第章

couldomitnone，wouldoccupyanotherquarterofanhour；butinsteadofindulginginuselessrecriminations，Iresignedmyselfandcontinuedmyperformance，thoughIwasapreytofrightfulanxiety。Whilespeaking，IfanciedIcouldhearthatcadencedyellofthepublictowhichthefamoussong，“Deslampions，deslampions，“wasset。Thus，eitherthroughpreoccupationoradesiretoendsooner，IfoundwhenmyperformancewasoverIhadgainedfiveminutesoutofthequarterofanhour。Assuredly，itmighthecalledthequarterofanhour’sgrace。

TojumpintoacarriageanddrivetothePlacedelaBoursewastheaffairofaninstant；still，twentyminuteshadelapsedsincethecurtainfell，andthatwasanenormoustime。MysonEmileandI

proceededuptheactors’stairsatfullspeed，butonthefirststepwehadheardthecries，whistling，andstampingoftheimpatientaudience。Whataprospect!Iknewthatfrequently，eitherrightorwrong，thepublictreatedanartiste，nomatterwhom，veryharshly，toremindhimofpunctuality。Thatsovereignalwaysappearstohaveonitslipsthewordsofanothermonarch：“I

wasobligedtowait。“However，wehurriedupthestepsleadingtothestage。

Thestagemanager，whohadbeenwatching，onhearingourhurriedsteps，criedfromthelanding：

“Isthatyou，M。Houdin？“

“Yes，sir——yes。“

“Raisethecurtain!“thesamevoiceshouted。

“Wait，wait，itisimp——“

Mybreathwouldnotallowmetofinishmyobjection；Ifellonachair，unabletomove。

“Come，M。Houdin，“themanagersaid，“DOgoonthestage，thecurtainisup，andthepublicaresoimpatient。“

Thedooratthebackofthestagewasopen，butIcouldnotpassthroughit；fatigueandemotionnailedmetothespot。Still，anideaoccurredtome，whichsavedmefromthepopularwrath。

“Goontothestage，myboy，“Isaidtomyson，“andprepareallthatiswantingforthesecond-sighttrick。“

Thepublicallowedthemselvestobedisarmedbythisyouth，whosefaceinspiredasympathizinginterest；andmyson，aftergravelybowingtotheaudience，quietlymadehisslightpreparations，thatistosay，hecarriedanottomantothefrontofthestage，andplacedonaneighboringtableaslate，somechalk，apackofcards，andabandage。

Thisslightdelayenabledmetorecovermybreathandcalmmynerves，andIadvancedinmyturnwithanattempttoassumethestereotypedsmile，inwhichIsignallyfailed，asIwassoagitated。Theaudienceatfirstremainedsilent，thentheirfacesgraduallyunwrinkled，andsoon，oneortwoclapshavingbeenventured，theywerecarriedawayandpeacewasmade。Iwaswellrewarded，however，forthisterribleordeal，asmy“second-sight“

nevergainedamorebrillianttriumph。

Anincidentgreatlyenlivenedtheterminationofmyperformance。

Aspectator，whohadevidentlycomeonpurposetoembarrassus，hadtriedinvainforsomeminutestobafflemyson’sclairvoyance，when，turningtome，hesaid，layingmarkedstressonhiswords：

“Asyoursonisasoothsayer，ofcoursehecanguessthenumberofmystall？“

Theimportunatespectatordoubtlesshopedtoforceusintoaconfessionofourimpotence，forhecoveredhisnumber，andtheadjacentseatsbeingoccupied，itwasapparentlyimpossibletoreadthenumbers。ButIwasonmyguardagainstallsurprises，andmyreplywasready。Still，inordertoprofitasmuchaspossiblebythesituation，Ifeignedtodrawback。

“Youknow，sir，“Isaid，feigninganembarrassedair，“thatmysonisneithersorcerernordiviner；hereadsthroughmyeyes，andhenceIhavegiventhisexperimentthenameofsecondsight。AsI

cannotseethenumberofyourstall，andtheseatsclosetoyouareoccupied，mysoncannottellityou。“

“Ah!Iwascertainofit，“mypersecutorsaid，intriumph，andturningtohisneighbors：“ItoldyouIwouldpinhim。“

