The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1898-07-20
ANCIENT TRICKSTERS
QUEER coNJURiNe FEATs OF THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

xitsIe Experiments In which Boiling the
Heads on Living Animals Was = Neces-
sary AdJuncs-Hcw They Killed Horse
and Cured Rim Again
Coniurers IN ancient times were not
very respectable members Of society
when successful, they enjoyed the repu-
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 well as the Egyptian magi
and the Chaldean sages were OILY a
strange mixture Of chemist. conjurer
and chsrlatan, and as these gentlemen
We're 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
mystifieation and not the amusement Of
the public, and for centuries conJuring
had to it 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 a
bore of greater or less magnitude, whose
performance is so obvious as 10 deceive
no one 1t is hard TO realize shat this
person is no mere mushroom growth of
modern society, but in point Of fact his
role is one of a respectable antiquity,
for he is TO be found treadi1g close upon
the heels OF the magicians and in the
days when witchcraft was stlll rampant.
This is significant of his reputation
even in those early times, for had any
one tak.n his tricks seriously he would
doubtless have been run TO earth and
done TO death as wizard.
In the middle Of the seventeenth cen
tnry. in the earliest years of the res
toration, a number of tricks were pub
lished in one of those Factions books
which seem to have occupied the press
TO a great extent at this time, but
which, owing TO their popularity, have
for the most part perished. The chief
recommendation TO the greater number
u AAAIoC A4AN2AS = At4sAl AAl pd-A aus 0C-
yond the utensils Of everyday life is
necessary. Also it is suggested to the
performer that ne can make some
small profit ont Of his entertainment by
prevailing ON his audience TO bet with
him ca the result Of the trick
To set a horses or an asses head
upon mans head and shoulders"
II ,,f 10 =
Faery, but we are informed that by
boiling the head cut of from living
animal, 1.-THE flesh boyl'd may runne
into oyle, and then by nlingling the
hair beaten into powder with this oil
and amounting the heads Of the ISLANDERS
by, ''they shall seem to-have horses OF
asses heads"-a costly experiment and
fearsome if successful
But. besides this. one can make peo-
pie seem headlesse, /" and this without
bloodshed and by the following simple
receipt: Break arsenick very fine. and
boyle it with sulphur IN cOver'd pot,
and kindle il with new candle, and
the standerS-by viii seem to be head
lesse Doubtless a 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 filed with ink. and give
this unto another and bid him crack it
and see what he can find in that, ."
which being done will cause much
laughter +"
Ito keep Tapsrer from frothing his
Pots" must have been an amusement TO
the wags Of the period. and for this
provide in readinesse the skin of a red
Herring, and when the Tapster is absent
do but rub little On tie inside of his
pots, and he viii not be able TO froth
them. do what he can. in good while
after -
To counterfeit a diamond with a
white saphir'' is most useful accom-
plishment, but the fraud Is likely in
these days TO be discovered and Is more
a chemical experiment than a trick.
Several tricks are recommended which
have animals as their suhscct and are
for the most part brutal to our modern
ideas Perhaps the least Objectionable
is Ito seem 70 kin Horse and cure him
again. which may be thus accom-
piished:
Take the seed Of henbane and give
it the Horse in his Provender, and it
win cast him into such deep sleep
that be viii seem dead If you viii re-
cover him again, rub his Nostrils with
Vinegar. and he viii seem 10 lie re-
vived The "seem 70 be revived
sounds rather ominous, and il is 10 be
noted that the correct quantity OF hen
bane is not mentioned. so that IL might
be best 20 Try this experiment ON some
one else's horse.
To make shoal OF Goslings draw
Timber logge" sounds interesting. bat
unfortunately Tie directions are vague.
To make shcsl Of Goslinss ar Il Gag
gle Of Geese 70 seem TO draw = Timber
logge is done by the verie means that
is rs'd when Cat draws fool through
Pond. bat handled somewhat further
of from the Beholders- . - London
Standard.
Whitehead Torpedoes.
A Whitehead torpedo carries 2s0
pounds Of wet gun cotton and weighs