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| = around word indicated bold =DICK & FITZGERALD= |
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THE
MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK,
OR THE
WHOLE ART OF CONJURING.
BEING A
COMPLETE HAND-BOOK OF PARLOR MAGIC,
AND CONTAINING
OVER ONE THOUSAND
OPTICAL, CHEMICAL, MECHANICAL, MAGNETICAL, AND MAGICAL EXPERIMENTS,
AMUSING TRANSMUTATIONS, ASTONISHING SLEIGHTS AND SUBTLETIES,
CELEBRATED CARD DECEPTIONS, INGENIOUS TRICKS WITH NUMBERS,
CURIOUS AND ENTERTAINING PUZZLES, TOGETHER WITH
ALL THE MOST NOTED TRICKS OF MODERN PERFORMERS.
THE WHOLE
ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 500 WOOD CUTS,
AND INTENDED AS A SOURCE OF AMUSEMENT FOR
ONE THOUSAND AND ONE EVENINGS.
NEW YORK:
DICK & FITZGERALD, 18 ANN STREET.
1862.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
DICK & FITZGERALD,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District
of New York.
PREFACE.
The publishers of this interesting volume do not conceive that it requires
an elaborate introduction to the reading public. Some brief remarks,
however, may not be inappropriate as a preface to THE MAGICIAN'S OWN
BOOK, since the "black art," as in lessen lightened ages the practice
of all these innocent and interesting feats was termed, is not yet as
popularly understood in this country as it is abroad. There is a charm
in legerdemain, or sleight of hand, that all, whether young or old, can
readily appreciate. There is a mystery in it that piques the understanding
as well as provokes the curiosity of the spectator. If the trick be
executed with address, it excites our admiration; and the simpler it
appears, the more it engages our fancy and fascinates our attention. And
it is not only when we are mystified in public, cajoled in great saloons,
and in the presence of crowds, that these effects are developed. They
are called forth by the performances even of some humble artist in the
family circle, whose ingenuity of mind has enabled him to gather up the
more available of these practical puzzles. It would seem, therefore, a
useful thing to place this source of harmless amusement within the reach
of all who can relish its eccentricities, and instead of leaving it in
the hands of "professors," as a pecuniary speculation, to enable the
domestic group to master and enjoy it in all its ever-varying phases of
novelty and gratification. To do this is what the publishers propose in
the issue of this volume; and they flatter themselves, that if carefully
studied, it will prepare the Young Conjuror to convert the parlor, at any
desirable moment, into a place of genuine entertainment for himself and
his companions, and ample repay him for the little time and thought he may
devote to the acquisition of the necessary skill and dexterity.
Sleight of hand, magic, necromancy, &c., are all terms of art applicable
to the same series of performances. The parlor student, therefore, once
familiar with the general principles upon which these "experiments" are
effected, will find little difficulty in comprehending at a glance,
notwithstanding all the show of gorgeous paraphernalia and auxiliary
machinery employed, the _modus operandi_ of every one of them he may
witness in public. This will be a new source of pleasure to him,
independent of his ability to turn "Conjuror" on his own account at home.
Nor can we well conceive of any rational objection likely to be urged
against a kind of knowledge, so unimpeachable in its nature, and so mirth
provoking in its results. Acting Charades are common, even among the
most fastidious families. Enigmas and puzzles, in pantomime and speech,
afford innoxious amusement to thousands. The publishers only consider THE
MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK a new addition to the current list of entertainments
of that character; for what is a sleight of hand feat but an enigma
placed before the spectator for solution? What is a trick in "natural
magic" but a puzzle repeated to those who behold it, each one of whom
is tacitly expected to guess how it is accomplished, while the little
practitioner only holds the key to the mystery? In truth, the parlor needs
some increase in its means of social amusement. The number it embraces is
extremely limited. They soon weary. This weariness creates an appetite
for outside attractions, not always wholesome, and too often insidiously
pernicious. THE MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK nicely fills up, therefore, the void
in the category of parlor recreations. It may be made to present an
ever-changing, always tempting, stay-at-home inducement, and in this shape
becomes a moral assistant of no unimportant description, as well as the
piquant source of good humored bamboozlement.
In conclusion we would say, that the MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK contains a great
variety of curious tricks and deceptions, many of which have never before
appeared in print, and for many of which the publishers beg to acknowledge
their indebtedness to Mr. John Wyman, Junior, the celebrated magician,
that gentleman having kindly furnished clear and simple explanations to
many of his most surprising parlor feats and fancies.
INDEX.
Sleight of Hand Tricks. PAGE
The Flying Dime, 3
The Flying Dime, (another method,) 4
The Beads and Strings, 5
To get a Ring out of a Handkerchief, 5
To tie a Knot in a Handkerchief which Cannot be drawn Tight, 6
The Three Cups, 7
To tie a Handkerchief round your Leg, and get it off Without
Untying the Knot, 8
The Magic Bond, 8
The Old Man and his Chair, 8
To tie a Knot on the Left Wrist, without letting the right hand
approach it, 10
The Magic Handcuffs, 11
To pull a String through your Button-hole, 11
The Cut String Restored, 12
The Gordian Knot, 12
The Knot Loosened, 13
To Conjure Nuts in your Ear, 13
To Crack Walnuts in your Elbow, 14
To Take Feathers out of an Empty Handkerchief, 14
The Knotted Handkerchief, 14
Houdin's Nut Trick, 16
Conjuring a Ring, 17
The Erratic Egg, 18
The Obedient Dime, 19
The Prisoner Released, 19
Advantageous Wager, 19
The Double Meaning, 20
The Three Spoons, 20
The Juggler's Joke, 20
To Cause Water and Wine to Change Places, 21
The Wizard's Wit, or Is it Possible, 21
The Toper's Stratagem, 21
The Impossible Omelet, 21
New Perpetual Rotary Motion, 22
The Miraculous Apple, 22
An Omelet Cooked in a Hat, 23
The Infallible Prophet, 23
Philosophy Cheated, 24
The Disappearing Dime, 26
The Hat and Die Trick, 27
The Penetrative Cents, 27
The Doll Trick, 29
The Flying Coins, 30
The Vanished Half Dime, 30
The Restored Document, 30
The Magic Rings, 31
The Fish and Ink Trick, 32
The Hat and Cannon Ball Trick, 32
The Dime in the Ball of Cotton, 33
The Egg and Bag Trick, 33
The Dancing Egg, 34
The Bell and Shot Trick, 34
The Burned Handkerchief Restored, 35
The Fire Eater, 35
The Egg Box Trick, 36
The Globe Box Trick, 36
The Coffee Trick, 37
The Handkerchief Trick, 38
The Magic Funnel, 41
The Magic Bottle, 41
The Bottle Trick, 42
The Magic Quarter, 44
To change a Dime to a Quarter, 44
Wyman's Gun Trick, 46
The Hatched Bird, 46
The Apple and Orange Trick, 47
A Magician's Box Explained, 47
The Enchanted Coin, 48
The Mysterious Coin, or How to Make Dollars pass through a Wine
Glass, a China Plate, a Table, and fall into the Hand, 49
The Egyptian Fluids, or Impossibilities Accomplished, 50
The Magician's Snow Ball, 51
The Magnetized Cane, 52
Wyman's Mode of performing the Egg Bag Trick, 52
The Dancing Automaton, 354
The Invisible Springs, 355
The Flight of the Ring, 356
The Magic Book, 360
The Tape Trick, 360
The Knotted Thread, 361
The Transposable Pieces, 362
Tricks and Deceptions with Cards.
To Make the Pass, 55
To Tell a Card by its Back, 55
The Card named without being seen, 56
The Card told by an Opera Glass, 56
The Four Kings, 58
The Four Accomplices, 58
To Tell the Card thought of, in a Circle of Ten, 59
To guess the Card thought of, 59
To tell the number of Cards by Weight, 60
Audacity, 61
The Card found at the second guess, 61
The Card found under the Hat, 61
To call the Cards out of the Pack, 61
Heads and Tails, 62
The Surprise, 62
The Revolution, 63
The Slipped Card, 63
The Nailed Card, 63
To ascertain the number of Points on three unseen Cards, 64
To tell the numbers on two unseen Cards, 64
The Knaves and the Constable, 64
The Pairs Re-paired, 65
The Queens Digging for Diamonds, 66
The Triple Deal, 67
The Quadruple Deal, 67
The Card Discovered by the Touch or Smell, 67
The Ingenious Confederacy, 67
Hold it Fast, 69
The Charmed Twelve, 69
The Trick of "Thirty-one," 70
To tell the Names of the Cards by their Weight, 71
The Cards in the Vase, 73
The Metamorphosis, 74
To hold Four Kings, or Four Knaves in your Hand, and to Change
them suddenly into Blank Cards, and then to Four Aces, 76
To Change a Card in a Person's Hand, 76
The Card in the Egg, 77
The Fifteen Thousand Livres, 78
Hints to Amateurs, 79
Cure for Troublesome Spectators, 80
To make a Card jump out of the Pack, 357
The Tell-Tale Cards, 357
The Double Dozen, 358
The Housebreakers, 359
The Magic of Chemistry.
Sympathetic or Invisible Inks, 84
The Silver Tree, 85
Cleopatra's Pearls, 86
Wonderful Experiments in Combustion, 86
Mimic Rain, 86
Marine Illumination, 87
The Mimic Explosion, 88
The Shower of Fire, 88
The Magical Heat, 88
The Magic Lamp, 89
Surprising Experiments with Potassium, 89
The Water Demon, 89
A Flame produced with Ice, 89
The Chemical Chimney Sweep, 90
The Magical Illumination, 90
The Chemical Chameleon, 91
Crystallizations of Metals, 92
Beauties of Crystallization, 93
To Crystallize Camphor, 93
To do. Tin, 94
Crystals in Hard Water, 94
Varieties of Crystals, 94
A Liquid Changed to a Solid, and Heat from Crystallization, 94
Beautiful Experiment, 95
A Solid Changed to a Liquid, and intense Cold from the
Liquefaction, 95
Magic of Heat, 95
Sublimation by Heat, 96
Heat Passing through Glass, 96
Metals unequally Influenced by Heat, 97
Spontaneous Combustion, 97
Inequality of Heat in Fire Irons, 97
Expansion of Metal by Heat, 97
Evaporation of a Metal, 98
A Floating Metal on Fire, 98
Ice Melted by Air, 98
Splendid Sublimation, 98
Magic Inks, 98
Chameleon Liquids, 99
The Magic Dyes, 99
Wine Changed into Water, 99
Two colorless Transparent Liquids become Black and Opaque, 100
Two colorless Fluids, Make a colored one, 100
Change of Color, by colorless Fluids, 100
To Change Blue Liquid to White, 100
Veritable "Black" Tea, 100
Restoration of Color by Water, 101
Two Liquids Make a Solid, 101
Two Solids Make a Liquid, 101
A Solid, Opaque Mass, Makes a Transparent Liquid, 101
Two cold Liquids Make a Hot one, 101
Quintuple Transmutation, 102
The Same Agent may Produce and Destroy Color, 102
Union of two Metals without Heat, 102
Magic Breath, 102
Two Bitters Make a Sweet, 103
Visible and Invisible, 103
To Form a Liquid of two Solids, 103
The Spectral Lamp, 104
Curious Change of Colors, 105
The Protean Light, 105
The Chameleon Flowers, 105
To Change the Colors of Flowers, 105
Changes of the Poppy, 106
Changes of the Rose, 106
Light changing White into Black, 106
The Visibly Growing Acorn, 106
Colored Flames, 107
Orange colored Flame, 107
Emerald Green Flame, 107
Instantaneous Flame, 107
To Cool Flame by Metal, 108
Proof that Flame is Hollow, 108
To Hold a Hot Tea Kettle on the Hand, 108
Incombustible Linen, 108
The Burning Circle, 108
Water of different Temperatures in the same Vessel, 109
Warmth of Different Colors, 109
Substitute for Fire, 109
Laughing Gas, 109
Flame from Cold Metals, 110
Phosphorus in Chlorine, 110
Magic Vapor, 111
Gas from the Union of Metals, 111
Camphor Sublimated by Flame, 111
Green Fire, 111
Brilliant Red Fire, 112
Purple Fire, 112
Silver Fire, 112
Fiery Fountain, 112
Combustion without Flame, 112
Combustion of Three Metals, 113
To Make Paper Apparently Incombustible, 113
Heat not to be estimated by Touch, 113
Flame upon Water, 113
Rose Colored Flame upon Water, 113
To Set a Mixture on Fire by Water, 114
Waves of Fire on Water, 114
Water from the Flame of a Candle, 114
Formation of Water by Fire, 114
Boiling upon Cold Water, 114
Currents in Boiling Water, 114
Hot Water Lighter than Cold, 115
Expansion of Water by Cold, 115
The Cup of Tantalus, 115
The Magic Whirlpool, 116
Artificial Fire Balls, 117
To Melt Steel as Easily as Lead, 118
To Tell a Lady if She is in Love, 118
To put an Egg in a Phial, 118
To Astonish a Large Party, 118
Magical Test Papers, 119
Infinite Divisibility, 119
Chemistry an Agent in Secret Writing, 327
To Melt a Piece of Money in a Walnut Shell, without Injuring
the Shell, 355
The Pyramid of Alum, 354
Experiments in Electricity.
