The performer comes forward with an ordinary soup plate filled to overflowing with bran, a portion of which is scattered over the stage to prove its genuineness. The bran is then covered with a second plate, which on being removed reveals a live dove, the bran having entirely disappeared.

The explanation is as follows:--One of the plates is fitted with a tin lining, enamelled white on the inside to represent the china. (See Fig.

40.) The supposed bran is really this tin lining turned upside down with bran gummed all over it; a handful of loose bran being thrown on the top. It is hardly necessary to say that the dove is already in the plate concealed by the bran shape.

The false heap of bran is now covered with the second plate, and while talking the performer, in a careless way, turns the plates over several times, finally placing them on the table in such a manner that the one that was formerly uppermost shall now be at the bottom. All he has to do now is to remove the uppermost plate and take out the dove. The inside of the bottom plate should now be shown, when it will appear perfectly empty.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 40.--Trick Plate]

In place of the dove the plate may be loaded with sweets and small toys, for distribution; or with a list of articles similar to those produced from the tambourine. If a coil of ribbon be used it should be a colored one, with one side rubbed over with chalk so that the inside of the plate may be shown prior to its production.

By using two pairs of these plates, and being provided with two doves exactly alike, the bran in one may be made to, apparently, change places with the dove in the other.

THE WANDERING STOUT.--The feat bearing this t.i.tle consists of causing a gla.s.s of stout to pa.s.s through the crown of a borrowed hat. Having obtained the loan of two hats, the performer places them on the table mouth to mouth, and stands the gla.s.s of stout on the crown of the uppermost one, covering it with a paper cylinder of the same height as itself. On removing the cylinder it is shown to be perfectly empty, the gla.s.s being immediately taken from the lower hat.

For the performance of the trick the operator must be provided with a gla.s.s three and one-fourth inches high by two and one-half inches in diameter at the mouth, tapering very slightly toward the bottom. The kind known as picnic gla.s.ses will be found the most suitable. In addition to the gla.s.s and the paper cylinder a piece of gla.s.s tubing of the same height as the tumbler, and large enough to pa.s.s easily over the same, will also be required. This piece of tubing must be blackened on the inside to within one inch of the top, and finished with a little white paint to represent froth, when, thus prepared, it will readily pa.s.s for a gla.s.s containing stout.

The paper cylinder, containing the sham gla.s.s, being on the table, the performer comes forward with a bottle of stout and fills the tumbler.

He then takes up the cylinder and pa.s.ses his wand right through it, as if to prove that it has not undergone any preparation, after which he places it over the gla.s.s of stout. He then puts the gla.s.s, still covered with the cylinder, into one of the hats, with the remark "I will now cause the tumbler to pa.s.s from one hat to the other," then, as if struck with a sudden thought, changes his mind, saying, "No, perhaps it would be more effective if I place the hats one over the other, and pa.s.s the gla.s.s through the crown of the uppermost one." Saying this he, apparently, takes the tumbler, still under cover of the cylinder, from the hat, and places it in the required position. Really, however, the stout was left behind, the cylinder and counterfeit gla.s.s alone being removed.

Now, in order to satisfy the spectators that the stout is actually on the crown of the hat, the performer lifts the cylinder and exposes the sham gla.s.s, which every one believes to be the genuine article. The cover is then replaced and the tumbler commanded to pa.s.s into the lower hat, after which it is again raised, together with the counterfeit, and the wand pa.s.sed through it as before. The hats are then separated and the gla.s.s is produced from the lower one.

A CRYSTAL WATER MYSTERY.--Chemical tricks, as a rule, do not meet with much favor at the hands of professional conjurers. The reason is pretty clear, as, in the majority of cases, the modus operandi is too palpable. The one here described, however, owing to the number of changes produced, is an exceptionally good one, and is to be found in the repertoire of the leading performers of the day.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 41.--Water Trick]

Four empty gla.s.s tumblers, together with a gla.s.s jug full of water, are arranged on a tray as shown in Fig. 41.

