CONJURING WITH AND WITHOUT SPECIAL APPARATUS.
THE TRANSPOSABLE MONEY.
This is a trick fit only for lads with plenty of pocket-money, but it is both simple and neat. Take two halfpennies and two shillings, and grind part of each coin on one side only, so that they may be but of half the usual thickness, then rivet together a shilling and a halfpenny, and file round the edges of the halfpenny to make it the same size as the shilling. Place one of these double pieces, with the shilling upwards, on the palm of the hand, at the bottom of the three first fingers; place the other piece, with the halfpenny uppermost, in like manner, on the other hand. Let the spectators notice in which hand is the halfpenny, and in which the shilling. Then shut both hands, when the pieces will naturally turn over; open the hands again, and the coins will apparently have become transposed.
THE PENETRATIVE COIN.
Provide a small box that will shut with a spring, but that can only be opened with a key, and place this box open in a pocket or some equally convenient receptacle. Ask some person present to mark a coin, so that it may be known again, say a shilling, and lend it for the purpose of the trick. Take this piece in one hand, and being provided with another coin of the same appearance to place in the other hand, slip the marked coin dexterously into the small box and close it, change the remaining coin from one hand to the other, keeping it in view of the company, in order that it may be supposed to be the marked coin. Place the box containing the marked coin upon the table, convey away the coin left in the hand, and pretend to make it pass into the box. Present the box to the person who lent the coin, and inform him that the marked coin is therein. Let the key be then given him, and when the box is unlocked, bid him thoroughly examine the coin, and satisfy himself and the audience that it is the genuine marked coin handed up by him.
At the best shops at which conjuring apparatus is supplied, boxes fitting one into the other are provided for this trick, all of which may be quickly closed at one movement, but which require considerable manipulation to open one by one.
THE PHANTOM COIN.
Take a sixpence or other small coin, the impression of which is new and sharply cut, and fasten it unnoticed by means of a bit of common wax to the end of the thumb. Then, when speaking to some one of the company, show him the coin, ask him to hold out his hand, in order that the coin may be placed therein. Keep his eyes turned from his hand by engaging them in some other direction, press the coin firmly on the palm of his hand, and bid him close his fingers over the coin, holding it tightly. The imprint of the coin on the hand will produce a sensation as if the coin were actually there, but it being stuck to the thumb of the performer, will, of course, be taken away when the victim closes his hand. Let the performer then dexterously palm the coin or make away with it in some other manner, make some cabalistic flourish of the magic wand, utter some charm, and declare the coin to have vanished. The person to whom the coin was supposed to be given will, upon opening and looking at his hand, be astonished to find nothing there.
THE COIN MELTED AND RESTORED.
Borrow from some one of the audience a half-crown piece, for preference ask for a new coin, and let it be marked before it is handed in. (N.B.—In conjuring tricks with coins and other articles of common every-day use, it is always advisable to borrow from the spectators, as the impression is then conveyed that the articles used are not specially prepared.) See that there is a good clear space between the table behind which the conjurer stands and talks, and the audience, so that without inconveniencing the spectators, or coming too near to them, he can readily pass round, and stand in front of the table when the exigencies of the trick require such a position to be taken up. Provide a lighted candle, and let it be placed upon the table. Having received the half-crown, look intently at it, rub it smartly on both sides, place it on the table beside the candlestick, and rub the hands briskly together—all this by the way of by-play-keeping up in the meantime some suitable discourse on the nature of metals, the heat required to melt them, the necessity of developing mesmeric power, and so on. Take up the coin in the right hand, moving it towards the left, as though to place it therein, but instead, during its passage, palm it in the right hand, according to the instructions given for palming a card.