Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-05-06
a JUGGLER'S TRICKS.
The Two Inimitable Performances BY q
Wonderful Artist of India.

| The Two Inimitable Performances BY a
Wonderful Artist of India.
When he entered the room he spread
| a 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 on a sofa near the door, the
Parsee merchant stood in the doorway
about an arms length from me. The
servants stood about in groups, the
largest group being between the door
| ana the conjuror. As soon as he had
settled himself he turned to the Parsee
and asked for the loan of rupee. The
peddler at first demurred little. but,
on being guaranteed against loss, he
produced the coin. He was going to
put it in the conjuror's hand but the
latter refused and told the Parsee to
hand it to Mr.. Smyth's bearer. The
bearer took it, and, at the request of the
con juror, looked at it and declared it to
DO really a rupee. The conjuror then
told him to hand it to his master. Mr..
Smyth took it, and then followed this
dialogue:
Conjuror-Are you sure that is a
rupee?
Smyth-Yes.
Con uror-Close your hand on it and
hold it tight. Now think of some coun-
try in Europe, but do not tell me your
thought.
Then the coniuror ran over the names
of several countries, such as France,
Germany, Russia. Turkey and America
for the native of India is under the
impression that America is in Europe.
After moment S 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 a coin of the country you
thought Of
1t was five-franc piece, and Mr..
Smyth had thought of France. He was
going to land the coin to the conjuror,
but the latter said:
mo, pass it to the other sahib"
Mr.. Smyth accordingly put the five
franc piece into my hand; | looked
closely at it, then shut my hand and
found, not a Russian but Turkish sill
yer piece, about the size of the
tive-franc piece. or of our own
crown piece. This l handed to Mr..
Smyth, and suggested that he
should name America, which he did,
and found a Mexican dollar in his hand
The coin, whatever it was, had never
been in the con iurer's hand from the
time the rupee was borrowed from the
Parsee merchant. Mr.. Smvth and his
bearer had both of them closely exam
inc the rupee, and Mr.. Smyth and |
turned over several times the fve-franc
piece, the Turkish coin and the dollar;
so the trick did not depend on a rever-
sible coin. Indeed it could not for the
coin underwent three changes, as has
been seen. | need only add, for the in
formation of those readers who know
India. that a rupee is only about the
size of a form, and therefore about half
the weight of a five-franc piece.
He did another trek about equally as
wonderful. As before, he was seated on
a white cloth, which this time, | think,
was table-cloth, borrowed from the
mess sergeant He asked some one
present to produce rupee. and lay it
down at a remote edge of the cloth.
The cloth being three or four yards in
length. the conjurer could not have
touched the coin without being seen.
and, in fact, did not touch it. He
then asked for sgnet ring.
Several were offered him, and he
chose out one which had a very large
oval seal, projecting well beyond
the gold hoop on both sides. This ring
he tossed and tumbled several times in
his hands, now throwing into the air
and catching it, then shaking it between
his clasped hands, all the time num-
bling half inarticulate words in some
Hindostanee patos. Then setting the
ring down on the cloth at about half
arms length in front of him, he said,
slowly and distinctly, in good Hindo-
stance:
Ring, rise up and go to the rupee"
The ring rose, with the seal uppermost,
and. resting ON the hoop. slowly, with
kind of dancing or jerking motion, it
passed over the cloth until it came to
where the rupee was on the remote
edge; then it lay down on the coin. The
conjuror then said: 'Ring, lay hold of
the rupee and bring it to me- The
projecting edge of the seal seemed to
grapple with the edge of the coin, the
ring and the rupee rose into kind of
wrestling attitude, and. with the same
dancing or jerking motion, the two re-
turned to within reach of the jugglers
hand. [ have no theory to explain either
of these tricks. / should mention. how
ever, that the juggler entirely disclaimed
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 surroundings, no
and no confederate.-.S. s. |
Robinson. IN Boston Record.