The Rotary Tobacco Pipe, 123
The Erratic Feather, 123
The Attractive Sealing Wax, 124
The Unneighborly Balls, 124
The Electrified Paper, 124
The Sociable Feather, 124
The Eccentric Feather, 124
The Discontented Pith Ball, 124
The Dancing Bran, 124
The Electrical Cat, 124
Electrical Shock from a Sheet of Paper, 125
Light under Water, 126
Simple means of Producing Electricity, 126
Attraction and Repulsion Exhibited, 127
How to Make an Electrical Machine, 127
Conductor, 128
The Plate Electrical Machine, 129
How to Draw Sparks from the Tip of the Nose, 129
How to Get a Jar full of Electricity, 129
The Electrical Battery, 130
Dancing Balls and Dolls, 131
The Electrical Kiss, 131
Ringing Bells, 131
Working Power of Electricity, 132
The Electrified Wig, 132
Imitation Thunder Clouds, 133
The Lightning Stroke Imitated, 133
The Sportsman, 134
Experiments in Galvanism.
Singular Galvanic Shock, 135
The Flash of Light, 135
The Magical Cup, 135
The Prisoner Leech, 136
The Metamorphosed Knife, 136
With Plates in Water, 136
To Make a Magnet by Galvanism, 137
Effects of Galvanism on a Magnet, 137
Change of Color by Galvanism, 137
The Galvanic Shock, 138
A Galvanic Tongue, 138
Influence of Galvanism on Porter and Ale, 188
The Galvanized Flounder, 188
Experiments in Magnetism.
The Impromptu Magnet, 139
The Merry Iron Filings, 140
Test of Magnetic Power, 140
To Make Artificial Magnets, 140
How to Magnetize a Poker, 140
To Show Magnetic Attraction and Repulsion, 141
Variation of the Needle, 141
Dip of the Needle, 141
To Suspend a Needle in the Air, by Magnetism, 141
Magnetism by Hammering, 142
Power of the Electro-Magnet, 142
The Mariner's Compass, 142
To Make Artificial Magnets without the Aid of either Natural
Loadstone, or Artificial Magnets, 143
The Watch Magnetized, 144
North and South Poles of the Magnet, 144
Polarity of the Magnet, 144
Magnetic Action and Reaction, 145
To Pass Magnetism through a Table, 145
The Magnetic Table, 145
Interesting Particulars Concerning the Magnet, 145
Exaggerated Magnetism, 146
The Magic of Pneumatics and Aerostatics.
Weight of the Air Proved by a Pair of Bellows, 148
The Pressure of Air Shown by a Wine Glass, 148
The Pressure of Air Shown by a Glass Jar, 148
Elasticity of the Air, 149
The Air Pump, 149
To Prove that Air has Weight, 150
To Prove Air Elastic, 150
Air in the Egg, 150
The Descending Smoke, 151
Half Eagle and Feather, 151
The Soundless Bell, 152
The Floating Fish, 152
The Mysterious Circles, 152
The Diving Bell, 154
The Air Balloon, 154
How to Make an Air Balloon, 155
How to Fill a Balloon, 156
To Make Fire Balloons, 156
The Mysterious Bottle, 157
How to Make a Parachute, 157
Caoutchouc Balloons, 157
The Bacchus Experiment, 362
The Magic of Optics.
Light as an Effect, 159
Refraction, 159
The Invisible Coin Made Visible, 159
The Multiplying Glass, 160
Transparent Bodies, 160
The Prism, 160
To Make a Prism, 161
Composition of Light, 161
A Natural Camera Obscura, 162
Bullock's Eyes Experiment, 162
The Camera Obscura, 162
The Magic Lantern, 163
The Camera Lucida, 164
Painting the Slides, 164
To Exhibit the Magic Lantern, 164
Effects of the Magic Lantern, 165
Tempest at Sea, 165
The Phantasmagoria, 166
Dissolving Views, 167
How to Raise a Ghost, 167
The Thaumatrope, 168
The Bird in the Cage, 168
Construction of the Phantasmascope, 168
Curious Optical Illusion, 169
Another, 170
Another, 170
The Picture in the Air, 171
Breathing Light and Darkness, 171
To Show what Rays of Light do not Obstruct each other, 172
To See through a Philadelphia Brick, 172
The Stereoscope, 173
Ocular Spectra, 175
Brilliant Water Mirror, 175
Optics of a Soap Bubble, 176
The Kaleidoscope, 176
Simple Solar Microscope, 177
Anamorphoses, 178
The Cosmorama, 180
Distorted Landscapes, 180
The Magic Coin, 181
The Magician's Mirror, 344
The Perspective Mirror, 345
The Artificial Landscape, 348
The Boundless Prospect, 350
The Enchanted Palace, 352
Tricks in Mechanics.
