The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-06-10
ef1onitomof pilot.
THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1886.
HINDOO LEGERDEMAIN.
What s. T.. Robinson Saw in India-Mar-
velous Sleight-of-Hand.

/ When he entered the room he spread
i d white cloth upon the floor and sat
! down upon it with his back to the wall.
| the door of the room being on his right
! hand His spectators were disposed in
| the following fashion: Mr.. Smyth sat
| on a chair nearly in the middle of the
room. was sitting on a sofa near the
| door, the Parsee merchant stood IN the
doorway about arms length from me.
| The servants stood about in groups, the
largest group being between the door
| and the coniurer. As soon as he had
| settled himself he turned to the Parsee
and asked for the loan of a rupee. The
peddler at first demurred little, but on
| being guaranteed against loss he pro-
| duced the coin. He was going to put 1t
into the coniurer's hand, but the latter
| refused and told the Parsee to hand it
| to Mr.. Smvth's bearer. The bearer took
it ana declared it to be really a rupee
The conjurer then told him to hand it to
his master Mr.. Smyth took it, and
then followed this dialogue:
Conjurer-Are you sure that is a
rupee?
Smyth-Yes.
Coniuror-Close your hand and hold
it tight. Now think of some country in
Europe, but do not tell me your thought.
Then the coniurer ran over the names
of several countries, such as France,
Germany, Russia, Turkey and America
for the native Indian is under the i'm
preston that America is Europe. After
| a moments pause Mr.. Smyth said he
had thought of country.
Then open your hand" said the
juggler, ''see what you have got, and
tell me if it is coin of the country you
| thought Of"
1t was 5-franc piece, and Mr.. Smyth
had thought of France. He was going
| to hand the coin to the coniurer, but
the latter said:
NO; pay it to the other sahib."
Mr.. Smyth accordingly put the 5-franc
| piece into my hand. | looked closely
| at it, then shut my hand and thought of
Russia. When opened it I found, not
a Russian, but Turkish silver piece,
about the size of the 5-franc piece, or of
our own crown piece. This handed to
| Mr.. Smyth and suggested that he should
| name America, which he did, and found
| Mexican dollar in his hand. The
| coin, whatever it was, had never been
in the conjurer's hand from the time the
rupee was borrowed from the Parsee
merchant Mr.. Smyth and his bearer
| had both closely examined the rupee,
and Mr.. Smyth and turned over sever
| al times the 5-franc piece, the Turkish
coin and the dollar; so the trick did not
| depend on the reversible coin. Indeed,
it could not, for the coin underwent
| three changes, as has been seen. | need
| only add, for the information of readers
| who know not India, that q rupee is
| only about the size of a form, and there
fore about half the weight of 5-franc
| piece.
He did another trick almost equally
| as wonderful. As before, he was seated
upon a white cloth borrowed from the
mess sergeant. He asked some one pre-
sent to produce 4 rupee and to lay il
down at the remote edge of the cloth.
| The cloth being three or four yards in
length, the conjurer could not have
| touched the coin, and, in fact, did not
| touch it. He then asked for signat
| ring. Several were offered him, and he
chose out one which had very large
| oval seal. projecting well beyond the
| gold hoop on both sides. This ring he
tossed and tumblcd several times in his
hands, now throwing it into the air anC
catching it, then shaking it between his
hands, all the time mumbling half mar
ticulate words in some Hindoostanet
patois. Then, setting the ring down or
the cloth at about half arms length il
front of him, he said slowly and distinct
| " in good Hindoostanee:
Ring, rise up and go to the rupee. ,
The ring rose, with the seal uppermost
and, resting on the hoop, slowly, will
kind of dancing or jerking motion, i
passed oyer the cloth until it came wher,
the rupee was on the remote edge, ther
ii lay down on the coin. The conlurel
then said: Ring, lay hold of the rupee
and bring it to me-" The projecting
edge of the seal seemed to grapple with
the extreme edge of the coin; the ring
and the rupee rose into kind of wrest.
ling attitude, and with the same dane
ing or jerking motion the two returned
to within reach of the juggler's hand.
| have no theory to explain either OF
these tricks l should mention, how
ever, that the juggler entirely disclaim-
ed all supernatural power, and alleged
that he performed his tricks by mere
| sleight of hand. 1t will be observed
that he had no preparation of his sur
roundings, no machinery and no con-
| fa1pratp = RoefO,1 Herald