Lands, classical and sacred . led for, ex-cused himself by charging the boy with lying,—animputation I have no doubt true, but which wasnot the real cause of the ill success; and by alsoaccusing the interpreter of having mistranslated hisArabic, which he spoke so rapidly that none of ourparty but the interpreter had that language suffici-ently at command to follow him in it. This, however, as we afterwards heard, was notthe magician highest in repute at Cairo. Thenext trial which I saw was more conclusive on thequestion, and led to what appears to be the realsolution of the whole mystery. Majo
Lands, classical and sacred . led for, ex-cused himself by charging the boy with lying,—animputation I have no doubt true, but which wasnot the real cause of the ill success; and by alsoaccusing the interpreter of having mistranslated hisArabic, which he spoke so rapidly that none of ourparty but the interpreter had that language suffici-ently at command to follow him in it. This, however, as we afterwards heard, was notthe magician highest in repute at Cairo. Thenext trial which I saw was more conclusive on thequestion, and led to what appears to be the realsolution of the whole mystery. Major Grote, who MAGICIANS OF CAIRO. 137 had not been present on the former occasion, andwho likewise wished, after all he had heard andread of these pretended powers, to satisfy himselfas to their truth or falsehood, Mas with me, a fewdays after, at the house of Mr. Lane. In generalconversation, the story arose of the failure whichhad taken place on the other evening. With somedifficulty we persuaded Mr. Lane (who at first was. Tlie Mas,ncian Abdel Kader. reluctant, his authority and that of his book havingbeen so much used, and beyond what was just, insupport of the general belief in these efforts ofmagic) to see, along with us, Abdel Kader the 138 MAGICIANS OP CAIRO. magician, whose performances liad formerly so muchexcited his astonishment, and that of several otherEuropeans whose unimpeachable testimony and ac-knowledged soundness of judgment had had greatinfluence in making this a subject of serious inquirywith others. We were the more anxious that should be with us on this occasion, becausewe should have in him not only a witness who,from the impression previously left on his mind,would not suffer us to draw inferences unjustly dis-favourable to the magician, but who also, from hisperfect and familiar knowledge of the Arabic lan-guage, would be an interpreter in whose honour,and in whose skill also, we might have entire trial promised much. The magician e
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