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THE CHINA MAIL SPECIAL CHRISTMAS SUPPLEMENT, DECEMBER 19, 1940.
Children Believe In Secrets Of My Magic
1 we want to know why chil- fen believe in magic wo must ake a really close look at fairy- Linc Fairyland is a place where The unexpected always happens.
Rever
Fairies
The hemes and heroinies there are powerless, caught in the ginger- grown-up people. They bread house of a hypoentical old re young, helpless, and credul- witch, who pretended to be kind. us, the victims of misfortune, as A fairy will appear from nowhere. our own small sons and daughters You turn to where her voice was, often imagine themselves to be. She has disappeared as suddenly
can and strangely as she came.. By the ald of magic, they
completely tunph forces working against them. the children would surely like
do
over
the
as
to
Sleeping Beau'y is doomed from her cradle through the mere ca- price of a wicked airy.
he
Is the day of magic done? Only he was a mystic,
a few generations ago people
working at odd jobs to carn' a
The trouble with these old-time living. In this way I-progressed thoughout the world, supersti- magicians was that they linked up until I got a job in a Y.M.C.A. in-
alchemy and stitution, tious and easily gulled, were prac- their magic with
I had seen several magicions at tically all believers in the power necromancy.
work on the stage, and, like all of magic. Magle was in its hey- I do not profess to practice day then, the modern observer anything supernatural I realise small boys, I was impressed by would say.
Never again will
perfectly well that modern magic their skill. I have a niechanical
mind, and reach such popularity. People no consists chiefly of ingenious tricks when I see anything unusual, un longer believe in magic, and no and clever manipulation. I practice til I find out "how to works."
for longer can they be mystified; they magic for amusement,
the are incredulous and sceptical. Amusement of huge audiences, and it I succeed in almost making
seen.
it
and
By Max Mallini
them believe that the impossible is accomplished, this is merely due to my mastery of the art of
illusion.
But seeing is believing-or is If you come to think of it, the
this wonder what you work may look very much like it? If fairyland to a small child. A baby means, if you doubt that you can a few weeks old is a completely see a thing actually happen
He has few yet believe it to be absolutely im- helpless creature.
them satisfied possible that it should happen, ict needs, but wants
sense me show you a little of my magic Lazy immediately. He has no
As a matter of fact, the magic Jack is more kindly treated by of time or place, no knowledge of fate. The pretty beans, which how things come to him, why they of the Middle Ages was far from
I started doing magic tricks with get being the greatest magic the world so foolishly accepts in ex- are withheld, nor how to
The
than efforts of no other purpose in view as any child them.
anusement. change for the cow,
When he wishes for food, has ever
Life was seem like early magicians, men who achiev- my own night, turn out to be magic ones. its bringer must
ed reputations and who passed hard for me in my youthful days. when Thus he is saved from his mother's beneficent fairy.
was taken to America Fairy tales and legends were down into history as noted figures, I
I was but a child. with anger and led through all sorts of
My days at dventures to ultimate triumph. an attempt to explain, when the were as nothing compared
In fairyland there are giants world was younger, all that the the magic that is within your pow. school were punctuated by a con
of er to witness to-day.
stant fight against persecution by end ogres who growl terrifying people could not understand
attacking Magic is a science. It progres- my comrades who seemed to re- Sometimes
of nature the ugre has the forces
1f a gard the fact that I was Swedish good wife, who hides you and them in their helplessness and of ses like everything else.
as sufficient excuse for making me all their practical ves you food, but only because capricious and cruel eircumstances magician of medieval times were he has not guessed that you want over which they had no control to sit at one of my performances the butt of
destroy him, for she, too, is in Even to-day, to express wonder he would probably be so impress- jokes.
power, and on his side when we sometinies says. "It's like ma-ed that he would either commit us suicide or bury his head in the Even to-day some of gic. Comes to a fight.
would be glad of a magie wish to sand and allow the whole of his
a erstwhile followers to spend give us fairy godinother to help us out of rest of their lives kicking him for being such a fool to imagine that an infolerable situation.
1
Treats.
