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Title: Hanky Panky
A book of conjuring tricks
Author: William Henry Cremer
Wiljalba Frikell
Release date: August 21, 2023 [eBook #71463]
Language: English
Original publication: London: John Camden Hotten, 1872
Credits: Richard Tonsing, Emmanuel Ackerman, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HANKY PANKY ***
[Illustration: ROBERT HOUDIN’S FAMOUS RABBIT TRICK TO PRODUCE A LIVE
RABBIT FROM A MAN’S COAT COLLAR.]
HANKY PANKY
=A Book of Conjuring Tricks.=
BY THE AUTHOR OF “THE SECRET OUT.”
EDITED BY W. H. CREMER, JUN.
[Illustration]
VERY EASY TRICKS AND VERY DIFFICULT TRICKS, DIVERSIONS WITH DICE,
CONJURING WITH CARDS, JUGGLERY WITH AND WITHOUT ASSISTANTS, GAMBLERS’
DECEPTIONS EXPOSED, &c.
WITH 250 PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS.
_LONDON._
JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN, 74 & 75, PICCADILLY.
_PRELIMINARY._
The great and deserved success of “THE SECRET OUT; OR, ONE THOUSAND
TRICKS IN DRAWING-ROOM OR WHITE MAGIC,” edited by W. H. Cremer, Jun., of
Regentstreet, has suggested an entirely new Edition of the same Author’s
world-famous “HANKY PANKY: _Very Easy Tricks and Very Difficult Tricks,
Diversions with Dice, Conjuring with Cards, Jugglery with and without
Assistants, Gamblers’ Deceptions Exposed_.” The Publisher has again
secured the services of Mr. CREMER—the gentleman whose wonderful display
of the Toys of the World attracted so much notice in the recent
International Exhibition—and an eminently entertaining, but, at the same
time, thoroughly practical, book is now before the reader.
The present work, therefore, may be considered in the light of a
supplement or addition to the Author’s well-known “MAGICIAN’S OWN BOOK.”
The Publisher will, he trusts, be pardoned for here directing attention
to another book of this class, “THE ART OF AMUSING,” a Collection of
graceful Arts, Games, Tricks, Puzzles, and Charades, considered by _The
Athenæum_ as being “the best and most entertaining work of the kind with
which we are acquainted.”
A companion volume, under the title of “THE MERRY CIRCLE: A BOOK OF NEW
GAMES AND INTELLECTUAL AMUSEMENTS,” with nearly Two Hundred
Illustrations, has just been issued by Mrs. CLARA BELLEW.
_Piccadilly._
_CONTENTS._
PAGE
I. SIMPLE TRICKS 13
II. „ WITH COINS 18
III. „ WITH ROPE AND STRING 36
IV. „ WITH HANDKERCHIEFS 51
V. „ WITH RINGS 56
VI. „ WITH KNIVES 61
VII. „ FORTUNE-TELLING TRICKS 66
VIII. „ WITH BOXES 76
IX. „ WITH HATS 80
X. TRICKS IN DRAWING, WRITING, PAINTING, &C. 86
XI. AMUSING TRICKS WITH VARIOUS ARTICLES 94
XII. INTERLUDES, PUZZLES, &C. 116
XIII. TRICKS IN THE WATER 133
XIV. TRICKS IN ACOUSTICS 139
XV. TRICKS WITH WIND AND AIR 152
XVI. ELECTRICAL TRICKS 156
XVII. TRICKS WITH FIRE AND HEAT 161
XVIII. OPTICAL TRICKS 185
XIX. COMPLICATED TRICKS IN MECHANICAL MAGIC 227
XX. TRICKS WITH CARDS 251
APPENDIX.
GAMBLERS’ TRICKS WITH CARDS EXPOSED 308
ROULETTE 321
ROUGE-ET-NOIR 326
HANKY PANKY.
I.—SIMPLE TRICKS.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.—Mr. Hanky Panky.]
FLY AWAY, JACK!
Take two pieces of white paper, about the size of a sixpence, and
moisten them well on both sides. Put one on the first joint of each
forefinger, just at the root of the nail, and place these fingers on the
edge of the table, straight out, while the rest are closed up under the
hands.
Then say:
“Two little dickey birds sat on the sill,
One named Jack—t’other named Jill!
Fly away, Jack!”
Close the right forefinger, and with the middle finger remove the paper
and retain it there, while the forefinger is quickly replaced in the
first position to show the veritable flight of Jack. Then say,
“Fly away, Jill!”
And repeat with the left forefinger. Then say:
“Come back, Jack!”
And take the piece of paper from the right middle finger upon the
forefinger as at first, and replace it on the table.
“Come back, Jill.”
The same with the other hand. Then conclude:
“The two little birds are sitting there still!”
[Illustration: Fig. 2.—The Perplexed Spectator.]
DANCE, BOATMAN, DANCE!
(_From the German._)
Herr Professor Bobine von Rhumkorff amuses little children by holding up
his hand, with the thumb and finger thus posed:—
The thumb is made to spring up and down to a lively air and to the words
“Dance, de Boatman, dance!” Then the thumb stops while the fingers are
set leaping, to the words:
“Boatman’s piccaninnies dance, ’cause fader dance all alone by heself!”
Then leave the forefinger capering and sing:
“Eldest son of de Boatman, dance!”
Then all the fingers but the first leap about to the words:
“De whole family dance, ’cause him eldest son he dance all alone!”
So on with the other fingers, the little one being the baby, and the
middle one Mrs. Boatman.
Some put on a black glove and make four chalk spots on the fingertip to
represent eyes, nose, and mouth.
BUY A BIRD.
Fold each finger over the next, the forefinger undermost upon the thumb,
and say:
“Who will buy my birds?”
On one saying he or she will make the purchase, you quickly open your
hand and cry:
“They all have flown away!”
LITTLE WATCHMAN.
(For Children):
Hold up the left hand, open.
“This is the thumb!”
Touch the three principal fingers.
“This, this, this a plum!”
Put down forefinger.
“He eats this one!”
Put down middle finger.
“He takes his brother!”
Put down third finger.
“And grabs the other!”
Hold up little finger and wag it sadly.
“And little Watchman’s left alone!”
[Illustration]
TO ADD FIVE TO SIX AND YET MAKE BUT NINE.
Having drawn six-straight lines, by adding five more, as in figure 3,
only _Nine_ is seen.
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
TO CARRY HOT COALS IN THE HAND.
Cover the palm with sand, ashes, or any non-conductor, and calmly put
the live coals on it. Which ancient “sell” will be found in the first
German mediæval play, entitled “The Burning Iron,” by Hans Sachs,
“performed for the first time in Nuremberg in the year 1531.” A peasant
woman suspects her husband of some crime, and she arranges with her
mother that he must pass under the ordeal of the “burning iron”—that is,
a piece of iron made red-hot must be picked up with his bare hand, and
carried round the room. If his hand remain unscathed, he is innocent; if
he be burnt, then he is guilty. The husband promises to undergo the
ordeal; but before doing so, manages to place, unseen by his wife, a
flat piece of wood upon the hollow of his hand, and with this deception
he passes through the ordeal successfully. Mr. Hanky Panky believes this
gentleman to have been his “long-lost brother.”
[Illustration]
II.—TRICKS WITH COINS.
[Illustration: Fig. 4.]
THE COIN TRICK, FROM AN HIBERNIAN POINT OF VIEW.
Our brother magician, Signor Blitz, tells us the following tale, which
is useful as a warning:—
While conversing in a grocery store with the proprietor, an Irishman
came in to make some purchases. The trader was extremely anxious for me
to astonish him by performing some feat, which I complied with. Before
concluding I requested the loan of a quarter of a dollar from the
Hibernian, which he at first refused, and even when the storekeeper
pledged himself responsible for it, he reluctantly gave it to me. I
desired him to close his hand, and hold the money secure, and I would
change it into a five-dollar gold piece.
“Faith!” he muttered, as he grasped the quarter, “it is just as I would
like to have ye after doing, but I don’t believe you can coin money so
aisy. Let me see if you can do it!” he exclaimed.
“It is already done,” I said. “Open your hand and see.”
The man cautiously relaxed his fingers, and, at the first glimpse of the
gold, jumped and hurrahed wildly, as an Irishman only can; but when his
curiosity was entirely satisfied as to its reality, he carefully
deposited it in his pocket, with many thanks, declaring me to be the
most wonderful man in the world.
I here desired him to replace the money in my hand, and I would again
convert it to the original quarter.
“Sure, afther Mike being rich, would ye make him poor again?”
“But you know it is only a trick,” I answered.
“A thrick? Divil a one! Sure, man, it is a rale piece of
goold,”—thrusting his hand into his pocket to protect it from any sudden
or unperceived effort on my part to extract it.
“You know it is but a joke,” I repeated. “Return me the gold, and I will
astonish you by transforming it into silver once more.”
“By St. Patrick, you had better not do that.”
“Yes, you must give me back the gold.”
“I would not part with it if Priest McDermott bid me.”
Finding my efforts to procure the money a failure, I resorted to
artifice by exciting his fears of my power to do good or evil. I assured
him that unless he returned the piece of gold, he would be a miserable
man all his life; for it was Satan’s coin, who was always in search of
his own, and would take him away with the gold.
“Och, shure, yer honour, the Holy Father will save Mike, and if ye want
any more silver quarters to change into goold, come to Michael MacCarty.
He is the man for you.” And with these consoling words he walked rapidly
away, leaving me minus my half-eagle, while the storekeeper laughed
immoderately at the magician being outwitted by a son of the Emerald
Isle.
All Louisville became cognizant of “the joke,” as they called it, and
hugely enjoyed it at my expense; but I could not see it.
THE NEW TRICK OF MELTING MONEY.
In our former works have been given revelations by means of which the
disappearance of coins can be accomplished. The present act of
prestidigitation is quite new, and never before discovered by magicians
to their audiences.
_Performance._—A drinking-glass having been passed around amongst the
audience, that the absence of mechanism may be generally manifest, Mr.
Hanky Panky borrows a half-crown and a handkerchief, and pours some pure
water (which may be tasted) into the glass, held by one of the company.
Though this essence of the New River has no corrosive properties
perceptible to the tongue, Mr. Panky confidently asseverates that it is
bewitched into the power of annihilating silver.
He then places the coin in the centre of the handkerchief, and puts it
over the mouth of the glass, where the volunteer holds it by its edge
through the silk, so that the pendent corners hide the coin and glass.
[Illustration: Fig. 5.]
The person is notified that Mr. Panky will count three, at the last of
which numbers he is to let the piece fall into the glass, as the sound
will betoken.
One, two, three, chink.
The coin is distinctly heard to fall, so that there can linger no doubt
whatever of its presence in the glass.
Nevertheless, Mr. Panky, with his usual assurance, announces
that—without his approaching—he has the power to attract the coin to
him, and, in truth, he suddenly holds it up in plain sight. The person
takes away the handkerchief, and is even more astounded than the most
impressionable amongst the spectators, to see nothing but the water in
the glass—of which the magician relieves him by swallowing it.
[Illustration: Fig. 6.]
_Explanation._—The bottom of the glass is of the same dimension as a
half-crown. A disc of sheet-glass is cut of the same size exactly. This
is substituted for the coin, and is felt within the handkerchief. When
it falls, the sound is so like that of metal that all are filled with
error. When the cover is removed, the water prevents the glass piece
being seen at the bottom even by the operator himself.
The coin wand can be used in connection with this trick, for which see a
description following.
TO REDUCE A SHILLING TO A SIXPENCE.
Take two pieces of fancy paper with one side in colours, patterns, or
marbling, about seven inches square, put the coloured sides together,
and cut them at the same time in the shape of Fig. 7.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.]
The success of the trick depends on their being exactly alike in size.
Place a sixpence in the centre of one of the pieces at the place marked
A, then fold it carefully over at the crease on the side marked B, and
also again at the side marked C. When you have done this, turn down the
end marked D upon the centre A and again fold over on E. You have thus
formed a small parcel the shape of Fig. 8, with a sixpence in the
middle. You must then put a shilling in the centre of the other piece of
paper, and fold it up exactly the same size and shape as the first
piece. When you have done this, paste the two parcels together at the
back of the ends marked F in Fig. 8, and the sides will be so even that
both will appear as one. You can then open the side of the paper
containing the smaller coin, and show it to your audience, at the same
time informing them that you are going to open a mint on a small plan,
and coin a shilling from a sixpence. Dexterously turn over the side
containing the shilling, and upon opening the paper, to the general
astonishment, instead of a sixpence they will behold a shilling.
[Illustration: Fig. 8.]
THE UNCRUSHABLE FLOWER.
At the time of the amusing warfare between the perennial Charles Mathews
(“the Younger!” what happy augury in the title!) and the Great Wizard of
the North, the former, who was assisted by Mr. Cremer in many of his
diversions, created much surprise by the exhibition of a flower, as
fragile as a rose, which could not be lastingly injured.
He would pluck this flower from his button-hole, and, in sight of the
audience, who wondered “What he Would Do with It?” would dash it to the
stage, stand on it, shut it up in a book, and martyrise it in various
other modes.
In spite of this, he had but to take it up and tenderly wave it in the
air, and gently breathe a tender sigh on it, and kiss it for its mother,
when it would resume its pristine fulness of bloom—not a pistil broken,
not a petal injured.
_Explanation._—The flower is artificial, and carefully made of choice
Berlin wool, which material will bear much ill-usage without injury to
its elastic filaments.
[Illustration: Fig. 9.—The Victim of this Mystification.]
[Illustration]
THE FLYING COTTON REEL.
Wind off a ball of cotton cord (piping) upon a tin tube six inches long,
and of the diameter of a half-crown or florin, or rather a trifle wider.
Borrow a coin which you have had marked, and change it by means of the
magic salver.
[Illustration: Fig. 10.]
Pass the marked coin off the stage to your confederate, who puts it down
the tube into the ball of cotton, and leaves it there in the centre; on
withdrawing the tube the hole can be completely covered up by pressing
the cord around it.
Thus prepared, the ball is brought to you in a glass cup, having a hole
in the rim through which you pass one end of the cotton. Fasten this to
a winding-off wheel (broad-tired), and as your assistant winds off the
cord, you pretend to throw the coin into the ball. Immediately, the
marked piece falls into the bottom of the vessel, in which it is taken
to the owner.
[Illustration: Fig. 11.—The Owner of the Coin.]
THE OBEDIENT SIXPENCE.
[Illustration: Fig. 12.]
Lay a sixpence between two shillings on a table-cloth, and cover them
with a tumbler, and offer to remove the middle one without touching the
others or the glass. To do so scratch the cloth with the finger-nail,
and the lesser coin will move out towards you, the others being held by
the tumbler.
THE INVISIBLE TRANSIT.
(_Le Vase aux Grains._)
Mr. Panky borrows a half-crown, which he politely requests some one in
the party to mark, and having had a fruit examined, such as a shaddock,
melon, marrow, &c., he puts it in a box.
Then holding a large cup or vase full of seed or corn, as he proves by
taking a pinch out of it, and casting the grain amongst the audience, he
sets it on a table.
At a word, the coin vanishes to enter the fruit. Next, the fruit is
commanded to cross and bury itself in the vase filled with seed, without
displacing its contents, which is assuredly remarkable. Indeed, on
plunging the hand into the vessel, the fruit is produced, and in its
centre is found the marked coin. The seed has disappeared.
[Illustration: Fig. 13.]
_Explanation._—The vase is of metal with a secret bottom or with a trap
in the stand, by which the contents, in this case seed, will run down
out of it and down through the hollow leg of the table on which it is
placed. The box in which the fruit is put is that called the Box of
Disappearances.
[Illustration: Fig. 14.—The Box of Disappearances.]
It is a case with a double drawer, into the inner of which an object is
placed and both shut up; only the outer or false drawer is pulled out,
and the disappearance is performed.
As for the fruit, the coin is placed in it beforehand, or introduced by
means of the coin knife.
_Performance._—The marked coin is passed to your agent, who pushes it
into a fruit by a cut made in it while you are letting a duplicate fruit
be examined. The prepared one is buried in seed in the vase which is
brought in upon the stage. The second fruit is put into the disappearing
box and made away with. A touch to the spring releasing the trap of the
vase makes all the seed run off, and the fruit containing the coin is
triumphantly opened.
THE DIE AND DOVE TRICK.
You have the double die described in _The Secret Out_, composed of a
hollow tin case, painted like a die, and a die in solid wood.
You hold up a borrowed hat and say that you will visibly pass that die
(both being as one) into the hat. Upon the crown you leave the cover and
the solid cube you put inside the hat—or you say—“Now you see this die,
and now you do not see it!” and pass it down on the secret shelf behind
your table. Or, again, you exchange it for a hollow die holding a live
bird, and opening with a sliding side.
[Illustration: Fig. 15.]
You place this die on a plate, and, in covering it, and turning it over,
open the slide, so as to have the now open face down on the plate.
You have a small cage containing another bird, on which you set a
handkerchief, in the centre of which is sewn a square plate of metal of
the size of a cage, at top. Your table trap takes in the cage, and you
hold the handkerchief by the square plate at the proper distance from
the table, so that the way the folds fall from its edge will resemble
their draping the cage.
Now, say—“I shall make that die pass into the hat and this bird take its
place!”
You shake the handkerchief and show that the cage has departed—a most
effective illusion.
You pick up the mock die in the case, and, of course, the liberated bird
flies away.
You lift the hat and push the solid die so as to make it fall.
Then you put into the hat a set of cups, Chinese lanterns, dolls, or
other objects made for that purpose, to fit inside each other, and so
take up little space—and express your astonishment that the owner should
fill his hat with anything but brains.
THE COIN WAND.
Let your ebony wand be hollowed out at one end and bored clear through
for a movable rod to work in it. In the space at the end have a
half-crown cut into three pieces, thus—
[Illustration: Fig. 16.]
with a simple mechanism worked by a spiral spring at the end of the rod,
by which these three pieces, overlapping one another when drawn into the
wand, unfold upon the same plane like a perfect coin when the spring is
liberated.
You can by its means appear to draw a coin by the mere tap of your wand
from any place whatever—the wall, a table, a person’s ear, nose, or
pocket—and as often as desirable, since you pretend to remove the
half-crown each time that it is shown, and actually show a real one in
your hands.
THE GARLAND OF ROSES.
You have borrowed three or four coins from the company, changed them for
the ones used in your juggling, and passed them to your assistant.
Then you have as many cards drawn out of a prepared pack (see “How to
force a Card,” page 43, _The Secret Out_.)
Your attendant brings in a wreath of flowers, which is suspended from
the ceiling by two silken cords.
You lay the coin on a little glass table, and only let one piece slide
off at a time.
The coin wand can be used in connection with this stand, and rings and
other objects can be substituted for the coin top, set on an iron frame.
On crying out, “I now take these sovereigns and throw them into the
centre of that garland!” a chink of coin is heard, and on the instant
the money is seen, held by invisible means, in the wreath.
Next you stuff the cards into a pistol, and, on firing at the garland,
they appear within it.
_Explanation._—This magnificent trick is simply but requires electrical
appliances.
The action of a battery makes the duplicate coin on the table fall into
a recess in its edge, while the real ones and the chosen cards, by the
same power, are thrust out from the wreath by secret wires with pincer
heads.
THE BEWITCHED PICTURE FRAME.
(_Le Cadre à l’Assiette._)
Did you ever see such a lovely bit of Sèvres as this plate? Observe the
delicacy of the tints and the dainty outlines of the floral decoration.
If I were in the musing mood, I might form quite a lecture on the scenes
which this piece of porcelain conjures up: the rise of Dubarry; her
downfall—Oh! the plate has slipped through my fingers, and I take it up
to find it broken.
Let me see: what is smashed china fit for? I forget—but I wonder, now,
if it would not make excellent wadding for a pistol! Let us try. Here is
the firearm, which I will load—on the powder I put the fragments of the
plate—Time _severs_ many a beauty from her mate—Plenty of room yet. I
must add these rings, with which my obliging auditors have furnished me,
and this ribbon. A very formidable charge!
Boy! a target!
Call that a target?
Why, it is a black board in a frame. Never mind; it will do, unless I
make a butt of you! [_Exit the Attendant._]
Click! bang!
When the smoke clears away, there is seen in the middle of the framed
black space the ribbon, rings, watches, or whatever was used for
cartridges, and the plate restored except for one small fragment. It
seems that I left a piece out of the barrel. Oh! Is it not here under
this obliging young lady’s fan? I thought so; thank you.
I will throw it into its place.
[Illustration: Fig. 17.]
One, two, three, and an _off_! I mean _on_!
You will observe that Richard is himself again—as rich and hard as ever.
[Illustration: Fig. 18.]
_Explanation._—For the appearance of the entire objects, the enchanted
target described on page 194, _The Secret Out_, is used, with the
following additional contrivance for the china plate restoration,
namely:—The duplicate plate is covered, as are the other articles, with
a black blind, made to disappear into the frame by an electric shock, or
the action of a piston-rod, while a scrap of black cloth to be pulled
away by a wire leading secretly to your assistant, gives it the
semblance of a broken one.
THE GUERIDON AND GOLDEN RAIN.
By the orders of Mr. Hanky Panky, his attendant brings out before the
audience a small round table (_guéridon_), a more guileless means of
mystification being impossible, with its thin, flat top, slender leg,
and general simplicity of outline.
Half a dozen florins or half-crowns being borrowed from the audience,
they are marked by one of them and placed in a pile upon the table,
whence they disappear one by one.
This is, perhaps, not so very astounding, for no fellah ever yet clearly
understood how money goes. But, to really make the deception a startling
one, Mr. Panky puts a hat, a scarf, or a handkerchief on the table, and
commands the money to return from its refuge of nothingness. The
half-crowns—a great deal more eager to be restored to their owners than
whole crowns now-a-days are—are heard to fall upon the table, without a
trace of their passage through the hat or handkerchief.
On removing the cover, indeed, the attendant has but to go to the table
to fill a salver with the money, and distribute among the rightful
proprietors.
_Explanation._—The table-leg is hollow and a rod works in it, on the
head of which the bottom coin is placed; when the rod is lowered, which
is done by simple mechanism (for which see “Grand Magic,” in _The Secret
Out_), the coins gradually vanish. The reappearance is managed by the
reverse action, and the rod may be fitted with a joint a few inches from
the top, so that the pieces will fall off on one side, the more noisily
the better.
When the coins are to drop audibly into a metal or glass vase set on the
table, the rod may terminate in a tube to contain the money.
[Illustration: Fig. 19.]
[Illustration: Fig. 20.]
III.—WITH ROPE AND STRING.
THE SKIPPING-ROPE TRICK.
(_Hamilton’s l’Entente Cordiale._)
Provide a skipping-rope, and, having had your wrists firmly bound
together, let the person who thus tied your hands pass one end of the
rope between your arms and join its ends, by which act the cord and your
united arms will form two endless links or rings, to separate which, and
instantaneously, will seem materially impossible.
However, it can be done.
Pull at the cord as if to make sure it is held fast, and, while so
doing, catch between the wrists the part of the rope that happens to be
there, and work the rope up so as to get the looped end through the
handkerchief in your hands. Through this loop pass your left hand. Turn
slightly to the right and jerk the rope a little, when it will fall to
the floor, while your hands remain attached.
In the couple of seconds which this feat requires, move your hands up
and down mysteriously, to baffle the attention of the bystanders on what
you are doing.
TO RESTORE A CUT STRING.
(_Decremp’s Garter Trick._)
Having a piece of string, with the ends tied, run one hand through each
end, twist it once round (Fig. 21), and put both ends into the left
hand. Draw the right hand quickly along the double strings to where the
strings cross, and conceal the join with the right thumb and forefinger
(Fig. 22).
[Illustration: Figs. 21 and 22.]
Hold the strings in the same way with the left hand, and let some one
cut the string between them. You show that the string has been divided
into two pieces, and assert that you can join them by mastication. Put
all four ends into your mouth, and remove with your tongue the little
cut off loop.
When you take the string out of your mouth no one will notice the
absence of so small a portion of its length, and will fancy that you
really have joined them. Take an opportunity of getting rid of the
fragment you retained in your mouth.
TO CUT THE BRAID OF A BUTTONHOLE WITHOUT LEAVING A MARK.
[Illustration: Fig. 23.]
Tie the ends of two feet of string together. Put it through a
button-hole of your coat (or the ring of a key in the door); stick one
thumb in each end, and each little finger in the upper string of the
other hand. Draw out the hands, and present the figure traced in the
illustration.
Let go with the right thumb and left little finger, and thrust your
hands quickly apart, when you will seem to have pulled the string
through the braid of the button-hole, and yet there will be no trace of
the passage. It is best, when you let go with the right thumb, to change
the string from the right little finger to it.
THE DEMON CORD.
[Illustration: Fig. 24.]
Saw a tube in half lengthwise, and at one end mount a grooved wheel,
over which passes the bight of a cord, with its two ends passing out of
the hollow cylinder at the sides of the other end. Tint one half of the
cord a different colour from the other, close it in; varnish well to
hide the crack, and your trick is complete.
The cord seems to have the chameleon property of changing its hue.
TO TIE A KNOT ON ONE WRIST WITHOUT THE TOUCH OF THE OTHER HAND.
[Illustration: Fig. 25.]
Take a yard of whipcord, or stout fishing-line, one end in each hand,
and with the right throw a loop over upon the left hand. Instantly draw
back the right hand to tighten the loop, and let go both ends the moment
the knot has been made.
[Illustration: Fig. 26.]
TO CUT YOUR NOSE OFF WITH A STRING.
Tie the ends of twelve or fifteen inches of string together, and make a
loop, as shown in the illustration.
[Illustration: Fig. 27.]
Place the loop in the teeth at A. Put the right forefinger in loop B,
holding the other bight (or bend), C, on the left forefinger, as in the
second illustration.
With the right forefinger remove the loop B, by raising it over the
string D, and carrying it under that string. Put the top of the
forefinger (the loop B being on it) on the tip of the nose.
[Illustration: Fig. 28.]
THE MARVELLOUS RELEASE.
(_Le Captif Emancipé de M. Cleverman._)
A ponderous ladder, composed of three uprights and crossbeams, is drawn
in upon the stage, and inspected, as well as a new rope, by one of the
company, and pronounced solid. The Magician’s assistant is then bound to
the centre post, and all the knots are sealed by one of the spectators.
A light basket-work shade, covered with canvas, is put on over all, and
in a few seconds the man is found tied as before, but without his coat.
On being concealed and discovered again he is found completely freed,
and the rope on the stand without a seal being broken.
_Explanation._—The centre post is apparently quite firmly bolted into
the cross pieces, but in reality the screw heads have no pin attached
except one, which is withdrawn by the tied man, who has his hands bound
behind him just where he wishes to use them. On being unpinned, the beam
drops down into a socket in the stand, and the rope can be pulled
through the open space. The sealing of the knots keeps the ropes in
their place.
A chair can be constructed in the same manner, and, if the deception be
practised in a dark cabinet, one of the Davenport Brothers’ feats can be
imitated.
THE MAGIC UNTYING.
Give one end of a yard of strong, stiff, smooth twine to a person to
hold, while you retain the other in your right hand. Put your left hand
under the twine, half way between the ends, and make a single tie (or,
in sailor phrase, a half hitch) over the string between your left hand
and the end A in the illustration.
[Illustration: Fig. 29.]
[Illustration: Fig. 30.]
[Illustration: Fig. 31.]
Draw the tie close but not tight over the left hand, B being the tie.
Open out the left hand so that, when closed, the loop will be loose on
the hand. Pass the end in the right hand over the left palm on the
inside of the string already there, and make another single tie over the
string at the same place as where you formed the first one, closing your
left hand, which loosens the strings around its fingers. After the tie,
pass the twine under the back of the left hand, between the strings C
and D (in the second illustration) Fig. 30.
The dotted line E is the string A. Take that string up on the left hand
fingers as in the third illustration.
By practice this can be done unseen by the lookers on. Draw the end
tight till it reaches B. Pass the end A under C and D strings, which
cross the palm, drop the whole string off the left hand and pull gently
and steadily the end A with the right hand, and the string pulls out
straight.
[Illustration]
ROBERT HOUDIN’S FAMOUS RABBIT TRICK.
_Preparation._—Have a small white, long-eared rabbit hidden in a secret
pocket inside the right breast of your coat.
_Performance._—On requiring a rabbit for a trick, you select a
simple-looking member of the company. On his rising, you stand behind
him so as to cover your body with his. Take his right wrist in your
right hand as if to keep him steady, by which act you open your coat out
naturally to the right. Now flourish your left hand with the arm
extended, and bring it round to the level of the back of the party’s
neck. Then, at the same time that you forcibly thrust your three last
fingers well down within the simple gentleman’s coat collar, you seize
the rabbit’s ear or ears between your forefinger and thumb. Now lift up
the rabbit, and the simple gentleman will be too much confused by the
shock to perceive how the deception was managed. The audience will be
equally astonished.
[Illustration]
THE MAGIC PICTURE FRAME AND VANISHING PLAYING CARDS.
The magician Bosco, of Milan, numbered among his acquaintances the negro
_prima donna_ whose advent as “the Black Malibran” caused quite an
operatic warfare in our fathers’ time, from a certain opposition being
waged against a Desdemona of Othello’s colour presuming to darken the
stage.
One afternoon previous to Signor Bosco’s performance at the Rooms at the
back of the Princess’s Theatre, which veteran playgoers will remember,
he took tea with the lady.
It was his habit, a pleasant one, of experimenting with his really
remarkable inventions upon his friends before unveiling them to the
public.
On this occasion he produced at the tea-table a pretty little picture
frame. It was simply a border of wood around a square of quite clear
glass, with coloured paper pasted over the back to keep out the dust.
Taking up a pack of cards, he had one drawn by the lady—let us suppose
the ten of diamonds. This he made to vanish in the air.
Then he again had the picture frame observed, that it might be beyond
doubt that nothing but the clear glass in the front, and the coloured
opaque back, were visible. And over the frame, held in the lady’s hand,
he lightly threw a handkerchief.
He uttered a magic phrase or two, took the frame, still in the
handkerchief, waved it in the air, and made a pass or two over it. Then
removing the handkerchief he held up the frame to the lady, who, to her
astonishment, perceived a card in its centre—the card she had drawn.
Again covering the frame with the handkerchief, Bosco once more
bewitched it. On taking away the handkerchief this time, the picture
frame was found to have resumed its original condition; in other words,
the card had vanished, and there was nothing visible but the border, the
clear glass, and the opaque back.
_Explanation._—The frame is hollow at top and bottom, so that these two
places are receptacles to contain a quantity of sand. This sand is dyed
of the same colour as the paper used to cover the back of the frame. Two
pieces of glass are placed in the frame, a little apart.
[Illustration:
SIDE-VIEW OF PICTURE FRAME.
A, the plain glass. B, card corresponding to that which the spectator
has been forced to draw. C, the front side of the second glass. D,
the other side, over which is pasted coloured paper.
]
_To prepare for performance_, fill the receptacle at the top part of the
frame with the sand dyed the same colour as the paper at the back, and
let it run down till it fills the space between the two panes of glass,
and consequently, conceals the card, and is itself unnoticeable, from
looking exactly like the paper.
After the handkerchief has covered the frame, and you take it into your
own hands, reverse it unseen, so that all the sand shall run down into
the receptacle.
On showing it now, the card will appear.
By turning the frame again so that the sand shall run out, and once more
hide the card, it becomes invisible, as at first. The trick can be
repeated at pleasure.
THE MAGIC FLOWER, APPEARING AND BLOOMING AT COMMAND.
(The Invention of M. Robert Houdin, and as Improved by Mr. Cremer.)
Mr. Hanky Panky, attired in a faultless evening dress, has presented
himself to the audience with the air of being quite perfect in his
appearance, when he suddenly becomes confused. By his nervous glances,
and their direction, it is perceived that he has omitted an
indispensable article of costume, and that is, the flower in his
button-hole.
However, quickly recovering from his surprise and trouble, he smilingly
observes that this misfortune, irreparable without a certain delay to
ordinary members of society, is easily rectified by a conjuror.
To make good this assertion, he takes up his wand, and waving it
gracefully three times, the company is startled to see a beautiful rose
appear instantaneously in his button-hole.
_Explanation._—This charming little deception is as simple as effective.
A child can perform it, and at the cost only of a few pence.
You must have twelve or fifteen inches of common elastic cord, fine but
strong, covered with thread of the same colour as your coat. To one end
firmly fasten an artificial flower, or it may be a real one if you
strengthen its stalk by the insertion of florists’ wire. The place of
fastening is close to, and just under, the flower.
Punch out a small hole in your coat, on the point corresponding to that
button-hole in which a flower is usually worn, and just under the
button-hole itself.
In this hole insert a metal “eye,” such as is put in boots for the laces
to run through, and fasten it there. It is for the cord to run smoothly
through. This eye is not visible, even to yourself.
On the other end of the elastic make a small loop.
When ready for the performance, take your elastic cord, to which is
attached the flower, and pass the loop end through the button-hole from
the outside. Then pass it through the eye in the same direction, and
bring it down along inside the coat to the button on your trousers, at
the left side, or you may have a button sewn on your vest about the same
place. There fasten the end of the cord by the loop.
The elasticity of the cord now draws the flower up to the button-hole.
Pull the flower back, just a little behind the left armpit, and let the
left arm hang loosely by the side. As long as the upper left arm is kept
close to the side, the flower must remain secure, and concealed at the
back of the shoulder.
But, on opening out the arm, the flower must be drawn by the elastic
cord up to the button-hole, through which it cannot pass, from its size.
Therefore, in entering the room where the audience await you, you have
nothing to observe but to keep your face to the company. No one can
perceive the cord, even at a little distance.
You take up your wand with your left hand, still keeping the left upper
arm by your side; move your left hand and wand across the body to the
right, then take the wand with your right hand, while your left hand
remains across the body, with the hand on a level with the button-hole.
Wave the wand to the left, and take it with the left hand again. Now
wave the wand to the left, and on extending the left arm fully, you of
course open it out, and the flower—under cover of the arm—is made to
appear suddenly in the button-hole.
These three movements should be gracefully done, and with the happy
medium between hurry and slowness.
IV.—WITH HANDKERCHIEFS.
[Illustration]
THE MELTING EGG AND THE BEWITCHED HANDKERCHIEF.
A glass is shown, and can be examined by the company. Into it is put an
egg, and the whole is covered with a handkerchief. To prove that the egg
is really within the vessel, it may be heard striking its sides.
Mr. Hanky Panky stands at a distance and rubs a small coloured
handkerchief up into a ball in his hands, when it is suddenly seen to
become an egg.
Returning to the holder of the glass vase, the handkerchief is taken
away, and, instead of the egg, a coloured handkerchief shown. The
handkerchief can be examined.
_Explanation._—Run a fine black thread through a perforated egg, and
fasten the other end of the thread to the middle of an ordinary
handkerchief. (If you are skilful of hand, you can have a bent pin at
the end of the thread and perform with a borrowed white handkerchief.)
You only pretend to put the egg within the glass vessel, and really
place a small coloured handkerchief therein, while the egg remains
attached to the large handkerchief.
You have an egg made of enamelled tin in your hand, which you conceal
with a duplicate coloured handkerchief, as you state your intention of
executing the double change of egg into handkerchief, and _vice versâ_.
As you speak, you dexterously stuff the little handkerchief into the
egg, and in holding up the latter hide the aperture with your thumb.
When you quickly lift the white handkerchief you carry away the egg, and
discover the coloured one.
With practice, this is a most effective hanky-pankian feat.
[Illustration]
TO UNDO A KNOTTED HANDKERCHIEF BY A SHAKE.
Mr. Panky takes up a soft silk handkerchief, and holding the ends in his
hands throws the right hand end over the left, and pulls it through as
if tying a knot. Again throwing the same end over the left, he passes
the latter to one of the company to pull it.
[Illustration: Fig. 32.]
His left thumb holds the handkerchief just behind the knot, while he is
pulling the right hand end against the person. He facetiously begs the
pull to be hard, as the handkerchief is a borrowed one.
In the same way he seems to tie knots, really tying the right hand end
round the silk, but this is not remarked, because he makes a great to do
of drawing the knots hard, and—since the right hand decreases in length
by thus enwrapping the rest—works up the slack to shorten the left end
proportionably to the other.
The company is allowed to test the security of the knots.
On regaining the handkerchief, Mr. Hanky Panky covers the knots with the
loose flap in the centre, and has one end held again.
The knot can be felt through the silk, but still, on seizing the loose
end and the assistant letting go, Mr. Panky shakes the handkerchief out
as one snaps a whip, and proceeds to find a rabbit or bottle of wine in
the folds.
THE HANDKERCHIEF AND EGG TRICK.
This is a modification of the above.
An egg is passed round for free examination. A handkerchief is held up
in the performer’s hands by any two of its corners, and flourished to
and fro to prove its innocency. It is then spread out on the table, the
egg laid in its centre, and the handkerchief taken by its four ends, so
that the audience cannot doubt that the “hen-fruit” is really in the
middle.
[Illustration: Fig. 33.]
The Magician undertakes to fling the egg by this impromptu sling farther
than David did the stone that slew the giant, and, what is more, make it
alight in any place previously searched and found empty.
Then, taking the handkerchief by one corner, it is shaken about, and the
egg, mysteriously vanished, is found in the designated spot.
_Explanation._—The egg is a small one, hard-boiled. There are two
handkerchiefs alike sewn together at the edge all round. The one
considered as the outside has a slit in the middle, through which the
egg glides as into a bag, when the handkerchief is lifted with it in the
middle. The egg is let slip into one corner, which is that held by the
performer, while the handkerchief is shaken in the air, and thus proven
to be empty. A second egg is presently deposited in the place where one
was to be found.
[Illustration]
V.—WITH RINGS.
[Illustration: Fig. 34.]
THE PENETRATIVE RING.
Fasten one end of a needleful of silk, of the colour of a handkerchief,
to the middle of the handkerchief, and to its hanging end tie a brass
ring. Always keep the ring on your own side, so that no one can see it
while you shake and rumple the handkerchief. Offer to send a ring
through a cup and saucer and the table they are on.
Take the borrowed ring in your left hand, and keep it there; pretend to
pass it to the right hand, and ask one of the party to step forward and
hold the (mock) ring in the handkerchief. Now that the cup and saucer
are empty, place the cup in the saucer at the centre of the table, and
ask the person to hold the ring in the handkerchief over the cup. The
party will hear the ring fall into the cup, yet at your command it
passes into a hat, which you hold under the table. In so doing, you put
the real ring into the hat. Cry out some cabalistic words, and
negligently take the handkerchief. The party may inspect the cup and
saucer, but there the sorcery does not lie. The hat has but to be held
upside down for the ring to fall out on the table.
[Illustration: Fig. 35.]
_Variation._—By using a stocking instead of the handkerchief, and
letting the mock ring in the toe be tied up by a string a little farther
up around the foot, the feat may be likewise executed.
_Variation._—Borrow a silk handkerchief from a gentleman, and a plain
gold ring from a lady. Request some one to hold two of the corners of
the handkerchief, and another to hold the other two, keeping them at
full stretch. You next exhibit the ring to the company, and announce to
them that you will make it pass through the handkerchief. You have
substituted for the ring one made by bending a piece of wire into a
circle of the same size, with one or both of the ends finely pointed.
Placing your hand under the handkerchief with this duplicate, you press
it against the centre of the handkerchief, and desire a third person to
take hold of the ring through the handkerchief, and to close his finger
and thumb through the middle of the ring, which proves that the ring has
not been placed within a fold, as may have been hinted when you
performed a similar trick. The holders of the corners of the
handkerchief let go, while the holder of the ring retains his hold.
Another person now grasps the handkerchief as tight as he pleases, three
or four inches down, so tightly that the ring cannot possibly pass, and
you request him to permit you to take the ring in your fingers. Cover
your hands with a hat to prevent the company from seeing your
operations, and pull the mock ring open, draw it through the
handkerchief, and, putting the handkerchief through the real ring, which
you have ready in your hand, you remove the hat and the piece of brass
together. Rub out the hole marks with the false ring in a purse or
stocking. The trick becomes still more easy, since it readily can be
passed through the meshes without a trace of its passage.
THE RING AND GLOVE PILLAR.
(_La Colonne au Gant._)
Mr. Panky introduces to the company his Magic Sportsman, of which there
is an extended description in _The Secret Out_, “The Marvellous Musket
Shot.” The automaton salutes the audience, and makes ready to fire his
gun.
Several rings are borrowed and placed in the gun, with a lady’s glove.
[Illustration: Fig. 36.]
For a target there is brought in a stand with an ornamental pillar, on
the summit of which is a golden ball. At the signal, the miniature
marksman fires, the globular casket splits open, and the glove appears
on the top of the pillar, as if containing a hidden hand, and with the
rings on the fingers.
_Explanation._—When the rings and glove are borrowed, others are
instantly substituted for them, which are put into the gun. The real
ones are taken out of the room and arranged, the rings on the glove
inside the ball on the pillar. This pillar is hollow, and is in
connection with a gutta percha tube leading down within the table into
the confederate’s room. At the proper signal, the piston-rods work, and
the sportsman discharges the gun, and a strong current of air forces the
ball to open and inflates the glove. For the table, see _The Secret
Out_.
[Illustration]
VI.—SIMPLE TRICKS WITH KNIVES.
[Illustration]
THE OBEDIENT KNIFE.
In a former work (_The Secret Out_) the secret spring literally to make
a knife leap out of a cup at the conjuror’s call, was revealed. We give
here several other modes of compassing the same end, that the performer
may have several strings to his bow.
1. “You have objected,” says Panki-pan-ki, the Fakir of Hanki, “that I
have executed this trick by hidden mechanism. Very well. At present I
lay these three knives on the edge of the mouth of the cup, and yet at
the instant named, that one which is chosen shall leap off in
obedience,” and it does so.
It is answered, truly, that a magnet under the table is made to attract
the knife, which is delicately poised on the rim, thanks to an unseen
confederate.
2. “As you please,” proceeds the magician, taking the table up and
setting it down in the centre of the room, to make it manifest that
there was no wire of complicity attached. I now repeat the experiment
with the same result. This being done, only the readers of our
works—being the most intelligent body of _perusers_ existent—could have
seen that in lifting the table a thread of communication was snapped
asunder, and that this second obedience of the knife was owing to the
magnet again, set in motion by a wire acted on by a treadle.
3. Mr. Panky hastens then to show how ludicrous is the supposition that
a magnet has anything to do with the feat, by doing the same on a chair.
Few or none remark that the chair being shaky, a wedge of wood had to be
put under the cup to steady it. A large watch movement, with a bit of
magnetized iron at the end of the second-hand, which coming round under
the knife in a minute, produced the desired effect.
4. Mr. Panky shrugs his shoulders in deprecation of such absurd
solutions of the problem, and employs a glass table, mounted on glass
legs. But the apparently unprepared transparent board is made of two
sheets of glass, set a little apart so that the air, blown in between by
one of the legs being hollow, shall go out by a minute hole in the upper
plate, just under the cup, which is also perforated at the bottom. The
magician in walking about, treads on one plank of the flooring, where a
bellows is concealed. The wind goes up into the cup, and as the selected
knife is delicately poised on the edge while the others rest on little
interior cleats, it falls off at the first puff.
_Observation._—The knife must be marked so that it can be placed exactly
on its balance without delay. Also, the rim of the cup should be
flattened a little so as to be the twenty-fourth of an inch broad.
5. _With borrowed knives._—As these cannot be prepared, there must be a
drop or two of mouth glue or other sticky substance, at a couple of
places on the cup rim, on which the knives not to be moved are laid.
6. _With pretendedly borrowed knives._—Let the audience furnish the
knives, but to a great number, amongst which you mix three of your own,
prepared for the performance. On taking up these, each owner of the
knives will imagine that his remains on the table and his neighbours’
are being used. Even if he suspected a substitution, that would not
account for the trick.
_Ingenious Variation._—One knife is laid on the cup with its handle
outside to maintain the balance; a long knitting-needle, fastened to the
knife-handle with a lump of sealing wax, while a leaden bullet at the
other end and knife point serves as counterpoise. The glass table is
used, and the Magician withdraws to a distance. All of a sudden though,
the knife leaps off from the cup.
_Explanation._—The column of air is again employed, for which the cup is
set a little way from the hole in the glass plate, and the knife-handle
bearing the sealing wax is adjusted over it. The air is heated this
time, and on melting the wax the released needle is dragged into the cup
by the bullet, and the knife falls.
7. Instead of the glass table, have a sheet iron case in the shape of a
book, and painted and gilt to resemble one. This is put on top of two or
more real books, on which the cup is placed, to be the better seen by
the audience. One end of the mock book contains a lamp, which heats the
iron above it, and the rays of caloric act on the wax as before.
8. _With a Silver Cup._—The knife is poised, as before, on the rim of a
silver cup, and leaps out at command. Mr. Panky had stuck the point in a
lump of tallow, and a lamp in the base of the cup had no sooner melted
it, than the loss of its weight made the knife-handle bear itself down.
9. _Mechanically._—The knife is again laid on the cup, to show that
there is no machinery attached to it; a candle is placed each side of
the cup, fully illuminating it. Nevertheless the same result follows.
[Illustration: Fig. 37.]
[Illustration: Fig. 38.]
_Explanation._—One of the candlesticks is hollow, and contains in the
upper part, A, some fine sand, which escapes by the hole, B, to run down
into the receiver, C. When the latter is full up to D, it runs out by
that hole, and falls on the blade of the knife to destroy its
equilibrium. As the time of the sand reaching the level of the outlet is
regulated by the dimensions of the receptacle, C, its bottom, E, is made
movable, and consequently by fixing it at certain points the moment of
action can be timed to one, two, or three minutes.
10. _The Loaded Knife._—The handle is hollow, and divided into three
compartments.
In the section A, is quicksilver, running by a hole, B, into the
division, C. So far the knife remains balanced, but when the mercury
rises as far as D, it overflows into the part G, when the end being
overweighted, the knife must fall.
[Illustration: Fig. 39.]
[Illustration]
VII.—FORTUNE TELLING TRICKS.
CATCHES AND QUIBBLES.
For a wager, two men ate nuts: the one ate ninety-nine, the other a
hundred and won [one], how many did the winner eat more than the
loser?—One.
* * * * *
A specimen of that noble animal, the horse, having been paraded before a
company enthusiastic upon its faultlessness, modestly but firmly insist
upon it, that—without pretending to any great veterinary knowledge—you
can see with a quarter of an eye that the gorgeous steed has “the
lifts.” The name of this mysterious complaint being somewhat analogous
to that of the “heaves,” a torrent of indignation will doubtlessly burst
upon you. On being forced to give an explanation, you can, with the
fearlessness of truth, explain that if the creature did not have “the
_lifts_,” could it move its feet off the ground.
* * * * *
HOW TO PUSH A LADY’S HEAD THROUGH A WEDDING RING.—Run your finger
through the ring and touch the lady’s head with the tip.
* * * * *
How many Bank of England notes will weigh down a sovereign? Only seven
will more than equal the coin in weight.
* * * * *
HOW TO MAKE A LADY STICK OUT HER LITTLE FINGER.—The best way of securing
this effect is to put on the finger a diamond ring. The mere desire to
display the diamond to the best advantage is sure to make the lady stick
out her little finger in the most charming manner possible. When the
effect begins to fail, substitute another ring of greater brilliancy.
_Addendum._—A ring at the door-bell has been known to make a lady stick
her head out of the window.—_Hanky Panky._
* * * * *
One of the company having related a story which lauds his moral
excellence, observe that, spite of his pretentions, you know what will
_hang_ him! At the end of his indignation—answer, a rope!
* * * * *
SQUARING ACCOUNTS.—A day or two since an inveterate joker met his
friend, Hanky Panky, Esq., in the street, whom he knows to be a great
dog fancier. With a twinkle in his eye and an inquiring look in his
countenance he anxiously asked him if he had seen the new breed of
imported dogs, the “Sooner.” Professor Panky replied that he had not,
and wished to know the peculiarity of the breed.
“They’d _sooner_ stay in the house than go out of doors,” was the reply,
as the joker cautiously moved away, shaking his sides and winking.
The prestidigitateur determined to be even, and the next time he met the
joker he seriously remarked:
“You’ve been to Smith de Brown’s, haven’t you?”
“No, why?”
“I thought you knew he had got back his tray of diamonds.”
“No, is that so? How did he get it?”
“He took it with the four ‘spot.’”
The playful youth suddenly remembered a very pressing engagement and
hurried away, remarking, “I—I—I’ll see you again, Doctor Hanky, I—I—I
don’t quite understand.”
* * * * *
A lady occupying a room, letter B, at an hotel, wrote on the slate as
follows: “Wake letter B at seven; and if letter B says ‘let her be,’
don’t let her be, nor let letter B be, because if you let letter B be
letter B will be unable to let her house to Mr. B., who is to call at
half-past ten.” The porter—a much better bootblack than
orthographist—after studying the above all night, did not know whether
to wake letter B or let her be.
* * * * *
[Illustration]
A young man asked a young lady how old she was, and replied “6 times 7
and 7 times 3 added to my age will exceed 6 times 9 and 4, as double my
age exceeds 20.” The young man thought she looked much older.
* * * * *
What is the difference between twice twenty-eight and twice eight and
twenty?—Twenty; because twice twenty-eight are fifty-six, and twice
eight _and_ twenty are thirty-six.
* * * * *
One of 10 loves what 1028.
ADDRESS ON A LETTER.
W O O D
J O H N
H A N T S.
_Answer._—John Underwood, Andover, Hants.
ALGEBRAIC SQUARING OF THE CIRCLE.
C I R C L E
I C A R U S
R A R E S T
C R E A T E
L U S T R E
E S T E E M
A BUNCH OF ANAGRAMS.
A good anagram was once made from the translation in the Vulgate of
Pontius Pilate’s last question to our Saviour, “What is truth”—“_Quid
est veritas?_” The anagram answers, “_Est vir qui adest_”—“It is the man
who is before you.” This example complies with the conditions of a
perfect anagram. It employs all the letters—does not depend on
pronunciation—and makes the anagramatised sentence an answer to the
direct form.
Wilkie Collins.—We coil in skill.
Guiseppe Garibaldi.—Gape Pig! as I re-build.
Eugénie Imperatrice.—Mere Peace! I intrigue.
* * * * *
THE GRAMMATICAL WORD.
There is a word of 14 letters of which the 3rd and 14th form an article;
6, 10, 5, and 1 a noun; 12, a pronoun; 6, 10, and 2, a verb; 4, 13, and
11, an adverb; 8, 9, 7, and 6, an adjective; 14, 13, 9, a conjunction;
3, 11, a preposition; and the 13th an interjection: thus the word
contains in itself the whole 8 parts of speech, and its meaning is in
accordance with its anagrammatic changes. The word is
T R A N S M I G R A T I O N
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
3, 14 = an; 6, 10, 5, 1 = mast; 12=I; 6, 10, 2 = mar; 4, 13, 11 = not;
8, 9, 7, 6 = grim; 14, 13, 9 = nor; 3, 11 = at; 13 = O.
* * * * *
HANKY PANKY TO HIS NIECES, WITH A SET OF CHESSMEN.
The box now presented to you, my dear Nieces,
Start not! contains _Men_, though in thirty-two _pieces_.
But may each of you meet with _one_ perfect and whole,
For a partner through life, with a heart and a soul;
May you each in life’s _Game_ e’er successfully move,
And all conquests achieved prove the conquests of love;
May you ever be able—on banks—to _give check_,
And may _Bishops_ and _Knights_ bow down at your beck.
May _Castles_ surrender whene’er you attack ’em,
And staunch prove your _Men_, with your good _Queen_ to back ’em;
May your fortunes permit you to dwell in the _Squares_,
And enjoy life’s delights without tasting its cares;
May you each find a _Mate_, life’s journey to sweeten,
And if _mated_ oft,—may you never be _beaten_!
* * * * *
COMIC FORTUNE TELLING.
[Illustration: ZADKIEL: I foresee that you have had a misfortune with
one of your legs. It will never happen again.]
THE ALPHABETICAL FORTUNE TELLER.
The Moslems have recourse, to determine them when they are in doubt as
to any action, to a table called _Zairgeh_, divided into a hundred
squares, in each of which is written some Arabic letter. The person who
consults it, repeats three times the opening chapter of the Koran, and
58th verse of the sixth chapter. “With Him are the keys of the secret
things: none knoweth them but him. He knoweth whatever is on the dry
ground or in the sea; there falleth no leaf but He knoweth it; neither
is there a single grain in the dark parts of the earth, nor a green
thing, nor a dry thing, but it is written in a perspicuous book.” He
places his finger at random upon the table; he then looks to see upon
what letter his finger is placed, writes that letter, the fifth
following it, and the fifth following this, until he comes to the first
which he wrote, and these letters together compose the answer. The
construction of the table is thus:—
┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
│_d_│_w_│_w_│_a_│_w_│_o_│_h_│_a_│_b_│_h_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_i_│_o_│_i_│_s_│_o_│_t_│_d_│_t_│_t_│_w_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_w_│_o_│_a_│_a_│_a_│_i_│_e_│_n_│_i_│_i_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_t_│_s_│_d_│_n_│_t_│_h_│_i_│_a_│_a_│_e_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_o_│_t_│_t_│_n_│_t_│_u_│_w_│_t_│_d_│_h_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_t_│_i_│_a_│_e_│_s_│_f_│_l_│_i_│_n_│_u_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_e_│_l_│_u_│_j_│_c_│_a_│_d_│_t_│_o_│_c_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_r_│_o_│_h_│_y_│_e_│_o_│_w_│_y_│_p_│_e_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_f_│_r_│_w_│_e_│_d_│_i_│_o_│_i_│_a_│_e_│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│_l_│_n_│_s_│_c_│_t_│_l_│_g_│_h_│_e_│_h_│
└───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
Fig. 40.
For example, suppose the finger to be placed on the letter _s_, second
in the fourth line, we take from the table the letters:—
_s—i—t—w—i—l—l—d—o—w—r—o—n—g—w—a—i—t—a—n_, which forms the answer:—“Wait
an(d) sit will do wrong,” an incentive to action quite clear.
The sentence always commences with the first of the letters taken from
the uppermost line. It will be seen that the table gives only five
answers, one of these with whatever letter of the alphabet we commence.
The framer of the table, knowing that men very frequently wish to do
wrong, and seldom to do what is right, and that it is generally safer
for them to abstain when in doubt, has given but one affirmative answer,
and four negative.
It was by this means that the dishonest Arab found out that Livingstone
was dead and did not want the goods he was taking to him, which shows
how reliable a forecast can be thus made. (See _The Finding of
Livingstone_.)
* * * * *
[Illustration]
A CHINESE PUZZLE.—A Chinaman died, leaving his property by will to his
three sons, as follows: “To Fum-Hum, the eldest, one half thereof; to
Nu-Pin, his second son, one-third thereof; and to Ding-Bat, his
youngest, one-ninth thereof.” When the property was inventoried, it was
found to consist of nothing more nor less than seventeen elephants, and
it puzzled these three heirs how to divide the property according to the
terms of the will without chopping up the seventeen elephants, and thus
perhaps injuring their lives. Finally, they applied to a wise Neighbour,
Y-sa-cur, for advice. Y-sa-cur had an elephant of his own. He drove it
into the yard with the seventeen, and said, “Now, we will suppose that
your father left these eighteen elephants. Fum-Hum, take your half, and
depart.” So Fum-Hum took nine elephants and went his way. “Now, Nu-Pin,”
said the wise man, “take your third, and remove!” So Nu-Pin took six
elephants and travelled. “Now Ding-Bat,” said the wise man, “take your
ninth, and begone.” So Ding-Bat took two elephants and absquatulated.
Then Y-sa-cur took his own elephant and drove home again.
Query: Was the property divided according to the terms of the will?
TO GUESS THE POINTS THROWN WITH DICE.
While I turn away my head, let some one throw a pair of dice and count
the pips, and add to this sum the amount on the bottom face of either
one of them. Now, throw again and add these new points.
I now turn and look, and tell the whole number thrown.
_Explanation._—When you look, you count the faces seen, and add seven.
This is a pretty little trick.
* * * * *
Arithmetically speaking, would not the world be happier if all were 2 B
1 0 0 1 5 1 5 0.
C I V I L
2 1 another.
[Illustration: Fig. 41.—The Fair Arithmetician.]
* * * * *
ARITHMETICAL FORTUNE TELLING.
Dates of important events in the lives of eminent men are supposed to
have a mysterious meaning of a prophetical tendency.
The process of forecasting is to take the number of years between a
man’s birthday and that of his marriage or first notable occurrence,
which number added to the second date should give the year of his next
distinguished action. For instance, by comparing the dates of special
significance in the life of Pius IX. we discover that the figures of
each sum up to 19. Thus Mastai Ferretti was born in 1792, ordained in
1819, chosen pope in 1846. The next year distinguished by the same
peculiarity is 1873, when consequently some great event will again
happen to him. What this is to be, time will show.
[Illustration]
VIII.—SIMPLE TRICKS WITH BOXES.
[Illustration: Fig. 42.]
THE MAGIC TABLE AND SEALED CASKET.
The magician’s bottle is shown to the company, and a little wine poured
from it to prove it is not empty. A handkerchief and ring are borrowed,
and put into the bottle.
A borrowed casket is then held up in view, fastened with sealed thread,
and Senor Don Hanquey y Panquey announces his intention to break it open
to see the contents, but previously will return the borrowed articles.
Out of the bottle, then, he pulls the handkerchief and ring, dripping
with wine, and places them upon the sealed box, in plain view. The
bottle is taken away.
The wine-soaked handkerchief is crammed into a pistol and fired at the
box. On opening it there is found a second box within, which being also
opened, discovers the handkerchief, ironed and perfumed, and the ring.
_Explanation._—The table is made with a hollow leg as usual, but with a
larger aperture, closed with a double trap, through which a piston rod
may push up a box deposited at its base.
The borrowed ring and handkerchief are put into the secret compartment
of the bottle (see _The Secret Out_, and _The Magician’s Own Book_),
where they remain until the bottle is taken out of the room. The
wine-saturated handkerchief and ring put upon the sealed box are
duplicated. When the assistant receives the bottle, he takes out the
real ring and handkerchief, which latter he places in a box going into
the casket, which has no bottom, the better for the two to be pushed up
within the gueridon. The table has the double in its base when it is
brought on the stage, and the duplicate handkerchief is fired at it.
Consequently, you are sure to find the borrowed articles in the casket
when it is opened.
THE 100 RINGS OF SMOKE.
Take six playing cards and turn up half an inch of the ends of each, the
same side. With them form a hollow cube or box by the arrangement here
depicted:
[Illustration: Fig. 43.]
In the centre of one side cut out a small circle.
After filling this box with tobacco smoke, you can make a ring of it
issue from the aperture by giving a tap to the opposite side, just as
the pressure of the flexible bottom of an oil-can makes the fluid spurt
out.
TO INTRODUCE CIGAR SMOKE INTO AN AIR-TIGHT VASE.
Certain old dames of Mr. Panky’s acquaintance are prejudiced upon the
subject of tobacco smoke. To believe them, you would become of the
impression that cigar vapour penetrates the thickest curtain, wall, or
any partition whatever.
I beg to show you that these estimable ladies are not so far wrong.
I have in my hand a glass cup with a cover of the same material, as
transparent as possible.
I put on the lid, and let this volunteer hold it at a distance from me,
whilst I puff towards it the smoke of this perfumed cigarette.
Keep your eyes on the covered cup, for you will see that the smoke
enters it, though hermetically sealed. To convince you that there is no
ocular illusion, let my obliging Ganymede lift off the cover.
There, away flies the smoke caught in it.
Again close it, while I again despatch more smoke to it. Shall I repeat
the experiment, for I warn you I am prepared to continue till morning.
Three or four times will suffice, eh? So much the better for your
patience.
_Explanation._—Into the cup put a few drops of alkali, and move the
vessel about so that the inside is coated with the liquid; treat the
cover with chloridric acid, in the same way. When these two are brought
into contact by the junction of the cover and vase, a thick vapour is
produced, which resembles tobacco smoke. Take care not to cover the cup
until just when you wish the vapour to appear, as its formation is
instantaneous.
[Illustration: Fig. 44.]
IX.—SIMPLE TRICKS WITH HATS.
[Illustration: Fig. 45.—The Gentleman who Lends his Hat.]
THE MAGICIAN’S BIRDCAGE.
(_Les Oiseaux Ranimés._)
There is an universal exclamation of sorrow from the ladies when the
inmates of the pretty cage—suddenly produced from a gentleman’s hat, as
a conclusion to a trick—are found to be lifeless.
Participating in the distress, Monsieur Hanky Panky seeks to remove its
cause, and for that purpose borrows from the audience a pocket
handkerchief.
[Illustration: Fig. 46.]
Hardly has he drawn it two or three times over and around the cage, than
the pitying faces are seen beaming with wonderment and joy, for the
inanimate birds have been resuscitated, and are flying and chirping
within the gilded bars.
[Illustration: Fig. 47.]
_Explanation._—Some wondrously scientific gentleman will probably
descant upon the marvellous effects of training of canaries, or,
perhaps, of the administering angels, ether and chloroform. Let him do
so, for you will learn on an inspection of the cage, that it has a
double bottom, in the receptacle of which, at first, the live birds are
kept unseen, and, on the pressure of a spring in the knob at the top,
the stuffed ones descend, thanks to the false bottom sinking in the
middle, if its halves are on pivots at each side; or, one half sinking
one side and the other opposite, if they turn lengthwise.
An egg can be made to transform itself into a live bird or mouse, and
other changes can be wrought by this same apparatus.
[Illustration: Fig. 48.—“And when the Pie was opened,” &c.]
THE GARDEN HAT; OR, FLOWERS GROWING VISIBLY IN A HAT.
A hat being about to be returned to the owner from having been
shockingly maltreated in the concoction of an omelette, it occurs to
Herr Harngy Barngy, that, while it is unfit for adorning the human head,
it may be available for other purposes.
“Hang it!” says the Professor, with his genial smile, which is never so
sweet and placid as when he is working his will with borrowed property,
“I see such a resemblance in it to a flowerpot, that flowerpot it shall
be. So I will hang it here—on this little shelf—hanging from the ceiling
by three cords.”
For seed, a few rose leaves; for mould, some shreds of handkerchief,
&c., which are put into the hat.
Then Mr. H. B. retires in amongst the audience. At the wave of his wand,
a tender stalk is seen to peep over the edge of the hat, and by degrees
a bush of flowers rise out of this novel jardinière, whilst a perfume as
of newly blooming flowers pervades the air.
[Illustration: Fig. 49.]
_Explanation._—In our former works will be found full directions to
manage the miraculous birth of flowers by mechanical means. In the
present case the result is brought about by a less complicated method.
You have a tin vessel of the size and shape of a hat, to fit inside it.
In it is a bush, with natural flowers attached, mounted on a large cork,
the whole to move upwards without impediment.
In going up to the hanging shelf you slip this prepared vessel into the
hat. When the whole is in its place, your signal to your confederate
sets him to turn on perfumed water, which runs into the vessel through
one of the suspending cords, which is a gutta percha tube covered with
silk. As the water enters, the cork is floated.
[Illustration: Fig. 50.]
TO RUN THE FINGER THROUGH A HAT AND YET RETURN IT INTACT.
Having concluded a performance in which a borrowed hat was employed, you
pretend to hesitate about handing it to the owner, and, in fact, whilst
you are mumbling excuses, reveal that, by some bungling, you have made
so large a hole in the crown, that a finger—yours, for instance (suiting
the action to the word), can go through it, to do which you thrust a
hand within the hat.
The forefinger is seen issuing through the top of the hat, where it wags
in an amusing manner. Nevertheless, on instantly giving the hat to the
owner, not the slightest trace of the fracture can be perceived.
[Illustration: Fig. 51.]
_Explanation._—The finger shown is one made of gutta percha, with a
little cup valve at the base, from which the air is exhausted by a
simple pressure, when the adhesion is perfect. To remove it, pick up the
edge of the valve with the thumb-nail. This little diversion causes that
hilarity always befitting a magical entertainment.
[Illustration]
X.—AMUSING TRICKS WITH VARIOUS ARTICLES.
“The mind of man, like a bow, if always bent would in the end lose its
elasticity, and become useless; by giving it occasional freedom you
preserve its tone, and it will serve your purpose.”—ÆSOP.
TO TAKE A PORTRAIT IN THREE MINUTES.
Draw on coloured paper with another coloured crayon the likeness of a
confederate, and dust the lines with a powder of the same hue as the
paper.
[Illustration: Fig. 52.]
In your pencil-case have a hard brush, and when you appear to draw,
remove the coloured powder.
This trick is used in connection with disappearing feats, where you
undertake to make the drawing of a card, a flower, or any vanished
article, which you are not supposed to have seen.
A REMBRANDT ETCHING IN FIVE MINUTES.
Smoke a glazed card over a tallow candle till the surface is completely
blackened. With a needle scratch out a landscape with a moonlight
effect, or a figure in shadow, except on one side, where a strong light
falls, after the fashion of the photographs by Solomon, Kliemeck, &c.
The weird aspect will be quite like a Doré or Van Schendel.
THE ONE-EARED HARES.
Draw three hares, so that each shall appear to have two ears, while they
really have only three ears between them.
[Illustration: Fig. 53.]
[Illustration: Fig. 54.
THE SHADE OF NAPOLEON VISITING HIS TOMB.
A full-length Portrait of Napoleon I. may be traced in the above
Engraving]
DOING A GOOSE IN THE TURN OF A HAND.
(_Story and Drawing Lesson._)
There was once upon a time a farmer who built a house with one window
and two doors. A path led to a pool adorned with sedge. But up to the
pool, by two crooked paths, came a gang of robbers, who caught a goose.
[Illustration: Fig. 55.]
VAPOURGRAPHIC PICTURES.
Write on glass with a quill full of hydrofluoric acid. After two
minutes’ action of the mordant, wash in clean water, and polish with
silk or soft dry cloth. The bitten away lines are invisible, but will
appear on the plate being exposed to the breath or steam from a kettle.
CHANGEABLE PICTURES.
Paint any subject on thin paper slightly with light colours, so arranged
that by painting the paper stronger on the other side, it may be
disguised. Then cover the last side with a piece of white paper to
conceal the second subject, and frame the whole. It may even be put
between two pieces of clear glass.
On holding up this picture to the light, a different scene is presented
to what is usually beheld.
MAGIC DRAWING.
Take a box about 18 inches long by six deep, and remove the lid and one
side. In the centre set a square of glass at right angles to the bottom,
and parallel with the plane of the ends.
Place a picture which you wish to copy on the left of this upright
glass, and a sheet of paper on the right.
On holding the head on the left of the glass, and looking into it
downwards, the reflection or spectre of the picture will be seen on the
paper, where the lines may be traced.
TRANSPARENCIES.
Put a chafing-dish or gas-stove under a wooden frame on which you
strain, that is, stretch, a piece of strong linen or silk, while you do
it over with a solution of wax in oil of turpentine. It will then be
equally diffused.
Paint with oil colours mixed with spirits of turpentine.
MOVABLE TRANSPARENCIES.
Mount the transparency on a light circular frame, on an axis easily
turned. Close the upper end of the hollow cylinder with a disc of tin,
cut into inclined planes like the ventilator let into window panes
(fanlight).
A lamp placed inside the cylinder will illuminate the transparency at
the same time that it makes it turn round by the current of heated air
striking the tin plate.
Vary the subject of the pictures as you please. Mr. Panky’s represent
hideous serpents twisting round a column, and other delicious
spectacles.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Fig. 56.]
To make the above magical figure without taking the hand off, begin at
A, thence to B, to C, to D, to E, and so on.
TO WRITE ON WOOD.
Rub the wood with powdered resin, and ink will not spread or run when
you write upon it.
THE PIG’S-EYE GAME.
Shut the eyes and draw the figure of an animal without taking the hand
off. Still not seeing it, remove the hand and try to put the eye in its
proper place.
The ludicrous outline made, and the absurd position of the eye in most
attempts, are remarkable.
EVERLASTING WRITING ON GLASS.
After covering a sheet of glass with visible colour or colours, write or
scratch the inscription so as to remove the pigment in those places
where the pen touches. Put the glass in the furnace for the colours to
set with running so as to obliterate the marks, and after the proper
cooling, the writing will be unalterably fixed. Designs of transparency
for a tinted ground can be thus made.
MOSS PICTURES.
Take a board with a smooth face, and stripe it lengthwise with three
bands of colour sky-blue and grass green, with a pale blue or pale
yellow between, which will be the sky, the middle distance and horizon,
and foreground of a picture. With coloured moss, varying in tint from
yellow to deep brown, form trees, bushes, hedges, foliage, &c., by
glueing the sprigs. The effect is often charming.
THE PUNCTUATION PUZZLE.
Whoever writes this on the wall has ten fingers on each hand; five and
twenty on hands and feet; guess who this may be.
OIL PICTURES.
If you drop oil or fat on water it spreads and breaks into variegated
patterns as beautiful as snow-flake figures.
Have a vessel of pure cold water, still as possible. Let one drop of oil
fall on the surface from about four inches height.
