The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1876-11-23

obliging each one to drink precisely the
next pin. 1t proved to be more than some
of them could bear, and thus came the
expression-"He is in merry pin"
The invention Of the game Of chess is
claimed by the Chinese and the Hindoos,
with more authority in favor of the latter.
The Hindoo version is as follows: A
certain Hindoo prince oppressed his people
| in a most cruel manner, and Nassir. i
Brahmin deeply grieved at their sorrows,
determined to try if he could not prevail
upon the prince to be more lenient. With
this idea i'll view, he invented game where
the king, weak in himself, should be pro-
tected by his subjects. As soon as the
prince heard of the new game, he sent for
the inventor to come and teach him. who
| improved the opportunity to make known
what the game really taught. Another
account is that it was invented by the
Queen of Ceylon in the second century, to
amuse her husband with an image Of war
at the time his capital was besieged From
the word chess comes our English word
check, and also exchequre.
There are certain fashions prevalent
among different nations which seem to us
very absurd For instance, the ladies in
Japan Gid their teeth, in the Indies they
paint them red, in Guzcrat black In
Greenland the women paint their faces blue
and yellow The Peruvians and other
Indian tribes fatten their heads, while
other nations maltreat their noses. The
Chinese shave off their hair, and allow
their finger nails to grow to a great length
They wear white for mourning, they drink
their wine warm and their tea cold, and a
pupil reciting turns his back to the teacher
They also cramp the feet Of the women
1t is stated that a certain Emperor thought
the ladies too fond of calling on each other
and gossipping, and in order to keep them
more at home obliged them to adopt this
custom.
The Hindoos believe that after death
the soul passes into the body of animals,
to live through another term Of probation
on earth. Among them the cow and the
monkey are sacred The Mahometans are
very superstitious concerning the beard
They believe that the divine image in man
rests there, and that the angels have charge
of every hair. Two centuries ago our
ancestors used to wear pasteboard covers
over their boards in the night, lest they
should turn upon them and rumpe them
in their sleep. The japanese and the
inhabitants Of Thibet are not satisfied with
devOut prayers, sacrifices, offerings to the
goods, etc, but they also pray by machinery.
They have a square post eight feet long,
and near the centre is fixed vertically a
wheel, which can be reached by the hand,
and which moves in an axle passed through
the post. On each of the three spokes Of
the wheel two small rings are strung.
Every person who turns this wheel as he
passes by is supposed to obtain credit in
heaven for as many prayers as the number
of revolutions which are marked on the
post. The object of the rings is, that as
they jingle they are believed to secure the
attention of the Deity. and the greater the
noise the more certainty that it will be
listened TO. Some Of the inscriptions on
the post are worth knowing. One is,
''Wise men and fools are in the same boat
whether prospered or afflicted, both are
rowing over the deep lake; the gay sails
lightly hang to catch the autumnal breeze
then away they straight enter the lustrous
clouds and become partakers of Heavens 5
knowledge" Still another: CAS- the float
ing grass is blown by the gentle breeze, OF
the glancing ripples of autumn disappear
when the sun goes down, or as tie ship
returns home to her old shore, so is life
it is a smoke, morning tide. ."-Emnta Il.
Lander, IN Boston Adcertiser.