ABSTRACT
The whole ceremony only occupies about ten minutes and the participants have the same confidence in this mode of despatch as they have in the services of the General Post Office.
Centuries before Mr. Asquith's Liberal Government brought in its first health insurance scheme, usually attributed to Lloyd George under the "ninepence for fourpence" slogan, the Chinese who was unlucky enough to need the services of a doctor applied to his gods to protect him and grant him a happy issue out of his misfortune. Most medical treatment was inextricably mixed up with religion, and the ashes of charms played an important part in what can only be described as a faith-cure. In spite of the growing popularity of Western medicine, a belief still lingers that without divine intervention the treatment will be inefficacious.
