I believe it was staged by Teller, and he gives you enough context in his article to figure it out: > "I wonder," he said, "how many Enoch Soameses will show up." At the time, I thought he was merely musing. Later I understood. He was giving me a homework assignment. And then he closes the article: > D. G. "Rosey" Rosenbaum didn't come to the Reading Room; he no longer corrects homework assignments. He was buried sev…
As Beerbohm's short story might be quite well-known in some circles, one imagines that a local literary fan may have been up for making an appearance in appropriate costume, possibly without the illusionist's knowledge.
Nice story though.