of making it is this:—First, make a hoop, or fillet of wood or horn,
about the size of a half-dollar in circumference, and about a quarter
of an inch in thickness. In the middle, fasten a bottom of wood or
brass, and bore in it several small holes, about the size of peas;
then open one side of this bottom, set in a piece of crystal-glass,
and fasten it in the hoop close to the bottom. Take a quantity of
quicksilver, and put as much into the hoop as will cover the bottom;
then let into it another piece of crystal-glass, fitted to it; cement
the sides, that the quicksilver may not run out, and the apparatus
is complete. One side will reflect the beholder’s face as a common
looking-glass; in the other it will be multiplied according to the
number of holes in the wood or brass.
THE HALF-DOLLAR UPHELD.
Privately cut the rim of the edge which is raised to protect the face
of a half-dollar, so that a little bit of the silver may stick up; take
the coin in your right hand, and by pressing it with your thumb against
a door or wainscot, the bit that sticks up will enter the wood, and
thus support the half-dollar.
THE BOWING BEAU.
Make a figure, resembling a man, of any substance, exceedingly light,
such as the pith of the alder tree, which is soft, and can easily be
cut into any form: then provide for it a hemispherical base, of some
very heavy substance, such as the half of a leaden bullet, made very
smooth on the convex part. Cement the figure to the plane part of
the hemisphere; and, in whatever position it is placed, when left to
itself, it will rise upright. The figure of a beau, or master of the
ceremonies, is appropriate for this trick.
THE VANISHING WAFERS.
On each side of a table-knife, place, in the presence of your company,
three wafers. Take the knife by the handle, and turn it over two or
three times, to show that the wafers are all on. Desire some person to
take off one wafer from one side of the blade; turn the knife two or
three times again, and there will appear only two wafers on each side;
remove another wafer, turn the knife as before, and there will appear
only one wafer on each side; take the third wafer away, turn the knife
as before twice or thrice, and there will appear to be no wafer on
either side. After a momentary pause, turn the knife again two or three
times, and three wafers will appear on each side.
The secret of this capital trick consists in using wafers of the
same size and color, and turning the knife, so that the same side is
constantly presented to the view, and the wafers are taken off that
side, one by one. The three wafers will thus remain untouched on the
other side, so that when you have first made it appear that there are
no wafers on either side, you may, apparently, show three on each, by
the same means. The way to turn the knife is as follows: when you lift
it up, turn it in your hand, with your finger and thumb, completely
round, until the side that was uppermost when you lifted it, comes
uppermost again. This is done in an instant, and is not perceptible, if
adroitly managed.
THE CUT LACE JOINED.
Conceal a piece of lace in your hand; then produce another piece
of the same pattern; double the latter, and put the fold between
your forefinger and thumb, with the piece which you have previously
concealed, doubled in the same manner; pull out a little of the latter,
so as to make a loop, and desire one of the company to cut it asunder.
If you have conveyed the concealed piece of lace so dexterously as to
be undetected, with the other between your thumb and forefinger, the
spectators will, naturally enough think you have really cut the latter;
which you may seem to make whole again, while repeating some conjuring
words, and putting away the two ends of the piece that is actually cut.
VANISHING DIME.
Stick a little wax upon your thumb, take a bystander by the fingers,
show him a dime, and tell him you will put the same into his hand;
then wring it down hard with your waxed thumb, and, using many words,
look him in the face; suddenly take away your thumb, and the coin will
adhere to it; then close his hand; it will seem to him that the dime
remains; now tell him to open his hand, and, if you perform the feat
cleverly, to his great astonishment, he will find nothing in it.
THE ADHESIVE STICK.
This feat has astonished crowds of spectators. It was one of the
favorites of a late popular professor, and is now first promulgated.
