Worcester daily spy., 1872-11-30


repaired
'Gt will not be ready till this evening" replied
the matchmaker. "and will do myself the hon
or of personally earrvin it TO your master"
After the servant had gone the tradcsman said
to IOrrini:
"rhis is superb watch. His eminence the
cardinal, TO whom it belongs, values it at more
than ten thousand francs; for, as it was made to
his order by the celebrated Breguet, he naturally
suppoSes it to be unique of its kind. CurouSlv
enough, however, il is only two days ago that a
young fellow belonging to this city offered me ID
precisely similar watch made by the same artist,
for one thousand francs"
These words made an impression on Torrini,
who, having formed a plan OF operations, said
to the Matchmaker:
"Do you think this person is still deSirous to
dSnuSe of his watch| p
81 have no doubt of il" was the reply Gle
is young prUdiral, who, having spent all his
fortune, is now Obliged TO sell his family Jewels
and will be very glad TO obtain thousand
francs"
But can he be found?"
Easily cnOugh-in a gaming house, where
he passes all his time"
Well, said the magician, 81 wish to pro-
cure the watch, but cannot wait longer than to-
day. Please buy it for me as soon as possible
and engraye on il his eminence's arms, so that
there shall he precise resemblance between the
two watches, and your profit snail be proper
tlOltu ~ tuC ulSClGllOu WIN WHICH you conduct
the transacunn.
The matchmaker, who knew Torrini, probably
suspected his object in seeking possession of the
watch but being aware that the magiclan's
discreet management would be assured by its
necessity 10 his success, had no hesitation in
complying with his reqnest.
sit will only take qu Irter of an hour to go
TO the gaming house, AMI | am confident of
being able to procure 1t for you"
In less than the time named the dealer came
back with the chronometer IN his hand.
Here it isl" he exclaimed with an air of
triumph. " My man welcomed me as provi-
dental visitor, and was so eager TO dispose ol
the watch that he gave it to me without count
lng the money. Everything shall be ready for
you tonight
That evening the matchmaker brought the
two chronometerS 10 IorrlOI, who, after a care
tul comparison, was unable TO detect any differ
ence between them. The magician now ielt
confident ol making a decided hit with his trick
the preparations for which were already eX.
pensive.
The next dav he went TO the pOntiff'S palace
and, at signal given bv his holiness, came
upon the stage. Though Torrin bad appeared
before crowned heads, he had never been in The
presence of such an august assemblage. In the
foreground sat Plus VII. himself, in large arm
chair, on d;ils, while near him were seated the
cardinals, and behind them were the various
prelnteS and dignitarieS OF the church. The
nervousness tnat the performer naturally eXpe-
renCed in the presence ol such exalted person.
ages was alayed by the benevolent expression
on the face OF the pope. ReasSured by his kindly
glanceS, lOrlnl commenced:
Holy father" he said, bowing respectfully,
Il am ABOUT TO show you some experiments TO
whlch the name OF white magic has been mos.
unJuStly given. This title was invented by
cLarlalans to impress the multitude, but it only
signifies collection OF clever deceptlOns, inge-
nl0uSly contrIved 10 amuse the Imagination"
Pleased with the favorable reception of his
address, lorrini commenced his performances
IN excellent spirits, which were increased by the
hatteriug compliments Of the pope In one OF
his tllcEs-that OF the burned writing, which
consists OF sentence or two written by one of
Tie comrany, VINO, alter burning the paper, dis
covers it intact in sealed envelope-he had the
satisfaction OF procuring an autograph OF his
holiness: On being solicited 10 write sentence,
Plus VII, indited the sentences:
81 have much pleasure in stating that Sgnor
Torrni IS an amia5e Sorcerer."
The paper was burned and the skill with
which IT was made to appear in a sealed euyel-
ope was appreciated by the pope, VINO gave the
coniuror permission to keep his autograph. Ii
was now time 10 end the erlormance with the
trick which the artist had invented Tor the occa-
sioI to crown his other exploits. Among the
dtlculiies that he had to contend with, the
greatest was to obtain the cardinals watch with
out directly asking him Tor it. To overcome
this he had recourse to ruse. Requesting the
loan Of watch from the company, several were
handed him, which were returned, with the cX
cuSe, not without truth, that none OF them had
any pecullarlty oil shape that would make II
easy to identity The one selected. He then SAID:
any gentleman among you has watch
OF rather larger size tthIS was the peculiarly oil
the cardinals he will confer great faVCr by
lending it to me, as it will greatly facilitate nv
experiment. need not say that / will be ex-
tremely careful OF it. My object is to prove its
superiority, if it bas any, and, if not, to Won
derlully improve it,"
All eyes were now turned on the cardinal, who,
as was well known, priced hls chronometer on
account of its unusual size, the large case as he
said allowing the works to act more freely. He
hesI'ated, however, to part with his treasure till
Plus VII SAID TO him:
Cardinal, fancy your watch will suit eX-
actly. oblge me by handing it to Signor Tor
rlni."
His eminence complied, though not without
numerous precautions. When the watch was
handed him, Torrlni seemed to be absorbed in
admiration of the works and beautiful chasing,
10 which he drew the attention OF the pope and
the cardinals. He then asked the owner some
questions, which elected the high estimation in
which the cardinal held mis- chronometer, which
had been made 10 his order by the celebrated
Breguet. he enthusiasm Of his eminenCe
amused tue pope, who looked on attenuvely at
Iorrin after SAYING that he should prove the
soldltY ana excellent quahtes OF lie watch,
suddenly let 1t fall 10 the ground. Every bod,
was amazed at the bOIdness Of this act, and the
cardinal, unable TO restrain his indignation, We.
hemenlly exclaimed:
you are playing sorry Jest sir"
"But, monseigneur," calmly replied the ma
gician, there is no cau.e. lOr alarm, / only
wish to prove TO these gentlemen the perfection
Of your watch, and you may rest assured that
il Will not be injured by the trials to which
shall subject 1t"
With these words he stamped on the case,
crushing it into shapeless mass. This acl
still further excited the ire OF the cardinal; but
the pope, who took more sensible view Of the
matter, turned to hun 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 cey-
er substitution
TOrrIul. who was delighted with the success
Of his nick, assured his holiness that there had
been no substitution, and appealed 70 The car.
dlnal foI identification Of bis watch. The lat.
ter, after examining the shapeless fragments,
and finding bis arms engraved inside the case
acknowledged that It was his beloved chronom-
etcr, aud added, in stern voice;
81 do NOT see how you can escape, sir: Won
should have tried yourdangerous cxDerimcnt on
some objeci that could be replaced instead Of a
unique watch like mine"
at.