Importance of Mechanics, 182
The Laws of Motion, 182
Experiment of the Law of Motion, 182
Balancing, 183
The Prancing Horse, 183
To Construct a Figure, which, being Placed on a Curved Surface,
and Inclined in any Position, shall, when left to itself,
Return to its Former Position, 183
To Make a Carriage Run in an Inverted Position, without
Falling, 183
To Cause a Cylinder to Roll of its own Weight, up Hill, 184
The Balanced Stick, 184
The Chinese Mandarin, 184
To Make a Quarter Dollar Turn on its Edge on the Point of
a Needle, 184
The Self-Balanced Pail, 185
To Lift a Bottle with a Straw, 185
The Dancing Pea, 186
The Toper's Tripod, 186
The Magical Snake, or the Obliquity of Motion, 187
The Bridge of Knives, 187
Sand in the Hour Glass, 188
Resistance of Sand, 188
The Magical Gyroscope, 346
Tricks in Hydraulics and Hydrostatics.
The Science of Hydraulics, 189
The Fountain and Pump, 189
The Hydraulic Dancer, 190
The Syphon, 191
The Water Snail, or Archimedean Screw, 191
The Bottle Ejectment, 192
The Magic of Hydrostatics with the Ancients, 192
To Empty a Glass under Water, 192
The Mysterious Bottle, 157
Boiling upon Cold Water, 114
Currents in Boiling Water, 114
Hot Water Lighter than Cold, 115
Expansion of Water by Cold, 115
The Magic Whirlpool, 116
The Cup of Tantalus, 115
To Weigh Water without Scales, 353
More than Full, 361
Tricks in Acoustics.
The Science of Acoustics, 193
Difference between Sound and Noise, 193
Visible Vibration, 193
Transmitted Vibration, 194
Double Vibration, 194
Champagne and Sound, 194
Music of the Snail, 195
The Tuning Fork a Flute Player, 195
Musical Bottles, 195
Theory of Whispering, 195
Theory of the Voice, 196
To Tune a Guitar without the Assistance of the Ear, 196
Progress of Sound, 196
To Make an Æolian Harp, 196
The Invisible Girl, 197
Magic of Acoustics with the Ancients, 198
The Secret of Ventriloquism, 81
To Show how Sound Travels through a Solid, 198
To Show that Sound depends upon Vibration, 198
Musical Figures Resulting from Sound, 357
The Magic of Numbers, or Curious Tricks in Arithmetic.
Aphorisms of Number, 199
Palpable Arithmetic, 200
The Abacus, 201
Napier's Rods, 202
The Arithmetical Boomerang, 203
To Find a Number Thought of, 203
Second Method, 204
Third Method, 205
Fourth do., 205
Fifth do., 206
Sixth do., 206
To Discover two or more Numbers that a Person has Thought of, 206
How many Counters have I in my Hands? 207
The Mysterious Halvings, to tell a Number a Person has
Thought of, 208
Second Method, 209
Who Wears the Ring? 211
What is Probable? 212
Variations, 213
Amusing Combinations, 214
The Visitors to the Crystal Palace, 217
How many Changes can be Given to Seven Notes of a Piano? 217
The Arithmetical Triangle, 217
How many Different Deals can be made with Thirteen Cards out
of Fifty-two, 218
The Three Graces, 218
Second Method, 219
Third Method, 220
The Fortunate Ninth, 221
The Ten Ten's, 222
Dividing the Beer, 223
The Difficult Case of Wine, 224
Decimation of Fruit, 224
The Wine and the Tables, 225
The Three Travelers, 225
What Counter has been Thought of out of Sixteen, 226
Magic Squares, 227
Odd Magic Squares, 227
The Square of Gotham, 229
The Mathematical Blacksmith, 230
Curious Properties of some Figures, 230
The Industrious Frog, 234
The Council of Ten, 235
The Two Travelers, 235
Arithmetical Trick, 237
The Money Trick, 237
The Philosopher's Pupils, 237
To Discover a Square Number, 238
The Sheep, and the Sheep Fold, 238
The Countrywoman and the Eggs, 238
To Rub out Twenty Chalks at Five Times, Rubbing out every Time
an Odd one, 239
The Impossible Triangle, 239
Odd or Even, 239
The Figures, up to 100, arranged as to make 505 in each Column,
when Counted in Ten Columns Perpendicularly, and the Same
when Counted in Ten Files Horizontally, 240
The Old Woman and Her Eggs, 240
The Mathematical Fortune Teller, 241
The Dice Guessed Unseen, 242
The Sovereign and the Sage, 242
The Knowing Shepherd, 243
The Certain Game, 243
The Astonished Farmer, 244
The Magical Century, 244
The Hatter Cheated, 245
The Basket of Nuts, 245
The United Digits, 246
December and May, 246
The Two Drovers, 246
The Basket and Stones, 246
The Famous Forty-Five, 247
Trick in Subtraction, 247
The Expunged Figure, 247
The Mysterious Addition, 248
To tell at what Hour a Person Intends to rise, 249
To find the Difference between Two Numbers, the Greater of
which is Unknown, 249
The Magic Remainder, 250
A Person having an equal Number of Counters, or Pieces of
Money, in each Hand, to find how many he has altogether, 250
The Three Jealous Husbands, 251
The False Scales, 251
The Apple Woman, 252
The Graces and Muses, 252
The Jesuitical Teacher, 252
Nine Quaint Questions, 253
The Fox, Goose and Corn, 253
Multiplying Money by Money, 253
The Unfair Division, 255
A Popular Fallacy, 255
Curious Tricks in Geometry.
The Inventor of Geometry, 256
Geometrical Definitions, 256
The Five Geometrical Solids, 257
How to Make Five Squares into a large one without any Waste of
Stuff, 258
Deceptive Vision, 258
The Carpenter Puzzled, 259
The Bricklayer Puzzled, 260
Triangular Problem, 260
To Form a Square, 261
Squaring the Circle, 262
The Perplexed Cabinet Maker, 277
Curious and Amusing Puzzles.
