Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1872-12-26

If any gentleman among you has a watch
OF rather large size (this was the peculiar.
ity of the cardhal's) he will confer q grea,
favor by lending 1t to me, as it win greatly
facilitate my experiment / need not saw
that l will be extremely careful of Il. NV
| object is to prove Its superiority, if it has
any; if not, to wonderfully improve it.
All eyes werenow turned ON the Cardinal,
who, as was vel known, priced his chronom-
eter on account of its unusual size the large
case, as he said allowing the works to act
more freely. He hesitated, however, to
part with his treasure, till Plus VII. said To
hsm: -... .... y.. .t.. 49,
Cardinal, fancy your watch will suit
exactly obligs me by handing it to Signor
| Torrini." =
His eminence complied though not with
out numerous precautions When the watch
was handed to him, Torrini assumed to be
absorbed in admiration of the works and
beautiful chasing, to which he drew the at
tention of the Fope and the Cardinals. He
then asked the owner some questions which
ELECTED the high estimation in which the Car
dinal held his clronometer, which had been
made to his ordG by the celebrated Breguet
The enthusiasm of his eminence amused the
Pope who looked on attentively as Torini,
after saying thathe should prove the solidity
and excellent qualities of the watch, suddenly
let 1t drop to ths ground. Everybody was
amazed at the baldness of this act, and the
Cardinal, unable to restrain his indignation,
vehemently exclaimed: tn. = sa,-'F. ~
You are playing 9 very sorry jest, sir,
But monseigIeur," calmly replied the
magician, .sthere Is no cause for alarm, I
only wish to prove to these gentlemen the
perfection of YOU watch, and you may rest
assured that 1t win not be injured BY the
trials to which alall subject it." -,a ~
With these worls he stamped on the case
crushing 1t into ashapeless mass. This act
still futher excited the ire of the Cardinal;
but the Pope, who took more sensible view
of the matter, tuned to him and said :'' .@
"Come, Cardinal, have you no confidence
in your sorcerer! Fer 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 appealed
to the Cardinal for the Identification of his
watch. The latter, after examining the
shapeless fragments. and finding his arms
engraved inside the case, acknowledged
that it was indeed his beloved chronometer,1 /
and added in stem voice ,fae #.gI-.N
~ do not see how, you can escape, sir
you should have tIied your dangerous exper-
iment on some object that could be replaced
instead OF a unique watch like mine"
The magician, after declaring that this cir
cumstance gave him additional satisfaction.
as 1t enhanced the credit of his eerformance.
asked the Cardinals permission to proceed.
But the latter saiG that as he had not been
consulted about the destruction of the watch
he did not care what became of its fragments.
Having established the identity of the Car
dinars chrOnometer, Torrini's next object
was to pass into the Pope's pocket the one he
had bought the evening previous. AS this
could not easily be done while his Holiness
seated, the magician hit on pre-
text to make him rise Placing brass NOR.
ter, with an enormous pestle, on the table, he
threw in the fragments and commenced
pounding furiously. Suddenly slight de- |
.onation was heard; lurid fame shot up |
from the vessel, into which Torrini cazed |
with an expression of profound astonish- |
nent. Respect for the Pope prevented the |
audience from rising; but his Holiness. Gu |
rious to see the cause of the coniurer's inter |
est, approached the table and looked into the |
nOrter.
Il do not know" he said, ''whether it is
because the light dazzles my eyes, but can
distinguish nothing" 'EE'-'..N M. +.
he table and choose more favorable place
IT observation, and, rs he moved. dexter
'usly slipped the reserve watch into his
pocket. The Cardintl's chr nometer had
low been reduced to small ingot. Hold
ng 1t up before the audience, the magician
aid: ''s
~ will now restore this crude mass to its
riginal shape, and its transformation shall
axe place during its passage to the pocket
I person who cannot be suspected of
YVES ''' ."':7
"Ah," said the Pope, with an expression
t Jocular incredulity, 'sthat Is promising
ood deal What should you do if / asked
ou to select my pocket? f...,. D..
beyed," said Torrini, who on receiving an
ssentng signal from the Pope. took the In
OF in his fingers, showed it to the company,
nd uttered the word "Pass." when it in
fantly disappeared. Plus vi with an in
redul0us expression of countenance. put
is hand into his pocket. He had hardly
one so when he showed signs of onfusion. 1 I
nd, drawing his hand out, brought with il /
ie watch, which he quickly passed to the
ardinal, as II afraid of burning his fingers. :
There was great astonishment among The
Ignitaries ofthe church, when his eniinence
examining the watch, declared that II |
as the very one that had been made for
Inn by Breguei, and which they had seen i
'ushed to pieces by the coniurer. The Il
ystery was Increased when Terrini de- !
ared that he had fulfilled his promise, and I
I'd only tested the superiority of the chro-; s
'meter. The next day the Pope sent him I
rich diamond snuff-b0x, with thanks for I
g pleasure his performance had afforded. {
- fame was now at its height Attracted 1t
the news of his wonderful exhibition.
owds hocked TO see the magician who had
such marvels. They did not, /
'wesef, have the qualification of witnessing !