The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1898-11-09

81 don't know that have ever met
q full-blosomed yogi in all my years in
India. One has to come to America
to find out the wonders and mysteries
of theosophy. But l have seen per-
formances of Indian fakirs quite as in
explicable as anything have heard
of the Mahatmas. There was one in
particular in which was concerned
a matter of some 30 years ago. 1t had
a tragedy in it and some things which
neither yon nor I can explain. You
understand, no doubt, what an Indian
fakir is.-a man of the Brahminical
faith who devotes his life to commun-
ion with the Hindoo gods. Through
prayer and contemplation and the
leading of an ascetic life the fakirs at
tain powers that seem miraculous to
the Western mind.
"The fakir that I am to tell you
about came one afternoon to Archie
Redvon's bungalow, near Charpore.
where / had been staying for q few
days during round of inspection. He
was an old, brown-skinned man, with
long, intellectual face and hair and
beard snowy white. A waist cloth,
turban and sandals were all he wore,
and the rest of his visible belongings
consisted of prayer mat, hubble
bubble, or native water pipe, and an
earthen bowl from which he ate his
food. He spread his mat in the mid
die of the compound, seated himself
cross-leged upon it and began to take
tinsel balls from somewhere-from the
mat, it seemed, although none could
be seen upon it-and to throw them
one by one up into the air. Each one.
as he threw it, went sailing up, up,
until it was ont of sight, and none of
them came down. Then he did the
boy and ladder and the mango tree
trick in a manner that showed that he
was fakir of no common order.
"Then he took hollow reed, fash
ioned it into sort of pipe and went
round in the compound and on the
outside of the bungalow, playing a
| weird tune. Presently cobra poked
its head out from hole in the wall its
body followed, and the serpent came
to the ground and glided along after
the fakir. Soon another cobra crawled
out of the grass and followed the
sound of the pipe. When the fakir
stayed his steps the snakes stopped,
and as he played on the reed they
reared their hooded heads from the
ground, and their bodies swayed to
aud fro as if they were keeping time
with his piping. He called for bas-
ket. A house servant brought him
one, and the fakir, with his bare
hands, took the snakes each by the
neck and body, placed them in the
basket, pressed their heads down and
tied cloth above them.
"This ended his performance. Red
Won gave him a rupee, and | handed
him five, for 1 had never seen any
thing to compare with what he had
done. He gravely tooh ,-e coins, after
the manner of the Brahmins, without
a thank or salaam. But as he dropped
them somewhere in his waist cloth his
eye fell on my servant Nagho, standing
at my shoulder, and he looked at him
with strange intentness, then turned
to me with gaze as searching. Have
You ever CHANGED to notice Hindoo's 8
eye-so sombre black, so keen to see
and comprehend and revealing no
more than pool of ink might the
thought behind it. But I noted in
the fakir's eye what seemed to me to
be fash of perception, of discovery,
as his look rested on Nagho and then
on me. 1t was the episode of a mo-
ment. He said nothing, but picked
up his mat and pipe, put the basket
and snakes on his shoulder and went
his way, taking the direction of Char
pore, three miles away.
"On the next day 1 had to go to
Baghra to meet the deputy collector
there. To save distance I decided to
travel in palanquin over bullock
trail too rough for carriage, instead
of going twice as far round by the
highway. made my start in the
middle of the afternoon, expecting to
arrive in Baghra in the early evening.
In my travelling satchel were notes
and coin to the value of IL, 900 rupees,
which l was taking to the deputy col
lector. At the last hour Redvon
showed some anxiety about my taking
the route had chosen.
"'Once your start is made, don'i
waste any time in getting through to
Baghra, he said. Beyond Charpore
the road is through jungle all the way.
There's chance of dacoits--and then
il your palanquin bearers should run
upon them or get tiger scare, they
would think nothing of setting dowr
the palanquin and leaving you in the
jungle. OF course, you have your re-
volver by you in working order?'
II had cleaned and oiled and re
loaded my revolver that morning ant
told Redvon so. But he had still
another caution to give me. He looked
at Nagho, who was filling water YES
sci from o chatty at the further end O
the verands.
F" That servant OF yours--have yo,
had him long?' he asked. MY stew
ard tells me that be is ; hill man b.