Instead of using cards, the performer can distribute slips of paper amongst the audience, for the purpose of having short sentences written upon them. He has a piece of paper of his own previously prepared, with a sentence upon it that is known to the blindfolded assistant. The papers written upon by the audience are folded up and placed upon a tray, or the crown of a hat, each some distance from the other. Whilst doing this, the performer contrives to effect an exchange between his own paper and any one of the others, it does not signify which. He then asks one of the audience to select one of the papers, and, manipulating the hat or tray adroitly, "forces" his own. Before it is opened, the assistant is requested to say what is written upon it.
This trick is farther elaborated as follows: The performer hands round a fair quantity of paper slips, and asks the audience to write what they please upon them very plainly. As it is advisable that whatever is written should be brief, it is best to ask to have the names of celebrated deceased persons only written. The performer has a piece of his own, previously written upon and folded, concealed in his hand. Supposing this to be in the left hand, the right takes a folded slip from one of the audience, and, under pretence of putting it into the left, for the purpose of handing it to another person, an exchange is effected, and the performer's own piece given instead. The learner will know the proper "pass" for effecting this by this time. The performer then says that he will go upon the stage and from a distance read what is upon the paper. He does so, and seizes the opportunity for rapidly opening the paper of which he has just become possessed, and of reading the name upon it. If much were written upon the paper, it would be impossible to read its contents in the limited space of time at the performer's disposal. When he turns round there is of course no trace visible of what he has been about, and he then proceeds to read the name on the paper held by one of the audience. This he does not do readily, but first names the sex of the person, and then the capital letter of the name, as if it were only developing itself by degrees and through some very mysterious medium. The first paper duly read, a second one is taken, exchanged as before, and borne off to the stage, to be read in transit. This process can be repeated any number of times, although four will be found quite sufficient, as it is a harassing trick to perform. An excellent finish is to "force" a previously prepared paper, and then have it burnt, after it has been read aloud by one of the audience. The ashes are collected and rubbed upon the conjuror's bare arm, upon which the name then appears in black. This is contrived by having the name written upon the arm in glycerine. This will be invisible, but if the ashes be rubbed lightly upon it they will adhere, and so show the name. There are chemical preparations used for the same purpose, but the method described here is by far the most simple and practicable. With this trick "Dr." Lynn created a great sensation for several months, some years ago.
Anti-Spiritualistic Tricks.—In the introduction to these papers I had occasion, the reader may remember, to refer to the impositions practised by the ancient priests and others on the minds of an unenlightened people by means of what were merely conjuring tricks, but which were made to appear before the ignorant in the guise of supernatural manifestations. Few will require to be reminded of the excitement that has of late years existed concerning spiritualism. One would have thought that, in these days, people would have been above believing that the spirits of the departed would be permitted to return to the earth for the sole purpose of answering questions and indulging in tomfoolery; but such is the simplicity of mankind, that those who have had the boldness to declare themselves capable of raising the dead, and to dress up themselves or others in muslin or newspaper, have not lacked faithful followers. The malpractices have been going on for years, and many shameless impositions have come under my notice. The victims, it will not cause astonishment to hear, were mostly weak-minded ladies, and the spirits have had the remarkable discernment to visit only those who were well provided with worldly comforts, backed by an amount of confiding simplicity wonderful to contemplate. The exertions of several amateur, and some professional, conjurors have succeeded in proving to all minds open to the workings of common sense that all those professing spiritualism as a means of gaining a livelihood are neither more nor less than scoundrels. But of course there are still thousands who would be as much imposed upon as ever by any white figure seen after dark, and, in a private way, the spiritualists are still reaping a rich harvest. Towards clearing away this darkness, conjurors, both amateur and professional, can do a great deal, and there is a definite and worthy task before them, which they can best perform by exhibiting such phenomena as are produced by spiritualists at their exhibitions by avowedly natural means. By this means ridicule, which nothing can survive long, will be thrown upon the black art, which is merely conjuring put to base uses. A performance consisting entirely of sham spiritualistic manifestations I have found take exceedingly well, especially with audiences who have seen something of conjuring, and who are not averse to a change in the programme. I do not agree with pretending to call spirits to one's aid, for it smacks of irreverence: the performer should merely explain that what he is about to do or has just done by simple dexterity is brought about by the spiritualists with the asserted aid of familiar spirits. A simple trick which seems well to commence with is—
The Mesmerised Poker.—The performer seats himself with his legs apart, and, taking a poker, stands it up on one end before him. On removing the hand the poker falls, but, after two or three fruitless attempts, it remains standing without the aid of any visible support. This is very easily managed by having a fine piece of black cotton attached to the calf of the trousers by means of a bent pin at each end. It need not be so long as to drag on the floor, and the performer can walk about with comfort and without fear of detection. The action of opening the legs draws the thread out straight and tight, so that the poker can rest against it when it is required to cause it to stand upright.