“Oh，sir!youarenotgenerousinyourvictory，“Isaid，inmyturn，inatoneofmockery。“Takecare；ifyoupiquemyson’svanitytoosharply，hemaysolveyourproblem，thoughitissodifficult。“

“Idefyhim，“saidthespectator，leaningfirmlyagainstthebackofhisseat，tohidethenumberbetter——“yes，yes——Idefyhim!“

“Youbelieveittobedifficult，then？“

“Iwillgrantmore：itisimpossible。“

“Well，then，sir，thatisastrongerreasonforustotryit。Youwillnotbeangryifwetriumphinourturn？“Iadded，withapetulantsmile。

“Come，sir；weunderstandevasionsofthatsort。Irepeatit——I

challengeyouboth。“

Thepublicfoundgreatamusementinthisdebate，andpatientlyawaiteditsissue。

“Emile，“Isaidtomyson，“provetothisgentlemanthatnothingcanescapeyoursecondsight。“

“Itisnumbersixty-nine，“theboyanswered，immediately。

Noisyandheartyapplauserosefromeverypartofthetheater，inwhichouropponentjoined，for，confessinghisdefeat，heexclaimed，asheclappedhishands，“Itisastounding——

magnificent!“

ThewayIsucceededinfindingoutthenumberofthestallwasthis：Iknewbeforehandthatinalltheaterswherethestallsaredivideddownthecenterbyapassage，theunevennumbersareontheright，andtheevenontheleft。AsattheVaudevilleeachrowwascomposedoftenstalls，itfollowedthatontherighthandtheseveralrowsmustbeginwithone，twenty-one，forty-one，andsoon，increasingbytwentyeach。Guidedbythis，Ihadnodifficultyindiscoveringthatmyopponentwasseatedinnumbersixty-nine，representingthefifthstallinthefourthrow。Ihadprolongedtheconversationforthedoublepurposeofgivingmorebrilliancytomyexperiment，andgainingtimetomakemyresearches。ThusI

appliedmyprocessoftwosimultaneousthoughts，towhichIhavealreadyalluded。

AsIamnowexplainingmatters，Imayaswelltellmyreaderssomeoftheartificesthataddedmaterialbrilliancytothesecondsight。Ihavealreadysaidthisexperimentwastheresultofamaterialcommunicationbetweenmyselfandmysonwhichnoonecoulddetect。Itscombinationsenabledustodescribeanyconceivableobject；but，thoughthiswasasplendidresult，IsawthatIshouldsoonencounterunheard-ofdifficultiesinexecutingit。

Theexperimentofsecondsightalwaysformedtheterminationofmyperformance。EacheveningIsawunbelieversarrivewithallsortsofarticlestotriumphoverasecretwhichtheycouldnotunravel。

BeforegoingtoseeRobert-Houdin’ssonacouncilwasheld，inwhichanobjectthatmustembarrassthefatherwaschosen。Amongthesewerehalf-effacedantiquemedals，minerals，booksprintedincharactersofeverydescription(livinganddeadlanguages)，coats-

of-arms，microscopicobjects，etc。

Butwhatcausedmethegreatestdifficultywasinfindingoutthecontentsofparcels，oftentiedwithastring，orevensealedup。

ButIhadmanagedtocontendsuccessfullyagainstalltheseattemptstoembarrassme。Iopenedboxes，purses，pocketbooks，etc。，withgreatease，andunnoticed，whileappearingtobeengagedonsomethingquitedifferent。Wereasealedparcelofferedme，I

cutasmallslitinthepaperwiththenailofmyleftthumb，whichIalwayspurposelykeptverylongandsharp，andthusdiscoveredwhatitcontained。Oneessentialconditionwasexcellentsight，andthatIpossessedtoperfection。Ioweditoriginallytomyoldtrade，andpracticedailyimprovedit。Anequallyindispensablenecessitywastoknowthenameofeveryobjectofferedme。Itwasnotenoughtosay，forinstance，“Itisacoin“；butmysonmustgiveitstechnicalname，itsvalue，thecountryinwhichitwascurrent，andtheyearinwhichitwasstruck。Thus，forinstance，ifanEnglishcrownwerehandedme，mysonwasexpectedtostatethatitwasstruckinthereignofGeorgeIV，andhadanintrinsicvalueofsixfrancseighteencentimes。

