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UPevonal (Gossip,BLITZ, THE MERRY MAGICIAN.The name of Signor Blitz has been ahousehold word io the land for nearlyhalf a century. His legerdemain, hiscanary birds, and his wonderful ventriloquism are known to everybody who. has witnessed magic at all, while hewas personally familiar to a wide circleof friends as an upright and genial gentleman. Some time before bis death Signor Blitz was obliged to give up his ventriloquism, owing to throat (lisease.Everybody remembers how inimitable lie was in this and how the children fattened under the generous influence of his conversations with u Bobby,” the talking doll. All his tricks were wonderful when he performed them, although they have now become common property and are for sale in the Broadway shop.9, like all other material and comprehensible property, to anybodywho likes to buy them. But M dancing* dinner-plates ” may not be transmittedor manufactured and nobody may sella dozen, that will keep whirling and spinning as he made them, nor are thetrained canaries anywhere to be found,nor does there seem to be nowadaysquite such another/ventriloquist as hewas. With the children Signor Blitz was a prime favorite and he in turn liked the children above any other sort of people. He kept them laughingfrom one end of the show to the otherand in simplicity and even fresh enthusiasm was himself one of them.Signor Antonio Blitz was born ofPolish parents in Deal, England, on June 21st, 1810. His lather was a merchant, tolerably well-to-do. He lefthis home at the age of thirteen, havingbecome enthusiastic over the success of sleight-of-hand tricks there exhibitedand which he had acquired from hintsgiven him by a band of strolling gypsies. Child as he was, he started outimmediately as a public performer, appearing at Hamburg first, under care of a family acquaintance known in his autobiography only as “ Gabriel,” andthen at Potsdam, Lubeck and othercities on the Continent. At the age of fifteen he,gave his first performance in England^ at Hover, and at eighteen he came oat in London at the Coburg Theatre. He made a ten-months’ stay in London, which was thoroughly successful, and then he made an extended tour through Ireland and Scotland, returning afterwards to England,, wherehe remained till 1871. Io that year he took his wife and two children on board the Columbus packet-sbip, of the old Black Ball Line, at Liverpool, and withthem came to New York. His first appearance in this country was at the oldMasonic Hall, in Broadway, and afterwards he fulfilled an engagement at Niblo’s, in company with Mr. and Mrs. Watson, Messrs. Howard, Dempster, J. A. Kyle and other well-known musical performers. Subsequently he visited Boston, appearing at the Art Galleryin Summer street, then occupied by BIr. Abner Kneeiand and the Society ofFree-Thinkers. From Boston he madethe tour of New England and the West,'returning then to New York, where heentered into partnership with Mr. Mael-zel, the proprietor of the “ AutomatonChess-Player ” and the “Siege of Bios-cow.” After an extended stay in NewYork, Signor Blitz and his ally performed in ■ Philadelphia, made a tonrthrough the South and West, Canada and Nova Scotia and thence went tothe Barbadoea and the West Indies.On his return he settled in Philadel-1 pbia, where he resided for many years.Signor Blitz married twice. His first wife he married in Scotland at an earlyage and she was the mother of theprima donna, Mme. Jenny Yan Zandfc.He had three children in all, one sonliving at present in Philadelphia andone daughter in Brooklyn., His brother is also living, in England.The anecdotes concerning, him, bisventriloquism and his marvelous dexterity, are innumerable. Yery often endowed by t*he superstitions fancies of those who had witnessed his remarkable feats of legerdemain with supernatural powers, he Carefully makes itevident in his autobiography that itwas only to his manual dexterity and a close observance of character that he was enabled to so marvelously deceivethe senses of his auditors. Indeed, hetakes occasion to say in this interesting volume that Spiritualism, “ the professors of which pretend to hold intercourse with the dead and record thethoughts of those within the realms ofHeaven, professing to receive and convey communications between families and friends, is of a character as nonsensical to the understanding as it is offensive to the appreciation of divine law.” His motto was “Laugh, laugh and be happy. Live above the thought of wrong and it will not exist in action.” He quotes many instances of the superstitious regard in which he was held. To his boyish tricks in his natal village his neighbors ascribed the loss of their sleep, mishaps to their cattle and every unusual occurrence within twenty miles of the town. . Indeed, the good priest and the burghers of the town held a solemn council to consider what should be done with this uncannyboy. No result seems