The times., 1899-11-05


ptetes an ingenious machine IS TO keep TO
I himself the most triging details of it,
workings. Resultantiy. every new asDir.lgt
must begin as though he were the pioneer.
Not only must he construct devices that
VIII do what he wants done but he must
so construct them that their actions viii
be completely hidden. He cannot trust TO
models. for many a plan that ia perfect
m theory afterward shows Itself TO be
utterly worthless The schemer must ex-
pertinent and experiment altering here
and changing there. Until ali is nnished.
/ Thus the power of the trick of which yCu
speak was only reached after seven years
Of on-and-On labor and at the expense OF
Sl2'Unp. OF course. the feat viii serve as
basis for subsequent ones. but it is rather
I costly even az that"
hay not mag elan purchase vaiuab
/ information" The Times man had queried.
No. Hellar had returned. Craftsmen
whose inventions are worth anything take
care not 20 be betrayed and the ideas
OF the others are OF no assistance. / have
never had but one traitor with me and
he had learned so little that when he sold
ms knowledge TO the Scientific Ameri-
can. / had merely to change a detail in
order to disprove all his observations I
/ 90 not employ confederates. The treasurer
I at the theatre viii teu you that no seats
are laid aside for that purpose, Ny wife
I neipS me IN those Of my tricks which
I might be discovered The girl who acts IN
The LevitatiOu Of the Princess .Earuac'
does not know how she is raised In the
air II you viii come % the Columbia to-
night you win notice thst I put away every
property as soon as have done with L.
The stage on which ] work is so boxed
that none but those in the audience can
watch me- So, you see. no item OF my
schedule is apt to be lost"
And then Kellar had told the story OF
his life-a story too long for publication
IN whole and too interest rg for o. b. lca-
ton IN part seIf-educated lad he had
begun his career as a drug clerk. An uu-
fortunate mixture OF acids. however had
/ blown up the soda fountain one afternoon.
all but killing the pro r 5tae o. tre B.
And Kellar, badly scared. had ran away.
/ never 10 return He had sold papers In
indianapolis. had owned a news stand i'm
Gotham, and had gradually drifted into the
profession Of which be has been the head
I for forty years During this time KeIlar
has travelled extensively in India. japan
I China Australia. Africa, South and Central
/ America. Western Europe Turkey and
Asia Minor. besides touring the United
States OF the aforementioned OF these
countries the interviewer had asked him
much.
India. had been the reply. ..is the home
I Of the so-calIed black art and is stW
I considered the source Of all that is clever
/ IN magic. To a certain extent. its repu,a-
/ ton has been sustained. The fakirs whom
[ one sees in the streets OF Calcutta and
I Madras and Bombay are not adopts and
! their efforts only compare with those Of
{ the tTicksters who frequent our own county
fairs But the priests have been and al
ways VIII be marvels. They are good men
on the whole, and really only utilize theiI
ingenuity for what they deem the saliva
tion Of the ignorant classes that would not
pay attention otherwise II. however. most
Of their remarkable inventions had not been
concealed under cloak Of divinity the
world would now be advanced fifty years
more than it is MANY Of the commercial
aids on which We pride ourselves had their
origin half a century ago in India myself
saw in use practical telephone between
two temples at Calcutta. and that four years
prior TO the erection Of the first pole in this
country"
You have been about South Africa.
the Times man had said TEL me some
thting about the Beers"
And Kellar had replied. "Of the Beers
can only speak in the highest terms They
are simple, hospitable. religious people,
thrifty and devoted to their homes. In
many respects, indeed. they may be com
pared 10 the inhabitants Of portions OF
Texas, save, Of course for the fact that
they speak Dutch. In rambling over the
Transva2l I was treated with a co rtesy ard
generosity that I can never forget Always.
however. / was obliged to convince my
friends that I was an American Most OF
the settlers have q confirmed dislike to the
British After Lord Kimberley had laid
hold of the diamond mines in the district
that now bears his name. fcOd OF English
prOspectOrs passed through the Transvdal-
Generally they were housed and fed By the
Beers and often they robbed or insulted
their hosts This has never been wiped
out and may account for a deal Of the
vindictiyeEess of the present war"
Then KelIar had spoken OF a iaunt
through Egypt. Of two years spent in Per
sia, and Of a sail over inland seas from
Manila to IloilO. He had described a ship
wreck in the Pacific. and a railway acci-
dent in Michigan. he had spoken OF the
wealth Of the Philippines Small wonder
that in leaving, The Times man elected 10
call him the most interesting man ever
met"
Many chronic theatreEoers labor under
the impression that stage children are
mere puppets. who speak the lines drilled
into their little heads. but are without
ideas or dreams. A Times man. who had
believed this before meeting the
Esther AnseI Of Children Of the Ghetto"
made his way behind the scenes NJ the
Academy yesterday afternoon and there
was introduced to Emily and Eva clifton.
and to Gladys CrOIius, all tiny members
Of the shore Acres company. The two
youngsters first mentioned are the scions
of an English family well known in amuse-
ment circles. Tiny Miss Crolius was the
original Mandy in James a. Herue's pro-
ductiOn
The trio tumbled into the wings direct
from their pillow fight with Nathaniel
Berry and though a biJ shy al first. were
soon quite at home with their visitor. Mss
Crolius posted herself on the stairs in
order to listen for her cue, while her com
panions sat on the knees OF the reporter.
What are YOU going 20 be when you
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