The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-04-26
SLY DURNO.
He Plays Many Tricks of the
MagiCian's Art.
With Emmett the VeDtrilOquist Closes
the Citizens Lecture Course TO
Large Audience at Nor
mai Hall.

maj Hall.
The Durno- Emmett entertainment
at normal hall Thursday evening, which
was the last of the Citizens lecture
course for the 19OO-19O1 season, was
largely attended and in attractive
ness will easily outclass any of the
course. The hall was we'll filled, yet
had the public been aware of the full ]
nature Of the entertainment, it is
questionable whether there would have
been standing room in the hall. The
combination was accompanied by
Everett Pitkin, pianist, who
handled that instrument in a
very pleasing manner. Hugh j.
Emmett, is whole show in himself
and in his musical and vocal mimicry
he awakened the audience to the fact
that an evening s entertainment of I'm
common merit was to be presented.
He handled the violin in most expert
manner, playing while in almost
every conceivable position. His
''merry monologue" was good and he
showed himself to be an expert with
song and story. His feat in ventrilo-
quism was most wonderful while the
singing which he executed in this line
was finely done and excited the high
est admiration of all. In fact the
work done by Mr. Emmett in this par
ticular would be hard to excel.
And Durno! Well, might he be
called Durno, the wonderful The
famed magicians and jugglers of the
far east might we'll watch for their re-
putations with him around. He per-
formed various tricks of magic on the
stage and out among the audience.
Seemingly picked up silver half dollars
everywhere he turned and did various
things in most mystifying manner
which would have caused him to have
been burned at the stake for being in
league with the evil one HAD he lived
two centuries ago. Among some of
the tricks he performed while out in
the audience was to remove an I'M
dershirt from John Ell. Ray, while he
alarmed the friends of Judge Cray by
revealing the fact that that gentleman
was troubled with snakes and removed
one from under his coat collar Another
gentleman in the audience, whose
name we did not learn, was found
trying to secret live bantam rooster
under his coat, and was relieved of the
fowl, which flew onto the stage. Then
on the stage in full view Of the audi
ence he set dinner table with most
substantial meal, which he extracted
from several tin tubes about six inches
in diameter, which he had just ex-
hibited to the audience to demonstrate
that they were empty. From them he
then took a table cloth, napkins,
knives and forks and spoons, plates,
bread, roast turkey, and other eatables.
Next he borrowed hat from Prof
Holtz and extracted therefrom all
sorts of household articles, wearing ap-
parel, nursery articles and hosiery,
ending by unwinding therefrom a
strip of paper couple of hundred feet
long, which he gathered up in bun
die under his arm, and moment
later extracted therefrom a live duck
But his most mystifying act to his
audience was his closing one, in
which he produced on the stage
strong iron bound trunk, such as is
used by shows to pack in. He then
asked for two gentlemen from the
audience to come on the stage and
inspect it, and Judge Cray and Geo.
7. Barr were called on by the audience
to look it over which they did. The
trunk was opened and large sack of
heavy material was taken out. This al
so was closely inspected, as we'll as the
trunk. and both gentlemen were salts
fed that all was right. Durno's assist
ant was then put into the sack and the
same securely tied and sealed by Mr..
Barr. This sack was in the trunk.
The lid was put down and the trunk
locked by Mr.. Barr who put the key in
his pocket A strong rope was also
tied around the trunk. The trunk was
then put under pavilion on the rear
of the stage. Messrs. Barr and Cray
placed one on each side of the same,
some five or six PAGES away, and told
by Durno, that when he closed the
curtains in front of the pavilion and
disappeared, they were to clap their
hands and run forward and draw back
the curtains. They did so losing no
time after Durno's face disappeared
from sight. Under the pavilion by the
side of the trunk stood the assistant
Durno had disappeared The cord
around the trunk was just as Messrs.
Barr and Cray had left it. 1t was
taken off, the trunk unlocked and
opened and the sack was there, the
seal unbroken, as Mr.. Barr had left
it. The cord was cut and, 10, Durno
arose.
The audience was mystifed, but it
is probable that secret door in the
! trunk which Durpo WAC varv ooroErI