TRICKS WITH COIN REQUIRING SPECIAL APPARATUS.
THE “HEADS AND TAILS” TRICK.--This is a pretty little trick, of an
unpretending nature, but of very good effect, especially if introduced
in a casual and apparently _extempore_ manner. The performer borrows,
or produces from his own pocket, four penny-pieces. Placing them upon
the table, he requests some one to make a pile of them, all one way,
say “tail” upwards. He next requests the same or another person to
turn over the pile so made, without disturbing the relative position
of the coins, and announces with an air of supernatural knowledge
that they will now all be found “head” upwards. This appears so
ridiculously obvious, that the audience naturally observe (with more
or less straightforwardness of expression) that “any fool could tell
that.” “Pardon me,” says the performer, “it is not quite such a simple
matter as you think. I very much doubt whether any of you could do as
much. I will place the coins again; watch me as closely as you please.
I will place them as before--Tail, tail, tail, tail. Is that fairly
done? Now I will turn them over.” He does so, letting the tips of his
fingers rest upon them. “What are they now?” A general chorus replies,
“All heads, of course!” But on examination it is found that only three
are “heads,” and one a “tail.” Again he arranges them, placing them
this time alternately--head, tail, head, tail. He turns them over. The
natural order (beginning from below) would again be head, tail, head,
tail; but they are found to be head, tail, tail, tail. Again he places
them, tail, tail, tail, head. When turned over they should be tail,
head, head, head, but are found to be tail, head, alternately.
The secret lies in the use of a prepared penny, consisting of similar
halves (in the case above described two “tails”) soldered together,
so as to be “tail” on either side. This the performer palms in his
right hand. After first going through the operation with the genuine
coins, as above, he picks them up with his left hand; and apparently
transferring them to the right, really transfers three of them only.
He then performs the trick with these and the prepared coin, when the
apparently miraculous result above described becomes a matter of course.
It is best not to repeat the trick too often, and a little practice is
necessary in order to be able to return the three genuine coins neatly
to the left hand (in which the fourth borrowed coin must be retained
throughout the trick), at the same time secretly retaining your own.
It is a frequent occurrence for one or other of the company, imagining
that the seeming wonder is, in some unexplained way, a result of some
natural principle, to request to be allowed to try for himself. It is
obvious that, under such circumstances, it would not do to hand him
the prepared coin, and hence the necessity for some quick and natural
method of again getting the four genuine coins together.
The trick may be brought to an effective conclusion as follows: After
you have got rid of the double-faced penny, you may continue, “Perhaps
it is a little too complicated for you with four coins; suppose we
try it with one only, and I won’t even turn it over.” Placing one of
the genuine pence on the middle of the right palm, which you hold out
horizontally before you, you draw special attention to the fact that
the coin is (say) “tail” upwards. Quickly covering it with the other
hand, you say, “What is it now?” “Tail,” is the reply. “Wrong again!”
you say, and, lifting up the hand, show that the coin has this time
vanished altogether. This mysterious disappearance is effected as
follows: When you apparently cover the coin with the left hand, you
bring the hands together with a quick lateral motion as though sliding
the one across the other. This shoots the coin from the palm down the
opposite sleeve, the motion being so quick that the keenest eye cannot
detect it. This little sleight is by no means difficult, and is well
worthy of acquirement, as it may be introduced with equal effect in
many tricks.
THE MAGIC COVER AND VANISHING HALFPENCE.--This is a very old trick,
but is still very popular with a juvenile audience. The principal
apparatus consists of half-a-dozen halfpence, of which the centre
portion has been cut out, leaving each a mere rim of metal. Upon these
is placed a complete halfpenny, and the whole are connected together
by a rivet running through the whole thickness of the pile. When
placed upon the table, with the complete coin upwards, they have all
the appearance of a pile of ordinary halfpence, the slight lateral
play allowed by the rivet aiding the illusion. A little leather cap
(shaped something like a fez, with a little button on the top, and of
such a size as to fit loosely over the pile of halfpence), with an
ordinary die, such as backgammon is played with, complete the necessary
requirements.
You begin by drawing attention to your magic cap and die, late the
property of the king of the fairies. In order to exhibit their mystic
powers, you request the loan of half-a-dozen halfpence (the number
must, of course, correspond with that of your own pile), and, while
they are being collected, you take the opportunity to slip the little
cap over your prepared pile, which should be placed ready to hand
behind some small object on the table, so as to be unseen by the
spectators. Pressing the side of the cap, you lift the pile with it,
and place the whole together in full view, in close proximity to the
die. The required halfpence having been now collected, you beg all to
observe that you place the leather cap (which the spectators suppose
to be empty) fairly over the die. Taking the genuine coins in either
hand, you pretend, by one or other of the passes, to transfer them to
the other. Holding the hand which is now supposed to contain the coins
immediately above the cap, you announce that they will at your command
pass under the cap, from which the die will disappear to make room for
them. Saying, “One, two, three! Pass!” you open your hand, and show
that the coins have vanished. If you use a regular table, you may place
them on the _servante_, and show both hands empty; and then, lifting up
the cap by the button, you show the hollow pile, covering the die, and
appearing to be the genuine coins. Once more covering the pile with the
cap, you announce that you will again extract the coins, and replace
the die; and to make the trick still more extraordinary, you will this
time pass the coins right through the table. Placing the hand which
holds the genuine coins beneath the table, and once more saying, “One,
two, three! Pass!” you chink the coins, and, bringing them up, place
them on the table. Again picking up the cap, but this time pressing
its sides, you lift up the hollow pile with it, and disclose the die.
Quickly transfer the cap, without the pile, to the other hand, and
place it on the table, to bear the brunt of examination, while you get
rid of the prepared coins.
The trick may be varied in many ways, according to the ingenuity of
the performer, but it belongs at best to the “juvenile” school of
conjuring, and we have not thought it worth while to waste space in
elaborating it.
THE ANIMATED COIN, WHICH ANSWERS QUESTIONS, ETC.--This trick is
performed in a variety of different ways, some with apparatus, some
without. The effect produced is as follows:--The performer borrows a
coin, and, after making a few mesmeric passes over it, drops it into
a glass upon the table, where it immediately begins to jump about as
if alive. The performer then announces that the coin thus mesmerized
has the power of fortune-telling, naming chosen cards, predicting the
number that will be thrown by a pair of dice, etc. The coin answers
“Yes” by jumping three times, “No” by jumping once--according to the
approved spiritualistic code of signals. We shall not stay to discuss
the questions asked, which are of the same class as those which are
generally put to the Magic Bell or Drum, but proceed at once to explain
the various modes of producing the movement of the coin.
One plan is for the performer to have a coin of his own, to which is
attached a long black silk thread, the other end of which is in the
hand of an assistant behind the scenes, or elsewhere out of sight
of the audience. This coin is placed on the table in readiness, but
concealed from the spectators by some larger object in front of it.
