The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-10-23

could work at all, being reduced to suci
small Dimensions Yet on inspection II wa
perfect piece OF mechanism. delicate u
every part, but strong and powerful In III
operation and must have cost vast outlay
of time and money in it's construction.
What seemed to be two horse hairs o.
about forty yards in length were next un
ravelled from box. They were eastic anc
when unwound could not be observed wher
laid upon the floor. The Professor ex
planned their uses rs follows
Il carry this battery in my pocket OF the
end of chain. These threads are con
nected with the battery so as not TO be seen
Then they are attached TO this drum (tak
ing from peg an ordinary snare drum y
which is placed in the hands OF one or the
audience and held aloft in gaze OF all.
| produce at pleasure taps and rolls upon the
drum while | am at sufficient distance tc
battle any suspicion that | am directly con-
nected with the drum. / also use the bat
terry and threads when l perform my S aS.
! and Sight with Nine. Hermann. The
probability of detection is almost impossi,
bic. but should u suspicion be expressed.
am prepared 10 slip the threads and per-
form the trick by two other methods"
1t would be tedious to describe at length
! all the articles in the workshop, tor they
seemed innumerable. Tables apparently
harmless were double the size they Seemed
! and contained all sorts OF traps ana secret
drawers. The two rabbits conjured nightly
| from an ordinary hat and their twin crother
| produced from the throat OF an unsuspectlng
auditor were fed and asleep, and the goose
that stalks from the trimmed paper not one
third its size. auacked away az though 1t
could lay golden egg, and then, forgetting
| II. lay another.
In one corner, like a shattered idol. lay
the little Chinese mandarin figure that
points unerringly to the chosen card. How
insignificant he looked Yet mount him on
his pedestal, attach the wires that lay coiled
in his dwarfed figure to the battery. give
Herman his wonted position beside him,
and the little figure like Richard, will be
himself again ready for the performance
of the work that babies belief.
The flowers that bloom III such profuslon
in spring and winter in the Professors cor
nucOpia seemed wasting their sweetness on
the desert air Of the workshop, but they
were there for reproduction and In pot OF
huge dimensions was the orange tree that
springs in all its yellow blossomed beauty
in minute from Il single seed. Martial
plumes yard long that are evolved from
space too small to suggest the possibility OF
their presence. were there by the dozen. A
live snake wrggled around in its cage. and
grinning skeletons all around made one feel
uncomfortable.
WHERE THE EYE Is DECEIVED.
Next was a view from one of the wings
of the stage of the magician's feats with a
full sight of the secret manner OF their per-
Torrance. My feelings at the discovery
were family like those of the great dis
coyerers of anything heretofore unknown,
albeit they added nothing to the worlds
greatness. 1t is said that Hermann carries
az baggage twelve large chests heavily laden
Ill of MI trie "a
The wonder is that he is able TO compress so
much machinery into the space of twelve
chests. No one unintiated in front Of Her
mann's stage would ever dream of its won
derful contents and the manner OF their con-
cealment during the performances of one Of
his mechanical tricks. Mirrors, convex and
cOncave. are strewn about to all appearances
without design, wires stretch IN all dlrec-
lions, varying IN size from slender threads 10
cable chains.
The slave Girls Dream" in which Nine.
Hermann seems suspended on u slender
metal staff and floats through space in ODE
dlence TO the Professors wand is an affair
of gigantic proportions. The Madame IS
really sustained and supported by braces OF
elaborate and complex construction.
Any explanation of the trick itself would
be impossible because of the very complex
ity of the machinery used. With the aid OF
audience. one holds his breath. apprehen-
sive every moment of the discovery that
seems inevitable. But by seeming per-
version of common sense the audience is
intent on seeking exposure through far
reaching means while the trick itself is its
own exposure before its eyes, just as the
curtain of the famous artist OF antiquity
concealed no picture but was the picture
itself.
Strobeika," which has long puzzled the
general public, is simplicity itself. In this
delusion a Russian officer Is securely locked
10 board by a committee OF the audience
and suspended by wires in dungeon rep
resented by curtained cabinet raised high
from the floor, with every part save one
that is not looked for exposed to the audi
ence. The curtains are drawn and
almost Immediately pulled apart again.
when, TO- the board is found suspended as
it was left, but instead OF the officer being
found locked upon it his sweetheart, imper-
sonated by Nine Hermann, is seen Sc
curely locked, while the released officer
enters the theatre through the main en-
trance and bounds upon the stage.
The real marvel of the trick is the incredl-
bly, short space of time it takes him TO effect
his exit from the stage door and proclaim
his entrance in front. Before the curtains
are drawn upon the cabinet he has released
himself: the innocent looking wires are
parts of derrick hosting HIM from sight
and through an opening in the one part of
cabinet where no opening is suspected.
Nine. Hermann complacently steps from
her concealment behind the scenes and
adjusts herself to the board. The whole
thing is an optical illusion on the most en-
larged scale. As Nine. Hermann lay
locked upon the board, awaiting the with
drawal of tie curtain, her thoughts must
have been those of Puck. what fools these
mOrtals be-" when she considered how easily
eyeslght is deceived.
AN OFFICIAL ILLUSION.
Tho Cremation" in which q beautiful
woman il the full flush of life is burned TO
ashes, is another optical deusion wrought
by mirrors. In reality there is no fire nearer
to her than that burning in the footlights.
Simple as all these deccits and the causes
that effect them are. they nevertheless re-
qulrs the invention and construction of
devices that tax human ingenuity to its
utmost.
You have seen much tonight" said the
Professor at the conclusion of the perform
ance. that the public never sees. You may
be said 70 have taken your first lesson in
magic. If 1t has taught you that man
must be born magician with brain that
seems u misht in its powers of shaping
causes that lead to opposite effects you
have learned much. IL you have realized
that there are so few magicians IN the world
because of the laborous exactIons of brain
and muscle demanded you have learned
more and If you have resolved to let magic
alone as a means of a livelihood. notwth-
standing your wonderful knowledge of it