Essentials of medical microbiology 2nd Edition

by Apurba Sastry, Sandhya Bhat ISBN

9789352704798 9352704797 download

https://ebookball.com/product/essentials-of-medical-
microbiology-2nd-edition-by-apurba-sastry-sandhya-bhat-
isbn-9789352704798-9352704797-192/

Instantly Access and Download Textbook at https://ebookball.com

 Get Your Digital Files Instantly: PDF, ePub, MOBI and More
Quick Digital Downloads: PDF, ePub, MOBI and Other Formats

Essentials of Medical Microbiology 1st Edition by Apurba S Sastry,

Sandhya Bhat ISBN B099ZZST5T

https://ebookball.com/product/essentials-of-medical-
microbiology-1st-edition-by-apurba-s-sastry-sandhya-bhat-
isbn-b099zzst5t-4198/

Review of Microbiology and Immunology 6th Edition by Apurba Sankar

Sastry, Sandhya Bhat KISBN 9386322390 9789386322395

https://ebookball.com/product/review-of-microbiology-and-
immunology-6th-edition-by-apurba-sankar-sastry-sandhya-bhat-
kisbn-9386322390-9789386322395-4192/

Essentials of Microbiology for Dental Students 2nd Edition by Jeremy

Bagg,Wallace MacFarlane,Ian Poxton,Andrew Smith 9780198564898
0198564899

https://ebookball.com/product/essentials-of-microbiology-for-
dental-students-2nd-edition-by-jeremy-bagg-wallace-macfarlane-
ian-poxton-andrew-smith-9780198564898-0198564899-7416/

Essentials of Medical Biochemistry With Clinical Cases 2nd Edition by

Chung Eun Ha, NV Bhagavan ISBN 0124166970 9780124166974

https://ebookball.com/product/essentials-of-medical-biochemistry-
with-clinical-cases-2nd-edition-by-chung-eun-ha-nv-bhagavan-
isbn-0124166970-9780124166974-3846/
Review of Medical Microbiology and Immunology 13th Edition by Warren
Levinson ISBN 0071818111 9780071818117

https://ebookball.com/product/review-of-medical-microbiology-and-
immunology-13th-edition-by-warren-levinson-
isbn-0071818111-9780071818117-4142/

Medical Emergencies Essentials for the Dental Professional 2nd Edition

by Ellen Grimes 9780133065626 0133065626

https://ebookball.com/product/medical-emergencies-essentials-for-
the-dental-professional-2nd-edition-by-ellen-
grimes-9780133065626-0133065626-7408/

Review of Medical Microbiology and Immunology 14th edition by Warren

Levinson ISBN 0071845747 978-0071845748

https://ebookball.com/product/review-of-medical-microbiology-and-
immunology-14th-edition-by-warren-levinson-
isbn-0071845747-978-0071845748-336/

Essentials of Medical Pharmacology 7th Edition by KD Tripathi ISBN

B07ZTH1V5N 9789350259375

https://ebookball.com/product/essentials-of-medical-
pharmacology-7th-edition-by-kd-tripathi-
isbn-b07zth1v5n-9789350259375-386/

Essentials of Medical Pharmacology 8th Edition by KD Tripathi ISBN

9789352704996 9352704991

https://ebookball.com/product/essentials-of-medical-
pharmacology-8th-edition-by-kd-tripathi-
isbn-9789352704996-9352704991-2/
Other documents randomly have
different content
 III.
I now come to the celebrated inventions of Maskelyne which
were exhibited at Egyptian Hall, London. First on the list comes the
automaton whist player, “Psycho,” which far exceeds the Chess
Player of Von Kempelen in ingenious construction. Its secret has
never been divulged.

J. N. M ASKELYNE
 Says the Encyclopedia Britannica: “In 1875 Maskelyne and
Cooke produced at the Egyptian Hall, in London, an automaton whist
player, ‘Psycho,’ which from the manner in which it is placed upon
the stage, appears to be perfectly isolated from any mechanical {117}
com­mun­ic­ a­tion from without . . . The arm has all the complicated
movements necessary for chess or draught playing; and ‘Psycho’
calculates any sum up to a total of 99,000,000. . . . ‘Psycho’, an
Oriental figure, sitting cross-legged on a box, is supported by a
single large cylinder of clear glass, which as originally exhibited,
stood upon the carpet of the stage, but was afterwards set loose
upon a small stool, having solid wood feet; moreover, this
automaton may be placed in almost any number of different ways.
. . . It may be mentioned that in the same year in which ‘Psycho’
appeared, the joint inventors patented a method of controlling the
speed of clockwork mechanism by compressed air or gas stored in
the pedestal of an automaton, this compressed air acting upon a
piston in a cylinder and also upon a rotating fan when a valve is
opened by ‘an electrical or other connection worked by the foot of
the performer or an assistant.’ But it is not known whether the
principle obscurely described in the specification was applicable in
any way to the invisible agency employed in ‘Psycho,’ or whether it
had reference to some other invention which has never been
realized.”
A very clever exposé of “Psycho” was published in an English
newspaper, November, 1877. That it is the correct one, I am by no
means certain. But an ingenious mechanic by carrying out its
provisions would be enabled to construct an excellent imitation of
the Maskelyne so-called automaton.
 “In Figs. 1a and 1b (elevation and plan), the wheels E and M
have each a train of clockwork (left out for the sake of clearness),
which would cause them to spin round if unchecked. M, however,
has two pins, p p, which catch on a projection on the lever, N. E is a
crown-wheel escapement—like that in a bottle roasting-jack—which
turns A alternately to the left and right, thus causing the hand to
traverse the thirteen cards. A little higher up on A will be seen a
quadrant, B (see plan), near the edge of which are set thirteen little
pins. The end of the lever, N, drops between any two of them, thus
causing the hand to stop at any desired card. The lever being
pivoted at c, it is obvious that by depressing the end, N, B will be set
at liberty, and the hand will move along the cards; by slightly {118}

