The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-30

I fblc presents very great difnculties. one o.
/ the earliest successful attempts az par
I tial solution was the invention OF The
/ Sphinx" which met with sensational
/ exposure al the NIusee Francais. Paris.
] This is an ingenious arrangement Of mir
] rorS which renders invisible an OF the body
] except the head or the head and bust.
/ This was first produced al Egyptian hail,
] London. about 1864. but with the invention
Of superior illusions il has been relegated
30 the museums and county fairs. A more
] elaborate and interesting deception Is the
| BLACK Art" This can, however. be pro-
| duced only on a darkened stage. By far
/ the most artistic and ingenious method
for rendering a person invisible Is one
! capable Of production on a brilliantly ngnt-
| ed stage. and never even suspected by an
| audience. but I do not know that IL has
ever been made the basis Of 8 distinct IL
fusion.
Decapitation feats are by no means new.
one Of the best ever seen in this country
| was brought out in July. 1915. at san
! Francisco. BY Prof. Nanek. DO not believe
/ that decapitations and similar illusions are
| destined 10 become popular None Of them
| can be recommended on their artistic mer-
its, and legitimate entertainment is scarce
| ~ to be sought in spectacles which cause
a shudder. Among the methods for effect
| ing an instantaneous disappearance on an
open stage, none are more artistic than
/ Bautier Da Kolta's. vanishing Lady"
| The plan of this Hungarian magician Is
to seat a lady upon fragile chair placed
| in the center OF the stage under condt-
/ tons which apparently preclude the pos
| sibility of escape. The lady is mOmentarily
covered with piece OF silk. disappearing
! Immediately upon its removal The origt-
nal Illusion requires unusual skill for
| successful presentation, and several in
| ferior limitations have appeared at various
| times. One of the prettiest illusions OF the
| anti-gravitation order was originated by
| Robert HOudin, and is we'll known under
| various names to the patrons Of pubic
| entertainments. A young girl is anaes-
| thetized. and while in that state is sus-
pended in midair with no other visible sup
| port than a small rod secured to the stage,
upon which one OF her arms is allowed TO
rest. Baron Seeman perfected this illusion
- such degree that the use of even this
small rod was dispensed with.
To show the Startling effect produced
by the adoption of principles belonging
| to an obscure science, and at the same
time to illustrate the total lack Of CORE
spondence between the actual cause and
the ostensible effect / cannot do better
! than to describe an incident that hap
| pened to Robert HOudin, the celebrated
French magician, who was employed in
| 1856 by the government of France 10 Visit
| Algeria for the purpose OF neuralizing
| the influence which the Marabouts, by
| their pretended miracles, had gained over
| the superstitious minds Of the ignorant
| Arabs. Condolences d un prestidigita-
| teur, Chap. XIX Among other things.
| he assumed to possess ability to tempo
rarily deprive a man of muscular power
| and to substantiate this assertion ne per-
formed the following illusion:
Securing the aid of a powerful Arab,
who CHANGED TO be In the audience. ne eN-
hibited an iron box, to the lid Of which
two strong iron rings were affixed. At
Houdin's request the Arab lifted the box
| and easily held IL at arms length. When
the Arab had replaced the box upon the
floor the magician gazed al him with in
tent eyes and made few mesmeric
passes. repeating a mystic formula In
loud and impressive tone Again the
Arab seized the iron rings, but his
| strength had apparently departed, for,
despite his most desperate efforts, he
could not even move the box, and with
a cry of horror he dashed from the room.
The secret lay not in the hypnotic power
of the wizard, but in an electro -magnet
placed beneath the carpet, which, when the
current from a powerful battery was
turned on, attracted the iron box with
| irresistible force.
An amusing experience which befell
me some time ago is illustrative Of the
complete hallucination to which people
| are susceptible when once they are thor
| oughly bewildered with the marvels OF
the conjurer. At a matinee given to as
| slSt popular CndTlty produced several
| illusions of a character especially designed
to entertain the large number of ladies
/ with whom the theater was filled, the
| programme including Da Kolta's Shower
| of Roses" Heller's rabbit trick and
Flight of Birds" and some original ex-
| periments, which also involved the mys-
| FERROUS production of flowers, pigeons and
small animals. These selections naturally
led to my 'Potpourri Magipue" as an APP
propriate conclusion. For this illusion
pigeons and rabbits are placed, one by
one, into a small bronze urn, being in
stantly transformed. apparently, into so
many punches of roses, though they are
afterward produced from the pockets and
clothing of gentlemen in the audience.
On the occasion referred to, the climax
of this trick produced a sensation OF
such unusual intensity that / continued
to produce articles from the clothing OF
the audience, concluding with a very large
doll, which / carelessiy tossed to my as
sistant on the stage, not only to be greet
ed with loud ordinations of dismay,
for the audience, excited as they were,
and presuming upon the animated cOndi-
ton of the rabbits and pigeons. imagined
that the doll subjected 10 such reckless
treatment was actually a live baby.
But no matter how absorbing may bs
the studies OF the magician VINO follows
his art for It's own sake, the chief fasci-
nation lies not in the solitary task Of
wrestling secrets from the hazy domain Of
the unknown and forgotten. but in the
triumph of swaying the minds and emo
TORS Of those who witness his illusions.
A mastery presentation of experiments
based on the secrets of magic Is, of
course, the greatest source Of his power,
but a remnant of superstition still abides
in the minds of most people, and the
same impulse TO depart from logical
thought which tempfs many to a half
faith in luck throws around the magi-
clan Of to-day a shadow of the mantle
which Clothed his ancient predecessors
with supposed supernatural powers.
Frederick Bancroft.
The Essex Miracle.