SOMETHING LIKE A CONJUROR.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2157, 17 February 1880, Page 3

SOMETHING LIKE A CONJUROR.

A new,candidate for the favour of Paris has just made his appearance here in the person of the conjuror Hermann, of Vienna, known to the east of Eui’ope, and now bent on making the conquest of the west of this “ quarter of the earth’s surface.” He is very tall, thin, with a strange weird countenance, and brown as a gipsy. Ho is rich and exercises his art as much from love of it, and for his own amusement, as for the gain it brings him. At a performance given by him to a portion of the Paris Press, he executed feats which seems to place him almost on a level with Bosco, of classic memory, the greatest conjuror yet seen in Europe. M. Hermann wears the tightest coats and trousers, or divests himself entirely of the former; and he executes some of his. most astounding feats in the middle of a large room, without carpet or table wherever he may happen to be, without apparently any preparation whatever. The other evening, on giving to the journalists of Paris a foi’eglimpso of his power, he began by executing a series of tricks with cards that defied all attempts at explanation ; after which he placed a cage on a small table, in the middle of the assembled spectators ; a single canary, alive and lively, occupied this cage. Presently at a sign from his wand, there appeared a second canary in the cage ; then three canaries were seen, all hopping about inside the cage, which Hermann did not even approach, contenting himself with directing his wand towards the cage, and the number of canaries constantly increasing, until there were six of the pretty little fellows all apparently in the best of health and spirits He then took them out of the cage, wrapped them up in a sheet of paper and gave the parcel into the charge of one of the spectators, requesting him to put the parcel gently into his pocket, which the gentleman appeared to do at once, with some trepidation, fearing to hurt the bird so unceremoniously treated. A moment afterwards, on a sign from the conjuror's wand, the six birds were seen hopping about inside the cage, and the gentleman to whose care they had been consigned, taking his parcel from his pocket found the paper empty. M. Hermann then produced a couple of silk handkerchiefs which he turned into a bag. He waved this bag about, turned it inside out, and handed it about among the spectators, who all declv.red it to be perfectly empty. “ You are mistaken !” cried the conjuror, drawing forth an egg from the bag. “This egg has not come of itself,” he added ; “ .where there is an egg, there must also be a hen.” Giving you the bag to hold, you sec something moving inside it. l< Put in your hand and draw out what is in the bag !” he continues, and, to your amazement, you draw out a live lien. He takes the bag from your "hands saying, “It is not yet empty,” and he draws out acock and then a duck. He takes the latter, holds it up in the sight of all present, tears it in two as though it was a sheet of paper, when lo! hejliolds a pair of ducks, apparently alive —one in each hand. This new rival of Robert Houdin executes the well-known, but perfectly inexplicable, feat of the empty glass globe, in winch he produces a score of gold fish, without approaching the globe ; but with this amazing addition, viz., that, after exhibiting this prodigy with four different globes, one after the other, lie takes up the last globe throws it up into the air, and globe, water, and fishes instantly disappear, no one but himself knows whither.