THE CUPS AND BALLS.
The subject of the present chapter may be said to be the groundwork of
all legerdemain, being, we believe, the very earliest form in which
sleight-of-hand was exhibited. At the present day it is not very often
seen, save in the bastard form known as “thimble-rig,” and used as a
means of fleecing the unwary upon race-courses and at country fairs.
It is, however, well worthy the attention of the student of modern
magic, not only as affording an excellent course of training in digital
dexterity, but as being, in the hands of an adept, most striking in
effect. It is by no means uncommon to find spectators who have received
more elaborate feats with comparative indifference, become interested,
and even enthusiastic, over a brilliant manipulation of the cups and
balls.
The prestige of the illusion is heightened by the simplicity of the
appliances used, consisting merely of three tin cups about three inches
high, each in the form of a truncated cone, with a rim or shoulder
round the base (_see_ Fig. 118), the ordinary wand, four little cork
balls, three-quarters of an inch or a little less in diameter, and
blackened in the flame of a candle, three larger balls of about an inch
and a quarter in diameter, and four more of such a size as to just fill
the goblet. These last are generally stuffed with hair, and covered
with cloth. The number of balls may vary according to the particular
“passes” which the performer desires to exhibit, but the above will be
found sufficient for most purposes. The performers of the olden time
were accustomed to use the _gibecière_, or apron with pockets, already
mentioned, and to perform at a table having no speciality, save that
it was a little higher than those in ordinary use; but at the present
day the _gibecière_ is entirely discarded, the _servante_ of the table
answering the same purpose. The arrangement of the table and apparatus
is shown in Fig. 118.
The whole art of cup-and-ball conjuring resolves itself into two
elements--(1), the exhibition of a ball under a cup where a moment
previously there was nothing; and (2) the disappearance of a ball
from beneath a cup under which the audience have just seen it (or
believe that they have seen it) placed. The routine is as follows:--A
cup is lifted, to show that there is nothing beneath it, and again
replaced, mouth downwards, on the table. A ball is taken in the right
hand, transferred to the left, and thence ordered to pass under the
cup. The hand is opened, the ball has vanished, and, on the cup being
lifted, is found beneath it. Again, the ball, first exhibited in the
right hand, is thence openly transferred, either directly under the
cup, or first to the left hand, and thence to the cup. All having
seen it placed beneath the cup, it is now commanded to depart, and on
again lifting the cup, it is found to have vanished. It will hardly be
believed, until proved by experiment, of what numerous and surprising
combinations these simple elements are capable.
[Illustration: FIG. 118.]
The sleight-of-hand requisite for the cups and balls is technically
divisible into four different acts or movements, viz.--1. To “palm” the
ball. 2. To reproduce the palmed ball at the end of the fingers. 3. To
secretly introduce the palmed ball under the cup. 4. To simulate the
action of placing the ball under the cup. The modes of effecting these
objects will be discussed in due order.
[Illustration: FIG. 119.]
[Illustration: FIG. 120.]
[Illustration: FIG. 121.]
1. TO PALM THE BALL. _First Method._--We use the generic term “palm”
for the sake of convenience, though in this first method, which is
that most generally used, the ball is really concealed between the
second and third fingers, and not in the palm. Take the ball between
the first finger and thumb of the right hand; slightly bend the fingers
(_see_ Fig. 119), and at the same moment roll the ball with the thumb
across the first and second fingers, till it rests between the second
and third fingers (_see_ Fig. 120), which should slightly separate to
receive it, again closing as soon as it is safely lodged. The ball
will now be as shown in Fig. 121, and it will be found that the hand
can be opened or closed with perfect freedom, and, indeed, be used in
any manner, without being in the least hampered by its presence. The
student should practise palming the ball in this manner both in the act
of (apparently) transferring the ball to the left hand, and in that of
(apparently) placing it under a cup lifted by the left hand for that
purpose.
_Second Method._--The second method is to actually “palm” the ball, in
the same manner as a coin. For this purpose the ball is, as before,
taken between the first finger and thumb of the right hand, but is
thence made by the thumb to roll between the tips of the third and
fourth fingers, which immediately close into the palm, and, again
opening, leave the ball behind them. With a little practice, two balls
in succession may be palmed in this way, and then a third by the first
method.
[Illustration: FIG. 122.]
_Third Method._--The third method is that which was adopted by the
celebrated Bosco, a most accomplished performer with the cup and
balls. Being accustomed to use balls of a larger size than those above
described, and therefore too bulky to palm by the first method, he used
to hold them by means of a slight contraction of the little finger.
(_See_ Fig. 122.) The necessary movement of the fingers to place the
ball in position is nearly the same as by the first method.
[Illustration: FIG. 123.]
2. TO REPRODUCE THE PALMED BALL AT THE END OF THE FINGERS.--The mode
of doing this will vary according to the method by which the ball is
palmed. If according to the first or third method, the ball is simply
rolled back to the finger-tips with the ball of the thumb, exactly
reversing the process by which it was palmed. But if the ball was
palmed by the second method, it is, for the time being, not get-at-able
by the ball of the thumb. In this case the first step is to close the
third and fourth fingers upon the ball (_see_ Fig. 123), and therewith
roll it to the position shown in Fig. 122, when the thumb is enabled
to reach it, and to roll it to the finger-tips in the manner just
described.
[Illustration: FIG. 124.]
3. TO SECRETLY INTRODUCE THE PALMED BALL UNDER THE CUP.--This is
always done in the act of raising the cup (with the right hand), for
the ostensible purpose of showing that there is nothing underneath
it. The chief thing to be attended to is the position of the right
hand (in which we are supposing a ball to be palmed by one or other of
the methods above mentioned) in raising the cup. This should be done
with the hand spread almost flat upon the table, and grasping the cup
as low down as possible, between the thumb and the lowest joint of
the forefinger. In the act of raising the cup, the fingers naturally
assume the position shown in Fig. 124, whereby the ball is brought in
close proximity to, and slightly under, the edge of the cup. If the
ball be palmed by the first method, all that is necessary in order to
release it is a slight backward movement of the second, and a forward
movement of the third finger, made just before the cup again touches
the table. This will be found to drop the ball immediately under the
cup. If the ball be palmed by the third method, its introduction under
the cup is a still easier matter, as by the act of raising the cup it
is brought directly underneath it, and is released by the mere act of
straightening the third and fourth fingers. If the ball is palmed by
the second method, it becomes necessary, before taking hold of the cup,
to close the third and fourth fingers slightly (_see_ Fig. 123), and
bring the ball to the position shown in Fig. 122. From this point the
operation is the same as if the ball had been originally palmed by the
third method.
[Illustration: FIG. 125.]
It is sometimes necessary to introduce a ball between two cups. It will
be remembered that each cup is made with a cylindrical rim or shoulder.
The purpose of this shoulder is that, when two cups are placed one
upon the other (_see_ Fig. 125), there may be a space between them
sufficient to receive a ball or balls. To further facilitate the
introduction of the ball, the top of each cup is made, not flat, but
concave. When it is desired to introduce a ball between two cups, that
object is effected as follows:--Having the ball ready palmed in the
right hand, the performer takes up a cup in the same hand, and with it
covers the second cup, at the same moment introducing the ball beneath
it in the ordinary manner, but with the addition of a little upward
jerk, rather difficult to describe, but easily acquired with a little
practice. The ball is thereby thrown to the top of the uppermost cup,
and, in again falling, is received by the concave top of the lowermost
cup.
4. TO SIMULATE THE ACTION OF PLACING A BALL UNDER A CUP.--This may be
done in two ways. The first is to raise the cup with the left hand,
apparently placing the ball underneath it with the right, but really
palming it. Care must be taken that the edge of the cup shall touch
the table at the very moment that the fingers of the right hand are
removed. The second and more common method is to apparently transfer
the ball to the left hand, palming it in the transit, and then bringing
the closed left hand close to the cup on the table, raise the cup with
the other hand, and immediately replace it with a sort of scraping
movement across the fingers of the now opening left hand.
When the student has thoroughly mastered the various operations above
described, he will have little to learn save the combination of the
various Passes, a matter of memory only. There are, however, one or
two subordinate sleights with which he should make himself acquainted
before proceeding publicly to exhibit his dexterity.
[Illustration: FIG. 126.]
TO PRODUCE A BALL FROM THE WAND.--The wand is supposed to be the
reservoir whence the magician produces his store of balls, and into
which they vanish when no longer needed. The mode of production is
as follows:--The performer, holding the wand in his left hand, and
drawing attention to it by some remark as to its mysterious power of
production and absorption, secretly takes with his right hand, from the
_servante_ or elsewhere, a ball, which he immediately palms (preferably
by the first method). Daintily holding the wand by either end with
the left hand, in such manner as to show that the hand is otherwise
empty, he slides the thumb and fingers of the right hand (the back of
which is naturally towards the audience) lightly to the opposite end,
at the same moment rolling the ball with the thumb to the ends of the
fingers, as already described. (_See_ Fig. 126.) The ball thus comes in
sight just as the hand leaves the wand, the effect to the eyes of the
spectators being that the ball is, by some mysterious process, squeezed
out of the wand.
TO RETURN A BALL INTO THE WAND.--This is the converse of the process
last described. Taking the wand in the left hand, as before, and the
ball between the thumb and second joint of the forefinger of the
opposite hand, the performer lays the end of the wand across the tips
of the fingers, and draws the hand gently downwards along it, at the
same time palming the ball by the first method.
TO PASS ONE CUP THROUGH ANOTHER.--This is an effective sleight, and
by no means difficult of acquirement. Taking one of the cups, mouth
upwards, in the left hand, and holding another in a similar position
in the right hand, about a foot above it, the performer drops the
right hand cup smartly into that in the left hand (which latter should
be held very lightly). If this is neatly done, the lower cup will be
knocked out of the hand by the concussion, while the upper one will be
caught and held in its place; the effect to the eye of the spectator
being as if the upper cup had passed through the other. The lower cup
may either be allowed to fall on the ground or table, or may be caught
by the right hand in its fall.
The successive appearances and disappearances of the balls underneath
the cups are known by the name of “Passes;” the particular combination
of such passes being governed by the taste and invention of the
performer. The series most generally in use is derived from a work
dating from the last century, the _Récréations Mathématiques et
Physiques_ of Guyot; and Guyot, we believe, borrowed it from a German
source. The series given below, which will be found very effective, is
derived mainly from that of Guyot, as improved by Ponsin, a later and
very ingenious writer on the art of prestidigitation.
The cups and balls require, even more than conjuring generally,
a running accompaniment of _talk_. Each Pass should have its own
“_boniment_,” or “patter,” carefully prepared and frequently rehearsed.
It would be impossible to give, within any reasonable limits,
appropriate patter for each of the Passes. This each performer must
arrange for himself, so as to suit the style and character in which he
performs; as it is obvious that the low comedy style of a mountebank
at a country fair would be utterly unsuitable in an aristocratic
drawing-room, and _vice versâ_. We shall, however, give a specimen or
two in the course of the various Passes. The burlesque introduction
next following is a paraphrase of a similar address quoted by
Robert-Houdin:--
_Introductory Address._--“Ladies and Gentlemen,--In an age so
enlightened as our own, it is really surprising to see how many popular
fallacies spring up from day to day, and are accepted by the public
mind as unchangeable laws of nature.
“Among these fallacies there is one which I propose at once to point
out to you, and which I flatter myself I shall very easily dispose of.
Many people have asserted, and, among others, the celebrated Erasmus of
Rotterdam, that a material object can only be in one place at one time.
Now I maintain, on the contrary, that any object may be in several
places at the same moment, and that it is equally possible that it may
be nowhere at all.
“I must beg you to observe, in the first place, that I have nothing
in my hands--except my fingers; and that between my fingers there is
nothing save a few atoms of the mysterious fluid which we call the
atmosphere, and through which our jolly old Earth spins so merrily
along. But we must leave the common-place regions of astronomy, and
return to the mysteries of hermetic science.
“I have before me, as you will have noticed, three little cups or
goblets. The metal of which these are composed is an amalgam of
costly minerals, unknown even to the most profound philosophers. This
mysterious composition, which resembles silver in its solidity, its
colour, and the clearness of its ring, has over silver this great
advantage, that it will at pleasure become impalpable as air, so
that solid bodies pass through these goblets as easily as they would
through empty space. I will give you a curious illustration of this by
making one goblet pass through another.” (This the performer does in
the manner already described, and after a moment’s pause, continues,
taking up his wand in his left hand, and secretly palming a ball in
his right.) “This little wand, you are possibly aware, ladies and
gentlemen, goes by the name of Jacob’s Rod. Why it is so called I
really don’t know; I only know that this simple-looking wand has the
faculty of producing various articles at pleasure. For instance, I
require for the purpose of my experiment a little ball. My wand at once
supplies me.” (He produces a ball from the wand, and lays it on the
table.)
With this or some similar introduction, the performer proceeds to
exhibit
PASS I. HAVING PLACED A BALL UNDER EACH CUP, TO DRAW IT OUT AGAIN
WITHOUT LIFTING THE CUP.--Having produced a ball from the wand
as last described, and having laid it on the table, the operator
continues,--“Allow me to show you once more that all the cups are
empty” (he raises them one by one, and replaces them), “and that I
have nothing in either of my hands. I take this little ball” (he picks
it up with the right hand, and apparently transfers it to the left,
really palming it in the right), “and place it under one of the cups.”
Here he raises the cup with the right hand, and simulates the action
of placing the ball under it with the left. “I draw another ball from
my wand” (this is really the same ball, which remained palmed in the
right hand), “and place it in like manner under the second cup.”
