Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1873-02-27
That evening the matchmaker

cOnuueuI OF making a ueC1ucd MT Win
his trick, the preparations for which
were already expensive.
/ The next day he went to the pontiff's
I palace, and, at signal given by his
holiness, came upon the stage Though
Torrini lad appeared before crowned
heads, he had never been III the pres
ence of such an august assembly. In
the foreground sat Plus VII himself.
/ in a large arm chair, on dais, while
near hlm were seated the cardinals,
and behind them were the various pre-
/ lates and dignitaries of the Church.
! The nervousness that the performer
naturally experienced in the presence
OF such exalted personages was al
layed by the benevolent expression on
the face of the Pope. Reassured by
his kindly glances, Torrini commenced:
Holy father" he said, bowling re-
specially, q am about to show you
some experiments to which the name
of white magic mas been most unjust
ly given. This title was invented by
charlatans to impress the multitude.
but it only signifies a collection of
clever deceptious, ingeniously con
trived to amuse the imagination"
Pleased with the favorable reception
of his address, Torrini commenced his
performances in excellent spirits, which
were increased by the hattering com
pliments 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, discovers 1t intact
in sealed envelop-he had the salts
faction of procuring an autograph
from his holiness. On being solicited
to write a sentence, Plus VII indited
the following
:" / have much pleasure in stating
that Signor Torrini is an amiable sor-
cerer."
The paper was burned, and the skill
with which it was made to appear in
sealed envelop was appreciated by the
Pope, who gave the conlurer permits
sion to keep his autograph. 1t was
now time to end the performance with
the trick, which the artist had invent
ed for the occasion to crown his other
exploits. Among the difficulties that
he had to contend with, the greatest
was to obtain the cardinals watch
without directly asking him for it, To
overcome this he had recourse to
ruse. Requesting the loan of watch
from the company, several were hand
ed to him, which he returned, with the
excuse, not without truth, that none of
them had any popularity of shape that
would make it easy to identify the one
selected. He then said:
/" If any gentleman among you has a
watch of rather large size (thls was the
popularity of the cardinals) he will
confer great favor by lending it to
me, rs it will greatly facilitate my ex-
pertinent. | need not say that | will
| be extremely careful of it. My object
is to prove its superiority, if it has
any, and, if not, to wonderfully I'M
| prove it.
All eyes were now turned on the car
dinal, who, rs was well known, priced
his chronometer on account of its un-
usual 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 him
Cardinal, / fancy your watch will
suit exactly; obligo me by handing it
to Signor Torrini.'
His eminence complied, though not
without 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 attention of the
pope and the cardinals. He then asked
the owner some questions which elicit
ed the high estimation in which the
cardinal held his chronometer, which
had been made to his order by the cele-
| brated Breguet. The enthusiasm of
his eminence amused the pope, who
looked on attentively as Torrini, after
saying that he should prove the solldi-
| ty aud excellent qualities of the watch,
suddenly let it fall to the ground
| Everybody WAS amazed at the boldness
of the act. and the cardinal, unable to
restrain his Indignation, vehemently
exclaimed
You are playing a very sorry jest,
sir
"But, monseigneur, calmly replied
the magician, " there is no cause fo1
alarm. | only wish TO prove to these
gentlemen the perfection of your
watch, end you may rest assured that
it will not be injured by the trials to
which shall subject Ii. F"
With these words he stamped on the
case crushing it into a 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 10 him and said:
Come, cardinal, have YOU no conf.
dence in our sorcerer3 For my part,
/ / laugh like child at IT, being con,
WINGED there has been some clever sub
\ stitution -
/ Torriui. who was delighted with the
success of his trick, assured his hoh