davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The record-union., 1897-01-28
Slim Chance for Bimetallism.

LONDON, Jan. 2I.-The members of
the House of Commons in favor of the
gold standard currency met to-day and
reelected Sir John Lubbock Chairman.
1t is announced that the members who
favor bimetallism do not intend to take
any action during the present session
of Parliament
The record-union., 1897-01-28
A Murderer Arrested.

ST. LOUIS. Jan. 27.-Arthur Palmer.
the alleged murderer of three persons
at White Plains, N. Y, about ten days
ago, was arrested at the Planters Ho-
tel here this afternoon.
The record-union., 1897-01-28

lover OF art and literature. being di-
rector of the Art Institute, and spends
much of his evening in his library. al
though being considerable of a club
man and frequent figure at banquets
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
The Dictionary Trick.

In effect, this trick consists of the di-
vination and mysterious production in
writing of a word selected by the au-
dience, apparently haphazard, from the
dictionary. The necessary apparatus
consists of a dozen or more of small
dictionaries, a paper-knife and a bag of
counters, numbered consecutiVely from
L up to the average number of words
on page-Say 120. With regard to the
dictionary used, that known as Rout-
ledge'S Penny Dictionary will be found
suitable, as combining in a special de-
gree cheapness and portability. The
dictionaries are distributed among the
spectators, and one of them is request
ed to insert the paper-knife anywhere
he pleases, between the leaves of the
copy that he holds. This is to decide
where the dictionary shall be opened
but for the moment he is requested to
keep the book closed, the paper-knife
remaining therein. The audience are
next invited to decide, by show of
hands, whether the right or the left
hand page shall be taken. They decide
say, for the left-hand page. The only
point that remains to be decided is
which word on that page shall be
taken. This is done by offering the bag
of counters to a lady Cfirst taking out
a handful to show that the numbers
are all differenD and asking ner to
draw one. If she draws a counter
bearing, say, the number 29, the twen-
ty-ninth word is to be taken.
Meanwhile the performer bares his
arm to the elbow, and shows that it
is free from writing or mark of any
kind. He then draws down his sleeve
again. The gentleman holding the die
tionary is asked to open it. and to de-
clare the number of the pages. There
are, say, Ii and 20, the left-hand page
being "a. This done, the performer
takes the dictionary, again closed,
with the knife in it, in his left hand,
and holds the arm outstretched, in
forming the audience that he is about
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
MYSTERIOUS Smoke.

1 will give one chemical experiment.
that rarely fails to produce a marked
effect upon spectators. A glass or COB
let is placed upon a stand or table and
covered with a plate. The magician
steps away a distance of twenty feet
or less, blows a puff of smoke from his
lips from cigar or cigarette and the
goblet is filled with smoke. 1t is a
weird, mysterious trick, but is as sim
pie as it seems difficult. Prepare the
goblet by placing a few drops of chem
ically pure ammonia in it. Prepare the
plate by placing two or three minins
of muriatic acid upon it. Until The
plate is placed over the glass contain
ing the ammonia neither of the chem
icals will be detected. But as soon as
the fumes of the ammonia come into
contact with the muriatic acid dense
fumes, looking exactly like smoke. are
evolved and the illusion is perfect.
During the very brief interval required
for the operator to walk away from
the glass his own movements and his
conversation will hold the attention of
his audience until he has had time to
blow forth a cloud of smoke
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26

