of the seer are likely to spread his reputation far beyond the limits of the street in which he practises.  Younger competitors must be content to scrape together a precarious existence by preying on the small fry which pass unheeded through the meshes of the old man’s net.  Just as there is no medical diploma necessary for a doctor in China, so any man may be a fortune-teller who likes to start business in that particular line.  The ranks are recruited generally from unsuccessful candidates at the public examinations; but all that is really necessary is the minimum of education, some months’ study of the art, and a good memory.  For there really are certain principles which guide every member of the fraternity.  These are derived from books written on the subject, and are absolutely essential to success, or nativities cast in two different streets would be so unlike as to expose the whole system at once.  The method is this.  A customer takes his seat in front of the table and consults the wooden tablet on which is engraved a scale of charges as follows:—­

Foretelling any single event  . . . . . . . .  8 cash
Foretelling any single event with joss-stick, 16 cash
Telling a fortune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 cash
Telling a fortune in detail . . . . . . . . . 50 cash
Telling a fortune by reading the stars  . . . 50 cash
Fixing the marriage day . . . . . . .  According to agreement

In case he merely wants an answer on a given subject, he puts his question and receives the reply at once on a slip of paper.  But if he desires to have his fortune told, he dictates the year, month, day, and hour of his birth, which are written down by the sage in the particular characters used by the Chinese to express times and seasons.  From the combinations of these and a careful estimate of the proportions in which the five elements—­gold, wood, water, fire, and earth—­make their appearance, certain results are deduced upon which details may be grafted according to the fancy of the fortune-teller.  The same combinations of figures, i.e., characters, will always give the same resultant in the hands of any one who has learned the first principles of his art; it is only in the reading, the explanation thereof, that any material difference can be detected between the reckonings of any two of these philosophers, which amounts to saying that whoever makes the greatest number of happy hits beyond the mere technicalities common to all, is esteemed the wisest prophet and will drive the most flourishing trade.

Fully believing in the Chinese household word which says “Ignorance of any one thing is always one point to the bad,” we have several times read our destiny through the medium of some dirty old Chinaman.  On the last occasion we received the following advice in return for our 50 cash, paid as per tablet for a destiny in detail:—­“Beware the odd months of this year:  you will meet with some dangers and slight losses.  Three male phoenixes (sons)