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It is not I who load the guns with bullets made of soft black-lead, as the Effendi Robert-Houdin did long ago to the confusion of the Marabouts in Algeria. No, let thy men load their own rifles. But," and his voice grew mocking, "let their aim be good. Death is nothing, O Bara Miyan, but clumsy shooting means much pain." His tone galled the aged Sheik, despite that impassive exterior.
And immediately different objects, weapons, bottles, &c, left to themselves, hung suspended as if by miracle. Diana, too, lifted up by Michel into space, reproduced, but without trickery, the marvellous suspensions effected by Robert-Houdin and Maskelyne and Cook.
She was very pretty. My incognita would not consent to sit down till she was assured we were alone, and that I was the real Robert-Houdin. I also seated myself, and assuming the attitude of a man prepared to listen, I bent slightly to my visitor, as if awaiting her pleasure to explain to me the object of her mysterious visit.
Robert-Houdin calls it Arcet's metal, but I cannot find the name elsewhere. The eating of burning brimstone is an entirely fake performance.
PART II True Stories of Modern Magic M. Robert-Houdin A Conjurer's Confessions The success of his most famous performances hung not only on an incredible dexterity, but also on high ingenuity and moral courage, as the following pages from his "Memoirs" will prove to the reader.
Thus in 1856 the hopes of the French Foreign Office rested on Robert-Houdin. It was settled that I should reach Algiers by the next 27th of September, the day on which the great fetes annually offered by the capital of Algeria to the Arabs would commence. I must say that I was much influenced in my determination by the knowledge that my mission to Algeria had a quasi-political character.
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