To Exchange Borrowed Rings for Dummies.—With a single ring, and in a small way, this may be done by means of the finger palm ([Fig. 3]), the dummy being already held in the left hand, between the roots of the fingers, and a feint made of placing the borrowed one into it. (See "Tricks with Coins," [b, p. 11]). This does very well for the drawing-room, in which domain the following method may also be adopted when two or more rings are borrowed. Have the dummies screwed up in a piece of paper, which hold in the left hand, and cover with a precisely similar piece of paper, open. Into this latter place the borrowed rings, and screw up. All that is now necessary is to reverse the positions of the two parcels, the left hand carrying away the borrowed rings, the right taking the dummy ones, the paper containing which is, of course, not opened again during the trick. The same method should be adopted with large audiences when a borrowed watch and chain have to be exchanged; but the following method is far away the best to adopt on the stage with rings.
For the purpose of collecting rings borrowed from the audience, the conjuror should provide himself with an ebony wand, rather thicker than an ordinary penholder, and about eight inches in length. If he be performing with an assistant, that person should do the collecting. Upon the wand are already placed the dummies, covered by the hand holding it by one of its ends. The wand is presented the persons lending the rings, who slide them on. The performer remains well up the stage, and, the assistant, turning towards him, changes the wand from one hand to the other, securing the borrowed rings under the latter, and spreading the dummies along the wand. This can be quickly effected, and the assistant at once turns round facing the company, presenting the wand, with dummy rings, to the performer, who takes it; the borrowed rings remaining in the assistant's hand, dropped at once to his side. The performer at once draws attention to himself, and the assistant makes off with the rings for whatever purpose may have been previously arranged. An assistant must be something of a conjuror to possess the necessary sang froid for effecting the exchange without drawing attention to his movements, so the performer may have to execute it himself, in which case he would place the dummy rings in some conspicuous position, and pass behind the scenes momentarily on the strength of some plea, which would suggest itself according to the trick in course of performance.
How to Show the Hands Empty whilst still containing Coins.—In many tricks with money ("[Hold them Tight]!" for instance) it may be advisable, or even compulsory, by reason of the doubt of a spectator, to show that the coins are not in the hand, whilst they really are so. With a single coin to manage, the reverse palm will suffice. When two or more are in the hand the coins must be slid inside the doubled up fingers which hold the wand, placed across the hand. The really empty hand is opened, and the one containing the coins also, as far as the performer dare. Now, if he held the fingers doubled up without the wand in the hand, the spectators would know where the coins were; but, seeing the wand, the partial closing of the hand seems natural enough. Of course the hands are boldly thrust out, the performer saying the while, "It is pretty plain that I haven't the coins, for here are my two hands both wide open. Now sir, what have you done with them?" &c. Unblushing audacity is again the order of the day. A capital effect is made if, after showing the hands apparently empty, the coins are abstracted from the hair or beard of a spectator. One never knows when such a sleight may be wanted. When it is, it is as well to know what to do, so as to prevent exposure.
To Mark a Card, in the Course of Performing, so as to be able to Recognise it again.—This is a very useful little dodge, as by its means the machinations of the obnoxious person in this book denominated Mr. Interference may be defeated. It is only requisite when it becomes absolutely necessary to convince the company that you do not know the position of the card in the pack. It is necessary to get at least a portion of the card in the hand, when, from the upper side, an indentation is made in the card with the thumb nail, one of the fingers, on the under side, performing the office of pressure pad. The card need not be removed from the hand of the chooser, the performer merely touching it momentarily whilst explaining what he wishes done. It is as well to make the mark near the centre of the card, as then it is more easily found. After it has been made, the pack may be given the company, the card placed in it, and the whole well shuffled by anyone. The card will at once be recognised by the slight projection that has been made on the under side. Should a repetition of the ruse become necessary, the performer must either leave the card originally marked out of the pack, or else make two marks on the next; but it is better to leave the first one out. As the whole of the pack is not used—at least, not under my instructions—some spare cards are always lying unused upon the table. This spare heap is always exceedingly useful, as cards such as the one under notice may be placed in it, whilst others, which may be presently wanted, can lie upon the top, ready at hand.
