It has been said of the augurs, that they could not look at each other without a laugh; it would be the same with the Aïssaoua, if Mussulman blood did not flow in their veins. At any rate, there is not one among them who is deceived as to the pretended miracles performed by his brethren, but all lend a hand to execute them successfully, like a company of mountebanks, at the head of whom is the Mokaddem. Even supposing that their pretended miracles could not be explained, a simple reflection would destroy their prestige. The Aïssaoua call themselves invulnerable--then, let them ask one of the audience to place the red-hot iron on their cheeks, or some other part of their persons; they assert they are invulnerable--then, let them invite some Zouaves to pass their sabres through them. After such a spectacle, the most incredulous would bow before them. Were I incombustible and invulnerable, I should find a pleasure in offering undoubted proofs. I would put myself on a spit before a scorching fire, and while roasting, would amuse myself with eating a salad of pounded glass, seasoned with oil of vitriol. Such a sight would attract the whole world, and I should become a prophet. But the Aïssaoua have reason to be prudent in the performances of these tricks, as I will prove. The principal miracles are as follows: 1. Running a dagger into the cheek. 2. Eating the leaves of the prickly pear. 3. Laying the stomach on the edge of a sabre. 4. Playing with serpents. 5. Striking the arm, causing the blood to flow, and stopping it instantaneously. 6. Eating pounded glass. 7. Swallowing pebbles, bottle-heels, &c. 8. Walking on red-hot iron, or passing the tongue over a white-hot plate of iron. Let us begin with the most simple trick, that of thrusting a dagger into the cheek. The Arab who performed this trick turned his back on me; hence I could get very near him and watch his movements. He placed against his cheek the point of a dagger, which was round and blunt as that of a paper-knife. The flesh, instead of being pierced, went in for about two inches between the molars, which were kept apart, exactly as a cake of india-rubber would do. This trick is best performed by thin and aged persons, because the flesh of their cheeks is peculiarly elastic. Now, the Aïssaoua fulfilled these conditions in every respect. The Arab who ate the prickly pear leaves gave us no opportunity of inspecting them, and I am inclined to believe that the leaves had been prepared so as to do him no injury, otherwise he would not have neglected this important point, which would have doubled the merit of the miracle. But even had he shown them to us, this man went through so many unneccessary manœuvres, that he could very easily have changed them for harmless leaves. In that case, it would be a fifteenth-rate trick of conjuring.