[2] Having pretended to place the coin in the left hand, close that hand accordingly, as though it really held the coin. Work about the fingers of that hand, as if to further mesmerise the coin, and at the same time take the candlestick in the right hand; this action, while helping the performer the more easily to keep the coin palmed in a natural manner, will make it appear to the audience that it is impossible for the coin to have been kept in that hand. The next appropriate motion is to hold the left hand, still closed, over the flame of the candle, and to work the fingers as if allowing the slowly-melting coin to ooze out by degrees, at the same time flicking the wick of the candle, and if possible damping it slightly, so as to make it "sputter." In the continuation of the talk, or "patter," at this point, call attention to the coin as in the process of being passed into the candle, open the left hand, and show that the coin is now no longer therein. After a short lapse of time, and to allow of the molten silver becoming thoroughly absorbed in the wax or tallow of the candle, put down the candlestick on the table, and with the fingers of the right hand (in which, remember, the coin remains palmed) make believe to draw the now thoroughly melted and absorbed coin out of the candle through the wick, transferring it bit by bit into the palm of the left hand. This action should be rapidly performed, and it is well if, during its progress, the sputtering of the candle can be again arranged. During the execution of this movement, bring the palmed coin immediately above the hollow of the left hand, and secretly let it fall therein. Take the fingers of the right hand from the wick of the candle, pretend to drop from them the remainder of the recovered metal into the palm of the left hand, make believe to manipulate it into its original shape by rubbing it gently with the fingers, as if still hot and difficult to hold, toss it from hand to hand in order the more rapidly to cool it, and finally return it to the spectator from whom it was borrowed.
This is one of the easiest to perform of sleight-of-hand tricks with coins, but as an introduction to a series of such tricks in a performance of parlour magic it will be found to be very effective, and will, if shown in a lively manner, with an accompaniment of appropriate "patter," never fail to elicit for the encouragement of the performer considerable applause and admiration.
THE FLYING COINS.
Again ask from some one of the audience the loan of a half-crown piece, and at the same time take the opportunity—without, however, calling verbal attention to it—to ostentatiously show the left hand, so that it may be seen that nothing is held therein. The borrowed coin should be taken between the finger and thumb of the right hand, and while it is being handed up, the performer should secretly take a similar coin from some concealed part of his clothes, and palm it in the right hand. The palming will be assisted rather than otherwise by taking the borrowed coin between the thumb and fingers of that hand. That coin is then to be visibly passed, and distinctly held for a second or two with the tops of the fingers of the left hand; subsequently, the right hand is to be brought towards the left, in order that the borrowed coin may be again visibly taken into the right hand; and while this is being done the palmed coin being just over the palm of the left hand, should be secretly let fall therein, just at the moment when the fingers and thumb of the right hand are taking away the visible coin. As a consequence, although the borrowed coin will now have been removed from the left hand, another coin, unknown to the spectators, remains there. (A little careful practice before a looking-glass will be needed before the dropping of the secreted coin from the palm of the right hand to the palm of the left hand can be neatly and artistically managed.) The pretended passage of the coin from one hand to the other becomes now a very simple matter. Expatiate upon the great speed at which magic causes the objects with which it deals to travel, that the closest possible attention will be needed to detect the coin as it passes; and as the command "Pass" is pronounced, open the left hand, and expose to the audience the coin hitherto secretly held there; palm the other coin in the right hand, bringing that hand down carelessly to the side, or dexterously place the coin in some place of concealment. The latter can easily and safely be performed, as for some seconds it will be found that the whole attention of the company will be fixed upon the coin in the left hand, and a smart natural movement of the right hand will not then be noticed.
The trick may be continued, and its effect considerably heightened, by now offering not only to pass another half-crown in the same way, and adding that, although the pass is too rapid to be made visible, except to the very quick-sighted, yet, there being two coins involved, it will be quite possible by the chink to make the pass audible. It will be evident that the above instructions, with the slight adaptation needed of jerking the two coins together at the time when the pretended pass is made, will be all that are sufficient. Another variety of the same trick, executed in a similar manner, may be performed, to induce the company to believe that the coins are passed from one hand held on the top of a table, to the other hand held underneath the table; in short, there are few tricks so easily and simply capable of variations as those of the Flying Coins.
