The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-08-31
THE BISARA
OF POOREE.

Little blind fish, thou art marvelously wise.
Little blind fish, who put out thy eyes?
Open thy ears while whisper my wish
Bring me lover, thou little blind fish.
The Charm of the Bisofd.
Some natives say that it came from the
other side of Kulu. where the eleven-inch
temple sapphire is. Others that it was
made at the Devil-shrine OF Ao-Chung in
Thibet, was stolen by Kafr. from him by
a Gurkha, from him again by Khitmat-
gar, and by this latter sold to an English
man. SO all its virtue was lost; because to
work properly. the Bisara of Pooree must
be stolen--with bioodshed if possible, but,
at any rate, stolen.
These stories of the coming into India
are all false. 1t was made at Pooree ages
since-the manner of its making would fill
small book--was stolen by one of the
temple dancing girls there, for her own
purposes, and then passed on from hand to
hand, steadily northward, till 1t reached
Hanla, always bearing the same name
the Bisara of Pooree. In shape it is tiny
square box of silver, studded outside with
eight small balas rubies. Inside the box,
which opens with spring, is little eye
less fish, carved from some sort of dark,
shiny nut, and wrapped in shroud of
faded gold cloth. This is the Bisara of
Pooree, and it were be tier for man to
take king cobra in his hand than to touch
the Bisara of Pooree.
All kinds of magic are out of date and
done away with except in India, where
nothing changes in spite of the shiny. toy
scum stuff that people call Civilization"
Any man who knows about the Bisara of
Poree will tell you what its powers are
always supposing that it has been honestly
stolen. 1t is the only regularly working,
trustworthy love charm in the country,
with one exception.
THE other charm is in the hands of a
q Al
called Tuprani, due north of Hyderbad.1
This can be depended upon for fact.
Some one else may explain it.
If the Bisara be not stolen, but given or
bought or found, it turns against its owner
in three years, and leads to ruin or death.
This is another fact which you may ex-
plain when you have time. Meanwhile
you can laugh at it. At present the Bisara
is safe on an ekka-pony's neck, inside the
blue-beaded necklace that keeps OFT the evil
eye. IL the ekka driver ever finds it and
wears it or gives it to his wife. am sorry
for him.
very dirty, hiIl-cooly woman, with
goitre. owned it at Theog in 1854. 1t came
into Simla from the north before Churton's
Khitmatgar bought it and sold it
for three times its silver value
to Churton, who collected curioslties. The
servant knew no more what he had
bought than the master; but man look
ing over Churton's collection of curiosities
-Churton was an assistant commissioner
by the way-saw and held his tongue. He
was an Englishman; but knew how to be-
lieye. Which shows that he was different
from most Englishmen. He knew that it
was dangerous TO have any share in the
little box when working or dormant; for
unsought love is terrible gift.
Pack-"Grubby" Pack, as we used to call
him-was. in every way, nasty little man
who must have crawled into the army by
m q rpa tai n
his sword, but not half so strong. And the
sword was n 50-shilling, tailor-made one
Nobody liked him, and i suppose 1t was
his wizenedness and worthessness that
made him fall so hopelessly in love with
Miss Hollis, who was good and sweet, and
five foot seven in her tennis shoes. He
was not content with falling in love quietly,
but brought all the strength of his miser-
able little nature into the business. II
he had not been so Objectionable, one
might have pItied him. He va
pored, and fretted. and fumed, and
trotted up and down. and tried to make
himself pleasing in Miss Holis's big, quiet,
gray eyes, and failed. 1t was one of the
cases that you sometimes meet, even in
this country. where we marry by code. of
a really blind attachment all on one side,
without the faintest possibility of return.
Miss Hollis looked on Pack as some sort of
vermin running about the road. He had
no prospects beyond captains pay, and no
wits 10 help that out by one anna. In
large-sized man, love like this would have
bean touching. In good man il would
have been grand. He being what he was,
it was only nuisance.
You viii believe this much. What You
will not believe is what follows: Churton,
and The Man Who Knew what the Bisara
was, were lunching at the Simla club to-
gether. Churton was complaining of life
in general His best mare had rolled
out of the stable down the hill and had
broken her back; his decisions were being
reversed by the upper courts more than an
assistant commissioner of eight years.
standing had right 10 expect; he knew
liver and fever, and. for weeks past, had
felt out of sorts. Altogether, he was dis
gussed and disheartened.
Simla club dining-room is built, as all the
world knows, in two sections, with an arch
arrangement dividing them. Come in,
turn to your own left. take the table under
the window, and you cannot see anyone
who has come in, turned 10 the right and
taken a table on the right side of the arch
Curiously enough, every word that you say
can be heard, not only by the other diner,
but by the servants beyond the screen
through which they bring dinner This is
worth knowing; an echoing room is trap
to be forewarned against.
Half in fun, and half hoping to be be-
iieyed, The Man Who Knew told Churton
the story of the Bisara of Pooree at rather
greater length than have told it to you in
this place, winding up with suggestion
that Churton might as well throw the little
box down the hill and see whether all his
troubles would go with it. In ordinary ears
English ears--the tale was only an inter-
esting bit of folk lore. Churton laughed,
said that he felt better for his tifin and
went out Pack had been tiffining by him.
self to the right of the arch and had heard
everything. He was nearly mad with his
absurd infatuation for Miss Hollis, that all
Sinla had been laughing about
II is q curious thing that, when q man
hates or loves beyond reason, be is ready
TO 20 beyond reason 70 crafty his feelings.
Which he would not do for money or
power merely. Depend upon it, solomon