With these last lines I lay down my pen, as I have long since laid down
the wand. I do so with regret, for writing about magic has always been to
me a labour of love, but failing energy and failing eyesight warn me that
my day is over, and that “the night cometh, wherein no man can work.”
When I first began to discourse of magic, I had the whole field, in a
literary sense, to myself. That state of things has long since ceased to
be. Fertile brains and ready writers have taken up my task, and magic has
now a worthy literature, growing day by day. “So mote it be!”
Furthermore, if I may be allowed a word of advice, let me say that every
lover of magic, be he professional or amateur, should join a magical
society. No great work can be carried forward without organization, and
the success of such bodies as The Magician’s Club and the Magic Circle
here, and the Society of American Magicians over seas, has proved that
magic is no exception to the rule.
I must not close without a word of hearty thanks to Harry Houdini, Oscar
S. Teale and John W. Sargent, of the Society of American Magicians, for
their generous offices in connection with the publication of my book.
With this last legacy to the friends, at home and abroad, who have
derived pleasure or profit from my writings, I bid them a cheery farewell.