A second, famous in his day, was “Herr Alexander,” a magician whose full name was Alexander Heinberger. He gave seances at the White House for President Polk who sent him to South America once on a man-of-war. The President was willing to believe that Heinberger was guided and aided by the Spirits but Heinberger would neither affirm nor deny the suspected origin of his feats but like a good showman left his observers to their own deductions as was the practice of the Davenport Brothers. He lived to be ninety years old, and was a most remarkable old man. I visited him at his home in Munster, Westphalia. Sometimes a misunderstanding entangles a magician with Spiritualism. The following instance comes to my mind. It is a popular belief among Spiritualists that certain letters and statements bearing the signature of Robert Houdin are acknowledgments of his belief in Spiritualism. On the contrary they refer simply to certain acts of clairvoyance purported to have taken place at the instance of one Alexis Didier. The first statement has been translated as an interview of considerable length which is concluded as follows: “Ah, Monsieur (Alexis Didier, as addressed by Houdin), that may seem so to a man of no experience in these matters, to the ordinary person,--though even then such a mistake is hardly admissible,--but to the expert! Just consider, Monsieur, that all my cards are faked, marked, often of unequal sizes, or at least artistically arranged. Again I have my signals and telegraphs. But in this case a fresh pack was used which I had just taken out of its wrapper, and which the somnambulist cannot have studied. There is another point, where deception is impossible, namely, in the handling of the cards: in the one case, the entire artlessness of the performance, in the other, that tell-tale air of effort which nothing can entirely disguise. Add to this his total blindness, for need I insist on the impossibility--the absolute impossibility--of his having seen. _Besides, even supposing he could see, how can we account for the other phenomena?_ With regard to my own ‘second-sight’ performances, without being able to divulge my secret to you now, bear in mind that I am careful to tell you every evening, that I only promise a _second_ sight! Consequently in my case a first sight is indispensable. “The following day Robert Houdin gave me (Alexis Didier) the following signed statement: