for, and I've a good mind to cut your
acquaintance."

"Good Heavens! Mack. What for?"

"Why, I hate a coward: and there you
have it."

I never saw such a picture of wild-glaring,
dumfoundered astonishment as Mildmay
Strong looked when the offensive word was
uttered.

"A coward! I! Is it possible! Charley
—Fred—do you think me a coward?"

"It looks certainly very like it, Strong,"
I admitted, reluctantly.

"Didn't you see me polish off a navvy at
Grayling for being rude to this very
Calmuck?"

We had certainly witnessed the
encounter alluded to, in which our friend had
obtained a glorious victory against fearful
odds.

"Where would you have been, Fred
Barclay, that night coming home from the
Academy, if I hadn't come up in time to help
you to settle those three fellows behind
Westminster Abbey?"

Fred admitted that Westminster Hospital
would most likely have been his next
address, in the absence of Mildmay's timely
assistance.

"Then what do you mean by calling me a
coward?"

"Why, you are afraid of that sailor fellow,"
said the inexorable Mack.

"I am not afraid, single-handed, of any
man on land or sea," Strong protested,
glowing with indignation. "Bless me! I
thought at least you fellows would have
understood me."

We certainly didn't look as if we did.

"Why, you blockheads, can't you see?
Haven't I my Eastern picture to finish in
time?"

"What of that?"

"Won't those Asiatic plants I've brought
for the garden be dead in a fortnight?"

"Well?"

"Well! "—Mildmay was terribly excited
and spoke rapidly—"Suppose I was to meet
this sailor fellow, as Mack calls him—a big,
horny-fisted customer from Honduras, with a
face no doubt as hard as mahogany and a
good deal browner. He might bung up my
eyes, and blind me; or if I was to hit him
a straight-forward right-hander in the face,
I might dislocate the meta-carpo-phalangeal
articulations of the fingers, and not be able
to hold a brush for a month. Let him wait
till I have packed off my picture, and I'll
meet him or any man in the navy or
merchant-service —ay, or any two of you that
dare to call me a coward again!"

Dear old Mildmay! Always faithful to
his one goddess, Art; for whom no sacrifice
could be too great. Brave enough, even, to
become a coward for her sake. Well has she
rewarded him!

This is the story of Calmuck. There is not
much matter in it; but it is entitled to the
apology claimed by Ben Jonson for his
imperfect rhymes—it is thoroughly true.

CHINESE CHARMS.

THE admiral of the British fleet, previous
to the bombardment of the city of Canton,
announced his determination to discountenance
and prevent all looting or plundering,
both as demoralising and as subversive of the
discipline that is essentially necessary to
success. Yet, with becoming deference to
the humane intentions of this general order,
seamen, soldiers, and officers of both
services will loot, and most probably the highest
functionary on the spot, down to the lowest
camp-follower, did loot. Were there not so
many ten-thousand dollars, and so many bars
of silver, carried off in triumph (as prize) for
her Majesty's coffers? Be this as it may,
our countrymen on the spot without doubt
managed to pocket a variety of little
curiosities, many of which must be explained to
them under the ambiguous heading given
above of Chinese Charms; for, in all
probability, up to this hour they are ignorant what
those valuable knick-knacks really are.

It was shown in a former number,* that
there are official astrologers, appointed by
the court of Peking, to divine as to the fit
times for marriage, shaving, bathing, or
starting on a journey, &c., and to notify them
in each year's imperial almanac.

It is not surprising, then, that with such
august encouragement given to soothsaying,
there should be found in China myriads
of men and women adopting this as their
profession, who are paid by the people for
their advice as to the daily routine of life,
the result of business speculations, the success
of medical prescriptions, and so forth. And, of
course, it will follow that the Chinese public
of all classes put trust in auguries, and place an
enormous value on magical spells and charms.
This credulity of the populace is not
connected with one special form of religion more
than with another; for, from direct contact
with the people, it will be found that
Taouism, a native religion of China, and
Buddhism, a foreign intruder into China,
both have contributed their share to pamper
that passion for mystery, and that belief
in invisible powers, by which the ignorant
seek to explain inexplicable phenomena, and
to frame excuses or to seek consolations for
their individual misfortunes.

But the tangible charms, which, we
presume, among other Canton prizes have fallen
into the hands of our brave countrymen, may
probably be arranged under two classes,—-
the precatory, and the deprecatory. Of these,
the latter is the more popular. They
include every variety of magical invention for
warding off sickness, disease, calamity, fire,
and demoniacal possessions. We can select

*Household Words, Volume X., page 203.