Before you perform it in public, you must practice it, until you are
quite perfect, in private, for it would be a pity to spoil its effect
by making a blunder in it. Begin by stating very seriously, what is a
well-known fact, that if a bucket full of water be hurled round his
head by a man, who is sufficiently strong, none of the water will fall
out. If this be at all discredited, be prepared not only to support
your assertion, but to carry the point still further by placing a
tumbler full of any liquid in the inside of a broad hoop, which you
hold in your hand by a small piece of string fixed to it, and twirling
it round at your side. If you do this with velocity, although the
tumbler, in the circles made by the hoop, is frequently quite bottom
upward, it will neither fall from the hoop, nor will any of the water
be spilt. To do this, however, requires even more practice than the
trick which it prefaces; as, although there is no difficulty in it
while the hoop is in rapid motion, yet there is some danger until you
are rendered expert by practice, of the tumbler’s falling, when you
begin to put the hoop in motion, and when you wish to stop it. If,
therefore, you are not perfectly capable of doing it, state the fact
only, which some or other of your auditors will most probably support,
as it is pretty generally known. You now go on to say, that the air,
under the water in the glass, when it is topsy-turvey, keeps it in; and
that upon the same principle, if you can turn your hand, upon which
you place a piece of thin wood (about one inch broad, and six inches
long), sufficiently quick, although the back be uppermost, the air
will actually keep the wood up against the palm of your hand, without
any support. This they will be readily inclined to believe. They will,
however, doubt your being possessed of sufficient manual dexterity to
perform it quick enough.
We must now tell you how it is to be done:—Lay the piece of wood across
the palm of your left hand, which keep wide open, with the thumb
and all the fingers far apart, lest you be suspected of supporting
the wood with them. Next, take your left wrist in your right hand,
and grasp it tightly, for the purpose, as you state, of giving the
hand more steadiness. Now, suddenly turn the back of your left hand
uppermost, and, as your wrist moves in your right hand, stretch out
the forefinger of your right hand, and as soon as the wood comes
undermost, support it with such forefinger. You may now shake the hand,
and, after a moment or two, suffer the wood to drop. It is two to one
but the spectators will admit it to be produced by the action of the
air, as you had previously stated, and try to do it themselves; but,
of course, they must, unless you have performed the feat so awkwardly
as to be discovered, fail in its performance. If you have no objection
to reveal the secret, you can do it again, and, while they are gravely
philosophizing upon it, suddenly lift up your hand and expose the
trick. This will, doubtless, create much amusement. Observe that in
doing this feat, you must keep your fingers so low, that no one can
see the palm of your left hand; and move your finger so carefully,
that its action may not be detected; and if it be not, you may rest
satisfied that its absence from round the wrist of the left hand will
not be discovered, some of the fingers being naturally supposed to be
under the coat; so that, if the spectators only see two or even one,
they will imagine the others are beneath the cuff. There is one other
observation necessary before we conclude; it is this, when you have
turned your hand over, do not keep the stick too long upheld, lest the
spectators should take hold of your hands, and discover the trick;
before their astonishment has ceased, adroitly remove your forefinger,
and suffer the stick to fall to the ground.
THE MAGIC THREAD.
Take two pieces of thread, one foot in length each; roll one of them
round, like a small pea, which put between your left forefinger and
thumb. Now, hold the other out at length, between the forefinger and
thumb of each hand; then let some one cut the same asunder in the
middle; when that is done, put the tops of your two thumbs together, so
that you may, with less suspicion, receive the thread which you hold
in your right hand into your left, without opening your left finger
and thumb. Then, holding these two pieces as you did before, let them
be cut asunder in the middle also, and conveyed again as before, until
they be very short; then roll all the ends together, and keep that ball
of thread before the other in the left hand, and with a knife, thrust
the same into a candle, where you may hold it until it be burnt to
ashes; pull back the knife with your right hand, and leave the ashes,
with the other ball, between your forefinger and thumb of your left
hand, and with the two thumbs and forefingers together, rub the ashes,
and at length, draw out that thread which has been all this time
between your forefinger and thumb.
THE LONG PUDDING.
The following is a famous feat among those mountebanks who travel
the country with quack doctors. This pudding must be made of twelve
or thirteen little tin hoops, so as to fall one through another, and
little holes should be made at the biggest end, so that it may not hurt
your mouth; hold it privately in your left hand, with the hole end
uppermost, and, with your right hand, take a ball out of your pocket,
and say, “if there be any old lady that is out of conceit with herself,
because her neighbors deem her not so young as she would be thought,
let her come to me, for this ball is a certain remedy;” then seem to
put the ball into your left hand, but let it slip into your lap, and
clap your pudding into your mouth, which will be thought to be the ball
that you showed them; then decline your head, open your mouth, and the
pudding will slip down to its full length; with your right hand you may
strike it into your mouth again; after having done this three or four
times, you may discharge it into your hand, and put it into your pocket
without any suspicion, by making three or four wry faces after it, as
though it had been too large for your throat.
