Carefully they move to the sides of this imaginary airship, grasping what they suppose to be the railing. Some of them take hold of chairs, as it is impossible for them to imagine something where there is nothing. But Harry and Albert, always the stars in the hypnotic show, look out over a railing which does not exist in any form except in their minds. It is indeed amusing to see the mingled looks of fear and admiration on the faces of these subjects as they peer out over the railing of the airship. Some are looking straight down on the metropolis of the middle west. Others are gazing farther northward, seeing Wisconsin's chief city and port as it appears to them in a haze.

One has chosen to look straight up at the rigging. It may be that the curtains above him serve to heighten his vision, but he is certainly interested. The audience look on with laughter and applause. That is, all except a few. Some think it is disgusting, and one has arisen and left, highly indignant at such proceedings. But this does not mar the procedure in the least. The majority enjoy it, and that is all that is expected by the management.

A few there are who look for the scientific points. There is an old gentleman down in the - yes, in the fifth row, who looks on with a combined pleased and studious expression. But these people are few. I notice that the world wants to be amused. It does not care for the scientific explanation of things. Give the world something to laugh at and you are a good fellow. But get serious with the world and you are at outs with all mankind.

I cite this because the audience before me reminds me of this fact. I do not tell them so. No, they are busy watching the aerial sailors away up in their dizzy riggings.

"We have passed Chicago now and are over the Mississippi river. Here and there we can see cities and the river glistens like a silvery ribbon far below. We are going faster and faster. Our speed now, I see, is over two hundred miles an hour. There is a very strong wind and I can see a cloud in the east. I believe that the wind will shift soon and strike us from the west. Look out there, what was that?"

The entire five are on their knees. Their faces are white and their eyes are fairly bulging from their heads. The audience is laughing right merrily now, but the poor sailors would by far choose to be back on earth than in a place without foundation.

"See the birds that are flying wildly back and forth. They are excited. There, you (pointing to Albert) catch that large bird. Hurry, now, or he will get away!"

Albert grabs and catches it by the legs, I should judge, by his antics.

"Look out. the bird is carrying you over the railing Hang on; get on his back. There you are and away you go".

Albert has dropped to the floor and is straddling an imaginary bird, with his head lowered and his hands tightly grasping the bird's neck. The others are busy with their own work until I call their attention to the grotesque figure of Albert flying over the landscape. They stop and laugh with wild, unrestrained glee. They cheer him on and nearly fall over the real Albert, who believes that he is riding far out into space on the back of an immense bird.

I touch Albert on the head and tell him to look at the boy on the bird. He is up and cheering with the rest watching some one - who was himself but recently - sailing into space!

"See, the clouds are rising in the west; there is going to be a storm and we are right up in the midst of it. You will surely be thrown out if you do not do something. The best thing to do is to exhaust the gas and let the ship sink. That's right, we are dropping fast now; we will soon be down. But, look! We are dropping into the river. You had better jump over the sides and swim for shore as quickly as possible! That's right!"

And they have tumbled over the sides into the river. They flounder on the stage like so many fish thrown on the land. The audience think this extremely funny and they watch their antics with interest.

Here it is time to make a radical change in my act. So far there has been no music. It is always necessary to have that. Cakewalks are always acceptable in the hypnotic show, even though they may be on the decline as far as popularity is concerned.

I motion to the leader of the orchestra, and while the boys are still having their "swim" the notes of a familiar rag-time air fill the auditorium.

"Look here, boys, what are you doing down there? See, we are at a cakewalk. Don't you hear the music? Be up and join in; hurry up. Part of you are girls and the rest are boys. You are black as night and you arc at the greatest gathering the colored race ever had at which a cake was offered as a token for the best steppers".

They are up and doing the light step arm in arm. and I find that I have to step lively to get the chairs out of their way. 'Round and round they go, with a regularity that is not half bad, but the burlesque convulses the house.

It is amusing, indeed, to see these boys, endowed in their waking states with as much sense as the ordinary boy, up in front of an audience of perhaps eighteen hundred people, oblivious to all except the things they do. True, they sec the audience, but they see it as they would look at a picture at other times. It creates nothing in them that causes excitement. They take for granted the fact that there are so many people out in front of them, but as soon as the right suggestions are given, they are merry or frightened, as the case may be.

But the best entertainment in hypnotism is that which possesses the funny side, presents the grotesque and at the same time does not give anything that is really injurious to the subjects. They are the people you must depend upon to a certain extent. You can go to a great distance in the realm of foolery, but there is a limit, and when that has been overstepped the subject is very, very sore, as the common expression goes. It is always a good idea to do the right thing by the subject. If he is used rightly and his clothes are not soiled he will likely come back for you another night.