raising it this motion will be arrested; by raising it still more the pin,
p, is released, and M commences to revolve, and by again
depressing N this wheel will, in its turn, be stopped. Near the bottom
of the apparatus is a bellows, O, which contains a spring tending to
keep the lever, N, with which it is connected by a rod, X, in the
position shown. This is connected with the tubular support, which
may be connected by a tube through the leg of the stool, and
another tube beneath the stage, with an assistant behind the
scenes. By compressing or exhausting air through this tube it is
obvious that the lever, N, will be raised or depressed, and the
clockwork set going accordingly. a is a crank-pin set in M, and
connected with the head by catgut, T, and with the thumb by S. At R
and R are two pulleys connected by gut. Thus if the hand moves {119}
round, the head appears to follow its motions, and when raised by
pulling S, the head rises also by means of T. Further explanation
seems almost unnecessary; l is a stop to prevent the elbow moving
too far, and b b spiral springs, to keep the thumb open and the head
forward respectively. When N is raised, M pulls T and S, the latter
closing the thumb, and then raising the arm by pulley H. If the lever
is allowed to drop, p will catch and keep the arm up. On again
raising N, the arm will descend.
“In addition to the above contrivance, we have in Figs. 2 and
3 another and simpler arrangement, in which only one train of
clockwork is used. On the same axle as H is fixed a lever and weight,
W, to balance the arm. A vertical rod, X, having a projection, Z,
slides up and down in guides, Y Y, and carries the catgut, S and T.
The quadrant, B, has cogs cut, between which Z slides and stops the
motion of A, which is moved, as before, by clockwork. The lower
part of X is connected directly with O. When X is slightly raised, as
shown, A is free to move, but on exhausting the air and drawing X
down, Z enters the cogs and stops the hand over a card; continuing
to exhaust, the thumb closes and the card is lifted up.” The details of
the clockwork the originator of this solution omits to give. He says
there should be a fan on each train to regulate the speed. The figure
should be so placed that an assistant can see the cards in the semi-
circular rack Fig. 4.
One of Maskelyne’s best mechanical tricks is the “Spirit Music-
Box,” for an exposé of which I am indebted to my friend Mr. Henry V.
A. Parsell, of New York City, a lover of the art of magic. The
construction of this novel piece of apparatus will afford a clue to
many alleged mediumistic performances. Professor Parsons, of New
Haven, Conn., is the owner of the box, reproduced in the illustration.
Says Mr. Parsell:
“A sheet of plate glass is exhibited freely to the audience and
proved to contain no electric wires or mechanism. This glass plate is
then suspended horizontally in the center of the stage by four cords
hooked to its corners. An ordinary looking music-box is then brought
in by the assistant. It is opened, so that the audience can see {120}

the usual mechanism within. The music-box is now placed on the

glass plate and the performer comes down among the spectators.
Notwithstanding the isolation of the box the command of the
performer suffices to cause it to play, or cease, in obedience to his
will. It matters not in what part of the room the conjurer goes—his
word is enough to make silence or harmony issue from the box,
always beginning where it left off and never skipping a note. The
simple cause of this marvelous effect lies in the mechanism of the
box and in its mode of suspension.

Fig. 5. Fig. 6.
T HE S PIRIT M USIC B OX.