THE BOX, THE HALFPENCE, AND THE DIE.
Fig. 1.—The "Block" of Halfpennies.
Fig. 2.—The "Block" Showing the Concealed Die.
Fig. 3.—Pasteboard Box used in the Box, the Halfpence, and the Die Trick.
This is a very simple, ingenious little trick, but one that requires special apparatus, which may, however, be purchased at a trifling cost at most of the toy-shops, or at any of those establishments from which conjuring materials are professedly supplied. The materials required are a block made to represent a pile of ordinary halfpennies (see Fig. 1), out of which a large round piece has been cut (see Fig. 2, which is Fig. 1 made transparent), and a round pasteboard box that will cover both blocks (Fig. 3). A loose heap of halfpennies should also be provided to hand round the room, with a die and a box, in order that the illusion of the actual halfpennies being used in the performance of the trick may be kept up. The trick can be best performed by an operator sitting at one end of a long dining-room table, and, provided only he is careful to keep his audience at a properly respectful distance, they may be clustered round the opposite end of the table. When the exhibited materials have been handed back, the block (Fig. 1) should be adroitly substituted for the real halfpennies. A simple way of doing this will be to seem to manipulate the coins into an exactly even heap; during the manipulation a dexterous movement of one or other of the hands will enable the necessary change to be made, when the coins may for convenience, and for the better subsequent developments of the trick, be placed on a handkerchief or table napkin, spread over the knees for the purpose. The block (Fig. 1) is to be covered with the box; the command "Pass" is to be given; the real halfpennies are to be produced from underneath the table, and thrown thereupon. At the same time let the box be lifted by slightly pinching it near the bottom with the finger and thumb of the right hand, by which motion the block of imitation halfpennies will also be lifted. When the box is well beyond the edge of the table, and over the lap, relinquish the pressure, letting the block fall into the lap; throw the box on the table, and the impression will be created that the halfpennies, upon being covered with the box, disappeared through, and had to be brought up from beneath the table. It will be understood that in this simple deceit, as well as in the more professional sleight-of-hand tricks, considerable dexterity must be shown to make several of the movements, that are necessarily described as separate movements, simultaneously. The die is brought into use in the second part of the trick in the following manner:—Proceed as above, so far as substituting the real for the imaginary halfpennies is concerned, and at the same time pass round the die, in order that it may be duly inspected and examined, meanwhile place the block in the box secretly, pinching it tightly so as to hold the block therein. When the die is returned, cover it visibly with the box, which will secretly contain the block. (Fig. 2). Pretend to pass the coins up through the table. Remove the box without removing the block, and it will appear that the magic box has changed the die into the halfpennies, and that the die has disappeared. It is scarcely necessary to observe that a reversal of this part of the trick will, of course, bring back the die, and make the halfpennies disappear.
TO PICK A MARKED SHILLING OUT OF A HAT COVERED WITH A HANDKERCHIEF.
Place three shillings taken from some cool place (not the pocket), or let some one of the audience place three such shillings in a hat, and cover them with a handkerchief. After this has been done, continue the "patter" for a minute or two, to allow of the warmth communicated to the coins by the hand passing away. Then hand the hat and coins to any one of the audience, and request him to remove any one, but only one, of the coins. By asking him whether he will be able to recognise that particular coin again, induce him to retain it for as long a time as possible in his hand, and, in order that there may really be no mistake, instruct him how to distinctly mark it by scratching it with a knife, or in some other equally effectual manner. It is important that the person taking and marking the coin should not wear gloves. When all this has been done, let the coin be again placed in the hat, and covered with the handkerchief. The warmth of the hand of the person who marked the coin will have made it perceptibly warmer than the other two, and if the performer is tolerably quick in thrusting his hand into the hat, there will be no difficulty in detecting this warmth, and selecting the marked coin. It is not necessary, however, that it be at once brought out; the performer should make-believe to search for it for some time before finally withdrawing and exhibiting it.