Alexander the Great's Puzzle, 266
The Chinese Cross, 266
The Parallelogram, 267
The Divided Garden, 267
The Endless String, 267
Chinese Maze, the Willow Pattern Plate, 268
The Vertical Line Puzzle, 268
The Three Rabbits, 269
The Accommodating Square, 269
The Circle Puzzle, 269
The Cardboard Puzzle, 269
The Button Puzzle, 269
The Quarto Puzzle, 269
The Puzzle of Fourteen, 270
The Square and Circle Puzzle, 270
The Scale and Ring Puzzle, 270
The Heart Puzzle, 271
The Cross Puzzle, 272
The Yankee Square, 272
The Card Puzzle, 272
The Three Square Puzzle, 273
The Cylinder Puzzle, 273
The Four Tenants, 273
The Puzzle Wall, 274
The Twenty-Four Nuns, 274
The Horse Shoe Puzzle, 274
The Card Square, 275
The Dog Puzzle, 275
Puzzle of the Two Fathers, 275
The Triangular Puzzle, 276
Cutting out a Cross, 276
Another Cross Puzzle, 276
The Fountain Puzzle, 276
The Puzzle of the Stars, 277
The Counter Puzzle, 277
Japan Square Puzzle, 277
The Cabinet Maker's Puzzle, 277
String and Balls Puzzle, 277
Double Headed Puzzle, 278
Arithmetical Puzzle, 278
Grammatical Puzzle, 278
The Tree Puzzle, 279
Puzzling Epitaph, 279
Curious Letter, 279
A Puzzling Inscription, 279
Puzzling Kings, 279
The Knight's Puzzle, 283
Another Method, 284
Another Method, 287
Rosamond's Bower, 287
The Labyrinth, 288
The Chinese Puzzle, 289
Trouble-Wit, 290
Answers to Puzzles.
The Chinese Cross, 291
The Parallelogram, 291
The Divided Garden, 292
The Endless String, 292
Chinese Maze, 292
The Vertical Line Puzzle, 293
The Three Rabbits, 293
The Accommodating Square, 293
The Circle Puzzle, 293
The Cut Card Puzzle, 294
The Button Puzzle, 294
The Quarto Puzzle, 294
The Puzzle of Fourteen, 294
The Square and Circle Puzzle, 295
The Scale and Ring Puzzle, 295
The Heart Puzzle, 295
The Cross Puzzle, 295
The Yankee Square, 295
The Card Puzzle, 296
The Three Square Puzzle, 296
The Cylinder Puzzle, 296
The Four Tenants, 296
The Puzzle Wall, 297
The Twenty-Four Nuns, 297
The Horse Shoe Puzzle, 297
The Card Square, 297
The Dog Puzzle, 298
The Two Fathers, 298
The Triangular Puzzle, 298
Cutting out a Cross, 299
Another Cross Puzzle, 299
The Fountain Puzzle, 299
The Star Puzzle, 300
The Counter Puzzle, 300
Japan Square Puzzle, 300
Cabinet Maker's Puzzle, 300
String and Balls Puzzle, 301
Double Headed Puzzle, 301
Arithmetical Puzzle, 301
Grammatical Puzzle, 301
The Tree Puzzle, 301
Puzzling Epitaph, 302
A Curious Letter, 302
A Puzzling Inscription, 302
The Magic of Art.
To Trace an Oval, 303
An Endless Source of Amusement, 303
The Magic of the Oval, 303
Variations of the Oval, 304
What may be done with a Square, 305
How to make a Circle, 306
Importance of the Circle in Drawing, 307
Variation of the Square and Circle, 307
Importance of the Triangle, 308
How to Construct a Triangle, 309
The Triangle Works Wonders in Perspective, 310
Exaggerated Drawing, 311
The Parallelogram and Triangle in Combination, 312
Two Parallelograms in Combination, 312
Magic of the Parallelogram, 313
The Secret of Comic Drawing, 313
Caricature Sketching, 314
Simple Elements of the Profile, 315
Comic Profiles, 316
"Punch," and "Mother Hubbard," 316
Comical Beards, 316
The Human Figure, 317
Proportions of the Human Figure, 318
Standard Height of the Body, 318
Comical Drawing of the Human Figure, 319
The Centre of Gravity, 320
A Central Line through Everything, 320
The Curved Line Pervades all Nature, 321
The Droll Landscape, 323
Attitude Formed upon the Curved Line, 324
How to Draw upon Glass, for Magic Lantern Slides, 325
The Magic of Secret Writing.
The Art of Secret Writing very Ancient, 326
Various Modes of Communicating Secret Intelligence, 327
Chemistry an Agent in Secret Writing, 327
Ingenious Mode of Secret Writing, 328
The Chiffre Indéchiffrable, 328
A Lock for Mr. Hobbs to Pick, 330
The Circular Cypher, 331
Another Method, 332
The Musical Cypher, 333
The Magic of Strength.
Mechanical Inventions of the Ancients few in Number, 334
Ancient and Modern Feats of Strength, 334
Feats of Eckeberg particularly described, 335
One Man Drawing against Two Horses, 335
Breaking the Rope, 336
The Anvil Feat, 336
Breaking Stones, 337
The Chair Feat, 337
The Knee Feat, 338
The Cannon Feat, 338
Twisting Iron Bars, 339
General Explanation on all the Above Feats, 339
Real Feats of Strength Performed by Thomas Topham, 340
Remarkable Power of Lifting Heavy Persons when the Lungs are
Inflated, 341
Pyramids of Men, 342
Miscellaneous Curious Tricks and Fancies.
An Artificial Memory, 343
The Magician's Mirror, 344
The Perspective Mirror, 345
The Magical Gyroscope, 346
Artificial Landscape, 348
Easy and Curious Method of Foretelling Rainy or Fine Weather, 349
The Magical Measure, 350
The Boundless Prospect, 350
The Magical Watch Lamp, 352
The Hour of the Day or Night told by a Suspended Shilling, 351
The Enchanted Palace, 352
To Know which of Two Different Waters is the Lightest, without
any Scales, 353
To Know if a Suspicious Piece of Money is Good or Bad, 353
The Pyramid of Alum, 354
The Dancing Automaton, 354
To Melt a Piece of Money in a Walnut Shell without Injuring
the Shell, 355
The Invisible Springs, 355
The Flight of the Ring, 356
Musical Figures resulting from Sound, 357
To Make a Card Jump out of the Pack, 357
The Tell-Tale Cards, 357
The Double Dozen, 358
The Housebreakers, 359
The Magic Book, 360
The Tape Trick, 360
More than Full, 361
Floating Needles, 361
The Knotted Thread, 361
The Bacchus Experiment, 362
Curious Method of Measuring the Height of a Tree, 362
The Transposable Pieces, 362
THE YOUNG CONJUROR.
