=The Magnetic Ring.= Take a gold ring,—the more massive the better.
Attach the ring to a silk thread about twelve inches long; fasten the
other end of the thread around the nail-joint of your right forefinger,
and let the ring hang about half an inch above the surface of the
table, on which you rest your elbow to steady your hand. Hold your
finger horizontally, with the thumb thrown back as far as possible from
the rest of the hand.
If there be nothing on the table, the ring will soon become stationary.
Then place some silver (say three half-dollars) immediately below it,
when the ring will begin to oscillate backwards and forwards, to you
and from you. Now bring your thumb in contact with your forefinger
(or else suspend the ring from your thumb), and the oscillations will
become transverse to their former swing. Or this may be effected by
making a lady take hold of your disengaged hand. When the transverse
motion is fairly established, let a gentleman take hold of the lady’s
disengaged hand, and the ring will change back to its former course.
These effects are produced by the aid of animal magnetic currents given
forth by the hands of the experimenters.
=To Tell the Hour of the Day or Night by a Suspended Quarter.= Sling a
quarter or a dime at the end of a piece of thread by means of a loop;
then, resting your elbow upon a table, hold the other end of the thread
between your forefinger and thumb, and thus suspend the coin in an
empty goblet. Observe, your hand must be perfectly steady; and if you
find it difficult to keep it in an immovable posture, it is useless
to attempt the experiment. Premising that the quarter is properly
suspended, you will find that, when it has recovered its equilibrium,
it will for a moment be stationary; it will then, of its own accord
and without the least agency from the person holding it, assume the
action of a pendulum, vibrating from side to side of the glass, and
after a few seconds will strike the hour nearest to the time of day.
It is necessary to observe that the thread should lie over the pulse
of the thumb, and this may in some measure account for the vibration
of the quarter, but to what cause its striking the precise hour is
to be traced remains unexplained; for it is no less astonishing than
true that when it has struck the proper number its vibration ceases,
it acquires a kind of rotary motion and finally becomes stationary as
before.
=The Spirit Calculator.= A piece of paper and a pencil are handed to
the audience, with a request that four different persons will each
write down a row of four figures, one under the other, to form an
addition sum. The paper is then given to a fifth person to add up the
figures, but before he can call out the result the performer writes it
down on a blackboard.
The secret lies in the fact that the performer is in possession of a
piece of paper exactly the same in every detail as that handed to the
audience, on which, previous to the entertainment, he has had four
rows of figures written in different handwritings. In the course of
the entertainment, all is fair and aboveboard until it comes to adding
up the sum, when the performer, in the act of giving the paper to the
fifth person, changes it for that of his own, with the total of which
he is already acquainted. He has now only to run to the stage and write
down the answer on the blackboard.
A more startling conclusion than the prosaic one above mentioned may be
obtained by the use of sympathetic ink, composed of sulphuric acid and
water, one part of the former to three of the latter. Writing done with
this ink will be invisible until heat be applied, which will bring out
the characters in jet black.
The performer, then, being provided with a piece of paper bearing the
answer written with the invisible ink, gives a plate containing a
little alcohol to the person adding up the sum, and asks him to set
fire to the alcohol, first, however, taking careful note of the total.
The prepared piece of paper is now held over the flames caused by
igniting the alcohol on the plate, when the heat will bring out the
answer, which is proved to be correct. The greatest care should always
be exercised in producing any kind of flame.
=The Square of Sixteen Numbers.= Arrange the numbers from 1 to 16
in a square, so that the sum of the figures in any row, vertical,
horizontal, or diagonal, will be 34.
16 3 2 13
5 10 11 8
9 6 7 12
4 15 14 1
=The Square of Nine Digits.= How may nine digits be arranged in a
rectangular form so that the sum of any row, whether horizontal,
vertical, or diagonal, shall equal 15?
4 9 2
3 5 7
8 1 6
=Making a Bird Enter a Cage.= Draw upon a sheet of paper an empty
bird-cage and then very near the cage at the right draw a bird. The
problem is to make this bird enter the cage.
Place a visiting-card between the two figures, holding the card
perpendicularly on the paper. Press the end of your nose on the border
of the card and look at the cage and the bird. You will thus see the
cage with your left eye and the bird with your right. But in a moment
the bird will seem to move, then enter the cage.
=The Handkerchief Snake.= A fine black-silk thread is stretched across
the stage from one side to the other, the ends being in the hands
of two assistants. Having obtained the loan of a handkerchief, the
performer, standing behind the thread, takes it diagonally by two
corners and twists it up rope fashion. He then ties three knots in it,
one a little below the centre, one a little above the centre, and the
third at one end. While this is being done, the assistants raise the
thread, around which the last knot, forming the head of a snake, is
actually tied; but owing to the thread being invisible, this will pass
unobserved.
Having made the last knot, the performer drops the handkerchief on the
floor, when its imitation of a live snake will depend entirely on the
adroit manner in which the assistants manipulate the thread.
Finally, it should be made to jump into the hand of the performer, who
should at once hand it with the knots still tied to the owner. This is
managed by the assistant at one end dropping the thread and the other
one pulling it clear of the handkerchief. Other tricks may be invented.
=To Pass your Body through a Postal Card.= Fold the card once
lengthwise in the middle so that there will be two equal flaps. Now
commence at the folded edge and cut almost to the straight edge,
double thickness, then commence at the straight edge and cut almost to
the folded edge, and so on alternately, until there have been about
twenty-five or thirty cuts made, leaving a very small margin between
each cut. Then cut each loop on the folded edge except the two outside
loops, and open.
=Silhouettes.= Choose a part of the room where there is a clear wall
space. Attach a piece of silhouette paper to the wall with thumb tacks
or pins (or against a broad board if you fear that the tacks may injure
the wall), the white side of the paper being out.
A lamp, or better a candle, having been placed so that it will throw a
strong light on the sheet of paper, turn off all the other lights in
the room. Each one then takes his place between the lamp and the wall
so that a clear shadow of his profile may be thrown on the paper. Now
draw a firm, strong line carefully around this shadow. The sitter
must sit perfectly still, during the drawing. If possible have a
head-rest, the shadow of which must not be seen upon the paper. Having
thus outlined the shadow, take the paper from the wall and cut out the
silhouette neatly or pass it to another to do the same.
=Gymnastics for the Tongue.= Say these several times as rapidly and
distinctly as you can: “She sells sea shells at the sea shore,” and
these also: “John sawed six sleek, slim, slender saplings.” “There was
an old woman and she was a thistle sifter. She had a sieve of sifted
thistles, and a sieve of unsifted thistles, and she was a thistle
sifter.” “Mixed biscuits.” “Gig whip.” “Six thick thistle sticks.” “She
stood at the door welcoming him in.” “Shoes and socks shock Susan.”
=The Passenger to Boulogne.= The requirements for this touching picture
are an orange, a pocket-handkerchief or soft table-napkin, and a
wine-glass. The orange is first prepared by cutting in the rind with
a pen-knife the best ears, nose, and mouth which the skill of the
artist can compass, a couple of raisins supplying the place of eyes.
A pocket-handkerchief is stretched lightly over the glass, and the
prepared orange laid thereon.
The pocket-handkerchief is then moved gently backwards and forwards
over the top of the glass, imparting to the orange a rolling motion,
and affording a laughable but striking caricature of the agonies of a
sea-sick Channel passenger.
The performance terminates by draping the pocket-handkerchief
hood-fashion over the supposed head, and squeezing the orange into the
glass. The last scene, however, is disagreeably realistic.
=Mind-Reading.= Before appearing to the audience, fasten a fine black
thread to the thumb (or any part desired). The other end is retained
by an assistant seated back to the audience, and in back from the
performer, so that the thread will not be noticed. While the performer
is promising a mind-reading exhibition, the assistant will have time to
make the thread tight, and it must be kept so during the performance.
Show a small blackboard, or some other similar arrangement, that can
be held in one arm, and ask any one to secretly suggest figures, which
are put down in columns, for the purpose of addition. The figures must
be large enough for every one to see, and it is advisable not to have
too many, as experience will show it takes too long for the trick. The
performer then mentally adds the right column of figures, after which
he secretly pulls the thread, fastened to the thumb, as many times as
necessary to make the correct number. The assistant counts the little
jerks, and then announces the number, which proves to be the correct
number to set down. This is continued until all the figures are added.
If the sum of a column is a “zero” no pull should be made. The details
must be plainly understood between the performer and assistant, and
with a little ingenuity the trick will seem quite puzzling.
=Blowing a Card on Twine.= Procure some of the nicest twine, that
is hard, smooth, and very slippery, and cut into lengths of fifteen
or twenty feet, according to room available, fastening both ends to
something stationary. The number of these lines may be optional, but
not less than two. On each line, near the end, place a card four inches
square, with a hole exactly in the centre, about three times the
diameter of the twine. Care must be taken that the hole is large enough
to allow the card to move properly but not too freely. At a given
signal the card is blown the length of the line. The one arriving at
the end first, wins.
=Naming a Card.= This trick can be shown at any time and at any place
where two performers are together and desire to show a little skill
to amuse their friends. The idea in the trick is to announce that you
can tell the name of a card written on a sheet of paper, the paper
folded and placed on the table, all being done while you are out of
the room. After you have announced the trick and have left the room,
your assistant (who of course acts as if he were disinterested) takes
a pencil, and when some one names the card he writes it on the paper
and folds it up. For example, we will say that the four of diamonds was
named. When he has finished writing the name of the card, he, in an
offhand way, places the pencil on the table, so that the point would
indicate four in an imaginary clock, he of course sitting opposite
to six. The paper is then folded and placed in a casual way on the
opposite side on the table, in a section which we will designate as
diamonds. These sections may be like this: diamonds at the top of the
imaginary clock, hearts at the right, clubs at the bottom, and spades
at the left. The face of the clock can be imagined to be about a foot
or so round. You may now be called in by anybody, and upon entering,
you must, to make the trick effective, take up the paper, and hold it
to your forehead as if in deep thought. Of course you have taken in
at a glance the entire situation, and in a most mysterious way, name
the card. In case a court card is named you will understand that a jack
is eleven, a queen twelve, and if a king is named, the pencil is not
laid down, the paper only being left to indicate the suit. Now some are
bound to name the joker. In that case your assistant simply places the
paper on top of the pencil or uses some other arrangement agreed upon.
=A Horse Race.= Each man in the party receives a little bag containing
one hundred beans. Each woman adopts the name of some horse. Strips of
tape or paper are fastened at one end of the room farthest away from
where the races are to begin. All attached ends are on the same line.
The loose ends are held by the women on the other side of the room,
armed with scissors. The men bet their beans on the outcome of the
race. At a given signal, each woman begins to cut the tape, the one to
reach the end of her strand quickest being the winner. The narrowness
of the tape obliges the women to work with extreme care, as well as
quickly, for if the strand is cut before reaching the end, the “horse”
is disqualified. When the first entries have been raced, if there are
more women than strips, more come forward for another “heat,” and so
on until all have competed. The man winning the most beans in all
the races wins the prize, and each lady who comes out ahead receives
something in appreciation of her dexterity.
=A Jam-eating Contest.= For this, thin slices of bread are spread with
jelly or jam and placed upon a small plate at the edge of the table.
Those who enter the contest must have their hands tied behind them,
so that they are obliged to eat their bread and jam without touching
it with a hand. The one who succeeds in disposing of his slice first
receives a prize.
=A Potato Race.= Use peach-baskets for the goals. Potatoes, apples, or
oranges are laid three feet apart in rows for the gathering contest.
Each one must be picked up and carried on a spoon to the basket at the
end of the row.
=Guessing Contests.= A pumpkin, a large ear of yellow field-corn, a
pint of peanuts in the shell, a pound of pecans in the shell, a basket
of apples, one chrysanthemum, a large bunch of Malaga grapes, and a
bough of oak leaves are the requisites for this entertainment. These
same articles may serve as decorations for the room during the evening.
The game is to guess the number of parts of each one of the list, for
instance:
How many grains on the ear of corn?
