apparatus required for cards is exceedingly expensive. Those that I shall
give require but little apparatus, and any boy with the use of his hands
can make it.
33. THE CARDS IN THE VASE.
Make a vase with five divisions, two of which hold an entire pack of
cards, and the remaining three are only large enough just to admit one
card each, as in the figure. A strong silk thread is fastened at A, passes
over the three little compartments, through the bottom of the vase, and
running over two pulleys, terminates in the weight at B.
[Illustration]
Take three cards, say the ace of spades, the ten of diamonds, and the king
of hearts, out of a pack of cards, and put one into each of the little
divisions pressing the thread down into the bottom of each division.
If the cards are left, the weight will descend, and the string being
tightened, will push the cards upwards. So a kind of trigger shelf is
made, on which the weight rests. The remainder of the pack you put into
division 2.
When you show the trick, you take another pack of cards exactly like
that which is already in the vase, and handing it to three persons
successively, compel them to choose the ace of spades, the ten of
diamonds, and the king of hearts.[3] Let some one shuffle the cards, and
when this is done, put the pack into division 1. Tell the spectators that
when you have struck three times on the table, the cards will come out
of the vase. At the third stroke, loosen the catch on which the weight
stands, by means of the string that communicates with your table, and the
three cards will rise slowly up. In order to show that the cards have
really vanished from the pack, take the pack out of division 2 and let any
one examine it.
If you prefer, you can draw the thread yourself, by having a kind of a
pedal under your table, to which the other end of the string is attached,
instead of being fastened to the weight B. If you prefer the weight, you
must have a small shelf for the weight to rest upon, when it has descended
sufficiently low, or the cards will be forced entirely out by the thread.
C is a representation of one of the divisions, showing the semi-circular
cut that is made in them for the convenience of taking out the cards.
34. THE METAMORPHOSIS.
In this most excellent trick you choose from the pack the four eights and
the two of diamonds; you put the four eights in your left hand and the
two on the table; you take in the two, placing an eight on the table, and
they are all twos. You exchange the two for the eight, and they all become
black cards; you again exchange the eight for the two, and they all turn
red; and after again exchanging, you have, as before, the four eights and
the two of diamonds.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1_]
The method of accomplishing this trick is as follows: Get three plain
white cards, exactly like playing cards, and paint them as in the
engraving. Mix them with an ordinary pack, and when you are searching for
the four eights, with which you say you are going to perform a trick, take
them from the pack, and with them an ordinary eight of clubs and a two of
diamonds.
[Illustration: _Fig. 2_]
[Illustration: _Fig. 3_]
[Illustration: _Fig. 4_]
[Illustration: _Fig. 5_]
Show the cards as in fig. 2, making the spectators observe that there are
the four eights. Put the two of diamonds behind the eight of clubs, and
lay the eight on the table. The two must be inserted before the eight is
removed, or the mystery of the marking will be apparent. Close the cards,
turn them over, and spread them out, when they will appear as in Fig. 3.
Take in the eight and lay the two on the table; close the cards, and while
shuffling them, turn card No. 2 the other way upwards. The cards will then
all appear black, as in Fig. 4. Take in the two and remove the eight, turn
them over, and spread them out, when they will appear all red, as in Fig.
5. Finally, take the eight, replacing the two on the table, reverse No. 2,
and you will have the four eights and the two of diamonds, just as they
were at first. You must invent plenty of talk during your changes. If the
spectators say that the cards are double, spread them out, and hold them
up to the light, (for the light cannot penetrate through the places where
the cards are placed over each other,) and if they are still skeptical,
hand them the two of diamonds to look at, and in a moment or two hand them
the eight of clubs, asking them whether they would like to examine a
black card also. This will effectually disarm suspicion.
35. TO HOLD FOUR KINGS OR FOUR KNAVES IN YOUR HAND, AND TO CHANGE
THEM SUDDENLY INTO BLANK CARDS, AND THEN TO FOUR ACES.
