A CONJURER'S HOUSE.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXI, Issue 3268, 22 May 1895, Page 4

A CONJURER'S HOUSE.

A remarkable illustration of the pride that men take sometimes in making their houses monuments of their trade is seen in the house of Eobert Houdin, the conjurer. This dwelling is in the city of Tours, France. Everywhere in it are mysterious trapdoors. Entrances appear suddenly in walls that look solid. Servants pop out upon the visitors from unexpecteed places. The hatrack comes forward of itself to take the wraps. The dining-room is apparently empty when the guests enter, out a table suddenly comes up through the floor all loaded for the feast. After a series of comic surprises, the visitbr escapes with the feelings of a boy who has strayed into Fairyland. One of Mr Houdin'o jokes is exceedingly useful to him. The heavy gate of Mb garden swings very hard. The visitor only succeeds in getting it wide open enough to enter after a heavy tussle. Somebody asked the magician one day if he could not contrive an easier gate. * Oh, yes,' ho replied ; but now everybody whocomt -s in hauls a bucket of water up to my tank. It comes very hand, you see, to moisten my little garden.' Here if a hint to ingenious young mechanics. The Prussian Inuon»u a-jl. returns indicate that the richest man in Prussia is Herr Krupp, of gun-making fame. But he did not do quite so well in the year 1894 as in the preceding year. In the twelve months just ended his income was returned at j t>32o,'ooG as against £359,750 in 1893, 1 when his tax amounted to £14,380. BothschiU, of Frankfort, the second richest private person in Prussia, was more fortunate, paying £11,750 on £994,000 in 1894, and £11,680 on £292,250 in 1893. A London correspondent says -.— <Flax is dead. The best bid at the last sale was £12 10s for ''some excellent Wellington. The stocks in hand increased to 54,000 tons ; last year lie total -was only 740 tons at dps period.'