If the end of a tobacco-pipe be dipped in melted resin, at a temperature a little above that of boiling water, taken out, and held nearly in a vertical position and blown through, bubbles will be formed of all possible sizes, from that of a hen’s egg, down to sizes which can hardly be discerned by the naked eye, and from their silvery luster, and reflection of the different rays of light, they have a pleasing appearance. Some that have been formed these eight months, are as perfect as when first made. They generally assume the form of a string of beads, many of them perfectly regular, and connected by a very fine fiber, but the production is never twice alike. If expanded over a gas jet by means of a small rubber tube, they would probably float around the upper part of the room.
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THE THREE MAGICAL CARDS.
Take three cards of the same size, and thick enough to prevent the black surface from showing through; ink or paint over the whole of one side of c, having the other side perfectly white, and the others, a and b, in the parts shown in Fig. 1; they are now ready for use.
Fig. 2 shows the first arrangement of them, a and b lapping over each other so that when c is placed in the position shown by dotted lines the whole face presents a perfectly white surface. Show this to your audience; then, still holding them in sight, inform them in a neat little speech, that by aid of some magic power you possess, you can readily change these same cards to black, or back again, at will. Now holding them with their backs away from you, in such a manner that the card c cannot be seen by the other boys, turn them upside down and spread out what were the lower parts of a and b. You have them now in the position indicated by Fig. 3, and after carefully turning c you will find them presenting a uniformly black surface. Should any bit of white show at the lower corner, cover it with your thumb. When they are arranged to your satisfaction, hold them up in front of you, and while saying over some cabalistic words, such as, for instance, “Presto, agramento, calafesto—change!” blow upon their faces and turn them around to your audience, which will probably be greatly surprised at this undeniable evidence of your magic skill.
Instead of white, the ordinary playing cards may be used, blacking the back of one to represent c. These are much more showy than the plain white ones, and the trick is not so easily discovered if slight bits of black are seen, as those having black spots are generally taken for the purpose.
