The chief gambling game is ex. tremely simple, for it consists of] counting out four dises at a time from aheap and leaving at the end, 4, 3, 2, or 1 which numbers can be Backed by the onlookers.
Many Obligations These round robins are known as Jen tzu" (GF), a share, and though each individual contribution may be small, yet for anyone connected with 8 large office or establishment, a number of them must be subscribed to every month and amount to no small sum, in fact they absorb an apprecia able percentage of his monthly infor gambling and yet it is in times of greatest depression that—people turn to gambling in the hope that 'a some miraculous way their fortune: will be multiplied; generally speak. ing the young men and" women gathered round the fan-tan "tables are not wealthy. If more than. the ordinary stake is ventured it is by) those to whom the loss will ental!
The services of certain people are in great demand at such ceremonies: as they are specially versed in the procedure that must be followed, and know exactly what should be provided by the hosts in order that honour may be satisfied, and the credit of the faintly sustained in the eyes of their friends and neighbours.
Tt will be seen that these "red and white" ceremonies occupy a very important place in Chinese life and that those personally responsible for them must see that they are carried out in '2° ft and proper manner, as the reputation of the family will suffer if suflcient respect is not shown to those in whose honour they are held, no matter whether the occasion be th:
[of a birthday, a marriage or afuneral.
The ordinary respectable citizen 1s. algo much interested in such matters, few" or round robin, which comes regularly, and to which he must subscribe no matier how pressed he may be for money and how great are his serious consequences. It is no. uncommon thing to be kept awake on the return journey to Hongkong in the middle of the night by the grief stricken women who have gambled far more than they could afford to lose and who spend the night bewail: ing their folly, nor is it an unusual occurrence for such persons not t9 arrive in Hongkong at all. The dark waters offer an escape and in them they can literally drown their sorrow, Tawdry Affair From the standpoint of the Eurpean casino. Macao is sordid and tawdry and is rendered tolerable only because in so many respects it is exotic, the fascination being pr vided chiefly by the manners and, Gress of the Chinese women and by. the streets in which the old style of Chinese shops and houses prevail. 3 was thought at one time that Macao's future would be far brighter ara gayer than its past had ever been for} it was proposed to offer a cordial welcome to those who had been dis-Placed by the closing of the licensed houses in Hongkong. This wealthy district known as West Point with its splendid hotels and restaurants was
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.