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placed Henry V . on the stage magnificently , as regards the appointments and scenery ; he has also brought together a company of actors and actresses which , in general ability , are certainly above tbe averago of London companies , while , in the case of more than one of its membors , tho like are

not to be found elsewhere . Mr . Phelps , for instance , as an interpreter of Shakspearian character is unsurpassed ; we may almost venture to add in these days of respectable mediocrity , unsurpassable . To him is assigned the role of King Henry IV ., in the closing scene of the second part of

that play , which serves as a prologue to Mr . Coleman ' s edition . It is hardly necessary to point out how skilfully the veteran interprets the grand conceptions of the poet . Mr . Ryder plays the part of the Lord Chief Justice , and likewise that of the soldier Bates in the night scene round

the camp fire . Mr . Ryder is a man of commanding presence , and the solemn dignity of his utterances , which never , by the way , verges in the slightest degree on pomposity , makes him perhaps the best exponent of that " majesty and power of law and justice" which

Shakspeare presents to us . Miss Leighton was admirable as the Chorus , and to Miss Fowler was assigned the task of personating the French King ' s daughter , the Princess Katharine , a task she fulfilled successfully . Mr . T . Mead ' s conception of Pistol was evidently the result of the most

careful study , Mr . Coleman himself played Henry V . His performance was very unequal . In the scene where the King joins the guard round one of the camp fires , Mr . Coleman was perfect , but in the more exacting scenes he lacked the vigour and energy which Shakspeare has infused

into the part . Mr . James was most admirably made up as the old Knight William , the Sire de Willoughby , but Mr . J . Denis Coyne was singularly feeble in his delineation of the Dauphin . To note each member in succession would occupy too much space . Suffice ifc , then ,

if we say , that while as a rule the most important characters were very ably filled , the importance of having the minor parts carefully presented was not overlooked . We were sensibly reminded , indeed , of that general care and quality of acting which marked tho course of

Shakspearian presentations at the Wells during the many years of Mr . Phelps ' s management . If our readers are desirous of seeing one of the finest of Shakspeare ' s historical

plays , well presented as to all tho stage accessories , and fairly well acted , let them go to tbe Queen ' s , and we feel sure they will have every reason to be pleased with their visit .

Secret Societies In China.

SECRET SOCIETIES IN CHINA .

SECRET societies have been very active of late in China . From all parts of the Erapiro rumours are rife about the doings of the Hung Brethren , tho members of the Society of the Queen of Heaven , tho followers of the White Lily sect , and of a host of other leagues . At towns on the Yang-tsze-Keang the members of somo restless brotherhood have been creating quite a panic by cutting off the queues of

unsuspecting citizens ; and in the province of Keang-soo the Roman Catholic missionaries report the appearance of a secret sect in the rites of which they consider there are to be traced remnants of a debased Christianity . Of these last-named people , who describe themselves as " Fasters , " little is known beyond the information supplied by one of their members to Pore Rizzi on the subject of the

rites attending tho " Feast of Tapers . " On that occasion ten tables are placed so as to represent the human form , and around them are arranged twenty-iive tapers , of an aggregate weight of a thousand ounces . Tho president and twenty-four " Fasters , " each bearing a cross tipped with wax , then take their places at tho tables , and having struck a light with a steel and flint , tho president lights the

extremities of his own cross , and with that , lights the twenty-five tapers , and the crosses of the brethren . That done , rice cakes , rice , and tea , which havo been previously prepared , ave blessed by tho president with the sigu of the cross , and are then divided among the associates . According to Pure Rizzi , the founder of the " Fasters " was Tamo . " Must not this bo St . Thomas f " adds tho missionary .

But the probability is that tho sect is not of any foreign origin , and , that it , as well as most other political societies throughout the Empire , is only a branch of the Hung League . In the same way the giiasi-Christinn rites , which are said to be used , might very readily bo remnants of the religious ceremouies practised at Nanking by Huug Sew-tseuen , the leader of the Tai-ping rebels , who was a prominent

leader of the league , and who professed Christianity . The members of the Hung League , like tho Freemasons , contend that their society Las existed through all time , but history throivs no light on aiiy earlier formation of their body than towards the close of the Han dynasty ( , v . i > . 185 ) , when the three patriots , Lew Pei , Chang

Fei , and Kvvau Yu , having associated themselves together by a solemn oath , successfully defended the throne against the "Yellow-cap " rebels . From that time until the establishment of the present Tartar dynasty tbo League showed few signs of vitality . But at the beg inning of thq ei ghteenth century the empire was seriously threatened

Secret Societies In China.

by an invasion of the Eleuths ; and , like the three worthies who supported the Han ruler , a hundred and twenty-eight priests of the Shaoulin Monastery , deeming themselves to be " sufficiently versed in the military art and magics to destroy the Eleuthian soldiers , " took the field against the invaders . By the order of their prior they separately attacked the Eleuths on all sides ; and when tho battle

was at its height so f nrions a storm of wind and sand arose , in answer to their prayer , that tho air was darkened , and the Eleuths , tevriSed at this display of supernatural power , tnrned and ran , crushing and maiming each other in their headlong flight . Haviug thus satisfied their patriotic desire , the monks , loaded with honours , returned to their monastery .

