account of the magician by Mr. Lane, we have a fair and dispassionate recital of certain magical, mystical, or mesmeric phenomena, which “excited considerable curiosity and interest th[r]oughout the civilised world.”  As usual in such matters, the civilised world was wholly ignorant of what was going on at home; otherwise, in London, Paris, and New York, they might have found dozens studying the science.  But a few years before, Dr. Herklots had described the same practice in India, filling three goodly pages; but he called his work “Qanoon-i-Islam,” and, consequently, despite its excellencies, it fell still-born from the press.  Lady H. Stanhope frequently declared “the spell by which the face of an absent person is thrown upon a mirror to be within the reach of the humblest and most contemptible of magicians;” but the civilised world did not care to believe a prophetess.  All, however, were aroused by Mr. Lane’s discovery, and determined to decide the question by the ordeal of reason.  Accordingly, in A.D. 1844, Mr. Lane, aided by Lord Nugent and others, discovered that a “coarse and stupid fraud” had been perpetrated upon him by Osman Effendi, the Scotchman.  In 1845, Sir G. Wilkinson remarked of this rationalism, “The explanation lately offered, that Osman Effendi was in collusion with the magician, is neither fair on him nor satisfactory, as he was not present when those cases occurred which were made so much of in Europe,” and he proposed “leading questions and accidents” as the word of the riddle.  Eothen attributed the whole affair to “shots,” as schoolboys call them, and ranked success under the head of Paley’s “tentative miracles.”  A writer in the Quarterly explained them by suggesting the probability of divers (impossible) optical combinations, and, lest the part of belief should have been left unrepresented, Miss Martineau was enabled to see clear signs of mesmeric action, and by the decisive experiment of self, discovered the magic to be an “affair of mesmerism.”  Melancholy to relate, after all this philosophy, the herd of travellers at Cairo is still divided in opinion about the magician, some holding his performance to be “all humbug,” others darkly hinting that “there may be something in it.” [FN#19] They distinguish, however, between the Hijaz “Nasur” and the “Jurh al-Yamani,” or the “Yaman Ulcer.” [FN#20] I afterwards received the following information from Mr. Charles Cole, H.B.M.  Vice-Consul at Jeddah, a gentleman well acquainted with Western Arabia, and having access to official information:  “The population of Al-Madinah is from 16,000 to 18,000, and the Nizam troops in garrison 400.  Meccah contains about 45,000 inhabitants, Yambu’ from 6000 to 7000, Jeddah about 2500 (this I think is too low), and Taif 8000.  Most of the troops are stationed at Meccah and at Jeddah.  In Al-Hijaz there is a total force of five battalions, each of which ought to contain 800 men; they may amount to 3500, with 500 artillery, and 4500 irregulars, though the muster rolls bear