Tempo:
INTERIOR VISION. 47
his operations by writing forms of invocation, to his familiar spirits, on six slips of paper; a chaftng-dish, with some live charcoal in it, was then procured, and a boy summoned who had not yet reached the age of puberty. Mr. Lane inquired who were the persons that could see in the magic mirror, and was told that they were a boy not arrived at puberty, a Virgin, a black female slave, and a pregnant woman.
To prevent any collusion between the sorcerer and the boy, Mr. Lane sent his servant to take the first boy he met. When all was prepared, the Sorcerer threw some incense, and one of the strips of paper, into the chafing-dish. He then took hold of the boy’s right hand, and drew a Square, with some mystical marks, on the palm; in the centre of the square he formed the magic mirror, and desired the boy io look steadily into it, without raising his head. In this mirror, the boy declared that he saw, successively, a man sweeping, seven men with flags, an army pitcliing its tents, and the various officers of state attending on the Sultan.
The rest must be told by Mr. Lane himself. ‘The sorcerer now addressed himself to me, and asked me if I wished the boy to see any person who was absent or dead. I named Lord Nelson; of whom the boy had evidently never heard, for it was with much difficulty that he pronounced the name after several trials. The magician desired the poy to say to the Sultan, My master salutes thee, and desires thee to bring Lord Nelson. Bring him before my eyes, that I may see him speedily.
The boy then said so, and almost immediately added: A messenger has gone and brought back a man dressed in a black (or, rather, dark-blue) suit of European clothes. the man has lost his left arm. He then paused for a moment or two, and, looking more intently and more closely into the mirror said, No; he has not lost his left arm, but it is placed to his breast. This correction made his description more striking than it had been without it, since Lord Nelson generally had his empty sleeve attached to the breast of his coat. But it was the right arm that he had lost. Without saying that I suspected the boy had made a mistake, I asked the magician whether the objects appeared, in the mirror, as if actually before the eyes, or as if ina glass which makes the right appear left. He answered that they appeared as in a common mirror. This rendered the boy’s description faultless. Though completely puzzled, I was somewhat disappointed with his performances, for they fell short of what he had accomplished, in many instances, in presence of certain of my friends and countrymen. On one of these occasions, an Englishman present ridiculed the performance, and said that nothing would satisfy him but a correct description of the appearance of his own father; of whom he was sure no one of the company had any knowledge. The boy, accordingly, having called by name for the person alluded to, described a man, in a Frank dress, with his hand placed on his head; wearing spectacles; and with one foot on the ground and the other raised behind him, as if he were stepping down froma seat. The description was exactly true tn every re
his operations by writing forms of invocation, to his familiar spirits, on six slips of paper; a chaftng-dish, with some live charcoal in it, was then procured, and a boy summoned who had not yet reached the age of puberty. Mr. Lane inquired who were the persons that could see in the magic mirror, and was told that they were a boy not arrived at puberty, a Virgin, a black female slave, and a pregnant woman.
To prevent any collusion between the sorcerer and the boy, Mr. Lane sent his servant to take the first boy he met. When all was prepared, the Sorcerer threw some incense, and one of the strips of paper, into the chafing-dish. He then took hold of the boy’s right hand, and drew a Square, with some mystical marks, on the palm; in the centre of the square he formed the magic mirror, and desired the boy io look steadily into it, without raising his head. In this mirror, the boy declared that he saw, successively, a man sweeping, seven men with flags, an army pitcliing its tents, and the various officers of state attending on the Sultan.
The rest must be told by Mr. Lane himself. ‘The sorcerer now addressed himself to me, and asked me if I wished the boy to see any person who was absent or dead. I named Lord Nelson; of whom the boy had evidently never heard, for it was with much difficulty that he pronounced the name after several trials. The magician desired the poy to say to the Sultan, My master salutes thee, and desires thee to bring Lord Nelson. Bring him before my eyes, that I may see him speedily.
The boy then said so, and almost immediately added: A messenger has gone and brought back a man dressed in a black (or, rather, dark-blue) suit of European clothes. the man has lost his left arm. He then paused for a moment or two, and, looking more intently and more closely into the mirror said, No; he has not lost his left arm, but it is placed to his breast. This correction made his description more striking than it had been without it, since Lord Nelson generally had his empty sleeve attached to the breast of his coat. But it was the right arm that he had lost. Without saying that I suspected the boy had made a mistake, I asked the magician whether the objects appeared, in the mirror, as if actually before the eyes, or as if ina glass which makes the right appear left. He answered that they appeared as in a common mirror. This rendered the boy’s description faultless. Though completely puzzled, I was somewhat disappointed with his performances, for they fell short of what he had accomplished, in many instances, in presence of certain of my friends and countrymen. On one of these occasions, an Englishman present ridiculed the performance, and said that nothing would satisfy him but a correct description of the appearance of his own father; of whom he was sure no one of the company had any knowledge. The boy, accordingly, having called by name for the person alluded to, described a man, in a Frank dress, with his hand placed on his head; wearing spectacles; and with one foot on the ground and the other raised behind him, as if he were stepping down froma seat. The description was exactly true tn every re
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