How many seeds in the pumpkin?
How many grapes in the bunch?
How many pecans in a pound?
How many petals on the chrysanthemum?
How many peanuts in a pint?
How many leaves on the oak bough?
How many apples in the basket?
Of course, the answers have actually been obtained beforehand, except
in the case of the chrysanthemum, which is counted after the company
have guessed.
=A Phonograph Concert.= The removal of a large screen exposes a most
extraordinary contrast. It consists of a large square packing-box, the
open side being set across a doorway leading into another room. On
top of the box is fastened a clothes-wringer and a megaphone, while a
curtain conceals the part of the doorway not hidden by the box. The
record is a narrow slip of paper, yards in length, which is inserted
between the rollers. The crank is turned and the record announced
amidst a grating noise peculiar to phonographs. A person behind the
scenes, with his head in the box, drawls out the subjects of the
records, making the scraping noise by rubbing something rough against
a tin can. The people who are to do the feats on the phonograph are in
the room behind the curtain and, as their turns come, stick their heads
into the box and shout through the megaphone, which is sticking out of
the hole bored through the box.
=To Lift Fifteen Matches with One.= On a match place fourteen other
matches so that one third of the match, with its phosphorus tip, will
be in the air and the other end resting on the table. These ends should
point alternately right and left. If one is asked to lift them, holding
only one extremity of the lower match, it seems clear that the fourteen
matches on top will fall to the table by the force of gravity. Here is
a way to render the operation feasible. Above the matches and along the
angle formed by the interlacement, place one last match. They can now
be lifted safely by the extremity of the under match. The matches will
take an oblique position, embracing the upper one within their angle
as though they were possessed of jaws, and will remain without further
support just as long as you wish. By preference, employ the largest
matches you can find.
=A Donkey Party.= Each one tries, blindfolded, to pin a tail to a
donkey drawn on a sheet. The prize is given to the one who comes
nearest to pinning it in the right position.
=The Dwarf Exhibit= affords one of the most amusing entertainments, and
will cause wonder to your friends as to where you got “him.”
Two persons play the dwarf, a third acting as the exhibitor, who should
prepare beforehand a humorous speech, setting forth the history and
accomplishments of the dwarf, which will be told later.
To arrange and dress the dwarf, place a table in a doorway between
two rooms, and cover it with a cloth or a curtain that will reach to
the floor on the side farthest from the audience. Or the table may
be placed entirely in the room next to that in which the audience is
seated, the edge of it reaching to the doorway, so that the curtains
between may act as a screen while you are getting the dwarf ready.
One person stands behind the table and places his hands on it. These,
with his arms, form the feet and legs of the dwarf. Over his arms
should be drawn a pair of boy’s trousers, and on his hands should be a
pair of shoes. The trousers should be drawn down until they reach the
heels, like a man’s. This completes the lower part of the dwarf.
The second person stands behind the first and passes his arms around
his shoulders. By putting a coat over the arms and buttoning it down
the figure of the first impersonator and then throwing a cape around
his neck so arranged as to cover the head of the person behind, you
will complete the dwarf’s dress.
Of course, you may have to improvise a jacket to fit, or you may dress
the dwarf fantastically, as a Turk, or woman, for instance, but the
means of doing so will suggest themselves readily.
The hands of the second person act as the hands of the dwarf, and as
the latter makes his appearance they raise his hat when he bows to the
audience. The exhibitor then begins his history, which can be made
very ludicrous; and he should recite the various accomplishments of the
dwarf, including dancing, and even his ability to suspend himself in
the air without support.
The dwarf should then be invited to entertain the audience, and he
should begin by making a little speech, in either a thin falsetto or a
heavy bass voice, assumed, of course, to add to the grotesque effect.
The second player makes gestures to the speech, which in themselves
will create a laugh.
Then the dwarf should begin to dance. The hands of the first performer
do this, and all of a sudden, in the middle of a quickstep, they both
are lifted from the table and remain suspended in the air for a quarter
of a minute. Then they drop to the table again, and the dwarf appears
to be exhausted with this unusual effort.
In making his parting salute to the audience the dwarf astonishes them
all by putting both feet to his mouth and throwing kisses with his
toes.
