Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-12-24
AWKWARD PREDICAMENTS
Embarrassing Positions in Which Cnjuzsru
Are Sometimes Placed.
No Matter How Careful They May BE,
Things Occasionally Go
All Wreng.
From Pearson's Weekly.


| 1T doesn't matter how careful you are.
You can employ every safeguard, both hui
man and mechanical, that experience may
suggest and the occasion seem to warrant,
| and yet, despite all your precautions, you
! will get cornered every now and then.
| Such, at any rate, was the opinion of a
| well-known prestidigitateur.
| Il have often found myself In some par
| ticularly awkward corners during my ca
| reer as public entertainer" said he. 'One
| of my earliest disasters occurred during an
entertainment I was giving in the quaint
| old town of Banbury. l had run through
my usual stock of country class perform
ances. in which the familiar turnps, car
| rots and rabbits had been produced from
every possible part Of the room, and had
determined to give my audience a regular
| sap-up-to-date Egyptian hall sort of a
mystery for finale. In short, pledged
| myself to get rid of my properties in full
| face of the audience without leaving a
trace of their existence.
The first part of the trick went well
| enough. 1t was merely to make the vege-
| tables disappear into the rabbits. feat
which, as l had purposeiy kept the latter
| for some hours without food, was speedily
| accomplished. The rest of the trick was to
produce the sensation. 1t would apparently
consist Of rolling the two rabbits into one,
| under cover of the usual silk handkerchief,
| and throwing the resulting animal into the
| air above the audience, when it would sud-
denly burst into highly co,ored balloon
and float up into the rafters until such time
as should choose to haul it down. Need
| less to say, the genuine rabbits had to be
| Smuggled into my side pockets and dunn
| my substituted containing compactly fold
| ed balloon which would spring into shape
Immediately a set of internal springs were
released.
This latter movement was brought about
| by a miniature explosion, which was care
| fully timed to occur at the moment the
| dummy rabbit reached the highest point in
| its ascent and was produced by the sudden
| mixture of a small quantity of sulphur and
| chlorate Of potash. Unfortunately for me,
! however. the hunger Of my first rabbit had
| been by no means assuaged by his meal of
| uncooked carrot. No sooner was he inside
| my pocket than he introduced his teeth into
| the dummy which lay there waiting the
| correct moment for production. That nib
| BILE was his last, and, alas, was well nigh
| the end of me, too. His teeth had no sooner
| crashed into the decorating mixture than
was conscious of severe shock in the re-
gion of my coat tails. These were blown to
smithereens, whilst personally I was only
saved from severe injuries by reason of the
| paraphernalia of a previous trick, with
which was luckily still encountered.
| "A second disaster occurred to me during
| the same week whilst going through the
| ancient globe of gold fish trick. These So
called globes are not really globular, but
are shallow ,roughs of thin glass which fit
| into the side pockets and are rendered wa
ter tight by means of a rubber cap which
| when the bowl is produced Unfortunate
ly Tor me, however, the rubber cap had split
without my knowledge. The result was that
on incautiously STOPPING to pick up a card
was Mortified to find perfect cataract of
water and wriggling fish descending out of
the depths of my dress coat.
| one OF my favorite card tricks was once
| ruined by the proverbial small boy, who, 1
may add, should never be allowed upon the
platform except in cases of extreme urgency
! had considerably mystified my audience
py causing six unimpeachable citizens to
| unwittingly choose the same card from
pack which each was at liberty to shuttle
| for himself before choosing. The card in
| each case was the ace of hearts and / ex-
| planned, was chosen by each of them whilst
unconsciously under my own hypnotic di-
| rection.
| 1.-THE trick ended, 1 incautiously threw
down the cards near the sman boy in ques-
| ton. Whilst my back was momentarily
toward him, he calmly turned them over
| with the result that, almost before had
| time to realize the situation, he was glee-
fully announcing to my friends in 'front.'
| that the cards were all aces of heartsP
| Perhaps one Of the Oldest and most pop
| ular tricks of any is that In which some
| dozens of yards of ribbons, various articles
| OF clothing and large number of appar-
| entity solid balls are produced from a Dor
| rowed hat. The balls, however are really
thin cloth cases which are expanded by
| means of Internal spiral springs. The prac-
tlce IS to press dozen or so of these close
| together until they form a small disk the
size or crumpet, and to secure the whole
by means OF a few easily broken stitches Of
fine thread. The disk is then palmed into
the empty hat. which, the moment the
threads are broken by the prestidigitateur's
| nnger, begins to overflow with sphere suffi-
Gent to fill a good-sized portmanteau
| But once managed to snap the retain
| Ing threads of the bundle whilst it reposed
peacefully in my pocket. The result was
| that the onlookers were treated to the edi-
| flying spectacle Of swallow-tailed coat that
| suddenly poked in the back and refused to
set properly again until 1t had disgorged
some score or so Of property balls. Happily
| the audience accepted the situation as part
| OF the performance, but the evergreen hat
| trick had for once to be abandoned"