There is nothing distinctively Taoist in the worship of these gods except the gross superstition which accompanies it, and it is evidence of the present very degraded condition of Taoism that, whenever a popular deity has to be enthroned, Taoist priests are the servitors chosen to wait upon his shrine. Combined with the office of guardian, these back-sliding charlatans ply the trades of fortune-tellers, prophets and doctors. If a merchant wishes to know whether a venture will turn out profitably or the reverse, or if a mother wants to be assured whether her infant’s future is to lie among the blessings of office, wealth and long life, or to be accompanied by poverty and misfortune, they betake themselves to a Taoist priest, who, well versed in the tricks which ape superhuman knowledge, returns oracular responses, which satisfy, for the time being at least, the superstitious wants of the applicants. Nor is their medical advice based on any surer basis. Dr. Gray, in his recent work on China, gives the following description of an incident he witnessed at a temple in Canton: “Whilst I was visiting one of these temples, a father brought his son to the priests ... saying that the child was possessed of a devil. Having consulted the idol, the priests informed him that there were no fewer than five devils in the body of his son, but that they were prepared to expel them all on the payment of a certain sum. The father agreed. The child was then placed in front of the altar, and on the ground near his feet were placed five eggs, into which the priests adjured the devils to go. As soon as they were supposed to have entered the eggs, the chief of the priests covered them over with an earthenware vase, and at the same time sounded a loud blast upon a horn. When the vase was removed, the eggs, by a trick of legerdemain, were found no longer on the ground but in the vase. The priest then proceeded to uncover his arm, and made an incision with a lancet on the fleshy part. The blood which flowed from the wound was allowed to mingle with a small quantity of water in a cup. The seal of the temple, the impression of which was the name of the idol, was then dipped into the blood and stamped upon the wrists, neck, back and forehead of the poor heathen child, who was suffering from an attack of fever and ague.” [Illustration: STONE PILLARS ERECTED BY THE CHINESE TO KEEP OFF EVIL SPIRITS.] [Illustration: TALL WHITE DEVIL.] [Illustration: SHORT BLACK DEVIL.]