=Stick-and-Pea Amusement.= A box of toothpicks and a pint of dried peas
will furnish excellent amusement for children on a rainy day. Soak the
peas until they can be pierced with a toothpick. Tables, chairs, boxes,
figures, letters, etc., can be made by sticking the toothpicks into the
peas.
=An Introduction to the Doll Family.= If you straighten a hairpin, then
bend one end of it until it resembles a shepherd’s crook, and hang it
on the edge of a table, it will swing back and forth many times like
the pendulum of a clock. The slightest touch sets it in motion, and if
you have just the right angle to the crook it will sway back and forth
many times.
Suppose you fix several hairpins in this fashion and set them all to
swinging at once. It will much resemble a lot of very slender gentlemen
bobbing up and down in stately, graceful bows. Very well; suppose we
have some real gentlemen to bow to us. Get two or three old magazines
and look through the advertising sections. You will find lots and lots
of figures of all kinds, men, women, and animals; some of them just the
size you want. Cut out some of these very carefully, selecting those
just a little longer than your bent hairpins.
Now thrust a hairpin through one of the figures and hang the bent end
of the hairpin on the edge of a table; or, better still, a big book
whose cover overlaps the leaves inside. Blow gently at the figure and
it will answer by bowing most politely, bobbing back and forth in the
funniest way you can imagine. Now fix the rest of the figures in the
same way and you will have one of the most amusing collections of dolls
that ever was. Whenever you blow at them, they all will nod and bow
at once, but no two will move alike, for the shapes of their figures
will all be different, and the different ways in which their weight or
centre of gravity inclines them will cause the various motions.
Just try it with some of your little friends and see what fun these odd
little actors will make for you.
=Second Sight.= This cannot fail to make a hit, providing the rule is
not generally known by the audience.
Take a piece of paper and write on it the figures 1,089. Fold this
paper and ask one of your spectators to place it in his pocket without
looking at it. Now ask another spectator to think of three figures
(_a_). He having done so, get him to write them upon another piece of
paper. Now ask him to write the same figures under the first row, only
in reverse (_b_) order. Subtract the smaller from the larger (_c_). Now
reverse the remainder (_d_) and your total will be the answer on the
piece of paper in the first spectator’s pocket. For instance:
(_a_) Number thought of 621
(_b_) Result of reversion 126
———
(_c_) “ “ subtraction 495
(_d_) “ “ second reversion 594
———
(_e_) “ “ addition 1,089
=The Blind Feeding the Blind.= Spread a sheet on the floor, and having
blindfolded two players, seat them on the floor facing each other. Give
to each a spoon and saucer containing some dry food such as ground
pop-corn or wheat grains and let each attempt to feed the other.
=An Amateur Vaudeville.= For the entertainment of a large number of
people, an amateur vaudeville program meets every requirement, and does
so in a unique manner.
If you go over your list of friends and acquaintances, you will find
among them many a clever person who has some talent which can be
utilized in preparing the program; this one can dance, that recite,
another sings coon songs, some do “cake-walks,” some play, others sing,
one can tell an Irish story or a Dutch one, or perhaps perform a feat
of legerdemain, and so on, until your program is filled.
=The Elusive Coin.= Set a coin upon the edge of a table, and, closing
one eye by the opposite hand (that is, the left eye closed by the
right hand and vice-versa); attempt to knock it off with the forefinger
of the disengaged hand.
You will find that your judgment is at fault, and that, in nine cases
out of ten you are dabbing away at nothing but thin air.
To do this effectively, you should stand at arm’s length from the coin,
and you will be surprised at your apparent bad judgment.
