into the head of a chicken, with
that nailed it to a table, so that it appeared dead, and was believed
to be so by all present; after that, the charlatan having taken out
the nail and played some apish tricks, the chicken came to life again
and walked about the room. The secret of all this is that these birds
have in the forepart of the head two bones, joined in such a way that
if anything is driven through with address, though it causes them
pain, yet they do not die of it. You may run large pins into a man's
leg without wounding or hurting him, or but very slightly, just like a
prick which is felt when the pin first enters; which has sometimes
served as a pastime for jokers. In my garden, which, thanks to the
care of M. Seguier, is become quite a botanic garden, I have a plant
called the _onagra_,[701] which rises to the height of a man, and
bears very beautiful flowers; but they remain closed all day, and only
open towards sunset, and that not by degrees, as with all other night
plants, but in budding all at once, and showing themselves in a moment
in all their beauty. A little before their chalice bursts open, it
swells and becomes a little inflated. Now, if any one, profiting by
the last-named peculiarity, which is but little known, wished to
persuade any simple persons that by the help of some magical words he
could, when he would, cause a beautiful flower to bloom, is it not
certain that he would find plenty of people disposed to believe him?
The common people in our days leave nothing undone to find out the
secret of making themselves invulnerable; by which they show that they
ascribe to magic more power than was granted to it by the ancients,
who believed it very capable of doing harm, but not of doing good. So,
when the greater number of the Jews attributed the miracles wrought by
the Saviour to the devil, some of the more sensible and reasonable
among them asked, "Can the devil restore sight to the blind?"[702] At
this day, there are more ways than ever of making simple and ignorant
persons believe in magic. For instance, would it be very difficult for
a man to pass himself off as a magician, if he said to those who were
present, "I can, at my will, either send the bullet in this pistol
through this board, or make it simply touch it and fall down at our
feet without piercing it?" Nevertheless, nothing is easier; it only
requires when the pistol is loaded, that instead of pressing the
wadding immediately upon t