Yankee, who has been everywhere, seen everything, and knows everybody.
He has explored the arid jungles of Africa, drawn forth the spotted
cobra by his prehensile tail, snowballed the Russian bear on the snowy
slopes of Alpine forests, and sold wooden nutmegs to the unsuspecting
innocents of Patagonia. He has peddled patent medicines in the desert
of Sahara, and hung his hat and carved his name on the extreme top of
the North Pole. The only difficulty I find in describing him is that I
cannot tell what he cannot do. I will therefore set him in motion, as
he hates to be quiet.”
When wound up he pushes his hat back on his head and begins to whittle.
IX. THE CANNIBAL.
“Here you behold a curious Cannibal from the Feejee Islands, first
discovered by Captain Cook, who came very near being cooked by him. In
that case the worthy Captain would never have completed his celebrated
voyage round the world. This individual was greatly interested in
the cause of foreign missions. Indeed, he received the missionaries
gladly, and gave them a place near his heart. He was finally converted
by a very tough tract distributor, who had been brought up in a
Bloomsbury boarding-house, and was induced to become civilized. One
of his evidences of a change of life was shown by his statement that
he now had but one wife, like the English. ‘What have you done with
the other twelve which you said you had a month ago?’ asked the tract
distributor. ‘Oh, I have eaten them!’ replied the gentle savage. This
Cannibal was very fond of children, especially those of a tender age;
he holds in his hand a war-club, with which he prepared his daily
meals, also a war-whoop, which is an original one.”
Costume.—Brown jersey and drawers, face and hands colored to match,
very short skirt, feather head-dress, large rings in nose and ears. One
hand holds a war-club, the other a child’s hoop.
Movement.—When wound up he brandishes his club and raises hoop to his
mouth.
X. BABES IN THE WOOD.
Two men, the bigger the better, one dressed as a very small boy, the
other as a little girl; each holds a penny bun.
“In the next group you behold the Babes in the Wood, who had the
misfortune to have an uncle. This wicked man hired a villain to carry
these babes away into the wood and leave them to wander until death
put an end to their sorrow, and the little robins covered them up with
leaves. These lifelike figures represent the children just after taking
their leaves of the villain. By a master stroke of genius the artist
has shown very delicately that human nature is not utterly depraved,
for the villain has placed in the hand of each of the innocents a penny
bun as a parting present. I have been often asked ‘why I did not have a
figure of the villain also added to the group?’ but my reply always is,
‘Villains are too common to be any curiosity.’
“Wind ’em up, John.”
Each Babe offers to the other a bite of bun alternately.
XI. LITTLE RED RIDING-HOOD.
A young lady carrying a basket on her arm. Costume in accordance with
the story.
“Here you behold Little Red Riding-Hood, a model of grand-filial
devotion, for she was so fond of her granny that she wandered through
the forest to take the old lady’s luncheon, and was eaten by the wolf
for so doing, which is a warning to all children to be careful how they
do much for their grandmothers, unless they are rich and can leave them
something in their wills. This personage was an especial favorite with
children, who love to read about her, and shed tears over her unhappy
fate, although some of them think that had she been as smart as her
dress, she would have been too smart to have mistaken the wolf for her
grandmother, unless _she_ had been a very homely old lady, or _he_ had
been much better-looking than most wolves.”
When wound up, the figure curtseys and holds out her basket.
XII. LADY WITH GOLDEN LOCKS.
Young lady, with long fair hair, flowing over her shoulders; holds
bottle (labelled Mrs. Blank’s Hair Restorer) and curling-tongs.
“This is one of the most expensive of my costly collection, for blonde
hair is very high, and you see how heavy and long are the golden locks
which adorn her beautiful face. I cannot pass this figure without
saying a few words in praise of the wonderful Hair Restorer, for this
image had grown so bald from the effect of long journeys by road
or rail that she was exhibited for two years as the Old Man of the
Mountain. One bottle of this wonderful fluid, however, restored her
hair to its present growth and beauty, and a little of the fluid being
accidentally spilled upon the pine box in which the figure was carried,
it immediately became an excellent hair-trunk.”