Lay a piece of glazed surface paper on the oil pattern, take it
instantly off, place it on the surface of a plate of ink for a moment,
remove and wash off the excess of ink, and you will have a black picture
closely resembling a photograph. For red use cochineal or the aniline
reds.
Pure sperm oil takes a minute to form a pattern; green rape oil is
slower; Lucca oil three minutes; green olive one minute, &c. Oils can be
mixed and tried.
The formation can be shown by the magic lantern, from which is removed
its nozzle pipe for a shorter one, so as to form the oleographs
properly, and yet leave room enough for a small pipe to be thrust
between the nozzle and the trough containing the water on which swims
the oil.
The lantern is turned back so that the chimney is horizontal; the hole
is then perpendicular; on it is set a trough made of two plates of glass
joined together, the upper, which has a hole in it, to be filled with
water. On the nozzle is placed a prism, which reflects the picture on
the screen.
XI.—AMUSING TRICKS WITH VARIOUS ARTICLES.
[Illustration]
TO DIVIDE A HORSESHOE INTO SEVEN PIECES BY TWO CUTS.
Make a horseshoe of a slice of pear or apple, potato, &c., and cut off
the long arms at A B. Range all in a row, and cut them across into seven
pieces.
[Illustration: Fig. 57.]
TO MAKE AN ANTI-MACASSAR OF A SHEET OF PAPER.
Take a newspaper and fold one end transversely, so that the edge is
parallel with one side, by which a square is obtained.
Fold this square to make a right-angled triangle; fold this to make
another triangle, and so on until the last shape is an acute triangle.
The end A is just half as thick as the rest of the paper. Tear this off
at the dotted line, by which the square of paper becomes a sixteen-sided
figure, nearly circular.
[Illustration: Fig. 58.]
To make the pattern, tear off the point of the folded mass, by which a
central hole will be made in the whole piece. Then tear from the sides
and the broad edge small pieces, varying in size, by which a certain
pattern will be made. Once having found the proper points whence to
remove the ground, such counterparts of lacework can be so rapidly and
bewilderingly done that the spectators will be amazed upon your
unfolding the paper completed. It is needless to say tearing of a common
newspaper makes the trick apparently more difficult than the most
elaborate cutting out of coloured tissues with scissors.
[Illustration: Fig. 59.]
SYMPATHETIC CURRENTS OF DIVINATION.
A brother philosopher of mine (says Hanky Panky) has written about
sympathetic atoms of communication. Descartes, as he is named,
maintained that any one could put himself in correspondence with another
so as to read in his mind as in a book, by aid of connecting atoms.
Ahem!
I will now (continues Mr. H. Panky) apply to a lady and a gentleman, to
whom I give each a sealed letter, with the request for them to take the
best of care of them, and not to open them until permission is given.
I have here a pack of ordinary playing cards, which may be freely
examined, from which are excluded all below the value of seven, being
what is known as a piquet or euchre pack.
I make eight piles here on the table of four cards each, and number
them. The gentleman holding the letter will kindly point out which one
he selects. Observe that the gentleman has taken the third pile. I beg
to offer it to him while I pick up the other cards.
I now spread out a set of dominoes on the table, of which I form four
rows of seven each, face down on the table. I part the four rows into
two ranks, separated by the empty domino-box between them.
The gentleman will please choose one of the rows, and then one of the
piles in it. I give him that pile and turn up the dominoes to show that
no two are alike.
I present to the lady a pencil, and ask her to mark one of the three
flowers painted on the board held out to her.
The lady has marked the lily.
The gentleman can now open the letter, when he may read as follows:—
“Sir—The four cards chosen by you are the king of spades, the eight of
diamonds, the ace of hearts, and the knave of hearts.
The pile of seven dominoes contains the blank-two, three-two,
double-four, four-five, deuce-ace, cinq-three, double-one, in all
thirty-seven points.
“Signed HANKY PANKY.”
On opening the lady’s letter, she may read:—
“Madam—You were destined to choose the lily.
“Signed H. PANKY.”
And I shake the envelope out to produce a lovely lily, which was the
flower the lady preferred.
_Explanation._—The cards were eight sets of four, which were
respectively the spade king, the eight of diamonds, ace of hearts, and
knave of hearts. Consequently, wherever the choice fell it was sure to
light on the cards which were named in the letter previously prepared.
The dominoes were placed in the box face up, as usual, but the bottom
row was composed of the series which you wish to come out. On putting
them on the table place the prepared lot on your left hand. If the
right-hand lot should be chosen, quietly remove it, saying that you put
it out of the way, and we will use the other (for it seems perfectly
fair that the choice should as well exclude as include the lot). In the
same way deal with the other rows so as to have the prepared set in any
case.
The three names of flowers, or the flowers themselves, painted on a
board, have the one to be selected somewhat prominent, and, with a
little art, you can always induce a lady to mark the desired one. (_See_
directions to “force a card,” in _The Secret Out_.)
THE TURNING SHEARS.
Take a large pair of scissors or shears in your hands, which you hold
out, palms upwards. Hang them by their rings on the little fingers.
Close the hands with a slight inclination towards the scissors, so that
the finger tips only are in the rings, and the blade is supported on the
inner fleshy part of the palms.
As you turn your closed hands, the scissors will turn, and on bringing
the knuckles upward the point will be forward, and you can open and shut
them freely.
THE SIMULACRUM.
Ladies and Gentlemen: One of the superstitions of the Middle Ages made
it credible that if a person hating another bought of a regular magician
an enchanted doll, resembling that object of enmity, any treatment of
the representative, say, the insertion of pins into its wax, the
twisting of its limbs, and so on, would be felt by the living being.
This was acting upon a person through his likeness.
On this principle I—Signor Hanchio Panchio, at your service—have
succeeded in opening locks without going near them with the key.
I have a facsimile of my front door lock in my own study, and on hearing
a knock I merely turn a key in the duplicate lock, when the door flies
open so mysteriously that the visitor believes the agent an electric
medium of mine.
I am going to perform this most curious experiment before the present
company, by aid of the massive padlock which I take out of its box.
There never was a more simple padlock. I shall lock it here under your
eyes, and yet engage to open it without turning the key.
It is now locked, and any gentleman may test its security. I can even
hang it on my wand by the ring to prove it, and in that way my friend by
my side can hold it for a moment whilst I make a drawing of it on a
sheet of innocent white paper.
[Illustration: OPEN.
Fig. 60.]
[Illustration: CLOSED.
Fig. 61.]
Once more let me show that the fastening holds firm. All are satisfied.
I will now apply the key to the hole in the drawing, and turn it
once—twice—and cry:—
“Open, Sesame!”
The padlock is open!
For your kindness in assisting me, sir, you may retain the drawing. You
have watched me so closely that I see you have imbibed the art, and
henceforth all the doors of society are open to you.
We borrow from _The Magician’s Own Book_ the illustration of a magic
padlock. In the present case, the instrument contains a powerful spring
which forces the key-bolt back out of the socket of the pin, and is set
in action by pressure on one of the nail heads adorning the plate. This
is done when the second testing of the lock is made. You keep up the
chatter as long as the time required for the spring to work.
PRIMITIVE WOLF TRAP.
A double circular stockade, or palisade, is erected too high for a wolf
to leap over, with one entrance, closed by a gate.
[Illustration: Fig. 62.]
This is open, and the animal, hearing a tied-up sheep bleating in the
centre, passes in and goes the round, seeking the entrance to the prey,
when he pushes the gate to, and is imprisoned till morning.
THE CELEBRATED HONEY-BEE TRICK.
Get possession of the queen bee, and confine her by a hair or fine
silken thread by a running noose fast around her corslet.
[Illustration: _Explanation._—Be Wise in Time.]
The bees, attentive to her movements, will surround her, and go to and
fro, as if in obedience to the will of the captor of the mother bee.
A swarm can be made to pass from one hive to another at pleasure.
TO PROTECT A HOUSE FROM RATS AND MICE.
The Japanese, from time immemorial, have manufactured china cats, with
open eyes, so faithfully copied from nature that one of these toys, with
a rush-light inside, will protect a whole house during the night.
The image might contain a clockwork by which an intermittent sound would
still farther alarm the rats.
TO SHOW THE FUTURE IN A PAIL OF WATER.
Bid the person desirous of seeing his or her future partner’s face look
into a pail of water.
The reflection will certainly be of their own features, but as marriage
makes each the other’s, you can safely maintain your credit as a
soothsayer. “That face will be your husband’s when you marry.”
THE INTELLIGENT PARROT.
Have a parrot, or other bird, carved and painted, with simple springs to
make the head turn and the mouth to open, mounted on a hollow shelf
against the wall.
Through its body, one leg, the hollow shelf, and thence through the
wall, into an adjoining apartment, where your confederate can overhear,
run a tube with a mouthpiece, to which the lips or a bellows can be
applied.
On pretty Polly being addressed, she will whistle, sing, scream at
command, and answer to sensible questions.
CLOVES.
Cloves are the unopened flowers of a small evergreen tree that
resembles, in appearance, the laurel or the bay. Each clove consists of
two parts, a round head, which is the four petals or leaves of the
flowers rolled up, enclosing a number of small stalks or filaments. The
other part of the clove is terminated with four points, and is, in fact,
the flower-cup, and the unripe seed-vessel. All these parts may be
distinctly shown if a few leaves are soaked for a short time in hot
water, when the leaves of the flowers soften, and readily unroll.
DANDELION RING CHAINS.
Pull some dandelions with long stems and cut off the flowers. As the
stems are hollow, the upper or smaller end can be bent round to enter
the other, so making a link, of a number of which a chain can be formed.
IMMORTELLES.
When fresh, scrape the flower leaves with a blunt knife to make each
petal curl.
[Illustration: Fig. 63.]
For a green hue, dip the flower, but not the stalk, or the former will
fall off, in a brass or copper vessel full of vinegar and salt, for half
a day, or not so long in oil of tartar; wash in water, and dry them,
keeping the stem up. For a straw-yellow tint, keep them two days in oil
of tartar. For yellow, or another shade of green, in quick lime,
slightly liquefied with water. For grey, in vinegar, milk with a little
black dye. For jet, put the stems through holes in a plate of metal
fitting a vessel by which the flowers can be exposed to the fumes of
sulphur. They will be blanched at first, but will then redden, and
finally become black. To varnish: Melt down some Flanders glue, strain
it, and brush it on thoroughly. Put them away to dry where no dust will
fall on them. Perfume at pleasure.
[Illustration: Fig. 64.]
THE POLITICAL TEETOTUM.
(No personal allusion intended to H. Panky, Esq., M.P.) Cut the edge of
a teetotum into six faces, and put on them the letters D, R, C M, &c.,
standing for Despotism, Republic, Constitutional Monarchy, and any other
form of government which may visit a country. The game is to pretend to
tell the future rule by the first face which comes up three times.
ORTHOGRAPHICAL DICE.
[Illustration]
Paste or paint upon four cubes of wood, metal, stone, or bone, the
vowels and consonants. Attach a value to them, and play with them in the
same manner as if they were dice. The whimsical words which the upturned
letters will often produce occasion laughter, and the compulsion to name
them will help slow juveniles on with their alphabet.
THE HEXAGON.
The six-sided figure is to be cut through the lines, and re-made.
[Illustration: Fig. 65.]
THE MAGIC OCTAGON.
Upon a piece of cardboard draw
The three designs below;
I should have said of each shape four,
Which when cut out will show,
If joined correctly, that which you
Are striving to unfold,—
An octagon, familiar to
My friends both young and old.
[Illustration: Fig. 66.]
[Illustration: Fig. 67.]
THE PARALLELOGRAM.
A parallelogram, Fig. 68, may be cut into two pieces, by which two other
figures can be formed.
[Illustration: Fig. 68.]
MOCK LACES.
Take a piece of linen or “long-cloth” and stamp, or paint gum on all the
parts of a pattern which is to remain intact, and soak it in a
potash-bath at 22° _Centigrade_. In a short time the process of felting,
analogous with that of skeletonizing leaves, will act exclusively on the
ungummed places, and eat away about a twentieth. Only the experienced
eye can tell it from embroidery. Shirt-fronts are thus worked.
TO CUT OUT A CROSS.
[Illustration: Fig. 69.]
[Illustration: Fig. 70.]
[Illustration: Fig. 71.]
To cut out of a single piece of paper, and with one cut of the scissors,
a perfect cross, and all the other forms here shown, take a six-inch
length of a piece of foolscap two inches wide, and fold the upper corner
down, as shown in A, Fig. 72; then fold the upper corner over the first,
in B. Next fold the paper in half lengthwise, as in C. The last fold is
made lengthwise also, in the middle of the paper, to form D. Cut this
through with the scissors lengthways, for the forms shown in Figs. 69,
70, 71.
[Illustration: Fig. 72.]
THE MAGICIAN’S SPELL.
A B R A C A D A B R A
B R A C A D A B R
R A C A D A B
A C A D A
C A D
A
CHERRY-STONE BASKETS.
Secure a cherry-stone in a vice, and having traced a line around it the
longest way, and another at right angles, file out the space, both sides
of the latter, down to the surrounding mark. There will then be left a
miniature basket with handle complete.
[Illustration: Fig. 73.]
HANKY PANKY BURGLAR ALARM.
(_Diablotins_.)
Exploding crackers are used for awaking a sleeper by the detonation when
any one attempts to enter the room without permission. They are fastened
across the crack of the door, as if to seal it.
These explosive papers are made by taking strips of half an inch to an
inch wide, and of a convenient length. By means of a little gum-water or
paste a small quantity of coarsely pounded glass is attached to one end,
on one side of each strip about one-fourth of an inch. A little
fulminating powder is spread over the glass and the moistened end of the
paper, and it is dried in the air: two of these strips are then laid
with their covered surfaces nearly in contact, and so that their
uncovered ends may project different ways. A narrow strip of paper or
parchment is then wrapped round the coated ends and fastened to one of
them, but not binding them so tightly as to prevent their being drawn,
by taking hold of the projecting ends, one over the other. The friction
occasions their detonation.
The quantity of fulminating powder must be proportioned to the effect
intended.
MOCK TURTLE.
Take a piece of paper stained or painted like tortoiseshell, and cut out
a piece of the shape of a turtle’s upper shell; make claws and head, and
paste them on. Bend up the middle and put on a bottom, which you also
push up in the centre, where with a drop of shoemaker’s wax you secure a
large live fly. The efforts of the latter to escape will cause him to
carry the paper shape about the table. Except for the fright—and the
absence of mental emotions in such low animals debars much fear of
that—the creature need suffer no hurt.
MYSTIC CHANGES IN COSTUME.
We are all familiar with the excellent surprises in quick dressing shown
by Woodin, Love, and the latest _polyphonist_, Mr. Maccabe. An American
entertainer has carried this address in dress to its climax. He comes
upon the stage attired in a black dress coat, black trousers, having in
his hand a high opera crush hat, and sings a collection of songs, at the
end of each one of which he, without leaving the stage, and while
standing in full view of the audience, makes several changes in his
costume, as follows:—Upon the coat, which is closely buttoned, in place
of the black buttons there suddenly appear and disappear double rows of
gilt buttons. Closing his crush hat and affixing it to a rear button on
his coat, he produces from a pocket a small cap, with wig attached,
which he places upon his head; quickly turning his trousers up above the
knee, to give them the appearance of knee breeches, we find his lower
limbs encased in neatly fitting white gaiters, and, producing a
telescopic cane, we are presented with an excellent portraiture of an
old man in the full costume of years gone by. By a sudden movement from
the neck the entire costume is changed to full female attire. He then
sings “Tassels on her Boots,” and at the conclusion of the first verse,
as he slightly raises the skirt of his dress in front, we see that the
gaiters have disappeared, and that his feet are encased in neatly
fitting ladies’ boots with tassels thereon. Succeeding this he makes
several entire changes of costume, all being, however, of female attire,
differing materially in style and colour. He wears a jaunty little hat
upon his head, which is changed in colour and style to suit the various
costumes, without removing it: also, different wigs are seen upon his
head after the latest fashion of ladies’ hair dressing.
THE ANIMATED CRYSTAL.
Alum put into a tumbler of water, as it dissolves will assume the shape
of a pyramid. When the solution has nearly terminated, you will find the
mass covered with geometrical figures, cut out, as it were, in relief
upon the mass. This experiment having succeeded, take up a crystal
quartz which has six sides, and cut accurately from each face to a
perfectly convex surface, and place it on a piece of plate or common
window glass, a china or glazed plate, or any smooth surface, perfectly
clean, as grease or a particle of dust would impede its motion. Wet the
surface, and give the plane a slight inclination, when, if properly
managed, a rotatory motion will commence, which may be kept up for any
length of time by giving alternate inclinations to the plane surface,
according to the movements of the crystal; to heighten the pleasing
effect of which, a variety of paper figures, harlequins, waltzers, &c.,
may be attached. The first trial of the experiment had better be made by
giving a slight rotatory motion to the crystal.
THE SPINELESS GIANTESS.
In _The Merry Circle_ a full explanation was given of the mode of
manufacturing a giant or giantess. A slight yet telling modification has
occurred to us.
Let the skirts of a dress be fastened with its waistband around a boy’s
chest just under his armpits., He forms the body of the Colossus. Half
open an umbrella and secure it in that position. Tie a shawl to the
ferule so that it will fall over the umbrella and conceal the boy. On
the top fasten a muff or bale of cloth, which serves as a head on which
a coal-scuttle bonnet may be fitted, with a thick veil to hide the
absence of countenance. If the umbrella has a hinge in it, as parasols
are often made, the animating principle of this “ten footer” may execute
a bow with the upper part of the contrivance which a courtier could
never surpass.
[Illustration: Fig. 74.]
TO COLOUR AGATES.
_Brown._—Soak the stone in a solution of silver in spirits of nitre, dry
in the sun, then put in a damp place, and on again exposing it to solar
light, the colour will appear. Repeat to deepen shade.
_Light Brown._—A solution of gold.
_Gray._—Add to the silver solution a quarter of its weight of lard and
red tartar.
_Deep Violet._—Add to the silver solution some plumose alum.
_White._—The action of bismuth bleaches it so that it looks white; it
will appear pale brown in the shades.
_To draw Figures on the Stone._—Rough it, write with a quill, and the
silver solution will dry it quickly.
CARD CASTLE.
With a pack of cards make houses in this manner. Place two on their
narrow ends, fixing the tops level.
[Illustration: Fig. 75.]
On each side of the opening stand a card longwise.
And place two other cards at the end of the last pair, to form a square
surrounding the triangle.
[Illustration: Fig. 76.]
[Illustration: Fig. 77.]
Each side of the central cards lay two more, flat upon the outward pair,
like a roof.
[Illustration: Fig. 78.]
On this platform rear cards like the first pair, and continue till the
whole pack is used; with care many of the under cards at the side can be
removed to continue the structure.
[Illustration: Fig. 79.]
XII.—INTERLUDES, PUZZLES, &c.
[Illustration]
PUZZLES.
The best material for these geometrical puzzles is hard wood about an
eighth of an inch thick; but pasteboard, cardboard, and stiff paper are
efficient substitutes.
TO FORM A SQUARE.
To cut a card of the shape and in the proportions of Fig. 79, into three
parts, to form a perfect square, you must cut through the lines of the
obtuse angle, and it will then be an easy task.
[Illustration: Fig. 80.]
A SQUARE OF FOUR PIECES.
In a square card punch twelve holes, or make them with a pencil, and
then cut it into four equal-sized pieces, each of the same shape, and
containing three holes or marks.
[Illustration: Fig. 81.]
THE PUZZLE OF FIVE PIECES.
Find the centre of one side of four out of five squares, and cut them
from that point to the opposite corner; place them around the perfect
square, and they will form the figure here presented.
[Illustration: A
Fig. 82.]
[Illustration: B
Fig. 83.]
ANOTHER OF TRIANGLES.
With the five triangles make a square.
[Illustration: Fig. 84.]
ANOTHER.
Dot a square card in eight places, which dots are to be divided by
straight lines, so as to cut the cross into five pieces, two dots to
each piece except the centre one, which must comprise eight.
[Illustration: Fig. 85.]
A SQUARE OF SEVENTEEN SQUARES.
[Illustration: Fig. 86.]
To divide a square into seventeen squares, begin by dividing each side
of the square into four portions, drawing lines across each way to these
points to make sixteen squares. Unite the points of the diamond, within
which is a square one-quarter the size of the first. A second diamond
within this quarter-sized square, cut by a Saint Andrew’s Cross—gives
the points for the seventeenth square.
ANOTHER OF FOUR TRIANGLES AND A SQUARE.
Cut the card first into a ten-inch length, two inches wide; and then of
the pieces form a square.
[Illustration: Fig. 87.]
OF FOUR SQUARES AND EIGHT TRIANGLES.
[Illustration: Fig. 88.]
OF NINE PIECES.
[Illustration: Fig. 89.]
OF TEN PIECES.
[Illustration: Fig. 90.]
First cut the square into pieces of the three shapes shown, four of A,
four of B, and two of the small one C. The formation of a perfect square
with them will be a difficult task.
OF TWENTY TRIANGLES.
Begin by placing four triangles at the sides of a square of four
triangles, when the rest of the shape can be filled in readily.
OF ELEVEN PIECES.
[Illustration: Fig. 91.]
Cut up a square into four sets of two each, A a square, B and C a
triangle; three of the triangle D, and one each of E and F. Begin at the
left lower corner with A, to its top and right side place two of D, then
a large triangle C; a square is now made, one quarter of the large one.
The second square to the right requires but the two pieces, E and B. The
other half, from there only being five pieces to fit, will take but
little time and trouble.
THE OVAL PUZZLE.
[Illustration: Fig. 93.]
[Illustration: Fig. 92.]
[Illustration: Fig. 94.]
Hanky Panky has to make two oval boards: but it so happens that the
area, exclusive of hand-holes in the centre, and the circular piece, are
the same. To cut his stuff, on finding the centre of the circle, he
strikes a second circle, half the diameter of the first, with the same
centre. Then he cuts the whole into quarters, by means of two lines
drawn at right angles to each other, then cuts along the inner circle
(Fig. 92) and puts the pieces together, as in Figs. 93, 94.
[Illustration]
CHECKER PUZZLE.
[Illustration: Fig. 95.]
The puzzle is as follows:—After placing three red wafers in the squares
Nos. 1, 2 and 3, and three blue wafers in Nos. 5, 6 and 7, you are to
move the three blues into the squares occupied by the reds and the three
reds into the squares occupied by the blues (keeping within the
squares), the reds moving towards the right, and the blues to the left,
not being allowed to move back after once moving forward. You are to
jump only one at a time, and have the privilege of moving either card
into a vacant square adjoining. The first move, of course, is either
from 3 or 5 into 4.
_Explanation._ Move blue wafer from 5 to 4; red wafer from 3 to 5,
jumping 4; red from 2 to 3; blue 4 to 2, jumping 3; red from 6 to 4,
jumping 5; blue from 7 to 6; red from 5 to 7, jumping 6; red from 3 to
5, jumping 4; red from 1 to 3, jumping 2; blue from 2 to 1; blue from 4
to 2, jumping 3; blue from 6 to 4, jumping 5; red from 5 to 6; red from
3 to 5, jumping 4; and blue from 4 to 3, which performs the puzzle,
having changed the three blue wafers from their former places into those
of the red, and the red into those of the blue. This may be shown to a
person a number of times, and if done quickly not one in ten will be
able to perform it.
THE UNDETACHABLE CYLINDER.
Cut a slit close to one edge lengthwise of half a playing card, and of
the other piece make a cutting in the following shape:—
[Illustration: Fig. 97.]
Pass the thin long ends through a button, a perforated disc of paper, or
a piece of pipe-stem, after having taken the slip of card in its loop,
and unfold the large square wings.
If the bands are not shown, the way to get the little cylinder off is
truly undiscoverable.
[Illustration: Fig. 98.]
It is done, of course, by doubling the flat card till the slip can be
pulled through the pipe-stem, when one of the square wings will go
through it, and the release follows naturally.
TRIUMPHANT COLUMN.
Take a number of smooth true cylinders, of metal or hard wood, and, by
carefully placing one upon another, rear a slender column. If the ground
is firm and level, such a pillar may attain a somewhat astonishing
height.
A PRETTY TRICK IN BALANCING.
[Illustration]
Put an orange, apple, or other tempting object fifteen inches from the
wall, and present it to any one who can pick it up while standing
against the wall, or rather while keeping his legs against it. Or,
again, challenge whoever has been distinguishing himself in agility to
keep upright on the inner leg while sidewise against a wall.
Then—as probably you will be asked to perform some feat yourself after
having thus set impossible tasks to others—put a cork in a bottle. Drive
a large pin into it horizontally, and, having previously stuck two steel
forks opposite each other in a second cork, with their handles inclining
downwards, and run the head of a needle into the bottom of this cork,
set the needle point on the pin’s head, when the forkified cork will be
delicately balanced, and may even be turned round without falling.
THE ANGULAR PUZZLE.
Cut a piece of cardboard into the form of, and of equal proportions to,
the figure given here, after which, produce, with the same, three
successive pyramidal or angular boxes, alternately bearing the
respective numbers of 7, 6, and 5 corners, still keeping the cardboard
in one piece. After cutting the card half through at the dotted lines,
so that it will bend more squarely, bring the ends of 1—2 and 3—4
together; bend the whole in the middle at 5—6: fold 1—2 and 3—4 over one
another, and the six-cornered box is formed. By again placing the
angular sections inwards, the box will be finished. If larger, gum the
parts as you fold them, and a curious box will be the result; if covered
with Dutch metal so as to conceal all the seams, it may be a puzzle-box
indeed.
[Illustration: Fig. 99.]
[Illustration]
THE POSTS AND PADDOCK PUZZLES.
I have a paddock found, which is neither square nor round,
But an octagon; and this I have laid out
In a novel way, though plain in appearance, and retain
Three posts in each compartment; but I doubt
Whether you discover how I apportioned it, e’en though
I inform you ’tis divided into four.
But, if you solve it right, ’twill afford you much delight,
And repay you for the trouble, I am sure.
[Illustration: Fig. 100.]
THE LANDLORD TRICKED.
Twenty-one persons sat down to dinner at an inn, with the landlord at
the head of the table. When dinner was finished it was resolved that one
of the number should pay the whole score; to be decided as follows. A
person should commence counting the company, and every seventh man was
to rise from his seat, until all were counted out but one, who was to be
the individual who should pay the whole bill. One of the waiters was
fixed upon to count the company out, who, owing his master a grudge,
resolved to make him the person who should have to pay. How must he
proceed to accomplish this?
_Explanation._—Commence with the sixth from the landlord. You illustrate
with counters.
THE DIVIDED ORCHARDS.
To a house where dwell four persons, (see the windows to their rooms) is
an orchard; each man wishes to enclose his two fruit-trees in a space
equal to his neighbour’s. The dotted lines show the position of the
hedges.
[Illustration: Fig. 101.]
THE OBLONG PUZZLE.
[Illustration: Fig. 102.]
Having cut up a square of card by the lines shown, reform it. By
remembering how to form one quarter of the figure, the whole will be so
simplified that you can perform it under the spectator’s eyes with a
rapidity which will bewilder them.
[Illustration]
THE ONE-QUARTERLESS SQUARE.
To divide a square less one-quarter, triangularly shaped, into four
parts of the same shape and size, follow the lines here described.
[Illustration: Fig. 103.]
COUNTER PUZZLE.
Place eight counters as here given:
O O O O O O O O
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The puzzle is to play them in twos, taking up only one at a time, and,
each time, skipping two with the one in your hand. Answer: Put 4 on 7, 6
on 2, 1 on 3, 8 on 5; or, 5 on 2, 3 on 7, 8 on 6, 4 on 1, &c. For ten,
put the 4th on the 1st, the 6th on the 9th, the 8th upon the 3rd, the
2nd on the 5th, and the 7th on the 10th.
XIII.—TRICKS IN THE WATER.
THE FANE OF AQUARIUS.
Make a stand with a box upon it, having the roof and front of an ancient
temple, the front of the stand being in steps leading up to the porch.
This conceals a simple apparatus of glass tubes, receivers and siphons.
[Illustration: Fig. 104.]
The four tubes are shown just above and below the bends, so as to appear
to be solid glass pillars. The water from the upper reservoir fills them
in running to find its level in the other container. Little figures are
made of wax and pith, two having cork in their heads, two leaden feet,
and they are placed in the tubes alternately. A valve below prevents
them sinking, and a fine hair prevents them rising into the bends. On
the water being let flow, the figures are imbued with motion, and their
rising and falling will greatly puzzle the spectators, for the fluid is
not seen to run.
[Illustration: Fig. 105.]
WATER RISING ABOVE ITS LEVEL.
[Illustration]
Take two panes of common window-glass, about six inches square, set them
together at one side, and at the other side prevent them exactly joining
by a little wax, so that the two planes form a very small angle, as one
or two degrees. Then place the bottom edge about an inch down into a
dish of water, when the water will rise between the panes in the form of
a hyperbola.
[Illustration]
WATER IN PERPETUAL MOTION.
There is shown to the audience a singular instrument composed of glass,
two bulbs connected by two tubes.
[Illustration: Fig. 106.]
Water, which may be tinctured with indigo for the better effect, flows
from the bulb A very slowly into the bulb B, whence it quickly and
plainly runs up by the tortuous tubing, so thin as to scarcely let a
hair pass through it back into the bulb A. The drops of ascending water
are separated by air bubbles, so that the current can be clearly
studied.
Now, though the laws of nature forbid that water can by any power in
itself lift itself up to the height of the reservoir originally holding
it, here seems a contradiction. For a time, friction and the resistance
of the air appears to be done away with. But this paradox is readily
accounted for after close watching.
It will be found that the descending liquid does not ascend from ball B
into the winding tube without part of it being left in that ball. It is
this filling the space which gradually forces the air upwards (since it
cannot go down through the column of water from A). The only cause of
the liquid rising beyond B is its being filled, and once it is full the
movement must stop.
The same appearances of drops of water divided by air bubbles is shown
in the windows of filter-dealers, who use great lengths of bent glass
piping for the purpose of display; but a small force-pump is the active
agent as regards their apparatus.
TO PLACE TWENTY SHILLINGS IN A WINE-GLASS.
Full to the brim, without spilling one drop.—Take care that the edge of
the glass is quite dry: pour the water into the glass gently, until it
is quite full; then drop the shillings in one by one very gently, and on
their edges. If you act otherwise, the water will run over the edge of
the glass.
[Illustration]
THE HYDRAULIC DANCER.
Shape out a doll, A B, of light material, and paint or dress him
prettily, as your fancy suggests, and between his legs set the cone, C,
made of thin sheet-copper.
[Illustration: Fig. 107.]
On placing this aquatic Blondin on a perpendicular jet of water, it will
balance itself on the top, while rising and falling divertingly.
A hollow copper ball, an inch in diameter, will balance itself in the
like manner, turning continually round its centre, and casting the water
from its surface.
[Illustration]
XIV.—TRICKS WITH MUSICAL AND OTHER SOUNDS.
[Illustration]
HINTS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
In a large room, nearly square, speak from one corner to the other
corner, diagonally. In ordinary rooms, the lowest pitch that will reach
across the room is best. In the same, speak along the length. Low
ceilings carry sound better than the high.
THE MERIDIAN ALARUM.
There are other ways of utilising the burning-glass to give a signal
than to adjust it so that the rays, at noon, shall fire off a cannon, as
at the Palais Royal, Paris. For instance, let the action of the focussed
light and heat operate on a delicate spring retaining the hammer of a
bell, the valve of a chamber of compressed air, with its outlet forming
a whistle, &c., &c.
MUSICAL WATER.
A jet of water, passing through a hole in a brass plate fixed at the end
of a glass tube will emit a musical sound, in consequence of the
intermittent flow of the liquid through the orifice. Again, a slender
vein of water, some twelve inches long, on being allowed to fall
vertically from a vessel, will break at the lower end of the vein into
drops. This vein of water should be brightly illuminated from above by a
beam of light sent through it from an electric lamp, so that the thread
of water will look like a line of light, from the end where it breaks
into drops to the orifice from which it issued. A musical note of
constantly-increasing pitch being then set up by means of the wind
instrument known as a “syren,” when the note reaches a sufficiently high
pitch, the sound will act upon the luminous column of water, which will
shorten itself by four or five inches, in response to the one particular
sound to which it was sensitive. The same jet of water will respond to
the beats produced by two organ-pipes, &c.
THE ÆOLIAN WHISTLE.
The Chinese fasten a whistle to their kites, so that the mouth always
faces the wind, and the sound is almost continuous.
SIMPLE ÆOLIAN HARP.
Fasten the ends of a length of waxed saddler’s silk to pegs or nails,
which insert in the crack between the two sashes midway in a window, so
as to stretch the cord well. The entering air will call out the musical
vibrations.
TO PLAY ON TWO WHISTLES AT ONCE
Double a length of gutta percha tubing, say two yards long, and cut a
slit in the centre, where you insert one end of another piece of tubing,
of the same or a greater length.
In the two end openings put whistles, and make the whole air-tight.
Place the free end of the long piece around the nozzle of a bellows, and
on forcing the air from which into this novel instrument a double
succession of sounds can be produced. The whistles should be pitched
differently, and more than two can be used.
ECHOES.
A good ear cannot distinguish one sound from another unless there is an
interval of one-ninth of a second between the arrival of the two sounds.
Sounds must, therefore, succeed each other at an interval of one-ninth
of a second in order to be heard distinctly. Now, the velocity of sound
being eleven hundred and twenty feet a second, in one-ninth of a second
the sound would travel one hundred and twenty-four feet. Repeated echoes
happen when two obstacles are placed opposite to one another, as
parallel walls, for example, which reflect the sound successively.
[Illustration: Fig. 108.—MISS ECHO.]
A certain river has a bend in it, avoided by every one, as it was
supposed to be haunted. At a certain hour in the evening, for many
years, terrible curses were distinctly heard. Suddenly they ceased.
Hearing an account of the strange phenomena, Mr. H. Panky determined to
ascertain the cause, and carefully examined the river on each side for
about a mile above and below the bend. He ascertained that at about the
time the sounds ceased an old fisherman, who had lived on the opposite
side of the river, full a mile from the spot where the curses where
heard, had died. He was told that the fisherman was in the habit of
crossing the river to a village, where he found a market for his fish,
and where he spent his money for liquor; and that after drinking freely
on his way home, while rowing across the river at night, he would swear
terribly. This gentleman then persuaded a friend to go down the river to
the place where the curses were formerly heard, while he remained in a
boat on the river at the point at which the old man usually crossed. He
then played on a bugle and sang several songs. His friend soon returned,
and with eager delight exclaimed, “O, Hanky, such glorious music fills
the air, just where the oaths used to be heard!” The neighbours came
rushing down to hear it, and some fell on their knees, praying. They
said, “The angels have driven the devil away.” Mr. Panky then asked what
were the songs they heard. His friend described them correctly, and said
he understood even the words, one of them being the famous Marseillaise,
another a German song. The foreign words made the ignorant more sure
that the sounds were supernatural. The magician then played on the
bugle, and sang again the same songs, while his friend stood by; but his
friend said the music was not equal to that he had heard below, where
the sounds had really seemed heavenly.
