BALL TRICKS REQUIRING SPECIAL APPARATUS.
Before proceeding to the description of the tricks which form the
subject of this Chapter, it may be well to mention one or two
principles of sleight-of-hand, not yet noticed, which have a special
application to ball tricks, and are also useful with regard to oranges,
apples, eggs, etc. The Pass called the _tourniquet_, or “French drop,”
described already in relation to coin, will be found equally applicable
to balls up to a couple of inches in diameter, but is not available for
objects of larger size. Balls of larger diameter are best palmed by one
or other of the methods following.
_First Method._--Taking the ball in either hand, the performer tosses
the ball from palm to palm (at a few inches’ distance) four or five
times, finally making the motion of tossing it from the right hand to
the left, but really retaining it in the right by a slight contraction
of the palm, and at the same time closing and elevating the left hand,
and following it with the eyes, as though it contained the ball. It is
obvious that a ball of the size now under consideration (say of two to
three inches in diameter) would not admit of the hand containing it
being perfectly closed; and this must be borne in mind in the position
of the left hand, the fingers of which must not be tightly closed,
as they would if apparently containing a coin or other very small
article, but merely curved inward, the palm, of course, being turned
toward the performer’s own body, so as not to disclose the secret of
its emptiness. Where the hand of the performer is small, or the ball is
of such a size as not to be readily retained in the right hand by the
contraction of the palm, the thumb may be used to assist in supporting
it.
_Second Method._--Taking the ball between his open hands, the performer
rolls it round and round between his palms, as though it were a lump
of clay which he was moulding into a spherical form; and in so doing
gradually turns his hands till the back of his right hand is undermost,
when, with an inward movement of that hand towards himself, he palms
the ball therein, at the same time closing and elevating the left hand,
as described for the last method.
TO VANISH A LARGE BALL WITH THE AID OF THE TABLE.--_First Method._
Standing behind his table, the ball being some six or eight inches from
its hinder edge, the performer places both hands round it, apparently
picking it up and bringing it forward between his two hands, from
which, however, the ball is, on examination, found to have vanished.
Its disappearance is effected as follows:--At the moment when the
performer encircles the ball with his hands, he gives, with the little
finger of the hand which is innermost--and therefore unseen by the
audience--a quick jerk to the ball, which is thereby made to roll
towards the hinder edge of the table, and drop upon the _servante_, on
which there should be a padded box or basket to receive it. The action
is wholly concealed from the spectators by the hands, which, with the
exception of the finger which does the work, should remain motionless.
_Second Method._--Standing behind his table, as in the last case, the
performer tosses up the ball, and catches it again three or four times,
keeping the hands low, so as to be near the edge of the table. The
hands naturally sink in the act of catching the ball; and after having
caught it once or twice, the performer, as he lowers them, drops it
on the _servante_, immediately raising them again with the action of
throwing up the ball, taking care to follow it with the eyes in its
imaginary flight. If this is done neatly, the eyes of the spectators
will instinctively travel in the same direction, and the effect to them
will be as if the ball vanished at the highest point of its upward
flight, instead of disappearing, as it really does, at the moment of
reaching the hands in its fall. This method may also be employed for
objects other than of spherical shape.
_Third Method._--The performer, standing behind his table as before,
and placing the ball thereon, covers it with the right hand, and rolls
it round and round in circles, each time bringing it nearer and nearer
to the hinder edge of the table, till it finally rolls over, and drops
upon the _servante_. He continues the motion of the hand for two or
three turns, as though the ball was still under it, gradually working
back towards the centre of the table, the effect to the spectator being
as if the ball melted away under the operator’s fingers.
_Fourth Method._--This is generally employed to apparently pass one
object into another--say a small ball into a large one. The performer,
standing a little behind his table, with his right side slightly turned
to the spectators, takes in his right hand the small ball, and in his
left the large one. The latter he holds about shoulder high, keeping
his eyes fixed upon it, and remarking, “I shall now pass this small
ball into this large one,” he draws back and lowers the right arm,
as though to give it impetus, as one naturally does in the act of
throwing. This brings the right hand just over the padded box or basket
on the _servante_, and allows him to drop the small ball therein.
Without any pause, he brings the right hand smartly up to the left,
describing a tolerably wide arc in its transit, and then, separating
his hands, shows that the smaller ball has vanished, having apparently
passed into the large one. This sleight is not confined to objects of
spherical form, but may be used with any article of convenient size.
