What has sawing a lady in half to do with global warming?

Paul Johnson

Wednesday, 9th January 2008

At this time of year, exactly 70 years ago, I was taken to my first exhibition of professional conjuring.

At this time of year, exactly 70 years ago, I was taken to my first exhibition of professional conjuring. The magus called himself Dante — he was Danish-American and his real name was Harry Jansen. He had an amazing moustache and beard, wore dazzling evening dress and a red satin-lined cloak, and performed his tricks at lightning speed: his slogan was ‘15 sur- prises in 15 seconds’. However, the performance I would like to have seen most was staged by Charles Dickens on Boxing Day 1843 at a children’s party given by the actor Macready. Dickens had bought at Hamley’s a proper ‘apparatus’ which had belonged to the conjuror Doëbler. Being the man he was he had learned his business thoroughly. Jane Welsh Carlyle, who was present, wrote to her niece Jeannie:

Dickens also changed the pocket-handkerchiefs of the ladies present into bags of sweets, and produced a live guinea-pig from a box of bran. He kept up these seasonal conjuring shows so long as his own children were small.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Next page

More articles from: Paul Johnson | this section

Print this article | Email to a friend | Permalink | Comments (4)

Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit

Post comment

Peter Adler, Shenzhen

January 12th, 2008 3:52am Report this comment

Interesting points about conjuring and people’s wish to believe in spirituality... and ending in a gratuitous and nonsensical swipe at climate change science. Bring out facts about climate change and argue them, fine; but this ridiculous final-paragraph rhetorical flourish puts you to shame.

Kirk, Homewood, IL USA

January 12th, 2008 11:35pm Report this comment

Sorry to disagree, Peter, I believe the last paragraph is extremely germane. There are plenty of places to go to find serious (not speculative) climate information, but, as the gist of the article points out, many people would rather accept spurious data that conforms with their hopes/fears than look up the opposing viewpoints and trying to make a rational decision. Im my conversations with GW acceptors, they show a remarkable faith in what is clearly speculation, combined with a shocking ignorance of the historical facts (even, I might suggest, an open hostility to any presentation of countering data).

Brian Metcalf

January 13th, 2008 10:41am Report this comment

Kirk is one of those gullible Americans who happily parrot the mountain of misinformation being churned out by Exxon Mobil, the coal and car industry and his hugely amusing President, i.e. those with a vested interest in burning fossil fuels. Keep driving your Humvees Kirk I don't personally care. I am a misanthrope. Everywhere the delicate web of life is being torn apart.. and Planet Earth is about to start serious downsizing of those responsible. Us.