When wound up the lady applies the hair-restorative and curls her hair.
“You have all gazed with rapture upon my wonderful Collection, and your
bewildered senses may now prepare for a new sensation, as I am about
to wind up all these beautiful and lifelike figures at once, so that
you can see them all work together in harmony.
“John, set all the Waxworks going.
“I thank you for your attention and attendance, and cordially invite
you all to come again to-morrow and see ‘Jarley’s Far-famed Waxworks.’”
All the figures being wound up at once go through their motions in
unison.
OPTICAL ILLUSIONS.
RAISING A GHOST.
Place a small magic lantern in a box large enough to contain a small
swing dressing-glass, which will reflect the light thrown on it by
the lantern in such a way, that it will pass out at the aperture made
at the top of the box, which aperture should be oval, and of a size
adapted to the cone of light to pass through it. There should be a
flap with hinges, to cover the opening, that the inside of the box
may not be seen. There must be holes in that part of the box which is
over the lantern, to let the smoke out; and over this must be placed a
chafing-dish, of an oblong figure, large enough to hold several lighted
coals. This chafing-dish, for the better carrying on the deception,
may be inclosed in a painted tin box, about a foot high, with a hole
at top, and should stand on four feet, to let the smoke of the lantern
escape. There must also be a glass planned to move up and down in the
groove, and so managed by a cord and pulley, that it may be raised up
and let down by the cord coming through the outside of the box. On this
glass, the spectre (or any other figure you please) must be painted, in
a contracted or squat form, as the figure will reflect a greater length
than it is drawn. When you have lighted the lamp in the lantern, and
placed the mirror in a proper direction, put the box on a table, and,
setting the chafing-dish in it, throw some incense in powder on the
coals. You then open the trap door and let down the glass in the grove
slowly, and when you perceive the smoke diminish, draw up the glass
that the figure may disappear, and shut the trap door. This exhibition
will afford much wonder. The lights in the room must be extinguished;
and the box should be placed on a high table, that the aperture through
which the light comes out may not be seen.
A MAGIC LANTERN TRICK.
The light of the magic lantern, and the color of images, may not only
be painted on a cloth, but also reflected by a cloud of smoke. Provide
a box of wood or pasteboard, about four feet high, and seven or eight
inches square at bottom, but diminishing as it ascends, so that its
aperture at top be but six inches long, and half an inch wide. At
the bottom of this box there must be a door that shuts quite close,
by which you are to place in the box a chafing-dish with hot coals,
on which is to be thrown incense, whose smoke goes out in a cloud at
the top of the box: on this cloud, you are to throw the light that
comes out of the lantern, and which you bring into a smaller compass
by drawing out the movable tube. In this representation, the motion
of the smoke does not at all change the figures; which appear so
conspicuous that the spectator thinks he can grasp them with his hand.
In the experiment, some of the rays passing through the smoke, the
representation will be much less vivid than on the cloth; and if care
be not taken to reduce the light to its smallest focus, it will be
still more imperfect.
THE PHANTASMAGORIA.
In showing the common magic lantern, the spectators see a round
circle of light with the figures in the middle of it; but, in the
Phantasmagoria, they see the figures only, without any circle of light.
The exhibition is produced by a magic lantern, placed on that side
of a half transparent screen which is opposite to that on which the
spectators are, instead of being on the same side, as in the ordinary
exhibition of the magic lantern. To favor the deception, the slides are
made perfectly opaque, except in those places that contain the figures
to be exhibited, and in these light parts the glass is covered with a
more or less transparent tint, according to the effect required. The
easiest way is to draw the figures with water colors on thin paper, and
afterward varnish them. To imitate the natural motions of the objects
represented, several pieces of glass, placed behind each other, are
occasionally employed. By removing the lantern to different distances,
and at the same time, altering, more or less, the position of the
lens, the images are made to increase and diminish, and to become
more or less distinct at the pleasure of the exhibitor; so that, to
a person unacquainted with the effect of optical instruments, these
figures appear actually to advance and recede. Transparent screens
for the Phantasmagoria are prepared by spreading white wax, dissolved
in spirits of wine or oil of turpentine, over thin muslin: a screen
so prepared may be rolled up without injury. A clearer screen may be
produced, by having the muslin always strained upon a rectangular
frame, and preparing it with turpentine, instead of wax: but such a
screen is not always convenient, and cannot be rolled without cracking,
and becoming, in a short time useless.