You omit a small kinduess, and e falries withhold their favour. tady are always watching, listen-
You may gand knowing.
be
our heart's desire, or
Etiquette
A Book of Formutac
the
I soon learned that the most magical way of making life worth living in this respect way to punch hard and often. At the age of 12 I left school to make my way in the world selling newspapers and
By
Emily Post
$6.00
Staff
1,80
Captain Courageous
Kipling
1.50
Encyclopaedia Sexualis
Victor Robinson
5.00
The Complete Book of Games
Goddard
3.00
Roget's Thesaurus
Mawson
2.40
Twentieth Century
Book
ol
Formulas Processes
Henley's
5.00
Norman's Forster
8.00
J W. Cunliffe
8.00
Schuman
3.00
in
Pauline Kohler
1.50
Elley Queen
1.80
otto D. Tolischus
2.00
Email Ludwig
2.00
McLeon Cumnock
2.60
Van Wyck Brooks
2.20
2.60
+
Francis Brett Young
2.80
Walter D. Edmonds
2.80
Countess Morphy Nina Fedorova
3.80
2,20
5.50
4.00
Christmas Books
OPENING SALE
Biggest Chance for X'mas Gifts !
Burma Road
Road to Shanghai
Road to Endor
Stalin's Russia
Secret Agents Against America
Secret Agent of Japan
Red Star Over China
Insanity Fair
Disgrace Abounding
Nemesis
isolated America
Japan's Feet of Clay
A Roving Commission Secret Shanghai
Shanghal City for Sale Shanghai 37
Shanghai the
ventures
Paradise of Ad.
Outline of History
Warning Lights of Asia
American Poetry and Prose
Vol. 1-2
Century Readings for A Course
in English Literature
Nazi Dictatorship
The
Woman Who Lived Hitler's House.
The Dragons Testh They Wanted War Roosevelt
Choice Readings
The Flowering of New England New England Indian Summer
The City of Gold
Chad Hanna
Recipes of All Nations
The Family
Gibbon's -Stamp Catalogue 1941 Scott's Stamp Catalogue 1941
Rowin
The Yearling
I still cannot
resit,
As far as I could, I found out how these magicians I had seen performed their tricks. Then I began to evolve small tricks of my own and try them on the oth- er fellows in the Y.M.C.A. Pretty soon I had my own act put to- gether and was giving perform ances at church concerts and such like.
One day the secretary of the Y.M.C.A. saw me doing by stuff. I "Kid," he said, "You're good. will put you on our next big per- formance."
Sure enough I was "on" and did half an hour's show. It so hap- pened that one of the big thea- trical agents was in the audience and the next day I got a a letter inviting me to go round and sec him. At this time, by working day and night, I was making about 15 dollars a week. He offered me a three-years' contract as the Boy Magleian to tour America at a salary beginning at 75 dollars weekly.
For a while I held out, chiefly
there. because everybody told me was no money in magic; that this fare of mine was only a passing fancy, and that it would lead me nowhere.
To cut long story short, by the time I was 16 I had toured the whole of America and had opened my own factory for the manufacture of scores of tricks of all descriptions which were sold to would-be magicians through-- out the world.
I promised myself I would re- tire when I was 32, but Fate and the War stepped in, with the re- sult that my business was closed down and I found myself start- ing all over again.
to At one time I was obliged
That live for one week on 2s.
I made me think. immediately formed a one-week plan. This provided for me eating only one bowl of soup and a roll every day at six o'clock, I got along fine. From this I evolved the two years plan, and although money was be- ginning to come in again I kept it up.
Since then, although I live in good hotels and food is plenti- ful, I manage nicely on one meal a day.
I developed a sense of humour and at that time and went up down Broadway meeting my friends of more
luxurious days
funny stories,
and to-day that bad period seems to me to have been one of the
I outstanding experiences that would not have missed for any- thing. I could have grieved and worried and pestered everyone with my trouble, but I figured that would not solve my problem. As it was, there was not a soul who knew of my circumstances until long after I was back Easy-street again,
on
To return to magic; of course I wear a curious ring. All magi- cians have something like that, but I can't say. it responds to the usual magic formulae, and you can say "Abracadabra" or "Sim Sala Bim" until you are blue in the face, and nothing much will it happen if you rub it. But certainly is a curious ring all the same. It is a gold respresentation of a human skeleton encircling my finger and the eyes are two small diamonds quite a gròtes- que affair. It was presented to me by a Russian magician in a cafe in Moscow one day after I had finished a show.
