The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1897-06-24
A STORY OF HINDO0 MAGIC.

OF vessel lying at its moorings before
Calcutta. | had intended at first Il
go ont to Garden Reach while the
Shawmut was discharging and taking
her new cargo, but illness IN the fam
lily of the friend with whom it was
proposed | should stop bad interfered
and / decided at last to remain on
board.
Twas the more willing to do this,
as close beside us lay a vessel com
manded by friend OF mine, whose
wife had also deci1ed to remain on
board while in port The Fox lay
close enough for us to call to each
other from our decks, and nearly
every day we spent together. If |
could not go to the Fox, Mrs. King
would take her niece and came on
board the Shawmut. | had my baby
boy with me, and little Nera, my
friends niece, who was about 3 years
old, who would spend hours swinging
with him in his hammock, which was
swung from the spanker boom beneath
the awning, that the baby might get
what little cir was stirring during the
heat Of the day. Nera would lie there
for hours and play with baby if he was
awake, or with her doll if he slept.
Captain King came aft to where his
J wife and | were sitting, and said:
Would ron 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
70 TT -,
would like to see him According to
what he says the fellow is far beyond
anything in the way of magical per
formances that you have ever seen.
As neither of rs had ever seen any
thing of the sort, of course we were
eager to have the juggler come on
board, and the Captain returned to
the hatchway and made arrangements
with the comprador to fetch him the
next day. Mrs King and L talked of
nothing else during the rest of the
afternoon. We rubbed mp oar little
knowledge of jugglers' tricks, recall
ed the stale stories Of seeds planted
and grown into tree in few mo-
ments, OF the boy packed into bas
ket and the basket cut into ribbons.
with an accompaniment of sinothered
shrleks, and groans from the mutilat
eel child within, who afterward ap
peared in the background, safe and
sound, and all the other accounts of
the stock tricks of the Indian iugglers
of which we had often read.
We decided that this particular ma
gician would he at rather a disadvan-
tage, for he would be working on a
solid deck instead of in the sand, and
in an entirely unknown place, where
he could bv no possibility have made
previous preparations to deceive his
audience.
Next morning the Captain told me
that the juggler wonld come on board
late in the afternoon. Mrs King AS
usual. came to spend the day with
me, and we sat on deck all da,. We
felt sure that as we had been ihere on
the day when the performance was
first proposed, and all the following
day, there had been no chance for any
trick to be played beforehand, and
that, therefore, we were to have
genuine performance, whatever it
should be. There could be no chance
of deception by hollow floors or easi
ly moved sand.
Late in the afternoon, or rather
early IN the evening, we saw small
boat gliding toward Us, in which sat a
tall. slender form. clothed in the white
native robe, with arpls folded and
head bowed upon his breast Beside
him sat a slight form, whether male
or female we could not at that distan-
ce distinguish. but we supposed iG
was the boy who in all the stories we
had read was one OF the most impor-
tant properties for the magical per
formance. The boat came along side, |
and its passengers were standing in
our midst almost before the boat had
touched the foot of the ladder. think
The juggler was the finest looking
man | ever saw. He was considerably
over six feet tail, and was formed like
a Greek god. His snowy robes wrap
ped 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 be
held, but in their depths shone
light which made me shudder with
not fear-hut, we'll, | could not tell
what the feeling was, but [ know it
was decidedly unpleasant to meet his
eye for more than moment. On
comparing notes with my companions
| found that they had all felt this same
strange sensation. 1t was not fear,
but none of us could give i. name
though all experience the discomfort
in greater or less degree
As the strangers reached the deck
we saw that the figure we had seen
sitting beside the man in the boat was
that of a young girl. She was almost
as fine looking specimen of her sex
as the man was of his.
They lost no time, but proceeded
with their preparations for our amuse
nent. The man dIsdained TO speak
to MS at all, but gave his directions to
the girl, who repeated whatever it
was necessary FIR us to hear in low
melodions voice. They asked for Sc
veral things, among others tall cane
basket. at which Mrs. King and |
smiled at each other: a slender lne.
pan of ashes. and some other little ar
tlcles which | have forgotten now.
The line, which WAS handed them
was onr spare signal halliard. and af-
ter swinging it around his head mo
ment be seemed satisfied and laid it
| down beside the mat which he had
spread upon the deck. This mat was
of woven grass like thousands of 9th
ers we saw every day,
The only thing which he had
brought with him was a long, slender
sword and small crystal globe, which
seemed filled with some liquid clearer
III .n water, with a sparlls and SHIN
mer IN It's depths even when nothing
| Jared tue globe to account for the