My chief task has been to conquer fear. The public sees only the thrill of the accomplished trick; they have no conception of the tortuous preliminary self-training that was necessary to conquer fear.

Only one man ever betrayed my confidence, and that only in a minor matter.

The secret of showmanship consists not of what you really do, but what the mystery-loving public thinks you do.

Keep up your enthusiasm! There is nothing more contagious than exuberant enthusiasm.

My professional life has been a constant record of disillusion, and many things that seem wonderful to most men are the every-day commonplaces of my business.

It is needless to say that women make the most patient as well as the most dangerous pickpockets.

How the early priests came into possession of these secrets does not appear, and if there were ever any records of this kind the Church would hardly allow them to become public.