10:30
Quinsey was known as a mesmerist , a ventriloquist , an illusionist , a prestidigitator and a master of the Black Art , and occasionally in `` pleasing sorcery that charms the sense '' he would entertain audiences at church fairs , picnics and the like for simple fees , while he found much pleasure amusing friends gratuitously at their homes , at his home and sometimes at his place of business . One evening , at a little entertainment given by himself in neighboring Glendale , after he had knocked the spots off of several decks of cards ; after he had taken half a dozen watches that belonged to people in the audience from the janitor 's pocket ; after he had received communications from departed spirits ; after he had removed the head from a beautiful woman and had made the removed head talk ; after he had paralyzed four men and a woman on the stage and had allowed the committee to stick pins in them , and after the curtain had dropped , one of the awe-stricken auditors , who had been instrumental in introducing Mr. Quinsey in Glendale , asked the wonderful magician why he did not follow this business in preference to any other ? The professor smiled blandly and appeared silent , but a voice that seemed to come from the bakery underneath the hall , was heard to remark in a deep melodious tone : `` He has something better . '' Quinsey was superintendent of what was known as the night set in the registry division of the Cincinnati post-office , and his hours of labor were from 10:30 P. M. to 7 A. M . In this set were employed six or seven clerks who worked under the superintendant 's direction , and who performed practically the same kind of work that he did . It was their duty to properly record all registered matter that arrived in Cincinnati between 4 P. M. and midnight from the various railroad lines centering there , rebill it and pouch it in the through registry pouches to be dispatched in the morning . There were something like thirty bills to make out , and the same number of pouches to properly close and send out .