SENSATIONAL TALES

OF
MYSTERY MEN.
 SENSATIONAL TALES
OF
MYSTERY MEN.

By WILL GOLDSTON.

An Introduction by
HANNEN SWAFFER.

LONDON:
WILL GOLDSTON, LTD.}
14, GREEN STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE,
W.C.Z.
 WILL GOLDSTON

(From the Original Drawing by Cowan Dobson, R.B,A,)

 COPYRIGHT, DECEMBER, 1929.
BY
WILL GOLDSTON, LTD.

J. G. HAMMOND ANO co., LTD .•

PRINTERS,
BIRMINGHAM AND LONDON.

First Impression, December, 19 2 9.

 CONTENTS.
PAGE
An Introduction by Hannen Swaffer 9
Foreword 13
The Truth about the Zancigs 15
The Tragedy of Hanco 24
When G. W. Hunter dried up 26
How Denny and Will Goldston escaped Gaol 28
The Truth of Horace Goldin's Arrest 33
The Comells and their Ghastly Publicity Stunt 39
The Strangeness of Lafayette 42
Dante Perplexed 48
Dante's Experience in Russia 52
Muller the Mystic 60
Was Chung Ling Soo Murdered? 63
A Handcuff Escape that went wrong 70
Ceeleyand the Naked Lady ... 73
Frank Van Hoven's Tragic Failure 76
Frank Van Hoven and a Fellow Artist's Wife 80
Frank Van Hoven-A Changed Man 82
Wishart and the Dead Body 88
Raymond and the Undertaker 91
What Hannen Swaffer told the Magic Circle 95
The M.P. who does Magic 102
The Prince who stabbed his Partner 104
A Foreword on Houdini 110
Houdini 111
My first encounter with Houdini 118
Houdini and the Magical Illusions 123
Houdini's Film Failure 125
Houdini at the Palladium 128
Houdini at Manchester 129
 CONTENTS. . AN INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
A Regrettable Incident 133
Dear Will Goldston,
The Houdini Packing Case Escape 134 You have honoured me by asking me to
Houdini and the Unmasking. of Robert Houdin 135 write a foreword to your book. Frankly, I do
Houdini objects to someone else's Boost 138 not know what to say. It is usual, when such
Did Houdini Fail? 140 forewords are written, to pay some tribute to
Is Houdini Earth Bound? 144 the character, or achievements, or personality
Is Bessie Houdini a Cheat? 146 of the author.
Maurice and the Girl in the Car 152 As I am writing a preface and not a book, I
The Great Maurice and a New Illusion 155 must leave all that unsaid. As you know,
How Magic is accepted in Nigeria 158
when I think of magic, I think of your office-
Murray-His Greatest Escape 163
How Zomah delayed a Murder 172
an office where, whenever I visit it, I meet
Carl Hertz-The Imitator 176 magicians, famous and struggling, some so
The World's Cheapest Theatre 185 clever that I always start to eat my hat
Hertz and his Monte Carlo Syndicate 188 . before they make it vanish into air, some so
Carl Hertz and the Bird Cage 189 little known that they tell me they sometimes
Harry Kellar's Search for a Successor 193 read what I write.
Was John Nevil Maskelyne a Genius? 196 From the walls, there look down photo-
Facsimile Letter of John Nevil Maskelyne 198 graphs and paintings and sketches of illusion-
Facsimile Letter of Nevil Maskelyne ... 201 ists known right around the world. I see the
The Mystery of my Resignation from the Magic Circle 204
faces ?f.the great Lafayette, Chung Ling Soo,
David Devant-The Master Magician 208
My Impromptu Act ... 213
Houdllll, Carl Hertz, John Nevil Maskelyne
The Battle of the Pierrots 219 and Horace Goldin, men who have mystified
My Cemetery Adventure 224 me when I was younger, men who, when I
An Error that cost £1,000 229 grew to know them, seemed even more clever
Will Goldston's Spy Service 234 at close quarters than they were, far away
My Quickest Vanish ... ... 240 upon the stage.
A Confession by Will Goldston ... 244 Always, when I see those portraits, there is
conjured up in front of me the spirit of
Romance. I know that behind everyone of
those lives is a story of years of patient work.
I know that, mixed up with their shows, there
have been great moments of real drama. I
know that in each life there has been some
incident more striking than anything that the
public has seen when they have paid to go in.
When I read the proofs of Sensational
le
Tales of Mystery Men, " a great deal of those
mysteries were revealed to me for the first
time, and I saw, in cold, truthful print,
explanations of many things that had puzzled
me for years.
My only quarrel with your book is that it is
much too short. You could have made it ten
time as long, and even then left me interested
in every new chapter you wrote.
When, quite casually, the other day, I
talked with you and Horace Goldin, in your
sales room, I saw on the counter a wooden box
addressed to some missionary in a far-
distant village of the West Coast of Africa.
Inside it was one of your Sealed Books of
Mysteries, going thousands of miles, so that a
Christian preacher might mystify the native
members of his congregation, even more, he
hoped, than did the witch doctors of the
surrounding tribes. In that little incident,
was the making of a great romantic story.
Your rooms are full of such possibilities.
Your mind is a storehouse of entrancing
memories.
I wonder what will happen, when the
missionary's box is opened, and the lock is
turned, and the mysteries reveal themselves
from each printed page.
You suggested my election, one night, as a
vice-president of the Magicians' Club, of
which you are the head. I have presided over
one of your dinners. I have addressed your
gatherings. Every time I enter your world of
Magic, trembling at the door, I realise more
that you are the centre, and the clearing house,
of a great trade, in Mystery and that, so gentle
and kindly is your approach to men, you
are the custodian of a thousand secrets
which, were they ever printed with diagrams
would kill Magic, once and for all. '
I remember Chung Ling Soo, the cheerful
Scots-American. Well, your book takes us
behind the scenes of his tragic end.
.Rorace Goldin's solemnity and serious
mien ~ave often impressed me. Well, you
h~ve given us an idea of the humorous side of
his character.
t Roudini-well, he has always been a mys-
e~. You have laid bare a great deal of that
With a daring courage. '
 The Zancigs-their tricks will puzzle Man-
kind for years, though Julius has gone and his
second wife has, of course, retired. Your
Zancig chapter is most illuminating.
Now, this is only a little of what I wanted to
say. If I go on, I shall write the whole book.
Then it will not be nearly as interesting as
yours, for I do not know anybody in the world,
except yourself, who could have written the
chapters which I have read.
They tell me there are ro,ooo conjurers in
England, amateurs and those who do it for a
living.
Well, there are at least r,ooo,ooo people
who are fascinated by all that concerns
Conjuring, or Magic,' as your illusionists always
try to make me call it. For that reason, I am
sure your book will find 1,000,000 readers.
HANNEN SWAFFER.
FOREWORD.
Some years ago, I decided to write a book
to be called Magicians I have M et. When I
told Harry Houdini of my idea, he asked me
if he could use the title for a book of his own
that was then nearing completion. To this
I agreed, and told Houdini that I would
delay the publication of my own work in
order that our books should not clash.
Since that time I have collected further
valuable material, and this, together with
some of the original stories, is published
under the present title of Sensational Tales of
Mystery Men.
This book is not intended to be an auto-
biography. Most of the published life stories
I have read have bored me to distraction
and I decided long ago that I should neve;
~e .one of the vast army of writers who
Infl~ct their uninteresting experiences on a
patient and long suffering public.
WILL GOLDSTON.
LONDON.
 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ZANCIGS. 15

THE TRUTH ABOU1 THE ZANCIGS.

It is not my intentio~ to se~ down a
detailed life story of Julius Zanclg. I have
neither the space nor in~lin.ation to do so.
But in view of the publIc mterest aroused
by Zancig's recent death, I f~el ~hat a fe~
words on his humble start m hfe and his
meteoric rise to fame will not be out of place.
Julius Zancig was a Dane, but for some
reason best known to himself, he preferred
the world to believe he was a Swede. He
was born of humble parents, and, for want
of a better calling, his father decided to put
him into the iron trade. When he had
learnt all there was to be known about
smelting, young Julius decided to emigrate
to America where he thought he might stand
a better chance of earning a living.
Shortly after his arrival in the United
States, Zancig was invited to a gathering of
Danish emigrants. There he was startled to
meet a deformed lady whom he had known
many years previously in his native land.
For a time they had been sweethearts but
~ youn~ Julius had grown into manhood, the
fnendship had been dropped in the manner
so common to such child affairs.
Agnes-for such was the lady's name-
was ?f a gentle and retiring disposition. Her
lon~h~ess and extreme poverty touched
Julius heart for the second time in his brief
16 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
life. After a short courtship he proposed
marriage and was accepted. It was one of
the finest bargains he ever struck.
The Zancigs started their thought reading
act when requested to do a small show for
a Church Brotherhood Society. Having
no musical ability they hit on thought tra~s­
ference as being something novel and dIS-
tinctive. Their first programmes were very
simple, but the originality of. their ~urn
brought in a few requests for chanty meetmgs
and semi-professional concerts.
It was about this time that Julius met
with a terrible accident which eventually
proved the turning point in his life. In. the
course of carrying on his trade as an Iron
smelter, his hand was badly burned by a
mass of molten metal, and for many weeks
he lay seriously ill. A sound constitution
pulled him through, but on his recovery he
decided to drop his position in the factory
for the less dangerous but more precarious
calling of a professional thought reader.
They went to Coney Island, and it was
here that Horace Goldin discovered them,
doing thirty or forty shows a day. The
magician saw possibilities in the act, and
mentioned them to Hammerstein of New
York. The latter attended a special demon-
stration, and a press show arranged by Gol~in
proved a wonderful success. The Zanclgs
worked at Hammerstein's Winter Garden
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ZANCIGS. 17
for seve~al months, but eventually decided
to undertake a tour in England.
. Their first appearance was at the AI~ambra,
London. This performance was wltnesse~
by Lord Northcliffe and W. T. S~ead. HIS
lordship, in particular, was mu~h Impressed,
and decided that the extraordmary couple
from America possessed genuine psychic
powers. Stead concurred in this vie w, and
on the following day the "Daily Mail" (Lord
Northcliffe's newspaper) was filled with col-
wnns lauding the extraordinary powers of the
Zancigs. It was a marvellous boost, and
from that moment the pair were made.
" Psychic-that is the word which has
made my fortune," Zancig once confided to
me. "I had never heard it until Lord
Northcliffe used it in connection with my
work. At first I did not understand it and
though~ ~t had some connection with physic
or mediCIne."
"Tell me why you became so famous"
I asked. '
" "It ~ just my luck," he replied simply.
I owe It all to Lord Northcliffe."
. ~a~ a confession! But it was the
SImplIcity. and frankness of his nature which
E;rked hIm as a man o?-t of the ordinary.
b
th e when he w.as earmng huge salaries at
hae est theatres In America, he lived, as he
d always done, in quiet and humble
surroundings. He must have saved an
18 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
enormous amount of money during his life-
time.
Zancig's turn was no better than a score
of other thought reading acts which were
touring the States at the same time as
himself. As he said, it was" just my luck."
On one occasion I asked him if he was really
psychic.
"I prefer to say nothing," he replied.
"Would you submit to a private test in
my office ?" I asked.
"Certainly," he agreed.
That test was duly held. It was probably
the only one at which the Zancigs com-
pletely failed. I wrote a number of common
Hebrew words on slips of paper and handed
them to Julius, asking his wife to spell them
out. He took one glance at the words I
had written, and then handed the slips back
to me.
" We cannot do it," he said.
I thereupon persuaded him to tell me his
secret, giving him my word of honour I would
not betray it during his lifetime. With
Zancig's death, the ban of silence is removed,
and I have no qualms in putting down the
story as Julius gave it to me.
The pair worked on a very complicated a;nd
intricate code. There was never any questIOn
of thought transference in the act. By
framing his question in a certain manner,
J ulius was able to convey to his wife exactly
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ZANCIGS. 19
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 confede~ates
were placed in the audience, and at such tImes
the effects seemed nothing short of miraculous.
All their various tests were cunningly faked, and
their methods were so thorough that detection
was an absolute impossibility to the laymen.
It often happened that Julius was handed
some extremely unusual object which he
found impossible to convey to his wife. He
would simply pass on to another member of
the audience, and so quick was his work
that the omission was rarely noticed.
The fortunes of the Zancigs progressed by
leaps and bounds until the death of Agnes
caused the act to come to an untimely end.
Julius, however, nothing if not persevering,
decided to find another partner to carry on
the work of his late wife. He found a lady
called Ada, who .consented to marry him
and t.o co-operate m the thought reading act.
This second partnership was never as
successful as the first. Zancig's name was,
of course, a huge ~ra~ at any time, but
reports from Amenca mdicated that Ada
la~ked something of the ability and showman-
ship of Agnes.
The return visit of the Zancigs to this
country started badly. A press demonstration

20 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
arranged by an astute publicity manager
proved a fiasco, and they were labelled
failures. J ulius was despondent about his
reception and told me he intended to return
to America forthwith.
Let me arrange another press show for
It
you at the Magicians' Club," I urged. « We
may save the situation yet. "
J ulius was agreeable, for he had nothing
to lose and much to gain. Eight hundred
guests were invited, including representatives
of all the leading British newspapers.
Shortly before the performance was due
to begin, the Zancigs were approached by a
reporter from one of the London dailies.
"Zancig, I believe you're a fraud," said
the enterprising young man. But if your
It
wife can tell me the word written on the card
inside this sealed envelope, I will believe in
you."
cc Let me see the envelope," returned
J ulius, motioning his wife to the far side of
the room. The reporter watched him closely,
but failed to see him press the envelope
against a sponge concealed beneath his arm·
pit. That sponge was saturated with alcohol,
a spirit which, as most people are aware,
makes paper transparent. Julius had no
difficulty in reading through the covering.
When Ada spoke the secret word, the
reporter was astounded.
H It's marvellous!" he cried. And when the
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ZANCIGS. 21
envelope was returned t~ him sealed and
fastened as it had left hIm, he could only
stand and goggle inanely at the performer.
The subsequent public show was a huge
success, and the Zancigs found themselves on
their old pedestal of popularity. There can
be little doubt that the incident of the
envelope and card did much to help them
in their struggle for lost fame.
It has been said that Julius Zancig was
never happy with his second wife. This is
absolutely untrue. Ada was a faithful and
loving wife, and the following letter, which I
received from her shortly before going to
press, only confirms my opinion. I am
printing the letter without the slightest
alteration.
September 17, 1929.
Box 36,
Ocean Park,
CALIF.
My dear Mr. Goldston,
I am in receipt of your kind letter and
also of the newspaper sheets for which I
thank you. I am making quite a collection
for. I h~ve ~lso received some well writte~
artIcles In thIS respect from several magazines
and pape~s here in New York, New Jersey,
and the mIddle West. I am grateful that they
have done Julius this honour, for it seemed
to ~e that after laudibly performing his
public work for so many years, those in the
 22 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
profession should honor him at his passing,
in a public way.
There were some rather odd things said
about me, almost intimating that I had no
brainy capacity at all, being but a school
teacher, but these in America are considered
rather brainy, being put to such severe mental
tests before entering the profession. I may
add that I was not in the grades, but had a
college training as a specialist in the teaching
of young children, so 1'd rather no~ be con-
• sidered an idiot. Julius always SaId that I
had taken a very rapid and compre~ensive
understanding of his work, an~ dId not
hesitate to show me off at the hIghest class
affairs here or elsewhere (not meaning theatrical
work, but very elegant home or club affairs
of the wealthy and refined).
I miss him more than I can say, and most
truly appreciate every word tha~ is said in
his praise. These I am collectmg for the
closing chapters of our notable scrap book,
and it is a sad closing to me.
He was a brave soldier to the very last
breath, and as I kissed his brow in the last
farewell, I felt truly that a brave and talented
man had gone, and since his going several
men have tried to get me to join them in t~e
same line of work, but I have refused, for It
would not be the same to me ever again.
I am running the business here alone for
several weeks, giving private readings and
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ZANCIGS. 23
selling occult books and other thi?gs pertain-
in to our work, and I am gettmg on very
w!ll, having had a very successful seas~m,
and I have several pupils at wor~ learmng
the Mind Reading act, but at a dIstance, so
they will not conflict with me. They clamour
to share the title, but there can be only one
Zancig in that field worth while.
I am still getting kind letters of condolence
from many parts, and I welcome them all
and feel very grateful, as I have said, in the
honor they are paying him.
Many regret that he allowed the operations,
and I was one, for we wanted to hold on to
him, and although he was genial and often
merry, the pain was more than he could bear,
and I know he must be enjoying a glorious
freedom from pain, and a fine rest with some
congenial companions of the past. His wife,
Agnes, must have been glad to welcome him
to her side, after all the years of separation.
I am,
Most gratefully yours,
(Signed) ADA F. ZANCIG.
24 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
THE TRAGEDY OF HANCO.
In I90~, when Harry Hou~ini was s~artling
the audIences of two contments WIth his
amazing escapes, a new star arose in the
firmament of magic. This hitherto unknown
conjurer was a young man called Hanco, who
did some wonderfully clever escape tricks,
something in the style of Houdini himself.
Hanco always appeared on the stage in
the garb of a convict-a simple, but exceed-
ingly clever piece of showmanship. He
explained to his audiences that he was an
ex-convict, and had learnt all his tricks whilst
in gaol. He had been granted an early
release in view of his good conduct, and had
decided to make an honest living. His little
speech always won the sympathy of the
audience, and this, together with the clever-
ness of the escapes, and the prettiness and
agility of Hanco's lady assistant, always
ensured a good reception for the act.
One day towards the end of the year,
Hanco walked into my office, and told me
he was giving up his act. I was never more
surprised in my life.
Whatever for?" I asked.
/I There is a
/I
great future before you."
You are wrong," Hanco replied, drama-
/I
25
THE TRAGEDY OF HANCO.
tically. "I have no future."
"But where are you going?" I queried,
extremely puzzled.
"The newspapers will tell you soon
enough," was the curious reply. /IIf you
would. like to buy my barrel effect, you can
have It for two pounds ten."
Hanco's barrel escape was the best trick
in hi~ act, and I realised that the young man
was m earnest. I closed with his offer, and
as he .left my office, he again assured me that
he Wlshed to keep his future destination
~~t. That was the last time I ever saw
In.1ess ~h~n a week I read in the newspapers
of his sU1cl~e. He. had stabbed himself to
d~ath at his lodgmgs in Seymour Street
Liverpool. And gradually the sordid story'
came out.
J:lanco had been madly in love with his
r t a rt , and. he became insanely jealous
t e dSO d up hls act, and then, with nothing
t~ c~~s~~Phi~an~u~oHied. The girl tried
"I .. anco was young
life " ~~~~~ to .t1ach you the lesson of your
the' carving knilf[' A:~e spoke, he picked up
himself to the hea~~m e table, and stabbed
26 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
WHEN G. W. HUNTER DRIED UP.
Before telling you the following amusing
story of one of our great comedians, I sho~.1d
explain a custom which seems to have dIed
out in recent times. Some years ago many
of the leading provision. <:~d grocery stores
were in the habit of exhIbItmg the head of a
huge pig with a lemon in the mouth for the
Christmas displays. What the ex~ct purJ?ort
of this was I cannot say, but It certamly
added a touch of humour to the shop windows
during the festive season.
One Christmas season, G. W. Hunter, the
well known comedian who has since retired
from the stage, was performinf? in a panto-
mine at Glasgow, As part of hIS turn he had
to perform some card tricks-he was no mean
conjurer, I might add-.and he a~way.s asked
someone from the audIence to assIst him.
Once he had got his victim on to th.e stage,
he always raised laughter by makmg the
volunteer look small. This he did by the
well known tricks of moving his chair to
different parts of the stage, advising him not
to fall over, and so on. On this occasion he
more than met his match!
WHEN G. W. HUNTER DRIED UP. .27
The man who agreed to assist him was' a .
bluff, hearty looking Scot;hman, who seemed
the ideal man for Hunter s purpose. After a
certain amount of cross talk, which went
mostly against the volunteer, Hunter invited
him to take a seat.
It This is a very clever trick," he said,
turning to the man. "By the way, I suppose
you have never seen me before, have you? "
Cl Of course I have," was the surprising
reply.
Cl You've seen me before? Are you sure ? "
Cl Yes."
Cl Whereabouts? "
• Cl In Lipton's shop window with a lemon
m your mouth I "
The audience roared at the smart piece of
repartee. Hunter felt very small and the
scene was finished there and th~n. When
next the comedian appeared on the stage, he
'!SS laughed off, and It was some considerable
tune before ~he audience had sufficiently
re<:0vered to listen once again to his clever
qwps and gags.
28 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
HOW DENNY AND WILL GOLDSTON
ESCAPED GAOL.
Onefine Spring morning, some twenty years
ago a stranger walked into my office, and
told my secretary th3:t he w~)Uld like to talk
over some private busmess wIth me. He was
shown to my room, and introduced himself as
Charles Denny. He was a quietly spoken
individual, of striking appea~ance, and looked
more like a well-to-do busmess man than
anything else.
"Mr. Goldston," he said, taking the seat
that I had indicated, " I want you to build
some illusions for me. I have just come into
some money, which will enable me. to h~;e
tricks constructed from my own Ideas.
My visitor handed me a packet of plans,
which I scrutinised carefully, for I had never
previously heard of him, and doubted whet~er
he had the ability to think out an effective
illusion. But to my astonishment I fouJ.l~ the
tricks to be exceedingly clever and ongmal.
One effect, in which a woman was to be
produced from a box hardly big enough to
hold a baby, was particularly good. Denny
told me that he had thought this would be a
suitable trick to close his act.
I agreed to undertake the work, and asked
him to call again in a few weeks' time, when
How DENNY & WILL GOLDSTON ESCAPED GAOL. 29
the whole series of illusions would be ready.
He came at the appointed time and expressed
his full approval of the way in which I
handled the work.
"I think the tricks are very good, Mr.
Denny," I said. "It would be a pity to
spoil them through lack of good workmanship."
"I quite agree," was the reply. "As a
matter of fact, I am booked for a week at the
Putney Hippodrome from next Monday, and
I want everything to be in apple-pie order.
Do you think you could attend the dress
reh~ar~al on S~day, just to supervise the
prelimmary workmg of the illusions? I will
pay you £50 for the trouble."
Although it was not my habit to work on
S~days, I th~ught this too good an oppor-
tumty to be nussed, and readily agreed to his
proposal. Denny hastened to add that he
would have everything ready for me, so that
I should be s~ved as much trouble as possible.
The folloWlI~g Sunday was extremely hot,
and when I arnved at the Putney Hippodrome
I ~uggested to Denny that we should take ~
Thd lun~h befo e we settled down to business
aire ~onJure~ was hot and tired, for he had
ea nlY put m. t~o or three hours' work and
was 0 y too willin t f II ' . ,
tion . H' . t d g 0 a m Wlth my 5ugges-
e mSIS e on pa .
and then alth h I h ymg me my fee there
the rehe~sals ~Th ad not yet started on
wise slip hi ' e ng me that it might other-
s memory.
30 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
After lunch, the weather seemed to get
hotter than ever.
"What about a sail on lthe river before
we go back to the theatre?" Denny suggested
"I think it's really too warm to start work
just yet, don't you? "
We walked along the river side, and chose
a comfortable looking boat, which we thought
would suit our purpose. Telling the boat-
man we should probably be out for an
hour or so, we hoisted our sails, and set off
at a spanking pace in the direction of Ham-
mersmith. The fresh river breeze was de-
lightfully cool after the town air, and I rested
back on the cushions feeling at peace with
the whole world.
As I was congratulating myself on earning
the easiest £50 of my life, a startled exclama-
tion from my companion caused me to turn
my head.
" Good God! " gasped Denny.
" What's wrong ?" I asked.
"The girl!"
I looked about me.
"I don't see a girl," I replied.
" The girl in the box ! "
" Box? What box? I can't see a box
either. "
"My assistant! You remember the illu-
sion in which I produce her from a foot
square box? Well, I locked her up before
you arrived at the theatre, and I've forgotten
ow DENNY & WILL GOLDSTON ESCAPED GAOL. 31
all about her! It's your fault for suggesting
the lunch."
I ignored his last remark, for at the moment
I was too agitated to reply.
" Good heavens, man! " I cried at length.
" The girl must be dead. Let's hurry back.
We may be in time yet."
We turned the prow of our small craft
towards Putney, and, with all sails set, and
two pairs of oars working at top speed, we
headed for the boathouse. We must have
covered the distance in record time, but to
our tortured minds it seemed that we would
never reach land.
A~ last, however, we drew up by the
landing stage. We ran along the riverside
as fast as. our le.gs would carry us, for every
~cond gamed mIght be the difference between
life and death to the unfortunate assistant,
People gape~ at us with open mouths, no
doubt assummg that the intense heat had
affected our sanity. I can honestly say
that I have never run harder in my life.
We brushed past the astonished door-
keeper of. the theatre, and hurried through
to the WIngs. There, in the centre of the
~age, stood th~ box, ominously still and
sent. In an Instant Denny \vas on his
h~W and knees, fumbling with the lock
.
Cltedly.or God's sake hurry I. " I sal, 'd' ex-
The lid sprang open, and Denny took one
32 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
look inside. Then he turned towards me,
his face as white as a sheet.
" It's no good, Goldston," he said. "She's
dead."
The poor girl was lying in a huddled heap
in the secret partition of the box. But,
with Denny's help, I managed to get her
out and it was soon apparent to both of
us that we had arrived just in time. She
was not dead, but had been unconscious for
some considerable time. We splashed her
face with cold water, and fanned her with
our coats. To our relief, the treatment
proved effective, and in a short while she was
sitting by our sides, pale and shaken, but
otherwise none the worse for her unpleasant
adventure.
"Thank God!" said Denny. Those two
words were more expressive than any speech
I ever heard.
Against my advice, the conjurer decided
he would do no more rehearsing. I urged the
necessity of trying through the new tricks
at least once before the public performance
on the morrow. But Denny would not hear
of it.
"I've had enough for one day," he SaId,
mopping his perspiring brow.
THE TRUTH OF HORACE GOLDIN'S ARREST. 33
THE TRUTH OF HORACE GOLDIN'S
ARREST.
Some years ago, my friend Ror~~e G:oldin,
who is doubtless the greates~ magIcIan In the
world to-day, was performmg at Rammer-
stein's Roof Garden in New York. Whether
his business had been particularly good .or
not I cannot say, but in order to. enable hIm
to travel about the city and keep hIS numerous
engagements to time, he decided .to purchase
a new car. I know of no finer Judge of an
automobile than Goldin, and on this occasion
he invested in an extremely expensive and
speedy car, complete with negro chauffeur.
One night after his show, Rorace was asked
to attend the farewell dinner to The Great
Kellar. Although he must have felt extremely
tired, he was never a man to hurt another's
feelings if it could be avoided. Re accepted
the invitation, and it was well after three
o'clock in the morning before he was able to
get away.
Although the speed limit in this certain
. part of New York wac; fifteen miles an hour
there was a good clear stretch of road ahead'
an~ ~?eying his master's injunction to "step
on It, th~ c~auffeur s~on had the speedometer
needle poIntIng at thIrty-five miles an hour'
~u~ they had not gone very far before thev wer~
ted and overtaken by one of the many
v