When the performer advances to the table with the borrowed coin, he
secretly picks up the prepared one, and drops the latter into the glass
as being that which he has borrowed. A short, quick jerk of the thread
by the assistant will make the coin spring up and fall back again,
producing the required chink. It is only necessary to be careful not to
jerk the thread so violently as to make the coin fly out of the glass.
It is desirable, where practicable, to make the thread pass either
through a hole in the top of the table, or a ring fixed to its surface
and placed immediately behind the glass. This will keep that portion
of the thread nearest to the glass perpendicular behind it, in which
position it will be completely hidden by the glass, and so be invisible.
Some performers prefer to use the actual coin borrowed. The
arrangements in this case are the same as above described, save that
the silk thread, instead of having a substitute coin attached to it,
has merely a pellet of wax at its end. The performer having handed
round the glass for inspection, and standing in front of the table with
his left side turned towards the audience, picks up a pellet of wax
with his right hand at the same moment that, holding the borrowed coin
in his left hand, he begs the spectators to take especial notice that
he really uses the borrowed coin, and no other. Having said this, he
transfers the coin, by a perfectly natural movement, to his right hand,
and pressing against it the waxen pellet, drops it into the glass.
[Illustration: FIG. 82.]
The third and last mode of performing the trick is by means of a
special glass, with a hole drilled through its foot. This is placed on
a suitable pedestal (_see_ Fig. 82), in which works up and down a steel
needle, forming the upper portion of a kind of loose piston, _a_. The
top of the pedestal is covered with green baize, allowing free passage
to the needle, which when pushed upward strikes the coin from below,
with much the same effect as the thread pulling it from above. This
pedestal is only available with one of the mechanical tables which will
be described in connection with “stage tricks.” Such tables contain,
among other contrivances, what are called “pistons,” being small metal
rods, which, by pulling a string, are made to rise vertically an inch
or so above the surface of the table, sinking down again as soon as
the cord is released. The pedestal is placed immediately above one of
these, whose movement is in turn communicated to the loose piston in
the pedestal, and thence to the coin.
It only remains to be stated how the necessary knowledge for the
answers is communicated to the person who controls the movements of the
piece. With respect to chosen cards, the cards are either indicated
by the wording of the questions, or are agreed on beforehand, the
performer taking care to “force” the right ones. The assistant is
enabled to predict the throw of the dice by the simple expedient of
using a small boxwood vase, in which there are two compartments, in
one of which a pair of dice (apparently the same which have just been
dropped in haphazard from the top) have been arranged beforehand for
the purpose of the trick. The ordinary fortune-telling questions, as to
“Which young lady will be married first?” “Which spends most time at
her looking-glass?” “Which has most sweethearts?” and so on, are either
answered in accordance with previous arrangement, or according to the
fancy of the moment. Of course, where a question of this kind is asked,
the performer takes care to follow up the question by designating a
number of persons in succession, so that a mere “Yes” or “No” may be a
sufficient answer.
* * * * *
We shall next proceed to describe three or four pieces of apparatus
designed to cause a piece of money to disappear, and therefore well
adapted for commencing a coin trick. There are other appliances, more
particularly adapted for re-producing a coin. Any of these will be
available for the conclusion; the particular combination being at the
option of the performer.
THE VANISHING HALFPENNY BOX. TO MAKE A HALFPENNY VANISH FROM THE BOX,
AND AGAIN RETURN TO IT.--This is a little round box, made of boxwood,
about an inch deep, and of such diameter that its internal measurement
exactly admits a halfpenny; in other words, that if a halfpenny be
placed in it, it exactly covers the bottom. The top and bottom of
the box are lined with some bright-coloured paper, and with it is
used a halfpenny, one side of which is covered with similar paper. If
therefore this halfpenny be placed in the box with the papered side
upwards, the halfpenny is naturally taken to be the bottom of the box,
which thus appears empty.
The performer begins by tendering the box for examination, keeping the
while the prepared halfpenny palmed in his right hand. When the box has
been sufficiently inspected, he borrows a halfpenny from the audience,
and secretly exchanges it for his own, taking care that the spectators
only see the unprepared side of the latter. He then announces that
this box, apparently so simple, has the singular faculty of causing
the disappearance of any money entrusted to its keeping, as they will
perceive when he places in it the halfpenny he has just borrowed. He
places the halfpenny in it accordingly, holding it with the uncovered
side towards the audience, but letting it so fall that it shall lie
in the box with the papered side upwards. He now puts the lid on, and
shakes the box _up and down_, to show by the rattling of the coin that
it is still there. He desires the audience to say when they would wish
the coin to leave the box, and on receiving their commands, touches
the lid with his wand, and again shakes the box. This time, however,
he shakes it laterally, and as in this direction the coin exactly fits
the box, it has no room to rattle, and is therefore silent. He boldly
asserts that the coin is gone, and opening the box, shows the inside to
the spectators, who seeing, as they suppose, the papered bottom, are
constrained to admit that it is empty. Once again he closes the box,
and touches it with the wand, announcing that he will compel the coin
to return. Shaking the box up and down, it is again heard to rattle.
Taking off the lid, he turns the box upside down, and drops the coin
into his hand. This brings it out with the papered side undermost,
and so hidden. Again handing the box to be examined, he exchanges the
prepared halfpenny for the one which was lent to him, and which he now
returns to the owner with thanks.
A variation may be introduced by causing the borrowed halfpenny to
re-appear in some other apparatus, after it has vanished from the box
in question. The borrowed coin may, if desired, be marked, in order to
heighten the effect of the trick.
THE RATTLE BOX. TO MAKE A COIN VANISH FROM THE BOX, THOUGH STILL
HEARD TO RATTLE WITHIN IT.--This is a useful and ingenious little
piece of apparatus. It is an oblong mahogany box, with a sliding lid.
Its dimensions are about three inches by two, and one inch in depth
externally; internally, it is only half that depth, and the end piece
of the lid is of such a depth as to be flush with the bottom. Thus,
if a coin be placed in the box, and the box held in such a position
as to slant downwards to the opening, the coin will of its own weight
fall into the hand that holds the box (_see_ Fig. 83), thus giving the
performer possession of it without the knowledge of the audience.
[Illustration: FIG. 83.]
Between the true and the false bottom of the box is placed a slip of
zinc, which, when the box is shaken laterally, moves from side to side,
exactly simulating the sound of a coin shaken in the box. In its normal
condition, however, this slip of zinc is held fast (and therefore kept
silent) by the action of a spring also placed between the two bottoms,
but is released for the time being by a pressure on a particular part
of the outer bottom (the part in contact with the fingers in Fig. 83).
A casual inspection of the box suggests nothing, save, perhaps, that
its internal space is somewhat shallow in proportion to its external
measurement.
