Those who imagine that by reading Mr. David Devant's My
Magic Life (Hutchinson, IN. 6d.), they may learn to become conjurers and illusionists, may be disappointed. True, the author does give away a good many of his secrets and reveals the sources whereby he learned them, but he keeps the best to himself. His book is a long study in the arE of patience, He describes his earliest efforts, when, as a small boy he conjured hot pudding for a young and hungry audience, and pestered professional artists for -their secrets. The best anecdote of all tells how he was attacked in a lonely lane by a maniac who had once witnessed his performance, and who demanded that he should " make lots of money," and " fill his hat full." Fortunately, Mr. Devant was able to produce the illusion of " catching money invisibly in the air ' and letting it fall tinkling into a hat until the maniac's keepers came to the rescue. The book is packed full of good stories, some for and some against the author, of tales of performances find struggle and enterprise and achievement. Mr. Devant's book is as entertaining as one of his own shows.
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