34 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
"speed cops" that abound in the city.
To say that Rorace was annoyed would
be putting it mildly. But he had been caught
fairly and squarely, and knew he would have
to see the matter through. Re waited in
moody silence as the policeman produced
his notebook and pencil.
"Wasyername ?" asked the upholder of
the law.
" Goldin-Rorace Goldin. "
<. What! Not the conjurer? "
" Yes."
The policeman lowered his pencil.
" Say, Mr. Goldin," he said, "I'm real sorry
about this. I wouldn't pinch you for a barrel
of bucks. What'll I do now? "
" You can let me go," suggested Goldin,
nothing if not practical.
"That's just it. I can't do that. You
see Mr. Goldin, the inspector's seen me
approach you, and I guess I'll have to make a
charge. You were doing a good thirty-
five, you know. Tell you what," he added
as an afterthought, " I'll say you were doing
twenty-three. They'll let you off light for
that. But vou'll have to come to the station."
Seeing that any argument would be useless,
the magician returned to his car, and g~ve
the chauffeur instructions to follow the police-
man to the station. Arrived at their destina-
tion, Rorace was taken before the station
inspector, and the charge was made out.
THE TRUTH OF HORACE GOLDIN'S ARREST. 35
The inspector listened in silence while the
policeman made his statement. Then he
turned to Goldin.
"Bail of hundred dollars until to-morrow
morning will cover it," he said.
Now Horace had only ninety-eight dollars
in his pocket. He offered to leave this,
together with a valuable diamond ring which
would more than make up the full amount of
his bail.
The inspector waved his offer aside with a
contemptuous gesture.
"That's no good," he said. "I can't accept
bail from you. It must be somebody else."
Horace bit his lip in perplexity. Here was a
pretty kettle of fish. If the money was not
paid it would mean that he would have to
=:.
spend the night in an uncomfortable police
But suddenly a brilliant thought struck
"What if my chauffeur paid it ? " he asked
"That'll ~<? me," replied the inspector:
The magicIan turned to his coloured
cha~eur who had followed him into the
station.
. "Now then, Rastus," he said " The
1DSpeCtor ~ants a hundred dollar~. You
must pay It for me."
The negro's eyes opened wide
"I"Fo'. 'tHeaven' s sake, boss!" he ejaculated
.
tbi: I "got no hundred dollars. I ain't got
36 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
The c~auffeur ~as speaking the truth,
and Goldm knew It. But the magician had
quickly devised a scheme whereby he could
be released from custody. Secretly palming
the wad of dollar notes in his own pocket
he turned towards the negro.
"Come, Rastus," he said. "I know very
well you've got a big pile of notes in your pocket
Pay my bail, there'sagoodfellow, and let us get
home." As he spoke, he pulled the other to-
wards him by the lapel of his coat, and quietly
inserted the pile of notes into the chauffeur's
pocket. "Now then," he went on as the
negro stared stupidly at him. "Get ahead
with it. Just a hundred dollars."
"But boss," said the bewildered Rastus
"yo' sure is mad. I tells you I ain't got
one, buck,. let 'lone a hundred dollars. Yes '
yo sure IS crazy, boss. I ain't got nothin'. "
" I'm certain you have, Rastus. Just feel
in your pockets and find out, there's a good
chap."
"It ain't no good, boss," exclaimed the
negro, inserting his hand into his coat pocket.
"I tells yo." - Re stopped short as his fist
closed round the wad of notes that Horace
had placed there a few moments previously.
"Well, I'm --."
" I knew you had," said Goldin, pleased at
the success of his scheme. "Just give it to
the inspector, and we can be on our way home."
But Rastus was not to be so easily deprived
THE TRUTH OF HORAeI' GOLDIN'S ARREST. 37
of his unexpected find.
It Sure, 1 guess I wants all this, boss," ~e
said, grinning. "I wants ~very buck of. It.
I saved it all, and I wants It for somethmg
' ver' special, boss."
This was a development for which Rorace
was quite unprepared. However, by dint
of much talking, and a promise to repay
the money in the morning, he persuaded the
chauffeur to hand the notes over to the inspec-
tor. The latter took them without a word of
thanks, and counted them in silence.
It Ninety-eight dollars," he said. "I shall
want two more before you can go."
Again Goldin's magical art came to the
rescue. It Let me count them," he said.
He ran through the pile q~ickly, and managed
t~ extract a two dollar bill unseen. " Quite
~ht." he agreed. "There's only ninety-eight.
GIve the gen.tleman two more dollars, Rastus."
Rastus gnnned.
le Yo's t~en all 1 got, boss. Yo's taken
all"my saymgs for somethin' ver' special."
~ubblsh. Feel in your pocket again"
e ~hauffeur did as he was bidden a~d
w~~~~nntly ~,roduce~ t~; two dollar 'note.
I had dY't ossl' he saId, I sure didn' know
a . guess I must-"
"That's alri h .
and we can gelh~me~~y It to the inspector,
The money was a .d
was handed ~a receip1 i ovher, and Goldin
or a undred dollars ,
38 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
although, of course, he had only parted with
ninety-eight. Receiving final instructions to
attend at the .court early next morning, he
returned to hIS car, and proceeded on his
way at a leisurely fifteen miles an hour.
But the comedy was not yet ended. On
the next day Goldin appeared in court, and
briefed a very capable attorney for his
defence. At length the case was called, and
the policeman appeared in the witness box
to make his sworn statement.
" Tell me," said the counsel. "How fast
was Mr. Goldin travelling? "
" Twenty-three miles an hour, sir."
"I see. I suppose you overtook him
rapidly on your motor bicycle, didn't you?
" Oh yes, sir," said the policeman, pleased
at this compliment on his professional ability.
" How did you know that Mr. Goldin was
travelling at twenty-three miles an hour?"
" By my speedometer. That was the speed
it registered."
(/ Good. But, if you were travelling faster
than the car, then Mr. Goldin must have been
doing a good deal less than twenty-three
miles an hour. That's common sense."
The magistrate agreed, and Goldin was
handed back one hundred dollars, with costs
against the prosecution. He always says
that no money has given him as much
satisfaction as those two dollars he made out
of the New York police force!
1'BB CoRNELLS AND THEIR GHASTLY PUBLICITY STUNT 39
THE CORNELLS AND THEIR GHASTLY
PUBLICITY STUNT.
Some artists will go to drastic lengths in
order to secure publicity, but the plan of
the Comells, two American thought readers,
for roguery and debasement far exceeds any
other story I have heard.
When the Zomahs were touring America,
their fame spread with lightning rapidity,
and they became so famous that imitators
experienced the greatest difficulty in obtain-
ing engage~ents. The Comells, a couple who
had met WIth moderate success, found their
bookings dropping off alarmingly.
Driven to desperation, they concocted a
great publicity scheme. Fortunately for the
good of the profession, and unfortunately for
the couple, the plan misfired.
They ~d obtain~d an engagement in a
small hall m the C!Ucago suburbs, and it was
~t they ~ecIded to put their idea into
e»peration. Dunng ~he. performance, Madame
COmell, who was sIttmg blindfolded in the
dtre o~ the stage, gave a piercing scream
" ma e. ~ though to fall from her chair'
~:~ lSJf "
~ shouted Comell, playing th~
. "ty c~Whs racted husband with no mean
. at do you see?"
40 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN. nm CORNELLS AND THEIR GHASTLY PUBLICITY STUNT 41
"Away! away! " cried the.wo~an, motion- publicity. Somebody disclosed the whole
ing her partner to keep hIS dIstance. "I despicable plan. The pair had purchased the
have seen a murder! Two youths fiung body from a mortuary, and, having dis~gured
themselves upon an old man, and battered it beyond recognition, sewed it up m. the
his face in. I can see them now. They are sack, and dropped the gruesome bundle mto
tying his body in a sack. Yes, they are putting the river. It was a well-thought-out plan
weights in. Now they are on the banks of which, but for the fact that they had to take
the river." Here she gave the exact location others into their confidence, might well have
of the scene she was witnessing. "They succeeded.
have dropped the sack into the water, and Happily for us, such people as the Comells
are hastening away." And with these last are few and far between in the profession.
words Madame Comell rolled off her chair in a
well simulated faint.
Her words created great excitement
amongst the audience. The performance
was stopped, and several people rushed f,rom
the building to the spot she had descnbed
in her "vision." Some of them went to
fetch policemen, whilst others informed the
river authorities.
It was an eerie scene by the river bank.
For several hours during the night, the water
was dragged, and nothing brought to light.
In the early hours of the moming, however,
a bulky sack was retrieved from the depths.
The police hurriedly opened it, and the crowd
gathered round with an air of suppressed
excitement. But they drew away when they
saw what the sack contained. It was the
mutilated body of a man.
The Comells received more publicity than
they needed. I t was the wrong sort of
42 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
THE STRANGENESS OF LAFAYETTE.
Callers at my office often become interested
in a life size portrait in oils which hangs
opposite my desk. Age has darkened it
somewhat now, but it is still a picture that
commands attention. It shows a slim, middle
aged man with pince-nez, his chin resting on
his left hand, his eyes gazing thoughtfully
into space. There is something queer about
the face; it wears an expression difficult to
describe. You become uneasy under the
steadfast stare from those searching eyes,
you feel they are piercing you through and
through, and probing into your innermost
secrets. Many of my visitors resent this
silent examination.
"Who is that man ?" they ask.
"Lafayette," I reply.
And then perhaps their eyes will wander to a
long sword in a glass case hanging on the
wall above my head. It is curious how the
subconscious mind seems to connect the
sword with Lafayette's portrait. They hang
at extreme ends of the room, but time and
again, I have noticed people glance unconsci-
ously from one to the other.
" That is Lafayette's sword," I tell them.
" It was found on his charred body on the
THE STRANGENESS OF LAFAYETTE. 43
stage of the Empire The~t~e, Edinburgh.
It was given to Harry HoudmI, and he passed
it on to me."
"Tell us the story," they say.
So I tell them.
Lafayette was the most hated magICIan
that ever lived. This is strange when one
recalls that it was he who established the
first class illusionist as an artist worthy of a
high salary. He proved to the management
of the Holbom Empire that he was worth
every penny of the £500 a week he demanded,
by taking over the theatre himself for a
fortnight, and running it at a huge profit.
H~ was unsoc~able to a point of rudeness,
and It was for this reason that he was univers-
~y disliked. His constant refusals to meet
his ~rother conjurers, both here and in
Amenca, made him so intensely unpopular
that he was greeted everywhere with the most
utter and open contempt.
I have always been convinced that Lafay-
~c: was t~o scared to meet his fellow ill us-
~s. .~lS knowledge of true conjuring
. ane~ble! and, rather than demonstrate
hicIfPh ng Ignoranc~ of the profession of
.....-of- e was so emment a member he
1'&A:rre~ to. k~ep his company to hi~self
an illUSlomst he was wonderful and .
shouowman. . I rank h" '
Im In the same class asas a
those ~ and John Nevil Maskelyne. Only
o saw: the latter two in their heydey
44 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
can realise how great a compliment this is.
But the ability to stage a sensational illusion
does not necessitate a knowledge of real magic.
It was this knowledge which Lafayette lacked.
He was a mechanical illusionist, pure and
simple. He was clever enough to build an
entirely different programme from any other
magician of his time, and it was in this
manner he made his reputation. (( It must
be spectacular" was his motto, and well
he lived up to it. His act was typified by
gorgeous scenery, showy curtains, and loud
and soul-stirring music.
Lafayette came from German stock, and
started life originally as a scenic artist.
It was due to this fact, no doubt, that he
picked his illusions with such discriminating
taste. I have never learned how he came to
adopt magic as a profession, but it was
doubtless his position as a scenic painter which
first gave him the idea.
He has been called eccentric. That is
putting it mildly. I considered him quite
mad. He 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.
His dog" Beauty" was his greatest weak-
ness. It was this animal whose portrait was
THE STRANGENESS OF LAFAYETTE. 45
on all the magician's cheques and the~trical
contracts. A special bathroom. was b,!llt for
the dog at Lafayette's house m T?rnngton
Square, and at night-time the ~mmal was
served with a regular table d hote me~l,
complete from soup to sweets. B.eauty s
portrait hung. o~tsid~ t?e house WIt~, the
following quamt mscnptlOn beneath: The
more I see of men, the more I love my dog."
Lafayette was a great booster, an~ ~esorted
to the most irritating form of publICIty that
has ever been brought to my notice. He
had his name and photo printed on a number
of small sticky labels, and caused them to be
stuck on the exterior and interior of the public
lavatories of the town in which he was appear-
ing. This foolish proceeding did him far
more harm than good.
He was something of a pugilist too, as a
~ Mr. Inglish of Chicago found out to
his cost. When Lafayette was performing in
that town, he became very friendly with a
young and pretty lady whose husband knew
othing of the affair. We can well imagine
the gentleman's surprise, therefore, when he
ent~d ~ restaurant and saw his wife, whom
~ un~ed was appearing as a manequin
a fa;;hionable dress parade, sitting at a
ta~1e Wlt~ ~he great magician.
So ~his ~~ ~hat she does, is it ? " thought
Laf!nglish. III see about it." He approached
yette, and tapped him on the shoulder.
 Tl!i STRANGENESS OF LAFAYETTE.
47
46 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.

"Do you know this lady is my wife;>" For the moment, he had forgotten
he demanded. . :C~~'locked by his own orders. Bef.ore he
" Is that. so ? " returned Lafayette, not in uld make his way to the other eXIt, the
the least dIsturbed. :a e was a raging mass of flames and sm?ke,
" What do you mean by taking her out to an~ overcome by the fumes, he fell unconsclOUS
dine without my permission?" to the boards. When his body. ~?-s recovered,
Lafayette made no reply, but hit the unfor- it was charred beyond recogmtlon.
tunate man a terrific blow on the point of the
j~w. It was ~he easiest way of settling the
dIspute. Inghsh collapsed, and on recovering
was asked what he meant by assaulting so
eminent a client as Lafayette. Such are the
trials of a wronged husband!
How many people know the truth of
Lafayette's death? Not many, I can wager.
He was burned to death in the disastrous
fire at the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh, on
May 9th, 19II. It is popularly supposed that
he made good his escape, and then returned to
save his white horse, which was still inside
the building. There is little truth in this
story.
What actually happened was this. Lafay-
ette always insisted that the "pass door"
-the small iron door which leads from the
stalls into the wings-should be kept lock~d
during his performance. This he did m
order that no intruders should discover the
secrets of his illusions. It was a foolish
stipulation, and cost him his life.
When the fire broke out on the stage, ~e
rushed to the pass door to make good hIS
48 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MVS'l'ERY MEN.
DANTE PERPLEXED. 49
DANTE PERPLEXED.
I t. is no~ ofte~ that ma.gicians are puzzled Dante, and thre~ himself without invitation
TheIr busl.ness IS to see tha~ what to the~ into an armchair.
appears sImple must. ~e!Uam a matter of " Say, boss," he said, cc Where dat woman
mystery to the ummtlated. public. But go? "
Dante, the well known Amencan magician "Woman?" asked the conjurer. // What
was considerably puzzled when appearing woman? "
at Proctor's Theatre, New York, early in "Dat woman on de stage."
"Oh, you mean the vanishing lady trick.
1919.
During his performances, Dante had She vanished by magic."
occasion to use the cc run down" -the small "Magic, eh? Could yo' vanish me like
bridge from the stage which gives a perfonner ciat? ..
access to the stalls. He was perplexed to " Certainly."
"Yo' could vanish me anywhere, boss?"
notice a very powerfully built, shabbily "No. Only on the stage. It's a special
dressed negro occupying one of the best age illusion."
stalls in the theatre. This in itself was " How much you charge to make me one
strange enough, but when the negro appeared edat?"
in the same seat at every single performance,
the mystery became deeper still.
" r price would be six hundred dollars.
~t I m sorry I couldn't make one for you.
After he had given his last show, the an exclUSIVe secret."
conjurer returned to his dressing room, and Here followed a somewhat heated argument
mentioned the matter to his wife. As they t D~te was adamaI?-t. The negro finally
were discussing the affair, there was a tap his departure, lookmg extremely de)' ected
at the door, and the call boy entered. downhearted.
cc Well ?" asked Dante. e follnwing week, a very flash young man
cc , Scuse me, sir, there's a nigger downstairs '· . . .IoIIoUWU on ante. He was anxious to get to
says he wants to see you on very important ~, . ~ ·..<,~·.~amess.
11 What
business." . . can I do for you" asked the
ccAha," smiled Dante. cc The mystery man ClaIl.
himself. Show him up, George." The Vanishing Lady Trick" .
The negro entered, smiled across at Madame ;,~t.~ reply. (/ I have got a c~sto~~~ ~~~
 51
50 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN. DANTE PERPLEXED.

you. He wants to buy the illusion, lock, "You dirty dog," cried Dante. I'll n?t
11

stock and barrel."

party to any swindle." He turned ag~m
to the nigger. " What do you wan.t to -yamsh
" Is it a negro ? " for?" he asked. "Are you gomg m for
" Yes"
" Well I saw him last week. I told him bootlegging? "
my price was six hundred dollars in the " Mebbe yes, mebbe no, boss. But in any
ordinary way. But I didn't make one for case I wants to vanish."
Dante turned to the door.
him." "I can't vanish you-nor can anyone else.
" Well, he still wants one. I'm acting for ou keep your money in your pocket, Sambo.
him, and I can offer you a thous.and dollars. , safer there than anywhere else."
Perhaps you can run down wIth me. It
will only take you five minutes."
Still extremely perplexed, Dante consented
to visit the negro. The young man escorted
him to an old wooden shack where his pros-
pective client was sitting staring at a small
stone which he held in his hand.
"Good afternoon, boss," said the dusky
one.
"Good afternoon," returned Dante.
"See, here Boss, yo' must make dat
vanishing trick fo' me. I got plenty of
money." He produced a cheque book. . ~he,n
he held the stone up for the magIcIan.s
benefit. "Dis here's a magic stone. DIS
young man tell me that if I buy yo' trick fo'
thousand dollars, and rubs dis stone for
thirty nights, I can vanish any time, any-
where." .
" That's right," the young man whIspered
to Dante. "He'll believe anything. We can
fleece him easy."
52 SENSATIONAL TALES OP' MYSTERY MEN.
DANTE'S EXPERIENCE IN RUSSIA.
When Dante was performing at the Casino
Theatre, Buenos Aires, towards the end of
1928 , he was approached by a German
syndicate with a view to making an eight
weeks tour of Russia. At that time the
conjurer was working with the Roward
Thurston Road Show, and he was offered a
thousand dollars a week, together with the
salaries of his twelve assistants and the
cost of moving his twelve tons of sceneries
and baggage.
The offer was too good to refuse, and Dante
took the whole company across to Germany
in order to sign up the contract. Four days
further travelling brought him to Moscow.
He was met at the station by a well dressed
and extremely courteous official who addressed
rf,'_.
:,;celblllgEu proved ~o be a Russian dancer who
him in perfect English. After the usual
exchange of formalities, the man drew Dante
to one side and spoke to him in a low voice.
"Mr. Dante," he said, "I need hardly
say that I hope your engag~men~ wi.th us
will be a great success. I belIeve It Will be.
However, Russia is not America, and although
you will not be restricted in any way, all!
must ask you to overlook one or two sm
matters of personal. comfort which may
disturb you.
DANTE'S EXPERIENCE IN RUSSIA. 53
" You will find the food different from that
hich you eat in your own country. It
takes getting used to. As regards accom-
odation-yourself, your family, and your
assistants will have the best we can offer.
e prefer to treat you as Russians rather than
formgners."
Dante thanked the stranger for his courtesy,
and proceeded to the address that had been
·ven him. He located the house after some
. culty, and was immediately shown the
rooms which had been set aside for his
disposal. They were spacious and scrupu-
y clean, but owing to the musty atmos-
and the decaying condition of the walls
ceiling, they did not altogether meet
~ conjurer's approval.
t happened, Dante only stayed there a
days. Th~ stage manager of the first
at which the company had been
met. the conjurer some years previously
en~. He seemed delighted to renew
hiii=ance, and insisted that Dante
as buil:¥tS~oUld use a suite of rooms
ewas qwc
mto the theatre
'k to take advantage
.
st kinOO of the
ed, an~SSthe~he rooms were e~cellently
. But you rareyas to be no ch~rge for
in this IdY get somethmg for
wor . A few d f
taken up residence, the aA : t \~:
 DANTE'S EXPERIENCE IN RUSSIA. 55

a long and rambling speech in which he

assured the audience that they were about to
'mess tricks, not miracles. The tricks, he
'd, were performed by natural means, and
the outcome of a new and wonderful
science which was not yet properly under-
000,
Dante's performance caused a huge sensa-
• D, and such was his success that his stay
oscow and Leningrad was prolonged for a
fmrtht~ twelve weeks.
In this spare time Dante mixed as much
possible with the people, He frequented
squares and market places, the shops
the railway stations. He conversed
those who could speak English, and
---~oured to find ~ut th~ inner thoughts
eas of the RUSSIan mmd. It is inter-
,,']_iDg to, note that during the many weeks
• •DeIlt m the coun~ry of the Soviets, Dante
,...... __bear one h?stile word against England.
are no Slgns of extreme poverty in
,ss:ys Dante. Perhaps this is because
De ~hon;pelled to work, even married
~ la e d at.ter usually take on such
un enng or selling ne
are not compelled to do whspapers,
a day, more t an four
a ordinary
da male l b ' do eight
a ourers
orld,Y' T~~ are the s~owest workers in
. Sunda~s Wfurk RS1X ~ays a week
, USSla knows no
 DANTE'S EXPERIENCE IN RUSSIA. 57

England during the war. H?rse flesh

to be the staple diet in ~ussla to-day,
:_lebDilstlS the bread is black and stIcky as though
bad been made from glue.
The Russians have no traffic problems to
contend with. This is because cars are
considered an essential part of the old
bureaucratic system, and are few and far
between. Those that are seen are usually
ected with Government business.
There are no women's fashions, for all
bers of the fair sex are dressed alike in
clothes cut on more modest lines than
OWD. At revues and plays, the audiences
asked to take no notice of the pretty
;':fI~as and costmnes displayed on the stage.
A1151100D as the shows are finished, the members
~j;;~cast change back to their everyday
11 , and proceed straight to their
There is no such thing as "hanging
he stage door" in Russia.
:Jnorc::e is ridiculously easy for either
One has o.nly to sign a document and
a all fee.m or.de~ to gain matrimonial
. Marnage IS Just as simple. This
~ the effec.t of reducing the number
timate children in Russia to a
wr· There i~ no sign of prostitution
ove. ~ne IS apt to think 'that the
e ~d dlv~r~e laws have had much to
~ch abolitIOn of these two evils
en seem healthy and happy ~nd
 D.AN1'K'S EXPERIENCE IN RUSSIA 59

ed States. He had been told beforehand

such inquiries might be made, and
ed that it would be extremely unwise
divulge any infonnation. Consequently
kept a discreet silence.
Dante's tour did not end as happily as it
.ght have done. He was told to present
. at the Russian offices of the German
dicate in order to receive the money which
due to him. To his utter astonishment he
infonned that he could only be allowed ~ne.
American dollars for himself, and
same amount for everv member of his
. It was explained that they were short
erican money at the time: but he was'
ded a note authorising further payment
he returned to Gennany.
'Yho1e of the company were searched
leavmg t~e country in order to prevent
smuggling valuables across the border
and not least, Dante's baggage which
dJJ,have been sent on direct, took twenty-
ys to reach Berlin. This delay lost
o ~~~s' work for which he was never
 MULLER THE MYSTIC. 61

ty ~. I'm gonna make an impression

~ She'll be real proud to meet her
. Where can I get some suitings ? "
Some what? "
wtings. Clothes. I'm gonna look real
. Ain't bad cigars these, are they? "
" Apparently not," I returned. It As for
, the best thing you can do is to buy
misfits. A tailor will be too expensive,
know a shop where they can fix you up
y with a decent suit. Then I'd send a
to your daughter telling her what
intend to arrive. She will probably
platfonn to meet you."
him the name of a good second-hand
and he took his leave, promising to
card from Binningham. But an
he was back in the office. He
return b} telling me that he
opinion on his new clothes but I
suspected it was my ciga~s that
attraction.
forbade me from telling the
t.I thou~ht of his appearance. He
m a paIr of striped grey trousers,
tched frock coat which fitted only
tOUhryched. In the buttonhole was
a The tsanthemum of gigantic pro.
a f hi op h~t on his head was an
as on althi.rty years old, and in
, was sever SIZes to b' H' '
best part of h· b 0 Ig. IS gloves
un, ut the guardsman's
 AS CHUNG LING 500 MURDERED? 63

AS CHUNG LING SOO MURDERED?

ung Ling Soo, the famous Chinese magi-
• was shot through the chest on the stage
e Wood Green Empire, on 23 rd March,
• A few minutes later he died from inter-
orrhage. The tragedy caused some-
of a stir in theatrical circles at the time,
·-as a well-known figure throughout
10,,,",--

id. Although he masqueraded as a

Chinese, he was in reality a Scotch-
whose name was William
obinson. This is a fact which was
. eI'f few people outside the profes-
.his own native America.
Ling Soo's death was universally
, for he was a magician of undoubted
. acknowledged master of his craft
.:qiest 'Yhich was subsequently held'
o Accldent,al Death was returned:
. e seemed satisfied with this opinion
• everyone except Will Goldston-and
t
{h:e r two other people who knew
hey ~ared to disclose And
I theori
h a d nothing, g
to o on except
' a few
u ~ which fitted in with the
q eer CIrcumstances of the case, I
 AS CHUNG LIN(~ 500 MURDERED? 65

. They were carried back to the

by a lady assistant, and apparently
to a male assistant who placed them
ritle. In reality the live bullets were
. ed by the girl, who handed them to
Ling 500 concealed beneath the rim of
tee The bullets placed in the rifle
duplicates.
then took several steps up stage and
the plate to his chest. The assistant
careful aim with the rifle and pulled the
. At the same time a faint click was
,and it was seen that 500 had apparently
the wo bullets on the plate. He had,
, merely dropped the marked bullets
ace of the plate. I should empha-
fact that the rifle which was used had
. ~ed barrel in order to minimise
ty of an accident,
atal night ~verything seems to have
. A fractIon <?f a second after the
o~edf the, tngger, 500 pitched
ace WIth a cry of " My God I
otme!" .
te fell from hi
on the stage B St ~;a%p, and was
by the bUllet~ TUhi 1, ad not been
, , . s goes to p
Dlaglclan had not held the pI trove
aceordin t h' a e over
so 't go. IS usual custom. H d
. ?
%:h~~ IsevitabIy have be:n
00 suddenly become
66 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
An examination of the rifle after the
tragedy revealed the fact that the sealed barrel
had been opened. Was this by accident or
design? There is no doubt t~at Soo would
never have been shot had the nfle been in its
usual condition. And, supposing that the
rifle barrel had been deliberately opened
whose hand was responsible? '
Again, I repeat, I have no proo~. ,However,
a friend of mine who must remam ~nameless,
happened to call on Soo in the interval
between the two performances. As my
friend entered the dressing room, he found the
magician toying with the rifle. This fact t.akes
on an added importance when one consIders
that any damage done to the rifle must have
been done during the first and second per-
formances on the Saturday night.
And what of the marked bullets-those
which should have been caught on the plate?
I made a personal search of the stage <l;nd
auditorium of the theatre on the folloWl~g
Monday, shortly after the news of S?O s
death had reached me. I found nothmg.
Thinking I might have overlooked them, and
wishing to rid myself of the many uneasy
suspicions in my mind, I offered to pay
£I for each of the marked bullets wh d there was Soo's strange settlement
found. Nobody ever claimed the rewa~d
The bullets had disappeared as strang~ly ad
as mysteriously as if they had never eXl~\he
I might add that I never expecte
S CBUNG LING Soo MURDERED? 67
to be recovered. I was convinc€d
y were in poor Soo·s body. .
the night in question, Sou loaded th.e nfle
As I have already explained, thIS was
. hich was allocated to a male assistan~.
again the magician departed from hIS
mode of procedure for no apparent
"think it will be generally agreed that I
tlined a pretty strong case against an
tal death. The details I have so far
are consistent with a deliberate and
tacJ1eDledsuicide (I have already indicated
theory of murder cannot be accepted).
suicide theory can be considered
unless a motive is supplied. Not
most violent lunatic would take his
sheer blood-lust.
special case, the motive was not
N'"ot lon~ .before the tragedy, Soo
my ~plD1on on a domestic affair
Ob~l0U:sly worrying him a great
dreplied m a non-committal manner
not anxious to be concerned i~
that might adversely affect my
-,,'uew. reputation.
debts. On the Thursday before he
, Soo walked into my office in
 ESCAPE THAT WENT WRONG. 71

he readily agreed. I took him to

se landing outside my office, and
. hands behind him, interlocking
es before fixing them round the
. I took this precaution in order
. 'tor should have as little space as
bich to move his wrists.
moment an excited ringing of the
bell attracted my attention. I
tIu'l[)1J2h to my office and picked up
• The voice of a man with whom
important business deal
• He had no time to waste.
him immediately? He had a
put before me. Perhaps I could
1 at the Trocadero in five
t could, and, picking up my
t to keep the appointment.
JJI".;auc banished all thoughts of
from my mind, and the
L ' l I " " - . and talk did not serve to

him. ~ hour and a half had

my bUSIness was concluded and
return to the office. '
ted the stairs, a terrific clatter
greeted me "Wh t th d'
'1" I thou h Cl a e lckens
padre I "g t. Oh, heavens, it
t.
. fastened to the balustrade or
was left of the balustr~de.
 73

AND THE NAKED LADY.

early days of the war, a magician

in England as the "Great Ceeley"
. to my office, and told me that he
vice. He went on to explain that he
a pretty girl assistant who could do
. costume changing for him. He
_red an illusion in which a girl was
. the dress of a British soldier, a
teoldi4'er, and Britannia, all within the
seconds.
that he would do well to insert
ent ill a professional paper
tage.". He thanked me for my
took hIS leave, promising to let
result.
•'YS later he again came to see me.
th~bs to the ceiling, he cried:
her, Will. She's a real peach-the
wanted."
good t~ look at ? " I asked.
Cl
, she got nice hair .~ " he replied
I'd slik
. 1 e you to fit her up with
~f!S, ~, d man. I'll send her along
gs.
74 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
CEELEY AND THE NAKED LADY. 75
On the following day the lady in question
presented herself. She was by no means It When I say t pull' ," I told her, "you
must pull the first button, and stand at
pretty, but had a beautiful mass of auburn attention as a Belgian soldier."
hair that stretched below her waist. " Righto," said the lady. "Go ahead."
My assistant measured her for the three We took up our positions in the rehearsal
costumes, and explained how she would have room, and the girl walked in dressed as a
to work them. First of all she had to put on British soldier. She did her posing well.
the Britannia dress, then the Belgian uniform, " That's good," I cried. "Now-pull!"
and lastly that of the British Tommy. Each She pulled-and stood dutifully at atten-
costume was to be fitted with a different tion. For a few seconds there was a deathly
shaped button attached to a hidden cord. By silence.
pulling the first button, the British uniform Then we all made a blackguard rush for the
would collapse, leaving her dressed as a door, leaving the poor girl standing in the
Belgian soldier. The next button left her as middle of the floor. She had pulled all three
Britannia, and the last button enabled her to buttons, and every stitch of clothing had fallen
discard the Britannia dress when her show was trom her!
finished.
The girl agreed that the instructions were
quite simple, and said she would call in a
week's time, when the costumes would be
ready. I urged the necessity of trying the
effect over in my rehearsal rooms in order to
avoid the possibility of amistake on thestage.
On the day of the appointment, Ceeley
himself called with his assistant. It so
happened that there were three or four other
theatrical gentlemen in my office at the time,
and Ceeley invited them to see the rehearsal.
The girl quickly changed into her costumes-
they fitted perfectly-and I went over the
instructions once again.
 FRANK VAN HOVEN'S TRAGIC FAILURE. 77

I Trying is the right word," returned yan

n. U I haven't got the hang of .thmgs
But one of these days I am gomg to
. e my fortune at this game. You'll see my
e in the lights over Broadway-' Frank
an Hoven, the 'World's Greatest Bottle
ler.' "
11 I'm glad to hear it," was the encouraging

y. U I guess you'll have to make a lot of

ey to pay for all the bottles you've broken.
you're really interested) you had better
and practise on the stage at my theatre.
can put a mattress down, and the bottles
't break. That'll save you the trouble of
ing up all the broken glass."
an Hoven was delighted to have somebody
an interest in his efforts and duly
too himself at the theatr~. But no
had he seen Jenson give a conjuring
_m. rn~ce than he decided to give up
.g In favour of magic.
.J~nson was willing to help. He gave
01 bltl?US youth seyeral lessons in magic)
tt d him to purchase some cheap appara-
om Ro~erburg of Chicago. But Van
was eIther lacking in imagination or
sa.:ee~~~mely ungmtefu~. He purchased
ev: s that J enson hImself was using
en went so far as to steal his tutor'~
78 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
If a prize had been offered for the World'
worst conjurer, Van Hoven would have wo~
it hands down. It is true that he managed to
obtain several engagements, but he never
gave more than one performance at each
theatre. After his first show, the manager
invariably greeted him with the phrase
" You're fired-beat it!" And poor Frank
together with the tricks he performed s~
badly, was bundled unceremoniously into
the street.
At last he decided to try his luck in New
York. Jenson strongly advised him not to
do so, and told him there would be little hope
of success in the capital if he had been a
failure in the small towns of the Middle West.
But Van Hoven was nothing if not ambitious,
and decided to take his chance. It was the
luckiest thing he ever did.
He managed to obtain an engagement at a
small picture theatre in the New York sub-
urbs. It so happened that an important
booking agent dropped into the theatre on
business, and, quite by chance, he saw the
magician's performance.
" That's the rottenest act I've ever seen,
he told the manager. "In fact, he's so ro~teD
that he's really good. As a conjurer he s ,a
flop, but as a turn to raise the laughs he s
great."
VA N HOVEN'S TRAGIC FAILURE. 79
FRANK
t was about this time that Van Ho~en
I ted the slapstick programm~ whIch
O~ually made him famous. ~he Idea. was
:::n to America by an EnglIsh conJurer
~d William J. Hillier. ~an Hoven .saw
Hillier's perfonnance, and de~Ided to use It as
his own. By such small thmgs can a man
be made.
From that moment Van Hoven never
looked back. The theatrical agent mentioned
his name to Hammerstein, the variety mag-
nate of America, who gave him several
important bookings. Frank decided to go in
for laughter raising rather than rabbit produc-
ing. His turn in which the four boy assistants
were made to perform all sorts of nonsensical
absurdities, was declared to be the funniest
thing America had seen for years.
Frank's slogan-The Man Who Made Ice
Famous-was first suggested by myself.
"
 81
OVE AND A FELLOW ARTIST'S WIFE.