CHINESE SHADOWS.
Cut out an aperture in a partition wall, of any size; for example,
four feet in length and two in breadth, so that the lower edge may be
about five feet from the floor, and cover it with white Italian gauze,
varnished with gum-copal. Provide several frames of the same size as
the aperture, covered with the same kind of gauze, and delineate
upon the gauze different figures, such as landscapes and buildings,
analogous to the scenes which you intend to exhibit by means of small
figures representing men and animals. These figures are formed of
pasteboard, and their different parts are made movable, according
to the effect intended to be produced by their shadows, when moved
backward and forward behind the frames, at a small distance from them.
To make them act with more facility, small wires, fixed to their
movable parts, are bent backward, and made to terminate in rings,
through which the fingers of the hand are put, while the figure is
supported by the left, by means of another iron wire. In this manner
they may be made to advance or recede, and to gesticulate, without the
spectators observing the mechanism by which they are moved; and as the
shadow of these figures is not observed on the paintings till they are
opposite those parts which are not strongly shaded, they may thus be
concealed, and made to appear at the proper moments, and others may be
occasionally substituted in their stead.
It is necessary, when the figures are made to act, to speak a dialogue,
suited to their gestures, and imitate the noise occasioned by different
circumstances. The paintings must be illuminated from behind by means
of a reverberating lamp, placed opposite to the centre of the painting,
and distant from it about four or five feet. Various amusing scenes may
be represented in this manner, by employing small figures of men and
animals, and making them move in as natural a way as possible, which
will depend on the address and practice of the person who exhibits them.
A WONDERFUL MIRROR.
Make two openings, of a foot high, and ten inches wide, and about a
foot distant from each other, in the wainscoting of a wall; let them
be at the common height of a man’s head; and in each of them place
a transparent glass, surrounded with a frame, like a common mirror.
Behind this partition place two mirrors, one on the outward side of
each opening, inclined to the wainscot at an angle of forty-five
degrees; let them both be eighteen inches square; let all the space
between them be enclosed by boards or pasteboard, painted black, and
well closed, that no light may enter; let there be also two curtains
to cover them, which may be drawn aside at pleasure. When a person
looks into one of these supposed mirrors, instead of seeing his own
face he will perceive the object that is in the front of the other; so
that, if two persons present themselves at the same time before these
mirrors, instead of each one seeing himself they will reciprocally see
each other. There should be a sconce with a candle or lamp placed on
each side of the two glasses in the wainscot, to enlighten the faces of
the persons who look in them, otherwise this experiment will have no
remarkable effect.
This recreation may be considerably improved by placing the two glasses
in the wainscot in adjoining rooms, and a number of persons being
previously placed in one room, when a stranger enters the other, you
may tell him his face is dirty, and desire him to look in the glass,
which he will naturally do; and on seeing a strange face he will draw
back; but returning to it, and seeing another, another, and another,
what his surprise will be is more easy to conceive than express.
When one looks in a mirror placed perpendicularly to another, his face
will appear entirely deformed. If the mirror be a little inclined, so
as to make an angle of eighty degrees (that is, one-ninth part from
the perpendicular), he will then see all the parts of his face, except
the nose and forehead; if it be inclined to sixty degrees (that is,
one-third part), he will appear with three noses and six eyes; in
short, the apparent deformity will vary at each degree of inclination;
and when the glass comes to forty-five degrees (that is, half-way
down), the face will vanish. If, instead of placing the two mirrors
in this situation, they are so disposed that their junction may be
vertical, their different inclinations will produce other effects;
as the situation of the object relative to these mirrors is quite
different.
THE DISAPPEARING PAPER.