The peculiar configuration of the river-banks had concentrated the
sounds, and the distance and the water had softened them.
WHISPERING GALLERIES.
As a rule a smooth-walled room of an elliptical shape will be found most
probably gifted in this mysterious way.
THE INTELLIGENT ECHO.
Find a building, with a wall at an angle where an obstacle will send the
voice from the one side around to the other instead of reflecting it as
an echo. Then have a friend able to imitate voices concealed round the
corner, so that, when your victim calls out, “Who are you?” the answer
will come, apparently from echo, in the questioner’s own voice, “I, A or
B, of course.”
TO SHIVER GLASSES BY SINGING.
It is known that glasses may be broken by the note, powerfully sounded,
which is that given when it is struck, or the octave of that note. Thin
and convex glasses are best. But, to make sure, nick or scratch the
object with a diamond to start the fracture. A trumpet will not succeed
while a violin will.
THE WOODEN HARMONICON.
On a firm stand erect a three-inch soft wood board, a yard high and half
a yard broad, in which stand twenty deal rods. The longest should be
about five feet. The ones representing semi-tones should be painted a
different colour from the others, which can be left plain.
Rub the fingers in rosin-dust and set the rods vibrating with friction,
and you will have a manageable instrument, sweet and expressive.
THE STONE HARMONICON.
Stones must be found which, when freely suspended, are sonorous when
struck, and those giving out the notes and half-notes of the diatonic
and chromatic gamut are to be hung in a frame in proper order.
They are played upon with blows of a little hammer.
Hard wood can be also employed, mounted on a frame, and struck at one
end, being the “bones” of the African under another phase.
THE LYRE WITH A GOOD MEMORY.
A proverb assures us that a teller of untruths should be skilled in
mnemonics.
We exclaim, quite apropos of this remark, that we have a mystic harp
which retains for our pleasure the airs which it has heard or played.
Amidst the murmur of incredulity, take the lyre and hang it to a wire
luckily pendent from the ceiling.
On the unbeliever placing his ear close to it, the air is heard as of a
whole band, at a distance, brilliant in its minuteness.
_Explanation._—In the upper room is a piano, a square or grand being
preferable: a wire runs directly from its sounding-board to the room
below where the lyre is suspended. For convenience, the wire can be bent
or formed of several portions overlapping where the join occurs.
[Illustration]
THE TARTINI FIDDLE TRICK.
Granting any two sounds are drawn from two instruments at the same time,
there will be heard a third sound, the more perceptible as the listener
is near the middle of the distance between them.
If the two sounds are succeeding ones in the order of consonance, as,
for instance, the octave and the twelfth, the double octave and the
seventeenth major, &c., the sound resulting will be the octave of its
principal.
THE DEMON VIOLIN.
Hang a fiddle behind a partition, and, on striking a note on a second
instrument on the other side of the wall, the unseen one will sound in
unison.
[Illustration]
PRACTICAL JOKES IN THE ORCHESTRA.
[Illustration]
Andy Andy’s adventure with the trumpet will be remembered. Hardly less
amusing experiments are practised in the orchestras of theatres,
especially when a play has run its hundred nights and time hangs heavy.
A handful of bluebottle flies inserted within the bass-vial, or the
greasing the fiddle-bows to make the instrument play a perpetual _mute_,
may be numbered among them. A little lather put into a cornet will be
blown out into soap-bubbles when it is played.
THEATRICAL THUNDER.
Suspend a sheet of iron, five feet wide by six or seven feet long, from
the centre of one end by a cord. At the lower end, about five feet from
the ground, fasten a handle. On seizing this, and shaking the sheet so
that it shall wave in horizontal rolls from your hand upwards, the sound
of thunder will be heard, and you will say, with Gainsborough, “Our
thunder is decidedly the best.”
_Another Way._—Make a square drum-head of wood, a yard long by half as
much wide, over which you spread and firmly glue a sheet of parchment,
rather thick, wet on being put on, so as to dry very tight. Hang this
up, and, on tapping it with your fingers, the reverberation will imitate
a thunder-peal closely. Thus, in the theatre, a tap on the big drum
often serves for this purpose.
TO IMITATE THE CRASH OF A THUNDERBOLT STRIKING.
[Illustration: Fig. 109.]
It may have happened to you to have been present when a servant’s
awkwardness has let a Venetian blind come down by the “run,” when you
surely cannot have failed to notice the terrific noise resulting. By a
similar fall of slats, of which the sudden contact gives a number of
sharp clatters, blended by the rapidity of their succession into one
crash, the semblance of a thunderbolt’s fall is given.
A A, stout iron rods, to which is fastened, at the lower ends, a board
C; they rise perpendicularly, and are fastened above, being about 10
feet in length. B B are ropes, to which, at E E, are fastened firmly the
slats D D (of which but two are represented, but there are as many as
will cover the whole space enclosed in the rods, set 6 or 10 inches
apart). These slats slide freely up and down the rods. The ropes, when
drawn up taut, retain the slats apart, but, on being released, the slats
fall, each striking the under one, and all coming down on C with a
fearful crash.
THE CRASH BAG.
[Illustration]
To excite a laugh, you may pretend to be angered by the stupidity of
your assistant, whom, at the end of your recrimination, you thrust out
of doors. Suddenly a frightful sound is heard, a clatter of broken
glass, and you exclaim in horror, “He has gone clear through the
window!” (He shows his face at a door or window at the other side of the
room, and laughs.) This illusion of a broken window is made in two ways;
one by an enlarged watchman’s rattle, the ratchet-wheel of which is
turned rapidly by hand; and by your letting a stout bag, partly filled
with old metal and glass, suspended by a rope, fall a few feet, and be
abruptly checked in its descent.
TO IMITATE RAIN AND HAIL.
Out of stout pasteboard cut twenty circles, five inches wide, and cut
them all from the edge to the centre, as marked.
[Illustration: Fig. 110.]
Bore a hole through them an inch wide. Join them together by glueing the
cut side C of circle A to the cut side D of circle B, and so on, till
all the circles form but one piece, which, being thus lengthened, has
the shape of a screw. Let them dry. Through the hole run a wooden rod to
thread them, and set them three or four inches apart; glue them in that
position. Cover them along their outer edge, and at one end with
parchment-paper, wet, so as to dry tight, like a drum-head. When dry,
put in about a pound of fine shot, more or less, according to the size
of the instrument, and close the open end with strong paper.
The lead being at one end of this case, horizontally, if you lift it up
gently by the end with the shot, they will run slowly to the other end
in the road formed between the circles, and their strokes against the
paper cover will closely imitate the patter of rain. If the case is
tilted up suddenly, the much louder sounds will resemble hail. By
alternately depressing and elevating the case, to keep the shot in
motion, the effect can be made continuous.
[Illustration]
XV.—TRICKS WITH WIND AND AIR.
[Illustration]
INFLAMMABLE AIR.
Put a sponge saturated with ether in a bladder. Let some one inflate
this apparently empty vessel with common air with a bellows. On applying
a lighted match to a nozzle tied in the mouth of the bladder the gas
will take fire and burn, and the spectators will be compelled to believe
you rendered common air inflammable.
CURIOUS VIVIFICATION.
Take any number of two-inch tubes, ten inches long, and close the bottom
except one small hole. Place a piston in each, as in a syringe. In the
bottom place a worm spring under a figure of a man or woman, each one
different and in a different attitude, and of such a size as to fill up
the hollow cylinders.
Set them all in a circular wooden frame, and create a vacuum under each
piston by pushing them down, stopping the hole, and drawing them up to
any height you please.
On placing the frame in the receiver, and exhausting the air, the force
of the spring being greater than the friction of the piston and the
weight of the figure, they will rise up gradually in their proper
attitudes. On admitting the air into the receiver they will retire.
If the tubes be inflated with air, they will be extended when the
pressure of that in the receiver is taken.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Fig. 111.]
What is the difference between this subject and a young widow? The
latter is a widdy girl, while the above is a giddy whirl.
FIERY SHOWER.
Bore out a small reservoir in a piece of hard wood, in the shape of a
cup or inverted cone, and fill it with quicksilver in the upper aperture
of the receiver of an air-pump. On exhausting the air, the atmospherical
pressure will force the mercury through the wood so that it will fall in
a luminous shower.
THE COIN AND WINE-GLASS PUZZLE.
Place a half-crown in a wine-glass over a sixpence. To remove the latter
without touching the glass, blow down into it, when the larger coin will
turn and let the other pass up out over the other side.
[Illustration: Fig. 112.]
THE WEATHER PROPHETS.
Suspend a small circular plate by its centre of gravity, by a fine
string or piece of catgut, and attach the other end to a hook. As the
air is more or less moist, the plate will turn. A bell-glass may cover
it to prevent the wind deranging it, but the air must have access to the
string.
Make a box, representing with one side a housefront with two doors, and
mount on one side of the turning-plate a man with an umbrella, and on
the other a lady with a fan. When the man comes out it indicates damp,
whilst the appearance of the lady foretels dry weather. Unfortunately,
as the atmospherical changes affect it but by degrees, these weather
prophets are unreliable.
THE DANCER ON AN INVISIBLE MOUNTAIN.
Mr. Panky’s friends, invited to his country seat, having admired a
beautiful little dancer on the summit of a fountain-jet (page 137), he
no sooner has led them into the house than he points to a figure, much
of the same appearance, which waltzes a few inches above the surface of
his glass table. There is no visible cause.
_Explanation._—The figure is made of a cone of silver-foil, the dress of
silver-paper, and the head of the seed-vessel of the _antirrhinum_,
which is extremely light and properly shaped. The base can be weighted
with lead pellets to keep the head uppermost, and the whole dances on a
current of air. A funnel of pasteboard, with the small end encircling
the hole in the table, will catch the figure so that it must roll down
into the proper place for an ascension again.
[Illustration]
XVI. ELECTRICAL TRICKS.
[Illustration]
THE CONTINUOUS CHIME.
Make a “dry pile” as follows:—Cut out of silver-paper used by fancy
boxmakers, leaf zinc and writing-paper discs, of the same size, with a
die or punch.
Dry the paper in a gentle heat, and arrange the whole in two well-dried
glass tubes, beginning with the zinc, next silver-paper, paper side
down, the writing-paper, the silver-paper as before, and so on. Cement
in brass caps at one end of the tube, with screws to compress the pile,
and fasten a second cap after the column is inserted. This secures the
perfect metallic current.
Connect the tops with a wire, from the centre of which hangs a brass
ball to a raw-silk thread, to come in contact with a bell on the base of
each column when reared upright upon a stand. One column has its
positive end opposed to the other’s negative one, which makes the two,
when connected above, one continuous column. Groove the stand, and cover
all with a glass shade oval or round.
The ball will swing to and fro between the bells, repelled and attracted
alternately.
To recover lost power, insulate the columns for a few days.
SIMPLE ELECTROSCOPE.
Drive the eye of a needle into a cork and stop a bottle with it, the
point being up. At the balancing-spot of an eagle’s feather glue a
little hard socket or cup of glass or metal, and place it on the needle
point.
Sealing wax, a vulcanite comb passed rapidly through the hair, or other
“excited” electrifier, will cause the feather to whirl round and follow
it as iron will the magnet.
THE OBEDIENT BROWNIE.
Hang a penny between the poles of an electro-magnet, and spin it round.
On making the connection with the battery, the coin will be stopped
short, and will place itself in the equatorial position.
THE FEATHER PENDULUM.
A feather suspended between the positive and negative knobs of an
electric battery will fly to and fro as it is attracted and repelled.
[Illustration: Fig. 113.]
THE MAGNETIC FOX-HUNT.
On a table, at the back, rear a grove of trees cut out of pasteboard,
and with moss gummed on for foliage. Near each side make two doors, and
leave the table-top free on the segment of a circle. The rest of this
circle is imaginarily described on the other part of the table. A fox,
several huntsmen and dogs, made of iron, are placed in the grove, from
which they issue and frantically course round back under cover, as if
animated with the most frantic spirit.
The chase is suspended at any point in the course, at will of the
magician.
_Explanation._—Under the table is a wheel, moved by clockwork, the outer
rim of which corresponds with the imaginary circle above in
circumference. A strong magnet is attached to the edge, which attracts
the iron toys.
Instead of a hunt, a ship sailing under two Colossi of Rhodes, or into
two harbours defended by forts, a duck or swan coming out at the call
(the water being represented by looking-glass), a dog rushing out of one
house and retiring rapidly, when you say, _à la_ clown, “I’ll tell your
mother!” into another—these and many other subjects are easily
contrived.
[Illustration: Fig. 114.]
THE SPIRIT DRUM.
Have two electric magnets fastened to the side within a drum. Let the
wires run up the cord or strap of suspension of the drum, so as to be in
contact, when hung by a hook or silken cord in the ceiling, with the
wires of a battery behind a partition or under the floor. One magnet is
to imitate the sound of the drumstick making the taps, whilst the other
executes the roll or accompaniment.
[Illustration: Fig. 115.]
When the drum is hung upon a figure, the arms of the latter are worked
by strings, and the wires from the battery are led up through the figure
from the table on which it is placed. (For the construction of such
tables, see _The Secret Out_ and _The Magician’s Own Book_.)
[Illustration]
XVII.—TRICKS WITH FIRE AND HEAT.
[Illustration]
For the most strong, and therefore most suitable of the ancient
_elements_ for effect, we begin with tricks executed with real fire,
with the caution that they were right who first declared fire and water
to be good servants, but very bad masters.
THE FOUNTAIN OF FIRE.
To six ounces of water in an earthenware dish add by degrees one ounce
of sulphuric acid (_dangerous_), and then three quarters of an ounce of
granulated zinc with three or four large grains of phosphorus. These
form a gas, amidst much effervescence, take fire and kindle the entire
surface, coruscations and spirts of flame leaping out swiftly and most
brilliantly; while a beautiful column of smoke will rise above the blue
_flames_.
_Note._—Always cut phosphorus under water, and, if burnt by it, apply
hartshorn spirits.
LIGHT ON THE WATER.
Drop a little phosphoric ether on a lump of sugar, and throw it into a
glass of water. The flame arising will look very pretty in a dark room.
On blowing gently on it phosphoric emanations will form and light the
air above the water.
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.
1st. In a thick saucer make a paste of chlorate of potass with spirits
of wine; on adding some sulphuric acid vapour will arise, and its
orange-coloured clouds will burst with a snapping noise into flames.
2nd. _Variation._
THE PILLAR OF FIRE.
Pound together a grain and a half of chlorate of potash and two grains
of sulphur, a pinch of which mixture dropped into a phial holding a
little sulphuric acid will give rise to a splendid column of flame.
3rd. Powdered antimony dropped into a phial of chlorine gas will take
fire spontaneously and make a splendid light.
4th. With a glass rod put a couple of leaves of Dutch metal (copper
imitating gold leaf) into a phial of chlorine gas, when they will flare
up with a red light.
Gold leaf will make a red light. Two or three grains of phosphorus thus
served will also take fire. A strip of cloth or soft paper, soaked in
oil of turpentine, will be similarly ignited.
THE MINIATURE MOUNT VESUVIUS.
[Illustration: Fig. 116.]
5th. Having some finely pulverised loaf-sugar and some chlorate of
potash, also in powder, the same quantity in weight of each, they are
well mixed together and placed in a crockery vessel, which will prevent
injury to the table or stand. Having a glass rod for a wand, you have
but to dip one end in sulphuric acid, and touch the compound with it, to
produce a vivid flame.
6th. In a small retort put an ounce of a strong liquor of potash in
water, and one drachm of phosphorus. Dip the mouth of the retort half an
inch under water in a saucer. Gradually heat the liquid in the retort
with a spirit-lamp until it boils. In a few minutes the retort will be
filled with a white cloud, then the gas generated will begin to bubble
at the end of the saucer; a minute more, each bubble, as it issues from
the boiling fluid, will _spontaneously take fire_ as it comes into the
air, forming at the mouth a ring.
7th. Into the jar of chlorine gas pour finely powdered charcoal, when a
display of great beauty will be made.
8th. A grain of potassium mixed with the same quantity of sodium is to
have a drop of quicksilver added to it, when agitation of the three will
cause them to ignite and burn brightly.
9th. Potassium and sulphur, heated together, will show a brilliant
light. Or, holding some nitre on a metal plate, flowers of sulphur
sprinkled on it will ignite. Be careful not to breathe the fumes of
sulphur at any time. Iron filings thrown upon red-hot nitre will burn
and explode.
10th. Put some phosphorus in a bottle of water, in the proportion of ten
grains of the former in one ounce of the latter, and, boiling it over a
lamp, fire will burst forth, each particle of the phosphorus becoming a
flaming ball, which will beautifully coruscate.
11th. Make a solution of tartaric acid, which, poured into sugar of lead
dissolved in distilled water, will precipitate a white powder. Dry this
sediment, and put it into a glass phial. Cover this with clay, and bake
it in an oven. Now you can put this phial upon a charcoal fire, which
you will increase in power until the glass is red-hot and no smoke
leaves the mouth; stopper it up with a dab of clay or a lump of mastic,
and take it away from the fire to cool. The contents are now fine
powdered lead intermingled with the charcoal of the tartaric acid, which
will take fire on contact with the open air. Iron and other metals, when
reduced to an impalpable powder, will similarly ignite in the common
air.
A FIRE OF TIN.
On tinfoil put some freshly powdered crystals of nitrate of copper;
moisten with water; fold up the foil gently, wrap it up in paper, and
the tin will soon begin to swell and send out flashes of light while
burning away.
THE DIVING LIGHT.
[Illustration]
On a good-sized cork or bung place a small lighted taper, and then set
it afloat in a pail of water. Invert a large drinking-glass over the
light, and push it carefully down into the water. The glass being full
of air, prevents the water entering it. The candle will burn under
water, and come up again to the surface still alight. The largest
drinking-glass holds but half a pint, so that your diving light soon
goes out for the want of air. A burning candle consumes as much air as a
man, and he requires nearly a gallon of air every minute, so that,
according to the size of the glass over the flame, you can calculate how
many seconds it will remain alight, a large flame requiring more air
than a small one. A quart bell-glass is very useful. A substitute is
easily made from a green glass pickle bottle, with the bottom cut off.
TO DECORATE METAL.
[Illustration]
A brilliant and varied display of colours can be made on metal by
dipping the piece in a solution, heated to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, of
hyposulphite of lead in hyposulphite of soda.
FIRE FROM TWO COLD LIQUIDS.
Add three drops of any essential oil, such as that of carraway or
turpentine, to a teaspoonful of aquafortis in a saucer, to have a bright
flame instantly start up.
A GREAT FLAME.
Put half an ounce of sal ammoniac, one ounce of camphor, and two ounces
of water in a narrow-mouthed pipkin. Set fire to the gas arising, and a
vast column of flame will be produced.
FIRE BY PERCUSSION.
Take a hollow cylinder, in fact, a syringe or pop-gun, of some bad
conductor of heat—wood or thick glass—with this difference, that one end
must be perfectly closed; it must have a piston like the syringe, also a
bad conductor of heat, and which must be made to move in the cylinder
perfectly air-tight. Place a bit of tinder or amadou, steeped in a
solution of saltpetre in water and then dried, in the cylinder; then
place the piston at the cylinder’s mouth, and with a sudden and powerful
thrust condense the air in the cylinder: the tinder will ignite.
Phosphorus wrapped in paper, and struck with a hammer on an anvil, will
likewise enflame.
THE DANCING FLAME.
Make a very small gas jet, to which fit a minute burner; Sugg’s steatite
pinhole burner answers best. Above the burner, at a distance of two
inches, fix a seven-inch square piece of wire gauze; ordinary
window-blind gauze of thirty-two meshes to the lineal inch acts
perfectly. Turn the gas on, and light the flame above the gauze. Keep
the room free from draught, and the flame will be steady; but at the
least sound the flame is certain to move. It is a slender cone, about
four inches high, the upper portion giving a bright yellow light, the
base being a non-luminous blue flame. At the least noise the flame
roars, sinking down to the surface of the gauze, and becoming almost
invisible. It is very active in its responses, and, being rather a noisy
flame, it is heard immediately. To the vowel sounds it does not appear
to answer discriminately. It is extremely sensitive to A, very slightly
to E, more so to I, entirely insensitive to O, but slightly sensitive to
U. It dances admirably to a musical box, and is highly sensitive to most
sonorous vibrations.
A jet of gas issuing through a circular orifice being lighted, and the
pressure of the gas then slowly augmented by means of weights placed on
the gasometer until such a pressure is reached that the jet of flame is
nearly, but not quite, on the point of flaring. The flame will be about
two feet long, and so sensitive to sound that a slight chirrup or a hiss
from any part of the theatre will make the flame shorten itself to seven
or eight inches.
FIRE FROM WOOD.
Dry rattan, or bamboo, struck together or on steel, will emit sparks, on
account of the flint minutely intermingled with its outer coating.
HARMLESS EXPLOSION.
Powder four grains of chlorate of potash in a mortar, and add a little
flower of sulphur, pulverized very finely. On rubbing the two powders
together, a sharp but harmless detonation will result.
GUNPOWDER IGNITED WITHOUT EXPLOSION.
Expose a towel or cloth to a strong fire till it becomes very hot; carry
it into a dark room, and, while it is cooling, throw upon it some grains
of gunpowder, which will at first inflame. Leave it to cool a little,
till the powder no longer detonates. If you then cover it with fresh
powder, the latter, when it acquires the same heat as the cloth, will
emit in the dark a faint light or weak flame, which will consume all the
sulphur without causing the nitre to detonate.
SALAMANDER PAPER.
Tightly and smoothly wrap a clean piece of writing-paper around a smooth
metal cylinder, half a dozen inches in length, and an inch and a half
thick, and, though held in the flame of a spirit-lamp, it will not catch
fire; and yet, apart from the metal cylinder, it will readily ignite.
FIRE-PROOFING ONESELF.
An old book says, if you anoint your hands with two ounces of bol
armenian, one ounce of quicksilver, half an ounce of camphor, and two
ounces of brandy (well mixed together), it seems that you may steep them
in a pot of boiling lead. If you prepare yourself with liquid storax (a
juice produced from a tree called casper bauhine in Italy and
elsewhere), you may enter fire—eat fire—have a coal put on your
tongue—or, _finally_, swallow boiling oil (!). This storax also enables
you to undergo baking in an oven: and as for taking poisons, the author
says it is easy enough, if you take an antidote afterwards.
To handle boiling lead, no preparation is required, as the perspiration
generated by the heat forms a coating of steam on the skin, impermeable
to the metal, which feels like liquid velvet.
In the writer’s youth, before he ever thought of parading his
acquirements, he remembers being one of a party of boys around a caldron
of molten lead, used to solder gas-pipes in the street, all of us
scrambling in the pot for coppers which a practical joker dropped in.
The jest was most amusing when a penny had remained some time on the
surface of the dross, and was thoughtlessly put into the cold hand to be
transferred to the pocket.
Nevertheless it is a feat which had better be witnessed than performed
by oneself.
As for dry heat, men have borne it up to 300 deg. Fahrenheit. The writer
has been in the inner drying-rooms of an oil-silk factory where the
workmen put their tea and coffee to boil, and experienced no ill
effects, though a knife could not be touched without a disagreeable
sensation.
To put a coal on the tongue, the skin is prepared, and must be
thoroughly calloused, which no amateur would for a moment think of
doing.
DIFFERENT TEMPERATURE OF WATER IN THE SAME VESSEL.
With a mixture of size and lamp-black paint half the outside of a tin
pot. Fill with boiling water, when, by trial with a thermometer, or your
finger if you are hardened, the water will be found to cool more quickly
on the blackened than on the polished side.
THE MAGIC FLUID.
Mr. Hanky Panky displays to the audience a little fragment of a Tuscan
temple, being a slab of marble, at the ends of which stand two black
marble columns, two feet high, eight inches apart. Two glass tubes,
almost as fine as capillary ones, cross the intervening space, in a
direction inclined to the horizon.
A coloured liquid is distinctly seen running upwards through the lower
tube from one column to the other, and thence back again by the upper
tube. The colour is pleasing to the eye, and the regularity of the flow
well illustrates the theory of the circulation of the blood.
[Illustration: Fig. 117.]
It is impossible to believe there are pumps concealed in the pillars and
clockwork, while the low price at which such toys can be sold precludes
the idea of costly mechanism.
Indeed, the two glass tubes are what is commonly known as a pulse-glass.
The glass tube ends in glass bulbs full of coloured spirits of wine.
When one bulb is held in the hand and a slight inclination given to the
tube, the animal heat will excite the fluid, and drive it continually
from one ball to the other.
[Illustration: Fig. 118.]
As for Mr. Panky’s machine, he had filled the two columns, which were
hollow, with hot sand, which produced the same effect as the heat of the
hand. The sand will not cool for about half an hour, nowhere near which
time need the apparatus be kept before the audience.
There could be, with larger columns, small spirit-lamps or gas
introduced. Let a tube in the column fit into an orifice in your table,
and ignite the gas thus admitted by a spark of frictional electricity.
The heat would be continuous during many hours.
BLUE TO WHITE.
Dissolve a small lump of indigo in sulphuric acid by the aid of moderate
heat, and you will obtain an intense blue colour; add a drop of this to
half a pint of water, so as to dilute the blue; then pour some of it
into strong chloride of lime, and the blue will be bleached with almost
magical velocity. This trick is called “The Restoration”—of the Bourbons
understood, since their colour, the Royalist white, replaces the
Republican blue.
HEAT IN POWER.
[Illustration]
Cork a brass tube, holding water, and attached to a whirling table, and
if it chafes against a wooden rubber in its motion the frictional heat
will make the water boil, and the stopper will be blown out.
GREEN TO BLACK.
Make a cup of strong green tea; dissolve a little green copperas in
water, which add to the tea, and its colour will be black.
COLOURS VANISHING AND REAPPEARING.
Dissolve brass filings in volatile alkali, which will be a liquid of a
blue colour while exposed to the air, but, on corking a phial of it, the
colour will disappear.
To nine parts of water in a glass put one part of nitric acid; a red
ribbon dipped in this will have its hue “killed,” but it will come again
when washed in a solution of fuller’s earth in water.
RED TO PURPLE, GREEN, AND CRIMSON.
Slice a little red cabbage; pour boiling water upon it, and when cold
decant the clear infusion, which divide into three wine-glasses; to one,
add a small quantity of solution of alum in water; to the second, a
little solution of potash in water; and to the third, a few drops of
muriatic acid. The liquor in the first glass will assume a purple
colour, the second a bright green, and the third a rich crimson.
ENCHANTED TAPERS.
Mr. Panky has concluded a trick in which a borrowed hat was used, and
out of it has produced a number of lanterns. These he ranks on the
table, and, taking up a glass rod, has but to touch the little tapers to
have them catch fire.
[Illustration: Fig. 119.]
_Explanation._—The lantern frames are telescopic, so that a dozen fold
into the space of one. The tapers are prepared by being once lit, blown
out, and when cold a grain of phosphorus is put on the wick. One end of
the glass rod is red-hot; for a glass stick a foot long may be hot
enough at one end to inflame phosphorus, and yet be harmless to finger
at the other.
The wicks may be prepared with match composition, and have a glass drop
containing sulphuric acid; on breaking this with a pinch the acid will
fire the wick, but, unfortunately, the fizz betrays too much.
THE INEXTINGUISHABLE CANDLE.
Fill a wheat-straw with live sulphur; wrap it about with lint or cotton,
so as to be a wick, and run wax round it in a mould, so as to form a
candle.
When this is blown out, the warm snuff ignites from the sulphur.
THE FROZEN CANDLE.
(_Kunstliches Nordlicht._)
Soak a candle in a mixture of sulphur and charcoal-dust, and you may dip
it in water and freeze it, and dip again and again till it is thoroughly
iced, and yet it will burn. The wick should be kept dry during the
operation.
BLACK MORE LUMINOUS THAN WHITE.
If you heat a black and white encaustic tile, the black part will glow
the brighter.
INVISIBLE COMBUSTION.
Pour a very little liquid ether into a half-gallon bottle, and the
ether, in evaporating, will, of course, fill the bottle with its vapour.
Then make a glass rod very hot, but not red-hot, and dip it for half a
minute into the neck of the large bottle, and although no smoke, fire,
flame, or mist is to be seen, an invisible combustion of the ether
vapour does go on inside the bottle. This is proved by inserting a
thermometer in the neck of the bottle, when a high temperature is very
soon indicated by the instrument.
DAZZLING LIGHT.
Suspend a bullet of antimony in a jar of chlorine gas, in which, after
the lapse of many minutes, it will acquire a red heat, and slowly burn
away. Then pour finely-divided metallic antimony into a tall jar
containing chlorine; the metal instantly ignites, and falls to the
bottom as a fiery shower; yet the nature of the chemical action in both
these experiments is the same. Make a piece of thick iron wire white
hot, and insert it in a large tube containing vapour of sulphur, made by
boiling some brimstone in the bottom of the tube; the white-hot iron
will catch fire, and burn away like wax, and with intense brilliancy, in
the sulphur vapour. The iron must first be raised to an intensely white
heat, or it will not burn under these conditions.
WALKING ON BURNING COALS.
Sir David Brewster assumes that the power of walking upon coals and hot
iron unharmed depends partly upon a certain horny hardness of the
cuticle, and partly upon the action of some chemical substance with
which the cuticle has been smeared. The conjuror Richardson made himself
famous in England by chewing burning coals, pouring melted lead upon his
tongue, and swallowing melted glass. Sir David Brewster considers these
feats to have been in part real, and in part a deception.
[Illustration]
THE DIVING LIGHTS.
[Illustration]
Have a long glass bottle and a glass tube of the same length. Into the
phial put two drachms of chlorate of potass, and upon it nine or ten
pieces of phosphorus. Then insert the tube, and pour down it half an
ounce, by measure, of strong sulphuric acid. The liquid will turn
yellow, and a gas will arise and be inflamed by the phosphorus most
effectively. A few lumps of phosphoret of lime will turn the flame
emerald-green.
2nd. Drop several pieces of phosphoret of lime into pure water in a
tumbler, and flashes of fire will suddenly dart about and end in wreaths
of smoke, which will rise to the surface very prettily.
3rd. Three (3) ounces of sulphur of iron, one (1) ounce of saltpetre,
and three (3) ounces of gunpowder being beaten up thoroughly together,
put the composition in a paper or cardboard mould or cup, and, touching
a light to it, and putting it in a vessel of water, it will burn to the
last grain, though after sinking to the bottom.
4th. Into a glass vessel of hot water, put a small piece of phosphorus,
and instantly direct a stream of oxygen upon it from a bladder with
pipe-end cut off. The phosphorus will blaze up brightly under the water.
THE SYMPATHETIC LAMP.
This lamp is put upon a table; the conjurer gives a signal to the
assistant to blow in a pipe, without directing the wind to the place
where it is laid, and nevertheless it extinguishes it immediately, as if
some person had blown it out.
_Explanation._ The stand which holds the lamp contains a pair of bellows
in its base, by which the wind is conveyed straight to the flame through
a little pipe. An assistant under the floor (or behind the curtain), by
moving machinery concealed under the table, works the bellows below to
extinguish the lamp at the moment desired.
PROOF THAT FLAME IS HOLLOW.
Pour some spirit of wine into a watch-glass, and inflame it; place a
straw across this flame, and it will only be ignited and charred at the
outer edge; the middle of the straw will be uninjured, for there is no
ignited matter in the centre of the flame. Or if you hold a card over a
candle-flame where it will be singed you will find a browning ring and
not a solid scorch.
MAGIC LAMP.
Put some granulated zinc in an ordinary wine-bottle, and pour in a
mixture of water and sulphuric acid, four parts of the former to one of
the acid; through a hole in the cork run a glass tube, and cork the
bottle. The decomposition of the water will send up some hydrogen gas,
which will drive out the common air, and then the touch of a light to
the tip of the tube will inflame the gas as it rises, and produce a
faint light, scarcely visible by day. The heat, however, is so intense
that it will melt metal and make platinum white hot. You may collect the
steam inside a tumbler held over the flames, being caused by the
hydrogen forming water by its union with the oxygen of the air.
2nd. In the cork of a jar of oxygen, is a long wire, at the lower end of
which is a copper cup, to contain a piece of lighted phosphorus. In an
instant a light more extreme than the sight can sustain, is produced and
the bottle will seem to be full of light. Pure oxygen would probably
cause the jar to be burst by its heat, so its weakening by one-quarter
of its bulk by air will be advisable.
3rd. Fasten a point of charcoal on the end of a coil of soft iron wire,
which is hung from the cork of the jar of oxygen, and on lighting the
charcoal the flame will catch the wire and throw out a brilliant light.
The sparks will be formed by the union of the metal and gas forming
oxide of iron. They will be very hot, and may even pierce the side of
the bottle.
4th. Light some sulphuret of carbon in a dish, and on presenting a brush
of steel wire to the flames an illumination will be had.
5th. A small coil of platinum wire put in, or a little oxide of zinc
poured on, the flame of a lighted jet of hydrogen gas will furnish a
bright light.
6th. Magnesium ignited gives a brilliant flame. The wire is to be fed by
clockwork to a light, or simply held by the hands.
7th. A red-hot iron wire dropped into a jar of oxygen gas, tightly
covered over, will scintillate and be strongly luminous. The sparks that
fall will break the glass, except for the precaution of a layer of fine
sand at the bottom. Into the same gas place a firefly, “lightning bug,”
or glow-worm, and the light will be uncommonly vivid. So with a lighted
candle.
TO BURN THE POKER IN THE CANDLE.
File off an ounce from the fire-end of a poker. The iron filings
produced are perfectly combustible, as may be proved by sprinkling them
over the flame of a candle. As they descend into the flame they take
fire, each particle burning like a star—producing, in fact, miniature
fireworks. Any iron filings will burn in the same way; but a poker is
the handiest means to prove that while iron, in a solid mass, will not
burn, in small atoms it takes fire readily. It is just for the same
reason that a fire is better lighted with chips than with a log of wood.
FIRE FOR AMATEUR THEATRICALS.