~ rmed in a double act with his

.r--ciit was soon appa;rent to all behind
es that it was thIS goo~ lady who
"bosSed" the partnershIp. ~s an
t in the double act she was a.dmIrable,
er decided views on the ng~ts and
. eges of a wife did not tend to Increase
happiness of her sadly misunderstood
d.
day Frank called the man 3;side. and
ked him why he allowed hIS wIfe to
his life so miserable.
I" replied the other, pulling a
face. le You don't know my wife."
why don't you put your foot down ? "
's the only one who does that."
ou can't do anything with her, why
get rid of her-divorce her. It's
~, _.nngh."
tie a can on that stuff," came the
• It I've got no money for that."

IlPIlIOSe I give it to you?"

I"
IPlPOEie I give you the money to divorce
e?"
mean that? "
"
~l~~ you then! It seems too good

hat was that. Frank duly found the

money, and the divorce was carried
82 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
through.* It was a happy day for the little
vaudeville artist when, after many months
of unhappiness, he found himself a free man.
And so, for a short time the wife fades from
our picture. But you can't keep a pushful
woman down. When next we hear of her
she is Mrs. Frank Van Hoven! ' to W:tonr'righ~ now. He wasn't in? Well
But even the genial Frank was no match
for the fiery lady. From the day he
contracted his unwise marriage, his life
was one long round of misery. "Gee, she's
too hot for me," he told me in describing his
bride. "She's just a big packet of trouble.
Whenever I go out, she follows like a dog.
I visit some friends; she comes and drags me
home again. I go to the Club; but I guess she's
hanging somewhere around. If she can't see
me , she'll be over the 'phone to me. Night .
and morning she's at my heels. I'm becommg
the laughing stock of the profession."
So he took my fatherly advice and found
another wife!
* No reflection is intended on the lady who was div. rced
according to the Laws ruling in the United States of Amerl"a.
There is nothing more annoying to the
average Englishman than a disturban~e at
his breakfast table. It was, therefore, m no
pleasant frame of mind that I left m:y el5gs
and bacon to answer the impatient nng~ng
of the telephone bell one spring mormng
fifteen years ago.
83
FUNK VAN H OVEN-A CHANGED MAN.
"I cn'ed as I took up the receiver.
HH ell0 ;>0"
" at the deuce do you want. .
Wh the secretary in my offIce. J¥fr.
It ;~n Hoven had called and would lIke
Fran M Go1dston. He wanted to see Mr.
~n perhaps the secretary would nng up
.Hr Goldston and tell him t~ step ~ong. Mr.
V~ Hoven wanted to talk bIg busmess. Yes,
he would wait. .
I hastily swallowed the remamder of my
breakfast and took a taxi along to Leic~ster
Square. My feeling of annoyance had gIve,n
way to one of genuine pleas~re. Van Hov~n s
reputation had preceded hIm f~om Amenca,
and I took it as no small compliment that he
should visit me so shortly after he had
arrived in this country.
For some time we discussed various mutual
friends in the profession. "By the way,"
said Van Hoven suddenly, "I've heard a
deal about you in America. I want to place a
big order with you. I'll take some of the
stuff now. And in case I forget, you might
drop into the Finsbury Park Empire to-night.
I:m giving my first show in England, and I'd
~e you to be there. Now, about these
trickS . . . ."
. H~ proce~ded t~ choose a large number of
iJ!US1ons WhICh he mtended to take away with
~ To my utter astonishment he picked on
that were suitable for the crudest
84 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN
amateurs, simple effects that delight the
average schoolb?y. I. mCl;de no remark
however, and assIsted hIm WIth his purcha '
to a waiting taxi. ses
. I naturally assumed -that Van Hov
Illtended to us~ the tricks in. his performan~~
that ~ame evemng.. But ~gaIll I was in for a
s~rpnse. The conJurer sImply went through
hIS usual fool~ry of. smashing up ice, spilling
water over hIS aSSIstants, lighting innumer-
able candles with an endless supply of matches,
and so on.
At the end of the performance, he was
called on to make a speech. He thanked the
audience for their great kindness, and told
them how pleased he was to receive such a
~agnificent rece~tion on his first appearance
III England. IncIdentally, he paid me a very
pretty compliment.
He explained that he had bought a certain
number of books and illusions from me that
very morning. "They are tricks that I have
always wanted," he murmured in a voice so
hushed that it was difficult to hear exactly what
he said. " They are lying beneath the stage
now-I don't suppose I shall ever have the
opportunity of giving a public performance
with them. But when I first started as a
magician I determined I would get those
tricks. And now my wish is realised." He
added a few words in praise of myself that I
should blush to repeat.
BANK VAN HOVEN-A CHANGED MAN. 85
knoW you are disappointed, Gold~tont
said to me, a few minutes later, III ~IS
1lIn~'ng room. "But I meant what I saId
there on the stage. As a matter of fact, I
don't know a damn thing about magic. That s
e of the greatest sorrows of my life."
Truly a strange confession for a professional
magician I Poor Frank! His life was some-
. ~ in the nature of a tragedy. His one
bttion was to be an illusionist; he was cast
the hand of fate into the role of a jester.
d although in his own form of entertain-
t he was a wonderful success, I incline to
belief that he put himself down as one of
's failures.
I can still recollect the pathetic speech he
de at the Magicians' Club. His cheery
personality soon endeared itself to the mem-
bers, and before he returned to America, he
presented with an illuminated address
d silver casket.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said in a
~en voice, "this is the only occasion in
ylife I have been honoured. You have seen
perfonnance ; you know it for a ridiculous
lesque. But I hope from the bottom of
heart that the day is not far distant when
be able to show you a genuine magical
onnance." That day never came.
tt~ the pass::ge of time, Van Hoven and I
him. great f~1end.s. One evening, I called
at the VIctona Palace. He walked out
86 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSH:RY MEN.
from the wings accompanied by a man Whom
I recognized as an old assistant I had sacked
for dishonesty.
"Hello, Frank," I said, extending my
hand. " How's the show going? "
Van Hoyen, looked at me without smiling.
" I'm afraId I m too busy to bother with you
just at present, Mr. Goldston," he said.
" Another time, perhaps." And, turning on
his heel, he walked through to his dressing room.
To say that I was surprised would be
stating things mildly. To receive a public
rebuff from such an old friend was a great
shock to me. And it was not until a year after-
wards that an explanation was forthcoming.
Twelve months later, Van Hoven called on
me, accompanied by a lady friend. My
secretary intimated that I was too busy to see
him. Later the same day he called alone, and
told me the whole story. It appeared that my
ex-assistant had told Van Hoven that I had
described him as "the rottenest conjurer in
the world." Such a statement was entirely
untrue. Although I had no illusions as to the
American's magical ability, I had never made
any public statement which might have been
at all damaging to his reputation. . eyes.
I only saw Frank on one further occaSIOn
after that. In November, 1928, he walked
into my office, and I found him strangely
changed. His first action was to offer me a
further apology for his conduct.
V AN HOVEN-A CHANGED MAN. 87
FRANK
t 't Frank" I said, shaking him
"Forg: the hand.' "These little upsets in
y y "
often happen. f
companion's gaze rested on a photo 0
o!dini which hangs above my desk. .
H Life Will? Yes, it's a funny thmg. I
nder 'what it all means. There's poor
H~udini-he's gone. My mother died recently.
.
That was a sad blow to me-she was a great
~a~~ned back in his chair, wrapped in con-
emplation. I had not the courage to break
. on his thoughts.
At last he spoke again. "Will, you know
hat sort of a chap I am. I've led a pretty
racy life up to now, haven't I ? "
"Well, er-a trifle Bohemian," I assented.
U Exactly. Women and wine. It's amusing
for a time, but it's a shallow life, a rotten life.
I'm changed completely. The deaths of
Houdini and my mother have affected me
more than any man will ever guess. Don't
laugh at me, Will, but I believe I've become
religious. At any rate, I'm sure there's
something in religion, isn't there?" He
~ked at me with something akin to tears in
cc ~ure," I said slowly. I felt strangely sad,
It takes no small amount of courage for a
man to lay bare his soul to another.
Poor Frank. Inside three months he was
88 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
WISHART AND THE DEAD BODY.
Every theatrical artist who goes on tour
knows of the great difficulties to be ex-
perienced in finding suitable lodgings. Mv
own unpleasant and discomforting experI-
ences in this direction would fill volumes, but
by far the most extraordinary story I have
. heard was told me by Wishart, the well-
known conjurer and entertainer.
I will set down the story just as Wishart
recounted it to me. It would be difficult to
imagi!1e a more unnerving and revolting
expenence.
It happened in this manner. Wishart was
touring the theatres of South Wales. When
he came to Dowlais, he congratulated himself
on his good luck, for he was able to fix up at
the very first house at which he called. The
landlady told him that she had no room
vacant at the moment but if he cared to call
again in an hour' s tim~, she would be pleased
to show him a room that might be smtab!e.
This arrangement suited the conjurer ad~l1r­
ably, and leaving his bag, he went lI:to
the town to get a meal before the evemng
performance.
WISHART AND THE DEAD BODY. 89
landlady was as good as her word.
Wishart returned later, he w~s sh<;>wn
which gave him every satIsfactIOn.
r:tiring for the night) he found the bed
roomy and comfortable, and soon
d off into a heavy sleep.
E slumbers were disturbed ea~ly on the
owing morning by a loud knockmg on the
"Hello," he cried, somewhat annoyed
the manner in which he had been awakened.
What do you want? "
The knocking ceased. 11 We've come for
corpse," a voice replied.
u Corpse? What corpse ? "
U The corpse in your room."
"You've made a mistake. There's no
~:CClI'Pl;e in here. "
, Oh, yes there is. You must let us have it."
ishart rose from his bed and unlocked the
• U I tell you, you have made a mistake,"
said angrily. 11 There is no corpse in here.
go away and let me sleep."
he two men who were standing in the
.e told him that it was he who had made
IDlStake.
"The corpse IS . beneath the bed sir"
one ofthe!fi as an afterthought. 11 'It w~s
~e bed untIl you came along yesterday."
ey entered the room and pulled aside the
counterpane which lay across the bed.
art could hardly believe his eyes, and
 RAVMOND AND THE UNDERTAKER. 91

YMOND AND THE UNDERTAKER.

e Great Raymond is an American

·clan who I must admit, is not without a
~o~t of conjuring ability. But,
Alfred the Great who burnt the house-
's cakes through inattention, Raymond
other interests in life besides magic.
uently he did not meet with the
he otherwise would have done. His
o was H Pleasure first, business after-
."
e Monday morning just after the war,
~ond walked into my office and told me
he was playing on a percentage basis at
Queen's Theatre, Poplar.
I r wish you luck," I said, hoping he would

a hurried exit, for I was busy with

matters.
Thanks," he grinned. "I know I shall be
:uce::ess. On Friday I'm having a special
, and I'd like you to come down. I'm
a new coffin escape that's the ab-
te .goods. It's been well advertised and
. :ve lSSued a challenge. I guess there:ll be
crowd."
supPOse you know they're a pretty
 93

been seen," he said. "In the course

y career, I have escaped from coffins,
ocks and chains) and have never once
,l '
defeated. This coffin has been made f or
by a well known firm of undertakers. If
gent1emen--"
ame the :firm !" The interruption came
a rosy faced gentleman who had risen
. feet in the front of the stalls. Raymond,
ver, took no notice, and continued his
urse.
f several gentlemen would step up on the
to act as a committee, and screw me in
coffin I should feel greatly obliged."
this, a dozen men rose to their feet, and
their way to the stage. I noticed that
red-eheeked interpreter was amongst

o sooner had the men taken their place on

age than the man once more demanded
?w the name of the makers of the coffin.
m an undertaker in Poplar" he
ed. U I don't like the looks of that
~~. Come on, guv'nor, who made it
ond smiled sweetly.
a ~atter of fact, sir," he said "a
tabve of the firm is in the theatr'e to-
ou ,? doubt he will confirm all I have
~rhaAs he spoke, he pointed towards
ps you would be good enough to
 SWAFFER TOLD THE MAGIC CIRCLE 95

HANNEN SWAFFER TOLD THE

MAGIC CIRCLE.
and spiritualists ,are hereditary
one considers how great a force
bodies might become were their
ed, one realises that the present
. is indeed a tragedy. An
would be of immense value to
art, and to spiritualism as a
there is little hope of this
to be quite frank, the magic-
spiritualism are as stubborn
determined to see no further
heir noses.
by profession, and a spiritu-
J I. am reg~ded by many
Just. a tnfle eccentric. I
unenVIable reput~tio.n simply
y confess to belIef In things
ere. ~ a grocer or a butcher
magtclan, .shou~d I be thought
~e I believe In spiritualism ?
Cl!cle, that eminent body of
~, hich I.o~ce ~elonged, have been
~e Spmtuallsts ever since their
ent, the famous Nevil Maske-
 R TOLD THE MAGIC CIRCLE 97
NNEN S WA FFE
ed themselves in a manner befitting
. As far as I know, however,
~~~~ch has never been permanently
ed and I shall set down a~ I?any of
ords as have a general pu?hc mterest.
first speaker of the evemng was Mr.
. who asserted "that the case for
eck.iIulgatism had not been proved." He
ced several seances whIch he had
ded, and which, he said, had all been
. Swaffer was then called upon to
·ore he commenced his speech, however,
astonished the audience by showing an
from which he produced a coloured
erchief. "I obtained this trick from
who supplies apparatus to our leading
·clans-Will Goldston," he explained.
lIDl dealing with conj llrers to-night, and
see I am not entirely without some
ledge of the art," And with this
introduction, he turned to outline the
15 for the spiritualists.
0U: years ago," he said, "I was being
mto materialism, due chiefly to the
~t, lik~ many modern men, I was
. g t? disbelieve in the miracles implied
. lI'atIon. I had the good fortune to
as an. honest m~D:' wit.h my eyes open,
subject <;>f s~1fltuahsm, and within
ys of m~ mqUlr~ starting I was con-
by the dIrect VOIce mediumship of an
 SWAFFER TOLD THE MAGIC CIRCLE 99

years I have seen every kind of

o known to spiritualism, except
tography and materialisation. We
in the dark, we never pay any:noney ,
ever deceive ourselves. Men lIke Mr.
tell you that you go into :=t dark r?om
to be deluded. That 15 certamly
of \,ersons like myself. I am too
a Journalist, to analysing facts.
e beginning of history there have
esses of the fact that so-called
phenomena has taken place.
believed it. Roman Catholicism
it; Mahomet had evidence of it;
own drawing-room I have proved
. What happens in our pres-
happened to Moses, or there
any JeWTY. It happened to
, or there would not have been
y. It happened to Wesley
not have been a Wesleya~
happened to George Fox, or
~ve been no Quakers. We
kinds of phenomena in our
-fourteen different kinds on
t, 1927, Mr. Dingwall will no

-
t:
ou-and 1. 't h as been hIS
. '
business
the paId research officers of
t thes~ phenomena do not
people SurvIve death, but if these
~e .place together, you can no
It 15 not evidence of life here-
 AFBR TOLD THE MAGIC CIRCLE 101

uId have been taken on

ced cO
on last winter?
, 'Y , he
es,
d the scientific records that were
faked?' I Yes,' he said. 'What
w you got anywhere f?r ~he fac~
reached the Pole? None,
I except the word of men who

eo' We, too, quote the words of

d not lie. That is our case.
. Scott died in the far South,
era! winters have made white
plains and blown away all
Still. ~e believe his story is
cannot prove it. Indeed,
°t is true. And the story of
of Nelson, is the greatest
heirlooms.
talk of lies, fraud, deceit,
o not believe that men of
are deliberate liars.
of Occult Committees. I
evidence for spiritualism
orty years ago men were
bat I am now saying openly.
the truth to-night, for the
already won."
74 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
CEELEY AND THE NAKED LADY. 75
On the following day the lady in question
presented herself. She was by no means It When I say t pull' ," I told her, "you
must pull the first button, and stand at
pretty, but had a beautiful mass of auburn attention as a Belgian soldier."
hair that stretched below her waist. " Righto," said the lady. "Go ahead."
My assistant measured her for the three We took up our positions in the rehearsal
costumes, and explained how she would have room, and the girl walked in dressed as a
to work them. First of all she had to put on British soldier. She did her posing well.
the Britannia dress, then the Belgian uniform, " That's good," I cried. "Now-pull!"
and lastly that of the British Tommy. Each She pulled-and stood dutifully at atten-
costume was to be fitted with a different tion. For a few seconds there was a deathly
shaped button attached to a hidden cord. By silence.
pulling the first button, the British uniform Then we all made a blackguard rush for the
would collapse, leaving her dressed as a door, leaving the poor girl standing in the
Belgian soldier. The next button left her as middle of the floor. She had pulled all three
Britannia, and the last button enabled her to buttons, and every stitch of clothing had fallen
discard the Britannia dress when her show was trom her!
finished.
The girl agreed that the instructions were
quite simple, and said she would call in a
week's time, when the costumes would be
ready. I urged the necessity of trying the
effect over in my rehearsal rooms in order to
avoid the possibility of amistake on thestage.
On the day of the appointment, Ceeley
himself called with his assistant. It so
happened that there were three or four other
theatrical gentlemen in my office at the time,
and Ceeley invited them to see the rehearsal.
The girl quickly changed into her costumes-
they fitted perfectly-and I went over the
instructions once again.

102 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
I
THE M.P. WHO DOES MAGIC.
Mr. Frederick Montague, who is the present
Under Secretary for Air, is a very capable
conjurer. Many years ago, he was giving a
performance before some working men at
Mildmay Park, and it had been arranged that
he should be on the stage for a quarter of
an hour.
Montague, being a young man who had his
way to make, was anxious to make a good
impression, and accordingly took a good deal
of care in the preparation of his tricks.
Amongst other things, he intended to show a
clock which stopped at any number asked by
the audience, a spirit hand which rapped on a
glass panel, and a mystic ball which floated in
the air. All these effects were controlled by
thin pieces of cotton which were placed
across the stage.
The conjurer's two tables had been placed
in the wings whilst a double turn-a
musical and acrobatic act-occupied the
stage. As. a sort of €?rand fin.ale, one o~ the
pair made_a great.~flymg leap mt~ t~e wmgs.
This roused great applause, and mCldentally
knocked over poor Montague's two tables.
THE M.P. WHO DOES MAGIC. 103
Telling an assistant to carry them on to the
stage he collected his apparatus from the
floor'and hurried on amidst the plaudits of
the audience. Unfortunately he happened to
step into the three cottons which controlled
his clock, spirit hand, and ball. The cottons
immediately snapped. To the conjurer's
horror, the hand of the clock started to whizz
round at a terrifying pace, the spirit hand
tapped out continually on the glass panel, and
the ball ascended high into the air above the
audience.
Montague swallowed hard, and decided to
do his best with the rest of his illusions. But
the stage hand who had carried on his tables
had unfortunately placed them wrong side to
the audience. Consequently, all the conjurer's
secret traps and effects were in full view.
He did not notice this, and proceeded with
his programme as if nothing untoward had
happened. But when he came to the climax
of his trick, he was horrified to find that the
table had been reversed. To make matters
worse, the audience had observed his plight,
and laughed unmercifully.
Little more need be said. Montague's turn
lasted exactly two minutes. When he came
off, the manager approached him with out-
stretched hand.
It Mr. Montague," he said, " your show was
great. It's brought the house down. But
why couldn't you make it last longer?"
104 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
THE PRINCE WHO STABBED HIS PARTNER.
Not long ago, when looking through some
old books, I came across my diary for 19 1 5.
Amongst the entries for July, I found the
words" Prince Askedop stabbed his partner,"
and the whole story came back to me. I
recalled the adventure of the dusky Prince,
and his unfortunate partner, Primo Mulatti,
as vividly as if they had been standing at
my side.
It was in the early part of the month that I
first encountered the Prince. He walked into
my office one hot morning, and flung himself
into an easy chair. He was a fine figare of a
man, quite six foot in height, and his coal
black skin and thick woolly hair told me he
came from West Africa.
" Good morning," he said, grinning from
ear to ear. "YoJ. Mr. Goldston ?"
"That's me," I returned. "I haven't
seen you before, have I ? "
"No, sir. Me's Prince Acid Drop."
" Acid Drop? "
THE PRINCE WHO STABBED HIS PARTNER 105
"Sure. My friends caU me Acid Drop. My
real name is Askedop-I'm a Prince in my
own land. Can you build me real magic
show? "
"Certainly," I assented. "How much do
you want to spend? "
" About £300, sir."
"Righto. What do you know about magic?"
" Nothin'."
" Ah, that's awkward. What sort of illu-
sion"s do you want ? "
" Don't know."
" That's more awkward still."
"Wait a minute-me call my partner. He
got the money, sir." As he spoke, my
prospective client rose to his feet and walked
to the door. It Primo," he bellowed in- a
voice of thunder.
He was answered by rapid footsteps on the
?ffi~e stairs, and a second later, a weedy little
mdIVidual entered the room. His clothes
had obviously been made for another man,
and his appearance was not enhanced by a
number of dark food stains which decorated
the lapels of his jacket.
'.' This is Mr. Primo Mulatti," said the
Pnnce. "He's a waiter, and also my partner."
Mr. Mulatti was evidently a man who knew

106 SENSATIONAL TALBS OF MYSTERY MEN.
his business. He told me exactly what sort of
illusions he require('l, and explained that
Prince Askedop woulP present them whilst he
himself acted only as business manager. I
told him I should be pleased to make his
apparatus, and hastily added I shOuld want
£15 0 left as a deposit: I did not feel inclined
to run any risks wiH1 such queer clients.
11 Certainly," repli~d Mulatti, who spoke
perfect English. I'll give it to you now."
11
He pulled his tie fro}l1 beneath his waistcoat,
and exposed a huge rfletal safety pin. 1 his he
undid, and, inserting pis hand into that part of
the tie where the lining usually lies, he pulled
out a bunch of five· pound notes.
I watched this prPceeding in amazement.
11 That's the queerest place for keeping
money I've ever see}1," I ventured.
11 The notes are all good," came the quick
reply, and they'ie safer there than in a
11
bank." He counted out thirty, and pushed
them across the table to me. That's right, I
11
think."
I checked the anlOunt, and made out a
receipt.
I can have th()se things ready for you
11
in ten days' time," I said. All the trickS
11
are simple to operate, so there will not be
THE PRINCE WHO STABBED HIS PARTNER. 107
much chance of the Prince making a mIS-
take."
11 That's fine," returned Mulatti. tI So long
as I know when everything will be prepared, I
can start fixing my engagements."
On the following morning, Prince Aske·
dop again came in to see me.
11 When will de tricks be finished, Mr. Gold-
ston ?" he asked placidly.
(/ I told you yesterday they would take ten
days to complete," I said, somewhat annoyed
at the unnecessary intrusion.
11 Three hundred pounds is good order for
you, eh ? "
11 Very good," I agreed.
11 Then you give me £50, eh ? "
11 Fifty pounds! Whatever for?"
" You give me £50 or I tell partner de
tricks is no good."
11 You swindling nigger! " I cried, forgetting
myself in the heat of the moment. 11 So
you're trying to double cross your partner? "
. In a few well chosen words, I told the Prince
Just what I thought of him. He did not seem
at all abash~d at the strength of my language,
and. took hIS departure promising to visit me
~am at an early date. He k~pt his word.
e called every day for the next ten days, on
108 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN. THE PRINCE WHO STABBED HIS PARTNER. 109

the pretext of inquiring" just how dem t . ks to come here - as much right as you
. ,,, H 1 ne
was gom. e a ways contrived to k have."
·
th e q~es t IOn f' Wor "Get out here at once, please. You my
0 a bnbe of £50 into his ron.
versatlOn, only to meet with the same fi t manager round de front, but not in de dressin'
refusal. I finally gave him a small trick tabt room."
and he was frank enough to tell me th et " You're mad. I shall stop here as long as
this pleased him far more than "any o~e I like."
£S?.:' The tabl~ was worth about thirty Prince Askedop wasted no further words in
shIllings, but I dId not trouble to point this argument. With one swift motion he drew a
out to him. knife from his pocket and stabbed Mulatti
Meanwhile, Mulatti had not been idle. Most in the back.
of the managers he approached refused to And so the partners Askedop and Mulatti
e~gage Prince Askedop until they had seen never even gave their first performance. For
hIm perform. The Italian eventually per- at the time the dusky magician was supposed
suaded an East-end manager to give him a to present his act, he was sitting in a police
week's trial run, this meaning that Askedop cell musing on the bitterness of Fate.
had to work a week for nothing.
On the opening night, Askedop was sitting
in his dressing room, making up as an Eastern
mystic. Mulatti went in to see him in order
to make the final arrangements for the pre-
sentation of the act.
"What do you want in my dressing room ?"
demanded the Prince turning round as the
Italian entered. "You get out here, quick,
please! "
" Don't talk such nonsense," said Mulatti.
"As your manager I've got a perfect right
·110 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
A FOREWORD ON HOUDINI.
I feel that the stories on Houdini contained
in this volume require some word of explana-
tion. From the nature of the incidents
described, it has struck me that I may be
accused of showing the character of myoId
friend in an unfavourable light. Such is not
my intention.
My friendship with Houdini extended over
a period of thirty years, and I feel that few
men are better qualified to pass an opinion on
his character than myself.
But so much has been written in Houdini's
praise that the public have become saturated
with ideas of his greatness, ideas which in
many cases are grossly exaggerated. In the
stories I have related, I have endeavoured to
show that Houdini was an ordinary human
being, with as many weaknesses as you and 1.
In fact, I have represented the man as he was,
and not as most people believe him to have
been.
I could write many stories in Houdini's
praise, but my time would be wasted. The
public have read so much of his tenderness. to
children and animals, his touching affectIOn
A FOREWORD ON HOUDINI. 111
his mother, and his courage and daring,
~~~t he has come ~o be regarded as a sort of
fa~t1e~a~u~:~::h~g· acknowledged a great
erf~rmer. This he certain~y was. He h~s
~lso been described as a magIcal ma.ster. ThIS
h as not. He was a clever conJurer, and
n~t~ing more. His genius-what a. sadly
misused word that is. I-lay .more.m the
direction of showmanshIp than m ~agIc.
He was a man of moods, sometImes sweet
and kind, but just as often the reverse. Af~er
one of his most violent outb?rsts, I told hIm
that if it were not for hIS uncontrollable
temper and stupid conceit, he would be a most
lovable. man.
He smiled and held out his hand.
" I know, Will," he said. "Thank you for
your frankness."
That was typical of Houdini. I must be
just as frank now.
Although it would be impossible to record a
detailed account of Harry Houdini's life story
in the small amount of space at my ~ispos~l, I
fe~l I should be guilty of a grave omISSIOn If I
failed to give a brief synopsis of the great
II;1agician's early struggles and subsequ~nt
nse to ~ame. Many of the published stones
concernmg Houdini have been remarkable for
the manner in which they have deviated from
112 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
the truth. The facts which I am about to set
down, however, were given to me by the
magician himself, and have been verified from
several authoritative sources.
Houdini was born very humbly in New York.
His father was a poor and overworked Jewish
clergyman named Weiss, whose income was
insufficient to provide even the plainest food
for his large and growing family. Mrs. Weiss'
life was one long struggle to keep things going,
and the fact that she was starving herself into
an early grave was not lost upon young Harry.
He loved his mother beyond anyone else in the
world, and the sight of her slaving to keep up
the appearances her husband's position de-
manded, caused him the most acute mental
agony.
Unknown to his parents, he sold newspapers
in the streets. The few cents he was able to
earn in this manner were given to his mother
with the explanation that he had just been
Cl
doing a job." That Houdini never so much as
retained a single dime from his small earnings
speaks volumes for his youthful courage and
unselfishness.
For a time this scheme worked well. But
it was inevitable that the truth should become
known. When Houdini's parents discovered
the sJurce of their son's income, they begged
him to find some other calling.
" You see, Harry," his father explained,
"I have my position to consider. What
HOUDINI. 113
would my congregation think if they knew
y son was a newspaper boy?" This argu-
~ent was convincing enough, and Harry
determined to try his luck in othe~ fields.
Without much difficulty he obtamed a post
in a necktie factory. His particular job was to
cut out the tie linings, and although the pay
was very poor, he found this so~ewhat more
lucrative than his former occupatlOn. Strange
as it may seem, Houdini would probably
never have become a magician ha~ he n?t
started out as a necktie cutter, f?r It was. m
this factory that he had his first mtroductlOn
to the art of conjuring.
The youth who worked on the be!1ch ne:c t
to him was interested in a small way m magIc.
One day he suggested to Harry that they
should both go along to the Bowery to
purchase a few tricks.
" Tricks? " said Houdini, "Whatever for?"
"My hobby is conjuring," was the reply.
" It's great fun-you should try it. "
The demonstration in the Bowery was a
great success. Harry was so amazed at the
apparent miracles which the salesman per-
formed, that he determined there and then to
becor:ne a conjurer. That he was almo~t
penmless did not worry him in the least. HIS
yo~thful imagination was fired, and .he
d~CId~d that nothing on earth would stop hIm
clImbIng the ladder of magical fame.
114 SENSATIONAL TALES 01" MYSHRY MEN.
His first step was to go to the public library,
where he spent many hours in studying all the
books on magic. The volume that appealed to
him above all others was Professor Hoffmann's
" Modern Magic." He read and re-read this
work until he knew practically every word by
heart. He demonstrated his" infinite capacity
for taking pains" more at this period than at
any other time during his life.
He wa~ far too poor to ,Purchase any tricks
for he stIll adhered to hIS policy of handing
ove: all his earnings to his mother. However,
he Invented many ways of performing tricks
by. using ordinary unprepared household
objects, and most of his spare time was
devoted to practising.
He gave several entertainments at charity
bazaars and ~imilar. functions,. charging a
small fee for hIS serVIces. But hIS tricks were
too commonplace, and he had not the
n~cessary mo~ey to buy fresh illusions. It
dI~ not take hInl long to realise that he was a
failure, and dreams of making himself world
famou.s 1?egan to fade. as quicldy as they had
matenalIsed.. He r.ealIsed bitterly that money
means power In thIS hard and unsympathetic
world.
I t was at this time that Fate which had
hitherto been sC! unkind to him, l~nt a helping
~and and set hIS footsteps in the right direc-
tIon. An out-of-work conjurer offered Houdini
HOUDINI. 115
a small box escape. After much haggling a
price was agreed upon, and young Harry, for
the first time in his life, was forced to borrow
money. He bought the trick and decided to
incorporate it in his programme.
His luck continued. A few days later he
was introduced to a performer named Dexter,
who specialised in handcuff escapes. He
purchased a few of Dexter's secrets, and
decided he would have an entirely new show
consisting only of handcuff escapes, with the
box trick as a grand finale.
Blit a new problem presented itself. How
was he to get an assistant? His income was
hardly sufficient to provide for himself, let
alon~ pay a second salary. This difficulty
prOVIded Harry with much food for thought.
And then he met Bessie.
Thi~ )'oung lady was much taken in
HoudmI s personality. She had her fair share
~f good looks, but was very young and had
lIttle ~~owledge of the world. In fairness to
HoudIU1 I must s~y that ~e was considerably
~~tracted by BessIe, and It occurred to him
at two might live as cheaply as one. He
f~rsua~ed her to leave home and they had a
mantlc runaway marriage. Thus was the
probleID: C!f the assistant solved.
an~OUdl.U1 acquired his skill in handcuff, chain
of t~eg Ir~n escapes by studying the methods
. e vanous magicians with whom he came
In contact. He made a point of meeting lock.
 116 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
smiths and key makers, and his knowledge
increased considerably. When he thoroughly
understood the workings of locks and master
keys, he invented many ingenious fakes for
his own use. There is absolutely no truth in the
widely spread story that H oudini spent many
months as a locksmith's apprentice. He never
worked in a lGcksmith's shop in the whole ot his
lite.
Houdini brought the escape business to a
fine art. He also understood the value of
newspaper stories and articles as a form of
publicity. He once confessed to me that he
spent every cent he could spare in advertising
himself. He learnt to swim, and his first
sensational trick was an escape from a milk
can filled with water. This illusion was
invented by one of his assistants.
Sensation! That was Houdini's pass word.
He was not, of course, the first man to escape
from handcuffs and boxes, but he certainly
was the pioneer in escapes of a sensational
nature. He aimed at being different from all
other performers, and I have known him to
scrap many illusions because he thought he
was being imitated.
At the beginning of his performances,
Houdini always told the audience that he did
not possess supernatural powers. He empha-
sized the fact that his escapes were tricks-
not miracles. In spite of this assurance, many
people were firmly convinced that he had the
117
HOUDINI.
wer of dematerialising his body at will.
POWhen Houdini's fame had spread. t~rough
England and the Continent, many ImItato~s
sprang up. The ~merican ~educed theIr
number in an incredIbly shor~ time by ?leans
of a scheme which was as sImple as It was
effective. . .
He organised a serVIce of professIOnal
" challengers." These men attended the shows
of the various imitators, and challenged the
performers to escape from an " ordinary" pair
of handcuffs. These ordinary handcuffs
were so constructed that once they were
closed they could only be opened with a
special key. After a go?d d~al of helpless
struggling, the performers Invanably admItted
defeat.
There was, however, one escape act which
Houdini could not humble. This was " The
Brother Cirnocs". The Cirnocs were not
imitators in the strict sense of the word, for
they were performing in England some ti~e
before Houdini came to this country. TheIr
turn was very similar to Houdini's, and, what
was more important from the American's
point of view, it was equally as clever.
In vain did Harry try to corner the Cirnocs
by ~eans of his" challengers." At last he
gave It up as a bad job. But, realising that he
had opponents in England who were just as
astute as himself, he decided to delete the
handcuff escapes from his programme.
118 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
MY FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH HOUDINI.
I knew Harry Houdini before I had ever
seen him. His reputation had reached me
some years before I first encountered him, and,
as is the habit of magicians, we corresponded
for a considerable time before he gave his
first performance in this country.
Strangely enough, it was quite by accident
that I first ran into him. About twenty-
nine years ago, I was walking down Lime
Street , one of the main thoroughfares . of
Liverpool. It was winter time and snowmg
hard. As I hastened along, with my thoughts
on nothing in particular, I noticed a short
figure coming towards me, with coat collar
turned up and head bent to the ground.
As the man got nearer, I observed t~at he
was carrying a small dog beneath hIS left
arm. His clothes were shabby and unkempt,
and it was this fact more than anythlllg
else which caused me to stare at him with more
than usual interest. To my surprise, his
face was familiar.
" Excuse me," I said, grasping him by the
arm. "Are you Harry Houdini?" " gene~ous, always willing to help a brother
" Yes," was the reply. "Who are you?
" I'm Will Goldston."
My FIRST ENCOUNTEIt WITH HOUDINI. 119
"Goldston, my dear fellow!" c~ied
Houdini, shak.ing me ~y th;, h~n~ c:S If I
h d been his lIfelong fnend, thIS IS mdeed
aapleasant surprise." His manner sudde~ly
changed. "Tell me," he resumed, l~wenng
his voice for no apparent reason, where
can I get a pair of patent leather boots ? "
" Patent leather boots? " .
"Sure. I've tried almost every shop m
the town. And then I want to find th,~
American Bar. You must take me there.
We strolled along to a small footw~a~
shop that was known to me, and HoudmI
bought the boots he required. When he
had expressed full satisfaction at his purchase,
I escorted him to the American Bar, wonder-
ing why he was so anxious to visit the place.
Twas not left long in ignorance. .
When we arrived, I found that a collectIOn
was being made for the widow of a poor and
unknown member of the profession. Houdini
had been told of this, and had decided to give
as much as he could afford. In those days
he was not getting the big salary that he
earned in later years, but subscribed two
pounds to the fund.
I have mentioned this somewhat insignifi-
cant incident because it was absolutely
characteristic of the man-warm-hearted and
or SIster in distress. And later, when he
told me that he himself was badly lacking in
120 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
funds, I wondered what manner of man this
strange Houdini could be.
As we left the American Bar, Houdini
told me the story of his life-a story that
could fill several volumes. "Do you know,
Goldston," he said, " I have not had a decent
meal for more than five years! "
" In Heaven's name, why not? " I asked.
"In my early days I couldn't afford it,
and now I'm too busy."
At first I thought Houdini was pulling my
leg. As a matter of fact, it was not until some
years afterwards that I realised he had told
me the truth. Although he was earning a
hundred pounds a week, Houdini was a
starving man!
After we had walked some little way in
silence-I hardly liked to call the man a
liar-Houdini resumed the conversation.
" Are you responsible for the display of books
in the shop next to the theatre? " he asked.
" Yes" I replied. "It struck me that your
visit to this country would help the sale of
my first book. I hired the shop window,. an~
made a terrific splash of the whole thI~g.
Some months previouslyHoudini had gIven
me his written consent to include the explana-
tions of a number of his escape tricks in a
book that I was writing. I had had a
big placard painted with the words "How
Houdini does his tricks," and had it, together
My FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH HOUDINI. 121
with several copies of the book, placed in the
shop window.
''It's a good idea, and you certainly
deserve to get on," said my companion.
" But it doesn't do me much good, does it ? "
And he smiled kindly. " You must call
at my apartments to-morrow. I would like
you to meet Mrs. Houdini."
The next day I called and had tea with the
Houdinis. There we talked over different
matters connected with our profession, and
I remember advising the American to go
down to the harbour and see a huge advertise-
ment of his name. It was then that I urged
him to have his name printed as t Houdini,'
with the Christian name "Harry" in very
small type. Houdini thought this a good
business idea, and eventually became known
simply by his surname.
Before I left, he promised that he would
write to me every week when he returned to
~merica. He kept his promise for twenty
eIght years, sometimes sending me as many as
three and four letters a week. During
t~e w~ole of t~at time I only had one quarrel
wIth him. ThIS was due to a stupid misunder-
standing.
HIt. h,appened . in this manner. When
A oUd~m was ~akmg a big name for himself in
T~enca, the CIrnocs appeared in this country.
s last was a double turn-father and son
and w . d '
ere m eed a very formidable combina-
122 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
tion. As a publicity stunt they declared
they could escape from any. police ce.ll in
which they were locked. ThIs they dId to
the satisfaction of the public-but not to
my own. I discovered they bribed the officials
who had locked them in.
Houdini had done the same thing in
America , but this had been a genuine escape.
. magical illusions. It was with this end. in
In justice to my friend I expo.sed the Clrnocs
in a magical book. HoudmI got hold of a
copy of the paper and wrongly assumed that
it was himself I had exposed.
Impetuosity was probably t~e stro~gest
trait in Houdini's character. He ImmedIately
attacked me in a libellous article which
appeared in his own American Magical mag<;L-
zine. I was at a loss to understand hIS
conduct, for not only were his statements
untrue, but hitherto we had been the closest
of friends.
Explanations and apologies followed.
Nobody was better pleased than myself to
have the whole matter cleared up, ~or
Houdini's friendship was something for w~Ich
I would not have exchanged a dozen theatrIcal
contracts.
HoUDINI AND TIn: MAGICAL ILLUSIONS. 128
HOUDINI AND THE MAGICAL ILLUSIONS.
In spite of his wonderful success as an
escape artist, Houdini was always very keen
to build and present a number of ordinary
view that he called at my office one mornmg
about twenty years ago, and told me of his
secret ambition. "What do you think of it,
Will ?" he asked, finally.
" Your escapes are good and the public like
them," I replied cautiously.
" I know that, but I'd like a change. Can
you tell me the name of an illusion inventor
who can keep a secret? "
" Yes. \Vhy not try Charles Morritt who
has built stuff for Maskelyne and Devant
Ltd.? "
Ho?dini took my tip and paid a visit to
Morntt's workshop. After some discussion
h~ agreed to buy several of Morritt's own
tncks and commissioned the inventor to
build them for him.
H~rry decided to give his new show a trial
run In the provinces. For some reason best
fnown to himself, he left me definite instruc·
Ions not to be present at the first night.
r~turally I respected my friend's wishes, but ,I
ad a full account of the performance from
another magician who was present.
124 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
One. of Harry's best tricks consisted of
producmg five hundred gold sovereigns from
an apparently empty bag. The audience
received th~ pro~amme well enough, but, in
order to gIve It an extra fillip, Houdini
thought out an extraordinary publicity stunt.
On the following day he hired a number of
detectives to accompany him to the local
bank. There, with a good deal of unnecessary
ceremony and palaver, he paid in the five
hundred sovereigns. Of course, the money
was drawn out again for the next performance.
This strange proceeding naturally caused a
stir in the provincial town which was just
what Houdini wanted. There was a long
account of the affair in the newspapers next
morning, and no doubt the magician felt his
trouble had been worth while.
He was wrong. The magical show was an
utter and complete failure. After a week's
trial he wisely decided to return to his
escapes. "If the English want escapes, they
can have them," he explained to me after-
wards. "But I'm determined to give a good
magical show before I die." So he shipped all
his apparatus to New York to be stored for
use at some later date.
HOUDINI'S FILM FAILURE. 125
HOUDINI'S FILM FAILURE.
To err is human, and Houdini was a human
being. He did not make many mistakes
during his lifetime, but it must not be sup-
posed that his judgment was always infallible.
The greatest blunder he ever made was to
act for the films.
Harry had an idea that he could make a
fortune on the movies. He decided to produce
a film bringing in his more daring escapes and
was convinced that he would be an enormous
success. Pride, they say, goes before a fall.
Houdini was never cut ont for film acting.
Some years later he told me that his venture
had cost him more than £roo,ooo. But that
was not all. Arnold de Biere, who had been
persuaded to put some money into the
scheme, also lost several thousands. In this
manner was a long and affectionate friendship
smashed beyond repair.
pe Biere and Houdini were very great
fnends before the unhappy failure. After-
w?-rds they became bitter enemies. De
BIer~'s long and painful story casts very little
credIt on the American magician.
I r~me!Uber Houdini calling on me one
m,?rnmg m one of his ugliest moods.
f Hello, Harry," I said pleasantly. "A friend
o ,yours has just been in."
" Oh? Who's that? "
De Biere."

126 SENSATIONAL TAUS OF MYSTERY MItN.
11 That b ," cried Houdini, using an
epithet that would have sounded better
from the lips of a bargee. 11 Does he often
come in here ? "
11 Yes, quite often."
"Well, if I meet him, I'll fling him down
t~e stairs. So to .save you any bother, p'raps
I d best not see hIm. Say, how do you switch
on that light outside your door?"
. 11 I have a switch on my desk."
H That's O.K. When De Biere's in here
with you, switch on the light. If I come up
the stairs and see the light on, I'll know who's
in, and come back later."
I sighed. 11 Alright, Harry," I said. "It's
a fine idea."
After his film failure, Houdini decided to
return to vaudeville. He remembered the
magical apparatus that had been stored since
his failure in England, and thought the time
had come when he should again present his
conjuring act. Yes, he would stage a pro~
gramme that America had never seen before,
and call it the 11 HOUDINI ROAD SHOW."
Now he wanted the American Press to boost
him again, and it was some time before he hit
on the right scheme. At last he had an idea
inspired by a number of spiritualistic lectures
which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had been giving
in the States. Houdini would expose the
spiritualists!
THE HOUDINI ROAD SHOW. 127
So Harry, the hero of sensational escapes,
disguised himself and attended several of the
seances which were being held as a direct
outcome of Sir Arthur's tour. Then he
declared he had discovered that Spiritualism
was nothing but a gigantic fraud. He invited
several pressmen to follow his lead, and find
out the truth for themselves. As he had
anticipated, his "disclosures," as he called
them, created a great sensation.
As a spiritualist myself, I know Houdini was
not. sincere in his. stat~~ents. Every Jew
bel:eves through hIS rehglOn that the spirit
which passes out from the body at death lives
on. And Houdini was really a good Jew: On
th~ .death of his mother, he prayed that her
spmt would be guarded and protected and
t~at ~he would be eternally happy. No real
disbeliever would do that.
.When he.h,ad the.Press of the country with
him, ~oudml put hIS show on the road. His
ca;mpalgn against the spiritualists had met
~t~ such astounding success, that he decided
o mcorporate further propaO'anda in his
program
( ) M ~e. H'IS performance consisted
D '
of :-
I aglc and illusions
(2) Elsdcapes (he could ~ot entirely forget his
o love),
(3) ~ lecture against spiritualism introduc-
mg apparatus which, he de~lared was
used by 11 med ' " for faking 'spirit
lUms
eff ects. .
128 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
During the course of this lecture Houdini
was in the habit of throwing a photograph of
myself on to the screen. "This is a friend of
mine in England," he would tell the ~udience.
"He is a magician, an author, and an lllventor.
But what astounds me more than anything
else is this-he is a firm believer in Spiritual
. I "
~sm.
HOUDINI AT THE PALLADIUM.
I can recall an amusing story of Houdini
which throws an interesting sidelight on
his extraordinary character. To appreciate
0
the full point of this little yarn, It mu~t. be
remembered that I am a professional ~aglCIan
of many years experience in performmg .ar:,d
inventing. In addition, I w~s Houdml s
greatest friend for a long peflod of years,
and on many occasions he asked me to help
and advise him with his illusions. . .
When the American last appeared m thIS
country, he was eng~ged at the London
Palladium for a fortmght at the enormous
salary of £geo a week.
Before he was due to open, he informed m,~
that he was running a "really great ~how."
One trick in particular was a "wmner,
and he wanted me to be in the theatre to
see it. I could clearly see what the man was
driving at , for I guessed he would Of
be as
as
pleased as Punch if he could mysb y me
HoUDnn AT MANCHESTER. 129
well as the rest of the. a~dier:ce. .
As I was talking to him III his ~resslllg room
before the performance, an aSSIstant rapped
on the door) and entere~..
" Well ?" asked Houdllll.
"It's all right, boss," came the answe!.
"I've fixed up those two confederates III
the stalls and circle."
" You b-- fool," screamed Harry jump-
ing to his feet, his face white with rage.
"Can't you see we're not alone?"
HOUDINI AT MANCHESTER.
11Come immediately, spend two days as
my guest. Have arranged rooms for you
at my digs-Houdini."
Such was the telegram I received from my
American friend when he was performing
at Manchester many years ago. It so
happened that I had no important engage-
ments at the time, and decided to accept
the invitation.
When I arrived at the address Houdini
had given me, my astonishment was so great
that I could hardly find words to greet my
host. !he house was an insignificant theatri-
cal reSIdence, vvith typically cheap furniture
~nd. threadbare carpets. At first I was
Inchned to think I was the victim of a
prac~ical joke, for I knew that Houdini was
earnlUg we1lover £3 00 pounds a week.

130 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
. "Tell me, Harry," I said at.length. " Why
m the name of goodness are you staying in a
frowsy hole like this ? "
. "Fro\\:,sy? ':, Houdini raised his eyebrows
m surpnse. Frowsy? Is it really now?
I hadn't noticed. Anyway, Will, it doesn't
matter much. The landlady is a heaven-
born cook, she can dish up anything in first
rate style."
And with that I had to be content. In
vain did I try to persuade Houdini to change
his lodgings for a good class hotel. "Appear-
ances count nothing with me," he said.
"But with some decent food inside me, I
feel that all's right with the world."
The following day was Saturday, and
Houdini asked me if I would care to see the
show he was presenting at the Manchester
Palace. I readily agreed, and was installed
in a comfortable seat before the second
performance.
Houdini was accorded a tremendous recep-
tion when he appeared. Following his usual
procedure he performed several minor ilbsions
prior to doing his" feature" trick, an escape
from ropes and chains. When the audience
had been worked up to a suitable state of
excitement, he told them he was about to
present" the world's greatest act," and asked
if half a dozen gentlemen from the stalls
would come on to the stage to secure his
fastenings.
HOUDINI AT MANCHESTER. 131
Sev~ral men stepped on to the stage,
includmg myself. The volunteers did their
work well, and Houdini was securely bound and
chained. But one man with ruddy cheeks
and a waxed moustache, was bent on making
things uncomfortable for him. "I don't
like the look of this knot," he said " It
looks as if it might slip easily." ,
Houdini wa~ nev~r happy when people
found fault Wlth hIS performance and in
order to avoid all public embar~assment
he instituted a system which permitted hi~
show to proceed with its accustomed smooth-
n~ss. While the ~is.gruntled one was airing
hIS protests, HoudmI .gav~ a secret sign to a
man w~o was standmg m the wings, well
out of SIght of the audience.
The confederate took the cue and smilingly
beckoned t? the victim. The man paused,
scratched hIS head wonderingly, and walked
off the st?-ge. That was the last the audience
saw of hIm. Incidentally it was the last he
sa~ of the audience.
wal~e~on as ~he unfortu~ate interrupter had
'fi well mto the Wlngs he received a
tten
ern this t on the ear. In n~ne
c cuff ' . cases out of
that '1 reatment was suffiCIent persuasion
Houdf~.~nce was by far the best policy at
case hIS performances. In this particular
much t~wever, the v~etim showed fight. So
He e worse for hIm.
lashed out wildly with both fists. But
132 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
from the start he was hopelessly outnumbered.
Three or four of Houdini's assistants pounced
on him and speedily but effectively silenced
him. When the poor man had been knocked
almost unconscious, he was placed beneath
the stage to recover at his leisure.
As Houdini was returning to the dressing
room after the performance, he was
approached by the house-manager. " What
in God's name have your men done to that
interrupter?" he gasped. "They've half
murdered him! "
"They've done what?" asked Harry,
assuming innocence. "I never told them to
touch him. He must have got fresh."
The battered one was brought forward for
inspection. He was indeed a sorry sight.
Both eyes were closed, his lips were cut.
and his nose had assumed elephantine propor-
tions. The assistants had done their work
not wisely but too well. However, the
magician was not in the least perturb~d.
"Really, my man," he said, producmg
a five pound note from his pocket, "you
must not upset my staff like this. I'm
afraid you made them loose their temp~rs.
However, I will discharge them. MeanwhIle,
George here will put you in a taxi, and send
you safely home. Good night." . .
The note changed hands. The ':'1~t1m,
torn between a desire to thank Houdml for
the fiver and an impulse to dot him in the
A REGRETTABLE INCIDENT. 133
eye, was led away half protesting by the
smiling George.
"Well, well," said Houdini to me in his
dressin/Z room. "It's all in a lifetime, you
know Will, it's all in a lifetime. By the way
have you heard that story about the wife who
broke her husband's nose with a flatiron ... ?
A REGRETTABLE INCIDENT.
Houdini was a great man in many ways.
He had courage, detemlination, and infinite
patience. In other things he was often
unscrupulous and dishonest.
On one occasion I asked him to dine with me
at my flat. At that time mv hobby was
collecting pictures of which I was said'to be
no mean judge. I was especially proud of
one that I had recently bought, a small
water colour of a handsome woman. It
~vas a real work of art, and occupied an
Important position on my drawing room walL
'.' H;ow do you like that, Harry?" I asked,
pomtmg ""ith the stem of my pipe at my
la~~st acquisition. "Pretty good, eh?"
Good heavens, Will, that's mine! " came
th~ startling reply.
Yours?" I returned, puzzled. " What
do you mean? "
:: Of COurse it;s mine. It was promised to me."
Don't talk such rubbish. I can show
you the receipt for it."

134 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
" I can't help that. It was offered to me
and I said I would consider the matter:
I must have it."
"But I've paid for it."
"What you have done is no concern of
mine. I claim that picture."
" Harry," I said, gently. "Your friendship
is worth more to me than that picture. Don't
let's have words over it."
"No. Don't let's. I'll take it."
Houdilli removed the picture from the
wall. I watched him in silence, wondering
at the incredible smallness of the man's
character. The next time I saw my water
colour, it was hanging in the bedroom of
Harry's New York home.
THE HOUDINI PACKING CASE
ESCAPE.
On one occasion when Houdini was perform-
ing in London, he decided to tryout a new
packing case escape. The trick was very
successful and he was well pleased with the
reception he obtained. Half way through
the week he invited me to dine with him, and
suggested I should accompany him to the
theatre after the meal.
As we were putting on our hats and co~t~
prior to setting off to the show, Houdlll1
turned to me with a startled expression on
his face. " Will !" he cried.
THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT HOUDIN. 135
" Yes, Harry? " I replied,not knowing what
to expect.
"Do you know how I escape from that
packing case ? "
"I haven't given it a thought, Harry."
" You're lying," Houdini shouted. " Tell
me the truth."
" I assure you, Harrv - - "
" Don't lie:Will." Houdini's manner had
become quieter now. "To be honest, I
want to know if magicians are getting wise
to my secrets. If you don't know them, I'm
not afraid of the others. Please tell me."
I took a pencil and note-book from my
pocket, and sketched an instrument which
I thought could be used for the packing case
escape. Without speaking, I handed over
my diagram to Houdini.
He went deathly pale. My long shot had
gone home. "I'll take this," he said at
last, tearing the sheet from my note-book.
"This ~as finished me with packing cases.
After thIS performance, I'll have no more."
HOUDINI AND "THE UNMASKING
OF ROBERT HOUDIN."
H I ~a::e already made some reference to
v OUdl~1 s love of publicity. It was his
ery hfe blood. He invented so many
schemes for bringing his name before the
public that I could fill several volumes on
136 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
those alone. Some of them failed, most of
them succeeded. Had they not done so, he
might easily have died a poor and unknown man
Harry was not blind to the value of senti-
mental publicity. One of his favourite
schemes was to hunt out the graves of any
magicians who had lived in the particular
town or district in \vhich he was appearing.
Then, accompanied by an army of press
photographers, he would take a huge wreath
to the graveside, standing bareheaded whilst
his photograph was taken. On the following day
his likeness would appear in the papers with
such words as " Great Magician pays homage
to a departed conjurer." This idea tickled
Harry immensely, and incidentally had the
desired effect of increasing his popularity.
When he was performing in Paris before
the war, he decided to carry out this same
programme, and accordingly hunted up the
grave and records of Robert Houdin, the
eminent French illusionist. He went even
further, and inquired for the whereabouts of
Houdin's surviving relatives. To his utter
astonishment, these good people refused to
meet him, and informed him in a manner
which left no room for doubt, that they wished
to have nothing to do with him.
This public rebuff made Harry very bitter.
That anyone should refuse to see him, the
great Houdini, was totally beyond his compre-
hension. I have never learnt the reason for
THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT HOUDIN. 137
this refusal on the part of Houdin's relatives
more likely than not they desired to be left
in quietness. Possibly they hated the thought
of publicity. But Houdini could not, or
would not, take this point of view.
" Heavens, Will," he said, "what's wrong
with me; Anyone wo~ld think I'm a leper!
But they 11 be sorry for It before I'm finished."
"What do you mean ?" I asked.
" I'm writing a book on Houdin that'll
make those folks of his sit up. He's going to
~et the worst write up he ever had. He was an
Imposter. "
"Rubbish, Harry," I returned heatedly
"'yoy.know that's not true. Whv be s~
vmdlctIve? Houdin was a great magician
and you know it as well as anvone." ,
"He was an imposter, t tell you. I
have collected my facts to prove it And
a~yway':' he added lamely, "the' public
WIll be1~eve anything I tell them. 'The
Unmaskmg of Robert Houdin' will make
everyone take notice"
" You are making' a great mistake Harry
~ObOdy wil~ think you a better man f~r such ~
eastly actIOn. Houdin is dead and cannot
a~fter .back. One of these days somebody
t'l wn~e a book on you, and call it 'The
nmaskmg of Harry Houdini.' "
He looked up sharply at my words. "If
alnyolne does that it will be you" he said
Sow y. '
138 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
I laughed. "Maybe y~u're right,". ~
replied. "But if I ever ~nt~ <?n Hou,~lm,
it will never be out of vmdlctlveness.
When the book eventually appeared, it
was an utter failure. Although Harry had
taken much trouble to delve out his facts,
he had also allowed his imagination to run, and
the information was not generally accepted
as accurate. It was as well. Robert Houdin,
" The French Father of Magic," was a man
whom we all loved and respected. His
spirit should rest in peace.
HOUDINI OBJECTS TO SOMEONE
ELSE'S BOOST.
I have already made some reference to t~e
weaker side of Harry Houdini's na~ure, ~lS
childishness his irritability, and hIS qUlck
temper. While it is not my intention to s~ress
thefaultsofonewhoformanyyearswasafn~nd,
I feel it is my duty to present to the pu~hc a
true pen picture of the man as I knew hIm.
The weakness of Houdini's character was
never better illustrated that at an annual
dinner of the Magicians' Club, eight or nine
years ago. We ~ad decided t~at the gath~r··
inO' would proVIde a splendId opportumty
otmaking him a prese~tation, f<?r he had been
our President since the mauguratlOn of the club.
It so happened that .t~e only available
magician of any repute Wlllmg to occupy the
HOUDINI OBJECTS TO SOMEONE ELSE'S BOOST. 139
chair and make the presentation was The
Great Raymond. And Harry detested Ray-
mond. "I won't accept anything from that
--," he declared hotly. "Why, he pinches
my ideas," and then he went on to tell me
in a few well chosen words just what he
thought of Raymond's capabilities.
I felt the position very keenly, but, to my
relief, I managed to talk Harry over. I was
a happy man when he finally agreed to allow
Raymond to officiate.
We had several hundred cards printed for
distribution amongst our members. But they
didn't please Houdini.
': These are all wrong," he said, when they
arnved back from the printers.
" Wh~t's the matter with them? " I inquired,
wondenng what my friend had at the back of
his mind.
" You've got here 'In the Chair-The
G~~at Raymond.' He's not great at all."
I shouldn't let that worrv you. It's
only a professional name." ~
. "Well it'll have to be altered. Call him
]~st ' M. F. Raymond.' Even that's a damn
SIght too good for him. Don't let's aruue
abo~t it, Will. Either you have these ca~ds
repnr:ted as I like them. or I'll refuse to attend
trebd~nner, and resign the presidency of the
c T lI1 the bargain."
~ere was no argument. The cards were
repnnted.