He goes through the motion of transferring it to the left hand and
thence to the cup, as before, but this time actually does what on the
former occasion he only pretended to do, and leaves the ball under the
middle cup. “I produce another ball”--(he half draws the wand through
his fingers, but checks himself half-way). “I think I heard some one
assert that I have a ball already in my hand. Pray satisfy yourselves”
(showing the palms of his hands, the fingers carelessly apart) “that
such is not the case. A lady suggested just now, by the way--it was
only said in a whisper, but I heard it--that I didn’t really put the
balls under the cup. It was rather sharp on the part of the lady, but
you see she was wrong. Here are the balls.”[K] So saying, the performer
lifts up the middle cup with his left hand, and picking up the ball
with his right, holds it up that all may see, immediately replacing
it under the same cup. The last movement is simulated only, the ball
being in reality palmed in the supposed act of placing it under the
cup. “We have now a ball under each of these two cups. We only want one
more, and--here it is”--apparently producing a third ball (really the
same again) from the wand. “We will place it under this last cup.” He
actually does so. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have three cups and
three balls, one under each cup. So far, I admit that I have not shown
you anything very surprising, but now comes the puzzle, to take the
balls from under the cups. Perhaps some of you sharp gentlemen will
say there isn’t much difficulty in that. Lift the cup, and pick up the
ball!” He suits the action to the word, lifting up the third goblet
with the left hand, and picking up the ball with the right. “A very
good solution, but it doesn’t happen to be the right one. The problem
is to draw out the balls without lifting the cups.” Here he replaces
the cup, apparently placing the ball beneath it, but really palming it,
as already described in the case of the middle cup, and then returns
to the first or furthest cup; touching the top of the goblet, he lets
the palmed ball drop to his finger-tips, and immediately exhibits it,
saying--“This is the way _I_ take the balls out of the cups. The ball
being no longer needed, I return it into the wand.” This he does as
described at page 277, immediately afterwards, if desired, handing the
wand for examination. “In like manner I draw out the second ball” (he
repeats the same process with the middle goblet), “and pass that also
into my wand. I need not even handle the goblets. See, I merely touch
this third goblet with my wand, and the ball instantly appears on the
top.” The company, of course, cannot see any ball on the end of the
wand, but a ball is nevertheless taken thence by the process already
described, of letting the palmed ball drop to the tips of the fingers,
as they come in contact with the wand. “I pass this also into my wand.
Stay, though, on second thoughts, I shall want a ball for my next
experiment, so I will leave it here on the table.”
[K] The reader will understand that nobody has in fact made
any such observation, but the overhearing of an imaginary
objection is often of great use, as enabling the performer
to do some necessary act, which he could not well have
done without such pretext. Thus in this instance, the
performer wants a plausible excuse--first, for altering his
apparent intention of immediately producing a second ball
from the wand; and, secondly, for lifting the middle cup,
and so regaining possession of the ball. A conjuror thus
addressing an imaginary objector is said in French “_parler
à la cantonade_,” but the phrase has no precise equivalent
among English performers.
We have given a somewhat elaborate description of this first Pass, in
order to give the reader some idea of the various feints and artifices
employed in relation to the cups and balls. It would be impossible,
from considerations of space, to do this as to each of the Passes, and
the reader must therefore remember that the descriptions following give
merely the essential outlines, which must be worked up to dramatic
effectiveness by the ingenuity of the individual performer. Where
practicable, we shall allow the few words put into the mouth of the
performer to indicate the actions accompanying them, only giving
special “stage directions” in cases where the performer does _not_
suit the action to the words. For the sake of distinctness, we shall
indicate the goblets (reckoning from the left hand of the performer) as
A, B, and C. (_See_ Fig. 118.)
PASS II. TO MAKE A BALL TRAVEL INVISIBLY FROM CUP TO CUP.--“Now, ladies
and gentlemen, if you watch very closely, you will be able to see the
ball travel from one cup to another. I take the ball” (transfers it
apparently to left hand) “and place it under this cup (C). You all see
that there is nothing under this one” (B). In raising B with the right
hand he introduces under it the palmed ball. “I shall now command the
ball which I have just placed under the first cup (C) to travel under
this one (B). Attention! and you will see it pass.” He makes a motion
of the wand from the one cup to the other. “There it goes! This cup
(C), as you see, is empty, and under this one (B) is the ball. I will
replace it under this same cup” (B). He in reality palms it. “There is
nothing under this cup” (A). He secretly introduces the ball under A.
“Now observe again. Pass! Did you see it? No? well, I don’t much wonder
at it, for I can’t always see it myself. Here it is, however” (lifts
A), “and this cup (B) is empty.” He replaces the cups on the table, and
lays the ball beside them.
PASS III. HAVING PLACED A BALL UNDER EACH OF THE END CUPS, TO MAKE THEM
PASS SUCCESSIVELY UNDER THE MIDDLE CUP.--Before commencing this Pass,
the performer, while placing the goblets in line, or otherwise engaging
the attention of the audience with his left hand, takes from the
_servante_ with his right, and palms, a second ball. He continues, “For
my next experiment, ladies and gentlemen, I shall require two balls. I
need hardly remark that I could instantly supply myself from the wand;
but there is a curious faculty about the balls themselves; they have
a constant tendency to increase and multiply. For instance, without
having recourse to the wand, I can instantly make this one ball into
two” (he takes up the ball on the table in his left hand, taking care
so to hold it that all may see that there is nothing else in his hand),
“and the most curious part of the matter is, that though mathematicians
insist that the whole is always greater than its part, in this case
each of the parts will be found precisely equal to the whole.” As he
speaks, he takes the ball from the left hand with the fingers of the
right, at the same time dropping the palmed ball into the left hand,
and now taking care to so hold his _right_ hand as to show that it
contains the one ball only. He then again replaces this ball in the
palm of the left hand, where it lies side by side with the second ball.
