Chapter I: Preface (1)
The publishers of this interesting volume do not conceive that it requires an elaborate introduction to the reading public. Some brief remarks, however, may not be inappropriate as a preface to THE MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK, since the "black art," as in lessen lightened ages the practice of all these innocent and interesting feats was termed, is not yet as popularly understood in this country as it is abroad. There is a charm in legerdemain, or sleight of hand, that all, whether young or old, can readily appreciate. There is a mystery in it that piques the understanding as well as provokes the curiosity of the spectator. If the trick be executed with address, it excites our admiration; and the simpler it appears, the more it engages our fancy and fascinates our attention. And it is not only when we are mystified in public, cajoled in great saloons, and in the presence of crowds, that these effects are developed. They are called forth by the performances even of some humble artist in the family circle, whose ingenuity of mind has enabled him to gather up the more available of these practical puzzles. It would seem, therefore, a useful thing to place this source of harmless amusement within the reach of all who can relish its eccentricities, and instead of leaving it in the hands of "professors," as a pecuniary speculation, to enable the domestic group to master and enjoy it in all its ever-varying phases of novelty and gratification. To do this is what the publishers propose in the issue of this volume; and they flatter themselves, that if carefully studied, it will prepare the Young Conjuror to convert the parlor, at any desirable moment, into a place of genuine entertainment for himself and his companions, and ample repay him for the little time and thought he may devote to the acquisition of the necessary skill and dexterity.
Sleight of hand, magic, necromancy, &c., are all terms of art applicable to the same series of performances. The parlor student, therefore, once familiar with the general principles upon which these "experiments" are effected, will find little difficulty in comprehending at a glance, notwithstanding all the show of gorgeous paraphernalia and auxiliary machinery employed, the _modus operandi_ of every one of them he may witness in public. This will be a new source of pleasure to him, independent of his ability to turn "Conjuror" on his own account at home. Nor can we well conceive of any rational objection likely to be urged against a kind of knowledge, so unimpeachable in its nature, and so mirth provoking in its results. Acting Charades are common, even among the most fastidious families. Enigmas and puzzles, in pantomime and speech, afford innoxious amusement to thousands. The publishers only consider THE MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK a new addition to the current list of entertainments of that character; for what is a sleight of hand feat but an enigma placed before the spectator for solution? What is a trick in "natural magic" but a puzzle repeated to those who behold it, each one of whom is tacitly expected to guess how it is accomplished, while the little practitioner only holds the key to the mystery? In truth, the parlor needs some increase in its means of social amusement. The number it embraces is extremely limited. They soon weary. This weariness creates an appetite for outside attractions, not always wholesome, and too often insidiously pernicious. THE MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK nicely fills up, therefore, the void in the category of parlor recreations. It may be made to present an ever-changing, always tempting, stay-at-home inducement, and in this shape becomes a moral assistant of no unimportant description, as well as the piquant source of good humored bamboozlement.
In conclusion we would say, that the MAGICIAN'S OWN BOOK contains a great variety of curious tricks and deceptions, many of which have never before appeared in print, and for many of which the publishers beg to acknowledge their indebtedness to Mr. John Wyman, Junior, the celebrated magician, that gentleman having kindly furnished clear and simple explanations to many of his most surprising parlor feats and fancies.
INDEX.
Sleight of Hand Tricks. PAGE
The Flying Dime, 3
The Flying Dime, (another method,) 4
The Beads and Strings, 5
To get a Ring out of a Handkerchief, 5
To tie a Knot in a Handkerchief which Cannot be drawn Tight, 6
The Three Cups, 7
To tie a Handkerchief round your Leg, and get it off Without
Untying the Knot, 8
The Magic Bond, 8
The Old Man and his Chair, 8
To tie a Knot on the Left Wrist, without letting the right hand
approach it, 10
The Magic Handcuffs, 11
To pull a String through your Button-hole, 11
The Cut String Restored, 12
The Gordian Knot, 12
The Knot Loosened, 13
To Conjure Nuts in your Ear, 13
To Crack Walnuts in your Elbow, 14
To Take Feathers out of an Empty Handkerchief, 14
The Knotted Handkerchief, 14
Houdin's Nut Trick, 16
Conjuring a Ring, 17
The Erratic Egg, 18
The Obedient Dime, 19
The Prisoner Released, 19
Advantageous Wager, 19
The Double Meaning, 20
The Three Spoons, 20
The Juggler's Joke, 20
To Cause Water and Wine to Change Places, 21
The Wizard's Wit, or Is it Possible, 21
The Toper's Stratagem, 21
The Impossible Omelet, 21
New Perpetual Rotary Motion, 22
The Miraculous Apple, 22
An Omelet Cooked in a Hat, 23
The Infallible Prophet, 23
Philosophy Cheated, 24
The Disappearing Dime, 26
The Hat and Die Trick, 27
The Penetrative Cents, 27
The Doll Trick, 29
The Flying Coins, 30
The Vanished Half Dime, 30
The Restored Document, 30
The Magic Rings, 31
The Fish and Ink Trick, 32
The Hat and Cannon Ball Trick, 32
The Dime in the Ball of Cotton, 33
The Egg and Bag Trick, 33
The Dancing Egg, 34
The Bell and Shot Trick, 34
The Burned Handkerchief Restored, 35
The Fire Eater, 35
The Egg Box Trick, 36
The Globe Box Trick, 36
The Coffee Trick, 37
The Handkerchief Trick, 38
The Magic Funnel, 41
The Magic Bottle, 41
The Bottle Trick, 42
The Magic Quarter, 44
To change a Dime to a Quarter, 44
Wyman's Gun Trick, 46
The Hatched Bird, 46
The Apple and Orange Trick, 47
A Magician's Box Explained, 47
The Enchanted Coin, 48
The Mysterious Coin, or How to Make Dollars pass through a Wine
Glass, a China Plate, a Table, and fall into the Hand, 49
The Egyptian Fluids, or Impossibilities Accomplished, 50
The Magician's Snow Ball, 51
The Magnetized Cane, 52
Wyman's Mode of performing the Egg Bag Trick, 52
The Dancing Automaton, 354
The Invisible Springs, 355
The Flight of the Ring, 356
The Magic Book, 360
The Tape Trick, 360
The Knotted Thread, 361
The Transposable Pieces, 362
Tricks and Deceptions with Cards.