140 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
DID HOUDINI FAIL ~ Waterloo? There was a cry of relief as he
I can recall only one occasion when Houdim
was baffled in an escape act. That he did
eventually succeed in escaping from a pair
of. specially constructed cuffs after seventy
m:nutes struggling was in itself a great
tnumph, but he afterwards told me it was the
mos~ nerve r~cking ordeal in all his long
magIcal exp~nence. There was one thing,
however, WhICh he refused to disclose. That
was the manner in which he freed himself.
A .",:ell known newspaper challenged
HoudmI to escape from a pair of hand-
cuffs made by a Birmingham blacksmith.
T~is. man. had taken five years to perfect
Ius mventIOn, and it was said that the
man~cles could only be opened by a
spe~I~1 key. Houdini, fearing nobody, and
reahsmg the value of the challenge as a
free advertisement, readily accepted.
The test was held at the London Hippo-
drom~, .and it was generally expected that
HoudmI would free himself from the wonder
c~ffs in his customary time of two or three
mI!1 utes . The manacles were placed on his
wnsts, and, follmving his usual procedure,
he ent~red the small cabinet which exposed
only hIS face to the audience of two thousand
people.
DID HOUDINI FAIL? 141
Five, ten, twenty minutes passed, and still
Houdini had not escaped. The audience
grew restless. Had Houdini met his
walked to the footlights at the end of half an
hour, but when it was seen that his wrists
were still secured, it turned to a sigh of
disappointment. Perspiring profusely, he
examined. t~e handcuffs in the full glare of
the electnc lIght, and returned to his cabinet.
.A few.minutes later, he requested that a
pIllow mIght be placed on his knees in order
to make his position more comfortable.
But still the time went by, and he seemed
no nearer success. The audience was amazed.
Fifteen minutes more elapsed, and Houdini
asked that his coat might be removed. This
request was refused since it would have
necessitated removing the handcuffs, So he
p,rocured a l?e~knife from his pocket, and
slashed the lmmg of the coat to ribbons.
~t th~ end of an hour, he asked his wife to
bnn(S h~m a glass of water. This she did,
placmg It on the edge of the cabinet. Hounini
~ook the glass between his hands and drained
c~ .T en mmutes
It ' later, he emerged from the
t bmet, and flung the handcuffs on to the
s r~~e. H~ was free, and his appearance was
g ded WIth thunderous applause
h How . d'd 1 .
Houdini escape? Presumably
e tmha~Ipulat~d the handcuffs by- his ordinary
m e OQS , b U t m LlllS case tbe locks had proved
.L"

142 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
so stubborn that it had. taken him over an
hour to persuade them to yield. That, at
least, is what the public concluded. Perhaps
the public was right, it may have been
deceived. I do not know.
I only know that on the following day
I was told a very different story. A man
whose sources of information were usually
correct told me that Houdini never escaped
from the handcufJs.
After an hour's struggling, said my inform-
ant, the magician realised he would never
escape. So he asked his wife for a glass of
water, and gave her to understand she would
have to procure the key at all costs. Bessie,
realising the terrible predicament of her
husband, called one of the journalists aside,
and frankly told him that her husband was
beaten. Since failure would have meant the
end of everything for Houdini, whilst to
the paper it meant but little, she asked to be
given the key to pass on to her husband.
This request was granted. It was rumoured
that Bessie placed the key in the glass of water
and took it to Houdini on the stage. Shortly
afterwards, he walked from the cabinet with
the handcufis free from his wrists.
Personally, I think this story is an exagger-
ation. I can readily believe that Houdini was
capable of such a plan when he found his escape
impossible, but whether a newspaper man of
143
DID HOUDINI FAIL?
standing would have consented to deliver
up the key is quite another matter. One
must remember it would have been a
great triumph from newspaper's point of view
to have brought about the d.efeat of such a
celebrated escapologist as Houdini.
When Houdini came in to see me two days
later, I put the question to him point. blank,
"Say, Harry," I said, "they're tellmg me
you unlocked the handcuffs with the journal-
ist's key. Is that true ? "
"Who's been saying that? " he demanded.
" Never mind who. Is it true? "
" Since you know so much, Will, you had
better find out the rest," was all he said.
This refusal of information on Houdini's
part should not be construed as an admission
of guilt. I expected it, for knowing him as
I did, I guessed he would welcome the story
as a means of quiet publicity, even if it was
untrue. On the other hand, if he did actually
fail to escape, one would hardly expect him
to admit it.
I am afraid we shall never know what
actually happened, but you can take it from
me that Houdini had the greatest shock of
his life. He afterwards told me that he would
sooner face death a dozen times than live
through that ordeal again.
 144 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
IS HOUDINI EARTH BOUND?
Is Houdini earth bound? I think he is
The great American has been dead now fo;
over three years. That is sufficient time for
the spirit of the average human being to
realise that he or she is something different
from the flesh and blood of us mortals. In
all that time, however, I have only once seen
Houdini manifest himself in spirit form-
this in spite of the fact that I am an ardent
spiritualist, and have several times endeav-
oured to get in touch with my departed
friend.
The solitary occasion of which I speak was
at Hannen Swaffer's flat, early in the spring
of 1928. There were several people present
at the time, including a well-known amateur
trance medium. It was through this person
that Houdini appeared to us, str?-ng~Iy
different from the man we had known m life.
His wrists were held together as though
fastened by unseen handcuffs. He 'Yas
struggling violently, evidently endea,:"ounng
to free himself. "I'm Houdini," he whlspe~ed
in a hoarse, almost unrecognisable VOIce.
"Don't you know me ?" He appeared to
want to tell us something, but l<:tcked t~
.power. At last he pulled his WrIsts ap~s
as though he had escaped from the manacl .
A few seconds later he was gone. . tl
The appearance was brief, but sufficIen Y
145
Is HOUDINI EARTH BOUND?
1 t tell me that Houdini was an altered
ong 0" Why should he be?" I aske.d
man. If "There is no reason." Then I hIt
mysehat. I believe to be the true exp1ana t'IOn.
on~udini is lost in his new sphe~e. He was
always a difficult man to conVIllce, and I
think it more than likely that .he does not
realise he is dead, dead, I mean, III an earthly
sense. He has lost his pe~spec.tive) and, .a~ a
spiritual being, cannot realIse hIS true pOSItIon
in regard to the friends he has left on earth.
He thinks he -is still one ot us.
He may be at my side as I pen these words,
perhaps trying to attract my attention. Who
can say? I am not clairvoyant, and am
quite unable to sense a spirit presence. I
am convinced there is much he has to tell
me, that he is determined to tell me. How
many attempts he has made to communicate
with me since his tragic death he alone knows.
This particular seance had been held because
an. entity who called himself Houdini had
SaId, "S~nd for Will." So I went along. . . .
On thIS, ~he only occasion when he actually
sUcceeded In getting into touch with me, I
~as st!uck by the desperate and eager way
~ WhIch he endeavoured to make himself
.o:n' .That he failed to tell me all that he
:fu et· IS. ample proof that his spiritual
ca Ion IS not yet complete.
146 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN,

IS BESSIE HOUDINI A CHEAT!

So much has been said and written of the
Houdini spirit message to the Rev. Arthur
Ford, that I feel I should be doing an injustice
to the great American magician if I did not
spare a small amount of space in order to
clear up the matter once and for all.
Many of the statements that have been issued
on this matter have been so entirelY contradic-
tory and false that many otherwise credulous
members of the public have put the whole
thing down as a somewhat irreverant, but not
entirely unsuccessful, publicity stunt.
In the first place let me say definitely .that
Houdini was never a spiritualistic medmm.
I should like to make this point quite clear
in view of the fact that Sir Arthur C~n~
Doyle suggested in the "Strand, Ma~aZI?e
that many of the American's am~~lilg ~l1uslO~S
were effected by means of spmtualism-:- ln
short , that Houdini was an unconscIOUS d' . was
medium. As a matter of fact :S;ou lill ver
nothing more or less than exceedmgly cle hi
conjurer who knew the art of showm ans P
from A to Z. Had I the mind to d? ~?;
I could explain everyone 0/ the A mer~ca
illusions.
148 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
these magical nobodies, and in a short while
Mrs. Houdini and the Rev. Ford wer~
openly accused of fraud.
I ha~e the pleasure of knowing both the
people In questIOn. Mrs. Houdini is a sweet
demure little woman, known among he:
friends as "Bessie the Nun." She is rich
and has absolutely nothing to gain in bringing
her name before the public. The Rev.
Arthur Ford is a well respected man in New
York, and it is difficult to believe that he
would enter into any form of swindling. It
is interesting to note that he declares that
he does not know whether he received the
Houdini message or not. But, as he himself
writes, "Mrs. Houdini said I did, and the
sealed compact which Houdini left in the
bank vault seems to prove it."
The following letter which Mrs. Houdini
wrote to Mr. Walter Winchell of the staff
of the New York "Graphic" should leave little
doubt upon the matter. The letter runs
as follows:
Dear Mr. Walter Winchell,
This letter is not for publicity. I do. n~t
need pUblicity. I want to let Houdlnl.S
old friends know that I did not betray his
trust.
I am writing you this personally because
I wish to tell you emphatically that I was no
party to any fraud. rs
Now regarding the seance. For two yea
149
Is BESSIE HOUDINI A CHEAT?
h ve been praying to receive the message
~ro~ my husband, for two years every day
I have received messages from a~l. parts of
the world. Had I wanted a publICIty stunt
I no doubt could have chosen any of ~hese
sensational messages. W~en I repudIated
these messages, no. one saId a word, except
the writers who saId I had not the nerve to
admit the truth.
When the real message, the message that
Houdini and I agreed upon came to me, a?d
I accepted it as the truth, I was greeted WIth
jeers. Why? Those wh? denounced. the
entire thing as a fraud, claIm that I had gIven
Mr. A. Ford the message. If Mr. Ford said
this, I brand him as a liar. Mr. Ford has
stoutly denied saying this ugly thing, ~md
knowing him as well as I do, I prefer to belIeve
Mr. Ford. Others say the message has been
common property and known to them for
some time. Why do they tell me this now,
when they knew my heart was hungry
for the true words from my husband ?
Of the many stories told about me, I
have no way t~o tell the world the truth or
the untruth, for I have no paper at my beck
and call. Everyone has a different opinion
of how the message was obtained. With all
~ese different tales I would not even argue.
thowever, when anyone accuses me of giving
la e Words that my beloved husband and I
bored so long to convince ourselves of the
 150 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
truth of communication, then I will fight and
fight until the breath leaves my body
If anyone claims that I gave the code' then
I can only repeat they lie. Why shduld I
~ant to cheat my~elf? . I do not need public-
Ity. I have no mtentIOn of going on the
stage, or as some paper said, on a lecture tour
My husband made it possible for me to liv~
in the greatest comfort. I don't need to
earn money. I have gotten the message that
I have been waiting for from my beloved, how
if not by spiritual aid, I do not know.
And now, after I told the world that I
had received the true message, everyone
seems to have known of the code, yet never
told me. They left it for Mr. Ford to tell
me, and I am accused of giving the words.
In conclusion, may I say that God and
Houdini and I know that I did not betray
my trust. For the rest of the world I really
ought not to care a hang, but somehow I do,
therefore this letter. Forgive its length.
Sincerely yours,
BEATRICE HOUDlNI.
In justice to Bessie Houdini, I feel obliged
to allot a small amount of space to .the
true explanation of the failure of the magIc~
entertainment with which she contemplate
touring America.
After the death of her husband, Mrs.
Is BESSIE HOUDINI A CHEAT? 151
Houdini decided to give up all her ~onnections
with stage life. But, partl~ owmg to the
persistent arguments of her fnends, and partly
owing to her own inherent love of the foot-
lights, she decided to alter her decision.
She realised she could not do better than
ca~ . on her late husband's work as a
magrcIan.
She decided to produce an escape from a
solid block of ice, and for several months she
was coached by illusionists of repute in
' America. At the rehearsals, however, she
became dissatisfied with the construction of
her apparatus, and the manner in which the
act was produced.
She was not enjoying the best of health
at the time, and finally thought it best to
proceed no further with the shoviT• Several
of her friends were in agreement with her,
~or they ha~ no desire to see her appear
In an act ~hICh was not in keeping with the
true Houdmi tradition.
152 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
MAURICE AND THE GIRL IN THE CAR.
The Great Maurice, the well known French
card manipulator, is a man of an impulsive
and somewhat obstinate disposition. It was
these characteristics which caused him to
propose to the lady who is now his wife on
the first occasion that he' ever saw her.
Twelve years ago, he was walking through
Leicester Square with the intention of calling
on me to discuss some business affairs which
we had in hand. As he was about to enter
my office, he noticed a very smar~ limous~ne
car that was drawn up to the curb Just outsl~e
mv front door. But what attracted his
attention more than the car was the extremely
pretty and well dressed girl who happened
to be sitting at the wheel.
Nine men out of ten would have passed
the girl by, for she appeared to be entirely
wrapped in her own thoughts. But not s~
Maurice. He approached the car, and doffe
his hat in the approved style.
" Good morning," he said.
"Er-good mormng,. " rep l'le d the gl'ri, not
a little startled.
" It's a very nice morning," went on the
conjurer, following up his advantage.
MAURICE AND THE GIRL IN THE CAR. 153
" Yes, beautiful."
" Excuse me if I say so, but you are a very
nice girL"
"Am I really?"
"Yes. Perhaps you know me-my name
is Maunce."
" I'm afraid I don't."
.The conj.urer produced. a photograph and
hi.s profe?slOn::l card whlc~ the girl studied
Wlth ObVIOUS mterest. ThIs attention urged
Maurice to further efforts.
"Are you in the profession?" he asked.
" Yes. I am an assistant with The Great
Rameses. JJ
"That's most interesting. By the way-
are you married ? "
"Oh, no."
m;}~~ you think you would care to marry
"I might."
:: Tell me now, yes or no.
',J
Ve~y well, I will."
d~~Tce .coul~ hardly believe his ears, and
must With JO~ on the pavement. "I
shoute~el1 my fnend. Will Goldston!" he
his ne~l and rushed lI;to ~y ~ffice, leaving
car. y found fiancee still SItting in the
He told m h' .
that he woulde IS happy news, and added
breakfast T e~p;ct me to attend his wedding
WhOle aff~ir: . IS I agreed, thinking the
as Just a mad escapade. When
154 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN,
Maurice left my office, still extremelv happy
and excited, I dismissed the matter from my
thoughts.
. A few mon~hs later, however, he burst
m on me agam.
"You're coming to my wedding breakfast
now, Will," he said. You're the only one we
have invited.
"I can't manage it to-day, Maurice,"
I told him. "I have a lot of urgent business
on hand."
"But you must come. We must have
just one guest, and we've selected you."
I pondered for a moment. "\\There's
the bride ? " I asked.
" Downstairs in the car. We've only just
been married. The breakfast won't take you
long, and the little lady will be frightfully
disappointed if you don't come." . t I ~g ,hIS head m the negro's direction
Put to me in this light, I had no alternatl,ve
but to agree, and I accompanied, Maunce
downstairs and offered my best WIshes and
congratulations to his wife. .
Leaving the car by the curb, M~urIce took
me by the arm, and directed hIS footste{>s
towards the Lyons teashop which stands In
Green Street. There he ordered three c~ps
king
of tea and a plate of Dundee cake. Ta:
a slice of cake from the dish, he placed It on
my plate, and smiled. .
"There Will," he said. "That's our weddifR
breakfast. I told you it wouldn't take long.
THE GREAT MAURICE AND A NEW ILLUSION, 155
THE GREAT MAURICE AND A NEW
ILLUSION.
One afternoon, shortly after the War I
was demonstrating a few tricks to Bert
Bailey, the popular Australian actor when
The Grea~ Mau~ice walked into my' office.
H~ ;vas ImmedIately foll?wed. by a huge,
thlcl.. set, and not very mtelhgent looking
negro..
IC G~od afte:-noon,
IC Maurice," I said.
~ho s your fnend ? "
'erkPo yo~ mean th~s fellow?" asked Maurice,
t b on t kn,ow him from Adam. He seem~
0" e followmg me about."
one G~?~ afternoon," interrupted the dusky
me 'bef onel,of you gentlemen have seen
" ,ore. m Sam."
" ~~: ~et plenty of Sams," I returned.
reply. '}~~t I daresay you have," was the
one Sam l"k not t~IS on~. There's only
at circuses I" e me. I m a SIde show exhibit
"w .
" l' hat's your line ? " I asked
m the W'l .
lOOk at th I d Man from Borneo. Just
ese photos." He produced a
156 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.

number of dilapidated prints from his pocket

" That's. a picture of a girl who sometim~
works wIth me. We look like real savages
when we're made up."
I glanced through the photographs and
handed them back to him. '
" They're all very interesting," I remarked.
" But why do you honour me with a visit?"
"I've finished with the wild man stuff. I
want to buy some tricks."
" You want to become a conjurer? "
"Sure. What sort of tricks have you got? "
"There's the 'Indian Basket.' That's a
good illusion."
"No. It's much too old."
" Would a box escape suit you? "
"That came out of the ark?"
For the next twenty minutes I was
occupied in suggesting tricks to the negro.
But everything I proposed met with the same
objection; they were all too old. At last I
grew desperate.
" What about a freak that is half a woman,
half a dog?" I demanded.
At this the negro's eyes lit up. "Which
half is the woman?" he asked.
"The top half."
"It's really alive?"
" As much alive as you are." ~"
"What is the price of this person.
" I'll charge you £350."
The dusky one jumped back as if I bad
158 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY ME N.

HOW MAGIC IS ACCEPTED IN NIGERIA.

Although from time to time I have
numbered. am~ng~t my customers many so
called. natIve wItch doctors," I have never
expenenced ~he pleasure-tor a pleasure it
~ndou.btedly Is- of performmg before natives
u

~n theIr own country. Dr. A. E. Neale, who

IS perhaps, the finest amateur conjurer in
Englapd, has .told me of a most amusing
expenence whIch he had with an African
audience.
Dr. Neale had been sent out to the West
Coast on Government work in connection
with the public health of the colony. Soon
after his arrival, he was asked to give a
perform.ance in aid of a local charity, and this
he readIly agreed to do.
The show was well advertised, and an
hour before the performance was due to
begin, the little public hall was crowded with
negroes of every class and condition. Most
of the best seats had been booked for a
prince, who attended with his full harem of
forty wives. Then came the better class
natives who wore top hats, shirts-no trousers,
 160 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY M
EN.
ma hat. Dis am ma best one. Y0' can't
hab dis."
." B~t I. give you my word of honour I
will gIve It back to you quite undamaged
or buy you a brand new one."
A~ these words Jim appeared to be less
obstmate, and eventually handed over his
hat. But his eyes opened wide as he
followed the conjurer's movements. Without
the slightest hesitation, Dr. Neale broke two
eggs and poured the yolks into the hat. He
t~en proceeded to add flour and spirits of
wme before beating the mixture with a
wooden spoon. Lastly, he took a match, and
set the sticky mass alight.
Jim's anxiety was most pitiable.
"Massa, Massa," he cried. "Y0' gone
done ruined ma hat. Y 0' set urn alight
wid de mess. Oh, ma hat, ma hat! "
Dr. Neale attempted to comfort the negro
by assuring him that his hat was entirely
undamaged, and would be restored to him in
due course. But Jim took little notice.
He pressed his hands to his ears and rocked
his head dismally to and fro. "Ma hat I
Ma hat I " he cried.
The poor fellow's discomfort was a source
of great delight to the rest of the audience.
They screamed and hooted, jeered and
shouted. "Jim, yo' is one big fool. Y0' hat
am sure finished," they yelled.
How MAGIC IS ACCEPTED IN NIGERIA. 161
Th hubbub only ceased when Dr. Neale
d~ced a beautiful home-made .cake from
f~~ interior of the hat. Jim sta.red m :vonder-
t and then snatched hastIly at hIS head-
, men 't see what damage had been ca~sed.
wearDr.0 Neale had promIse
As . d 't
,I was ent Ire1y
unharmed. h
The conjurer then proceeded to cut ~ e
cake into several small I?o~tions, <:me of whI.ch
he offered to his unwlllmg assIstant. Jlm
took it but shook his head sadly when
assured' that it was quite eatable. .
"No can eat dis, Doe," he said. " DIS
am magic cake. And dese here ain't currants,
deys pieces of cloth."
" Rubbish" said the doctor. "Of course
you can eat 'it. It's just an ordinary cake.
You've seen me make it yourself."
"Ah'll tell you in de morning whethe~ it a~
magic or not," said the negro, regardmg hIS
slice with suspicion. And no amount of
persuasion on the conjurer's part could induce
the bewildered Jim to take a mouthful of the
cake.
. On the following day, Dr. Neale met Jim
In the main street of the town.
" Yo's right, doe," said the negro. "Dat
was no magic cake, it sure was fine to eat."
"Of Course it was. But what made you
cha!lge your mind ? "
Jlm explained. His test had been simple
b ut effective. When he had reached home
162 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
the previous night, he placed the cake under
his pillow. In the morning) he had observed
a stream of ants going to and from the
doorway to his bed. On lifting up the pillow
he discovered the cake swarming with th~
insects, and without hesitation, had placed it
in his mouth-ants and all.
tIIf ant eat dat cake so can Jim. Y0' can
no fool ants," he explained, grinning from
ear to ear.
MURRAy-HIS GREATEST ESCAPE. 163
MURRAY-HIS GREATEST ESCAPE.
In September, 1924, Murray, the ~ell
known Australian escapologist, was workmg
at the Apollo Theatre, Shanghai. He h~d a
successful week's run, but on the final mght
there occurred an incident, which, although
not of great interest in itself, was to prov~de
the first chapter of one of the most amazmg
and startling true-life stories that has reached
my ears.
As I have said, it was Murray's last
appearance in Shanghai. Just before the
curtain was due to fall, a man sitting in the
stalls rose to his feet and challenged the
performer's ability.
tI Murray, you are very clever," he said.
"VOil have escaped from your chains and
b.oxes here this evening, but I do not con-
S1~erthat extremely difficult. You use the same
~hlllgs every day, and are familiar with them.
t would be a very different matter to
escape from somewhere you have never been.
"I n my office in this city I have a strong-
room. I challenge you to escape from that
r~o~. If you succeed I will pay you the sum
o ve hundred dollars. If you fail, it will
 164 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
cost you nothing. What do you say?"
Murray thought rapidly. He had no
further bookings in Shanghai. Therefore if
he failed to escape from the strongroom, his
reputation would be very little damaged.
On the other hand, he might succeed, in which
case he,lwould be five hundred dollars better
off. Yes , it was worth taking the risk.
"I accept your challenge, sir,'" he said.
11 If you will let me know your address, I
shall be pleased to attend at ten o'clock
to-morrow morning."
There was a round of applause at this bold
statement. The challenger bowed his thanks,
gave Murray his address, and intimated that
he would be prepared to receive him on the
morrow at the appointed hour.
When Murray arrived at the office on the
following morning, it was obviou~ that preJ?ar-
ations had been made for hIS receptIOn.
The strong-room door was st3:nding ajar,
and had been thoroughly exammed before-
hand by half a dozen journalists who were
gathered together in the outer office.
The escapologist greeted his challenger
cheerily.
"Good morning, sir," he smiled. "Perhaps
I might examine the locks of the strong-
room door ? "
/I Oh no you can't I" returned the other
warmly. 'I
/I That's not. m.
the ru Ies. On
MURRAy-HIS GREATEST ESCAPE. 165
the Other hand, I .must examine you. These
ressmen will aSSIS t me. " ., .
p Murray saw no point in obJectmg to thIS
roposal, and was thoroug~ly searched.
~hen the examiners were sa~Isfi~d that. he
had no implements concealed m hIS clothmg,
they pushed him forward into the strong-room,
and turned the key.
The locks were not difficult. Five minutes
later Murray had escape? He .received t~e
congratulations of the JournalIsts and hIS
challenger with good grace.
It wasn't very difficult," he said,
/I
modestly. 1/ Why on earth did you chal-
lenge me to open a door like that?"
"Well, you see," replied the loser, /II
thought you were a fraud. I don't mind
losing in the least, for you have more than
proved your ability. Here is your cheque for
five hundred dollars." He turned suddenly
to the waiting pressmen. /I Good day, gentle-
men.. I hope you have had an enjoyable
mormng."
~he thinly veiled hint was taken. Murray
waIted in silence, wondering what he might
expect next from this strange man. The
door had hardly closed behind the last of
the newspaper men, when his companion
l
~e~an
19lbly.
speaking rapidly, almost unintel-
p" Mr. Murray, you are a clever man.
erhaps you have discovered that
 166 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
I am a Russian, and that my name is
Vinoff. But of my business you know noth-
ing. Now I tell you frankly I am interested
in you. How would you like to tour for
three months in Siberia? "
That's no good to me," returned Murray.
It
It I should want a financial guarantee.
Besides, I don't know what the theatres are
like in Siberia."
" You need not worry about the money.
I myself will give you a guarantee of thirty
thousand dollars. As for the theatres-
well, what does it matter? Wherever we
go, I am certain we should play to big
business."
After some further discussion, Murray
agreed to accept Vinoff's offer. Thirty thous-
and dollars was a large sum of money, and
the Russian seemed confident that the project
would prove a success.
Two days later, both men caught the
western-bound express. But those who had
seen Murray in Shanghai would not. have
recognized him now. He was dressed In the
garb of a Russian peasant. . . . "
" It is better that you travel In dIsg~llse,.
Vinoff had assured him. "For one thIng It
will mean better business for us-as a Rus-
sian you will be a bigger dra~ing card tha~
as a foreigner. And then agaIn, we. do no
want unpleasant inquiries on our )ourn~f'
The Soviet are suspicious of all foreIgners.
MURRAy-HIS GREATEST ESC.APE. 167
But once the train had crossed the border,
Vinoff's manner changed.
"I must tell you the truth about this
business, Murray," he said, "I am not a
theatrical promoter-I don't know the first
thing about the ~usiness. I .am a Russian
royalist. I promIsed you thIrty thousand
dollars for your work. You shall have it.
" You won't have to do any performing,
but the Soviet Government have certain
documents in their possession which I must
obtain. I can lead you to the house where
they are locked; you will have to break in and
get at the safe. When you hand me the
papers. you will receive your payment."
"Good heavens, man! " exclaimed Murray.
"Are you suggesting that I turn house-
breaker? Supposing I cannot find the papers,
or that I am caught stealing them?
I can escape from a strong room easily
en~ugh, but I can't escape from a bullet."
I don't fancy the task will prove difficult.
~s for the danger-well, you must take the
s~k. If you refuse to do what I ask, I will
oot you where you sit. Now what is it to
be?"
~urr~y thought for a while. It I have no
OP,~lOn, he said at last.
ther;xcell ent ," replied the Russian. " But
be t re two things which you must remem-
If r. n the first place you are deaf and dumb.
anYone hears you speak in English, they
168 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.