[Illustration]
INCLUDING SLEIGHT OF HAND, WITH OBJECTS OR CARDS, WITH AND WITHOUT
APPARATUS.
That there has been "Jugglery" in all ages of the world, the pages of
history abundantly prove. The ancient religions of the heathen were mixed
up with an extensive system of legerdemain, and were, more or less,
tissues of trickery. Sleight of hand, tricks of the tongue by which the
word was kept to the ear, but broken to the hope, and various miraculous
deceptions, were the means by which the priests of Egypt, Greece, and Rome
used to subjugate mankind. Happy ought we to be, in living in an age when
humbug of every kind is sure to meet exposure by the daylight beams of
truth.
The Eastern nations, from the earliest times, possessed, besides these
religious jugglers, others who made a livelihood by going from place to
place, and performing various tricks and feats by which the judgement
was bewildered and the reason bamboozled; and even now the performers of
the East infinitely exceed those of the West. In the Norman times the
juggler was termed jongleur, or joculator, and united in one the minstrel,
astrologer, and merry-andrew. In the fourteenth century, he seems to
have become more entirely a performer of tricks and feats, and bore the
name of Tregetour. The tregetours were adepts at every kind of sleight
of hand, and by the assistance of machinery of various kinds, deceived
the eyes of the spectators, and produced such illusions as were usually
supposed to be the effect of enchantment, for which reason they were
frequently ranked with sorcerers, magicians, and witches. Chaucer, who no
doubt had frequently an opportunity of seeing the tricks exhibited by the
tregetours of his time, says, "There I sawe playenge jogelours, magyciens,
trageteours, phetonysses, charmeresses, old witches, and sorceresses;"
and the old poet goes on to say to them, "Sometimes they will bring on
the similitude of a grim lion, or make flowers spring up as in a meadow;
sometimes they cause a vine to flourish, bearing white and red grapes, or
show a castle built with stone, and when they please, they cause the whole
to disappear:" and in another part of his work, he says:
"There saw I Coll Tregetour,
Upon a table of sycamour,
Play an uncouthe thynge to tell;
I sawe hym cary a wyndemell,
Under a walnot shale."--_House of Fame_, book iii.
The learned monarch, James I, was perfectly convinced that these and other
inferior feats exhibited by the tregetours of his day, could only be
performed by the agency of the "old gentleman," whom it is not polite to
name. The profession had already fallen very low, and at the close of the
reign of Queen Elizabeth, the performers were ranked by the moral writers
of that time, not only with ruffians, blasphemers, thieves, and vagabonds,
but also with Jews, Turks, heretics, pagans, and sorcerers; and in more
modern times, by way of derision, the juggler was called a mocus-pocus, or
hocus-pocus, a term applicable to a pick-pocket, or a common cheat.
The following pages are not intended to make the young reader either a
cheat or a trickster; there is nothing, perhaps, so utterly contemptible
in every-day life, as trickery and deception, and we would caution our
young master not to obtain by these amusements a love of deception,
which is only allowable in such feats of amusement, and which is in no
way culpable, when every one knows he is deceived. But we would advise
him strongly to cultivate in his own mind the virtues of sincerity,
straightforwardness, candor, openness, and truth; to shun subterfuge and
deception as he would a venomous reptile; and to hate a lie as he would
hate that same old gentleman whom we were too polite to name, and who is
the father of it.
With this sage advice, we shall present a collection of amusing conjuring
tricks.
SLEIGHT OF HAND.
It is my intention, in the following pages, to lay more stress upon those
tricks which require no apparatus, than upon those for which special
apparatus, or the assistance of a confederate, is required. No one is
nearly so well pleased by a trick whose essence evidently lies in the
machinery, while every one feels pleasure at seeing a sleight of hand
trick neatly executed. For my own part, I despise all the numerous boxes,
bottles, variegated covers, and other gimcracks which are generally seen
on a conjuror's table; and I have never been so pleased with any performer
as with one who did not even require a table, but pressed into his service
articles borrowed from his audience, as he stood before them, or walked
among them. The spectators should never be able to say, "Ah! the trick
lies in the box; he dares not show it to us!"
The following tricks have almost all been successfully performed by
myself, and have caused me some reputation in the magic art. Some are my
own invention:
1. THE FLYING DIME.
This trick must be frequently practiced before it is produced in public.
Borrow two colored silk handkerchiefs from the company, and have _three_
dimes in your hand, but only show _two_, keeping the other one firmly
fixed against the first joint of the second and third fingers. You must
also have a fine needle and thread stuck inside the cuff of your coat.
Then take one of the handkerchiefs, and put in _both_ dimes, but pretend
that only _one_ is in the handkerchief; then put the handkerchief into a
hat, leaving one corner hanging out. Now hold up the _third_ dime (which
the spectators imagine is the _second_), and ask one of the company to lay
the second handkerchief over it. You then ask him to hold the dime tight
between his finger and thumb, while you twist up the handkerchief. While
doing so, with both hands concealed under the handkerchief, you pass a few
stitches under the dime, and replace the needle. This being done, spread
one corner of the handkerchief over the hand of the person who is still
holding the dime, and, taking hold of another corner, tell him to drop
the dime when you have counted three. At the word "three," he lets go the
dime, and you whisk the handkerchief into the air, when the dime appears
to have vanished, but is really held in the handkerchief. You then tell
the astonished individual to draw the other handkerchief out of the hat by
the corner that is hanging out. The two dimes are heard to fall into the
hat, and every one is persuaded that you have conjured one of the dimes
out of a person's hand, and sent it into the hat.
