Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 December 1876 — The Famous Gun Trick. [ARTICLE]

The Famous Gun Trick.

Philip Astlky, noted for his equestrian amphitheater, is said to hate begun life as soldier, in which capacity, when on foreign service with his regiment, he demonstrated his ability as a conjuror, by inventing the now famous gun-trick. This consists in pretending to fire a pistol loaded with ball, and catching the ball on the point of a knife. The explanation of the trick is that in the first place the pistol is secretly loaded only with blank cartridge. In this harmless condition the conjuror slips into it a tin tube which nicely fits it, and then ostentatiously loads itwlth ball. Before firing, the tin tube is dexterously removed, and when the weapon is fired, no harm ensues; by an instantaneous maneuver the bullet is triumphantly exhibited as being caught in the required situation. It is relatea that Astley invented the trick to save the effusion of blood at the duel of two comrades in the army, for one of whom he acted as second. Succeeding in getting the other man’s second to assent to the ingenious device, the duelists fired at each other without effect, and the affair was amicably adjusted. Very clever, this. One might, however, say with Sir Walter Scott in his “ Lay of the Last Minstrel”:

But scarce I praise their vent'rouz part Who tamper with such dangerous art. Mr. Frost mentions two instances in which the gun trick proved fatal. One was that or *a conjuror in Dublin, who was shot dead by the accidental substitution of a real loaded pistol for one in which the charge was withdrawn. The other took plaoe in Germany, at the performance of a conjuror named De Linsky. He set up his wife to be fired at by six soldiers, each of whom was to bite the ball off his cartridge in charging his gun. Heedlessly, one of the soldiers did notbite off the ball, and Madame De Linsky was shot through the body. Bhedied on the second day after the accident. The catastrophe clouded the latter years of the unfortunate conjuror. In the course of his travels Houdin visited Algiers, and there astonished the native Arabs with his performance of the gun trick, which he did in a way somewhat peculiar. At one of his entertainments an old Arab admitted that Monsieur was doubtless a great magician, but he should prefer to use one of his own pistols. Houdin said this might be done next day, after he had invoked the powers to assist him. It was a severe trial of skill, there was some danger in dealing with a wary and suspicious barbarian. Next day the exploit came off. Houdin only stipulated that he should be allowed to load the pistol, the Arab handing him a leaden bullet from a saucerful from which to make his choice. This was agreed to. Houdin, as every one thought, dropped the leaden bullet into the pistol, but instead of doing so, he dropped a previously prepared sham bullet, which dissolved into dust on being fired. “ Now,” said the conjuror to the Arab, “ take the pistol and fire at me; I will catch the bullet in my mouth.” The pistol was fired, and to the profound amazement of the crowd of Arabs, Houdin took a leaden bullet out of his month, which all admitted to be the bullet that had been selected from the saucerful. To still further astonish the company, Houdin declared that by loading with another leaden ball he would bring blood out of a stone wall. All were eager to see this wonderful feat. It was performed in a way differing little from what had already taken place. Instead of dropping a real ball into the pistol, Houdin used a sham bullet filled with a red liquid, which dissolved on striking the wall. Wonder tremendous. We believe that Anderson in his gun tricks was similarly in the habit of substituting light composition balls for real bullets, and was equally successful. It is all a matter of sleight-of-hand.—Chambers’ Journal.

—A paper balloon, twelve feet long and ten feet in diameter, and stoutly corded, fell, a few days ago, in Sykes & Simpson's stone quarry, a mile and a half from Franklin, on the New Jersey Midland Railroad, Sussex County, N. J., marked as follows: “ Sent up by T. C. Brown A Co., No. 195 Cheapside, London, E. C. The finder will please communicate at once with the above firm.” The Russian Medical Gazette states that on the Ist of la«t January the Russian army possessed 2,102 surgeons, 250 apothecaries, 6,887 assistant surgeons, and 173 veterinary surgeons. This gives one surgeon for every 407 men, one apothecary for every 8,454 men, and one assistant surgeon for every 161 men. ” ,