may become suspicious. And, lastly, do not

attempt to trick us. It will be as much as
your life is worth."
After a further day in the train, Murray
and his companion alighted at a small wayside
station. They were greeted by a group of
half a dozen other Russians who were evi-
dently delighted at their confederate's success
in securing Murray's services.
The performer frankly admits that he was
scared. He had no idea of his whereabouts,
and the effort of playing the part of a deaf
mute was proving a greater strain t~an he
had at first imagined. The party eVIdently
had very little money at th~ir command, for
they lived like tramps, sleepmg unde.r hedges
and barns, and eating only salt herrmgs and
stale brown bread.
After several days tramping in ~ northerly
direction, they were met by a sleIgh. F~om
that moment, Murray lost all sense of tIme
and direction. After what seemed several
days, but was probably only a few hou~s,
the horses drew up at an imposing WhIt~
building surrounded by a large expanse 0
snow co~ered parkland. Save for the champ-
ing of the horses, and the murmuring of t~e
Russians, there was not a sound to be hear.
I t was like a house of death. .' re
Vinoff turned to Murray. "ThIs IS Wh~IY
you get busy," he said. "I know ~;,acHe
where the papers are to be found.
 MURRAy-HIS GREATEST ESCAPE. 171
170 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.

jus t a tr i f1 e a w k war d . We shall h ve "That is a splendid idea," cried Vinoff

to read those papers before we know which excitedly. "We must try each envelope
we can take away. You must open the until we come to those I want."
envelopes without breaking the seal. We Carefully and systematically, they tested
must never let the Soviet know they have been every envelope in the safe. But there was no
tampered with." sign of the wanted documents. The Russians
"I can't perform miracles," protested swore long and fluently in their native
Murray. "I've opened the safe for you. language.
How do you expect me to open envelopes "Come. Let us not stay too long," said
that have been sealed? " Vinofi at last. "Be careful to leave each door
" I haven't the faintest idea. That's your as you found it."
business, not mine. But if you haven't Murr.ay never received payment for his
thought out a scheme in five minutes, your share In the enterprise. He was escorted
life won't be worth living." As he spoke, bac~ to the frontier, hastily thanked for his
Vinoff brandished a revolver dramatically serVIces, and left to his own devices. "I
in the air. s~ppose I. must be thankful to have escaped
Murray's plight was desperate. He looke.d wIth my hfe," he says, philosophically.
appealingly at the other men, but thelr
expressions gave him no hope. One of them
produced a vodka bottle which he passed
round to the others after helping himself.
That action probably saved Murray's life.
The sight of the alcohol bottle awakened
a childhood memory. He suddenly recalled
the old scheme of pouring alcohol on an
envelope in order to read the contents. He
was saved! d
He took an envelope from the safe, an
smeared it with two or three drops of vodka.
In a few seconds the paper became t~a~s­
parent, and it was possible to see the WrItmg
on the document inside.
172 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
HOW ZOMAH DELAYED A MURDER.
The Zomahs are undoubtedly the greatest
professional thought readers the world has
ever known. Their almost incredible feats
have startled audiences in England and the
American continent for many years past, and
many experts have confessed themselves
completely baffled by their performances.
Early in the month of February, 1920 ,
they were performing at the Princes' Theatre,
Montreal. After their evening show was
finished, the stage door attendant presented
a card to Mr. Zomah, and stated that a man
was waiting who insisted on being granted an
interview. But the words "Major Robe.rt
M. Griffith," which were written on the stnp
of pasteboard, conveyed nothing to the thought
reader.' . personalIty.
The door attendant went on to explam
that the Major seemed extremely ~gitated.
More out of curiosity than anythmg else,
Zomah consented to see the man.
Within a few seconds there was a tap o?
the door. In response to the performe~
cheery "Come in," a tall middle-aged ro
How ZOMAH DELAYED A MURDER. 173
entered the room, and introduced himself as
Major Griffith.
" I'm pleased to meet you," said Zomah.
" What can I do for you? "
Major Griffith played nervously with the
brim of his hat.
"Mr. Zomah," he said. "I am in very
great trouble. I have not, however, come to
borrow money. I wish to God it was only
a question of finance that was worrying me.
lt is something far, far worse. I have been
hypnotised. .I am the plaything of another
man's will. Can you help me?"
"Please explain," said Zomah, extremely
puzzled.
Major Griffith explained. It appeared that
a short time previously, he had attended a~
amateur theatrical performance at Sainte
Agathe. A certain William A. Holland,
a prominent stockbroker, had been present
and had hypnotised Griffith. From that
~oment the unfortunate Major had never
hnown a moment's happiness, for, so he said,
e was ~ompletely dominated by Holland's
z~~What do you want me to do ?" asked
add ah,. who wondered whether he was
resSIng a madman
"I d ' .
"but on t k~ow exactly," replied Griffith,
two d something must be done. \iVhy, only
I had i~ ago, I w~s on my: way to the office.
eavy day s work III front of me, and
174 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
was anxious to get ahead with it as soon as
possible. But it was no good. I had to
return home."
It Why? "
"Because Holland had willed it.. Mr.
Zomah. That man haunts me night and
day" Griffith lowered his voice dramatic-
ally: "If you cannot help me, I will shoot
him like a dog. But, because I have seen
your performance, and believe you to be
possessed of some supernatural power, I
have come to ask your advice!" . " . seemed to be in entire ignorance of Griffith's
(/ I certainly can help you, MaJ~r, saId
Zomah, thinking it best to humour ~IS str~nge
visitor. At the moment, it is qmte ?bVlOUS
that your will is too weak to cope With ~he
power that this man has put over you. WIth
my help, however, you will be able to.more th~~
hold your own, because I c~n ~ you om
strengthen your own determmatlOn. Fr
henceforward you must forget that such a
man as Hol1a~d ever existed." k Truth IS mdeed stranger than fiction.
Major Griffith was profuse in his than. s,
and took his departure in a much. happl:J
state of mind. A few days later, h~ mform
the thought reader that he had qmte th~~
off the uncanny influence that had t~~ r
placed over him. As a result, he was heal le
both in mind and body. ed
That, so far as the Zomahs are concernt~
is the end of the story. But twelve. me; uel
later there was a sudden and dramatIc s q
How ZOMAH DELAYED A ¥URDER. 175
which might well have been taken from a
Lyceum melodrama. In January, 19 21 ,
Major Griffith murdered William Holland
by shooting him through the heart.
It can only be assumed that for a short time
Griffith had been persuaded he was free
from Holland's influence. But, after a few
months, the major had again felt himself
to be under the hypnotic curse, and determined
to carry out his threat of murder.
Accompanied by a man called Coffee-who
intentions-he called at Holland's office, but
was refused admission. He had lunch, and
called again. This time he made no mistake.
~o¥and was shot through the heart whilst
sIttIng at ease in his office chair.
Whether Griffith's fears were real or imagin-
ary will never be known. But to me the
whole story reads like a drama quite worthy
of the pe? of Conan Doyle or Edgar Wallace.
176 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
eARL HERTZ THE IMITATOR.
Carl Hertz will be remembered as one of
the greatest American magicians of all time.
The story of his rise to fame is as romantic
as. any fairy story from Grimm, and is a
tnumph of pluck and perseverance. Carl's
determination to succeed carried him through
a. thousand troubles, and eventually enabled
hIm to reach the foremost rank of his profes-
sion.
His real name was Louis Morgenstein, and
he was born of Jewish parents about sixty-
five years ago in San Francisco. His father
owned a dry goods store in one of the meaner
parts of the town, and was determined that
his son should be in the same trade. Carl,
however, had other ideas. He had decided
to become a magician.
Curiously enough, it was not until he had
seen a conjuring performance by the Great
Hermann that Carl's thoughts definitely
turned towards magic. But that one per-
fo~ance had so impressed him that. he
deCIded then and there to change his vocatIOn.
His first step was to learn a few tricks.
This he did without any professional tuition,
eARL HERTZ THE IMITATOR. 177
and practised so assiduously that in a very
short while he felt confident that he could
present quite a passable public performance.
But now he was faced with his greatest
difficulty. Who would engage him?
~his was only one ?f the many problems
WhIC~ beset h~m. HIS father, having sold
up hIS own busmess, put Carl out as assistant
at a neighbouring store. From this position
he was sacked for demonstrating conjuring
tricks during business hours, and he lost
seve~al other good posts for the same reason.
HIS parents became much alarmed at his
continual failures, and threatened that unless
h~ coul.d put his mind to his busin'ess, all
his. conJunng apparatus would be destroyed.
ThIS ~hreat they afterwards carried out.
Carl s first appearance on the stage (as
~ amateur) was a dismal failure. All his
t~c~s went wrong, and his stage fright was so
o1~~ous that the audience hooted him off the
Pe a lorm. In one trick, where he had to fire a
r vo ver ' he 1ost h'IS nerve entIrely
. and
fi re d a weapo t . . . '
The bulle . n con ammg a lIve cartridge.
in th .t clIpped the ear of a man standing
that ~h:mgs, and it .was only by a miracle
trial f young conjurer did not stand a
he wO~l:anslaughte~. As it was, he vowed
But a fe~ever agam appear in public.
professio 1 months later he was offered a
parents' nCl; hengagement which, against his
WIS es, he decided to accept. He

178 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
joined a touring company bound for the towns
of Southern California. The tour lasted
exactly two days. The manager absconded,
and Carl was forced to pawn his gold cuff-~inks
in order to pay his fare back to San FrancIsco.
This was a bad start, but there was worse
to follow. In a short while he received
another offer this time from a well-known
manager wh~ was sending a. company to
tour the mining towns. Carl sIgned up the
contract, and set off for Pet~luma where .the
show was due to open. To hIS utter astOnIsh-
ment he found only two actors and an actress
waiting to receive him. The manag~r told
him that other artists were on theIr way,
and handed him several sheets of closely
written manuscript.
"What's this?" asked Carl.
"Your part. We're doing 'H.M.S. Pina-
fore'," was the short reply.
Carl gaped open-monthed. " I'm
"But hang it all," he protested.
.
a conjurer. " th' g
" Rubbish! You don't know any ~a
about magic, so you may as well play op
instead." " di For eleve~ days he suffered the worst
" I can't sing a note! I absolutely re.fuse.
" Listen." The manager dismissed hl~ vr~~
tests with an airy wave of the hand. lse
either play the part of Dick Deadey e:, or~arl
start walking home. Please your~elf .
was almost broke, and had no optIOn.
eARL HERTZ THE IMITATOR. 179
The perfo~~nce, w~ich had been. widely
advertised as A SpeCIal Show by GIlbert &
Sullivan's 'Pinafore' Company" was a fiasco.
University students attended in force, and
when they realised that four artists were
attempting to play every part in the opera,
there was almost a riot. They booed, made
cat calls, and eventually started throwing
eggs. After several attempts to gain a hearing,
the actors retired, and the curtain was
rung down. The next day the company
returned to San Francisco.
Bitterly disappointed, Carl was forced to
return to the dry goods trade. He surprised
his parents by working exceptionally hard, and
they had hopes that he would settle down and
lead the normal life of a business man. In
reality, he was saving to pay his fare to
Kansas City, where he was determined to
t~y his luck as a single turn. In the mean-
time,. he was giving conjuring performances
at .p:lvate houses and charity shows, and was
gaInIng confidence and skill. When he had
saved sufficient money, he packed up his
a~pa~atus, and started on the three-thousand-
mIle Journey to the west,
h~omforts ImagInable. The emigrant train
w lch he boarded was dirty and smelly and
~hehe wa~ !ravelling in the height of su~mer,
His condItIons became well-nigh unbearable.
food consisted of canned meats and
180 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
vegetables. which his mother had thoughtfully
bound up into a hamper.
"That journey was the worst experience
of my life," he told me forty years afterwards.
"Even though it was so long ago, it
remains a vivid nightmare. I don't know
how I endured it."
When he arrived at his destination, he
jumped from the. train a~d had a hu~ried
wash his first smce leavmg San FranCISCO.
Then: after a meal which he ate so quickly
that he was troubled with indigestion for a
week afterwards, he went to the best hotel
in the town, and reserved a room.
It My luggage is being s~n~ on in du~ course,"
he explained to the SUSpICIOUS boo.kmg clerk.
That same evening he was loungmg outSIde
the hotel entrance, when he noticed a young
man in shirt sleeves giving instructions to
another man who was dressing the windows
of an adjoining shop, known as the "The
Boston One Price Clothing Store." C,:rl, W?o
felt badly in need of human companIonship,
started a conversation. and almost before h:e
realised it, he had told the other of his thea.tn-
cal ambitions, and of the many disappomt -
ments which had come his way.
" So you want to get on at .the Theatre
Comique ? " asked. the shop - asslstan~~ w~
had introduced hImself as Hano. We ,
I guess you'll have to wait awhile.. Th
theatre is being repaired, and won't befimshe
d er heard of you. Nor has anyone else
eARL HERTZ THE IMITATOR. 181
for another three weeks."
Carl whistled.
" That's bad," he remarked. " I'm staying
at the best hotel in the town, and haven't
enough money to pay for one week, let alone
three."
"That's alright," returned Hano. "You
clear out of that hotel right now. I can fix
you up until your engagement starts. I
happen to have taken a liking to you and I
reckon you'll make a success. Get your
luggage sent along to my rooms."
Carl ~as ~ot sl?w to take advantage of his
new fnend s kmdness. He straightway
h~nded in his notice at the hotel, and moved
hI~ luggage and his precious bundle of
tnck~ to a small roem at the back of the
clothm&" store. Had it not been for Hano's
generosIty, more likely than not he would
~aye retu::ned home, and might well have
~I.shed his days behind the shop counters
W Ich he hated so much.
0!l the following morning the young
rOhnJurer set out to visit the manager of the
eatre Comique
" I' .
h .m Carl Hert.z, the great conjurer,"
y~ ~ald by way of mtroduction. "I believe
on ~ re re-opening in three weeks. I'll hang
T~ you care to engage me for a week."
"S~ ma~ager smiled thoughtfully.
I've ne~ou re a great conjurer, are you ? Well,
182 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
I daresay. Let's see what you can do."
Carl gave a demonstration, and was relieved
to observe that the manager seemed
impressed.
"That's enough," said the great man.
"What's your price? "
" Sixty dollars a week."
" That's absurd. I might pay you thirty."
"That's equally absurd. As a sacrifice,
I can come down to fifty."
" Far too high."
But at last everything was arranged amic-
ably. Carl was engaged for one week at
forty dollars, a figure which was the~ con-
sidered excellent payment. He filled m ~he
three weeks before his engagement by dOl,ng
various odd jobs in the" Boston One Pnce
Clothing Store." On one occasion,. he w~s
allowed to dress the window, and thIS he dId
with such success that the propri~tor beg!?ed
him to give up the idea of stage ~Ife, o~enng
him an excellent salary as chIef wmdow
dresser to the firm. Needless to say, Carl
declined with thanks. . ~th hIS ~ele~r~ted Cl Vanishing Lady" illu-
His performance met with extraordmary
success, and the manager was so delighted
that he extended the contract for a further
fortnight. Meanwhile the conjur.er wrote to
agents in all parts of the Umted States,
enclosing his programme and s~veral press
cuttings in praise of his Kansas CIty perform-
ance. As a result, he obtained further engage-
CARL HERTZ THE IMITATOR. 183
ments which lasted for another twelve months.
In r884, when he had become a popular
figure in America, Carl decided to visit
England. In July, he sailed for Liverpool
with the intention of remaining a few months.
Actually he stopped three years. Strangely
enough, the Liverpool managers would not
look at him, although he assured them he had
definitely established himself as one of
America's leading magicians. So, more in
disgust that in anger, he travelled on to
Manchester, where he persuaded a manager
to book him for one week on the understanding
that if he were a failure there was to be no
payment.
His performance was well received, and he
was engaged for a further fortnight. Flushed
with success, he came to London, and, as news
of his northern triumph had already trickled
south, he had no difficulty in obtaining further
bookings.
It was at this time that Beautier de Kolta
w~s a~tonishing audiences at the Trocadero
SIon. ThIS tnc KWas different from anything
that had been seen before, and was the talk
~h~ll LOt;J-don. Anxious not to miss anything
R Ieh, mIght be of use to him, Carl saw de
· oIta s performance, and came away greatly
unpressed.
, VB.e. a~tered a few of the details of the
amshmg Lady,' re-named it, and used it
 184 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
as his own trick. Re created a profound
sensation in all the towns he visited, and
within a comparatively short space of time, he
found himself famous. That, in brief, is the
romantic story of his rise to fame.
For nearly twenty years he remained the
undisputed king of vaudeville magicians, and
it was not until Rorace Goldin first appeared
here at the beginning of this century, that
the 'American's position was seriously chal-
lenged. Hertz saw Goldin's pe~form~nce,
and realised that he had now a serIOUS rIval.
He became panic stricken, and decided to alter
the whole of his programme. From that
moment, he seemed to lose all his old artistry
and showmanship.
He purchased a number of new illusions
from Basch a well-known German manu-
facturer. This was a great mistake. Clever
mechanic though he was, Basch. ~as. no
inventor and obtained the ideas for hIS illusIOns
from th; programmes of the best Continental
performers.
Carl soon lost the reputation which had
cost him so much to build. He became known
as an imitator, an~ ~ost caste not. only amol1:g~
his brother magIcIans, but WIth theatnc r
managers as well. He was content to appe \
at second class theatres, and !ndeed, ha~ ~
not been for his wonderful bIrd-cage tnc cl
it is doubtful if he would have secure
engagements at al1.
THE WORLD'S CHEAPEST THEATRE. 185
THE WORLD'S CHEAPEST THEATRE.
In the course of his long and successful
career, Carl Hertz received many offers to
tour the world. On the first of these, he went
to China, and had little difficulty in making
himself popular with the audiences. It was
while he was in this country that he was
advised to go to Shanghai where, he was
assured, he would be well received.
Carl thought this a splendid idea. But
when he arrived at the eastern port, he was
dismayed to learn that the only theatre in
the town was occupied by a Chinese company.
Since one native play often takes several
weeks to perfornl, Carl knew that it was hope-
less to wait on until the theatre was free.
This was something of a blow, for he had
reckoned on making a useful pile of money
from his Shanghai performances. In the
COurse of his walks through the town, however,
he .had noticed a large strip of wasteland
wh~ch was situated conveniently near the
maIn roads. At the time he had not been
able to understand why this land had not
b~el! put to some useful purpose, but other
a aIrs had come along and he had given the
matter no further th01{ght.
An exceedingly original idea now struck
 186 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
him. He found the owner of the land, and
asked him how much he would charge to let
out the land for one month. To Carl's intense
surprise, he was told that he could have the
use of the land rent free. Luck was with him.
He next asked a Chinese builder to estimate
for constructing a temporary wooden theatre.
Always a clever business man, Hertz was
careful to explain that he would req <lire the
theatre for one month only. Consequently,
he wOuld only need to hire the wood.
The builder thought for a moment.
"Who can say how much it will cost?" he
said. " It will require a large staff of men and
much wood."
" Can't you give me some idea? " persisted
Carl.
" That is very difficult, sir. I have never
built anything so large before."
Carl took the bull by the horns.
" Build it anyway," he said. (C Make your
bill as small as possible, and let me have
it afterwards."
The work was soon in hand. A large num-
ber of men was employed, and within two
weeks the giant wooden building was com-
pleted. Hertz was well pleased "\\-ith. the
result, and intimated as much to the bUlld,~ri
"Thank you, sir," replied the latter. 0 bUSIness acumen. On his second world tour
am glad you like it. I have the honour t ,
present you with the bill." r • k
As he spoke, he produced a length of ,she
THE WORLD'S CHEAPEST THEATRE. 187
around which several yards of paper we~e
rolled. Carl's eyes almost fell from ~IS
head when he saw it, f~r it was covere~ WIth
a number of minute Chmese figures whIch he
reckoned must indicate several thousands of
pounds. He immediately sent for a clerk from
a nearby bank in order to find out exactly how
much he would have to pay in English money.
The bank clerk carefully unrolled the
scroll and examined each of the figures in
turn.' Poor Car1 was hopping about like a
cat on hot bricks, cursing himself for his
folly in allowing himself to be swindled by a
rascally native.
" How much is it? How much is it ? ','
he cried.
The clerk smiled.
"I cannot tell you exactly, sir," he re-
plied. "But it is something in the neigh-
bourhood of £ro."
Ten pounds! Carl's theatre was surely
!he cheapest and most rapidly constructed
In the history of drama. For a whole month
he played to capacity, and came away from
Shanghai considerably richer for his enterprise.
In fact the whole tour was a wonderful
fina.ncial Success, due chiefly to Hertz's keen
he incorporated a cinematograph show in his
programme-this was then something of a
noveltY-and more than doubled his previous
earnings..
188 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
HERTZ AND HIS MONTE CARLO
SYNDICATE.
I have already said that Carl Hertz was
a wonderfully astute business man. There
was, however, one flaw in his character which
might easily have proved his downfall. He
was a born gambler.
Betting was to Hertz what a candle is to a
moth. It was an obsession-one might almost
say a mania. Without it, he would have lost
all interest in life. And, although to my
certain knowledge he lost many hundreds of
pounds, he would never admit that he had
failed. "Of course I won," was his stock
reply to all queries with regard to his gambling
ventures.
On one occasion he discovered a "system"
for beating the bank at Monte Carlo. - .
"You must come in on this, Will," he saId.
" It's an absolute cinch. I've roped in a few
friends to form a syndicate, and we're going to
Monte Carlo to make our fortunes. The system
can't fail. It works like this ...." And he
went on to describe his idea. If the directors
of the famous Casino could have heard him,
they would have shaken him warmly by the
hand.
"Thank you Carl" I replied. " Your
scheme sounds ~onde~ful. In fact, it's t<;'o
good to be true. I'm sure there's a catch In
CARL HERTZ AND THE BIRD CAGE 189
it somewhere. I've heard of these infallible
schemes before, so count me out."
" You're missing the chance of a lifetime,
Will."
"I don't mind. I shall be the first to
congratulate you when you come back."
" Don't be an idiot. This thing's-"
" No thanks."
"Oh, all right. Just as you please."
Two months later Hertz was again in my
office.
" No need to ask you if you won, I sup-
pose, Carl ? " I smiled.
"Oh, we won alright. But some of the
others wanted to get back, and here I am."
I kept a discreet silence. But only the
day previously, one of those others had told
me that Carl had lost several thousand
francs!
eARL HERTZ AND THE BIRD CAGE.
When, in the late summer of 1921 a certain
[esp~cted public body was endea';ouring to
e!ah~e an Act preventing animals taking
p rt III public performances there was a
good deal of apprehension' among many
U1crupulous animal trainers in this country.
int s luck .would have it, one of the persons
erested In the passing of the Act-a man
~fm~d S~ith-happenedto read an old book
mIne III which I had described the disap-
190 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
~earing bird cage trick. And it was at this
h~e th~t Carl Hertz was performing the same
trIck wIth so much success.
.In my book, howev~r, I had described the
trIck as performed wIth an oval bird cage
Hertz always used a square cage. That fact'
~ore than anything else, saved Carl's reputa~
hon.
Smith approached Hertz and threatened
to expose him. Now that the whole business
is finished, I can do no harm in mentioning
t~e f~ct that. t~e American magician actually
d~d ~Ill ~nd mJu~e a large number of birds in
hIS IllUSIOn. Thmgs looked serious, and in
vulgar language, Carl "had the wind up."
In order to gain time, I arranged a meeting
at. which both men were to be present. I
tr~ed to save Hertz by explaining that the
trIck I had described was quite different from
that used by the American. The only differ-
ence was, of course, in the shape of the cage.
Smith did not believe me, and even went so
~ar as to demonstrate the oval cage trick
m our presence. Incidentally he made a
hash of it. The canary escaped, and proba~ly
starved to death. But the demonstratIOn
gave us time to think things over.
Hertz called again at my office on the follow·
ing day. . .
" Don't look so downhearted, Carl," I sal.d
in my cheeriest manner "I am sure this
affair will turn out for yo~r good."
eARL HERTZ AND THE BIRD CAGE. 191
"They are g.oing to expose me, Will,',
he replied despondently. "This will be the
finish of me. They have asked me to demon·
strate the trick at the House of Commons.
If anything goes wrong, I shall be ruined."
"Rubbish, man!" I exclaimed. "It's
the most wonderful piece of luck that you've
ever had. If you take care, nothing will go
wrong. Think of the tremendous publicity! "
" But supposing-"
. " Don't suppose.. I can .make you a cage
rIght now that WIll not mjure the bird."
Within an hour I had constructed a small
cage. It was built up on a framework of
cane strips, the wire bars being represented
by lengths of fishing line. I arranged a
fine me~h hair net on the inside of the cage,
so t~at the canary should not injure its wings
agamst the cane supports.
As Carl was very nervous on the day
o~ the demonstration, I had a long talk with
hIm, and assured him that the show would
frove a tremendous success. But he refused
° be comfort:d, and could only speak of the
tremendous rIsk he was incurring.
When the dreaded hour came however he
seem ed t 0 forget that he was a "man on trial
so rto speak, and became once more the
PBoflshed conjuror, suave and confident
eo th e ast<:nished eyes of a Select Corn .
mitt~e
the ce, he vam~hed the cage, and produced
anary, qUIte unharmed, from beneath
192 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
HARRY KELLAR'S SEARCH FOR A SUCCFSSOR. 193
his coat. His natural gift for showmanship
had pulled him through.
The papers could not forget the incident.
If Carl had collected all the news cuttings
which appeared about him, he could have
papered the walls of his house four times over. HARRY KELLAR'S SEARCH FOR A
It was the finest free advertisemel'lt any SUCCESSOR.
magician has ever had, and he was not slow
to take advantage of it. With the possible exception of Houdini,
it is doubtful if America ever produced a
finer or more clever showman than Harry
Kellar. He was a man who knew his work
from A to Z, and his ability, coupled with a
most delightful personality, made him an
exceedingly popular figure on the American
stage. He never performed in England, but
his name was well known here, and many of
his finest and most bewildering illusions were
inspired by private visits to this country.
Kellar was an excellent business man,
and conceived the idea of running his own
road show. His confidence in this scheme
was amply justified, and he amassed a
considerable fortune by touring the larger
towns of the United States. I have never yet
met the man who saw him play to a poor house.
But, strange as it may seem, Kellar departed
fr?m all the accepted rules of honesty and
~~lr play when it came to choosing tricks for
IS programme. If he saw an illusion which
appealed to him, he would get it, if not by fair
~eans,. then by foul. I will do him justice
Y saYIng that he always first attempted to
194 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
strike an honest bargain over such deals
If his preliminary overture failed, he would
find out, either by bribery or close observation
how the trick was performed. Then w he~
a suitable period had elapsed, he' would
incorporate it in his own programme.
I can remember such cm occasion about
thirty years ago, when Hercat was performing
the famous" Blue Room Mystery" in London
with considerable success. Kellar, who was
visiting this country at the time, saw Hercat's
show, and decided the trick wo aId do splendidly
for presentation in the States. He ap-
proached Hercat with a view to buying the
mystery, but the latter-a keen business man
also-refused to listen to his proposals.
But that didn't worry Harry in the least.
Shortly afterwards Kellar staged (, The Blue
Room Mystery" in America with all the
polish and effect of his rival's London show!
About the year 1904, Kellar decided to look
for a successor. He was growing old then,
and felt the time had come when he should
choose a man to carry on his work when he
himself went into a well earned retirement.
He had seen Paul Valadon perform a~ the
Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, and immedIately
for decided that here was the man whom he
was seeking.
Valadon, naturally enough, jumpe~ at
Kellar's offer. The older magician proI~l1sed
to teach him his illusions, and introduce hIm to
HARRY KELLAR'S SEARCH FOR A SUCCESSOR. 195
American audiences as " Harry Kellar's Suc-
cessor." It was understood, of course, that
any new illusions that were added to the
programme were to be performed in the
true Harry Kellar tradition.
The scheme was an utter failure. Valadon,
although a very able conjuror, possessed
a violent temper, and few people were able to
bear his company for any length of time.
Not long after the partnership had started,
he demonstrated his petulance in no uncertain
manner. The older man could not see eye
to eye with him on many matters, and quarrels
were frequent. Harry suddenly found he had
backed a loser; he forthwith" sacked" Vala-
don, and re-started his search for a man
to carry on his work.
This time he was more fortunate. After
much deliberation he picked on Howard
Thurston, and, as far as I know, never had
reason to regret his choice. Thurston has
carried out his task nobly and well and
i~cidentally has netted a useful fortun'e for
hImself. I understand that he in turn is
se~kin~ someone to carry on the work. I
WIsh hIm luck, and trust he will be as fortunate
as was Kellar in choosing himself.
196 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY ME!':.
WAS JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE
A GENIUS;J
Was John Nevil Maskelyne a genius?
Yes-but not a magical genius. How then,
you might ask, did he make his name famous
throughout the world as England's greatest
magician?
It was showmanship, that indefinable
quality without which the cleverest perform-
ance will be a failure, and which has turned
many a mediocre production into a startling
success. John Nevil Maskelyne was a show-
man to his finger t i p s . . . Both the performers were bound to chairs,
He was not, strictly speakmg, a c0fol]u~er.
Although his manipulation of the spmnmg
bowls was extremely expert, he spe~ialised
mainly in mechanical illusions, and It was
on these effects that he built up his great
reputation. He understood the great power
of the Press, and, like Houdini in later years,
he did anything to bring his name before the
public.
He invented a great number of clever
illusions and was skilled in most matters
appertaining to machinery. This is no~ to
be wondered at for he first went into busmess
as a clockmaker at Cheltenham. In those
WAS JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE A GENIUS? 197
early days, his. greatest friend was Coo~e,
a tailor's apprentIc~, and both of them studIed
magic as a spare-tIm~ hobby..
It was a pure aCCIdent whIch led these
two young men to co?sider the 'p.ossibilities
of becoming profeSSIOnal magIcIans, for,
although they wer~ both kee.n amateurs,
neither considered hImself suffiCIently expert
to earn a living by the art.
At that time the celebrated Davenport
Brothers were at the height of their fame,
and their visit to Cheltenham excited much
interest. They were then performing their
celebrated spirit seance," which many people
(c
believed was a genuine exhibition of psychic
phenomena.
their wrists were tied, and their hands filled
with flour. They were put inside a cabinet,
and between them was placed a stool on
which stood a glass of water, a number of
musical instruments, a board, a hammer, and
some nails. The lights of the theatre were
extinguished, thus plunging the stage into
darkness.
Less than a minute afterwards, a distinct
sound of hammering was heard to come from
the cabinet. The musical instruments were
pl?-yed in expert fashion, and then silence
reIg~ed again. When the lights were turned
up, It was found that the nails had been
driven into the board, the musical instru-
198 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN. WAS JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE A GENIUS? 199

ments had been disturbed, and the water in

t he glass had vanished. The perfonners
had apparently not moved, for their wrists
were still tied, and the flour in their hands was
not spilled. But their coats had been turned
inside out.
Maskelyne had no idea how the trick was
done, but a faint ray of light thrown on to the
stage from an uncurtained window gave him
the secret. The Davenports had ordered
that the window should be covered, but half
way through the" seance" the curtain slipped
down unnoticed. This unforeseen accident
pennitted Maskelyne to watch the Davenports'
movements. He saw them slip their ropes,
carefully place the flour in their pockets, and
remove their coats. They played on the
instruments, hammered the nails to the
board, drank the water, and put their coats
on inside out. When the "seance" was
completed, they took the flour again from their
P?c~ets, and replaced their hands into the
slIdmg loops of the ropes. This insight into
the working of a professional illusion set
Maskelyne thinking.
Shortly afterwards he decided to become
a professional magician, and eooke agreed
to become his partner. The latter played
only an assistant's part on the stage, but he
~ad charge of all the costumes and sceneries
In the act. This was in r865 but it was not
until eight years afterwards that they accum-
200 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN. WAS JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE A GENIUS? 201

ulated sufficient capital to enable them to

take a lease of the St. James' Hall London
In those eight 'years in the provinces'
Maskelyne had learnt much. He was as yet
an unknown name in England, but was
·1
beginning to develop those gifts for showman-
ship which were later to make him world-
famous. His idea was to run for two or
~
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i.J
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three months in London, and then return to ~
4
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li
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the provinces as "Maskelyne-The Great "" z "
London Magician." But he and Cooke made
w 4
~ I-+-
1-4 1'
...I
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so much money from their short stay at the w
CJ
St. J ames' Hall, that he decided to take a long tii
lease of the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly.
In this he showed extreme cleverness, for .....e

