The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-11
HOW a GOOD TRICK is DONE.
Wonderful Illusions Are Founded
on the Ideas of the YOgis.
From the Chicago Daily News.


From the Chicago Daily News.
Where do all the wonderful tricks and
illusions which are performed by magi-
clans come from? Whose fertile brains
originate them? William B. Caulk, in an
article published in the Scientific Ameri-
can, shows that these light-fngered gen
try are indebted for many Of their best
ideas and Illusions to the yogis and ma
hatmas of India. Much which has been
said and written of these interesting peo-
pie has the touch of exaggeraton, but
there is no shadow of doubt that they are
past masters of the black art, and that
they conceived and were first to perform
many of the tricks from which our mod
ern magicians have taken principles on
which they have founded some of the
most startling illusions shown on the
stage to-day. Alae
Take, for Distance, the Illusion known
as 'Dlack art" or the midnight mystic
ries of the yogis." The weird illusion is
founded on an idea advanced by the yo-
gis of India.
In this illusion the entire stage. from
the first groove to the rear, Is hung with
black velvet, the floor covered with black
felt, and the top is covered with black
black velvet, thus forming a large room
lined entirely in black. The regular
footlights are turned out and a special
set used that consist of a row of open
gas jets placed on a line with the boxes
and carried up the outside of the black
room.
The lights throughout the entire house
are either turned very low or put out,
with the exception of the special lights
mentioned above.
The curtain rises, disclosing the black
chamber. In a moment the magician
appears dressed in a white suit; a wave
of his hand and a white wand appears
floating in the air, which the magician
secures. A wave of the wand and table
appears on the left. A large vase APP
pears on one Of the tables and a second
vase appears on the magiclan's out
stretched hand. Both of the vases are
shown and proved empty, and IN one are
placed a few orange seeds, and the wand
is passed over the vase, which instantly
becomes flied with oranges The
oranges are poured into the second, then
returned to the first vase, when they dis
appear as quickly and mysteriously as
they appeared and again the vases are
again shown empty and again placed one
on each of the tables. A borrowed
watch Is placed in one of the vases,
from which 1t disappears and is found in
the vase on the other table A Hfe-size
skeleton now appears and dances around
the stage, becomes dismembered the sep
arated parts floating about, but they final
~ rearuculate themselves, and the skele-
ton vanishes. Now a rabbit is seen in
one of the vases. from which it is taken
by the performer, and in his hands II be-
comes two, which are tossed in the air
and disappear.
The number and style of tricks per-
formed in the mysterious black chamber
are almost unlimited, but an explanation
of the ones mentioned above win suffice
to show how BLACK art" is performed
While the stage is draped in black,
everything that appears is painted white
and the magician is dressed IN white
There is an assistant on the stage all
through the act, but as ne is dressed in
black. with gloves on his hands and hood
over his head made Of black velvet he Is
not seen by the spectators whose sight
is somewhat dazzled by the open gas Jets
The tables are on the stage, but covered
with pieces of black velvet rendering
them invisible.
The assistant deity removes the velvet
and causes table to appear at the magi-
clans command.
The vases are also sitting on the stage.
but covered with pieces of black velvet
BY picking UP the covered vases the as
sistant can cause them to appear bv re-
the other on the performers hand. The
oranges are in a black velvet bag from
which the assistant pours them into the
vase, pours them into the open mouth of
large black bag held by the assistant
just over the lower vase.
The transposition OF the watch from
one vase to the other is Just as easy. The |
assistant merely removes IL from the |
vase in which the performer placed a and
places II in the second vase. The manip- |
ulation of the rabbit is equally simple.
The assistant places the first one in the |
vase by mean of a black bag, in which |
1t was concealed, then places the second |
one in the performers hands from a
second small bag. In vanishing the rab- |
bits the performer merely losses them
into large open-mouthed black bag held |
by the assistant.
The skeleton Is made Of papier mache. |
painted white and fastened on a thin |
board that Is sawed TO shape and cover |
ed with black velvet One arm and one |
leg are jointed so as to be readily re- |
moved and replaced by the assistant when |
he Is operating the skeleton.
The tables are made either OF wood or |
papier mache and painted white. The
vases are made Of papier mache painted |
white on the outside and black on the in