You must for this purpose have provided yourself with an electro-plated locket resembling a lady’s watch, and have two loaves ready in some convenient corner.
When the watch has finished its “manual and platoon” exercise on the platform, you may say, “I will now place this watch visibly to all upon the table.” Turn round to go to your table, and in walking to it, substitute the locket for the watch, and place the locket on some spot visible to all. It will not be distinguishable from the watch by the spectators at six or eight yards’ distance from them. Conceal the watch itself in the palm of your hand. You can now exclaim, “I require two loaves,” and walking towards them, slip the watch into the one you have prepared with a slit in its side. Advancing to the audience, ask in which loaf they will prefer that you shall bid the watch fly. If they name the one in which you have concealed it, proceed to break open the loaf and find the watch. But suppose they name the wrong one: you then, remembering that the left hand of the spectators is your right hand, proceed with the true loaf, whichever they have named, or manage to cross the position of the loaves as you place them on the table.
Then taking up the locket with your right hand, make Pass 1, as if transferring it to your left hand, but really retaining it in your right hand (as described in my first paper.) Blow upon your closed left hand, and say, “Watch, fly into that loaf.” Clap your hands. It is gone.
Advancing to the loaf, get rid of the locket from your right hand; take up the loaf, break it open on the other side from that in which the locket was introduced, bring out the watch, and appeal to the lady to declare whether it is the same which she lent to you.
TRICK 17.
An experiment with a very mild dash of electricity in it, which will at any rate be a popular trick with most people that try it. It will do for a small entertainment, or at any joyous party of young people. It does not, however, require a large number to be present, but, contrary to the usual scientific tricks, its development comes off better with one companion than with a dozen.
PREPARATION.
You must induce your cousin Jemima, or some other young lady who is just of age to have cut her eye-teeth, to consent to help you by accompanying you to a room with closed shutters and no candles. A moderate-sized looking-glass must be on the table, the smaller the better, for reasons below assigned. Have ready at hand some ounces of hard candy.
You commence the trick by placing yourselves, hand-in-hand, before the looking glass. If it is rather small, your heads will be the closer—in order to see the reflection of both at once. Then, with mouths as open as may be, try which of you can crush his or her share of sugar-candy with the teeth the quickest. In the glass will appear the reflection of sparks of electricity, as the experiment proceeds. If your companion is nervous, you can of course support her with one arm—ladies are sometimes susceptible, whether from animal magnetism or what not. The electric sparks coming between the lips may also be attractive, and you may be tempted to try whether the electricity evaporates the sweetness; but of course you must not be tempted to forget the philosophical nature of the experiment; and, if you behave with propriety, the lady will doubtless, on her return to the company, tell them, in a staid manner, that the experiment was all right; and perhaps when you see her, even a day or two afterwards, you will observe there is an arch dimple on her cheek and an electric sparkle lighting up her eye—and I should not wonder if you should feel a desire to try the experiment over again.