It is necessary to have cards made on purpose for this trick; half cards,
as they may be properly termed, that is, one half kings or knaves, and
the other half aces. When you lay the aces one over the other, of course
nothing but the kings or knaves can be seen; and on turning the kings or
knaves downward, the four aces will make their appearance. You must have
two perfect cards, one a king or knave, to put over one of the aces, else
it will be seen; and the other an ace, to lay over the kings or knaves.
When you wish to make them all appear blank, lay the cards a little lower,
and by hiding the aces, they will appear white on both sides; you may then
ask which they wish to have, and may show kings, aces, or knaves, as they
are called for.
36. TO CHANGE A CARD IN A PERSON'S HAND.
Cut very neatly the spots from a three of spades. Lay the pierced card on
an ace of diamonds, and rub pomatum on the ace of diamonds through the
places which the spades occupied. Remove the pierced card, and sprinkle
the ace of diamonds with jet powder, which adhering to the pomatum, will
transform the card into a three of spades.
Place the transformed card at the bottom of the pack, and show a person
what card it is. Make him declare it that every one may hear, then place
it on the table, face downwards, and push it over the cloth to the
spectator, which action will rub off all the jet powder. Tell him to place
his hand on the card. Let a three of spades be at the top of the pack, and
an ace of diamonds the second from the bottom. Show another person the ace
of diamonds, and ask him to tell the name of the card openly. Put the pack
down, face downwards, and in so doing make the pass, and bring the three
of spades to the bottom.
Tap the hand of the person who is guarding the card, and then tell him to
take up the card and show it to the spectators, when it will be seen to be
the ace of diamonds. Simultaneously, you take up the pack, and show the
three of spades at the bottom.
37. THE CARD IN THE EGG.
To perform this feat, provide a round hollow stick, about ten inches long
and three quarters of an inch in diameter, the hollow being three eighths
of an inch in diameter. Also, have another round stick to fit this hollow,
and slide in it easily, with a knob to prevent its coming through. Our
young readers will clearly understand our meaning, when we say, that in
all respects it must resemble a pop-gun, with the single exception that
the stick which fits the tube, must be of the full length of the tube
exclusively of the knob.
Next steep a card in water for a quarter of an hour, peel off the face of
it, and double it twice across, till it becomes one fourth of the length
of a card, then roll it up tightly, and thrust it up the tube till it
becomes even with the bottom. You then thrust in the stick at the other
end of the tube till it just touches the card.
Having thus provided your magic wand, let it lie on the table until you
have occasion to make use of it, but be careful not to allow any person
handle it.
Now take a pack of cards, and let any person draw one; but be sure to let
it be a similar card to the one which you have in the hollow stick. This
must be done by forcing. The person who has chosen it will put it into
the pack again, and, while you are shuffling, you let it fall into your
lap. Then, calling for some eggs, desire the person who drew the card, or
any other person in the company, to choose any one of the eggs. When he
has done so, ask if there be anything in it? He will answer there is not.
Place the egg in a saucer; break it with the wand, and pressing the knob
with the palm of your right hand, the card will be driven into the egg.
Then show it to the spectators.
A great improvement may be made in this feat, by presenting the person
who draws the card with a saucer and a pair of forceps, and instead of
his returning the card to the pack, desire him to take it by the corner
with the forceps and burn it, but to take care and preserve the ashes; for
this purpose you present him with a piece of paper (prepared as hereafter
described), which he lights at the candle; but a few seconds after, and
before he can set the card on fire, it will suddenly divide in the middle
and spring back, burning his fingers if he do not drop it quickly. Have
another paper ready and desire him to try that; when he will most likely
beg to be excused, and will prefer lighting it with the candle.
When the card is consumed, say that you do not wish to fix upon any
particular person in company to choose an egg, lest it might be suspected
he was a confederate; therefore, request any two ladies in company to
choose each an egg, and having done so, to decide between themselves which
shall contain the card; when this is done, take a second saucer, and in it
receive the rejected egg, break it with your wand, and show the egg round
to the company; at the same time drawing their attention to the fact of
those two eggs having been chosen from among a number of others, and of
its not being possible for you to have told which of them would be the
chosen one.