BURNING THE HANDKERCHIEF.
This is a good sleight-of-hand trick for amateurs. It requires no special apparatus, and, as here described, gives a good illustration of the many uses to which the magic wand may be put. Place a lighted candle on some small table near to, but well removed from contact with, the spectators; show both hands perfectly empty; borrow a pocket-handkerchief from some lady present. (N.B.—The handkerchief should, for the convenience of the performer, be of a small size, and therefore a lady's handkerchief is preferable.) Take the handkerchief by the centre, pull it carefully between the left finger and thumb, and advance to the candle. Before burning it, however, stop and say, as if in answer to some remark overheard, "Oh, no; the handkerchief has not been changed. See!" and, at the same time, allow another inspection of it. Suggest now to its owner that, if burned, she will desire her handkerchief to be restored again to its proper condition, and such being the case, announce the necessity of the magic wand for that purpose. Return to the table on which the wand will have been placed, which should be some table other than that on which the candle is standing, and at the same time place, unperceived, between the left thumb and forefinger, a small piece of material similar to that out of which a handkerchief is made. The centre of this piece of cambric should be pointed outwards so that it may be readily pulled out at the desired moment, the remainder being neatly rolled up and palmed under the thumb. Place the wand in one of the coat pockets, and again take the handkerchief, putting it this time into the left hand, and pull up the small piece of material, completely hiding the centre of the real handkerchief between the second and third finger and the palm of the hand. The portion of the smaller material sticking out from the thumb and forefinger may now be safely burnt, and the audience may be challenged to see there is no doubt but that it is the actual handkerchief. (Of course in this, as in all tricks, no person from the audience must be allowed to approach the performer, except upon invitation; and, indeed, it is almost always better that articles to be inspected should be taken by the performer to the audience; if the audience approaches near to the tricks when being performed the illusion is generally weakened, if not altogether spoiled.) The handkerchief being apparently burned at its centre, may, what remains of it, be now rolled up into a ball, and while this is being done, the actually burnt piece of material should be separated from the real handkerchief; then take the magic wand from the pocket, and in doing so, drop the small semi-burnt piece of cambric, unperceived, into that pocket, touch the handkerchief with the wand, and return it to its owner to be examined, when it will be found to be perfectly whole.
THE AUGMENTED COINS.
On a small tray or salver place a number of counters, gilt in imitation of sovereigns (these counters may be purchased at a very small cost), and ask of the audience if some one of their number will kindly give permission to have the coins passed into his hands or pockets. Several of those present will doubtless volunteer the necessary permission, but the performer may then protest that one will be sufficient to show his power, and however much of a wizard he may be, he yet cannot endow all present with unlimited wealth. The conjurer may further remark that he will be open and above board, that he will pass coins from himself to some one of the audience unseen, and without the knowledge of that one himself. The performer will do well to select for the trick some person whose countenance indicates an easy disposition, and such an one should be invited to take from the tray a handful of the coins. This having been done, the remainder of the counters should be emptied from the tray on to the table. The person who has taken the handful of coins should next be asked to count them, and the performer at the same time must approach him, with the empty salver, carefully held between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, in order that the coins, as they are counted, may be placed therein. It may here be observed that in the right hand and underneath the salver the performer should have concealed a small number of similar coins or counters; for convenience of illustration we will say seven. These counters may very easily be concealed from sight, inasmuch as the three last fingers which are to hold them will be naturally covered by the tray. As the assisting spectator—who, by the way, should be no confederate—counts the coins one by one, repeat after him the numbers as they are named, to prevent any mistake or misunderstanding, until he has finished, having reached, we will suppose, twenty-two. He should now be requested to be good enough to take in one of his hands these twenty-two pieces, and the performer, suiting the action to the word, will here pour the twenty-two coins or counters into his own right hand, where they may be made to imperceptibly mingle with the seven already concealed there, as before mentioned, and at once the whole twenty-nine should be handed to and placed boldly into the offered hand of the spectator. As a matter of experience, it will be found that seven coins so added to twenty-two will not be detected; but as a further precaution, and to prevent the possibility of the counters being again numbered, ask the assisting spectator to keep the hand holding the coins as tightly closed as possible, and in the other hand to hold the salver, in order still further to give his assistance and to prove that the salver has nothing to do with the deception.
