Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1888-05-25
Copyrighted 1883 by the Author

Copyrighted 1883 by the Author
Free trade seems to be coniurer's creed
in respect to the anecdote he tells of the
startling or amusing exhibitions of his
prowess he has given during his career
and it is mighty interesting at times to
trace to its fountain head cleverly com
pounded and ingeniously localized yarn
told by willy magi clan to some guileless
newspaper man. Houdin in that marvel
lousy interesting autobiography of his,
which am inclined to agree with my
friend Mr. Brander Matthews, in thinking
one of the model autobiogrsphies of the
world from purely literary point of view,
has afforded much anecdotal virgin gold
which his followers have elaborated into
more or less dainty devices and stamped
with their own initials. Poor old Blitz
was one of the worst sinners in this re-
gard, and living conjurer has gone be-
You'd hin and assimilated not only the
title of a more famous predecessor but
his entire stock of anecdotes, including
that of the sultan and his watch which l
mentioned in a previous article. Even
this, however, was not altogether original
when first told, but is evidently based on
an anecdote of the Compile de Grisy related
by his pupil Houdin and to which l shall
have an opportunity later of referring
1t is to Heller's credit that most of his
stories were both true and novel for most
of them swere dependent rather on his
cleverness as a humoriSt rather than as q
conjurer.
There is that delicious little bit of yer
biage for instance with which he mystitied
I IL.
ton of his second sight" mystery. as |
it mesmerism p he finally quered. Ger |
tainly' said Heller. If supernatural |
vision is based on mesmeric Authorizations
wherein the real and the unreal hand in
hand so closely approach each other that
our powers of discrimination are absolute
ly fulfilled, then 1t Is clear that this won
derful phenomenon is far beyond the pos
sibility of conjecture and it clearly is bet
ter TO be content with simply observing
and studying the effect produced than to
attempt to analyZe that which being, as
it may be, more than it appears becomes
still more 50 as we find ourselves sinking |
in the mlre OF doubt from which on emerg-
ing, our faculties benumbed and paralyz
ed, give no hope of enlightenment other |
than that which migl have been and per |
haps ought, but still could not without
verging towards that bourne from which |
no traveller returns ~
But what has all that to do with second |
sight,
Heller's answer, and that was all the sat
sfacton he would give. AS has been said, |
Heller travelled round the world perform |
ing successfully everywhere, and not the |
poorest harvest was reaped in India. the |
home of the tar famed Hindoo jugglers |
Like all who are acquainted with the first
principles OF conjurlng, Heller found their |
pretensons vanish into nothingness on
close acquaintance. They are Clever iugg-
lers in the strict sense OF the term, and the |
knowledge they possess of the rudiments |
of conjuring, having been handed down |
from father to son, they perform their |
simple tricks neatly but beyond this they |
do not go. When Heller was at Madras,
couple of iugglers came on board the
ship before it was fairly in port and went |
through their tricks. Their tOur-dC-tOr |
was the growing tree. First they put Il
little sand on deck, then they planted
couple of seeds in it, and then held up |
cloth in front. One of them kept water |
ing the earth essiduously, and in few |
minutes the cloth was withdrawn and |
little sprig OF mango was seen. The cloth |
was again held up, there was more water |
ing and incantatlon, and the sprlg had |
grown a trtle. So they kept on until there |
was branch two feet high which they |
called tree. Heller saw that though the |
men were almost nude, and apparently |
there was no chance for concealment |
about their persons, linen bag from
WHICH t0ty lOOh SuCu dIllCltS as lncy re
quired lay near at hand and afforded op, |
portunity for the extraction theretrom of
a small forest. His mode of discounting |
their trick for which he was fully prepar-
ed was characteristic. He took shawl |
from lady standing near by, and asked
permission to throw it over the mango |
tree 1t was rather contemptuously grant |
ed by the natives, aud with flourish Hell |
Ter placed it in position withdrawing it a |
second later, when, in place OF the mango
was a little fir tree a little taller than its
predecessor. That nearly finished the ma |
tives who were finally vanquished by the
display of some clever pc Inning, (an art in |
which they seem TO be defceuU on the |
part of the European, and AS | shall fire.
quently have to refer to this fundamental |
portion of modern magician's education,
a short description of its mode of operation
may not be amss.