It is nearly eight o'clock, the seats in the Belleville Opera House are rapidly being filled. The orchestra is playing one of its modest selections.

I call it an orchestra because the villagers do. It is really nothing more than a piano, a violin and a mandolin. A great combination, but there is music in it. It is strange how these people in little towns possess the talent they often do. I do not say this in the light of ridicule, but I really mean it. It is likely due to want of attractions; the talents are allowed to grow and are cultivated and the result is that we get our best people from little unheard-of towns.

The Belleville Opera House has not been filled before like this for many a month. It is a star occasion. People are clad in their best. The show has been looked forward to with much interest and those who do not go know they are missing something.

THE HOT FINGER.

The sleeper has been taken from the window and is now resting in the closed casket on the stage. Of course he gets plenty of air, but he still sleeps. The stage hands keep track of this part of the entertainment, because they know that if it is faked they will be aware of it before anyone else. I have known these stage hands to do much damage with their stories of seeing the sleeper get up and have a light lunch lack of the scenes when he was never awakened until he was brought to consciousness on the stage in front of the audience.

The scenes are arranged with the casket in front and occupying a vantage point on the stage. In a few minutes the curtain will go up and then show will commence; that is, the address will be given.

During my stay in town I have met and hypnotized just seven different good somnambulists who will be up on the stage to-night. I have my own two men. giving me nine subjects, a goodly number and enough for any entertainment. Besides these it is likely that I will get several more. Hut that is a matter that does not trouble me at all. There have been seasons when I did not take the trouble to get a subject before the entertainment. I never failed in getting enough good ones on the stage to do the work. It is not necessary to fake this thing - hypnotism. But if that were the easiest way out of giving the public phenomena I don't know of a public hypnotist who would refuse. I sit back of the scenes. smoke dreamily and muse o'er the many things that have occurred. It is fascinating, to say the least.

As I watch a ring of smoke curl toward the cobwebs on the rafters above me. I can see myself in my early career, and then myself as I am now. Then, I would rather have given every man, woman and child his money back than have produced any fake phenomena. Now. well, now I would rather give the real phenomena if I hadn't things too much against me, but if they were I would not object to a subject acting. I tell these things becausc the story of this show is meant for the student who should know how to stage the hypnotic entertainment and how to handle the audience. True, you lack that one great thing even then: you are not there and do not go through it. I call upon your imagination to call you there and I can do not more.

But I forget! I was saving that there was a time when I would have done anything rather than fake. Now I would laugh if any one should accuse me of faking. I have grown blase as far as the road goes. I would never take the trouble to stop a performer if he were doing fake work so long as he did not try to do anything to make little of me before the audience. Should he do that. I might, well - if one does tonight I will show you then!

But listen, there it is. "Sweet Hunch of Daisies!" That tune has always been my curtain-raiser in little towns. It is part of my show, and when I hear it. I am ready. Yes. the curtain is up and a hush has fallen over the audience as they view the casket before them.

As the music continues. I step out before the audience, slowly and with a mysterious air of precision. The show, students, is opened.

Experience is a good teacher. It has taught me that I must be cool and go about things with method if I expect to hold the attention of the audience. I. therefore, advance slowly toward the footlights and make my bow. not a low. awkward bow. but just a slight one. I address them thus:

"Ladies and Gentlemen: Before entering upon the actual work of this entertainment, I wish to speak briefly upon hypnotism and psychic phenomena in general. The common beliefs and the light which is generally brown upon hypnotism and kindred subjects, have tended to cause a great deal of prejudice among the public. This prejudice, I am pleased to state, is rapidly giving way to common sense and judgment in weighing matters of this kind.

"The average man or woman comes to the hypnotic entertainment with two general ideas: The first is that it is a very funny thing, without depth or reason for its being; the second comes because he wishes to be entertained and does not care for the scientific part of it at all. He believes that it is a fraud and were one to tell him differently he would ridicule the statement.

"These, I say, are the two general classes. Besides these there are several others who come to look into the mysteries; while a very limited number understand something of the subject from a scientific standpoint. With your attention, therefore, I wish to draw the distinction between the different phases of psychic phenomena as they relate to hypnotism, and hypnotism itself.

"Ideas are conveyed to the mind either through the agency of the five senses or through intuition. That is, telepathically, or through the transference of thought. Ordinarily we take the ideas thus presented, weigh them for what they are worth and cast part aside. This becomes so much a matter of habit that we do not see any difference between the two forms of gathering knowledge.