Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1861-04-05

sessed Of an exceedingly unprepossessing face
he looked to the white spectators at least, as
like demon escaped from Dante's Inferno,
as might be, Finally, his rage seemed to
reach that boiling point, just capable of any
thing, and seizng hold Of her, he put her be-
meath the basket; or, rather, he inverted the
basket completely overher person. She was
thus henlSaed in, and entirely at his mercy.
Having thus disposed of her, in spite of the
child's screams and entreatics, the man drew
his sword (Tulwah), which was as bright
and polished as the surface of Venetian
mirror of a few centuries back, and he ap-
pcared as if about to wrcak some (furthcr)
evil on the object of his ire; and after some
moments, during which he talked to the child
and to himself, as if iustifying his anger, he
dia-actually at last plunge his sword down
into the basket, and draw il out dripping
with blood, or at least blood-red droops.
The child's screams were piteous and heart
rcnding in the extreme, but all, all in vain
for the man plunged his dripping weapon
again and yet again into the basket in which
she was confined. AS he did so, thes creams
of the wretched victim became fainter and
fainter by degrees, quivering and guavering
like the last few whispers of dying breeze
till at length they almost entirely ceased, and
then, as every one sat horror-stricken and
brcathless, and scarcely knowing where to
look, or which way to turn, then, faint,
low sigh, drawn out like the expiring note of
an Eolian harp, was distinctly heard by
every one in that hushed assemblage, till it
too, ceased, and all was still---still as an In
dian moon tide stiller and yet more still
still as death. The child's voice was hushed
for ever, was hushcd in the lullaby of death.
When the man seemed to have carried his
rage to its utmost extremity, warned by the
looks of the soldiery, that it would be as well
to close the exhibition without delay, he
raised his bloody sword for moment before
the eyes of the assembly and then struck the
basket smartly with it, which, falling over on
its side, left exposed the place which it had
before covered. Conceive the dismay and
astonishmcnt-th unbounded astonishmcnt
of the spectators, when in place Of the cx,
pccted corpse Of the little girl, which every
one presentlully expected to sec there, for
the echo of her expiring sigh seemed still to
float TREMENDOUSLY in the air, we saw--gucss,
reader! but you will not gness right, it you
guess for week Of Sundays. Well, then,
we saw nothing-a blank, an empty space,
void of substance, animate or inanimate
bare, bald as a true believers head. Moth
ing but the fat sand of the court yard. No
vestige of dress, or any other thing to indi-
cate that the girl had ever been there. The
amazement of the beholders was if possible,
rendered more intense. when, after the lapse
of few seconds, the identical little girl came
bounding from the side of the court-yard--it
seemed from among the spectators feet-and
clasped the .juggler round the knees, with
every sign of affection, without the slightest
marks of having undergone any injury what
ever. .-
Mind, this was not performed in a room,
or on stage, like that of Professor Ander-
son, the Wizard the North, who is now at
Niblo's Garden, replcte with contrivances,
and pitfalled with trap-doors. No! no +! =
Then it would have been an easy feat; but
this was an open court yard, as well known
to the spectators, as to the performers; the
feat performed in,thc centre of court, every
point Of the circumference of which was
crowded with spectators, who never for an
instant took their eyes off the performers
AS to the notion Of a subtcrrancan passage,
the very nature of the ground put that out
Of the question; and besides, that nothing of
the kind existed was made plain to all who
chose to satisfy themselves on that point, by
looking at the scene of the performances
when they had closed. Every one was sure
that the child had been put below the bas-
ket and that she did not get out of il in the
natural way ;, but she did get out, and how I?
| cannot say, though there can be no doubt
that it was accomplished by some skillful
maneuyre. .