~
the latter theatre was ideally suited for a ~
magical entertainment. It had a quaint,
~

J J.
mystic atmosphere which I have never
encountered elsewhere, and by calling it C"
"England's Home of Mystery," Maskelyne
did much to heighten this strange effect.
Maskelyne made his name, not so much by 4
0"

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his own perfomances, as by those of the great i
~ .~

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conjurers whom he engaged to assist him at i

the Egyptian Hall. Such men as Devant, H
.... I 1I I 1
~ ~
Paul Valadon, De Kolta, and Charles Morritt ~

~
.
did more to build up the reputation of the
theatre than either of the two proprietors.
~
~ ~
For Maskelyne, it must be said he ha~ a
friendly and intimate manner of putt~ng
over. his illusions, a fatherly style "yhlCh
appealed immensely to his old fashlOned
audiences.
202 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
His most famous trick was the celebrated
box escape, and he offered £500 to the man
who could discover the secret. Two magical
mechanics claimed to have done so, but
Maskelyne refused to pay the money. A
court case ensued which was finally taken to
the House of Lords. Maskelyne would not
disclose his secret, and was forced to pay.
The case aroused enormous interest, and
Maskelyne knew that the publicity he received
was worth far more than the money he had
been forced to part with. I believe this box
was destroyed on Maskelyne's death.
The libel case which Archdeacon Colley
brought against Maskelyne will still be
remembered by many. The Archdeacon
stated that he had attended a spiritualistic
seance in which he had seen the form of a
woman materialised from a man's side.
Although he secretly had a g~eat resJ?eet f?r
spiritualism, Mas kelyne publIcly dended. It,
thereby gaining a wonderful free advertise-
ment. On this occasion, he stated he could
produce by mechanical means the effect seen
by Archdeacon Colley: and added a few words
which were a gross libel on the famouS
prelate. And, although Maskelyne again 10s}
his case, he gained an enormous amount 0
publicity from the Press. .
Curiously e?ough, :'l-ll Maskelyne's b~sme~s
ventures outsIde magIC were c?mpl~t,e fallu~e ~
On the occasion of Queen Vlctona s Jublle
WAS JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE A GENIUS? 203
procession, he undertook to erect a certain
number of stands. It so happened that
the procession did not take the route he
anticipated, and he lost every farthing he
had put into the venture.
In 1905, the lease of the Egyptian Hall
expired, and Maskelyne moved to the present
headquarters of the family, St. George's
Hall. He opened with a play called "The
Race," which was a disastrous failure. He
was not in the least disheartened, and, by
returning to his illusions, soon attracted the
same crowded houses he had drawn at the
Egyptian Hall. On the death of Cooke, he
went into partnership with David Devant.
This proved even more successful than the
first combination.
John ~evil Maskelyne died in 1917, and his
s?n NeVIl has since joined him on the other
SIde. Devant has gone into a honourable and
well earned retirement, but Jasper and Mary
Maske.lyne, grandchildren of John N evil,
are still carrying on the family traditions
at. St. George's Hall. The name of Maskelyne
wI~l be known and honoured as long as magic
eXIstS.

