The Placer herald., 1858-01-09
The Necromancer in Algeria.

1'oi oHe Hfts seen OF nearu speak OF the
great Robert Houdin. Besides being the
prince of conjurors, he is an able mathema-
tlclan and mechanician, and his electric clock,
made for the Hotel de Vile of his native
town of Blois, Obtained medal at the Paris
exhibition. 1t is not generally known that
he was sent to Alg lgeria by the French Gov
ernment on mission connected with the
black art-probably the first time that a CON
juror has been called upon to exercise his
profession in government employ. Some
details of his expedition have Just been pub
lished. Its object was to destroy the influ-
ence exercised among the Arab tribes bv the
marabouts-an influence often mschievouslv
applied. By few clumsy tricks and i'm
postures these marabouts pass themselves
Oft as sorcerers; no one, it was Justly thought
was better able to eclipse their skill and dis
credit their science than the man of mex
haustble bottles
One of the great pretensons of the mara
bouts was to invulnerability. At the mo-
ment that loaded musket was fired at him,
and the trigger pulled, he pronounced few
cabalistic words and the weapon did not 90
of, Houdin detected the trick, and showed
wizard was furious and abused his French
rival.
"You may revenge yourself" quietly re-
piled Houdln; 'take a pistol, load it yourself;
here are 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 Houdin,
"that the pistol is loaded and will 90 off.
Tell me, do you feel no remorse in killing
me thus, Notwithstanding that | authorise
you?"
you are my enemy" coolly replied the
Arab; 81 will Kill YOU"
Without replying Houdin stuck an apple
on the point Of knife, and calmly gave the
word to fire. The pistol was discharged, the
apple flew away, and there appeared in its
place, stuck on the point of the knife, the
bullet the marabout had marked. The spec
tators remained mute from stupefaction; and
the marabout bowed before his SUPERIOR
"Allah is great" he said, 81 am vanquish-
ed"
Instead of the bottle from which, in Eu-
rope, Robert Iloudin, pours an endless stream
of every kind of wine and liquor, he called
for an empty bowl, which he kept continu-
ally full of boiling coffee, but few of the
Arabs would taste it, for they made sure that
1t came direct from the devils own coffee
pot.
lie then told them that it was in his power
to deprive them of all strength and to re-
store it to them at will; aid he produced
small box, so light that a child could lift it
with his finger; but it suddenly become so
heavy that the strongest man present could
not raise it; and the Arabs who prize physi-
cal strength above everything, looked with
terror at the great magician who, they doubt
ed not, could annihiIate them by the mere
exertion Of his will. They expressed this
belief; 1oudin confirmed them in it, and
promised that, on a day appointed, he would
convert one Of them into smoke. The day
came; the throng was prodigious; fanatical
marabout had agreed to give himself up to
the sorcerer. They made him stand upon a
table, and covered him with transparent
gauze; then Houdin and another person lifted
the table by the two ends, and the Arab dis
appeared in cloud of smoke. The terror
of the spectators was indescribable; they
rushed out of the place and ran long dis
tance before some of the boldest thought Of
returning to look after the marabout. They
found him near the place where he had been
evaporated, but could tell them nothing, and
was like drunken man, ignorant of what
had happened to him. Thenceforth Houdin
was venerated, and the marabouts despised;
the object Of the French Government was
completely attained.
The fashion of testimonials" having, it
appears, infected even the Arabs, a number
Of chiefs presented the French conjuror with
a piece Of Arab writing, wonderfully decorat-
ed, hyperboical and eulogistic, and to which
they were so attentive as to append French
translation Besides this memorial of his
Agerineship, Houdin has rosary which he
one day borrowed from an Arab to perform
a trick with, and which the owner persuad
ed that Sheitan in person was before him,
refused to receive back.
London Times Paris Correspondent.