New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-02-16
7 I7-S-
The HInrs tElsg Sat Iny4fre AZ.

| Madras was Che theater Of his performance.
There was startling sime made use Of by d lima
tic, who once issued Illuminating pamphlet against
come imaginary enemy in which he said that if
buffalo could stand in the air. Y then he the unatc
was contented to acknowledge that he was wrong
Not one whit less startling and much more Is Tie
| purpose was the announcement made in the Madras
aeane Aa fhat IpeeTy ee sg g. as aihs aeh
outIandish name, a Brahmfn Of high cast had under
taken for stipulated consideration to appear before
| the Governor and Council, and aa many friends and
spectators chose to assemble, seated crosslegged
and tailor fashion for the space Of half an hour ~
| the atrt s &- iS44 5f45t s5E fss4Rsg
| At first people were inclined to think the whole
matter was hoax, and that the advertisement had
been inserted BY some thoughtiess Wag. That such
was not the case, however, very shortly
III the official gazette card was issued, inviting civil
military and medical servants and indeed all Ena1ish
gentlemen at the presidency, to assemble at given
hour on certain day to 9se man n ,a 1he ar
| hered the hoax often played at home, OF adyer-
tising horse with his head where his tail ought to
be, and similar foolish take insbut all such mystic
ries dHindled into insignfcance in comparison with
/ the man sitting in the air. Jones' the first Judge OF
/ the Sudder Dawnee AdaWlett, wrote to Smith, the
| Collector Of Chinleput and urged him to be present
to witness the novel spectacle, AL Who could get
| away from stations within hundred miles OF the
presidency, fastened to Madras to gut their curios
| ity; and amongst the whole mass really believe
sooner have rather believed that the moon, to usea
nursery smile, made Of green cheese than credit
1 for moment the possibility Of the Brahmin full
4 filling his promise.
Expectation was on tiptoe all Madras, from the
Governor General down to his meanest pakeebearer,
longed for the hour when this marvellous spectacle
as As them. WfeT the day at length
arrived, the entrance to the Governors gardens vas
thronged with carriages and horsemen A sumptdous
breakfast commenced the entertainment, and whist
upon the fat Of the land the Brahin himself raadea
slight repast off platter of rice smofhered in ghse,
! winding up with a half dozen red plantalns
By and by, the band in front Of the government
house struck up The national anthem. His Excellen-
cy and staff, all in cooked hats and feathers, with
hundred other officers in the varied and beautiful uni
forms of the East India Company, took up their posi-
ton under an extensive awning, where detachment
of orderlies was perpetIaly on duty. tanning the
guests with huge Indian fans. SaEs -
With the utmost confidence the brahtnin walked
into the center of space kept open expressly for the
purpose, and making very low salaam to the spec.
tators, he commenced operations There were only
two men in his retinue, but these were Pilewhans,
men of hercuean strength and nerve, trained from
their infancy to feats Of strength whose sineWs al
most protruded from their flesh. Theseca forward
and salaamed also, when, having obtained the Coy
ernors permission, they planted pole firmly in the
ground the top Of which might then be eight feet
from the surface Over this they threw huge sheet,
which constituted species Of tent which tent helped
entirely to exclude the operators from the anxious
Il gaze of the spectators A. buzz of expectation passed
from mouth to mouth Of the muttudes that thronged
and squeezed each other in their intense anxiety to
witness the result while two sturdy musicians pos
j. sessed Of more wind and noise than gift of music,
2 raised hideous blasts upon miserable horn and
+ badly tuned cracked yiolincello The preparations
looking earnestly, could discover that the summit Of
,e this temporary tent enlarged though some bulky
body had been introduced, and at the same time ma
r. terially gained in height. 6-Fs 5s5 tss &S4G
At length the Plewhans crept out from under the
" folds Of the cloth and announced to the multitude
the propitious hour had arrived whilst hauling
to gently at the covering which Of cloth of fine and
ID light texture they suddenly gave a Jerk that COM
v petey denuded the pole revealing to the astonished
u mdlttudes the remarkable and extraordinary phe
he nemenon of sitting cross-legged in the air
in There no. mistake about it; and although old
