THE LITERARY PIRATE-

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17985, 2 April 1930, Page 15

THE LITERARY PIRATE-

Magicians i have met,” Mr Will Goldston tells us, was intended to be the title for his reminiscences. In a generous moment, however, he presented it to Houdini, and chose ‘SSensa-

tional Tales of Mystery Men” (published by the author) instead. Perhaps first thoughts wore best. The sensations are few, and are not always those that the author intended to produce (as, for instance, when ho relates with a poor show of penitence how ho tricked and then ridiculed a band of Salvationists in a Liverpool slum). Nevertheless, ho has written an interesting book. He knows much of that strange, vain temperamental fraternity wdio Jive to 'creato illusion, and ho reveals stories of their private lives—most of them, alas! lives of tragedy and disillusion—which awaken many pre-War memories. A Test for the Zancigs.

How did the Zancigs perform their famous “thought-reading” act —the act that mystified audiences all over tho country before the War ? Were they really a “psychic” coup’-,' 1 did they work on an elaborate code ? Mr Goidston once persuaded them to undergo a private test in his office. He handed a number of words written in Hebrew to Julius Zancig, who asked his wife to spell them out. Zancig took one glance at the slips of paper and handed them back. “We cannot do it,“ he said. Then, under promise of secrecy, ho disclosed his method. Mr Goldston promising not to betray it during his lifetime. Zancig’s recent death removed tho ban of silence, and Mr Goldston now makes this disclosure : “The pair worked on a very complicated and intricate code. ' There was never any question of thought transference in the act. I3y framing his question in a certain manner, Julius was ab 1 ' to convey to his wife exactly what Sort of object or design had been handed to him. “Long and continual practice had brought their scheme as near perfection as is humanly possible. On several occasions confederates were placed in the audience, and at such times tho effects seemed nothing short of miraculous. All their various tests were cunningly faked,

Ice cream is supplied twice weekly in the Wellington Hospital for the after-treatment of tonsil and adenoid cases. “Our present consumption,” stated the medical superintendent (Dr. 11. ,13. Ewen) in his report to the hoard, “averages four gallons for one month at a cost of l.ls a gallon, or £2 4s a month. With your approval this could be made in the diet kitchen at a much less cost and could be made in such quantities as required.” It was decided to purchase an ice-cream chum at a cost of 355.

Magicians I Have Met.

a:- I their methods were so thorough that, detection was absolute impossibility to the layman.” If Julius was handed some extremely unusual object which he found it impossible to convey to his wife, he would pass on quickly to safer ground. The ruse was so skilfully done that it was rarely noticed. The Faked Murder. Two American “thought-readers” with a similar performance, called the Cornells, prepared a ghastly advertising “stunt” to revive their drooping fortunes. One night in Chica; > Mine. Cornell, in the middle of her turn, e a piercing scream and nearly fell from her chair. “What is it?” shouted her husband in well-simulated alarm. “What do you sec ?” The woman then described in detail how she had seen two young men attack an older man, beat him to death, tie up the body'in a sack, and throw it into the river. She described the spot exactly, and naturally 'hero was great e::i : foment among the audience. The police took tho matter u- the river was dragged, and a body was found.

Tor a few hours the Cornells received all the publicity they ,-nted. Then someone disclosed t r.t they had bought the body from a mortuary and prepared tho revolting business from first to last. “Happily for ns,” comments Mr Goldston. “such people as the Cornells are few and far between in the profession.” Lafayette and His Hog.

Yet showmanship, both on and off the stage, is half the battle to tile ambitious illusionist. That highly unusual man, Lafayette, who was burnt to death in tho Empire Theatre, Edinburgh, on May Bth,, 1911, was a master of the art. So was lloudini, and so was John Nevil Maskelyne. Lafayette, says Mr Ooldston. was the most hated magician who ever lived, lie was “unsociable to a point of rudeness” :—•

“He has been called eccentric.. That is putting it mildly. I considered him quite mad. Tie drilled his assistants like soldiers and demanded they should salute him in the street. He bought a diamond collar for his dog. He paid all his accounts by cheque, no matter if the debt was only a penny. A man who does all these things, I repeat, must be mad.”

It would appear that orchestras in schools, which for some years past have been quite common in Great Britain, are gaining favour in the Dominion. Tho headmaster of the Rongotai Boys’ College (Mr F. M. Itenner) reported to the Wellington College Board of Governors that “class music” had been introduced at Rongotui College, with the result that they now had the following classes: Violin (2.4), clarinet (7), flute (u), piccolo (2), and ’cello (5).

The dog with the diamond collar was ] called “Beauty,” and Lafayette idolised | it. Its portrait was printed on all his cheques and theatrical contracts: — “A special bathroom was built for the dog at Lafayette's house in Torrington Square, and at night-time the animal was served with a regular table d’-hote meal, complete from soup to sweets. Beauty’s portrait hung outside the house with the following quaint inscription beneath: ‘The more I see of men, the more I love my dog.’ ” A Romantic Invention. When Lafayette died the romantic story found its way into the papers that he had lost his life" through trying to save his white horse. What actually happened, says Mr Goldston, was this: — “Lafayette always insisted that the “pass door”—the small iron door which leads from the stalls into tho wings—should be kept locked during his performance. This he did in order that no intruders should discover tho secrets of his illusions. It was a foolish stipulation, and cost him his life.

“When the fire broke out on the stage, he rushed to the pass d-- - to make good his escape. For the moment he had forgotten it was locked by his own orders. Before he could make his way to tho other exit the stage was a raging mass of flames and smoke, and, overcome by the fumes, he fell unconscious to the boards. When his body was recovered, it was charred beyond recognition.”.

The Death of Chung Ling Soo. I Chung Ling Soo, Mr Goldston reminds ns, was a Scottish American whose real name was (William Elsworth Robinson. He was an acknowledged master of his craft, a first-rate illusionist, a showman who knew how to advertise, a man of mystery who kept his own secrets. Ho was shot through the chest during one of his tricks at Wood Green Empiro on ! March 23rd, 1918, and died soon after- j wards. The trick was worked as follows: An ! assistant with a rifie shot at one end of ; the stage and Soo at the other. The assistant fired two shots at Soo, who apparently caught the bullets with a light-ning-like movement, in a plate. On this particular night something went wrong. The verdict at tho inquest was “accidental death.” Mr Goldston is of opinion that Soo, with that love of the dramatic which is in ; the showman’s blood, chose this specta- I c.ular method of committing suicide. He gives tho following reasons:— “(1) Chung Lin 7 Soo was worried by domestic troubles. “(2) He cleared up all his business affairs before his death. “(3) He was shot on his last performance on a Saturday night. “(4) The gun which killed him had been tampered with. “(5) Soo himself was seen handling the gun a few minutes before his performance. “(6) The marked (real) bullets which were used in tho trick were never found. “(7) The plate was not shattered by tho bullets, proving that Soo could not have held ths plate before his chest, according to hij usual custom. “(8) Soo himself loaded the rifle which fired tho fatal shot.”

The Victoria College Council has approved of the purchase of slides from the Government Publicity Department at an estimated cost of £lO for the use of the-geography classes.