Ten Thousand Wonderful Things / Comprising whatever is marvellous and rare, curious, eccentric and extraordinary in all ages and nations

by Unknown

CURIOUS PIECE OF ANCIENT ARMOUR.

The above engraving represents a helmet, of the time of Richard II., which was termed by ancient armourers a bascinet. This extremely rare specimen was obtained from Her von Hulshoff, at his castle, near Munster, in Westphalia. The visor lifts upward on a hinge, and its position may be further regulated by the screw which slips in the groove above it. The row of holes on the lower edge of the bascinet was made to secure the camail, or tippet of chain-mail which covered the neck of the wearer.

EXTRAORDINARY ECHO.

Beneath the suspension-bridge across the Menai Strait in Wales, close to one of the main piers, is a remarkably fine echo. The sound of a blow on the pier with a hammer, is returned in succession from each of the cross beams which support the roadway, and from the opposite pier, at a distance of 576 feet; and in addition to this, the sound is many times repeated between the water and the roadway. The effect is a series of sounds, which may be thus described:—The first return is sharp and strong from the roadway overhead, the rattling which succeeds dies rapidly away; but the single repercussion from the opposite pier is very strong, and is succeeded by a faint palpitation, repeating the sound at the rate of twenty-eight times in five seconds, and which, therefore, corresponds to a distance of 180 feet, or very nearly the double interval from the roadway to the water. Thus it appears, that in the repercussion between the water and the roadway, that from the latter only affects the ear, the line drawn from the auditor to the water being too oblique for the sound to diverge sufficiently in that direction. Another peculiarity deserves especial notice,—viz., that the echo from the opposite pier is best heard when the auditor stands precisely opposite to the middle of the breadth of the pier, and strikes just on that point. As it deviates to one or the other side, the return is proportionably fainter, and is scarcely heard by him when his station is a little beyond the extreme edge of the pier, though another person stationed on the same side of the water, at an equal distance from the central point, so as to have the pier between them, hears it well.

JUGGLERS OF MODERN EGYPT.

Performers of sleight-of-hand tricks, who are called hhowa'h (in the singular, hha'wee) are numerous in Cairo. They generally perform in public places, collecting a ring of spectators around them; from some of whom they receive small voluntary contributions during and after their performances. They are most frequently seen on the occasions of public festivals; but often also at other times. By indecent jests and actions, they attract as much applause as they do by other means. The hha'wee performs a great variety of tricks, the most usual of which we will here mention. He generally has two boys to assist him. From a large leather bag, he takes out four or five snakes, of a largish size. One of these he places on the ground, and makes it erect its head and part of its body; another he puts round the head of one of the boys, like a turban, and two more over the boy's neck. He takes these off, opens the boy's mouth, apparently passes the bolt of a kind of padlock through his cheek, and locks it. Then, in appearance, he forces an iron spike into the boy's throat; the spike being really pushed up into a wooden handle. He also performs another trick of the same kind as this. Placing the boy on the ground, he puts the edge of a knife upon his nose, and knocks the blade until half its width seems to have entered. The tricks which he performs alone are more amusing. He draws a great quantity of various-coloured silk from his mouth, and winds it on his arm; puts cotton in his mouth, and blows out fire; takes out of his mouth a great number of round pieces of tin, like dollars; and, in appearance, blows an earthen pipe-bowl from his nose. In most of his tricks he occasionally blows through a large shell (called the hha'wee's zoomma'rah), producing sounds like those of a horn. Most of his sleight-of-hand performances are nearly similar to those of exhibitors of the same class in our own and other countries. Taking a silver finger-ring from one of the bystanders, he puts it in a little box, blows his shell, and says, "'Efree't change it!" He then opens the box, and shows, in it, a different ring: shuts the box again; opens it, and shows the first ring: shuts it a third time: opens it, and shows a melted lump of silver, which he declares to be the ring melted, and offers to the owner. The latter insists upon having his ring in its original state. The hha'wee then asks for five or ten fud'dahs to recast it; and having obtained this, opens the box again (after having closed it, and blown his shell), and takes out of it the perfect ring. He next takes a larger covered box; puts one of his boy's skull-caps in it, blows his shell, opens the box, and out comes a rabbit: the cap seems to be gone. He puts the rabbit in again; covers the box; uncovers it, and out run two little chickens. These he puts in again, blows his shell, uncovers the box, and shows it full of fatee'rehs (or pancakes), and koona'feh (which resembles vermicelli): he tells his boys to eat its contents; but they refuse to do it without honey. He then takes a small jug, turns it upside-down, to show that it is empty; blows his shell, and hands round the jug full of honey. The boys, having eaten, ask for water to wash their hands. The hha'wee takes the same jug, and hands it filled with water, in the same manner. He takes the box again, and asks for the cap; blows his shell, uncovers the box, and pours out from it, into the boy's lap (the lower part of his shirt held up), four or five small snakes. The boy, in apparent fright, throws them down, and demands the cap. The hha'wee puts the snakes back into the box; blows his shell, uncovers the box, and takes out the cap. Another of his common tricks is to put a number of slips of white paper into a tinned copper vessel (the tisht of a seller of sherbet), and to take them out dyed of various colours. He pours water into the same vessel; puts in a piece of linen; then gives to the spectators, to drink, the contents of the vessel, changed to sherbet of sugar. Sometimes he apparently cuts in two a muslin shawl, or burns it in the middle, and then restores it whole. Often he strips himself of all his clothes, excepting his drawers; tells two persons to bind him, hands and feet, and put him in a sack. This done, he asks for a piaster; and some one tells him that he shall have it if he will put out his hand and take it. He puts out his hand free; draws it back, and is then taken out of the sack, bound as at first. He is put in again, and comes out unbound, handing to the spectators a small tray, upon which are four or five little plates filled with various eatables; and, if the performance be at night, several small lighted candles placed round. The spectators eat the food.

ORIGIN OF ATTAR OF ROSES.

"In the Histoire Generale de l'Empire du Mogol, (T. 1, p, 327,) compiled by Catrou the Jesuit, from Manouchi's papers, this perfume is said to have been discovered by accident. Nur-Jahan, the favorite wife of the Mogul Jahan-Ghur, among her other luxuries, had a small canal of rose water. As she was a walking with the Mogul upon its banks, they perceived a thin film upon the water,—it was an essential oil made by the heat of the sun. They were delighted with its exquisite odour, and means were immediately taken for preparing by art a substance like that which had been thus fortuitously produced."