the morning
we had passed a troupe of iugglers much
larger and apparently more skilful than COM
mon. When we stopped to look on, the
native crowd was at once neglected, and the
whole performance directed to us. So, not
caring to stand long in the broiling sun, I
had engaged them to come to the Sweetmeat
Castle, with all their apparatus, and perform
TO us there. l suppose you have all seen
''Hamai Kari Sadakitchi and his beautiful
son All Right, >" and admired, as 1 did, their
great dexterity and extraordinary equili-
brium. But these strolling players went far
beyond them. There was a clown, of course
what's q circus without clown "a droll
old fellow, his face twisted into most gro
tesque and innumerable wrinkles, who
must have been excruciatingly witty,
for the crowd of Japanese that soon
collected were continually convulsed. Be-
fore the performance commenced, this
funny man came forward and made US
speech, complimentary, no doubt, since he
bowed low and frequently, and apologetic of
Guo 1ne WlnQ was 01gn, the sun IN
bad quarter, would the princely visitors
kindly consider these circumstances in orti-
clzlng the performances, etc. Proceeding to
business, a strip of carpet was laid down in
front, and an oldwoman, terribly dec0LIetee, so
that her skinny and wrinkled old breasts
almost rested on her lap, sat on her heels in
corner of the fence, and played the samisen
(guitar) with an ivory plectrum Old Comue
provided himself with two sticks, which he
clapped together from time to time as he con-
tinued his Grafton, and the first two perform
ers-two little scraps of boys-came forward
and prostrated themselves on the carpet. In
order to make the salute courteous, la Japo-
naise, you first kneel, then sit back on your
heels, keeping the knees on the ground; then
stick your forehead to the ground, and stow
head, elbows, hands, and feet out of sight
like turtle, so that only square of back is
presented. If you happen to have handker-
chief tied around your head, it is terrible in
suit not to take it off.
FEATs OF BOYS.
The salute completed, the little pigmies
with preternaturally grave faces, Strengthened
up, spread their arms out to the fullest ex-
tent, and made the shrill plaintive cry with
which we became so familiar when 'All Right"
was with us. Then commenced such tumb-
ling as you never conceived of-somersaults
and handsprings, backward and forward, con-
tortions, legs used as arms and arms as legs,
until | must needs wonder what had become
of their articulations and bones. Finally
one bent back until his hands touched the
carpet, and became horse, head hanging
downward and breast and belly upward. The
other mounted, and such trotting and can
tering, and kicking, and screaming, and fear
OF being thrown, expressed in the solemn
little faces as there was At length the un-
tanned charger became unmanageable; kick
dng and screaming he bolted cleared the pile
In,, - I1,,, L.
rider headiOng naturally as possible. AS
quick as thought both were their feet,
arms outstretched with grin carved on their
stony little faces, and no more expression in
their eyes than if they we're pair of bright
black beads, as they closed this part of the
performances with such squeaking cry.
THE CLOWN.
The clowns turn came next. Wearing only
loose robe, quite like an American dress
ing-gown, he came forward to explain what
he was going to do. The gown was thrown
off one naked brown shoulder, and with the
degGge air of q master performer, he exhibited
to us brass tobacco-pipe, with short reed
stem. After quite little Grafton, which
should be most happy to translate, if | only
had understood it, he proceeded to fill and
light his pipe, and after a short smoke he
swallowed it, stem and all, drank a cup of
water, and vomited forth volumes of smoke
like chimney. Then he whistled and again
became chimney. We thought we had him
after quick motion of the hand from the
mouth to his grdle, but he had sold u.s. and
again the pipe appeared in his mouth, still
burning. This sort of thing was kept up
long enough to make one sick, almost, with
sympathy, and was given up for the still
more marvellous eggs balancing. Four eggs
are placed on the corners of perfectly flat
lacquered slab, which the performer holds in
his hand. By an almost imperceptible oscilla-
tion of the slab, one of the eggs is just agi-
tated, then greatly rotated. The motion
becomes more rapid until one of the eggs is
left spinning on its point, the other three
remaining quietly in their places.
second is treated in the same way, the
first still spinning; then the third and the
fourth, until all four eggs were rapidly spin
ming, each in its own corner, without having
been touched by hand or instrument. doubt
if dexterity can go further than this. Hao
Columbus visited Japan he would have takeI
less pride in his little egg-standing feat. The
performance continued quite a long while
and contained much that is better worth see
ing than telling. Tops were made to run W
a perpendicular cord into a lantern, which
flew open and displayed banners and stream
ers, like the last scene in the Black CT00k
The little boy risked his life terribly at thu
head of long bamboo pole, held up by one
of the men, and the slack-wire dancer went II
sleep on his precarious perch as uncon
cernedly as if at home. But jugglery is on
of those things which gave rise to the pro
verb, "Seein is believin." So let us dis
miss the performers with nibu (about G.