Rubbing the left palm with the second and third fingers of the right,
with a circular motion, he gradually lifts the fingers, and shows the
single ball apparently transformed into two, both of which he places on
the table.
“You will observe that there is nothing under this cup (C). I will
place under it this ball” (he really palms it); “neither is there
anything under either of these two cups” (B and A). He lifts the cups
one with each hand, and secretly introduces the palmed ball under B.
“I take this second ball, and place it under this cup” (A). He really
palms it. “We now have a ball under each of these two cups” (A and C).
“I draw the ball out of this one” (C). He touches the top of the cup,
and produces the ball last palmed at his finger-tips. “I order it to
pass under this middle cup” (B). He apparently transfers it to the left
hand, really palming it, and then makes a motion with the left hand, as
if passing it into B. “It has passed, you see!” He raises B with his
right hand, showing the ball under it, and in replacing it secretly
introduces the second palmed ball. “Now I order the ball in this cup
(A) to pass in like manner.” He waves his wand from A to B, and then
lifts B. “Here it is, and these two outer cups” (turning them over with
the wand) “are perfectly empty.”
PASS IV. HAVING PLACED TWO BALLS UNDER THE MIDDLE CUP, TO MAKE THEM
PASS UNDER THE TWO OUTER ONES.--“You have just seen these two balls
pass under the middle cup; now, by way of variety, we will make them
pass out of it. I will take the two balls, and place them under the
middle cup.” He really so places one only, palming the other. “You
observe that there is nothing either under this (A), nor under this
(C).” Here he secretly introduces the palmed ball beneath C. “Now I
order one of the balls under the middle cup to pass under one of the
outer cups. Let us see if it has done so” (lifts middle cup with left
hand). “Yes, here is only one left.” He takes it up and shows it with
right hand, then makes the gesture of replacing, but really palms it.
“Let us see where it has gone to” (lifts A with right hand, and in
replacing it secretly introduces the palmed ball under it). “It is not
under this one. Then it must be under this.” He lifts C. “Yes, here it
is. Now I command the other ball in like manner to leave the middle
cup, and pass under the other (A). Pass! Here it is, you see, and this
one (B) is entirely empty.”
PASS V. TO PASS THREE BALLS IN SUCCESSION UNDER ONE CUP.--“So far,
ladies and gentlemen, what I have shown you has been mere child’s
play.” He drops the right hand carelessly to the _servante_, and picks
up two more balls, one of which he holds between the fingers, and the
other in the palm. “The real difficulty only begins when we begin to
work with three balls. Now which of these two balls” (taking up the
two balls from the table) “is the largest? This one, I fancy, has the
advantage, so I will pinch a little piece off to make a third ball.” He
goes through the motion of pinching the ball with the fingers of both
hands, at the same moment letting fall the ball in the palm to the tips
of the fingers of the right hand. “Yes, this will do. It isn’t quite
round, but that is easily rectified.” He rolls it between the fingers.
“That is better. Now watch me closely, ladies and gentlemen.” He places
the balls upon the table, with the exception of the fourth, which
remains concealed between the fingers. “You see that there is nothing
under either of the cups.” He raises all three, and introduces the
fourth ball under the middle one (B). He then picks up one of the balls
on the table, and apparently transfers it to his left hand, really
palming it. “I command this ball to pass into the middle cup. It has
passed, you see” (raising the cup with the right hand, and in replacing
it, introducing the ball now palmed). The operation is repeated in like
manner, until three balls have been shown under the cup, the fourth
finally remaining palmed in the right hand.
PASS VI. TO PLACE THREE BALLS ONE AFTER THE OTHER UPON THE TOP OF ONE
OF THE CUPS, AND TO MAKE THEM FALL THROUGH THE CUP ON TO THE TABLE.--At
the conclusion of the last Pass the performer had brought three balls
under the centre cup B, a fourth remaining concealed in his hand. In
lifting B to exhibit the three balls, and in replacing it beside them,
he takes the opportunity of introducing beneath it this fourth ball.
He next takes one of the three balls thus exposed, and placing it on
the top of this same goblet (B), covering it with a second goblet (A).