Put a lump of fresh quicklime in a cup, pour water it, and the heat will
be very great. A pailful of quicklime, if dipped in water, and shut
closely into a box constructed for the purpose, will give sufficient
heat to warm a room, and is the source of steam vapour in theatrical
representations.
A LAMP WITHOUT FLAME.
Wind a platinum wire spirally round the wick of a spirit-lamp; light the
wick, and let it burn till the wire is red-hot; then remove the wick,
but the wire will remain red as long as there is spirit in the lamp; and
though there be no flame, it will give out enough light for one to read
by, if not too far off.
RAYS OF THE SUN.
The invisible, and not the visible, rays of the sun have the greatest
heating power, and do the principal work in the melting of the mountain
snows, and in vaporising the waters of the seas and rivers. Water
absorbs or filters away the dark rays from the light ones; so that, if
you pass the rays from an electric lamp through a narrow glass trough
filled with water, and then bring them to an intensely sharp and
brilliant focus, although the rays thus filtered contain sufficient heat
to set fire to brown paper, hoar-frost is not touched by them, because,
being transparent to these rays, it lets them pass through without
absorption. Proof:—You can and do set fire to paper in the focus, and
then place a flask, covered outside with hoar-frost, in the same focus,
yet the snow remains unmelted. Then you can stop all the visible rays by
the interposition of a glass trough filled with solution of iodine in
bisulphide of carbon—which is, however, transparent to the invisible
rays—and on removing the trough of water, this allows invisible rays to
pass on to the focus, whilst the visible rays are cut off by the
solution of iodine. When the flask coated with hoar-frost is placed in
the dark focus, the heat at once melts it from the surface, wherever the
glass is brought into the centre of action.
COMMON GAS.
Bituminous coal contains chemical compounds, nearly all of which can, by
distillation, be converted into an illuminating gas, and with this gas
cities are lighted. Fill with coal dust (or walnut or butternut meats)
the bowl of a tobacco-pipe; then cement the top over with some clay,
place the bowl in the fire, and soon smoke will issue from the end of
the stem. When that has ceased coming, apply a light, and it will burn
brilliantly for several minutes; after it has ceased, take the pipe from
the fire, and, when cool, remove the clay, and a piece of coke will be
found inside. Toy balloons can be filled by this means. They are made of
goldbeater’s skin, sheet gutta percha, &c., and are miniatures of the
aëronautic machines seen on gala occasions.
THE FAIRY IRIS.
[Illustration: Fig. 120.]
Well mix in two ounces of spirits of wine half a drachm each of nitrate
of baryta, nitrate of copper, chloride of copper, and nitrate of
strontian. Put this liquid in a strong metal globe, holding a quarter of
a pint, by an aperture into which screws tightly a small fountain-jet
with a tap. Boil over a spirit-lamp. When the spirit boils, shut off
steam for five minutes. On turning the tap the whole of the spirit will
blow out and spread like a cloud, to which a light being applied, the
whole will become a fiery spray, tinted blue, green, red, yellow, &c.
Perform only in an empty room, where no harm can be done by an
explosion.
THE COLD LIQUID BECOMING SOLID UNDER HEAT.
Put equal parts of fixed alkali and of powdered quicklime, and boil them
in sufficient water rapidly; filter, and put in a well-stoppered bottle.
Again boil this liquor, either in the bottle or another container, until
it becomes pasty, or like thick glue. Let it cool, and it will become a
transparent liquid again. Repeat at pleasure.
INVISIBLE GASES MAKE A SOLID.
Muriatic acid and ammonia will combine to make a visible solid. Also
ammonia and carbonic acid.
GASES MAKE A LIQUID.
Oxygen and hydrogen form water.
CHEMICAL CURIOSITY.
The double salt potassio-chromic oxalate presents the curious anomaly of
being pure deep blue when in crystal, claret-red in strong solution, and
dusky green if further diluted. The crystals appear black by reflected,
but blue by transmitted light. A solution made by dissolving ten grains
of potassium bichromate, twenty grains of oxalic acid, and twenty grains
of potassium binoxalate in four ounces of hot water, if put into a white
glass bottle, appears to be a red solution when seen in the direction of
the longer diameter, but a green liquid viewed through the shorter.
[Illustration]
XVIII.—OPTICAL TRICKS.
[Illustration]
THE ILLUSION OF SUBTRACTION.
Against the wall of a room fix three small pieces of paper, about the
size of a sixpence; let them be about half a foot asunder, and the
height of the eye; stand about a yard distant, and, keeping both eyes
steadfastly fixed on the centre piece, all three pieces are visible. Now
shut the _right_ eye (keeping the left still on the centre), and the
piece which is opposite to the _left_ eye disappears; or close the
_left_ eye, and the _right_ piece cannot be seen: so that if either eye
be shut, the paper opposite its fellow becomes invisible; plainly
proving, that some objects opposite the left eye are viewed by the
right, and _vice versâ_, with the left eye closed, and the right piece
consequently invisible; remove the right eye from the centre, and carry
it to the piece on the left; the right piece now becomes visible, but
the centre disappears; and so on alternately, the three pieces not being
visible at the same time, as when both eyes are open, showing one of the
uses of having two eyes.
VARIATION.
Another method of trying this experiment is by holding both the thumbs
together at a little distance from, and at the height of the eyes: shut
the left eye, and keep the right steadfastly fixed on the left
thumb-nail; move the right thumb gently away in a horizontal direction,
and at the distance of two or three inches, the top of the thumb
disappears; but by carrying it a little further, it becomes visible
again.
COLOURED GLASSES IN FOGS.
When there is a fog between two places, so that the one station can with
difficulty be seen from the other, if the observer passes a coloured
glass between his eye and the eye-piece of his telescope, the effect of
the fog is very sensibly diminished, so that frequently signals from the
other station can be very plainly perceived, when, without the coloured
glass, the station itself could not be seen. The different colours do
not at all produce this effect in the same degree. The red seems the
most proper for the experiment. Those who have good sight prefer the
dark red: those who are short-sighted like light red better.
JAPANESE MYSTIC MIRRORS.
The bronze looking-glasses of Japan have the curious property of showing
in their reflection of a strong light on a screen, not only their own
polished surface, but the figures on the back.
These figures are fashioned by striking them out; they are then ground
down till the raised metal is levelled to the deepest indentation, when
the pattern is stamped once more, the face again ground, and the
operation repeated.
The alteration in the metal where this compression has visited it, is
not perceptible even with a magnifying glass, but in reflection it is
shown.
TRANSFIGURATION PICTURES.
[Illustration: Fig. 121.]
Having a picture on thin cardboard or paper, representing an interior or
exterior of a building, cut out three sides of a door, so that it will
bend back as if on hinges; behind the opening thus made fasten a second
picture, depicting a landscape, or the inside of a room, as the case
requires.
SUBJECTS.
“Pity the Sorrows of a Poor Old Man.” The upper picture is that of a
room with a fire in the chimney-place on one side, a well-filled supper
table on the other, the door in the middle. The under picture has a
background of a winter landscape, with an old blind man, leaning on his
staff, and taking off his hat, so placed as to seem to be on the
threshold.
“How glad they will be to see me!” The upper picture is a street, with a
man about to open the door; the under picture a room, in which several
children are quarrelling, amidst a chaos of broken toys, furniture, and
looking-glass, with mamma upsetting the tea-table in trying to beat a
bad boy teasing the cat.
THE EIDOTROPE.
Perforate two metal or board discs, and make one turnable around in
front of the other, by means of a band and pulley, while both are
mounted as a magic-lantern slide.
When their shadows are thrown on the screen, the effect of the revolving
plate more or less eclipsing the other, is to create singular forms.
To imitate watered silk, use wire gauze. For effect, let the light pass
through tinted glass.
[Illustration]
WRITING ON THE WALL.
A hand appears on the wall, and writes, and then rubs out what it has
written. Light the gas in a dark room. Next procure a mirror, stand at
the door of the room, and hold the mirror so that it will throw the
light of the gas on the wall or a white sheet outside of the room. Now
observe that, by holding your hand over the face of the mirror, the same
hand appears on the white wall or sheet. Next procure a small
paint-brush, about the size of a pen, and dip it in black paint, and
then make any figure or character the reverse way on the mirror, and of
course the same will appear on the wall on which the mirror reflects.
Now lay the brush aside, and rub out the figures or characters off the
mirror, and of course they will disappear off the wall also.
THE THEATRE WITH THE CURTAIN DOWN AND UP.
The sides of the proscenium and stage before the curtain unfold, and the
curtain is a slip of paper which is pulled up to discover the tableau as
above. The two figures are cut out and mounted on small spiral springs,
which make them stand out upon the stage when released from pressure.
THE MAGIC INVERSION.
Join two square parallel ends by a third piece, half an inch broad and
an inch and a half long, using a piece of cardboard doubled up, with
that interval between, as the simplest material. In the middle of one
end make a round hole, a little more than one-twelfth of an inch wide,
and in the centre of it fix the head of a pin or point of a needle.
Directly opposite, in the other side, make a large pinhole. If the
latter is held to a strong light, and the eye is applied to the other
hole, the head of the pin will be seen, not only greatly magnified, but
turned upside down.
THE PRETENDED ENDLESS ARCADE.
In public gardens an apparently endless walk, under arches of gas-jets,
is often seen. But, on walking down it, it is seen to be of restricted
length, the illusion being obtained by an artful lessening of the sweep
and height of the arch, after, during a certain distance, the arches
have been regularly spaced out. This being done according to the rules
of perspective, the keenest are deceived.
[Illustration]
THE WITCHES’ DANCE.
[Illustration]
Draw a figure of a witch riding on a broomstick, or a capering demon, on
a sheet of cardboard, and cut it clean out.
Make a square aperture in a partition facing a transparent screen, large
enough to comprise the figure, say twelve inches, and place the cut-out
board in it, tight as a pane of glass in its frame.
Let the part of the room where the audience sit be darkened, and the
only light pass through the hole in the partition, or rather through the
cut-out cardboard.
If but one light is held to the figure, the counterpart, enlarged
according to the distance between the screen and the picture, will be
single, but, on having three or more candles, the figures will be
trebled or quadrupled, and the effect will be startling and whimsical.
The limbs of such figures can be fashioned of wire, and the result is
highly amusing when a score of such figures are to be seen capering. The
jaws can move as if masticating, the arms may brandish a club, a
somersault may be executed, and so on. A ratchet and cogged wheel action
will make the movement backward and forward regular and fully
controllable.
The screen should be of cambric muslin, strained tightly, and soaked
with a varnish composed of picked gum-arabic and white starch, which
renders it diaphanous.
PENETRATIVE SIGHT.
[Illustration]
Take a piece of pasteboard, about five inches square, roll it into a
tube with one end just large enough to fit round the eye, and the other
end rather smaller. Hold the tube between the thumb and finger of the
right hand; put the large end close against the right eye, and with the
left hand hold a book against the side of the tube. Be sure and keep
both eyes open, and there will appear to be a hole through the book, and
objects, seem as if through the hole instead of through the tube. The
right eye sees through the tube, and the left eye sees the book, and the
two appearances are so confounded together that they cannot be
separated. The left hand can be held against the tube instead of a book,
and the hole will seem to be as if through the hand.
THE BLIND SPOT IN THE EYE.
L. R.
Look with both eyes on these two letters; then shut the right eye while
you look at the R, and gradually bring the book near your face. There is
a point where the L will disappear. Repeat with a change of the eye
employed.
THE BEWITCHED PLAYING CARD.
The dioptrical paradox consists of a hard-wood base, A, B, C, D, about
eight inches square, with a groove in which slides coloured prints or
drawings. Connected with the base are a pillar (E), a horizontal bar
(F), with a tube (G) directly over the centre of the base, and
containing a peculiarly shaped glass.
[Illustration: Fig. 122.]
_Performance._—An ace of diamonds, when placed on the base, will be
actually shown as an ace of clubs to anybody looking down through the
glass, or one animal is seen as another; in fact, any shape is presented
as something different.
_Explanation._—The glass (G) is like the common multiplying glass,
except that its sides are flat and diverge from its hexagonal base
upwards to a point in the axis of the glass, like a pyramid, each facet
being an isosceles triangle.
Regulate its distance from the eye so that each side will refract the
various parts of the drawing on the border so as to form one figure, and
the centre object be entirely unreflected.
The ace of clubs is, therefore, drawn mechanically on the circle of
refraction at six different parts of the border, and blended in with it.
So with the other drawings.
THE MAGIC CUBE-BOX.
An illusion is often practised at fancy fairs and bazaars, when a
spectator, looking into what he supposes to be an ordinary
looking-glass, sees his companion instead of himself. Of course the
exhibitor endeavours to show the illusion to two persons at once; and if
they are strangers to each other, and of opposite sex, a great deal of
fun is made out of the trick. Showmen at the fairs have made immense
harvests by showing two such mirrors, one to all the young girls who
wished to see their future husbands, and the other to all the young men
who wished to see their future wives.
_Explanation._—Make a cube-box, fifteen inches, say, each way, and stand
it on a pedestal to bring it to the height of the eye. In each side of
this box let there be an opening of an oval form, ten inches high and
seven wide. In this box place two mirrors with their backs against each
other. Let them cross the box in a diagonal line, and in a vertical
position. Decorate the openings in the side of this box with four oval
frames and transparent glasses, and cover each with a curtain so
contrived that all draw up together.
Place four persons (in the case first mentioned two are confederates) in
front of the four sides, and at equal distances from the box, and then
draw them up that they may see themselves in the mirrors, when each of
them, instead of his own figure, will see that of the person next to
him, but who will appear to him to be placed on the opposite side. Their
confusion will be the greater, as it will be very difficult, if not
impossible, for them to discover the mirrors concealed in the box. The
reason is that though the rays of light may be turned aside by a mirror,
yet they always _appear_ to proceed in right lines.
[Illustration: Fig. 123.]
YELLOW AND BLUE DO NOT MAKE GREEN.
With an electric or lime-light throw a disc of blue light and of yellow
light upon a screen, and cause them to overlap each other. Where they
overlap the space on the screen will be, not green, but a pure white. If
you then place a rod or pencil near the two sources of light, so that
two shadows of it shall fall on the white space where the discs overlap,
one shadow will be of brilliant blue colour, and the other deep yellow.
Mixed blue and yellow lights, therefore, do not make green. Mixed blue
and yellow paints make green, because between them they absorb nearly
all the rays of the spectrum except green, so green is the only colour
which escapes from the mixture.
A very curious practical illustration of this may be given. Everybody
has a yellow spot, more or less marked, on the retina of the eye; and
this yellow spot absorbs some of the greenish-yellow rays of the
spectrum. If you throw on the screen a circle of light, coloured by
passing the rays from the electric lamp through chloride of chromium,
the disc will then consist chiefly of red rays mixed with the rays which
are absorbed by the yellow spot. If the observers in the darkened
theatre look at the disc and wink slowly, they will see, with more or
less distinctness, an illusion like red clouds floating over the disc,
in consequence of most of the rays other than the red being absorbed by
the yellow spots in their eyes.
[Illustration]
THE MAGIC TEMPLE.
Trace on the hexagonal ground-plan, A, B, C, D, E, F, which serves as
base to the building, the six semi-diameters, G A, G B, G C, G D, G E, G
F, and on each of them rear perpendicularly two plain mirrors, joining
all exactly at the centre, G. These glasses should be very thin, set
back to back in each pair, and cut with a double bevel where the point
of junction falls.
[Illustration: Fig. 124.]
Ornament the six corners of the outer edge of the structure with as many
columns and their bases, into which the outer edge of the mirrors fit by
their grooves. Make the roof in any fashion you please.
In each of the six triangular spaces comprised between every two of the
glass walls little pasteboard figures in relief, representing six
different subjects, which will have a pleasing effect in a hexagonal
form.
With some ornament harmonizing with the temple hide the junction of the
mirrors.
_Action._—When any one looks into one of the six openings between any
two of the columns, the object there will be repeated six times, which
will be an extraordinary illusion if the subjects are suitable to the
arrangement of the mirrors.
_Observation._—If a part of a fortification is mounted between two of
the mirrors, such as a curtain and two demi-bastions, the entire citadel
will be seen, surrounded by six bastions; apportion of a ball-room, with
a quadrille party and one gaselier, will be multiplied, and so on.
The construction can be made on a triangular or square base, and is
equally agreeable; but as only three or four subjects can be shown, and
the parts of those subjects are parallel with the sides of the temple,
and therefore take a form like that at its base, the result is not so
wonderful.
[Illustration: Fig. 125.]
THAUMATROPE, OR WONDER TURNER.
Cut out a disc of cardboard or pasteboard, and drill three holes near
the edge on two opposite sides, in each of which tie a length of string.
In the centre on one side paint a jockey seated, and on the other
centre, upside down as compared with the man, a running horse.
_Performances._—If you take the strings, one set in each hand, and whirl
the disc round as on a horizontal axle, the strings will twist and keep
up the movement, during which the two pictures will unite as one. Other
objects may be a bird and cage, a juggler doing the knife or ball
tossing trick, a rat and trap, &c.
THE ARCADE OF VERDURE.
(_Unter den Linden._)
Make a box half as wide and high as long. At one end place a mirror,
exactly the size of the board, and fixed firmly against it, and remove
the quicksilver within a circle agreeing with an eyehole cut in the end.
Back the opposite end in the same way with a plane mirror.
Prepare grooves at right angles across the box, in which will slide two
sheets of cardboard, painted on both sides with trees and overarching
foliage, with the lights cut clear out, taking care that a bough will
prevent the eyehole being reflected in the opposite glass.
Paint two other boards similarly with foliage, and cut the lights out
and set them against the mirrors.
Cover the box with gauze, and frame a sheet of ground glass to form the
lid, which should be firmly fastened on. The bottom is to be painted
sandy colour or green, or may be varnished and strewn with moss whilst
wet. When viewed with a strong light, the effect will be as of an
endless vista, gradually fading away in the distance.
(See “The Endless Vista,” p. 300, _Magician’s Own Book_.)
THE PERSPECTIVE GLASS.
At one end of a box, twenty inches long and twelve high and wide, place
a concave mirror, of which the focus should be about fifteen inches from
the reflecting surface. Blacken the other end inside, and cut an eyehole
in it.
Darken the mirror by covering the top in from it to a little less than
half way along the box, where a blackened frame should be set, with a
sufficient opening to let the mirror reflect any object just under the
eyehole at the other end, where a grooved cleat permits picture-slides
to be inserted. Cover the other part of the box with ground glass or
other transparent media, to keep the inside from being seen.
[Illustration: Fig. 126.]
If you must use artificial light, let an aperture be practised in the
mirror end, so that the source of the illumination cannot be perceived.
Simple as is this contrivance, the figure drawn on a plane surface will
be given a natural perspective as wonderful as entertaining.
THE ENCHANTED LOOKING-GLASS.
Take a life-size picture of a man in a full-bottomed wig, or a lady in a
head-dress with head and shoulders only shown, and, having cut out the
face and all the background, glue it to the back of a looking-glass,
from which you have scraped away all the quicksilver just where this
cut-out picture goes.
Undertake to show any one his forefather, or her ancestress, as the case
may be, in their habiliments as they lived, and, on standing before the
mirror, their face will be reflected in the vacant place.
[Illustration: Fig. 127.]
THE OCULAR AND OLFACTORY HARPSICHORD.
Reverends Père Castel and the Abbé Poncell have constructed, on the
supposed connection of flavours, perfumes, and colours, the following
amusing scales:—
Ut blue sharp.
Ut dièze sea-green
Re bright green sickly, insipid.
Re dièze olive
Mi yellow sweet.
Fa deep yellow bitter.
Fa dièze orange
Sol red bitter-sweet.
Sol dièze crimson
La violet harsh.
La dièze violet-blue
Si iris blue piquant.
It is true that a blind man, noted in ocular science, likened the blast
of a trumpet to scarlet, and Shakspeare speaks of the sweet south wind,
but for the greater part of the above comparisons there is a deficiency
of authorities.
[Illustration]
SHADOWS ON THE WALL.
Take a print of a human face, with a Rembrandt or Tintoretto effect of
deep shadows and soft lights, and cut out the whole outline and all the
lights, picking with a pin the thin lines and spots. Heads of Christ,
and the Madonna as Our Lady of Sorrows, are excellent, for this purpose.
[Illustration: Fig. 128.]
On holding these up between the white wall and a lighted candle, in a
position found on trial, the figure formed seems to float vaguely
instinct with mournful life, the indistinctness of the outline aiding
the illusion.
IRREGULAR PROFILES FORMING SYMMETRICAL SHADOWS.
Nearly everybody has at some time been struck by the strangely accurate
shapes made by the shadows cast by the edges of a pile of irregular
formation, such as a heap of books, &c.
[Illustration: Fig. 129.]
[Illustration: Fig. 130.]
The heads of pipes, sword-hilts, umbrellas, and canes can be turned into
shapes unrecognizable as at all human, yet giving a shadow, of which the
outline reproduces the profile of some eminent man.
CHINESE SHADOWS.
Opaque bodies, cut in various shapes, are held against a transparent
screen, with a powerful light behind them. The audience are in a dark
room.
[Illustration: Fig. 131.]
To increase the effect, make the figures of acrobats, rope-dancers,
performers on the horizontal bar, &c., of sheet metal, and fit them with
joints, so that the limbs can be moved by mounting them on thin rods at
right angles with the rope on which they seem to walk. These rods can be
turned by cranks, or end in a cogged wheel locking in a ratchet.
ANAMORPHOSES; OR, DISTORTED FIGURES.
Having drawn a subject, such as a human face, on a piece of paper,
enclose it in a square, as A, B, C, D (Fig. 130), and divide it into
smaller squares by marking off equal parts of the sides and drawing
straight lines across, as when you wish to make a reduced copy of a
picture.
[Illustration: Fig. 132.]
Describe a parallelogram, E, B, F, G, the short side, E, G, being
divided into as many equal parts as A B, in our example 7. From the
centre of the side, B F, draw straight lines to the points of division
on the side E G. Assume the point I, on the side B F, as the height of
the eye above the picture; draw from I to the point E the straight line,
which cuts the lines diverging from H at the points 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Through these intersecting points draw parallel straight lines to divide
the triangle into as many trapeziums as there are small squares in the
square A, B, C, D.
Now fill up all the cells of the triangle with corresponding parts of
the drawing, taking the base of the triangle to be the head of the
picture transferred, and the comical distortion will be made. To see it,
however, like its original, bore a hole, K, in a board, L, placed
upright in H, so that the height, L K, equals H I, which must not be
great, in order that the distortion may be remarkable.
Several lines of letters forming a phrase or sentence, can be distorted
in a similar manner, so as to be read only by holding the paper so
inscribed at a certain position as regards the eye. Further anamorphoses
may be made by painting on curved surfaces, cylindrical, conical, or
spherical, which appear natural when seen from a certain point of view.
Still another way is to look at the reflection on a cylindrical mirror
of a drawing made only so to appear regular.
Another way to obtain the distorted picture is to prick out the outlines
of the original drawing, and hold it at an angle to a sheet of paper, so
that the light on the other side, streaming through the pinholes, shall
form a figure, which you can trace with pencil, more or less out of the
true position. To see this changed picture corrected, you must place
your eye where the light was.
By varying such pictures, they can be adapted to being seen aright by
reflections in cylindrical, conical, pyramidal, and prismatic mirrors.
OPTICAL FIREWORKS.
_A Gerb of Fire._—On white paper draw the figure of a gerb of fire, lay
it on quite opaque paper, black on both sides, and with a very sharp
penknife cut several slashes at unequal intervals from the gerb centre;
pierce these breaks with holes to represent the sparks. The lines and
holes both paint the effect of burning powder issuing from a small
aperture.
[Illustration: Fig. 133.]
_Globes, Pyramids, or Revolving Columns._—Draw the outlines on paper,
and cut them out in a helical or spiral form. For the various tints,
paste coloured transparent paper at the back.
TO GIVE MOTION.
_Jet of Fire._—Prick various sized holes at unequal distances apart in a
band of paper, but few in one part, others thinly scattered, others
profusely sprinkled, to represent the sudden bursts of sparks. This band
is to ascend between a light and the jet made on paper as above.
_Cascade._—The same perforated band is to move downwards instead of
upwards, which is done by making the band wind off one roller as another
winds it on.
[Illustration: Fig. 134.]
_Globes, Columns, Pyramids._—The band of paper cut out in apertures
inclined at a somewhat different angle from that of their spirals, must
move upwards vertically. Thus the fire will seem to be continually
ascending along these spirals, and the machine will appear to revolve
with them.
_Suns._—These are more difficult, as you must picture fire proceeding
from the centre to the circumference. On strong paper describe a circle
a little larger than the surface of your sun. On this trace two spirals,
one-twelfth of an inch apart, and open the intervening space with a
knife, cutting the paper from the circumference, decreasing in breadth
to a certain distance from the centre. Then cut the remainder of the
circle into similar spirals, alternately open and close. Paste it on an
iron hoop, supported by an iron cross, and set all on a stand which will
let it freely turn round its centre.
[Illustration: Fig. 135.]
[Illustration: Fig. 136.]
On placing this between a light and your sun, and moving it towards that
side to which the convexity of the spiral is turned, the opening will
give, on the image of the sun’s rays or jets of fire, the appearance of
fire continuously flowing from the centre to the circumference.
THE SULTAN’S SUMMER PALACE ILLUMINATED.
Take a print of an Oriental palace, and colour it properly. On the back
paste paper to make it but partially transparent. With differently sized
points prick small holes in the places, and on the lines where lamps and
lanterns are generally placed, as along the sides of windows, cornices,
arches of doors, balustrades, and as if suspended from trees. The
greater the supposed distance of these architectural and decorative
features, the smaller and closer these punctures must be. With large
punches cut out the stronger lights, as of Bengal fires in pots, and so
forth.
Cut out the panes of some of the windows, and paste at the back gelatine
paper of green or red colour, as if they were curtains within an
illuminated room.
Place the print thus prepared in the front of a box representing a
miniature theatre, strongly lighted from the back, and look at it
through a convex glass of a rather long focus.
There may be added some pieces of Chinese or artificial fireworks, moved
by clockwork.
THE PENETRATIVE EYEGLASS.
Perhaps some one in the company has made use of the saying that he “can
see as far through a millstone as anybody.”
Eagerly espouse his cause, and declare him, indeed, gifted with
preternatural vision, as you will prove to him by your magic spyglass.
A box is made with two upright extensions, in which are placed the tubes
of telescopes, with plain glass eyepieces. A A A A are plane mirrors,
set all at an angle of 45 degrees, so that any one looking in at either
end, sees whatever is visible at the other extremity.
[Illustration: Fig. 137.]
THE POLEMOSCOPE.
This is an utilisation of the last-mentioned trick.
If the higher glass is placed behind the other, or even with its sides
parallel with its own, the latter could be behind an impenetrable wall
to shelter the observer, without the landscape being out of the scope of
vision.
Another plan is to place the upper mirror without a window above the
house-door, to reflect the part of the street beneath upon a mirror
within on the sill.
A third is in miniature, by which an opera-glass has an opening at the
side of the barrel, by which one’s neighbours are scrutinized while, to
all appearance, one is intently examining the performers. Happily the
frequenters of the playhouse of the present day are less sensitive than
our forefathers, and no such deceptions to avoid showing impoliteness
are in request.
THE HEAD DECAPITATED AND FLOATING IN THE AIR THREE YARDS FROM THE BODY.
This is a modification of “The Sphinx,” or “The Head of the Decapitated
Speaking,” as it is called, of which _The Magician’s Own Book_ contains
a full explanation.
A hole is made in a large plane mirror, through which the actor puts his
head. It is set at an angle so as to reflect the ceiling of the little
chamber where the decapitation has occurred; hence the spectators
believe they see it suspended in the air. The front corners and edge of
the mirror are artfully masked by architectural ornaments, and the upper
edge enters at the joining point of the ceiling and supposed wall.
[Illustration]
THE ILLUMINATED HEAD OF ISIS.
The description of the fiery-faced God of the Egyptians in Lord Lytton’s
“Last Days of Pompeii” is vivid enough for it almost to provide data for
an illusion in itself. However, we can form one upon it.
[Illustration: Fig. 138]
Get a false face made of the Egyptian type (the Sphynx would be
suitable), of fine muslin, and dressed with wax to make it transparent.
Fasten it on a board with drapery in accordance with it; cut out at the
back a place where a white glass bottle can stand on a shelf, closed in
on all sides by that in the opening, and containing a solution of a few
grains of phosphorus in some essential oil of cloves. Have the stopper
at the end of a rod working on a pivot, so that a touch will lift it out
of the bottle. When out, the air entering makes the phosphorus glow with
a mysterious light. The impression can be enhanced by a few chords on a
celestine or harmonica.
A NIGHT WATCH LAMP.
Contrive a six-sided box, six inches in diameter and ten deep, lined
with tin or other polished surface, and with a double convex lens in the
centre of one side. On the opposite side, exactly in its middle, cut out
a hole to receive the face of a watch, with a little shelf outside to
hold the case firmly.
Support the box in the centre on a hollow leg, which is watertight and
is filled with water, to float a night-light, and let the leg fit into a
stand to go on a table by the bed-side or on a shelf at the foot of the
bed.
_Action._—The lens will magnify the reflection of the watchface so that
the figures can be clearly distinguished.
DOUBLE-COLOURED REFLECTION.
Bore a hole through a disc of tinted glass with a bradawl, kept moist
with oil of turpentine, frame it in your forefinger and thumb held
around the edge, and let a strong light pass through it.
With a blue glass the centre spot will be orange; with green, red; with
red, green, &c.
THE PHANTOM FLOWER.
(_Palingenesia._)
A plain white glass decanter is taken up and placed on a table, when it
is filled with water. It is pretended that this fluid is enchanted,
since, after a flower has been selected from a bouquet and burnt by the
spectator himself, its exact image is presented in the bottle.
[Illustration: Fig. 139.]
[Illustration: Fig. 140.]
_Explanation._—Behind a partition, A B (Fig. 140), place a concave
mirror E F, ten inches diameter, and at a distance three-fourths from
its centre, somewhat inclined. In the partition cut a square or circular
opening, about eight inches wide, directly opposite the mirror. Behind
have a light to illuminate any object at C, without shining on the
mirror or being visible at the opening. Behind the aperture and beneath
it place inverted the object of which a phantom is to appear.
Before the partition, just under the hole, set a bouquet-holder or
flowerpot (or, at the opening, as in this case, the bottle of water),
that the image may seem to be standing in it.
All extraneous light must be kept from the mirror by blackening the
surfaces around it.
The spectator will see the image so real that he will be apt to attempt
to pluck it, if a flower and a flowerpot is substituted for the bottle.
The different flowers of a bouquet have counterparts set on the
circumference of a disc, of which the edge comes to the proper point to
present one of them to the mirror.
The magician, on seeing a certain flower taken to be destroyed, has
ample time to set the disc in motion and place the duplicate in
position.
[Illustration]
THE MAGIC CAMERAS.
The Chadburn attachment to the oxyhydrogen microscope serves its purpose
excellently, but a singular means of exhibiting _opaque_ bodies, of any
description whatever, has been contrived by the Optician Kruss, of
Hamburg.
[Illustration: Fig. 141.]
A tin box, 4 4 4 4, a foot cube, or a little less high than broad and
long, is divided by a tin partition, M, into two compartments, A and B,
dark chambers, in fact.
In the room, B, a lamp, C, has a concave reflector, D, which
concentrates the light upon a condensing lens (commonly called a bull’s
eye), E. This light is directed upon the place F, where a door is made
with a convenient slit for the insertion of prints, cartes de visite, or
other photographs, lace, gems, jewels (the most intricate patterns
afford pictures of great beauty, and the scintillations of colour from
diamonds and other stones are perfectly bewitching), &c. Or the door can
be opened, and one’s hand, eye, ear, or any other object held to the
light, is likewise projected on the screen through the tube H H. This
tube is solidly inserted in the end of the room A, diametrically
opposite an imaginary circle drawn on the side or end of the door F. A
second tube slides freely in and out, containing two lenses, as in
ordinary magic lanterns.
A screen is constructed of an upright frame, on which is smoothly
stretched common white tissue-paper, or the same oiled, or linen or silk
made transparent.
An object being placed in the door F, the light being turned on and the
focus being properly obtained, the picture projected on the screen will
be seen by persons on its other side greatly magnified.
Where the oxyhydrogen light cannot be used the lamp should furnish the
next best light. Pure sperm oil, in which crushed camphor, an ounce to
half a pint, has been dissolved in gentle heat, in a suitable lamp, with
an argand chimney to prevent flickering, will be sufficient.
We should add that a tin chimney, bent as in magic lanterns, will, of
course, be required to complete the apparatus.
[Illustration]
THE IMAGE LIKE LIFE.
Take a concave mirror of the diameter of 40 inches, and three in
concavity, made by cementing pieces of looking-glass on a wooden mould.
The focus will be three feet six inches or so from the mirror.
The image of a person standing before it will be so vivid and seemingly
solid that it will terrify even a strong-minded experimentalist.
As a reflector of light or a burning-glass, the effects are wonderful,
even with an English sun.
THE NOSTRADAMUS TRICK.
The story goes that Nostradamus, the great trickster of France in the
days of Francis and the Henries, showed the Queen Dowager Marie de
Medicis a throne occupied by Henry the Fourth.
Upon a throne he had a confederate, costumed and “made up” to resemble
the _Béarnais_. In the wall of the room, at a point opposite him, an
opening was made by which a plane mirror hidden in a canopy in another
room should reflect the figure upon a second mirror naturally visible.
As the two reflectors were set at the same angle, the picture presented
by the second was an exact counterpart of the counterfeit prince.
PROTEUS.
THE INCREDIBLE TRANSFORMATION.
Memoirs are but too often dull reading, but those of Robertson, the
French perfector of phantasmagorian exhibitions under the Revolution,
contain some valuable revelations. That of the mode of executing
transformations of a human being beyond the wildest dreams of the
fabulist who created Proteus, is here given.
In the partition between two rooms make a horizontal slit, and apply on
one side a sliding frame containing a flint-glass prism, and a piece of
ordinary white glass, which can be moved up and down by wires set in
motion in the room overhead, so as to present at will one or the other
of the glasses, through which may be seen the interior, or scene of the
experiment. But the rays from an object entering a prism are deflected,
and as a consequence, the whole apartment is reversed, so that the
ceiling and floor change places. If a chair is lowered through a hole in
the ceiling, it will seem to be standing on the floor.
The audience are allowed to inspect the inner room, and see that the
wall and floor are solid and the chair there is without secret
machinery. Then, on their withdrawal into the adjoining apartment, and
looking through the plain glass, they will see the performer seat
himself in the chair.
