More Conjuring Part 7

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Fig. 28.

I have never seen any one accomplish this simple feat until they learned the secret. When you throw the scissors over on the palms of your hands, with their points toward your chest, allow the blades to rest there for an instant with the tips of your little fingers touching your palms through the scissors' bows; then bring the backs of your fingers together with your hands closed and the points of the scissors outward.

The uninitiated, instead of allowing the bows to slip to the points of the little fingers, hold them tight on the second joints and, of course, fail.

ANOTHER TRICK WITH A PAIR OF SCISSORS

This trick consists of fastening the scissors securely to the back of a chair with a piece of string and then removing them without cutting or untying the string. First make a loop of a piece of string about two feet in length and pa.s.s the double end through one of the bows and the two loose ends through the loop and pull tight. Next pa.s.s the two single ends through the other bow of the scissors and tie them to the back of the chair. The puzzle is how to remove them, which is simple enough when you know how. Loosen the loop and draw it upwards and pa.s.s it through the other bow, and then over both bows and points, when the scissors will be free.

AN INDESTRUCTIBLE CIGARETTE PAPER

Take three cigarette papers, fold one up into a very small square, and paste it lightly on the top right corner of the second paper. The third paper roll lengthwise, and conceal it in your ear. Show the first paper between both thumbs and fingers, your right thumb on the pasted corner, then proceed to tear it up into squares, placing the pieces in front of each other before tearing again. When it is in pieces about the size of the pasted square, under the shelter of your left hand, with its back to the audience, separate the pieces from the square and hold the latter up between your right thumb and finger. Then, pretending to moisten your left forefinger on your tongue, slip the pieces in your mouth and conceal them there, and carefully unfold the square held in the other hand, when the paper will appear to have been restored. You then roll the paper length wise, and say, "I will swallow it." Put it in your mouth and pretend to do so. Putting your left hand to your ear, say, "I will now reproduce from my ear." Pull out the paper concealed there very carefully, and as you turn to lay it on your table allow the pieces in your mouth to drop into your hand.

TO CUT AN APPLE IN TWO WITH YOUR FINGER

With a needle and strong thread take a st.i.tch of about half an inch in its side, leaving several inches of the thread hanging from where you puncture it. Reinserting the needle in the hole it made coming out, take another st.i.tch of half an inch, and again reinsert the needle where it came out. Take similar st.i.tches all round the apple until the needle comes out of the first hole made, and then cross the two ends of the thread and pull them steadily until all the thread comes out of the hole. The apple is now cut through, although the skin does not show it.

Slip this apple in your pocket, and during dessert select an apple as much like the prepared one as possible. Having previously placed your serviette over your knees, with the prepared apple in it, drop the apple just selected and pick up the former with your right hand while you turn your plate over with your left hand. Putting the apple on its side on the inverted plate, laying your forefinger on the apple you give the former a smart blow with your right fist, when the apple will fall in two pieces.

A TRICK WITH DOMINOES

Take a full set of dominoes--twenty-eight pieces--turn them face downward on the table; shuffle them thoroughly; then tell the company to turn them over and match them in the ordinary way, while you take a seat at the other end of the room with your back to the table. They can blindfold you if they wish. As soon as all the pieces are matched you call out the numbers shown at the two ends of the row. Return to the table, turn the dominoes over again, shuffle them as before with the right hand; again turn your back, and call out the end numbers. You can repeat this any number of times without detection, unless some one should count the pieces and find only twenty-seven. Each time you have shuffled them you have dropped a piece concealed in your right hand, and extracted and palmed another. One piece taken from a set of dominoes invariably indicates by its numbers the numbers at the two ends of a row when the pieces are all properly matched.

AN ESCAPE

Ask some one to tie your wrists together with a handkerchief, and then to pa.s.s a cord between your arms behind your tied wrists, and hold the ends securely. Have towel or cloth thrown over your hands, and after a very brief interval tell the person who holds the ends of the cord to pull. When he does so, the latter will pa.s.s from your hands and fall on the floor. You remove the cloth, and show that your wrists are still tied together.

EXPLANATION.--When your hands are covered, move your elbows out, which will separate your wrists, push the second finger of your right hand between them, and with it pull the bight of the cord through the bandage round your wrists, slip it over one hand, and when your a.s.sistant pulls the cord it will pa.s.s off clear of your hands.

