The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-02-21
A MYSTERIOUS MAGICIAN.
He Plays Tricks on the Saloon Loungers
and Then Disappears.
(From the Buffalo Express. }

(From the Buffalo Express.)
A SQUAT little fellow with sallow COM
plexion, curly black hair, Roman fea-
lures and Italian accent, strolled into the
buffet of the Iroquois at $50 o'clock last
night. He was about "a years old,
smooth shayen, wore a dark sack suit,
tan overcoat and black derby hat. He
walked up to Cornelius Coughlin, leader
of the Democracy on the South side, and
smiled.
''Presto!" he exclaimed, in soft gut.
teral, and he plucked lemon out of Mr.
Coughlin's right ear.
"Presto p he repeated, and picked q
knife out of W. j. Conner's right eye.
''Presto !" he said again. and took a
dollar out of Frank L. Bapst's nose.
He threw the dollar up in the air and
it vanished. He stuck the knife in the
lemon and tossed them ceilward and they
never came back-at least no one saw
them. He held ont his hand, palm up
ward, closed it. open I'd it. and 10 it held
a deck of cards. He shuff1ed the cards
quickly with fan shuttle.
s'Look at card as shuttle, he said to
William H. Kinch. "Don't tell me what
it is. You've thought There's your
card and he threw card face down
ward on the marble top of the table.
Kinch looked at the card.
ssWrong' he said and threw the card
down again on it's face. That's the
nine of diamonds. looked and thought
of the five of clubs.
ssPiok up the card said the wizard.
Kinch picked it up. 1t was the five OF
cubs.
sPresto," said the magician.
He handed the deck of cards to james
Kennedy, who was sitting beside W. j..
Conners.
ssLooE at oard, he said.
Kennedy peeped at a card.
"Pass the deck on said the wizard.
Kennedy handed it to Corners, who
peeped at a card and handed the deck to
Bapst who peeped at a card, aud handed
the deck to Coughlin, who peeped at a
card. Then they shuffied the deck and
handed it back to the wizard, VINO
shuffled the deck and took OF the top
card. He handed it to Kennedy. Ken
wrong he said, and handed it to
Wrong" said Connors, and handed IL
wrong said Bapst, and handed it
tn Coughlin.
Wrong said Coughlin.
The car,i was the ace Of spades.
"Look at the card again. said the
wizard.
Coughiln looked. All saw 1t. The card
was the three of clubs, the card Coughlin
had selected in his peep into the pack.
The wizard handed the card to Bapst,
who looked at it, and loI it was the jack
of clubs. Bapsts card. The wizard hand
ed it to Connors, and 10 it was the
queen of spades, Conners's card. The
wizard handed 1t to Kennedy and it was
tn ace of spades again.
wrong" said Kennedy. My card
was the three of diamonds"
"Thats the three of diamonds" sale
the wizard.
Ali looked. It was the three of dia
monds.
By this time the cafe was crowded will
people. Every one was jostling and eager
to see what would happen next. Iht
wizard plucked cards from everywhere
and sent them spinning into nowhere
| He asked Commissioner Martin Maber tt
bindfold him. They not only tied a
| handkerchief over his eyes, but waiter
| tied a towel over the handkerchief
Then, blindfolded, the wizard had thu
| four men select four cards without hi
touching the deck. They put the cards
| back in the deck, shuffied it, cut it int
three piles and laid the piles on the
marble table. The wizard borrowed
| knife from Kinch's left ear and opened it
s'Prestol" he said, and scattered th'
cards all over the table, with the point o.
the blade.
! Then one by one he picked out thu
| four cards the four men had looked at an(
impaled them on the tip of the knife
He was blindfolded all the while, anc
| bad not touched the deck with his fin
gers. The spectators began to feel creepy
The wizard removed the bandages from
his eyes and took up a collection, Hi
hat held q number of silver pieces. HI
| jingled them and turned the hat upsid
down. There was nothing in it. H
bought a drink. The glass seemed t.
vanish down his thorat. He turned ant
took it out of a drummer's hat He lai'
| SO cents on the cashiers desk, pointed q
it and it vanished. He snapped his fin
gers and lemon lay on the desk. HI
threw the lemon up IN the air and walked
out. The lemon vanished and the wizart
found it in mans hat in the lobby o
| the hotel.
He halted and tore a button off Mr.
| Coughln's coat All saw the button wa
off. He put it back and told Mr.. Cough
lin to blow on it. Mr.. Coughlin blew
and the button was back in place ant
bore no sign of having been removed
He threw a card up ten feet in the air
It sailed back and rested on his opel
palm. He did it again. He tossed th
card third time and it vanished. Thel
the wizard vanished, leaving lot o
dazed and creepy men behind him.
GEN. WALLACE CHALLENGED.