The Perambulating Walking-Stick.—This is a very amusing trick, in which a walking-stick is made to walk across the stage by itself. The invisible agency is again a fine black thread. On a stage provided with "flies," it is managed from above, in which case the only direction required is to affix one end of a thread round the head of a walking-stick, and convey the other end above to an assistant. By means of this thread the walking-stick is made to progress across the stage by means of little jumps. But on the drawing-room stage the matter is not quite so easy. Two threads will be required, and they must lie across the floor when the curtain is drawn. If possible, an assistant at each wing should hold the ends, but when one assistant only can be obtained, he must do the best he can from one side, the ends of the thread on the other being tied to the back of a chair, about the height of a walking-stick from the ground. The walking-stick should be provided with a substantial head, and the performer must hand it round for minute examination. He then takes it back to the stage, and flourishes it vigorously to show there are no threads or wires anywhere about. The instant the flourishing portion of the business is over, the assistants must raise the threads to the proper level, and one of them, by crossing his hands, causes the threads to cross each other at about the middle of the room. The performer then places the stick, with apparent carelessness, upright on the floor, but, as he takes care to place it between the threads just where they are crossed, it does not fall on the one hand being removed from it. The assistant who has crossed his hands now uncrosses them, which action has the effect of holding the stick tolerably firmly between the threads. On receiving commands from the performer the stick is made to dance, fall down and jump up again, and walk either to the right or to the left. If it is to go to the right, the assistant on that side lowers his hands slightly, and the one on the left administers a succession of jerks to the threads, which will cause the stick to progress by means of a series of jumps. These jumps can be made alternately long and short. As a final exhibition of skill, it can be made to turn a complete somersault, by both the assistants swinging their hands round in complete circles. For this it will be necessary to have a good head to the stick. When the performance is finished hand the stick round again for examination. In my opinion the trick shows best in a room, where the audience know there is no means of concealing anyone above.
The Ascent can be performed by means of the same threads. Books, pieces of music, &c., are laid upon the floor, and rise slowly or quickly, and remain suspended in the air, where they can be made to rock about. Of course, they are simply laid upon the threads, the ends of which are then raised evenly and simultaneously. The best ascent is a sudden one, as being the most startling.
The Talking Glass.—Provide yourself with a tall, thin, and well-sounding glass vase. At a pinch a thin soda water tumbler will do. Across the room and above the table have a piece of thread or fine wire. Show the tumbler or vase round, and then place it upon the table, or on the top of an inverted tumbler, which will serve for the purpose of showing that there is no deception beneath, and will also act as a sounding medium. An assistant at the side draws the thread close against the side of the glass, and it is stretched as tight as is consistent with safety. The glass is now made to talk by means of sharply emitted sounds in answer to questions, a small code of signals being established. One sound means "yes," two "no," and so on. These sounds are caused by the assistant catching at the thread sharply with the nail, which will cause a distinct ring to come from the glass. The principle is very simple, but I have never known anyone but myself adopt it. The performer must endeavour to make his questions amusing, and, as the powers of speech possessed by the glass are but limited, they must not be too severely taxed.
If a tumbler be suspended from the wand by means of a thread tied loosely round the wand and tightly round the glass, a sound will be emitted on twisting the wand ever so slightly. With practice this movement can be made almost imperceptible. If the onlookers begin to look at the hand and wand too much the display must cease at once.
The Spirit Bouquet.—One of the most usual, and at the same time most shallow, of deceptions practised by the "spiritualist," is that of the production of flowers. The gas is (of course) lowered, a few irreverencies gone through, and, on the room being re-illuminated, lo and behold, the table and floor have flowers lying upon them! As, of course, the manifestors of these wonders could not by any possible means have the flowers in their pockets on entering the room—even if they thought of practising-such a deception!—the spectators are struck with wonder. However, I shall teach the reader how to perform an even greater marvel, by causing a bouquet to glide through the air into his hand without the assistance of total or partial darkness. The bouquet can be either real or artificial—a real one, certainly, for choice. Take a piece of the finest iron wire procurable (jewellers' "binding" wire is the proper article), about 6in. in length, and tie it firmly round the stalks of the flowers, just below the buds. The other end tie round the centre flower, which is always a little higher than the others, and you will thus have a loop about 4in. in length. If the centre flower be not higher than the rest, then re-arrange the bouquet, and make it so. It is essential to have one end of the wire tied on considerably higher than the other, in order that the bouquet may hang properly. If both ends were tied round the main body of the stalks, the bouquet would hang upside down, whereas it should, when suspended by the loop, be almost upright, or, at least, only slightly on one side. From the most convenient position behind the scenes, which will depend entirely upon circumstances connected with the arrangement of the stage, have another piece of fine wire hanging, with a loop made in it at one end long enough to reach the centre of the stage. The spot usually the best for attaching this wire is at the side, as near the audience as possible. On a regular stage the "flies" are most suitable, but in the drawing-room, where there are usually folding doors and curtains (without them this trick cannot well be managed), the side must be chosen. When the trick is about to be performed, the bouquet must be put on the wire by means of the loop, and an assistant in concealment mounts a pair of steps with it and holds it in readiness. The end of the wire is so disposed that the performer can without difficulty insert his little finger in the loop thereon, under pretence, say, of shifting a chair. He then retires towards the centre of the room until he feels that the wire is drawn perfectly tight, and then proceeds to speak of the wonderful productions by humbugs, done in the dark, and finally finishes up by saying that he has only to extend his hand in the air to find something in it. With the hand that is not holding the wire he makes a grasp in the air, and at the same moment opens the other hand, taking care to pull the wire quite tight. The attention of the audience is naturally momentarily attracted towards the hand making the greatest movement, and at this very instant the assistant starts the bouquet down the wire. The performer, when the bouquet has reached his hand, which it will do with remarkable swiftness, exclaims, "Ah! no; here it is, see, in this hand;" and, ridding his finger of the wire, brings the bouquet forward, of course keeping the loop upon it from view. When the performer's actions have been well contrived and carried out, the bouquet is not seen until it is almost in the performer's hands; but, under less fortuitous circumstances, which are all I bargain for myself, the trick is wonderfully successful. The fact of a small portion of the aerial journey of the bouquet being observed is not by any means undesirable, the only thing to be kept from the view of the spectator being the commencement of it. The communicating wire must be fixed some distance behind, so that the bouquet is descending at full speed by the time it comes into possible view. The reader will see that the principle is so simple, as to be almost commonplace, but he must not deride it on this account. The most natural actions possible must be brought into play, and plenty of rehearsals will be required. The reason for having the loop of the wire upon the little finger is that the safe arrival of the bouquet is better ensured thereby. The little finger must be kept undermost, the hand being at an angle of forty-five degrees, with the wire lying across the palm. A great deal lies in the neatness with which the bouquet reaches the hand. There must be no bungling. Therefore I say, Rehearse.