You now receive the chosen egg in the saucer containing the ashes, and
having rolled it about until you have blacked it a little, blow the ashes
from around it into the grate; you then break the egg with the same wand,
when, on touching the spring, the card will be found in the egg.
The method of preparing the paper mentioned in the above feat is as
follows: Take a piece of letter paper, about six inches in length and
three quarters of an inch in breadth, fold it longitudinally, and with a
knife cut it in the crease about five inches down; then take one of the
sides which are still connected at the bottom, and with the back of the
knife under it, and the thumb of the right hand over it, curl it outwards
as a boy would the tassels of his kite; repeat the same process with the
other side, and lay them by for use. When about using them, (but not till
then, as the papers will soon lose their curl if stretched,) draw them up
so as to make them their original length, and turn the ends over a little,
in order that they may remain so; when set on fire, they will burn for a
minute or two, until the turn-over is burnt out, when the lighted ends
will turn over quickly, burning the fingers of the holder: this part of
the trick never fails to excite the greatest merriment.
38. THE FIFTEEN THOUSAND LIVRES.
[Illustration]
For this trick, prepare two cards like the accompanying engraving; and
have a common ace and five of diamonds. Hold down the five of diamonds
and the two prepared cards, as shown in the next engraving; and say, "A
certain Frenchman left fifteen thousand livres, which are represented by
these three cards, to his three sons; the two youngest agreed to leave
their five thousand, each of them, in the hands of the elder, that he
might improve it." While you are telling this story lay the five on the
table, and put the ace in its place; at the same time artfully change
the position of the other two cards, so that the three cards appear as
in this engraving. Then, resuming the tale, relate that "The eldest
brother, instead of improving the money, lost it all by gaming, except
three thousand livres, as you here see (laying the ace on the table, and
taking up the five). Sorry for having lost the money, he went to the East
Indies with these three thousand, and brought back fifteen thousand."
Then show the cards in the same position as at first. To render this
deception agreeable, it must be performed with dexterity, and should not
be repeated, but the cards immediately put in the packet; and you should
have five common cards ready to show, if any one desire to see them.
HINTS TO AMATEURS.
The following hints are of considerable importance to the amateur
exhibitor.
1. Never acquaint the company beforehand with the particulars of the feat
you are about to perform, as it will give them time to discover your mode
of operation.
2. Endeavor, as much as possible, to acquire various methods of performing
the same feat, in order that if you should be likely to fail in one, or
have reason to believe that your operations are suspected, you may be
prepared with another.
3. Never yield to the request of any one to repeat the same feat, as
you thereby hazard the detection of your mode of operation; but do not
absolutely refuse, as that would appear ungracious. Promise to perform it
in a different way, and then exhibit another which somewhat resembles it.
This maneuver seldom fails to answer the purpose.
4. Never venture on a feat requiring manual dexterity, till you have
previously practiced it so often, as to acquire the necessary expertness.
5. As diverting the attention of the company from too closely inspecting
your maneuvers is a most important object, you should manage to talk
to them during the whole course of your proceedings. It is the plan of
vulgar operators to gabble unintelligible jargon, and attribute their
feats to some extraordinary and mysterious influence. There are few
persons at the present day credulous enough to believe such trash, even
among the rustic and most ignorant; but, as the youth of maturer years
might inadvertently be tempted to pursue this method, while exhibiting
his skill before his younger companions, it may not be deemed superfluous
to caution him against such a procedure. He may state, and truly, that
everything he exhibits can be accounted for on rational principles, and
is only in obedience to the unerring laws of Nature; and although we have
just cautioned him against enabling the company themselves to detect
his operations, there can be no objection (particularly when the party
comprises many younger than himself) to occasionally show by what simple
means the most apparently marvelous feats are accomplished.
CURE FOR TROUBLESOME SPECTATORS.
