New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-10-11

With a pale face made the more wan by a
fierce black nustache, black hair and black
evening clothes. the magician comes upon the
stage to do his turn. There is 4 foreign twang
to his polite invitation to the audienc to watch
him closely and to his repeated declarations
that he has accomplices nor any mechanical
sontrivances Then his slender fingers begin to
work rapidly his arms gestculate from side to
side, and cards spring to view from the unseen.
coins appear to be manufactured out of thin air.
and illusion follows another until the curtain
lrops.
Should one turn his eyes from the performer
to the audience during some magical feat, the
study of a spectators face would be almost as
interesting. At the outset the average face
manifests a professed incredulity. There are
such thoughts behind the face as:
I've seen that same trick hundred times"
He does that by simply palming."
Those billiard balls up his sleeve"
Slowly the look of unbelief changes to one OF
curiosity. Despite vigilant watching. the spec
tator cannot see how the billiard balls tumble
cut of the sleeve. They seem instead to bud and
grow between the manipulators fingers. Gu
rosity now gives way TO wonderment and the
muscles of the jaw relax to offset the increased
tension of the eyes. Then comes the climax of
the performance, when the magician accom-
plishes his final feat with q fanfare of horns
from the orchestra, a blaze Of calcium lights
from the wings. and pale mysterious smile
and wave of the hand. And the spectators
wonderment evapOrates into admiration, and he
laughs and claps his hands
1t is difficult to believe that this black coated
individual who travels about from theatre to
theatre is lneal descendant of the Persian
Magi, high priests. The magician of to-day
amuses because of the dexterity of his fingers
the righteousness OF his mechanical ap-
Vliances. Only a few i'll educated minds believe
is tricks to be more than tricks. But the
k!cian of old was man who was regarded with
awe and even terror Kings as well as subjects
believed him to be a superior being in league
with God or the devil. to heal or destroy. His
wisdom was of some secret kind unattainable
20 the rest of mankind, and nature revealed
truths to hin which she concealed from all
else.
How the magician of the ancients has become
a stage performer Of modern times is told. with
thousands of entertaining details. by the library
OF Or. Saram r. Ellison Of this city This Ii
brary has been brought into special prominence
recently because of DR.. Ellison's offer to be-
Gueath his books to Columbia University Even
at the present time these volumes are open to
magicians. or any one else who is Interested in
their mysterious art and hardly day passes
that some one does not ring the doctors bell,
at No. lis West One-hundred- and thrd-st
and. pausing in his entry. say:
Pardon LIE, doctor, but 1 want to look at
your books
Then come right in" is the cheerful reply.
If you want to learn how to cut your head off
and put it on again. or anything else along that
line. just help yourself"
The Ellison library magic stands in the
doctors consultation room Within its glass
doors there are some HOO listed books and
pamphlets on magic. legerdemain. palmistry and
all such kindred sciences There are works in
English. Italian. German. French. Hungarian.
Chinese. Spanish. japanese. Arabic. Dutch and
Latin Some of the volumes were picked mn
I'm old book stores in this city and others
"ere discovered in the Doctors travels abroad
The oldest book OF the collection published in
1901. and entitled the "Discorso del Reverendo
M. Francesca de Cattani sopra la Superstizione
DELL Arte Magica." was dug out of the mould Of