To Pass a Handkerchief over the Flame of a Candle without Burning it.—This is a remarkable effect, which only requires confidence to ensure its successful execution. The performer has a lighted candle standing upon the table, and when in possession of a borrowed handkerchief for a trick, he introduces the sleight as an interlude. Grasping the handkerchief by one corner, in such a way as to spread it somewhat with the fingers, he holds it in front of the candle, and then draws it upwards and backwards, right over the flame, almost extinguishing the latter in so doing. The handkerchief should be an ordinary white one, and the flame will be seen by the spectators to be eating into it, apparently. There is not the least necessity to be in any hurry, the action of drawing the handkerchief over the flame being a steady and deliberate one. It may be repeated as often as the performer chooses, but not made anything of by him, the impression to be conveyed being that the power of placing a handkerchief in the flame of a candle without injuring it is one necessarily possessed by him, as a matter of course. This sleight will come in particularly à propos if it precedes a trick in which a handkerchief is burned. It is not advisable to try the feat with a scented handkerchief, it being just possible that the spirit contained in the perfume might ignite.
The Conjuror's "Shuffle."—Nearly all good conjurors preface their card tricks with an exhibition of shuffling, a process always conducted in the showiest manner possible, although, by the time it is completed, it is possible that the position of the cards has not been interfered with in the least. As the term "shuffling" is only employed for want of a better one, and it is merely a question of exhibiting skill, this does not signify. When a conjuror wishes to shuffle the cards, he adopts the specious method generally in use—if he can. According to whether he be a genuine adept, or only a performer of an inferior order, so will the phenomena exhibited to the spectator in this connection vary. In the one case, the performer, holding the cards in the two hands, suddenly opens them very wide apart, the cards spreading, after the manner of a comet's tail, from one hand to the other. For an instant they form an aerial arc, when, before they can fall to the ground, the hands are brought smartly together, collecting the cards by the action. This movement is repeated twice or thrice. This is what the genuine man does. The impostor ostensibly does a very great deal more, for he begins by parting and bringing the hands together again, as one does in playing the concertina, several times, the cards acting the part of the concertina perfectly. He then tosses the cards about from hand to hand in the most nonchalant manner, the cards invariably following one another in an unbroken stream which assumes serpentine and other shapes, at the will of the performer. They are spread along the conjuror's arms, and over his chest, and are invariably gathered in again without a single one being allowed to fall. The feats performed appear to be nothing short of marvellous, until one becomes possessed of the interesting fact that the cards are all sewn together, so that the whole thing is merely child's play. Now, although I have seen conjurors with good reputations using these prepared cards, I entirely disagree with their use myself. In order to deceive the public, one must not be particular about the means employed; but here it is a question of one conjuror setting up to be vastly superior to others, the facts of the case being precisely the other way. As a matter of fact, these prepared cards are only used when the performer is so wanting in skill that he cannot execute the genuine shuffle. Looking, as I do, upon the use of these cards as being unworthy anyone but a music-hall performer, I never hesitate to expose the fraud whenever it is perpetrated. I shall, of course, describe nothing in connection with it, but pass on to the genuine article, which may be at once recognised by the noise accompanying its execution, the fraudulent method being quite noiseless. As the feat is really difficult of accomplishment, its study must be conducted by easy stages. The pack, which should be composed of small cards (the large English ones being very unsuitable), thirty or so in number, is held lengthwise in the right hand (left hand if the performer is very decidedly left-handed) by the thumb at one end, and the first, second, and third fingers at the other end, the body of the hand making an arch over the cards. The left hand is held out, a little lower than the elbow, in front of the body, with the fingers spread out, and slightly curled upwards, the first finger a great deal more than the rest. Now, if the cards be squeezed by the fingers and thumb of the right hand, they will bend thus, [downward curve]; but if, just as the pressure is put on, the fore finger of the left hand pushes the centre of the pack from below, the opposite curve will be taken, thus, [upward curve], which is the one wanted. With the cards thus bent, they must be held over the left hand, and more pressure then applied, when they will "squirt" into the left hand, their foremost ends striking against the up curled forefinger, and so being prevented from falling to the floor. In making the squeeze, it will be found that the middle and third fingers use more influence than does the first finger, which is merely an auxiliary at the commencement. The greatest power of all must be exerted by the thumb, which is always pushing the cards