CARTER, CONJUROR.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9691, 15 January 1910, Page 5

CARTER, CONJUROR.

A CLEVER ENTERTAINER

Although there was a good attendance at the Town Hall last evening to witness the demonstration given by Carter, the celebrated magician and conjuror, the nature of the entertainment was such that ;t merited a crowded house. The audience was captivated from the very commencement and right throguh the programme they showed their appreciation in a most decided and hearty manner. Carter is no doubt a clever wizard. A part of his cleverness is in his talk, and he entertains delightfully the while he performs his marvellous feats. His stock of feats are prepared with remarkably little gear. The passing of a handkerchief from one decanter to another, the crossing over of ink and water into different glasses, the making of coffee from bran and paper cuttings —these sort of feats are reduced to a very simple form, yet without risk of discovery, for Carter is uncommonly quick and neat-handed, as may be understood by anyone who watches him shuffle cards. A very good trick is this: He places a glasw of water on a stand, covers it with a scarf, and stands a hat on the scarf. Gradually, and somewhat slowly, the glass and water disappear, leaving the scarf on the table, and then the tumbler makes a leisurely reappearance inside the hat, which is shown whole. The fifteen tons of appliances with which Carter travels must be for he pumoses of his set illusions, which are varied and pretty. "Psycho" is perhaps the cleverest of these illusions that belong to the mechanical order. "The Magical Divorce'' is the instantaneous disappearance of a lady who has been hoisted in a chair by means of a windlass. The mystery would be intensified if Carter could manage to dispose of the lady and leave the chair in sight, but even as performed it is a dazzling deception. Carter also has a talking hand, which placed on a sheet of glass resting on the backs of two"chairs, signals intelligent replies and can move about, apparently on his own initiative. This is a neat act, humorous and puzzling. One of Carter's specialties is the levitation illusion. He hypnotises a girl, stiffens her folded arms, has her placed on a couch, and then she rises, in sleeping attitude, about sft, remaining in the air whilst Carter comes to the front of the stage and talks. An attendant passes a hoop over the body, to show that no wires above or beneath support her, and in about five minutws she gracefully descends. How is it done? That is Carter's secret. In the third part the magician comes lorth as a Chinaman, and produces from nowhere bulky things, including a basin holding a couple of .buckets of water and live ducks, his by-play being very droll.

In the concluding part of the programme Miss Carter gave a remarkably clever exhibition of psychic phemenon, of a rather startling character. She read sealed _, letters blindfolded, and described accurately to the very detail numerous articles, the property of persons among the audience. There was no hesitation in her announcements, and figures and dates were correctly named by her. This portion of the programme was both euoyable a&d intensely interesting to those present.