A COURSE OF MIRACLES.
It has been said of the augurs, that they could not look at each other
without a laugh; it would be the same with the Aïssaoua, if Mussulman
blood did not flow in their veins. At any rate, there is not one among
them who is deceived as to the pretended miracles performed by his
brethren, but all lend a hand to execute them successfully, like a
company of mountebanks, at the head of whom is the Mokaddem.
Even supposing that their pretended miracles could not be explained, a
simple reflection would destroy their prestige. The Aïssaoua call
themselves invulnerable--then, let them ask one of the audience to place
the red-hot iron on their cheeks, or some other part of their persons;
they assert they are invulnerable--then, let them invite some Zouaves to
pass their sabres through them. After such a spectacle, the most
incredulous would bow before them.
Were I incombustible and invulnerable, I should find a pleasure in
offering undoubted proofs. I would put myself on a spit before a
scorching fire, and while roasting, would amuse myself with eating a
salad of pounded glass, seasoned with oil of vitriol. Such a sight would
attract the whole world, and I should become a prophet.
But the Aïssaoua have reason to be prudent in the performances of these
tricks, as I will prove. The principal miracles are as follows:
1. Running a dagger into the cheek.
2. Eating the leaves of the prickly pear.
3. Laying the stomach on the edge of a sabre.
4. Playing with serpents.
5. Striking the arm, causing the blood to flow, and stopping it
instantaneously.
6. Eating pounded glass.
7. Swallowing pebbles, bottle-heels, &c.
8. Walking on red-hot iron, or passing the tongue over a white-hot
plate of iron.
Let us begin with the most simple trick, that of thrusting a dagger into
the cheek.
The Arab who performed this trick turned his back on me; hence I could
get very near him and watch his movements. He placed against his cheek
the point of a dagger, which was round and blunt as that of a
paper-knife. The flesh, instead of being pierced, went in for about two
inches between the molars, which were kept apart, exactly as a cake of
india-rubber would do.
This trick is best performed by thin and aged persons, because the flesh
of their cheeks is peculiarly elastic. Now, the Aïssaoua fulfilled these
conditions in every respect.
The Arab who ate the prickly pear leaves gave us no opportunity of
inspecting them, and I am inclined to believe that the leaves had been
prepared so as to do him no injury, otherwise he would not have
neglected this important point, which would have doubled the merit of
the miracle. But even had he shown them to us, this man went through so
many unneccessary manœuvres, that he could very easily have changed
them for harmless leaves. In that case, it would be a fifteenth-rate
trick of conjuring.
In the following experiment, two Arabs held a sabre, one by the hilt,
the other by the point; a third then came forward, and after raising his
clothes so as to leave the abdomen quite bare, laid himself flat on the
edge of the blade, while a fourth mounted on his back, and seemed to
press the whole weight of his body on him.
This trick may be easily explained.
Nothing proves to the audience that the sabre is really sharpened, or
that the edge is more cutting than the back, although the Arab who holds
it by the point is careful to wrap it up in a handkerchief; in this
imitating the jugglers who pretend they have cut their finger with one
of the daggers they use in their tricks.
Besides, in performing this trick, the _invulnerable_ turned his back on
the audience. He knew the advantage to be derived from this
circumstance; hence, at the moment when about to lay himself on the
sabre, he very adroitly pulled back over his stomach that portion of his
clothing he had raised. Lastly, when the fourth actor mounted on his
back, he rested his hands on the shoulders of the Arabs who held the
sabre. The latter apparently maintained his balance, but, in reality,
they supported the whole weight of his body. Hence, the only requirement
for this trick is to have the stomach more or less pressed in, and I
will explain presently that this can be effected without any injury or
danger.
As for the Aïssaoua, who place their hands in a bag filled with
serpents, and play with those reptiles, I will rely on Colonel de
Neveu’s judgment. This is what he says in his work already quoted:
“We often pushed our incredulity and curiosity so far as to order the
Aïssaoua to come to our house with their menagerie. All the animals they
stated to us were vipers (_lifâ_), were only innocent lizards
(_hanech_), and when we offered to put our hand in the bag holding their
reptiles, they hastily retired, convinced that we were not duped by
their tricks.”
I will add that these serpents, even had they been of a dangerous
character, could have had their teeth pulled out, so as to be harmless.
In support of this assertion, I noticed that these reptiles left no
wound where they bit.
I did not see the trick performed of striking the arm and making the
blood issue; but it seems to me that a small sponge filled with ruddle
and concealed in the striking hand, would be enough to accomplish the
prodigy. On wiping the arm, the wound is necessarily cured.
When I was a boy, I often made wine come out of a knife or of my finger,
by pressing a small sponge full of the liquor which I concealed in my
hand.
I have often seen men champ wine-glasses between their teeth, and not
hurt themselves; but not one of them swallowed the fragments. Hence, it
was difficult for me to explain this trick of the Aïssaoua, till, by the
assistance offered me by a physician, I found in the _Dictionnaire des
Sciences Médicales_ for 1810, No. 1143, a paper written by Dr. Lesauvage
on the harmlessness of powdered glass.
This gentleman, after quoting various instances of people he had seen
eat glass, thus describes various experiments he made on animals:
“After placing a great number of dogs, cats and rats on a dietary of
pounded glass, the fragments being two to three lines in length, not one
of the animals was ill, and on opening some of them no injury could be
detected all along the alimentary canal. Being convinced, too, of the
harmlessness of swallowing glass, I determined to take some myself in
the presence of my colleague, M. Cagel, of Professor Lallemand, and
several other persons. I repeated this experiment several times, and
experienced not the slightest feeling of pain.”
These authentic statements ought to have satisfied me; still, I wished
to witness this singular phenomenon with my own eyes. Hence, I gave one
of my house cats an enormous ball of meat seasoned with pounded glass.
