was but a poor and clumsy representation of the original. It consisted
of a rudely-constructed figure of a man seated on an octagonally shaped
box, in which a boy was concealed, who worked the arms and head. The
exhibitor was compelled to indicate the cards to be played by certain
signs and motions, which often led to complications and mistakes. This
revival of Psycho eventually came into the possession of Signor Boz,
and was exhibited in Liverpool and various other towns under the new
name of Yorick.
Professor Pepper likewise constructed an imitation of Psycho, under
the _nom de théâtre_ of Scynthia. This figure, though very ingeniously
contrived, did not confessedly fulfil all the conditions of Psycho.
Cremer also introduced a whist player, which was a huge, complicated
mass of wheels, levers, and elaborate mechanical contrivances, and
necessitated a most careful supervision for a successful exhibition. It
could never be relied on for a smooth and uninterrupted performance.
[Illustration: FIG. 321.]
A French firm also constructed a whist player for Mr. Everett, and this
eventually went to America. In this figure the boy was much better
concealed than in the one I mentioned before.
One very ingenious solution of the construction of Psycho was offered
in November, 1877. I partly reproduce it--not because it is a solution,
but because it will enable the practical and ingenious reader to
construct a figure something similar, although not at all equal, to the
Whist Player of Messrs. Maskelyne and Cooke.
In Figs. 321_a_ and 321_b_ (elevation and plan), the wheels E and M
have each a train of clockwork left out for the sake of clearness,
which would cause them to spin round if unchecked. M, however, has
two pins, _p p_, which catch on a projection on the lever, N. E is a
crown-wheel escapement--like that in a bottle roasting-jack--which
turns A alternately to the left and right, thus causing the hand to
traverse the thirteen cards. A little higher up on A will be seen a
quadrant, B (see plan), near the edge of which are set thirteen little
pins. The end of the lever, N, drops between any two of them, thus
causing the hand to stop at any desired card. The lever being pivoted
at _c_, it is obvious that by depressing the end, N, B will be set at
liberty, and the hand will move along the cards; by slightly raising it
this motion will be arrested; by raising it still more the pin, _p_, is
released, and M commences to revolve, and by again depressing N this
wheel will, in its turn, be stopped. Near the bottom of the apparatus
is a bellows, O, which contains a spring tending to keep the lever, N,
with which it is connected by a rod, X, in the position shown. This is
connected with the tubular support, which may be connected by a tube
through leg of stool, and another tube beneath stage, with an assistant
behind the scenes. By compressing or exhausting air through this tube
it is obvious that the lever, N, will be raised or depressed, and the
clockwork set going accordingly. _a_ is a crank-pin set in M, and
connected with the head by catgut, T, and with the thumb by S. At R
and R are two pulleys connected by gut. Thus if the hand moves round,
the head appears to follow its motions, and when raised by pulling S,
the head rises also by means of T. Further explanation seems almost
unnecessary; _l_ is a stop to prevent elbow moving too far, and _b b_
spiral springs, to keep thumb open and head forward respectively.
When N is raised, M pulls T and S, the latter closing thumb, and then
raising arm by pulley H. If the lever is allowed to drop, _p_ will
catch and keep arm up. On again raising N, the arm will descend.
[Illustration: FIG. 322.]
[Illustration: FIG. 323.]
[Illustration: FIG. 324.]
In addition to the above contrivance, we have in Figs. 322 and 323
another and simpler arrangement, in which only one train of clockwork
is used. On the same axle as H is fixed a lever and weight, W, to
balance the arm. A vertical rod, X, having a projection, Z, slides
up and down in guides, Y Y, and carries the catgut, S and T. The
quadrant, B, has cogs cut, between which Z slides and stops the motion
of A, which is moved, as before, by clockwork. The lower part of X is
connected direct with O. When X is slightly raised, as shown, A is free
to move, but on exhausting air and drawing X down, Z enters the cogs
and stops the hand over a card; continuing to exhaust, the thumb closes
and the card is lifted up. The details of the clockwork the originator
of this solution omits to give. He says there should be a fan on each
train to regulate the speed. The figure should be so placed that an
assistant can see the cards in the semi-circular rack Fig. 324.
[Illustration]
The next remarkable automatic figure exhibited by the dual mystifiers
at the Egyptian Hall is that called Zoe. It represents a female figure
seated upon a stand. Before her is placed a semicircular drawing
board, which is attached to the seat upon which the figure rests.
Zoe writes figures and draws portraits of popular characters. To all
appearance there is no motive power off the stage, and the exhibitor
has no physical connection with the figure, whose movements and skill
are apparently spontaneous. This is one of the most simple mechanical
contrivances of the kind that has ever been produced. A thin steel
rod runs through the seat in which the figure is fixed. The body and
the arms of Zoe are above the stage, beneath which another arm and
drawing-board are placed exactly in the same position as those above
the platform. The mechanism is made to work so that the hand above is
moved precisely as the hand below is guided by the artist. Thus, when
Zoe is told to draw a portrait, say, of the Earl of Beaconsfield, the
artist below guides the unseen hand, while the hand above follows the
movements of its guide below. The reader may see from the annexed plan
at a glance the principles of the movement; but it must be understood
that this is not the only mechanism employed. It will, however, fully
explain the principles of its motion.
It will be seen that whatever movement be given to the arm at B, the
arm at A must have the same movement simultaneously. As the figure is
brought on to the stage, and then fixed on to the seat, all suspicion
of complicity with persons below the stage is removed; but a rod is
pushed through the pedestal and secured through the upper half while
the exhibitor is seating the figure.
