The herald., 1837-02-01
From Z. F. Lanes work on the Modern Egyptians.
ERvnfian Mn uic


The magic mlrror, which certain Egyptians or ra-
ther Arab maglclans able to call into existence and
operation is either trick, truth, which has sur
prsed many an European traveller and compiet'y y
bafed all attempt on their part of accounting for il
naturally. Mr.. Lane, whose invaluable book on the
Modern Egyptians has just been published, and
who, he deserves any character, IS fully entitled TO
that of most minute and thoroughly matter-0t-faci
inquirer gives the following account of this wonder
upon the authority fhls own eyes. We give this ex-
tract from his work not for It's intrinsic interest alone
but that il may serve TO draw attention to the pages
from which IL mas been taken, and In which so ample
and so minute descriptions given of all the manners
and customs of the subjects of Mohammed Ali, ac-
companied with copious and most sprtedly executed
wood cuts as to render the publcauon one OF esab-
Ished and even classic authority The Society for
the Diffusion of Useful knowledge never paronsed
book which reflects upon their judgment more credit.
But TO our magician
GA few days after my first arrival in this country,
my curiosity excited on the subject of magic by
circumstance related to me by Mr.. Salt, our Consul
General. Having had reason to believe that one of
his servants thief from the fact of several art
cles of property having been stolen from his house, he
sent for celebrated MUCH reb-ec magician with the
view of ntmidatng Them and causing the guilty one
(if any of them guilty. confess his crime The
magician came, and said that he would cause the ex-
act image of the person who had committed the hefts
TO appear to any youth net arrived at the age OF pu-
berty and desired the master of the house to call IN
any boy whom he might choose. AS several boys
were then employed in garden adjacent to the house,
one of them called for this purpose. In the palm
of this boys right hand, the magician drew, with a
pen, a certain diagram, in the centre OF which he
ponred little ink. Into this ink he desired the boy
steadfastly TO look. He then burned some lncence
and several bits of paper inscribed with charms; and
AT the same time called for various objects to appear
in the ink The boy declared that he saw all these
Objects and last OF all, the image of the guilty per-
son; he described his stature countenance and Dress
said that he knew him and directly ran down into
the garden, and apprehended ofthe laborers who
hrou bp Sfa mi Tpa
sed that he was the thief
"The above relation made me desrous IT witness
ing similar performance during my first visit to this
country; but not being acquainted with the name of
the magician here alluded to, or his place of abode,
was unable TO obtain any tidings OF him. | learned
however, soon after my return TO England, that he
had become known TO later travellers in Egypt; was
residing in Cairo; and that he called the sheykh
'Abd -Cka dir Ell Mugh-reb-ee. A few weeks after
my second arrival in Egypt my neighbor, 'Osma-n,
Interpreter of the British Consulate, brought him 10
me- and fixed day for his visiting me- to give me
proof of the skill for which ne is so much famed
He came at the time appointed about two hours be-
fore noon but seemed uneasy; frequently looked up
Mt the sky through the window; and remarked that
the weather was sHpropitous; II was dull and cou-
dy; and the wind was bolsterous. The experiment
was performed with three boys; after another
With the first, il partly successful but with the
Others il completely failed. The magician said that
he could do nothing more that day; and that he
would come IN the evening of a subsequent day. He
was favorable While waiting for my neghbor, be-
fore mentioned to come in and witness the perform
ances we took pipes and coffee; and the magician
chatted with on Indifferent subjects Hei fine,
fall and stout of rather far complexion with
n dark brown beard is shabbly dressed and gener-
ally wea a large green turban; being descendant
of the Prophet In his conversation he is affabe and
unaffected. He professed 10 me that his wonders
were effected by the agency of good spirits but TO
others, he has SAID the reverse that his magic is
tanlc.
"In preparing for the experiment Of the magic mir
ror of INK which, with some other performances of
smlar nature are here termed durb eL-men del, the
magician first asked for a reed-pen and ink,
niece of paper and pair OF scssors and, having cut
off narrow strip OF paper, wrote upon certain forms
~ invocation together with another charm, by which
he processes 10 accomplish the object of the expert
mant He did not attempt TO conceal thesa; and on
nv asking hlp 10 give me copies of them he readily
consented and i'm, edately wrote them for me; ex-
planinu TO me, at the same time, that the object he
had in view was accomplished through the influence
of the two first words, Turshoon' and 'Turyoo-
shoon, which, he SAID, were the names of two genl,
his familiar spirits | compared the copies with the
originals; and found that they exactly agreed
aTur shoon Turyoo- -sheon Come down.
Come down! BE present! Whittier are gone
, the prince and his troops? Where are Eli -ahh-
mar
the prince and his troops BE present
We servants of these names
,"And this is the removal And we have removed
from thee
thy ve,l; and thy sight today
is piercing Correct, correct"
Having written these, the magician cut oil the paper
containing the forms of invocation from that upon
which the other charm wrlten and cut the for
mer slxinto strips. He then explained to me that the
object of the latter charm (which contains part Of the
2 st verse of the SoJ-rat Cka 50th chapter of the
Ckoora-n) was to open the boys eyes in superna-
fural manners TO make his sight pierce into what is
20 us the invisible world.
~ had prepared, by the magician's direction, some
frankincense and corander- Seed and chahng dish
with some live charcoal in H. These were now
brought into the room, together with the boy who was
10 be employed he had been called in, by my desire,
from am ing some boys in the street, returning from
mandatory; aud was about eight or nine years OF
age In reply TO my inquiry respecting the descnp-
ton Of persons who could IN the magic mirror of
ink the magician said that they boy not arrl-
we'd at puberty, virgin, black female slave and
nrepnant woman. The chafing- dish was placed be
fore him and the boy; and the latter was placed on
aeat. The magician now desired my servant TO put
aome frankincense and corander- seed into the cha
fng-dish them taking hold of the boys right hand,
he drew, in the palm of II, magic square The fig
nres which il contains are Arabic numerals In the
centre. he poared little ink and desired the boy to
look into il and to tell him il he could see his face re-
tlected in il; the boy replied that he saw his face
clearly. The magician, holding the boys hand al
the whlet told him TO continue looking nenily into
the ink and not TO raise his head.
aHe then took one of the little strips OF paper in
acribed with the forms of inv cation, and dropped II