, 1872-11-24


enough, however, it is only two days ago that 4
young fellow belonging. to this city offered me-
precisely similar watch, made By the same az
iBt, for i 900 francs" =
These words made an impression on Torrlni,
who. having formed plan of operations, said to
the matchmaker. ....-
Do ySa thint this ), person is stu desr0us to
'7I have no doubt Of it, was the reply. !" Ha
is a young prodigal who, having spent all. his
and will be very glad to obtain Thousand
1 But can ho be found q"
!" Easily enough-in q gaming-house, where
he passes all his time" ::
SWELL" said the magician. ~ wish to pro
cure the watch, but cannot wait longer than
to-day. Please buy it for me as soon as pos
sib1e and engrave on it his Eninences arms, go
that there shall be a precise resemblance be-
tween the two watches, and your profit shall be
proportioned to, the discretion with which you
conduct the transaction" ...,
The matchmaker, who knew Torrini, probably
suspected hiB object ii seeking posse8slon OF
the watch but, being aware that the magiclan's
discreet management would be assured BY it's
necessity to his success; had no hesitation IN
complying with his request.
sit will only take quarter ct an hour to
90 to the gaming house, and I am confident OF
being able to procure it for YOU"
In less, than the time named the dealer came
back with the chronometer in his hand.
Z. Here it is |" he. exclaimed, With an air OF
triumph ss NY man welcomed me as progl-
Dental visitor, and waa go eager to dispose Of
the watch that he gave it to me without counting
the money. Everything shall be ready for you
to night"
That evening the matchmaker brought two
chronometers to ~Torrini, who, after . careful
comparison, YVES unable to detect any difference
between them. The magician now felt confident
of making decided hit with his trick, the pre-
partitions for which. we're already expensive.
The next day he went to the Pontiffs palace,
and, at signal given By His Holiness, came
upon the STAGE. Though Torrini had ap-
peared before crowned heads, he had never
been IN the presence Of such an august as
sembly. In the foreground eat Plus VII. him
near him we're seated the Cardinals, and behind
them were the prelates and dignitariea OF the
Church. The ner7ousnets that the performer
naturally experienced IN the presence Of Buch
exalted personages was allayed by the benev-
client expression on the face Of the Pope: Re-
assured: BY This kindly elances, Forrini zeom-
sHoly Father" he said, bowing respect
fully, - I am about to show you sone experi-
, ments to which the name Of white magic
has been most unjustly given. This title vas
tude. bnt it only signifies collection Of clever
decattions ingeniously contrived to amuse the
imagination.
Pleased With the favorable reception OF his
address, Torrini commenced his performances IN
excellent spirits, which we're Increased by the
dattering compliments Of the Pope. In one of bis
tricks-that Of the burnt writing, which consists
OF sentence or two written by one OF the COIL
pany, who, after burning the paper, discovers it
intact in sealed envelop- had the satisfaction
Of procuring an autograph from His Holiness.
On being aoicited to write sentence, Plus VII.
indited the following
~ have much pleasure in stating that signor
Torrim is an amiable sorcerer."
The paper was burned, and the skill with
which it was made to appear in sealed envelope
Was appreciated by ths. Pope, who gave the con-
jurer permission to keep his autograph. It WAS
now time to end the performance with the trick
which the artist had invented for the occasion,
to crown his other exploits: Among the Difficult
ties that he had to contend with, the greatest
Was to obtain the cardinals watch without di-
rectly. asking him for it.. To overcome this he
had recourse to q 7,4se. Requesting the loan OF
q watch from the company, several were
handed to him, which he returned, with the ex-
cuse, not without truth, that none OF them had
any REGULARITY Of shape that would make it
said: 3 ~ l''n' '4' 'AS ~
'sK any gentleman among you has q
watch OF rather large size (this WAS the Pc
culiarity Of the Cardinala) he Wi1 confer great
favor by lending it to me, as it will greatly facii-
itate my experiment. I need not say that will
be extremely careful OF it.. My object is to prove
it's superiority, If i has any and, Il not, to #on
derfully improve it.
who; as was we'll known, priced his chronometer
on account OF it's unusual size; the large case,
as he said, allowing the works to act more free
ly. He hesitated, however, to part with bis
treasure, till Plus VII. said to him: = 80
" Cardinal, I fancy your watch will suit exact
"; obige me by handing it to Signor Torrini.' ~
His Eminence complied, though not without
numerous precautions When the watch Tas
handed to him, Torrini assumed to ;be absorbed
in admiration Of the works and beautiful chaa-
ing, to which he drew the attention Of the Pope
and the Cardinals. He then asked the owner
some questions which elected the high estimac
ton in which the Cardinal held his chronometer,
which had been made to his order by the cole
brated Breguet:: Tho enthusiasm Of His Emf
nence amused the Pope, who looked on atten-
prove the solidity and excellent qualities OF the
watch, suddenly let it fall to the ground. Every
body Was amazed ut the boldness OF this act; and
the Cardinal, unable to restrain his Indignation,
yehemently exclaimed:
- You are playing very sorry Jest, sir." =
" But, mouseigneur," calmly replied the ma
gician, Z" there is no CAUSE for alarm. only
wish to prove to these gentlemen the perfection
Of your watch; and you may: rest assured that it
will not be injured BY the trials to which shall
With these words, he stamped on the case,
crushing it into ahapelesE mass. This act still
further excited the ire Of the Cardinal but the
Pope, who took amore sensible view OF the mat
ter, turned to him and said :: :.-.
g: Como, Cardinal, have You no confidence in
our aorcerer? For my part, laugh like = child
at it, being convinced there has been Bome clever
substitution" - r..
Torrini, who. Was delighted with the success
OF his trick, assured His Holiness that there had
been no substitution, and appealed to the Car
dinal for 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, and added, in a stern voice:
/" do not see how you can ebcape;; sir you
should have tried your dangerous experiment on
some object that could be replaced, instead OF 3
unique watch like mine." =
The magician, after declaring that this circum-
stance gave him additional satisfaction, IS it en-
hauced the credit OF his performance, asked the
Oardinals 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 its fragments. ~. - -.
Having established the identity Of the Cardi-
nails chronometer, Torrini's next object was, to
pass into the Pope's pocket the one he had
bought tbs previous evening", AS this could not
easily be- done while His Holiness remained seat
ed, the magician hit upon prete1t to make him
rise. Placing q brass mortar, with an enormous
T1rn+ +fH +k1AA A41 In I.