With a few magic waves of your wand, and words of art, say: “I shall now cause the mixed liquids in the centre bottle to appear severally in their own original bottles.” Let the covers remain a few seconds. Clap your hands, saying: “Change, begone!” Lift the centre cover: the large bottle will be seen to be empty. Lift successively the covers from the small bottles: they will be seen to have each their proper wine—one port, the other sherry.
[TRICK 29.—To Furnish a Treat to the Gentlemen.]
For this the magic bottle must be procured. One with three or four compartments is amply sufficient. In these place gin, sherry, and port wine, respectively. The bottle will have three or four holes, on which you place your fingers as if stopping the holes of a flute. You may have a bucket of water and a common bottle, resembling the magic one in size and appearance, near your table. Have ready also a tray of wine-glasses of thick glass, and holding only a very small quantity.
Exhibit the common bottle to the audience, and then place it on your table, and direct attention to some of the other articles on your table. “Now I must begin my experiment. I will wash and drain my bottle, that you may see the experiment from the beginning to the end.” Place it in the bucket, and while shaking it about, and letting the water run out, exchange it for the magic bottle lying by the bucket. Wipe that carefully with a napkin, as if drying it, and calling two or three of the audience forward at a time, inquire which they prefer. Have the stops according to alphabetical order to prevent your mistaking—gin, port, sherry. Continue supplying the small glasses as called for, till your bottle gets nearly empty, and then pour them out indiscriminately. There will have been sufficient to satisfy the most eager.
But if you wish to continue the trick, yen may have a second magic bottle prepared in the same way, and you will easily, while propounding some magic charm and gesticulating, make some pretence that will enable you to exchange the empty for the second bottle, and so proceed.
VENTRILOQUISM MADE EASY.
WHAT IS VENTRILOQUISM?
Before we take the reader into the precise and minute instructions which he will have to study and practice ere he can become the possessor of the coveted art, it will be necessary to inform him what Ventriloquism[1] is, and in what it consists. In doing so, we shall endeavor to be as plain and clear as possible. Ventriloquism may be divided into two sections, or general heads, the first of which may be appropriately designated as Polyphonism, and consists of the simple imitation of the voices of human creatures, of animals, of musical instruments, and sounds and noises of every description in which no illusion is intended, but where, on the contrary, the imitation is avowedly executed by the mimic, amongst which we may classify sawing, planing, door-creaking, sounds of musical instruments, and other similar imitations.
[1] Literally signifying belly-speaking, from venter, the belly, and loquor, I speak.