To Make the Pass, 55
To Tell a Card by its Back, 55
The Card named without being seen, 56
The Card told by an Opera Glass, 56
The Four Kings, 58
The Four Accomplices, 58
To Tell the Card thought of, in a Circle of Ten, 59
To guess the Card thought of, 59
To tell the number of Cards by Weight, 60
Audacity, 61
The Card found at the second guess, 61
The Card found under the Hat, 61
To call the Cards out of the Pack, 61
Heads and Tails, 62
The Surprise, 62
The Revolution, 63
The Slipped Card, 63
The Nailed Card, 63
To ascertain the number of Points on three unseen Cards, 64
To tell the numbers on two unseen Cards, 64
The Knaves and the Constable, 64
The Pairs Re-paired, 65
The Queens Digging for Diamonds, 66
The Triple Deal, 67
The Quadruple Deal, 67
The Card Discovered by the Touch or Smell, 67
The Ingenious Confederacy, 67
Hold it Fast, 69
The Charmed Twelve, 69
The Trick of "Thirty-one," 70
To tell the Names of the Cards by their Weight, 71
The Cards in the Vase, 73
The Metamorphosis, 74
To hold Four Kings, or Four Knaves in your Hand, and to Change
them suddenly into Blank Cards, and then to Four Aces, 76
To Change a Card in a Person's Hand, 76
The Card in the Egg, 77
The Fifteen Thousand Livres, 78
Hints to Amateurs, 79
Cure for Troublesome Spectators, 80
To make a Card jump out of the Pack, 357
The Tell-Tale Cards, 357
The Double Dozen, 358
The Housebreakers, 359
The Magic of Chemistry.
Sympathetic or Invisible Inks, 84
The Silver Tree, 85
Cleopatra's Pearls, 86
Wonderful Experiments in Combustion, 86
Mimic Rain, 86
Marine Illumination, 87
The Mimic Explosion, 88
The Shower of Fire, 88
The Magical Heat, 88
The Magic Lamp, 89
Surprising Experiments with Potassium, 89
The Water Demon, 89
A Flame produced with Ice, 89
The Chemical Chimney Sweep, 90
The Magical Illumination, 90
The Chemical Chameleon, 91
Crystallizations of Metals, 92
Beauties of Crystallization, 93
To Crystallize Camphor, 93
To do. Tin, 94
Crystals in Hard Water, 94
Varieties of Crystals, 94
A Liquid Changed to a Solid, and Heat from Crystallization, 94
Beautiful Experiment, 95
A Solid Changed to a Liquid, and intense Cold from the
Liquefaction, 95
Magic of Heat, 95
Sublimation by Heat, 96
Heat Passing through Glass, 96
Metals unequally Influenced by Heat, 97
Spontaneous Combustion, 97
Inequality of Heat in Fire Irons, 97
Expansion of Metal by Heat, 97
Evaporation of a Metal, 98
A Floating Metal on Fire, 98
Ice Melted by Air, 98
Splendid Sublimation, 98
Magic Inks, 98
Chameleon Liquids, 99
The Magic Dyes, 99
Wine Changed into Water, 99
Two colorless Transparent Liquids become Black and Opaque, 100
Two colorless Fluids, Make a colored one, 100
Change of Color, by colorless Fluids, 100
To Change Blue Liquid to White, 100
Veritable "Black" Tea, 100
Restoration of Color by Water, 101
Two Liquids Make a Solid, 101
Two Solids Make a Liquid, 101
A Solid, Opaque Mass, Makes a Transparent Liquid, 101
Two cold Liquids Make a Hot one, 101
Quintuple Transmutation, 102
The Same Agent may Produce and Destroy Color, 102
Union of two Metals without Heat, 102
Magic Breath, 102
Two Bitters Make a Sweet, 103
Visible and Invisible, 103
To Form a Liquid of two Solids, 103
The Spectral Lamp, 104
Curious Change of Colors, 105
The Protean Light, 105
The Chameleon Flowers, 105
To Change the Colors of Flowers, 105
Changes of the Poppy, 106
Changes of the Rose, 106
Light changing White into Black, 106
The Visibly Growing Acorn, 106
Colored Flames, 107
Orange colored Flame, 107
Emerald Green Flame, 107
Instantaneous Flame, 107
To Cool Flame by Metal, 108
Proof that Flame is Hollow, 108
To Hold a Hot Tea Kettle on the Hand, 108
Incombustible Linen, 108
The Burning Circle, 108
Water of different Temperatures in the same Vessel, 109
Warmth of Different Colors, 109
Substitute for Fire, 109
Laughing Gas, 109
Flame from Cold Metals, 110
Phosphorus in Chlorine, 110
Magic Vapor, 111
Gas from the Union of Metals, 111
Camphor Sublimated by Flame, 111
Green Fire, 111
Brilliant Red Fire, 112
Purple Fire, 112
Silver Fire, 112
Fiery Fountain, 112
Combustion without Flame, 112
Combustion of Three Metals, 113
To Make Paper Apparently Incombustible, 113
Heat not to be estimated by Touch, 113
Flame upon Water, 113
Rose Colored Flame upon Water, 113
To Set a Mixture on Fire by Water, 114
Waves of Fire on Water, 114
Water from the Flame of a Candle, 114
Formation of Water by Fire, 114
Boiling upon Cold Water, 114
Currents in Boiling Water, 114
Hot Water Lighter than Cold, 115
Expansion of Water by Cold, 115
The Cup of Tantalus, 115
The Magic Whirlpool, 116
Artificial Fire Balls, 117
To Melt Steel as Easily as Lead, 118
To Tell a Lady if She is in Love, 118
To put an Egg in a Phial, 118
To Astonish a Large Party, 118
Magical Test Papers, 119
Infinite Divisibility, 119
Chemistry an Agent in Secret Writing, 327
To Melt a Piece of Money in a Walnut Shell, without Injuring
the Shell, 355
The Pyramid of Alum, 354
Experiments in Electricity.