The operator should now return to his platform, or behind his conjuring table, and request that the coins may be held out in the clenched palm on a level with the heads, or rather a little above the heads, of the audience generally, in order that no one may be struck by the coins that are to be made to pass from the performer to take their place with those held out. The performer himself takes up from the table a number of counters, say eight, deliberately counting them one by one as they are taken, and allowing the entire audience to see that here again there is no deception. (N.B.—Unimportant movements like this should always be deliberately done.) The spectator whose assistance hitherto may be described as so valuable should now be asked if he has any objection to urge why these further eight coins or counters should not be passed from the performer on the stage or platform to him at his seat among the audience in the body of the room. It may confidently be reckoned upon that no objection will be urged. Here, again, as a preliminary to the final movement by a repetition both from the performer and the spectator, announce the number of counters (twenty-two) that are believed to be in the hand of the latter, and point out that with the eight about to be passed to him there should then be thirty. At this juncture the eight coins must be dropped into the hollow of the left hand of the performer; he should bend forward towards that part of the audience where the assistant for the time being is situated, and ask him to make a similar movement towards the platform, the performer indicating by means of his right hand the exact direction in which the assistant should move. This motion of the right hand will momentarily divert the attention of the audience generally from the left hand, which is to be taken advantage of by secreting the coins in some part of the attire of the performer. Everything is now ready to make the necessary "pass," and it may now be done at the first convenient point of the performer's address. Give the order "pass," and ask whether the shock of the advent of the additional counters was not felt. At any rate, ask the audience to verify, by counting, that the additional coins have duly reached the assistant's hand; and while all eyes are so occupied get possession secretly of another counter, and hold it, unperceived, in the right hand. It will be readily understood that the assistant will have but twenty-nine counters in his hand, inasmuch as the actual number added was only seven. Possibly, however, he will be so overwhelmed at the operation that has been apparently performed that one counter more or less will not be noticed; or, indeed, he may mis-count one, and, if so, the trick may be allowed to end; but if not, some allusion to the thirtieth coin having been dropped in its transit may be made, and the one palmed in the conjurer's right hand may be apparently brought out of a handkerchief, fan, lap, or pocket of some one of the other intervening spectators. At any rate, a careful reading of previously and subsequently described sleight-of-hand tricks will suggest to an ingenious lad many methods by which, with the aid of the additional coin, the latter part of the trick may be extended and varied.
TO GUESS THE TWO ENDS OF A LINE OF DOMINOES.
For this trick a whole set of dominoes is required, and from the set the performer should secretly secure one which is not a double. Let the remaining dominoes be well shuffled, and placed according to the ordinary rules of domino games, and the performer may safely and surely undertake to tell, without seeing them, the two numbers forming the extremes of the line which may have been placed during his absence from the room. The numbers on the extreme ends of the domino line will correspond with the numbers on the domino secreted by the performer. If the trick has for any good reason to be repeated, see that the secreted domino is exchanged for another.
Numerous other simple domino tricks will on this model occur to frequent players with dominoes, and, indeed, many of the card tricks may be so adapted as to be shown with dominoes instead of cards. So much space has been devoted to card tricks that the reader cannot do better, if he desires to show some domino tricks, than refer back to the card tricks, and make the necessary adaptations for himself.
THE LOST RING RECOVERED.