=Novel Paper-Cutting.= A long strip of paper is shown to the audience;
it is then rolled up into cylindrical form, a few cuts are made with
a scissors, or if the paper is not too thick, it may be torn with the
fingers. You make a twist or two, and the audience are surprised to see
what a good resemblance to a “fir tree,” five or more feet in length,
makes its appearance in the performer’s hands. This is managed in the
following way: Cut a strip of paper about nine feet long and eight
inches wide; to increase the effect, the strip of paper can be made
up of three or four short lengths of different colored papers pasted
together. Roll the paper up into a cylinder of about 1¼ inches in
diameter, then with a pair of scissors make cuts through the cylinder
from one end, to halfway down its length. These cuts should be at
small, equal distances from each other around the roll. Then bend over
into horizontal position each piece of loose paper to form the branches
of the tree, pull out from the centre of the top in the same way as for
the familiar barber’s pole; the tree will then be complete.
To thoroughly grasp the idea, the instruction should be carefully
followed with scissors and paper in hand.
=The Mysterious Remainder.= A mother of several children amused them
frequently by the following simple puzzle. It was a never-failing
source of entertainment and a delightful mystery. She never told the
secret. Had she done so, much of the charm would have been lost.
“Think of a number.”
Perhaps some one would think of four.
“Double it.”
The child thought, but did not say eight.
Perhaps she would say, “Add six to it.”
“Divide it by two.”
“Take away the first number you thought of and the remainder will be
three.”
Sure enough, four from seven does leave three; the children were much
puzzled to know how mother knew. The next thing was always a request to
try it again.
Suppose 1000 was chosen.
“Double it,” was the order.
“Add ten to it,” was the next command.
“Divide by two.”
“Take away the first number thought of and the remainder will be five.”
One might think of six, another of eleven, another of twenty. The
result was the same. Mother could always guess right.
When the children grew older they were surprised to learn that mother
did not know the number thought of at all. They learned for themselves
that the remainder was always half of the number added.
=Home Field-Sports.= (_a_) ONE-YARD DASH. This race consists in the
attempt to push a penny a distance of one yard across the floor by
means of the nose.
(_b_) TUG OF WAR. A raisin is tied firmly in the middle of a long piece
of twine, and each contestant takes a firm hold of one end of the twine
in his mouth, and begins to chew this string for the raisin. No one is
allowed to use his hands.
(_c_) STANDING HIGH JUMP. Three doughnuts are suspended in a doorway
about four inches above the mouths of the jumpers. The contestants with
hands tied attempt to take a bite. One bite from the doughnut wins a
prize.
(_d_) HURDLE RACE. The contestants take seats and thread six needles.
The one who gets through first is the winner.
(_e_) DRINKING RACE. Each contestant is given a glass of water, which
is to be absorbed by means of a spoon.
(_f_) BUN RACE. Two poles are set up at a good distance apart,
connected with a clothesline, from which are suspended strings of
different lengths, according to the height of each boy, and a bun is
tied to each string. The boys line up, hands tied behind their backs,
and at the signal each tries to eat his bun. The constant moving of the
line caused by their efforts makes it almost impossible to get a bite.
Soon a boy gets a hold with his teeth, gets his bun on the ground, and,
with his hands still behind, finishes the bun and gets the prize.
(_g_) CRACKER-EATING CONTEST (for girls only). Girls choose sides and
line up facing each other. Each girl has a cracker which she is to chew
and swallow as quickly as possible. The side which has a girl able to
whistle first wins the prize.
(_h_) RAINY-DAY RACE. This race is run by several girls. They stand
in a line with a closed satchel in front of each one, in which is a
pair of rubbers, a pair of gloves, and also an umbrella. When “three”
is counted, they open the satchels, take out the rubbers, put them
on, take out the gloves, put them on, open their umbrellas, take the
satchels and walk (not run) about one hundred feet to a line. Here they
lower the umbrellas, take off their gloves and rubbers, put them in the
satchels, close them and return, carrying the satchels and having the
umbrellas closed. The first one back to the starting point wins. Other
additions may be made.
=The Gentlemen Nurse-maids.= It is best to have several ladies, who
know the trick, to dress the dummies, as it is too long a task for one.
When the gentlemen are seated, carefully blindfold each one, and
request him to double up his right fist. Upon the back of the fist mark
the eyes, nose, and mouth of a face with a burnt match or a little
water-color. Tie around this a doll’s cap, or a lace frill or muslin
ruffle, and fasten around the wrist a full white apron or skirt. Bend
the left arm to lie across the waist, and put the right fist into the
inner bend of the elbow, drawing the apron down over the right arm, and
each of the blindfolded gentlemen will appear to be tenderly nursing a
young baby. Have blindfolds removed.
