pages: unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf, 272
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unmaskingrobert00houdgoog.pdf | 272 | THE SUSPENSION TRICK bell hangs. Others use an electric magnet. Herr Alex- ander placed his bell on top of a fancy case which he could set anywhere, and the bell would ring at command. The secFet was a small bird, trained to jump from one rung of a tiny ladder to another, at word of command or the waving of a stick or wand which the bird could see from its point of imprisonment. Every time that it jumped from one rung to another, it would pull down a step which was so arranged that by the smallest overweight it would release a catch, which in turn would throw the hammer against the glass. When the bird stepped off, the hammer would again come back to its original position and be ready for the second blow. This bird he bought from a street fortune-teller, who had trained it to go up different steps of a ladder and select envelopes containing variously printed fortunes. Alexander enjoyed personal acquaintance with Presi- dent Polk, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Calhoun, and their fellow-statesmen in the United States. Through his friendship with President Polk he carried to the West Indies and Brazil letters so influential that the aristocracy in these countries opened its doors to him. He was welcomed at the palace of Dom Pedro, and has in his possession letters from both the King and his consort, dated 1850. So much for the history of a man who was brave enough to admit that he developed the suspension trick from principles laid down by humble Indian fakirs. The crudest method used for accomplishing the sus- pension trick consisted of a steel corset, an iron rod painted to resemble wood, and a platform. The steel [ 243 ] |