This is a trick suitable to the abilities of any amateur, and requires but little in the way of apparatus, a couple of common toy jewellery rings, a piece of elastic thread, and a lemon being the appliances needed. Take a piece of elastic thread, from three to four inches long; let one end be fastened to one of the rings and the other to the inside of the performer's coat-sleeve, care being taken to have the elastic of such a length that it permits the ring to be placed on the finger, and that when the ring is removed it will fly up the sleeve, so as to be concealed from the audience. Before commencing to show the trick, a lemon should be procured, and in the middle of it a slit be cut crosswise, and into the slit the second ring should be pushed until it lies in the very centre of the lemon. The slit should be carefully cut so as to remove no portion of the rind; it will then be found that when the ring has been pushed into the lemon the slit will close up and be imperceptible, unless its existence is known. The lemon should then be cut into slices, nearly but not quite severed, and held so that if anything were between the slices it would fall out. Of course, care must be taken that the lemon is so cut as to allow the ring to be in the middle of one of the slices. A piece of tape and a bodkin have next to be borrowed. The end of the tape should be slipped through the eye of the bodkin, and pushed lengthways through the lemon in such a way that it is passed through the ring. The ends of the tape may now be given to two different spectators, and they should be instructed to keep the tape at full stretch. The first ring worn on the performer's finger, and to which the elastic is attached, must at this juncture be slipped from off the finger, and held between the thumb and finger, care being taken that it is so held that the audience cannot see the elastic thread. The hand should be pointed towards the lemon, the fingers being then suddenly spread out, and the ring let go, and it will fly away and become hidden up the performer's coat-sleeve. Surprise at this sudden disappearance of the ring may be expressed, but it should be surmised that as it was the performer's intention to pass it into the lemon, perhaps the lost jewel may of its own accord have taken its flight thither. Let the performer then go to the lemon, and separating the divisions into which it has been sliced, push them one by one apart. Each outer slice should be alternately taken and pulled off from the tape, keeping the central slice until the last. When this is reached, again take the knife and cut the slice gradually down, carefully destroying the slit through which the ring was passed, and continue cutting until the metal of the ring is visible. The performer should let some one of the audience disengage the embedded ring, which will, of course, be found strung upon the tape.
TO GET A RING OUT OF A HANDKERCHIEF.
Obtain a piece of gold or brass wire, and bend it into the form of a wedding-ring, seeing first that both ends are sharpened. Borrow from one member of the audience a handkerchief and from another a wedding-ring, unless the performer has previously provided himself with a suitable ring for the trick. At any rate, palm the false ring, and allow the real ring to be inspected by handing it round to the company, and announce that it is to be made to pass through the handkerchief. The performer then takes the borrowed handkerchief, and places his hand underneath it, at the same time substituting the false ring, which had been previously concealed by being palmed, for the actual ring, which will in the meantime have been received back again. The false ring now has to be pressed against the centre of the handkerchief, and an independent person should be desired to hold the ring covered by the handkerchief by closing his finger and thumb through the hoop of the ring. Two other spectators may also here be asked, the one to hold the handkerchief by two of its corners, and the other by the other corners, keeping it as far as possible at full stretch, so that it may be clearly seen that the ring in the handkerchief has not been merely placed in one of its folds. When the audience have had time to satisfy themselves on this point, those holding the corners of the handkerchief may be relieved from their duties, the person holding the ring, however, still retaining his hold. Request now some other person to grasp the handkerchief as tightly as he pleases some two or three inches or more below the ring, the person holding the ring being then asked to let go. Let a hat or some other object be now held by some person other than the performer over that part of the handkerchief that is being grasped and that contains the false ring; the performer then passes his hand under the hat, opens the false ring by bending one of its sharpened points a little asunder, brings that point gently through the fabric of the handkerchief, draws out the remainder, and carefully rubs the hole made thereby in the handkerchief, in order that the hole may be concealed. The actual ring should not be placed outside and over the handkerchief, and upon the hat being removed it will appear to the audience that the ring has been taken from the inside and placed over a portion of the handkerchief. The false ring will, of course before this point of the trick, have been palmed or otherwise got rid of.