“A small music box of this kind is shown in Fig. 5. The box is

seen with its mechanism removed and resting upon it. In addition to
the usual cylinder, comb and wheel-work, there is a device for
starting and stopping the box when it is tilted slightly endwise. This
consists of a light shaft delicately pivoted and carrying at one end a
lead weight (seen just in front of the cylinder), and at the other end
an arm of light wire whose far end is bent down so as to engage the
fly of the wheel-work. In Fig. 5 the mechanism is tilted so that the
wire arm is raised; the fly is now free to revolve and the box plays.
 “A front view of the mechanism is shown in Fig. 6. Here the
arm is down, arresting the motion of the fly and producing {121}

silence. When the box is resting on the glass plate an assistant

behind the scenes causes the plate to tilt slightly up or down by
raising or lowering the cords which support one end. The
mechanism of the box is so delicately adjusted that an imperceptible
motion of the plate is sufficient to control its playing.”
 IV.
John Nevil Maskelyne, a descendant of Nevil Maskelyne, the
eminent astronomer and physicist, was born in Cheltenham,
England, and like Houdin was apprenticed to a watchmaker. At an
early age, he manifested a wonderful aptitude for mechanics. He
employed most of his spare time while working at the trade of
horology in devising and building optical and mechanical apparatus
for show purposes. In this respect his career exactly parallels that of
Robert-Houdin. He was likewise interested in sleight of hand tricks,
but never carried the art to perfection like the French magician.
Later in life he abandoned legerdemain entirely and devoted himself
exclusively to the construction of mechanical illusions. In this line, he
has no equal. Most of the really clever and original illusions brought
out within the past twenty years have emanated from his fertile
brain. Houdin, Maskelyne, and Buatier de Kolta are the three great
inventors of magic tricks and illusions. One day the Davenport
Brothers came to Cheltenham and gave an exhibition of their alleged
mediumistic powers at the town hall. Young Maskelyne was selected
as one of a committee to tie the Brothers and examine their mystic
cabinet. The falling of a piece of drugget, used to exclude light from
one of the windows of the hall, enabled Maskelyne to see Ira
Davenport eject some of the musical instruments from the cabinet,
and re-secure himself with the ropes. Delighted at discovering the
trick, the young watchmaker soon devised an imitation of the
Davenport exhibition. Aided by a Mr. Cooke, afterwards his partner in
the show business, he gave an exposé of the Davenport business,
first at Cheltenham, and afterwards throughout England.
Subsequently he located at St. James Hall, and afterwards at
Egyptian Hall, London. Mr. Maskelyne was called as an expert {122}

witness in the trial of the impostor, Dr. Henry Slade, and performed
in the witness-box all of the medium’s “slate tests,” to the great
astonishment of the Court. As a consequence of these revelations,
Dr. Slade was sentenced to three months in jail, but he escaped
imprisonment owing to legal technicalities interposed by his
attorneys, and fled to the Continent. Mr. Maskelyne has written a
clever exposé of gambling devices, entitled, Sharps and Flats, and
various magazine articles on conjuring.
In the year 1904, he and Mr. Cooke moved their show to St.
George’s Hall, having outgrown the old quarters at Egyptian Hall.
Since that time Mr. Cooke died at an advanced age. Associated with
Mr. Maskelyne and his son is David Devant, a good sleight of hand
performer.
 ROBERT-HOUDIN—CONJURER, AUTHOR AND
AMBASSADOR.
“Robert-Houdin was a man of remarkable ingenuity and insight.
His autobiography is throughout interesting and psy­cho­log­i­cally
valuable, and his conjuring precepts abound in points of importance
to the psychologist.”—J OSEPH J ASTROW : “Fact and Fable in
Psychology.”
“To Robert-Houdin I feel I owe a double debt; first, for the great
satisfaction I have had in such slight skill as I have acquired in his
art, and, secondly, for such an insight into its underlying principles
as to keep me clear of all danger from evanescent delusions which
follow one another in fashion.”—B RANDER M ATTHEWS : “Books that
have helped me.”