The Rotary Tobacco Pipe, 123
The Erratic Feather, 123
The Attractive Sealing Wax, 124
The Unneighborly Balls, 124
The Electrified Paper, 124
The Sociable Feather, 124
The Eccentric Feather, 124
The Discontented Pith Ball, 124
The Dancing Bran, 124
The Electrical Cat, 124
Electrical Shock from a Sheet of Paper, 125
Light under Water, 126
Simple means of Producing Electricity, 126
Attraction and Repulsion Exhibited, 127
How to Make an Electrical Machine, 127
Conductor, 128
The Plate Electrical Machine, 129
How to Draw Sparks from the Tip of the Nose, 129
How to Get a Jar full of Electricity, 129
The Electrical Battery, 130
Dancing Balls and Dolls, 131
The Electrical Kiss, 131
Ringing Bells, 131
Working Power of Electricity, 132
The Electrified Wig, 132
Imitation Thunder Clouds, 133
The Lightning Stroke Imitated, 133
The Sportsman, 134
Experiments in Galvanism.
Singular Galvanic Shock, 135
The Flash of Light, 135
The Magical Cup, 135
The Prisoner Leech, 136
The Metamorphosed Knife, 136
With Plates in Water, 136
To Make a Magnet by Galvanism, 137
Effects of Galvanism on a Magnet, 137
Change of Color by Galvanism, 137
The Galvanic Shock, 138
A Galvanic Tongue, 138
Influence of Galvanism on Porter and Ale, 188
The Galvanized Flounder, 188
Experiments in Magnetism.
The Impromptu Magnet, 139
The Merry Iron Filings, 140
Test of Magnetic Power, 140
To Make Artificial Magnets, 140
How to Magnetize a Poker, 140
To Show Magnetic Attraction and Repulsion, 141
Variation of the Needle, 141
Dip of the Needle, 141
To Suspend a Needle in the Air, by Magnetism, 141
Magnetism by Hammering, 142
Power of the Electro-Magnet, 142
The Mariner's Compass, 142
To Make Artificial Magnets without the Aid of either Natural
Loadstone, or Artificial Magnets, 143
The Watch Magnetized, 144
North and South Poles of the Magnet, 144
Polarity of the Magnet, 144
Magnetic Action and Reaction, 145
To Pass Magnetism through a Table, 145
The Magnetic Table, 145
Interesting Particulars Concerning the Magnet, 145
Exaggerated Magnetism, 146
The Magic of Pneumatics and Aerostatics.
Weight of the Air Proved by a Pair of Bellows, 148
The Pressure of Air Shown by a Wine Glass, 148
The Pressure of Air Shown by a Glass Jar, 148
Elasticity of the Air, 149
The Air Pump, 149
To Prove that Air has Weight, 150
To Prove Air Elastic, 150
Air in the Egg, 150
The Descending Smoke, 151
Half Eagle and Feather, 151
The Soundless Bell, 152
The Floating Fish, 152
The Mysterious Circles, 152
The Diving Bell, 154
The Air Balloon, 154
How to Make an Air Balloon, 155
How to Fill a Balloon, 156
To Make Fire Balloons, 156
The Mysterious Bottle, 157
How to Make a Parachute, 157
Caoutchouc Balloons, 157
The Bacchus Experiment, 362
The Magic of Optics.
Light as an Effect, 159
Refraction, 159
The Invisible Coin Made Visible, 159
The Multiplying Glass, 160
Transparent Bodies, 160
The Prism, 160
To Make a Prism, 161
Composition of Light, 161
A Natural Camera Obscura, 162
Bullock's Eyes Experiment, 162
The Camera Obscura, 162
The Magic Lantern, 163
The Camera Lucida, 164
Painting the Slides, 164
To Exhibit the Magic Lantern, 164
Effects of the Magic Lantern, 165
Tempest at Sea, 165
The Phantasmagoria, 166
Dissolving Views, 167
How to Raise a Ghost, 167
The Thaumatrope, 168
The Bird in the Cage, 168
Construction of the Phantasmascope, 168
Curious Optical Illusion, 169
Another, 170
Another, 170
The Picture in the Air, 171
Breathing Light and Darkness, 171
To Show what Rays of Light do not Obstruct each other, 172
To See through a Philadelphia Brick, 172
The Stereoscope, 173
Ocular Spectra, 175
Brilliant Water Mirror, 175
Optics of a Soap Bubble, 176
The Kaleidoscope, 176
Simple Solar Microscope, 177
Anamorphoses, 178
The Cosmorama, 180
Distorted Landscapes, 180
The Magic Coin, 181
The Magician's Mirror, 344
The Perspective Mirror, 345
The Artificial Landscape, 348
The Boundless Prospect, 350
The Enchanted Palace, 352
Tricks in Mechanics.
Importance of Mechanics, 182
The Laws of Motion, 182
Experiment of the Law of Motion, 182
Balancing, 183
The Prancing Horse, 183
To Construct a Figure, which, being Placed on a Curved Surface,
and Inclined in any Position, shall, when left to itself,
Return to its Former Position, 183
To Make a Carriage Run in an Inverted Position, without
Falling, 183
To Cause a Cylinder to Roll of its own Weight, up Hill, 184
The Balanced Stick, 184
The Chinese Mandarin, 184
To Make a Quarter Dollar Turn on its Edge on the Point of
a Needle, 184
The Self-Balanced Pail, 185
To Lift a Bottle with a Straw, 185
The Dancing Pea, 186
The Toper's Tripod, 186
The Magical Snake, or the Obliquity of Motion, 187
The Bridge of Knives, 187
Sand in the Hour Glass, 188
Resistance of Sand, 188
The Magical Gyroscope, 346
Tricks in Hydraulics and Hydrostatics.
The Science of Hydraulics, 189
The Fountain and Pump, 189
The Hydraulic Dancer, 190
The Syphon, 191
The Water Snail, or Archimedean Screw, 191
The Bottle Ejectment, 192
The Magic of Hydrostatics with the Ancients, 192
To Empty a Glass under Water, 192
The Mysterious Bottle, 157
Boiling upon Cold Water, 114
Currents in Boiling Water, 114
Hot Water Lighter than Cold, 115
Expansion of Water by Cold, 115
The Magic Whirlpool, 116
The Cup of Tantalus, 115
To Weigh Water without Scales, 353
More than Full, 361
Tricks in Acoustics.
