half-dollar. Next pick up the other coin with the right hand, and place
the hand behind you, being careful to keep the left well in front, and
always in sight of your audience. Make some few remarks concerning the
difficulty of the trick, and at last pronounce the magic word “Pass”; at
the same time clink the two coins together, as if one had hit the other
in the meeting. Then bring the right hand forward, and, opening it and
the left at the same time, show that the coin has actually left the
latter and entered the former, as you promised it should do.
HOW TO ROB PETER AND ENRICH PAUL.
Twenty pieces of money are necessary for this trick; and two-cent
pieces, or quarters, are perhaps the most convenient sizes to use. Of
these, borrow fifteen from your audience, the other five have at hand,
but concerning which your friends are to know nothing.
Having borrowed them from the company, count out five, and give them to
one of your audience, while to another you give ten, and after having
seen that the latter counts his carefully, take those given to the
first, mutter some cabalistic nonsense, and order them to pass into the
hands of the one who has the ten pieces. Finally, request him to count
them again, when, strange to relate, he will find that he has fifteen,
instead of the ten pieces which he was supposed to have.
The trick is performed in this manner: Upon receiving the money, throw
it upon a plate or box cover—the plate is the best—and passing it to the
first person, request him to take five of the pieces away. Now give the
remaining money, with the plate, to the second, and ask him to drop each
coin as he counts it, on the plate, that all may know he has counted
correctly.
Then comes the only difficult part of the trick. Ask the one who has
counted the coins to hold both his hands, while you pour the money into
them, and taking the plate in your left hand, pour the contents into
your right, where you have already _five more palmed_ (the five the
audience have not seen). Now pour the fifteen into the hands of number
two, and impress upon him the importance of keeping his hands well
closed over the money. This will prevent his noticing that an addition
has been made. Take the five from person number one, and pretend to
place them in your other hand, but instead palm them. Do your talking
and command the money to pass. If you have taken proper care in palming
your coins, the audience, as well as the one holding the money, will be
greatly amazed by the trick.
DANGER OF REPETITION.
In almost any performance of this kind, the audience, especially if of
one’s intimate friends, are anxious for the performer to try again
whatever strikes them as strange or mysterious, being of course on their
guard to watch certain movements, at points in the performance which
they had scarcely noticed before.
So it is very unsafe to try any trick over again immediately after it
has been once performed, or in fact during the same evening; although
perhaps it might be safely done if a number of different ones
intervened. If beseeched to try it “just once more,” make as graceful an
excuse as you can, and suggest in its place something equally
interesting.
THE INEXHAUSTIBLE HAT.
For this trick, seven half-dollars are required, and are concealed in
the right hand by “palming,” as the five two-cent pieces were hid in the
former trick.
First, borrow of one of your audience a tall silk hat, promising to
return it “as good as new” at the end of the performance. Let the
audience examine it to see that the owner is not in league with
yourself, and then, walking to the back of the room, place it upon a
table. While walking toward the table, with the back toward the
audience, palm your coins, which should be held in some convenient
pocket, readily accessible when the moment comes for using them.
Next, turn to your audience, having your coins well concealed in your
right hand, and request some one to lend you _six_ half-dollars; but
immediately, under the pretense of disliking to trouble them, step
forward, and, excusing yourself for the liberty, take a coin from the
folds of a lady’s dress, by simply letting one of those concealed in
your hand slip to the end of your fingers. If you have had sufficient
practice in “coining” you will find no difficulty in doing this, and
your audience will be inclined to believe you actually found the money
secreted in the fabric, although they may believe you had some hand in
placing it in its hiding-place.
If you have been thus far successful, go to the hat, and, calling
attention to the fact, drop the half-dollar into it; then, as if you
imagined some one was doubtful whether the coin was really in the hat,
make some remark to the effect that if they do not believe you dropped
it you will do so again, at the same moment thrusting your hand down to
the crown to take it in sight again.
