The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1889-10-20

serve the attendants sweeping up the
stage and the young ladies taking the
curl papers out of their hair These con-
slderatlons and Billy's enthusiastic man
ner oyercame my reluctance to be put on
exhibition as dude, and presently
round myself sitting up on shelf behind
an iron railing aad green curtain, with
vague impression that was tenor in
church quartette, and was waiting for
the minister to give out the hymn. This
impression was gradually dispelled ly
the subsequent proceedings.
Billy rather expected 1 would be
knocked out of time by the decollete
character Of the performance. But L
have seen several Casino shows, and l
have gaZed with rapture upon Marie Jan
sen, ,undressed as Tourouloupi in the
Oolah, SO was able to gaze with the cal
lous eye of hardened usage upon the
voluptuous paddings, and delicate rouge
and cream-balm tintS of the Roster &
Bal coryphees. Billy was quite hurt at
my lack of emotion; but he made up for
it himself whenever the very tall girl with
the very red tights kicked little more
like jumping jack than usual.s
NO. believe | did not think much of
the ''leg show" 1t was not even very
wicked-though Billy tried to persuade
himself and me that it was kind OF
WalPurgisnacht. Very young men of all
ages like to nourish such decisions.
Il.
But there was one feature of the even
ing's entertainment that not only at
tracted me, but that awakened the most
active interest and curiosity. This was
the performance of Yank Hoe, the Japan
ese prestidigitateur and illusionist, and
mis- fair Circassian assistant, Omene.
etYank Hoe is japanese from Madrid,
and Omene is Circassian from Charing
Cross. They chatter together in French
and Spanish. She addresses the audi
ence in very sweet London English. But
whatever nationality they may belong to,
Yank is one of the cleverest artists of his
class that L have ever seen, and Omene is
a most attractive personality, and COM
pels interest through the peculiar part
she plays in the show.
Many of Yank Hoes tricks are of the
stereoptyped school of mystification. l
pass them by. Herman does them almost
as well, and besides every one has read
Robert Houdin's books, and knows how
the thing is done just as well as the per-
former himself But Yank has three
tricks about which there is no mystitica-
ton, or, If there is, it is so subtle that l
could neither detect it nor evolve its
method from my inner consciousness,
though l have thought the thing over a
good deal.
In the first place, there is a very re-
narkable experiment in the transmission
or rather the non-transmission of force.
Yank takes his razors. He demonstrates
their keenness by cutting up cards into
shavings with them. He hands them to
Omene, who holds them, one in each
hand, edge up. Then Yank exhibits a
number or slips of tissue paper-rather
thinner and softer than cigarette papers
each about a foot long and an finch
wide. After tearing up dozen of these
to show how f1imsy they are, he knots
two into loops, suspending one on the
edge of each razor, not where the knot
makes a thick spot, but with the thin
paper ribbon in contact with the keen
blade. Then he suspends upon these
loops, q chunk of wood a.foot-- long, and
an inch and half through--it looks as
If it had been picked at random out of a
pile of kindling wood. Omene stands
rigid, holding the razors out before him.
From them depends the wood supported
at the ends on paper loops, like frail
trapeze. Then Yank picks up club.
He makes feint or two, makes smart
quick gesture, a downward stroke, there
is a smack and the suspended chunk of
wood drops in htwo piece on the foorl
broken clean in the middle by the blow.
:. The paper loops, absolutely uniniured,
remain dangling over the razor edges,
and Yank Hoe picks them off and tears
them up to show there is no deception
touching their strength. The magcan's
blow has been so swift that its force is
never transmitted to the lump of wood
which it breaks to the loops.
CoNSUMMATE SWoRDSMANsHIP.
AS an encore to this remarkable feat,
Yank performs a prodigy of swordsman-
ship which we often read about, but very
seldom see. First he places potato
upon Omene's naked palm, and with
single stroke of razor edged Japanese
sword cuts it clean through, so that the
halves fall right and left upon the stage,
ba han raf mi nfa
Next, the woman kneels down, leaning
over upon stool, a potato is placed upon
her bare shoulders, just at the insertion
of the neck, and again it is cleft in two
with one swift motion, and without the
slightest injury to the smooth fair skin.
In response to the shout of applause
which followed third exhibition of skill
was given, and this time the woman
seemed to be seriously afraid. She knelt,
and, bending backward, with her head
thrown back, she brought her uncovered
chest into horizontal position. The
potato was placed Just at the meeting of
the breast and collar bones. Yank Hoe
stood over her with the trenchant blade
glittering in the gaslight Again and
again she whispered words, delaying the
stroke while she strOve to bring her body
to absolute immobillty.
l think / saw real fear in her eyes,
which looked right up into our box. Ger
talnly Q6T dtllIutl6 WAS Trying one, ana
a movement of quarter of an inch in her
body might mean the cutting of her
throat, or the slicing of the flesh of her
bosom clean to the bone.
| watched breathlessly, and you could
hear pin drop in the house. At last she
made a supreme efforl, her body sank
little, and her muscles frightened
She made sign with one hand, and
Kissed word through her teeth.
Down came the sword in that very
breath, swift, sure and and undertaking,
the potato--unromantic vegetable-rolled
in halves over her corsage--and all was
over.
At the moment of contact, Omene gave
a horrid chopping gasp, rs if she had been
plunged in ice water. Then she spraug
to her feet, passing her hand over her
soft white skin as if to assure herself
that it remained uninjured.
HOW WAS THIS DONE?
Then, of course, there was u short APP
plause. and, as an encore, Yank Hoe per-
formed his notable feat of reading the
writing on cards in sealed envelopes. |
have always thought that this sort of
thing was done through confederates in
the audience Now l know it is not.
When Omene began TO give out the
cards Billy beckoned her for One. She
stood on her tip toes and passed one up to
us, and, looking out of the liquid depths
of her soulful eyes, she said;-"Write
something nice"
''Let me have that card, Billy" said I.
He gave it to me reluctantly.