Now, here is an occasion in which the average person can interest himself, this dawn of the New Year. No. smug, monotonous tradition about it, but refreshingly pagan and primitive, 2 concession by all of us to the gods of chance. Not knowing what the year holds for us, dare we offend these high ones by so. much as shutting an eye ere the Year itself is actually born, or ropitiating them by copious liba~ tions in acknowledgement of their potence? Never, This, we repeat is the good old pagan in each of us, and for which let us be duly thankful. When the last trace of Norse beliefs shall be stifled in us, on that day we shall be finished as a people. But that Gay is still far off, thank heaven, Wherefore pour forth the wassail unto the New Year according to your purse, or perhaps one should Say credit, for purses are indeed are these days. For who knows what there is in store for us? For certain of u For others, disaster: For some, good fortune.
you be included in thes For many, true happiness: for as many more, what Mr. Mantalini called the same "demnition grind.
As for ourself, after a stretch of het seven particularly lean years we fare most reluctant to offend anyone anything remotely connected with the unknown year, Not that this is likely to do us a bit of good, but for the next 60 days at least we shall flatter ourself that we derive tremendous benefit from it, come what may thereafter. Taking no chances includes having our horoscope recast and our*hair cut (this last a most unusual process). It means furthermore facing Boreas' fey blasts of a night in a riesha all the way to a remote part of the French Concession in order to consult a seeress. This one may not do within the Settlement. A wise provision, no doubt, yet one fraught with' considerable" inconvenience in the cold.
One arrives at length, much in the "condition of a shipment Dairen oysters, before the dimly lighted door of Saladine, the Antiseptic Seeress. Why antiseptie, one never quite knows, unless it means that she antiseptizes the crystal, to guard from irffection with trachoma due to closely peering Chinese clients. There is little or nothing antiseptic about Saladine, One doubts if she ever baths oF even washes. She lives in' an atmosphere of-last week's cabbage and has visions. Who wouldn't in the circumstances?
Although the boy has seen many times, he always pretends that "we area newcomer and tries to work us for squeeze. Once again he failed, and we brasquely entered Saladine's's "elaboratory" (in which she elaborates "nothing to hear her mystic you, is it?" she demands disgustedly; "Whadda yuh want now?"
"No hanky banky," we assure 'Kindly open the windows of this pest hole and let out the ossified cabbage. After that, clean the crystal, and go read a book. We shall do all our gazing unassisted, thank you.'
Salading complied after we bad assured her we would pay her regular fee, For quite some time the crystal remained dull. We had always suspected that' the cabbage fumes were responsible for many things seen at once by clients, We were about to give it up, when a tiny Rose spark appeared in the centre of the magic globe, and certain scenes of the past unfolded themselves rapidly. Thereafter, much Blurring and confusion. It was evident that the high gods did not propose to let us steal a march on them. We persisted, however, as one ever increasing doubt had been torturing us for days.
It was as if planets were loosed from their orbits and shot wildly about in Space, portents of something tremendous. The most vivid of lightning flashes pervaded the scene constantly. Had we already started to propitiate the high gods, we might have understood this. it was, we were completely obfuseated. All we could gather was that something terrifically unusual would happen tous in 1928, We resolved to enlist Saladine's help, and called "Hey, Bessie.
"Whadda yuh want, simp?" came her sleepy response, "Need a bit of help here, so come along."
Give us a double fee?"
'A fee and a quarter will have to satisfy you, harpy,"
She came fast enough at that, demanding to see the money before she would condescend to gaze, Once Satisfied, she concentrated.
"Apollo, Jupiter, Hungisy Road, Pootung segs, Greater Shanghai, Minerva, Thucydides, Oscar Wild, Jazz, Napoleon, Dr. Crippen, Elinor Glyn, Art and Science," was the queet jumble she kept repeating.
"That's only part of it, What's the rest "Aw, T dunne, Better take your coin an' boat it!"
"Thought you wore a genuine aceres? How about it?"
"Oh, all right! Goe, I got it, Bo! Honest! All this here means you're gain' to guess what the Shanghai Mind really is!
We fled. "Pull many a cup of this forbidden wine must drown the memory of that insolence." What a prospect for the New Year!
Sa
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.