The mode of using it is as follows: The performer invites any person
to mark a coin, and to place it in the box, which he holds for that
purpose as represented in the figure; and the coin is thus no sooner
placed in the box than it falls into his hand. Transferring the box
to the other hand, and pressing the spring, he shakes it to show by
the sound that the coin is still there; then, leaving the box on the
table, he prepares for the next phase of the trick by secretly placing
the coin, which the audience believe to be still in the box, in any
other apparatus in which he desires it to be found, or makes such other
disposition of it as may be necessary. Having done this, and having
indicated the direction in which he is about to command the coin to
pass, he once more shakes the box to show that it is still _in statu
quo_. Then, with the mystic word “Pass!” he opens the box, which is
found empty, and shows that his commands have been obeyed.
[Illustration: FIG. 84. FIG. 85.]
THE PEPPER-BOX, for vanishing money.--This is a small tin box, of the
pepper-box or flour-dredger shape, standing three to four inches high.
(_See_ Fig. 84.) The box portion (as distinguished from the lid), is
made double, consisting of two tin tubes sliding the one within the
other, the bottom being soldered to the inner one only. By pulling the
bottom downwards, therefore, you draw down with it the inner tube,
telescope fashion. By so doing you bring into view a slit or opening at
one side of the inner tube, level with the bottom, and of such a size
as to let a coin, say a two-shilling piece, pass through it easily.
(_See_ Fig. 85.) The lid is also specially prepared. It has an inner
or false top, and between the true and false top a loose bit of tin is
introduced, which rattles when the box is shaken, unless you at the
same time press a little point of wire projecting from one of the holes
at the top, and so render it, for the time being, silent.
The box is first exhibited with the inner tube pushed up into its
place, and the opening thereby concealed. A marked coin is borrowed,
but either before or after the coin is placed therein, as may best suit
his purpose, the performer secretly draws out the inner tube a quarter
of an inch or so, thus allowing the coin to slip through into his hand.
As he places the box on the table, a very slight pressure suffices
to force the tube up again into its original position, and close
the opening. Having made the necessary disposition of the coin, the
performer takes up the box, and shakes it, to show (apparently) that
the coin is still there, pressing on the little point above mentioned
when he desires it to appear that it has departed, and immediately
opening the box to show that it is empty. The pepper-box will not bear
minute inspection, and is in this particular inferior to the rattle-box.
[Illustration: FIG. 86. FIG. 87.]
THE BRASS MONEY-BOX, for the same purpose.--This is on a similar
principle to that of the pepper-box, but has no rattle movement, and is
not adapted for any coin of larger size than a shilling. Its shape will
be best understood from an examination of the diagrams. (_See_ Figs.
86, 87.) It has no moveable lid, but merely a slit in the top, just
large enough to admit the coin, which, when once dropped in, cannot be
got out again without a knowledge of the secret.
This, like the pepper-box, consists of two tubes one within the other;
but the inner tube is firmly soldered to the two end pieces, _a_ and
_b_, which are solid. The only moveable portion is the outer tube _c_,
which is so arranged as to slide upwards (within _a_) for about an
eighth of an inch, thereby disclosing the opening of the inner tube,
and allowing the coin to slip through. Fig. 87 represents the box with
the slit open, and Fig. 86 with it closed.
Some little practice is required to use the money-box with dexterity.
The performer should hold it tightly by the middle between the finger
and thumb of his right hand, taking care that the side on which the
secret opening is shall lie toward the inside of his hand. As he drops
the coin through the slit, he should press lightly on the top with the
fingers of the left hand, and at the same time push _c_ upwards with
the right hand. The coin will now slip through into his hand, while a
slight downward pressure as he replaces the box on the table will again
push down _c_, and make all close as before. If the performer prefers
to use one hand only, he should press downwards on the top with the
first finger, at the same time pressing upwards with the second finger
and thumb.
There are various ways of using this little apparatus. It may either
be used as above, as a means of surreptitiously gaining possession
of a coin, to be afterwards produced in some other apparatus, or it
may be used by itself singly, the coin being made apparently to fall
through the bottom at the will of the performer. It may also be used as
a puzzle, its secret being so well concealed that it will bear a very
minute examination without discovery.
[Illustration: FIG. 88.]
THE BRASS BOX FOR MONEY, KNOWN AS THE “PLUG-BOX.”--This is a piece of
apparatus so ingenious in construction, and capable of being used in
so many different ways, that we should recommend the student of magic
to make it one of his first investments. It is about three inches
in height, and one and a half in diameter, and is composed of four
separate parts. _See_ Fig. 88, in which _a_ represents the outside
or body of the box, being in reality a mere brass tube open at both
ends, with a moveable bottom, _b_, which fits tightly in the end of
_a_, appearing when in its place to be a fixture, and to form with a
one complete whole; _a_ has no lid, properly so called, but is closed
by inserting in it what appears to be a solid brass plug or piston.
This plug, however, though in appearance solid, also consists of two
parts--the plug proper, _c_, which is really solid, and a brass sheath,
_d_, exactly fitting it as to its diameter, but a quarter of an inch
longer, thus leaving, when _c_ is placed in _d_, and pushed home, a
hollow space at the bottom of _d_ capable of containing a florin or
half-crown. The sheath _d_ is of precisely the same length as _a_, and
is so made as to fit easily upon _c_, but tightly within _a_. When
the plug-box is exhibited to the audience, the bottom, _b_, is in its
proper place, and _c_, which is shown apart from _a_, is covered with
its sheath, _d_. There being nothing in its appearance to point to any
other conclusion, the spectators naturally believe that the apparatus
consists of those two parts only. If now the plug be placed within
the box, and pushed home, the moveable bottom, _b_, will be pressed
out, and fall into the hand of the performer. On again withdrawing the
plug, the sheath _d_, which, as already mentioned, fits more tightly
within _a_ than upon _c_, is left within _a_; the bottom of _d_, which
comes exactly flush with the lower edge of _a_, now appearing to be the
bottom of the latter. To the eyes of the audience, the box is exactly
as they saw it at first, and it may even be examined pretty freely,
with little risk of its secret being discovered by any one.
The plug-box may be used in a variety of different ways--to vanish,
reproduce, or exchange. For the first purpose, the coin to be got
rid of is dropped into _a_. When the plug is inserted, and pressed
home, the coin falls, with _b_, into the hand of the performer; and
on the plug being again withdrawn, nothing is seen but the interior
of _d_, which is of course empty. Where it is desired to use the box
for the purpose of reproducing a coin, such coin is placed beforehand
within _d_. The box is first shown empty, but has only to be closed
and re-opened, and the coin is found within it. For exchanges, the
substitute is placed in _d_, and the genuine coin in _a_. This latter
falls out with the bottom, and the substitute is in due course
discovered. A half-crown may thus be changed to a penny, or a sovereign
to a shilling.
