Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1881-11-10

Even Hemann, the greatest of all liV-
ing tricksters, and whose conversance
with the black art should. one would
think, place him beyond the possibility
of being on the wrong side of trick, is
himself once in while victimized in a
manner that raises loud laugh. One
night the magician had the most recent
laugh placed against him. In his pro-
gramme he introduces his marvellous
cabinet, large institution like IA two
! story refrigerator, with double doors
opening SO as to expose the whole in
terror, which is crossbarred in the man
ner made familiar to the public in con-
struction of tables for living heads and
half women. In this cabinet he seen cts
a sailor, who mysteriously disappears,
although the audience can see under and
all around the affair, and two gentlemen
are sitting on the stage within three
yards oft. The sailor cannot possibly
leave the cabinet without being seen,
and the trick consists i'll so disposing of
the panels of the interior that, although
the doors are swung wide, the eye can
not detect any change in the appearance
of the compartment. There are several
variations of the trick. The sailor in
stantly releases himself from pair Of
stocks when locked inside. He also
gets out off securely fastened and rope
hands shown at the openings in the
doors, but the most marvellous feature
of the whole thing is the appearance of
a little colored boy i'll the auditorium
less than minute after he has been
hustledinto the cabinet. The trick went
well enough until this stage of the per-
formance was reached: The boy was
rushed into the cabinet: Hermann OPEN
ed the doors a moment aftreward and
the boy was gone.
BOY! Bo-y!" the magician shouted.
"W'ere air you. boy?"
But no ''boy" showed up in the au-
ditorium. The call was repeated
number of rimes, and Hermann was at
last almost in despair. At last one of
the ushers ran up the parquet aisle,
making directly for the magician.
"W'ere eez de bo-y?' Hermann shout
ed. "You are not heem. You luke too
pale"
The usher grabbed the magician's left
ear and whispered few hurried words
into it. He told him that the colored
boy was then on his way to the calaboose
in the arms of a tall policeman, and
would not be able to finish his share of
the trick until he was bailed out. Her
mann could not have been more astonish-
ed if he had been struck with a brick. |
He slammed the doors of the cabinet |
nngrily, told the audience that his
"bo-y" had been arrested by police
officer, and he would have to bring the !
trick to a close without the usual !
denouement.
The explanation of the difficulty is
very easy: The boy, smart 14-vear
old boy whom Hermann secured in
Memphis, in making his way out of the
cabinet runs for the back door of the |
stage, and then, with the feetness of a
twolegged Iroquois, flies through the |
alley and around the corner into the
entrance of the theatre just in time to |
answer "Here am" to the magician's
BOY Were air you?" AS he darted |
out of the alley the boy ran into an Off
GERS arms. The policeman, imagining
that the little fellow h I'd stolen some
thing, carried him off to the station,
wholly unconscious of the fact that he
lad quite spoiled one of Hermann's best
tricks.