Another, and I think the latest production of note--no pun is here
intended--brought before the public by Messrs. Maskelyne and Cooke is
Fanfare, the cornet player. This is the figure of a gentleman dressed
in modern costume, holding in his hand a cornet, which he places to his
mouth and plays in the most professional manner. The whole performance
of this mechanical marvel, however bewildering it may appear to the
observer, consists of nothing more or less than remarkable clever
“lipping” on the part of a living musician, who really plays the
instrument in the lonely solitude of the regions beneath the stage. The
sound emitted from a brass instrument is altered in tone and pitch,
according to the length and breadth of the tubes through which the wind
is blown. For a bass tone wide and long tubes must be used, while for
a treble tone much shorter and narrower tubes must be employed. The
principles of construction are exactly similar in the cornet as in the
euphonium and saxehorn, the difference of tone being produced merely by
the different dimensions of the tubes. The direction of the tubes--that
is, whether they be twisted or straight, or in different folds--makes
very slight, if any, difference in the tone of the instrument. A cornet
could be so constructed as to admit a much longer and straighter tube
immediately in front of the piston tubes, and still have the tone
of an ordinary cornet. It must have been this principle which first
suggested to the minds of Messrs. Maskelyne and Cooke the construction
of an automaton cornet player. The extra long tube of which I have made
mention passes through the body of the figure into its mouth, where it
meets the mouth of the cornet when it is placed against the lips. This
tube is passed through one of the legs of the chair on which the cornet
player is seated, and thence beneath the stage, where a living cornet
player manipulates the instrument in the hands of the figure by means
of three strings or wires attached to the fingers of the figure. Thus
while he is blowing through the tube he has the string of the first
piston on his forefinger, that of the middle piston on the middle
finger, and that of the third piston on the third finger. As he mouths
his instrument he moves his fingers in precisely the same manner as
he would had he an instrument instead of only a tube to play upon;
and as he moves his fingers so he pulls the wires joined to the three
fingers of the figure, and thus produces the change of notes which the
exigencies of the tune require.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER V.
MARIONETTES.
In perusing these articles the reader must have observed, ere this,
that a great deal of the success of mechanical, and, in fact, all kinds
of conjuring, consists as much in the credulity and ignorance of the
audience as in the perfection of the trick itself.
It is not at all surprising that, centuries ago, the performer of a few
juggling tricks, or the man slightly in advance of his age in science,
should have been looked upon by the vulgar crowd as a person having
dealings with another world, and that his Infernal Majesty himself
should have been called in to father all his supernatural tricks and
wonders. Happily, we have reached an age when enlightenment has driven
superstition almost entirely away; and while we marvel and wonder at
the cleverness of such men as Maskelyne and Cooke, Dr. Lynn, and many
others, even the most ignorant of persons would never think that these
gentlemen had any diabolical contract with such an uncanny gentleman as
Mephistopheles. I make these remarks because the tricks I shall shortly
describe have been performed, perhaps in a slightly different manner
to what they are now, centuries ago, in the distant ages of Egyptian
might, the earlier days of the Hindoos, and long before civilization
had reached the west of Europe.
A venerable and oft-repeated magical delusion is that of dismembering a
living person. Dr. Lynn relies upon this worn-out pantomime trick for
the staple of his performance; but it must be confessed that his method
of manipulation and neatness of execution saves, what would be in a
clumsy person’s hand, a very sorry exhibition.
[Illustration]
A man is brought upon the stage, and is told that his limbs are going
to be amputated. The victim makes a rush behind the curtains, no doubt
frightened that the threat would be duly executed, but is brought out
and made to stand still while the exhibitor coolly cuts off an arm
and then a leg. The frightened, trembling subject of the professor’s
carving operations is an assistant, who takes good care to be the
first on the stage when a person among the audience is requested to
step up and be carved. When he rushes off behind the curtains, it is
to affix to one shoulder and thigh a dummy arm and leg, while his real
limbs remain behind the curtains reclining upon rests. So quickly
is this done that the audience cannot but believe that the arm and
leg are the real flesh and blood contingents to the human frame. The
professor carefully amputates the false arm and leg. Of course he can
as readily replace the limbs by simply gliding the false limbs through
the curtains, and releasing the _bona fide_ leg and arm from their
constrained and awkward position.
Another exhibition offered by Dr. Lynn to his patrons is that known
as the Living Marionettes. This novel and amusing illusion was first
introduced by a Frenchman, and was shown in the metropolis long before
the British public had heard of Dr. Lynn, and before he brought it out
as a novelty at the London Aquarium. On a small stage, a real living
head, attached to a miniature body, sings, talks, and acts; and it is
plainly evident to the audience that while the head is really a human
one, the manikin body is but a toy. Apparently the curious figures are
not connected by any means with anybody, either at the back, sides, or
beneath the stage. It will be noticed that the drapery is entirely of
black, and that the eye is deceived, by the absence of any break in
the color of the drapery, as to distance. The person appearing as the
Living Marionette, fixes beneath his chin the framework of the body.
The back drapery is so arranged that he brings on the stage with him
the curtains forming the background to his head, while with wires fixed
to the legs and arms, he produces a motion in the toy, giving it the
appearance of walking on the stage; so that while the Living Marionette
is in the centre of the stage, the body of the man is behind it. Thus
there are two backgrounds to the stage--one of black, fixed; the other
also of black brought on with the head; but being black, is not seen
by the audience, who imagine the head passes before the black curtain.
Any number of heads can be shown, and two could perform at the same
time by coming on the stage from each side, with each half a curtain
or background fixed to their heads. The annexed illustration will show
the head, to which is fixed a movable black frame, and the position
of the real and the dummy body. There is sufficient space between
the extremity of the stage and the fixed curtain at the back for the
performer to stand and pass along. As I said before, the arms and legs
of the toy are worked by means of wires passed through the counterfeit
curtain. A very pleasing and startling entertainment may be obtained if
the persons selected to perform are vocalists and comedians.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER VI.
CLAIRVOYANCE.
It is surprising with what avidity our forefathers, when they
perceived some effect arising from an unknown cause, flew to the aid
of _diablerie_ and the supernatural for an elucidation of the mystery.
Without seeking at once to work out a cause from the known laws of
nature and natural phenomena, they stopped all pursuit in the paths of
inquiry by at once bringing forward his Satanic Majesty as the cause of
everything and every occurrence for the origin of which they could not
give an immediate explanation.