At the moment the hand is in this position, carefully place the six
half-dollars on the bottom, and let one remain in the palm. Pick up one
of these six, and holding it high, let it drop, being careful, however,
that it does not hit the other five.
The coin in your hand you proceed to take from any unusual place which
may occur to you—the window curtain, portière, a gentleman’s beard, or a
lady’s coiffure, are those most naturally suggested. As soon as you take
a half-dollar from its hiding-place, you pretend to place it in your
left hand, and from there command it to pass to the hat, but in reality
you palm it in your right where it is ready for the next position from
which you desire to take it. Proceed in this way until you have gathered
in six half-dollars.
As these have been lying quietly in the hat during all this time, you
have no anxiety about sending them there, and must simply avoid going
near it while apparently filling it with the money. When the last silver
piece has been sent to its destination, request the audience to select
some one of its members to count the money in the hat, and see that none
has been lost in its flight hence. It will, of course, be found all
right, and great will be the curiosity to know how you placed it there;
but do not allow yourself to be influenced into trying it a second time,
for with the close watching you will undergo your secret will be
discovered.
ANOTHER HAT TRICK.
The hat may well be called “inexhaustible,” for all manner of things may
be made to come from its prolific crown, and in such profusion, that a
receptacle of double its size would hardly contain them.
If two boys have learned the art of palming well, they may assist each
other, and, if at all ingenious, invent a variety of tricks for an
evening’s amusement.
The following is but a suggestion, which may be varied by different
materials:
Let them borrow from the audience two tall silk hats, and place them
upon chairs standing some distance from each other. Each having provided
himself with a small rubber ball—the one resembling the other as nearly
as possible—they are ready to proceed. The hats were of course empty
when passed to the stage, but as the first boy takes his place, back of
the chair which contains a hat, he should glance down into it, and with
surprise, draw out a ball which he has had concealed in his right hand,
show it to the audience and then pretend to put it in his left hand, but
instead _palm_ it in the right; at the same time extending his left
toward his partner. The second boy stretches out his right arm as if to
receive the ball, and at the moment his hand touches the fingers of No.
1, he lets that which he has been palming in his right hand slip down to
his fingers, as if he had just received it from his friend. Now,
pretending to change it to his left, he palms it, as No. 1 has done, and
finally drops his left hand, which is supposed to hold the ball, into
the hat in front of him, at the same time giving the side or crown a rap
with one of his fingers, to imitate the falling of the ball. This same
thing may be repeated indefinitely, until you have balls enough to stock
the village. When you see the audience is beginning to tire, let No. 1
say, “My hat is empty; shall I help you count the balls in yours?” No. 2
nods assent, and looks down, as if expecting the hat to be full. He must
then pretend great surprise, and taking up the hat must turn it upside
down, gently shake it—remembering it is borrowed—and with the audience
wonder what has become of all the balls.
Eggs, small lemons or oranges, little china dolls, and a number of small
toys may be substituted for the rubber balls above given.
THE PERAMBULATING EGG.
This trick is one of the easiest, while at the same time one of the most
pleasing, of the magician’s arts. In it an egg, apparently without any
impulse beyond that which resides within itself, travels over a hat, and
after reconnoitering it in its every nook and corner, passes gracefully
over to another, and commences its journey of discovery around the
second in much the same manner it has traversed the first.
Two hats are borrowed from the audience, and a dish of eggs is placed
upon the table by their side, when the performer requests the lady
stationed at the piano to give some music, and the exhibition commences.
The egg which is used is merely a shell, the inside having been sucked
or blown out through tiny holes made at either end. A slender silken
thread is tied to the upper button of the performer’s waistcoat, while
attached to the other end is a small piece of wax or other sticky
substance. Just before the performance commences, show the dish of eggs,
and then pass away from them and back of your audience, to show that
they (the eggs) are in no way attached to your person.