The animal swallowed it with the greatest pleasure, and seemed even to
regret the end of this succulent meal. My family thought the cat booked
for death, and began deploring my barbarity, but the next day the animal
was perfectly well, and sniffed the spot where on the previous day it
had enjoyed the meal.
Since that period, whenever I want to indulge a friend with this sight,
I regale my three cats, in turn, so as not to excite any jealousy among
them.
It took me some time, I confess, before I could decide on performing Dr.
Lesauvage’s experiment on myself, and, indeed, I saw no necessity for
it. Still, one day, in the presence of a friend, I performed this
bravado, if it be so; I also swallowed my bolus, though I was careful to
pound my glass much finer than what I gave to my cats. I know not
whether it was the effect of imagination, but I fancied I enjoyed my
dinner much more than usual: did I owe this to the pounded glass? At any
rate, it would be a strange way of arousing the appetite.
When the trick of swallowing bottle-heels and pebbles was to be done,
the Aïssaoua really put them in his mouth, but I believe, I may say
certainly, that he removed them at the moment when he placed his head in
the folds of the Mokaddem’s burnous. However, had he swallowed them,
there would have been nothing wonderful about this, when we compare it
with what was done some thirty years back in France by a mountebank
called “the sabre swallower.”
This man who performed in the streets, threw back his head so as to form
a straight line with his throat, and really thrust down his gullet a
sabre, of which only the hilt remained outside the mouth.
He also swallowed an egg without cracking it, or even nails and pebbles,
which he caused to resound, by striking his stomach with his fist.
These tricks were the result of a peculiar formation in the mountebank’s
throat, but, if he had lived among the Aïssaoua, he would assuredly have
been the leading man of the company.
Or what would the Arabs have said had they seen the conjurer who passed
a sword right through his body, and when thus spitted, also thrust a
knife into either nostril up to the handle? I witnessed this feat, and
others have probably done the same.
This trick was, in reality, so terrifying, that the public would implore
the man to leave off; but without troubling himself about their cries,
he would reply, speaking frightfully through his nose, “that it did hib
no harb,” and sing in this singular voice the “_Fleuve du Tage_,” which
he accompanied on a guitar.
I could not endure the sight of this trick, and would turn my head away
in horror when the troubadour drew out the sword, and begged us to
notice that it was stained with blood.
Still, on reflection, I was certain the man could not really pierce his
stomach thus, and that there must be some trick concealed.
My love of the marvellous made me desire to know it; hence, I applied to
the _invulnerable_, and on condition of a certain sum, and promises not
to use it, he sold me his secret.
I may, in my turn, communicate it to the public without asking from them
the same promise. The trick is, however, rather ingenious.
The performer was very thin--an indispensable quality for the success of
the trick. He pressed in his stomach very tightly with a waist-belt, and
produced the following result: the vertebral column being unable to
bend, served as a support, and the intestines gave way and fell in about
half the space they originally occupied. The mountebank then substituted
for the suppressed part a card-board stomach which restored him to his
original condition, and the whole being concealed beneath a
flesh-colored _tricot_, appeared to form part of his body. On either
side, above the hips, two ribbon rosettes hid the apertures by which the
sword-point would go in and out, these openings being connected by a
leathern scabbard which led the weapon securely from one end to the
other, while, in order to produce the blood, a sponge filled with a red
liquid was placed in the middle of the sheath. The knives in the
nostrils were a reality. The _invulnerable_ was very pug-nosed, which
allowed him to draw the cartilage of the nose up prior to the
introduction of the knives.
I possessed the necessary physical qualifications for the sabre trick,
but none for that of the knives. I did not attempt the first, much less
the second.
By the way, I may remark that, when a lad, I used to perform two
_miracles_, which might be useful to the Aïssaoua, if they were ever
told of them. I will explain them here.
The corn-curer who taught me to juggle, also showed me a very curious
trick, consisting in thrusting a small nail into the right eye, which is
then made to pass into the left eye, thence into the mouth, and end by
returning into the right eye.
It may be imagined how I burned with the fire of necromancy, since I had
the courage to practise this trick, which I found charming. A very
disagreeable circumstance, however, deprived me of my faith in the
effect produced by it.
I sometimes spent the evening at a lady’s house who had two daughters. I
thought I could not select a better place for my first performance and
asked leave to do the trick. Of course this permission was granted, and
a circle was formed round me.
“Ladies,” I said, with a certain degree of emphasis, “I am invulnerable.
To furnish you with a proof, I could easily stab myself with a dagger, a
knife, or any other sharp instrument; but I fear lest the sight of blood
might produce too agitating an effect on you. Hence, I will offer you
another proof of my supernatural powers.” And I performed my famous
trick of “the nail in the eye.”
The effect of this scene was most unexpected, for the performance was
scarce over ere one of the young ladies was taken ill and fainted. The
evening’s amusement was disturbed, as may be supposed, and fearing some
recriminations, I bolted without saying a word, declaring that I would
never be caught again at such tricks.
This, however, is the explanation of the trick:
A small lead or silver pin may be introduced, without the slightest
feeling of pain, in the corner of the eye, near the lacrymal duct,
between the lower eyelid and the pupil; and, strangely enough, this
piece of metal once introduced, you do not in the least notice its
presence. To bring it out again, you need only press it with the finger.
If desirous to perform the trick I have alluded to, you proceed in the
following way:
After secretly placing one of these small nails in the left eye, and
another in the mouth, you commence as follows:
You openly thrust a nail into your right eye, then, pressing the skin
with the end of the finger, you pretend to pass it through the nose into
the left eye, whence you withdraw the one put in beforehand. This you
return again to the eye, and the nail appears to pass into the mouth,
whence you produce the one already hidden there, and thence into the
right eye, whence you withdraw the one originally inserted.
