THE CARDINAL’S WATCH.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1025, 23 April 1883, Page 4

THE CARDINAL’S WATCH.

LITERATURE.

The story is reprinted from Tit Bits, in which it gained a guinea prize. The following story shows to what expense conjurors will sometimes go in order to astonish their patrons. Mr Robert Houdin, one of the most celebrated of “ magicians,” published a book of “ confessions,” in which he narrates the following trick, told to him by his master, Torrini, who was commanded to exhibit before Pope Pius VII- at Rome: “ The very evening before that on which my show was to take place,” says Torrini, I happened to be in the shop of one of the first watchmakers of the city, when a servant camc : in to inquire whether the watch of His Excellency the Cardinal was mended.

“ ‘ It will not be done before evening,’ said the watchmaker, ‘ and I shall have the honour of bringing it to your master myself.’

“ * Tis a handsome and excellent watch,’ said the tradesman to me; ‘ the Cardinal values it at more than ten thousand francs, because, having ordered it himself from the illustrious Breqnet,' he fancies it unique of its kind. Yet what an odd thing! two days ago a mad young fellow of this town of ours came to offer me, for a thousand francs, a watch by the same maker, exactly like the Cardinal’s.' “* Do you think,’ said I,’ * that this person has really any intention ot parting with his watch ?’ “ ‘ Sure,’ was the answer. ‘ This young spend-thrift, who has always made away his patrimony, has now come down to selling his family trinkets. He would be glad of the thousand francs.’ ‘ Where is he to be found ?’ “ ‘Nothing easier; he never leaves the gaming house.’ “ ‘ Well, sir, I wish to make his watch mine; but I must have it at once. Buy it for me, then engrave the Cardinal’s arms on mine, so that the

two may not be distinguished one from the other. On your loyalty depends ' the benefit you will draw from this transaction.’” The watch was bought by the watchmaker, who knew his customer, and, ©n comparison, bore out the description, was duly engraved by the confederate, duly sent home, and duly in Torrini’s pocket, ready for the trick of tricks, which was to close the evening. The Pope, we should say, being an enlightened man, neither believed in nor had been dissuaded by any tales of sorcery from countenancing the entertainment, merely feeling that, so far as sleight-of-hand went, he was a wondering layman, and the clever fellow brought in to amnse him, the priest of many mysteries. The exhibition went off capitally. “To end it,” said Torrini, ** and by t way of bouquet, I went on to the famous trick which I contrived for the occasion. Here, however, I had to encounter many difificfilties. The greatest of these was to lure the Cardinal to give me his watch, and that without directly asking for it.*’ my point I had reconrseTo stfhtagiwn. On my asking for a watch, many had been handed to me, bnt I had given them back, on the pretext, more or less true, that, offering as they did no peculiarity in shape, it would be difficult afterwards to identify the one chosen by me. “ ‘ If messieurs, any one among yon,’ said I, ‘ has a rather large watch (the Cardinal’s had precisely this peculiarity), and would entrust it to me, I should accept it willingly as the one fittest for bar experiment.’ ” The Cardinal fell into the snare, and the conjuror examined, and admired, and asked questions about the Cardinal’s handsome watch. After praising its capital qualities up to the skies, “ * See,’ said Torrini, * a first proof of them,’ and with this I lifted up the watch as high as my face, and let it fall on the parquet^/ This, of was the watch he had honght of the yonhg spendthrift. There was a cry of fright on every side. The Cardinal, pale and trembling, got np,. “ Sir,” said he, with ill-restrained anger, “ what you have done is an extremely bad joke 1” But worse was to come for the Cardinal, who set such store on his Brequet. Torrini stamped on the case, crushed it in pieces, and took up only a shapeless mass. The Cardinal was in a rage; his watch (a chronometer, too !) was the only watch of the sort ever made; and Torrini handed about the heap of broken metal that all might be sure that the broken heap was the Cardinal’s watch of watches. The identity of the Cardinal’s proved, the next was to get the real one into the Pope’s pocket. But there was no thinking of such a thing, as long as His Holiness remained seated. Some expedient for getting him but of his chair must needs be found. I had the the good luck to find one. They brought me in a hnge mortar and pestle, put it on the table, into which I flung the wreck of the chronometer, and began to pound them with all possible fury. Suddenly a slight explosion was heard, and ' from the bottom of the vessel came np a reddish flame, which gave the scene the appearance of real magic. All this time, leaning over the mortar, I pretended to look in, and exclaimed to myself at the wonderful things I saw there. Out of respect to the Pope, no one rose ; bnt the Pontiff, giving way to curiosity, at last approached the table, followed by some of the audience. “ ‘ I not know to what I am to attribute the bewilderment I feel,’ said His Holiness, but I can see nothing,’ “ It was the same with myself, but so

far from owning it, I begged the Pope

to come round the table, to the side most favourable for seeing that which I announce. During this evolut ion I slipped

into the pocket of the Holy Father the Cardinal’s watch. The experiment went on, the watch in the mortar was broken, melted, and reduced to the form of a little ingot, which I handed round to the company. “ Now,’ said I, secure of the result I

was to obtain, ‘lam going to restore this ingot’to its primitive form; and this transformation shall take place during the passage it is about to make hence to the pocket of the person in this company the least to be suspected of confederacy. ’ “* Ah ! ah !’ cried the Pope, in- a jovial humour, * this gets stronger and stronger; But what would you do, Mr Sorcerer, if I were to demand that it should be in my pocket ?’ “ ‘ His Holiness has only to order to have his wish obeyed.’ ; The ingot was again displayed—of course, instantaneously hidden, as conjurers can hides any small matter. Torrini cried, “ Pass 1” and lo! the Cardinal’s chronometer was in the Pope’s pocket, safe and sound I The next day the sorcerer received a diamond snuff-box.