Year: 1876

this kind. THE town lost the n0mauS
Government House gardens received
them. Let us look at the savage who
appears to make the dried skin of the
cobra live. 1t is favorite trick
YOU may see it done twenty times a
day in the streets of Madras. You
may examine the apparatus closely
every time, and watch the operation
as carefully rs you please, yet you
cannot detect the modus operandi.
The performer hands you little
fiat wicker basket, some eight inches
IN diameter, and asks you to inspect
it, while he folds the cobra skin,
which you have previously well eX


amined, into square, leaving only
the tail unfolded. So soon as you
have given the basket back the jug
gler places it on the ground, in full
view, and under the lid puts the fold
ed part of the serpent's skin, the tail
being in your sight all the while.


You may, at this stage, lift the lid
once more to see that nothing but the
.serpent's skin is in the basket, after
which you must rest content. A
white cloth is taken by the man and
placed over the basket, after having
been well shaken so that you may be
assured nothing is in it. A pipe is
produced, and with horrible noise,
similar to that always made By
snake charmers, and not unlike the
sound a cracked and badly made bag
pipe would emit, is made. No one
goes near the cloth or basket, except
the almost naked man, who cannot
hide any live snake in his sleeves, for
the simple and sufficient reason that
he has neither sleeves nor jacket,
nor, indeed, any other kind of cloth
ing than Il small waist cloth, which
would cel tainly be Il most inconven-
lent hiding place for lively young
cobra. The sheet is lifted, you look
at the basket and see the tail of Il
living snake being gradually drawn
into it, and on the lid being opened a
most distinctly energetic serpent is
discovered. No sooner is it stirred
than it rises on its tail, spreads out
its hood, and strikes with its fangs
and tongue at the charmer No one
would care to examine that basket
now, with cobra tour feet long ma
king vicious snaps at the iuggler.
The charmer takes good care that the
snake comes near you, for with Il
dextrous movement he seizes the rep
tile by the head, and holding it in
one hand comes to you with the bas-
ket in the other, while you put ru-
pee into the receptacle, if only to in
duce him to go away.


The snake gone, a stout, strong
young girl comes forward, makes a
deep Obeisance, and then stepping
back. throws a man weighing fully
eleven stone over her shoulders.
Nor does she stop here, for she seizes
her victim once more, places him
crosswise on her back, and then tosses
him into the air as though he were
made of feathers, and not broad
shouldered human being. Turning
backward on her feet, she picks NJ
straws with her eyelids; throws
and lifts weights which
would astonish the ordinary Londor
acrobat. While she is thus perform
ing, jugglers are changing pebbles
into birds, birds into eggs, eggs into
plants; men thread beads with theil
tongues, join innumerable pieces o
cotton into one long cord, keep hal
a score of knives in the air at once
throw cannon balls with their toes
and spin tops on the ends OF twigs
Pandemonium reigns, the clatter Is
unbearable, and one is compelled, a
was the Prince, to dismiss the tribe
of vagrants without further delay.