The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-10
BANCROFT, THE MAGICIAN.
He Demonstrates That He stands ut
the Head of His Profession,


the Head of His Profession.
People went to the theater last night ex s.
pecting something new and unique In the
line of magic from Bancroft the magi-
clan, whom they had heard great deal
of, but had never seen in this city before.
And they were not disappointed.
His ENTERTAINMENT strictly speaking,
may be called variety performance. in
that is combines scenic effects terpsicho-
rean specialties, japanese jugglery, etc,
with sleight-of-hand and higher class
magic. At the same time, however Ban
croft is the life and soul of the show
His dexterty is simply marvellous. There
was not a trick that he attempted but
was performed in a simply perfect man
ner. He is u master of his art And be
sides being a master he is an inventor.
He did several acts-experiments he calls
them-that have never been seen here be-
fore. Even in the threadbare matter of
card tricks. he produced novelties mar
We're at once myshfying and amusing
| While putting on new things, he left OF
many old ones affected by nearly all ma
| gicians and have become known as stocNs-
in-trade. For instance, there was a hap
py absence of pulling baby clothes out OF
| the hat of an old bachelor and things
of that kind.
His skull trick is wonderful. A human
skull, 1000 years old, ito the performers
personal knowledge" is placed upon a
sheet of glass in such a manner that 1t
is impossible that an electrical connec-
| ton, or connection with strings and wires.
could be made with It without the knowl-
edge of the audience. The skull is then
Intricate md
answer abstruse questions, by rapping
with its lower jaw bone upon the glass.
A column of figures compiled by several
persons in the audience without Bancroft's
seeing them is added by the skull before
the person in the audience holding the fig
ures has completed an addition And the
skull makes no mistakes. This is one of
the best tricks ever seen here.
| Concluding the first part, little We've
| Cubitt does some clever dancing. He is
a mite of a child. But he dances the
sailors hornpipe in a manner that never
fails to win an encore. The third part
presents Satsuma, a japanese juggler of
remarkable accomplishments. His acts
probably are not surpassed even in his
own country. where jugglers attain to
perfection. The scenic effects in both of
these acts are fine. Bancroft carries all
of his own stage settings, and they must
represent a comfortable fortune.
In the third scene Mr.. Bancroft pre-
sents the midnight mysteries of the Yogi
of India, or the ''black art" as it has
been termed by others who have prac-
| uced it. He has made some improve
ments, however, and the illusion is thor
ough and complete. Tables tumbers,
watches, and anything else that the ma
| gician chooses to use, appear and dis
appear as if through the agency of some
mysterious power. A woman appears
| dressed in white. She is covered with a
white sheet in the center of the stage. A
| wave of the wand, and though she APP
pears still to be standing there, the sheet
is withdrawn and she is gone
The scenic effects in the fourth part
are rich The magician appears sur
rounded by the richest stage settings and
| handsome curtains, all in consonance
with the remarkable work that follows.
Bancroft here presents many new features
! in the way of sleight-of- hand which give
his spectators much to wonder at. Per-
haps the most startling trick was with
a card selected from the middle OF a deck
by a party in the audience. From two
| cards thus selected one Is chosen
on call from the audience
and the party holding the card tore it into
eight pieces, keeping one of them. The
magician took the seven pieces, and in
moment one of the ushers brought him
a sealed envelope, which another party
was requested to hold. The seven pieces
were made to disappear as if into the en-
| veope, and in a moment when the enVel-
| ope was torn open a card was taken out
with one piece gone That piece was in the
hands of the other party, and fitted ex-
actly. These and many other similar mys-
| terious tricks are performed with ease and
| facility. The scene concludes with the
| well-known silk hat trick, with the differ
| ence that the borrowed hat, which was APP
parenuy demolished, is handed out by
Mephisto, who appears in tableau called
| the Home Of Magic
Mr.. Bancroft will repeat his excellent
performance at the matinee this after
noon and again tonight.
To-day is the last day of Prof. Gentrys
dog and pony show. A matinee will be
given this afternoon and a farewell per-
| Torrance tonight. The weather during a
| part of Prof. Gentry's engagement has not
been favorable for tent shows and yet as
| he always does Prof. Gentry has enter
tanned crowds at every performance.
| The attractions for next week at the
theater are Walker Whtesde in Hamlet,
Tuesday night, and Della Fox in The Lit
tie Troope, Wednesday night. Both of
these are leading attractions, and neither
has ever been seen here. Miss Fox is
supported by company of fiftysfour peo-
pie. Mr.. Whiteside is strongly support
ed, and his presentation Of the melan-
choly Dane, is said to be a powerful piece
of dramatic work.