In this short account of card, coin, and other conjuring tricks we have purposely avoided describing such tricks as require either a long training or expensive apparatus; but in order to show more clearly what a very simple affair conjuring is, we will here give an account of two professional conjuring tricks that have attained a world-wide celebrity. The first given is a description of the celebrated Gold-fish Trick, as performed by Herr Frikell, which trick, by the way, dates long before Frikell's time, although the charm with which he conjured, by combining the genius of the actor with that of the conjurer, has given him such a pre-eminence in what he undertook as to make old tricks appear to be invested with a new charm. The second description is Robert Houdin's own account of the Cups and Balls Trick, modifications of which have often been published under the title of "The Travelled Balls."
Fig. 1.—Bowl with Gold-fish.
THE GOLD-FISH TRICK; OR, HOW TO BRING BOWLS OF WATER IN WHICH GOLD-FISHES ARE SWIMMING OUT OF AN EMPTY CLOTH.
Fig. 2.—India-rubber Cover.
Fig. 3.—The Bowl Covered Over.
The performer advances on the stage, and stands quite apart from any surrounding objects; there is nothing in his dress in any way unusual, and in his hand he holds an ordinary cloth about four feet square, which the audience is permitted to examine. Upon the cloth being returned to him by the audience, he throws it over his left arm and hand, and after a few seconds produces from under it a glass bowl full of water, in which gold-fishes are seen swimming; the cloth is again thrown into the air, shaken, and examined, and the trick is repeated until four large bowls have been produced from apparently nowhere. The following describes how the trick is accomplished:—Fig. 2 represents an india-rubber cover, the diameter (a b) being about the same diameter as the top of the bowl; the whole cover turns over the edge flat about two or three inches, so that the opening (c d) is considerably smaller than the diameter (a b). After the bowl (Fig. 1) has been about three-parts filled with water, and two or three fishes placed in it, the cover (Fig. 2) is stretched over the bowl (Fig. 3); the part of the cover a b (Fig. 2) is, of course, drawn over the rim of the bowl (a´ b´, Fig. 3); and the part c d (Fig. 2) is in contact with the outside top part of the bowl (c´ d´, Fig. 3). The bowl, as now covered, can be turned upside down and carried sideways, without any fear whatever of the water being spilt. The next point is how to conceal it about one's person. Fig. 4 represents a small black bag capable of holding two bowls side by side (i.e., the glass bottom of one in contact with the india-rubber cover of the other), which is tied round the waist, the tail of a dress-coat being amply sufficient to hide it. The sleight-of-hand required in performing the trick is to manage the cloth so that it hides the movement of the right hand and arm in bringing the bowl out of the pocket into position. When the bowl is brought under the cloth, rest the bowl on the right hand, and bring away the left from under the cloth. In taking off the cloth, incline the bowl very slightly towards one end, peel off the india-rubber cover by means of the left-hand finger and thumb inside the cloth. The cover remains in the cloth, and must be conveyed away into any pocket during the public examination of the bowl. The direction of the conjurer's eyes must be with the bowl, as should the eyes rest on the cloth after the bowl has been taken out, people will at once suspect that there is something there, and possibly put awkward questions, or ask to examine the cloth too soon. To bring out the four bowls the conjurer must, after exposing the first two, have the pocket (Fig. 4) replenished by leaving the stage or retiring to one of the wings, and allowing two more to be placed therein, unperceived by the audience, by an assistant.
Fig. 4.—The Small Bag for Carrying the Bowls.
HOUDIN'S CUPS AND BALLS CONJURING TRICKS.
The trick of the cups and balls, though one of the oldest known to conjurers, still remains one of the most interesting, by reason of the very slight preparation needed for its exhibition and the simplicity of its mode of performance.
