The alphabet is derived from Pali. There is no distinction between the written and printed characters, nor are there any capital letters. Letters and books are written from left to right as in the European languages, but no spaces are left between the words. Printing has only been in use in the country for about forty years, and all the old religious texts are written with a style, on long thin strips of palm leaf about eighteen inches long and two inches broad. The edges of the leaves are covered with gold leaf, and the "pages" of any book are fastened together with silk cords. Every monastery possesses a good collection of these leafy documents. They are kept in the temples in cases which are often elaborately gilded or inlaid with mother-of-pearl. CHAPTER VIII. POPULAR AMUSEMENTS. The Siamese are fond of being amused and of amusing themselves, but they do not usually indulge in active sports with the exception of rowing and a species of football. Games that involve any great physical exertion are played chiefly by persons who make a business of the performance. The professional acrobats that are met with on festive occasions are fearless and skilful. Amongst the many feats they perform for the amusement of their fellow-countrymen, there are few that do not require both strength of nerve as well as agility of limb. The "acrobat poles" are stout bamboo rods fastened firmly to the ground. Each pole terminates, about twenty feet from the ground, in a lotus-shaped capital. The acrobats climb to the top and perform various feats on the small space afforded them by the flattened surface of this small platform. No nets or mattresses are provided to break their fall in case of accident. There are other men who fix pikes and sword-blades in a row and then lie with their bare backs upon the sharpened points. Juggling with keen-edged daggers is certainly a less dangerous amusement. "Throwing the hammer" here takes a new form as "swinging the hammer". A heavy sledge-hammer is lifted by a rope held between the teeth, and then swung deftly over the shoulder so as to fall well to the rear of the athlete. These dangerous acrobatic exhibitions are not at all frequent, probably owing to the fact that there are only a few men in the whole country who are able to take part in them.