Making any appropriate gesture he pleases, he commands the ball to fall
through the lower goblet on to the table. He then overturns (without
separating) the two goblets, their mouths being towards the spectators,
when the ball which he had secretly introduced will be discovered, and
will appear to be that which the spectators have just seen placed on
the top of the goblet (and which really still remains between the two
goblets), and picks up the two goblets together, mouth upwards, with
the left hand, and with the right hand takes out that which is now
uppermost (B). He turns both the goblets down upon the table, placing
A over the ball which he has just shown. If this is neatly done, the
other ball, which has remained in A, will not be discovered, but will
as it falls be covered by A, which will now have beneath it two balls.
The performer now places one of the remaining balls on the top of A,
covering it with either of the other goblets, and again goes through
the same process till he has shown first two, and then three balls
under the cup, the fourth remaining, at the close of the Pass, between
the two cups last used.
PASS VII. TO PASS THREE BALLS IN SUCCESSION UPWARDS THROUGH THE TABLE
INTO ONE OF THE CUPS.--You concluded the last Pass (we will suppose the
reader to represent for the time being the performer) by lifting two
cups together to show three balls beneath the undermost. Holding two
cups in the left hand, you turn them over, mouth upwards. Taking with
the right hand that which is now uppermost, you place it on the table
in the ordinary position, still retaining the other, in which, unknown
to the spectators, a fourth ball still remains. You continue, “Ladies
and gentlemen, you may possibly imagine that there is some trick or
sleight-of-hand in what I have shown you, but I am now about to perform
an experiment in which that solution is clearly inadmissible. I propose
to pass these three balls, one after the other, through the solid
table into this empty goblet. Pray watch me carefully. I take away
one of the balls” (you take in the right hand one of the three on the
table), “and hold it beneath the table, thus. My left hand, as you will
observe, is perfectly empty. I have only to say, ‘Pass!’” (You palm the
ball in the right hand, at the same time giving a gentle tap with one
finger against the under surface of the table, and immediately bring up
the hand, taking care, of course, to keep its outer side towards the
spectators; then gently shake the cup which you hold in the left hand,
and turn the ball out upon the table.) “Here it is, you see. Now I will
put it back in the cup” (you pick up the ball with the right hand, and
drop it into the cup, secretly letting fall with it the palmed ball),
“and take another ball.” You repeat the process, and show two balls in
the cup; then again (each time dropping in the palmed ball), and show
three, retaining the fourth ball, still palmed, in your right hand.
PASS VIII. TO PASS TWO BALLS IN SUCCESSION FROM ONE CUP TO ANOTHER
WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM.--You again place the three cups in a row on
the table, secretly introducing under the right hand cup (C) the ball
which remained in your right hand at the close of the last Pass, and
then openly place the three other balls on the tops of the three cups.
You then proceed, “I will take this ball” (that which is on B), “and
place it under this same cup” (B). You really palm it. “I take this
other ball” (that which is upon A), “and place it under this cup” (A).
You secretly introduce with it the ball which you have just palmed. “I
take this last” (that upon C), “and place it under this goblet (A);
or, stay, I will pass it invisibly to this one” (C)--really palming
it. “It has passed, you see.” You lift C, and show the ball which
is already there; and in again covering the ball with the cup, you
secretly introduce that which you last palmed. You now have in reality
two balls under each of the end cups, and none under the centre one;
but the spectators are persuaded that there is one ball under each cup.
“We now have one ball under each cup. Now I shall command the ball
that is under the centre cup to pass into either of the end ones at
your pleasure. Which shall it be?” Whichever is chosen, suppose C, you
raise and show the two balls under it. You then ostensibly replace the
two balls under C, but really replace the one only, palming the other.
You then raise the middle cup (B), to show that it is empty, and, in
replacing it, introduce the ball you have just palmed under it. “Now I
shall next order one of the two balls you have just seen under this cup
(C) to go and join the one which is already under this other (A). Pass!
Here it is, you observe.” You raise A to show that there are two balls
under it. You also raise C to show that it now only contains one ball,
and leave all three balls exposed on the table.
PASS IX. TO MAKE THREE BALLS IN SUCCESSION PASS UNDER THE MIDDLE
CUP.--At the conclusion of the last Pass, three balls were left in
view, while a fourth, unknown to the audience, was hidden under the
middle cup. You proceed, picking up a ball with the right hand, “I
take this ball, and place it under this cup” (C); (in reality palming
it). “I now order it to pass under the middle cup. Presto! Here it is,
you see.” You raise the middle cup to show that the ball has obeyed
your command, and, in again covering the ball, secretly introduce
with it that which you have just palmed. “I take this one” (you pick
up another), “and place it under this cup” (A)--here you palm it as
before--“and order it also to pass under the middle cup.” You raise the
middle cup, and show that there are now two balls under it, and, in
again covering them, introduce the ball which you last palmed. “I take
this last ball, and place it under this cup” (C)--palming it--“whence
I shall command it to again depart, and join its companions under the
middle cup. This time it shall make the journey visibly.” You take your
wand in the left hand, and with it touch the cup C. “Here it is, you
see, on the end of my wand. You don’t see it? Why, surely it is visible
enough. Look.” You pretend to produce the palmed ball from the wand,
and exhibit it to the company. “You can all see it _now_.” You lay down
the wand, and go through the motion of transferring the ball to the
left hand, really palming it in its passage. “Now, then, pray watch me
closely, and you will see it pass under the cup. One, two, three!” You
make the gesture of throwing it through the middle cup, and open the
hand to show it empty, immediately turning over the goblets to show
that there are three balls under the middle and none under the outer
ones.
