DR. LYNN'S SECRET

The program for a show by Dr. Lynn, here called "Professor Juleps" to protect the guilty. Click to enlarge.

Last week we recounted the story of Houdini's boyhood hero Dr. Lynn, a/k/a Washington Simmons, literally fooling the boots off Brigham Young, president of the Mormon Church and a "living prophet" to his followers.

We challenged you to submit your ideas on how the trick was done. We're sorry to report that you failed miserably. Only one answer even came close. So as Dr. Lynn himself liked to say, in a phrase that became quite popular in his Victorian England, "here's how it's done":

While Simmons and Brigham Young were talking on the evening before the trick, Simmons' sidekick E. P. Hingston dipped a pen in red ink, approached the prophet from behind during a moment when he had his knee resting on a chair and scrawled Simmons' name on the sole of his boot. He managed to get away with this twice! After they left, Hingston, in great glee, confessed his prank. As we wrote, Simmons arranged to perform the trick the next day, confident that the prophet would not notice the writing until the dénouement.

Brigham Young in his boots.

Brigham Young was so impressed he offered Simmons a high post in the Church and several of his daughters in marriage. According to his friend Artemus Ward, Simmons accepted this for at least a while, then moved on.

Perhaps a prophet cannot prophesy in his own house. In any case, the Mormons say Young went to the tabernacle and publicly thanked the Lord that the devil had finally left town.

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