owledge, and they can give no certainty. There is
only one subject upon which the individual can speak with authority, and
that is his own mind, but even here he is surrounded with darkness. I
believe that we shall always be ignorant of the matters which it most
behoves us to know, and therefore I cannot occupy myself with them. I
prefer to set them all aside, and, since knowledge is unattainable, to
occupy myself only with folly.'

'It is a point of view I do not sympathize with,' said Arthur.

'Yet I cannot be sure that it is all folly,' pursued the Frenchman
reflectively. He looked at Arthur with a certain ironic gravity. 'Do
you believe that I should lie to you when I promised to speak the truth?'

'Certainly not.'

'I should like to tell you of an experience that I once had in
Alexandria. So far as I can see, it can be explained by none of the
principles known to science. I ask you only to believe that I am not
consciously deceiving you.'

He spoke with a seriousness which gave authority to his words. It was
plain, even to Arthur, that he narrated the event exactly as it occurred.

'I had heard frequently of a certain shiekh who was able by means of a
magic mirror to show the inquirer persons who were absent or dead, and a
native friend of mine had often begged me to see him. I had never thought
it worth while, but at last a time came when I was greatly troubled in
my mind. My poor mother was an old woman, a widow, and I had received no
news of her for many weeks. Though I wrote repeatedly, no answer reached
me. I was very anxious and very unhappy. I thought no harm could come if
I sent for the sorcerer, and perhaps after all he had the power which
was attributed to him. My friend, who was interpreter to the French
Consulate, brought him to me one evening. He was a fine man, tall and
stout, of a fair complexion, but with a dark brown beard. He was shabbily
dressed, and, being a descendant of the Prophet, wore a green turban. In
his conversation he was affable and unaffected. I asked him what persons
could see in the magic mirror, and he said they were a boy not arrived at
puberty, a virgin, a black female slave, and a pregnant woman. In order
to make sure that there was no collusion, I despatched my servant to an
intimate friend and asked him to send me his son. While we waited, I
prepared by the magician's direction frankincense and coriander-seed,
and a chafing-dish with live charcoal. Meanwhile, he wrote fo