But the chief use of the plug-box is as an auxiliary in those more
important tricks in which the coin, apparently remaining up to the last
moment in the spectator’s own possession, is suddenly made to appear
in some quarter to which (if it had really so remained) it could not
possibly have been transported by natural means. The performer in this
case places a similar coin beforehand in _d_. Dropping, or allowing
the owner to drop, the marked coin into _a_, he closes the box, which
he shakes to prove that the coin is really there. Giving the box to
some one to hold, he is then enabled, without exciting the smallest
suspicion, to retire, and make what disposition he pleases of the
marked coin, which he has thus got into his own possession. When he
has completed his arrangements, he again takes the box, and, opening
it, takes out the substitute, which the audience naturally believe
to be the genuine coin; and getting rid of this by sleight-of-hand
or otherwise, passes the coin (at that very moment, so far as the
audience can judge) to the place where it is ultimately destined to be
found.
A favourite mode of using the plug-box is as follows:--A coin (say a
florin) is wrapped in a small piece of paper, after which the coin is
taken out and the paper again folded in such a manner as to retain
the impression of the coin, and so to look, as far as possible, as if
still containing it. The paper thus folded is placed beforehand in _d_,
and the performer, borrowing a florin, requests the owner to wrap it
carefully in a piece of paper, which he hands him for the purpose, and
which is similar in size and general appearance to the folded piece.
The florin, thus wrapped up, is placed in _a_, and the box closed, the
performer thus gaining possession of paper and coin. The box is then
handed to the owner of the money, who is asked to open it and see for
himself that his money is still there. Seeing the folded paper, which
he takes to be the same in which his money was wrapped, he answers in
the affirmative. The box is again closed, the coin, meanwhile, being
disposed of according to the pleasure of the operator--the owner
finding on a closer examination that his money has departed from the
box, though the paper in which it was wrapped (as he imagines) still
remains.
THE HANDKERCHIEF FOR VANISHING MONEY.--This is another appliance for
vanishing a coin. It is an ordinary handkerchief of silk or cotton, in
one corner of which, in a little pocket, is sewn a coin, say a florin
or a penny, or any substitute which, felt through the substance of the
handkerchief, shall appear to be such a coin. The mode of using it is
very simple. Holding the handkerchief by the corner in which is the
coin, and letting it hang loosely down, the performer borrows a similar
coin, and, after carelessly shaking out the handkerchief, to show that
all is fair, he places, to all appearance, the borrowed coin in the
centre (underneath), and gives the handkerchief to some one to hold. In
reality, he has only wrapped up the corner containing the substitute
coin, and retains the genuine one for his own purposes. When it is
desirable to make it appear that the coin has left the handkerchief, he
simply takes it from the person holding it, and gives it a shake, at
the same moment rapidly running the edges of the handkerchief through
his hands, till the corner containing the coin comes into one or the
other of them.
THE DEMON HANDKERCHIEF (_Le Mouchoir du Diable_).--This is a recent
improvement on the above, and possesses a much wider range of utility,
inasmuch as it really does cause the disappearance of any article
placed under it, and is available to vanish not only coin, but a card,
an egg, a watch, or any other article of moderate size. It consists of
_two_ handkerchiefs, of the same pattern, stitched together all round
the edges, and with a slit of about four inches in length cut in the
middle of one of them. The whole space between the two handkerchiefs
thus forms a kind of pocket, of which the slit above mentioned is the
only opening. In shaking or otherwise manipulating the handkerchief,
the performer takes care always to keep the side with the slit away
from the spectators, to whom the handkerchief appears to be merely the
ordinary article of everyday use. When he desires by its means to cause
the disappearance of anything, he carelessly throws the handkerchief
over the article, at the same time secretly passing the latter through
the slit in the under side, and hands it thus covered to some one to
hold. Then, taking the handkerchief by one corner, he requests him
to let go, when the object is retained in the space between the two
handkerchiefs, appearing to have vanished into empty air.
This, like the plug-box, is an appliance which no conjuror should be
without. It may be purchased ready-made at any of the _depôts_ for
magical apparatus, or may be of home-manufacture, which in this case
(contrary to the general rule) is not unlikely to produce the better
article.
THE DAVENPORT CABINET.--This little cabinet must by no means be
confounded with the wardrobe in which the notorious Brothers performed
their mystic evolutions. The cabinet now in question is but four inches
high and two and a half square, and consists of two parts, an outer
case, or body, covered at the top, but otherwise open throughout, and a
drawer, occupying the upper portion of its interior space. (_See_ Fig.
89.) When the drawer is removed, the case, which has no bottom, may
be examined throughout, and will be found to be perfectly plain and
unsophisticated; save that a keen examiner might observe a little brass
pin, a quarter of an inch long, projecting from the back of the cabinet
on the inside, just on a level with the bottom of the drawer when
replaced in its proper position. The drawer may also be examined, and
will be found to be perfectly plain, with the bottom (which is so thin
as to preclude any suspicion of a concealed space), covered within and
without with black cloth. On turning the drawer round, and examining
the back, a minute hole may be discovered, corresponding in situation
with the brass pin already mentioned. If a pin be thrust into this
hole, the purpose of the two is immediately manifest; for the pressure
of the pin releases a tiny catch, and allows the bottom of the drawer,
which is in reality only supported by this catch at the back and a
cloth hinge in the front, to drop into the position indicated in Fig.
90. This is precisely what takes place when the drawer, being restored
to its proper position in the cabinet, is duly closed. The pressure
of the brass pin at the back releases the catch, and the bottom of
the drawer falls as just described, and allows any article which may
have been placed therein to drop into the hand of the person holding
the cabinet. (_See_ Fig. 91.) The act of pulling out the drawer again
presses the bottom up to its proper place, where it is secured by the
catch until once more released by the pressure of the pin. The strong
point of this ingenious little apparatus is that it is absolutely
self-acting, and its secret can only be detected by examining the
cabinet from below at the moment when the drawer is pushed home; and
this it is easy to prevent by the simple expedient of handing each
portion _separately_ for inspection.
[Illustration: FIG. 89. FIG. 90. FIG. 91.]
The performer begins by handing first the cabinet and then the drawer
for examination. Then, placing the cabinet on the palm of his hand,
he invites any one of the audience to deposit any small article, a
coin, a ring, a watch, etc., in the drawer, and to replace the drawer
in the cabinet. As soon as the drawer is closed, the article drops
through into his hand. Taking hold of the cabinet with the other hand
(lifting it by the top only, and with the very tips of his fingers, so
as to preclude all apparent possibility of deception), he places it on
the table or elsewhere, in full view. Having thus gained possession of
the borrowed article, he concludes the trick by reproducing it in any
manner he thinks proper.
* * * * *
We have thus far discussed pieces of apparatus more especially designed
to cause the _disappearance_ of a coin, and thus adapted for use in the
first stage of a trick. We shall next consider such as are intended to
reproduce, under more or less surprising circumstances, the coin thus
got rid of, such reproduction forming the second stage, or _dénouement_.
THE NEST OF BOXES.--This consists of a number, generally six, but
sometimes more, of circular wooden boxes, one within the other, the
largest or outer box having much the appearance, but being nearly
double the size, of an ordinary tooth-powder box, and the smallest
being just large enough to contain a shilling. The series is so
accurately made, that by arranging the boxes in due order one within
the other, and the lids in like manner, you may, by simply putting on
all the lids together, close all the boxes at once, though they can
only be opened one by one.
