The performer having drawn attention to the tumbler, also a small piece of paper, dips the latter into a bowl of water, and lays it down over the gla.s.s cap. The tumbler, held with the thumb covering the small hole, is then filled with water from the bowl, and covered with the piece of paper under which, unknown to the audience, is the gla.s.s disc.

The gla.s.s is then inverted and the paper withdrawn, the water remaining suspended without visible means of support. The tumbler can now be turned about in any direction, without the least fear of the water escaping, so long as the thumb is kept over the small hole in its side.

It can also be stood on the table, the hand being removed entirely; the water cannot escape through the small hole owing to the presence of the cap.

The tumbler is once more raised and inverted, when the performer undertakes to cause the water to fall at any given number counted by the audience. This last effect, which adds considerably to the trick, is brought about by very simple means; all the performer has to do is to remove the thumb covering the small hole, when the air rushes in and causes the disc to fall. The bowl, as before, should be half full of water, to provide a cushion for the falling disc, which under these circ.u.mstances will not be injured, nor its presence detected.

PAPER CONE, WATCH, RABBIT, AND BOXES.--The effect of this excellent stage trick is as follows: A watch is borrowed and dropped into a conical paper bag held by one of the spectators. The performer then loads the magic pistol with a small silk handkerchief; this he fires in the direction of the bag, after which the bag is opened and found to contain the handkerchief, the watch having disappeared. Attention is next drawn to a box, which has been hanging over the head of the performer from the commencement of the entertainment, and which on being opened is found to consist of a nest of six boxes, the smallest of which contains a rabbit with the borrowed watch tied round its neck.

The main secret of the trick lies in the paper bag, which is really double, consisting of two pieces of paper gummed together round the edges, the corner of one piece being removed, as in Fig. 46.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 46--Paper Cone]

At the commencement of the trick a small silk handkerchief is hidden between the two pieces of paper. When making the bag it must be so arranged that the corner at which is the opening is at the top. Under cover of the point of the bag the handkerchief is removed from its place of concealment and dropped into the bag proper, the double side being immediately pulled over to the opposite side of the bag to again conceal the handkerchief. If the bag is well made, and this side well creased over, a casual glance into its interior will reveal nothing suspicious. In this condition the bag is given to a spectator to hold, and he is then requested to drop the watch into it, which he does, as he thinks, into the bag proper, but really the watch falls into the position previously occupied by the handkerchief. The top of the bag is then folded over.

The performer now loads a duplicate handkerchief into the pistol, and, having disposed of it in the usual way, fires in the direction of the bag. He then unfolds the bag and shakes out the handkerchief, being careful to hold the watch so that it does not fall at the same time. He then crumples up the paper in his hands, and in the act of doing so tears out the watch, which is forthwith palmed, the paper being thrown away.

The box, which should be suspended with two cords over pulleys, is then lowered; and when taking it in his hands to place it on the table the performer is able to secretly attach the watch to a swivel hook which is hanging on the side most remote from the audience. This swivel hook is attached to the ribbon round the rabbit's neck, the arrangement being as follows:--The ribbon is tied round the rabbit, which is then placed in the smallest box, the ribbon being allowed to hang outside the box when the lid is closed. The box is then placed in the next larger one, the ribbon still being allowed to hang outside. This is continued until the ribbon is left hanging on the outside of the last box.

The solution will now be clear. As the boxes are removed one after the other the watch is suspended behind that last exposed; and when the rabbit is taken out it will be impossible to tell that the watch was not actually removed from the same box.

THE MAGICAL PRODUCTION OF FLOWERS.--Whenever possible, it is always best to lead up to an elaborate trick with a succession of smaller illusions of the same nature. This is well ill.u.s.trated in the "Marvelous production of Flowers," which in good hands is a most pleasing and mysterious experiment. Flower tricks always take well, especially with the feminine part of the audience, and ambitious amateurs should strive to have at least one good illusion of this character on their programmes. The magician comes forward, with the announcement, "Ladies and gentlemen, I notice that in my hurry I have neglected to provide myself with the customary b.u.t.tonhole bouquet, but, fortunately, I have here a quant.i.ty of magic seed capable of producing a rose garden if required." Show a small box, which is supposed to contain the seed, while in reality it is empty. "You see I have only to place a single seed here in my b.u.t.tonhole and after breathing on it a moment, to supply the necessary heat, I touch it with my wand and instantly we have a beautiful rose. Now, if some gentleman will kindly loan me a silk hat for a moment, I will show you a method by which bouquets may be produced while you wait. I only have to place the hat over this gla.s.s goblet, which, you see, is quite free from deception, and here we have a handsome bouquet." Remove the hat and find the goblet still empty. "How is this? Ah, I remember now, I neglected to put any of the magic seed in the goblet. I will just put in a pinch of various kinds and try again." Place hat over the gla.s.s again and instantly raise it, and discover a large bouquet. "You perceive the seed acts instantaneously."

While saying this brush the hat carefully and walk down as if to return it, still holding the box of seed. Once among your audience you exclaim, "What is that? You don't believe me? Why, see here; by just putting a pinch of the seed into this hat and breathing on it, thus, I will produce bouquets for all present." Show hat nearly full of small bouquets and distribute them. Then return hat saying: "I thank you, sir, for the use of your hat, which seems particularly fitted for raising flowers."

Now for the explanation:--To prepare for producing a flower in the b.u.t.tonhole, take a piece of black elastic cord about a foot in length and put one end of it through the centre of an artificial rose, from which the stem has been removed, knotting the end to keep it from slipping through. Pa.s.s the other end through the b.u.t.tonhole, also through a small hole made in the coat just behind the b.u.t.tonhole, and then down and fasten to the suspender b.u.t.ton on the back of your trousers. Draw the flower away from the b.u.t.tonhole and conceal it under the left armpit, and as you touch the spot with the wand raise the left arm slightly, freeing the flower, which will instantly fly to the b.u.t.tonhole.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 47.-Production of Flowers]

After borrowing the hat place it over the gla.s.s, as above, and after removing let the brim rest on the table a second while looking at the gla.s.s. During this brief time slip your finger into the little cardboard tube which serves as a handle to the bouquet, which lies on the shelf at the back of your table and just beneath the hat. By closing the fingers the bouquet is brought into the hat. (See fig. 47).

This takes only a fraction of a second, and as all are looking for the bouquet in the gla.s.s the movement is entirely invisible. As soon as the hat is "loaded" raise it quite a distance above the table and hold it there while you pretend to put the seed in the gla.s.s. As soon as the bouquet is shown in the gla.s.s, let the hat rest on the table as before, and introduce the small bouquets, which are tied together with a weak thread and are provided with a tube like the large bouquet. When you appear to put the seed in the hat, break the thread and shake up the bouquets loosely, and they will nearly fill the hat. Of course you must keep your eyes fixed on the goblet while loading the hat, and never allow yourself to glance toward the left hand which holds the hat, as that would give your audience a hint that something was going on in that quarter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 48.--Production of Rose-Bushes]

We now come to the production of rose-bushes from flower-pots which contain nothing but a small quant.i.ty of white sand. It is Kellar's most famous illusion. Two small tables, draped within a foot or more above the floor, are seen on the conjurer's stage. On each table is a miniature stand on which are flower-pots, (Fig. 48). After the pots have been examined by the spectators, the performer places them on the stands, and plants seeds in them. A pasteboard cone, open at both ends, is exhibited, and placed for a second over flower-pot No. 1. When it is removed a green sprig is seen, which the magician declares has just sprouted. He then places the cone over flower-pot No. 2. Removing it a full grown rose-bush appears, covered with buds and roses in full bloom. A second rose-bush is then produced from flower-pot No. 1. The roses are culled and presented to the ladies in the audience. The following is an explanation of the trick:

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 49.-Table for Flower Trick]

The tables are open at the back, the drapery not extending completely around them. Attached to the leg of each table is a small shelf, which is of course concealed by the drapery, (Fig. 49). The bushes are stumps, to the branches of which are tied the roses. Each bush has as a base a circular piece of lead, which fits into the flower-pot. The bushes are suspended inside of the cones, (Fig. 49 A) which are placed on the secret shelves above described. The performer covers the first pot with the cone in his hand, and drops from his palm the green sprig which sticks into the sand. As attention is being called to the sprout, the magician drops the empty cone, just shown, down behind the table over the prepared cone and rose-bush and brings them up under cover.

The loaded cone fits closely into the empty one, but as an additional security is held in place by the fingers of the performer. He goes to the second table and places the cone over the flower-pot. The rose-bush is allowed to drop into the pot, the thread which fastens it having been detached. The bush is now shown. As soon as the cone is removed the hand naturally and carelessly drops behind with it over the next prepared cone on the shelf, and the performer produces a rose-bush from the first flower-pot. He now has three cones, one inside of the other.

To facilitate the picking up of the cones in succession the back part of each table top is cut out in crescent shape.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 50.--Magic Incubation]

MAGIC INCUBATION.--To produce a quant.i.ty of eggs from an empty handkerchief is a favorite experiment with magicians. It is a modification of the old egg-bag trick, but far more effective and but little known. The materials used are easily procured:--a blown egg, to which is attached a piece of thread, and a silk handkerchief. Fasten the egg to the handkerchief by means of the thread, as shown in Fig.

50. Spread out the handkerchief, when exhibiting the trick, and show that both sides are free from preparation. To do this you must keep the egg concealed in your right hand, and at the moment let it fall in the position depicted in the ill.u.s.tration, (Fig. 50). The thread will hold it in the centre of the handkerchief. But remember to keep the handkerchief waving slightly, otherwise the impact of the falling egg against it might betray the secret of the trick. It is hardly necessary to say that the "egg-side" of the handkerchief is turned toward yourself. Explain to the audience that you are going to magically produce an egg. Take the right hand corner of the handkerchief in your mouth and hold the left corner with your left hand. Now place the forefinger of the right hand against the upper part of the handkerchief, the side facing yourself, and fold the handkerchief over, grasping the two upper corners with your left hand. Next hold the lower corners with your right hand and bring the handkerchief to a horizontal position. Tilt one end of it over a hat and an egg will be seen to fall, (Fig. 51). Shake out the handkerchief and repeat the above described operation of producing eggs until the hat is apparently full, after which you may turn it over and show it empty. This trick neatly executed never fails to elicit well deserved applause from the audience. Perhaps a better way to conclude the trick would be to show that the hat really contained a number of eggs, which of course must be loaded into it prior to commencing the trick. The best way to do this is to have the eggs in a black silk bag which you conceal inside your vest. After having borrowed the hat and while your back is turned to the spectators during your journey to the stage, slip the bag full of eggs into the hat. Then begin your handkerchief feat. It is a weak point, in my opinion, to show the hat empty, after having apparently placed so many eggs into it. Some acute spectator is apt to jump to the conclusion that there was but one egg used during the experiment.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 51.--Incubation Trick]

THE WIZARD'S OMELET.--The recipes for making a magical omelet are numerous and varied. Some magicians produce the eggs from the mouth of a negro a.s.sistant following the example of Alexander Herrmann, and make the omelet in a borrowed hat. I once saw a clown in a French circus produce an omelet in a small frying-pan, without using eggs at all--or more properly speaking, without the apparent use of eggs. He stirred his wand about in the pan, holding the latter over a spirit lamp, and presently turned out into a dish an excellent omelet, smoking hot and very palatable. He cut up the omelet and pa.s.sed it around among the audience. Those who partook of it p.r.o.nounced it to be delicious and worthy of the chef of the Hotel Grand. This is the way the trick is accomplished: There is no preparation about the frying-pan; that is all fair and square, as well as round. It may be examined by the spectators ad libitum. Not so the magic wand, which is hollow and filled with the contents of several eggs. One end of the wand has an opening which is stopped up with a piece of b.u.t.ter. When the pan is heated the b.u.t.ter melts and the beaten-up eggs run out of the wand and are speedily metamorphosed into an omelet. The stirring of the pan with the wand, supposed to be a part of the conjurer's performance, is really necessary to the trick. The wand is usually made of tin. It must be an exact imitation of the wooden wand used during the course of the entertainment.

THE WONDERFUL PRODUCTION OF RIBBONS AT THE FINGER-TIPS.--This is an excellent little trick and one very suitable as an introduction to a complete "production" trick, where objects of ever-increasing size, in a compressed condition, are produced under cover of similar objects, of a smaller size, but displayed to the best advantage. The performer having shown both hands unmistakably empty, commences to pull yard after yard of real colored silk ribbon from the extreme tips of the fingers.

The secret depends upon the little accessory ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 52.

This is a shield made to fit the second finger of the right hand, provided with a lid to keep the four coils in position, also with a corresponding number of slots on the front through which the ribbon may be withdrawn. Each piece of ribbon should be about two yards long and of a width to readily pa.s.s the slot. Ribbon drawn from the apparatus when in position, see Fig. 53, will seem to come from the finger-tips.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 52.--The Accessory]

After a quant.i.ty of ribbon has been produced in this manner, the magician may very well bring out a larger supply from his vest under cover of gathering up the ma.s.s of material. An excellent winding up of the trick would be the production of a dove from breast pocket.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 53.--Production of Ribbon]

j.a.pANESE BIRD VANISH.--The old Mouchoir du Diable, or Devil's Handkerchief, for vanishing small objects will be known to the majority of my readers: at the best it was but a clumsy expedient for producing a magical disappearance, and on that account was very little, if ever used.

The New Devil's Handkerchief, as used by j.a.panese conjurers to cause the disappearance of a bird, will, on the contrary, I feel sure, be found of practical utility to the magical fraternity. In practice it is merely held by the four corners, ostensibly in the most careless manner possible, and any object as an egg, ball, orange, bird, etc., dropped into the bag thus formed instantly disappears, the handkerchief being immediately shaken out and both sides shown.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 54.--Bag for Vanishing]

This seeming prodigy is thus explained.--Two handkerchiefs, preferably of soft silk and rather large (neck handkerchiefs for instance), are sewn together all round their edges, with the exception of a portion at one corner as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 54. The handkerchiefs are also sewn together from the said corner to the centre as further indicated by the dotted lines in the figure. A bag is thus formed into which the object is actually dropped. The introduction of the object into the bag is facilitated by the insertion of a couple of whalebone strips in the silk at the mouth of the bag. These strips keep the mouth of the bag closed until pressure be applied at their ends, when the bag will open, receive the object, and, on the pressure being removed, will close again, keeping all secure.

NEW FIRE TRICK.--The writer is indebted to Mr. Martinka for this novel experiment. A thin gla.s.s tube, in the end of which is secured a small piece of metallic pota.s.sium, is pasted between two pieces of tissue paper. So prepared the paper is shown from both sides, being apparently a plain piece of white paper. This is rolled into a cylinder, not unlike an exaggerated cigarette. The performer opens his mouth to show that nothing is concealed there, and then proceeds to blow through the paper tube, when the far end bursts into a flame of more or less intensity.

_Explanation._--While pretending to blow through the paper cylinder, the performer brings some saliva into the gla.s.s tube. When blown through the tube, the saliva comes in contact with the pota.s.sium, which ignites and sets fire to the paper. To produce a larger flame and sparks, a small piece of gun cotton, sprinkled with powdered aluminum can be placed near the end of the tube. The pota.s.sium metal has to be kept in a bottle and covered with kerosene. Whenever required for the trick a piece is cut off with a knife. Care must be taken not to make the mistake of putting the wrong end of the tube in the mouth. When the paper bursts into flame it is crumpled into a ball and dropped on a plate. The thin gla.s.s tube is crushed into small bits by the above operation, and is not seen by the audience.

THE RING ON THE WAND.--A very pretty and graceful parlor trick is the ring on the wand. Suspend a plain gold ring to the centre of a handkerchief by means of a short piece of silk thread. Come forward with the handkerchief in your pocket, and borrow a ring as much like your own as possible. Pretend to wrap up this ring in your handkerchief, but subst.i.tute for it the fake ring. Give the handkerchief with ring in it to some one to hold and ask him if he still feels the ring contained therein. He will reply in the affirmative. You now get your wand from a table. While doing this take the opportunity to slip the borrowed ring which you have in your hand over one end of the wand, keeping it concealed. Approaching the individual who holds the handkerchief request him to place it over the middle of your wand which you hold horizontally by its centre, having slid your hand (with the concealed ring) along its smooth surface. Now request two spectators to hold either end of the wand tightly. Explain that you will cause the ring in the handkerchief to appear upon the wand, despite the fact that the latter is firmly held by two persons.

Remove your hand from the wand and take hold of the handkerchief. With a hey presto, give the handkerchief a quick jerk and shake it out. The borrowed ring on the wand will spin around in lively fashion, as if it had really left the handkerchief and by some magical means appeared upon the wand. Your handkerchief with the fake ring attached must be pocketed as speedily as possible. It might be well to borrow a plain white handkerchief from some one in the audience and exchange it for your prepared handkerchief.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 55.--Silk Handkerchief]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 56.--Fake on Finger]

DISAPPEARING GLa.s.s OF WATER.--This clever illusion is a favorite with many performers, and is particularly adapted to drawing-room entertainments. It was invented by Colonel Stodare, originator of the famous "Sphinx" trick. Since Stodare's time many improvements have been made in it, one idea, emanating from the fertile brain of Dr. Elliott.

St.i.tch two silk handkerchiefs, preferably of a dark color, together in the manner shown in the diagram (Fig. 55), having first inserted in the triangular s.p.a.ce between them a disc of thin tin, of the same diameter as the mouth of the gla.s.s used. Now to the middle of the under surface of the tin fake solder a little band of tin just large enough to snugly fit over the tip of the second or index finger of your left hand, (Fig.

56). This const.i.tutes Elliott's improvement. Exhibit the handkerchief to the spectators, calling attention to the fact that it contains nothing. Twist it rope fashion, and pull it through your left hand, thereby demonstrating that nothing could possibly be concealed in it.

This you are enabled to accomplish by grasping the tin fake and retaining it in the right hand. Finally shake out the handkerchief, releasing the disc, which will now fall to the centre of the handkerchief and be kept in position by the triangular st.i.tching. At the rear end of your table you have a gla.s.s filled with water. Spread the handkerchief over the gla.s.s, bringing the tin shape over the mouth of the same. Lift up the fake, and under cover of the handkerchief lower the gla.s.s upon the shelf behind the table. The handkerchief, distended by the tin disc, will present the appearance of having the gla.s.s of water under it. Now step forward as though holding the gla.s.s of water. Place the left hand beneath the handkerchief, and quickly insert the index finger into the little band soldered beneath the disc, the right hand bearing down at the time to facilitate matters. To an audience it will seem that you hold the gla.s.s of water on the palm of your left hand, presenting a very illusory appearance indeed, (Fig.

57). To vanish the gla.s.s completely all you have to do is to catch one corner of the handkerchief with your right hand, give it a sudden flick in the air, which releases the hold of the finger of the left hand, when lo and behold! the gla.s.s of water has melted away. To reproduce it, take a duplicate gla.s.s of water from your coat-tail pocket. "But!"

says the dubious reader. Ah, we are coming to that! There is no danger of spilling the water, for the mouth of your gla.s.s is tightly closed with a rubber cover. All you have to do is to remove the cover before exhibiting the gla.s.s.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 57.--Handkerchief in Position]