Page:Algeria from Within.pdf/143

“*MEKTOUB’? wife. He struggled against the feeling, but in vain, and before he knew where he was he had left his wedding and was before the door of his late parentsin-law’s house. All this was explained, of course, by the working of the spell, and any contradiction of this was considered as the disbelief of an infidel; the facts were there, and there was nothing further to be said. I have known cases where some one has desired to spread discord in a household, and in a short space of time the discord has arisen without the mischiefmaker speaking a word to the parties concerned. I have seen men commit the greatest follies and trace them to the intention of some other person who has invoked the aid of a djinn. To my mind the explanation is hypnotism—the effect of strong will on the mind of some weaker person; perhaps auto-suggestion, but certainly mesmerism carried out secretly. This, combined with the absolute belief in fate, assures that thorough absence of any sort of free will which makes the weaving of spells easy, and it is difficult to make even the better educated Arabs scoff at its possibilities. All is predestined, and the casting of spells therefore can not be avoided. What is the good of going into the matter further? It would only lead to unnecessary controversy and a disbelief in God’s power. Mektoub!

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