Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1898-08-09
ANCIENT TRICKSTERS
QUEER coNJuRINc FEATS OF THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

Little Experiments In which Boiling the
Heads or living Animals Was Neces-
sary Adjuuct--How They Killed . Horse
and Cured Him Again.
Conjurers in ancient times were not
very respectable members Of society
when successful, they enjoyed the rcpu
tation Of having sold their souls to the
evil one, and when Of inferior ability
they gained notoriety by being either
drowned or burned. The medieval ma
gicians as we'll as the Egyptian mngi
and the Chaldean sages were only a
strange mixture Of chemist, conjurer
and charlatan, and as these gentlemen
were in the habit Of using their sup
posed occult powers to their own advan.
tage they were naturally unpopular.
The feats Of jugglery performed by
these craftsmen were intended for the
mystification and not the amusement of
the public, and for centuries conjuring
had TO il only black side.
The amateur conjurer OF today Is not
always a popular individual, save with
children and the unsophistocated yokel.
To the general public he is merely q
bore Of greater or less magnitude. whose
performance Is 20 obvious rs to deceive
no one. IL is lard tn realize that this
person is no mere mushroom growth OF
modern society, but in point Of fact his
role is one Of respectable antiquity,
for he is to be found treading close upon
the heels Of the magicians and III 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 Ia death as n wizard.
In the middle II the seventeenth cen.
fury. in the earliest years Of the res
toration. number of tricks were pub-
lishcd in one Of those facetious books
which seem to have occupied the press
% great extent ut this time, bat
which, owing to their popularity, have
for the most part persisted. The chief
recommendation 10 the greater number
Of these tricks is that no apparatus be
You'd the utensils of everyday life IL
necessary. Also it is suggested to the
performer that he can make some
small profit ont If his entertainment by
prevailing on his audience tn bet with
him ON the result Of the trick.
ITO set horses or an asses head
upon mans head and shoulder"
seems impossible out Of the land OF
Faery, but we are informed that by
boiling the head cut off from a living
animal, "the flesh boyld may runne
into oylc, and then by mingling the
hair beaten into powder with this oil
and amounting the heads of the ISLANDERS
by, "they shall seem tn lave horses ar
asses hcads'--a costly experiment and
fearsome If successful.
But, besides this, one can make poo
Pile seem headlesse. and this without,
bloodshed and by the following simple
receipt: Break arsenick very fine, and
boyle il with sulphur in cover'd pot,
and kindle il with new candle, and
the standcrs.by will seem 10 b. head
lcsse." Doubtless strong imagination
is necessary for success.
Some Of the tricks are such rs would
H.. 10 -.
dislikod, to put il mildly. For instance,
have "A nut filed with ink, and give
this unto another and bid him crack it
and SIC what hc can find in that, y
which being done Twill cause much
laughter.
"To 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. and when the Tapster is absent
do but rub a little Oh the inside of his
pots, and he will not bc able To froth
them, do what he can, i'll good while
after.
.To counterfeit q diamond with u
white saphir' il most useful accom-
plishment, but the fraud is likely III
these days 10 b. discovered and is more
"a 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 Ito seem To kill Horse and cure him
again" which may BE- thus accom-
plishcd:
Take the seed Of henbane and give
il the Horse in his Proyender, and it
will cast him into such "A deep sleep
that he will seem dead. II You will re
cover him again, rub his Nostrils with
Vinegar, and he will seem To be re-
vived." The ''seem Ia bo revived
sounds rather ominous, and il is to b.
noted that the correct quantity If hen
bane is not mentioned, so that it might
be best 10 try this experiment on some
one elsc's horse.
ITO make shoal of Goslings draw u
Timber logge" sounds interesting. but
unfortunately the directions are vague.
ITO make shoal Of Goslings or Gag.
glc Of Geese to seem to draw Timber
loggc is done by the verie means that
is us'd when a Cat draws fool through
Pond. but handled somewhat further
of from the Beholders. - London
Standard.