When this is done, you go on one side and remove the nail still
remaining in the left eye.
But, to return to the last trick of the Aïssaoua, which consists in
walking over hot iron, and passing the tongue over incandescent plates
of the same metal.
The Aïssaoua who walks over hot iron does nothing extraordinary, if we
consider the conditions under which the trick is performed.
He quickly glides his heel along the iron; but the lower-class Arabs,
who all walk with naked feet, have the lower part of the foot as hard as
a horse’s hoof, hence, this horny part burns without occasioning the
slightest pain.
And, besides, may not chance have taught the Aïssaoua certain
precautions known to more than one European juggler, before Dr.
Sementrici proved their use and explained them to the public?
Let us quote some performances of our own mountebanks, and we shall
find that the followers of the Aïssa as miracle-mongers are a long way
behindhand in their pretended marvels.
In February, 1677, an Englishman, of the name of Richardson, came to
Paris, and gave some very curious performances, which proved, according
to his statement, his incombustibility.
He was seen to roast a piece of meat on his tongue, light a piece of
charcoal in his mouth by means of a pair of bellows, seize a bar of
red-hot iron in his hand, or hold it between his teeth.
This Englishman’s servant published his master’s secret, which may be
found in the _Journal des Sciences_.[G]
In 1809, a Spaniard, of the name of Leonetto, gave performances at
Paris. He also handled a bar of red-hot iron with impunity, passed it
through his hair, or stepped upon it; drank boiling oil, plunged his
fingers into melted lead, put some on his tongue, and ended his
performance by licking a piece of red-hot iron.
This extraordinary man attracted the attention of Professor Sementrici,
who began carefully watching him.
The professor remarked that the tongue of the _incombustible_ was
covered with a grey layer, and this discovery led him to try some
experiments on himself. He discovered that rubbing in a solution of
alum, evaporated to a spongy state, rendered the skin insensible to the
action of red-hot iron. He also rubbed himself with soap, and found that
even the hair did not burn when in that state.
Satisfied with these investigations, the physician rubbed his tongue
with soap and a solution of alum, and the red-hot iron produced no
sensation on him.
The tongue, when thus prepared, could also receive boiling oil, which
grew cold, and could then be swallowed.
M. Sementrici also detected that the melted lead Leonetto employed was
only Arcet’s metal, fusible at the temperature of boiling water. (For
further details consult the historic notice of M. Julia de Fontenelle,
in Roret’s _Manuel des Sorciers_, page 181.)
These explanations may appear sufficient to disprove the pretended
incombustibility of the Aïssaoua; still, I will add a personal fact,
whence the conclusion can be drawn that a man need not be inspired by
Allah or Aïssa to play with red-hot metals.
Reading one day the _Comus_, a scientific review, I found a critique of
a work called _Study on Bodies in a Spheroidal Shape_, by M. Boutigny
(d’Evreux). The editor of the review, the Abbé Moigno, quotes several of
the most interesting passages, among them being the following:
“We passed our fingers through jets of red-hot metal” (M. Boutigny is
speaking). “We plunged our hands into moulds and crucibles filled with
metal that had just run from a Wilkinson, and of which the radiation was
insupportable, even at a long distance. We carried on these experiments
for more than two hours, and Madame Coulet, who was present, allowed her
daughter, a child of from eight to ten years, to put her hand in a
crucible of red-hot metal, which caused not the slightest injury.”
Knowing the character of the learned abbé, as well as that of the
celebrated naturalist and author of the work, it was not possible to
doubt: still, I must say, this fact appeared to me so impossible, that
my mind refused to accept it, and I wished to see, that I might believe.
I decided on calling on M. Boutigny, and expressed to him my wish to see
so interesting an experiment, while carefully avoiding any expression
of doubt on the subject.
This gentleman received me kindly, and proposed to repeat the experiment
before me, when I might have an opportunity to wash my hands in molten
metal.
The proposition was attractive, scientifically speaking; but, on the
other hand, I had some fears, which the reader will appreciate, I think.
In the event of a mistake I should reduce my hands to charcoal, and I
was bound to take the greater care of them as they had been such
precious instruments to me. Hence I hesitated with my reply.
“Do you not place confidence in me?” M. Boutigny asked.
“Oh, certainly, sir, I have plenty of confidence, but--“
“But you are afraid--out with it!” the doctor interrupted me, with a
laugh. “Well, to ease your mind, I will try the temperature of the
liquid before you place your hands in it.”
“And what is about the temperature of molten metal?”
“Close on one thousand six hundred degrees.”
“One thousand six hundred degrees?” I exclaimed. “Oh! the experiment
must be splendid: I consent.”
On the day appointed by M. Boutigny, we proceeded to Mr. Davidson’s
foundry at La Villette, after he had granted us permission to make the
experiment.
I was strangely affected on entering this vast establishment; the
deafening noise produced by the immense blasts, the flames escaping from
the furnaces, the sparkling jets transported by powerful machines and
running into gigantic moulds, the wiry, muscular workmen, blackened by
smoke and dust,--all this medley of men and things produced a strange
and rather solemn effect upon me.
The manager came up to us and pointed out the furnace to which we were
to proceed for our experiment.
While waiting for a jet of metal to run, we remained for a few moments
in silence near the furnace; then we commenced the following
conversation, which was certainly not of a nature to encourage me:
“I would only repeat this experiment, which I am not fond of, for your
sake,” M. Boutigny said; “I confess that, though I am morally sure of
the result, I always feel an emotion which I cannot dispel.”
“If that be the case,” I replied, “suppose we go? I will believe your
word.”
“No, no; I am bound to show you this curious phenomenon. But, by the
way,” the learned doctor added, “let me see your hands.”