to have come oftheir deliberations, “yet,” says the author, “the villagers were to be seenstanding a long way off, gazing at myperson and alleging that they saw most mysterious sights of beings passing in and out of the chimneys, through the windows, through the windows, of redand blue fires burning round the house at mid night.”At Exeter, England, in the early part of 1826, he was summoned before the archbishop and the church council, prior to a performance, and was called upon to answer various charges of irre-ligion and as being an “ idle, mischievous person.” The council was pot ableto find him guilty, but he treated themembers to a gratuitous performance.He astonished the assemblage bv announcing that a watch which he exhibited would be transported to a cushion in the cathedral pulpit, where it was found when a messenger was sent tosearch for it.His first feat as a veniriloqui *t was in a dissecting-room, whither he had been invited by a medical friend. Thedoctor, scalpel in hand, had made anincision in the body of a woman, to which she protested.“ It is cruel to mutilate the remainsof a woman, ” said the voice.“Xes,” came from another body onanother table, “it is an outrage to thusabuse a woman,”Doctor and students made a rush forthe door and it was only when the surgeon had frantically driven home in his carriage, carrying Blitz with him, that the ventriloquist explained.It is impossible to give more than a*few of the many anecdotes which Signor Blitz himself has left of his longlife and^ varied experience. MeetingPaganini, the violinist, during a visit to Glasgow, an infant’s cry came fromwithin the great Italians fiddle.“My God,” said Paganini, “ what isthis?”ilYou know whose child it is,” said afemale voice frqm a neighboring closet.The excited musician rushed to the \eftset, thence back to his violin andthen turned around to see the signor laughing and to receive his explanation.An Egyptian mummy was presentedby the American Consul at Cairo to a jPhiladelphia museum, A crowd was I one day about the case and was startledby a voice from amidst the multitudinous linen folds.“ Open the box! open the box f ” said !the voice.“ Who are you ?h asked one visitor,more venturesome than the rest.“I’m a descendant of the Pharaohs,”answered the voice.** WVinf A a vnn wcnf Q ^xy bird, YYhicli sang aweetly to the manof eggs.The signor’s fun-making propensityseems to have been irresistible and itfound expression in all manner of startling ways and places. * He made a negro* cry ant in his trnuk on one occasion aud came near being arrested asan Abolitionist. ^ Ho made his hdraetalk and the frightened host'er couldnot be induced to re-enter the stable, so. the signor was himself compelled to groom the animal.His favorite resort appears to have been in the marketplaces, where hegave voice to chickens and pigs andand fish and even oysters, to the great confusion of the market-people. But when he had had his laugh the kind-hearted professor never failed to makegood any loss, direct or indirect, thathis victims might have suffered- His benevolence was comprehensive and it has been said of him that he gave awayin charity half of what he made. Inthe Island of St. John, however, an offer to give to the poor the proceeds ofone his entertainments was refused bythe village pastor. “ What! ” said theshepherd, “receivealms for the poorfrom a wizard—a bewitched hand!Oh, no! What spiritual grace wouldSow upon the objects in distress ? ** During the war he gave a hundred andtbirty-two entertainments before 163,-000 soldiers who had congregated inthe various hospitals in Philadelphia,besides contributing considerable sums of money in aid of the sick and thewounded.He enjoyed friendly relations withmany distinguished men. Calling on BIr. Daniel Webster at the statesman’s rooms in Washington, Signor Blitz requested bis influence to procure forMen a Government appointment.“ What office do you wish?” askedMr. Webster, somewhat astonished.“ To count the Treasury notes,” said the signor. “ You might give me one hundred thousand dollar bills to count aud watch me closely, but you wouldfind only seventy-five thousand when1 returned them.”“Signor,” exclaimed Mr. Webster,with lively animation, “there are bet-* ter magieians aere than you, for there would not be $50,000 left when they had finished counting.”Once, certainly, the famous magician was nonplused. A bright boy of tenyears was assisting him on the platform and the signor proposed to pass every piece of silver iabo his pockets. Theboy shook his head, declaring that theprofessor “could not do that.”