Attach to a dark wall a round piece of paper an inch or two in
diameter, and, a little lower, at the distance of two feet on each
side, make two marks; then place yourself directly opposite to the
paper, and hold the end of your finger before your face in such a
manner, that when the right eye is open, it shall conceal the mark on
the left, and, when the left eye is open, the mark on the right; if
you then look with both eyes to the end of your finger, the paper,
which is not at all concealed by it from either of your eyes, will,
nevertheless, disappear.
MULTIPLIED MONEY.
Take a large drinking-glass, of a conical form, that is, small at
bottom and wide at top, and, having put into it a dime, let it be half
filled with water; then place a plate upon the top of the glass, and
turn it quickly over, that the water may not get out; a piece of silver
as large as half a dollar will immediately appear on the plate, and
somewhat higher up another piece of the size of a dime.
SLEIGHT OF HAND.
TO BALANCE AN EGG.
Lay a looking glass upon an even table; take a fresh egg, and shake it
for some time, so that the yolk may be broken and mixed up with the
white. You may then balance it on its point, and make it stand on the
glass. This it would be impossible to do if the egg was in its natural
state.
THE JUGGLER’S LUNCH.
Pare some large apples that are rather of a yellow tint; cut several
pieces out of them in the shape of a candle-end, round, of course, at
the bottom, and square at the top; in fact, as much as possible like a
candle that has burnt down within an inch or so. Then, cut some slips
out of the insides of sweet almonds, fashion them as much in the shape
of spermaceti wicks as you can, stick them into your mock candles,
light them for an instant, so as to make their tops black, blow them
out again, and they are ready for use. When you produce them, light
them (the almond will readily take fire, and flame for a few moments),
put them into your mouth, chew and swallow them one after another.
RING AND RIBBON.
Select two pieces of ribbon, alike in length, breadth, and color;
double each separately, so that the ends meet; then tie them together
neatly, with a bit of silk of their own color, by the middle, or crease
made in doubling them. This must all be done in advance. When you are
going to exhibit this trick, pass some rings on the doubled ribbons,
and give the two ends of one ribbon to one person to hold, and the two
ends of the other to another. Do not let them pull hard, or the silk
will break, and your trick be discovered by the rings falling on the
ground, on account of the separation of the ribbons. Request the two
persons to approach each other, and take one end from each of them,
and without their perceiving it, return to each of them the end which
the other had previously held. By now giving the rings, which appeared
strung on the ribbon, a slight pull, you may break the silk, and they
will fall into your hand.
THE CHANGING BALL TRICK.
Take a ball in each hand, and stretch your hands as far as you can,
one from the other; then state that you will contrive to make both
the balls come into either hand, without bringing the hands near each
other. If any one dispute your power of doing this, you have no more to
do than to lay one ball down upon the table, turn yourself, and take
it up with your other hand. Thus both the balls will be in one of your
hands, without their approaching each other.
A SENSITIVE GOBLET.
To fill a glass with water, so that no one may touch it without
spilling all the water. Fill a common glass or goblet with water, and
place upon it a bit of paper, so as to cover the water and edge of
the glass; put the palm of your hand on the paper, and taking hold of
the glass with the other, suddenly invert it on a very smooth table,
and gently draw out the paper; the water will remain suspended in the
glass, and it will be impossible to move the glass without spilling all
the water.
TO LIGHT A CANDLE BY SMOKE.
When a candle is burnt so long as to leave a tolerably large wick,
blow it out; a dense smoke, which is composed of hydrogen and carbon,
will immediately arise. Then, if another candle, or lighted taper, be
applied to the utmost verge of this smoke, a very strange phenomenon
will take place; the flame of the lighted candle will be conveyed to
that just blown out, as if it were borne on a cloud, or, rather, it
will seem like a mimic flash of lightning proceeding at a slow rate.
THE MAGIC RE-ILLUMINATION.
