large oval mirror, formed really of an ordinary square looking-glass, hinged to the back of the box, but much larger than the opening. The wizard was mounted on a pivot, and was moved by a magnet working underneath in a circle. On an inquiry being made for a certain subject, he consulted his circle, and then the object was seen in the mirror. Spectres, supposed incidents in one's life, all made their appearance; now it was a ship in distress; now an emigrant's cabin by moonlight; indeed, to every question, "where shall I be next year or this day six years?" all met with a response by the wizard and the wonderful picture in the mirror. The most astonishing part of the whole was that the cave was dark. On each side there were dark curtains, yet the mirror was alone brilliant. Now it reflected the central face which asked the question, and anon it changed with the answering scene. No one was allowed to touch or interfere with the apparatus, or go, indeed, too close to it. A mystical light came into the cave after each question.

The cave itself was formed of pasteboard, painted to resemble rocks, and then powdered with frosts, obtained at the oil and colour shops, at the top. There were a few small openings in which differently-coloured glass was inserted, and on one of the covers being removed, and the light applied, it cast a varied hue over the whole. The illusion was managed thus after the question was asked, the cave was darkened, and a thin screen of bluish green muslin was placed between the mirror and the cave. The mirror then swung back to an angle of 45 degrees, and the image was cast on the mirror by a small magic lantern. The muslin screen was then removed, and the picture appeared as if it fronted the spectator.

This illusion is best seen in a room with a temporary partition across, in the centre of which a large picture-frame is placed, behind which the mirror acts. The magician may be a live boy in this case, whilst another lad produces the scenes behind the partition. It may be varied ad infinitum, and is the source of much fun and amusement.

When Tom had completed all his exhibitions, we agreed that really he deserved the name of Philosopher Tom, and that if he could not "call spirits from the vasty deep," he could at all events produce "spectres light as air."

THE PIRATES OF THE PERSIAN

GULF

An Incident founded on Fuct.

BY LIEUTENANT C. R. LOW, (late) I.N.

Tall periods of the world's history pirates have exercised their nefarious calling and desolated the coasts of every maritime country; but instances in which an entire nation or tribe have lived openly by plunder are, happily, excep tional.

Pirates are usually the outcasts of society afloat--men who, having violated human laws, and forfeited their lives, plunge recklessly into the excitement of murder and robbery on the high seas. In "the good old times" we know the Barbary states existed chiefly by rapine, and the buccaneers on the Spanish Main might almost be dignified by the appellation of a nationality.

In the Persian Gulf, within comparatively recent date-that is, in the early years of the present century,-there existed a powerful tribe of Arabs called the "Jowassamee," whose ostensible and openly-avowed calling was piracy. They existed chiefly on the fruits of their marine depredations, and when these were not satisfactory-when they had a bad season, in short-they turned their hands to the more honest occupation of pearl-diving and fishing.

There were other tribes having the same predilections,—namely, the Menassir, Beni Yass, and Mahama; but the Jowassamee were the most dreaded by all peaceful traders, both on account of their numerical strength and their warlike capabilities. They numbered nearly 20,000

warriors, and possessed upwards of 1,500 vessels, some of them of 400 tons. The coast on which this tribe flourished is still called the "Pirate Coast," and extends from the town of Ser, near Cape Mussendom, to the Bay of Bahrein, a distance of some 350 miles. The capital of the Jowassamee was the town of Ras-ul-Khaimah, or Cape Tent. When they were in the plenitude of their power, early in the present century, they not only swept the narrow waters of the Persian Gulf with their “buglahs," but dared at length to measure their strength against the men-of-war of the Hon. East India Company.

I served some years on board a sloop-of-war with which, in those early days, they attempted to play some tricks; but they caught a Tartar when they thought to capture the Elphinstone, as you will agree with me when you have listened to my tale, which, I may mention, I have heard related while serving on board the old craft.

The Elphinstone then, you must know, was an 18-gun, teak-built sloop-of-war. She would be thought nothing of nowadays,-would, in all probability, be scoffed at as an "old tub" by the modern race of seamen; but when she was built, some fifty years ago, she was considered one of the handsomest ships in the service, and one of the fleetest too; and when I was on board her, many years after the time of which I am writing, she was still as stanch as the day she was launched; and as for being a good sea-boat, I never knew a better. Perhaps, as an old inhabitant of her wooden walls, in which I have passed so many happy days, my opinion may be rather too flattering; for sailors, as all the world knows, are somewhat like lovers as regards their ships. She is peerless in their eyes; like the beauty of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, they think

"Age cannot wither, nor custom stale,
Her infinite variety."