2. ANOTHER METHOD.
Perhaps the spectators may ask to see it again, or demand to mark the
dime. In this case, vary it as follows. Ask some one (always choose the
most incredulous of the party) to mark a dime of his own, and give it you.
Take the same handkerchief, and give him the dime to hold that is already
enclosed in it, as in the last trick, dropping the marked dime into the
palm of your hand. Twist it up as before, and then leave it entirely in
his hands. Direct him to place it on a table, and cover it with a basin or
saucer. Ask him to give you a cup or tumbler, and hold it under the table,
beneath the place where the saucer is. Then tell him to knock three times
on the saucer, and at the third knock let the marked dime fall into the
tumbler. Hand him the tumbler, and while he is examining the dime to see
if it is the same one that he marked, take up the saucer, and shake out
the handkerchief that is lying under it, as in the last trick. You must
then return the handkerchief, and while you pretend to be searching for
the marks, draw out the thread that held the dime, and drop the coin into
the palm of your hand, taking care to rub between your finger and thumb
the spot where the threads had been, in order to eradicate the marks. This
variation seldom fails to confuse the company.
You must remember to keep talking the whole time, and always try to make
a joke, or otherwise to distract the attention of the audience, while you
are executing the necessary changes.
3. THE BEADS AND STRINGS.
[Illustration]
Ask some lady to lend you the beads off her bracelet, or have by you five
or six beads, which you may hand round for examination. Then get some one
to cut two pieces of thin string of equal length, and twist them about
your fingers, appearing to lay them side by side, but in reality placing
them as in the figure, and then, by twisting them together with apparent
carelessness, the manner in which they are arranged will not be seen,
particularly if you keep the point of junction hidden either by a finger,
or by throwing the shade of your hand upon it.
When the beads are returned, thread them all, taking care to pass the
center bead over the point of juncture. You then bring the ends of the
string 1 and 2 together, and tie them so, doing the same with 3 and 4.
Now give the tied ends to two persons, directing them to hold them tight.
You need not fear that the beads will come off, even if they pull hard.
Then grasp the beads with both hands, directing the holders to slacken the
strings. You then, under cover of the left hand, which is placed above
the beads, slip the center bead to one side, and draw out the two loops
which have been hidden in it. The beads will then easily come off into
your right hand. Tell the holders to pull hard, which they will do, and
the same moment remove your hands, showing the empty strings, and all the
beads in your right hand. Then hand round the beads and strings as before.
Remember to rub out the marks in the strings caused by the loops, before
you remove your hands.
4. TO GET A RING OUT OF A HANDKERCHIEF.
Bend a piece of gold wire into the form of a ring, having previously
sharpened both ends. You have a real ring made of the same piece of wire,
and concealing the false ring in the palm of your hand, offer the real one
to be inspected. When it is returned, borrow a handkerchief, and while
taking it from the lender, slip the real ring into your left hand, and
take the false one at its point of junction. Throw the handkerchief over
the ring, and give it to some one to hold between his finger and thumb.
Let the handkerchief fall over it, and give a piece of string to a second
spectator, directing him to tie it round the handkerchief, about two
inches below the ring, so as to enclose it in a bag, and tell him to do so
as tightly as he can. While he is doing this, take up your conjuring wand,
a rod of some hard wood, about eighteen inches long, and when the knot is
tied, step forward, passing the rod into your left hand, taking care to
slip over it the real ring, which has lain concealed there. Slip your left
hand to the center of the rod, and direct each of the two persons to hold
one end of it in his right hand. Then tell the one who has the ring and
handkerchief, to lay them on your left hand, which you immediately cover
with your right. Then tell them to spread another handkerchief over your
hands, and to say after you any nonsense that you like to invent.
While they are so doing, unbend the false ring, and draw it through the
handkerchiefs by one of its points, carefully rubbing between the thumb
and finger the place where it came through. Hang the empty handkerchief
over the ring which is on the rod, and take away your hands, which you
exhibit empty, as you have stuck the false ring inside your cuff. Take
away the upper handkerchief, and let a third person come to examine, when
he will find the ring gone out of the handkerchief, and hung upon the rod.
5. TO TIE A KNOT IN A HANDKERCHIEF WHICH CANNOT BE DRAWN TIGHT.
[Illustration]
Cast an ordinary knot on a handkerchief, and give the end out of your
right hand to some spectator, and tell him to pull hard and sharp when
you count three. Just as he pulls, slip your left thumb under the
handkerchief, as drawn in the cut, and it will be pulled out quite
straight, without any knot at all. You must let go the end that hangs
over the left hand, and grasp the handkerchief between the thumb and fore
finger.
6. THE THREE CUPS.
[Illustration]
This is an admirable delusion, but requires very careful management, and
should be practiced repeatedly before it is exhibited publicly. You get
three tin cups, of the shape shown in the cut. They should have two or
three ridges running round them at the mouth, in order to give a better
hold. Four balls should now be made of cork, and carefully blackened.
One of the balls is held concealed between the roots of the third and
fourth fingers, while the other three are handed round for examination,
together with the cups. When they are returned, the young conjuror begins
by placing each ball under a cup, or, if he chooses, asking one of the
spectators to do so for him. While this is being done, he slips the fourth
ball to the tips of the second and third fingers. He then lifts up cup No.
1, replaces it on the table a few inches from its first position, and at
the same time slips the fourth ball under it. He takes up ball No. 1, and
pretends to throw it away, but in reality he slips it into the place which
the fourth ball had occupied. He does the same with the three cups, and
then commences a sham search after the lost ball, in which he accidentally
(!) knocks over one of the cups, and, to his pretended astonishment, finds
a ball under it. He then knocks over both the other cups, and finds in
them the two missing balls.
He again places the balls under the cups, taking care to slip the fourth
ball under cup No. 3. He then takes up cup No. 1, and pretends to throw
the ball into No. 3, but hides it as before. As there are already two
balls in No. 3, the spectators imagine that he really has thrown the ball
into it. He replaces cup No. 3 over both balls, and slips among them ball
No. 1. He then takes up cup No. 2, and goes through the same process, and
on knocking over cup No. 3, all three balls are found together under it,
and while the spectators are being astonished, ball No 2 can be quickly
got rid of.
