Bisbee daily review., 1905-12-21

ncrobatic toys as his counterpart in America Marionettes are as popular In China as in Japan. Long before Punch and Judy began to charm the hearts of American youth the little children of China were laughing over the dilempas of these two famous characters | de booths are set up on the streets, where travelling companies present their quaint shows. They have men on horseback, soldiers, lions, ti- gers, dragons, snakes and curious act ing frogs, all made to go through their antics by means of strings and sticks managed by the showmen. Following the feast of dolls, the Japanese boys, too, have a holiday of their own, a dis tinctive feature of which is the school of huge paper fishes floating over ev- cry house in which there are boys, one fsh for each son. The Japanese, being great fishermen, admire certain speci- mems of the fin bearers very much-for instance, the carp, which swims up- stream, sign of courage and perse- verance This fish has become with the Japanese an emblem of the boys, whom their parents wish to see possessed of these qualities.
 On the boys day the toy baZaars of the city are thronged with children. Swords, guns, pistols, trumpets, horses and menageries sell like hot cakes, and firecrackers fill the air with smoke and noise. There is in Tokyo one quarter consisting of three or four streets which contains nothing but baZaars for the sale of toys. Here for few cop pers one may buy a handful of bam- boo rods from the ends of which dance the funniest imaginable caricatures on which the potent sake has worked it's charm. The goggle eyed men whose heads roll on pivots are matched by jovial foxes and badgers which have also looked upon the sake when it was yellow. Toy animals of every sort lizards, crickets and spiders-make the streets of Tokyo look like Broadway in New York the week before Christ mas. A new popular toy is a Russian soldier with red haiF and blue eyeballs, who performs all kfnds of stunts"
 Tops and kites are always in favor in the east, and some of them are yer ltable works of art. The kites assume every possible form of fish, beast and bird, while the tops which transform themselves into butterflies and flowers as they spin seem to be the work of q necrOmancer There is no distinction of age in flying kites and spinning tops. Old men and children may be seen together engaged in these time honored pastimes.
 Asiatic babies are blessed with no end of gods who look out for their welfare the Japanese having seven gods of happiness, one of whom, Hotel by name, corresponds closely to our St. Nicholas. Hotel is of a venerable and amiable appearance, wearing a long white beard, and carries sack of gifts for good little boys and girls. To older persons he brings long life and is usu- ally represented in art accompanied by a stork, which is supposed to live 1000 years.
 It Is not all play and no work with the small Japanese, despite their abun- dance of enjoyments. A Japanese child is no sooner able to walk than he or she is called upon to act as nurse for a smaller brother or sister, if there is one. However, the little mothers" do not seem to be troubled at all by their charges. They carry the babies on