CIGARETTE PAPERS AND SERVIETTES

Screw three cigarette papers up into pellets and cover each of them with a folded serviette. Then lift the serviette on your right with your left hand (to show that the pellet is still there) and transfer it to your right, holding it with your thumb on top and fingers underneath, and re-cover the pellet. As you do this nip the pellet between the tips of your first and second fingers in such a way that it does not show in front of them as you withdraw your hand palm upwards. Then raise the centre serviette with your left hand, transfer it to your right, as before, and re-cover the pellet, and as you do so, drop the pellet concealed between your fingers under it. Then raise the third serviette with your left hand, transfer it to your right, re-cover the pellet, and, in doing so, nip the latter between your fingers, as you did the first one. Then say: "There are three pellets on the table covered by serviettes. I command the one here (pointing to the one on your left) to travel invisibly to the centre serviette." Turn the serviette over, and show the pellet has gone. Then lift the centre serviette with your left hand, and show the two pellets under it. Transfer it to your right hand, and, in replacing it, drop the concealed pellet. Then say: "We have now two pellets under the centre serviette, and one under this one"

(pointing to the one on your left). "I command this one to join its fellows." Lift the serviette as you speak, and show the pellet has gone; lift up the centre serviette, and the three pellets will be found together.

FOUR CIGARETTE PAPERS

This is a variation of the previous trick. Roll up five cigarette papers into pellets. Conceal one at the root of the left thumb, and form a square with the others on the table. Show your hands empty (the concealed pellet will not be observed if properly held), and cross your hands over the pellets on the table. With the tips of your right fore and second fingers nip one of the pellets on your left, and at the same time drop the pellet concealed in your left hand between the two on your right. Move both hands away quickly, and one of the pellets on your left will appear to have travelled invisibly under your right hand. Again cross your hands, pa.s.sing your right hand under the left, and as you do so drop the pellet concealed between your fingers, covering it at once with the left hand. Then nip the remaining pellet with your right first and second fingers, as before, and, on lifting your hands, all four pellets will appear on your right. You can get rid of the remaining pellet by dropping it on the floor, or on your lap if you are sitting at the table.

A HINDOO SWINDLE

This effect is practically unknown to the Western Conjurer, but has been one of the stock-in-trade among magicians in India for years. It involves a principle (that of transfer) which is capable of extensive development in the use of modern magic.

REQUISITES.--(1) A piece of brittle unglazed earthenware. (A piece of substance akin to thin flowerpot is used in India.) (2) A stick of specially prepared soft charcoal.

A piece of earthenware is given, upon which a spectator is requested to write his initials with a piece of charcoal supplied. The correct preparation of this charcoal was conveyed to me by a Hindoo, and is as follows: Procure a piece of boxwood or beech, the former for preference, place it in the fire until reduced to a red glowing ma.s.s, remove it with tongs and immediately place it into a thick jar and cover up very tightly till cool.

The earthenware is taken by the performer and crushed up under his heel.

The spectator is then asked to wave his right hand over the broken pieces, and upon the palm being turned upwards the absolute initials in all detail are found imprinted upon his hand.

PRESENTATION.--Hand the piece of earthenware to the spectator, together with the charcoal; request that his initials shall be written on the earthenware in a s.p.a.ce marked the size of the tip of the index finger.

After this has been done, you take it back between the thumb and index finger of the right hand, the finger over the initials exerting a firm pressure which has the effect of transferring the writing to the latter.

Then place the earthenware under your heel and crush it.

Now request the spectator to wave his right hand over the pieces. After this has been done for a few seconds, boldly take hold of the hand (your index finger firmly pressing upon its palm) and suggest that the hand is not quite over the pieces, suiting the action to the word by slightly pulling the hand forward; this has the effect of re-transferring the reversed initials on to the spectator's palm, to be discovered a little later upon the hand being turned over.

THE ELUSIVE MATCH--A CAPITAL IMPROMPTU TRICK

EFFECT.--A match apparently thrown away persists in reappearing in closed hand.

REQUISITES.--A box of ordinary safety matches, together with an extra match top, broken off about half an inch long.

PRESENTATION.--First conceal the extra match top between the tips of the index and second finger of the right hand. Now give the box of matches to a spectator, and request that the tops of three of the matches be broken off about half an inch long and handed to you. You then place these upon the table and proceed to pick them up one at a time with the right hand, and throw them into the left (each time closing that hand) as follows: The first is thrown in quite fairly, the second one is also thrown in but is secretly accompanied by the one which you have previously concealed at the finger-tips, the third one you pick up and apparently throw away, but really retaining it at the finger-tips as above mentioned. You now open the left hand and throw three match tops on to the table instead of the supposed two; apparently the one thrown away has secretly travelled back to the left hand. This trick can be repeated about three times without fear of detection, as you always have a fourth match top in readiness at the finger-tips. Properly worked it proves a very bewildering little trick.

HERCAT,

Of the Egyptian Hall, Queen's Hall, Shaftsbury Theatre, Lyceum Theatre, The Tivoli, Crystal Palace, &c.,

_Illusionist, Ventriloquist, Comedian, & Author,_

CAN BE ENGAGED FOR

EVENING PARTIES, 'AT HOMES,' &c.,

IN HIS

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