204 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY ME,,,.
THE MYSTERY OF MY RESIGNATION FROM
THE MAGIC CIRCLE.
Many years ago, when the Magic Circle
was first fonned, I was asked to become a
member. At the time I was already a member
of the Society of American Magicians, but
I knew this would not prevent me from
joining the new society. I had felt for ~ome
considerable time that a club for profeSSIOnal
illusionists in this country would be a very
desirable thing, and was therefore only too
delighted to accept the invitation for member-
ship that was extended to me. .1. agr~ed to
give the Magic Circle some publIcIty III .the
pages of my own publication The M agic~an,
and to do everything in my power to help the
activities of the club.
For a time, everything proceeded smoothly.
The doings of the Circle were duly recorded
in my magazine, and I was extremely happy
in the thought that I was, at last, of s0Il1:e
material use to the many magIcIans. . 0f thIS
country. After some months, however, the
communications and circulars that were
always sent to me by the secretary sudden Y
ceased, and for no apparent reason.
('
My RESIGNATION FROM THE MAGIC CIRCLE. 205
1 made several inquiries into the matter,
but the replies 1 received were all evasive, and
I was more mystified than before. I t was not
long, however, before I heard the expla?ati<?n.
Georg~ Wetton, a Director of the (l?aIly
Express," and a famous amateur conJur<?r
of the time, informed me that the MagIc
Circle had received a letter purporting to
come from myself, stating that 1 wished to
resign. Since 1 had never written such a
letter, the only assumption was that my
signature had been forged.
The following day I met the secretary, and
asked to be allowed to see the document.
Again his replies were evasive, and I was
given no satisfaction. Since I feared that
my professional reputation might suffer some
damage, I called a secret meeting of the great
magicians of the country, and put my case
before them.
After a good deal of discussion, it was
decided that we should form another society
to be known as "The Magicians' Club."
~arry Houdini, who was in England at the
tIme, was elected President and myself Vice-
President. The first meeting was arranged at
the Holborn Restaurant in May, 19II, more
than 300 guests being invited.
The news of our new club soon leaked out,
and it came to Houdini's ears that several of
the members of the Magic Circle were going to
attend our meeting with a view to upsetting
206 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
the proceedings. In order to safeguard our-
selves, it was decided that Houdini and myself
should each have a bodyguard of eight well-
trained pugilists, who would be able to explain
to any would-be hecklers that law and order
was desirable.
Houdini occupied the chair. As I was
sitting next to him on the platform, I noticed
several members of the Magic Circle congre-
gated together on one side of the hall.
No sooner had the chairman started his
speech than a whole volley of remarks were
fired at him.
"There's only room for one society, and
that's already in existence." " Even if yo.u
are Houdini and can escape from handcuffs, It
doesn't mean that vou can run a magical
society." These and other less polite remarks
caused incessant interruptions. . had.
At last, Houd'ni gave a pre-arranged sIgn.
Thereupon sixteen men from the back of the
hall walk~d slowly forward, and gradually
surrounded the hecklers. There wa~ no
c.:..;order, no stampeding. But as the IJ?-~er­
rupters realised that .sixtee:r: .hefty pUgl~ISts
were giving them theIr undIvIded attentIOn,
they grew strangely silent. There wet e. no
further interruptions during the meetm g
r A nun1ber of m.embership forms were hande ci
.
round amongst the guests towar d s the
~ .close
hty
of the proceedings.! One hundred and el g d
nine' o(.these were'eventually returned fil le .
My RESIGNATION FROM THE MAGIC CIRCLE. 207
and from that day the Magicians' Club has
never looked back.
As time went on, the members ~f. th~
Magic Circle learnt that the M<:tgIclans
Club was doing much to further the mterests
of magic, not only in England, ~ut all ?ver
the world.. Members of the nval socIety
were invited to attend our functions, and
much of the bad feeling which formerly
existed has long since disappeared. Inde~d,
if the figures of the J. N. Maskelyne Memonal
Fund of which I have the honour to be a
trust~e were to be examined, it would be
found that the members of the the Magicians'
Club have subscribed to a very generous
degree. I need hardly add that the great
John Nevil Maskelyne was probably the
greatest opponent that our club has ever
"J
For a long time past the Magic Circle and
the Magicians' Club have been on the most
friendly terms, for, in endeavouring to further
the interests of Magic throughout the world,
they have a common cause. It is interesting
to note that, although John Nevil Maskelyne
told me plainly that he had no use for the
Magicians' Club, his son Nevil willingly joined
Our society, and before his death was elected to
the position of Vice-President. There are
many magicians at the present time who are
members of both institutions and speak of
highly of one as they do the other.
208 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
DAVID DEVANT-THE MASTER MAGICIAN.
I first saw David Devant perfonn at the
old Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, 36 years .ago
(1893 or thereabouts.) ?e was then Just
making a name for hImself as a ~tagc
performer* ; prior to this h~ had been a pnvate
entertainer. I thought hIS show one of the
cleverest I had witnessed, and felt I would
like to see him perfonn again.
A few years later, when he had become the
provincial partner of Maskelyne and Cooke.
he gave an entertainment at ~he Hope Hall,
Liverpool. He was perfonnmg an es~ape
illusion playlet known as "Will the Vv~tch
and the Watchman," and with recollechOl:l~
of his impressive London performance shl-
in my mind, I decided to attend the show.
When the escape box was brought. to
the front of the stage, Devant asked If a
gentleman fr~m t?e audience would be good
enough to aSSIst hIm. There was no :e~ponse~
Thinking to avoid a brother magIcIan th
embarrassment of asking for help tha~ w~~
not forthcoming, I rose from my seat m t
stalls, and stepped up to the platform..
* He had appeared at the London Pavl'1'Ion, The RonacheI,
Vienna, and the Crystal Palace.
DAVID DEVANT-THE MASTER MAGICIAN. 209
Devant recognised me, and immediately
became suspicious. I assumed. he thought
I had volunteered my ~elp. m order. to
probe into the secret of hIS tnck. Nothmg
was further from my mind. At any rate,
David decided to take no chances, and asked
for another volunteer. After some difficulty,
he persuaded a man who had been sitting
near me, to go up on to the stag~. To get
rid of me he employed an old tnck known
in the pr~fession as "the conjurer's force."
(l These two gentlemen have ~indly
consented to help me," he told the audIence.
"Which shall I choose, the gentleman on
the right or on the left?" Whichever one
of us the audience chose, I was bound to be
asked to leave the stage, as Devant had not
said whether he meant the audience's right
and left or his own. So I resumed my seat,
feeling uncomfortably small.
I was not greatly impressed with the box
escape, and after the show I waited for him
in order to show him a model steel cage
escape of my own, which I thought a good
deal more mysterious than "Will the Witch
and the Watchman." However, he told me
that this was the invention of J. N. Maskelyne,
and this being so, he could not substitute
another trick. I was surprised at this, for I
had been given to understand that he
~ought apparatus from a well-known magical
Inventor called Frank Hiam. I was disap-
210 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
pointed too, for nothing would have given
me greater pleasure than .to have s~en my
trick in the hands of so polIshed a conJurer as
Devant.
I decided to~build .the7illusion~7·myself.
A few weeks afterwards, I showed it to T.
Nelson Downs, the American coin manipu-
lator who found me a customer willing to
pay ~ore than twice the amount I would have
accepted from Devant. Later, when the
secret leaked out , the trick was used'
by .
several
big illusionists in Europe ~nd;.- Am~n.ca.
Some years later, one foreIgn magIc~an
accused me of being a fraud, calmly statmg
that he had invented the trick himself.
Needless to say, this claim was never
substantiated.
Although I was anxious to c~aim Devant. as
a friend, I refrained from agam approachmg
him owing to the fact that I had been very
coldly treated by his partner, John NevII
Maskelyne. That, of course, is another story,
but rather than run the risk of furth~r
friction, I thought it advisabl~ to aVOId
meeting any of the business aSSOCIates of the
Grand Old Man of St. George's Hall.
I was, therefore, agreeably surprised ~hen
Devant called on me one morning, and cordIal~y
invited me to visit him at his flat. HIS
manner was most friendly, and he added ~hat
he was anxious to purchase some ~~w tnc~~
"You supply our leading magICIans WIt
DAVID DEVANT-THE MASTER MAGICIAN. 211
apparatus," he said, "but you h~ve nev~~
advised me when you have got anythmg good.
I refrained from mentioning the steel
cage incident, and humbly assured him that
the fault would be rectified in the future.
My visit to De-yant was one. of the most
enlightening expenences of my h~e. Amongst
magicians he was a sadly mIsunderstood
man, for his quiet and reserved nature was
mistaken for unsociability. I found him an
excellent conversationalist, willing to speak
on any subject which interested~me. At the
time it struck me that lhe was a man who
would never stoop to a mean or underhand
action, and in the course of many years
business with him, I never had occasion to
revise that opinion. I remember thinking
how well he lived up to the advice of the
greatest of our poets:-
" . To thine own self be true,
A nd it shall follow, as the night the day,
Thou can'st not then be false to any man."
Before I left that evening, Devant had given
me an order for several new tricks. But I
came away with something far more valuable
than a mere commercial contract. I had
his friendship.
A short while afterwards, I went to see him
perform at the Finsbury Park Empire.
As I was sitting in his dressing room after
the show, an idea struck me.
212 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
11David," I said, cc the time has come when
the magicians of the world should acknow-
ledge you as their master."
11What do you mean? " he asked.
11They should make you a public presen-
tation. .Before I take the matter up, I
should lIke your consent."
He pondered for a minute or two in silence.
"It's a kind thought," he said. But I'm
11
afraid you would find it a difficult task.
I'm too reserved for the liking of most people.
You could not get many to subscribe to
my presentation." It was a considerable
time before I could persuade him to agree
to my suggestion.
The presentation was made at St. George's
Hall, before a packed house. Magicians
from all parts of the world attended, and
cheered him to the echo. They came to
pay homage to a Master Magician.
My IMPROMPTU ACT. 213
MY IMPROMPTU ACT.
When I was a young man, and had still
my "vay to make in the world, I was eager to
snap up any offer that was made to me. One
of my first professional engagements was at a
small mining town called Morristown, in South
Wales.
In those days-I was twenty-one at the time-
I was always anxious to make a big impress-
ion, and adopted the then unusual custom of
taking my scenery about with me. Arranging
that this should be delivered by goods train
at the Morristown station, I went on ahead
to fix up the final arrangements for my show
at the local theatre.
To DlY surprise, there was nobody to greet
me when I arrived. The theatre was like a
house of death. I was told afterwards that
the whole of the theatre staff, including the
or~hestra and stage hands, worked in the
mInes .during the day, only starting their
professIOnal duties in the evening.
After I had been waiting well over an
ho~r, an aged man put in an appearance.
I Introduced myself, told him that my
scenery was being sent on, and finally
 214 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
asked him if he knew of anyone who let out
apartments.
" Yes," he replied, after some deliberation.
" My missus does." He gave me the address,
and I set out in great haste, for I was anxious
to return to the station to inquire after
my props. Arrived at the house, vvhich was
only a few minutes from the station, I
knocked sharply on the door. A large female
of gaunt and forbidding appearance answered
my summons.
" Ur ? " she asked.
" Good morning," I said in my pleasantest
manner. "Your husband tells me that you
let out rooms. Could you tell me your lowest
tern1S for a week's lodging? "
·
" Urn. T wo gumeas a week" .
"That seems rather dear," I said. "I
happen to be a theatrical artist-in fact,
I'm appearing at your theatre this w~ek.
What are your very lowest terms for theatncal
artists? "
"Dirty dogs!" was the startling reply,
and the door was slammed violently in my
face!
At last, however, I managed to fix up a
comfortable room. But my satisfaction was
short lived. When I went to the railway
station, I was horrified to learn that my
scenery had been sent on to another tow~ by
mistake. Things looked somewhat senous,
and I sought out the manager of the theatre,
My IMPROMPTU ACT. 215
and explained the whole situation. He
received me no more kindly than the landlady.
"Do you know what you are?" he said.
" You're a fraud, that's what you are. You
never had no scenery; you never had nothing.
You've come here on false pretences. I've a
good mind to call in the police."
"Rubbish," I returned heatedly. "Go
down
. .. to" the station) yourself and make
mqumes.
Taking me at my word, the manager walked
down to the station) where my story was
confirmed.
"What are we going to do about it?"
he asked. "The whole show's ruined, because
you were top of the bill."
" You can put me on last," I suggested.
"The scenery can't reach here before to-
morrow, so I can't do any tricks. But I can
do a hypnotism act that ought to satisfy the
audience."
"That's no good. They want to see you
do magic, and they won't have' anything
else." ,
"There's nothing else to be done," I
argued. "It's either hypnotism or nothing
at all."
" All right, all right," agreed the manager
gloomily. "But I warn you-they'll give
you a rough time."
I made the most of the short'-time left
at my disposal. My plan of campaign was
216 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
simple. I visited every public house in the
town and picked out half a dozen men
whos~ appearance seemed to indicated a
fondness for drink.
I took the men round to the back of the
theatre and explained what I wanted them to
do. They were to be ': horses," a term ~h~t
is used in the professIOn for a hypnotIst s
secret confederates. I told them that they
would each receive a shilling and as much
beer as it was possible to drink if they would
follow my instructions.
When I asked for assistants from the
audience, my "horses" were to come on to
the stage. Each man was then allotted a
different task. One had to chew. cand~es,
another was to drink paraffin 011, whil~t
another was to have needles forced thro?gh hIS
cheeks-this last is easily done by pressmg the
flesh and so making it numb-and so on.
I realised that I was taking an enormous
risk but it was the only way out of my
diffi~ulty. The men agreed to help me, and
we held an impromptu rehearsal there and
then. Everything worked very well, and
after binding them to secrecy, I asked them to
be in the theatre by ten 0' clock the same
evemng. . T
" Ladies and gentlemen," I saId, S!ll1 mg
pleasantly. "Owing to unforeseen cIrcum~
stances I rearet I shall be unable to g.
through the b advertised performance thIS
My IMPROMPTU ACT. 217
evening. However, with your permission, I
propose to give ,You an exhibition of my
hypnotic powers. I paused to see how thIS
announcement would be received. There
were no comments, so I continued. " For
this exhibition, I shall require the assist-
ance of several gentlemen from my audience.
Will anyone be kind enough to volunteer?"
At this point my half a dozen " horses"
stepped forward, including my regular assis-
tant who was sitting in the stalls. But to my
surprise, they were immediately followed by
several other men whom I had never seen
before. I was quite unprepared for this
development, but I called for several more
chairs, set them around in a semi-circle, and
asked each man to sit down. I found I
had fifteen volunteers in all, and I was careful
to see that mv own assistant was seated on the
extreme right. Waving my hands at the
latter in what I hoped was a truly impressive
manner, I looked him straight in the eyes.
" You are falling asleep," I said in a deep
voice. The words were hardly out of my
mouth when the assistant fell off his chair,
and remained motionless on the ground.
This piece of fooling had a startling effect
on the audience. They rose in their seats,
and some of the women screamed. The
volunteers rushed as one man for the steps
that led to the stalls and it was with the
218 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
greatest difficulty that I persuaded my
" horses" to remain on the stage.
The performance continued, and my volun-
teers vlayed their part well. In turn they
ate candles, swallowed oil, and did several
other little tricks which I had shown them in
the short time at my disposal. When I
came to forcing needles through a man's
cheeks, several women fainted, and had to
be carried out.
Flushed with success, I decided that as a
Grand Finale, I would do a mock marriage
scene. Putting the" fluence" on my regular
assistant, I told him that he was to represent
the bridegroom. He gave me a sly wink,
which at the moment I was at a loss to under-
stand.
I turned to one of the" horses," made the
same mysterious passes with my hands, and
explained that he was to be the bride. I was
in the middle of my explanation when an
ear-splitting shout caused me to turn my head.
A strange sight met my eyes. My assistant
had stripped himself of every inch of clothing.
Waving his shirt above his head, he pranced
across the stage. Suddenly he stopped, and,
cupping his hands around his mouth, shouted,
" Where's my blushing bride ? "
I need hardly say that the performance
was stopped immediately.': The curtain came
down amidst shrieks of laughter. 4 Althoug:h
I spoke severely to my assistant for hIS
THE BATTLE OF THE PIERROTS. 219
unseemly conduct, in reality I had much to
thank him for. I played to crowded houses
for the rest of the week, and, in spite of the
fact that my scenery arrived on the following
day, the manager would not allow me to
change my programme. Of course, my assis-
tant's eccentric behaviour was deleted from
the subsequent performances!
I~'.was so pleased with the success:of ithe
show that I paid my " horses" half a crown
and as much beer as they could drink for each
performance, and, like good fellows, they did
not .~etray the trust I had put in them. In
addItIOn, I was able to fool the police and
several medical men who called on me and
asked for an explanation of my wonderful
hypnotic powers.
THE BATTLE OF THE PIERROTS.
,~lthough it is some years since I last
yIsIted West Kirkby, I shall always remember
It as the scene of my first--and perhaps my
greatest-theatrical "battle." Although the
story ,I am about to set down is of no
great Importance" it sh,ows to what lengths
shome promoters WIll go In order to make their
s ow a success.
thTwenty-five ye~~s ago, it occurred to me that
b e Pagoda PaVIlIon at West Kirkby would
e an admirable headquarters for my concert
party during the summer season, I was not
220 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN
discouraged when I learned that Adler and
Sutton, two very well known concert party
promoters of the period, had lost heavily the
previous year, and when the owner of the
Pagoda agreed to make some alterations in
the size of the stage and the number of the
stalls, I felt well pleased.
I booked the Pagoda from May until
September-an unusually long season-and
bought up every advertisement hoarding from
West Kirkby to Birkenhead. I decided that
if my show was to be a failure, it would not
be through lack of advertising.
The first performance of the " Will Goldston
Court Pierrots" proved a great success, and
we continued to do two shows a day before
well packed houses. Owing to my heavy
preliminary expenses, I was unable to show a
balance for the first six weeks, but I was
content to bide my time. I saw that once
my debts had been cleared, I should be able to
make a handsome profit.
Towards the middle of June, a company
called "The Rosettes" appeared at 'West
Kirkby. I had not expected this, but was not
unduly worried as my show had become
thoroughly well established. But when I
heard that "The Rosettes" had secretly
booked my comedian and pianist, I began to
have serious doubts as to the honesty of the
rival promoter.
THE BATTLE OF THE PIERROTS. 221
My first move was to telegraph to London
for another comedian and pianist. These
arrived before the date of the first performance
of the" The Rosettes," and I was able to
forestall my two" deserters" by giving them
the sack. I held a hasty rehearsal one
Monday morning, found my new pianist and
comedian extremely satisfactory, and played
to a successful matinee the same afternoon.
After the afternoon performance, I distri-
buted a number of hand-bills amongst the
audience, announcing that I intended to do
a wonderful handcuff escape in the evening,
and invited members of the Cheshire Police
Force . to attend free of charge. This
caused something of a sensation, and the
house was packed an hour before the evening
performance was due to begin. That night
" The Rosettes" took exactly five shillings.
So far the honours were all mine in the
"battle," and the rival troupe decided to
change their tactics. At night, they employed
several men to whitewash the following
words along the main streets of the town:-
" (The Rosettes' are the only Concert Party
worth seeing. The other show is a variety
entertainment.' ,
I countered this move by informing the
police that it was illegal to deface the public
streets in this manner. The following day my
rivals were warned that if such a thing
222 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
occurred again, the consequences would be
extremely serious.
The next idea of " The Rosettes" was to
send in a number of roughs at one of my
evenin rr performances. Fortunately, I had
foresee~ the possibility of this, and had
engaged a nu~ber of t~e ~tronges t and heavi-
est constables III the dIstnct. As soon as the
roughs commenced to get noisy, they w~re
thrown out, and the show proceeded qUIte
smoothly.
By this time the rivalry between the two
concert parties was the talk of the whole town.
In order to create further excitement, the
local hospital said they would award a Silver
Cup to the party which was able to collect
most money for the hospital funds on gala
day. h inside the Pavilion, and smashed up all my
I hired a horse and wagon, and toured t e
town giving ten minute performances at the
street corners. I was very anxious that m.y
party should gain the Cup, for I knew It
would be a splendid advertisement. In
order to give myself a better chance-I make
this fact public for the first time-I put a
five pound note into my own collecting box.
When the amounts were checked, it was
found that my own party had collected
exactly five pounds more than " The
Rosettes."
The rival party were now getting desperate.
THE BATTLE OF THE PIERROTS. 223
They brought down their prices of one
shiljing, ninepence, and sixpence, to three-
pence, twopence, and a penny. Had they
been content to have left things like this,
it is quite possible that their reduced prices
would have attracted a considerable crowd.
But they made one false step. On the
following Sunday night, they pasted their own
bills over my advertisements oJtside the
Pagoda pavilion.
Very early the following morning I was told
of their latest move. I went down to the
Pagoda, and saw that none of my own bills
was visible. There was no one about, so
I decided to take a big risk.
First of all I knocked off the padlock of the
front doors with a heavy stick. I then went
own props and scenery. When this was
done, I went to the police station and
informed the inspector that the Pagoda had
been wrecked by some unknown intruders!
To my surprise-and satisfaction-one of
the policemen told me that he had seen the
male members of "The Rosettes" leaving the
Pagoda early in the morning. Whether he
told me this out of sheer kindness of heart, or
whether he really imagined that he had seen
my rivals, I do not know to this day.
Fortunately my gamble succeeded. When
the news became known that" The Rosettes"
224 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
had wrecked my show, I had all the public
sYmpathy I required. At the end o~ th~ same
week, the other party left the town m dISgU.St,
and for the rest of the season, the entertam-
ment of the population a~d holid~r ~akers of
West Kirkby was left entIrely to Will Gold-
ston's Court Pierrots."
MY CEMETERY ADVENTURE.
I am not what is usually termed a nervous
man. In the course of my life I have had a
good many shocks, pleasant and unpleasant,
and have survived them all. The he.avy
spirit footsteps .w~ich I often hear lc~.te at mght
in my office bmldmg no long~r t~~Ill m~, and
I have attended many awe mspmng sean~es
without the slightest qualms. But nothmg
will ever persuade me to walk through a
cemetery at night. . gOlllg to get the keys ? "
I tried it once in order to ~1.~ is,
and failed lamentably. I was the vIcbm of
practical jokers, and lost both my wager and
my nerve. Although the incidents I am about
to relate occurred nearly thirty years ago,
I have never quite lost the fear of gr~vey.ards
which my terrifying experience first mspIred.
I was a young man at the ti~e, a~d had
just become interested in Spmh~alIsm. I
was neither a believer nor an unbelIever, but
was investigating the subject in order to
discover the truth of psychic phenomena.
My CEMETERY ADVENTURE.
225
I was certainly not frightened of ghosts or
sp~oks or any of the <;>ther ki.ndred beings
whIch are usually assocIated wIth the spirit
world.
A few of my brother magicians-sceptics
all of them-pulled my leg incessantly with
regard to my spiritualistic investiaations.
I took their banter in good part, but ~ecretly
ached for the opportunity to show them I
had no fear of the" black bogies," as they
called them.
The opportunity was not long in coming.
A man called Bradley, who has since died asked
m;, point blank if I was frightened of ghosts.
Of course not," I replied.
"Well, we'll bet vou a fiver you won't
walk across the Mount Cemetery and back
at two o'clock in the morning." .
~'I'll take you on," I retorted. "But who's
"You leave that to us. We shall be at
the main gates at two o'clock to-morrow
morning."
.Those wh~ kno~ the Mount Cemetery,
LIverpool, wIll testIfy that it is one of the
largest graveyards in the district. I realised
that it would be a longish walk to undertake
at such an hour in the morning, and knew the
Cemetery would hardly wear the same peace-
ful aspect that it has in daylight. Neverthe-
less, I ~an honestly say that I was not in the
least fnghtened by my hasty resolution, and
226 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
congratulated myself on being able to earn
such an easy fiver. . fear.
I arrived punctually at the appoInted
place, but found my four magical friends
there before me. By some means or other
they had obtained the keys, and were clustered
together, talking in low undertones.
" Hullo, Goldston," said one as he saw me
approaching. "Are you fit for the walk?"
" Rather t" I replied, quite at my ease.
" The money's as good as mine." . my IntrusIOn!
" Glad you think so. We'll wait here untIl
you come back. Best of luck to you."
He unlocked the gate, and motioned me to
enter.
I t was not until I had passed from speaking
distance of my friends that I began to feel
the first twinges of nervousness. The deathly
stillness of everything around me, and the
pale moonlight glinting on the cold, stone
monuments sent queer little shivers down my
back. Occasionally the cool night breeze
would catch up a few leaves and pieces of
paper, and send them scurrying over the gravel
with a weird scratching sound. I began to
perspIre.
I lengthened my pace, determine~ to c<;)Ver
the distance in the shortest pOSSIble tIme.
I had covered about a quarter of a mile when
the rustling of a few leaves behind me caused
me to turn my head, as though to satisfy
myself that Cl Old Nick" was not really on
My CEMETERY ADVENTURE. 227
my trail. What I saw turned me cold with
V:apour was .rising f~om a nearby gravestone,
a kInd ?f white lumInOUS vapour that glis-
ten~d WIth an unearthly light. It was like
polIshed s~eam, yet I could see right through
It. Yes, It was coming from another grave
as ,veIl. And another. It was cuming from
all of them! Oh, heavens! what was it?
It ~ust b~ the ghosts coming to haunt me for
I stood li~e a statue, too frightened to
move. NothIng happened. No spirit voices
gr~eted me, no bony hands stretched out their
sp~dery finge~s to clutch my clothes. Every-
thIng was qUIet. Even the breeze was stilled.
Although I dared not yet move, my numbed
senses began to function again. .
"What is it ?" I whispered. "The spirits
can't be lighting fires in the coffins." I
pondered, and realisation came. " You
fathead!" I said aloud.
I had heard ~efore of the strange phosphor-
ous vapour WhICh has been observed to rise
from. graves ~t nig~t-time. This was my
first l11troductlOn to It.. E-yen to this day I
do not know the true SCIentIfic explanation of
the phenomenon, but have been told it is an
outcome of the chemical construction of
~uman bones. In any case, 1 knew now what
It looked like, although I told myself that the
228 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
experience had probably taken ten years off
my life.
" Nothing to be frightened of," I murmured,
and set off once more for the gates on the
far side of the cemetery. I had scarcely
walked another hundred yards when I had the
greatest shock of my life.
'.' Don't go that way, sir!" said a woman's
VOIce.
" In God's name, who is it ? " I screamed.
" Please, oh, please, don't go that way! "
repeated the voice.
I stood not upon the order of my going, but
flew as fast as my legs would carry me.
All thoughts of my fiver had gone, and I
raced back along the track by which I had
approached. I had not gone far, however,
when my courage returned. Perhaps, after
all, my nerves were playing tricks with me.
I pulled up short, and listened intentlv.
"Please, sir. Please, oh please!" Again
I heard it, close at hand. The voice was
chasing me I
That decided me. I ran faster and faster.
I realised, with a certain amount of relief,
that the unknown spirit was losing ground
on me. But there was no doubt that it was
trying to catch me. I heard the thin, plain-
tive cry following in my wake, and gradually
getting fainter as I gained speed.
I reached the cemetery gates in a state of
collapse.
AN ERROR THAT COST £1,000. 229
"Hello, Will," said Bradley who was
peering through the bars. "Wh~t's wrong? "
" For Heaven's sake let me out! " I splut-
tered. "There's a ghost just behind."
"A ghost? You must be dreaming."
" ~et me out., I tell you the awful thing's
chaSIng me. It s coming now."
" The ghost" came. It proved to be one
of Bradley's lady friends! The girl was hard
up, ~nd. for a I?ound note had readily consented
to he In waIt behind a tombstone for the
unsuspecting victim.
" I ~ope I didn't frighten you too much,"
she s~lld to me, afterwards. I sheepishly
comphmented her on her courage. But the
charming smile she gave me never recom-
pensed me for the enormous shock to my
nervous ~ystem. I h:=tven't got over it yet.
That IS why I WIll not walk through a
cemetery at night.
AN ERROR THAT COST £1,000.
. CO';lnt Castaglioni was not, as might be
ll~agIned, an Italian gentleman of noble
bIrth. When I knew him, he was nothing
more or l~ss than an old and exceedingly
clever conJurer who had fallen on evil days.
. He ~tarted his theatrical career by perform-
m~ WIth Henry Irving for the pitiful sum of
~hIrty shillings a week. He ,vas always
mterested in magic, and it is more than
230 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
possible that he would have made a big name
for himself in this branch of the profession
had he not contracted a very unwise marriage.
The Countess Castaglioni-this, of course,
was not her real name-had many admirable
qualities, but was, unfortunately, afflicted
with what is popularly known as a "long
thirst." She confessed that her" favourite
flowers were hops" and in support of her
statement she made a hobby of investing her
money-and her husband's-with a firm of
local brewers. She continued her hobby
throughout her married life, and had an early
but not altogether un€xpected death.
After his wife's death, the poor Count
lived in the most terrible poverty. He was
reduced to giving penny performances before
school children; his clothes became nothing
but a collection of rags, and his chief means
of subsistence was an occasional egg and
crust of dry bread.
It was in such a condition as this that I
met him one winter's morning in the Dingle,
Liverpool. The poor fellow's hands were
blue from the cold, and his teeth chattered
loudly. As he saw me, he pulled himself
together.
"Good morning, my dear Goldston,'~ he
said, speaking, as he always did, in the
dramatic style that Irving had taught him.
" And how are you this morning ? "
AN ERROR THAT COST £1,000. 231
" Fine, Count," I replied, eyeing my com-
panion's tattered clothes. " Where's your
overcoat? "
The Count raised his eyebrows.
" Overcoat?" he said, smiling sadly. "I
haven't one."
I pointed to an overcoat in a nearby tailor's
window.
"Would you like that?" I asked.
" This is not time for pleasantries," replied
the old man sternly.
" I'm not joking, Count," I insisted. "You
can have it if you want it."
"But I have no money.'"
" Let me give it to you, Count."
I saw the tears come into the old magician's
eyes.
" Thank you," he said simply.
We entered the tailor's, and I asked to be
allowed to see the overcoat I had chosen.
After much difficulty, it was removed from
the window, and Castaglioni tried it on.
It was an excellent fit with the exception of
the sleeves, for the cuffs came well over the
old man's hands.
" I can soon alter those for you," said the
tailor. "It will only take me two or three
hours."
"No, laddie," said the Count. "I'll
keep it as it is. The long sleeves will keep
l1:1Y hands warm." And no amount of persua-
SIon could make him alter his decision.
232 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
On leaving the tailor, we went to a restaur-
ant, where the Count made a hearty meal, and
assured me that he felt much better. He
asked me to call on him the following day,
as he wished to give me some of his most
exclusive tricks. I was anxious to learn all
that could be taught about magic, and did as
he requested. But I was ~o.o~ed to ~is~p­
pointment. The old magICIan s con]unng
apparatus consisted of a few coins, some
coloured handkerchiefs, a length of string,
and an ivory ball. It appeared that he had
sold all his best tricks when he had first
found himself in need of money.
And now for the sequel. Some years later
I edited a magical journal known as cc ~he
Magician." One night, when I was workI~g
late in an endeavour to get all my matenal
ready for press on the following day, .1
received a letter from Count Castaghom.
He enclosed a cutting which he " hoped
might be of some use to me." The cutting
related to a murder in South America, where
a conjurer had been killed by his girl assistant.
On the back of the slip the Count had written
"Liverpool Echo" and the previous day's
date.
I naturally assumed that the cutting had
been taken from the previous day's edition
of The Echo." Therein I made a mistake
Cc
which eventually cost nearly [I,OOO! Think-
ing the news item would be of interest to my
AN ERROR THAT COST £1 ,000. 233
readers, I included it as a space filler, and
thought no more about it.
About a week after my magazine had
appeared in print, a woman walked into my
office and demanded to see me. She intro-
duced herself, and asked me what I meant
by referring to her as a prostitute and a
murderess.
cc I'm afraid I don't understand you,
madam," I replied, as civilly as I could. cc I
have never met you before."
At that, the woman produced a copy of
my magazine, and indicated the paragraph
which Count Castaglioni had sent me.
cc That's about me," she cried excitedly.
cc Really?" I said. "The story was
printed in the" Echo" a week or so ago."
cc I know it wasn't. That incident occurred
twenty years ago, and in any case it's quite
untrue."
This news was a big shock for me, and if
true, there could be little doubt that the
woman had a pretty clear case against me.
She suggested that I should make her some
sort of payment and let the matter drop,
but the figure she mentioned was so high
that I would not consider it.
A few days later I was served with a writ
for l~bel. The case was brought before Lord
Darl~ng who was then simply Mr. Justice
DarlIng. He complimented me on my fair-
ness, for in the next issue of cc The Magician"
234 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
I made a full and complete apology. For all
that, the plaintiff was awarded £200 damages,
and when I totalled up my costs, I found that
the case had cost well over £goo !
Count Castaglioni explained that the date
he had put on the back of the cutting was
merely the date on which he had sent me the
letter. He had unearthed the copy of the
newspapers from an old and dirty pile,
and seeing the reference to a magician's
death, had thought it might be useful for
my ma.gazine.
WILL GOLDSTON'S SPY SERVICE.
A fellow magician once referred to me as
"The Mystery Man of Mystery Men." This
mayor may not have been intended as a
compliment. It is a fact, however, that for
many years I succeeded in baffling-perhaps
I should say hoodwinking-many of the
greatest magicians of my time.
How does Will Goldston know? That is
the question which Harry Houdini, Carl
Hertz, John Nevil Maskelyne, David Devant,
Chung Ling Soo, and many others, have
asked themselves repeatedly in the past.
All these men have from time to time been
exceedingly vexed, not to say annoyed, with
me. Not one was ever able to understand
how I was able to explain the full details and
working of his latest tricks and illusions.
WILL GOLDSTON'S Spy SERVICE. 235
This was a cause of secret satisfaction to
myself and of considerable irritation to the
others.
It was even whispered that I employed a
sort of intelligence service to discover the
secrets of my brother magicians. My hired
spies, it was rumoured, visited the various
magical workshops, and either by bribery or
force, found out the secrets of the newest
illusions under construction.
David Devant was my victim on more
than one occasion. Many people will still
recall his excellent "Spelling Fish'" effect
at Maskelyne's Theatre. In this, he presented
a large· bowl filled with gold fish. The letters
of the alphabet, printed on small white cards,
were dropped into the bowl, and any word
given by a member of the audience was
spelt out"by the letters with uncanny accuracy.
The trick was worked bv a number of silver
wires in the water, controlled by a button-hook I
beneath the stage. I published a full working
explanation of the trick in one of my
Magician's Annuals, including an accurate
design of the button-hook. On another
occasion I congratulated him on his improve-
ment in the" Magic Kettle" trick, when he
was able to pour out any named drink from a
tin kettle. This trick had been done before,
but the latest improvement, known only to
Devant and his mechanic, was effected by
means of a number of rubber tubes in the
 236 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
handle. He was astounded when I told him
how it was done.
John Nevil Maskelyne was another whose
secrets were often known to me. I recall
meeting him on one occasion in the foyer of
St. George's Hall.
"Well, Goldston," said he, "have you
discovered any new secrets ? "
"Plenty," I replied, shortly.
" There's one you don't know, at any rate,"
he retorted. "I'm building an illusion now,
and not even Devant knows about it. It
will cause a big sensation."
I made no answer. As a matter of fact,
I knew all about Maskelyne's new trick, and
was determined to spring a surprise on him.
It was an exceedingly clever effect which was
to be known as "The Entranced Fakir."
A man and a wicker basket were to be intro-
duced to the audience. The man was to
step into the basket, which by some invisible
means, suspended itself in the air. At a
given signal the basket was to fall to the
ground, showing that its occupant had com-
pletely vanished.
The following day, I called on Maskelyne,
and showed him the complete plans of his
new illusion. For a moment I feared he had
lost his reason. His eyes got bigger and
bigger, and he muttered all sorts of dire
imprecations under his breath.
WILL GOLDSTON'S SPY SERVICE. 237
" How did you know?" he cried, when he
had sufficiently recovered to speak.
"Even the waHs have ears," I said,
picking up my hat. "But believe me,
your secret will be quite safe." .
I left him still staring at the prmts.
Shortly afterwards I heard he had
completely destroyed his half-finished ap-
paratus. There was no doubt that ~he gre~t
John Nevil was sorely vexed WIth WIll
Goldston. I thought it a pity he had acted
so childishly, for the illusion was most
ingenious, and would have been a great
success.
But my greatest triumph in thi? respect
concerns Houdini, who guarded hIS secrets
more jealously than any magician I ever
met. He had an excellent opening trick in
which he called a committee of the audience
on to the stage. After his mouth had been
carefully examined, he apparently swallowed
two dozen loose needles and several yards of
cotton. Then he took a drink from a tumbler
of water. The climax was reached when he
produced the cotton from his mouth with the
twenty jour needles threaded ?n it. . This was
one of Harry's most bafflmg. tncks, and
incidentally, one of his favountes.
I told him exactly how he concealed the
duplicate needles and cotton in his mouth,
and in what manner he hid them from the
eyes of the examining committee. Houdini
238 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
became exceedingly angry, and demanded
that I should tell him how I came by my
knowledge. But I preferred to keep my
secret.
Things got to such a pitch that several
well known illusionists employed a detective
to shadow me. They were determined at all
costs to discover how their secrets leaked
out. But when they found I attended at my
office and carried out my regular business
routine each day, they became more perplexed
than ever.
There is now no reason why I should not
make the truth known. I have had my
laughs, and I feel it is time the" spy" theory
was exploded for ever. It is pure fiction.
Never at any time have I bribed information,
or broken into the workshops cf my brother
maR~c~ans.
My sole means of getting information was-·
professional jealousy. Magicians, as a whole,
are a highly jealous race. Thus, if Willie
Smith's handkerchief illusion is better than
Fred Jones' rice bowls, then there is bound to
be bad feeling on the part of Fred. Conse-
quently he is only too eager to probe into
Willie's secrets, and, if possible, expose them.
And so Fred comes to Will Goldston with
excitement dancing in his eyes.
" Do you know how Willie does his handker-
chiefs?" he asks. " Well, it's like this . . ."
And he goes on to give me the full details of
WILL GOLDSTON'S Spy SERVICE. 239
Willie's wonderful trick. "You can publish
that in your next book, can't you?" he
says, hopefully.
That is my secret. Of course, my own
knowledge as an inventor of magical apparatus
has helped me considerably}n putting two and
two together. But my so-called "spies"
were none other than the very magicians who
wondered how I knew their tricks !
In conclusion, I would like to point out that
although, from time to time, I have published
many volumes containing magical secrets,
I have always attempted to give impartial
treatment to friend and foe alike. I have a
reputation for "smelling out" secrets, but,
so far as I know, not for unfair play.
I have never written books from a com-
mercial standpoint. My sole idea is to
preserve a record of the illusions of my time,
to be passed down to the magicians of the
future. It is a fact that many of the cleverest
members of my profession have selfishly
carried their secrets to the grave. Houdini
and Chung Ling Soo are cases in point. That
is not fair play. Magic must live after its
creators have passed on. I feel I have a
duty to perform, and trust that, after my
death, others will be found to carry on the
work that I have started.
240 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
MY QUICKEST VANISH.
Seven years ago, I had an extraordinary
adventure in Paris. We have all of us read
at some time or another of the hand-to-mout?
existence of the French apaches, of theIr
crudeness and brutality, and disre~ard for
human life. I, for one, put .these. stones do~n
as figments of the i~agmatlvemlI~ds o~ fictIOn
writers, and certamly never Imagme~ I
should be mixed up in an affray that mIght
well have ended in my death.
In the course of my visit to the ;French
capital, I decided to call on an old fnend of
mine, a noted and much respected lawyer.
He greeted me as only a French!Uan can, .but
told me regretfully that a prevIOUS appomt-
ment would necessitate his absence from
town that evening. Then an idea struck
him.
" I must go to my friends to dinner. But
you will come as well-yes? They are very
rich, and I am sure you will enjoy the pri\:ate
circus which my friend runs for the enJoy-
ment of his guests. Most decidedly you must
come."
MY QUICKEST VANISH. 241
I suggested that as an uninvited guest
I should not be very welcome, but my doubts
were swept aside.
" You do not know my friend as I do.
You are connected with the stage, and that
is enough. You must show him some of your
tricks. I am sure he will be greatly amused."
And so I went. To this day I do not know
the location of our destination, except that it
lay' twenty minutes' taxi ride' west of the
Arc de Triomphe. Sufficient to say that
the house was the most magnificent private
residence that I have ever entered. I was
afterwards told it had belonged to a wealthy
nobleman in the days before the Revolution.
I was introduced to my host and to several
of the guests, of which there were many.
We took our places at dinner, and I noticed
everyone was in evening dress. The food
was excellent, and my attempts to speak
French to a young and exceedingly pretty
lady at my side kept the party in roars of
laughter. Altogether a very enjoyable meal.
The subsequent circus astounded me.
There were clowns and performing animals,
columbines and bare-back riders-all for
the amusement of a handful of overgrown
children! I suppose it takes all sorts to
make a world, but I could not help thinking
of the impossibility of such a performance
in England. Imagine two or three dozen
242 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
of our aristocracy clapping their hands at the
antics of a clown rolled up in a carpet !
'But time was progressing, and when I
heard a nearby clock strike midnight, I
hinted to my friend that I would like to
leave. He urged me to stop, but I pleaded
I had an early train to catch in the morning,
and was anxious to be up betimes. I bade
farewell to my host, andafterreceiving instruc-
tions as to my best way home, took a regretful
departure. . ened, and I realised they were only a few
The night air was chilling, and I stepped out
at a smart pace towards town, hoping to
pick up a taxi en route. I had not got more
than a hundred yards from the house when
I paused to light a cigarette. It was then
that I heard footsteps.
I am not a man who is easily frightened, but
those footsteps sent a chill down my spine.
There was something uncanny about them,-
they slithered! There seemed to be not
one or two, but several people. The lane in
which I found myself was dark and gloomy,
and the overhanging trees shut out what
little moonlight there was. I glanced quickly
over my shoulder, and the footsteps stopped.
" Will Goldston," I said to myself. "You
must walk a little quicker."
I quickened my stride, and the footsteps
started again. Flippety-flop-just like so
many feet in soft rubber shoes. They were
.getting nearer although I was doing a steady
My QUICKEST VANISH. 243
SIX miles an hour. I consoled myself with
the thought that every pace brought me
nearer civilisation.
Still they came-flippety flop, flippety
flop, nearer still.
"Who can they be ?" I thought. " I t
sounds like an army! "
By this time I had almost broken into a
ru~, .but the sounds behind me were gaining,
gammg an the time. Sudd~nly they quick-
yards behind me.
I turned-and only just in time. The
gleaming blade of a knife swept past my
shoulder, and I heard a muttered oath in
French. There were six or seven men and
women crowding in on me, the most vile
looking creatures I have ever set eyes on.
They were dirty and unkempt, and their
clothes smelt like a garbage yard. The faces
might well have come from a Chamber of
Horrors.
. I didn't stop to think. I just ran. To the
nght was a sharp turning, and down this I
speeded like a man possessed. Luckily for
me, I was pretty fleet of foot. I had got a
start of a few feet, and although I dared not
lo?k back, I prayed inwardly that this
might get wider with every step I took.
The slithering steps behind told me that my
pursuers were still after me, and I remember
wondering if the gentleman with the knife
244 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
was leading the way, or whether one of his
less violent brothers (if any) had taken the
lead.
Suddenly I saw a taxi. What is more, it
was a moving taxi. I made one final burst
and reached the door.
" Allez !" was all I could gasp to the
bewildered driver. Fortunately, he under-
stood my danger. As I sank back on the
cushions, we shot forward at a speed that
in other circumstances I should have con-
sidered suicidal. On this occasion it saved
my life.
A CONFESSION BY WILL GOLDSTON.
r have a confession to make, a confession
of a foolhardy escapade of twenty-five years
ago. In those far-off days I was young and
irresponsible, and had not got that feeling
of respect for others which the passing years
have taught me. I was determined to get
as much fun as possible from life, and it did
not occur to me that in so doing I might be
causing considerable discomfiture and annoy-
ance to mv fellow creatures.
I have ~ laughed many times over this
episode, but one must not assume that I
have entirely lost my sense of shame. I
have done my best to make amends, as I will
tell you later. What, then, was my crime?
Is Will Goldston a murderer, a thief, a black-
A CONFESSION BY WILL GOLDSTON. 245
mailer ? No, he is none of these things.
In August, 1904, I was stopping at a small
hotel near Lime Street, Liverpool. It was
my custom to take my meals in the restaurant
attached to the hotel, and as I was well
known to the management, I was always
assured of good food and prompt attention
to my orders. One day, as I was taking
lunch, the newspaper propped up against the
cruet, I heard the rattle of a money box at
my side, and a pleasant, soft-toned voice
said, " Can you spare something, please? "
I looked up. Before me was a Salvation
Army lassie, dressed in the regulation uniform
of blue tunic and skirt. She had rosy cheeks,
fair hair which peeped from beneath the brim
of her poke bonnet, and large, blue eyes which
looked straight into mine.
"Please help us," she said. "It's Self-
Denial Week."
I slipped a shilling into the box.
"I'm always glad to help a good cause,"
I remarked, straightening my tie. "But to
be quite honest, I don't know much about
the Salvation Army."
" Your money won't be wasted," replied
the girl, making as though to move to the
next table.
"Wait a minute," I said, anxious not to
lose her company. Cl Tell me about the
Army."
246 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
"There is nothing much to tell. We try
to do good, that is all."
" I suppose you are all very good people,
aren't you? "
" Some of us have been bad, but we have
heard the call."
" Heard the call? Oh yes, I know. Y Oll
hear the call, and then join the Army, is that
it ? "
" Yes."
I was beginning to enjoy myself. This was
going to be a delightful leg pull. I cleared
my throat, and lowered my eyes to the plate.
" Is it possible for a really wicked man to
hear the call ? "
"Of course. But why do you ask ?"
" Because I am a wicked man," I replied in
hushed tones. " I have led a terrible life."
"What have you done?"
" I could never tell you."
"But why-oh!" And the girl turned
crimson. There was silence for a few seconds.
"It is not too late," she continued
presently. "Why not join us ? "
" I am too wicked."
"But we want sinners."
" If you mean that, I will come."
She seemed genuinely concerned for me, and
told me exactly where to find the Army Hall.
There was a me\.~ting on the following evening
A CONFESSION BY WILL GOLDSTON. 247
at seven 0' clock. I said I should be pleased
to attend, and the good girl, satisfied at
having done her duty by me, turned to
resume her collection.
On. the following evening, I kept my
appomtment to the second. There was a
large crowd present when I arrived, and after
being ~nrolled by the Captain in charge,
I was mtroduced to everyone in turn. At
first. there was .some hymn singing, accom-
pamed by a tIme-worn harmonium. This
was followed by several speeches, to which we
listened in respectful silence. Altogether I
found it rather boring. '
Finally, however, my opportunity came.
The Captain regretfully announced that
Mr. Blank had been taken suddenly ill.
They. trusted he would soon be well again,
and It was to be hoped that his enforced
absence would not disorganise the band in
which his services as bass drummer were
much appreciated.
" Now for some fun," I thought. I sprang
to my feet. Everyone stared at me.
"Excuse me, Captain. You say your
bass drumm~r is ill ? "
"Yes, my friend."
"May I offer my serVIces whilst he is
away? "
" Thank you. But perhaps you have never
played before? "
248 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN.
" Oh, yes. I was once bass drummer to a
big band up in London." Needless to say,
I had never handled drumsticks in my life.
" That is splendid. Perhaps you will attend
the band practice after the meeting."
I found the -rehearsal most thrilling.
Although musical ability was never one of
my strong points, I joined in with a gusto
which astonished even myself..
" Onward, Christian Soldiers. Boom I
Boom I I Boom I I I
Marching-Boom I-on to war. Booml
Boom 11"
And so we went on. At length we
stopped.
" You're not quite so good as Mr. Blank,"
said the Captain doubtfully. "Still, I think
you'll do. But don't bang so loud unless
there~s a lot of heavy traffic about."
"Alright, sir. You see, I'm used to a
pretty heavy band."
" Yes, quite."
I was served out with a unifonn, which
I assumed had been made for Mr. Blank.
The following day was a Sunday, and we were
to have a big outing round the slums. In
the circumstances, it was thought advisable
to give me my clothing immediately.
It was not till I reached the hotel that I
found that the indisposed Mr. Blank was a
man of unusually large stature. The cap
A CONFESSION BY WILL GOLDSTON. 249
fitted well. I tried it on at various angles and
watched myself in the mirror. The effects
were pleasing.
But the unifonn was a distinct failure.
The sleeves of the coat were a good three
inches too long, and the trousers arranged
themselves concertina fashion round my
ankles. I overcame the difficulty by turning
back the sleeves and making an extra large
turn-up to the trousers. This was a vast
improvement.
My exit from the hotel caused a mild
sensation on the Sunday evening. I took
no notice of the smirks and smiles which
greeted my appearance, but walked briskly
round to the hall, faintly humming a few
hymn tunes. Here I found myself distinctly
unpopular. It appeared that my drum play-
ing had not met with the full hearted approval
of the rest of the band. For this I might have
been forgiven, but the hostile atmosphere
was quickly renewed by my quaint appear-
ance.
I was given a huge leather apron which
stretched almost to my toes, and we started
out. On the whole, I flatter myself I did
well that evening. Now and again, I made a
mistake and banged in the wrong place, but,
as a beginner, I might have done far worse.
At the corner of Scotland Road, that terrible
slum quarter of Liverpool, I caused some
disorder in the procession by dropping a
250 SENSATIONAL TALES OF MYSTERY MEN. A CONFESSION BY WILL GOLDSTON. 251

go on. Excuse me, therefore, while I have

drumstick. However, we moved on again, a pint of beer." And I pushed my way
and finally stopped outside a public house through the crowd to the saloon bar of the
in Christian Street. public house.
I was glad of the rest, for my exertions had I had my drink, and peeped through the
made me hot and tired. We sang a few hymns curtained windows. There seemed to be
and mv lady friend of the previous day made some sort of disturbance outside. I decided
a speech. By the time she had finished I it would be wiser if I slipped off quietly to
was feeling much refreshed. The Captain the hotel, and sent the uniform back by
evidently noticed this. messenger on the following day.
" You might go round the public house with That is my confession. I heaped ridicule
the' War Cry,'" he said. on the Salvation Army, a body of men and
" I'd sooner make a speech," I suggested. women who strive to do good in the world,
"I have something of importance to say." and whose courage could never be doubted,
His face fell. no matter what one might think of their
"Oh-er, alright," he said. religious outlook. But I have done my best
I made a speech. I made a long speech. to atone for my crime. Every year since
I spoke for twenty minutes on the evils of that date I have made a special donation to
drink. I had a reputation in those days as the Army during Self-Denial Week.
as an impromptu speaker, and I felt at the top
of my form. Drink, I said, was the curse of
Liverpool, the curse of England, the curse
of the world. My audience was interested,
and I felt I was speaking well.
But all good things must end. After
twenty minutes, my throat and tongue were
parched. I decided I had said enough.
"And now, brethren," I concluded, "I
must leave you to fight out the battle for
yourselves. I have merely pointed out the
path you should take. I feel I have not yet
said enough, but my mouth is dry. I cannot