He took them in his.
“Hang it,” he went on, “they are very dry for our experiment.”
“You think so?”
“Certainly.”
“Then it is dangerous?”
“It might be so.”
“In that case, we will go,” I said, turning to the door.
“That would be a pity,” my companion replied, holding me back; “stay,
dip your hands in this bucket of water, dry them well, and they will be
sufficiently damp.”
I must mention that to insure the success of this marvellous experiment
no other condition is requisite than to have the hands slightly damp. I
regret I can offer no explanations as to the principle of the
phenomenon, for this would require many a long chapter; hence I will
refer my readers to M. Boutigny’s work. It will be enough to state that
the metal, when in a state of fusion, is kept at a distance from the
skin by a repulsive force, which opposes an insurmountable barrier.
I had scarce finished wiping my hands when the furnace was opened, and a
jet of molten metal, about the thickness of my arm, burst forth. Sparks
flew in every direction, as if it were a firework performance.
“Wait a few minutes,” M. Boutigny said, “till the metal is cleansed, for
it would be dangerous to try our experiment at this moment.”
Five minutes later the stream of liquid fire left off bubbling and
emitting scoriæ; it became, indeed, so limpid and brilliant, that it
scorched our eyes at a few yards off.
All at once my companion walked up to the furnace, and calmly began
washing his hands in the metal as if it had been lukewarm water.
I make no pretence to bravery; I confess at this moment my heart beat as
if it would burst, and yet, when M. Boutigny ended his strange
ablutions, I walked forward in my turn with a determination that proved
a certain strength of will. I imitated my professor’s movements, I
literally dabbled in the burning liquid, and, in my joy, inspired by
this marvellous operation, I took a handful of the metal and threw it in
the air, and it fell back in a fire-shower on the ground.
The impression I felt in touching this molten iron can only be compared
to what I should have experienced in handling liquid velvet, if I may
express myself so.
I now ask what are the red-hot bars of the Aïssaoua, in comparison to
the enormous temperature to which my hands had been exposed?
The old and new miracles of the incombustibles are, therefore, explained
by the experiments of a skillful naturalist, who, while making no
pretence to trickery, only appreciates such phenomena in their relation
to the immutable laws by virtue of which they are accomplished.
INDEX.
A.
Academician’s, predictions, 370.
Accident at the Odéon, 315.
Accomplice, a kind, 135.
Acrobatic canaries, 39.
Africa, life in, 373.
Aïssaoua, miracles of the sect of, 396.
Alarum, a novel, 37.
Alarum-light, the, 195.
Albertus Magnus and his brazen man, 157.
Alboni, Madame, 337.
Algeria, journey to, 372;
reception in, 373.
Ali-Ben-el-Hadji Moussa, “the slave of God,” 393.
Ambassador, Houdin as, 372.
Amputation extraordinary, 390.
Anderson, “Professor,” his flagrant puffery, 326.
Angers, journey to, 58;
arrival at, 61;
Fair at, 61.
Anthon, Mr., buys Automaton Chess-player, 171.
Antonia, story of, 114;
at Constantinople, 125;
death of, 130.
Antonio, the nurse, 56;
his confession, 73;
in Paris, 180;
his wife, 184.
Arab address to Houdin, 391.
Arab chiefs convoked, 378.
Arcet’s metal, 432.
Artificial man, the, 157.
Artist’s home, the, 194.
Asp, automaton, 161.
Athlete, an Arabian, 383.
Aubusson, accident at, 87.
Audience, studying an, 142;
a sleepy, 243;
an indignant, 267.
Auguste, the caterer, 203.
Auriol, Houdin’s automaton clown, 179.
Author’s overture, 13.
Automata: Brazen fly, 156;
by Vaucanson, 159;
Houdin’s--the pastry cook, 179;
Auriol and Debureau, _ibid_;
orange-tree, _ib._;
time-dial, _ib._
Automaton, Houdin’s first, 36;
Harlequin flute-player, 158;
tambourine-player, 159;
artificial duck, 159;
discovery of its trick, 160;
chess-player, 162;
history of, 162.
Autumnal fêtes at Algiers, 378.
Avalanche, the human, 351.
Aviary, a wonderful, 39.
B.
Bab-Azoun Theatre in Algiers, 375.
Bacon, Roger, makes a brazen head, 156.
Balls, juggling with the, 49.
Baths of Germany, 368.
Belgium, Houdin’s visit to, 201.
Belleville, retreat to, 198.
Benefactor, a public, 29.
Berlin, three months in, 369.
Bernard, Colonel gives lessons to Houdin, 191.
Berthoud on Clock-making, 43.
Black-silk cap, story of, 301.
Blois:--birth-place of Houdin, 17;
Houdin retires to, 369.
Bores, how to get rid of, 264.
Bosco, the conjurer, 184.
Botany, lessons in, 37.
Bottle-trick at Manchester, 349.
Bou-Allem’s house, 402.
Bought and sold, 31.
Bouquet à la Reine, 355.
Boutigny, with red hot metal, 432.
Box, the mysterious, 383.
Brazen automaton fly, 156.
Brazen head, Bacon and Bungey’s, 156.
Brèguet, the Cardinal’s, 110.
Broken-English, Houdin’s, 346.
Broken watch, the, 109.
Brother and sister, 116;
before the Sultan, 125.
Brunnow, the Baron, 341.
Brussels Theatre, engagement at, 276;
journey to, 279;
troubles _en route_, 281;
arrives at, 287;
success, 290;
but no money, 291;
cheated on all sides, 292.
Buckingham Palace, Houdin at, 353;
short commons at, 357.
Bungey, Thomas, makes a brazen head, 156.
Bush-Aga, abode of a, 402.