The Science of Acoustics, 193
Difference between Sound and Noise, 193
Visible Vibration, 193
Transmitted Vibration, 194
Double Vibration, 194
Champagne and Sound, 194
Music of the Snail, 195
The Tuning Fork a Flute Player, 195
Musical Bottles, 195
Theory of Whispering, 195
Theory of the Voice, 196
To Tune a Guitar without the Assistance of the Ear, 196
Progress of Sound, 196
To Make an Æolian Harp, 196
The Invisible Girl, 197
Magic of Acoustics with the Ancients, 198
The Secret of Ventriloquism, 81
To Show how Sound Travels through a Solid, 198
To Show that Sound depends upon Vibration, 198
Musical Figures Resulting from Sound, 357
The Magic of Numbers, or Curious Tricks in Arithmetic.
Aphorisms of Number, 199
Palpable Arithmetic, 200
The Abacus, 201
Napier's Rods, 202
The Arithmetical Boomerang, 203
To Find a Number Thought of, 203
Second Method, 204
Third Method, 205
Fourth do., 205
Fifth do., 206
Sixth do., 206
To Discover two or more Numbers that a Person has Thought of, 206
How many Counters have I in my Hands? 207
The Mysterious Halvings, to tell a Number a Person has
Thought of, 208
Second Method, 209
Who Wears the Ring? 211
What is Probable? 212
Variations, 213
Amusing Combinations, 214
The Visitors to the Crystal Palace, 217
How many Changes can be Given to Seven Notes of a Piano? 217
The Arithmetical Triangle, 217
How many Different Deals can be made with Thirteen Cards out
of Fifty-two, 218
The Three Graces, 218
Second Method, 219
Third Method, 220
The Fortunate Ninth, 221
The Ten Ten's, 222
Dividing the Beer, 223
The Difficult Case of Wine, 224
Decimation of Fruit, 224
The Wine and the Tables, 225
The Three Travelers, 225
What Counter has been Thought of out of Sixteen, 226
Magic Squares, 227
Odd Magic Squares, 227
The Square of Gotham, 229
The Mathematical Blacksmith, 230
Curious Properties of some Figures, 230
The Industrious Frog, 234
The Council of Ten, 235
The Two Travelers, 235
Arithmetical Trick, 237
The Money Trick, 237
The Philosopher's Pupils, 237
To Discover a Square Number, 238
The Sheep, and the Sheep Fold, 238
The Countrywoman and the Eggs, 238
To Rub out Twenty Chalks at Five Times, Rubbing out every Time
an Odd one, 239
The Impossible Triangle, 239
Odd or Even, 239
The Figures, up to 100, arranged as to make 505 in each Column,
when Counted in Ten Columns Perpendicularly, and the Same
when Counted in Ten Files Horizontally, 240
The Old Woman and Her Eggs, 240
The Mathematical Fortune Teller, 241
The Dice Guessed Unseen, 242
The Sovereign and the Sage, 242
The Knowing Shepherd, 243
The Certain Game, 243
The Astonished Farmer, 244
The Magical Century, 244
The Hatter Cheated, 245
The Basket of Nuts, 245
The United Digits, 246
December and May, 246
The Two Drovers, 246
The Basket and Stones, 246
The Famous Forty-Five, 247
Trick in Subtraction, 247
The Expunged Figure, 247
The Mysterious Addition, 248
To tell at what Hour a Person Intends to rise, 249
To find the Difference between Two Numbers, the Greater of
which is Unknown, 249
The Magic Remainder, 250
A Person having an equal Number of Counters, or Pieces of
Money, in each Hand, to find how many he has altogether, 250
The Three Jealous Husbands, 251
The False Scales, 251
The Apple Woman, 252
The Graces and Muses, 252
The Jesuitical Teacher, 252
Nine Quaint Questions, 253
The Fox, Goose and Corn, 253
Multiplying Money by Money, 253
The Unfair Division, 255
A Popular Fallacy, 255
Curious Tricks in Geometry.
The Inventor of Geometry, 256
Geometrical Definitions, 256
The Five Geometrical Solids, 257
How to Make Five Squares into a large one without any Waste of
Stuff, 258
Deceptive Vision, 258
The Carpenter Puzzled, 259
The Bricklayer Puzzled, 260
Triangular Problem, 260
To Form a Square, 261
Squaring the Circle, 262
The Perplexed Cabinet Maker, 277
Curious and Amusing Puzzles.
Alexander the Great's Puzzle, 266
The Chinese Cross, 266
The Parallelogram, 267
The Divided Garden, 267
The Endless String, 267
Chinese Maze, the Willow Pattern Plate, 268
The Vertical Line Puzzle, 268
The Three Rabbits, 269
The Accommodating Square, 269
The Circle Puzzle, 269
The Cardboard Puzzle, 269
The Button Puzzle, 269
The Quarto Puzzle, 269
The Puzzle of Fourteen, 270
The Square and Circle Puzzle, 270
The Scale and Ring Puzzle, 270
The Heart Puzzle, 271
The Cross Puzzle, 272
The Yankee Square, 272
The Card Puzzle, 272
The Three Square Puzzle, 273
The Cylinder Puzzle, 273
The Four Tenants, 273
The Puzzle Wall, 274
The Twenty-Four Nuns, 274
The Horse Shoe Puzzle, 274
The Card Square, 275
The Dog Puzzle, 275
Puzzle of the Two Fathers, 275
The Triangular Puzzle, 276
Cutting out a Cross, 276
Another Cross Puzzle, 276
The Fountain Puzzle, 276
The Puzzle of the Stars, 277
The Counter Puzzle, 277
Japan Square Puzzle, 277
The Cabinet Maker's Puzzle, 277
String and Balls Puzzle, 277
Double Headed Puzzle, 278
Arithmetical Puzzle, 278
Grammatical Puzzle, 278
The Tree Puzzle, 279
Puzzling Epitaph, 279
Curious Letter, 279
A Puzzling Inscription, 279
Puzzling Kings, 279
The Knight's Puzzle, 283
Another Method, 284
Another Method, 287
Rosamond's Bower, 287
The Labyrinth, 288
The Chinese Puzzle, 289
Trouble-Wit, 290
Answers to Puzzles.