We have happily reached an age which is distinguished for its matter
of-fact treatment of all that appears mysterious and unusual.
Thus we have, by our rigid inquiries into the truth, banished,
or almost banished, those dread preventives of progress and
civilization--superstition, and belief in the supernatural.
But even at the present day, with all its enlightenment and education,
we find the weakness of our ancestors palpably predominating in the
minds of the ignorant multitude, and spiritualism and magic looked
upon by a certain number of persons as things existing and beyond the
ken of men. Scientific inquiry--that broom that has swept away so many
superstitions--has done its work well, and it cannot be long before the
bigoted believers in the so-called “manifestation” of beings in another
and unknown world will be looked upon, even by those whose belief in
them is strongest, as the mechanical hanky-panky tricks of clever and
astute conjurors, who feed upon the credulity and simplicity of their
tools and followers.
Among the many subjects which were classed with the supernatural
phenomena arising from the agency of unseen and spiritual powers,
clairvoyance, or second sight, ranks conspicuous. It has been
asserted, and by no mean authority, that second sight, or the belief
in a secondary and unnatural sight, took its origin in the Scottish
Highlands and Isles, where it was known by the name of _taisch_--a
spectral or shadowy appearance; but from the time when the Oracle at
Delphi was sought by the populace, and when thousands were deluded by
the mere mechanical tricks of a clever and crafty priesthood, even to
this day, second sight has been looked upon as a spiritual visitation
bestowed for some design upon persons who are made the instruments of
Providence.
That at times men have had a prescience of what was to come cannot be
denied, since murders and murderers have been undoubtedly discovered
by means of visions which have been seen of the murderer, and the spot
where the murder was committed.
Even Dr. Johnson, in his Journal in the Hebrides, where the belief in
second sight prevailed to a great extent, hesitates whether to believe
or deny; and he asserts that he “came away at last only willing to
believe.” It is not my intention, nor have I the time or space, to
enter fully into the subject of second sight of the past, but it is my
intention to fully explain second sight, as it is understood now, and
the reader will at once see how the old fabric of the superstitious
ages melts into the most commonplace, and he will be perhaps vexed and
annoyed to think that when witnessing a performance of second sight his
mind misgave him, and he really was willing to believe.
The power, when blindfold, to discriminate things unseen, and
promiscuously pick from a crowd of persons, and name miscellaneous
and out-of-the-way articles, has been performed so cleverly that the
greatest surprise and wonder has been created in the minds of even the
most intelligent spectators. But like everything else to which the
term magic has been and is applied, the wonderful and mysterious are
only the simple and the commonplace, and the credulity of the audience
leads to the merest trickery, to that marvel and wonder which surrounds
a feat of legerdemain or clairvoyance; but, as my readers will have
already seen, as soon as second sight is explained, it will cause
wonder no more.
There are always two persons engaged in an exhibition of
clairvoyance--the person who asks what the article is and the person
who answers. The whole secret of second sight lies in the method of
asking what the article is. A sort of dictionary has to be learned by
both, and this lesson is certainly not more difficult than that of
the tragedian in learning his part; but the audience are deceived by
the simplicity of the questions asked. Although the words used by the
questioner are nearly always the same, the position of the words is
different. Hence, a different answer can be applied for every varying
construction of the sentence.
When these different questions and their answers are thoroughly
understood by the two accomplices, they can give an exhibition which
to the uninitiated will appear marvellous and unaccountable. When the
interrogator asks the question, “Is this picture colored or plain?”
the answer is “Plain;” or if the question is, “Is this picture plain
or colored?” the answer is “Colored.” This is the whole groundwork
of second sight, and in order more fully to illustrate this matter I
will give a series of answers and questions which have been adopted by
a number of English and American professors. In asking the color of
an article, the question can be so differently constructed that each
construction can bear the answer for every ordinary color.
What color is this? Black.
What is the color? Blue.
Tell me the color? Green.
Has it a color? White.
Any color? Orange, yellow.
Name the color? Brown.
Please name the color? Red.
These have only to be learned by two persons in combination, when they
will be able to tell the color of any article. Should the exhibitor
have an article of a mixed color, say, mauve, he first asks the
question having red for the answer; and then, before the reply can be
given, again puts the query for blue. The clairvoyant thereby knowing
it is a mixture of red and blue, he is able to know that mauve is the
answer required. Again, in asking the nature of a stone set in a jewel
the question may be thus arranged:
What is the stone? Topaz.
What stone is it? Jet.
Tell me the stone? Emerald.
Name the stone? Diamond.
Do you know the stone? Cornelian.
Any stone? Amethyst.
And so on _ad infinitum_. In ascertaining the nature of a piece of
jewelry the questions may be put thus:
What is the metal? Gold.
What metal is it? Brass.
What metal? Silver.
Tell me the metal? Copper.
Name the metal? Iron; steel.
Please name the metal? Bronze.
Can you tell me the metal? Tin.
The following questions, having replies for the usual articles found
upon persons assembled to witness a performance, may easily be learned
by a person gifted with a good memory, or by a person with an ordinary
memory by repeated application:
Name this? A pocket comb.
What have I here? A purse.
What is this? A toothpick.
This will puzzle you? Court plaster.
Speak loud? A letter.
Answer quickly? A handkerchief.
Has it a color? White.
Is it perfumed? Yes.
Tell me now? Keys.
Is this of any use? An almanac.
What is this for? To burn a cigar.
Do ladies use this? Yes; a pincushion, needlecase.
Do you know this? A walking-stick.
Now, can you tell this? A pocket-book.
Would you like this? Yes; a watch.
Do you admire this? A brooch.
Who gave me this? A lady--a bracelet.
What is in my hand? A pin.
Now, who gave me this? A gentleman--a chain.
What have I now? Money.
Now, what have I got? A sovereign.
Can you tell me again? A shilling.
Is this the same? Sixpence.
