could wriggle through with commendable speed.
There remained only the need to test her for physical size, although by this time I think
both Thomas and I would have rebuilt some of the apparatus for her had she proved too
large. We need not have worried. Thomas placed her inside the cabinet used in the illusion
called the Decapitated Princess (a notoriously tight fit for most assistants, and
requiring several minutes of uncomfortable immobility), but she was able to climb in and
out smoothly, and said she would not find it distressing to be kept inside for as long as
required.
Sufficient to say that Olive Wenscombe proved herself most suitable by all the usual
tests, and as soon as these preliminaries were concluded I retained her at the customary
wage. Within a week I had trained her to perform in all the illusions in my repertoire
where she would be needed. In due course, Georgina left to marry her beau, and Olive took
her place as my full-time assistant.
#############
How neat it all seems when I write it down, how calm & professional! Now I have written
the “official” version of Olive, let me under our Pact add the ineradicable truth, the
truth I have so far concealed from all those who matter most. Olive nearly made a fool of
me, & the true account must be appended.
Georgina wasn't present at the interview, of course. Nor was I. Tommy Elbourne was there,
but as always he kept out of the way. She & I were effectively alone in my workshop.
I asked Olive about a costume, & she said she hadn't brought one. She looked me straight
in the eye when she said this, & there was a long silence while I thought about what that
meant & what
she
must think about what it meant. No young woman applying for the job would expect to be
hired without being measured or fitted or tried out in some way. Applicants always brought
a rehearsal costume.
Well, Olive apparently had not. Then she said, “I don't need a costume, honey.”
“There is no chaperone present, my dear,” I said.
“I guess you can put up with that!” she said.
She promptly took off her outer clothes, & what she was wearing beneath was of the
boudoir; she was left in garments that were immodest, loose-fitting & prone to accidents.
I took her to the Palanquin, where although she obviously knew what it was & where she had
to conceal herself, she asked me to help her climb inside. This required much intimate
handling of her semi-clad body! The same happened when I showed her the mechanism of
Vanity Fair. Here she pretended to stumble as she came through the trap, & fell into my
arms. The rest of the interview was conducted on the couch at the back of the workshop.
Tommy Elbourne left quietly, without either of us noticing. He was not there afterwards,
anyway.
The rest is substantially correct. I took her on, & she learned how to operate all the
illusions in which I needed her.
The Prestige
9
My performance always opens with the Chinese Linking Rings. It is a routine which is a
pleasure to work, and audiences love to watch it, no matter if they have seen it before.
The rings gleam brightly in the limelight, they jingle metallically against each other,
the rhythmic movements of the prestidigitator's hands and arms and the gentle linking and
unlinking of the rings seem almost to Mesmerize the audience. It is a trick impossible to
see through, unless you are standing a few inches away from the performer and are able to
snatch the rings away from him. It always charms, always creates that electrifying sense
of mystery and miracle.
With this accomplished I roll forward the Modern Cabinet, which has been standing upstage.
A yard or so from the footlights I rotate the cabinet to show both sides and the back. I
make sure that I am seen to pass behind it, so that the audience may glimpse my feet
through the gap between the stage and the floor
There remained only the need to test her for physical size, although by this time I think
both Thomas and I would have rebuilt some of the apparatus for her had she proved too
large. We need not have worried. Thomas placed her inside the cabinet used in the illusion
called the Decapitated Princess (a notoriously tight fit for most assistants, and
requiring several minutes of uncomfortable immobility), but she was able to climb in and
out smoothly, and said she would not find it distressing to be kept inside for as long as
required.
Sufficient to say that Olive Wenscombe proved herself most suitable by all the usual
tests, and as soon as these preliminaries were concluded I retained her at the customary
wage. Within a week I had trained her to perform in all the illusions in my repertoire
where she would be needed. In due course, Georgina left to marry her beau, and Olive took
her place as my full-time assistant.
#############
How neat it all seems when I write it down, how calm & professional! Now I have written
the “official” version of Olive, let me under our Pact add the ineradicable truth, the
truth I have so far concealed from all those who matter most. Olive nearly made a fool of
me, & the true account must be appended.
Georgina wasn't present at the interview, of course. Nor was I. Tommy Elbourne was there,
but as always he kept out of the way. She & I were effectively alone in my workshop.
I asked Olive about a costume, & she said she hadn't brought one. She looked me straight
in the eye when she said this, & there was a long silence while I thought about what that
meant & what
she
must think about what it meant. No young woman applying for the job would expect to be
hired without being measured or fitted or tried out in some way. Applicants always brought
a rehearsal costume.
Well, Olive apparently had not. Then she said, “I don't need a costume, honey.”
“There is no chaperone present, my dear,” I said.
“I guess you can put up with that!” she said.
She promptly took off her outer clothes, & what she was wearing beneath was of the
boudoir; she was left in garments that were immodest, loose-fitting & prone to accidents.
I took her to the Palanquin, where although she obviously knew what it was & where she had
to conceal herself, she asked me to help her climb inside. This required much intimate
handling of her semi-clad body! The same happened when I showed her the mechanism of
Vanity Fair. Here she pretended to stumble as she came through the trap, & fell into my
arms. The rest of the interview was conducted on the couch at the back of the workshop.
Tommy Elbourne left quietly, without either of us noticing. He was not there afterwards,
anyway.
The rest is substantially correct. I took her on, & she learned how to operate all the
illusions in which I needed her.
The Prestige
9
My performance always opens with the Chinese Linking Rings. It is a routine which is a
pleasure to work, and audiences love to watch it, no matter if they have seen it before.
The rings gleam brightly in the limelight, they jingle metallically against each other,
the rhythmic movements of the prestidigitator's hands and arms and the gentle linking and
unlinking of the rings seem almost to Mesmerize the audience. It is a trick impossible to
see through, unless you are standing a few inches away from the performer and are able to
snatch the rings away from him. It always charms, always creates that electrifying sense
of mystery and miracle.
With this accomplished I roll forward the Modern Cabinet, which has been standing upstage.
A yard or so from the footlights I rotate the cabinet to show both sides and the back. I
make sure that I am seen to pass behind it, so that the audience may glimpse my feet
through the gap between the stage and the floor
Similar Books
