The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-03-07

not cease. OOO0 aIGeT L nedTu d SIodI
clamor on the bow of the boat and was
| informed that the mother of the boy had
come to see me. Going out | found her
with the boy who, she said, was so
frightened that he had turned green,
| and she demanded handful of saliva
to restore him. Disguised at the re-
quest turned and left her, but she
persisted, and all the people joined
in support of her request, so that in
sheer self-defensc | was compelled to
accede. Whether the remedy was eff
cacious or not | never learned. An
other request of the same kind came a
| few DAYS later from a lonG-robed
scholar, who was very polite in making
his demand, but whose little son had
| been greatly startled by my strange
appearance, and he consequently was
very anxious to guard against any i'll
effects.
A certain missionary had large black
dog that accompanied him in his tray
| els, and on one occasion created con-
sternation and fright among the half
| clad urchins that swarmed about him.
| Several were reduced to that alarming
state at which pale green hue shows
| through the yellow skin, and hair from
the dogs tail was demanded to make
tea necessary for their recovery
| Their belief in spirits Is notorious,
and haunted houses are frequent. Elves;
fairies, brownies, imps, and other super
natural beings are said to abound. They
believe in spirit-rappings, planchette,
| alchemy, mesmerism, divination of va
rious kinds by bamboo slips, by images,
| by somnambulism, chirOmancv and
palmistry. Branches of certain plants
are hung over the doors to ward off evil
influences, and cast swords are hung in
side their bed curtains as protection
against nocturnal spirits. Their roads
are always crooked and abound in
sharp corners to Obstruct the approach
of spirits, which delight in broad,
straight ways. The houses on street
are never built in line, but present a
zigzag appearance, as some prOjectsand
| others are set in. This is to check the
| progress of the spirits.
Corner houses are avoided because
their position affords such facility for
the evil spirits to sweep around them
A sharp roof indicates that only a bar
Der shop will prosper opposite. The en-
trance to house is never direct. A
screen in front necesstating turn to
the right or left, and the arrangement
of the open court inside, with its flowers
and stands, shows a circuitous path to
the inner apartments. Many accounts
of supernatural appearances are met
with, such as the story of the Spirit of
the Mst-the fairy who visited the En-
peror Lung, and in reply to his question
whence she came, said: 81 live on the
| terrace of the sun in the enchanted
mountain. In the morning | am a cloud,
in the evening a shower of rain"
| Ancestral worship universally prac-
ticed by the Chinese is inseparab bly, con-
nected with geomancy or earth divina-
ton, otherwise known as "Fung Shut, y
the ''wind and water doctrine, one of
the most gigantic systems of delusion
that ever gained prevalence among men.
1t is believed that there is a subtle, in
tangible something, vaguely character
lied as wind and water" that has a
most powerful influence upon the for
tunes and destinies of men. What the
| principles of this occult science are it
has been impossible to determine Its
power largely depends upon its intan-
gibility, and in the hands of designing
men, playing upon the superstitious
fears of the people, and eXaggerating
| the effects of the conjunction of certain
material influences upon outward events,
this system of geOmancy has become a
mighty power, and has imposed yoke
| of most CALLING bondage upon the peo-
yNI jnN tNI l.
ancestral worship, so that the two
are interviewer and combine to form the
strongest barrier to progress and en-
| lightenment of every kind. In cxplana-
ton of its principles the flung" wind
is said to be the cold air which issues
| from the earth, and it is in all cases de-
sirable that there be no hollow or de-
preston near grave lest this evil wind
blow into it and disturb the coffin or the
| bones.
The "Shui water pertains to the
| CONFORMATION of the earth, which is
supposed to be caused by the dragon
whose shape is discerned in the uneven
| line of ruts along the horizon. The
home of the dragon is in the water, in
whose winding course he delights.
| tracing Une water TO us source we come
to the meeting place of the dragons
the fountain-head of the Influences that
control human destiny; hence over the
gates of many villages may be seen the
words "Ui-Lung," meeting of drag
ons," indicating the propitious site of
the town. The dragon is all-important.
He has power to give prosperity to the
land, to bring glory to the King and
honor to the sage, and is the symbol of
all superiority and success in social,
political and moral affairs. Hence it
appears that the water courses, as the
haunts of dragons, ara of the first inn
portance, their source, direction, or
conjunction with each other, and
the influences resulting, being de-
termined by the geomancer' S
compass. If, for instance. in
the case of grave the water flows past
a certain point of the compass the de-
scendants will be prosperous; if it passes
at another angle distress will overtake
them. This compass, so necessary in
determining every location, has twelve
cyclcal characters, analogous to the
twelve signs of the zodiac, inscribed at
equal distances around the outer circle.
| Tho first is at tho northarn nxtrop,it,r