These are placed, the boxes together and the lids together, anywhere
so as to be just out of sight of the audience. If on your table, they
may be hidden by any more bulky article. Having secretly obtained
possession, by either of the means before described, of a coin which
is ostensibly deposited in some other piece of apparatus, _e.g._, the
Davenport Cabinet, you seize your opportunity to drop it into the
innermost box, and to put on the united lids. You then bring forward
the nest of boxes (which the spectators naturally take to be one box
only), and announce that the shilling will at your command pass from
the place in which it has been deposited into the box which you hold
in your hand, and which you forthwith deliver to one of the audience
for safe keeping. Touching both articles with the mystic wand, you
invite inspection of the first to show that the money has departed, and
then of the box, wherein it is to be found. The holder opens the box,
and finds another, and then another, and in the innermost of all the
marked coin. Seeing how long the several boxes have taken to open, the
spectators naturally infer that they must take as long to close, and
(apart from the other mysteries of the trick), are utterly at a loss to
imagine how, with the mere moment of time at your command, you could
have managed to insert the coin, and close so many boxes.
If you desire to use the nest for a coin larger than a shilling, you
can make it available for that purpose by removing beforehand the
smallest box. Nests of square boxes, with hinged lids and self-closing
locks, are made, both in wood and in tin, on the same principle. These
are designed for larger articles, and greatly vary in size and price.
THE BALL OF BERLIN WOOL.--An easy and effective mode of terminating a
money trick is to pass the marked coin into the centre of a large ball
of Berlin wool or worsted, the whole of which has to be unwound before
the coin can be reached. The _modus operandi_, though perplexing to
the uninitiated, is absurdly simple when the secret is revealed. The
only apparatus necessary over and above the wool (of which you must
have enough for a good-sized ball), is a flat tin tube, three to four
inches in length, and just large enough to allow a florin or shilling
(whichever you intend to use for the trick) to slip through it easily.
You prepare for the trick by winding the wool on one end of the tube,
in such manner that when the whole is wound in a ball, an inch or
so of the tube may project from it. This you place in your pocket,
or anywhere out of sight of the audience. You commence the trick by
requesting some one to mark a coin, which you forthwith exchange,
by one or other of the means already described, for a substitute of
your own, and leave the latter in the possession or in view of the
spectators, while you retire to fetch your ball of wool, or simply
take it from your pocket. Before producing it, you drop the genuine
coin down the tube into the centre of the ball, and withdraw the tube,
giving the ball a squeeze to remove all trace of an opening. You then
bring it forward, and place it in a glass goblet or tumbler, which you
hand to a spectator to hold. Taking the substitute coin, you announce
that you will make it pass invisibly into the very centre of the ball
of wool, which you accordingly pretend to do, getting rid of it by
means of one or other of the Passes described in Chapter VI. You then
request a second spectator to take the loose end of the wool, and to
unwind the ball, which, when he has done, the coin falls out into the
goblet.
The only drawback to the trick is the tediousness of the process of
unwinding. To obviate this, some performers use a wheel made for the
purpose, which materially shortens the length of the operation.
THE GLASS GOBLET AND COVER.--This apparatus consists of an ordinary
glass goblet, of rather large size, with a japanned tin cover, in
shape not unlike the lid of a coffee-pot, but of sufficient height to
contain, in an upright position, a couple of florins or half-crowns.
These are placed side by side in a flat tube, just large enough to
admit them, fixed in a slightly sloping position in the upper part of
the cover, and divided in two by a tin partition. Across the lower end
of this tube is a tin slide, which, in its normal condition, is kept
closed by the action of a spring, but is drawn back whenever a knob on
the top of the cover is pressed down. If a slight pressure be applied,
one coin only is released; but if the knob be still further pressed
down, the second also falls. The mechanism of the cover is concealed by
a flat plate or lining, also of tin, soldered just within it, with an
oblong opening just large enough to admit of the passage of the coins.
The inside of the cover is japanned black, the outside according to the
taste of the maker.
You take care not to bring on the goblet and cover until you have, by
substitution, gained possession of the two marked coins which you have
borrowed for the purpose of the trick. Retiring to fetch the glass and
cover, you prepare the latter by inserting the marked coins. This you
do by holding the cover upside down, pressing the knob (thus drawing
back the spring slide), and dropping the coins into their receptacle.
On removing the pressure on the knob, the slide returns to its normal
position. You then bring forward the goblet and cover, and place
them on the table. Holding the goblet upside down, to show that it is
empty, you place the cover over it, ostensibly to prevent anything
being secretly passed into it, and, for still greater security,
throw a handkerchief, borrowed for that purpose, over the whole. You
now announce that, notwithstanding the difficulties which you have
voluntarily placed in the way, you will pass the two marked coins
through the handkerchief, and through the metal cover into the glass.
Taking in your right hand one of the substitutes, which have all along
remained in sight, and which the audience take to be the genuine coins,
you pretend by Pass 1 to transfer it to your left, and pressing gently
on the knob with the last-mentioned hand, cause one of the marked coins
to drop from the cover, at the same moment opening the hand to show
that the coin has left it. The audience hear, though they do not see,
the fall of the coin. With the second coin it is well to introduce an
element of variety, and you may therefore offer to dispense with the
handkerchief, that all may see as well as hear the coin arrive. As a
further variation, you may use your wand as the conducting medium.
Taking the substitute coin in the left hand, you apparently, by Pass
4, transfer it to your right. Then taking the wand in the left hand,
you hold it perpendicularly, with its lower end resting upon the knob
of the cover. Holding it with the thumb and second finger of the right
hand, one on each side of it, you draw them smartly downwards, at the
same time pressing with the wand on the knob, when the second coin will
be seen and heard to fall into the glass. Taking off the cover, and
leaving it on the table, you bring forward the glass, and allow the
owners to take out and identify the coins.
It is a great addition to have a second cover, similar in appearance
to the first, but hollow throughout, and without any mechanism. You
are thus enabled to hand both goblet and cover for examination before
performing the trick. As you return to your table, your back being
towards the spectators, you have ample opportunity for substituting the
mechanical cover, the plain one being dropped either into one of your
_profondes_, or on to the _servante_ of your table.
THE GLASS WITHOUT COVER, FOR MONEY.--This is of tumbler shape, without
foot, and of green or other dark-coloured glass, so that it is
semi-opaque. In this instance no cover is used, and the borrowed coins
are not seen, but merely heard, to drop into the glass, where they are
found in due course.
The secret of the glass lies in a false bottom of tin, working on a
hinge, and held down by a catch worked by a pin through the bottom of
the glass, and flying up with a spring when released. The performer,
having gained possession of three or four borrowed coins by either of
the means before mentioned, retires to fetch the glass, and takes the
opportunity to place the coins beneath the false bottom. He then comes
forward, glass in hand. He does not offer the glass for examination,
but turns it upside down, and rattles his wand inside it, showing,
ostensibly, that it is empty. Having done this, he places it on his
table, as near the back of the stage as possible, at the same time
moving the catch, and so releasing the false bottom, which naturally
flies up, and uncovers the concealed coins. Standing at a considerable
distance from the glass, he takes one by one the substitutes, which
to the eyes of the audience represent the genuine coins, and gets rid
of them by one or other of the various passes, saying as each one
apparently vanishes from his hand, “One, two, three--Pass!” At the same
moment the sound of a falling coin is heard, proceeding apparently from
the glass, but really from behind the scenes, or any other available
spot out of sight, where an assistant, placed as near to the glass as
circumstances will admit, drops _another_ coin into _another_ glass.
If the position of the assistant, with reference to the audience, is
pretty nearly in a straight line with the glass which they see, the
illusion will be perfect. When all the coins are supposed to have
passed in this manner, the performer, advancing to the glass, pours
out, either upon a tray or upon his open palm, the borrowed coins,
and leaving the glass upon the table, comes forward, and requests the
owners to identify them.
* * * * *
We have thus far described eight different contrivances for vanishing
money, and (including the “plug-box,” which may be used in both ways)
five for reproducing it. It is obvious that either of the first may be
used in combination with either of the second, producing some fifty
different effects. By the use of sleight-of-hand in place of apparatus
at either stage of the trick, still more numerous variations may be
produced, and these may be still further multiplied by the use of other
appliances to be hereafter described, which, though of less general
utility, may be occasionally introduced with excellent effect. The
apparatus which we shall next describe is one which is very frequently
used in combination with that last mentioned. It is known as
THE MIRACULOUS CASKET.--This is a neat leather- or velvet-covered
box, about three inches by two, and two and a half high. When opened,
it is seen to be filled with a velvet cushion or stuffing, after the
manner of a ring-case, with four slits, each just large enough to admit
a half-crown or florin. (_See_ Fig. 92.) By an ingenious mechanical
arrangement in the interior, which it would take too much space to
describe at length, each time the box is closed one of the coins is
made to drop down into the lower part, and on the box being reopened is
found to have vanished.
[Illustration: FIG. 92.]
The casket may be used in many tricks with good effect. In combination
with the magic glass, last above described, it is employed as
follows:--The four coins which have been substituted for the genuine
ones are placed, in sight of all, in the magic casket, which is then
closed, and handed to one of the audience to hold. The performer then
states that he is about to order the four coins now in the casket to
pass one by one into the glass upon the table. “One!” he exclaims. A
coin is heard to fall into the glass. The person who holds the casket
is requested to open it; three coins only are left. It is again closed,
and the performer says, “Two!” Again the chink of the falling coin is
heard, and another coin is found to have disappeared from the casket.
The operation is repeated till all have vanished, and the operator
pours forth from the glass four coins, which, on examination, are found
to be the same which were originally borrowed, and which the audience
believe that they saw placed in the casket.
The casket may also be used with capital effect in conjunction with
THE HALF-CROWN (OR FLORIN) WAND.--This is a wand, apparently of ebony,
but really of brass, japanned black. It is about twelve inches in
length, and five-eighths of an inch in diameter. On one side of it, and
so placed as to be just under the ball of the thumb when the wand is
held in the hand, is a little stud, which moves backwards and forwards
for a short distance (about an inch and a quarter), like the sliding
ring of a pencil-case. When this stud is pressed forward, a half-crown
or florin, as the case may be, appears on the opposite end of the wand
(_see_ Fig. 93), retiring within it when the stud is again drawn back.
The half-crown is a genuine one, but is cut into three portions, as
indicated in Fig. 94, which represents a transverse section of it at
right angles to the actual cuts. Each of the three segments is attached
to a piece of watch-spring, and from the direction of the cuts it is
obvious that, when these pieces of watch-spring are pressed together
(as they naturally are when drawn back into the wand), _c_ will be
drawn behind, and _a_ in front of _b_. (_See_ Fig. 95.)
[Illustration: FIG. 93. FIG. 94. FIG. 95.
The wand is used as follows:--The performer palms in his left hand as
many half-crowns as he intends to produce. Then, taking the wand in the
right hand, and lightly touching with it the spot whence he desires
to (apparently) produce a half-crown, he pushes forward the stud, and
the split coin appears on the opposite end of the wand. He now draws
the upper part of the wand through the left hand, at the same moment
pressing back the stud, and causing the split coin to retire within the
wand, immediately handing for examination with the left hand one of the
half-crowns already placed there, and which by this gesture he appears
to have just taken from the top of the wand. This is again repeated,
and another half-crown exhibited, till the stock in the left hand is
exhausted.
It is desirable, on each occasion of pressing forward or withdrawing
the stud, to place the opposite end of the wand in such a situation
as to be a little shielded from the eyes of the spectators, so that
they may not see the actual appearance or disappearance of the coin.
A very slight “cover” will be sufficient. The end of the wand may be
placed within a person’s open mouth (and withdrawn with the half-crown
thereon), within a pocket, or the like. Where no such cover is
available, a quick semi-circular sweep should be made with the wand as
the coin is protruded or withdrawn.
With the aid of this wand the passage of the four half-crowns from the
casket to the glass, just described, becomes still more effective.
The four substitute half-crowns having been placed in the casket, and
the latter closed, the performer announces that he will withdraw them
visibly, one by one, and will then invisibly pass them into the glass.
Further, to prove that the trick is not performed by any mechanical
or physical means, he will not even take the casket in his hand, but
will withdraw the coins one by one with his wand, and thence pass them
direct into the glass. Touching the casket with the wand, he presses
the stud, and shows the half-crown on the end. Apparently taking off
the coin with his left hand, as before described (the hand, however,
being in this case empty), he makes the motion of throwing the coin
from the hand to the glass, saying, “Pass!” The sound of a falling coin
is heard (as already explained), and he shows that his hand is empty,
the same process being repeated as to the remaining coins.
The wand may also be effectively introduced in the trick of the Shower
of Money, which next follows. After having caught in the ordinary
manner such number of coins as he thinks fit, the performer perceives,
or pretends to perceive, that the audience suspect that the coins are
in some manner concealed in his right hand. To show that this is not
the case, he offers to catch a few coins on the top of his wand instead
of in his hand, and finishes the trick by producing two or three on the
wand accordingly. Wherever you can, as in this instance, produce the
same result by two wholly different methods the effect on the audience
is most bewildering. Their conjectures as to the explanation of the
first method being inadmissible as to the second, and _vice versâ_, the
more they puzzle over the matter, the further are they likely to be
from a correct solution.
THE SHOWER OF MONEY.--The magical phenomenon known under this name
surpasses the philosopher’s stone, in the pursuit of which so many of
the wise men of old expended their lives and fortunes. The alchemist’s
secret aimed only at producing the raw material, but the magician’s
quick eye and ready hand gather from space money ready coined.
Unfortunately, the experiment is subject to the same drawback as the
more ancient process--viz., that each twenty shillings produced cost
precisely twenty shillings, leaving hardly sufficient profit to make
this form of money-making remunerative as a commercial undertaking.
The effect of the trick is as follows:--The performer borrows a hat,
which he holds in his left hand. Turning up his sleeves, he announces
that he requires a certain number, say ten, of florins or half-crowns.
The spectators put their hands in their pockets with the idea of
contributing to the supposed loan; but the professor, anticipating
their intention, says, “No, thank you; I won’t trouble you this time.
There seems to be a good deal of money about tonight; I think I will
help myself. See, here is a half-crown hanging to the gaselier. Here
is another climbing up the wall. Here is another just settling on
this lady’s hair. Excuse me, sir, but you have a half-crown in your
whiskers. Permit me, madam; you have just placed your foot on another,”
and so on. At each supposed new discovery the performer takes with his
right hand, from some place where there clearly was nothing an instant
before, a half-crown, which he drops into the hat held in his left
hand, finally turning over the hat, and pouring the coins from it, to
show that there has been “no deception.”
The explanation is very simple, the trick being merely a practical
application of the art of “palming,” though its effect depends on the
manner and address of the operator even more than on his skill in
sleight-of-hand. The performer provides himself beforehand with ten
half-crowns. Of these he palms two in his right hand, and the remainder
in his left. When he takes the hat, he holds it in the left hand,
with the fingers inside and the thumb outside, in which position it is
comparatively easy to drop the coins one by one from the hand into the
hat. When he pretends to see the first half-crown floating in the air,
he lets one of the coins in his right hand drop to his finger-tips,
and, making a clutch at the air, produces it as if just caught. This
first coin he really does drop into the hat, taking care that all shall
see clearly that he does so. He then goes through a similar process
with the second; but when the time comes to drop it into the hat, he
merely pretends to do so, palming the coin quickly in the right hand,
and at the same moment letting fall into the hat one of the coins
concealed in his left hand. The audience, hearing the sound, naturally
believe it to be occasioned by the fall of the coin they have just
seen. The process is repeated until the coins in the left hand are
exhausted. Once more the performer appears to clutch a coin from space,
and showing for the last time that which has all along been in his
right hand, tosses it into the air, and catches it visibly in the hat.
Pouring out the coins on a tray, or into the lap of one of the company,
he requests that they may be counted, when they are found to correspond
with the number which he has apparently collected from the surrounding
atmosphere.
Some performers, by way of bringing the trick to a smart conclusion,
after they have dropped in all the coins, remark, “The hat begins to
get heavy,” or make some similar observation, at the same time dipping
the right hand into the hat, as if to gauge the quantity obtained; and,
giving the money a shake, bring up the hand with four or five of the
coins clipped breadthwise against the lowest joints of the second and
third fingers. Then pretend to catch in quick succession that number
of coins, each time sliding one of the coins with the thumb to the
finger-tips, and tossing it into the hat.
It is by no means uncommon to see a performer, after having apparently
dropped two or three coins into the hat in the ordinary way, pretend
to pass in one or more through the side or crown. This produces a
momentary effect, but it is an effect purchased at the cost of enabling
an acute spectator to infer, with logical certainty, that the coin seen
in the right hand was not the same that was, the moment afterwards,
heard to chink within the hat; and this furnishes a distinct clue to
the secret of the trick.
It is obvious that, in the above form of the trick (which so far
should be classed among “tricks without apparatus”), the performer
cannot show the inside of his hands; and it is not uncommon to find
an acute observer (particularly where the performer is guilty of the
indiscretion we have just noted) so far hit upon the true explanation,
as to express audibly a conjecture that the money which the performer
catches is really the same coin over and over again. There is, however,
a mechanical appliance known as the “money-slide,” which is designed to
meet this difficulty, and to enable the performer still to catch the
coin, though he has but a moment before shown that his hand is empty.
[Illustration: FIGS. 96, 97.]
The money-slide is a flat tin tube, about eight inches in length, an
inch and a quarter in width, and of just such depth as to allow a
half-crown or florin (whichever coin may be used) to slip through it
freely, edgeways. It is open at the top, but is closed at the lower
end by a lever, acting like the lever of a shot-pouch. (_See_ Fig. 96,
which shows the external appearance of the tube, and Fig. 97, which
represents, on a somewhat larger scale, a section of its essential
portion.) The normal position of the lever (which works on a pivot,
_a_) is as shown in Fig. 97, being maintained in that position by a
small spring. Under such circumstances, the passage of the tube is
barred by the pin _d_ (which works through a small hole in the face
of the tube); but if _ac_, the longer arm of the lever, be pressed
down, the pin _d_ is withdrawn, but the extreme lower end of the tube
is for the moment barred by the bent end of _ac_. The pressure being
withdrawn, the lever returns to its former condition. When required
for use, four or five half-crowns are dropped into the tube from the
upper end, and the tube is fastened, by a hook affixed to it for that
purpose, inside the waistcoat of the performer, so that its lower
end hangs just above the waistband, the lever side of the tube being
next the body. If the tube be lightly pressed through the waistcoat,
the longer arm of the lever is thereby pressed down. The pin _d_ is
lifted, and the row of half-crowns slide down to the bottom of the
tube, where, however, they are arrested by the bent end of _ac_. As
soon as the pressure is removed, the lever returns to its position.
The mouth of the tube is left open, and the first of the half-crowns
drops out, and would be followed by the others, but the pin, _d_, which
at the same moment returns to its position across the tube, stops
their further progress. Thus each time the lever is pressed and again
released, one half-crown, and one only, drops out at the mouth of the
tube.
The use of this appliance in the trick we have just described will be
obvious. The performer, having turned up his sleeves to prove that they
have no part in the matter, shows that his right hand is absolutely
empty. Continuing his observations, his hand rests for a moment with
a careless gesture against his waistcoat, the ball of the wrist being
above and the fingers below the waistband. A momentary pressure causes
a half-crown to fall into his hand. This he palms, and in due course
proceeds to catch, as already described.
As the capacity of the slide is limited, and the same gestures
frequently repeated would be likely to excite suspicion, it is best
to begin the trick in the ordinary manner, and after having produced
three or four coins in this way, to overhear, or pretend to overhear, a
suggestion that the coin is all the while in your hand. Ostentatiously
throwing the coin with which you have so far worked, into the hat, you
draw special attention (not in words, but by gesture) to your empty
hand (the left hand is never suspected), and then have recourse to
the slide. You throw the coin thus obtained into the hat, and again
show your hand empty. You produce another coin from the slide, and
make this serve you for the next two or three catches, and so on, as
circumstances may dictate.
The money magically caught as above may be used for the trick of the
Multiplication of Money, described at page 176, the two forming a
natural and effective sequence.
