6 CHINESE SECRET SOCIETIES. 



^ " In this virtuous family there will be no trouble ; the Sun will con- 

 tinually illumine the door." 



II. The Ceremony. % 



In a room convenient to the Lodge, on the right of the 

 " Market of Universal Peace," the candidates having purified 

 their bodies by ablution, and wearing clean clothes, are pre- 

 pared for admission. 



Each candidate must be introduced by an office-bearer, 

 who is supposed to be responsible for him, that during four 

 months, the new member (52) shall not even come to words 

 with the brethren, and that for the term of three years, he 

 shall not break the more important of the 36 articles of the 

 Society's Oath. 



Experience however shows, that this obligation sits very 

 lightly on both new members and Head-men, at any rate 

 amongst the class which now-a-days composes the Societies. 



Each candidate having paid a fee of $3.50, ( $2 of which go 

 to the treasury of the Lodge, while the balance is expended 

 in fees to office-bearers, and in the expenses of the evening), 

 his surname, name, age, place and hour of birth, are entered 

 on the Register of the Society, and copied on a sheet of Red 

 paper. 



In token of having cast off all allegiance to the present 

 dynasty " Chheng," the " queue" of each is unbraided, and 

 the hair allowed to flow loosely down the back, the right 

 shoulder and breast are bared, and the candidate is not al- 

 lowed to retain a single article on his person, except a jacket 

 and short trousers. 



In consideration of the poverty of most of the new- 

 comers, they are not required to put on new clothes, but 

 newly-washed raiment is insisted upon. 



The Sien-Seng, Sien-Hong, Ang-Ilun, and the Chhau-oes 

 who act the parts of the Generals guarding the gates &c, 

 must, however, dress in new clothes on every occasion. 



After preparing the candidates, the Master proceeds to 

 arrange the articles on the Grand altar, the most important 

 part of this duty being the insertion of all the paraphernalia. 

 in the "Peck measure,"* or Aug Tau."i53) On the front 



* Nearly always, though erroneously, spoken of as the Bushel. See 

 " Hung- League." pp. 41 and 149 for an interesting description of this 

 article. 



tell wrMm 



52 ff^ 53 |i4. 