But their success raised a nnmber of enemies against them , and shortly afterwards their monastery was attacked and burned , aad live monks only escaped with their lives . After various vicissitudes , these survivors found themselves on tho banks of a stream in the neighbourhood of Kaon-ko ; and as one of their number went down to drink , ho found a white porcelain jar , on the bottom of which wa 3

inscribed the sentence , " Overthrow the Tsings ( tho present Tartar dynasty ) and restore the Mings" ( the dispossessed Chinese dynasty ) , this was accepted by tho monks as a command from heaven j and , having added to their number five horse dealers , a dismissed ministor , and a priest , they bound themselves by a solemn oath , which thoy ratified by mixing blood from the arm of each in a chalice of wino

and drinking . it in common , to do all which in them lay to overthrow the House of Tsing . Thoy all adopted the surname of Hung , and took " Patriotism " as their watchword . This done , they betook themselves to different parts of tho empire to enlist recruits ; and , in order to avoid the appearance of belonging to one and the samo sooiety , they gave different titles to the branches which they established .

Thus there were soon spread over the empire brotherhoods known as the " Triad Society , " the " White Lily League , " the " Blue Lotus Hall , " the " Golden Orchid District , " and others , all of which , however , constituted the great Hung League . It was not long before tho society thus formed attracted the attention oE the Government , and sternly repressive measures were applied to it , which were also shared

in by the Roman Catholics , whose organization was considered by the mandarins to resemble that of the Hnngs . Yielding to the storm , tho League abstained from all public manifestation , and little was heard of it until the crack-brained leader of tho Taiping rebellion brought its machinery to bear to further his insurrectionary movement . With his defeat and death it again subsided into obscurity ,

and it has only been quite of late that renewed activity has been observable in the ranks of the brethren . A short time sinco M . Schlegel , Chinese interpreter to tho Govern , ment of Netherlands-India at Batavia , became possessed of somo documents relating to the formation and tho organization of the League . Theso ho translated and published in a volume entitled

" Thian ti Hwiu—The Hung League , " and it is from this and other works that the above and following particulars aro gathered . Tho Hung lodges are built in a square , and aro surrounded by walls , which are pierced at the four cardinal points by as many gates . The faces of tho walls aro adorned by tho mysterious symbol of " union , " tho triangle , and with the old symbol for " a State " a hollow squaro—a

combination which is intended to imply that the League is a united Stato enjoying universal peaco . Within tho enclosure is the hall of fidelity and loyalty , where the oaths of membership aro taken , and in which is kept the genealogical table of the founders of the League . Hero , also , stand the altar and the sacred tablets , beforo which the brethren worship , and from the centre rises tho " precious nine-storied

padoga , " in which the images of the five founders are enshrined . Of course the lodges appear in their legitimate splendour only in out-ofthe-way districts , where thoy are safe from the observation of the mandarins ; but in towns and populous neighbourhoods , the lodgo is dispensed with altogether , and the meetings are held at the house of tho president . The instruments of the lodge are numerous . First

in importance is tho diploma , consisting of a large Bquaro seal , having two squaro margins , whilo the inner margins are octagonal . In tho outer rim are the names of the eight genii , and the rest of tho seal is covered with symbolical stanzas and signs . The official flags are numerous , and emblematize tho warlike character of the League ; and in each lodge is a " bnshel , " which contains among other articles the

" red staff " with which justice is done to offenders against tho laws of the society , the scissors with which the hair of the neophytes is cut off , a jade foot measure , a balance , an abacus , an inkstone , a pencil , and a host of flags and other symbols . The supreme Government of the League is vested in tho Grand Masters of the five principal lodges in the provinces jof Fuh-keen

, Kwang-tung , Yunnan , Hoo-nan , and Che-keang ; and tho affairs of each lodge are administered by a president , two vice-presidents , one master , two introducers , one fiscal , thirteen councillors , sevoral agents , who are otherwise known as " grass shoes , " " iron planks , " or " night brethren , " and some minor officials , who , as indicative of their rank , wear flowers in their hair .

In peaceful times the ranks of tho society aro recruited by volun . teers , but when the League is preparing to take the field threats and violence are often used to secure members . At such crises a man returning home finds a slip of paper bearing the seal of the Leaguo awaiting him , which calls upon him at a given hour to betake himself to a certain spot , and warns him that the murder of himself and his

family will be tho penalty of disobedience to tho command . Sometimes it is said , also , that one of tho brotherhood iusnlts a stranger on the road , and , pretending to fly from the just consequences of Ins act , leads tho uususpectiug wayfarer to some lonely spot , where he is seized upon by a number of brothers , and is carried away to tbe plnco whero the lodgo is held . On tho appointed evening the recruits

present themselves at the " City of Willows , " as tho lodges are called , where they are met by the " vanguard , " who carefully enters their names and places of residence in a book kept for the purpose . Tho vanguard then gives orders to form the " bridge of swords , " where , upon the brethren place themselves in a double row , and drawing their swords oross them iu the air ia the form of a bridge or arch .