He asks—in a prearranged order—what transformation is desired, such as
that he shall be capped, in Bottom’s fashion, with an ass’s head, a
bear’s, lion’s, wolf’s, and so forth, and, on receiving an answer,
declaims a magical formula, as:
“Aroonel intabbara, marandizala tafmaquirisolon—Zambelara!”
At the last word a pistol is fired unawares, and, as the lookers
involuntarily start, the prism is substituted for the plain glass, and
there is seen a duplicate chair let down from the ceiling, in which is
seated a puppet dressed like the magician, but with an animal’s head.
_Observation._—The slit must not permit the ends of the legs of the
chair to be seen, or the vision would see the floor at the same time as
the prism was showing the ceiling, which would be ruinous.
All the room must be of the same colour, and without ornaments or
hangings, for the prism turns them topsy turvy.
It is to be added that the change of the plain glass for the other
replaces the performer before the eye, for, indeed, he has not stirred.
[Illustration]
THE ENCHANTED TELESCOPE.
In this variation of the Nostradamus Trick, a telescope-tube is mounted,
instead of the false mirror, on a stand on a table. It has a plane
mirror set in it at an angle of forty-five degrees over the stand, which
is hollow and communicating with a drawer of the table, opening into the
next room, with a second plane mirror, to reflect any person therein, up
to the tube reflector.
The inner room should be dark, so that, when the light is cut off, the
figure will vanish.
THE HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.
Before a concave mirror, which the spectator sees, have a little railway
with a head on a dish, in wax or plaster, strongly illuminated, and
concealed from him. Let a wire in the hands of an assistant, or wound on
a drum by the release of a detaining spring, draw this head on its
carriage into the focus of the mirror, when it will seem to start out
and fly towards the beholder.
THE DAGGER OF MACBETH.
A table is shown on which is a looking-glass. The room is darkened, when
a white arm and a hand brandishing a dagger is seen suddenly to appear
and menace the spectator.
_Explanation._—The glass of the mirror slides out of the frame at a
signal. Behind it is a concave mirror set on the floor at an angle in an
opening in the wall. Within the other room an arm and hand of wax,
holding a dagger, are mounted so as to descend, while brilliantly
illumined, towards the concave mirror.
A person can show his or her face instead of his arm or the false limb,
and something rather laughable than terrifying is recommended for such
experiments to a juvenile auditory.
THE GHOST ILLUSION.
In _The Secret Out_ the explanation of “The Witch of Endor” trick showed
how spectres may be made to appear by aid of the magic lantern.
[Illustration: Fig. 142.]
In the Middle Ages phantoms were called up by that means or by
reflectors, but the inability to procure apparatus in perfection seems
to have delayed the complete achievement of a success.
In 1847 M. Robin, the Parisian prestidigitateur, startled Lutetia with
his presentation of ghosts, almost solid forms, through which,
nevertheless, swords were passed, to prove their intangibility.
Robertson had attempted the same, but with a complication of mirrors,
plane and convex, which were hardly workable.
But, in seeking simplicity, the later inventor left a difficulty
unavoided. In the front of a stage, below it, he places the personator
of the ghost, illumined with a powerful light. A part of the stage is
open, over which leans, at an angle of forty-five degree, a very
smoothly polished plate of glass, as large as the stage from the “flies”
to the boards, and its edges hidden from the audience by trees, &c.
The reflected figure appears on the stage as far behind the glass as its
cause is before it.
The trouble is that, to counterbalance the inclination of the glass, the
actor must stand vertically on an inclined platform.
Professor Pepper and Mr. Tobin place a plane mirror exactly opposite the
plate-glass below it, which reflects an actor who may stand in a natural
position. This suffices for a single figure; but for more than one the
Robin inconvenience has to be endured.
[Illustration: Fig. 143.—An Oriental Magician.]
The phantascope, spectroscope, are other names for this deception.
The Eastern jugglers are spoken of as executing a trick which seems done
by this means.
A chain is seen in the air up which animals ascend; after all have
disappeared, the chain is apparently pulled up by them, for it is lost
to sight. This could be represented by this means, at all events.
THE SAINT’S HEAD IN A GLORY.
[Illustration]
Mr. Panky, in showing his Gallery of Art to some friends, suddenly
directs attention to a painting of a saint, upon whose head a mysterious
and divinely golden light seems continuously to glow. To add to the
bewilderment of the gazers, the light suddenly ceases to descend, and,
in a twinkling, emanates from the saint’s head in a magnificent nimbus.
There is no resemblance to electric light or any other known, and the
undulating motion is incomprehensible under natural laws.
_Explanation._—The painting is set in a small frame in the centre of a
larger one.
At the back of the picture is a cogged wheel, of which the teeth move a
series of pinions. In each of these latter is immovably inserted one end
of a white glass rod, around which runs a spiral thread of gold (colours
may be substituted), and its other end terminating in a point. These
points work freely in sockets on the rim of the larger circle, equally
distant, to which, consequently, they diverge.
[Illustration: Fig. 144.]
When the cogwheel turns the pinions the glass cylinders revolve, and the
spiral lines change their position continually to the vision, and, as
the wheel turns to the left or right, the light seems to run up from or
flow down to the picture.
[Illustration]
XIX.—COMPLICATED TRICKS IN MECHANICAL MAGIC.
[Illustration: PUPPETS, MARIONETTES, FANTOCCINI, &c., &c.]
THE POTATO MANNIKIN.
For an impromptu puppet to answer questions about cards, concealed
watches, and so forth, cut a hole in a potato at one end for a
forefinger to enter. Scoop out for eyes, nose, and mouth; put on a
horsehair wig and beard. Drape the hand in a handkerchief to represent
the cloaked body, while the thumb and middle finger play the part of
arms, and you have such an improvised Talking Hand as Edmund Kean
employed to hold Byron spellbound for hours, and as is described of more
elaborate manufacture in the “Art of Amusing.”
[Illustration: Fig. 145.]
A MASQUERADE TRICK.
At the height of the merriment of a grand ball in an opera house, there
suddenly is heard in an upper tier, a sound as of a violent quarrel,
amidst which uproar such shouts of terrible import as, “Over with him!”
“Turn him out!” “Throw him over!” are distinguishable.
Suddenly a tumultuous group are seen from below to approach the railing,
among the furious combatants of which one figure is seen battling
fiercely. But all his frantic resistance is seen to be useless; his hold
is detached from the seats, and slowly but surely he is bent over the
rail, and—as a cry of horror breaks from the onlookers’ pale lips—is
flung over upon the mass of spellbound revellers beneath.
[Illustration: Fig. 146.]
Dashed to the floor? Dear, no! for his descent is abruptly suspended at
about the height of a man, and he swings calmly above the plumes and
head-dresses.
It was but a puppet with a rope round under the armpits regulated to
prevent it from falling among the people in the pit.
[Illustration]
THE COMIC ANATOMIST AND DANCING BOGIE.
The negro minstrels excite much laughter by a burlesque anatomical
lecture upon a ludicrous skeleton drawn on a slate or blackboard.
[Illustration: Fig. 147.]
Having traced the figure with chalk, after a short introductory speech,
proceed with the lecture, and at the end express amazement that the
audience should not have been impressed with the solemnity of your
discourse, you, of course, being unaware that the drawing has
mysteriously become animated.
You suddenly perceive that the figure has taken to dancing, and,
inexpressibly shocked, you endeavour to quell its Terpsichorean
propensities. Finding that in vain, you cut the Gordian knot by seizing
the board, and running out of the room with it, despite the vigorous
kicking of the anatomy.
The next instant you return, and, making your bow, say gravely:
“Ladies an’ gemblemen: If de skillingtums ack dis yere way wid de
perfessers, what will dey do when de medical men is all lady doctors?”
And exit.
_Explanation._—The black board has both sides alike. On the one not seen
at first by the audience a skeleton, drawn on black cardboard, is cut
and pinned up by the head. The thread connecting the limbs at the joints
and the pulling string should be black.
After making a few chalk marks on the board, you turn it and chalk the
edges of the skeleton, the limbs, the ribs, &c., without moving it. Then
take the pulling string in your left hand, held behind the board, whilst
your right gesticulates and points out the osteological peculiarities,
and set the figure dancing as you please.
If made of metal, strings can be adjusted to shake the head, unfold the
fingers, &c.
[Illustration: Fig. 148.]
Dolls with ball-and-socket joints to the limbs make excellent
marionettes. Suspend them as in figure 148.
The rod A is held in the left hand, and the different threads are worked
with the right fingers. If the figure has many articulations and threads
to control their movements, hang the stick on a hook at its centre, and
use both ends.
A proscenium is constructed, with “a scene flat” set far enough back to
let your hands play freely in the intervening space.
THE GYROSCOPE.
This instrument illustrates the law, that the axis of rotation is
preserved, in any fixed direction, immovable, while the particles
surrounding it are in rapid rotary motion. Hence the humming and the
peg-top stand erect, the axis of rotation—the spike or the peg—being
kept in a vertical position while in motion; it falls as soon as this
motion sinks below a certain rate. This power may be illustrated by
placing a disc of wood, or of metal, upon one end of a weighing beam,
from which one of the scales has been removed. The disc being equipoised
by weights in the opposite scale, place the beam at an angle of 45—the
disc being the lowest end—then, by striking the disc, get it into rapid
rotation. It will be found that, while spinning, the beam is preserved
rigidly in its position; but, as the disc comes to rest, the beam is
restored to its horizontal position. Several small weights may be placed
in the scale, while the disc is rotating, without disturbing the
position of the beam.
[Illustration]
EXPERIMENT WITH THE GYROSCOPE.
(From the _Mechanic_.)
[Illustration: Fig. 149.]
The ordinary gyroscopic action takes place when the lever D is held, the
weight F being carried horizontally round the vertical axis, passing
through the pivots C C. When the wheel is not spinning, the weight F
turns the ring A A into the vertical position, so that the weight pulls
downwards in the vertical line passing through the centre of the wheel.
The parts carried by the lever D are then accurately balanced by means
of the adjustable weight H. The ring A A is next held, in the position
shown, by the thread G being hooked on the pivot screw opposite the
weight F. If now the ring B is turned round on the pivots C C, the
gyroscope or the weight H will preponderate accordingly as the weight F
is further from or nearer to the supporting point of the pillar E than
the centre of the wheel. Finally, spin the wheel, and throw off the
thread G. It will then be found that although the weight F, in being
carried round by the gyration, is continually altering its distance from
the point of support, the apparatus keeps in balance. The gravitation of
the weight F is _not_, as some think, annihilated or converted into
horizontal action, but still _tells_ fully, doing so, however, as though
acting at the centre of the wheel. If any of my readers should wish to
try this experiment, they must have the apparatus very carefully made;
and they must bear in mind that the conditions required for the
experiment cannot be maintained for many seconds, as the friction of the
pivots and other resistances cause the introduction of forces which,
slowly at first, but with increasing rapidity, change the relative
positions of the parts.—E. H.
[Illustration: Fig. 150.]
THE HIGHFLYER.
In two corks, A and B, insert four wing-feathers from any bird, so as to
be slightly inclined, like the sails of a windmill, but in opposite
directions to each set. A round shaft is fixed in the cork A, which ends
in a sharp point. At the upper part of the cork B is fixed a whalebone
bow, having a small pivot-hole in its centre, to receive the point of
the shaft. The bow is then to be strung equally on each side to the
upper portion of the shaft, and the little machine is completed. Wind up
the string by turning the bow, so that the spring of the bow may unwind
the corks, with their anterior edges ascending; then place the cork,
with the bow attached to it, upon a table, and with a finger pressed on
the upper cork, press strongly enough to prevent the string from
unwinding, and taking it away suddenly, the instrument will rise to the
ceiling.—Dr. Piesse.
[Illustration: Fig. 151.]
THE MECHANICAL ÆROSTAT.
Make a “flyer” by attaching three vanes to a common centre, mounted
perpendicularly on a pin. These vanes are segments of a circle of which
the obliquity increases as they recede from the centre of motion.
[Illustration: Fig. 152.]
A stand is made to hold it while a cord is wound round the spindle. On
pulling the string, it will ascend.
The vanes must be adjusted angularly for the best effect.
ARTIFICIAL SNAKES.
String on three parallel threads a number of small wooden scales,
somewhat thick in the middle, and rounded at the edges, to form a length
tapering to a point, while the other end is furnished with a carved head
as of a serpent. Fasten the threads so that they are moderately tight.
When taken up by the middle horizontally the two ends have a tendency to
sink, but being prevented by the connection, they move to one side or
the other. They can also be made of flat pieces, with one thread running
straight through all to form a length, and a thread to run through them
all alternately on one side and the other, opposite each other. If
turned, boxwood is better than ivory, which easily breaks.
[Illustration: Fig. 153.]
[Illustration]
THE PIPING BULLFINCH.
If one of the mechanical singing-bird toy-boxes is opened so that the
machinery is laid bare, the mystery will disappear.
[Illustration: Fig. 154.]
The little bird who pops up on his feet when the lid of the box is
opened, flutters his wings, and opens his mouth as the trill comes
forth, has nothing to do with the sound.
That comes from a short tube, which has a supply of air from a little
bellows, regulated by a piston. Its action is controlled by a lever,
acted on by the same clockwork which works the bellows, and turns a
barrel set with pins for the tune like any barrel-organ.
To make one, get a toy bird, and mount it on a box, concealed in which
is such an instrument as is found in musical albums and valentines; the
opening of its bill and wings needs a very simple connection with the
wheel of the barrel.
THE WONDERFUL WELL.
A little model well, mounted on a stand, is shown to the company, and is
held upside down to prove that it is empty. Four different kinds of
seed, as rape, hemp, canary, millet, and so on, are mixed together (or
coloured sweetmeats, those called “hundreds-and-thousands” being
suitable), and the mass is thrown down the well. The company then decide
in what order they will have the sorts of seed separately drawn up, and
this had better be written down to prevent difficulties, as
1st, Hempseed; 2nd, canary; 3rd, rape; 4th, millet.
A little bucket attached to a revolving beam above the well is let down,
and each time that it is drawn up, bring up the seeds in the order
prearranged.
_Explanation._—In the lower half of the well, level with each other, are
four cells, at the height of the bucket from the bottom of the well. The
floor of these cells is inclined towards the well, so that, on the doors
of these cells being opened, their contents must slide out into the
well. In each cell is one sort of seed. The doors are valves opened by
pressure on secret springs on the outside of the well, like the keys of
a flute. The well narrows at the bottom so as to only admit the bucket.
At the bottom of the well is a secret trap, down which the mixed seed
falls and is no more seen.
_Operation._—When the mixed seed has been thrown down and falls into the
secret receptacle, the performer takes the well in his hand, and places
his fingers on the little slightly projecting pins which work the valves
of the cells. All that is now to be done is to make that valve open
which will open the cell of the seed demanded.
[Illustration]
THE TWIN SINGING-BIRDS.
Mr. Panky brings forward a cage in which are two birds, perched on
different branches of a tree, which sing, one the first part, the other
the second, of a piece of music, which would hardly let anyone to
believe them live birds trained to so exquisite a degree.
But when their bodies are found to be covered with shells, and their
eyes made of precious stones, that illusion cannot for a moment be
entertained. And yet it is unreasonable that mechanism should impel
their action, when they are seen to spring from one bough to another,
while perfectly detached from the cage itself.
The smallness of their size, and the multiplicity and variety of their
movements, preclude the supposition of their tiny bodies being the cases
of clockwork.
_Explanation._—The birds are really attached by wires of communication.
Their perches, on which they alternately alight, join at one end so as
to form an angle of forty-five degrees. The birds are in no wise
attached to either of them, but at the outer extremity of fine tubes—the
other end being on a joint at the place of junction of the two
perches—which tubes contain the fine wires which open the bill and
wings. The outer point carries the bird, in each case, along the line of
an arc of forty-five degrees. It passes so quickly through the air that
a forewarned spectator would hardly perceive it; but as the exchange of
position is made when attention is diverted by Mr. Panky, no clue is
given.
This movement is a great improvement on the ordinary twin singing-birds
of the conjurors, which simply stand on a cross-handled perch, or fixed
tube, through which the wires pass.
THE AUTOMATON ARTIST AND WRITER.
(_Robert Houdin’s Improvement._)
Mr. Panky introduces to the audience his young friend, a puppet, arrayed
as the secretary to royalty, in an exquisite court dress of the time of
Louis XV., and removes him from a sideboard to his table set in front of
the audience, that they may see no deception is possible.
The mannikin has a little table before him, on which his hands rest, but
can be lifted up.
Mr. Panky furnishes him with paper and a pencil, and begs the audience
to suggest a subject for the exercise of his artistic skill.
The ladies’ voice is for a rose or a bird. The secretary moves his eyes,
bows, and at once sets to tracing before him an excellent picture of the
objects voted for.
He also writes down answers to questions, tells the time to a second,
the age of the inquirer, and all without the least vestige or sound of
hidden mechanism.
At the end, Mr. Panky takes the figure up bodily from his little chair,
and pops him into a hat, whence he mysteriously vanished.
_Explanation._—A pantograph is required, and upon that a preliminary
description is given.
Four rules are mounted as a square, so as to move freely on the nails D,
E, F, G; when the instrument is fastened on a table at the point C, and
a pin at B traces the lines of a picture, the pencil placed at A
duplicates the marks double that size. By shifting the slide attached to
the fixed point C and the slide carrying the pencil along their
respective arms, the proportion will be varied.
[Illustration: Fig. 155.]
A fixed arm from F to G would conduce to the steadiness and reliability
of the apparatus.
However, it suffices for Mr. Hanky Panky’s experiment.
The puppet seems to be completely isolated from any underhand
management, because it can be detached from its seat and the table; but
a real communication exists between its right arm and that of a
confederate in the room beneath.
When the automaton is in his seat, the needle A B is thrust up through
the floor, carpet, and table, E F, to enter the cylinder, C D, concealed
in the chair at the part of the pantograph B.
Then the part A B, hidden in the room below, forms one with the part C
D, within the figure, and the two united become the end of the
pantograph.
_Performance._—All the drawing done by the assistant unseen must be
repeated at the point K. Now, the pantograph being within the body of
the automaton, and setting its arm in motion, it seems as if it was
drawing of its own volition.
[Illustration: Fig. 156.]
_Observation._—The needle A B, and the cylinder C D, when in junction,
form a kind of lever with its fulcrum in the room below, and,
consequently, all the movements given to the point B are first repeated
in miniature at B of the pantograph in reverse, and then large at A.
[Illustration]
THE AUTOMATON PERFORMER ON THE HORIZONTAL BAR.
Make a puppet with its arms inflexible at the elbow; put on a
ball-and-socket joint at the shoulder; the arms are bent as shown in the
illustration.
At the points G H and L M on the bar are tubes, covering it; with the
joins hidden by mock garlands of flowers; the tube can, however, enter
the two supports. To this tube the figure is fastened by the forearms.
[Illustration: Fig. 157.]
An assistant of Mr. Panky is concealed on the side C, where he turns the
crank R, to make the figure execute a quarter turn to the left. The
automaton now moves, from having his arms parallel with the horizon;
rises gradually until his arms are placed vertically and parallel to the
rest of his body.
If another quarter turn be made in the same direction, the upper arms
then lean towards the spectator, and necessarily drag the body after
them. The limbs offer no resistance, as they are jointed at the hip and
knee.
The confederate, being on the watch, can take advantage of the moment
when one leg passes before the other to let the mannikin drop astride
the bar. Then he makes him swing, and finally execute a somersault; all
to the movements of a piece of music.
As a finish, a jerk is given to a wire, and the figure is detached and
falls to the floor. It will be believed thereby that mechanism made it
grasp the bar, perform, and detach itself.
As the tube wraps the bar in all places except where the figure is
attached, and hides all the turnings of the bar, no complicity is ever
suspected.
[Illustration]
THE AUTOMATON TUMBLER.
Figure 158 represents the only motor of a little figure which, placed in
a cell on top of a flight of stairs, will, upon the bell of his
residence being pulled, fly out heels over head, and, tumbling
somersaults down the steps, alight in a chair at the bottom, in order to
be at his ease before his visitor.
[Illustration: Fig. 158.]
It is a small piece of light wood, two inches long, one-sixth of an inch
thick, half an inch broad.
At its two ends are two holes, C and D, which receive two pins, around
which the legs and arms of the figure play. At each end also is a small
receptacle, nearly concentric with the holes C and D, having an oblique
prolongation towards the middle of the piece of wood. From their ends
proceed two grooves, G and F, in the wood, a-twelfth of an inch wide.
Nearly fill one of these receptacles with quicksilver, and glue
pasteboard on the sides to close it up.
To the axis passing through C fix two legs with long feet. The other has
the arms with hands so placed as to become a base when the figure is
turned backwards. On the G H part a head of elder-pith is glued, painted
and dressed with a wig and cap. The body is made of the same substance,
and a silk petticoat or skirted coat is added.
To prevent the figure or its legs turning any more after reaching the
resting-place of the feet, two small pegs are made to meet a
prolongation of the thighs.
[Illustration: Fig. 159.]
[Illustration: Fig. 160.]
To make the arms present themselves firmly and horizontally when the
figure turns backwards, furnish the arms with two small pulleys,
concentric to the axis of the motion of these arms, over which run two
silk threads, uniting under the front of the figure, and fixed to a
small cross-bar joining the middle of the thighs. Adjust these threads
till there is no unsteadiness in the figure when it is placed up or down
on its four supporters.
Generally a box is made to contain this figure, and open out into being
the flight of stairs to be performed upon.
[Illustration]
THE AUTOMATON FLUTE-PLAYER.
(_The Masterpiece of Vaucanson._)
A figure is made of about quarter life size. (Vaucanson’s stood five
feet and a half.) In it and its pedestal are contained these works:—A
strong spring, which, when wound up, moves nine bellows, three rows of
three each. One set is soft, one medium, and one forte. Three separate
reservoirs receive the air from each series, each by a valve letting it
then into a single pipe ending in the figure’s mouth.
The same spring makes a barrel, on which is mounted an air, as usual in
organs, revolve. Its pins set three levers in play, which connect, by
chains, with the three valves, and so control the force required,
whether natural, forte, or piano.
Another lever moves a chain which opens or shuts a tongue in the
figure’s mouth, in order to emit or stop all sounds.
Of four other levers, one opens the lips, one closes them; one draws
them back, and one moves them forward.
Seven other levers communicate with the seven fingers, which do all the
fingering, and make them move properly.
As there will be breaks in the direct line of action, use bell-levers
where required.
_Explanation of the Action._—To sound the _mi_ base, the cylinder-pin
for that note would move that lever of the right third finger, which
opens the first flutehole; another pin moves the lever of the tongue; a
third, the _piano_ valve; a fourth is the lip-opener, and a fifth draws
the lips back from the flutehole. In all, five movements, executed at
the same time.
THE AUTOMATON DRUMMER.
This figure is worked after the same plan. But it has been superseded
for magicians by the “Spirit Drum.”
_Performance._—If the machine can play but one tune, the following trick
is devised to make it seem that it plays at will any one of twelve airs.
Twelve blocks are shown to the company, on which are written the titles
of as many airs for the flute or drum. These are put into a bag, and any
one in the company is allowed to insert his hand and draw out one at
random, the music on which the automaton will play. The bag is double,
and the part where the hand is thrust contains twelve blocks, like the
others, except that all have the same named tune on them.
[Illustration]
TRICKS WITH CARDS, DICE, DOMINOES, &c.
[Illustration]
As the deceptions performed by sleight of hand at cards rely,
notwithstanding their variety, on only a few easily acquired movements,
and these have been fully explained, with illustrative diagrams, in “The
Secret Out,” we do not repeat the revelation, in all cases, of these
processes.
The tricks immediately following are quite innocent, and may be
performed in any private circles. We have thought it advisable to append
an exposure of the devices by which gamblers or any persons who cheat
their associates and strangers, deceive the inexperienced.
The conjuror always warns the company that his exhibitions of dexterity,
are meant to delude the inattentive and untaught, so that he can do no
harm and occasion no loss.
THE GARCIA SLIP, OR TOUR D’HOMBOURG.
You must remember the bottom card of the pack, which you hold face down
in your left hand. Cover the cards with your right hand, held over them
palm down, and run the cards one by one in under the right hand by means
of the finger ends. One of the company is to lay his finger on any card
he pleases and stop it. Let us call this one A.
On his doing so you secretly slip back the bottom card, and, opening the
pack at the card A, get the bottom card up next under it. Now bring the
lower portion to the top of the other, and show B as the bottom card.
The audience having fully taken note of it, you let them shuffle the
cards as much as they please, for it little matters while you know what
the card is.
On receiving the cards again, you spread them out on the table, face up,
and readily point to the card B as if it were the card A which was
really selected, but for which B was substituted.
TO TELL A CARD THOUGHT OF.
Take a pack containing fifty-two cards, then lay out one card, any card
you see proper. Then divide the cards into three rows, by laying them
down face upwards. When you have laid down three begin at the left and
lay one upon the first, so continue to the right until you have laid out
the fifty-one; at the same time request some person to think of a card.
When they are laid out, ask which parcel the card is in; he tells you,
place that parcel in the middle of the other. This done, lay them out
again in three parcels; so continue to do for four times, and the card
he thought of will be the twenty-sixth card.
TO GUESS THE SPOTS ON A CARD.
Take a whole pack, consisting of 52 cards, and desire some person in
company to draw out any card, at pleasure, without showing it. Having
assigned to the different cards their usual value, according to their
spots, call the knave 11, the queen 12, and the king 13. Then add the
spots of the first card to those of the second; the last sum to the
third; and so on, always rejecting 13, and keeping the remainder to add
to the following card. It may be readily seen that it is needless to
reckon the kings, which are counted 13. If any spots remain at the last
card, you must abstract them from 13, and the remainder will indicate
the card that has been drawn: if 12 remains, it has been an ace; but if
nothing remains, it has been a king.
_Demonstration._—Since a complete pack contains 13 cards of each suit,
the values of which are 1, 2, 3, &c., as far as 13, the sum of all the
spots of each of the different suits will be 7 times 13 (91), which is a
multiple of 13; consequently the quadruple is also a multiple of 13: if
we add the spots of all the cards, always rejecting 13, the remainder at
last must be 0. Hence it is evident, that if a card, the spots of which
are less than 13, be drawn, the difference between its spots and 13 will
be what is wanting to complete the number. If, at the end, then, instead
of attaining to 13, we attain only to 10, for example, it is plain, that
the card wanting is a 3; and if we attain exactly to 13, the card
missing must be equivalent to 13; that is, it must be a king.
TO TELL TWO CARDS OUT OF TWENTY.
You must retain in your memory the four following words, with the
arrangement of the letters which compose them:—
_m_ _i_ _s_ _a_ _i_
_t_ _a_ _t_ _l_ _o_
_n_ _e_ _m_ _o_ _n_
_v_ _e_ _s_ _u_ _l_
Collect all the cards into the left hand, two by two, as they lay on the
table, and then place them, one by one, in the same order as the
preceding letters, taking care to place the two first as the two _m_,
the two next as the two _i_, the two following as the two _s_, and so
on.
Ask each person in which horizontal row his two cards are. If he says
they are both in the same row, for example the third, they will be
pointed out by the letters _n_ and _n_, contained in that row; if they
are in two different rows, as the first and last, the letters _s_ and
_s_ will indicate the place which they occupy.
TO BRING ALL THE CARDS OF THE SAME KIND TOGETHER.
Have in readiness a pack, all the cards of which are arranged in
successive order; that is to say, if it consists of 52 cards, every 13
must be regularly arranged, without a duplicate of any one of them.
After they have been cut as many times as a person may choose, form them
into 13 heaps of 4 cards each, with the coloured faces downwards. When
this is done, the 4 kings, the 4 queens, the 4 knaves, and so on, must
necessarily be together.
THE FOUR INDIVISIBLE KINGS.
Take four kings, and place between the third and fourth any two common
cards whatever, which must be neatly concealed; then show the four
kings, and place the six cards at the bottom of the pack; take one of
the kings, and lay it on the top, and put one of the common cards into
the pack nearly about the middle; do the same with the other, and then
show that there is still one king at the bottom: desire any one to cut
the pack, and as three of the kings were left at the bottom, the four
will therefore be found together in the middle of the pack.
[Illustration]
TO GUESS CARDS SELECTED BY SEVERAL PERSONS.
Show as many cards to each person as there are persons to choose; that
is to say, 3 to each, if there are three persons. When the first has
thought of one, lay aside the three cards in which he has made his
choice. Present the same number to the second person, to think of one,
and lay aside the three cards in the like manner. Having done the same
in regard to the third person, arrange all these cards in three rows,
with their faces turned downwards, and then put them together in order.
If you take the 3 first, and present them successively to the different
persons, and do the same thing with the others, you may easily guess the
cards, by observing, that the card thought of by each person will have
the same place among the cards as the person has in regard to the other
two; that is to say, the card thought of by the first person will be
first of that packet in which he discovered it; that thought of by the
second will be the second in the packet where he recognized it; and that
of the third will be the last and in the last packet.
The operation is exactly the same when the number of persons is greater.
If, instead of 3, there are 4 or 5 persons, four or five cards must be
presented to each.
A NEW THREE-CARD TRICK.
As it is necessary that the cards presented should be distinguished, we
shall call the first A, the second B, and the third C. Let the persons,
whom we shall distinguish by first, second, and third, choose privately
whichever of the cards they think proper, and when they have made their
choice, which is susceptible of six variations, give the first person 12
counters, the second 24, and the third 36: then desire the first person
to add together the half of the counters of the person who has chosen
the card A; the third of those of the person who has chosen B; and the
fourth part of those of the person who has chosen C; and ask the sum,
which must be either 23 or 24, 25 or 27, 28 or 29, as in the following
table:
First. Second. Third. Sums.
12 24 36
A B C 23
A C B 24
B A C 25
C A B 27
B C A 28
C B A 29
This table shows, that if the sum is 25, for example, the first person
must have chosen the card B, the second the card A, and the third the
card C; and that, if it be 28, the first person must have chosen the
card B, the second the card C, and the third the card A; and so of the
rest.
TO TELL THE SPOTS ON ALL THE BOTTOM CARDS OF SEVERAL HEAPS.
Arrange each heap of cards in such a manner that the spots on the bottom
one, added to the cards above it, may always amount to twelve; continue
to make as many heaps as possible, in the manner above prescribed, and
place the remaining cards on one side. Then separate in your mind four
heaps, and multiply the heaps which remain, after these are deducted, by
13; this product, added to the number of cards, will be that of the
spots required. We give the solution of this problem by an analysis in
“To Guess the Spots on a Card,” p. 253.
[Illustration]
TO NAME ALL THE CARDS OF A PACK.
Have a complete pack of 52 cards, and arrange them according to the
order of the following words, which you must retain in your memory.
_Unus_ _quinque_ _novem_ _famulus_ _sex_ _quatuor_ _duo_
Ace five nine knave six four two
_Rex_ _septem_ _octo_ _fœmina_ _trina_ _decem_
King seven eight queen three ten
Besides this first order, you must arrange them also according to the
order of the colours, spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds; so that the
52 cards may be disposed as follows:
ORDER OF THE CARDS.
1 Ace of spades
2 Five of hearts
3 Nine of clubs
4 Knave of diamonds
5 Six of spades
6 Four of hearts
7 Two of clubs
8 King of diamonds
9 Seven of spades
10 Eight of hearts
11 Queen of clubs
12 Three of diamonds
13 Ten of spades
14 Ace of hearts
15 Five of clubs
16 Nine of diamonds
17 Knave of spades
18 Six of hearts
19 Four of clubs
20 Two of diamonds
21 King of spades
22 Seven of hearts
23 Eight of clubs
24 Queen of diamonds
25 Three of spades
26 Ten of hearts
27 Ace of clubs
28 Five of diamonds
29 Nine of spades
30 Knave of hearts
31 Six of clubs
32 Four of diamonds
33 Two of spades
34 King of hearts
35 Seven of clubs
36 Eight of diamonds
37 Queen of spades
38 Three of hearts
39 Ten of clubs
40 Ace of diamonds
41 Five of spades
42 Nine of hearts
43 Knave of clubs
44 Six of diamonds
45 Four of spades
46 Two of hearts
47 King of clubs
48 Seven of diamonds
49 Eight of spades
50 Queen of hearts
51 Three of clubs
52 Ten of diamonds
This order is of such a nature that, by knowing any one of the 52 cards,
that which follows it may be also known.
Thus, for example, if it were required to know what card follows the
king of spades, it will be sufficient to recollect that _septem_, in the
two Latin lines above given, which follows that of _rex_, denotes that
it is a seven; and as the colour which follows the spades is hearts, it
is the seven of hearts, and so for the rest.
Everything being thus arranged, having retained in your memory the above
words, and the order of the colours, desire any person to cut the pack
as many times as he chooses; for it will be easy to name all the cards
in order provided you have found means, by some dextrous manœuvre, to
observe that one which is at the top of the pack.
The same arrangement of the cards may be employed for the following two
tricks especially, as well as others.
EVEN OR ODD.
First, find out whether the last card in the pack be black or red; then,
on the pack being cut into two parts, if the card found at the bottom of
the upper division is of the same colour as that at the bottom of the
pack, the two parts which have been separated, contain each an even
number; on the other hand, if it be of a different colour, they contain
each an odd number.
TO TELL THE SPOTS ON SELECTED CARDS.
Having presented the pack, that the person may choose several succeeding
cards at pleasure, privately observe the card which is above those he
has chosen, and how many he has drawn from the pack; it will then be
easy to count how many spots they ought to contain.
For example, if the observed card be a nine, and four cards have been
drawn, it may readily be seen that those drawn must be a knave,
equivalent to 10 spots: a six, a four, and a two. You may then announce,
that the cards in the person’s hand contain 22 spots.
TO TELL A CHOSEN CARD OF FOUR.
Let the person draw four cards from the pack at pleasure, and desire him
to think of one of them; then take these four cards back, and place two
of them at the top and two at the bottom of the pack, in a dextrous
manner, so as not to be perceived: under the two last, place any four
cards whatever; then display the lower part of the pack on the table,
showing only 8 or 10 cards, and ask the person whether the one he
thought of be among them. If he says No, you may be sure that it is one
of the two which you put at the top of the pack; in that case you must
transfer them to the bottom, and then, showing the bottom of the pack,
say, Is not this your card? If he replies No, turn aside that card with
your third finger, which you must have previously moistened, and desire
him to draw out his card himself from the bottom of the pack.
If the person should say, that the card he thought of is among the first
shown to him, dextrously remove the four cards put at the bottom of the
pack, in order that the two, one of which is the card he thought of, may
be the lowermost of the pack, and you may then either show him his card,
or make him draw it out himself, as above explained.
[Illustration]
TOPSY TURVY.
