THE WIZARD OF THE WORLD.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 299, 23 October 1873, Page 8

THE WIZARD OF THE WORLD.

What a pity Herr Dobler did not come before the public some seven years ago, when the famous' Davenport Brothers were in the height of iheir notoriety !" (remarks the " Daily News," and then continues). — The feats they performed he now performes ; but whereas in their case the credulous were asked to believe that the w manifestation " were the result of some supernatural agency y in, hi& case they are honestly attributed to mere manual dexterity, or sleight-of-hand. — On Monday afternoon, in the small con-cert-room at Exeter-hall, Herr Dobler, who otherwise styles himself the Wizard of the World, made his first appererance before a metropolitan audience — a small but critical audience specially invited to test his powers-. Two gentlemen having been selected to act as. a committee, t te seance commenced. AH lis?ht, natural and artifical, having been excluded, Herr Dobler kept his audience for two minutes in profound darkness. Upon the gas being again relighted, he was discovered securely bound to a chair with * rope — bound at the knees, bound at the ankles, and with his hands tied tightly behind him. The committee having roported that the fastenings were of a very decided character, darkness was again resorted to. A bell and a tambourine, which until then bad been quietly lying on a table I upon the platform, at once began to : give forth most diseordent sounds, and finally took rambling excursions into rtnid-air, phosphorous having been placed upon them, to indicate their course to the audience. The gas was then lighted, and' Herr Dobler was sees to be firmly bound hand and foot as before. He nest borrowed a light overcoat from one of the audience, and in the darkeness slipped it on with marvellous rapidity, still remaining as tightly corded as a travelling trunk on its way to India. With the same rapidity the coat waa taken off and returned to its owner, Herr Dobler being to all appearance as hoplessly incapabb of this effort as an infant in arms. Then, a lady's muff was violently taken from one of the com mittee^. and instantly found, on light being admitted, on Herr Dobler'a arm. With the same rapidity it was transferred to the other- member of the committee who, on receiving it. received with it the pressure of a hand. Nor was this all. One of the committee sat opposite Her Dobler, with hia hands an. H^rr P^bler'* knees,, and

their feet touching. While in this position his whiskers were pulled, and the tambourine was placed upon his head, the Wizard, as the gentleman afterwards explained, appearing all this time to be motionless. Finally the Wizard released himself from- his bonds during a few minutes of darknesß, some flour with which he had previously filled his hands remaining undisturbed in the process. These feats it should be added were performed under circumstances which utterly excluded the idea of confederacy.

" Mr. Snyder, drunkenness is a great evil ; but, if you'll believe me, there are evils very umoh greater. You see that ♦ hotel just opposite where we stand? Well, in that house there is a billiard-: room, and from that billiard room just an hour ago I see come out of it what you would call a great swell. That swell's drink is lemonade, beoause — • don't I know it I—he1 — he don't get drunk, and never did, and I don't suppose he ever will. But that swell makes it his business every night, down to .one and two in the morning, to kid in young men to play him billiards, and he has a nice, smooth, oily way with him; and the young men think it a fine thing to play with him in the hopes of winning his money, which they never do. And in this billiard room, night after night, does this swell (and in other billiardrooms do other swells) kid on young; men to game away their salaries, and to do a great deal worse than that very often. And one of these young men, when he can't make his cash-book balance, and runs away by a steamer v "~^ or gets taken up and has three years for it, people say he was ruined by taking to billiards, of to card playing, or to betting at horse races, or some other sdrt of thing of the kind. This is fine talking, but who was at the back of all this ruin of the young man? Why, Mr. Snyder, the swell that just an hour ago went home as sober as a judge is before he has dined ; not that I haven't in my time seen a judge a little flushed before he has dined, but never down in this part. Now then, two hours ago, out of the bar-door of that same hotel, staggered a drunken man, who Lml Ween spending the wages tluvt .ought to have gone to make his wife and familycomfortable. It was quite wrong of him — very wrong, Mr. Snyder; but he'll go home and sle >p it off, and be very sorry, and then, perhaps, -be right for weeks to come,. Now, which do you say is the worse evil to a community, the swell who never gets drunk, but leads young men to their ruin, and destroys the happiness, and resjwßctability of whole families, or the shoemaker who gets drunk and s [tends his wages,, but would soQner die than pl-iy false with a fellow-shoemaker's daughter, or his wife % It is not the sins of drunkenness we have got so much to fight against as the sins of the world in its sobriety. That's justj ust about the English of it, Mr. Snyder." Then it was I said, " Robert, what book have you been reading all this out ofi " And Robert said, " Mr. Snyder,, I don't want to read books to find out what I tell. I see it every night, more or less, as I^_ tramp, my beat. — " Snyder " in th^ " Auckland Herald." A writer in a Sydney paper says : — Our popular Premier is not popularly supposed to be much of a lady-killer, but he would seem from the following story to be of a different opinion himself, or else to have the wholesome dread of the fair sex on his own account which, from good St. Anthony downwards, has so often distinguished illustrious men. One of his strictest official rules is, it seems, never to see a lady in his room alone- Lady visitors may state their business to the messenger, or.'even have an iDterview, ._ before witnesses, with the chief clerk j but the great man him self they cannot see, lest, haply well, who can tel what might happen. When, therefore, a fair dam© of some sixty summers presented herself the other day and " requested an audience-, she met with the usual reception. "He will see me," was her reply to tbe messengerj whea he informed her the inexorable rule. " Take in my card." The card wa» taken in, and so was the unfortunate old lady, whose precious piece of paste* board was shortly returned to her with a message from Mr. Parkes that he, neverftaw ladies, and begged to return Mrs AVhatsnername her card. 1*"1 *" ,The burst of feminine fury that ensued is. said to have been something fearful. ,•* Refuse to see me /• Eeturn my card !'* shrieked the insulted dame, { Hhe low vulgar brute f And my father a member of the. House of Commons for years, and my brother a member of the i House of Commons now ? It i* \ positively outrageous, bat what can you expect of a half-dragged up thing- \ like that. Ah !" well, it won't be for < ! long. We shall soon have Sir Jamea Martin back ; and^ Sir Charles Cowper too, who always knew how to treat a lady. But as for this boor— Ugh !'* And with a furidus whirl of her " tempestuous petticoats '* away we'ni <the maddened matron to sigh for th» return of knightly courtesy to th* Colonial Secretary's office. A crusty old maid says, that abe knowi *. couple of sharp girls hereabouts .who keep* , lights- burning till midnight on Sunday aigh,ts to wafce tt&grc $fiy lw« tIMWU