=New Year’s Resolutions for Others.= The simplest entertainments
are often the most successful. The literary efforts are sometimes
desirable, but for a really enjoyable, social time, the following
is sure to be a success. This should be arranged on New Year’s eve.
Resolutions for improvement in conduct for the coming year are then
in order. Supply your guests with pencil and paper. A party invited
to see the old year out is quite sure to be an intimate one. For the
resolutions, have each guest write a set of them for some one else in
the party. This may be decided by inviting each one to write of his
neighbor or by writing the names on paper and letting each one draw
his subject. They are to be collected and read to the company. The
writer is at liberty to sign any name to his resolutions.
=Can You Draw a Watch-face?= Some people have the happy faculty of
seeing what they look at, others go through the world blindly. We may
look at a familiar object numberless times, and yet be ignorant of many
of its striking characteristics. An amusing little test of this faculty
can be arranged. There is no object with which we should be more
familiar than the face of a watch, yet when we attempt to reproduce it,
we will be astonished at our ignorance.
Have prepared squares of cardboard with pencil attached. If it is
designed to use them as souvenirs, one side may be decorated, and the
date and occasion written on it.
Provide one of these for each guest, and when you are ready for your
entertainment request each of the company to draw on the blank side,
the face of a watch as he can remember it. It is well to furnish
something to use as a guide for the first circle, as that has very
little to do with the memory of detail, and only rarely is one able to
draw even an imperfect circle. Allow all the time required, and when
the papers are collected, a committee can judge on the merits, if it is
designed to give a prize.
=The Endless Thread.= The joker is seen walking about, until some one
observes a piece of white cotton thread sticking on the back of his
coat. Of course, the unfortunate individual is asked whether he has
been sewing his buttons on, etc., being generally laughed at, until
some one attempts to remove the piece of cotton. Then the laugh is
turned, for, as the obliging gentleman pulls the cotton away from the
joker’s coat, so does it become longer until some hundreds of feet
have been extracted. The amusement is then brought to a climax by the
gentleman turning round and drily remarking, “Well, I never! You had
better start putting that back now!”
Before entering the room, the party that is going to play the joke
should provide himself with a reel of white cotton. Without breaking
the cotton, two or three feet must be unwound and threaded through a
needle, which must be passed through the centre of the back of his
coat. Then the reel should be deposited in his inside breast pocket,
and the coat put on; afterwards pulling a little of the cotton through
the garment to see that the reel works properly; the needle, of course,
being removed, and the cotton being cut until only two or three inches
project through the coat at the back. Now it will appear that the
cotton is only sticking to the nap of the coat, but as soon as any one
pulls, the reel will revolve and allow the thread to be dragged out
until the supply is exhausted.
=The Telltale Glass.= Procure an ordinary glass tumbler, and invert
it on the table. Then request anybody present to lend you a penny.
Placing the coin on the top of the glass, you leave the room, telling
the company at the same time, that if a person will take the penny and
conceal it, you will tell them, when you return, which person has it.
Some one having concealed the coin, you make your appearance, and
request each one round the table to place his first finger on the
glass, one after another, and not all at once. This done, you take up
the glass, and place it to your ear, remarking at the same time that,
by the aid of the sound which you hear, you will be able to tell which
person has the coin. Then you listen for a second or two, put down the
glass, and turning to the person who has the coin, make some remark,
such as “Mr. —--, please give me the penny.” Whereupon the person
addressed produces the coin and hands it to you.
How you got to know who possesses the coin will seem remarkable to the
company, you having been out of the room when the coin was taken off
the glass and concealed.
This is how it is done: when you tell the persons to place their
fingers upon the glass, your confederate, who is one of them, must
place his on after the person who has the coin.
=Pairing Ten Half-dimes.= Place ten half-dimes in a row upon a table.
Then taking up any one of the series, place it upon some other, with
this proviso, that you pass over just ten cents. Repeat this till there
are no single half-dimes left.