After having exhibited the trick of lighting a candle by smoke,
privately put a bit of paper between your fingers, and retire to one
corner of the room with a single candle, and pass the hand in which
you hold the paper several times slowly over the candle until the
paper takes fire; then immediately blow the candle out, and presently
pass your hand over the snuff and relight it with the paper. You may
then crumple the paper, at the same time extinguishing the flame, by
squeezing it suddenly, without burning yourself. If this trick be
performed dextrously, it is a very good one. It is not necessary for
the performance of this trick that all the other lights in the room
should be extinguished; in fact the trick is more liable to discovery
in a dark room, than in one where the candles are burning, on account
of the light thrown out by the paper while it is burning, previous to
the re-illumination.
FASCINATED BY A FEATHER.
Take a bird and lay it on a table; then wave a small feather over its
eyes, and it will appear as dead, but taking the feather away, it will
revive again. Let it lay hold of the stem part of the feather, and it
will twist and turn like a parrot; you may likewise roll it about, on
the table, just as you please.
THE MOVING BALL.
Roll up a piece of paper, or other light substance, and privately put
into it any small insect, such as a lady-bird, or beetle; then, as
the creature will naturally endeavor to free itself from captivity,
it will move its covering toward the edge of the table, and when it
comes there, will immediately return, for fear of falling; and thus, by
moving backward and forward, will excite much diversion to those who
are ignorant of the cause.
THE PAPER FURNACE.
Enclose a bullet in paper, as smoothly as possible, and suspend it
above the flame of a lamp or candle; you will soon see it melt and
fall, drop by drop, through a hole which it will make in the paper;
but the paper, except the hole mentioned, will not be burnt. The art
of performing this trick consists in using a smooth round bullet, and
enclosing it in the paper with but few folds or uneven places.
STORM AND CALM.
Pour water into a glass until it is nearly three parts full; then
almost fill it up with oil; but be sure to leave a little space between
the oil and the top of the glass. Tie a bit of string round the glass,
and fasten the two ends of another piece of string to it, one on each
side, so that, when you take hold of the middle of it to lift up the
glass, it may be about a foot from your hand. Now swing the glass to
and fro, and the oil will be smooth and unruffled, while the surface of
the water beneath it will be violently agitated.
THE KNOTTED THREAD.
A good deal of amusement may be occasioned by this trick. It is most
frequently performed by a lady, but the effect of it is considerably
increased when it is displayed by a boy. A piece of calico, muslin,
or linen, is taken in the left hand, a needle is threaded in the
presence of the spectators, and the usual, or even a double or treble
knot made at the extremity of one of the ends of it. The operator
commences his work by drawing the needle and the thread in it quite
through the linen, notwithstanding the knot, and continues to make
several stitches in like manner successively. The mode of performing
this seeming wonder, is as follows: a bit of thread, about a quarter
of a yard long, is turned once round the top of the middle finger of
the right hand, upon which a thimble is then placed to keep it secure.
This must be done privately and the thread kept concealed, while a
needle is threaded with a bit of thread of a similar length. The thread
in the needle must have one of its ends drawn up nearly close, and be
concealed between the forefinger and thumb; the other should hang down
nearly as long as, and by the side of the thread, which is fastened
under the thimble, so that these two may appear to be the two ends of
the thread. The end of the piece that is fastened under the thimble
is then knotted, and the performer begins to sew, by moving his hand
quickly after he has taken up the stitch. It will appear as though he
actually passed the knotted thread through the cloth.
THE IMPS OF THE BOTTLE.
Take three little hollow figures of glass, an inch and a half high,
representing imps, which may be obtained at a glass-blowers, with a
small hole in each of their legs. Submerge them in water in a glass
bottle, which should be about fifteen inches high, and covered with a
bladder tied over the top. A small quantity of air must be left between
the bladder and the surface of the water. When you think fit to command
the figures to go down, press your hand hard upon the top, and they
will immediately sink; when you would have them rise to the top, take
your hand away, and they will float up. By these means, you may make
them dance in the middle of the glass at your pleasure.
THE BIRD IN THE BOX.
Take a box made with a false lid, on which glue some bird-seed;
privately put a bird into it, under the false lid; then show it, and
it will seem to be full of seed. Put on the true lid, and say,—“I
will command all the seed out of this box, and order a living bird to
appear.” Take off the covers together, and the bird will be seen.
THE MULTIPLYING MIRROR.