THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
61 
**No!" and the eyes of the savage 
grew darker with an expression of cru- 
elty. 
"It is strange," said Houdin, almost 
sadly. 
"You are my enemy, and I will kill 
you," he replied. 
"Wait but a moment." 
Houdin then stuck an apple on the 
point of a knife, and calmly gave the 
word, as he held the fruit raised in one 
hand, " Fire! " 
The pistol was discharged, the apple 
flew far away, and there appeared in its 
place, stuck on the point of the knife, the 
bullet which the Marabout had marked. 
The spectators, though aroused to intense 
excitement of feeling, remained mute 
with stupefaction, while the Marabout 
bowed before his superior, saying : 
" God is great! I am vanquished." 
Great was the triumph of the French 
wizard. 
Houdin then called for an empty bowl, 
which he kept constantly full of boiling 
coffee, though but few of the Arabs would 
taste it, for they were sure that it was 
the evil one's coffee pot from whence it 
came. He told them that it was within 
his power to deprive them of all strength 
and to restore it to them at will, and he 
produced, in illustration, a small box, so 
light that a child could lift it with the 
fingers. 
And now came their astonishment. 
This box suddenly became so heavy 
that the strongest man could not raise it, 
and the Arabs, who prize physical strength 
above everything, looked with terror upon 
the magician, who, they doubted not, 
could annihilate them by the mere exer- 
tion of his will. 
The people expressed this belief, in 
which the wizard,' of course, confirmed 
them, and promised that, at a day ap- 
pointed, he would convert one of them 
into smoke. The day came and the 
throng was prodigious. A fanatical Mar- 
about had agreed to give himself up to 
the French sorcerer for the experiment. 
The preparations were on a grand scale. 
The Marabout was made to stand upon a 
table, and was covered with transparent 
gauze. Then Houdin and another person 
lifted the table by the ends, when the 
Arab disappeared in a profuse cloud of 
smoke. The terror of the spectators was 
indescribable. They rushed out of the 
place and ran a long distance before the 
boldest could make up their minds to 
return and look for the Marabout. They 
found him near the spot where he had so 
mysteriously disappeared, but he could 
not answer their questions ; he could tell 
them nothing at all, and only gazed wildly 
at them like one bereft of his senses. He 
was entirely ignorant of what had hap- 
pened to him. 
This was Houdin's closing exhibition in 
Arabia. The minds of the people had 
been filled with wonder, and he was ven- 
erated by all, while the pretentious Mara- 
bouts were in utter disgrace. 
Cast a Line for Yourself. 
SOME people are lazy, and do not work 
as much as others, but strive to get 
what others have. The following inci- 
dent, which occurred in an eastern State, 
between a man and a boy, is a very good 
example of the above. 
A young man stood listlessly watching 
some anglers on a bridge. He w^as poor 
and dejected. At last, approaching a 
basket filled with wholesome looking fish, 
he cried, "If, now, I had these, I would 
be happy. I could sell them at a fair 
price, and buy nice food and lodgings." 
" I will give you just as many, and just 
as good fish," said the owner, who chanced 
to overhear his words, " if you will do me 
a trifling favor.'" 
And what is that ? " asked he eagerly. 
" Only to tend this till I come back ; I 
wish to go on a short errand." 
The proposal was quickly accepted. 
The old man w^as gone so long that the 
young man began to be impatient. Mean- 
while the hungry fish snapped greedily at 
the baited hook, and the young man lost 
all depression in the excitement of pulling 
them in, and, when the owner of the line 
returned, he had caught a large number. 
Counting out from them as many as. 
were in the basket, and presenting them 
to the young man, the old fisherman said : 
"I fulfil my promise from the fish, yoii 
