The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-07-12
ESOTERIC CLIMAX.
lie SPIkETOWN COUNTED SIXTY
HOKC PREPARED 1T.

asperatinS subject of Cooking.
Nobody had ever heard Of the cele-
lrated Hoko Efendi. but the public
i~nriOsity to see him was no less keen on
HAT account. In the little western Hi
hois town on which he had alighted like
h flaming meteor the visit Of "a professor
If magic was an event. All that was
known Of him was that he had made his
| appearance about the time the stage
toach from Shacksville came in, and
"as supposed to have travelled in that
conveyance: that he had procured the
printing Of several hundred small bills
1T the Office Of The Blizzard, promising
10 pay for them the next day.
The evening came. The price Of ad-
mission to the entertainment was fifty
tents for adults, children half price.
The celebrated HOko Effendi was his
own doorkeeper, and tie people of Spike
town turned out in large numbers.
There were no deadheads except the
tditor Of The Blizzard and the dignified
ritizen who wore dyed WHISPERS and "a
plug hat and announced himself ut the
UOOr as the mayor.
When the audience began 20 show i'm
patience by the customary stamping and
tChlstllng the world renowned master Of
Egyptian magic accepted the prOifercl
!cTvlces Of Il leading citizen lis door
Keeper, and went back to the other end
If the hall, disappearing behind the Cur
tgi,, thaf hid tha St1,ra f,,,,,, -
In Il few moments he ~reappe2rad III
front Of it and made a pleasing little
speech, requesting close attention to the
performances, as many of them We're Of
II nature bordering on the supernatural,
and promising an entertainments such as
had never been seen in SPiketown be-
fore and never would again.
After performing some curious tricks
with playing cards he announced that
the first really difficult feat Of the even
ing would now be ahOwr-that Of baking
a cake without a pan Of any kind.
The ladies III the audience" be said.
when they bake cakes are compelled
TO use butter, eggs, -four, sugar. fla
vOring extract, icing, etc, and pat the
dough III a hot oven. | do nothing of
the kind. By the simple manipulation
Of flour, sirup and Il hat | can produce
Il cake in five minutes that no lady in
this house can equal. | will make 4
cake that a committee, to be selected
from the ladies present, Will pronounce
the best they yer tasted. | will do this
or forfeit 500. VIII some kind gentle
man present oblige me with the loan of
o HIGH Gill hate WIFI ,-o,, lI,11,- 1,,,1 =
to me? will take excellent care Of it
and return it in a few minutes"
The mayor demurred.
Your hat will not be injured III the
least, sir" the magician assured him.
Il will return it to you without spot.
blemish or stain. | have performed this
feat thousands of times without the
slightest injury to the hat"
The mayor Of SpiketOwn, thus APP
pealed to, relented and handed over his
cherished tile.
Then the magician produced "a pan of
-four, which was passed through the
audience and unanimously declared to
be genuine. He poured it into the hat.
Then a quart measure half filled with
New Orleans molasses was produced and
handed around in like manner. pro-
nounced the pure, unadulterated stuff,
and returned to him. He poured this
into the hat likewise and stirred the
mixture with a long lead pencil. The
mayor ~involuntarily gasped and half
rose in his seat, but the wizard again as
sured him, with Il wave of the hand,
Your hat will not be injured in TIE
least, my dear sir" and he proceeded
with the performance.
Now, ladies and gentlemen" he said,
we will witness the finale. the denoo-
mong. as it We're, of this unparalleled feat
of illusion. | can bake the cake just as
we'll on a piece of ice as on Il stove; but
as there happens to be Il good lire in this
stove near the stage | will bake it on top
of that. Again, | assure you. Mr.. Mayor,
that your hat will not suffer the slightest
injury"
Stepping briskly down, he placed the
hat on the stove.
Now. good people" he said, keep
your eye on that hat till yOu can
count sixty. | Will retire and prepare
the esoteric climax
He mounted the stage and stepped be-
hind the curtain.
In 4 moment a smoke went up from
the hat on the stove. and the OdOr of
something scorching filled the air.
The mayor Of Spiketown jumped from
his seat, and with one bound cleared the
distance that lay between him and the
stove.
He lifted his precious hat.
The bottom, or rather the top. fell
out. The Sizing batter spread out over
the stove. 1t Missed and sputtered and
flew. And even as the mayor held up
the hideous ruin of his once glorious hat
and looked through it some of the yell
lowish mixture trickled on his vest and
ran in sad. discouraged. bilious looking
streams down his trousers.
His honor spoke a few words briefly,
but emphatically-through his hat-and
broke for the stage, followed by several
of the leading citizens of Spiketown.