Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-28
THE GAzETTk: FT. WORTH TExAs, SUNDAY, JUNE q.
pianist as for his skim as prestidigita-

pianist as for his skin as prestidigita-
teur.
People think the so-called second-sight
mystery, performed by myself and my sis
ter Haidee, one of the wonders of the
world, I" he said to me one day in a moment
of confidence. SIT certainly does seem re-
markable that Haidee, sitting blindfolded
with her back to me, can accurately de-
scribe articles which take at random from
clever feat of memory. She and have
learned by rote wellarranged alphabet of
questions, each one of which conveys
its own answer. Thus, if standing
among the audience hold up a silk hand
kerchief and call out to Haidee, Sitting
upon the stage blindfolded by a handker-
chief and a shawl thrown over her head
and having her back turned toward me,
What kind of a handkerchief is thisr Hal
dee knows it is silk one; but if ask,
What is the material of this handkerchief
she knows at once that it is of linen. We
have carried this system to such perfection
that Haidee can infinitely describe, in reply
to my questions, any article that can posi-
bly, be imagined, can name dates on COINS,
and can tell the time of day as indicated by
watches"
! ONE OF HERRMAN's LARKs..
s'You have no idea how much fun ma
gician can have by the exercise Of his art
for his own amusement, said Herman, the
well-known French prestidigitator.
s'The other day while passing an timer
ant vendor of provisions in Fulton market
an aged colored LADY, stopped and inquired
the price of her eggs.
"'Two fo' five, Honey, and dey's good an
fresh, case billed 'em myself
"SGive me two,' l said, laying down a
nickel Dividing one of the hard-boiled
eggs with my pen-knife, disclosed new
25-cent piece. The eyes of the old negress
and those of two or three bystanders
transferred the coin from the egg to my
vest pocket Breaking open the second egg
in the same way, l revealed new gold dol
lar nesting in the yolk of each.
's1'll take two more of those eggs" I
said, and again transferred the coins to my
vest pocket s'In fact, like them so much
that think I'll take two or three dozen of
| them. What will you sell them to me for
by the dozen, auntielp
s.Bi de dozen! F'o' de Lohd's sake!! J
Honey, you couldn't buy auodah OBJ dem
eggs fo' all de money you's got. Use gwine
right home to smash all dem eggs, and
cherry cent deah is in dem done belongs to
mer' And the last | saw of the good old
soul she was fastening to her domicile
with an egg basket on each arm, eagerly
intent upon smashing dem eggs
ANDERSON LETS OUT SOME SECRETS.
Professor Anderson, or as he styled him
self the wizard of the North" was the
most delightful of all companions as well as
one of the cleverest of magicians. He
was an intimate friend of the late P. Il.
Barnum, who outiived him many years,
and was deeply grieved when poor Ander-
son went over to the majority. Anderson
was one of those few magicians who do not
hesitate to talk of their tricks to their
friends, and to give them an insight into
how they are done.
"You have seen me change red silk
haukerchief from one decanter to another"
he said to me one day. swell, I am going
to tell you how it is DONE The two de-
canters stand on table. l take one and
stuff the handkerchief into it. hold it
above my head, rotate it and make the
handkerchief disappear. l do that by pull
ing it up my sleeve by a very small rubber
cord attached to it. At the same time, at a
given cue duplicate handkerchief is pulled
into the other decanter on the table by an
unseen assistant underneath the stage. who
holds a small cord running up through the
table and perforation in the bottom of the
decanter, out through the neck to the con-
cealed square of silk.
Then you have seen me take three conf
cal tin cups and fill one with clippings of
white paper, one with clippings of blue
paper and one with sawdust; place them
cloth. removing the latter in few seconds
and disclosing one of the cups filed with
cream. another filled with white sugar and
third filled with hot coffee. Apparently
very wonderful, but really the simplest
thing in the world. The tin cups have
false tops fitting neatly into the bowl to the
depth of an inch ar so. In these false tops
7 placed the paper clippings and the saw
dust, while in the true cups beneath were
the cream, sugar and coffee. When l
lifted off the cloth cover had only to prac-
tice little sleight of hand in also lifting off
the false tops to the tin cups and there you
aren
M'CALLIsTER's PRRTTIEsT TRICK.
'Do you believe in ghoSts?" was once
asked by Professor McCaliister, another of
the cleverest of the old-time magicians.
''Well it was the apparition Of a dead
sweetheart that suggested to me the idea
of my prettiest trick. One evening while
resting in the south of France, l was alone
in my apartment at twilight, when I sud-
denly saw in the center of the room the
form of beautiful girl to whom had been
deeply attached, and who had died some
two months before. She was apparently
sleeping in mid-air, with no support what
ever. Her arms We're crossed upon her
breast, and she was lying upon her back at
a distance of about five feet from the
ground. With cry of rapture | sprang
toward ner, DuC Wnen leaned over 10
touch her she instantly vanished
This apparition suggested to me my
famous illusion, The Suspended Venus
which I perform by tossing about for
few moments large piece of carleton
drapery, and then, letting it fall to the
ground, 1 reveal the form of beautiful
young girl asleep in mid-air, her only sup
port being O slender steel rod upon which
she rests one elbow"
KELLER TELLS CHINESE PRACTICAL JOKE.
did you know that the Chinese have
keen sense of humor2" asked Magician
Keller. ''You know my cabinet trick in
which the spirits play tamborines and
other instruments while am securely tied?
Well, while doing it at the Pollok theater in
Hong Kong had Chinese committee on
the stage, and one committeeman examined
my hands after each test to see if 1 was
securely tied At length, as he was bending
over, one of his friends took up the tambo-
rine and hit the back of the committeeman's
head; then put the instrument behind him
and gazed imperturbably into space. The
audience saw it all and shouted with laugh
ter. but the Door victim of this Chinese
practical jest confidently believed that he
been smitten by the Spirits and that his
last hour had come. With cry of horror
he rushed from the theater at a pace that
would have enabled anyone to use his pig
tail for clothesline."
GEoFFLEY WHLIsToN CHRISTINE.