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MAGIC
59 practised deliberately in many parts of the world, and in every big city are those who either consciously or unconsciously make use of the sorcerer's art. A few moment's reflection will convince my readers that this is a true statement.
Here is a story, which I have already related elsewhere,* of a well-known sorceress in Algeria who used her power for the benefit of a French soldier dying of malaria :
I was too ill to move, and by midday I had sunk into a stupor. In the evening my companion, to quote his own words later, was "Simply waiting for me to peg out.”
Our guide, who had been busy since dawn cutting brushwood in the dunes, came back at sunset. He felt my pulse and listened to my heart. Then, without saying a word, he mounted one of the riding camels and disappeared into the dusk.
About an hour later he returned, accompanied by a very old nomad Arab and his wife.
By this time I had regained consciousness, and although too weak to move a finger, my mind was perfectly clear. I must have reached that phase of lucidity which often immediately precedes death.
The old woman, who looked queer, came into my large marquee, whilst the old man sat outside. She * Light, May 1935.