Aidedbyanexcellentmemory，wehadmanagedtoclassifyinourheadsthenameandvalueofallforeignmoney。Wecouldalsodescribeacoat-of-armsinheraldicterms。Thus，onthearmsofthehouseofX——beinghandedme，mysonwouldreply：“Fieldgules，withtwocroziersargentinpale。“ThisknowledgewasveryusefultousinthesalonsoftheFaubourgSaintGermain，wherewewerefrequentlysummoned。

Ihadalsolearnedthecharacters——thoughunabletotranslateaword——ofaninfinityoflanguages，suchasChinese，Russian，TurkishGreek，Hebrew，etc。Weknew，too，thenamesofallsurgicalinstruments，sothatasurgicalpocketbook，howevercomplicateditmightbe，couldnotembarrassus。Lastly，Ihadaverysufficientknowledgeofmineralogy，preciousstones，antiquities，andcuriosities；butIhadatmycommandeverypossibleresourceforacquiringthesestudies，asoneofmydearestandbestfriends，AristideleCarpentier，alearnedantiquary，anduncleofthetalentedcomposerofthesamename，had，andstillhas，acabinetofantiquecuriosities，whichmakesthekeepersoftheimperialmuseumsfiercewithenvy。MysonandIspentmanylongdaysinlearningherenamesanddatesofwhichweafterwardsmadealearneddisplay。LeCarpentiertaughtmemanythings，and，amongothers，hedescribedvarioussignsbywhichtorecognizeoldcoinswhenthedieiswornoff。Thus，aTrajan，aTiberius，oraMarcusAureliusbecameasfamiliartomeasafive-francpiece。

Owingtomyoldtrade，Icouldopenawatchwithease，anddoitwithonehand，soastobeabletoreadthemaker’snamewithoutthepublicsuspectingit：thenIshutupthewatchagainandthetrickwasready；mysonmanagedtherestofthebusiness。

Butthatpowerofmemorywhichmysonpossessedinaneminentdegreecertainlydidusthegreatestservice。Whenwewenttoprivatehouses，heneededonlyaveryrapidinspectioninordertoknowalltheobjectsinaroom，aswellasthevariousornamentswornbythespectators，suchaschatelaines，pins，eyeglasses，fans，brooches，rings，bouquets，etc。Hethuscoulddescribetheseobjectswiththegreatestease，whenIpointedthemouttohimbyoursecretcommunication。Hereisaninstance：

Oneevening，atahouseintheChausseed’Antin，andattheendofaperformancewhichhadbeenassuccessfulasitwasloudlyapplauded，Irememberedthat，whilepassingthroughthenextroomtotheonewewerenowin，Ihadbeggedmysontocastaglanceatalibraryandrememberthetitlesofsomeofthebooks，aswellastheordertheywerearrangedin。Noonehadnoticedthisrapidexamination。

“Toendthesecond-sightexperiment，sir，“Isaidtothemasterofthehouse，“Iwillprovetoyouthatmysoncanreadthroughawall。Willyoulendmeabook？“

Iwasnaturallyconductedtothelibraryinquestion，whichI

pretendednowtoseeforthefirsttime，andIlaidmyfingeronabook。

“Emile，“Isaidtomyson，“whatisthenameofthiswork？“

“ItisBuffon，“herepliedquickly。

“Andtheonebyitsside？“anincredulousspectatorhastenedtoask。

“Ontherightorleft？“mysonasked。

“Ontheright，“thespeakersaid，havingagoodreasonforchoosingthisbook，fortheletteringwasverysmall。

“TheTravelsofAnacharsistheYounger，“theboyreplied。“But，“

headded，“hadyouaskedthenameofthebookontheleft，sir，I

shouldhavesaidLamartine’sPoetry。Alittletotherightofthisrow，IseeCrebillon’sworks；below，twovolumesofFleury’sMemoirs“；andmysonthusnamedadozenbooksbeforehestopped。

Thespectatorshadnotsaidawordduringthisdescription，astheyfeltsoamazed；butwhentheexperimenthadended，allcomplimentedusbyclappingtheirhands。