The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-10-16

There is certainly witchcraft abuu.
this. cried the King, and then he looked
again, and found in the box little par
eel sealed with the well-known seal of
the famous Cagliostro. He broke it and
opened the parcel, and there were the
six handkerchiefs which, but five min
utes before, were living on the conjurer's
table. Was not this trick as remarkable
as the producing of Katie King, from
a dark cabinetl
BODIES HEAVY AND LIGHT AT WILL.
Houdin was employed by the French
Governmental go 10 Algeria on a novel
mission. The Marabout priests exercised
| great influence over the natives, because
they were able to perform certain feats
of jugglery, which, they pretended,
| proved their divine power. These Mar
abouts were enemies of the French, and
| encouraged turbulence among theArabs.
The Government thought that it might
be a geod stroke of policy to send Hou-
din through the colony performing his
miracles, and demonstrating to the ma
tives that 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 performances he introduced
box which became heavy or light at
his order. This box was brought by him
to the footlights, and while holding it in
his hands he declared to his hearers
that he possessed the power to deprive
the most powerful man of his strength,
and restore it at will. He invited any
one who thought himself strong enough
to come on the stage. An-Arab of mid
die height, but well built and muscular,
came to his side with great assurance
''Are you strong" asked houdin, meas
uring him, from head to foot. "Oh,
yes" he replied, carelessly. "Are you
sure that you will always remain soY'
"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, coldly,
us that allI' With an imposing ges-
ture Houdin solemnly pronounced the
words Behold, you are weaker than
woman; now lift the box" The young
Hercules grabbed the box quite conf
IDENTIFY, but to 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 a strength which would have raised
All enormous weight, until, at length,
painting, exhausted, and red with anger,
he buried his face iii his burnous, and
retired from the staga. HOudin does
not explain the secret of this strange
trick by which he made bodies heavy or
light at will, and without, apparently,
touching them, but it was "a favorite
of his, and often exhibited to fashion
able Partisan audiences.
THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE.
At the same exhibition in Algeria of
which we have written, Houdin invited
one of the audience to come OF the
stage. A young Moor, about twenty
years of age, tall, we'll built, and richly
dressed, advanced. There was a plain
table on the stage (the space between
the top and the floor being Enthusiastically
OPEN which Houdin asked him to
mount. When he did so HOudin covered
him with an enormous cloth cone, and,
instantly removing it, the Moor was
gone. The trick produce d n panic in
the audience. Screaming 1T is the Evil
One!" they clamored over the benches
in wild terror, and rushed out the door
into the street, where, in the public
place, rubbing his eyes in stupefication.
and wondering how he got there, they
found the young Moor.
INvULNERABILITY.
While in the interior, Houdin gave an
open air exhibition to the wild sons of
the desert. He pretended that ne was
invulnerable, and offered to let Mara
bout shoot at him. There was a great
crowd, and a vindictive-looking fellow
came out from it and claimed to have
the honor of killing the hated French
man. The pistols were handed to Hou-
din, who called attention to the fact that
the vents were clear. The Marabout
put in a fair charge of powder and sent
the wad home. Among the bullets pro-
duced Houdin chose one which he open
ly put in the pistol, and it was also
rammed down. By the same process
the second pistol was loaded. Everybody
watched with the most profound solem-
nifty. Houdin posted himself fifteen
PAGES from the MarabOut without evin-
cling the slightest emotion. The Mara
bout Immediately seized one of the pis-
tols, and, on Houdin's giving the signal,
took deliberate aim at him. The pis-
tol went off, and the ball appeared be-
tween the magician's teeth. More an
CRY than ever, the Marabout tried to
seize the other pistol You couldn't injure
me, said Houdin, ''but you shall see
that my aim is more dangerous than
yours Look at that wall" He pulled
the trigger, and on the newly white
washed wall there appeared large patch
of blood exactly at the spot where he
aimed The Marabout went up to the
wall, dipped his finger in the blood, and
raising it to his mouth convinced him
self of the reality. When he acquired
this certainty, his arms fell and his head
bowed on his chest as If he were annihi
lated 1t was evident that for the mo-
ment he doubted everything, even the
prophet. This seemingly Incompetent
sible feat Houdin performed by means
of prepared balls. With bullet-mould
and bit of wax mixed with lampblack,
he had manufactured a very fair inita-
ton bullet Another bullet of the same
material he had filed with blood. OF
course, it was by slight ht-ofhand that he
changed the bullets forced upon him by
An old trick enabled him to ct the real
bullet between his teeth while the wax
en- one was shattered to pieces. So with
the second ball, it was shattered upon
striking the wall, but a spot of blood
was produced. If Houdiu had not ex-
planned this part, it would be quite as
wonderful to most people as the pLenom
eaa of Spiritualisn, and could have
it agency.
SPIRIT FORMS PRODUCED BY JUGGLERs.
When William H. Seward made his
tour around the world, he witnessed
some performances of jugglers in India
which were quite surprising. He saw a
man climb bare pole sixty feet high,
standing in the open air, and when he
reached the top he mysteriOusly disap-
peard. After awhile his feet reappeared,
then his legs aud body, and he came
down. He claimed no supernatural
mower. How did he do il. There was
an Indian juggier who had little den on
the Bowery, in this city, a few years
aoo He was a dirty fellow, and re-
s6ectable people were not much dispos-
ed TO venture into his place. \ gentle
man told the writer that, moved by cu-
riosity once. he went in The juggler
made him sit on the floor la moment
two figures, apparently human, rose out
of the floor, in Obediance TO the wand
of the eonjuror. They grew to the or
dinary height of a human being. The
visitor made a motion TO rise, when the
figures sank through the floor instantly.
An examination of the place betrayed
no visible solution 10 the ingenious per-
forInance.