The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-06-21
a MAGiCIAN'S ESCAPE.

A MAGlCIAN'S ESCAPE.
How q Conjurer Insulted the Sacred Per-
son of Royalty.
Almost every magician can tell you an
interesting story of how, at some time
or other, the noble art of deception in
volved him unexpectedly in deep trouble.
The temptation ''to fool people, is al
ways very strong. 1t is, no doubt, a
hattering thing to be able to show of
ones accomplishments at another per-
sons expense But every once in a
while the self-satisfed conjurer runs
| across Subject" that does not submit
tamely to his innocent wiles and sport
i've FRANKS. In one notable instance a
wizards performance led to serious COM
plications, as the following will show:
The story comes to US from the island
of Madagascar. The eventful scene Is
the court of her most gracious Majesty
Queen Ranarabona IL, with pretty
maids and faithful courtiers in attend
ance. A clever Creole conjurer had been
invited to entertain her majesty with
his subtle craft. He had, perhaps, that
high-sounding recommendation which
comes from having performed before
''all the crowned heads of Europe" and
that goes for great deal even in NADIA
gascar.
And so the conjurer set out to aston
ish the natives We have no idea Of
| what he did at first, but we may mag
inc that he repeated the old-time tricks
=.
please do this or that" At all events,
the programme went smoothly until the
wizard took glass of water and, by
flourish of his wand, turned the liquid
into wine-fne old Malaga, as he
claimed With self-satisfed smile and
courtly bow, he offered the glass to
her majesty To the magician's sur
prise, the queen declined to taste the
fine old Malaga. The fellow repeated
his seemingly innocent request, and
again the queen refused. When he in
sisted, an attendant whispered into his
ear that the queen did not drink in pub
lie.
But magicians claim to be above all
rules of etiquette and royal red tape. If
this coffee-colored expert had been wise,
he would have stopped then and there
What do you think he had the imperti
hence to do? He pretended to be seized
with a fit of anger (which appeared to
the audience to be real, and not as
sumed), and in his rage he threw the
fine old Malaga into the queens lap.
You can easily imagine the confusion
that ensued. Of course, the queen was
so greatly shocked that she tainted, the
pretty maids screamed, the faithful
courtiers drew their swords and the
guards were called in.
If ever a Prospero badly needed his
magic wand, it was at this time, when
little frst-rate magic would have been
of wonderful service. How the creole
professor managed to get out of the
court alive is more than either he or we
could tell. Suffice it to say that he did
escape, and that he at once sought
refuge in the house of the English resi-
dent-general.
Few of us can realize the unpardon-
able offense committed by the magician.
The taboo which surrounds the royal
persons among semi-civilized people
may be compared to that divinity which,
as Shakespeare said, doth hedge
king" The luckless expert had be-
haved not only in the rudest possible
manner, but he had broken one of the
time-honored laws of the taboo" the
punishment for which was death.
I'm truth, the saffron-faced professor
was in desperate trouble. He had no
IL. - L. I,
supplied into the queens lap, her sac
red person had been insulted. Nor
could he show that splitting the water
was really an innocent trick, as any
amateur magician well knows. 1t was
too late. The only thing for the pro-
fessor to do was for himself to take the
part of the vanishing lady" and get
out. But how?
By this time great crowd had gath
cred around the house of the resident
general. As loyal subjects, the people
demanded the head of the ill-mannered
foreigner. If the resident general did
not want to do the execution act"
they would do it for him willingly.
Then the English representative came
out and poured oil on the troubled
waters. He argued for delay If her
majesty's good people would only wait
until tomorrow, their anger would be
appeased, and all would go well. After
parleying and coaxing, the mob dis
persed
Ii To that night or early the next
morning the terrified magician was bur-
ried away and secreted in sailing YES
sell The action of the resident general
threatened, for short time, to produce
diplomatic complications. The people
had been cheated out of their revenge
But England's power and war ships
were feared, and the matter was
dropped. AS for the dusky magician,
we hope that, like Prospero, thereafter
he eschewed magic, and resolved ito
break his staff" and TO bury it certain
fathoms in the earth. Harper Young
People.
The wife of a settler near Mel
bourne was recently bitten on the finger
by a snake. To prevent the poison
entering her system she placed her