Page 206 - AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

Around the World in 80 Days

combinations with a spinning-top; in his hands the
revolving tops seemed to be animated with a life of their
own in their interminable whirling; they ran over pipe-
stems, the edges of sabres, wires and even hairs stretched

across the stage; they turned around on the edges of large
glasses, crossed bamboo ladders, dispersed into all the
corners, and produced strange musical effects by the
combination of their various pitches of tone. The jugglers
tossed them in the air, threw them like shuttlecocks with
wooden battledores, and yet they kept on spinning; they
put them into their pockets, and took them out still
whirling as before.
It is useless to describe the astonishing performances of
the acrobats and gymnasts. The turning on ladders, poles,
balls, barrels, &c., was executed with wonderful precision.
But the principal attraction was the exhibition of the
Long Noses, a show to which Europe is as yet a stranger.
The Long Noses form a peculiar company, under the
direct patronage of the god Tingou. Attired after the
fashion of the Middle Ages, they bore upon their
shoulders a splendid pair of wings; but what especially
distinguished them was the long noses which were
fastened to their faces, and the uses which they made of
them. These noses were made of bamboo, and were five,

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