With this introduction, we shall now proceed to describe a few of the
most popular “ball tricks.”
[Illustration: FIG. 127.]
THE BALL BOX.--The leading idea of most of the tricks which we are
about to describe is the magical appearance or disappearance of a
ball. So far, they resemble the cup-and-ball tricks described in the
last Chapter, but with this difference, that, in the case of the
present series, the main effect is produced by mechanical means, any
sleight-of-hand employed being rather an accessory than the leading
feature. The oldest and simplest of the mechanical appliances for this
purpose is that known as the “ball-box,” consisting of a box two to
six inches in height, of the shape shown in Fig. 127, and containing a
ball which just fills it. The box consists of three portions--the lower
portion, or box proper _a_, the lid _c_, and an intermediate portion
_b_, being a hollow hemisphere coloured externally in imitation of the
ball, and so fitted with reference to the box and lid, that it may be
either lifted off with the lid, leaving the box apparently empty, or
may be left upon the box when the lid is removed, the effect to the eye
being as if the ball had returned to the box. The ball-box is generally
of turned boxwood, and is scored with concentric circles, which serve
to disguise its double opening. Simply stated, its effect is as
follows:--The solid ball is first shown in the box, and then openly
taken from it, and the box covered with the lid. The ball is then got
rid of in one or other of the modes before described, and a pretence is
made of passing it invisibly into the box. The lid is removed without
the intermediate portion _b_, and the ball appears to have returned to
the box. Again the lid is replaced, and again removed; but this time
_b_ is removed with it, and the box again appears empty. The trick in
this form is to be found in every toy-shop, and is so well known as to
produce scarcely any illusion, but its transparency may be considerably
diminished by previously palming (in the right hand) the moveable
shell _b_, the convex side being inwards, and then handing round the
remaining portions and the solid ball for inspection. When they are
returned, the performer apparently places the ball in the box, but
really makes a secret exchange, and places _b_ in the box instead. Upon
again removing the lid, and with it _b_, the ball has disappeared; and
as the audience have, as they believe, inspected the whole apparatus,
the mode of its disappearance is not quite so obvious as in the first
case. At best, however, the ball-box, in this its pristine form, is a
clumsy and inartistic contrivance, and has long been relegated to the
juvenile and country-fair school of conjuring. There is, however, an
improved apparatus for producing a similar effect, which is generally
worked in couples, under the name of
[Illustration: FIG. 128.]
THE RED-AND-BLACK-BALL VASES.--The receptacle for the ball is in
this case made in the form of a neat vase, and without any of those
tell-tale grooves which disfigure the older ball-box. (_See_ Fig. 128.)
Like its prototype, it is in three parts, which we will distinguish as
before by the letters _a_, _b_, and _c_. The portion _b_, however, in
this case goes completely within the lid _c_, within which it fits just
tightly enough to be lifted off with it. When, however, the performer
desires to leave _b_ upon _a_, he presses down, in the act of lifting
off the cover, a moveable button or stud at the top. This pushes out
the shell _b_ from the cover, and, when the latter is lifted, leaves
it upon _a_. When used in pairs, the ball-vases are usually made with
one red and one black ball, the shells _b_ of each vase being also one
black and one red. The balls are first offered for examination, after
which the red ball is placed in the vase containing the black shell,
and the black ball in that which contains the red shell. The vases are
then covered, and on the covers being again removed, leaving the hollow
shells upon the vases, the red ball being covered by the black shell,
and the black ball by the red shell, the effect to the spectator is as
if the two balls had changed places. By leaving alternately the one
or the other shell over its respective vase, the ball in the opposite
vase being left uncovered, the vases may be made to appear as if both
containing red balls or both black balls, the genuine balls being
finally again exhibited as at first.
[Illustration: FIG. 129.]
