How They Show Their Approval.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8038, 27 January 1906, Page 4

How They Show Their Approval.

The Japanese theatre-goers have a very original way o[ showing their approval o( a particularly tine performance. They shriek and whoop with delight, and when the enthusiasm reaches its highest pitch, hats, coats and other articles of clothin" are showered upon the stage as bouquet" are flung to the favorites in this country. A story is told of a foreigner who saw this rain of coats and sashes falling upon the stage after a thrilling scene, and wishing tocontri bute his mite, he tossed his hat over too. He was willing to sacrifice that much to keep up the credit of his country, particularly as the hat was an old one and he hud a soft cap in his pocket to fall back upon. Much to his surprise, at the close of the entertainment the manager brought his hat back to him and asked hiui for a sum of money. A few enquiries elicited the information that the articles thrown to the ' star 1 were merely pledges, to be afterwards redeemed by money theactors having a regular schedule of prices So much for coats pipes, and sashes, and a col-responding sum for foreigners' hiils, or any trifle. The enthusiast reluctantly handed over the amount, received back his old hat and departed from the scene of action a sadder but a wiser man—wiser in that he recognised the necessity of thoroughly understanding the meaning of foreign customs before following them with ardour. The national airs of great countries arc short, while those of little countries are long. *" God save the King " is 14 bars, and the ltussian hymn is 10 bars, and "Hail Columbia Ihas 28 bars. Siam's national hymn has 00 bars, and that of Lruguay 70, Chili 70, and so on. San Marina "has the longest national hymn, excepting that of China,