The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-12-06

he next day he went to the pOntiff' S
palace, and, at signal given by his holi-
ness, came upon the stage. Though Tor
rnI had appeared before crowned heads
he rad never been in the presence of such
an august assembly In the foreground
sat PIus vi himself. in large aTm-c chair,
on daIS, while near him We're seated the
cardinals, and behind them were the vari-
Gus preateS and dignitaries of the Church.
ne nervousness that the performer natu-
rally experienced in the presence of such
exalted perSonages was allayed 10y the be-
nevolent expression on the face of the pope.
Treasured by his kindly glanees, Torrini
commenced
''holy father he said. bowing respect
fully, II am about to show you some e2z-
perlmentS to which the name of white
magic has been most unjustIy given
I ms title was invented by charlatanS to
impress the multitude but it only signifies
collection of clever deceptiOns, ingeni-
ousiy contrived to anlUse the imagination
Pleased with the favorable reception of
his address, IOFTini commenced his perfar-
manccs In excellent spirits, which were in
creased by the flattering compliments Of
the pope. In one of his tricks-that of the
burnt writing, which consists of a sentence
or two written by one of the company.
who, after burning the paper discovered
1t intact III sealed enyclOPc-he had the
satisfaction of procuring an autograph from
his holiness. On being solicited to write
a sentence, Plus VII. inGitcd the following:
Il have much pleasure in stating that
Signor Torrini is an amiable sorccrcr.'
The paper was burned. and the skill with
which it was made to appear in a sealed
envelope was appreciated by the pope, who
gave the coniurer permission to keep his
autograph. 1t was now time to end the
performance with the trick the artist had
invented for the occasion 30 crown his other
exploits. Among the difficulties that he
had to contend with, the greatest was TO
obtain the cardinals watch without direct
ly asking him for it. To overcome this
lie had recourse to a ruse. Requesting a
loan of watch from the company. several
We're handed to him, which he returned,
with the excuse, not without truth. that
none Of them had any peculiarity Of shape
that would make 1t easy to identify the one
selected. He then said.
''If any gentleman among you has
watch of rather large size this was the
peculiarly of the cardinal s. he VIII confer
a great favor by leading it TO me, as it will
greatly facilitate my experiment. | need
not say that l viii be extremely careful of it.
My object is TO prove It's superiority, if it
has any; if not, TO wonderfully improve it
All eyes were now turned ou the cardi-
nal, who, as was well know, priced his
chronometer on account OF Is unusual
S!GG Tie Ia ~ tttHt- StS LIt ttlltNlliI
the works to act more freely. !ic he>ita-
ted, however, to part with his ..casure, till
Plus VII. said to him
Cardinal, | fancy your wa'ch VIII suit
exactly: oblige me by handing it to Sig
nor Torrini.''
his eminence complied, though not with
out numerous precautions. When the
watch was handed to him, TorIiai assumed
to be absorbed in admiration If the works
and beautiful chasing, to Which he drew
the attention of the pope and the cardinals.
lie then asked The owner some questions
which elected the high estimation in which
the owner held his chronometer which
had been made to his order by the cele-
brated Dreguet. The enthusiasm of his
emiuence amused the pope, who looked on
attentively as Torini. after saving that he
should prove the solidity and excellent
qualities of the watch suddenly let it fall
to the ground. Everybody was amazed at
the boldness Of This act and the cardinal,
unable to restrain his Indignation. yehe-
Inently exclaimed
you are playing a very sorry Jest, sir.
''But, monsigneur,' calmly replied the
magician, ''there is no cause for alarm. l
only wish to prove to these gentlemen the
perfection of your watch, and you may
rest assured that it viii not be injured by
the trials to which | may subject it.
With these words he stamped on the case
crushing it into shapeless mass. This act
still further excited the ire of the cardinal;
but the pope, who took a more sensible
view of the matter. Turned to linn and said:
Come. cardinal, have you no confidence
in our sorcerer? For my part, ] laugh
like child at it, being convinced there
has been some clever substitution
Torrini who was delighted with the sue
cess of his trick, assured his holiness that
there had been no substitution. and ap-
peaIed to the cardinal for Identification Of
his watch. The latter, after examining
the shapeless fragments, and finding his
arms engraved inside the case, acknOwl-
ed that it was his beloved chronometer.
and added, in stern voice
II do not see how you can escape, sir:
you should have tried your dangerous ex-
pertinent on some object that could be re-
placed, instead of an unique watch ike
mine"
The magician, after declaring that this
circumstance gave him additional Satltac-
ton. as it enhanced the credit of his per-
formance, asked the cardinal S permission
to proceed. But the latter said that, as he
had not been consulted in the destruction
of the watch he did not care what became
of the fragments.
Having established the identity of the
cardinals chronometer TOrrini's next OBJ
iect was to pass into the pope 5 pocket the
one he had bought the previous evening
AS this could not be easily done while hls
holiness remained seated, the magician hit
upon pretext to make him rise. Placing
a brass mortar. with an enormous pestle,
mon tbe table. he threw in the fragments
Of the watch, and began pounding furious
lv. Suddenly sligh ghtdetonation was heard;
a iurid flame shot up from the vessel into
which Torrini gazed with an expression OF
profound astonishment. Respect for the
pope prevented the audience from rising
but his holiness, curious to see the cause
of tbe coniuror's interest, approached the
tahIe and looked into the mortar.
Il do not know" he said, whether it
is because the light dazzles my eyes, but
can distinguish nothing:
Torrini then begged him to come round
the table and choose more favorable point
, of observation, and, as he moved, dexter
ously slipped the reserve watch INTO hrs
nocket. The cardinals chronometer had
I - bao,, ,ad,,ced To a small ingot. Hold