The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1877-11-24
HOudin's House.

Il
Robert Houdin acquired q comfortabl,
competence by the exercise of his anus
ing arts, and was able to build himself &
handsome country house in the pleasant
village of Saint Gervais, near Blois
where he was born. Into this house he
introduced number of curious inven
tons, which were not only of great ser
vice in the every day work of his home
but were matters of never ending won
derment to the peasantry round about
The garden gate was situated at full foul
hundred yards from the house, which
was hidden behind towering trees, and
could only be reached by winding path,
Nevertheless, the amazed peasant who
came to the house found that ne had only
to raise a little brass hand, not as big as
a baby's, and let it fall on the forehead
of a fantastic brass head, the rap making
but faint sound, when real musketry
of bell-pulling was heard to take place
in the remote house, and the garden gate
swung open of itself. Instantly the brass
plate on the gate, which bore the con-
jurer's name, "Robert Houdin," disap-
peared, and another took its place where
on was engraved the word "Entrez."
When the postman came, and inserted
his mail in the box made TO receive it at
the gate, he also set an electric bell to
ringing. He was requested to put in
what he brought in the following order
first, newspapers, then circulars, finally,
letters, one by one. Each inserted set a
bell off. Thus Houdin, lying in bed in
the morning, with his door locked and
his blinds down, knew that his mornings
mail would consist of one package Tor
more, or nonc) of newspapers, ditto of
circulars, and exactly so many letters.
When he wanted to post letters himself
he was not obliged TO go to the village
with them. As soon as he heard the
postman's electric bell ringing, he set
another ringing up by the mail-box, and
the letter-carrier knew then that he was
to come down to the house TO get letters.
He rang for himself, 50 to speak. These
simple little contrivances created the
greatest establishment in the rural neigh
borhood where they were employed, and
though no one was disposed to be in the
least disagreeable to the juggler, their
neighbor, their curiosity concerning
them was rather annoying. One day the
bell was heard to ring at the gate, the
door-plate changed as usual, and the en-
tire performance was gone through salts
factorily; the family of Houdin ex-
pected to see visitor coming down the
path. But no the bell began as before,
the door-plate changed, etc, and so on
again, and again, until at last the gar
dener walked down to the gate to see
what was the matter. To his surprise he
found one of the inhabitants of the vii
lage who was amusing himself by going
in at the gate and out of ii over and
over again, quite regardless of the
racket the electric bell was keeping up
in the house.
Why, what are you doing % asked the
astonished gardener.
ooh yes; | know the bells are ring
ing down at the house. | wanted to see
how it worked. Don't mind me-"
The gardener was man fond of
joke. That night, at midnight armed
with dark lantern, he stood at the door
of an inquisitive neighbor, pulling the
bell till it pcaled like belfry of Notre
Dame sounding the massacre of the
The night-capped head
of the neighbor issued from an upper
his features aghast with dismay.
"Mon DieuT he cried, "what is
the matter? Has anything dreadful
happened?'
oh, no." coolly replied the gardener.
g The bell rings up in your room, / know.
want to see how it works. Don't mind
me-"
The gate and the letter-box were not
the only parts of Houdins house whose
functions were facilitated by the aid of
electricity. Sitting in his study, with
his stable situate fifty yards away, the
juggler nevertheless was able to feed his
horse himself, and to be sure that an
exact portion of rations fell into the
All the clocks on the place
were regulated by the mysterious cur
rent the master had under his hand at
his writing-desk. The breath of the
lightning flash Kissed out of the iron
backlog of his fireplace, and whispered
in his ear that his distant conservatory
was heated too much for the geraniums,
or that the thermometer had now been
allowed to fall too low for the orange
tree. A little bench placed by the side
Of ravine at remote part of his
was endowed with the fairy-like
power of transporting any passenger
who merely sat down upon it across the
gorge, when it travelled back of its own
accord to take another person over free
Of charge.