There is yet another form of ball-box, also frequently worked in pairs,
and designed to simulate the apparent passage of a ball from the one
box to the other. The vase in this case consists of two parts only, the
vase proper _a_, and the cover _b_, but the latter is of such a height
as to completely contain the ball, and of such a size internally,
that, if the ball be jerked up into the cover, it will not again fall,
unless a slight shake be used to displace it. (_See_ Fig. 129.) Each
vase has its own ball, and the mode of use is as follows:--One of the
vases is prepared beforehand by jerking up the ball into the cover,
which may then be removed, showing the vase apparently empty; or both
may be first shown empty, and the ball then introduced secretly under
the cover, after the manner of the cups and balls. The remaining vase
and ball are offered for inspection, and when they are returned, the
ball is placed within and covered over, after which the closed vase is
placed upon the table; but in the act of doing this the performer gives
the apparatus a slight upward jerk, thereby causing the ball therein
to rise into the cover, where it remains. The second vase is once more
shown empty; but in replacing it on the table, the performer puts it
down sharply, thereby causing the ball to drop from the cover into the
cup. He now orders the ball, which the company have seen placed in the
first vase, to pass invisibly into the second; and on again opening
the two, this transposition will appear to have taken place, and by a
repetition of the process the ball may be made to travel backwards and
forwards from one vase to the other.
MORISON’S PILL-BOX.--In this trick (called by French conjurors _La
Pilule du Diable_) the device of the “shell” is carried still further.
The box in this case is spherical, standing upon a thin stem (_see_
Fig. 130), and each part (box proper and lid) contains a half shell,
the edge of one having a rebate or shoulder, so as to fit into the
other, the conjoined having the appearance of a solid ball. The genuine
ball is of such a size as just to fill the hollow shells when thus
joined. The lower shell fits loosely in the box, the upper one a little
more tightly, so as not to fall out unless pressed down by the button
on the top of the lid, which not only loosens it from the lid, but
presses it into union with the lower shell.
[Illustration: FIG. 130.]
The mode of using the apparatus is as follows:--It is first brought
forward with the one half shell in the box, and the other in the lid,
the true ball, which is of the same colour as the shell (generally
black) being placed within the lower shell. The ball is ostentatiously
removed, and the box closed. The ball is then either placed in some
piece of apparatus adapted to cause its disappearance, or is made
to vanish by sleight-of-hand in one or other of the modes already
described. The ball is now ordered to return to the box, which, for
greater certainty, is once more shown empty. The performer again closes
it, pressing as he does so the button on the top of the lid, thus
compelling the two half shells to coalesce; and on again re-opening
the box, the ball has, to all appearance, returned as commanded. The
ball-box now under consideration has this great advantage over the
single-shell vases, that the sham ball can be completely removed from
the box, and shown on all sides, thus (apparently) negativing the
possibility of its being a shell only.
The trick may be also worked very effectively by using a genuine ball
of a different colour to the shell, with the addition of a duplicate of
each. Thus, if the shell be black, you must be provided with a solid
ball of the same colour, and two red balls. One of the latter, as also
the solid black ball, should be of such a size as to go inside the
shell, the remaining red ball being of the same size as the shell in
its complete condition. The half shells being in their place in the
box, the performer brings it forward, together with the smaller red
and black ball, keeping the remaining red ball concealed in his palm.
Borrowing a handkerchief, he wraps (apparently) the black ball therein,
and gives it to some one to hold (really substituting the palmed red
ball, and getting rid of the black ball as soon as he can into one of
his secret pockets). He then places the remaining red ball in the box,
and having covered it over, commands the black ball in the handkerchief
to change places with the red one in the box. Upon examination, the
change has apparently taken place, the red ball in the box being now
enclosed within the hollow shell, and thus having all the appearance of
the solid black ball.
THE BALL WHICH CHANGES TO A ROSE.--This is little more than an enlarged
edition of the apparatus just described, the ball in Morison’s pill-box
being generally of about an inch and a half in diameter, while in the
present case the ball is nearly double that size. (_See_ Fig. 131.)
The only other difference is the addition of a short pin, about a
sixteenth of an inch in length, projecting from the bottom of the cup,
and fitting into a corresponding hole in the lower shell. The addition
of this pin enables the performer, after having pressed the stud at
top, and thus caused the ball to appear in the previously empty box, to
again cause its disappearance. This is effected by opening the box with
a slight lateral pressure, when the pin acts as a stop or check to hold
back the lower shell; and the shells which are in this instance made to
fit rather more loosely together, are thus forced to separate again,
the lower being left in the cup and the upper in the lid, as before.
[Illustration: FIG. 131.]