Bust-making, extraordinary, 301.
C.
Cagliostro at Rome, 105.
_Cagliostro_, the Houdin’s comic journal, 254.
Cagliostro’s casket, 309;
his seal, 308.
Cambridge, Houdin at, 359.
Canard, a real, 160.
Canaries, the cage of, 38.
Candle-lighting, 227.
Caravan, a conjurer’s, 56.
Card-rook, a, 211.
Cards, a duel with, 85.
Cardinal’s watch, 106;
broken, 109;
melted down, 111;
restored whole, 112.
Carlosbach, Dr., the conjurer, 27.
Carpentier, Aristide le, the antiquarian, 271.
Carriage smashed, 286.
Castellan, Madame, 337.
Castelli, Signor, eats a man alive, 69.
Catherine II. plays with the automaton chess-player, 169;
attempts to cheat, 170;
wants to buy the figure, 171.
Celestial Empire, the, 236.
Challenge to Houdin, 268.
_Charivari_, the, 252.
Charlatan bills, Anderson’s, 329.
Charles V., iron fly presented to, 155.
Chaussée d’Antin, scene in, 272.
Cheat, punishment of a, 83.
Cheating cards, diagrams of, 216.
Chess-player, history of the automaton (see _Kempelen_), 162-172.
Chester Theatre, England, 289.
Chinese and their conjuring tricks, 225.
Choosing a Profession, 26.
Cleopatra’s asp, 161.
Clipping the coin, 51.
Clock, the mysterious, 195.
Clockmaking, treatise on, 43.
Clowns, Houdin’s automaton, 179.
Coffee, the conjurer’s, 382.
Collation, a magical, 364.
Colchester, audience and the nuts, 365.
Componium, the, 172;
repaired by Houdin, 175.
Comte, the magician, 141;
his tricks, 143;
his café, 144;
performs at the Tuilleries, 146;
his King of Hearts, 147;
hat-trick, 148;
his ventriloquism, 149;
visits Houdin, 150.
Comus, the conjurer, 83.
Conjuring bullets, 413.
Conscientious audience, 298.
Constantinople, conjuring at, 121.
Convocation of Arab chiefs, 378.
Cookery and clockwork, 194.
Cossack, the automaton, 227.
Course of miracles, a, 422.
_Court Journal_, 355.
Cousin Robert, 421.
Covent Garden Theatre, 335.
Critic, a severe, 204.
Cronier, the mechanician, 161.
Crystal Balls, the, 312.
Curaçoa from the bottle, 350.
Curious discussion, 377.
Custom at Colchester, 365.
D.
Dantan, junior, the caricaturist, 299;
makes a bust, 301.
D’Avaray, Duc, 37.
Dazzling picture, a, 343.
De Paris, the Count, 231.
Deception, a rival’s, 99.
Delay at Algiers, 375.
Delirium, influence of, 53.
Dial, Houdin’s magic, 179.
Diagrams of cheating cards, 216 and 218.
Diamond cut diamond, 150.
Diplomatist and conjurer, 341.
Director of the Belgian Customs, 283;
tricks upon, 284.
Doctor, a strange, 55.
Domingo, the negro, 229.
Dormeuil, theatrical manager, 336.
Dorval, Madame, benefit of, 314.
Doubtful applause, 75.
Dreams, phantasmagoria of, 54.
Debureau, Houdin’s automaton clown, 179.
Duhart, chief of the claquers, 318.
Dumas’ Monte Christo, 336.
E.
Electric shock, 385.
Electric touch, an, 264.
Electric clocks, future of, 421.
Electricity applied to mechanism by Houdin, 370.
Emile-Houdin, 256;
performances by, 258.
England invaded by French performers, 334.
English theatrical costume, 332.
Escamoteur, the, 153.
Etherial suspension, 312.
Exhibition of 1844, 231;
medal voted to Houdin, 233.
Expedient, an, 331.
Experiments, curious, 256.
Eye and hand, practice of, 49.
F.
Failure, an utter, 247.
Fair-Unknown, a, 258.
Family tickets, 143.
Fancy Fair, Sir A. Webster’s, 337.
Fantasia by Arabs, 378.
Fantastic portfolio, 312.
Fantastic Soirées, Houdin’s, 244.
Farewell tour, Houdin’s, 368.
Father Roujol, 152.
Faubourg St. Germain, 270.
Festival of Nankin, 228.
Filings, how to make, 42.
Financial crisis, a, 197.
First bill, Houdin’s, 245.
First fruits of labor, 135.
First game played by Automaton chess-player, 163;
the Turk beats the Doctor, 164.
First magician in France, 181.
First performance at Paris by Houdin, 246.
First public performance, Torrini’s, 97.
Five-franc pieces, the magical, 408.
Flowers, the birth of, 145.
Flute-player, automaton, 159.
Forey, Eugène, his drawing of Houdin’s theatre, 252.
Fortune, a reverse of, 192.
Fortunatus’s hat, 229.
Four balls, juggling with, 49.
Free admissions, 320.
French towns, how lighted, 46.
_Fricot_, a dish of, 199.
Future experiments, Houdin’s, 420.
G.
Galerie de Valois, 237.
Garde Française, 312.
Génet, an optimist manager, 360.
German-flute-player, automaton, 159.
Germany, Houdin’s tour through, 368.
Giovanni Torrini, 127.
Glove, Victoria’s, 355.
Gold-fish trick, 225.
Grand Turk, the, 122.
Gratuitous performance, 297.
Great personages, 339.
Great Wizard of the North, his frightful puffery, 326.
Greek, a modern, 213.
Grindstone, a nose on the, 43.
Grisi, the Count Edmond de, 90.
Grisi, Madame, 337.
Gun-trick, a tragic, 129.
