Playing At Hanging.

A NUMBER of wild young fellows were one day out walking when they saw a young lady approach, riding on a pony. One of them said to the others, “I’ll back myself to make that girl laugh,” and a supper was at once staked by both sides on the result. Our hero then ran out in front of the pony, and kept on shouting “I’m going to die! I’m going to die!” at the same time pulling out from over the top of a wall a stalk of millet, to which he attached his own waistband, and tying the latter round his neck, made a pretence of hanging himself. The young lady did laugh as she passed by, to the great amusement of the assembled com-pany; but as when she was already some distance off their friend did not move, the others laughed louder than ever. However, on going up to him they saw that his tongue protruded, and that his eyes were glazed; he was, in fact, quite dead. Was it not strange that a man should be able to hang himself on a millet stalk? It is a good warning against practical joking.

戲縊

邑人某，佻㒓無賴。偶游村外，見少婦乘馬來，謂同游者曰：「我能令其一笑。」眾不信，約賭作筵。某遽奔去，出馬前，連聲譁曰：吾欲死！因於牆頭抽粱䕸一本，橫尺許，解帶挂其上，引頸作縊狀。婦果過而哂之，眾亦粲然。婦去既遠，某猶不動，眾益笑之。近視，則舌出目瞑，而氣真絕矣。粱幹自經，不亦奇哉？是可以為儇薄者戒。