Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-04-13
AuErArp pKrpIcAMENrs.
Embarrassing Positions IN wheh 20
Jurors Are Sometimes Placed


Jurors Are Sometimes Placed
Pearson's Weekly
"It doesn't matter how careful you
are. You can employ every safeguard,
both human and mechanical, that ex-
pcrience may suggest and the occasion
seem to warrant, and yet, despite all
your precautions, you will get cornered
every now and then.
Such, at any rate, was the opinion
of q well-known prestidigitateur.
81 have often found myself in some
particuIarly awkward corners during
NV career us public entertainer,
said he. Zone of my earliest disasters
occurred during an entertainment J
WINS giving in the quaint old town Of
Banbury. ] had run through my usual
stock of country class performances, N
which the familiar turnips, carrots and
rabbits had been produced from every
possible part of the room, and had dc
termined to give my audience a regular
slap-up- o-date Egyptian hall sort Of q
mystery for a finale. In short, | pledged
myself to get rid of my properties IN
full face of tho audience without leav-
ing trace of their existence.
1.-THE first part of the trick went well
enough. 1t was merely to make the
vegetables disappear into tho rabbits,
a feat which, as | had purposely kept
the latter for some hours without food,
was speedily accomplished. The rest
of the trick was TO produce the sensa..
| ton. 1t would apparently consist OF
rolling the two rabbits into one, under
cover s4d the usual silk handkerchief,
and throwing the resulting animal into
| the air above the audience, when it
would suddenly burst into highly
| colored balloon and float up into the
rafters until such time as | should
choose to haul it down. Needless to
say, the genuine rabbits had to be
struggled into my side pockets and %
dummy substituted containing u com
| pactly- folded balloon which would
spring into shape Immediately set OF
internal springs were released.
"This latter movement was brought
about by miniature explosion, which
was carefully timed to occur at the
moment the dummy rabbit reached the
highest point in its ascent and was
produced by the sudden mixture of a
small quantity of sulphur and chlorate
of potash. Unfortunately for me, how
ever, the hunger of my first rabbit had
been by no means assauged by his meal
of uncooked carrot. No sooner was he
inside my pocket than he introduced
his teeth into the dummy which lay
there, waiting the correct moment fol
production. That nibble was his last,
and, alas, was well nigh the end Of
me, too. His teeth had no sooner CRASHED
into the decorating mixture than | was
conscious of severe shock in thu
region of my coat tails. These were
blown to smithereens, whilst PERSONAL.
was only saved from severe injuries
by reason of the paraphernalia of pre-
vious trick, with which | was luckil.
still encountered.
"A second disaster occurred to m,
during the same week whilst goinl
through the ancient globe of golt
fish trick. These so-called globes ar
not really globular, but are shallow
troughs of thin glass which fit into tn
side pockets and are rendered waite
tight by means of a rubber cap whicl
is withdrawn with the empty hapdker
chief when the bowl is produced
Unfortunately for me, however, the rub
Der cap had split without my knowl
,, edge. Tho result was that on incau
tiously STOPPING TO pick up card,
was Mortified to find perfect catarac
of water and wriggling fish descending
out of the depths Of my dress coat
lone of my favorite tricks was one
ruined by the proverbial small boy
who, | may add, should never be above
upon the platform except in cases q
/. extreme urgency. | had considerable
! mystified my audience by causing 81
nuimpeachable citizens to unwittingl
, choose the same card from pnc
U which each was at liberty to Snuff
2 for himself before choosing. The car
in each case was the ace of hearts, anc
| explained, was chosen by each {
them whilst unconsciously under m
own hypnotic direction.
1.-THE trick ended, | incautiousl
Q threw down the cards near the small DO
F.. in question Whilst my back was INC
I mentarily toward him he calmly turne
them over, with the result that, almos
: before | had time TO realize the situs
/ ton, he was gleefully announcing [
Q my friends in front that the care
0 were all faces of heartsr
:, Perhaps one Of the Oldest and mos
. popular tricks of any is that in whic
!, some dozens of yards OF ribbons, vario,
articles of clothing and u large numb,
u of apparently solid balls are produce
y from IL borrowed hat. The balls. how
ever, are really thin cloth cases whic
u are expanded by means OF intern;
spiral springs. The practice is to pre-
u dozen or so of these close togeth,
n until they form small disk the size
y trumpet, and to secure the whole |
n means Of few easily broken stitch
% OF fine thread. The disk is then paine
% into the empty hat, which, the momel
o the threads are broken by the prestid
e gitateur's finger, begins to overflow vii
sphere sufficient to ill good-sizt
portmanteau.
but once managed to snap the +
20 tanning threads of tho bundle whilst
reposed peacefully in my pocket III
is result was that the onlooliers we
T. treated TO the odifying spectacle of
e swallowtailed coat that suddenly polk,
is in the back and refused to set proper
is again until il had disgorgcd s, II
.e score or so of property balls. Happil
ID the audience accepted the situation
IS part Of the performance, but the eve
g green hat trick had for once to
abandoned ~