Weekly Trinity journal., 1876-12-16
THE JUGGLERs OF MADRAS.


In the city so famous for jugglers,
snake charmers, acrobates and cheva-
licrs d. industrie generally, ladies and
gentlemen who live by their wits, in the
proper sense of the word, and who ap-
parently make a good living, it was
scarcely likely that the good Prince of
Wales would be permitted to stay long
without witnessing the feats of skill for
which these wandering Madrassecs are
celebrated.
Thursday being comparatively open
day, therefore, the morning was selected
for an al fresco exhibition of this kind
The town lost the nomads and Govern
ment House gardens received them. Let
Us look at the savage who appears to
make the dried skin Of She cobra live. 1t
is favorite trick-you may see it done
twenty times day in the streets of Mad
ras. You may examine the apparatus
closely every time, and watch as careful
iy as you please, yet you cannot detect
the modus operandi. The performer
hands you little fiat wicket basket,
some eight inches in diameter, and asks
you TO inspect it, while he folds the cobra
skin, which you have previously we'll ex-
amined, into square, leaving only the
tail unfolded. So soon as you have Civ
on the basket back the juggler places it
on the ground in full view, and under
the lid puts the folded par: of the SER
pent's skin, the tail being in your sight
all the while.
You may, at this stage, lift the lid once
more to see that nothing but the serpent's
skin is in the basket, after which you
must rest content. A white cloth is taxi
en- by the man and placed over the bask-
ct, after being well shaken so that you
may be assured that nothing is in it. A
pipe is produced, and with it horrible
noise, similar to that always made by
snake charmers, and not unlike the sound
which cracked and badly made bagpipe
would emit, is made. No one goes near
the cloth or basket, except the almost
naked man, who cannot possibly hide
any live snake in his sleeves, for the sim
pie and sufficient reason that he has neith-
cr sleeves nor jacket, nor, indeed, any
other kind of clothing than a small waist
cloth, which would certainly bo most
inconvenient hiding place for a lively
young cobra.
The sheet is lifted, and you look at the
basket and see the tail of a living snake
being gradually drawn into it, and on the
lid being opened a most diligently ener-
getic serpent is discovered. No sooner
is It stirred than 1t rises on its tail, spreads
out its hood and strikes with its fangs
and tongue at the cbarmer. No one
would care to examine that basket now,
with cobra four feet long making vi
cinus snaps at the juggler.
The charmer takes good care that the
snake comes near you, for with dexter
Gus movement he seizes the reptile by
the head, and holding it in one hand
comes to you with the basket in the 9TH
er, while-you put rupee into the recep-
tacle, if only to induce him to go away
The snake gone, stout, strong girl
comes forward, makes a deep obeisance,
and then stepping back, throws man
weighing fully eleven stone over her
shoulders. Nor does she stop here, for
she sezes her victim once more, places
him crosswise on her back, and then tos
ses him into the air as though he were
made of feathers and not broad shoul-
dered human being. Turning backward
on her feet, she picks up straw with her
eyelids, throws somersaults, and lifts
weights tha. would astonish the ordina-
ry London acrobat.
While she is thus performing jugglers
are changing pebbles into birds, birds in
eggs, and eggs into plants ; men thread
beads with their tongues, join innumera-
bic pieces of cotton into one long cord,
keep half II score of sharp knives in the
air at once, throw cannon balls with their
toes, and spin tops on the ends Of twigs.
Pandemonium reigns, the clatter is un-
bearable, and one is compelled, as was
the Prince, TO dismiss the tribe of vag-
rants without further delay.