Gymnastic machinery, 211.
Gymnas, performance of, 319.
H.
Hamilton, successor to Houdin, 367;
becomes his brother-in-law, 368.
Happy moment, a, 203.
Harem, the Sultan’s, 124.
Harlequin automata, 77;
Philippe’s, 228.
Hat, the spoiled, 134.
Hearts, the King of, 147.
Her Majesty’s Theatre, 323.
Hertford, Houdin at, 360.
Hints for sharpers, 219.
Hippodrome of Paris, 244.
Hired applause, 319.
Historic Theatre of Paris, 336.
Home, return to, 136.
Homicide by imprudence, 130.
Houdin, Mademoiselle, 140;
the conjurer marries her, 141.
Houdin, M., the mechanical artist, 141.
Houdin-Robert, birth and parentage, 17;
adventures, _passion_.
Human avalanche, 351.
I.
Idler, a country, 26.
_Illustration_, the, 252.
Incantation, the, 263.
Inexhaustible bottle, 312.
Ingot, the magic, 112.
Inkstand, to make a fortune by, 177.
Inquisition at Rome, 104.
Interior of Africa, Houdin in the, 398.
Inventor, calculations of an, 177.
Invulnerability, 385;
secret of, 428.
Ireland, Houdin in, 366.
Iron automaton fly, 155.
Italian conjurer, 157.
Italy, conjuring in, 90-119.
J.
Jenny Lind, 323.
Judicious puffing, 325.
Jules de Rovère, the conjurer, 153.
K.
Kabyle rendered powerless, 384.
Kabylia, revolt in, 374.
Kitchen of Parafaragarmus, 229.
Kempelen, M. de, Viennese mechanician, 162;
visits Dr. Osloff at Riga, 163;
invents the automaton chess-player, 163;
travels with it to Russia, 168;
baffles the Czarina, 171;
visits England, 171.
Knowles, the manager, 345.
Koppen exhibits the Componium, 172.
L.
Lablache, the singer, 337.
Ladies, pleasing the, 145.
Lamp, the stolen, 46.
Larivière, the Abbé, head of Orleans College, 23.
Lawyer’s office, Houdin in, 35.
Le Carpentier, Aristide, 271.
Leclerc invents the Mélephone, 226.
Lemnos, 309.
Lenoir, the dancing master, 64.
Leonetto with red hot iron, 431.
Lesprit, the conjurer, 187.
Life, most important event of, 45.
Linnæus, study of, 38.
Lottery, M. Philippe’s, 223.
Louis Napoleon at Fulham, 339.
Louis Philippe at the Palace of Industry, 231;
and the automaton writer, 238;
at St. Cloud, 303.
Louis XVIII. and Comte, 146.
M.
Macalister, the magician, 225;
in Paris, 229.
Mâcon, the fair of, 148.
Maëlzel owns the automaton chess-player, and takes it to America, 172.
Magic ingot, 112.
Malice, a conjurer through, 101.
Manchester, a city of chimneysweeps, 352.
Manchester Theatre, Houdin at, 345.
Manipulation, practice makes skill in, 49.
Marabout, shot by one, 387.
Marabout, mystification of one, 408.
Marquis deceived, 117.
Mario, the singer, 337.
Marseilles, Torrini at, 126; Houdin at, 419.
Mechanical snuff-box, 35.
Mechanician’s shop on wheels, 78.
Mélephone, the, 226.
Miette, the conjurer, 187.
Minor miseries, 295.
Miracles, a course of, 422.
Mitchell, London manager, 322;
Jenny Lind’s box, 323.
Modest living, 199.
Molten metal, washing the hands in, 433.
Monte Christo, at Covent Garden, 335;
at St. James’s Theatre, 336.
Moor, disappearance of a, 388.
Morrison’s pills, 223.
Mountebanks in Paris, 311.
Mouse-power to raise water, 21.
Muhammad, the Arab guide, breakfast with, 400;
he deserts, 401.
Murderer’s confession, 59.
Music-master, the, 182.
Musky compliments, 151.
Mystification, 151.
Mystification extraordinary, 117.
Mystifier mystified, 150.
N.
Nail in the eye, 429.
Nankin, festival of the Court of, 228.
Naples, the King of, 100.
Napoleon of Necromancy, 328.
Napoleon III. in England, 339.
Necromancy in Rome, 105.
Need, a friend in, 285.
Neptune’s basins, 229.
Nevers, ventriloquism at, 148.
Neveu, Colonel de, 371;
his work on Algiers, 396.
New Joe Miller, a, 329.
New studies, Houdin’s, 253.
Nightingale, mechanical, its song, 207.
Nomadic life, 78.
Noriet, watchmaker and sculptor, 50.
Novel lottery, a, 223.
Number sixty-nine, 268.
Nuremburg dolls, 200.
Nuts at Colchester, 365.
O.
Odéon, performance at the, 314.
Olivier, the conjurer, 126.
Omelette accident, 133.
Omen, an, 231.
Open-air studies, 311.
Optimist manager, 360.
Orange-tree, Houdin’s mysterious, 179.
Origin of flowers, 312.
Orleans, Houdin at College of, 20.
Orleans, Duchess of, 281;
at St. Cloud, 309.
Orleans family in London, 355.
Osloff, Dr., saves Worousky’s life, 162;
plays first game with automaton chess-player, 163.
P.
Page, sawing asunder of one, 123.
Palais Royal Theatre, 335.
Panic, Houdin’s, 249;
of an Arab audience, 389.
Papin, Denis, inventor of steam engine, 17.
Parafaragarmus, kitchen of, 229.
Paris, Robert-Houdin goes to, 141;
return to, from Brussels, 292;
from England, 366;
retires from, 368.
Park Theatre, Brussels, 287.
