The Ottawa free trader., 1875-12-04

a lie borrowed from HE King and his cour
;. tiers six handkcrchcts, which he made Int
i a parcel ana laid on the table Then, at hi
!. reuuesi, different persons wrote on cards th
. names Of places whittier they desired thci
n handkerchei!s to be inyiSibly transported
e When this was done lie begged the King Il
: take three of the cards at hazard, and choos,
n from them the place he might consider tn'
f most suitable. LET me see' said Louis
{ Philippe. "what tins one says: Il desire th'
handkcrchicis 20 be found beneath one of The
candeabra on the mantelpicce.' All tha
is too easy for a sOrcercr, so we will pass or
TO the mex, card; THE handkerchefs are tC
be transported to the dome of the Invalides.
= That would suit us, but il is much too far
not for the handkerchiefs, but for MS All
; all ~ the King added, as he looked at the
= last card, II am afraid, Monsieur Robert
IIoudin, l am about to embarrass you. dc
you know what this card proposes" Houdln
with respectful bow, declared that hc did
not. Well" responded His Majesty, "it is
desired that you send the hGndk erchiets to a
I spot beneath the roots of the last orangc-tree
on the right of the Avenue of st. Cloud
Houdn affected the utmost nonchalence
"Only that, sire" he sand. "Deign to order,
and will obey" The Krnggavt certain di.
rections in low voice, and Immediately a
number of his attendants hurried off 10 the
orange-trce to watch 1t. He then sand, 81 Sc
lect the orangetrec.' IIoudln's first busi-
ness now was to send the handkerchicfs on
their travels, So he placed them beneath a
bell Of opaque glass, and, taking his wand,
ordered them to fly to the spot the King had
chosen. He raised the bell, the little parcel
was no longer there, and white dove had
taken its place, The King then walked
quickly TO the door, whence he looked in
the direction Of the orange-lrec to assure him
self that the guards were there, and, when
THIS was done, ne began To smile aud shrug
his shoulders "Ah! Monsieur Robert
for the virtue Of your magic staff" Then he
added, as he re urned to the end of the room
where several servants were standing, Tell
William to dig Immediately below the last
tree at the end Of the avenue, and bring me
carefully what he first finds therc-if he does
anything The attendant proceeded TO the
Orange-trcc. The earth at the side OF the tree
was carefully removed, and down among the
roots, after much grOplng, small iron box
eaten with rust was found. 1t bore every ap.
pearance of having been in the ground many
years. This curious find was cIeansed from
It's mold and brought in and placed by the
side of the King. The greatest excitement
and impatience prevailed on all sides. Hou
din brought, perched on his finger, the dove
to the King, and around its neck His Majesty
discovered a little rusty key. At the desire
of the coDjurer he an )oosed it and opened the
box The first object that met his was q
time discolored piece of parchment, upon
). ...i. ~ ...,,. 90" i5 day, the 6,n of June
1856, this iron box, containing six haHdker
chiefs, was placed among the ROOFS Of an
by me, Balsamo, Count of C"gios.
TO, 10 80. . .i AZ al uf magic .hl'h VIII
be executed on the same day sixty years
hence before Louis PHILIPPE of Orleans and
family" "Thore is certainly wischcrait
about this" cried the King, and then he look
I'd again and found III the bottom Of the box
l parcel sealed with the well-known seal OF
he famous Cagliosro. He broke 1t and
opened the parcel, and there were the six
laIdkerchief5 which bu. five minutes before
we're lying on the coDjurors table. Was not
his trick as remarkable as the producing of
Katie King" from dark cabinet?
BODIES HEAVY AND LIGHT AT WILL.
Houdin was employed by the French Gov.
rument to go to Algiera on novel mission.
The Marabout priests exercised great lntlu.
=. % OK. :, '.-:;"~S, !3Cld5e they were able
q perform certain ieats of iugglery, which j
hey pretended proved their divine power,
ThrSe MarabOuts were enemies OF the French,
nd encouraged turbulence among the Arabs. {
The Government thought that it might be
oo3 stroke &c pol:cy 10 send lIoudin through
he colony performing his miracles, and de-
nons,rating to the natives that French sor
erer was greater than an arab sOrcerer. AC.
ordingly HOud,n appeared before large audi
noes, beginning in the city of Algeria. AT
be first of these performances he introduced {
box which became heavy or light at his or
er This box was brought by him to the
ootlights, and, while holding 1t IN his hands,
e declared to his hearers that he possessed
he power to deprive the most powerful man
f his strength and restore it at will. He in
ited any one who thought himself strong s
nough TO come on the stage. An Arab OF
middle height, but we'll built and muscular,
anne to his side with great assurance. "Are
'ou strongo" asked IIoudin, measuring him
rom head to foot. "Oh, yes" he replied,
"Are you sure you will always
emain so?" Quite sure" you are ms
AIKEN" said Houdin, "for in an instant
will rob you of your strength, and you will
lsdainfully. IIoudin told him to lift the
,ox. He stopped and lifted it without an ef.
ort, and said coldly, "Is that all ?" With an
IMPOSING gesture Houdin solcmnly pronounc-
d The words, Behold, you are weaker than
woman; now lift the box" The young
HERCULES grabbed the bay quite confidently,
ut, to his amazement, II would not bulge.
Ie attacked 1t vigorously over and over {
gain, while his countrymen sat looking on
n silent wonder, but it resisted. He vainly 4,
expended on this box q strength that would |
ave raised an enormous weight, until at
ength, painting, exhausted, and red with an
er, he buried his face in his burnous and re-
Ired from the stage. Houdn does not ex-
~. I,,, 81,
e made bodies heavy or light at will, and
pparen,ly without touching them, but II was
favorilc of his, and often exhibited to his
ashior able Parisian audiences.
THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE.
At the same exhibition in Algeria, of which
Se haze written, Houdin invited one OF the
audience to come on The stage. young
Moor, about 20 years of age, tall well-built,
md richly-dresse advanced. There was n
,lain table on the stage (the space between
he top and the floor being Enthusiastically /