a like result. The former seeks to "Ts'un Shen Yang Ch'i,"

to preserve the animal spirits, and hold the vital elements of the body. They secure this by following the Buddhists and Taoists in their Ts'an Chan Ta Tso, T, long sittings in abstract meditation. The Wu, military sects, hope to secure the same by their more active works-Ti Tui Ta Ch'üau, E, gymnastics, incantations, charms, finger twistings, incense offerings and like well known methods. The military sects, while very widely extended, have for our present purpose very little of special interest. They are so wholly given up to gymnastics and incautations, that as a matter of ethical study they afford less scope, and the results of study are of small significance. As to mere numbers they may surpass the "literary sects;" but the relation to our investigation will be found of slight value. The officers of the society are of three grades, called respectively, "Fa Shih," "Hao Shih," "Chang Shih,",,. Each of these has risen by merit of his life, through successive stages of progression as in the order of Masonry. These alone can receive men into the society, and conduct its affairs. Perhaps the most important individual in a society is the "Ming Yen," who is the clairvoyant, or vates, of the assembly, and from whom in reality proceeds the judgments and admonitions of the being who is worshipped. The number of individual organizations is without limit. Any one appointed to office may organize a company. All such appointees recognize some one as a superior, and the various "Chang Shih," or elders, hold themselves responsible to the unknown, or unmentioned chief of the whole society.

III.-Meetings and forms of service. We may turn now to the customs and liturgy of these numerous, independent yet mutually united societies, to learn what we may of their lessons. The meetings of the societies are held at the residence of a "Chang Shih," Elder, who holds the highest grade of local office. The times of meeting are definitely fixed at the equinoxes and solstices, the "Ssu Chih" of the year, and at eight of the "Feasts" of the year, viz., the third of the third month, fifth of the fifth month, the 7th and 15th of the seventh month, the 9th of the ninth month, the 15th of the twelfth, and the 1st and 15th of the first month of the year. Each attendant upon the service brings with him a contribution of from 30 to 150 or 200 cash, according to his capacity or pleasure, since there is nothing compulsory, to defray the expenses of the feast and to add a little to the perquisites of the leader, who in his turn must give to his superior a certain proportion once or twice a year. At the four chief feasts, spring, summer, autumn, winter, it is customary for the members to bring

1,500 cash each, to add to the common stock. Each officer must bring more, and when he enters office must deposit not less than 1,000 cash. The objects of meeting together seem to be chiefly three, for worship, for moral discipline thorough criticism, and for feasting.

These assemblies always meet at dark, and dissolve before daylight. This from the beginning of their establishment has been a source of much obloquy. Inasmuch as men and women meet together upon equal terms this has been a source of wide scandal. And yet, as far as can be discovered, the services of the assemblies are carried on with great decorum. They are probably not obnoxious to the charge of evil imputed to them by their enemies.

We are now ready to accompany the little company of men, women and children; for even children have a share in the service; to the house of the "Chang Shih," Elder, or head of the sect. We shall find them quietly meeting in the common, large room, of a country village house. From thirty to fifty persons, each with a money contribution, or a basket of biscuit, are gathered together. At the four chief meetings of the year, the worshippers present the "great offering." Against the north wall of the room, or against the great chest in the room, three tables are arranged. Upon these are arranged in five successive rows, ten cups of tea, ten saucers of cakes, called "Kao tzu," ten bowls of ts'ai (vegetables), ten plates of raised bread, and ten bowls of rice. To this array there are allotted thirteen pair of chopsticks. One pair of chopsticks is prepared for each set of dishes, from front to rear. The chopsticks are carefully taken by the leader, using the left hand, and placed aslant in the ten bowls of vegetables, while the remaining three are placed erect in the center of one row. The series of tens are intended for the worship of the "Chen Tien Yeh" which is but another name for "Wu Sheng Mu." The three additional chopsticks are merely complimentary, one for Lao Tzu, one for Confucius and one for Buddha. They are intended to guard against the jealousy of those worthies, who are otherwise distinctly discarded from their system. At the right of these tables another is placed, in the center of which is placed an incense burner. At this table stands one of the officers, and on his right hand is a lighted lamp or candle. This candle can not be omitted, even should a service be held in the day time. The candle is lighted by the leader with common fire, but is supposed to receive its real brilliance from the light of the Heavenly world. Using his right hand alone, the leader places three sticks of incense in the censor. The middle stick is inserted first, then the right, and lastly the left. The leader having placed and lighted the incense, the real service begins. Following the guide of their

officers the whole company bow and worship toward the feast and altar. They expect that each worshipper's soul will ascend with the offering to the presence of the "Unbegotten," the body of the worshippers, one of mind and purpose, following the offering to the very presence of "Chen Tien Yeh." To secure this desirable result, they prepare for levitation by placing the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth. Connection being thus made with this ethereal telephone, the gross element of flesh is ready to be exchanged for imponderable spirit, "Ti Ch'ing Huan Cho," ## Each one then draws in the longest breath possible, holding it as long as possible, each in the attitude of prayer and worship, hoping to be in speech and heart, within and without, pure and serene, that the ascent to Heaven may not be delayed. The leaders at the same time repeat sentences and charms. Some repeat thirty sentences, others thirty-three, with great rapidity, during the expiration of one breath. The kneeling company offer a petition, naming the place of meeting, the leader of the society, and calling upon the names of all known gods and spirits to assist them to worship properly. The whole company then, as they believe, ascend with the offering, to the presence of God. Here, their common bowls are replaced with beautiful dishes of silver, their common foods are replaced by nectar and all the food of angels, and receiving the reward of the service, they are escorted back to their human place of meeting.