On receiving the selected card pretend to shuffle it amongst the others,
but really bring it to the top. The rest of the pack you arrange with
their edges even, whilst the top card projects a little.
On pushing that card a little out, at the same time as you drop the pack
perpendicularly, the resistance of the air will turn the single card
upside down, so that it will rest face up on the top of the fallen
cards.
THE CONJUROR’S CARD CASTLE.
From a pack of cards two are forced upon two of the company. They are
replaced, and the pack is shuffled. While this is being done, a little
model house is brought into the room and placed on the table.
In its front are two windows, with closed blinds, and a door.
The pack is thrust down the chimney of the house, when, instantly, the
door flies out and emits the pack of cards without the two selected
cards, which appear one at each window.
_Explanation._—The house is already prepared with a pack of cards, the
duplicate of that used, less the two cards like the couple forced. These
two are placed in the windows behind the closed shutters or drawn
blinds, as the case may be.
When the second pack is thrust down the chimney, it touches a lever,
which at the same time throws open the door and pushes out the other
pack, and discloses the cards in the windows.
ODD OR EVEN.
Let one of the company take in each hand several cards, an even number
in one hand, and an odd in the other.
You engage to tell in which hand he holds the even number.
To do so, bid him multiply the number held in his right hand by three,
and that in his left hand by two, and add the product together. He is
then to answer whether the sum is odd or even.
If even, the right hand contained an even number, and _vice versâ_.
MYSTERIOUS TRICK OF THIRTY-SIX CARDS. TELLING THE CARD YOU LOOK AT
WITHOUT SEEING THE PACK.
To perform this trick you must take a pack of cards containing fifty-two
in number. Then take out the two, three, four, and five spots of each
suit (meaning the spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs). Then commence as
follows with the remaining thirty-six: Commencing with six of diamonds,
face downwards, seven of clubs, eight of hearts, nine of spades, ten of
diamonds, jack of clubs, queen of hearts, king of spades, ace of
diamonds, six of clubs, seven of hearts, eight of spades, nine of
diamonds, ten of clubs, jack of hearts, queen of spades, king of
diamonds, ace of clubs, six of hearts, seven of spades, eight of
diamonds, nine of clubs, ten of hearts, jack of spades, queen of
diamonds, king of clubs, ace of hearts, six of spades, seven of
diamonds, eight of clubs, nine of hearts, ten of spades, jack of
diamonds, queen of clubs, king of hearts, ace of spades.
After having arranged the cards in the order above mentioned, they may
be cut by all in the house, or as many as please, and by placing the cut
under the pack each time the relative position will not be changed. Then
ask the person who has the cards in his hand what card he has at the
bottom of the pack (the faces being down); he answers, giving the name
of the bottom card; then you can answer positively, by calling the card
one less in value. For example, the nine of clubs is at the bottom, the
eight of diamonds will be upon the top, the second will be the seven of
spades, the third the six of hearts, the fourth the ace of clubs, the
fifth the king of diamonds, and thus you will find them completely
arranged throughout the pack. At the conclusion of this feat you may
shuffle them over and under by holding the main pack in the left hand,
and slipping the cards off one at a time in the right hand, one over and
the other under, until you change them entirely through the pack, then
return the pack to the right hand and repeat the over and under shuffle.
Then you can deal them out into four parcels, nine at a time, and you
will find the nine hearts in one pile, the nine diamonds in the second,
the nine spades in the third, and clubs in the fourth.
THE FOUR ASSOCIATES.
Let a person draw four cards from the pack, and tell him to think of one
of them. When he returns you the four cards, dextrously place two of
them under the pack, and two on the top. Under those at the bottom you
place four cards of any sort, and then, taking eight or ten from the
bottom cards, you spread them on the table, and ask the person if the
card he fixed on be among them. If he say no, you are sure it is one of
the two cards on the top. You then pass these two cards to the bottom,
and drawing off the lowest of them, you ask if that be not his card. If
he again say no, you take that card up, and bid him draw his card from
the bottom of the pack. If the person say his card is among those you
first drew from the bottom, you must dextrously take up the four cards
that you put under them, and placing those on the top, let the other two
be the bottom cards of the pack, which draw in the manner before
described.
[Illustration]
HOW TO CHANGE CARDS TO PICTURES.
Take a pack of cards, and paint the backs of one half of the pack with
what figures you think fit, as men, birds, women, flowers, &c. Also,
paint the faces of the other half of the cards in the same manner; thus,
you will have a complete pack of odd pictures, and may—by showing the
faces of that part of the pack whose backs only have been painted, and
then by a momentary shuffle, apparently transforming them into a set of
grotesque figures—produce much amusement.
There is another manner of making the pack; it is as follows:—Take a
dozen cards or more, and draw a line from the right-hand upper corner,
to the left-hand lower corner of the face of each of them; they will
thus be all equally divided. Then paint part of some odd figure on the
right division of each card, leaving the left untouched. By a little
dexterity, you may now seem to transform a set of common cards into a
painted pack.
MAGIC DISAPPEARANCE.
Divide the pack, placing one half in the palm of the left hand, with the
face of the cards downwards; then take the balance of the pack in the
right hand, holding them between the thumb and three first fingers, and
place the cards upright, so that the edges of the cards in your right
hand will rest upon the back of those lying in the palm of the left hand
perpendicularly, and forming a right angle with them, by which means you
will perceive that the four fingers of the left hand touch the last card
of the upright cards in your right hand. Be sure you get this position
correctly, for the rest of the trick is very simple. You now request any
one of your audience to examine the top card of the half pack that rests
in the palm of your left hand, and to replace it again. Having done
this, you request him to look at it again, and to his amazement it will
have disappeared, and another card will appear in its place.
To perform this trick after you have assumed the position already
described, you must dampen the tips of the four fingers that rest
against the last card of the upright cards in your right hand. You must
now raise the upright cards in your right hand very quickly, and the
last card, No. 1, will adhere to the dampened fingers of your left hand.
As you raise the upright cards you must close your left hand skilfully,
and you will thereby place the last card of the upright cards—which
adheres to the fingers of your left hand—upon the top of the cards in
the palm of your left hand, and when you request the person who examined
the top card in your hand to look at it once more, he will see the card
you have just placed there, instead of the card he first examined.
Observe, be very rapid and dextrous in slipping the card at the back of
the upright card from its position there to the top of the cards in the
palm of your left hand.
[Illustration]
SIXTEEN CARDS BEING IN TWO ROWS, TO FIND THAT WHICH A PERSON HAS THOUGHT
OF.
The cards being arranged as follow, desire the person to think of one,
and to observe well in which row it is:
A B C D E F H I
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *
0 0 0 0 * 0 0 0
0 0 * 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Let us suppose that the card thought of is in the row A: take up the
whole row in the order in which it now stands, and dispose it in two
rows C and D, in such a manner, that the first card of the row A may be
the first of the row C; the second of the row A, the first of the row D;
and so on, transferring the 16 cards from A and B, to C and D. This
being done, again ask in which of the vertical rows the card thought of
stands. We shall suppose it to be in C; remove that row as well as D,
observing the same method as before; and continue in this manner until
the card thought of becomes the first of the row I. If you then ask in
which row it is, it may be immediately known, because after the last
operation it will be the first in the row said to contain it; and as
each row has a distinguishing character or sign, you may cause them all
to be mixed with each other, and still be able to discover it by the
sign you have remarked.
If a greater number of cards be employed, disposed in two vertical rows,
the card thought of will not be at the top of the row after the last
transposition: if there are 33 cards, 4 transpositions will be
necessary; if 64 there must be 5; and so on.
A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CARDS BEING SHOWN TO A PERSON, TO GUESS THAT WHICH
HE HAS THOUGHT OF.
To perform this trick, the number of the cards must be divisible by 3;
and to do it with more convenience, the number must be odd.
The first condition, at least, being supposed, the cards must be
disposed in three heaps, with their faces turned upwards. Having then
asked the person in which heap is the card thought of, place the heaps
one above the other, in such a manner that the one containing the card
thought of may be in the middle. Arrange the cards again in three heaps,
and having asked in which of them is the card thought of, repeat the
operation as before. Arrange them a third time in three heaps, and
having once more asked the same question, form them all into one heap,
that containing the card thought of being in the middle. The card
thought of must then necessarily be the middle one; that is to say, if
15 cards have been employed, it will be the eighth from the top; if 21,
the eleventh; if 27, the fourteenth; and so on. When the number of the
cards is 24, it will be the twelfth, &c.
THE RESTORATIVE CARD.
Secretly coil up a needle-full of thread by winding it round a ruler and
slipping it off; and hide this in a card as you roll it up. Wind around
this card a needleful of the same thread, which you then clip to pieces
with scissors, shaking the bits into the fire or into your magic box by
which they disappear. On unrolling the card, you seem to reproduce the
destroyed thread.
THE FOUR CONFEDERATE CARDS.
A person draws four cards from the pack, and you tell him to remember
one of them. He then returns them to the pack, and you dexterously place
two of them under, and two on the top of the pack. Under the bottom ones
you place four of any sort, and then taking eight or ten from the bottom
cards, you spread them on the table, and ask the person if the card he
fixed on is amongst them. If he says No, you are sure it is one of the
two cards on the top. You then pass those two cards to the bottom, and
drawing off the lowest of them, you ask if that is not his card. Should
he again say No, you take up that card, and bid him draw his card from
the bottom of the pack. But if, on the contrary, he says his cards are
amongst those you first drew from the bottom, you must dexterously take
up the four cards you put under them, and place them on the top. The
other two are the bottom cards of the pack, and are to be drawn in the
manner before described.
THE MAGIC POCKET-BOOK.
(_Die zwei magichen Brieftaschen._)
Cut out two rectangular pieces of pasteboard three inches by three and a
half inches, A B. Run a band of tape on the board A, from C to E, and
from D to F: then turn over and glue the tape at C D at the back of A;
and at E F at the back of B.
Fasten two other tapes in the same way on card B at G L on the back of
it, and at G H on the back of A.
The two boards will now form a book of two leaves, opening as on hinges.
Bring four other tapes under those already fastened, marked M H Q R, and
glue their ends down at the back of the card; and two more tapes on O
and B sides of B; all of which form borders and are for no other
purpose.
Make two envelopes like those for letters, and fasten down the front,
where the address is written—which must be the same size as the card, so
as to cover all the tapes G J and H L as well as the space between them;
one envelope being thus face down upon the ribbons to which it is glued,
the second envelope is pasted to the first one, face to face, one hiding
the other and both, of course, hiding the tapes from view.
[Illustration]
As the book can be opened _twice over_, by bringing the leaf on the left
upon that next to it, and that again over on the other, when the
envelope now open and alone shown is the duplicate, and not that first
seen, a deception is easily performed.
_Performance._ A coin is borrowed and marked, or a question is written,
and the coin or the paper is put into one of the envelopes, and folded
up. In closing up the book you secretly reverse it, and bring the second
envelope up so as to be shown open and empty, or with an answer to the
question.
_Performance with cards._ Having had a drawn card carefully noted, you
undertake to change it into another one altogether. Placing it in your
magic book and proceeding as with the coin above, the transformation is
readily accomplished.
TO GUESS SEVERAL DRAWN CARDS.
A pack of similar cards is offered, from which two or three persons draw
cards. They should not sit too closely together, however, lest one
should see the cards drawn by the others. They note their cards and
replace them in the pack. You turn, and while pretending to look through
the pack, you take two other cards which you must have at hand, place
with them a card out of the pack, and approach those persons who have
drawn cards, asking each if his card is not among the three. On
receiving an answer in the affirmative, you point out the drawn card.
THE BUTCHER’S GRIP, OR “HOLD IT FAST.”
Asking the most athletic person in company whether he is nervous, he
will most probably answer in the negative; then ask whether he thinks he
can hold a card tightly. If he answers, “No,” ask the question of some
one else, till you obtain an answer in the affirmative. Desire the party
to stand in the middle of the room, and holding up the pack of cards,
you show him the bottom card, and request him to proclaim what card it
is; he will say it is the knave of spades; you then tell him to hold the
card tightly at the bottom, and look to the ceiling. While he is looking
up, ask him if he recollects his card; if he says, “Yes,” desire him to
draw it away, and ask him what it is; he will, of course, answer, “The
knave of spades.” Tell him he has made a mistake, for if he looks at his
card, he will find it to be the knave of hearts, which will be the case.
Then give him the remainder of the pack, telling him that if he looks
over it he will find the ace of spades in quite a different situation.
_Explanation._—An extra knave of spades is cut in half, the upper part
alone retained. When commencing your feat, get the knave of hearts to
the bottom of the pack, and lay over the upper part of it, unperceived,
your half knave of spades; and, under pretence of holding the pack very
tight, throw your thumb across the middle of the knave, so that the
joining may not be perceived, for the legs of those two knaves are so
much alike that there is no danger of detection. You, of course, give
him the legs of the knave of hearts to hold, and, when he has drawn the
card away, hold your hand so that the faces of the cards will be turned
towards the floor, and take an opportunity of removing the half knave:
you may vary the feat by having a half knave of hearts.
[Illustration]
TO PREVENT ANY ONE DRAWING A CARD WHICH YOU HOLD UP PLAINLY BEFORE HIM.
Place the four kings face up upon the top of the pack, their feet
towards the company. As you place the topmost king upon the pack, you
bend it secretly in the middle, folding the lower part back upon the
upper half of the card, the head of which is now only visible, the feet
of the king below seeming to belong to it. You conceal the deception by
placing your two thumbs across the middle of the pack.
In this manner you can let three persons draw, and neither will draw the
king that is on the top of the pack.
THE RECOVERABLE CARD.
Procure fifty-three cards exactly the same. Let a person draw from them,
as from a regular pack, one card which he may burn or otherwise destroy.
Nevertheless, on his or another’s picking a second card at will out of
the pack, it will appear to be the same as that destroyed.
It will possibly be observed: “You had two similar cards!” and a
wiseacre will defy you to let the cards be counted, since he will
suppose you were not prepared for this objection.
You can count them out, face down, and prove there are, indeed,
fifty-two.
If other remarks are made substitute a regular pack of the same
appearance.
_Variation._—With two duplicate cards. After having shuffled the pack
let the bottommost be drawn, examined, and destroyed.
Go to the chimney place and whistle: “Father, come home!” and, on
returning to your former place, pull the duplicate card from the
selector’s ear.
_Modification._—Let a corner of the destroyed card be given to you. For
this substitute a corner of the duplicate card. On returning and
producing the card it is found to want that very piece by which it is to
be identified.
A PACK OF CARDS KEPT TOGETHER IN THE AIR.
Have a pack of cards bound together with a hair, on the shelf at the
back of your table. After having shuffled another pack of cards, bunch
them rapidly, and, in lowering your hand as if to throw them
away—substitute the prepared pack. These will fly through the air like a
solid body until it comes in contact with ceiling, wall, or floor, when
it will fall asunder.
[Illustration]
TO CHANGE A CARD BY WORD OF COMMAND.
Have two cards of the same sort in the pack (say the ace of hearts).
Place one next the bottom card (say ten of clubs), and the other at top.
Shuffle the cards without displacing those three, and show a person that
the bottom card is the ten of clubs. This card you slip aside with your
moistened finger, and, taking the ace of hearts from the bottom, which
all suppose to be the ten of clubs, lay it on the table, telling him to
cover it with his hand. Shuffle the cards again, without displacing the
first and last card, and, shifting the other see of hearts from the top
to the bottom, show it to another person.
You then draw that secretly away, and, taking the bottom card, which
will then be the ten of clubs, you lay that on the table, and tell the
second person (who believes it to be the ace of hearts) to cover it with
his hand.
You then command the cards to change places; and when the two parties
take off their hands and turn up the cards, they will see, to their
great astonishment, that your commands are obeyed.
TO PLACE THE FOUR KNAVES UPON ONE ANOTHER SO THAT ONLY THE UPPER HALF OF
EACH CARD IS VISIBLE.
Upon the lower half of one of four knaves place the upper half of the
second at right angles; upon the lower half of the second knave place
the upper half of the third, also rectangularly; then the upper half of
the fourth knave upon the under half of the third; and lastly push the
under half of the fourth knave under the upper half of the first, and
the trick is done.
TO CHANGE FIVE KINGS INTO FIVE QUEENS.
Draw a sharp knife gently across the middle of four kings of an ordinary
pack. Peel the picture carefully from one half of the cards, and paste
upon the blank part the four half pictures of four queens, which have
been peeled off in the same manner. In this way you have four cards,
each representing both a king and a queen.
To these prepared cards add an ordinary king and queen. These six cards
you fan out, from the left to the right, in such a manner that only the
kings are visible.
This is easily done if you keep the ordinary king at the end of the fan
to the right, and the queen concealed behind it. You show the five
kings, say that you will change them into five queens, blow upon the
cards, reverse them, placing the king behind the queen, and display them
as five queens.
[Illustration]
THE SHUFFLED TEN.
Let a person remember the numerical position of a chosen card replaced
in the pack. On taking the pack into your hand, bring a certain number
of cards, say ten, from the top to the bottom.
Mentally take that number from the whole number of cards, fifty-two with
a full pack, and boldly tell the company that the selected card will be
the forty-second, reckoning from the card itself. If his card was the
tenth, you count it eleven, twelve, thirteen, and so on, and his card
will come out as announced.
THE MYSTIC CHANGE.
Take the four kings into your hand in such a manner that one slightly
overlaps the other, yet so that each can easily be distinguished when
held closely in the hand.
After showing them to the company, you slide them together, and place
them, thus joined, upon the top of the pack, held in your right hand.
You then draw off the four top cards, and lay each in a person’s lap,
face downwards, directing them to place the flat of the hand upon them.
You now draw four other cards from the pack, and place them each upon
the lap of a neighbour of each of the four above persons, and direct
them also to cover them with the flat of the hand. You now step with the
rest of the cards, in front of each of these eight persons, flirt the
cards towards the lap of each, and when each lifts his card from his
lap, and looks at it, it appears that the four persons, upon whose lap
you have placed the four kings, have altogether different cards, and
their neighbours have now the four kings.
This is done in the following manner. While you are drawing the four
kings from the pack, and placing them as described, one upon the other
in your hand, you, at the same time, unperceived, carry off four other
cards, and place them behind the four kings, so that they lie in the
hollow of your hand, and cannot be seen. When, after having showed the
four kings, you push them together in a heap, the four kings, of course,
come in front of the four other cards, which latter now lie on the top
of the pack; these you distribute to the first four persons, and then
deal out the four kings to their neighbours.
TO SEPARATE A CHOSEN CARD FROM THE PACK AT A BLOW.
If the pack is placed between the finger and thumb of one of the
company, holding it by one corner, and you strike them abruptly upwards
with your wand while the grasp is tight, the cards will fly away, except
the uppermost one. This will be caught between the fingers, on their
coming naturally together on closing the pack between them.
_Variation._—If the blow is given downwards the bottom card will be
similarly retained.
It follows that if you have placed a selected card in either of the
above positions described, it must be the one which is thus left in the
person’s hold.
KNOCKING A CARD OUT OF THE PACK.
When a chosen card is replaced in the pack, bring it to the middle as
you pretend to shuffle them.
The backs of the cards will be uppermost, so that no one can see where
you have placed it.
Upon any one striking the cards you have merely to tighten your grip on
the others and entirely release the centre one, for it to fall on the
floor, where it will be discovered to be the selected card itself.
TO NAME EVERY CARD IN A PACK SUCCESSIVELY TURNED UP BY A SECOND PARTY.
Begin by laying out the cards in four rows according to the suits, all
of a suit in a row side by side. The cards must now be arranged. Take up
the _six_ in the top or bottom row, then the _two_ in the _next_ row,
the _ten_ in the _third_, and the _nine_ in the _fourth_, placing them
one upon the other in the left hand. Then begin again with the row from
which you took the _six_, and take up the _three_. From the next row
take the _king_. These numbers will be easily remembered with a little
practice, amounting altogether to 30, made up thus—6 and 2 are 8, 8 and
10 are 18, 18 and 9 are 27, 27 and 3 are 30—_King_. By repeating this
addition a few times, it will be fixed in the memory. Proceed by next
beginning with the row next to the one from which you took the last card
or the king, and take the _eight_; from the next row take the _four_;
from the next the _ace_; from the next the _knave_. These cards make up
13. Therefore say, 8 and 4 are 12 and one are 13—_knave_. From the next
row to that whence you took the knave, take the seven; from the next row
take the five; from the next the queen. These cards makeup 12. Thus—7
and 5 are 12—_queen_. It thus appears that you have taken up _thirteen_
cards consisting of the four suits, successively taken and being
arranged as follows—6, 2, 10, 9, 3, king; 8, 4, 1, knave; 7, 5, queen.
Proceed in like manner with the remainder of the cards, beginning with
the row next to that from which you took the queen, and take the _six_,
then from the next row the _two_, and so on as before, making up another
batch of 13 cards. Repeat the process for a third batch, and finish with
the remainder for the fourth—always remembering to take the card from
the next row in succession continually; in other words, only one card
must be taken from each row at a time. When the cards are thus arranged,
request a party to cut them. This is only pretence; for you must take
care dexterously to replace the cut just as it was before. Let them be
cut again, and replace them as before. Your _ruse_ will not be detected,
simply because nobody suspects the possibility of the thing. Now take up
the pack, and from the _bottom_ take the first _four_ cards handing the
remainder to a party sitting before you, saying, “I shall now call every
card in succession from the top of the pack in your hand.” To do this,
two things must be remembered; and there is no difficulty in it. First,
the numbers 6, 2, 10, 9, 3, king, &c., before given; and next the _suit_
of those cards. Now you know the _numbers_ by heart, and the _suit_ is
shown by the four cards which you hold in your hand, fan-like, in the
usual way. If the first of the four cards be a _club_, the first card
you call will be the _six of clubs_; if the next be the _heart_, the
next card called will be the _two_ of hearts, and so on throughout the
_thirteen_ made up from every row, as before given, and the suits of
each card will be indicated successively by the suit of each of your
four indicator cards; thus, as the case may be, clubs, _hearts_,
_diamonds_, spades; clubs, hearts, diamonds, spades, and so on. After a
little private practice, you will readily and rapidly call, as the case
may be, from the four cards in your hand:—the six of clubs, two of
hearts, ten of diamonds, nine of spades, three of clubs, king of hearts,
eight of diamonds, four of spades, ace of clubs, knave of hearts, seven
of diamonds, five of spades, queen of clubs—and so on to the last card
in the pack.
TO WIN EVERY TRICK AT WHIST.
In the midst of the astonishment produced by this seemingly prodigious
display of memory, say—“Now, if you like, we will have a hand at whist,
and I undertake to win _every trick_ if I be allowed to deal.” Let the
whist party be formed, and get the cards cut as usual—on taking care to
_replace_ them, as before enjoined, precisely as they were. Deal the
cards, and the result will be that your thirteen cards will be _all
trumps_. Let the game proceed until your opponents “give it up” in utter
bewilderment.
TO TELL WHAT CARD A PERSON THINKS UPON.
To do this trick you must lay a wager that you will tell the card the
person has touched, though you do not see it. Let several cards be laid
out on a table, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or any number, then turn your back, or
leave the room while the person makes choice; on your return you must
inquire what he will lay, having your eye upon the cards laid out: if he
says he will lay six to one, or ten to one, you must take the highest
number, as that will, in all probability, be the card he had fixed on.
You must seem to pause about counting the cards as they lay and choosing
the farthest off.
HOW TO DELIVER OUT FOUR ACES, AND CONVERT THEM TO FOUR KNAVES.
Take a pack of eight cards, viz., four aces and four knaves, and let
them be laid in this order: an ace and a knave, and so alternately
through all the eight cards; then shuffle them, so that always at the
second shuffling or at least when you have done shuffling them, one of
the aces may be the lowermost card; then putting your hand with the
cards to the edge of the table, let out privately a piece of the second
card, which is one of the knaves: then showing to the audience the lower
card, which is one of the aces, be sure to cover the piece of the knave
with your fingers; then draw out the same knave, laying it down on the
table; then shuffle the cards as before, and you will have two aces at
bottom; therefore take off the uppermost card, and thrust it in to the
middle of the pack; do the same with the lowermost card, which is one of
the aces, then you may show another ace as before; and instead of that
lay down another knave; proceed in the same method, till, instead of the
four aces, you have laid down the four knaves.
The beholders, all the time thinking that they lay four aces on the
table, are greatly deceived when the cards are turned up, and will
wonder at the transformation.
TO TELL A SELECTED CARD, WITHOUT SEEING IT TILL YOU FIND IT IN THE PACK
As you hold the cards in your hand, let any one take a card out of the
pack, and look at it; then take the card from them with your eyes shut,
and put it at the bottom of the pack; then shuffle the cards till you
know it is come to the bottom again: then putting the cards behind you,
pretend you shuffled them behind you, but let your shuffling be only
this; take off the uppermost card, and put it at the bottom, reckon that
two; then take off another card, and reckon that three; then take off as
many as you please from the top, and put them at the bottom, counting to
yourself how many you take off: then bring the cards forth, and hold
them with their faces towards you; then take off one by one, privately
counting the number, and smell them, as though you found it out by your
nose, till you come to the right card; then produce it, saying this is
it: and they will wonder how you found it out.
TO NAME THE NUMBER OF CARDS THAT A PERSON SHALL TAKE OUT OF THE PACK.
To perform this recreation you must so arrange a piquet pack of cards
that you can easily remember the order in which they are placed.
Suppose, for example, that they are placed according to the words in the
following line.
Seven aces, eight kings, nine queens, and ten knaves, and that every
card be of a different suit, following each other in this order; spades,
clubs, hearts, and diamonds. Then the eight first cards will be the
seven of spades, ace of clubs, eight of hearts, king of diamonds, nine
of spades, queen of clubs, ten of hearts, and knave of diamonds; and so
on.
You show that the cards are placed promiscuously, and then offer them
with the backs upward, to any one, that he may draw what quantity he
pleases; which, when he has done, you secretly look at the card that
precedes, and that which follows those he has taken. After he has well
regarded the cards, you take them from him, and putting them into
different parts of the pack, shuffle them, or give them to him to
shuffle. During which you recollect by the foregoing line all the cards
he took out; and as you lay them down, one by one, you name each card.
THE CARD IN THE MIRROR.
Provide a mirror, either round or oval, the frame of which must be at
least as wide as a card. The glass in the middle must be made to move in
the two grooves, and so much of the quicksilver must be scraped off as
is equal to the size of a common card. You will observe that the glass
must likewise be wider than the distance between the frame by at least
the width of a card.
Then paste over the part where the quicksilver is rubbed off, a piece of
pasteboard, on which is a card, exactly fitting the space, which must at
first be placed behind the frame.
This mirror must be placed against a partition, through which is to go
two strings, by which an assistant in the adjoining room can easily move
the glass in the grooves, and consequently make the card appear or
disappear at pleasure.
_Without an Assistant._—Place a table against the partition, and let the
string from the glass pass through a hollow leg of it, and communicate
with a small trigger, which you may easily push down with your foot, and
at the same time be wiping the glass with your handkerchief, that the
card may appear the more conspicuous. It may also be diversified by
having the figure of a head, say of some absent friend, in the place of
the card.
Matters being thus prepared, you contrive to make a person draw the same
sort of card with that fixed to the mirror, and place it in the middle
of the pack: you then make the pass, and bring it to the bottom; you
then direct the person to look for his card in the mirror, when the
confederate behind the partition is to draw it slowly forward, and it
will appear as if placed between the glass and the quicksilver. While
the glass is coming forward you slide off the card from the bottom of
the pack, and juggle it away.
The card fixed to the mirror may easily be changed each time the
experiment is performed. This trick may be also made with a print that
has a glass before it, and a frame of sufficient width, by making a slit
in the frame through which the card is to pass; but the effect will not
be so striking as in the mirror.
THE DIVINING SPY-GLASS.
Let a small perspective glass be made, that is wide enough at the end
where the object-glass is placed, to hold a table similar to the
following:—
┌───────────────────────┐
│ 1.131 10..132 19.133 │
│ 2.231 11..232 20.233 │
│ 3.331 12..332 21.333 │
│ │
│ 4.121 13..122 22.123 │
│ 5.221 14..222 23.223 │
│ 6.321 15..322 24.323 │
│ │
│ 7.111 16..112 25.113 │
│ 8.211 17..212 26.213 │
│ 9.311 18..312 27.313 │
└───────────────────────┘
Take a pack of cards that consists of 27 only, and giving them to a
person, desire him to fix on any one, then shuffle them and give the
pack to you. Place the twenty-seven cards in three heaps, by laying down
one alternately on each heap, but before you lay each card down, show it
to the person without seeing it yourself; and when the three heaps are
finished, ask him at what number, from 1 to 27, he will have his card
appear, and in which heap it then is. Then look at the heap through the
glass, and if the first of the three numbers which stands against that
number it is to appear at, say 1, put that heap at top; if the number be
2, put it in the middle; and if it be 3, put it at bottom. Then divide
the cards into three heaps, in the same manner, a second and a third
time, and his card will then be at the number he chose.
_Example._—Suppose he desire that his card shall be the 20th from the
top, and the first time of making the heaps he says it is in the third
heap; you then look at the table in the perspective, holding it at the
same time over that heap, and seeing that the first figure is 2, you
therefore put that heap in the middle of the pack. The second and third
times you in like manner put the heap in which he says it is, at the
bottom, the number each time being 3. Then looking at the pack with your
glass, as if to discover which the card was, you lay the cards down one
by one, and the twentieth card will be that he fixed on.
THE CARDS IN THE OPERA-GLASS.
Provide an opera-glass about two inches and a half long, the tube of
which is to be of ivory, and so thin that the light may pass through it.
In this tube place a lens of two inches and a quarter focus, so that a
card of about three quarters of an inch long may appear of the size of a
common card. At the bottom of the tube there is to be a circle of black
pasteboard, to which must be fastened a small card with figures on both
sides, by two threads of silk, in such manner that by turning the tube
either side of the card may be visible.
You then offer two cards in a pack to two persons, which they are to
draw, and which are the same as those in the glass. After which you show
each of them the card he has drawn, in the glass, by turning it to the
proper position.
The better to induce the parties to draw the two cards, place them first
on the top of the pack, and then, by making the pass, bring them to the
middle. When you can make the pass in a dextrous manner, it is
preferable, on many occasions, to the long card, which obliges you to
change the pack frequently; for otherwise it would be observed that the
same card is always drawn, and doubtless suspicion arise.
TO TELL THE CARDS BY THEIR WEIGHT.
Ask a person to cut the pack as often as he likes, undertaking by
weighing each card for a moment on your finger, not only to tell the
colour, but the suit and number of spots, and, if a court card, whether
it is king, queen, or knave.
Have two packs of cards exactly alike: one pack to be constantly in use
during the evening in performing your other tricks; the second, or
prepared pack, in your pocket, which take an opportunity of exchanging,
so that it may be believed that the pack of cards of which you tell the
names is the same as that you have been doing your other tricks with,
and which they must know have been well shuffled.
The manner of preparing your pack (which must be done previously) is by
the following line, which you commit to memory, the words in italics
forming the key:
Eight Kings threa-tened to save nine fair Ladies for one sick Knave.
_Eight_ _King_ _three ten_ _two seven nine five_ _Queen_ _four ace_
_six_ _Knave_.
The initial letter of the words in the line and the names of the cards
are identical. The word “threatened” is divided into two words, in order
that it may answer for the three and ten; pay attention to this, or you
may forget the ten altogether, which would set you entirely wrong. You
should likewise commit to memory the order in which the suits come, viz.
_hearts_—_spades_—_diamonds_—_clubs_.
You should now separate the different suits, and lay them on the table,
face upwards, hearts first, then spades, diamonds next, and clubs last.
Having done so, begin to sort (to yourself), according to your key: take
up the eight of hearts, placing it in the left hand face up; then the
king of spades, which you lay upon it, next the three of diamonds, next
the ten of clubs, then the two of hearts, and so on, until you finish
your line, which will terminate with the knave of hearts. You then take
up the eight of spades, and go on in the same way till you come to the
knave of spades, when you begin again with the eight of diamonds, and go
on until you come to the knave of diamonds and beginning again with the
eight of clubs, you go on until you come to the knave of clubs, which
finishes the pack, and which is now ready for use; when you have made
your exchange, and brought forward your prepared pack, hand it round to
be cut.
You now want to know the first card, as a clue to the rest; and
therefore take off the top card, and, holding it up between you and the
light, you see what the card is, saying, at the same time, that the old
way of performing the trick was by doing so, but that was very easily
detected.
Having thus obtained a knowledge of the first card, which we will
suppose to be the ten of diamonds, you then take the next card on your
finger, and, while pretending to weigh it, you have time to recollect
what is the next word in your key, to _ten’d_, which is _to_; you
consequently know that this card is a _two_; you must then recollect
what suit comes after diamonds, which is _clubs_; you, therefore,
declare the card you are now weighing on your finger to be the _two of
clubs_; the next will of course be the seven of hearts, the next to that
the nine of spades, and so on as long as you please.
_Variation._—Take a parcel of cards, suppose 40, among which insert two
long cards; let the first be, for example, the 15th, and the other the
26th from the top. Seem to shuffle the cards, and then cutting them at
the first long card, poise those you have cut off in your left hand, and
say, “there should be here fifteen cards.” Cut them again at the second
long card, and say, “There are here only eleven cards.” Then poising the
remainder, you say, “Here are fourteen cards.”
TO DISCOVER A SELECTED CARD BY A THROW OF A DIE.
Prepare a pack of cards in which there are only six sorts of cards.
Dispose these cards in such manner that each of the six different cards
shall follow each other, and let the last of each suit be a long card.
The cards being thus disposed, it follows that if you divide them into
six parcels, by cutting at each of the long cards, those parcels will
all consist of similar cards.
Let a person draw a card from the pack, and let him replace it in the
parcel from whence it was drawn, by your only offering that part. Cut
the cards several times, so that a long card may be always at bottom.
Divide the cards in this manner into six heaps, and giving a die to the
person who drew the card, tell him that the point he throws shall
indicate the parcel and show him the card.
You should put the cards in your pocket immediately after performing
this recreation, and have another pack, ready to show, if any one should
ask to see the cards.
[Illustration]
TO PLACE NINE CARDS IN TEN ROWS OF THREE EACH.
Arrange as in this figure.
[Illustration: Fig. 161.]
TO NAME SEVERAL CHOSEN CARDS OUT OF A PACK DIVIDED INTO TWO HEAPS.
A complete pack is divided into two such lots that all the aces, nines,
sevens, fives, and threes, are in one, and all the kings, queens,
knaves, tens, eights, sixes, fours, and twos, are in the other.