THE VANISHING PLATE, OR SALVER.--This is a most useful and ingenious
piece of apparatus. In appearance it is an ordinary japanned tin tray,
of about ten inches in diameter; but it has the faculty of causing
money placed upon it to disappear in a most surprising manner. A
number of coins, collected from the company, are placed upon the
salver. The performer, standing but a few feet from the spectators,
openly takes them off one by one, but each, as his fingers grasp it,
vanishes utterly. His sleeves (which in conjuring come in for a vast
amount of undeserved suspicion) may be rigorously examined; but even
though, as a concession to popular prejudice, he should bare his arm to
the shoulder, the result would still be the same.
[Illustration: FIG. 98.]
A closer inspection of the salver (which the performer takes good
care not to permit) would reveal the fact, that though apparently
consisting, like any other, of only one thickness of metal, it is
in reality made double, allowing sufficient space between its upper
and under surface for the concealment of any number of coins laid
singly. The centre portion of the upper surface, though apparently of
a piece with the rest, is in reality moveable, though pressed upwards
and kept in its place by the action of four small springs. When the
performer apparently picks up a coin (which he takes care shall be on
this centre portion), he presses smartly upon it, at the same moment
drawing it sharply towards the outer rim. The moveable portion of the
salver yielding to the pressure, the effect is as shown in the figure
(Fig. 98), and the coin is shot under the outer rim, between the upper
and under surface of the salver, the moveable portion rising again
to its place as soon as the momentary pressure is removed. The tray
is japanned in such manner that the circular lines of the pattern
correspond with the outline of the moveable portion, and will bear any
amount of mere ocular inspection, so long as it is not permitted to be
handled.
The vanishing salver may be introduced with good effect in many
tricks, as, for instance, that of the Multiplication of Money, above
referred to, the coins to be magically added being placed upon the
salver, whence they are taken off one by one, and commanded to pass
into the hands of the person who holds the money. It may also be
advantageously used in conjunction with the glass described at page
201, each coin, as it vanishes from the salver, being heard to drop
into the glass.
THE “CHANGING” PLATE.--The student has already been made acquainted
with various methods of exchanging a marked coin, etc., for a
substitute. There are still one or two appliances for this purpose
remaining to be described, all taking the form of metal plates or
trays, but greatly varying in their construction.
The first, which we only mention for the sake of completeness, as it
is now superseded by later and better inventions, consists of a small
circular tin tray, with a round hole or well in the centre, of about
an inch and a half in diameter and a quarter of an inch in depth. The
lines of the pattern are so arranged as to make this cavity as little
noticeable as possible. The well is moveable, forming, in fact, a
portion of a sliding piece below the tray, in which sliding piece _two_
such wells are excavated, the one or the other in turn corresponding
to the opening in the tray, according as the sliding piece is pushed
backwards or forwards. When the tray is required for use, the
substitute coin is placed beforehand in one of the two wells, which is
then pushed out of sight, and the other brought below the opening. The
borrowed coin is received on the plate, and allowed to drop into the
empty well. As soon as this is done, the operator, with his forefinger,
which is naturally beneath the plate, draws back the slide, and brings
the other coin in sight, while the genuine one drops into his hand. The
construction of the plate, though simple enough in itself, is a little
difficult to explain; but as we only allude to it in order to counsel
the student to avoid it, any obscurity in our description is of little
importance.
The instrument now used for the same purpose is known as the French
changing-plate, and may be described as a combination of the vanishing
salver (page 209) and the multiplying money-plate (page 177). It
is round, and has beneath it a flat tube similar to that of the
multiplying plate; and it is in this tube that the substitute coins are
placed. The upper surface of the plate is similar in appearance to that
of the vanishing plate; but in this case the centre portion is divided
across the middle, and one half only is moveable, sinking downwards to
the depth of a quarter of an inch all along the dividing line, whenever
pressure is applied to a particular portion of the under surface of the
plate. The coins to be changed are received by the operator on this
moveable portion, and immediately handed to some person to hold, the
performer sloping the plate, and (apparently) pouring the coins into
the hands or hat held out to receive them. In reality, in the act of
sloping the plate, he depresses the moveable portion of the surface,
and, as a natural consequence, the coins, instead of sliding, as they
appear to do, right off the plate, slip between the upper and under
surface, while the substitutes fall from the tube below into the hands
of the person who is to take charge of them. The whole movement is
so rapid, and the fall of the substituted coins coincides so exactly
with the disappearance of the genuine ones, that the eye is completely
deceived. The tray, having apparently served its purpose, is carried
off by the magician or his servant, with ample opportunity to make any
necessary disposition of the genuine coins.
A still later improvement is that which is known as
THE TRAY OF PROTEUS.--The tray to which the inventors (Messrs. Hiam &
Lane) have given the above high-sounding title, is the latest, and not
the least ingenious, of the series of magical trays.
[Illustration: FIG. 99. FIG. 100.]
The tray in question will not only change, but add, subtract, or
vanish coins, under the very eyes of the spectators. In form it is
an oblong octagon, measuring eight inches by six, and standing about
three-quarters of an inch high. (_See_ Fig. 99.) It is divided across
the centre, and one half of the centre portion is moveable in the
same manner as in the case of the tray last described, save that
in this instance the depth between the upper and under surface of
the tray being greater, this moveable portion is depressible to a
proportionately greater depth. The opposite or fixed side of the tray
is divided horizontally (_see_ Fig. 100, representing a longitudinal
section) into two levels or platforms, _a_ and _b_, the lower, _b_,
having a raised edge. Where the tray is to be used for the purpose of
“changing,” the coins to be substituted are placed in a row on the
upper platform, _a_. The genuine coins are placed by the performer,
holding the tray as indicated in Fig. 99, on the moveable flap, _c_.
Slightly lowering the opposite end of the tray, he presses the button
_d_, thus sloping the flap _c_, and the coins naturally slide into
_b_. Still keeping the flap open, he now tilts up the opposite end of
the tray. The genuine coins cannot return, by reason of the raised
edge of _b_; but the substitute coins in their turn slide out upon
_c_, which is then allowed to return to its original position. The
necessary movement, though comparatively tedious in description, is
in skilful hands so rapid in execution that, where coins of the same
kind are substituted--_e.g._, half-crowns for half-crowns--the most
acute spectator cannot detect that any change has taken place. A most
startling effect is produced by substituting coins of a different
kind, as pence for half-crowns, the coins appearing to be transformed
by a mere shake into a different metal. The change involving a double
process--viz., the disappearance of certain coins and the appearance
of others--it is obvious that the tray will be equally available for
either process singly. Thus coins placed upon the tray may be made to
instantly vanish, or, by reversing the process, coins may be made to
appear where there was nothing a moment previously. In like manner, a
given number of coins may be increased to a larger, or decreased (in
this case really _changed_) to a smaller number.
This tray has not, like that last described, any additional flat tube
beneath the tray, but one end of _a_ and _b_ is closed by a little
slide, hidden beneath the edge of the tray, to allow of the money
therein being extracted when necessary.