upon the pavement, and taking a boy from the crowd, who was afterwards discovered to be his confederate; he placed him in the centre of the rush mat. He then took from his basket a large butcher's knife, which he flourished over the head of the frightened boy, and with dreadful threats sprang upon his victim. The boy was thrown down, and the man knelt on him in such a manner as to secure his hands. While in this position, he forced back the head of the poor child, and with the knife inflicted a severe gash upon his throat, from which the blood instantly gushed in a torrent, flowing down the breast of the murderer, and sprinkling the nearest spectators. The death-throes of the poor sufferer were painful to behold; frightful and convulsive in their commencement, but diminishing with the loss of blood. The eyeballs start-the muscles are seen to work-there are twitches of the fingers-desperate efforts to free the confined arms-a change of colour in the face to an ashy paleness—a fixed and glassy stare of the eyes— then, a long, last spasmodic heaving and contortion, and all is over; the body apparently falls a corpse!

On witnessing such a strange and revolting scene, the first impulse of the stranger, despite the surrounding crowd, was to seize the murderous culprit, but from this he was prevented by the deafening shouts of the applauding multitude, testifying their approbation of the dexterity of the performer, by a shower of "cash." It is almost superfluous to add, that the deception consisted in the construction of the blade and handle of the knife; so contrived, that by making a sawing motion on the throat of the boy, to produce a stream of coloured liquid resembling blood, pumped out of the knife and handle. These and many other rare sights of the kind are daily practised for the amusement of the idle crowd in the streets of Canton.

But, however, ingenious the deception of some of these persons may appear, the Jugglers from Nankin have a still higher reputation among their own countrymen. Several of their feats of skill and daring are, to the uninitiated, truly astonishing, for instance :-Two men from Nankin appear in the streets of Canton, the one places his back against a stone wall, or wooden fence; the upper part of his person is divested of clothing. His associate, armed with a large knife, retires to a dis

tance, say from 100 to 200 feet. At a given signal, the knife is thrown with an unerring aim in the direction of the person opposite, to within a hairs breadth of his neck, immediately below his ear. With such certainty of success is the blow aimed, and so great is the confidence reposed by the one in the skill of the other, that not the slightest uneasiness is discernible in the features of him, whose life is a forfeit to the least deviation on the part of the practitioner. This feat is again and again performed, and with similar success, only varying the direction of the knife to the opposite side of the neck of the exposed person, or to any other point of proximity to the living target, as the spectators may desire.

Another, and the last feat to be mentioned, is equally exciting. A man is armed with an instrument, resembling a trident, or what is termed by sailors, "grains;" to which formidable weapon is attached a long handle of hard wood. The Juggler, with surprising strength of arm, throws this weapon perpendicularly into the air to a great height; as it gains the greatest elevation, he measures, with a practised eye and wonderful precision, the exact spot on which it will fall. To this point he advances step by step; in an instant the weapon descends with fearful velocity, scraping the edges of some protruding part of his person; thus giving proof of a singular daring, and successful effort, which surpasses in skill, even the most celebrated rifle shots of the hunters of Kentucky.

The fortune-tellers of China, observes Mr. Lay, are generally persons with a smattering of literature, which gives them an outward polish and gentility of manner. They plant a table in some convenient spot, which is provided with a large metallic plate for writing, and the different items of the writing apparatus, as black and red ink, hair pencils, a cup of water with a singular spoon, and a sponge or cloth for obliterating the characters upon the shining abacus, when the soothsayer has done with them; a wooden vase, which contains a bundle of bamboo slips, whereon are certain marks, and a tray filled with little rolls of paper, inscribed in a similar way.

The books that contain the principles of the art are laid in a pile at one corner, while here and there a tablet is hung up to inform the public

as to the qualifications of the fortune-teller, and the price that the applicant must pay for his divination. Those who have not established their 'reputation suspend large and showy scrolls near the table, to inform the public that they have the intelligence in the secrets of wind and water (fung shwuy,) as their art is fancifully, or perhaps, philosophically called, since the destiny of man is supposed to be closely interwoven with the laws which influence the state of the weather.

Before the usual hour of breakfast, which is about 10 o'clock, the learned man takes his seat at the table, and if he happens to be wellknown, he is soon surrounded by a circle of spectators. Some poor fellow who earns a precarious livelihood by running on errands, or by some other chance employment, is anxious to know whether futurity has not something better in store for him; so he advances towards the table, lays down half-a-dozen cash, (a trifle more than a farthing,) draws a slip of bamboo, takes up a roll of paper, and then presents them severally to the seen seang, or learned man, who transfers the dots and marks with which they are inscribed to his polished plate, and forthwith proceeds to mould them into characters, by additions made after certain pre-established rules of art. The characters thus formed, compose a series of sentences, which, being somewhat enigmatical and ambiguous, require the comment of the learned man. He affects no secresy, nor pretends to have a deeper insight into the matter than some who look on, to whom he often addresses himself, that they may have an opportunity of bearing testimony to the correctness of his influences. An old man who was always seen in his place, had a kindness of manner about him that greatly commended his words. He seemed to take pleasure in telling the applicant when the response was favorable, or soothing him if it wore a different aspect.

This mode of consulting fate we may call sortes, or drawing lots; it has obtained believers in all parts of the world where religious knowledge has been at a low ebb, and appears as if it had grown out of the very instincts of mankind.

The large parasol in this case, beautifully enriched with embroidery and gold thread, is one of those carried on state occasions by the attendants of the officers of government. Parasols and umbrellas were first