gentlemen took off their spectacles and wiped them
again and again it was only to see clearer this mar
Ony.the Brahmn's righthand rested upon the sum-
NIT of the pole all the rest of his body was EeIa-
rated from it at more than elbow length, and yet his
ere vas T. Gee and as hGug
lieu light and unresitng air. There he sat
legged counting the beads Of his left hand
Of and staring unconcernedy with both eyes into his
= Forths first few seconds after the cloth had been
removed the whole mass of spectators too much
awetricken and astonshed even to permit themselves
to breathe. AS, however, they became convinced
ort that their eyes were looking upon reality and not
ire deuson the air rent with aecaations Of won
ed derment and surprise whilst every European present
nd declared it to be the most complete and cleyerest i'm
ps position that ever had been practised India nor
could the most scientific amongst them surmise for
moment any cause or MEANS save the most exaordi
sh nary nervous agency (and the Brahmn looked too
ed feeble to admit of this) which could possibly account
for the spectacle; for as has already been said only
ne the palm Of the right hand rested and that very
d. gently the head Of the pole whilst with every ease
and comfort the figure sat crossegged at more than
We elbow distance.
nd Thus this remained suspended in the air for
half hour and he offered to continue long again
provided the spectators would pay him for it. The
be English however, too anxious to possess them
selves of the pole used by him to admit Of their brook
ed ing any further delay besides which, from appear
To- ance, the could sit there from morning to night
RI without suffering the slightest Inconvenience Ac
OF cordngly it was intimated to the Brahin that he
had earned the promised reward having accomplished
the feat he undertook to perform, SO that making
f. low salaam with his disengaged hand he summoned
his assistants who, with the precision Of fishermen
flung the sheet his head, and entering within the
f secresy Of its fods took down, in an inconceiyaby
y short space, both pole and man. EE4fiS*ssf>
The moment the party emerged from under the
in sheet, the government poems seized upon them and
dragged them very unwlngly into the audience hail.
he Here the pole examined by several scientific men
nd sounded and snatched for secret sprngs but all
IN vain was evidently as solid and as hard as rock
to Neither the Brahmin his assistants carried with
ut them boxes Or bags where anything bulky could be
at concealed and it was considered impossible that any
de could carry about hisperson sufficient machinery
i'd to account for balancing One civilian however, sug
ac gested that the person Of the Brahin should be
of searched but this was unanimously objected to, on
the score Of its being breach of faith as had been
promised him that owing to his high caste, he should
f be subjected to nothing that might be construed into
to an insult to his faith and, as we all know, the very
fe touch of other people is pollution to the brahmn
nd Accordingly, he received his promised premium and
TX withdrew only to travel into the interior and reap
h immense harvest from the curiosity creduty and su
of pe1stition of the people. 7$ Efs5
" For period there was nothing heard Or talked Of
=, but this wonderful man that sat in the ar News
Y y papers were full Of him private letters teemed
IN about him raahs feted him residents gave enter
e e tanments to witness his marvellous feat in short
there was not such great and ndisputabe lion to be
found in India this man that sat in the air.
a' The star Of his fame thus long continued in the
ascendant, till one day Mr.. Conway a young Madras
civilian intimated to the public that he could perform
Us the same ceremony and then the sage and wise Of
OIL India confirmed in their opinion that the feat
,t must be attributable to wonderful discovery in
magnetism. B was, however, nothing of the kind
-, and Mr. Conway published an account which made
er people wonder how they could have been so
gr simple as not to guess at the truth long before
eh In the first place, Mr.. Conway had seat OF brass
IL constructed, made Of thin strong brazen reds in the
m vi shape of rghtangled triangle From the narrowest
point stout brass rod passed up support for the
Gu back at the summit Of which cross-bar made
X to the width Of the back from shoulder to
shoulder From the right extremity to this cross bar
t s extended curved brass rod fitting to the arm