You say I have money; but you don’t say the kind? A florin.
You say I have money; but you don’t say its value? A half crown.
You say I have money; but tell me its value? Ten shillings.
What is the value of the money? A penny.
I cannot hear you? A halfpenny.
I think I have given sufficient queries and answers to indicate the
simplicity and the secret of second sight. When all the particulars of
the articles are required, although the questions may seem perplexing
to the spectator, yet they are extremely simple to the person who knows
each question and its reply by heart.
Here is an illustration of a complicated series of questions, and the
reader will see at once that the answering is very simple:
What is in my hand? A pin.
What is the metal? Gold.
Any stone? Amethyst.
What have I now? Money.
You say I have money; but you don’t say the kind? A florin.
Can you tell me again? A shilling.
From the illustrations I have given above, the reader will perceive
that, provided a large and well-selected assortment of questions,
corresponding with replies, be agreed upon, and well known by the two
confederates, almost any question may be answered and any article
known, together with its properties, color, contents, etc.
Another exhibition of clairvoyance--the reading of writing sealed up
and unopened--adds greatly to the mystery of the performance; but how
this is done can be easily explained. Previous to going on the stage,
a sentence is selected, and written in blacklead on a piece of paper.
During the performance similar pieces of paper are handed round to
several of the audience, who are requested to write a sentence thereon.
These papers are sealed similarly to the prepared one, and placed in
a hat. The professor then pretends to select one at random, after
having shaken up the papers; but he really takes up the one he had
already in his hand. The lady clairvoyant is then requested to read
a sentence, which, of course, she can easily do. The paper is then
handed to one of the audience and to their astonishment it is found
to have been the actual sentence written. It will be understood that
each writer of a sentence is ignorant of what another has written, and
the given sentence is therefore thought to have been written by one
of the audience. This suspicion may be heightened by the queer method
of spelling, or the character of the caligraphy; it may be made still
more astounding by writing the sentence in a foreign language with a
slight mistake in spelling, or grammar, upon which the clairvoyant can
comment in her reply, and thus acquire a reputation for scholarly and
linguistic attainments. The same means are resorted to in the adding
up of a sum. The figures are all prepared behind the stage, and the
_bona fide_ sums given by the audience are never the ones answered by
the clairvoyant. I think I have given, or I hope I have, a clear and
full explanation of clairvoyance or second sight, and the reader may,
by a little practice, become as perfect in this special branch of magic
as the mysterious lady--Heller--Miss Anderson, Dr. Lynn, and a host
of others, who have mystified and bewildered thousands of wondering
spectators.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER VII.
SPIRITUALISM.
The belief in the materialization of spirits, and the visits of
spiritual inhabitants of another world to the scene of their mortal
sojourn for the sole object of giving specimens of their caligraphy
on slates and ceilings, rapping and playing upon tambourines, sealed
accordions, guitars, and so forth, affords another proof that there are
no bounds to human credulity and stupidity.
A worthy doctor of philosophy, only recently deceased, said in my
hearing, while speaking of the gross ignorance that prevailed among
believers in spiritualism, that if a man stood in the middle of the
road with a crowd of people round him, and asserted, with well-worded
sentences and an apparent earnestness and belief on his own part, that
two and two were five, he would find some among the crowd to believe
him. Perhaps the doctor went a little too far in his observation, but
it is, nevertheless, almost incredible that a large number of persons
can be so bigoted and thick-headed as to persist in their belief in
spiritualism when medium after medium has been most unequivocally
found to be conjuror, trickster, and swindler. These conjurors and
tricksters are not men who practise their art of deceiving on the stage
in a legitimate manner, but they are men who pander to the credulity,
bigotry, and fanaticism of the imbecile, obtuse, and weak-minded
person who believe in spirit land, by claiming the power of recalling
from that unknown region to which the soul is supposed to take its
flight when it has shuffled off its mortal coil, those beings who have
gone from earth never to return again, except by the agency of these
mediums. In asserting their power of “calling up the spirits from the
vasty deep,” or from the sky, they offer as proof of their claim to
be believed certain tests, which have been, and which I will show are,
simply the hanky-panky tricks of the prestidigitateur and magician.
The credulous followers of these mediums cannot or will not see the
absurdity of bringing souls from the “world of spirits” merely to
answer idiotic questions, and to perform such antics as even a wild and
unrestrained boy would not be mad enough to do; but they believe the
assertions of the mediums simply because the tests which are applied
to them consist of something more material and tangible than aërial
nothings, and appear to be marvellous and beyond the power of the human
mind to understand.
Have these spiritualists never witnessed the performance of a clever
conjuror who confesses that all his tricks are worked by mechanical
means and sleight of hand? or have they never seen apparent wonders
performed, the mystery of which they could not unravel? They must have
done so, and yet we have never once heard such men as Heller, Houdin,
Professor Anderson, Maskelyne and Cooke, assert that their performances
or manifestations were the works of materialized spirits.
One of the tests offered by the mediums is the rope-tying trick, made
so famous by the Davenport Brothers. It has been clearly demonstrated
that it was merely a trick. The medium has in his hand a coil of rope
about twelve yards long. The lights are extinguished, and a few seconds
afterward, when the gas is lighted, he is seen securely fastened to
a chair, his hands tied, and the rope made fast between his wrists.
One of the company is requested to examine the rope and seal the ends
of the knot. The gas is again extinguished, and a tambourine is heard
bounding about the room. A hand--and a very material hand--claps the
faces of the nearest persons, hats are knocked off, a bell is rung,
arms are pinched, and various other manifestations occur which fully
convince the astonished devotees that some one--spirit or otherwise--is
evidently giving free vent to a playful and mischievous disposition.
The medium, of course, claims that these manifestations are performed
by spirits summoned by him; and he is believed, not because the
spectators suppose that spirits could be so summoned and be made to
manifest their presence, but that, because the medium is tied with a
rope, the ends of which are so sealed as to prevent his getting free
from the bondage into which the spirits have placed him, _he_ cannot
possibly be the one that played the tambourine, rung the bell, gave the
blows, etc.--_ergo_, it must have been the spirits.