A rather startling termination to this trick can be managed by taking up
one of the cups, with its mouth upwards holding the finger and thumb
close to its mouth. Then by throwing another cup into it, letting go the
first and catching the second, you appear to have thrown the second cup
through the first.
7. TO TIE A HANDKERCHIEF ROUND YOUR LEG, AND GET IT OFF WITHOUT UNTYING
THE KNOT.
[Illustration]
Hold the handkerchief by both ends, lay the center of the handkerchief on
your knee, and pass the two ends below, appearing to cross them, but in
reality hitching them within each other, as represented in the engraving,
which shows the manner in which this is managed. Draw this loop tight, and
bring back the ends to the same side on which they were originally, and
tie them above. If the loop is properly made, it will stand a good pull.
Then, after showing the spectators how firmly it is tied, put your hand
under the knot, and by giving it a sharp pull, it will come off.
The engraving represents the manner in which the loop is made, but it must
be made considerably smaller than it is shown, or it will be seen. In
fact, it ought not to be a loop at all, as it should be almost concealed
under the fold of the handkerchief. Do not show this in public until you
can tie it with rapidity and precision.
8. THE MAGIC BOND.
[Illustration]
Take a piece of string, and tie the two ends together with a weaver's
knot, as that holds the best, and arrange it over the fingers, as
represented in the engraving. Having done so, let the long loop hang
loose, lift both loops off the thumb, draw them forward until the string
is quite tight, and then put them behind the hand, by passing them between
the second and third fingers. Then pull the part of the string that lies
across the roots of the fingers, and the whole affair will come off.
9. THE OLD MAN AND HIS CHAIR.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1_]
[Illustration: _Fig. 2_
_Fig. 3_
1. Right fore finger
2. Right middle finger
]
Take the same piece of string as in the last trick, hold your left hand
with the palm uppermost, and hang the string over the palm. Spread all
the fingers, and with the right hand bring forward the loops that hang
behind, by passing it over the second and third fingers. Loose the loop,
take hold of the part of the string that crosses the hand, and pull it
forwards. When tight, pass it to the back of the hand, the reversal of the
movement that brought it forwards. Loose the loop, insert the fore-finger
and little finger of the right hand under the string that encircles the
left fore-finger and little finger, and pass the two loops to the back
of the hand, as shown in the cut, Fig. 1. Tuck both loops under the
cross-strings at the back, and your preliminaries are completed. Then
begin your story: "There was once upon a time, an old man, who stole a
pound of candles. Here they are." You then hold your left hand as at the
commencement, hook the right fore-finger under the cross-piece at the
back, and draw it downward until it is long enough to be passed over the
second and third fingers to the front. Pass it over, and draw it slowly
upwards, when the similitude of a pound of candles hanging by their
strings will be seen. (See Fig. 2.) "The old man being tired hung up his
candles," you then hang the long loop over your thumb, "and sat down in
his high-backed chair, which you see here." You then hitch the right fore
finger and middle finger under the two loops that will be found hanging
behind the left hand, bring them to the front, raise them perpendicularly,
and the chair will be seen as in Fig. 3. The thumb must be raised
perpendicularly, and brought as much as possible into the center of the
hand, or the chair will be all aside.
"When the old man was rested, it began to become dark, and he took a pair
of scissors to cut down a candle for himself. Here are the scissors."
While you are saying this, you slip the loop off the thumb, and you
get Fig. 4. Move the blades and handles of the scissors, as if cutting
something with them. "Just as he had lighted it, in came a policeman, and
produced his staff, with the Queen's crown at the top." Now let go the
little finger of the left hand and the loop will run up the string towards
the right hand, producing Fig. 5. "The old man in vain tried to resist,
for the policeman called a comrade to his assistance, and they tied a
cord round the old man's arms in a tight knot, like this"--slip the right
middle finger out of its loop, and you will obtain Fig. 6--"and carried
him off to prison."
[Illustration: _Fig. 4_
1. Fore finger of left hand,
2. Little finger of left hand.
3. Fore finger of right hand.
4. Middle finger of right hand. #/ ]
[Illustration: _Fig. 5_
1. Right middle finger.
2. Right fore finger.]
[Illustration: _Fig. 6_
1. Right fore
1. finger.
2. Left hand.]
10. TO TIE A KNOT ON THE LEFT WRIST, WITHOUT LETTING THE RIGHT HAND
APPROACH IT.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1_]
[Illustration: _Fig. 2_]
Take a piece of thick pliant string by each end, and with a quick jerk
of the right hand cast a loop on it as in Fig. 1. The jerk must be given
upwards and towards the left hand, and its impetus will cause the loop to
run up the string until it falls over the left wrist, as in Fig. 2. The
moment that the forward jerk is given the right hand should be drawn back,
so that the loop is drawn tight directly it has settled on the wrist.
Both ends should be let fall when the knot is firm. This is a very nice
little sleight of hand trick to practice in the intervals between more
showy ones, and, although rather difficult to learn, is soon acquired.
11. THE HANDCUFFS.
[Illustration]
Let two persons, A and B, have their hands tied together with string, so
that the strings cross, as represented in the engraving. The object is, to
free themselves from each other without untying the knot. It is executed
in the following manner:
Let B gather up the string that joins his hands, pass the loop under
the string that binds either of A's wrists, slip it over A's hand, and
both will be free. By a reversal of the same process, the string may be
replaced.
12. TO PULL A STRING THROUGH YOUR BUTTON-HOLE.
Take a piece of string about two feet in length, and tie the ends
together. Pass it through a button-hole of your coat; hitch one thumb at
each end, hook the little fingers into the upper strings of the opposite
hand. Then draw the hands well outward, and the string will look very
complicated, as in the engraving.
[Illustration]
To get out the string, loose the hold of the right thumb and left little
finger, and separate the hands smartly, when the string will appear to
have been pulled out _through_ the substance of your coat.
It is an improvement of the trick, if, immediately on loosing the hold of
the right thumb, you change the string from the right little finger on to
the thumb.
13. THE CUT STRING RESTORED.