RICK'S FANS. 133

Rick blushed. He had kept one for Amy Clarendon, if he ever met
that beloved object.

“ Why, doctor,” said Rick, anxious to change. the subject, “I saw a
man giving a piece of money to a beggar, and
he put it on a fan.”

“And I heard of a poor fellow of pretty high
rank who was sentenced to death, and his fate
announced to him by presenting him with a fan.
There are all sorts of fans, as you will find out.
The other day, I was pretty warm, and a gen-
tleman, at whose house te called, handed me a
fan that you could dip in water. Its material
was waterproof, and the water on the fan as it
evaporated would cool
‘the breeze it wafted upon
you. You will find all

 

kinds of pictures on fans,

‘SNVA SHOU

and various inscriptions,
also. Some are very
pretty and ingenious. A great man may stick
his autograph on .a fan. Here in Tokiyo, they
make some elegant fans.”

“Don’t you think Japanese artists are queer?
I mean, they have an odd way of painting.”

“Tt seems to us so, Rick. They have an appre-
ciative sense of what is funny; and then, they
rather enjoy the horrible. It is worth while to
notice some things on fans, for they are emblem-
atic. You are apt to see on fans the bamboo and
sparrow, or the willow and swallow, and these are sions of domestic