Now, had these faithful believers looked very carefully at the rope
and the method of the tying, they would have discovered that the rope
had previously been cut in halves, and then knotted with a fast knot
in the middle. This knot is concealed by the medium before he binds
himself, by holding it in his hand. The rope then, of course, looks
like one continuous whole. When the gas is lowered, he places the two
ends of the rope beneath him on the chair, and, in a manner which I can
scarcely explain in writing or even by illustration, so binds himself,
that by making a double running knot, and placing this double noose
twice round his wrist, he can slip it, and thus free his hand at will.
The knot may be concealed, because it is never touched or disturbed.
When the room is again darkened, it is found to be a very easy matter
for the medium to perform any of the usual manifestations.
Another test offered by a medium, and which was considered as
convincing proof of the right of his claim of connection with the world
of spirits, was the well-known sealed accordion test. The instrument
was fast bound by tapes, and the tapes sealed at every note so as to
prevent it being played in the ordinary way. As soon as the lights were
out the accordion was heard to play, not too sweetly, but sufficiently
well to show that the instrument was being manipulated. When the lights
were again produced, the accordion was found just as it had been
placed, fast bound by tapes, each note sealed, and the seals immaculate.
This trick may be performed by any of our readers without having the
slightest introduction to the beings of another world. He has only to
procure a small tube, place it in the valve-hole of the accordion,
breath and blow into it alternately, and then by fingering the keys he
will be able to produce precisely the same effect as our friends the
mediums. In order to touch distant persons, or to make such things as
guitars and tambourines play at different parts of the room, he has
to conceal about him, or have hidden in some recess in the table or
chair, a telescopic rod, extending several feet. To the end of this
he fixes the tambourine or guitar, on the surface of which has been
placed some phosphorus, and by waving the stick he makes it appear as
if persons were floating over the heads of the company. The invisible
hand is formed by a glove being fastened to the end of the tube. The
glove is inflated or blown out through the tube, and when slapped on to
the cheek of a person it has all the sensations of a cold hand striking
the face. The glove covered with phosphorus and waved about is the
mysterious hand, without any body, which caused so many to believe that
a spirit was present.
At the end of this useful tube may also be fixed a reed trumpet or
whistle, and by blowing through the tube sound can be evolved, and when
the instrument is worked about in different directions a large but
discordant band of spiritual musicians appear, to the materially and
physically benighted listeners, to be in the room. To play the guitar,
while floating in the air, seems a more difficult problem, but the
reader will easily see how this is achieved. In the guitar is a musical
box with a small piece of writing paper so placed as to touch the steel
or vibrating tongues of the box, and this closely imitates the peculiar
twang of the guitar.
When a medium, after having been caught in one or two of his
performances, announces his intention of floating over the heads of
the little world of spiritualists, they at once hold up their hands
in silent admiration, and their belief in the invisible world becomes
more vigorous. They then hasten to pay their guinea or two guineas to
share in this manifestation of the spirit. The medium having called
up the spirit from the “vasty deep,” the room is darkened and a
bull’s-eye lantern is held at such a distance from the medium as to
make his face appear vague and indistinct. He is then seen suddenly to
rise, and in his aërial flight performs a beautiful curve. His face is
sufficiently masked as to make the features indistinguishable; but,
at the same time, to make the audience fully assured that it is his
face. The lantern is made to follow him, and in a moment the face is
lost in darkness, but for one instant only, and then as the gas is lit
the medium is seen with his toes just touching the platform, and his
form descending to its ordinary upright position. Messrs. Maskelyne
and Cooke and others have well shown that this floating in the air
is one of the grossest deceptions ever offered to the most gullible
of audiences. First, there is ready to hand a lay figure, got up to
resemble the medium or professor. Hanging from the top of the stage are
two cords, concealed from the audience. When the medium prepares for
his flight the bull’s-eye lantern is turned upon him, but the person
holding the lantern, pretending that the focus is not altogether right,
turns it away to arrange it, as it were. While this is being done, the
medium quickly substitutes the lay figure. The ends of these cords are
furnished with hooks, which are fastened on to the shoulders of the lay
figure, and then the exhibitor by means of a pulley hauls the figure
upward, the light being kept at such a distance as to just make the
figure of the dummy visible, but totally unrecognizable. During one of
the intervals of the lantern’s wanderings the dummy is removed, and the
medium is seen descending, by merely raising himself on his toes and
lowering himself, and when the full light is upon him sinking on his
knees.
In spite of the exposure of the tricks played by mediums, there are
still persons to be found who really believe that the tambourines,
accordions, guitars, etc., are played by spirit hands, and that beings
from the invisible world make a special journey at every spiritual
séance.
Messrs. Maskelyne and Cooke have, in their popular entertainment, done
a great deal to destroy the belief in the spiritual world founded upon
the tests offered by mediums, and have clearly shown that the tricks
which the mediums assert can only be done by spiritual agency might be
performed by any ingenious person.
Another trick which has been performed by Messrs. Maskelyne and Cooke
is that known as the spiritual musical box. An oblong piece of glass
is suspended by means of four cords hanging from the ceiling, and
upon this glass is placed a musical box. At the word of command the
box begins to play, and when desired by the exhibitor or one of the
audience, it suddenly ceases. The effect is really marvellous, but
the secret of the trick is very simple. In the box there is placed a
balance lever, which, when the glass is in the slightest degree tilted,
arrests the fly-fan, and thus prevents the machinery from moving. When
the performer gives the word of command, the glass is made level, and,
the fly fan being released, the machinery moves, and a tune is played.
When commanded to stop, the cord on either side is slightly pulled,
the balance lever drops, the fly fan is arrested, and the music ceases.