I.
Nostradamus is said to have constructed a magic mirror of great
power. In its shining surface, he conjured up many remarkable
visions. But I know of a more wonderful wizard’s glass than that of
the French necromancer. It is the “mirror of the mind”—that mystery
of mysteries. I am able, at will, to evoke in it a phan­tas­ma­goria of
the past. I need no aid from cabalistic spells, no burning of incense.
Presto!—a picture appears radiant with light and life. I see a
wainscoted room in a quaint old mansion. Logs are ablaze on the
hearthstone. A boy is ensconced in the deep embrasure of the
window. He is immersed in a book, and entirely oblivious of the
scene without, where the Snow King is busy laying a white pall upon
the frozen earth. Snow flakes like white butterflies skim hither and
thither. The wind rumbles mournfully in the chimneys like a lost
spirit. It is the witching Christmas Tide, when of old the Magi led by
the burning star (the weird pentagram of the Initiates) came from
afar to visit the lowly cradle of the Nazarene child. Beautiful old {124}
legend! It still haunts these later years of mine, breathing joy and
peace ineffable; for is it not an allegory of the search for, and the
discovery of, the Lost Word of the Adepts of the Temples—the word
that signifies eternal life?
Let us take a peep over the reader’s shoulder, at the volume
in his hand. It is the autobiography of “Robert-Houdin, conjurer,
author, and ambassador.” And the reader is myself. O vanished years
of boyhood: you still live in the magic mirror of memory! And
intimately associated with those years is the mystic book of Robert-
Houdin. Can I ever forget the enjoyment I had in poring over the
faded yellow leaves of that fascinating work? Happy the youth who
early dips into its golden pages. The Arabian Nights forms a fitting
prologue to it. I followed Houdin in the Conjurer’s Caravan; rejoiced
in his successes at the Palais Royal; and in far-off Algeria, watched
him exhibiting his magic feats before the Marabouts.
Speaking of this autobiography, Professor Brander Matthews
of Columbia College, New York, says: “These Confidences of a
Prestidigitateur are worthy of comparison with all but the very best
autobiographies—if not with Cellini’s and Franklin’s, at least with
Cibber’s and Goldoni’s. Robert-Houdin’s life of himself, quite as well
as any of the others, would justify Longfellow’s assertion that
‘autobiography is what biography ought to be.’ ”
In my humble opinion Houdin’s autobiography is worthy to be
classed with the best, even that of Cellini and Franklin; yes, even
with Chateaubriand’s superb Memories beyond the Tomb. It is
replete with interesting information about old time necromancers;
constructors of automata; good stories of contemporary magicians;
exposés of Marabout miracles; and last, but not least, the fascinating
adventures of Houdin himself,—the archmaster of modern magic. It
bears the stamp of truth on every page, and should be placed in the
hands of all students of psychology and pedagogy. His Trickeries of
the Greeks, an exposé of gambling devices, is also an interesting
work and should be read in conjunction with his Stage Magic and
Conjuring and Magic.
The Confidences end with Houdin’s retirement from the stage
to his villa at St. Gervais, near Blois. The book on Conjuring and {125}
Magic gives us a slight sketch of his villa and the ingenious
contrivances arranged therein for the amusement and mystification
of visitors. The curtain, alas, then rings down on the scene. The
theatre is left dark and cold. We are told nothing more concerning
the great conjurer’s life, or the manner of his death. All is a blank.
Through my own efforts, however, and those of my friends made in
recent years, at my instigation, I have been able to supply the
missing data. It is very entertaining indeed. But let us begin at the
beginning.
 II.
On a certain day in the year 1843, the Count de l’Escalopier, a
scion of the old régime of France, and a great lover of curios, was
strolling along the Rue de Vendôme, in the Marais Quarter, of Paris.
He stopped to look at some mechanical toys displayed in the window
of a dark little shop, over the door of which was painted the
following modest sign: “M. Robert-Houdin, Pendules de Précision.”
This sign noted the fact that the proprietor was a watchmaker, and
that his wares were distinguished for precise running. What
particularly attracted the nobleman’s attention was a peculiar looking
clock of clearest crystal that ran apparently without works, the
invention of M. Robert-Houdin. The Count, who was a great lover of
science amusante, or science wedded to recreation, purchased the
magic clock, and better than that, made the acquaintance of the
inventor, the obscure watchmaker, who was destined to become a
great pre­sti­di­gi­ta­teur, author, and ambassador. The Count became a
frequent visitor at Houdin’s shop, to watch the construction of
various automata, which the inventor intended some day to use in
public performances. Says Houdin: “A kind of intimacy having thus
become established between M. de l’Escalopier and myself, I was
naturally led to talk to him of my projects of appearing in public;
and, in order to justify them, I had given him, on more than one
occasion, specimens of my skill in sleight of hand. Prompted
doubtless by his friendly feelings, my spectator steadily applauded
me, and gave me the warmest encouragement to put my schemes
into actual practice. Count de l’Escalopier, who was the {126}

possessor of a considerable fortune, lived in one of those splendid

houses which surround the square which has been called Royale, or
des Vosges, according to the color of the flag of our masters of the
time being. I myself lived in a humble lodging in the Rue de
Vendôme, in the Marais, but the wide disproportion in the style of
our respective dwelling-places did not prevent the nobleman and the
artist from addressing each other as ‘my dear neighbor,’ or
sometimes even as ‘my dear friend.’

Houdin’s Magic Clock.21

 21 “The cut represents the magic clock invented by Robert-Houdin about sixty
years ago. This very remarkable time-piece consists of a dial composed of two
juxtaposed disks of glass, one of which is stationary and carries the hours, while
the other is movable and serves for the motion of the hands. This latter disk is
provided with a wheel or rather a toothed ring concealed within the metallic ring
forming a dial. The glass column which constitutes the body of the piece is
formed of two tubes which operate according to the principle of the dial, that is
to say, one is stationary and the other movable. To each of the extremities of the
latter is fixed a wheel. These wheels gear with transmission pinions which
communicate, one of them at the top with the movable plate of glass of the dial,
and the other at the bottom with the movement placed in the wooden base which
supports the glass shade covering the clock. All these concealed transmissions
are arranged in a most skillful manner, and complete the illusion. The movable
glass of the dial, carried along by the column, actuates a small dial-train mounted
in the thickness of the stationary glass, and within an extremely narrow space in
the center of the dial. It is covered by the small hand and is consequently
invisible. The hands are very easily actuated by it on account of their extreme
lightness and perfect equilibrium.”—Scientific American, N. Y.

“My neighbor then being, as I have just stated, warmly {127}

in­ter­est­ed in my projects, was cons­tantly talking of them; and in

order to give me op­por­tu­ni­ties of practice in my future pro­fes­sion,
and to enable me to acquire that confidence in which I was then
wanting, he frequently invited me to pass the evening in the
company of a few friends of his own, whom I was delighted to
amuse with my feats of dexterity. It was after a dinner given by M.
de l’Escalopier to the Archbishop of Paris, Monseigneur Affre, with
whom he was on intimate terms, that I had the honor of being
presented to the reverend prelate as a mechanician and future
magician, and that I performed before him a selection of the best of
my experiments.
“At that period—I don’t say it in order to gratify a
retrospective vanity—my skill in sleight of hand was of a high order. I
am warranted in this belief by the fact that my numerous audiences
exhibited the greatest wonderment at my performance, and that the
Archbishop himself paid me, in his own handwriting, a compliment
which I can not refrain from here relating.
“I had reserved for the last item of my programme a trick
which, to use a familiar expression, I had at my fingers’ ends. In
effect it was shortly as follows:—After having requested the
spectators carefully to examine a large envelope sealed on all sides,
I handed it to the Archbishop’s Grand Vicar, begging him to keep it in
his own possession. Next, handing to the prelate himself a small slip
of paper, I requested him to write thereon, secretly, a sentence, or
whatever he might choose to think of; the paper was then folded in
four, and (apparently) burnt. But scarcely was it consumed and the
ashes scattered to the winds, than, handing the envelope to the
Archbishop, I requested him to open it. The first envelope being
removed a second was found, sealed in like manner; then another,
until a dozen envelopes, one inside another, had been opened, the
last containing the scrap of paper restored intact. It was passed
from hand to hand, and each read as follows:—
“ ‘Though I do not claim to be a prophet, I venture to predict,
sir, that you will achieve brilliant success in your future career.’ {128}
“I begged Monseigneur Affre’s permission to keep the
autograph in question, which he very graciously gave me.”
Poor Archbishop Affre; he was killed at the barricades in the
Revolution of 1848. Though he confessed that he was no prophet,
yet his prediction was fulfilled to the letter. Houdin became the
foremost conjurer of his age, of any age in fact, and has left to
posterity more than a name:—his fascinating memoirs, and several
works in which the psychology of deception is treated in a masterly
manner. The slip of paper given to him by the Archbishop he
preserved as a religious relic. “I kept it,” he said, “in a secret corner
of my pocket-book which I always carried about my person. During
my travels in Algeria I had the misfortune to lose both this pocket-
book and the precious object it contained.”
After the séance recorded above, the Count de l’Escalopier
urged Houdin continually to abandon the watchmaking and
mechanical-toy trade and go on the stage as a pre­sti­di­gi­ta­teur.
Finally Houdin confessed his inability to do so, owing to lack of
means, whereupon the kind-hearted nobleman exclaimed: “Mon
cher ami, I have at home, at this very moment, ten thousand francs
or so, which I really don’t know what to do with. Do me the favor to
borrow them for an indefinite period: you will be doing me an actual
service.”
But Houdin would not accept the offer, for he was loth to risk
a friend’s money in a theatrical speculation. The Count in a state of
pique left the shop and did not return for many days. Then he
rushed excitedly into the workroom, sank upon a chair, and
exclaimed:
“My dear neighbor, since you are determined not to accept a
favor from me, I have now come to beg one of you. This is the
status of the case. For the last year my desk has been robbed from
time to time of very considerable sums of money. In vain have I
endeavored to ascertain the thief. I have sent away my servants,
one after another. I have had the place watched, changed the locks,
and placed secret fastenings on the doors, but none of these
safeguards and precautions have foiled the cunning of the
miscreant. This very morning a couple of thousand franc-notes {129}
disappeared. Think of the frightful position the entire family is placed
in. Can you not come to my assistance?”
“Count,” replied Houdin, “I fail to see how I can help you in
the present instance. My magic power, unfortunately, extends only to
my finger tips.”
“That is true,” said the Count, “but you have a mighty aid in
mechanics.”
“Mechanics,” exclaimed the magician. “Stop a bit! I remember
when I was a boy at school that I invented a primitive piece of
apparatus to apprehend a rascal who was in the habit of stealing my
boyish possessions. I will improve upon that idea. Come to see me in
a few days.”
Houdin put on his thinking-cap and shut himself up in his
workshop.
From his inner consciousness he evolved a singularly
ingenious contrivance, designed not only to discover a thief, but to
brand him indelibly for his crime. In brief let me describe it. It was
an apparatus to be fastened to the inside of a desk. When the desk
was unlocked, and the lid raised ever so little, a pistol was
discharged; at the same time a claw-like arrangement, attached to a
light rod and impelled by a spring, came sharply down on the back
of the hand which held the key. This claw was a tatooing instrument.
It consisted of “a number of very short but sharp points, so arranged
as to form the word Robber. These points were brought through a
pad impregnated with nitrate of silver, a portion of which was forced
by the blow into the punctures, and made the scars indelible for life.”
When the Count saw this apparatus at work, the inventor
using a heavily-padded glove to prevent being wounded by the claw,
he objected to it strenuously, remarking that he had no right to
brand a criminal. That was the province of Justice. He also argued
that it would be wrong from a humanitarian standpoint. A poor
wretch thus branded could only get rid of it by a horrible self-
mutilation. If he failed in his endeavor, it might close the door of
repentance forever against him, and class him permanently among
the enemies of the social order. “Worse than that,” said the Count,
“suppose some member of my family by inadvertence, or {130}