It will sometimes happen at an early stage of the performance, that the
ultimate success of the whole is likely to be endangered by a troublesome
person, (generally a naughty boy,) who will persist in crying out, "I know
how it is done!"--at the same time continually advancing to the table,
from which it is, of course, the business of the conjurer to keep his
youthful admirers. Should this be the case, the magic whistles may be
produced, and the remark made, that now the troublesome boy shall show the
company a trick. Having taken up one of the whistles, which has previously
been filled with flour or magnesia, dust or soot, proceed to give a few
directions, particularly impressing on him the necessity of blowing hard,
because the whistle you place in his hand is perforated with a number of
holes. The would-be magician is, therefore, excessively mortified, on
applying his mouth and blowing hard, to receive the powder in his face.
Any turner will make such a whistle, it being nothing more than the usual
shaped toy perforated at the top with a number of holes.
* * * * *
THE SECRET OF VENTRILOQUISM.
The main secret of this surprising art simply consists in first making
a strong, deep inspiration, by which a considerable quantity of air is
introduced into the lungs, to be afterwards acted upon by the flexible
powers of the larynx, or cavity situated behind the tongue, and the
trachea, or windpipe; thus prepared, the expiration should be slow and
gradual. Any person, by practice, can, therefore, obtain more or less
expertness in this exercise; in which, though not apparently, the voice is
still modified by the mouth and tongue; and it is in the concealment of
this aid, that much of the perfection of ventriloquism lies.
But the distinctive character of ventriloquism consists in its imitations
being performed by the voice _seeming_ to come from the stomach: hence
its name, from _venter_, the stomach, and _loquor_, to speak. Although
the voice does not actually come from that region, in order to enable the
ventriloquist to utter sounds from the larynx without moving the muscles
of his face, he strengthens them by a powerful action of the abdominal
muscles. Hence, he speaks by means of his stomach; although the throat is
the real source from whence the sound proceeds. It should, however, be
added, that this speaking distinctly, without any movement of the lips at
all, is the highest perfection of ventriloquism, and has but rarely been
obtained. Thus, MM. St. Gille and Louis Brabant, two celebrated French
ventriloquists, appeared to be absolutely mute while exercising their art,
and no change in their countenances could be discovered.
It has lately been shown, that some ventriloquists have acquired by
practice the power of exercising the veil of the palate in such a manner,
that, by raising or depressing it, they dilate or contract the inner
nostrils. If they are closely contracted, the sound produced is weak,
dull, and seems to be more or less distant; if, on the contrary, these
cavities are widely dilated, the sound will be strengthened, the voice
become loud, and apparently close to us.
Another of the secrets of ventriloquism, is the uncertainty with respect
to the direction of sounds. Thus, if we place a man and a child in the
same angle of uncertainty, and the man speaks with the accent of a
child, without any corresponding motion in his mouth or face, we shall
necessarily believe that the voice comes from the child. In this case,
the belief is strengthened by the imagination; for if we were directed to
a statue, as the source from which we were to expect sounds to issue, we
should still be deceived, and refer the sounds to the lifeless stone or
marble. This illusion will be greatly assisted by the voice being totally
different in tone and character from that of the man from whom it really
comes. Thus, we see how easy is the deception when the sounds are required
to proceed from any given objects, and are such as they actually yield.
The ventriloquists of our time have carried their art still further.
They have not only spoken by the muscles of the throat and the abdomen,
without moving those of the face, but have so far overcome the uncertainty
of sound, as to become acquainted with modifications of distance,
obstruction, and other causes, so as to imitate them with the greatest
accuracy. Thus, each of these artists has succeeded in carrying on a
dialogue; and each, in his own single person and with his own single
voice, has represented a scene apparently with several actors. These
ventriloquists have likewise possessed such power over their faces and
figures that, aided by rapid changes of dress, their personal identity has
scarcely been recognized among the range of personations.