[Illustration]
The writing by “spirits” on the ceiling is done in this way. The medium
is bound, and when the room is lighted a written answer to a question
asked is put upon the ceiling. The reader will have already guessed
that this is performed by the medium by means of the telescopic tube,
at the end of which he places a piece of chalk. He rubs the chalk on
his head, to “show” that the spirits had raised him to the ceiling,
as if he had performed the feat with his head. Another “crucial” test
which these mediums offer is known as the invisible writing. One of
the company is asked to write a sentence or a number of figures upon
a piece of paper. This paper is carefully folded, the lights are
extinguished. In a few seconds they are again relighted, when the
medium declares that the spirits have told him the contents of the
paper, and he reads the sentences or tells the figures.
Again, the medium asks a gentleman to put the hands of a watch to any
hour he chooses, and, when again the lights are lowered, he calls out
the exact time to the exact minute. This all seems very mysterious and
unaccountable, but I shall again show that we do not require spirit aid
to perform these marvels. The medium has in his pocket a small phial
containing phosphorus and oil; and when this test is performed there is
invariably a long cloth on the table. When the papers upon which the
sentence or figures are written, or the watch, are placed on the table,
the lights are lowered, and the performer stoops beneath the table,
takes the paper or watch, opens the phial, from which a blue flame is
emitted, and by this light he reads the sentence, or figures, or sees
the time. He replaces the articles, and can, of course, readily tell
what he has read or seen.
The floating table has often been performed, but I have never attempted
to do this spiritual manifestation. The medium generally has with him
an accomplice, and they bind to their arms a flat iron rod, which
terminates toward the wrist in a kind of hook concealed from the
company by the cuffs of the shirt. The medium contrives to slip this
hook under the edge of the table, as does also his confederate who sits
opposite, while the dupe is sitting between. The annexed illustration
will show the iron rod, and the method of fitting it beneath the table.
The reader will readily perceive that with the aid of these hooks the
two persons can play all kinds of tricks with the table, making it go
from side to side and glide from one part of the room to another.
There are other methods of tying besides those which I have already
mentioned. Some mediums permit themselves to be tied by one of the
audience. In this case the medium inflates his body and sits in such a
position that all his muscles and limbs are distended. When he resumes
his normal position the ropes become loose and he releases himself.
If there be any of my readers who have hitherto been inclined to
believe in the professions of the medium, I hope that what I have said
will open their eyes, and show them that the so-called materialization
of spirits is purely and simply a myth, and that the mediums are
nothing more nor less than clever but unprincipled conjurors.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER VIII.
PARLOR MAGIC.
The art of magic, as it is now understood, is no longer a secret and
mystic profession; it is a written art, and may be easily acquired
by the clever mechanician, or any person having dexterous hands and
a large amount of self-possession and impudence. I say “impudence,”
because most of the best tricks are really so extremely simple that
many persons of a timid or self-conscious disposition would feel
ashamed to venture to perform them, in case of what they think must be
inevitable detection and exposure. But so blind is poor human nature
that the clever conjuror can always select his man for “forcing a
card upon him,” even though he makes his dupe believe he has selected
one at his own will and choice. At the request of a large number of
friends, I will conclude this volume by giving a few tricks which may
be performed after a very little practice by anybody who will take a
little trouble, and for the execution of which no, or very little,
apparatus will be required--at any rate, only such as can be obtained
either in any ordinary house, or at a very trifling expense. The task
which I have set myself is not, as the reader might imagine, an easy
one, for in endeavoring to give some tricks which have not before
been already fully explained in books published on the subject, I
find that there is scarcely a parlor trick which has not already been
explained. Therefore, to give some tricks that have never yet been
exposed is really a very difficult and almost impossible task. However,
I have done my best, and the following little deceptions which the
amateur conjuror may safely perform, will enable him to give a capital
evening’s entertainment to his friends or family circle. I would just
add one word before quitting the subject of magic and conjuring.
My object in the foregoing chapters was to show the reader, first,
that the art of magic is merely the art of a very clever illusionist,
who, by swiftness of execution and a thorough knowledge of the laws
of mechanics and optics, can make his audience _deceive themselves_;
secondly, to afford some entertainment to my readers; and, thirdly,
to set the ingenious at work to solve the mysteries of the art upon
the basis I have given in these chapters. I venture to think, from the
observations I have heard, that all these objects have been attained.
And now for a few parlor tricks.
I. A SURPRISE.--You produce a bottle, which you ask a person to hold,
inviting him to partake of a glass of the fluid contents. You give
him a glass, and when he attempts to pour it out, lo! he finds that
in a few seconds the contents has frozen! To perform this you must
previously make a saturated solution of sulphate of soda and hot water,
and fill therewith a clean white bottle, taking care to cork the bottle
while the liquid is hot. The liquid remains in a fluid state so long as
the bottle is corked. You show that the bottle contains a liquid, and
in handing it to the person be careful to take out the cork. In order
to give the preparation time to solidify, pretend to be looking about
for a tumbler, and make some remarks about a sudden chill; or you can
feel the hand holding the glass, and suggest that it is very cold. In
the meantime, the air acting upon the solution has caused it to become
fixed and immovable, and when the person attempts to pour it out, he
finds it impossible to do so.
II. INDIAN SAND TRICK.--This trick has been made famous by the Hindoos,
who for many centuries contrived to retain the secret. It consists of
placing ordinary sand in a basin full of water, stirring the water
and taking out the sand in handfuls, perfectly dry. It need scarcely
be said that without previous preparation it is impossible to effect
this. Take two pounds of fine silver sand, place it in a frying-pan,
and heat well over a clear fire. When the sand is thoroughly heated
place a small piece of grease--the composition of a paraffin candle
preferred--among the sand, stirring it well up to get it thoroughly
mixed. Then let the sand get cold. You place into a basin of cold water
two or three handfuls, then stir the water well. It will be found that
the sand repels the water, and can be drawn out perfectly dry. It is
very important that only a small portion of grease be used, so that
when you hand round the sand for examination its presence may not be
observed.
