"It is not wine," says the proverb, "which makes a man drunk; it is the man himself." Even at banquets, which are often very rich and costly, unnecessary expense is by no means encouraged.

Dishes of fruit, of a kind which no one would wish to eat, and which are placed on the table for show or ornament, are simply clever imitations in painted wood, and pass from banquet to banquet as part of the ordinary paraphernalia of a feast; no one is deceived.

The same form of open and above-board deception appears in many other ways.

There are societies organized for visiting in a comfortable style of pilgrimage some famous mountain of historic interest.

Names are put down, and money is collected; and then the party starts off by boat or in sedan-chairs, as the case may be.