Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-16
OLD-WORLD ECHOES.
THE MANGO MIRACLE AND THE
MYSTERIOUS CONGO MEALIE.
A Nautical Puzzle-The Dartmoor
Tailor's New Suit-A Horseshoe
Cuba Lucky Lordling
Written for the REcoRD-usros

course of constructing two of her Majesty.
warships, the Bellona and the Barham
Both are protected cruisers of the third
class, and are intended to be armed with
quick-fring and machine-guns exclusively
They carry no great weight of armor, but
rely for protection to their engines. on q
steel deck, and the thickness of coal which
fills the space between the sides and the
boilers. Here, however, comes the diff
Guilty. The engineers assert that unless
an aperture is cut in the protective steel
deck they cannot get at their supplies OF
coal, and that hence it will be impossible
to keep up steam. The naval construct
ors, however, won't hear of this, contend
ing that to impair the integrity of the
deck would balk the very purpose for
which it was fitted.
Everybody has heard of the celebrated
East Indian mango trick, where seed of
this plant dropped into a fower-pot filled
bear fruit, all within the time il takes to
say Jack Robinson" Everybody, how
ever, is not aware that the occult power
which has made the mango miracle more
famous than the liquifaction of the blood
of St. Januarius, is duplicated in the heart
of Africa. Mangoes don't grow in Africa,
but mealies do, and the latter can be COM
PEELED from the vegetable kernel by the
same process and lamentations as are sue.
cessful in the well known case of the fruit.
G. Wilmot Brooke, who has recently re-
turned from the Congo, vouches for the
following conjuring feat, which he wit
messed with ''his own eyes," confirming the
impression of sight by subsequent refer
ence to touch and taste "If mealies were
wanted, she "a black sorceress) would
plant grain of maize in the eartl and
gaze steadfastly upon the place, her lips
moving, but no audible sound issuing from
them. In few minutes bright green
shoot would come up, which grew and
grew. and in five minutes time was con-
siderable TUT of mealies Ia variety of
maize every head ripe and fit for use. She
would gather these and boil them for our
dinner, but | always noticed that within
half an hour the stalks, leaves, etc., of the
plant had turned black, wet and rotten,
although the food was satisfactory"
There seems to be close kinship be-
tween these remarkable feats, and while
tina; of the mealie plant may possibly be
"a travellers tale" and nothing more, the
mango trick has been known to two gener-
ations of Europeans, and up till now has
resisted all attempts to explain it. 1t was
once the privilege of the writer to witness
performance of the mango feat, on the
deck of ?. and o. steamer lying at
anchor off the port of Madras. The
audience, including most of the officers of
the ship and several passengers, was
fairly critical one, and the platform, teak
deck, eminently unsuited for collision or
trickery. With minimum of preparation,
the jugglers placed tlower-pot filled with
earth in the middle of the deck, their
actions being closely watched by the Cap
tain and spectators. In the fower-pot,
mango pip was thrust, and the pot and
seed covered with a shawl, borrowed for
the purpose from a lady passenger. The
charm commenced by the muttering of an
incarnation by one of the jugglers his
fellow doing nothing except keeping his
eyes rivetted on the shawl, from whence
they were never removed. In few min
utes the shawl was seen to rise for several
inches, and on removing 1t, rooted young
mango plant was to be seen. Over this
juggler No. 2 threw the shawl again, this
time Withdrawing it from fully grown
mango tree, with the fruit and foliage "as
natural as life" Once more the shawl was
thrown over the tree, and at the appropri-
ate Incarnation it sank into the soil, leav-
ing no trace of the wonder except the
original seed.
4 Thirteen Club has recently been
started in London with the object of ex-
ploding the superstition which clings to
that avowedly unlucky number To show
their contempt for its influence, the mem
bers OF this association hold their meetings
on the thirteenth of every month, meet in
committees of thirteen, and pledge them
selves to do everything in their power to
bring the mystic group of numerals into
ridicule. War on the bakers dozen how
ever forms only small part of the pro-
gramme of these sociable iconoclasts, who,
by their articles of membership stand
committed to expose and ridicule all man
ner of popular superstitions. If the men,
bers adhere to their programme they will
walk under ladders, spill salt at table, dine
there in parties of thirteen, and cross their
knives and forks, and generally do and re-
frain from doing a number of acts, all of
them supposed to be pregnant with good
or i'll luck. A much needed supplement
to this very sensible movement is "horse-
shoe club loyalty to which should con-
sist in disparaging the silly superstition OF
attaching horseshoes to doors, even carry
ing the crusade the length of refusing to
enter door over which horseshoe is
nailed.
The notorious Tichborne claimant has
been occurring at Newcastle on the subject
of his everlasting claims, which increasing
years and corpulency are powerless to de-
ter him from advocating For his per-
sistency in airing these in the past, the
unfortunate propounder got two cumula-
tive sentences of seven years apiece passed
on him in recognition of his ability as an
imposter. Abiding to that trial, Thomas
Castro said that it had cost his friends
e500. 600 to defend him, and that during
his croSs-examination 1890 questions
were put to him, ont of which he answered
$500 correctly. Undeterred by past re.
verses, the lecturer told his audience that
he was going to try his luck again, aud
that already e150,000 had been subscribed
by sympathizers TO enable him to re.
commence his suit. The present seems a
very propitious time for this movement
for now that the Times case has collapsed
sensationalism in the British law Courts is
at its ebb, and there are many who would
hail a revival of the Tichborne trial with
the fervor that animated bygone genera
ton of forensic scandal-mongers.
ssTo him that hath shall be given" Sci
dom has the truth of this scriptural die
tum been more forcibly illustrated than il
the instance of recent marriage in higl
life celebrated in London. The presents
showered on the bride and bridegroom OF
this occasion were less remarkable for Their
number and costliness than for the utter
uselessness of many of them when the sex
of the recipient is borne in mind. Out o
the 600 odd presents given to Lord William
Neville and his Countess, one would hav,
thought that the donors would hav'
adopted some plan among themselves 0
choosing their gifts so as to avoid falling
into The error of wasteful duplication
Nothing of this sort seems to have oc
Cured 10 them however, and hence the i'll