through some fatal mistake, should fall a victim to our stern

precautions; and then ”
“You are quite right!” said Houdin. “I had not thought of those
objections. I was carried away by my enthusiasm as an inventor. You
are quite right! I will alter the apparatus at once.”
In the place of the branding contrivance, he inserted a kind of
cat’s-claw, which would make a slight scratch on the hand—a mere
superficial wound, readily healed. The Count was satisfied with the
alteration, and the apparatus was secretly fixed to the desk in the
nobleman’s bed-room.
In order to stimulate the cupidity of the robber, the Count
drew considerable money from his bankers. He even made a
pretence of leaving Paris on a trip to a short distance. But the bait
did not take. Sixteen days passed away. The Count had almost
despaired of catching the culprit, when one morning while reading in
his library, which was some little distance from the bed-room, he
heard the report of a pistol.
“Ah,” he exclaimed, excitedly. “The robber at last.” Picking up
the first weapon to hand, a battle axe from a stand of ancestral
armor near by, he ran quickly to the bed-room. There stood his
trusted valet, Bernard, who had been in his household for many
years.
“What are you doing here?” asked the Count.
With great coolness and audacity, Bernard explained that he
had been brought thither by the noise of the explosion, and had just
seen a man making his escape down the back stairs. The Count
rushed down the stairs only to find the door locked. A frightful
thought overcame him: “Could Bernard be the thief?” He returned to
the bed-room. The valet, he noticed, kept his right hand behind him.
The Count dragged it forcibly in sight, and saw that it was covered
with blood.
“Infamous scoundrel!” said the nobleman, as he flung the
man from him in disgust.
“Mercy, mercy!” cried the criminal, falling upon his knees. {131}

“How long have you been robbing me?” asked the Count,
sternly.
“For nearly two years.”
“And how much have you taken?”
“I cannot tell exactly. Perhaps 15,000 francs, or thereabouts.”
“We will call it 15,000 francs. You may keep the rest. What
have you done with the money?”
“I have invested it in Government stock. The scrip is in my
desk.”
The thief yielded up the securities to the amount of fifteen
thousand francs, and wrote a confession of his guilt, which he
signed in the presence of a witness. The kind-hearted nobleman,
bidding the valet repent of his crime, forthwith dismissed him from
his employ, agreeing not to prosecute him provided he led an honest
life. One year from that date, the wretched Bernard died. Remorse
hastened his end.
M. de l’Escalopier took the money thus recovered to Houdin,
saying: “I do hope, my dear friend, that you will no longer refuse me
the pleasure of lending you this sum, which I owe entirely to your
ingenuity and mechanical skill. Take it, return it to me just when you
like, with the understanding that it is to be repaid only out of the
profits of your theatre.”
Overcome by emotion at the generosity of his benefactor,
Houdin embraced the Count. “This embrace,” he says, “was the only
security which M. de l’Escalopier would accept from me.”
This was the turning point of the conjurer’s life. “It is an ill
wind that blows nobody good.”
With this money Houdin without further delay built in the
Palais Royal a little theatre. “The galleries which surround the garden
of the Palais Royal are divided,” says Houdin, “into successive
arches, occupied by shops. Above these arches there are, on the
first floor, spacious suites of apartments, used as public assembly
rooms, clubs, cafés, etc. It was in the space occupied by one of
these suites, at No. 164 of the Rue de Valois, that I built my {132}

theatre, which extended, in width, over three of the above-

mentioned arches; and in length the distance between the garden of
the Palais Royal and the Rue de Valois, or, in other words, the whole
depth of the building.” The dimensions of this miniature theatre were
very limited. It would not seat over two hundred people. Though the
seats were few in number, their prices were tolerably high. Children
were paid for as grown persons.
 The Palais Royal was formerly the residence of Cardinal
Richelieu, the “Red Duke,” and afterwards became the home of the
Orléans family. The Regent d’Orléans, in the reign of Louis XV,
experimented with magic mirrors in this building. It was in the Palais
Royal that the French Revolution was hatched. Could a more
favorable place have been selected in which to start a revolution in
conjuring? I think not.
The following is the announcement of Houdin’s first
performance, which appeared on the bill-boards of Paris:

Aujourd’hui Jeudi, 3 Juillet 1845.

Première Représentation
des
Soirées Fantastiques
de
Robert-Houdin.

“On this day,” says Houdin, “by a strange coincidence, the

Hippodrome and the ‘Fantastic Soirées’ of Robert-Houdin, the largest
and smallest stage in Paris, were opened to the public. The 3d of
July, 1845, saw two bills placarded on the walls of Paris; one
enormous belonging to the Hippodrome, while the other of far more
modest proportions, announced my performances. Still as in the
fable of the reed and the oak, the large theatre, in spite of the skill
of the managers, has undergone many changes of fortune; while the
smaller one has continually enjoyed the public favor. I have sacredly
kept a proof of my first bill, the form and color of which have always
remained the same since that date. I copy it word for word here,
both to furnish an idea of its simplicity, and to display the {133}

programme of the experiments I then offered to the public:”—

 TO-DAY, THURSDAY, JULY 3, 1845
FIRST REPRESENTATION
OF
THE FANTASTIC SOIRÉES
OF
ROBERT-HOUDIN
AUTOMATA, SLEIGHT OF HAND, MAGIC

The Performance will be composed of entirely novel

Experiments
invented by M. ROBERT-HOUDIN
AMONG THEM BEING:
THE CABALISTIC CLOCK OBEDIENT CARDS
AURIOL AND DEBUREAU THE MIRACULOUS FISH
THE ORANGE-TREE THE FASCINATING OWL
THE MYSTERIOUS BOUQUET THE PASTRYCOOK OF THE PALAIS
ROYAL
THE HANDKERCHIEF PIERROT IN THE EGG
TO COMMENCE AT EIGHT O’CLOCK
Box-office open at Half-past Seven

Price of places: Upper Boxes, 1 fr. 50 c.; Stalls, 3 fr.;

Boxes, 4 fr.; Dress Circle, 5 fr.
 These fantastic evenings soon became popular. When the
Revolution of 1848 ruined the majority of Parisian theater managers,
Houdin simply locked the door of his hall, and retired to his little
workshop to invent new tricks and automata. His loss was very
slight, for he was under no great expense. When order was restored,
he resumed the soirées magiques. The newspapers rallied to his
assistance and made playful allusions to his being related to the {134}

family of Robert le Diable. The leading illustrated journals sent artists

to draw pictures of his stage. Houdin found time, amid all his labors,
to edit a little paper which he called Cagliostro, full of bon mots and
pleasantries, to say nothing of cartoons. Copies of this petit journal
pour rire were distributed among the spectators at each
performance.
As each theatrical season opened, Houdin had some new
marvel to present to his audiences. His maxims were: “It is more
difficult to support admiration than to excite it.” “The fashion an
artist enjoys can only last as long as his talent daily increases.”
Houdin had but few, if any, rivals in his day. His tricks were all new,
or so improved as to appear new. He swept everything before him.
When he went to London for a prolonged engagement, Anderson,
the “Wizard of the North,” who was a great favorite with the public,
retired into the Provinces with his antique repertoire. What had the
English conjurer to offer alongside of such unique novelties as the
Second Sight, Aerial Suspension, Inexhaustible Bottle, Mysterious
Portfolio, Crystal Cash Box, Shower of Gold, Light and Heavy Chest,
Orange Tree, the Crystal Clock, and the automaton figures Auriol and
Debureau, the Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal, etc., etc.
 III.
Jean-Eugène Robert (Houdin) was born on December 6,
1805, in the quaint old city of Blois, the birth-place of Louis XII. and
of Papin, the inventor of the steam engine. Napoleon was at the
zenith of his fame, and had just fought the bloody battle of
Austerlitz.
Luckily for the subject of this sketch, he was born too late to
serve as food for powder. He lived to grow to man’s estate and
honorable old age, and became the veritable Napoleon of
necromancy. His career makes fascinating reading. Houdin’s father
was a watchmaker, and from him he inherited his remarkable
mechanical genius. At the age of eleven, Jean-Eugène was sent to
college at Orleans. On the completion of his studies, he entered a
notary’s office at Blois, but spent most of his time inventing little
mechanical toys and devices, instead of engrossing dusty {135}