Having passed to the skies and back again, these travellers are naturally hungry, and they fall to the eating of the feast prepared, in good earnest, since the thoughtful god worshipped, has wisely taken the ethereal element only, leaving the bread and rice and tea for the worshippers themselves.

The feast being ended, the main part of their service is still before them. It is at this point we discover the source of the charm and power of these secrets, over such multitudes of men and women. That charm resides in the powers and duties of the "Ming Yen," B, the 'clear-eyed one,' who has more than the "vision and faculty divine," who is in constant intercourse with Heaven, who knows and communicates the purposes of the Divine. It is abundantly evident that the "Ming Yen," is none other than a "Trance Medium," or clairvoyant. All the circumstances point clearly to this explanation. That strange mental condition whereby an individual loses self-consciousness, and becomes absorbed into the general consciousness, is a subject which science has not as yet decided upon, and which the lower orders of mind are unable to explain, except as a supernatural gift. Spiritualism whether in Africa,

It

among those bound down to quaint fetiches, or in China, where we see it chiefly in the heretical sectaries, is one and the same. deceives and charms the ignorant, while it steadily presses upon them a conviction of the reality of the Supernatural. In the sects under study, we shall find the clairvoyant, confined to neither sex, nor to any age. Some of the most effective of them are women and young girls. We can readily fancy the effect upon a company of Chinese worshippers, of a young girl rolling off unlimited stanzas of doggerel, after the manner of some we have read, in the newspapers published by the Spiritualists.

It is the duty of the "Ming Yen" to discover first, whether the service just rendered has been acceptable or not. If each worshipper has offered his gift sincerely, and with a pure heart, then Providence will reward that service with "golden rice, and pearly beans,". If the service has been incomplete, a penalty must follow. The "Ming Yen," learns what is the reward. He ascribes the penalty. Because his clear eye, wandering in celestial gardens, has discovered the good and the ill, he is fitted to examine the conduct and life of the individual members. Happily for them, it is only ex cathedra, that he can thus commend or criticise. It is a part of the quaint Taoistic philosophy of this sect, that all the acts good or ill of each person, starting from the heart as they do, pass through the conducting tubes via the spinal column, to the head. From the four gates of intelligence, ear, eye, mouth, and nose, transmitting cords convey the motions of the soul to its central seat. When the spirit leaves the body to accompany its offering, it is through the anterior fontanelle that it escapes. At this point, cords from the four gates unite into a thread, which follows the spirit wherever it goes. This thread is visible alone to the "Ming Yen." If ear or mouth, or eye or nose, have caused one to commit sin, then the cords are loose, and have not the same traction power. The "Ming Yen" has another source of discovering the errors of a person. Each year according to its 360 days, produces flowers, a flower for each day. If on any day a person commits any sin, its corresponding flower shows it by a loss of beauty and brilliance. Thus the every day life of a sectary is discernible by the "Ming Yen." Even if the person has not attended the service, or has gone on a journey, the "Ming Yen" has it as a revelation. The remainder of the night is spent in receiving the criticisms of the "Ming Yen," in exhortations to goodness, in singing and in unfolding the glory and gladness of the spiritual world, which all should strive to secure.

[To be continued.]

COREA:-MILITARY OFFICERS.

BY E. H. PARKER, Esq.

THE military officers [E] of the 1st and 2nd ranks have the same degrees [] as the corresponding civilians, and the senior 3rd rank is at, but, (with the rest down to the junior 4th), belongs to the class. From the senior 5th, to the junior 6th, are, and the rest are. The whole of the above have other individual qualificatory titles superadded.

or Finance

The metropolitan military public offices of the "A1" rank comprise the Hor Prerogative Court; the Department, and the Jor Sewers Commissioners. There is no "A 2." To "B 1" belongs the #, or Strategical Defence Board, and there is no "B 2." To "C1" belong theor Drill Office, and the É ☀, or Martial law and Courier Office, and there is no "C 2," nor is there any "D" grade or "E 1" grade. The "E 2" grade comprises seven public offices discharging various functions, police and military.

The following are the chief provincial military departments [八道守土官職]. In the Metropolitan Province the 總理營使, of senior 2nd rank, comes first: this office is held as a plurality by the of previously mentioned; he has a "chief of the staff" [+] of high rank, and a staff of 160 or 170 lieutenants &c., and, besides, 200 braves. Then comes the, an officer with a much similar though smaller staff, held by the of

H. After him the, held by the guardian of Sunto [開 城], and the 鎭撫營使, held by the guardian of 江華. The list of the or Strategical Defences is supplemented by five at Jinsen [near Chemulpo] and four other cities of similar subordinate quality. There is also a Commander-in-chief or 兵馬節度使[or主鎭] with a number of garrison towns under him; e. g. sixteen 同僉節制使 (junior 4th); ten 僉節制使 (junior 3rd), a (senior 3rd) and a with rank

twelve

equal to his own (junior 2nd): also six F (junior 4th) and (junior 6th). Then comes the Lord High Admiral or (junior 2nd), with about a dozen local high naval functionaries under him (bearing titles much similar to those borne by their military colleagues), and fifteen smaller local fry. The Corean navy is perhaps the only one in the world which exists so purely on paper as to be without even an effective sanpan