She
gave me the idea of having been got up for sale, of having been
fattened and whitened by medicines or by some peculiar diet. I was
firmly determined not to see any more of her than the face. She
was perhaps disgusted at this my virtuous resolve, as well as with
my personal appearance; perhaps she saw my distaste and
disappointment; perhaps she wished to gain favour with her owner by
showing her attachment to his faith: at all events, she holloaed
out very lustily and very decidedly that "she would not be bought
by the infidel."
Whilst I remained at Cairo I thought it worth while to see
something of the magicians, because I considered that these men
were in some sort the descendants of those who contended so stoutly
against the superior power of Aaron. I therefore sent for an old
man who was held to be the chief of the magicians, and desired him
to show me the wonders of his art. The old man looked and dressed
his character exceedingly well; the vast turban, the flowing beard,
and the ample robes were all that one could wish in the way of
appearance. The first experiment (a very stale one) which he
attempted to perform for me was that of showing the forms and faces
of my absent friends, not to me, but to a boy brought in from the
streets for the purpose, and said to be chosen at random.
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