When the citizen-king, Louis Philippe, ruled over the destinies of _la belle_ France, there resided in Paris an old man, by the name of M. Roujol, familiarly known among his confrères as “Father” Roujol. He kept a modest shop in the Rue Richelieu for the manufacture and sale of magical apparatus. The professional and amateur conjurers of the French capital made Roujol’s their meeting place. “The Duc de M⸺,” says Robert-Houdin, “did not disdain to visit the humble emporium of the mystic art, and remain for hours conversing with Roujol and his associates.” It was here that Houdin became acquainted with Jules de Rovère, of noble birth, a conjurer who abandoned the title of _escamoteur_, as beneath his aristocratic dignity, and coined for himself the pompous cognomen, _prestidigitateur_, from _presti digiti_ (activity of the fingers). The French Academy sanctioned the formation of this word, thus handing it down to posterity. Jules de Rovère also called himself _Physicien du Roi_. Old Father Roujol is dust long ago. We have replicas of his {213} quaint place in New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. On Sixth Avenue, not far from Thirtieth Street, New York City, is the shop of the Martinka Brothers. It is located on the ground floor of a dingy old building. In front is a tiny window, with a variety of magical apparatus displayed therein. Above the door, in tarnished gold letters, is the sign, “Palace of Magic.” The second floor is occupied by a Chinese restaurant. The Occident and Orient exist here cheek-by-jowl. The Chinaman concocts mysterious dishes to tickle the jaded palates of the _boulevardiers_; the proprietors of the Aladdin Palace of Up-to-Date Enchantments invent ingenious tricks and illusions to astound the eyes of their patrons. Here I met Robinson, de Kolta, Kellar, and many other conjurers of note. The Society of American Magicians holds its meetings at Martinka’s. [Illustration: BIJOU THEATRE OF THE MARTINKA BROS., NEW YORK.]