As the music strikes up, walk to the table, take the shell from the
dish, making it appear that you had no choice, but took the first one
you chanced to touch, and place it inside the hat, at the same moment
pressing the bit of wax to its side.
As the egg is _in the hat_ it is necessary for it to pass out upon the
outside surface. To do this the hat is slowly moved downward until the
egg is even with the brim; then by careful management and a little
practice, the effect is produced of the egg walking up the hat instead
of the hat being lowered to the egg. You may now take the egg in your
hand and, holding the hat with the crown upward in a horizontal
position, place it beneath the egg, and turn it slowly away from
yourself. The effect will be that the egg is traveling up hill. By
placing the other hat close to the one upon which you are performing,
and slowly drawing it under the egg, the latter will appear to pass over
to the crown of the second hat, and very much the same movements may be
repeated on this as on the first.
THE MAGIC DISPATCHER.
Borrow a quarter or half-dollar from your audience, and ask the owner to
place some mark upon it by which it may be identified. Wrap this in the
corner of a handkerchief, and give it to some one to hold. Next take a
ball of yarn, and having placed it in a tumbler, ask some other person
in your audience to hold his hand over the top of the tumbler in such a
way that the ball will be kept in place, and the yarn will run smoothly
through the fingers. Hold one end of the yarn some distance from the
tumbler, or near where the coin is held, and inform your audience that,
as your dispatcher is in good working order, you will proceed to send
the coin your friend has in his hand into the very center of the ball of
yarn. Take the opposite corner of the handkerchief from the one holding
the money in your right hand, and having counted one, two, three,
command the coin to pass, at the same instant snatching the handkerchief
from your friend’s hand. Next commence to unwind the ball, being careful
to keep some distance from the tumbler while so doing.
[Illustration]
As the yarn is nearing its end, the silver piece will drop upon the
bottom of the tumbler, and nothing is left for you to do but to request
the owner of it to step forward and see if it is the one he lent you.
In this, as in many of the tricks you have already learned, very little
preparation is required. First, a coin of the same denomination as the
one borrowed is sewed in a corner of the handkerchief. The ball is wound
upon a stick of a particular shape, which is drawn out when the coin is
to be substituted in its place. This stick should be about two and a
half inches long, one and a quarter inches wide, and an eighth of an
inch thick, rounded off at one end, and scraped until it is perfectly
smooth.
When winding your ball, be careful to have the rounded end of the stick
in the center of the ball, and the other end projecting slightly on one
side.
After you have procured your coin, palmed it, and given the handkerchief
containing the other into the hands of some person to hold, go for your
ball, which should be at some distance from your audience, that you may
have time to draw out the stick and insert the coin in its place, while
you are walking back to the table upon which is your tumbler.
The trick is now done, but the audience must be kept ignorant of the
fact, while your conversation and subsequent acting should shroud it in
all the mystery possible.
THE TURKISH RING TRICK.
A few years ago I had the good fortune to see a famous magician perform.
Many and wonderful were the things he did, and at times it seemed as if
other than human skill must be aiding him in his craft.
Among others, he gave the following trick, which was as enthusiastically
applauded as many of the others. It had for me no element of
strangeness, as I was already initiated into its secret. Since it has
ever been a favorite in the little amateur performances we have from
time to time been in the habit of giving, I hope it may gain a wider
popularity in the larger circle of friends to whom I am about to
disclose it.
[Illustration]
To the public it appears as follows: A plain gold ring is borrowed,
placed in a handkerchief, and given to a person to hold. A small stick
is held by two others, in such a position that its center is hidden by
the handkerchief; each person holds an end. The magician commands the
ring to pass, at the same moment snatching the handkerchief, a corner of
which he has taken, away from the one holding it—when behold! the ring,
which a moment ago was in the spectator’s hand, is now whirling around
the stick, which it evidently has just reached.
It is performed as follows: When the ring is taken from its owner, it is
palmed, and not placed in the handkerchief, as one is led to suppose,
the handkerchief being supplied, as you probably have already guessed,
with a ring which is sewed in its end. In passing the stick to the
holders, you have simply to pass it through the right hand, in the
center of which your ring is palmed, and, of course, through the ring
itself. Then, holding it until it is hidden by the handkerchief, is not
difficult to do. When you first take up the stick, be sure and use your
left hand, so that you will have it ready to pass through your ring
without any awkward or suspicious movements. Finally, pulling the
handkerchief suddenly and quickly across the stick, causes the ring to
whirl upon it very much as if it had just dropped in its place. It is
always well, when performing with the handkerchief, to have a second and
similar one in your pocket, to show in case suspicion should be aroused
concerning it.
HOW TO MELT AND RE-COIN A HALF-DOLLAR.
Supply your table with a candle in a light candlestick, and a glass of
water. When ready to perform, request some one of your audience to lend
you a half-dollar, suggesting at the same time, that a new bright coin
would best suit your purpose. Have it marked that the owner may be sure
of its identity.
If nothing but dull coins are to be found, have a small bottle of
ammonia at hand, and holding the piece in your hand, pour a few drops of
the liquid upon it; let it stand a few moments and then wipe with a bit
of cloth. Treat both sides in the same way, and brighten up the edges in
like manner. All this while you may be talking of this treatment, as if
it were intended to render the metal more fusible, but be careful not to
mention what the fluid is, or for what it is really intended. This
treatment is, of course, not necessary in the case of new coins, in
which case it can be omitted.
When the silver is bright, and presents the appearance of a new coin,
take it between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand, look at it
carefully, and then pretend to drop it into your left hand, but instead
palm it in your right.
Now continue to move your left hand as if working the coin around in it,
keeping up a continual flow of small talk during the whole performance.
The difficulty of melting silver, the amount of heat required, and the
comparative hardness of different metals, forming good subjects, with
which you will become familiar before your public exhibition.
To render the idea of palming an apparent impossibility, take up the
candle in your right hand. This will render the holding of the coin less
troublesome, and appear to your audience as a conclusive evidence that
the half-dollar is in your left hand.
After you have pretended to place the coin in your left hand, do not for
an instant forget to appear as if it really was there, and keep that
hand always in sight of your audience.
Having taken the lighted candle in your right, hold the left hand above
the flame, and move the fingers as if allowing the silver to pass down,
drop by drop, into the candle itself. If, just before this, previous to
taking the candle, you could catch up the glass for a drink and drop a
spoonful of water into the hollow of your left hand, the dropping of it
into the candle-flame would add to the impression of melting silver. You
can wet your hand slightly in many natural ways, as no one would imagine
the water had anything to do with the trick. Continue to pretend to drop
the silver, until it would naturally be gone; then, without removing
your hand, open it and announce that the half-dollar is melted, and can
be found in the candlestick; assuring the donor that he need not be
alarmed, as you can bring it out as it was before it went in, if he will
but have patience.
Put the candlestick down upon the table, and pretend to pick out bits of
silver from the various parts of it with the right hand, placing them as
they are gathered in the palm of the left hand. At a convenient moment,
when the right is exactly above the left hand, drop the half-dollar into
it, and the trick is done. But it would not do to let the audience know
this, so you must continue to work the left hand as if molding the coin
in shape, blowing with the mouth into the palm as if cooling the heated
mass; toss it from hand to hand as if to cool it more rapidly, and
finally return it to the spectator from whom it was borrowed.
BURNING THE CENTER FROM A HANDKERCHIEF.
The young performer will find but little difficulty in performing this
simple sleight-of-hand trick successfully. A lighted candle, a small
stick, or magic wand, and a piece of thin cambric or muslin about six
inches square, are the materials required.
Place the lighted candle on your table, and the wand on another table or
shelf some distance from the former with the bit of cambric behind it.
Now borrow of some lady present a handkerchief, a gentleman’s being
inconveniently large. Take the handkerchief by the center, pull it
carefully between the fingers and thumb of left hand, and advance toward
the candle.
