The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-19

l ~AAN Spu Sllpte'
 l "Yes," replied the man carelessly.
 Are you sure of always remaining SOP"
 l Always"
 l Lift that box"
 l The Arab did so, and asked contemtu- ously: l 'ls that all?"
 l Wait" said Houdin, making solmn gesture. Now you are weaker than a woman. Try to lift that box again
 The Arab seized the handle and tug ged again. He could not raise the box an inch from the floor. After many at tempts, he paused for moment to brace himself for final effort. He seized the handle again, but shrieked . aloud with pain, dropped on his knees then rising, threw his clock round ms face to conceal his shame, and rushed from the theatre, leaving his compa- triots stricken with fear.
 The trick was as simple as the result was startling, The box was placed on a powerful electro-magnet, and the current being complete no man on earth could have lifted it. An electric shock, sent at signal by Houdm from | DSAiIIlu lie SldSS, NoS NiioI S''NN~NN > Arab to shrick and hurriadiv retreat 1 Before the eXcitment caused by thls trick had subsided, Houdin announced that he had talisman wwhich render ed him invulnerable, and he detied the best shot in Algiers to kill him.
 A marabout immediately sprang on the stage. exclaming:
 T want to kill you"
 Houdin handed him a pistol, which the Arab, examining, pronounced a good one.
 Tt is a good pistol and I will kill you"
 Very we'll" said Houdin; "to make sure, put in double charge of powder. | Here's wad Take a bullet from this tray, and mark it so you will know it again. Ram it into the pistol we'll.
 Tt is done"
 Now" said Houdin, you say the pistol is a good one, and you've loaded it well, so kill me"
 Yes" replied the marabout, II will do that"
 Houdin took a pear. stuck it on a knife, and walked few paces in front of the Arab, and told him to aim at his heart. He fired, and the marked bullet was seen on the pear,
 After the powder and wad were rammed home and while the Arab was marking the bullet, Houdln slipped a little tube into the pistol This tube was closed at the lower end, and into this the Arab dropped the bullet. As he thrust the wad down with the ramrod, the tube fitted snugly on to it. and was withdrawn with it, being polished to re- semble it. Houdin thus got possession of the marked ball, and all was then plain sailing.
 Then came the third and last of Houdins special tricks A young man was asked to step on to a small table, and was then covered with a huge eX- tinguisher. When this was removed the young man had vanished. This feat succeeding the others terrified the Arabs, wwho, in fear and trembling of the wonderful sorcerer, rushed out of the theatre. At the door they met their vanished countryman who was quite unable or unwilling .. explain what had happened to him. How this trick was done Houdin never explained. On one occasion, during his visit to Algiers, Houdin was placed in a very awkward position, from which he only extricated himself by his quick -witted- ness. He was the guest of an Arab chief, Abou Allem, and entertained This host and friends by few tricks. One of the company was a marabout, who asserted that the spectators in Algiers had been merely duped by a vision Houdin, however, produced the mara bouts watch in his hand, and on feel ing his sash the marabout found there a fve-franc piece. Convinced by this and other feats that Houdin was really a sorcerer, he challenged him to repeat his performance in the theatre, and pro- duced two pistols. You need not fear" said the Arab, since you know how to ward off bullets"
 Without losing his self-possession Houdin explained that his invunera- bility lay in a talisman which was with his possessions in Algiers. By six hours prayer, however, I can do without that talisman, and at eight o'clock to- morrow morning you can fire at me i At the appointed time there was g large concourse of Arabs, which the news had attracted. The pistols were brought and carefully examined. The marabout dropped in the powder, Hou din handled him a bullet from the tray . and he rammed it down. Houdin ther loaded his own pistol and walking about fifteen paces away, turned ant facedthe marabout.
 The shot was fired. and the French man opened his mouth and showed the bullet between his teeth. You could not kill me" he said "and now you shall see what my shots can do.'
 He fired at the marabout, and i'm. mediately red splash was seen on tht whitewashed wall before which he wa: standing. The Arab was untouched | stepping up to the wall, he dipped his finger in the red splash, tasted it, ant 7 realizing that it was blood collapsed 1T amazement.
 Though the trick was simple, only ( , Houdin could have carried it out sue cessfully. During the night he haC melted some wax, biackened it to lool like lead, and run it into bullet-mould . thus obtaining a hollow globe of wa2 ! exactly resembling a bullet in appear ance. It was with this bullet the mara bout loaded his pistol. and in rammins , it down crushed it to powder. A second , bullet, similarly made, Houdin filled I r. . l. T