The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-09-19
An Indian Juggler.

THERE was nothing very remarkable
in the appearance or dress of our con-
jurer. An elderly man, short and
sparely made, dressed in dingy white
cotton, with very tight sleeves to his
robe and very tight legs to his drawers,
he might have been respectable SER
want out OF place, but actually was Il
small landowner who had taken to con-
juring for his amusement. When he
entered the room he spread a white
cloth upon the floor and sat down upon
it with his back to the wall, the door
of the room being on his right hand.
His spectators were disposed in the fol-
lowing fashion: Mr.. Smyth sat on
chair nearly in the middle of the room,
l was sitting on a sofa near the door,
the Parsee merchant stood in the door
way, an arms length from me. The
servants stood about in groups, the
largest group being between the door
and the conjurer. AS soon as he had
settled himself he turned to the Parsee
and asked for the loan of a rupee. The
peddler at first demurrcd little, but,
on being guaranteed against loss, he
produced the coin. He was going to
put it into the conjurer's hand, but tine
latter refused and told the Parsee to
hand it to Mr.. Smyth's bearer. The
bearer took it, and. at the request of
the conjurer, looked at it and declared
it to be really rupee. The conjurer
then told him to hand it to his master.
MIR. Smyth took it, and then followed
this dialogue: Conjurer-Are you sure
that is a rupee? Smyth-Yes Con-
jurer-Close your hand on it and hold
it tight. Now think of some country
in Europe, but do not tell me your
thought Then the conjurer ran over
the names of several countries, such as
France, Germany, Russia, Turkey and
America-for the native of India
is under the impression that Amer
lea is in Europe]. After mo-
ment's pause, Mr.. Smyth said he had
thought of a country. "Then open
your hand,' said the juggler; see
what you have got, and tell me if it is a
coin of the country you thought of. )"
1t was 5-franc piece, and Mr.. Smyth
had thought of France. He was going
to hand the coin to the conjurer, but
the latter said 81 No; pass it to the other
sahib.' Mr.. Smyth accordingly put
the 5-franc piece into my hand; looked
closely at it, then shut my hand and
thought of Russia. When'I opened it 1
found, not a Russian but a Turkish sill
yer piece about the size of the 5-franc
or of our own crown piece. This l
handed to Mr.. Smyth, and sugges ed
that he should name America, which
he did, and found a Mexican dollar in
his hand. The coin, whatever it was,
had never been in the conjurer's hand
from the time the rupee was borrowed
from the Parsee merchant. Mr.. Smyth
and his bearer had both of them close
ly examined the rupee, and Mr.. Smyth
and 1 turned over several times the s.
franc piece, the Turkish coin and the
dollar; so the trick did not depend on
q reversible coin. Indeed it could not,
for the coin underwent three changes,
as has been seen. need only add, for
the information of those readers who
know not India, that a rupee is only
about the size of a form, and there
fore about half the weight of 5-franc
piece. The juggler performed several
other tricks that day, but they were OF
commonplace kind, and in no way
comparable to the coin trick, which I
have never seen rivaled by any other
conjurer in India or Europe.-Usiver-
sity Magazine.