At All Events, She Holloaed
Out Very Lustily And Very Decidedly That "She Would Not Be Bought
By The Infidel."
Whilst I remained at Cairo I thought it worth while to see
something of the magicians, because I considered that these men
were in some sort the descendants of those who contended so stoutly
against the superior power of Aaron.
I therefore sent for an old
man who was held to be the chief of the magicians, and desired him
to show me the wonders of his art. The old man looked and dressed
his character exceedingly well; the vast turban, the flowing beard,
and the ample robes were all that one could wish in the way of
appearance. The first experiment (a very stale one) which he
attempted to perform for me was that of showing the forms and faces
of my absent friends, not to me, but to a boy brought in from the
streets for the purpose, and said to be chosen at random. A
mangale (pan of burning charcoal) was brought into my room, and the
magician bending over it, sprinkled upon the fire some substances
which must have consisted partly of spices or sweetly burning
woods, for immediately a fragrant smoke arose that curled around
the bending form of the wizard, the while that he pronounced his
first incantations. When these were over the boy was made to sit
down, and a common green shade was bound over his brow; then the
wizard took ink, and still continuing his incantations, wrote
certain mysterious figures upon the boy's palm, and directed him to
rivet his attention to these marks without looking aside for an
instant.
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