parchment, so the notary advised him to abandon the idea of

becoming a lawyer and take up a mechanical trade. Houdin joyfully
took up his father’s occupation of watchmaking, for which he had a
decided bent. One evening the young apprentice went to a
bookseller’s shop in Blois and asked for a work on horology by
Berthoud. The shopman by mistake handed him a couple of odd
volumes of the Encyclopédie, which somewhat resembled Berthoud’s
book. Jean-Eugène went home to his attic, lit a candle, and prepared
to devote an evening to hard study, but judge of his surprise to find
that the supposed treatise on watchmaking was a work on natural
magic and pre­sti­di­gi­ta­tion, under the head of scientific amusements.
He was delighted at the revelations contained in the mystic volume,
which told how to perform tricks with the cards, to cut off a pigeon’s
head and restore it again, etc., etc. Here was an introduction to the
New Arabian Nights of enchantment. He slept with the book under
his pillow, and possibly dreamed of African wizards, genii, and all
sorts of incantations. This little incident brought about great changes
in Houdin’s life. He secretly vowed to become a pre­sti­di­gi­ta­teur,—a
rôle for which he was eminently fitted, psy­cho­log­ic­ ally and physically.
The principles of sleight of hand Houdin had to create for himself, for
the mystic volume, though it revealed the secrets of the tricks, gave
the neophyte no adequate idea of the subtle passes and misdirection
required to properly execute them.
Though an ardent devotee of legerdemain, Houdin did not
neglect his trade of watchmaker. When his apprenticeship was over,
he went to Tours as a journeyman, in the shop of M. Noriet, who
afterwards became a noted sculptor. While in the employ of M.
Noriet, Houdin was poisoned by eating a ragôut cooked in a stew
pan in which there chanced to be verdigris. He was very ill, and his
life was saved with difficulty. Possessed with the idea that he was
soon to die, he escaped one day from his nurse and doctor and set
out for Blois to bid adieu to his family before he departed from this
sublunary sphere. A most singular adventure befell him, which reads
like a romance. Those who believe in destiny have here a curious
example of its strange workings. The jolting of the lumbering {136}

old diligence gave Houdin great pain. He was burning with fever and
delirious. Without any one knowing it, he opened the door of the
rotonde, in which he happened to be the only passenger, and leaped
out on the high road, where he lay unconscious. When he recovered
his senses, he found himself lying in a comfortable bed. An unknown
man with a phial of medicine in his hand bent over him. By the
strangest luck, Houdin had fallen into the hands of a traveling
conjurer named Torrini, who went about the country in a sort of
house on wheels, which was drawn by a pair of big Norman horses.
This unique vehicle which was six yards in length could be converted
into a miniature theatre twice its size by an ingenious mechanical
arrangement. The body was telescopic and could be drawn out, the
projection being supported by trestles. Torrini early in life had been a
physician and was able to tend his patient with intelligence and skill.
Finding the young watchmaker a clever mechanician, Torrini gave
him some magical automata to repair, and Houdin was introduced
for the first time to the little Harlequin that jumps out of a box and
performs various feats at the mandate of the conjurer. A delightful
friendship began between the watchmaker and the wizard. Torrini,
who was an expert with cards, initiated Houdin into the secrets of
many clever tricks performed with the pasteboards. He also
corrected his pupil’s numerous mistakes in legerdemain, into which
all self-educated amateurs fall. It was a fascinating life led in this
conjurer’s caravan. Besides Torrini and Houdin there was Antonio,
the assistant, and man of all work. Torrini related many amusing
adventures to his young pupil, which the latter has recorded in his
admirable autobiography. It was he, the ci-devint, Comte de Grisy
who performed the famous watch trick before Pius VII. and had so
unique revenge upon the Chevalier Pinetti.
Torrini’s son was accidentally shot by a spectator in the gun
trick during a performance at Strasburg, as has been explained in
the chapter on the “History of Natural Magic and Prestidigitation.”
Overcome with grief at the loss of his only child and at the
Welcome to Our Bookstore - The Ultimate Destination for Book Lovers
Are you passionate about books and eager to explore new worlds of
knowledge? At our website, we offer a vast collection of books that
cater to every interest and age group. From classic literature to
specialized publications, self-help books, and children’s stories, we
have it all! Each book is a gateway to new adventures, helping you
expand your knowledge and nourish your soul
Experience Convenient and Enjoyable Book Shopping Our website is more
than just an online bookstore—it’s a bridge connecting readers to the
timeless values of culture and wisdom. With a sleek and user-friendly
interface and a smart search system, you can find your favorite books
quickly and easily. Enjoy special promotions, fast home delivery, and
a seamless shopping experience that saves you time and enhances your
love for reading.
Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and
personal growth!

ebookball.com