PASS X. THE “MULTIPLICATION” PASS.--For the purpose of this Pass it is
necessary to borrow a hat, which you hold in the left hand. You then
place the three balls in a row upon the table, and cover each with one
of the cups. It will be remembered that a fourth ball remains palmed in
your right hand. You now lift up the right hand goblet (C), and place
it on the table close beside the ball which it lately covered, and as
you do so, secretly introduce beneath it the palmed ball. You pick up
with the right hand the ball which you have thus uncovered, and go
through the motion of dropping it into the hat, really palming it in
the moment during which the hand is concealed inside the hat, and at
the same moment simulating, by gentle tap against the inside, the sound
which the ball would make if actually dropped into the hat. You next
lift B in like manner, introducing the ball just palmed beneath it, and
go through the motion of placing the second ball, which is thereby left
exposed, in the hat. You do the same with the third cup, then return
to the first (which the spectators believe to be now empty, and from
which they are astonished to see you produce another ball), continuing
till you have raised each cup in succession eight or ten times, and, on
each occasion of lifting a cup to uncover a ball, introducing beneath
it the ball which you had just previously palmed. To the eyes of the
spectators, who believe that the balls are really dropped into the
hat, the effect will be exactly as if new balls, by some mysterious
process of reproduction, came under the cups at each time of raising
them. When you think your audience are sufficiently astonished, you
remark, “I think we have about enough now; the hat is getting rather
heavy. Will some one hold a handkerchief to receive the balls?” When
the handkerchief is spread out, you carefully turn over the hat, and
the general astonishment will be intensified at discovering that it
contains nothing.
There is, of course, a ball left under each of the cups, and a fourth
palmed in your right hand. This latter will not again be wanted, and
you should therefore, while attention is drawn to the hat, drop it upon
the _servante_, or into one of your _pochettes_.
PASS XI. TO TRANSFORM THE SMALL BALLS TO LARGER ONES.--While the
attention of the spectators is still occupied by the unexpected
_dénouement_ of the last Pass, you should prepare for this one by
secretly taking with your right hand from the _servante_, and palming
(by either the second or third method, the first being only available
for the small balls) one of the larger balls. You then address the
spectators to the following effect:--“Ladies and gentlemen, you see
that I have little difficulty in increasing the number of the balls
to an unlimited extent. I will now repeat the experiment in another
form, and show you that it is equally easy to make them increase in
size. You will observe that, notwithstanding the number of balls which
I have just produced from the cups, there are still plenty more to
come.” Here you raise C, and show that there is a ball still under it.
You replace it on the table at a few inches’ distance, and as you do
so, secretly introduce under it the larger ball which you have just
palmed. Taking up the small ball in your right hand, you say, “To make
the experiment still more surprising, I will pass the ball upwards
through the table into the cup.” So saying, you place the right hand
under the table, dropping as you do so the little ball which you hold
on the _servante_, and taking in its place another of the larger balls.
“Pass!” you exclaim, at the same time giving a gentle rap on the under
surface of the table. You bring the hand up again as if empty. You do
not touch the first cup, but repeat the operation with the second, B,
and again with A; on each occasion of passing the hand under the table
exchanging a small ball for a larger one, and immediately afterwards
introducing the latter under the cup next in order. The last time,
however, you merely drop the small ball on the _servante_, without
bringing up any other in exchange. You now have, unknown to the
audience, one of the larger, or medium-sized balls under each of the
cups; and if you were about to end with this Pass, you would merely
lift the cups and show the balls, thus apparently increased in size,
underneath. We will assume, however, that you propose to exhibit the
Pass next following (one of the most effective), in which case the
necessary preparation must be made in the act of raising the cups;
and we shall therefore proceed at once, while the balls still remain
covered, to describe
PASS XII. TO AGAIN TRANSFORM THE BALLS TO STILL LARGER ONES.--The last
Pass having reached the stage we have just described, _i.e._, a large
ball being under each cup, but not yet exhibited to the audience, you
secretly take in your _left_ hand from the _servante_ one of the still
larger balls. These balls should be soft and elastic, and of such a
size that, if pressed lightly into the cup, they shall require a slight
tap of the cup on the table to dislodge them.
