Nikola Tesla Books
CHAPTER XXI. HINTS FOR THE ELECTRICAL ENTERTAINER. Not the least important feature of the work in hand is the preparation of a suitable explanatory lecture to accompany the experiments which are to be performed with the apparatus described. Upon the snap and vigor of the lecture depend in a large measure the successful presentation of the offering. It is safe to assume that the day of the electrical fakir is past-no longer can the smooth-tongued performer claim some supernatural power which enables him to take through his body enormous voltages which would prove fatal to the average mortal. The lecturer of this type is as much a thing of the past as is the old-time magician who makes claim to some occult power rather than to sleight-of-hand or mechanical ingenuity to accomplish his tricks. The electrical entertainer of to-day must bear in mind that in the past five years the education of the general public along the lines of electricity and science has advanced in an astonishing degree, and to offer his experiments under the guise of a wizard is not only to insult the intelligence of his audience, but to stamp himself as an absurd charlatan as well. Just as the modern prestidigitator credits his quickness of hand, so should the electrical entertainer give credit to modern science for his ability to perform the startling experiments he offers. Class of Audience.-The class of audience catered to 221