Well, she was sent up the Persian Gulf to lend a hand in putting down piracy. Captain N commanded her, an officer of the old school; a first-rate seaman, never a better; stern, yet jovial and jolly off duty; a good friend to the smart seaman or midshipman desirous of learning his duty, but the very deuce to a skulking foremast hand or youngster coming under the definition of C. H. B. (Company's hard bargain). He was much respected on board the Elphinstone, owing to the reputation he had acquired for courage and dash, and was very popular in the service, for he always gave his crew plenty of leave in port, and was above all acts of petty tyranny, which, be it known to commanding

officers, does more to militate against the popularity of the naval service among men-o'-war's men than the fear of the cat, which has no terrors for the good seaman.

It is not the new-fangled system of placing seamen in the first and second class that will attract sailors to the navy, for it has been proved to be inefficacious. No; let our authorities rather try whether greater facilities for leave and a less exacting régime when off duty on board ship might not be advisable; and who knows but that a return to the old practice of serving out two "tots" of grog a day on board Her Majesty's ships might not work wonders? I have heard some of the best seamen I ever sailed with say that this limitation to one glass per diem has done more harm to the service, in the way of getting the best men, than anything else. It would be a good thing for Jack if he could do without grog altogether; but then he will not, and we must take the honest fellow as we find him, and strive, moreover, not to let the breed die out by driving him to other countries. But, to return. The Elphinstone soon arrived on her cruising-ground in the Persian Gulf. As she had shipped a number of fresh hands at Bombay, to complete her complement, there was a great deal of drilling going on on board, especially with the great guns and small arms. The order of the day was cutlass or musket exercise before dinner, and gun-drill between one and four o'clock. The men were hard at it all day and every day, until they were as smart with Brown Bess as soldiers, and could knock the thirty-twos about in the style characteristic of British sailors. Then, at night-time, in the middle watch most probably, the drums would beat to quarters, and all hands had to "turn out" and lash up their hammocks; next, "tumble up" and stow them; and then cast adrift and load the guns. The order would then be, "fire three rounds, quick firing." This done, the old skipper, if he was satisfied, would give directions to " secure guns" and "beat off."

They knocked about the entrance to the Persian Gulf for some time, but saw nothing in the shape of pirates; one or two trading vessels, ship or barque rigged, and a good many native craft passed up or down, but these were unmolested; and on our hailing a large barque, and asking hether she had sighted any suspicious "buglahs," her skipper answered in the negative. So Captain N— decided upon steering for Bushire, to give the ship's company fresh provisions, for it was some two months since the Elphinstone left Bombay, and, in those days, lime-juice was not distributed among seamen as in our time.

On his arrival at Bushire, Captain N communicated with the

political resident, and learnt from him that the pirates were as audacious in their attacks as ever, and he expressed his surprise that the gallant officer had not encountered some of them; for he (the consul) said he understood, from reliable private information, that there was a plan in contemplation to capture the Elphinstone, as the pirate chiefs, emboldened by recent successes, would not rest satisfied until they remained undisputed masters of the inland sea in which they carried on their depredations.

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After a short stay at Bushire, during which the Elphinstone took the opportunity of filling up with wood and water for a long cruise, she sailed down the Gulf, keeping a sharp look-out for anything suspicious. At length the sloop arrived off Muscat, and for a day or two "stood off and on" the coast in the vicinity of that port. On the evening of the second day a small craft was sighted coming down under all sail; she bore up for us, and we soon made her out to be a "buglah." The distance between the two wanderers on the "trackless way" was quickly reduced, and presently she lowered her huge mainsail and hoisted out her solitary dingy," which these traders always carry stowed inboard amidships. Two men only put off in her; one was pulling a pair of sculls, the other steered with his hand over the stern, for the rudder was tillerless. As he came alongside the officers remarked that he appeared by his dress to be a man of more consideration than we would have expected to find in so humble a trading vessel, unless, indeed, he was a passenger in her. As soon as he gained the deck of the Elphinstone he asked for the "Captain sahib." The captain sahib soon made his appearance and ordered one of the midshipmen standing by to direct the interpreter to attend. Hearing what was said in English the native stopped the messenger, informing the captain in the same tongue that it was unnecessary, as he had been in Bombay among English people and knew the language well. This was a little singular, and, as events turned out, was the indirect cause of his ruin, for had he not been able to speak English he would have been brought face to face with the interpreter and in him would have recognized an individual who knew something of his previous history. As a devout Mohammedan he would say, "It was his nusseeb."

The native interpreter was below in the lower deck at the time, and as he was ascending the ladder a few minutes subsequent to the arrival of the Arab, he suddenly caught sight of the man's face. His step was arrested on the topmost round of the "companion," for well he remembered the lineaments of that countenance. It brought to his