Water poured from the jug into--

No. 1, is seen to be clear.

No. 2, changes to stout.

No. 3, is seen to be clear.

No. 4, again changes to stout.

Nos. 1 and 2 mixed equal stout.

Nos. 3 and 4 mixed equal water.

Nos. 1 and 2 put back into the jug give all stout.

Nos. 3 and 4 put back into the jug give all water, as at first.

The explanation, although by no means obvious, is very simple. Gla.s.s No. 1 is perfectly clean. No. 2 contains a small portion of pyrogallic acid, about the size of a pea. No. 3 is prepared with half a teaspoonful of sulphuric acid. No. 4 contains the same quant.i.ty of pyrogallic acid as No. 2. The jug contains clear water, into which a teaspoonful of sulphate of iron is dropped just before the trick is commenced. The iron should not be placed in the water until actually required for use, as the solution changes rapidly to a yellow color, in which condition it would not very well pa.s.s for water. For the same reason the jug should be removed immediately after the trick.

Some performers prefer to use the following chemicals in place of those enumerated above. I will give them in the same order, and then the magician may choose for himself. Gla.s.s No. 1, as before, is quite clean; No. 2 contains a few drops of muriated tincture of iron; No. 3, a teaspoonful of a saturated solution of oxalic acid; and No. 4 is prepared in the same manner as No. 2. A teaspoonful of tannic acid should be added to the water in the jug prior to the commencement of the experiment.

I myself always use the sulphuric acid, as I believe it produces the best result, but in the case of a spill it is very dangerous, and on this account the latter method is to be preferred. The changes, in either case, are quite instantaneous, hence the trick produces a most extraordinary effect.

THE WIZARD'S BREAKFAST.--The magical production of steaming hot coffee has always been a favorite trick with the juveniles, especially when the beverage is handed round for their consumption, and various pieces of apparatus have been designed for effecting this purpose. The most up-to-date method, however, is the one hereafter described:

Two boxes, without lids, sizes about twelve inches by eight inches by eight inches, usually fitting one within the other for convenience in traveling, and containing respectively cuttings of blue and white paper, are introduced to the audience. Two pint goblets, in metal, are then filled, one with blue and the other with white paper from the boxes, after which they are covered with small silk handkerchiefs. On removing the handkerchiefs the blue and the white papers are found to have been transformed respectively into hot coffee and hot milk. The performer then pours a portion of each fluid into a breakfast cup, and makes a motion as if throwing the whole over the audience, when nothing falls but a shower of blue and white paper cuttings, every vestige of the coffee and milk having disappeared.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 42.--Trick Tumbler]

There are in reality four goblets employed in the trick, two of which, containing the fluids, are concealed in the boxes unknown to the spectators. These two are provided with shallow trays fitting loosely within them at the top, each tray being filled with paper of the required color. (See Fig. 42.)

When presenting the trick the performer comes forward with the box containing the white paper, and throwing a handful in the air, calls out, "Out in the cold," which remark is perfectly justifiable, as the paper gives a faithful representation of falling snow. Placing this box on the table, and taking up that containing the blue paper, he scatters a handful over the stage with the remark, "This is the same as the white, only the wind blue it." He now takes one of the goblets from the table and appears to fill it with white paper, but really, while in the box, an exchange is made for the one containing the milk, which, owing to the presence of the shallow tray, will appear to be full of paper.

This is then covered with a handkerchief, after which the second goblet is treated in like manner.

The shallow trays have each a piece of wire projecting from their upper edge to enable the performer to remove them under cover of the handkerchiefs. The handkerchiefs are thrown in a careless manner over the sides of the boxes, into which, if sufficient paper has been provided, the trays may be allowed to fall.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 43.--Cup and Saucer]

The cup and saucer will next require our attention. These are of metal in imitation of the genuine article, the saucer being made double, with a small hole in the centre of its upper side, for a purpose that will presently appear. The cup is provided with a perpendicular division nearly in the centre, a small hole being drilled in the bottom of that side next to the handle. (See Fig. 43.)

The front and larger side is filled with a mixture of blue and white paper cuttings, and thus prepared, together with the saucer, it is placed on the table. When pouring the coffee and milk into the cup the performer takes care that it goes into the s.p.a.ce provided with the small hole, through which it immediately runs into the body of the saucer.

It is usual to bring the trick to a conclusion by apparently throwing the fluid over the audience as already described, but should the performer be provided with a number of small cups and a tray, that portion of the beverage not used may be handed round as refreshments.

THE HYDROSTATIC TUBE.--This is a trick of comparatively recent invention. It requires very careful handling, and the performer must be possessed of almost superhuman nerve to present it successfully to a critical audience. It produces, however, a most extraordinary effect, and on this account is to be recommended.

A piece of paper is placed at the bottom of a gla.s.s tube or chimney used for gas, which is then filled with water, while the top of the tube is covered with a second piece of paper. The right hand is then placed on the top paper and the position of the tube reversed. The papers are then, each in turn, removed, but the water does not fall from the cylinder; on the contrary, it remains suspended without visible means of support. The papers are now replaced, and the top one is pierced with a hatpin, when, on the pin being withdrawn, the water at once falls into a basin placed ready to receive it under the tube.

This surprising result is due entirely to a well-known natural law, viz., the pressure of the atmosphere, and is nothing more nor less than a modification of the old schoolboy trick of keeping a gla.s.s of water inverted by means of a sheet of paper. The new arrangement will, however, require special explanation.

Each end of the cylinder is fitted with a gla.s.s cap, grooved to fit into and over it at the same time; this is necessary to avoid slipping.

The ends of the tube, also the edges of the caps, must be ground, so that the point of juncture shall be air-tight. One of the caps has a small hole drilled through the centre. (See Fig. 44.)

When about to present the trick the two gla.s.s caps are laid on the bottoms of two upturned tumblers, where they are quite invisible. The performer then draws attention to two square pieces of paper, which he dips into the water contained in the bowl, afterward laying them down on the gla.s.s tumblers, and over the gla.s.s discs. He next shows the tube, pa.s.sing his wand through it to prove that it has not undergone any preparation. Then taking one of the papers, and at the same time secretly securing one of the discs (not the one with the hole in it), he places it at the bottom of the tube, which is forthwith stood on the palm of the left hand. The tube is then filled with water and covered with the remaining piece of paper and gla.s.s cap.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 44.--Hydrostatic Tube]

The position of the tube is then reversed, after which it is taken by the centre and both papers are removed. The water will not run out from the small hole in the bottom cap owing to the fact that no air can get in at the top. The gla.s.s caps being absolutely invisible, the water will now appear to be suspended in the tube without any natural means of support.

The papers are again placed on the ends of the tube, where, being wet, they readily adhere. The hands are now placed one on each end and the tube is reversed; this is necessary to bring the cap with the hole in it to the top. The top paper is then pierced with the hatpin, which, pa.s.sing through the hole in the cap, gives the impression that there cannot be anything but the paper covering the ends of the tube. When the pin is withdrawn the air rushes into the tube, and, as a natural consequence, the paper and disc fall from the bottom, liberating the water. The bowl should be half full of water when the cap falls, to avoid fracture of the gla.s.s. The cap is then brought away from the top of the tube under cover of the piece of paper, and both are dropped into the bowl, when the tube can be once more given for examination.

THE HYDROSTATIC TUMBLER.--This trick, which is similar in principle to that immediately preceding it, is preferred by some as being less c.u.mbersome; it is also easier to work and consequently entails less anxiety on the part of the performer. The effect, however, although pretty, is not quite so startling.

The necessary apparatus consists of a gla.s.s tumbler with a small hole drilled in the side one inch from the bottom, the mouth of which must be fitted with a gla.s.s cap in the same manner as the tube in the preceding trick. (See Fig. 45.)

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 45.--Hydrostatic Tumbler]