forwards with considerable force. The learner must content himself with merely "squirting" the cards from the right hand into the left, at a distance of two or three inches only. When he can do this easily and smoothly, and without dropping any on the floor, he may increase the distance to six or eight inches. This is about the greatest distance he will be able to attain by simple "squirting." In order to make a more effective show, he will have to give to the right hand an upward movement at the moment the cards are pouring from it. This will tend to increase the distance between each card, but as, at the same time, it kills the forward momentum, the cards would simply fall to the ground were they not prevented from so doing. To accomplish this, the left hand must follow them up quickly. For an instant of time they will poise in the air, and then commence to fall; but, at that moment, the left hand comes upward with a rapid sweep, bringing the cards together against the right hand. By not attempting too great a distance at first, the learner will progress more rapidly; and he should not be satisfied until he can compass a distance of two feet. Great experts can accomplish very much more than this. As proficiency is attained, the "shuffle" should be made more across the body, the direction being from the left hip towards the right shoulder, this being more showy. A very difficult, but highly effective, method is to make the "shuffle" the reverse way, i.e., downwards. The left hand is held nearly shoulder high and the cards "squirted" into it, the right hand sweeping downwards in the direction of the right hip. The performer must always direct his practice towards making the cards remain as long in the air as possible. To this end, the movement of the right hand must be exceedingly rapid, so that all the cards are visible to the spectators at once; and the longer the left hand dallies, the more rapid must be its motion towards the right hand. It must be distinctly understood that the two hands do not move simultaneously, there being two decided movements, one following the other. Old cards are useless for this feat, as they come off in batches, and have no spring. American cards are a trifle too thin, and are only good when new, whilst the regulation English whist card is too thick; therefore a medium thickness must be chosen. The finest quality cards will be found the cheapest to use, as they stand the strain better. Inferior cards soon become demoralised by the rough treatment to which the "shuffle" subjects them. After using a pack faces downwards for some time, turn it over, and use with the faces upwards, changing back again when the spring of the cards becomes weak.
Properties.—Besides the auxiliary articles mentioned in connection with various tricks, there are some that are of general application which the conjuror should always have in readiness. They are here enumerated and described:
The Devil's Handkerchief.—The peculiar use of this article is that anything wrapped in it is made to disappear when the performer desires, by simply shaking out the handkerchief. The secret lies in the fact that there are two handkerchiefs, three of the four sides of which are sewn together, the fourth being left open, so as to form a bag. The article to be made to disappear is apparently placed under the handkerchief, but really into the bag, and it is usual to give this to be held by one of the spectators. Later on, the performer takes the two upper corners of the handkerchief, and, asking the spectator to loosen his hold, gives it a vigorous shake. The company look in the air, or upon the floor, expecting to see the object there, but of course it is at the bottom of the bag. Cards are successfully vanished in this manner, as also watches, eggs, and articles not more bulky than they. The handkerchiefs should be of a sombre colour, and have a decided pattern. This will tend to conceal the contour of the article inside the handkerchief after it has been made to disappear, although the performer invariably retires with it to the stage, out of harm's way. Some performers use handkerchiefs sewn up on all four sides, and having merely a slit, from four to six inches long, made in one handkerchief.
The Coin Handkerchief.—This is an ordinary coloured handkerchief, into one corner of which, by means of a small extra piece of stuff, is sewn a piece of metal (to avoid unnecessary sinking of capital) resembling a coin. The performer should have on hand three handkerchiefs prepared with pieces of metal to represent sixpences, shillings, and half-crowns. For the latter, a penny will do admirably, and it will also act for florins and pennies, the public not being able to appreciate the slight difference in size when felt or seen through the folds of a handkerchief. The shilling handkerchief will answer admirably for halfpennies. A borrowed coin is apparently folded in the handkerchief, which the performer has drawn carelessly from his pocket, and not had lying in state upon a table, but palmed instead, the dummy being presented in its place, and given to be held. The palmed coin is then secreted in the place to which it is presently to be magically transported. To cause the coin, supposed to be wrapped in the handkerchief, to disappear, the performer shakes it by one or two corners, as in the case of the [Devil's Handkerchief]. Each of the three prepared handkerchiefs should be of the same pattern, so that, if more than one are used on the same evening, no remark will be excited as to the appearance of a new property upon the scene.