The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1888-03-28
THE FIRE KINGS TRICKS.
A REPORTERS EXPLANATION OF
HOW THEY ARE PERFORMED.


With the Powers of the Fire and
BrimStOn World.
| The professor was a little man, generous
and expansive in the matter of shirt front
red as to hair and blessed with surprising
amplitude of coat sleeve and tail
Ladies' and gentlemen" he began, coming
to the front of the stage and turning back
his cuffs with an innocent air and that gen.
orally clean fingered dexterity which char
acterizeS the manual motions of sleight of
hand men-"ladies and gentlemen, begging
your pardon in advance for the liberty am
taking, I wish to state that in the hall of
this opera house, just outside the door, there
is faucet connected with the pipes which
supply the city with water. If some young
gentleman in the audience will be 80 kind as
to fill this tin utensl in my hand''-he lifted
a tin quart bucket from the table and tapped
IL with his forefnger-"with water from
that faucet, shall proceed to burn it-not
1T, understand me, but burn the water
with a flame which you may all see."
After little natural persistence and some
urging from the professor couple of young
gentlemen, aged about Is summers conveyed
the tin bucket out into the hall, whence they
presently returned with a quart of water.
which the professor demonstrated to be pure
water by drinking few swallows of it. A
suggestion from the rear of the hall that the
GROWER might contain beer was properly ig-
nored, and the remainder of the clear fluid
was poured from the bucket into glass fruit
dish
"Salamandissimus salamandosI" remarked
the professor, solemnly, while he waved his
hands over the surface of the water II COM
mand thee, once; I command thee, twice; I
command thee, three times. in the name of
birthstone, fret"
A rose colored flame appeared on the water
and gradually spread until it embraced the
whole area of the surface and rose pyramid
wise to height of about twelve inches. Dur
ing the subsequent proceedings the water con-
tinued to burn.
SEVERAL FAMILIAR CHESTNUTS.
Then ensued the cracking of number of
familiar chestnuts, such as the cooking of an
omelet i'll a borrowed silk hat. the mysterious
production from nowhere of an outfit of tin
ware and a guinea pig, ct id omne genus
A bar OF lead was melted in a crucible over
a small furnace, and according to the prom
Use on the bills the professor proceeded to
wash his hands in the molten metal He did
the work thoroughly, plunging his hands to
the elbow into the crucible now and then
scooping up the liquid lead in his palm and
dropping it upon the board floor of the stage
where it instantly hardened in thin flakes.
The blade of an ordinary steel table knife
melted like wax in the flame of a tallow
candle under the influence of his touch and
then, dipping pen into the dish of burning
water, the professor went through the mo-
tions of writing upon q folded newspaper !
handed to him by one of the audience When |
the hall was darkened the words, "Pherguson. |
the Phire King. right hand of his Majesty |
DiablOsp stood out in green flames from the |
surface of the paper.
So far oOOd Tla f,-;o11, ,-,ono 49,.
formed but the city editors instructions to
find out how they were performed and to
write an expose of the Fire Kings secrets I'M
happily were not yet carried out While the
audience was conveying itself through the
doorway into the street 1 elbowed my way
behind the scenes and corralled the professor,
who was engaged in packing his parapher-
MALTA. When you want man to do you
favor, it is by no means best to approach him
with an obsequious air; if you do, he will
probably tumble to your racket so to speak,
md give yon the cold shake. l lept my hat
'n and paralyzed the professor with steeIy
glare and just shade of hauteur
Representing the press" l said brusGuely
producing a pasteboard. care not the
chemicals used in h-ah-tricks are
hey not dangerous-of an infammable nat
lre-apt to explode; and all that?"
A SCARED PROFESSOR.
While was talking, 1 made some notes in
manuscript book, giving the professor the
dea that the jottings were to the effect that
is entertainments were of a character
azardous to the audience
Good gracious, sir! noI' he gasped: "by
II means do not publish such an insinuation:
would ruin me. All my agents are Innocent
7hen rightly used"
/ smiled cynicalIy-"Yes, of course YOU saw
D."
"But I can prove it. Potassium, phos-
horus, birthstone, quicksilver. Are they ex-
losive"
The trail was getting warm
"Well, of course, that depends. The potas-
u1n for instance, how do you use itg"
Il drop small quantity cf it upon the sur s
ice of the water in the glass dish. Upon
ontact with the water it Immediately flares
p and burns with rose colored flame j.,
impleSt thing in the world With the brim- !;
one l merely touch a piece of steel made
ID hot in t. me of a CANDLE and the steel
elts like t; No danger there. A stick
phOsphor ), affixed to my pen when 1 |
rite upon the newspaper, and of course in C
e darkness the writing stands out To wash +
y hands in molten lead it is only necessary ;
battle them previously in an ointment made
one ounce of quicksilver, two ounces of
de ammoniaco, half an ounce of camphor 5
I'd two ounces of aqua vitae, beaten together =
18th peStle in a brass mortar. I keep this
ixture by me constantly, and have never
It had the slightest accident" +
The still, small voice of the call boys clock
id I'll" just as the professor was finish
g Lis meaty sentence, and 1 rushed around =
the office with scant time to write up and
nd In my copy by II o'clock. had not 81
posed the professors whole business, but 1
d got at the'marrow of four of his best
ckS.-DetrOit Free Press
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