THE ROPE TRICK
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] Sin,—I am surprised that in the interesting correspondence on this subject no one has quoted the description of the feat recorded by Ibn Batuta, the famous traveller of the fourteenth century, as witnessed by him in China. The following transla- tion is from Yule's Marco Polo : "That same night a juggler made his appearance and the Antir said to him • Come and show us some of your marvels.' Upon this he took a wooden ball with several holes in it, through which long thongs were passed, and, laying hold of one of these, slung it into the air. It went so high that we lost-sight of it altogether. Them now remained only a little of the end of a thong in the conjurer's hand, and he desired one of the boys who assisted him to mount. He did so, climbing by the thong, and we lost sight of thim. The conjurer then called to him, but getting no answer, he snatched up a knife, laid held of the thong and disappeared also ! By and by he threw down one of the boy's hands, then a foot, then the other hand and foot, then the trunk, last of all the head Then he came down himself, all puffing and panting and with his clothes all bloody, kissed the ground before the Amir, and said something in Chinese. He then took the lad's limbs, laid them together and gave a kick. when, presto ! the boy got up and stood before us. All this astonished me beyond measure, and I had an attack of palpitation like that which overcame me once before in the presence of the Sultan of India, when he showed me something of the same kind. They gave me a cordial however which cured the attack. The Kazi Afkharuddin was .next to me, and quoth he, ' Wallah I 'tiff my opinion there has been neither going up nor coming down, neither marring nor mending ; 'tie all hoeus pocus ! ' "
R. L. KENNION.
Tullecombe, Rogate, Pet ersfield.
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