Vocal imitations are much less striking and ingenious than the feats
of ventriloquism. Extraordinary varieties of voice may be produced, by
speaking with a more acute or grave pitch than usual, and by different
contractions of the mouth. Thus may be imitated the grinding of cutlery on
a wheel, the sawing of wood, the frying of a pancake, the uncorking of a
bottle, and the gurgling noise in emptying its contents.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 2: The figures represent the pairs, _i. e._, the 1 under M
signifies that M belongs to the _first_ pair.]
[Footnote 3: This may be done by making the pass.]
THE MAGIC OF CHEMISTRY.
[Illustration]
Chemistry is one of the most attractive sciences. From the beginning to
the end, the student is surprised and delighted with the developments of
the exact discrimination, as well as the power and capacity, which are
displayed in various forms of chemical action. Dissolve two substances
in the same fluid, and then by evaporation, or otherwise, cause them to
reassume a solid form, and each particle will unite with its own kind,
to the entire exclusion of all others. Thus, if sulphate of copper and
carbonate of soda are dissolved in boiling water, and then the water is
evaporated, each salt will be re-formed as before. This phenomenon is
the result of one of the first principles of the science, and as such is
passed over without thought; but it is a wonderful phenomenon, and made of
no account only by the fact that it is so common and so familiar.
It is by the action of this same principle, "chemical affinity," that we
produce the curious experiments with SYMPATHETIC INKS. By means of these,
we may carry on a correspondence which is beyond the discovery of all not
in the secret. With one class of these inks, the writing becomes visible
only when moistened with a particular solution. Thus, if we write to you
with a solution of sulphate of iron, the letters are invisible. On the
receipt of our letter, you rub over the sheet a feather or sponge, wet
with a solution of nut-galls, and the letters burst forth into sensible
being at once, and are permanent.
2. If we write with a solution of sugar of lead, and you moisten with a
sponge or pencil dipped in water impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen,
the letters will appear with metallic brilliancy.
3. If we write with a weak solution of sulphate of copper, and you apply
ammonia, the letters assume a beautiful blue. When the ammonia evaporates,
as it does on exposure to the sun or fire, the writing disappears, but may
be revived again as before.
4. If you write with oil of vitriol very much diluted, so as to prevent
its destroying the paper, the manuscript will be invisible except when
held to the fire, when the letters will appear black.
5. Write with cobalt dissolved in diluted muriatic acid; the letters will
be invisible when cold, but when warmed they will appear a bluish green.
We are almost sure that our secrets thus written will not be brought to
the knowledge of a stranger, because he does not know the solution which
was used in writing, and therefore knows not what to apply to bring out
the letters.
Other forms of elective affinity produce equally novel results. Thus, two
invisible gases, when combined, form sometimes a _visible solid_. Muriatic
acid and ammonia are examples, also ammonia and carbonic acid.
On the other hand, if a solution of sulphate of soda be mixed with a
solution of muriate of lime, the whole becomes solid.
Some gases when united form liquids, as oxygen and hydrogen, which unite
and form water. Some solids, when combined, form liquids.
Chemical affinity is sometimes called _elective_, or the effect of
_choice_, as if one substance exerted a kind of _preference_ for another,
and chose to be united to it rather than to that with which it was
previously combined; thus, if you pour some vinegar, which is a weak
acetic acid, upon some pearlash, (a combination of potassa and carbonic
acid,) or some carbonate of soda, (a combination of the same acid with
soda,) a violent effervescence will take place, occasioned by the escape
of the carbonic acid, displaced in consequence of the potash or soda
preferring the acetic acid, and forming a compound called an acetate.
Then, if some sulphuric acid be poured on this new compound, the acetic
acid will in its turn be displaced by the greater attachment of either
of the bases, as they are termed, for the sulphuric acid. Again, if into
a solution of blue vitriol, (a combination of sulphuric acid with oxide
of copper,) the bright blade of a knife be introduced, the knife will
speedily be covered with a coat of copper, deposited in consequence of the
acid _preferring_ the iron of which the knife is made, a quantity of it
being dissolved in exact proportion to the quantity of copper deposited.
[Illustration]