to invite ''the spirits" to write the
word upon his arm. He feigns the
usual mediumistic twitches and
spasms, while those holding the other
dictionaries are invited to open them
and ascertain by inspection what word
No. 29 on the chosen page is. After
an interval of a minute or so, during
which he declares he feels them writ
ing" he pulls up his sleeve, and shows
inscribed on the forearm in blood-red
characters, the chosen word, say De
clamation."
The acute reader will doubtless
have guessed that by some means the
selection of the audience is forced"
Such is, in fact, the case, save as to
the choice of right or left Here
nature, having provided the performer
with two arms, enables him to offer
a genuine alternative. He prepares
the left arm with the twenty ninth
word on the left-hand page, ''Decla-
nation" and the right arm with the
twenty-ninth on the right-hand page,
say, Dentist" so that he is ready for
either contingency. The preparation
consists in writing the word with a
strongly colored red ink Cor, still bet
ter, Judson's crimson dye) on the soft
part of the inside of the arm, just
within the bend of the elbow.
The selection of the particular word
on the page is insured by having a
bag with two compartments, the one
containing mixed counters from 1 to
130, the other none but counters mark
ed 29. When the performer desires to
| show that all are unlike, he draws his
supplies from the first compartment
In offering the bag for the actual draw
he opens the second.
To compel the insertion of the paper
knife at the right place the performer
starts by procuring some four or five
| dozen of the little dictionaries. A
dozen of these he reserves to be hand
ed about among the audience. The
remainder he takes out of their COW
ers, and, assuming that he desired the
knife to be inserted between pages "a
and 25, he takes out those two pages.
which have on their reverse side pages
% and IS. He pastes together, two
and two, side % against 25, and side
26 against side "a. He will thus have
a number of leaves of double thick
ness, showing page "a on the one side,
/ dDQ % Ol1 lllC OlAGls 1DCSC uG SIlICnGS
! together, or has stitched by a book
binder in one of the original covers.
The book thus made up will look ex-
actly like one of the unprepared die
tionaries, but obviously wherever the
knife is inserted, it can only be be-
tween pages "A and 25.
In distributing the dictionaries at
the outset of the trick the operator
has the prepared one at the bottom of
the pile, and follows the handing out
| of this last one by an immediate re-
quest for the insertion of the paper
| knife.
1t only remains to be explained how
the performer manages to show his
arm free from writing, while it, in
fact, bears a bold inscription in blood
| red characters. This is achieved by
! the performer, on drawing up the
sleeve, first showing the outside of his
arm, and then dropping the arm, as
in the drawing, apparently showing
its opposite side. AS a matter of fact
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
HELPING HIM OUT.

Crawley and his wife were at a din
ner party the other night, and Craw-
ley, who had been waiting three-quar-
terS of an hour for the opportunity.
suddenly burst out with:
THAT reminds me of a little story
heard the other day about an absent
minded man who was going to take
bath one Saturday night, and"
You are mistaken, my dear" said
the wife of Crawley's bosom across
the table, in her calm yet firm voice.
1T was not Saturday night; it was on
Wednesday night. You always get it
wrong when you try to tell the story,
and 1 think that even a simple little
story should be told correctly if told
at all, and you are apt to get muddled
on the main points of a story, so I'd
better help you out by telling the main
points myself, which were that the
man was very absent minded and one
night when he had filled the bathtub
full of water preparatory to taking a
bath his head was so full of other
things that what did he do but plunge
right in without taking off any of his
clothes! Those are the main points.
and now you may go on with the story,
Mr. Crawley.'
And Crawley laughed lightly as he
said, II guess there is nothing left to
tell, my DEAR" but the thoughts and
strong desires that were hidden away
in the secret recesses of his heart only
Mr.. Crawley knew as they went on
their homeward way
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26

the mouth. The second thimble, palm
ed in the other hand, is then produced
from the back of the head; and the
passage from ear to ear is effected in
like manner.
Another pretty effect may be pro-
duced, the performer being in a seated
position, by bringing the hands down
thrice with slap upon the knees, at
the same time, after the manner of the
Fly away, Jack; fly away, Jill" of our
childhood, saying, "One, two, threel"
At the word three the thimble
passes from the forefinger on which it
was first seen to the other.
The principle of the trick, once mas
tered, it will be an easy matter for the
amateur to arrange other passes for
himself.
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
Only Thirty Years Old, and He Con-
trolls Over $3O,OOO,OOO
Already.
x**x*&#x* **t% ***@**&****&
Already.