[Illustration]
III. THE “Q” TRICK.--This is a very simple and a very telling trick for
the parlor. You take a number of coins or counters, and form them into
a circle with a tail to represent a Q, as shown in the sketch annexed.
You then ask a person to think of a number, and to count that number,
commencing from the tail of the Q at B, and counting round the circle.
When he has finished he is to count the number back again, but instead
of counting the tail of the Q to go round the circle, and you promise
to tell him every time at which counter or coin he left off counting.
In order that you shall not see him count, you leave the room while he
does so. Supposing he selects the number 6; he commences to count from
B, and leaves off at C; he then counts again and leaves off at A. Now,
while there are three counters in the tail of the Q, whatever number he
thinks off, he will always stop at A; so all you have to do is to count
the number of counters or coins there are in the tail, and the same
number in the circle will always be the coin last counted. You must be
careful, when repeating the trick, to add one or two, or take one away
from the tail, as always fixing upon the same counter would perhaps
expose the trick.
IV. THE BLEEDING THUMB.--This is a very effective trick, but I am
afraid, unless my pupil has some little self-sacrifice, and does not
mind enduring a trifling pain in order to amuse his audience, this
trick will never be performed. Previous to doing it, you puncture
your thumb with a needle in one or two places, near the nail. You
then assert that you will cut open your thumb and instantly heal it.
You take a handkerchief and tightly bind the thumb therewith, keeping
the thumb perfectly straight. You ask for a knife--the sharper the
better--and, having obtained one, you pretend to cut the thumb, which
you bend. This causes the blood to flow from the punctures. The blood
spreads along the knife, which looks as though it had cut almost
through the thumb. You then wipe the blood away, straightening the
thumb, and show that there is no sign of wound or blood.
V. THE MARKED FLORIN IN ORANGES.--Previous to performing this trick,
get two florins exactly alike, and mark them both similarly. Then get
two oranges and cut a slit in each. Place them on the table after you
have put one of the marked florins inside one of them. Then borrow from
the audience a florin, and request the owner of the florin to mark
it. You then ask a person in another part of the room to hold it, but
giving him _your_ marked florin instead of the borrowed one. Then you
go to the table and slip into the other orange the borrowed florin. You
ask your audience in which orange they would like the marked coin to
be found, remembering that as you face the audience it does not matter
which they say--right or left--as your right is their left, and their
left your right. Whichever orange they ask for, take the one containing
_your_ marked florin. You then ask the party holding the florin if he
would be sure to know it again. Then give him the orange to hold on the
point of the knife; and in taking the florin from him conceal it in
your hand, and say that you will cause it to pass into the orange which
he holds. On cutting the orange open he, of course, finds your marked
florin, which, on examination, he asserts to be the one held by him.
Then say that it would have been totally indifferent which orange was
selected; and give the other orange to the person who lent the florin
to hold. You then take _your_ marked florin and say that you will cause
it to pass in the orange he holds in his hand; and request him to cut
it open. He does so, and then perceives his own marked coin in the
centre.
VI. THE CHINESE PICTURES.--This is a very curious and surprising trick.
You prepare a number of plain white sheets of paper, intermixed with
which are several sheets on which are drawn various Chinese pictures.
In showing these sheets to the audience, you take care not to draw out
any of the pictures, but only the blank sheets. You then take a jug,
having an even top, filled with water, placing the sheets on the top.
You then state that the water in the jug has the peculiar quality of
drawing, but having been brought from China, can only draw Chinese
sketches. You then dexterously reverse the jug, the sheets preventing
the water from flowing out. After a few moments you draw out the
sketches, and scattering them among the audience, you cause them to
think that they have been drawn on the blank sheets. This is a very
old trick of the Chinese, who first performed it. You can easily learn
to tell which are blank sheets and which are the pictures by a simple
mark placed on the top or in the corner of the latter.
VII. BAUTIER’S GREAT INK-AND-WATER TRICK.--This trick, first introduced
by Bautier, at the Egyptian Hall, London, has, to the best of my
belief, never before been explained. It is a remarkably clever
deception, and, when dexterously performed, defies detection. It
consists in showing a decanter filled with ink and another with water,
and while each decanter is held by one of the audience, making the
contents of each change places, the ink going into the one containing
water, while the pure liquid is found in the one in which the ink was
seen. Take two water bottles or decanters, and in one place a tassel of
black fleecy wool, just long enough to touch the bottom of the bottle.
The tassel must be tied by a knot at the top, and a small piece of
string just hanging over the mouth of the bottle, attached to the knot.
Then fill the glass with water. The bottle thus prepared looks at a
short distance like a bottle of ink, and you have only to tell your
audience that it is so to make them believe it. This, I am afraid, is
inculcating in the mind of the reader the principle of falsehood--at
least Mrs. Grundy might say so; but a professor of magic is doing
nothing but telling “crammers” from the commencement to the conclusion
of his entertainment. Perhaps this is the reason why it is called the
“black art,” and was the cause of so much persecution in the “good
old days,” when all was so pure and so virtuous, as the lovers of the
_beaux temps_ would have us believe. But pardon this digression. In
the other bottle place a weak solution of the proto-sulphate of iron,
about a half ounce to about a pint and a half of water. Have ready a
bit of pyrogallic acid--about two-thirds of a tea-spoonful, wrapped in
a small piece of blotting-paper that has been blacked with ink. Having
completed these arrangements, and asserted that you have on the table
a bottle containing water and another ink, you borrow a handkerchief,
with which you cover the bottle containing the clear solution, and
in doing so you slip into it the pyrogallic acid; and in handing the
bottle to one of the audience to hold you give the contents a little
imperceptible shaking. You then take another handkerchief and place it
over the other bottle, which you hand to a person to hold. You then
command the contents of each bottle to change places. Then, in removing
the handkerchief from the ink bottle, you clutch the piece of string
and quickly pull out the black wool and throw the handkerchief out
of sight, showing the bottle to contain only water. You then ask the
person holding the other bottle to remove the covering, when the fluid
will be found to be “as black as night.” This trick always causes the
greatest astonishment.
VIII. CARRYING FIRE IN THE HANDS.--In performing this extremely simple
trick, the audience must not be informed of what it is your intention
to do, but it should be done when there is any delay in your other
tricks, or some hitch occurs in getting anything you require, and which
happens not to be at hand. For filling up a gap in a performance, it
will be found extremely useful. In giving an entertainment of magic,
always have on your table two burning candles; they are both useful
and ornamental, and serve to dispel any idea of the spectators that
you cannot perform your tricks in a full light. You go to the table,
having previously concealed a piece of paper in your hand between the
two middle fingers, and place your hands around the flame, saying it is
perfectly possible to retain the heat in the hand, and even carry the
flame from one candle to another. You then blow out one of the candles,
and quickly place your hands round the other, set fire to the paper in
your hand, blow out the candle, quickly light the first and then the
second, smothering the flame of the paper in your hand. This trick,
when well done, causes great astonishment and surprise.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE FLOATING STICK.
(A STARTLING EXPERIMENT.)
[Illustration]
The performer, taking in his hands a round black wand such as is used
during the performance, about two feet long, makes it go through the
most extraordinary performance. First he places the bar in the palm of
his hand, and holding his hand up in perpendicular position, the bar is
seen suspended without any support. The performer now places the bar to
the extreme points of his fingers, and holds his arm in a horizontal
position, when the bar is again seen suspended without any support in
that most difficult position.
_To prove that this wonderful performance is done without the aid of
invisible silk, wire, wax, or mechanism_, the operator places the bar
against the _back of his hand_, and once more it is seen suspended in
mid-air, while he takes it quite close to the company for inspection.
Price, $2.
THE CRYSTAL CASE AND MAGIC BALL.
[Illustration]
This marvellous and remarkably elegant illusion consists of a pretty
case, with glass front and sides, which the performer proves to be
perfectly empty by placing his wand inside, and which the audience
can see through the glass front and sides, being inserted in the
very back of the box. Nevertheless, on exclaiming Heigh! Presto! the
performer makes a large ball appear inside, to the great astonishment
of the audience. To increase the effect, the casket can be tightly
corded, thus proving that the ball which is discovered within could not
have been passed through any aperture. Price of casket with ball, by
express, $1.50.
THE DISSOLVING FLAG AND CANDLE.
[Illustration]
This is a startling trick, consisting of a series of surprises. The
performer first shows a beautiful silk flag, which he rubs in his
hands, and commands to pass into a lighted candle, standing on the
table. The flag is then seen slowly to melt away, the performer showing
both hands empty. He then takes the lighted candle, and extinguishes it
by wrapping it in a piece of newspaper, which he screws up very tight,
until it breaks with the twisting, when, instead of the remains of the
candle, the silk flag is discovered tightly twisted in the paper, and
the candle has entirely disappeared. This is one of the most effective
tricks ever invented, and is quite new. Price complete, by mail, $2.50.
THE ELECTRICAL PACK OF CARDS.
[Illustration]
The performer takes an ordinary pack of cards in his hands and shuffles
them, then commences by making the cards run from one hand to the other
several inches at a time, till he elongates them two or three feet.
The performer can repeat this wonderful trick as many times as he
likes. He then takes the cards in the palm of his left hand, and with
his right hand runs the cards from the palm of the left hand right up
to the shoulders, the cards lying on the arm one by one in the most
beautiful order, and then, in an instant, the cards run down the arm
and are caught in the palm of the hand. Other wonderful effects can be
produced. This beautiful arrangement will be found a good introduction
to all card tricks, as it can be exhibited in any room with the
greatest ease, by the amateur as well as the professional, and has the
appearance of pure sleight-of-hand. Price per pack, $2.50.
THE DIMINISHING PACK OF CARDS.
[Illustration]
The performer takes a pack of cards in his hands and opens them out.
He then rubs his fingers over them, and they gradually diminish, until
they are only half the original size. He then takes them again, and
they gradually get smaller and smaller till they are not much larger
than a dime, and finally they vanish altogether. Improved principle,
very superior quality French make. Per set, $2.
THE ENCHANTED CARD FRAME.
[Illustration]
This frame is first shown to be quite empty, back, front, sides, every
part of it is shown; then a card, which has been chosen from the pack,
is commanded to appear in it, and instantly does so, without removing
it from the sight of the audience. The card may then be taken out,
the back of the frame removed, and they can then see right through
the glass. It will disappear again if desired. A carte-de-visite,
photograph, or picture, may be made to appear, instead of a card, if
wished. Price, $2.
THE STICKING PACK OF CARDS.
[Illustration]
Three cards are selected from the pack by the company, then returned to
it, and the pack is shuffled. The performer then takes it, and knocking
it against the door or wall, the pack sticks up there, to the great
surprise of the audience. Those of the company who chose the three
cards are asked to name them, and as they do so they rise one by one
from the pack. Price, $2.
THE ABOVE SENT TO ANY ADDRESS ON RECEIPT OF THE PRICE BY THE
MANUFACTURERS,
PECK & SNYDER,
Nos. 124 & 126 Nassau Street, New York City.
_A Complete Catalogue of Tricks, etc., containing over 250
Illustrations, sent on receipt of ten cents._
Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant
preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected. Occasional unbalanced
quotation marks were corrected when possible. Missing letters and
punctuation marks were restored when possible.
Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained; occurrences of
inconsistent hyphenation have not been changed.
Transcriber retained the “Figure” identifications within the
illustrations originally on pages 122, 131, and 203. The
identifications of all other Figures only appear in the captions.
The captionless illustration on Page 1 is a decorative headpiece;
captionless illustrations at the ends of chapters are decorative
tailpieces.
Sequence error corrected in the Table of Contents.
In the Appendix, Figures 321–324 originally were numbered 1–4, but were
changed here to avoid ambiguity with the figure numbers in the main
part of the book.