ritualists and Theosophists are accustomed to
call levitation. It is only a matter of reversing the force of gravity."

"Is that all?" laughed Brenda, as she turned away. "You talk of it as
though it were a matter of turning a paper bag inside out."

"The one is as easy as the other," he smiled. "It is only a question of
knowing how to do it."

She walked back to her chair very much mystified, and, for the first
time in her so far triumphal journey through the interlude between the
eternities which we call life, a trifle humiliated: but that fact, of
course, she kept to herself. As she dropped back in her chair, she said
to Lord Leighton:

"That was pretty wonderful, wasn't it? I'm quite certain that there's no
trickery about it. What he did, he really did do."

"I don't pretend to be able to explain it," he replied, "but for all
that I've seen very much the same sort of thing done by the fakirs in
India, and I think it's generally admitted that that is either a matter
of trickery or hypnotism. They make you believe you see what you really
don't see at all."

"That's about it," said Merrill, with a short laugh, "Of course no one
who knows anything about the East will deny that hypnotism is a fact,
although I must say that these same fakirs have tried it with me more
than once and found me a quite hopeless subject."

Even as though he had heard him, Phadrig came towards them at the
moment, and said in his polite, impersonal tone:

"Commander Merrill, I am going to try one or two experiments now which I
should like to have very closely watched. I know that there is no keener
observer in the world than the skilled British naval officer. May I ask
for your assistance?"

There was something in his tone which made it quite impossible to
refuse, so he replied:

"You have shown us a good many wonders already, Mr Phadrig, and unless
you've hypnotised the whole of us, I haven't a notion how you have done
it; but if I can find you out I will."

"That is exactly what I wish, sir," said Phadrig, as he bowed to the
ladies and went back to the centre of the circle. Merrill followed him,
and, with the three Professors, formed a square about him.

Phadrig, turning slowly round so that his voice might reach all his
audience, said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have all heard of or seen the strange
performances of the Indian fakirs: the growing of the mango plant, the
so-called basket trick, and the throwing into the air of