Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1874-10-29

Il b
tke soots Of TIE last sosasss g. = =
rsgA Of the st. Closd. Houdi aGectet
. the utmost nonchalance. s0<1yz fhat
sire. he said. ssDeign to oeifs nd
VIII obey" The King gavo Mn n.
rections in . low voice, and Ii c1inAe
~ number Of his attendant ozr;;ei
on to the orange tree to wato1 n III
then Sid, Fl select the orane, -.
Houdin's FIRST business nov q s. send
ssAe handkerchiefs on their 81 "a
| he placed them beneath & bell g ,u1o,.r
glass, and taking his wsx Fed
tfeH Hs HYh;ssd Il al the. bsli. the Istls ID
no longer there, and white arve had
taken its place. The King thh walked
quickly 10 the door, whence ke looked
in the direction of the orange tree to
assure himself that the guards were
there, and when this was donehe began
to smile md shrug his shoulders. "Ah!
Monsieur Robert Houdin," he aaid,
ironically, Il fear much for tie virtue
of your magic staff" Then Be added,
as he returned to the end of he room
where several servants were standing,
Tell William to dig Immediately be-
low the last tree at the end oi the ave-
nue. and bring me carefully what he
finds there-if he does find snything."
The attendant proceeded to the orange
tree. The earth at the side Il the tree
was carefully removed, and dtwn among
the roots, after much gropins, q small
iron box eaten with rust was found. 1t
bore every appearance of having been
in the ground many years. This curl
Gus ''fnd' was cleansed from its mould
and brought in and placed BY the side
of the King. The greatest excitement
prevailed on all sides. Hoddin brought,
perched on his finger, the dove to the
King, and around its neck his Majesty
discovered little rusty key. At the
desire Of the conjurer he unloosed it
and opened the box. The first object
that met his eye was time diseolored
piece Of parchment, upon which he read:
'1his day, the 9th June, 1876, Mis iron
bor, containing sir Handkerchief, ras
placed among The roots of an orange tree
by me, Balsamo, Count of Cagliostro, to
serce IN performing an act Of magic,
,rhich ,ciU be executed on the same day
sirty years hence before Loais Philippe
Of Orleans and his family" ''There is
certainly witchcraft about this" cried
the King, and then he looked again
and found in the bottom of the box a
parcel sealed with the well. known seal
Oft Of the famous caglostro; Hs srtg broke ksis i
the six kankherchiefs which but five
minutes before were lying on the con-
jurer's table. Was not this trick as re-
markable as the producing Of ':Katie
King" from dark cabinet
Houdin was employed by the French
Government to go to Algeria on novel
mission. The Marabout priests exer-
cised great influence over the natives,
because they were able to perform GER
tain feats of jugglery, which they pre-
tended proved their divine power. These
Marabouts were enemies Of the French
and encouraged turbulence among the
Arabs. The government thought that
it might be good stroke of policy to
send Houdin through the colony per-
forming his miracles and demonstrating
to the natives that a French sorcerer
was greater than an Arab sorcerer.-
Accordingly Houdin appeared before
large audiences, beginning in the city
Of Algeria. At the first of these per-
formances he introduced a box which
became heavy or light at his order
This box was brought by him to the foot
lights and while holding it in his hands
he declared to his hearers that he pos
sessed the power to deprive the most
powerful man Of his strength and re-
store it at viii. He invited any one
who thought himself strong enough to
come on the stage. An Arab of middle
height, but well built and muscular,
came to his side with great assurance.
" Are You strong?" asked Houdin,
measuring him from head to foot. ''Oh,
yes" he replied carelessly. "Are you
sure that YOU will always remain so :''
"Quite sure" "You are mistaken"
said Houdin, ''for in an instant will
rob You of your strength, and you shall
become as little child" The Arab
smiled disdainfully. Houdin told him
to lift the box. He stopped and lifted
it without any effort, and said eoldly,
rs that all 20 With an imposing ges-
ture Houdin solemnly pronounced the
words, Behold you are weaker than a
woman; now lift the box" The Young
Hercules grabbed the box quite conf
dentiy, but, 10 his amazement, it would
not bulge. He attacked it vigorously
over and over again, while his country
men sat looking on in silent wonder.
but it resisted. He vainly expended on
this box strength which would have
raised an enormous weight, until at
length. painting. exhausted, and rcd
with anger, he buried his face in his
burnous and retired from the stage
Houdin does not explain the secret of
this strange trick by which he made
bodies heavy or light at win, and with
out apparently touching them. but it
was favorite trick of his and he often
exhibited it to his fashionable Partisan
audiences.
At the same exhibition In Algeria of
which we have written. Houdin invited
one of the audience TO come on the stage.
A young Moor, about twenty years of
age. tall, well built, and richly dressed,
advanced. There was . plain table on
the stage (the space between the top
.,.1 a. 49, I.ss,.<. s,$-, -. IL