The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-08-12
D. Dill. Conduct dby
n aye D0VOlGQ 10 1\6llgOuS lV1dllGIS RvR
Conducted by

broke into enthusiastic applause. and
excited comments We're heard on all
sides Explanations galore were Of
Tered, none OF which was satisfac-
tory. All agreed however, that the
trick. II trick it was, was the clever
est yet seen in India. Yet was IL
trick? No one was sure. Some among
the guests even went so far as to
hint that the Brahmin was gifted with
supernatural powers.
lie had not remained in the air half
an hour when the guests We're sat-
! isiied, and the governor gave the sig
nal that he and his friends were con-
WINGED and that the purse of gold
would be forthcoming. The Brahmin
( bowed slightly in acknowledgment
and motioned to his servants to come
forward They brought the white
covering once more, threw it over
their masters head. and disappeared
within it's folds. In a few minutes the
pole was down, and the Brahmin
walked out before the spectators to
receive congratulations, and incident-
ally the large reward.
The pole was passed from hand to
hand and carefully examined 1t was
of amazing strength for so slender
pole, but SO far as any one could tell.
and there were many experts in trick
lore present. there were no hidden
springs that might aid them In soiN-
ing the mystery. Some of the guests
now requested that the Brahmin ba
searched, but this the governor would
not allow, as ne stated ii would be
breach OF faith. He had promised
the Brahmin no hand would be laid
upon him If he came, as that meant
pollution to one Of high caste. There
fore he went away with his servants
and his pole and the large sheet. and
the purse of gold
For many months thereafter there
was no more exciting topic Of CONVEX
satien in ali India than the man
who sat in the air" The Brahmn
was in great demand. he was feted
by the highest in the land, followed
by the multitudes, advertised by the
newspapers, written about by travel
ers. until his fame reached other
countries. and his trick puzzled prac-
tically all civilized lands.
One young Engiishman. a MIR. Com
way by name, not satisfied to talk OF
/ nervous energy" and magnetism"
and other unsatisfactory explanations.
was convinced that the performance
was trick pure and simple. Prob
ably many others thought the same
| thing, but it happened to be Mr..
Conway who solved the mystery.
though ii must be confessed he had a
hard time Of ii. AT last he announced
that he. too, could sit in the air. He
/ offered 10 do SO before witnesses, and
To explain how the trick was done
after the performance Was over As
soon as Nr. Conway made this an
nonncement the Brahmin mysterious
ly disappeared. India is a great coun-
try and no doubt he took up soma
other trick after a time and went
about in disguise In other parts OF the
land. Mr.. Conway did the trick buk
not in European dress. He wore tho
Oriental garb. The pole was a neees-
sity II was discovered, and the rest
OF the para phernalta was composed
OF strong. slender bars Of metal eleN-
erly made 10 fold up very com pactiy.
The least possible amount Of metal
was used. Three bars formed Il trl-
angular seat AT the narrowest an
gle another bar ran up as brace
to tha back. Across this was bar
acting as a brace to the shoulders,
The last bar was curved and ran along
the trickster's right arm and fastened
on the top of the pole. This joining
place was hidden by the right hand.
Tho triangle was large enough to al
low one to sit upon II cross legged.
tailor fashion.
MIR. Conway fastened this unique
seat to the pole by means Of metal
clamp. bat IL is proba hle that the
Brahmin had some more clever fas-
tening The loose drapery of the
Hindu costume successfully hid all
signs Of the metal Extra draperv
exactly matching the clothing worn
may have been used. too. and II was
the work OF a few minutes for the
stropg servants TO lift their master
to his place after adjusting the seat
upon the pole. With the Hindu
shr&waness the Brahmin took moro
time than was actually necessary
probably in order TO work up excite
nent to the highest pitch before per-
forming this clever. long puzzling but
exceedingly simple trick simple, in
deed. when You know how. MS are
most ether hoodwinking perform
ances.