Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1858-01-21

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Every one has seen or heard of the great
Robert Houdin. Besides being the prince
of conjurors, he is an able mathematician,
and his electric clock, made for the Hotel
de Vile of his native town of Blois, obtain
ed medal at the Paris Exhibition. it is
not generally known that he was sent to
Aleria by the French Government, on a
mission connected with the black art
probably the first time that conjuror has
been called upon to exercise his rpofession
in Government employ.
Some details of his expedition have just
been published. Its object was to destroy
the influence exercised among the Arab
tribes by the Marabouts, an influence often
mischievously applied. By few clumsy
tricks and impostures, these Marabouts
pass themselves off as sorcerers; no one it
is justly thought, was better able to eclipse
their skill and discredit their science than
the man of the inexhaustible bottles. One
of the great pretentions Of the Marabout
was to invulnerability. At the moment
that loaded musket was fired at him, and
trigger pulled, he pronounced few caba-
listic words, and the weapon did not 60
of. Houdin detected the trick, and show
ed that the touchhole was plugged. The
Arab wizard was furious, and abused his
French rival.
"You may revenge yourself" quietly re-
piled Houdin; stake pistol, load it your
self; here are the bullets, put one in the
barrel, but before doing so mark it with
your knife"
The Arab did as he was told.
"You are quite certain now," said Hou-
din, ''that the pistol was loaded and will
90 off. Tell me, do you feel no remorse
in killing me thus, Notwithstanding that
l authorized you?"
"You are my enemy" coldly replied the
Arab; 81 will kill you."
Without replying Houdin stuck an apple
on the point Of a knife, and calmly gave
the word fire. The pistol was discharged,
the apple flew far away, and there appeared
in its place, stuck on the point of the knife,
the bullet the Marabout had marked. The
spectators remained mute from stupefac-
ton; the Marabout bowed before his su-
perior.
aAllen is great" he said: 81 am van
quished."
Instead ofthe bottle from which, in Eu-
rope Robert Houdin pours an endless
stream of every description of wine and
liquor, he called for an empty bowl which
he kept continually full of boiling coffee;
but few of the Arabs would taste, for they
made sure that it came direct from the
Devils own coffee-pot. He then told that
it was in his power to deprive them of all
their strength, and TO restore it at will, and
produced small box, so light that a child
could lift it with his finger; but it sudden
ly became so heavy that the strongest
man present could not raise it, and the
Arabs, who prize physical strength above
everything, looked with terror at the great
magician, who they doubted not, could
annihilate them by mere exertion of his
will. They expressed this belief; Hou-
din confirmed them in it, and promised
that, on day appointed, he would convert
one of them into smoke.
The day came, the throng was prodigi-
GUS; fanatical Marabout had agreed to
give himself up to the sorcerer. They
made him stand on table and covered
him with transparent gauze; then Hou-
din and another person lifted the table by
the two ends, and the Arb disappeared in
cloud of smoke. The terror of the spec
tators was indiscribable; they rushed out
of the place, and ran a long distance be-
fore some of the boldest thought of return
ing to look after the Marabout. They
found him near the place where he had
evaporated; but he could tell them moth
ing, and like drunken man, ignorant Of
what had happened to him.
Thenceforth Houdin was venerated, the
Marabout were despised. The object of
the French Government was completely
attained. The fashion of "testimonials"
having, it appears, infected even the Arabs,
number of chiefs presented the great
French conjuror with piece of Arab writ
ing, wonderfully decorated, hyperbolical,
and enlogistic, and to which they were so
attentive as TO append a French transla-
ton. Besides this memorial of his Alerine
trip, Houdin had a rosary which he one
day borrowed from an Arab to perform a
trick with, and which the owner, persuad-
ed the Sheitan in person was before him,
refused to receive back.