Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-22

before, there had been celebration by the schools,
and had had quarrel with big boy who the
school bully, and l had not out of it with
credit. That boy was now seated in the middle of
the house, halfway down the main aisle. | crept
steathly and lmpressively toward the table, with
a dark and nlurderous scowl my face copied
from popular romance, seized the revolver sud
denly, HourlShed it, shouted the bully's name,
jumped off the platform, and made rush for him
and chased him out of the house before the paralyzed
people could interfere to save him. There was
storm of applause, and the magician, addressing
the house, said most lmpressively:
That you may know how really remarkable this
is, and how wonderfully developed subject have
this boy, assure you that without single spoken
word to guide him he has carried out what mentally
commanded him to do, to the minutest detail. /
could have stopped him at moment in his vengeful
career by mere eXertlon OF my viii; therefore the
poor fellow who has escaped was at no time in
danger"
So was not in disgrace. l returned to the plat
form hero, and happier than / have ever been in
this world since. As regards mental suggestion, my
fears of it were gone. judged that in failed
to guess what the professor might be willing me to
do, could count on putting up something that
would answer just well. l right, and
hbitons of unspoken suggestion became favorite
with the public. Whenever l perceived that
being wied to do something, got up and did some
hing,-anything that occurred to me,-and the
magician, not being fool, always ratified it When
people asked me, How you tell what he is
they always said admringly We'll, it beats me how
you do it,
Tough on the Subject
HICKS was weak in another detail When the pro-
- fessor made passes over him and said His whole
body is without sensation now. Come forward and
test him, ladies and gentlemen the ladies and
gentlemen always complied eagerly, and stuck pins
into Hicks, and if they went deep Hicks was sure to
vince. Then that poor professor would have to ex-
plain that Hicks wasn't sufficiently under the in
tuence." But didn't vince; l only suffered, and
shed tears the inside. The mseres that con-
ceited boy will endure to keep up his reputation y
And so will conceited man; l know it in my
person, and have seen it in hundred thousand
others. That professor ought to have protected me-
and often hoped he would, when the tests were
unusually severe; but he didn't 1t may be that he
was deceived as we'll as the Others though did not
believe it nor think it possible. Those dear
good people; but they must have carried simplicity
and creduity to the limit. They would stick pin
IN my and bear it until they drove it third
of its length and then be lost in wonder that by
mere exercise of will power the professor could turn
my to iron and make it insensible to pain
Whereas it was not insensble at all; was suffering
agonleS of pain.
After that fourth nght-that proud night, that
triumphant night was the only subject. Simmons
invited no more candidates to the platform. l per-
formed alone every night, the rest of the fortnight
In the beginning of the second week conquered
the last doubters. Up to that time dozen wise old
heads, the intellectual arstocracy OF the town. had
held out, implacable unbelevers. was hurt
by this if l were engaged in some honest occupa-
ton. There is nothing surprising about this. Human
beings feel dshonor the most, sometimes, when they
most deserve it. That handful of overwse old gentle
men kept shaking their heads ali the first week and
saying they had marvels there that could not
have been produced by colusion and they were
pretty of their nbelief too and liked to show
it and air it, and be superior to the ignorant and
the gullible. Particularly old DR. Peake, who
the ringeader of the irreconciables, and very
formidable for he was an FEW. he was learned,
white haired, and venerable, nobly and richly clad
in the fashions of an earlier and courtlier day. he
large and stately and he not only seemed wise.
but what he seemed in that regard He had
great influence and his opinion upon any matter
was worth much more than that of any other person