The record-union., 1891-07-04
A HINDOO MAGICIAN.
\ Defender OF Lucknow Tells of the
NIarveIs of Necromancy in India.

y
NiarvelS of Necromancy in India.
Sergeant Major VIM. Farrell, for
merly Of the British army, who spent
about seventeen years in India, is now
i'll San Francisco, and has talked upon
the subject Of necrOmancy and Hlndoo
conjurers. Farrell wears upon his breast
q Defense Of Lucknow medal and
long service and good conduct medal,
which is proof that he was not MulNa-
ney. and didn't put his tut through the
tin commandments twice day when IN
the service of the widow. lie was Color
sergeant OF the lighty-tourth when that
regiment was c0oped up IN Lucknow.
Farrell declares that one might be in
India for years and never get sight OF a
high caste conjurer. u had been there
long time before l saw one. 1t was in
April, 1859, about year after the siege,
when / was one OF large mllltary force
then stationed at Lucknow. a coniurer
gave Il performance in q mess ante-rOOIu,
and Colonel Fielding OF the Royal Artil-
lcry invited a large number OF officers
and a few nOn-cOus, including myself 20
be present. Some OF the Oiicers who
were there are still alive, among them
General \. Herbert. Sir IL. lLavciock
Allen. General Thomas Iighttoou. Cen
eral Barton and Dennis DouHhue, noW
British Consul III san Francisco, all OF
whom will Vouch for what ! say.
i ne performer was Il Jali, usiltiSOliit
man, about - years of age, and he had
the most lustrous, penetrating dark eyes
that ever We're seen in the human face.
! He entered the room accompanied by one
/ attendant. who carried only 81 little ilat
box about ten inches long. The attend
/ ant took from the box Il white cashmere
shawl and spfead II upon the floor, and
the performer seated hlmSelfupon it. He
directed his gaze slowly upon each one of
the audience i'll turn, and then said to
Colonel Lightioot: l'WilI you hand to
Colonel Cooper the sovereign you have
in your vest pocket?'
Colonel Lightto0t said he carried
sovereign as pocket piece, but he Won
dered how the cOnjurer knew that. AS ne
spoke he felt in his pocket; look of sur
/ prise came over his face The sovereign was
not there. The performer smiled and
asked Colonel Cooper to feel his pocket.
Cooper did SO, and to his own astOnish-
ment found Colonel Lightfoot's soyer-
eign, which he returned TO the latter.
I Holding the coin in his hand, Colonel
/ Lighttoot asked the performer how he
managed il.
Manage what?' asked the man.
How did you manage to get that coin
from my pocket 10 Cooper's?'
~ did not. IL has not been out of
your own pocket
But here it is" said Colonel LIGHT
foot, opening his hand. 4 look of blank
amazement came into his face, for the
coin which he had just taken III his hand
was not there. The conjurer told him to
feel in his pocket, and the sovereign was
there.
Before we recovered from our sur
prise the performer borrowed a marked
rupee Of Colonel Montgomery and laid it
upon the shawl. He raised his fore
finger and the rupee stood upon its edge
and at sign rolled halt way across the
room and then stood still. At another
sign it rolled back, and when opposite
the former it spun rapidly like top for
moment and then disappeared.
when asked how he did it the man
quietly replied that he had done abso-
lutely nothing and that we only imag-
ined we saw the coin spin round. The
marked coin was found i'll Colonel Mont
gomery's pocket.
'Then the basket trick was done. A
basket four feet IN diameter and three
feet high was taken out Of the attendants
little box before our eyes. The cooks
daughter was called in and placed under
the basket, and the next we knew the
conjurer stood beside it with a spear in
his hand. Nobody could tell where that
spear came from. The man iabbed the
spear down through the basket, the child
shrieked and the blood flowed out upon
the floor. Several officers sprang for
ward with drawn swords terribly ex-
cited, but the Hindoo calmly said: Moth
ing has happened and tipped the basket
over with his bloody spear.
Nothing was under the basket, The
child came into the room through the
door, and when we turned again to look
at the conjurer he was seated upon the
floor, and the basket, spear and blood
stains were gone.
He then took short bamboo stick in
his hand, threw the shawl over his arms
so as to conceal the stick. and instantly
he seemed to be seated cross-legged in the
air about two feet above the tiOor sup
ported by nothing but the cane under his
hand. Lieutenant Burns, an artillery
man, stepped quickly forward, seized the
shawl and twitched it away. No rod was
there, and the man was seated upon the
floor, although no movement of his body
had been seen by anybody.
''Then he placed a silk handkerchief
upon the floor, and instantly it seemed to
be covered with swarm of insects
golden and irridescent beetles, flies OF
brilliant hue-Squirming and running
about. / turned to the man next me and
said: Isn't that beautiful?'
Isn't what beautiful? / see nothing,'
he rejoined, and when l turned my head
again to look at the strange sight the
handkerchief was clean and no insects
were there at all.
''The man performed fourteen tricks in
those l have described. While he was
performing he never looked at the coins
or other objects, but kept his eyes upon
ours, his gaze ranging from one to an
other constantly. If man started to
leave the room the Hindoo looked at him,
and the man would sit down, all purpose
gone from his mind.
'When it was all over the Hindoo smil-
lngly informed us that we had seen liter
ally nothing, but had imagined the whole
affair, and we went away thoroughly be-
wildered. / was so dazed that / even lost
my way back to the barracks. We talked
1T over the next day. but could make
nothing of 1t. We even tore up the floor
of the ante-room to see if the Hindoo had
prepared for the performance by conceal
ing q confederate under the floor, but
there was no space between the boards
and the ground. Afterward / met the
same man, but he declared that / had
never seen him, and that he never was in
Lucknow in his life.''
''IT is a fact" that Hoods Sarsaparilla
does cure scrofula, salt rheum, and other
diseases or affections arising from irnnura