own tongues, and parchments upon which cabalistic diagrams were
portrayed, which no doubt had power to command the spirits and to reveal
futurity.

The Wanderer waved his hand, to invite his visitor to a seat: the humble
slave stood, with head meekly bowed down, near the door. With some
difficulty the little man, who was frightened nearly out of his small
stock of wits, explained his errand. It seems that he had fallen heir to
a property, the deed of which had been lost. He had tried every method
he could think of to discover it: he had rummaged over all the drawers
and chests in his relative's house; he had said his prayers backwards,
so that a dream might be sent him in the night; and he had been to three
fortune-tellers, but strange to say, had returned no wiser than he was
when he went. And now, this was his last hope: if the Wandering Jew, of
whom he had heard so much, could not help him, he knew that no one
could. He was asked in which way he wished to receive the desired
information: should the answer appear in flames before him, should it be
discovered by the magic books, or should the spirit of his deceased
friend signify his presence to him by a rap, and then respond to the
question? The stranger evidently preferred the last mode of operating,
and let out the fact, in the course of conversation, that his relative
had been lost at sea. The Wanderer then performed various evolutions,
burning incense, bowing to unseen visitors, who were admitted into the
room by the slave upon a rap being heard at the door, and muttering,
meanwhile, mysterious words in an unknown tongue, to which his attendant
occasionally responded. The poor little man began to quake all over: he
felt as if surrounded by charms, and spells, and wicked spirits. He
wished himself heartily out of the house: but there was no retreat
now--some ghosts it is easier to raise than to lay. When the room was
filled with fragrant smoke, and the subject of the conjuration was
completely mystified and frightened, Selim, for so the Wanderer called
his assistant, brought in a circular table, around which the three
seated themselves in profound silence; but the venerable Oriental, who
acted as the medium of communication, alone placed his hand upon it. A
rap, which caused the little man nearly to jump off his chair, announced
that the spirit was ready to be consulted. The medium asked, "Whether
the inquirer should recover his rights, and obtain a copy of the deed