This apparatus is generally used with a solid black ball and a couple
of artificial rose-buds, as nearly alike as possible. The apparatus
is brought forward empty, and with the solid ball and one of the
rose-buds, is handed to the audience for inspection. The two half
shells, joined together so as to form a hollow ball, with the second
rose-bud within, are placed ready to hand in one of the _pochettes_ of
the performer. The audience having duly examined the apparatus, the
performer returns to his table, secretly exchanging as he does so the
solid for the hollow ball. This latter he places openly in the cup,
taking care that the hole in the lower shell duly corresponds with the
pin at bottom, and puts on the cover. He now announces that the ball
which he has just placed in the cup will at command fly away, and that
the rose-bud which he holds shall take its place. The disappearance of
the visible rose-bud is effected in any way that the invention or the
appliances at command of the performer may suggest; and on the box
being opened, so as to part the two shells, the ball has apparently
disappeared, and the rose has taken its place. By again closing the
box, and this time pressing the stud on the top, the flower may again
be made to vanish, and the ball to reappear in its original position.
The popular trick of the “flower in the button-hole,” which will be
described under the head of Miscellaneous Tricks, may be used in
conjunction with this apparatus, the ball being found in the place of
the flower, while the latter is made to appear in the button-hole.
A similar apparatus to the above is sometimes made in metal, and
of a size sufficient to enclose a cannon-ball, which being made to
disappear, its place is supplied by a variety of articles which have
been otherwise disposed of at an earlier period.
THE OBEDIENT BALL.--This trick is of Japanese origin, and from that
circumstance is sometimes known as the Japanese Ball. It is performed
with a large black wooden ball, about five inches in diameter, with a
hole bored through it from side to side. A piece of stout rope, four or
five feet in length, with a knot at one end, completes the apparatus.
The performer commences by passing the rope through the ball, and hands
both for examination. The ball is found to run loosely upon the rope,
and both are manifestly quite free from mechanism or preparation. The
articles being returned, the performer places his foot upon the knotted
end of the rope, and taking the other end in his right hand, holds it
in a perpendicular position. The ball is raised as far as the length
of the rope will admit, and, on being again released, immediately runs
down again, as would naturally be expected. The performer now announces
that, in obedience to his will, the laws of gravity will be in this
particular instance suspended. Accordingly, on his again raising the
ball to any portion of the rope, it remains stationary at that height
until released by his command, when it instantly runs down. Other
persons are invited to come forward, and to place the ball at any
height they please, the ball again remaining stationary until released
by the word of the operator, when it slowly descends, stopping,
however, in its course, and remaining fixed whenever commanded by the
performer to do so.
The secret lies in the fact that the hole in the ball is not made
straight from end to end, but curved, with an angle or break in the
middle. (_See_ Fig. 132.) So long as the rope is slack, it runs through
easily enough, but as soon as it is drawn taut, and thus forced into
a straight line, it is clipped by the opposite angles _a_, _b_, and
_c_, creating an amount of friction which would support a much greater
weight than that of the ball. The performer has, therefore, only to
draw the rope taut when he desires the ball to remain stationary, and
to slacken when he desires it to run down.
[Illustration: FIG. 132. FIG. 133.]
There is another form of the Obedient Ball, designed for drawing-room
use. The ball in this case is about two and a half inches in diameter,
and the bore is straight, but tapering from a quarter of an inch at
the one opening to about half an inch at the other. The cord used is
a thin piece of whipcord, and the ball therefore runs quite loosely
upon it. There is, however, in this case an additional element in the
apparatus, consisting of a little black wooden plug, about an inch
in length, and tapering so as to fit midway in the bore of the ball.
(_See_ Fig. 133, in which _a_ represents a nearly full-sized view
of the plug in question.) The plug is bored after the manner of the
large ball, the hole being of such a size as to just allow the cord to
run through it. This plug is secretly threaded upon the cord before
commencing the trick; the cord, which in this case has a tassel instead
of a knot at one end, being passed through it from the larger end. This
plug is kept concealed in the hand of the performer, the string being
allowed to dangle down on each side of it. The ball is handed round for
examination, and, when returned, the cord is passed through it from the
side which has the larger opening. The ball is then allowed to drop
quickly to the full extent of the cord. As it runs down, it encounters
the plug, which is thereby placed in position within the ball, and both
run down together until stopped by the tassel. From this point the
working of the trick is the same as with the larger ball.
[Illustration]