'Personal Narrative of a pilgrimmage to Al-Madinah and Meccah. Vol. I' [‎58] (113/564)

58 Pilgrimage to Al-Madina
may deal in charms and spells,—things to which the lati
tude gives such force that even Europeans learn to put
faith in them. The traveller who, on the banks of the
Seine, scoffs at Sights and Sounds, Table-turning and
Spirit-rapping, sees in the wilds of Tartary and Thibet a
something supernatural and diabolical in the bungling
Sie-fa of the Bokte. 1 Some sensible men, who pass for
philosophers among their friends, have been caught by
the incantations of the turbanded and bearded Cairo magi
cian. In our West African colonies the phrase "growing
black" was applied to colonists, who, after a term of
residence, became thoroughly imbued with the supersti
tions of the land. And there are not wanting old Anglo-
Indians, intelligent men, that place firm trust in tales and
tenets too puerile even for the Hindus to believe. As a
" Hindi" I could use animal magnetism, taking care,
however, to give the science a specious supernatural ap
pearance. Haji Wali, who, professing positive scepticism,
showed the greatest interest in the subject as a curiosity,
advised me not to practise pure mesmerism; otherwise,
that I should infallibly become a " Companion of Devils."
"You must call this an Indian secret," said my friend,
" for it is clear that you are no Mashaikh, 2 and people will
ask, where are your drugs, and what business have you
with charms ?" It is useless to say that I followed his
counsel; yet patients would consider themselves my
1 Certain Lamas who, we learn from M. Hue, perform famous
Sie-fa, or supernaturalisms, such as cutting open the abdomen, licking
red-hot irons, making incisions in various parts of the body, which
an instant afterwards leave no trace behind, &c., See. The devil may
have a great deal to do with the matter " inXartary, for all I knowj
but I can assure M. Hue, that the Rufa'i Darwayshes in India and the
Sa'adiyah at Cairo perform exactly the same feats. Their jugglery,
seen through the smoke of incense, and amidst the enthusiasm of a
crowd, is tolerably dexterous, and no more.
2 A holy man. The word has a singular signification in a plural
form, " honoris causa."