the elderly Mr.. Armour, that authority
upon hams, wheat and philanthropy.
1t ticlzled Mr.. Armour almost to death
to sell wheat to Mr.. Letter. He closed
one eye and began to open the food
gates. 1t gave Mr.. Armour so much
pleasure that he could not keep it to
himself, so he let a few of his friends
in to take a slice of the newest and
best good thing" that Chicago has
known.
The wheat crowd has long been anx-
ious to get a whack at the Letter mill
lions, but the old man had always re-
fused to play the game Mr.. Armour
prepared to go into the deal with both
feet. His first preparation was to
take 900 in cash from the bank
he practically owns and place it in
safety deposit vault. He wanted to
give Mr.. Letter really good time
Now it is on record that never in his
life was Mr.. Armour so merry and on
such good terms with himself as when
he went into the battle against Mr. Lei
ter. He thought it was battle. Letter
didn't. He thought it was a business
deal
He had studied the situation. He
arrived at the conclusion that any man
who had wheat to sell this winter
would find open market for it all over
the world.
Mr.. Armour called his wheat capital
into play. Mr.. Letter sent for his
father, who was in Europe. The senior
hurried home. He found that his son
did not want advice, but he did want
permission to draw upon the capital of
the vast estate to the last cent If neces-
sary.
1t isn't on record what the old gentle
man said or did. But it IS whispered
about that he was struck absolutely
dumb by the audacity of the request,
and that when he recovered he ex-
pressed regret that he was no longer
able to take the boy across his knee.
The youth scratched that wonderful
chin while waiting for the ebullition to
pass. Then he suggested that his father
take chair and they would talk it
over.
Joseph sent for George R. French, a
beardless young operator who can put
sack of flour on his shoulder as easily
as man can handle his first baby, and
a 81 eat Ocdl less dWkWdrQly. lie ISM I
quite as tall as Joseph, but he has the
same kind of a chin and his head is
chock full of brains. French is the
commission man who has been hand
ling the deal in the pit.
Joseph and French pulled off their
| coats and went for the shrewd old
| financier. They drew a map of the sit
uation. They showed how they had
made 100000 off the Armour crowd the
month before. They had a mathemat-
ical diagram which showed the exact
relation Of their hand to the Armour
bank account. The whole scheme was
as plain as day. There was d certainty
of 100000 in sight for four months
work.
The old gentleman communed with
himself for five minutes, while JOSEPH
whistled a college tune and talked
about the horse show. Then the father
announced that he was wrong when he
suggested spanking Joseph. The father
even went so far as to say that he
wouldn't mind taking a little bunch
of December wheat himself.
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
The JUMPING Cork.

Ask some of the ladies if they think
they can blowa small bit of cork, which
you have placed in the mouth of a bot
tie, so that it will go into the BOTTLE
Lay the bottle upon the table upon it's
side. and place the bit of cork about
an inch or less inside the open end.
The ladies will blow until they get red
in the face, and the cork will invar-
iably come out of the bottle instead OF
going into it. Simple reason for it,
too; the direction of the air, forced by
the one blowing, brings it against the
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26

There was warm time in the pit the
following day. Young Mr.. Letter was
buying more freely than ever, and Mr..
Armour was just as Wiling TO SELL He
thought that the father had come home
to call his son off, and that the free
buying was the last gasp. Mr.. Armour
was certain that his opponent must be
getting near the end of his tether. He
didn't know the reserve back of the
youth.
Mr.. Armour called his forces together
and began dumping actual wheat into
Chicago. Just as fast as it arrived the
young. man loaded it onto boats and
cars and sent it eastward. Then it
came out that he had made contracts
for European shipment long before he
began buying.
Then Mr.. Armour began looking
about for his old tricks. In former cor
ners the grain inspection has been
tower of strength. 1t has been easy to
| get shady wheat inspected as high
| grade. 1t didn't work this time. 1t
came out that Governor Tanner, who
made Letter a colonel on his personal
staff, had appointed a board of inspect
| orS Who were fair, and, moreover, men
who are friends of Letters.
| When the members of the Board OF
Trade made this discovery they an
nounced that Mr.. Letter was a wise
guy" which is the highest praise that
can be given a man in Chicago wheat.
| AS the deal stands now Letter has a
| line of 900 bushels of wheat at
| the very lowest estimate, and Armour
| is trying to deliver it to him at prices
| made all along since last summer. Ar
| mour feels that he is in danger. He has
! announced that he will break the cor
ner. He has called all his free capital
! into play. And Letter only laughs. He
| is ready for any emergency.
| Young Letter is in his office every day
! in the week from in the morning until
| luncheon time, in the afternoon from
| o'clock to 5. He dimes at home alone
oftener than with any one.
There is nothing in society for him.
While society runs after him he runs
| the other way so much that society is
| discouraged. His independence is phe-
nomenal-not so very phenomenal con-
| sidering that he manages $780, 900 Of
! the best real estate, bonds, stocks and
| other gilt-edged properties in the West.
Il like rare books, horses, dogs and
the human race" he mused along as
he had time between fixing controver-
sizes among his agents and tenants and
getting bulletins from the wheat pit. II
car play golf, but. it is too hard work.
''It has been my theory in the short
| time I have been in active business
| that business men work too much.
They don't get enough of the right
kind of relaxation
His charities are so many and genu-
inc that he says he has no time to talk
about them, and about all that gets
into the public ear is the fact that he
supports the Waits Mission, the home
for newsboys, out of his own pocket
There has been no i'll feeling in this
wheat DEAL" he said. 1T was a plain
business proposition with me. 1 fig
ured that wheat in December would be
worth more than dollar away back in
July, and 1 simply bought all 1 could. 1t
has been a fair trade. The men who
thought differently from me saw their
mistake when it was too late. All they
have to do now is to walk up and set
tle."
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26

bent into the fork OF the thumb. which
closes upon it. (See B in same f1gure.)
The finger being again extended, the
thimble is left "palmed,' as in c. A
reverse movement brings the thimble
from the fork of the thumb to the tip
of the finger again. The sleight is by no
means difficult of acquisition, and, If
performed with the arm in motion, the
smaller movement Of the finger is quite
invisible. The only point requiring spe-
cial caution is to keep the hand
wherein the thimble is palmed with it's
back toward the audience.
Space only permits of my giving one
or two of the possible passes" Mr..
Devant usually begins by holding the
hands as shown in the figure, the right
hand having a thimble concealed in
the fork of the thumb. He waves the
right hand backward and forward
alternately before and behind the 9TH
ers. AS the fingers of the right hand
pass out of sight behind the left, the
visible thimble is palmed as above de-
scribed. At the same moment the fore
finger Of the left hand is bent and
again extended with the thimble on it.,
the effect to the spectators being that
it has flown from the one forefinger to
the other.
A very good effect is produced by
putting the forefinger with the Thin
BILE on IT'D in the mouth, and repro
ducing the thimble from the back of
the head; then inserting it in one ear
and bringing it out of the other. Such,
at least, is the effect to the eye of the
spectator. AS a matter of fact, the
forefinger is rapidly bent in it's pass
age to the mouth, and leaves the Thin
BILE palmed as above described, only
the bare finger passing actually into
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
Meteoric Career in Speculation of Young
Joseph Letter Of Chi

cago.

