The magician Bosco, of Milan, numbered among his acquaintances the negro
_prima donna_ whose advent as “the Black Malibran” caused quite an
operatic warfare in our fathers’ time, from a certain opposition being
waged against a Desdemona of Othello’s colour presuming to darken the
stage.
One afternoon previous to Signor Bosco’s performance at the Rooms at the
back of the Princess’s Theatre, which veteran playgoers will remember,
he took tea with the lady.
It was his habit, a pleasant one, of experimenting with his really
remarkable inventions upon his friends before unveiling them to the
public.
On this occasion he produced at the tea-table a pretty little picture
frame. It was simply a border of wood around a square of quite clear
glass, with coloured paper pasted over the back to keep out the dust.
Taking up a pack of cards, he had one drawn by the lady—let us suppose
the ten of diamonds. This he made to vanish in the air.
Then he again had the picture frame observed, that it might be beyond
doubt that nothing but the clear glass in the front, and the coloured
opaque back, were visible. And over the frame, held in the lady’s hand,
he lightly threw a handkerchief.
He uttered a magic phrase or two, took the frame, still in the
handkerchief, waved it in the air, and made a pass or two over it. Then
removing the handkerchief he held up the frame to the lady, who, to her
astonishment, perceived a card in its centre—the card she had drawn.
Again covering the frame with the handkerchief, Bosco once more
bewitched it. On taking away the handkerchief this time, the picture
frame was found to have resumed its original condition; in other words,
the card had vanished, and there was nothing visible but the border, the
clear glass, and the opaque back.
_Explanation._—The frame is hollow at top and bottom, so that these two
places are receptacles to contain a quantity of sand. This sand is dyed
of the same colour as the paper used to cover the back of the frame. Two
pieces of glass are placed in the frame, a little apart.
[Illustration: