On March 17, 1865, newspaper notices (1) announced that "Herr Kehl" had just arrived, and friends might call on him at 151 Victoria Parade.

By April 15, "Herr von Kehl, that Man of Miracles" promised a season of Seances from the 25th at the Polytechnic Hall, a venue for exhibitions and learning at 69 Bourke Street;  where the Salvation Army is now housed in a new building.

Astounding claims were made (refer to the advertisement) including performances of "The Miraculous Aerial Floating Magnetized Lady" and "The Positive Decapitation of Herr Von Kehl" … surpassing in intensity the most sensational performance ever brought before any audience.

He must have been a persevering performer as he stayed at the Polytechnic for his announced season until May 6, afterwards making brief appearances in Richmond (May 8) and Hawthorn (May 12). The little we know of Herr von Kehl indicates that he was not German but British or Irish, that he plastered sensational handbills around the streets (though sadly, no surviving example is known), and that Kehl  is a town in southwestern Germany  on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.

In the book "The Somatic Conjuror" (1870), the author H.B. Wilton makes mention of his "Second Sight" routine. Otherwise, of his performances, only his reviews can do justice to the genius of Herr von Kehl.  He disappears never to be seen again; and this seems to have been a wise choice.

About three years since, a gentleman connected with the Art of Legerdemain, performing at the Polytechnic Institute, in Melbourne, was pleased to style himself The Man of Miracles, and one of the supposed miracles perpetrated by him was the so-called Spiritual Vision, or Second Sight, with this exception - his medium, instead of being on the stage, was out of sight. Upon his receiv­ing the article for description, he returned it to the owner, and, placing a telescope to his eye for an instant, looked round the hall, as he asserted, in search of the spirit that was to give the replies.

He then proceeded to ask the question in a lead­ing manner, so that the answer would be con­fined to the simple affirmative or negative of Yes or No, which was conveyed by sounds, sometimes produced by a blow from a hammer on the ground, or the striking of a glass tumbler or other article at hand; but each sound being dis­tinct from the former, was to lead to the belief

that a different spirit in each case replied.

Herr Von Kehl, the self-styled 'Man of Miracles,' appeared, last night, at the Polytechnic Hall, for the first time. The announcements which preceded the appearance of this miracle-monger led the public to anticipate something unusually good, and certainly something 'sensational.' The result proved that those who anticipated anything beyond commonplace legerdemain were mistaken, and those who wished for something 'sensational' only experienced the not very pleasurable sensations of fatigue and disgust. Herr Von Kehl and his 'Sprightly' may have appeared with the very best intention but they utterly failed in establishing a claim to the title of entertainers of the public. Stale tricks, badly executed, do not entitle a man to the distinction of a "Man of Miracles", and impudence should not be accepted as a substitute for graceful ingenuity. The entertainment, if such it may be called, was divided into three parts : the first and second were occupied by a re-production of many of those feats which are very familiar to those who have witnessed the seances of English, Continental and American wizards. The 'spiritualism' was a transparent delusion, and it is not too much to say that the rest of the performance was an obvious illusion, or delusion, also. The third part of the performance was, according to the bills, to be devoted to 'the decapitation of the wizard's head.' The bills said, 'This most thrilling scene cannot be described in words ; it surpasses in intensity the most sensational performance ever brought before any audience.' After a long and tedious interval, the curtain was drawn aside; a momentary glance was obtained of something in the shape of a severed head; the curtain was rapidly re-drawn, and the audience hissed. In fact, Herr Von Kehl, with his antique garb and patriarchal beard, makes a very mediocre wizard. Some things he does fairly, but the major part of his seance is a clumsy attempt, and he clearly has no right to the title of a 'man of miracles.'

Another novelty has been produced at the Polytechnic-hall. The place is now dedicated to prestidigitation, and the presiding genius is Herr Von Kehl, who, according to the advertisements is the "man of miracles." But the facts adduced last night prove that Herr Von Kehl is but an ordinary mortal, of British rather than German extraction, and this, despite a costume worthy of the Prince of Denmark, a beard resembling that of "Old Time," a temple as weird-like as that beneath the Luxleyburg, and an attendant as dismal as a worn-out pantaloon. The performance is of the most ordinary character. The tricks are as old as the hills, and, with one or two exceptions, the modus operandi can be easily detected. Illustrations of spirit-rapping were given last night, but they were so  "long drawn out" that a fraternisation took place between the "spirits" and the audience, and a "rapping" extraordinary followed.  The entertainment was divided into three parts, an interval of ten minutes being allowed between each. According to the programme, the last part was to be devoted to the "decapitation of the wizard" - a proceeding described as a "most thrilling scene, surpassing in intensity the most sensational performance." For this promised attraction the audience had to wait not ten minutes, but half an hour. And when the half hour expired, and the curtain rose, what was the sight? A scaffold, something like a head, and an individual in a cowl. A sword was raised - a barber's block, with wig and beard attached, was waved to and fro - and the curtain fell. This was the "thrilling scene," not to be "described in words." The audience hissed, but nevertheless left the place in a good-humoured mood.

Herr Von Kehl the soi disant 'man of miracles' who for some days past by his advertisements in the daily papers has been sounding his own trumpet, as a prestidigitator of extraordinary powers, made his first appearance before a Melbourne audience at the Polytechnic Hall last night, and turns out to be a very ordinary conjurer indeed. His tricks were old, and not only old, but wretchedly performed, and the great sensational event of "actual decapitation before the audience," proved to be little better than a "sell" - comparable only to the trick promised by a man, who in London many years since, drew a large audience together by stating that he would get into a quart bottle, and after placing the bottle upon the table before tho eyes of the gaping spectators, bolted with the proceeds of the evening's entertainment. Verily Herr von Kehl has reckoned without his host if he thinks the public of Victoria sufficiently gullible to tolerate many repetitions of such a performance, as that of last evening.

I presume it is on the principle of extremes meeting, that the exit of Mr. Fred-Younge at the Polytechnic has been succeeded by the entrance of "Herr von Kehl,  the man of miracles." No doubt, most simple and confiding individual, you regard Herr von Kehl as a mysterious German, who does such wonderful things in necromancy that he makes you doubt if the genuine Black Art has really gone out of fashion. But I counsel you to abandon this belief at once. Herr von Kehl is a husky Irishman, who dresses himself in a garment of cotton velvet, who does very old conjuring tricks in very clumsy manner, and who confidently calculates upon an exceedingly stale pantomime trick being admired, as a feat of astonishing dexterity, instead of being howled at as a most transparent piece of buffoonery. To those who look for currents below the surface, however, it may be revealed that the performance of "the man of miracles" was a clever experiment, to try how far on audience would allow itself to be humbugged without breaking into a riot and smashing the benches. These experiments are very hazardous, and should not be tried too often.

Herr Von Kehl's magical feats are continued nightly at the Polytechnic-hall, and it but just to say are now marked by a dexterity which was wanting at the initiatory performance.

Clever Conjuring:- HERR VON KEHL is truly described as a man of miracles. He performs a wonder every night; the marvel consisting not so much in any one particular trick that he does, as in the circumstance that he succeeds in inducing the public to go and see his tricks.

Herr Von Kehl, who styles himself "the celebrated illusionist and wonder-worker wizard," will give a performance similar to those he has been giving for two or three weeks past at the Polytechnic Hall, Melbourne. The programme comprises, with little variation, the tricks with which most of us become familiar in our young days witnessing the performances of Thiodon or the wizards of all quarters of the compass. The sensation piece in Kehl's performance appears to be the beheading of himself, a presentation of which on a colossal style is posted up all over the neighbourhood.

(1) The Argus, March 17 1865 p.8