The Chinese Cross, 291
The Parallelogram, 291
The Divided Garden, 292
The Endless String, 292
Chinese Maze, 292
The Vertical Line Puzzle, 293
The Three Rabbits, 293
The Accommodating Square, 293
The Circle Puzzle, 293
The Cut Card Puzzle, 294
The Button Puzzle, 294
The Quarto Puzzle, 294
The Puzzle of Fourteen, 294
The Square and Circle Puzzle, 295
The Scale and Ring Puzzle, 295
The Heart Puzzle, 295
The Cross Puzzle, 295
The Yankee Square, 295
The Card Puzzle, 296
The Three Square Puzzle, 296
The Cylinder Puzzle, 296
The Four Tenants, 296
The Puzzle Wall, 297
The Twenty-Four Nuns, 297
The Horse Shoe Puzzle, 297
The Card Square, 297
The Dog Puzzle, 298
The Two Fathers, 298
The Triangular Puzzle, 298
Cutting out a Cross, 299
Another Cross Puzzle, 299
The Fountain Puzzle, 299
The Star Puzzle, 300
The Counter Puzzle, 300
Japan Square Puzzle, 300
Cabinet Maker's Puzzle, 300
String and Balls Puzzle, 301
Double Headed Puzzle, 301
Arithmetical Puzzle, 301
Grammatical Puzzle, 301
The Tree Puzzle, 301
Puzzling Epitaph, 302
A Curious Letter, 302
A Puzzling Inscription, 302
The Magic of Art.
To Trace an Oval, 303
An Endless Source of Amusement, 303
The Magic of the Oval, 303
Variations of the Oval, 304
What may be done with a Square, 305
How to make a Circle, 306
Importance of the Circle in Drawing, 307
Variation of the Square and Circle, 307
Importance of the Triangle, 308
How to Construct a Triangle, 309
The Triangle Works Wonders in Perspective, 310
Exaggerated Drawing, 311
The Parallelogram and Triangle in Combination, 312
Two Parallelograms in Combination, 312
Magic of the Parallelogram, 313
The Secret of Comic Drawing, 313
Caricature Sketching, 314
Simple Elements of the Profile, 315
Comic Profiles, 316
"Punch," and "Mother Hubbard," 316
Comical Beards, 316
The Human Figure, 317
Proportions of the Human Figure, 318
Standard Height of the Body, 318
Comical Drawing of the Human Figure, 319
The Centre of Gravity, 320
A Central Line through Everything, 320
The Curved Line Pervades all Nature, 321
The Droll Landscape, 323
Attitude Formed upon the Curved Line, 324
How to Draw upon Glass, for Magic Lantern Slides, 325
The Magic of Secret Writing.
The Art of Secret Writing very Ancient, 326
Various Modes of Communicating Secret Intelligence, 327
Chemistry an Agent in Secret Writing, 327
Ingenious Mode of Secret Writing, 328
The Chiffre Indéchiffrable, 328
A Lock for Mr. Hobbs to Pick, 330
The Circular Cypher, 331
Another Method, 332
The Musical Cypher, 333
The Magic of Strength.
Mechanical Inventions of the Ancients few in Number, 334
Ancient and Modern Feats of Strength, 334
Feats of Eckeberg particularly described, 335
One Man Drawing against Two Horses, 335
Breaking the Rope, 336
The Anvil Feat, 336
Breaking Stones, 337
The Chair Feat, 337
The Knee Feat, 338
The Cannon Feat, 338
Twisting Iron Bars, 339
General Explanation on all the Above Feats, 339
Real Feats of Strength Performed by Thomas Topham, 340
Remarkable Power of Lifting Heavy Persons when the Lungs are
Inflated, 341
Pyramids of Men, 342
Miscellaneous Curious Tricks and Fancies.
An Artificial Memory, 343
The Magician's Mirror, 344
The Perspective Mirror, 345
The Magical Gyroscope, 346
Artificial Landscape, 348
Easy and Curious Method of Foretelling Rainy or Fine Weather, 349
The Magical Measure, 350
The Boundless Prospect, 350
The Magical Watch Lamp, 352
The Hour of the Day or Night told by a Suspended Shilling, 351
The Enchanted Palace, 352
To Know which of Two Different Waters is the Lightest, without
any Scales, 353
To Know if a Suspicious Piece of Money is Good or Bad, 353
The Pyramid of Alum, 354
The Dancing Automaton, 354
To Melt a Piece of Money in a Walnut Shell without Injuring
the Shell, 355
The Invisible Springs, 355
The Flight of the Ring, 356
Musical Figures resulting from Sound, 357
To Make a Card Jump out of the Pack, 357
The Tell-Tale Cards, 357
The Double Dozen, 358
The Housebreakers, 359
The Magic Book, 360
The Tape Trick, 360
More than Full, 361
Floating Needles, 361
The Knotted Thread, 361
The Bacchus Experiment, 362
Curious Method of Measuring the Height of a Tree, 362
The Transposable Pieces, 362
THE YOUNG CONJUROR.
INCLUDING SLEIGHT OF HAND, WITH OBJECTS OR CARDS, WITH AND WITHOUT APPARATUS.
That there has been "Jugglery" in all ages of the world, the pages of history abundantly prove. The ancient religions of the heathen were mixed up with an extensive system of legerdemain, and were, more or less, tissues of trickery. Sleight of hand, tricks of the tongue by which the word was kept to the ear, but broken to the hope, and various miraculous deceptions, were the means by which the priests of Egypt, Greece, and Rome used to subjugate mankind. Happy ought we to be, in living in an age when humbug of every kind is sure to meet exposure by the daylight beams of truth.
The Eastern nations, from the earliest times, possessed, besides these religious jugglers, others who made a livelihood by going from place to place, and performing various tricks and feats by which the judgement was bewildered and the reason bamboozled; and even now the performers of the East infinitely exceed those of the West. In the Norman times the juggler was termed jongleur, or joculator, and united in one the minstrel, astrologer, and merry-andrew. In the fourteenth century, he seems to have become more entirely a performer of tricks and feats, and bore the name of Tregetour. The tregetours were adepts at every kind of sleight of hand, and by the assistance of machinery of various kinds, deceived the eyes of the spectators, and produced such illusions as were usually supposed to be the effect of enchantment, for which reason they were frequently ranked with sorcerers, magicians, and witches. Chaucer, who no doubt had frequently an opportunity of seeing the tricks exhibited by the tregetours of his time, says, "There I sawe playenge jogelours, magyciens, trageteours, phetonysses, charmeresses, old witches, and sorceresses;" and the old poet goes on to say to them, "Sometimes they will bring on the similitude of a grim lion, or make flowers spring up as in a meadow; sometimes they cause a vine to flourish, bearing white and red grapes, or show a castle built with stone, and when they please, they cause the whole to disappear:" and in another part of his work, he says:
"There saw I Coll Tregetour,
Upon a table of sycamour,
Play an uncouthe thynge to tell;
I sawe hym cary a wyndemell,
Under a walnot shale."--_House of Fame_, book iii.
The learned monarch, James I, was perfectly convinced that these and other inferior feats exhibited by the tregetours of his day, could only be performed by the agency of the "old gentleman," whom it is not polite to name. The profession had already fallen very low, and at the close of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the performers were ranked by the moral writers of that time, not only with ruffians, blasphemers, thieves, and vagabonds, but also with Jews, Turks, heretics, pagans, and sorcerers; and in more modern times, by way of derision, the juggler was called a mocus-pocus, or hocus-pocus, a term applicable to a pick-pocket, or a common cheat.
The following pages are not intended to make the young reader either a cheat or a trickster; there is nothing, perhaps, so utterly contemptible in every-day life, as trickery and deception, and we would caution our young master not to obtain by these amusements a love of deception, which is only allowable in such feats of amusement, and which is in no way culpable, when every one knows he is deceived. But we would advise him strongly to cultivate in his own mind the virtues of sincerity, straightforwardness, candor, openness, and truth; to shun subterfuge and deception as he would a venomous reptile; and to hate a lie as he would hate that same old gentleman whom we were too polite to name, and who is the father of it.
With this sage advice, we shall present a collection of amusing conjuring tricks.
SLEIGHT OF HAND.
It is my intention, in the following pages, to lay more stress upon those tricks which require no apparatus, than upon those for which special apparatus, or the assistance of a confederate, is required. No one is nearly so well pleased by a trick whose essence evidently lies in the machinery, while every one feels pleasure at seeing a sleight of hand trick neatly executed. For my own part, I despise all the numerous boxes, bottles, variegated covers, and other gimcracks which are generally seen on a conjuror's table; and I have never been so pleased with any performer as with one who did not even require a table, but pressed into his service articles borrowed from his audience, as he stood before them, or walked among them. The spectators should never be able to say, "Ah! the trick lies in the box; he dares not show it to us!"
The following tricks have almost all been successfully performed by myself, and have caused me some reputation in the magic art. Some are my own invention:
1. THE FLYING DIME.
This trick must be frequently practiced before it is produced in public.
Borrow two colored silk handkerchiefs from the company, and have _three_ dimes in your hand, but only show _two_, keeping the other one firmly fixed against the first joint of the second and third fingers. You must also have a fine needle and thread stuck inside the cuff of your coat. Then take one of the handkerchiefs, and put in _both_ dimes, but pretend that only _one_ is in the handkerchief; then put the handkerchief into a hat, leaving one corner hanging out. Now hold up the _third_ dime (which the spectators imagine is the _second_), and ask one of the company to lay the second handkerchief over it. You then ask him to hold the dime tight between his finger and thumb, while you twist up the handkerchief. While doing so, with both hands concealed under the handkerchief, you pass a few stitches under the dime, and replace the needle. This being done, spread one corner of the handkerchief over the hand of the person who is still holding the dime, and, taking hold of another corner, tell him to drop the dime when you have counted three. At the word "three," he lets go the dime, and you whisk the handkerchief into the air, when the dime appears to have vanished, but is really held in the handkerchief. You then tell the astonished individual to draw the other handkerchief out of the hat by the corner that is hanging out. The two dimes are heard to fall into the hat, and every one is persuaded that you have conjured one of the dimes out of a person's hand, and sent it into the hat.
2. ANOTHER METHOD.
Perhaps the spectators may ask to see it again, or demand to mark the dime. In this case, vary it as follows. Ask some one (always choose the most incredulous of the party) to mark a dime of his own, and give it you. Take the same handkerchief, and give him the dime to hold that is already enclosed in it, as in the last trick, dropping the marked dime into the palm of your hand. Twist it up as before, and then leave it entirely in his hands. Direct him to place it on a table, and cover it with a basin or saucer. Ask him to give you a cup or tumbler, and hold it under the table, beneath the place where the saucer is. Then tell him to knock three times on the saucer, and at the third knock let the marked dime fall into the tumbler. Hand him the tumbler, and while he is examining the dime to see if it is the same one that he marked, take up the saucer, and shake out the handkerchief that is lying under it, as in the last trick. You must then return the handkerchief, and while you pretend to be searching for the marks, draw out the thread that held the dime, and drop the coin into the palm of your hand, taking care to rub between your finger and thumb the spot where the threads had been, in order to eradicate the marks. This variation seldom fails to confuse the company.
You must remember to keep talking the whole time, and always try to make a joke, or otherwise to distract the attention of the audience, while you are executing the necessary changes.
3. THE BEADS AND STRINGS.
Ask some lady to lend you the beads off her bracelet, or have by you five or six beads, which you may hand round for examination. Then get some one to cut two pieces of thin string of equal length, and twist them about your fingers, appearing to lay them side by side, but in reality placing them as in the figure, and then, by twisting them together with apparent carelessness, the manner in which they are arranged will not be seen, particularly if you keep the point of junction hidden either by a finger, or by throwing the shade of your hand upon it.
