“Five years ago I offered one thousand dollars to any man who could do
it, and tonight I will double the offer. I will give two thousand
dollars in cold cash to the individual who will do the trick, and grant
him full privilege to watch me while I am working.
“What is this wonderful feat? I will tell you, gentlemen. I propose to
take a loaf of bread, a common, every-day loaf of bread, and right here,
before your very eyes, turn it into a horse, a real, prancing, living,
breathing horse.
“I was at Newton the other night, and while preparing to do the trick a
man in the audience interrupted me by saying to one of his friends,
‘Bill, I know how he does it. He’s got that horse up his sleeve.’
“Now, in order to convince my audience that there was no truth in the
explanation, I shall, while doing this feat, take off my coat and roll
up my shirt sleeves. This certainly ought to be enough to convince the
most skeptical.
“I have just sent for a loaf of bread,” (after a few whispered words the
“local” musician had suddenly taken his departure) “and while the young
man is gone, allow me to talk for a few moments concerning a little
article I have with me here, an article by the assistance of which, in
reality, I do some of my most singular feats.
“Understand, gentlemen, I am not going to sell these articles, but
intend to give them away to those fortunate individuals who apply before
the limited supply is exhausted.
“The instrument is known as the Microscopic Look-Back, and was an
original invention of my own while I was on the detective police force.
The only reason why I don’t sell them is because the law forbids me
doing so. But, my friends, in this great and glorious land of ours,
which lies under the stars and stripes, where every man is free and
endowed with certain inalienable rights, there is no law which can stop
my giving them away.
“I can the better explain to you the benefits of this little instrument
by giving some practical illustrations of its use.”
While putting up this talk I would be holding in my hands the neat
little box with its internal mirror, and now I would place it to my eye.
“I will ask some gentleman back of me to do something. With the aid of
this instrument I will tell him what he did. Somebody behind me, please
do something.
“Ah, there is a gentleman raising his right hand. He now lowers it and
raises his left. He now closes his first two fingers, and is laughing.
“There on his right is another gentleman who is raising his hat. He is
putting it on again.”
I would go on like this for perhaps five minutes, the actions of the
persons behind me increasing in interest and complexity; then I would
continue:
“Now, gentlemen, this little instrument, as you may imagine, can be used
in a great many different ways besides seeing through the back of your
head.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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