Pastry-cook, Houdin’s automaton, 179.
Peacock, the magic, 228.
Perambulating house, 61.
Perrault’s fairies, 157.
Philippe Talon, the conjurer, 221;
visits London, _ib._;
at Aberdeen, 222;
his lottery, 223;
in Paris, 227.
Philter, a lady wants a, 262.
Piarot, Bosco’s pigeon, 189.
Pigeon-trick, Bosco’s, 187;
his work, 191.
Piller of the State, a, 223.
Pillory, spectators on the, 350.
Pinetti, Chevalier, 92;
treachery of, 94.
Pirlemont Hotel, Brussels, 286.
Pistol-trick in Africa, 412.
Piquet, a blind man’s game at, 64;
the game of, 81;
a duel at, 85.
Pius VII. and the conjurer, 107.
Pocket, _sauter la coupe_ in the, 50.
Poison in the dish, 52.
Police, the Prefect of, 238.
Poor Piarot, 189.
Pope, conjuring before the, 107.
Porter, tyranny of, 288.
Porter’s power, machine of, 38.
_Pot-au-feu_, 194.
Powdered glass, an appetiser, 425.
Prepared playing cards, 214.
Press, the English, 333.
Prestidigitateur, title first assumed by Jules de Rovère, 154.
Prodigal son, 136.
Prophet, a fallible, 250.
Protector, a powerful, 318.
Punch’s doings, 223.
Punch bowl, the magic, 382.
R.
Race for time, 265.
Ragoût, the poisoned, 52.
Rat, the captured, 21.
Rat-trap, a novel, 23.
Randon, Marshal, 380.
Recollections of the soirées, 254.
Red-hot metal, feats with, 432.
Reforms in conjuring, 235.
Rehearsal, Houdin’s first, 241.
Repast, a wizard’s, 357.
Retirement from Paris, 368.
Revenge, a conjurer’s, 102.
Revolution of 1848, 320.
Reysolius, his artificial man, 157.
Richardson’s incombustibility, 431.
Rings’ trick, 225.
Ritter, Captain, 399.
Rival, a dangerous, 66.
Robert, the elder, father of Robert-Houdin, his skill, 17;
death of, 208.
Roger, M., an honest lawyer, 37.
Roger, the singer, 337.
Romainville, music studies in the wood of, 207.
Rose-colored tickets, 143.
Royal patronage, 344.
Royalty, insult to, 101.
Rrrrrrrrouit, the nightingale’s, 207.
S.
Sabre-swallower, the French, 427.
Saint’s head, a, 200.
Sand-bag and stirrup trick, 33.
_Sauter de coupe_, 84.
Scheme of revenge, 103.
School, Houdin at, 21.
Sciences, Royal Academy of, 158.
Scientific amusements, 44.
Scotland, Houdin in, 366.
Second-sight, invention of the, 255.
Seductions of a theatrical agent, 273.
Selim III., the Sultan, visits Torrini, 122.
Sementrici’s feats with hot metal, 431.
Seven thousand francs made by filings, 208.
Sharpers, hints for, 219.
Skill, a duel of, 102.
Skillful manager, a, 143.
Sleight-of-hand, principle of, 48;
first practice in, 49.
Soirées Fantastiques de Robert-Houdin in London, 324.
Sorcerer, how a man becomes one, 46.
Spectators in the pillory, 348.
St. Cloud, Houdin at Palace of, 303.
St. James’s Theatre, London, 322;
Houdin at, 330;
Dormeuil at, 335.
St. Thomas Aquinas breaks the brazen man, 157.
Stirrup-trick, 33.
Storm at sea, 419.
Strange audience, 381.
Strange banners, 417.
Strasburg, tragedy at, 129.
Sugar-baker, the conjuring, 221.
Sultan, wives of the, 122.
T.
Taken by storm, 295.
Talisman, a, 387.
Talon, Philippe, the magician, 221.
Tambourine-player, an automaton, 159.
Tambourine, the singer, 337.
Tent-life in Algiers, 416.
Theatre, Houdin’s, in the Palais Royal, 237.
Theatricals, 139.
Theatrical agent, seductions of, 273.
Theatrical bed, a, 324.
Three people make an audience, 361.
Time, a race for, 265.
Tiou, the nightingale’s, 207.
Too small a theatre, 295.
Tools, Houdin’s early love of, 19.
Torrini, the conjurer, 57;
relates his history, 90 _et seq._;
death of, 181.
Tours, journey to, 53;
ventriloquism at, 148.
Toys, conjurer’s distribution of, 254.
Trepèze tumbler, the, 312.
Trick, a fatal, 129.
Trick, Houdin’s first, 47.
Tricks of the Aïssaoua, 423.
Tuilleries, Comte at the, 146.
Turks, performances to the, 121.
Twelve hundred francs spent on a trick, 113.
Two sous-piece, a lucky, 281.
U.
Universal Exhibition of 1855, medal from, 370.
V.
Vatican, conjuring in the, 107.
Vaucanson, Jacques de, automaton maker, 160;
some account of, 161;
asp of Cleopatra, 161.
Vaudeville, Houdin at the, 165.
Vermifuge balsam, 31.
Ventriloquism by Comte, 148.
Verdigris, a ragoût of, 52.
Virgilius, his brazen fly, 156.
Visitors in Africa, 407.
Victoria, Queen, 340;
patronizes Houdin, 344.
W.
Watchmaking, first lessons in, 41.
Watch, the Cardinal’s, 106;
broken, 109;
melted down, 111;
found whole, in the Pope’s pocket, 112.
Webster, Sir Arthur, his fête at Fulham, 336;
Houdin performs at, 343.
Welcome rest, a, 367.
Whiskey, Houdin’s glass of, 350.
White magic before the Pope, 108.
William Tell and his son, 127.
Win, the way to, 217.
Wine, a torrent of, 351.
Wizard’s repast, 357.
Wood-carver, the, 200.
Wood-cutting, 201.
Worousky, the rebel, his life saved by Dr. Osloff, 162;
a great chess-player, 163;
plays the automaton, 165;
at Toula, 166;
plays Catherine II., 169;
visits England, 171.
Writing and drawing automaton, 196;
its completion, 204.
Z.
Zilbermann, the gambler, 81.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] It will be remembered that in those days French towns were lighted
by a lamp suspended in the centre of the highway from a cord attached to
two poles.--(ED.)
[B] After Vaucanson’s death, his works were dispersed and lost, with
the exception of the duck, which, after remaining for a long time in a
garret at Berlin, saw light again in 1840, and was purchased by a M.
George Tiets, who spent four years in repairing it.
[C] The automaton chess-player always used the left hand--a defect
falsely attributed to the carelessness of the constructor.
[D] Since this period Bosco has changed his stage decorations: his
cloths have altered their colors, his candles are shorter, but the
death’s-head, the ball, the costume, and the tricks, have ever remained
the same.
[E] This slight incident did not prevent the jury granting me a silver
medal for my automata. Eleven years later, at the Universal Exhibition
of 1855, I received a medal of the first class for new applications of
electricity to mechanism.
[F] It is possible that M. Robert-Houdin intends to take this revenge,
owing to the unfair way in which he was treated during his professional
career. In 1850, a man who had been seven years in his service, and
in whom he placed entire confidence, allowed himself to be seduced by
the brilliant offers an amateur made him, and sold the secret of some
of his Master’s tricks at a high price. Justice was appealed to and
stopped this disgraceful traffic: the seller was awarded two years’
imprisonment, but the buyer could not be touched, and thus many of M.
Houdin’s tricks passed into strange hands.
[G] 1677, first edition, page 41, and second edition, 1680, pp. 24, 147,
252.
* * * * *
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
Robert-Houdin, sa vie, ses œuvres, son théätre=> Robert-Houdin, sa
vie, ses œuvres, son théâtre {pg 5}
prestidigitatuer=> prestidigitateur {pg 9 & 136}
recal my reminiscences=> recall my reminiscences {pg 55}
my suprise was increased=> my surprise was increased {pg 56}
A day had elasped=> A day had elapsed {pg 57}
supported by trestels=> supported by trestles {pg 61}
same degree of skill=> some degree of skill {pg 66}
so much petulence=> so much petulance {pg 80}
a jury should decided=> a jury should decide {pg 84}
had concealed for any unforseen=> had concealed for any unforeseen {pg
90}
I was enenchanted=> I was enchanted {pg 93}
One repesentation the less=> One representation the less {pg 94}
celebrated Bréguet=> celebrated Brèguet {pg 106}
for the occassion> for the occasion {pg 108}
prove its superority=> prove its superiority {pg 109}
my experiperiment=> my experiment {pg 111}
A brass motar=> A brass mortar {pg 111}
Do yo not recognize Antonio Torrini=> Do you not recognize Antonio
Torrini {pg 118}
The only precaution neccessary=> The only precaution necessary {pg 129}
her mornful handmaids=> her mournful handmaids {pg 131}
contented himsely with=> contented himself with {pg 141}
occassion=> occasion {pg 146 & 264}
In fact, the the=> In fact, the {pg 147}
there was the ball-headed gentlemen=> there was the ball-headed
gentleman {pg 147}
such a talened sorcerer=> such a talented sorcerer {pg 147}
In it will he found=> In it will be found {pg 158}
convalesence=> convalescence {pg 163}
the brilliancy of their dèbut=> the brilliancy of their début {pg 166}
to enable to enable=> to enable {pg 167}
this flatttering explanation=> this flattering explanation {pg 169}
I have forgotton=> I have forgotten {pg 173}
I was quite annihileted=> I was quite annihilated {pg 174}
playing ècartè=> playing écarté {pg 219}
on a table two sugar-loves=> on a table two sugar-loaves {pg 229}
sextett=> sextet {pg 242}
the next day we sucseeded=> the next day we suceeded {pg 256}
I know not how your will interpret=> I know not how you will interpret
{pg 259}
was to elaspe between=> was to elapse between {pg 265}
had elasped since the curtain=> had elapsed since the curtain {pg 266}
an affair of one hundred thousand france=> an affair of one hundred
thousand francs {pg 274}
I had sarcely uttered the words=> I had scarcely uttered the words {pg
296}
I should like too see=> I should like too see {pg 306}
During this conversatian=> During this conversation {pg 342}
the the other six months=> the other six months {pg 344}
be scarely held in both hands=> be scarcely held in both hands {pg 356}
the incarnation of opitimism=> the incarnation of optimism {pg 360}
“Yes, gentlemen, yes; you can go in,” Gènet replied=> “Yes, gentlemen,
yes; you can go in,” Génet replied {pg 362}
Your are mistaken=> You are mistaken {pg 383}
weaker than a women=> weaker than a woman {pg 384}
than the once preceding it=> than the ones preceding it {pg 387}
surrouuded the man=> surrounded the man {pg 389}
with great affiability=> with great affability {pg 399}
the ground strown with magnificent Turkey carpets=> the ground strewn
with magnificent Turkey carpets {pg 403}
The came other dishes=> Then came other dishes {pg 406}
leaving the audience under the impression had I produced=> leaving the
audience under the impression I had produced {pg 412}
for its serves=> for it serves {pg 418}
Auriol and Dubereau=> Auriol and Debureau {index}
Dubureau, Houdin’s automaton clown, 179.=> Debureau, Houdin’s automaton
clown, 179. {index}