214 PROFESSOR OWEN ch. vn. 



charmer at the entry to the alleged infested apart- 

 ment. 



1 I noted that he never " charmed " save when 

 he came upon a room to which there was no other 

 entry than a doorway from the apartment we 

 happened to be in. 



' To my strongly-urged desire to first enter 

 such cul-de-sac, in order to see the issue of the 

 mesmerised serpent from its lurking-place, I was 

 told that the charmer objected, on account of the 

 evil influence of the presence of an "uncom- 

 plimentarily-specified individual " upon the opera- 

 tion of the magic process. 



1 It reminded me of the objections of our own 

 spiritualists to the presence of a sceptic, and to 

 too much light in the room. 



1 I thereupon watched the sheik the more 

 closely, and distinctly detected a slight but rapid 

 and energetic quivering movement of the left arm 

 and sleeve, immediately preceding his announce- 

 ment of the success of his incantation. The poor 

 snake, which had been jerked out, lay, like the 

 first, in a half-coiled, sluggish state on the floor. 



1 I charged the impostor with the fact, and 

 was happily unacquainted with the meaning of 

 the loud and voluble remonstrances of the dervish 

 and his gathering of dusky believers, to which my 

 friendly conductor put a stop by threatening to 

 thrash the saint. 



' I returned to the hotel with the conviction 



