It ended in Mivart’s writing to Sinfi’s father, and Panuel Lovell turned up the next evening in a great state of alarm as to what he was wanted for.  Panuel’s opposition to the scheme was so strong that I refused to urge the point.

It was a very touching scene between him and Sinfi.

‘You know what your mammy told you about you and the Gorgios,’ said he, with tears trickling down his cheeks.  ’You know the dukkeripen said as you wur to beware o’ Gorgios, because a Gorgio would come to the Kaulo Camloes as would break your heart.’

She looked at her father for a second, and then she broke into a passion of tears, and threw herself upon the old man’s neck, and I thought I heard her murmur, ‘It’s broke a’ready, daddy.’  But I really am not quite sure that she did not say the opposite of this.

I had no idea before how strong the family ties are between the Gypsies.  It seems to me that they are stronger than with us, and I was really astonished that Sinfi could, in order to be of service to two people of another race, resist the old Gypsy’s appeal.  She did, however, and it was decided that at the next seizure the experiment should be made, and Dr. Mivart telegraphed to London for his assistant to bring one of Marini’s magnets.

We had not long to wait, for the very next day, just as Mivart was preparing to leave for London, Miss Wynne was seized by another paroxysm.  It was more severe than any previous one—­so severe, indeed, that it seemed to me that it must be the last.

It was with great reluctance that Mivart consented to use Sinfi as the recipient of the seizure, because of her belief that it was the result of a curse.  However, he at last consented, and ordered two couches to be placed side by side with a large magnet between them.  Then Miss Wynne was laid on one couch, and Sinfi Lovell on the other; a screen was placed between the couches, and then the wonderful effect of the magnetism began to show itself.

The transmission was entirely successful, and Miss Wynne awoke as from a trance, and I saw as it were the beautiful eyes change as the soul returned to them.  She was no longer the fascinating child who had become part of my life.  She was another person, a stranger whose acquaintance I had now to make, and whose friendship I had yet to win.  Indeed the change in the expression was so great that it was really difficult to believe that the features were the same.  This was owing to the wonderful change in the eyes.

To Sinfi Lovell the seizure was transmitted in a way that was positively uncanny—­she passed into a paroxysm so severe that Mivart was seriously alarmed for her.  Her face assumed the same expression of terror which I had seen on Miss Wynne’s face, and she uttered the cry, ‘Father!’ and then fell back into a state of rigidity.

‘The transmission was just in time,’ said Mivart; ’the other patient would never have survived this.’