Water Wizardry: A collection of tricks in which water is the chief agent

by Arthur Ainslie

This effect is brought about by means of a few subtle—but quite easy—"moves" and the use of one little "fake." The jug of water is standing on the conjurer's table; placed just behind it is the large silk handkerchief folded in four, and behind the handkerchief is a piece of transparent celluloid of the exact size of the cards which are to be used; beside the piece of celluloid is the pack of cards.

Picking up the cards, the conjurer shuffles them with their faces towards the audience, thus showing—without directly calling attention to the fact—that the pack is an ordinary one. The conjurer advances to someone with the request that a card may be chosen.

Fig. 12

"Please take any card you like," says the conjurer. "Perhaps you would like to take the pack in your hand and select a card at your leisure. When you have made up your mind will you please put the card on the top of the pack. . . . Have you done that? You'll know the card again when you see it? Thank you. In order that everyone may remember the card I will show it to the audience; there is no harm in my knowing what it is."

The conjurer receives the pack back again, lifts off the top card, shows it to the audience, returns it to the pack and then, turning the pack over, drops it face upwards on the table so that it falls on the top of the piece of celluloid. If the cards spread a little when they fall, so much the better. The conjurer then exhibits the jug of water.

"A jug of water," he says. "If there were any trickery about this it would be a transparent fraud, wouldn't it? But there is no trickery about it; it's just the ordinary water that comes down from the clouds and is charged for at the ordinary rates." (He puts the jug on the table and picks up the handkerchief.) "A large silk handkerchief. Three hundred silkworms had to work overtime for a fortnight to make the silk for this handkerchief; it isn't one of those tiny little handkerchiefs." (The conjurer shows both sides of the handkerchief and puts it down again.) "And now I am going to see if you all have a good memory. Do you remember what card was chosen and placed on the top of the pack? You do? Well; let us see if you are right."

It will be remembered that the cards are face upwards on the table. The conjurer picks up the pack with his right hand (including with it the piece of celluloid), turns it over, and places it in his left hand; directly it is there the right hand is brought over the pack to square it up. The left thumb then pushes the piece of celluloid over the edge of the pack for about half an inch—the right little finger preventing it from going too far—and the left thumb then pushes the top card forward in the same way. Thus the piece of celluloid is now directly over the top card, and the two can be lifted off the pack together and exhibited as one card. The conjurer shows the card to the audience on his right and then places it in his left hand and shows it to the audience on his left. Great care must be taken to nip the piece of celluloid and the card closely together, and when the card is in the left hand the thumb should be behind it, the fingers in front and the tips of the thumb and fingers should point upwards.

The conjurer picks up the handkerchief with his right hand and throws it over the card, at the same time saying:

"I cover the card with the handkerchief. I do this because it is so much easier than covering the handkerchief with the card. I want to get the centre of the handkerchief just over the card."