Just as you are about to burn it, stop and say, as if in answer to some
remark overheard, “Oh, no, I have not changed the handkerchief. See!”
and at the same time allow another inspection of it.
Suggest now to its owner, if, in case her handkerchief is burned, she
would like it restored again to its proper condition; and, upon her
answering in the affirmative, announce the necessity of the magic wand
for that purpose. Walk to the spot where the wand is lying, and take it
up, managing to pick up at the same time between the left thumb and
forefinger the bit of cambric; the center of this piece should be
pointed outward so that it may be readily pulled out at the desired
moment, the remainder being neatly rolled up and palmed under the thumb.
This piece should have been rolled up with the central point slightly
projecting when first placed on the shelf, and the performer should
manage to turn his back toward the audience for a few moments when
taking up the wand.
Place the wand in one of your coat pockets as you advance toward your
candle, and again take the handkerchief, putting it this time into the
left hand, and pull up the small piece of material, completely hiding
the center of the real handkerchief between the second and third fingers
and the palm of the hand.
The portion of the cambric extending beyond the thumb and forefinger may
now be safely burned, and the audience may be sure the handkerchief is
burned, as you can make some display of rolling it up in a ball, taking
care, however, to separate the burned piece from the real article. Now
take the wand from the pocket, and at the same time manage to drop the
small semi-burned piece of muslin unperceived into the pocket; touch the
handkerchief with the wand, and, after some magic word or words, return
the handkerchief to the owner to be examined, remarking that you hope
not even an odor of smoke is noticeable about it.
Whenever displaying feats in magic, it is better for the performer to go
forward among the audience if he has anything to show or have examined,
than to allow the latter to come to his portion of the room. His table
has often some things upon it which if seen near by would do much toward
dispelling the mystery connected with his works.
A wide space should be left between his table and the front row of
spectators, as he often has occasion to step between the two in some of
his feats.
The lights also should be judiciously arranged, so as not to shine too
directly upon his hands or person, or even upon his table. Always have
everything you can possibly need in some easily accessible place, and in
just the position most convenient to be taken.
Decide beforehand what tricks you will perform, and in just what order
they are to be given. Of course, all the materials are not to be spread
on the table at the commencement of the entertainment, as they would be
in the way, and confuse you in your first acts; but they should all be
at hand, and while articles are being examined which have passed through
the various vicissitudes in a former trick, you can utilize the time
when the attention is thus carried away from yourself to gather together
and properly place the materials for your next feat.
Never be induced to perform a trick a second time, unless nearly a whole
evening’s performance intervenes. Even then it is pretty sure to be
detected.
THE MAGIC ROPE.
Take a piece of clothes-line, six or seven yards long, and pass it among
your audience for inspection. While it is going its rounds, have your
hands securely tied with a handkerchief, which should be passed around
the wrists and knotted on one side.
When the rope is returned to you, drop one end between your arms, or
inside the handkerchief, and request some one to take both ends of the
rope and pull, to make sure your hands are firmly tied. It would now
seem impossible to get the rope off, unless the hands were untied or the
ends released. After two or three rapid motions, however, the rope drops
to the floor, while your hands remain tied as at first.
[Illustration]
First, do not have your hands tied so tightly that you cannot move them;
this can be arranged by holding them slightly apart while they are being
tied. After the rope has been pulled by the holder, it is somewhat
relaxed; and then, by rubbing it between the wrists a loop may be
formed, into which the second finger may be slipped. The whole hand is
now readily thrust through, and only a jerk is necessary to send the
rope upon the floor. In performing this trick, work as quickly as
possible, that your movements may not be easily followed.
A CAMPING-OUT COOKING-STOVE.
Although the winter season is now well upon us, and its reigning king,
Jack Frost, jealous if we but mention the “camp-fire,” has covered its
very site with ice and snow, we need not fear incurring his displeasure
by the following exhibition.