The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-05-09
ALesson In Wonders.

Under the title of "Conhdences OF Jug
glar," Robert Houdin, the famous Magician,
has Just published two lively volumes, in
Paris, from which we translate the subjoin-
ed interesting narratives.
The French Government, desiring to put
an end to the influence Of the Arab Priests
over the ignorant and credulous masses Of
Algeria, sent Robert Houdin first to aston
ish them, and then to convince them that
these prodigies were nothing supernatural.
His success was complete. Tie saw the
marahout magicians, and studied and re-
peated their performances, OF which he gives
an account in the chapter we translate:
The augurS, it is said, could not look one
another in the face without laughing 1t
! would Le so with the Aissaouas, did not
Mussulman blood run in their veins. How
ever, there is not one OF them deceived as
10 the nature of the pretended miracles
which his brethren perform; but they oil
aid each other in their wonders like troupe
Of iugglars with the mokd9en for the i'm
presario.
As in most other shows, they have a di-
vision of labor; each performs his special
feats, and can do no others, and miracles OF
some first rate actors are much less than
those Of second or third rate performers.
Even if ] could not explain their pretend
ell prodigies, moments thought would
destroy tho prestige OF them. The Aissa-
ouas say that they are incombustible then
LET them ask any of the bystanders to press
a red hot iron OH their cheeks They pre-
tend that they are invulnerable; let them
invite Zouaye to run them through with
his sabre. After such a proof as that the
most ircredulous would kneel before them.
Yes; ii we're incOmbuslibie aud invnl-
uerablc, how happy should be to give an
irrefIagiLle proof of it. would have my
self apilttd, aud roasting before the lUttest
fire, and; while | was roasting, / would
! spend my leisure in eating ground glass
salad, seasoned with oil.-of yitrol. That
would be a sight 20 which everybody would
run, and il would bc enough to convert
everybody 20 my religion.
But the AiSSaouas have their reasons for
prudence in tho performance of their feats,
as will soon show Their principal mira
cles are tbs following
l. Sticking n poignard in their cheeks.
,. Eating leaves of the Barbary Fix tree.
3. Laying down on their bellies on the
edge Of sabre.
T. Playing with serpents-
). Stabbing their arms making the
blood spirit CUT, and curing the wound in
stantly.
o. Eating pounded glass.
T. Swallowing flints and bits Of bottles
8. Walking on red hot iron, and licking
with their tongues piece of iron heated to
whiteneSs.
Let us begin with the simplest feat stick
ing poignard into the cheek
The Arab who performed this turned his
back to me, and was able 10 approach very
near to him and see how he did it, He
pressed into his cheek the end of poignard,
which was as smooth and rounded rs the
end of a wafer-knife This, instead of cut
ting the skin, pressed it in nearly an inch
between the jaws, which were slightly
opened, just as it would have pressed in
sheet of India rubber.
This feat is particularly easy for lean and
aged people, because the skin Of their cheeks
is very elastic.
The Arab who ate the Barbary fig leaves
did not allow US to examine them. / dare
say they were prepared so as not to hurt
him he would not otherwise have neglected
to omit point which would have doubled
the wonder of il. But even if he had shown
them, he made so many unnecessary move
ments that il would have been very easy
for him TO change them for harmless leaves.
1t would, in that case, have been a fifth-rate
piece of sleight of hand. s
In the next performance, two Arabs hold
a sabre one by the hilt and tile other by the
point, third comes, strips Oft his clothes SO
I tla al, n no nd
Hat on the edge of the sword and then
fourth mounts on his back and seems to
press up on him with his whole weight.
To explain this is very easy. The public
! have no assurance that the sabre is sharp !:
nothing shows that its edge is thinner than
| its back, although the Arab who holds the
! point of it wraps il very carefully in II
handkerchief, initiating in that those noun
| tebanks who pretend to cut their fingers
with the poignards they use in Juggling.
! Besides in the performance of this feat, the
/ invulnerabie nan turus his back upon the
public. Tic knows the advantage which lac
gains by this, he alroitly replaces on his
/ belly the garments which he had removed.
/ Finally, whea the fourth actor mounts on
his back, he rests his hands on the two
Arabs who hold the saber. These last are
standing as if to keep him from falling, but,
in reality, they support his whole weight
! The only Inconvenience, then, OF this feat,
consists in having tue abdomen more or
less depressed, and shall show by and by
how that can be done without danger.
+ As to the Aissaouas who put their hands
iuto bas full OF serpentS, and who play
with those reptiles, will refer to the opin-
ion OF Co. de Neveu. He says:
"We have often carried our curiosity and
incredulity 10 the point Of seuding for tire
Aissaouas and their menagerie. All the
animals which they called vipers were only
harmless coluharS, for when We offered 10
put our hands in the bag. they hurried away
convinced that We were not dipped by their
frauds
will add that even had these s-rpentS
been nf dangerous species, their f,ngs
might have been removed sOthat there would
have been nothing to fear. When these
snakes bite they make no wound
have not seen he feat of stabbing ths
! arm and making the blood spirit out, but il
seems to me that Gtle sponge, filed with
a red liquid, aud concealed in the hand that
strikes, would ne sufficient. By wiping off
the arm, the wound would of course be
cured