BOOK OF THE FILM
By Nicol Smith
$2.40
Henry Charraply
2,00
The Tree of Liberty
Hammand
2.40
Shape of Things To Come
Max Eastman
2.60
The Invincible Adam
By Elizabeth Page H. G. Wells Viereck-Eloridge
$3.50
2.00
2.50
2,50
! Married Adventure
Osa Johnson
3.00
Vespa
2.00
Edgar Snow
My Son My Son
Spring
2.80
and exchanging
2.50
Douglas Reed
All this and Heaven Too
Rachel Field
3,00
2.50
Douglas Reed
Disputed Passage
Lloyd C, Douglas
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2.50
The Nazareno
Sholem Asch
3.50
2.50
"
Buell
How Green was my Valley
Richard Llewellyn
3.00
2.80
A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
1.50
Freda Utley
2.80
Rawlings
2.50
Churchill
2,60
Northwest Passage
Kenneth Roberts
2.80
Jean Fontenoy
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The Citadel
Cronin
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Hauser
2,00
Escape
Ethel Vance
2.50
Vicki Baum
2.50
Magnificent Obsession
Lloyd C. Douglas
1,80
Native Son
Richard Wright
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Miller
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Rebecca
Maurier
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H. G Wells
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Gerald Samson
Turnabout
Thorne Smith
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2.20
Girt Rebel
Anor Lin
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Topper Takes A Trip
1,50
The Mortal Storm
Art of Living
Andre Maurois
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Phyllis Bottome
1.00
David Copperfield
Dickens
2,50
Anthony Adverse
Hervoy Allen
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Citizens
Meyer Livin
We Are Not Alone
James Hilton
1,60
3.50
New Concise Pictorial Encyclopedia
4.50
Goodbye Mr. Chips
0.70
Anne of Green Gables
L. M. Montgomery
Supernatural Omnibus
Montague Summers
3.00
Anna Karenina
Count Leo Tolstoy
Kitty Foyle
Morley
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Rains Came
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Long Valley
John Steinbeck
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Wuthering Heights
Bronte
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Rawlings
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Lost Horizon
James Hilton
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Byers
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Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
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Maurice Dekobra
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Camille
Alexander Dumas
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Elizabeth Goadge
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Good Earth
Pearl S, Buck
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A Tale of two Cities
Charles Dickens
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Freda Uttey
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The Sea Hawk
Rofeal Sabatini
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Arthur Bryant
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Diana Hawthorne
2.20
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2.40
THE MODERN SERIES
Chiang Yee
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Woman in Love
By D. H. Lawrence
1,50
Florence Ayscough
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+1
The Rainbow
D. H.
1.50
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Hertzeir
2.00
Sons and Lovers
D. H.
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Kathleen Norris
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Lost Girl
D. H.
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"
J4
Van Loon
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Lovely Lady
D. H.
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Rafael Sabatini
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Lady Chatterley's Lover
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1,50
to
Maugham
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As Arond Rod
D. H.
1:50
11
Charlotte Bronte
2.00
Trespasser
D. H:
1.50
11
Sayers
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The White Peacock
D. H.
1.50
Beware of Pity vi
Stefan Zweig
2:50
· A" Modern · Lover
D. H.
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A Programme for Progress
John Strachey
2.40
The Woman who Rode Away
-D.-H.
1,50
Prosent Indicativa.
Noel Coward
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-Lady Bird
D. H,
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Freedom's Battle
J. Alvarez Del Vayo
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"The Night Life of Gods
Thorne Smith
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Stuart Cloete
2.50
Did She Fall
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Bartlett, M.D.
1.80
The Stray Lamb
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Milton Wright
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The Jovial Ghosts
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School
The Glorious Pool
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F. M. Farmer
3.60
Rain in the Doorway
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March to Quebec
When the Whippoorwill
Designing Women
Madonna of the Sleeping Cars
A City of Betla
The Dream we Lost
Unfinished Victory
The Complete Fortune Teller
Great Tradition
A Chinese Childhood
Chinese Women Yesterday
To-day.
A
The Doctor and his Patients
The Secret of the Marshbanks „
The Story of the Pacific
Of Human Bondage
The Sea Hawk
Jane Eyre
Busman's Honeymoon
The Turning Wheels
Infants and Children
What's Funny and Why The Bedside. Esquire The Boston
Cook Book
Cooking
او
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-
I was, attracted by the ring which he wore. I had never seen one like it Before, so he let me try it on, and when he found that it fitted me he said: "You keep ft. I was going to give it to you
when anyway"
I protested: against taking such a quaint and valuable token-"because I want something from you."
"Name it," I said.
the
"Your levitation illusion, Vanishing Woman," he said,
Well, he studied me for a few days, and, eventually I gladdehed. his heart by giving him the trick. People who think magicians don't give their tricks away are wrong. I think it helps' things along considerably if you tell them something about your busin- ess. It puts you on a more hum- an basis with thern straight away. But, Just the same most people like to be mystified, and I and that there are many who prefer not to be told everything thero Is about an: illusion,