THE ON.V PAPER IN THE L'HITFD STATES DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OE MAGICIANS, SPIRITUALIST? ,.-.<.->MER'iS TS, k,

SiNCii COPY, IO G \ rsVOL. !. No. 1. NEW YORK. MARCH. 189s.

ROBERT HOUDIN.

FATHER OK MODERN MAGIC.

ROBERT HOUDIN was born on the 6th of December, 180=;.in the town of Blois, France. His father a watchmaker inthat city gave him a good education at the college of Orleans,with the idea of making him a professional man, a solicitorby prefewflre; but Houdin was averse to this, havinginherited his father's mechanical genius he wished to followjn his footsteps. To this his father would not listen, andforthwith bound him to a country solicitor, where he servedtwo years, at the end of whichtime he was discharged havingspent most of his time in construct-ing ingenious mechanical contriv-ances. His father at last despairingof making anything of him exceptthat which nature designed, con-sented to his following his ownbent, much to his son's joy. Hewas sent to a relative at a distanttown to learn the watchmakingtrade. While there, by the merestchance a treatise on conjuring fellinto his hands that so charmedand fascinated him that he becameaverse to following his father'strade, his sole ambition being tobecome a conjurer; chance at thistime throwing him into the com-pany of a professional conjurerstrengthened this ambitioft, but cir-cumstanceacompelled him to stickto his tradfffievertheless he foundtime not only to perfect himself insleight of hand, but to constructnew mechanical tricks which hefondly hoped to exhibit some day.So great was his ingenuity, that atthe Paris Exhibition of 1844, he wasawafded a medal for the ingenious construction of several au-tomata. In 1845, Houdin had the good fortune to render agreat service to. a nobleman of considerable wealth, who in aspirit of gratitude pressed upon him the loan of sufficient mon-ey to enable him to open a small theatre in the Palais Royal,Paris. It was here that Houdin made reforms that entitles himto be called the Father of Modern Magic. The contemporaryperformers of his time dressed like astrologers, in long andflowing robes, embroidered with hieroglyphic characters, andpointed cap, or in a mountebank costume with short sleeves

and bare arms. Houdin appeared on the stage in ordinary"evening dress," substituting undraped gilt tables andconsoles in the Louis XV. style in place of the cumbersomelong draped tables of his predecessors. The enormousmetal covers under which articles to be vanished had hitherto,been placed, were replaced with covers of glass, opaque %rtransparent as occasion required; boxes with false bottomsand all apparatus of brass or tin were completely banishedfrom his stage. At his entertainments", which were givenunder the title Soriees Fantastiques, the'originatdr exhibitedcertain illusions which not only by reason of the manner oftheir working, but of the principles whereon they were based,

inaugurated a new era of conjur-ing, these were the Second Sight,the. Aerial Suspension, the Inex-haustible Bottle, the {Mysterious^Portfolio, the Crystal Cash-box,the Wonderful Orange-tree, etc.,including severa^rjieces of Autom-ata.

The Soirees Fantastiques. proveda complete success and soon thelittle theatre was nightly crowdedwith the first circles of Parisian so-ciety; though the number of seatswere limited to two hundred, theprices were tolerably high, so thatRobert Houdin, thanks to'the sig-nal favor with which his perform-ances were received by the public,was enabled to repay his generouscreditor within a year after the open-ing of his theatre. He continued toenjoy uninterrupted success until1848, when the revolution ruinedall theatrical speculations in Paris,he then visited London, where hisperformances at the St. James'Theatre were universally attractiveand lucrative; leaving London he

• made a tour through Great Britainwith equal success, returning to Paris when France hadsettled down quietly under the rule of a President; he sub-sequently visited many other parts of Europe and waseverywhere received with distinction and applause.

In 18S2 finding his health failing he determined to retire,to his great regret his two sons upon whom he had reckonedto fill his place evinced from an early age, inclinations of adifferent character to those he had hoped. The elder,yielding doubtless to an hereditary predisposition, developed

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