Having taken the ball in the left hand, you hold it at the ends of the
fingers behind the table, as near the top as possible consistently with
its being out of sight of the spectators. Then saying, “Now, ladies and
gentlemen, I must ask for your very closest attention,” you raise C
with the right hand, and with the same movement lower it for a moment
behind the table, and over the ball in the left hand, which remains in
the cup of its own accord. All eyes go instinctively to the ball on
the table, whose increased size is a new phenomenon, and not one in a
hundred will, in this first moment of surprise, think of watching the
cup, which is naturally supposed to have, for the moment, concluded
its share of the trick. You replace the cup on the table lightly, so
as not to loosen the ball, meanwhile getting ready another ball in
the left hand, and repeat the operation with B. With A you make a
slight variation in your mode of procedure. Taking a third ball in
your left hand, you hold it as before, but, as if through carelessness
or clumsiness, allow it to be seen for a moment above the edge of the
table. When you raise the third cup, you move it behind the table as
before, and make a feint of introducing the ball which the spectators
have just seen, but really let it drop on the _servante_, and replace
the cup empty. A murmur from the audience will quickly apprise you
that they have, as they imagine, found you out. Looking as innocent
as you can, you inquire what is the matter, and are informed that you
were seen to introduce a ball into the cup. “I beg your pardon,” you
reply, lifting up, however, not A, which you have just replaced, but
C, which is the farthest remote from it. There is really a ball in
this cup, but having been pressed in, and fitting tightly, it does not
fall. The audience, seeing you raise the wrong cup, are more and more
confirmed in their suspicion. “Not that one, the other,” they exclaim.
You next raise B, the ball in which also does not fall, for the reason
already stated. “No, no,” the audience shout, “the other cup, the end
one.” “You are really very obstinate, gentlemen,” you reply, “but pray
satisfy yourselves,” turning over A as you speak, and showing the
inside, which is manifestly empty, and your critics rapidly subside.
Meanwhile, you drop your left hand to the _servante_, and secretly take
from it _two_ similar balls. Then, addressing the audience, you say,
“Surely, gentlemen, you don’t imagine that, if I wanted to place a
ball under a cup, I should set about it after such a clumsy fashion as
this!” As you say this, you place your left hand in your left pocket,
as if taking a ball from thence (as it obviously would not do to give
the audience cause to suspect the existence of a secret receptacle
behind the table), and bring out again the two balls, but allow one
only to be seen, keeping the other concealed in the palm. Bringing the
cup over the hand, you squeeze in _both_ balls as far as you can, when
the innermost will remain, but the outermost, not having sufficient
space, will drop out again on the table. The audience, not knowing that
there are _two_ balls, believe the cup, which you now replace on the
table, to be empty. You continue, “No, gentlemen; when I pass a ball
under a cup, you may be sure that I don’t let anybody see me do so.”
As you speak, you take the ball on the table in your right hand, and
make the movement of transferring it to your left, really palming it
by the second method, and holding the left hand closed and high, as if
containing it, and keeping your eyes fixed thereon, you carelessly drop
your right hand till the finger-tips rest on the table, when you are
able to let fall the ball upon the _servante_. You continue, “I will
now pass this ball under either of the cups which you like to name.
Indeed, I will do more; I will cause this ball invisibly to multiply
itself into three, one of which shall pass under each of the cups.
First, however, let me show you that there is nothing under the cups
at present.” You raise each in turn--“Nothing here, nothing here, and
nothing here!” The balls still adhere to the sides of the cups, which,
therefore, appear to be empty, but you replace each with a slight rap
on the table, and thereby loosen the ball within it. “Now, then!” You
bring the two hands together, and gently rub them over each cup in
turn; finally parting them and showing that both are empty, and then
lifting the cups, show the three large balls underneath.
Some performers, in lifting each cup with the right hand, introduce a
fresh ball, held in the left hand, as already explained. The effect
is the same as in the “Multiplication” Pass, already described, with
this difference, that on each occasion of uncovering a ball, the ball
remains on the table, which thus becomes gradually covered with an
ever-increasing number of balls. Some, again, conclude by apparently
producing from the cups objects much larger than they could naturally
contain, _e.g._, large apples, Spanish onions, etc. This is effected in
the same manner as the introduction of the large balls just described,
save that in this case the object, which cannot really go into the cup,
is merely held against its mouth with the third finger of the right
hand, and dropped with a slight shake, as if there was a difficulty in
getting it out.
There are many other cup-and-ball Passes, but the series above given
will be found as effective as any. If any reader desires to follow the
subject further, we would refer him to the _Récréations Mathématiques
et Physiques_ of Guyot, already quoted, or another old work, under the
same title, by Ozanam, in which this branch of prestidigitation is
treated at considerable length.
[Illustration]