Part 19

Our next show was an exhibition given by a man with a trained bear.

The animal had two rings in his nose, to one of which was fastened a leading string or strap, and to the other, while performing, a large chain. A man stood on one end of the chain, and the manager, with a long-handled ladle, or with his hand, gave the bear small pieces of bread or other food after each trick he performed.

The first trick was walking on his hind feet as if dancing. But more amusing than this to the children was to see him turn summersaults both forward and backward. These were repeated several times because they were easily done, and added to the length of time the show continued.

Children, however, begin to appreciate at an early age what is difficult and what easy, and it was not until he took a carrying-pole six feet long, put the middle of it upon his forehead and set it whirling with his paws, that they began to say:

"That's good," "That's hard to do," and other expressions of a like nature.

They enjoyed seeing him stand on his front feet, or on his head with his hind feet kicking the air, but they enjoyed still more seeing him put on the wooden collar of a convict and twirl it around his neck. The manager gave him some bread and then tried to induce him to take it off, but he whined for more bread and refused to do so. Finally he took off the collar, and when they tried to take it from him he put it on again. When he took it off the next time and offered it to them they refused to receive it, but tried to get him to put it on, which he stubbornly refused to do, and finally threw it away.

His last trick was to sit down upon his haunches, stick up one of his hind feet, and twirl a knife six feet long upon it as he had twirled the carrying-pole upon his head. The manager said he would wrestle with the men, but this was a side issue and only done when extra money was added to the regular price, which was twelve cents.

One of the most common showmen seen on the streets of Peking, goes about with a framework upon his shoulder in the shape of a sled, the runners of which are turned up at both ends. It seemed to me to be less interesting than the other shows, but as it is more common, the children probably look upon it with more favor, and the children are the final critics of all things for the little ones.

The show was given by a man and two boys, one of whom impersonated a girl. Small feet, like the bound feet of a girl, were strapped on like stilts, his own being covered by wide trousers, and he and the boy sang songs and danced to the music of the drum and cymbals in the hands of the showman.

The second part of the performance was a boat ride on dry land. The girl got into the frame, let down around it a piece of cloth which was fastened to the top, and took hold of the frame in such a way as to carry it easily. The boy, with a long stick, pushed as if starting the boat, and then pulled as if rowing, and with every pull of the oar, the girl ran a few steps, making it appear that the boat shot forward. All the while the boy sang a boat-song or a love-ditty to his sweetheart.

Again the scene changed. The head and hind parts of a papier mache horse were fastened to the "tomboy" in such a way as to make it appear that she was riding; a cloth was let down to hide her feet, and they ran to and fro, one in one direction and the other in the other, she jerking her unmanageable steed, and he singing songs, and all to the music of the drum and the cymbals.

It sometimes happens that while the girl rides the horse, the boy goes beside her in the boat, the rapidity and character of their movements being governed by the music of the manager.

The best part of the whole performance was that which goes by the name of the lion show. The girl took off her small feet and girl's clothes and became a boy again. One of the boys stood up in front and put on an apron of woven grass, while the other bent forward and clutched hold of his belt. A large papier mache head of a lion was put on the front boy, to which was attached a covering of woven grass large enough to cover them both, while a long tail of the same material was stuck into a framework fastened to the belt of the hinder boy.

The manager beat the drum, the lion stalked about the court, keeping step to the music, turning its large head in every direction and opening and shutting its mouth, much to the amusement of the children.

There is probably no country in the world that has more travelling shows specially prepared for the entertainment of children than China. Scarcely a day passes that we do not hear the drum or the gong of the showmen going to and fro, or standing at our court gate waiting to be called in.

JUVENILE JUGGLING

"How is that?"

"Very good."

"Can you do it?" asked the sleight-of-hand performer, as he rolled a little red ball between his finger and thumb, pitched it up, caught it as it came down, half closed his hand and blew into it, opened his hand and the ball had disappeared.

He picked up another ball, tossed it up, caught it in his mouth, dropped it into his hand, and it mysteriously disappeared.

The juggler was seated on the ground with a piece of blue cloth spread out before him, on which were three cups, and five little red wax balls nearly as large as cranberries.

He continued to toss the wax balls about until they had all disappeared. We watched him closely, but could not discover where they had gone. He then arose, took a small portion of my coat sleeve between his thumb and finger, began rubbing them together, and by and by, one of the balls appeared between his digits. He picked at a small boy's ear and got another of the balls. He blew his nose and another dropped upon the cloth. He slapped the top of his head and one dropped out of his mouth, and he took the fifth from a boy's hair.

He then changed his method. He placed the cups' mouths down upon the cloth, and under one of them put the five little balls. When he placed the cup we watched carefully; there were no balls under it. When he raised it up, behold, there were the five little balls.

He removed the cups from one place to another, and asked us to guess which cup the balls were under, but we were always wrong.

There was a large company of us, ranging from children of three to old men and women of seventy-five, and from Chinese schoolboys to a bishop of the church, but none of us could discover how he did it.

Later, however, I learned how the trick was performed. As he raised the cup with his thumb and forefinger, he inserted two other fingers under, gathered up all the balls between them and placed them under the cup as he put it down. While in making the balls disappear, he concealed them either in his mouth or between his fingers.

The Chinese have a saying:

In selecting his balls from north to south, The magician cannot leave his mouth; And in rolling his balls, you understand, He must have them hidden in his hand.