The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1891-07-09
MAGIC MIRRORS.
The Strange Survival of a Modi@-
val Custom.
An Ancient Belief That the Absent Gould
Be Viewed Through the Agency OF
the speculum-TheM Mysterious
Egyptian Ink Mirror.

the Speculum-Ine mysloEious
Egyptian Ink Mirror.
"We see as in a glass, darkly." says
the apostle, but the general persuasion
of mankind has long been that we may
see. in glass, quite clearly, persons
and objects far removed by time and
space, says the London News. In some
notes of Mr.. Clouston's to Chaucer's
/" Sources Tale" published by the
Chaucer Society, there is an interesting
essay on the magic mirrors which re-
veal the absent. A belief so common in
medieval times is not likely to have
wanted precedents in the ancient world.
The speculum is the natural home OF
the spectra. Mr.. Clouston is only able
to give one classical instance, from
Pausanlus, who wrote guide book to
ancient Greece. 1t is the twenty-first
chapter of his seventh book, where he
says that the Ach@ans, after making
certain fumigations, let down a mirror
into the holy well of Demeter; they
then looked into the. mirror and dis
cerned whether sick person would
live or die. Mr.. Clouston says they saw
faces, healthy or distempered, in the
mirror, circumstance not mentioned
by Thomas Taylor in his old trans
lation. The famous mirror in which
Surrey saw fair Geraldine is discredited
by Mr.. Clouston, who does not rely on
the directions given in Reginald SCOTS
discovery of Witchcraft," written in
1884, a classical text with which he does
not seem to be acquainted. Any MEM
Der of the Psychical Society may try
the experiment for himself. In the first
place he must conciliate his good ge-
MUS. Then he retires into his closet
with little table and silk carpet and
two waxen candles lighted, as also with
a crystal triangular stone "about the
quantity of an apple" Then, after a
prayer, he must sprinkle every thing
with his own blood, and utter magic
charm or two, and finally sit down
with Bible in one hand and a crystal
in the other. The spirit comes in about
a quarter of an hour, but the curious
thing is that various pictures first APP
pear in the glass, beginning with a
beaten track or road, travellers, shep-
herd with sheep, strange appearances,
noises, glances and affrightments,
which shows will all at last vanish on
the appearance of the Genius" Such
things DIR. Dee may have beheld in his
crystal, at least if we believe Goodwin
in his olives of the Necromancers," not
exactly contemporary authority. Ac-
cording to Joachim Camerarius, quoted
by Mr.. Clouston, the spectator must be
young boy, or person of the purest
life. Granvil quotes case of one
Compton, who showed a certain Mr..
Hill his wife in looking-glass. Scott
uses the idea in ''My Aunt Margaret's
Mirror" but the great masters of this
art are the modern Egyptians.
Curiously enough, and too late for
Mr.. Clouston's use, Sir Walter Scott
tells long tale of the Egyptian ink
mirror in his diary for October, 1881.
He was then in London, where people
S %srs taing Of the RT fhhs6Sy on tbs sv
know as an honorable man." At Cairo
Lord Prudboe heard of a magician
from the interior of Africa" who gave
an instance of his powers. Lord Prud-
hoe chose Nubian boy, in whose hand
the magician drew kind of pentacle in
ink. Through this, ''as if the substance
of the hand had been removed" the
boy saw what was asked for.
AS in Ach@a of old, there were first
fumigations of incense, then flags and a
sultan appeared. These, as in
Reginald SCOTS account, were mere
preliminary apparitions. Then Shake
speare was asked for, and described in
accordance with his portraits. Then
the brother of one of the English
spectators was correctly described; he
had lost an arm, and this was men,
toned. In Malta Sir Walter made in
quiries, and found that Shakespeare
(sheikh sparD originally showed in the
complexion of an Arab! On the whole,
Sir Waiter thought the whole affair an
imposture. Six years later, in his
Egyptian book, Mr.. Lane seemed more
credulous. He gives long account of
the affair. The boy first sees man
sweeping, then a procession of flags.
then the Sultan; finally he saw and cor.
rectly described Lord Nelson: "He has
not lost his left arm, it is placed to his
breast" where Nelson pinned his
empty sleeve. Mr.. Lane was puzzled
not so Mr.. Kinglake, who tells in
"Eothen" how he asked for Keate, the
famed Elton headm sster, who was de.
scribed as beautiful girl with golden
hair-a very bad shot at some non-ex
istent Kate. Mr.. Clouston has found
similar rites in Southern India. The
Maories of New Zealand characteristic.
ally use a drop of blood instead of ink
In Southern India not a man but
monkeys sweep the floor as a prelim.
mary vision. The interesting point in
tfh this farrago 10 the Coincidence OF
human beliefs. Plainly enough, if any
thing is seen at all, it is because the
spectator has hypnotized by staring al
the little pool of ink, the crystal, OF
what not, which acts in the same way
as the metal disk in hypnotism. He
then answers to suggestions" ANY.
body can try for himself by staring
into his own ink pot, for the fumiga
tions, pentacles and prayers are all
mere accidents and ornaments, How.
ever, most of us might stare long
time and be none the wiser.
A SENSIBLE memorial wal b. T.
dedicated to VILE Collins. Ii
consist of a sinIll iibrlrf t -
ton to be presented to the "lpc
Palace" in London. Fifteen huns.
dollars has already been raised for tn.
purpose. sss
SOME one has been interviewing
country bookseller in England with n,
extended business and learned from hin