to him, and he bought them in plenty.
Many bank account was fattened at
his expense. Now and then he plunged,
and he never saw the bottom of the
hole into which he threw his money.
The banks had come to the conclusion
that it would be an act of charity to
send to Washington for his father to
take the youngster in out of the wet.
A few hundred thousand of young
Letters money We're in the street rail-
way stocks and bonds. He didn't lose
these. When he reached a point where
ruin stared him in the face he caressed
his chin more solicitously than ever.
He realized that he must know a few
things if he wanted to keep in the pro-
cession.
He began studying street railroads.
Nobody knows how or where he picked
up his information. He kept very
quiet for two or three years. Then he
began to assert himself. He showed
that he knew more about the practi-
cal workings of a railway line than
| anybody in the game. He knows the
cost of transmitting electricity, the
utility Of every bit of machinery used,
and a whole lot of technical informa-
ton usually relegated to engineers. He
runs his company in Chicago now. He
will be made its president in the
spring.
Then he went into electric-light mat
ters. The Edison Company in Chi
cago gets more valuable hints from
him than from any other man con-
| nected with the concern. Afterward
| he tackled mining. He went to the
mines themselves. He can guess as
accurately at piece of ore or a hole
! in the ground as his engineers. 1t is
even said that he once recognized the
| dust of a salted mine and told whence
! it came.
Suddenly Joseph Letters money be-
gan to flow back. 1t came in strength.
He doubled his original fortune. Then
it was that old man Letter opened his
eyes. He took cognizance of that
chin. So did other people. If they
had been pugilists they would have re-
allied that it stood for something long
before.
The old gentleman looked into his
sons affairs carefully. He was forced
to the conclusion that the point had
been reached where he knew more
! about making money than the father.
! His methods were radical and new.
! but the results proved their worth.
! and old man Letter was always a
great hand for results. He showed
his confidence in his son by turning
over the management of the whole es-
tate Of s5O,OOOO 900 to him.
Gradually it became known that
there was new force in the financial
world in Chicago, a force that a few
years ago had been a college dude. The
most wonderful thing about this new
man was his capacity for discovering
| gold bricks, no matter how skillfuI the
! gliding.
1t was something more than six
! months ago that he turned his at
tention to wheat. Nobody knew any-
thing about it. Letter had learned his
lesson. He reversed his original ex-
perience. He studied first and ope-
| rated afterward. He took it up as
he took up street railways and electric
light and mining. He began at the
bottom. He learned the tricks of the
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
The FIVinq ThImbIe.

This admirable little trick is the in
vention of Mr.. David Devant, OF
Egyptian Hall celebrity. In it's essence
it is simply the passage of an ordinary
sewing thimble from the forefnger Of
one hand to that of the other. or to
some other desired spot, but the
amount of diversity which may be intro
duced even into so simple an effect is
surprising.
AS a preliminary, the performer must
acquire the power of ''palming'' the
thimble after the manner shown in the
drawing. The thimble being, in the
first instance, placed on the tip of the
forefinger, as A, this latter is rapidly
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
A Magic Needle.

An apparent mechanical impossible
ity may be accomplished by simple
means, using a copper cent and cork
with a common cambria needle as &C
cessories. Announce that you will
drive a small needle through a coin,
and few will be ready TO accept your
statement, yet it is very simple and
any cne can do it. Take a copper coin,
place it upon two small blocks of wood
leaving a very narrow open space be-
tween the blocks.
Now, having selected a good, sound
cork, force the needle through it until
the point just appears at the other
end. Break off the portion Of the
head Of the needle showing above the
top of the cork. Place the cork upon
the coin and strike it a fair, smart
blow with a hammer. The needle
will be driven entirely through the
penny By q single blow.
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26
The FIyInQ Coin.

Another and almost equally simple
experiment is none the less perplexing
to those who have never seen it at
tempted. Procure a small, tapering
glass, the largest diameter Of which is
just trif1e greater than that of a sill
yer dollar. Place a ten-cent piece in
the bottom of the glass, and the silver
dollar above it, to serve as a lid. Now
ask your guests to take the ten-cent
piece out of the glass without touching
either coin or the glass that holds it.
All sorts of devices will be suggested,
but none that come within the limit of
the rule you have laid down. After it
has been given UP, place your lips a
few inches from the rim of the glass
and blow downward, obliquely, but
smartly upon the edge of the dollar
within the glass. The force of the air
will turn the dollar over upon it's own
axis and at the same time will force
the smaller coin to leap out as the dol
lar is turning.
The San Francisco call., 1897-12-26

of his arm. This brings out a cou-
pie of yards at a time, with very pretty
effect.
The secret lies in the fact that the
paper produced is in the first instance
coiled fiat, after the manner of tele-
graphic paper, in which condition a
hundred yards or so occupies but a
very small space. When required for
use, this coil is suspended on a project
ing pin against the hinder side of the
performers table, just below the top,