Box-office open at Half-past Seven Price of places: Upper Boxes, 1 fr. 50 c.; Stalls, 3 fr.; Boxes, 4 fr.; Dress Circle, 5 fr. These fantastic evenings soon became popular. When the Revolution of 1848 ruined the majority of Parisian theater managers, Houdin simply locked the door of his hall, and retired to his little workshop to invent new tricks and automata. His loss was very slight, for he was under no great expense. When order was restored, he resumed the _soirées magiques_. The newspapers rallied to his assistance and made playful allusions to his {134} being related to the family of _Robert le Diable_. The leading illustrated journals sent artists to draw pictures of his stage. Houdin found time, amid all his labors, to edit a little paper which he called _Cagliostro_, full of _bon mots_ and pleasantries, to say nothing of cartoons. Copies of this _petit journal pour rire_ were distributed among the spectators at each performance. As each theatrical season opened, Houdin had some new marvel to present to his audiences. His maxims were: “It is more difficult to support admiration than to excite it.” “The fashion an artist enjoys can only last as long as his talent daily increases.” Houdin had but few, if any, rivals in his day. His tricks were all new, or so improved as to appear new. He swept everything before him. When he went to London for a prolonged engagement, Anderson, the “Wizard of the North,” who was a great favorite with the public, retired into the Provinces with his antique repertoire. What had the English conjurer to offer alongside of such unique novelties as the _Second Sight_, _Aerial Suspension_, _Inexhaustible Bottle_, _Mysterious Portfolio_, _Crystal Cash Box_, _Shower of Gold_, _Light and Heavy Chest_, _Orange Tree_, _the Crystal Clock_, and the automaton figures _Auriol and Debureau_, _the Pastry Cook of the Palais Royal_, etc., etc. III. Jean-Eugène Robert (Houdin) was born on December 6, 1805, in the quaint old city of Blois, the birth-place of Louis XII. and of Papin, the inventor of the steam engine. Napoleon was at the zenith of his fame, and had just fought the bloody battle of Austerlitz.