When the beads are returned, thread them all, taking care to pass the center bead over the point of juncture. You then bring the ends of the string 1 and 2 together, and tie them so, doing the same with 3 and 4. Now give the tied ends to two persons, directing them to hold them tight. You need not fear that the beads will come off, even if they pull hard. Then grasp the beads with both hands, directing the holders to slacken the strings. You then, under cover of the left hand, which is placed above the beads, slip the center bead to one side, and draw out the two loops which have been hidden in it. The beads will then easily come off into your right hand. Tell the holders to pull hard, which they will do, and the same moment remove your hands, showing the empty strings, and all the beads in your right hand. Then hand round the beads and strings as before. Remember to rub out the marks in the strings caused by the loops, before you remove your hands.
4. TO GET A RING OUT OF A HANDKERCHIEF.
Bend a piece of gold wire into the form of a ring, having previously sharpened both ends. You have a real ring made of the same piece of wire, and concealing the false ring in the palm of your hand, offer the real one to be inspected. When it is returned, borrow a handkerchief, and while taking it from the lender, slip the real ring into your left hand, and take the false one at its point of junction. Throw the handkerchief over the ring, and give it to some one to hold between his finger and thumb. Let the handkerchief fall over it, and give a piece of string to a second spectator, directing him to tie it round the handkerchief, about two inches below the ring, so as to enclose it in a bag, and tell him to do so as tightly as he can. While he is doing this, take up your conjuring wand, a rod of some hard wood, about eighteen inches long, and when the knot is tied, step forward, passing the rod into your left hand, taking care to slip over it the real ring, which has lain concealed there. Slip your left hand to the center of the rod, and direct each of the two persons to hold one end of it in his right hand. Then tell the one who has the ring and handkerchief, to lay them on your left hand, which you immediately cover with your right. Then tell them to spread another handkerchief over your hands, and to say after you any nonsense that you like to invent.
While they are so doing, unbend the false ring, and draw it through the handkerchiefs by one of its points, carefully rubbing between the thumb and finger the place where it came through. Hang the empty handkerchief over the ring which is on the rod, and take away your hands, which you exhibit empty, as you have stuck the false ring inside your cuff. Take away the upper handkerchief, and let a third person come to examine, when he will find the ring gone out of the handkerchief, and hung upon the rod.
5. TO TIE A KNOT IN A HANDKERCHIEF WHICH CANNOT BE DRAWN TIGHT.
Cast an ordinary knot on a handkerchief, and give the end out of your right hand to some spectator, and tell him to pull hard and sharp when you count three. Just as he pulls, slip your left thumb under the handkerchief, as drawn in the cut, and it will be pulled out quite straight, without any knot at all. You must let go the end that hangs over the left hand, and grasp the handkerchief between the thumb and fore finger.
6. THE THREE CUPS.
This is an admirable delusion, but requires very careful management, and should be practiced repeatedly before it is exhibited publicly. You get three tin cups, of the shape shown in the cut. They should have two or three ridges running round them at the mouth, in order to give a better hold. Four balls should now be made of cork, and carefully blackened. One of the balls is held concealed between the roots of the third and fourth fingers, while the other three are handed round for examination, together with the cups. When they are returned, the young conjuror begins by placing each ball under a cup, or, if he chooses, asking one of the spectators to do so for him. While this is being done, he slips the fourth ball to the tips of the second and third fingers. He then lifts up cup No. 1, replaces it on the table a few inches from its first position, and at the same time slips the fourth ball under it. He takes up ball No. 1, and pretends to throw it away, but in reality he slips it into the place which the fourth ball had occupied. He does the same with the three cups, and then commences a sham search after the lost ball, in which he accidentally (!) knocks over one of the cups, and, to his pretended astonishment, finds a ball under it. He then knocks over both the other cups, and finds in them the two missing balls.
He again places the balls under the cups, taking care to slip the fourth ball under cup No. 3. He then takes up cup No. 1, and pretends to throw the ball into No. 3, but hides it as before. As there are already two balls in No. 3, the spectators imagine that he really has thrown the ball into it. He replaces cup No. 3 over both balls, and slips among them ball No. 1. He then takes up cup No. 2, and goes through the same process, and on knocking over cup No. 3, all three balls are found together under it, and while the spectators are being astonished, ball No 2 can be quickly got rid of.
A rather startling termination to this trick can be managed by taking up one of the cups, with its mouth upwards holding the finger and thumb close to its mouth. Then by throwing another cup into it, letting go the first and catching the second, you appear to have thrown the second cup through the first.
7. TO TIE A HANDKERCHIEF ROUND YOUR LEG, AND GET IT OFF WITHOUT UNTYING THE KNOT.
Hold the handkerchief by both ends, lay the center of the handkerchief on your knee, and pass the two ends below, appearing to cross them, but in reality hitching them within each other, as represented in the engraving, which shows the manner in which this is managed. Draw this loop tight, and bring back the ends to the same side on which they were originally, and tie them above. If the loop is properly made, it will stand a good pull. Then, after showing the spectators how firmly it is tied, put your hand under the knot, and by giving it a sharp pull, it will come off.
The engraving represents the manner in which the loop is made, but it must be made considerably smaller than it is shown, or it will be seen. In fact, it ought not to be a loop at all, as it should be almost concealed under the fold of the handkerchief. Do not show this in public until you can tie it with rapidity and precision.
8. THE MAGIC BOND.
Take a piece of string, and tie the two ends together with a weaver's knot, as that holds the best, and arrange it over the fingers, as represented in the engraving. Having done so, let the long loop hang loose, lift both loops off the thumb, draw them forward until the string is quite tight, and then put them behind the hand, by passing them between the second and third fingers. Then pull the part of the string that lies across the roots of the fingers, and the whole affair will come off.
