Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1898-10-19
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ANCIENT TRECKSTERS
azJaaa CONJuRING FsATs OF THE
 sEvEHvesNTH CENTURY.

A3a&z Vh AdPauR AutmRls Vas R Neccer ssxy Ad,1nct- How They Killed a Horse and Cuss4 Him Again
 Co2jnSers in ancient times were not vary respectable members of society,". when successful, they enjoyed the repu- tatien of having sold their souls to tho evil one, sad when of inferior ability thsy gained notoriety by being either drowned or burned The medieval ma uicians ss well as tho Egyptian mag1 end the Chnldean sages were only s strange mixture of chemist, conjurer and ehArlatan, and as these gentlemen wego An the habit of using their SUD- posed occnlt powers to their own advan- tage they were naturally unpopular. The feats of iugglery performed by these craftsmen were intended for tho mystifcation and not the amusement of the public, and for centuries conjuring had to 1t only black side
 The amateur conjure9 oR today is not always popular individual, saye with children and the unsophistocated yolzel To the general public he is merely bore of greater or less magnitude, whose performance is so obvious as to deceive no one. It is hard to realize that this person is no mere mushroom growth of modern society, but in point of fact his role Is one of & respectable antiquitS, for he is to be found treading close upon the heels of the magicians and ill the days when witchcraft was still rampant This is significant of his reputation even in those early times, for had any one taken his tricks seriously he would doubtless have been run to earth and done to death as a wizard.
 In the middle of the seventeenth cen tury in the earliest years of the res. toration, number of tricks were pulp 1 ished in one of those faeetious books which seem to have occupied the press to great extent at this time, but which. owing to their popularity, have for the most part perished The chief recommendation to the greater number of these tricks Is that no apparatus be- yond the utensils of everyday life is necessary. Also 1t is suggested to the performer that be can make some small profit out of his entertainment by prevailing on his audience to bet with him on the result of the trick.
 "To set a horse's or an asse's head upon a mans head and shoulders seems impossible out of the land of Faery, but we are informed that by boiling the head cut off from living animal, 'the flesh boyl'd may runne into pyle, and then by mingling the hair beaten into powder with this oil and amounting the heads of the islanders by, they shall seem to have horses or asses heaos s"-a costly experiment. and fcarsone if successful
 But, besides this. one can "nake peo- pie seem headlesse. " and this without bloodshed and by the following simple receipt: Break arsenick very flne and boyle it with sulphur in a cover'd pot, and kindle it with new candle. and the standers-by will seem to be head Jesse. Doubtless strong imagination is necessary for success
 Some of the tricks are such as would nowadays cause the performer to be disliked. to put it mildly. For instance, "have a nut filled with ink. and give this unto another and bid him crack it and see what he can find in that, " which being done twill cause much laughter. <"
 gro keep Tapster from frothing his Pots" must have been an amusement to the wags of the period, and for this provide in readinesse the skin of red Herring 817 when the Taps absqal ,.u 1,.s lilY A little on tho a4.s-..o e AIs pots, and he will not be able to froth them, do what he can, i'll good while after.
 "To counterfeit diamond with 8 white saphir' is most useful accom- plishment but the fraud is likely in these days to De discovered and is more chemical experiment. than trick
 Several tricks are recommended which have animals as their subject and are for the most part brutal to our modern ideas Perhaps the least objectionable is to seem to kill Horse and cure him again, ," which may be thus accom-. plished:
 ''Take the seed of henbane and give it the Horse in his Proyender, and 1t will cast him into such deep sleep that he will seem dead. If you will re- cover him again, rub his Nostrils with Vinegar, and he will seem to ba re- ytved. The ''seem to be revived" sounds Father ominous, and it Is to be noted that the correct quantity of hen bane Is not mentioned. so that it might be best to try this experiment on some one else's horse.
 "To make ashoal of Gos1ings draw a Timber logge" sounds interesting. but