Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1890-01-10
THE WIZARD OF THE NORTH,
Something About His Tricks-Sad Story OF
HIS Favorite DAUGHTER.

Something About His Tricks-sad Story of
HIS Favorite Daughter.
There was a wretched woman singing for
pence in the slums recently who had a his
tory. She was none other than the ~favorite
daughter of Professor Anderson, the Wizard
Of the North, who used to mystify the last
generation with the wonders of elementary
electricity. Many people who marveled at
the professors show-and who did not marvel
at it in those days?-will remember his hand
some daughter. She used to have little to do
with the performance beyond playing the
piano sometimes, but she was always on view,
and she was always seen about with her father.
He left a good deal Of money behind him, and
she had her share, but by this time she had
married a New York professional man, and
he quickly made ducks and brakes of it. She
left him and sought to make a living on the
stage.
A good musician and a fair singer, she
managed to get on pretty well for a time,
and came to England; but a run of ill luck
came and engagements failed her. She parted
with her wardrobe and came dow at last to
singing in the streets. Later came worse still.
Her strength gave way, her voice failed, and
even this wretchedest means of subsistence
was lost.
For two days she had nothing at all to eat
and for two nights she slept in the park.
Then, and not till then, she overcame her
pride, and called to see q gentleman who in
the old days knew her and her father very
well. She is being cared for now and is being
put in the way to earn a livelihood.
The wizard was a remarkable mar in many
Ways. He was a cook by trade and practiced
his profession as chef at a hotel in Aberdeen.
He left his hotel to become a wizard. The
tricks by which he made his fame would
hardly puzzle a %schoolboy nowadays. But
those were the early days of electricity, and
when people saw candles suddenly light up
without q match being put to them and
heard rappings and bell ringings and drum
beatings coming in the most mysterious man
ner from all parts of the hall they were a
little frightened as well as being astonished.
Some of what were accounted the profess
sor's most marvellous tricks were accomplished
by concealing underneath the carpet on the
stage a copper plate communicating with an
electric battery. In the heels of his boots
were fixed spurs in such q manner that when
ever he liked he could drive them through
the carpet and make electrical connection
with the copper plate underneath. When
people did not know of the ingenious little
arrangement the easily produced electrical
phenomena were sufficiently marvellous.
He used to give his audience shocks and do
a little i'll the electric faith healing line BY
way of varying the performance. The wiz
ard was q born mechanic, and used to manu-
facture his own apparatus as far as possible.
He possessed also a large measure of that
great quality Of the successful inventor, the
power of approprialing other peoples ideas.
If any one brought him a new piece of
trick apparatus that Shove ingenuity he
would contrive in examining it to break it.
Then the artful wizard would send for the in
ventor to repair it, and if he showed any
cleverness would keep him hanging about till
he had found out what ingenious ideas the
uAsuspecting inventor had got floating about
in his head. The professor always had his
own workshop in every town he visited, and
to this he would retire with such ideas as he
had managed to pick up and work them out
as his own inventions. He was very canny,
was Professor Anderson, and apart from the
merits of his performance he is accounted
one of the cleverest showmen that ever lived.
Professor Anderson had another daughter
beside the unfortunate lady referred to
above. She used to take a prominent part in
the performance, and regularly accomplished
some really marvellous mnemonic feats.
Every day she used to learn off by heart the
contents of three newspapers. At night her
father would blindfold her and invite people
in the audience to indicate any paragraph in
either of those papers which they would like
the young lady to read by second sight. She
would repeat it word for word without ever
making a mistake. This is, perhaps, the
most remarkable feat of memory on record.
She is a middle aged woman now, and is en-
gagged i'll literary work in Leeds. -Glasgow
Mail.