New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-06-28
CHECKERS.

With q certain kind of mOurnful amusement
we read how, on the 9th inst, in the City of
Nevada, the pious Chinese dedicated a temple
to certain gods, of whom we know no more
than that there were three of Them Of
course, these devotees were not followers of
the pure and philosophical Confucius, nor were
they metaphysical Buddhists. They were Ia
onists-professOrs, we presume, OF the mate
Tialistic form of faith which is accepted by
the Chinese masses. So, upon this occasion
there was plenty to eat including that divine
dainty, "roast hog" These being offered to
the three wooden gods, when those divinities
declined to eat, the congregation, less squeam-
ish satisfied its appetite most devotedly. One
feature of the services will remind the reader
of Mr.. Gilmore and the Jubilees. AT intervals
during the singing and praying, brass how
itzer was let Off to the great edifcatiOn of the
faithful. But the main feature of the occasion
was continuous, persistent, and indefatigable
explosion of fire-crackers. Various are the
sanctuary services of various lands an inter-
esting volume might be compiled concerning
the exceedingly odd things which men do
when they are giving thanks, or asking new
favOrs, or beseeching forgiveness; and we will
not sheer at the poor John Chinaman when he
puts his c7edO into a cracker and seeks to be
saved at least as to his temperatures, by the
grace of gunpowder. When he would pro-
claim to the world how good he is, or how
great his god is-his poor, painted, lackered,
gilded piece of wOOdenness-he lets off
cracker making loud noise and bad smell,
both of which he finds to be cOnsOling and
satisfactory.
Something like this may be observed in the
various departments of human life even upon
our own enlightened shores. How many Mem
bers of Congress are there who are continually
letting off metaphOrical crackers There is a
fizz, an explosion, smell the gentleman upon
the other side replies with fizz, an explosion,
and smell and then possibly both combat
ants discharge thei1ilittle, red, suffering argu-
ments together So too, in spite of the grave
dignity of judicial Investigations, a great many
crackers may be let off by the lawyers, as
those who read this journal few weeks since
will readily comprehend We would not be
irreverent, but really we believe that we
have, now and then-at rare intervals, of
course-heard cracker or two go off even in
the pulpit. And in the minor affairs of social
life compute, good reader, if you can, the num-
Der of crackers discharged in single day
crackers of gossip and detractiOn, crackers of
complacent vanity, crackers of talk which rs
talk only, crackers of bold, bad scandals. and
open wrath and crackers lsped ESQ to speak,
in the firing by shame faced lovers. For over
and above all things in this weary world it seems
to us that man is the fondest of the sound of
his own voice, and has the profoundest faith
in the virtue of vOlubility. The main purpose
of life is to make q noise. The infant nevis
in its nurses arms; the school boy witness
the lover sings his woeful ballad the soldier
is full of strange oaths; the judge drawls his
wise saws and modern instances; and the pam
taloon pipes and whistles. Everybody is
blowing his own horn or seeking attention by
firing his little private cracker.
We call ourselves an enlightened people, and
with the whole force of our brows we are
supercilious when we speak of these poor Chi
nese and their crackers. And yet when, a few
days hence we shall celebrate our Feast of
Ancestors, the whole land will be filed with
the snap of crackers manufactured expressly
for our use by the Celestial John. In duly
celebrating the Fourth of July we have yet
hardly advanced beyond making an enormous
noise. Sometimes it is made in the pulpit by
a Boanerges of a gentleman who is styled
"The Orator of the Day. Sometimes it is
made after dinner, and is mystically divided
into Three times Three" Mostly it is ex-
hibited in wild and reckless burning of gun
powder in large guns and in small ones, and
in all possible ways which promise to be sono-
rous. The rage for racket is unappeasable,
and we indulge in it without the smallest
thought of the consequences. Legs are blown
in one direction; arms in another heads dis
appear like lost planets the honeycombed
cannon, far gone in senility, bursts for very
joy and scatters death and desolation around.