The apparatus required are (1) three cups, (2) a magic wand, (3) six small balls, (4) six large balls, and (5) either a bag or shelf placed secretly on the performer's side of the conjuring table. The cups should be of polished tin; in form they are truncated cones; the top is concave, so as to afford a resting place for at least three of the small balls. The magic wand has been previously referred to, and one is just as good as another. The small balls, or muscades, as Houdin calls them, are made of cork, and should be a trifle more than half an inch in diameter. The large balls are made of horsehair, and covered with leather or woollen cloth. This covering is made of various colours, according to the particular "passes" which the performer intends to exhibit. Some balls are also made parti-coloured, two of the segments being of one colour and two of another. The bag, or gibecière, is made of some tolerably thick material, and is tied round the waist by strings. It has a wide-mouthed opening, allowing the hand to take freely therefrom the various articles needed for the performance of the trick, but it may be dispensed with in the event of a secret shelf being fitted in the performer's side of the table. Conjuring tables of special make have, as a rule, all the essential requirements; but it is not difficult for an ingenious lad to arrange the necessary table for himself out of a common discarded washstand. The sleight-of-hand required for the manipulation of the cups and balls is: (1) To conjure away a small ball, (2) to produce the ball when required at the tips of the fingers, (3) to secretly introduce a small ball under a cup or between two cups, (4) to cause a small ball placed between two cups to disappear, (5) to introduce a large ball under a cup, (6) to execute sundry "feints," hereafter described.
(1) To conjure away a small ball.—To do this proceed as follows:—Hold the ball to be conjured away between the thumb and first finger, as though to show it, close the hand quickly, leaving the thumb still outstretched. The ball is so made to roll to the second joint of the forefinger. Nothing will then be easier than to continue to roll the ball with the thumb as far as the junction of the two fingers before mentioned, which are to be slightly opened to facilitate the introduction of the ball. These two movements are in reality but one, and must be executed with extreme rapidity.
(2) To produce a small ball.—The reverse movement to that last described must be employed: that is to say, roll back the ball with the thumb to the tips of the fingers. Rapidity in effecting the double movement is here also most essential.
(3) To secretly introduce a small ball under a cup.—The ball being hidden in the hand between the middle and fourth fingers, take hold of the cup between the two projecting mouldings, and lift it ostensibly to show that there is nothing beneath it; in replacing it on the table let go the ball, which by reason of its position naturally falls underneath the cup, by which it is instantly covered. If the performer finds any difficulty in releasing the ball, he may facilitate the doing so by a quick contraction of the fourth finger.
(4) To pass a small ball between two cups.—In the act of releasing, as just described, give the ball an upward jerk towards the upper part of the inside of the cup held in the hand, and quickly slip this cup over that on which it is desired that the ball should be found.
(5) To cause the disappearance of a small ball placed between two cups.—When a ball has been placed as above described, it may in the following manner be made to disappear:—Take the two cups in the left hand, putting the fingers of that hand inside the lower cup, and giving a slight upward jerk, as though to send the ball towards the top of the upper cup, quickly withdraw the lower cup, at the same time lowering the upper cup, and so covering and concealing the ball.
(6) To cause the appearance of a large ball on a table.—This effect, which generally produces special astonishment, is produced by the simplest possible means. Lift one of the cups with the right hand, and point to the spot from which it was removed. While the eyes of the audience are directed to that spot bring the cup adroitly to the edge of the table, introduce into it, with the left hand, one of the large balls, and immediately bring the cup and the ball to the middle of the table, keeping the ball in position with the little finger of the right hand. In some cases, in putting the ball into the cup, it may be squeezed in order to make it stick in the bottom; the elasticity of the ball will readily admit of this. When it is desired again to produce the ball it will only be necessary to bring down the cup with a smartish rap on the table.
The "passes" of the cups and balls may be varied indefinitely. Every conjurer arranges a series to suit his own taste, and the examples we have here selected will be sufficient for the guidance of amateurs. It must, however, be admitted that there is but little substantial difference between the passes. The effect is always one or more balls made to appear in one place when the spectators believe them to be in another. It follows that these passes, however varied in point of form, should be exhibited with moderation, so as not to weary the audience, or to put sharp-sighted and curious spectators in the way of discovering how the tricks are performed.