Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1891-11-26

capacity since.
One summer early in the fifties
the cholera had broken out, and
half the cantonment was under
canvas. The officers-seniors and
subalterns - fought shoulder to
shoulder with the priest, the chap
lain, the surgeons, and the doctors
(that is, the physicians Of both the
military and civil lists) for their
mems safety and recovery, and
diversions xsfs natarsllyss - par
functory a. oil forced gaieties must
be.
Therefore, when a man turned
up one day, and entering the camp,
and, unafraid of the sickness, of
fered to make jadoo, he was ac-
cepted with much real satisfaction,
but any amount of pretended grum-
bling and assumed skepticism-all
intended to provoke him to extra
ordinary efforts.
He did some wonderful things,
but the young subs refused to be
astonished, and their manner SO
wrought upon the fakir that at last
he said:
Il will die, you may bury me, and
set a guard about me night and day.
Then you may SOW rice grass on my
grave, and when that rice grass is
grown you may open the grave, and
l will come to life before you.'
1t is needless to add that for the
next ten minutes the discussion
sounded like q renewal of ancient
Babel. Some argued that it would
be murder to allow him to do it,
others scoffed at the idea of his try
ing, and declared he would manage
to substitute dummy, and fool
them to the top of his bent, while
he ridiculed them from afar and
made them the mock of bazaar.
But the matter ended by one of the
seniors saying:
Very well; doit. If you succeed
you shall have q handful of rupees,
and if you fail your death is on your
own head, but you have got to play
fair. Into the grave you 60, my
man, and Wen watch every spade
full of dirt that drops on you and
set guard night and day, as you
suggest, guard of soldiers, not
natives, and where it will stay till
the rice grass grows. OF course,
he added, looking very steadily at
the man, IF you choose to own up
you are liar you can clear OUT
Il am no liar, sahib, was his
answer, given without heat, without
arrogance, only calm assurance
that brought another, though SUBJ
dued, remonstrance from q subal.
tern who said the man was mad.
Everybody is, my boy, more ol
less, said the senior, 'and Pve long
wanted to test this business
So the grave was dug, q native
servant tucked him up, the earth
was thrown back, rice grass was
planted, and the guard paced back
and forth, challenging, answering
charging, through the days and
nights of routine that followed, til
the grave was green and the day
was come for the final test.
At the appointed hour the tangl'
of rice grass was ripped open
shovels were applied, and after {
few minutes the body was pulled
out. It looked much as it did tn,
day it had been buried, except tina
the nostrils were a trifle pinched
the temples and eyes somewha'
sunk, and the stomach had falleI
| in.
The same servant attended tn,
disinterment who had assisted a
the buria., and he had in readiness
by permission, two lotahs of no
water, q vessel of hot water, and
pan of meal.
| He stretched the fakir out, ant
lifting his head, thrust his finge
into his mouth and Strengthened tn
tongue away from the throttle, theI
he dexterously unplugged the ear
and nostrils, removing small piece
of a substance that looked lik
brown wax; then he made q no
stir about of the meal and thicken
ed it enough to roll it into wads
which he applied under the arm
and knees of the fakir and at tn
nape of his neck and the small o
his back; then he dashed alternat
douches of hot and cold water oi
him, and then the mans eye
rolled down, intelligence came int
his face. and in an hour he gather