“ Why not? ” asked Signor Blitz. *“ Because I’ve got only one ppcket,” chirruped the child, “ and that’s got a big hole in it.”A large-hearted, genial, Christiangentleman was Signor Blitz. BoberfcMorris wrote of him :Dear Blitz, thou art the prince of fun*The very soul of wit and mirth,An aged aire and youthful son Admit thy art and own thy worth,« * * * * # *»God bless thee, Blitz I and whou at last The sands of life are nearly don-,May angels watch, around thy couch,To bear thee to the Eternal One.Entirely Satisfied.An Indiana boy of fifteen years hasjust returned from a two years* tramp. Dime novels had pictured to him the great happiness in snch a life, but hemet the reality immediately on reaching New Orleans, in the shape of fever. At Galveston he had an arm broken and at Houston two ribs damaged bybeing pushed from a Texas freigbt-fcrain. Hewa* wouuded by a pistol-ball while herding cattle across Indian Territory and has been beaten till life was nearly extinct. In order to keepfrom starving he had sld papers, outtimber, herded cattle, blacked bootsand worked in a livery stable, a theatreand a restaurant, He neither drinks,chews, gambles nor nses profane language. He says he has had enoughexperience and now wants t6 stay athome.A Little Mixed.The bishop of Exeter tells a goodstory of a speech which was once madeto him. He had gone to stay in acountry parsonage for confirmation or some other clerical function, where the “ house and parlor maid ” had evidently been strictly enjoined on no accountto omit to say “my lord” when addressing the bishop. In the morning,while going down to breakfast, he met the damsel on the stairs and asked hpr whether she could tell him who hadtaken his letters to the post the nightbefore. The answer, given smilingly, was: “The lord, my fioy I ”J*The following entry, exhibiting an* awkward doubt, is in the register of Han well* Eng,: “ Thomas, son [daughter] of Thomas Messenger and Elizabeth his wife, was born and baptized Oct. 24,1731,” to which is added in the margin : “ By the midwife at the font called a boy aud named by the godfather Thomas, but proved a girl.”A celebrated actress, whose freshsmile and silver voice favored the deception, always called herself “ sweetsixteen,” She stated her age as six-'teen in court as a witness. Her sonwas directly afterward called up and asked bow old he was. “ Six months older than mother,” was the honestreply.fifctT*When the governor o£ Oregon ashort time since telegraphed to Secretary McCrary for an additional issue of arms the honorable secretary responded : “You have more than your quota of arms,” The Oregonian telegraped back : “ We have more than our quota of Indians.”fifc^BTacMahon is said not to be over-felicitous in-remarks.' Passing through a hospital in Paris, he was told that a patient had meningitis. “Avery bad djsease,” said the President, “ it eitherkills you or leaves you demented. Ihave had it myself.”JLaim of JVeiv YorIc.--(ISy Authority,)[Every law, unloss a different time shall be prescribed thereto, shall cornmeuce and takeeffect throughout the State, on and not before the twentieth day after the day of its tlnal passage, as certified by the Secretary of State. Sec. 12, title 4, chap. I, pan l.*Revised statutes.]CUAP.3S7.Am Act la relation to auctioneers.Passed May 21, isis; three-fifths being present.The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows :Section 1. It shall not be necessary for anyauctioneer, of this state, whose auction bualne'ssis confined to the sale of farm property, and other personal property, sold upon farms and property which may be owned by any person residing in any of the towns and villages in -this state anilwhich has not been purchased for the purpose ofa sale at auction upon which duties are required to be paidj to the coiupti oiler under the laws ofthis state, to execute the bond now required bvlaw to be executed by auctioneers. Nor shall ftbe necessary for any such auctioneer to reader the sera 1-annoal account now required by law', to be rendered to the comptroller, ty auctioneers engaged in the sale of goods, wares, merchandise and ejects, the growth or produce of uny foreigncountry.2, This act Shall take effect immediately.1 Statb op New Yokk, V caOffice of the Secretary of State./I have compared me preceding with the original law on uie iu this office, and do hereby certify that the same is a correct transcript therefrom and of the whole of suiii original law.ALLEN 0.1JEAUH, Secretary of State.Law« of Now Yorlt.—(By Authority. *[Every law, unless a different time shall beprescribed therein, shall commence and take effect throughout the State, on and not before the twentieth day after the day of its final passage, as certified by the Secretary of State, sec. 12, title 4, chap, 7, part l, Revised Statutes,]CITAP.271.Au Act to prevent the avoiding or passing thegate of the HaUmoon bridge company without payment of toil.Passed MayJJC, 18*8.,The People of pie Mate of Sew York, representedin Senate and A sunnily, do enact an follows I Section 1. Whenever any person shall forciblv
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Margaretville Catskill Recorder
Margaretville, New York, US
Fri, Aug 23, 1878
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USA 29 Sep 2019
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