ircular belt of light, which is
called the Glory of Buddha. Some see it, some do not; the Chinese say
that the whole thing is a question of faith. In a somewhat similar
sense, the dramatic enthusiast sees before him such beings of the mind
as the genuine actor is able to call up. The Philistine cannot reach
this pitch; but he is sharp enough to see other things which to the eye
of the sympathetic spectator are absolutely non-existent. Some of the
latter will be enumerated below.

The Chinese stage has no curtain; and the orchestra is on the stage
itself, behind the actors. There is no prompter and no call-boy. Stage
footmen wait at the sides to carry in screens, small tables, and an odd
chair or two, to represent houses, city walls, and so on, or hand cups
of tea to the actors when their throats become dry from vociferous
singing, which is always in falsetto. All this in the face of the
audience. Dead people get up and walk off the stage; or while lying
dead, contrive to alter their facial expression, and then get up and
carry themselves off. There is no interval between one play and the
next following, which probably gives rise to the erroneous belief
that Chinese plays are long, the fact being that they are very short.
According to the Penal Code, there may be no impersonation of emperors
and empresses of past ages, but this clause is now held to refer solely
to the present dynasty.

For the man in the street and his children, there are to be seen
everywhere in China where a sufficient number of people gather together,
Punch-and-Judy shows of quite a high class in point of skill and general
attractiveness. These shows are variously traced back to the eighth and
second centuries B.C., and to the seventh century A.D., even the
latest of which periods would considerably antedate the appearance of
performing marionettes in this country or on the Continent. Associated
with the second century B.C., the story runs that the Emperor of the day
was closely besieged by a terrible Hun chieftain, who was accompanied
by his wife. It occurred to one of his Majesty's staff to exhibit on
the walls of the town, in full view of the enemy, a number of manikins,
dressed up to a deceptive resemblance to beautiful girls. The wife of
the Hun chieftain then persuaded her husband to draw off his forces, and
the Emperor escaped.

By the Chinese marionettes, little plays on familiar subjects are
performed; many are of a more serious turn than