The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-06-06
Some Indian Magic.

formed in Europe, which is imaginary,
and that in certain details they are mirac-
ulous or outside natural means, which, in
the present state of the evidence is pure
assumption. The writer, for example, has
seen three of the rcputed miraculous tricks
the creation of the dwarf mango, the
sitting in the air and the disappearance of
a living being from a basket in place
where trapdoors, concealed exits or collu-
sion were all alike physically impossible.
In the first case, the juggler, one of the
hereditary caste, did undoubtedly make
feaf spring out of the ground, did make 1t
grow into a dwarf mango and did hand II
mango from it to be eaten. 1t looked won
derful because of the apparent simplicity
of the juggler but he performed his feat
In four processes, and between each he
shook out his chudder, or muslin wrapper,
SO that it passed for an instant between
the spectators and the plant. Tho writer
had no doubt then and has no doubt now
that this was done not TO conceal anything,
but to distract attention momentarily;
that the first leaf, the upgrowth of leaves,
the dwarf mango and the mango on 1t
were all of wax or other carefully made
imitation, and that the whole miracle"
was marvelously rapid sleight of hand.
There was nothing in it at all which Mr..
Maskelyne could not do, for the juggler,
though he had no sleeves, had turban,
and the performance was decidedly less in
applicable than one carried through by
French juggler in the hall of the Hotel de
la Poste at Geneva. This performer put
franc piece of the year 1865 on n plate,
promised to replace 1t by any 5 franc piece
asked for and did replace it by franc
piece of the first republic while 90 pairs
of eyes were staring at the plate. The
writer, who held the plate and furnished
the first 8 franc piece was certain that he
had never taken his eyes off the coin, and
was of course q mere victim to his foolish
certainty. His attention had been dis
tracted, as in the case of the mango,
though by some infinitely moro delicate
method.
In the case of the sitting in air the
writer has no certainty. The performer, a
woman, certainly seemed to defy the laws
of gravitation, sitting two feet from the
ground in open sunlight with her wrist on
the hilt of an ordinary sword. 1t is posi-
BILE, however, lightly as she was dressed
that she was sitting in loop of wire at
tached to the sword hilt and she certain
ly never breathed. We believe the explana-
ton to consist in long practiced habit of
holding the breath, which, as we have
been told, lightens the body, and in some
art of remaining absolutely motionless for
certain number of seconds. 1t was the
opinion of professional man present that
the woman was in n trance but there was
certainly nothing miraculous about the
feat, though it seemed at the moment
nearly inexplicable.
AS to the third trick-the vanishing
the writer is certain. A juggler stepped at
Madras on to the deck of Peninsular and
Oriental company's steamer and offered the
company assembled, who were lounging
about highly bored by the old method of
coaling, if they would subscribe to show
them something better than common jug
Cling. The collection, of course, was forth
coming at once, He cleared space on the
deck and told his wife to lie down. The
young woman, who may have weighed
seven stone but more probably six, lay
down, and her husband placed over her a
shallow fiat basket, with handle at the
back, exactly resembling the baskets used
for vegetables in East Anglia and called
O "frail"
Then with light and graceful gesture
he took up the basket and laid it down
two or three feet off. The woman had
vanished, and the audible amazement
seemed deeply to crafty the juggler.
Unfortunately the writer, essentially an
| awkward man, in stepping back stepped
| on the edge of the ''frail' and heard lit
| tie cry of pain. The whole thing had been
piece of superb acting. The young WON
| an had learned to hook herself with her
| fingers and prchensile toes into the strong
| matwork forming the top of the frail, and
the husband, n slight but powerful man,
| had learned to lift her as if he were lifting
| Il Il.
| course said nothing about his awkward
ness; the jugglcr after one savage glance,
said nothing either, and only two years
| ago the case was quoted as one of those
only seen in India, and which, owing to
| the total absence of machinery, could not
| be explained away.
| There remain other miracles" at least
still to be explained. One is the self in
| terment practiced by some Brahmans, who
are revered as saints in consequence. The
| writer has never seen this, but he inquired
into it once very carefully at Benares, cross
examining, among others, the well known
English Pundit, Dr. Ballantyne, to whom
no native told lies, and he has no doubt
| that on two or three occasions old Brah-
mans have descended into n prepared grave
or underground cell and have remained
there for 40 days at least without apparent
means of obtaining food or drink and with
no arrangement for the natural evacua-
tions.
How that feat is performed he has no
idea. 1t cannot be a mere trick, for the
whole business has been watched by Euro
peans, and it cannot be a mere case OF
heightened abstinence like the one shown
at the aquarium and in Italy, for though,
as medical records show human being
can survive without food for an astonish-
ing length of time-a convict at Ipswich
was more than 40 days dying-he cainot
survive without water. He goes mad, to
begin with. The only possible, or rather
the only probable, explanations, therefore,
are that few Brahmans know of n drug
which induces protracted catalepsy-a con
ceivable solution-or that no Brahman per
forms the feat who cannot like the Colonel
Townshend Of 100 years ago, will himself
INTO a cataleptic trance and repeat this as
often as his vitality will admit. 1t is a
very wonderful performance worth more
attention than it has received, but it is a
most infrequent one.-LOndon Spectator.