9. THE OLD MAN AND HIS CHAIR.
_Fig. 3_
1. Right fore finger
2. Right middle finger
]
Take the same piece of string as in the last trick, hold your left hand with the palm uppermost, and hang the string over the palm. Spread all the fingers, and with the right hand bring forward the loops that hang behind, by passing it over the second and third fingers. Loose the loop, take hold of the part of the string that crosses the hand, and pull it forwards. When tight, pass it to the back of the hand, the reversal of the movement that brought it forwards. Loose the loop, insert the fore-finger and little finger of the right hand under the string that encircles the left fore-finger and little finger, and pass the two loops to the back of the hand, as shown in the cut, Fig. 1. Tuck both loops under the cross-strings at the back, and your preliminaries are completed. Then begin your story: "There was once upon a time, an old man, who stole a pound of candles. Here they are." You then hold your left hand as at the commencement, hook the right fore-finger under the cross-piece at the back, and draw it downward until it is long enough to be passed over the second and third fingers to the front. Pass it over, and draw it slowly upwards, when the similitude of a pound of candles hanging by their strings will be seen. (See Fig. 2.) "The old man being tired hung up his candles," you then hang the long loop over your thumb, "and sat down in his high-backed chair, which you see here." You then hitch the right fore finger and middle finger under the two loops that will be found hanging behind the left hand, bring them to the front, raise them perpendicularly, and the chair will be seen as in Fig. 3. The thumb must be raised perpendicularly, and brought as much as possible into the center of the hand, or the chair will be all aside.
"When the old man was rested, it began to become dark, and he took a pair of scissors to cut down a candle for himself. Here are the scissors." While you are saying this, you slip the loop off the thumb, and you get Fig. 4. Move the blades and handles of the scissors, as if cutting something with them. "Just as he had lighted it, in came a policeman, and produced his staff, with the Queen's crown at the top." Now let go the little finger of the left hand and the loop will run up the string towards the right hand, producing Fig. 5. "The old man in vain tried to resist, for the policeman called a comrade to his assistance, and they tied a cord round the old man's arms in a tight knot, like this"--slip the right middle finger out of its loop, and you will obtain Fig. 6--"and carried him off to prison."
1. Fore finger of left hand,
2. Little finger of left hand.
3. Fore finger of right hand.
4. Middle finger of right hand. #/ ]
1. Right middle finger.
2. Right fore finger.]
1. Right fore
1. finger.
2. Left hand.]
10. TO TIE A KNOT ON THE LEFT WRIST, WITHOUT LETTING THE RIGHT HAND APPROACH IT.
Take a piece of thick pliant string by each end, and with a quick jerk of the right hand cast a loop on it as in Fig. 1. The jerk must be given upwards and towards the left hand, and its impetus will cause the loop to run up the string until it falls over the left wrist, as in Fig. 2. The moment that the forward jerk is given the right hand should be drawn back, so that the loop is drawn tight directly it has settled on the wrist. Both ends should be let fall when the knot is firm. This is a very nice little sleight of hand trick to practice in the intervals between more showy ones, and, although rather difficult to learn, is soon acquired.
11. THE HANDCUFFS.
Let two persons, A and B, have their hands tied together with string, so that the strings cross, as represented in the engraving. The object is, to free themselves from each other without untying the knot. It is executed in the following manner:
Let B gather up the string that joins his hands, pass the loop under the string that binds either of A's wrists, slip it over A's hand, and both will be free. By a reversal of the same process, the string may be replaced.
12. TO PULL A STRING THROUGH YOUR BUTTON-HOLE.
Take a piece of string about two feet in length, and tie the ends together. Pass it through a button-hole of your coat; hitch one thumb at each end, hook the little fingers into the upper strings of the opposite hand. Then draw the hands well outward, and the string will look very complicated, as in the engraving.
To get out the string, loose the hold of the right thumb and left little finger, and separate the hands smartly, when the string will appear to have been pulled out _through_ the substance of your coat.
It is an improvement of the trick, if, immediately on loosing the hold of the right thumb, you change the string from the right little finger on to the thumb.
13. THE CUT STRING RESTORED.
Tie together the ends of a piece of string, pass one hand through each end, twist it once round, and put both ends into the left hand. Draw the right hand rapidly along the double strings until you come to the place where the strings have crossed each other, as seen in the engraving. Conceal the junction with the thumb and finger of the right hand; hold the strings in a similar manner with the left hand, and tell some one to cut the string between them. You show that the string has been divided into two pieces, and say that you will join them with your teeth. Put all four ends into your mouth, and remove with your tongue the little loop that has been cut off. When you take the string out of your mouth, the spectators will not notice the absence of so small a portion of its length, and will fancy that you really have joined them.
1. The twisted string. 2. The manner of holding it.
]
14. THE GORDIAN KNOT.
Take a silk handkerchief, and lay it on a table. Take each of the corners, and lay them across each other in the middle of the handkerchief, which will then be square, as in the cut, Fig. 1. Do the same with the new corners, and go on until the handkerchief is reduced to the size of your hand. Then with your left finger and thumb take hold of the center, taking care to grasp all the four corners that lie there, and with the right finger and thumb take hold of the outer layer of silk, and pull it towards you as far as it will come. Then turn it a little on your left hand, and repeat the operation until it is all screwed up into a tight ball, as is represented in the engraving, Fig. 2. No ends will be then perceptible, and a person who is unacquainted with the mode will never be able to untie it. Of course you must prepare it previously. When the person to whom you give it has failed to untie it, you take the ball in your hand, and holding it behind your back, you reverse the method by which it was tied, and when it is loose a good shake will release it.
15. THE KNOT LOOSENED.
This is a very amusing deception. You ask any one for a handkerchief, and tie the ends firmly together in a double knot, allowing him to feel it, or pull the ends as tight as he pleases. You then throw the center of the handkerchief over the knot, ask the person to hold it tight between his finger and thumb. You ask him if the knot is still there, to which he will answer in the affirmative. You then take hold of any part of the handkerchief, and direct the holder to drop the handkerchief at the word "three." You count, "one, two, three," at which word he looses his hold of the handkerchief, and there is no vestige left of the knot.
The method of managing this trick is as follows: Take the handkerchief and tie the ends in a simple knot, keeping _one end tight_, and the other end loose. We will call the tight end A, and the loose one B. Keep A _always_ in the right hand, and on the stretch horizontally, and the handkerchief will look as in the cut. Do this when you tie it the second time, and draw B tight, which will then form a double tie round A, but will not hold it firm. When you throw the handkerchief over the knot, you draw out A with the finger and thumb of the left hand, and the knot will apparently remain firm, although in reality it is nothing but a double twist of silk, which of course falls loose when the handkerchief is dropped.
16. TO PUT NUTS INTO YOUR EAR.
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The Magician's Own Book, or, the Whole Art of ConjuringChapter I: Preface (1)
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