THE CHANGEABLE WATCH.
Borrow a watch from any person in company, and request the whole to
stand round you. Hold the watch up to the ear of the first in the
circle, and command it to go; then demand his testimony to the fact.
Remove it to the ear of the next, and enjoin it to stop; make the same
request to that person, and so on throughout the entire party.
_Explanation._ You must take care, in borrowing the watch, that it be
a good one, and goes well. Conceal in your hand a piece of loadstone
which, so soon as you apply it to the watch, will occasion a suspension
of the movements, which a subsequent shaking and withdrawing of the
magnet will restore. For this purpose, keep the magnet in one hand and
shift the watch alternately from one hand to the other.
THE VANISHING RING.
You may cause a ring to shift from one hand to another, and make it go
on any finger required on the other hand, while somebody holds both
your arms, in order to prevent communication between them by attending
to these instructions:—Desire some lady in company to lend you a gold
ring, recommending her, at the same time, to make a mark on it, that
she may know it again. Have a gold ring of your own, which fasten by
a small piece of catgut-string, to a watch-barrel, and sew it to the
left sleeve of your coat. Take the ring that is given you in your right
hand; then putting, with dexterity, the other ring fastened to the
watch-barrel, near the entrance of your sleeve, draw it privately to
the fingers’ ends of your left hand. During this operation, hide the
ring that has been lent to you between the fingers of your right hand,
and fasten it dexterously on a little hook, sewed for the purpose, on
your waistcoat, and hidden by your coat. After that show your ring,
which hold in your left hand; then ask the company on which finger
of the other hand they wish it to pass. During this interval, and as
soon as the answer has been given, put the before-mentioned finger on
the little hook, in order to slip the ring on it; at that moment let
go the other ring, by opening your fingers. The spring which is in
the watch-barrel, being confined no longer, will contract, and make
the ring slip under the sleeve, without anybody perceiving it, not
even those who hold your arms; as their attention will be occupied
to prevent your hands from communicating. After this operation, show
the assembly that the ring is come on the other hand; and make them
remark that it is the same that had been lent to you, or that the
mark is right. Much dexterity must be made use of to succeed in this
entertaining trick, that the deception may not be suspected.
THE HANDKERCHIEF TRICK.
This feat, strange as it appears, is very simple; the performer must
have a confederate, who has two handkerchiefs of the same quality,
and with the same mark, one of which he throws upon the table,
to perform the feat with. The performer takes care to put this
handkerchief uppermost in making a bundle, though he affects to mix
them together promiscuously. The person, whom he desires to draw
one of the handkerchiefs, naturally takes that which comes first to
hand. The performer then desires to shake them again to embellish the
operation; but in so doing, takes care to bring the right handkerchief
uppermost, and carefully fixes upon some simpleton to draw; and if
he find the person is not likely to take the first that comes to
hand, he prevents him from drawing by fixing upon another, under
pretence of his having a more sagacious look. When the handkerchief
is torn, and carefully folded up, it is put under a glass upon a
table placed near a partition. On that part of the table on which the
handkerchief is deposited, is a little trap, which opens and lets it
fall into a drawer. The confederate, concealed behind the curtain,
passes his hand under the table, opens the trap, and substitutes the
second handkerchief for the first. He then shuts the trap, which so
exactly fits the hole it closes, as to deceive the eyes of the most
incredulous. If the performer be not possessed of such a table, he must
have a second handkerchief in his pocket, and change it by sleight of
hand.
THE CANARY IN THE EGG.
Separate an egg in the middle, as neatly as possible; empty it, and
then with a fine piece of paper and a little glue, join the two halves
together, having first put a live canary bird inside it, which will
continue unhurt in it for sometime, provided you make a small pin-hole
in the shell to supply the bird with air; have also, a whole egg in
readiness. Present the two eggs for one to be chosen; put the egg,
which contains the bird, next to the person who is to choose, and,
for this purpose, be sure to select a lady; she naturally chooses the
nearest to her, because, having no idea of the trick to be performed,
there is no apparent reason to take the further one at any rate, if the
wrong one be taken, you do not fail in the trick, for you break the
egg, and say: “You see that this egg is fair and fresh, madam, so you
would have found the other, if you had chosen it. Now, do you choose
to find in it a mouse, or a canary-bird?” She naturally declares for
the bird; nevertheless, if she ask for the mouse, there are means to
escape: you ask the same question of several ladies, and gather the
majority of votes, which, in all probability, will be in favor of the
bird, which you then produce.
THE MONEY BOX TRICK.
A piece of money, or a ring, is put into a box, in the presence of a
person who holds it; the operator stands at a distance, and bids him
shake the box gently, and the piece is heard to rattle inside; he is
desired again to shake it, and then it is not heard to rattle; the
third time, it is again heard, but the fourth time it is gone, and
is found in the shoe of one of the company. The box must be made on
purpose, in such a manner that, in shaking it gently up and down, the
piece within is heard; on the contrary, shaking it hard, horizontally,
a little spring, which falls on the piece, prevents it from being
heard, which makes you imagine it is not within. He who performs the
trick, then touches the box, under pretence of showing how to shake
it, and, although it is locked, he easily gets out the piece by means
of a secret opening, availing himself of that minute to put in a false
piece, and to leave the box with the same person, whom he causes to
believe that the piece is or is not within, according to the manner
the box is shaken: at length, the original piece is found in the shoe
of one of the company, either by means of the person being found in
confederacy, and having a similar piece, or by sending another to slip
it on the floor. In this last case, it is found on the floor, and the
person fixed on is persuaded that it fell from his shoe as he was
taking it off.
A STARTLING METAMORPHOSIS.
Take a few nut-galls, bruise them to a very fine powder, which strew
nicely upon a towel; then put a little brown copperas into a basin
of water; this will soon dissolve, and leave the water perfectly
transparent. After any person has washed in this water, and wiped with
the towel on which the galls have been strewn, his hands and face
will immediately become black; but, in a few days, by washing with
soap, they will again become clean. This trick is too mischievous for
performance.
A VOLCANO UNDER WATER.
Take one ounce of saltpetre; three ounces of powder; of sulphurvivuix,
three ounces; beat, sift, and mix them well together; fill a
pasteboard, or paper mould, with the composition, and it will burn
under the water till quite spent. Few persons will believe that this
can be done before they have seen it tried.
THE MAGIC SPOON.
Put four ounces of bismuth into a crucible, and when in a state of
complete fusion, throw in two ounces and a half of lead, and one
ounce and a half of tin; these metals will combine, and form an alloy
fusible in boiling water. Mould the alloy into bars, and take them
to a silversmith to be made into tea-spoons. Place one of them in a
saucer, at a tea-table, and the person who uses it will not be a little
astonished to find it melt away as soon as he puts it into the hot tea.
MAGIC DYES.
Dissolve indigo in diluted sulphuric acid, and add to it an equal
quantity of solution of carbonate of potass. If a piece of white cloth
be dipped in this mixture, it will be changed to blue; yellow cloth,
in the same mixture, may be changed to green; red to purple; and blue
litmus paper be turned to red.
INCOMBUSTIBLE PAPER.
Dip a sheet of paper in strong alum-water, and when dry, repeat the
process; it will be better still, if you dip and dry it a third time.
After this, you may put it in the flame of a candle, and it will not
burn.
VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE PORTRAITS.
These are performed with French chalk, a natural production of the
earth, (sold in most oil-shops,) of a greasy, but extraordinary nature.
It is made use of to draw portraits upon looking-glasses; which may be
made visible and invisible, alternately, by breathing on and wiping
off, and they will so continue for many months. The lines will appear
very distinct where the glass is strongly breathed on, and disappear
entirely when it is wiped dry again.
THE DANCING EGG.
Boil an egg hard, and peel off a small piece of the shell at one end;
then thrust in a quill filled with quicksilver, and sealed at each end.
As long as the egg remains warm, it will not cease to dance about.
TO PUT AN EGG IN A BOTTLE.
You may make an egg enter a bottle without breaking, by steeping it in
strong vinegar for some time; the vinegar will so soften the shell,
that it will bend and extend lengthways without breaking; when put in
cold water, it will resume its former figure and hardness.
THE ICE CANDLE.
Cover a small portion of the upper end of a tallow candle with paper,
and give the remainder of it a coat of fine coal and powdered sulphur,
mixed together; dip it in water, and expose it to the air during a
hard frost, and a slight coat of ice will form round it, which may
be, subsequently, rendered thicker, in proportion to the number of
immersions and exposure to the air which it receives. When it arrives
at a sufficient consistency, take off the paper, light the upper end of
the candle, and it will burn freely.
THE CHANGING-COLORED RIBBON.
Dip a rose-colored ribbon in nitric acid, diluted with eight or ten
parts of water, and as soon as the color disappears, which it will
do in a short time, take out the ribbon, and put it into a very weak
alkaline solution; the alkali will quickly neutralize the acid, and the
color will then reappear.
CONSULTING THE ORACLE.
Some amusement may be obtained among young people, by writing, with
common ink, a variety of questions, on different bits of paper, and
adding a pertinent reply to each, written with nitro-muriate of gold.
The collection is suffered to dry, and put aside until an opportunity
offers for using them. When produced, the answers will be invisible;
you desire different persons to select such questions as they may
fancy, and take them home with them; you then promise, that if they are
placed near the fire, during the night, answers will appear written
beneath the questions in the morning; and such will be the fact, if the
papers be put in any dry, warm situation.
THE WITCH’S CAVE.
Write several questions and answers on paper; for the answers, instead
of nitro-muriate of gold, you may use the juice of a citron, or an
onion. Let any of the questions be chosen by a party, and placed in a
box, which may be called “The Witch’s Cave.” This box must be furnished
with a piece of hot iron, beneath a false bottom of tin; when the
paper is put in it, the heat will cause the answer to appear; you then
take it out, show it to the person who made choice of the question,
and, as soon as it is read, put it aside; the answer will vanish when
the paper becomes cold again.
THE FOUR ELEMENTS.
Take a glass tube, about the thickness of a man’s finger, and securely
seal one end of it. Mark it, all round, with four equal divisions.
Introduce mercury, sufficient to fill the space below the first
mark; a solution of sub-carbonate of potass for the second division;
white spirit, to which a blue tint is imparted, for the third; and
turpentine, colored red, for the fourth. After these preparations are
completed, close up and seal the mouth of the tube, and you may then
give a fanciful exhibition of chaos and the four elements. Shake the
tube, and you will mix all the contents together, and this mixture
will represent chaos; in a short time, if the tube be not removed, all
the ingredients will separate, and each go to its allotted division,
placing itself according to its specific gravity, in comparison with
the others; the contents of the upper division, which is red, will
represent fire; the next, which has a blue tint, air; the third, which
is colorless, water; and the lower one, earth.
PHOSPHORIC OYSTER SHELLS.
Take some very thick oyster shells, and cover them with some burning
coals; in half an hour take them carefully out of the fire, and it will
be only necessary to expose them to the light for a few minutes to be
convinced that they have become phosphorescent. In fact, if put in a
dark place, they shed a light accompanied by the greater part of the
prismatic colors. If the calcination be made in a closed crucible, the
colors will be less brilliant. If the crucible be of lead, the parts
that have come into contact with it will yield a reddish light; if a
few bits of steel be strewed about the crucible, the phosphorescence
will be more lively; but if some flat pieces of coal be used instead of
steel, the colors will be more beautiful, particularly the blue, red,
and green.
FLAMING PHOSPHORUS.
By compressing a bit of phosphorus between two pieces of wood, it will
inflame. The same effect may be produced by the friction of one piece
of phosphorus against another.
A MASK OF FLAME.
Take six parts of oil of olives and one of phosphorus, suffer them to
digest well together, and preserve the solution, which, in the dark,
will become luminous. An experiment that is considered amusing may be
performed by closing the eyes and lightly passing a sponge, dipped in
this solution, over the face and hands, which will then, in the dark,
appear covered with a light bluish flame. This trick is not at all
dangerous.