of the Old World. 127 



replied, " but the mangoe-trick puzzles me most. I 

 have a shrewd suspicion that I know how the child 

 vanished from under the basket, although I must con- 

 fess that I did not see it move ; but do you not re- 

 member that, when he struck the first blow through 

 the cloth and drew out the sword reeking with blood, 

 several women rushed frantically round with shrieks 

 and cries of horror, causing some confusion : well, I 

 imagine that at this time the child must have crept 

 from under the basket, and slipped away concealed 

 under the flowing drapery of a female accomplice. 

 I remember I fancied the outrageous grief of one old 

 Mussulmannee woman was got up for the occasion 

 to divert our attention, for I noticed that, although 

 she was wailing and beating her breasts most vehe- 

 mently, no tears fell, and she raised her hand and 

 put a piece of betel nut and a paun leaf into her 

 mouth, which action impressed me with the idea that 

 she was a confederate, and that her grief was ' all 

 my eye.' ' 



"It must have been as you say," says Jock, "if 

 Sawbone's friend * Old Hornie ' did not play a part 

 in the performance, which, in my eyes, at first bor- 

 dered on the supernatural, I must confess." 



The jugglers then withdrew, and the nautch con- 

 tinued until the grey of the morning, when our rising 

 from our seats was the signal for the sports to cease, 

 and the spectators to retire. 



