The Opelousas courier., 1893-09-02

Int taxing ner new cdfSo, Uuo L1AiiSoo
in the family of the friend with whom
it was proposed I should stop had in
terfered, and I decided at last to re-
main on board.
l was the more willing to do this, as
close beside us lay the vessel COM
manded by a friend of mine, whose
wife had also decided to remain on
board while in port. The Fox lay
closely enough for us to call to each
other from our decks, and nearly every
day we spent together. If I could not
go to the Fox, Mrs. King would take
her little niece and come on board the
Shawmut. [ had my baby boy with
me, and little Nera, my friends niece,
who was about three years old, would
spend hours swinging with him in his
hammock, which was hung from the
spanker boom beneath the awning,
that the baby might get what little ait
was stirring during the heat of the day.
Nera would liethere for hours and play
with baby if he was awake, or with
her doll if he slept.
Captain King came aft to where his
wife and I yer sitting, and said:
"Would you ladies like to see one of
the best of the native jugglers? have
been talking with the %comprador about
it and he says he thinks he can get one
to come off tomorrow if you would
like to see him. According to what he
says the fellow is far beyond anything
in the way Of magical performance that
you have ever SEEN"
As neither of us had ever seen any
thing of the sort, Of course we were
eager to have the juggler come aboard,
and the Captain return to the hatch
way and made arrangements with the
comprador to fetch him the next day.
Mrs. King and I talked Of nothing else
during the rest of the afternoon. We
rubbed up orr little knowledge of
~iugglers' tricks, recalled the stale
stories of seeds planted and grown into
a tree within a few moments, Of the
boy packed into a basket and the
basket cut into ribbons, with an &C
compartment of smothered shrieks
and groans FROM the mutilated child
within, who afterward appeared IN the
background, safe and sound, and all
the other accounts of the stock tricks
of the Indian jugglers Of which we had
often read.
We decided that this particular
magician would be at rather a disad-
vantage, for he would be working on a
solid deck instead of in the sand, and
in an entirely unknown place, where
he could by no possibility have made
previous preparations to deceive his
audience.
Next morning the Captain told me
that the iuggler would come on board
late in the afternoon. Mrs. King, as
usual, came to spend the day with me,
end we sat on deck all day. We felt
sure that as we mad been there on the
day when the performance was first
proposed, and all of the following day,
there had been no chance for any trick
to be played beforehand, and that.
therefore, we were to have q genuine
performance, whatever it should be.
There could be no chance of deception
by hollow floors or easily moved sand.
Late in the afternoon, or rather
early in the evening, we saw a small
boat glide toward us, in which sat a
tall, slender form clothed in the white
native robe, with arms folded and
head bowed upon his breast. Beside
him sat a slight form, whether male or
female we could not at that distance
distinguish, but we supposed it was the
boy who in oil the stories we had read
was one of the most important proper
ties for the magical performance.
There were no baskets in sight, and
but little else in the way of furniture
for setting the stage for the coming
show. The boat came alongside, and
her passengers were standing in our
midst almost before the boat had
touched the foot of the ladder, 1 think.
The iuggler was the finest looking mau
] ever saw. He was considerably over
six feet tall, and was formed like a
Greek god. His snowy robe wrapped
around him left his arms and one
shoulder bare, and his long, slim
hands were as perfect as bronze cast
ings from an artists master work. He
had the brightest eyes I ever beheld,
but in their depths shone light which
made me shudder with-not fear-but,
we'll, 1 could not tell what the feeling
was, but I knew it was decidedly un-
pleasant to meet his eye for more than
a,moment. On comparing notes with
My companions afterward I found
that they had all felt this same strange
sensation. It WAS not fear, but none
Of us could give it q name. though all
experienced the discomfort in greater
or less degree.
As the strangers reached the deck
we saw that the figure which we had
seen sitting beside the man in the boat
was that of o young girl. She was
almost as fine looking q specimen OF
her sex as the man was of his.
They lost no time, but proceeded
with their preparations for our amuse-
ment. The man disdained to speak to
us at oil, but gave his directions TO the
girl, who repeated whatever it was
necessary for us TO hear in a low melo-
dious voice. They asked for several
things, among others . tall zane basket,
at which Mrs. King and I smiled al
each other a slender line, a pan Of
ashes, and some other little articles
which ( have forgotten now.
Theline, which was handed the man.
IVES our spare signal ballard, and after
swinging it around his head 8 momeni
he seemed satisfied and laid down be.
side the mat which chad spread upon
liz dnnr Hsl,ls nat rrac mnxrar