Let several of the company draw cards out of either of the heaps, change
the heaps unperceived, and let the persons place the odd cards, as ace,
nine, &c., into the heap of even cards, and _vice versâ_. On running
over the cards, you easily discover the drawn cards, the even cards
being in the heap of odd cards, and the odd cards in the heap of even
cards.
TO MAKE TWO PERSONS DRAW THE SAME CARD OUT OF TWO PACKS.
You arrange with your confederate that he shall select a certain card,
say the tenth from the top, in a prepared pack. From a second pack you
force a similar card on an innocent member of the company. On the two
comparing notes, the truth of your assertion will be made manifest.
TO PRODUCE A CARD WITHOUT SEEING THE PACK.
Take a pack of cards with the corners at one end slightly cut off. Place
them all one way, and ask a person to draw a card; when he has done so,
while he is looking at it, reverse the pack, so that when he returns the
card to the pack the corner of it will project from the rest; let him
shuffle them; he will never observe the projecting card. Hold them
behind your back. You can feel the projecting card; draw it out, and
show it.
HOW TO KEEP A ROADSIDE INN.
Pick out all the aces and picture cards, and then place an ordinary card
upon the table. “This card,” you say, “we will call an inn.” You
commence your story as follows:
“On a dark night there come four rustics to this inn, and ask for a
night’s lodging. As none of the landlord’s four rooms are occupied, he
shows each of the yokels to one of the rooms, and goes quietly to bed.
(Lay the four knaves around the card which represents the hostelry, and
proceed.)
“Not long afterwards four policemen knock at the door, and request also
a night’s lodging. As Boniface has now no chamber unoccupied he puts an
officer in with each of the clowns. (Lay the four aces upon the four
knaves.)
“Presently four fine gentlemen come along, and these want a night’s
lodging. Mine host is now in great embarrassment, but there is nothing
left for him to do but to put a gentleman in each of the four tenanted
chambers. (Here you lay a king upon each ace.)
“Thus far times went tolerably well, although not meeting with general
approbation. But now come four fine ladies, who also must have a night’s
lodging. The landlord is now beside himself with perplexity; indeed he
fairly loses his senses, for the stupid fellow, not knowing where to
_halve_ them, actually _quarters_ a lady in each of the already occupied
rooms! (Lay the queens upon the four other cards.)
“The ladies are highly indignant. ‘Could he not have put like and like
together?’ they ask. So he ought to have done, for policemen and louts,
lords and ladies are badly assorted. The fellow is out of his wits!
“‘Well,’ cried the landlord, at last, ‘if you are agreed, I will lodge
you like with like.’ All readily consent, and soon all the rustics are
lodged in one chamber, all the constables in another, all the gentlemen
in a third, and all the ladies in a fourth.”
While you are saying this, you lay the four heaps one upon another, and
let the company cut them as often as they choose. But, notwithstanding
all their cutting, if you now tell them off in order from the bottom of
the pack, and place them about the tavern, all the knaves will be in one
heap, all the aces in another, and so on.
TO TELL FOUR CARDS IN A LOOKING-GLASS.
Prepare a pack of cards thus: eight aces of diamonds, eight eights of
clubs, as many tens of hearts, and a last octave of queens of spades.
These sets are arranged in the order as described, the last bottommost.
The four persons who draw are forced to select each from a set of eight,
in order from the top downwards. Do not allow the drawers to look at the
cards, but keep them in their hands or pockets. You now hand around a
mirror, and ask the spectators whether they see in it anything else
except their own faces. On their replying in the negative, you say, with
an air of mystery, that you can see something else in it, and then call
off, as if out of the mirror, the card which each person has drawn.
THE CENTURY OF CARDS.
Arrange the nine cards below ten, ace included, so that by adding the
spots on them together the amount will be 100.
[Illustration: Fig. 162.]
THE NINE DIGITS.
Place the cards of one suit from one to nine, inclusive, in three rows,
so that, in whatever direction you add the rows, the amount will be
fifteen.
[Illustration: Fig. 163.]
TO DIVIDE THE RED CARDS FROM THE BLACK BY A SINGLE CUT OF THE PACK.
Screw a pack of cards up tightly in a vice, and shave the edges so as to
make the cards narrower at one end than at the other. You then arrange
these cards in such a manner that the broad ends of the black cards lie
all in one direction, and the broad ends of the red cards in the
contrary direction. Now let any of the company shuffle it and return it
to you. You then ask in which hand they wish the red, and in which the
black cards to appear. On receiving a reply, you grasp the pack firmly
at both ends, with both hands, and draw them apart, when you will have
in each hand those cards whose broad ends lay in its direction.
Sometimes you will have to draw the card several times before you can
get them entirely separated.
_Observe._—This recreation should not be repeated, unless you have
another pack of cards to adroitly substitute for the former, in which
you may separate the pictured cards from the others, they being prepared
for that purpose; which will afford a fresh surprise. You may also write
on a number of blank cards certain letters or words that form a
question, and on others the answer.
THE CARD OF ONE COLOUR FOUND IN A PACK OF THE OTHER.
Put all the red cards in one heap, and all the black cards in the other.
One of these packs you conceal in your pocket. You let any person draw a
card from the other pack, and while he is examining the card, substitute
the pack in your pocket for the one you hold in your hand. Let him place
his card in the pack you have taken from your pocket, and shuffle as
much as he pleases. On receiving back the pack, you will at once
recognize the card he has drawn by the difference of colour.
TO IMPALE A CARD.
Take any card with a pip in the middle—as an ace, five, nine, &c., and
thrust through the centre a short tack, of which the head is flat and
broad, and the point made very sharp.
At the conclusion of a trick with a borrowed card like the one prepared
as above, juggle the former away, and bring the other to the bottom of
the pack, the tack point outwards. On hurling the pack horizontally
against a door or other wood-work, the pack will act like a solid body
and drive the nail in fast, when the chosen card will be displayed,
while the others fall to the floor.
CARDS TOLD BY POETICAL INSPIRATION.
Lay sixteen cards on the table in four rows of four each, face up.
You state that you will leave the room, and, on your return, name any
one card touched in your absence.
[Illustration: Fig. 164.]
All the clue you ask is such a one as may be found in a passage read out
of any poet on your return by any one. This any one, however, must be
your confederate. The cards should be placed in the order in which they
are here shown, you previously making your confederate acquainted with
your mode of proceeding, which is thus: The cards are supposed to be
divided into four classes, as A, B, C, D; you class everything in the
world as biped (A), quadruped (B), vegetable (C), and mineral (D). Each
class is subdivided similarly Class A, No. 1 is the biped; 2, the
quadruped; 3, the vegetable; and 4, the mineral; and so with the other
classes. When performing the trick your confederate must take care to
select an appropriate passage. For example, we will suppose the card No.
12 to have been touched, and that, a volume of Wordsworth having been
presented to your confederate to select from, he gives the following
lines to be read:
“A _violet_ by a mossy _stone_,” &c.
The first word which can be classed as above is “violet;” you may thus
be certain that the card touched is in class C, a violet being a
vegetable. The next word you can fix upon is “stone,” which you rank in
the mineral class, and know that card No. 12 was the one touched, it
being the mineral of the vegetable class.
Suppose the trick to be repeated, as is very likely, and that Shakspeare
is given to your partner; he selects the passage in “Othello”
commencing:
“My mother had a maid called Barbara, &c.”
You know, “mother” being the first word that can be classed, the card
touched must be in class A (biped), and the next word “maid” being also
a biped, the card touched must have been No. 1, which is the biped of
the biped class. Many appropriate passages may be easily selected, and
your confederate should select a long passage to be read, as it gives
greater scope, and helps to mislead the rest of the company; for should
they imagine that the card is discovered by the number of lines read,
and they touch the same card again, he can select another passage,
desiring them to read only as many lines as they choose.
THE CARD NAILED TO THE WALL WITH A PISTOL-SHOT.
The conjuror obtains a card drawn, and requests the person who has
chosen it to tear off one of its corners, and to observe it well to know
it again; he takes the card thus torn and tears it all to pieces, burns
it, and reduces it to ashes; he then gets a pistol loaded with powder,
mixed and confounded with the said ashes, and, instead of a leaden ball,
a nail, marked by one of the company, is put into the barrel; then the
pack of cards is thrown up into the air, the pistol is fired, and the
burnt card is found nailed against the wall; the piece torn from it is
then produced, and found to fit exactly the place from whence it was
torn, and the nail is acknowledged to be the same by the person who
marked it.
_Explanation._—A corner of the chosen card being torn, the conjuror
steps from the stage, takes a similar card and tears a corner of it
exactly in the same manner; returning, he asks for the chosen card,
places it secretly under the pack, and expertly substitutes that which
he has prepared, in order to burn it in its stead; he then lays hold of
the pistol for the first time, under pretence of showing how it should
be cocked, fired, and handled; one of the company is then desired to
load the pistol with some powder and paper; he seizes this interval to
convey the card to his invisible agent, who speedily nails it upon a
square piece of board, which serves to shut up hermetically a hole made
in the partition and the hangings, but which is invisible, being covered
with a piece of the same; by this means the card nailed to the wall or
partition does not yet appear; the piece of tapestry with which it is
covered is slightly fastened on one side with two pins, and on the other
to a thread, the loose end of which the accomplice holds in his hand. As
soon as the latter hears the pistol fired, he draws the thread, and
rapidly pulls the piece of tapestry behind the glass; the card
consequently appears, and as it is the same that had been marked with
the nail just put into the pistol, it is no wonder that this trick, so
difficult to account for, obtains applause. It depends entirely on first
loading the pistol with powder, after which a tin tube is covered on the
charge of powder, the card and nail being rammed down in the tin tube;
the pistol being inverted, the tube and its contents fall into the
conjurer’s hand to convey to his invisible agent.
THE CARDS IN TEA-CADDIES.
Two cards being drawn by different persons, are put into separate
tea-caddies and locked up. The performer changes the cards without
touching them, or any confederacy.
The caddies are made with a copper flap, which has a hinge at the
bottom, open against the front, where it catches under the bolt of the
lock, so as when the lid is shut and locked, the flap will fall down
upon the bottom; the performer places two cards that he intends to be
chosen between the flap and the front, which being lined with green
cloth, may be handled without any suspicion; he then desires the first
person to put his card into one of the caddies, taking care it be that
which contains the contrary card from the one that he chose, and the
second into the other; he then desires they will lock them up, which
unlocks the flaps, covers their cards, and when opened, presents the
contrary ones.
THE CARDS NAMED, DISCOVERED WITH THE EYES BLINDED.
A pack of cards are caused to be drawn by some person. A person arriving
in the room names all the cards just drawn, without making the least
mistake with regard to their colour, number, &c.
_Explanation._—The cards are disposed as we observed before. The
conjurer having, unnoticed, observed the card drawn, he informs his
agent, even at the very instant he promises he will take particular care
he or his agent shall know nothing about it: he says he will not speak a
word while his agent names the cards, and that the person who holds them
shall be confined to show them to the company, by saying this is such
and such a card, &c. It is in this last phrase he names the card, which
is underneath; his accomplice, who hears him, and who knows by heart the
disposition of the pack, names the cards which follow it; that is to
say, for instance, if he is given to understand that the 19th is
underneath, he names the 10th, the 17th, &c. Having mentioned the whole
pack, his friend, who, during this time, never speaks a word, resumes
the use of his speech, and begs of the person who had chosen them, to
ask what are the others that remain unnamed; the confederate is informed
by this question that there is not one remaining, and answers
accordingly.
THE CARD SPRINGING UP INTO THE AIR, FROM THE PACK, WITHOUT BEING
TOUCHED.
One of the cards is drawn, which is afterwards put in, and shuffled with
the rest of the pack; then the pack is put into a kind of a square
spoon, placed upright upon a bottle, which serves it as a pedestal, and
at the company’s pleasure the card instantly flies up into the air.
_Explanation._—In the first place, a forced card must be chosen, in the
manner described; then the pack must be placed in the spoon so that the
chosen card may lean on a pin, bent in the form of a hook; this pin is
fastened to a thread, and ascending through a pack, leans upon the upper
end of the spoon; then it descends under the room, through the table.
Thus arranged, the confederate cannot pull the thread without dragging
along with it the hook and card, which causes it to be perceived as
flying in the air. The thread slides upon the blunt edge of the spoon as
easily as if it run in a pulley.
In order to place the cards in the spoon quick enough, that the
spectators may perceive no preparation, care must be taken that another
pack is presented dextrously on the table. The chosen card in the other,
with the hook and thread, must be previously prepared as above
described.
TO SHOW A CARD CHOSEN BY THE AUDIENCE IN A DARK ROOM.
Arrange the cards of a pack so as to name them all according to their
positions after several changes. This is done in various ways, as
explained in _The Secret Out_ and the last few pages.
After the pack has been cut by different persons spread it out on the
table and ask one of the company to select a card quite at random. Take
up the pack, and in doing so divide it into two parcels, and place the
one which preceded the drawn card below the other.
While pretending that you wish to convince the audience that the cards
are of different suits, hold the pack in such a position that your
accomplice in the next room can see which is the last card. Knowing,
then, that the following one is the drawn card, he writes the name or
draws the figure of it in black on a transparent screen in the adjoining
room.
This screen is to be placed within an aperture in the wall, on
withdrawing a curtain to which, the person who selected the card has but
to look in to see the writing or picture of it “staring him in the
face.”
The inner room should be quite dark, so that nothing but the writing is
perceived.
THE DOUBLE CONFEDERATES.
Two accomplices are required. Each, however, supposes that he alone is
in the secret. To the first accomplice, for instance, you say that the
card to be noted is the king of hearts. You take this card from the
pack, and give it to the second accomplice to hide somewhere. You then
shuffle the cards, let Accomplice A shuffle them also, and then begin a
conversation like the following:
You say to Accomplice A, “Kindly note a card in this pack. Shuffle the
cards again, and then tell me the name of the card you noted. The king
of hearts, is it? Thank you for the king of hearts.”
“But I cannot find that card.”
“Was it really the king of hearts that you noted?”
“Certainly.”
“Ah, I see how it is. His Majesty has gone out for a stroll. Perhaps,
sir,” addressing Accomplice No. 2. “you saw which road the runaway
went.”
“I rather fancy I saw him hide behind the clock.”
“Will one of you be so good as to look behind the clock?”
And to the general astonishment the missing card is actually found
behind the clock, or where else it was placed.
FINALE TO A CARD TRICK.
You ask a person to draw a card, which he does, and putting the pack of
cards in a boy’s mouth, you tell him that card only shall remain there.
You then give the card a blow, and all fall down except the card that
was drawn.
_Explanation._—Having forced a particular card upon a lady or gentleman,
you take care to put this card only between the boy’s teeth, and the
rest you can easily jerk away.
_Variation._—You may put the cards into the boy’s pocket, and ask the
lady or gentleman whether you shall draw that card out, or leave it by
itself. Whichever is desired, you can easily do, having already
separated the card from the pack while putting them into the pocket.
_Improvement._—Your confederate is prepared by filling his pockets with
cards. On his being called in, you send him among the audience to let
several cards be selected. You pretend then to shuffle the selected
cards into the pack but you (knowing them from the first, though even
this is not necessary) really place them in order at the top or bottom
of the pack. The whole pack is then placed in the confederate’s breast
coat-pocket. He is then asked to draw the cards out one at a time, and
show them to the audience, who recognize their selection. This being
done, you ask your man to hand you the pack. He does so.
You tap the outside of the pocket, and say, “You have not given me all.”
He denies that he omitted to empty his pocket, but on trial, discovers
another entire pack. This can go on as long as his supply lasts, and you
conclude by inserting your left hand in the man’s pocket (up the sleeve
of your left arm are several packs) as if merely to keep it open, while
with your right hand you shower out several hundreds of the cards.
JACK TAR’S PRAYER-BOOK, OR THE COMPREHENSIVE CARDS.
A nobleman, who kept a great number of servants, had employed as a
_confidential servant_ an old superannuated Jack Tar. Jack soon became
the decided favourite, and upon him did he place all of his most
important services. This excited great jealousy among the others, who,
in order to prejudice their master, put into his pocket a pack of cards,
and then accused Jack in broad terms of being a gambler. Jack was called
up, and closely interrogated, but he denied the fact, at the same time
declaring he never played a card in his life. To be more fully
convinced, the gentleman ordered him to be searched, when behold a pack
of cards was found in his pocket. Highly incensed at Jack’s want of
veracity, the nobleman demanded, in a rage, how he dared persist in an
untruth?
“My lord,” replied he, “I certainly do not know the meaning of a card:
the bundle in my pocket is my almanac.”
“Your almanac, indeed? then I desire you to prove it.”
“Well, sir, I will begin. There are four suits in the pack, that
intimate the four quarters in the year. There are thirteen cards in a
suit: so there are thirteen weeks in a quarter. There are also the same
number of lunations; twelve signs of the zodiac, through which the sun
steers his diurnal course in one year. There are fifty-two cards in a
pack; that directly answers to the number of weeks in a year. Examine
them more minutely, and you will find three hundred and sixty-five
spots, as many as there are days in a year; these multiplied by
twenty-four and sixty, and you have the exact number of hours and
minutes in a year. Thus, sir, I hope I have convinced you it is my
almanac; and by your lordship’s permission, I will prove it my
prayer-book also. I look upon the four suits as representing the four
prevailing religions, Christianity, Judaism, Mahometism and Paganism;
the twelve court cards remind me of the twelve patriarchs, from whom
sprang the twelve tribes of Israel; the twelve Apostles; the twelve
Articles of the Christian faith.
“The queen reminds me of the allegiance due to her Majesty. The ten
brings to my recollection the ten cities in the plains of Sodom and
Gomorrah, destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven; the ten plagues
of Egypt; the ten commandments; the ten tribes cut off for their vice.
The nine remind me of the nine Muses; the nine noble orders among men.
The eight reminds me of the eight beatitudes; the eight persons saved in
Noah’s ark; also the eight persons mentioned in the Scripture to be
released from death to life. The seven reminds me of the seven
ministering spirits that stand before the holy throne; the seven seals
wherewith the book of life is sealed; the seven liberal arts and
sciences given for the instruction of man; the seven wonders of the
world. The six reminds me of the six petitions contained in the Lord’s
Prayer. The five reminds me of the senses—hearing, seeing, feeling,
tasting, and smelling. The four puts me in mind of the four evangelists;
the four seasons of the year. The three reminds me of the Trinity: the
three hours of agony on the cross; the three days in the Holy Sepulchre.
The two reminds me of the two Testaments; the two contrary principles
struggling in man, virtue and vice. The ace reminds me of the only true
God to adore, to worship, to serve; one faith to believe; one truth to
practise, and one good master to serve and to obey.”
“So far is all very well,” said the nobleman; “but I believe you have
omitted one card, the knave.”
“True, my lord; the knave reminds me of your lordship’s informer.”
The nobleman became more pleased with Jack than before, freely forgave
him, raised his wages, and discharged the informer.
[Illustration]
APPENDIX.
GAMBLERS’ TRICKS WITH CARDS, EXPOSED AND EXPLAINED.
GAMBLERS’ PREPARATION OR DOCTORING OF CARDS.
Of cards which are “marked” as they come from the manufacturers there is
elsewhere mention. But it sometimes happens that the player cannot
understand the peculiar patterns of the back, and hence has to mark them
himself as he plays.
This is generally done, while he is holding them, by denting them with
the nail, scratching the edges or face, or bending the corners.
When the cards have backs perfectly white, the swindling manufacturer
can, at a moment’s glance, tell you what is on the face of the card; and
this secret he communicates to others, whom he employs to go out, and by
means of these cards to swindle people out of their money. This may seem
quite incredible to some; it is, nevertheless, done, and very
successfully too, and it is accomplished by embossing the paper on the
back, so as to form a small, fine grain, which the eye would take to be
the grain of the paper, this grain running different ways to represent
different cards. And there is only one position in which this card must
be held that it can be told; and that is, hold the end of the card that
is from you the highest, and then the shade will cast the grain in a way
that you can plainly see the marks.
REFLECTORS.
The cards so named are, by a mechanical process equally distinguishable
to the initiated by their backs as by their faces; but, from the expense
of manufacturing them, they are not often had recourse to. They nearly
resemble those ingenious landscapes which, at first sight, present to
our view some beautiful scene in nature, but, upon a more minute
inspection, give us portraits of human faces with great exactness and
fidelity. Some years back this trick was played off on the Continent, to
the enriching of a German Jew and two or three of his confederates. He
attended the fairs of Frankfort and Leipzic with a large quantity of
these cards, which he sold at a price which bade defiance to
competition. Visiting the country again, by the time he thought they
would be in circulation at the various spas and watering-places where
high play was going on, himself and his friends, by being alone able to
decipher the apparently invisible hieroglyphics, made a fortune out of
this scheme.
THE LONGS AND SHORTS
Consist of having all cards above the number eight a trifle longer than
those below it. This is accomplished with great nicety, by a machine
invented for that purpose. By this means, nothing under an eight can be
cut; and the chances against an honour being turned up at whist are
reduced two to one.
SAUTER LA COUPE, OR SLIPPING THE CARDS.
An adept at this trick can cheat and swindle at pleasure. Wherever it is
practised the fair player has no earthly chance of rising from the table
other than a loser. The trick, too, is much practised. By its means the
wealth of the unwary and inexperienced player is transferred to the
pocket of the cheat.
The following simple _exposition_ of the manner in which this trick is
performed, will be of essential service to the player. It will enable
him to detect the sharper and black-leg; and thus protect himself from
their nefarious scheme.
_Sauter la Coupe_ is the French term for “_Slipping the Cards_.” It is
practised at whist, when the cards _are cut_, and placed in the hands of
the dealer. By a dexterity, easily acquired by practice, he changes the
_cut card_, by _slipping_ from its position in the pack, either from the
top or the middle, _the ace_, and thus secures its “turning up.” The
practiser of _Sauter la Coupe_, to cover the trick he is resorting to,
invariably _ruffles_ the cards, making with them a loudish noise. While
the apparently simple action he thus performs, with the consequent
noise, distracts attention, he _slips the card_, the ace, which he has
hitherto concealed for the purpose, and dextrously placed on the head of
the pack when passing it from one hand to another to deal, or ascertains
its position in the pack by one of the many means resorted to for that
purpose. Whenever the player begins to _ruffle_ the cards, instead of
dealing _quietly_, suspect foul play. It is a symptom of cheating.
The fair player has no chance with the cheater by means of _Sauter la
Coupe_. Suppose that during an evening _twenty_ games have been played.
The cheat and his partner would thus have to deal the cards at least ten
times. During these ten deals the cards might be slipped _six_ times,
giving the cheat an advantage over the fair player of at least _twenty_
to _one_.
CONVEX AND CONCAVE CARDS
Are both of the same genus with the foregoing ones. All from the eight
to the king are cut convex, and all from the deuce to the seven,
concave. Thus, by cutting the pack in the centre, a convex card is cut;
and by taking hold of the cards, in cutting them, at either end of the
pack, a concave card is secured.
[Illustration: Fig. 165.]
Sometimes these cards are cut the reverse way to the foregoing one, so
that if suspicion arises, a pack of this description is substituted for
the others. But here the sharper has not so great a pull in his favour,
because the intended victim may cut in the usual way, and so cut a low
card to the dealer. But the possibility, or rather certainty, of his
being able, by any means to cut or deal a high or low card at pleasure,
is an advantage against which no skill in the game can avail.
HANDLING THE CARDS.
So called from the cards being secured in the palm of the hand. The
person who practises this art at cribbage generally takes care to get
two fives, with any other two cards, placing one of the two ordinary
cards at the top, next to it one five, then the other ordinary card, and
under it the other five. These four cards, so placed, he secures in the
palm of his hand, while he desires his adversary to shuffle the cards,
and being very generous, also tells his opponent to cut them; when this
is done, he puts his hand which contains the four cards upon that part
of the pack which is to be uppermost, and then leaves the cards on the
same; consequently, when he deals, the two fives will fall to his own
hand of cards. By these means when a person who can handle, deals, he is
pretty sure of two or more fives.
“GARRETTING.”
Is so called from the practice of securing the cards either under your
hat or behind your head.
The method of doing this is to select out three or four extraordinary
good cards, while your adversary is marking his hand of crib. This being
done, and the cards properly dealt, you take up your own cards, which
you take care to examine pretty quickly, and after laying out any two
you think proper for crib, you immediately, with one hand, put your
other remaining card on the pack, and with your other hand take down the
cards which have been secured; then in lieu of very bad cards, which you
might possibly have had, you have the best which can be got.
WALKING THE PEGS
Means either putting your own pegs forward, or those of your adversary
back, as they may best suit your purpose; and it is always executed
while you are laying out your cards for crib.
The method generally adopted for this business is to take the two cards
which you intend to put out for the crib, and fix them with your third
finger on the back of the cards, and your others on the front; then
holding them fast in your hand, you cover the pegs in the board from the
sight of your adversary, while with your first finger and thumb on the
same hand, you take out unperceived any peg you like, and place the same
wherever you think proper.
THE BRIDGE; or, “THE OLD GENTLEMAN”
Is a card slightly curved. By introducing it carelessly into the pack,
and shuffling them, it can be cut at pleasure. The trick of the “Old
Gentleman” consists in merely introducing into the pack a card of
thicker substance than the rest, which can likewise be cut at pleasure,
by being properly placed by the shuffler.
SKINNING.
It is by this operation that unfair cards are introduced, and too often
without creating suspicion, by the ingenuity with which it is performed.
Certain fair cards are taken out of the original stamped cover, without
injury to it, and in their stead either concave, convex, or pricked
ones, or reflectors, are placed. The stamp being stuck on the cover by
means of gum, which the application of warm water dissolves, or deprives
of its tenacity: a kettle of hot water and a sponge are the only things
requisite. The exchange being completed, the unfair pack finds its way
into societies of a certain description, where it is contrived to be
placed on the card-tables unobserved. Plunder is the inevitable result.
SHUFFLING OR WEAVING.
Much fraud is practised by the help of dextrously shuffling, by which
the power to place cards in certain parts of the pack is under the
control of the sharper, when become an adept in the art. The preparatory
step is a strict observance of the tricks taken up on both sides, and
their contents, when those rich in trumps or court cards are selected to
be operated upon by the shuffler, when it is his turn to deal.
THE GRADUS, OR STEP.
Consists in one particular card being so placed by the shuffler, on
handing them to his adversary to be cut, as to project a little beyond
the rest, and thus to insure its being the turn-up card, either at whist
or _ecarté_.
SLIPPING THE FIVES.
Slipping the fives at cribbage is an amazing strong advantage. The mode
of doing this is first to mark them in any manner so as to know them;
and whenever it happens that you observe one coming to your adversary,
you give him the next card under in lieu thereof, which many who are in
the habit of playing much perform with extraordinary dexterity.
SADDLING THE CARDS.
Is frequently practised at cribbage, This is bending the sixes, sevens,
eights, and nines, in the middle, long ways, with the sides downwards;
by which it is extremely easy for you to have one of those cards for a
start, by cutting where you perceive a card bent in that manner, taking
due care to have the card so bent uppermost.
DEALING FROM THE BOTTOM.
Is a very common practice; it is, therefore, very necessary for you to
be very watchful over your adversary while he deals.
This is a device of old date, but it is easier to be performed with the
small cards used at _ecarté_ than those generally played with at whist.
It consists in secreting a certain card until an opportunity presents
itself of its being available when it is produced, as implied, from the
palm of the hand that secretes it. The story of the hand that was nailed
to the table with a fork, and the proffered apology for the act if no
card was found under it, is too well known to be repeated: but it is not
a solitary instance in the play world. Some sixty years since a member
of Brookes’s Club was playing at quinze with Mr. Fox. At this game a
five is a principal card, and on the person alluded to displaying a five
in his hand, after Mr. Fox supposed them all to have been played, he
complained, with evident chagrin, of the increasing inaccuracy of his
memory. Others, however, were less charitably disposed. The unfair
gamester was watched, and detected in introducing a _fifth five_!
STEALING OUT CARDS, AND PALMING.
The cheat of stealing cards is practised as often, perhaps, as any other
fraud in card playing. It is of great advantage to the gambler, and
gives him an opportunity of forming very good winning hands. In whist,
the most desirable cards to steal out are the “honours,” and sometimes
all four will be stolen out by one man, that is, the honours of one
suit; and then he will make that suit trump by keeping one of them at
the bottom. This can be done by the backs as well as by the faces, for
the cards in general use now by the gamblers can all be known by the
backs, and a player will know by the backs where any particular card is
dealt; and if he should not steal the honours, he can deal them to
himself or his partner, by dealing off the second card instead of the
top card, whenever the top card is one that he may want for himself; and
if he should steal two of the honours out, he will hide the theft by
dealing each player two cards twice; then all will have their proper
number, and his theft remains hid; or he will miss giving himself a card
twice during the deal, and hide the theft by that means; or he will give
himself two twice during the deal, and have sixteen, while the others
have but twelve each; he will then hide his theft by concealing four
cards that are poor in the palm of his hand, and in gathering a trick
will place all upon his bunch of tricks. And as his tricks are all
bunched, the players will depend on counting the tricks of the other
party to determine who has won the odd trick; and hence he succeeds in
hiding his theft.
CUTTING, SHUFFLING, DEALING, STEALING, &c.
No man is secure from the artifice of the gambler; so long as he will
play at all, he may rest assured that he will, in the end, come out
loser, for the methods of cheating are almost innumerable. A majority of
gamblers have arrived at such perfection in the art of dealing that they
will deal the second card from the top instead of the top card, and will
go all through the pack in that manner: and you may look directly at
them, and will not be able to detect the cheat. They will, at other
times, have a hand which they have stolen out, and will smuggle it under
the bottom; then, in the course of dealing, they will deal this hand
just where they please, and defy you to discover their dealing from the
bottom. A gambler will often deal himself six or seven cards, when he
should have but five, and if he can make a good hand, by laying out the
two poorest in his lap, he will do so; or if he cannot make a good hand,
he will take the two best to help him in his next hand. This cheat is
very often practised.
DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND.
1 will here relate a case which occurred not long since, as going to
show how well-experienced men will play more than their number. A
gambler got to playing, coming up from Goodwood, with a man whom he
mistook for a “greeney” that knew nothing of playing _scientifically_.
But he was sadly deceived. The gambler from the beginning played
somewhat carelessly, supposing that it needed no science to beat the
stranger; but the gambler lost, and commenced playing as scientifically
as he could. He still lost, and finally lost nearly all he had before he
left off; and after quitting, they went to the buffet to drink. The
gambler said to his antagonist, “You beat any man for luck I ever played
with. I’ve lost my money with you, but it makes no difference: I will be
honest with you; you did not know it, but I played six cards all the
time, and your luck beat it.” “Well,” said the innocent chap, “since you
have been so frank, I will also be frank; I have played _seven_ cards
all the way through, besides stocking and palming and occasionally
stealing, for the sake of variety.” The gambler was greatly surprised,
and swore that he would not have supposed that he knew much more than
one card from another; but he was deceived in the man, and it would not
have done for him to have shown any anger, as he first confessed having
cheated the other, who was in reality a most expert gambler, and had
purposely assumed that disguise.
GAMBLERS’ MEANS OF SECRET COMMUNICATION.
Again, gamblers, for mutual advantage, generally travel in small
companies, and in secret partnership. I have again adverted to this, in
order to mention one of the ways in which they often turn their
partnership to good account. They almost invariably feign to be total
strangers to each other, the better to carry out their base designs; and
when one or two of them are seated at a table at play with some whom
they wish to fleece, one of the company will seem to be a total stranger
to everybody, seats himself in sight of a man’s hand, who is at play,
and is not one of the confederates; and if he shows, by word or act,
that he would rather he would not, he will readily protest that his only
motive is the gratification of an idle curiosity; that he scarcely knows
one card from another. And very probably, after such protestations from
one who appears a stranger, and withal an honest gentleman, he is
suffered to continue to look into the player’s hand. If he should be
asked to play, he will say, “I cannot, as I have never learned; indeed,
I scarcely know the cards.” He will take this course in order that his
looking into the hands of the players may not be objected to. And his
motive in looking into the hands is to give his secret partners signs.
This he will do in various ways. I have known men who would give signs,
that were perfectly intelligible, by the different manner in which they
would blow their cigar smoke. In even such simple and imperative acts as
holding the cards a gambler can give intelligence to his partner. As for
his fingers, their slightest movement, however natural, conveys
information. And in order to evade suspicion, I have also known signs to
be conveyed through two and three different persons, who were secret
partners of the players, and were sitting in different parts of the same
room; and the signs would always reach the player in time to benefit
him. This is often done when there is danger of being detected, if he
should look at the man who is looking in the other’s hands for his
signs. Nor is it a matter of importance whether there is a room full or
not; for they will practise these artifices before a room full as well
as if there was a very small number of persons present.
At other times, when a man loses heavily, one of the company will go to
him and form an acquaintance, if it does not already exist, and will say
to him, “You are much the loser with A or B, and I am acquainted with
him, and if you will in confidence accept the offer, I will do you a
favour, by which you will stand a chance of getting your money back
again. Do you engage with him in play, and I will sit back of him, and
give you correct signs from his hand, so that you can know how to govern
your bets.” Nothing appears more generous than this; and a weak man is
apt to be eager to avail himself of any means that promises to restore
him his lost money, and will feel highly elated that he has met with an
unexpected friend, and will flatter himself with the idea of winning all
the man has; feeling that if his pretended friend should succeed in
giving him correct signs one hand out of four, it will be sufficient to
enable him to win much from him. This is all the basest deception. The
man proposing this mode of playing is a secret partner of the winner,
and their design is to swindle the man still further. Both are fully
apprised of the plan, and when they succeed in getting the loser to play
again (they generally have cards which they know as well by the backs as
by the faces), if the winner should have a large hand, and the loser a
larger one, he (the winner) will bunch his cards so closely that the one
behind cannot see to give signs, and he then suffers himself to be run
off. And if you should have one or two pairs (which he will know by the
backs), and he should get the same, though a little larger, he will then
permit the man to give signs that he has only one or two pairs, as the
case may be, and all that he can entice the loser to bet, he will win
from him.
The gambler will only bet on small worthless cards when his hand is
better than his opponent’s; and, frequently, by such contrivances as we
explain, will deal the latter three aces and a pair of kings to his own
four tens or knaves.
Anybody would bet largely on such a hand, and thus, a gambler will ruin
a man in a few games.
TRICKS AND ROULETTE.
Roulette is played upon a long table, of which we give a representation.
This table is covered with green cloth. In its centre is a movable
cylinder, on the circumference of which are thirty-seven divisions,
separated from each other by wires, and numbered from 6 to 36.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF ROULETTE.]
This cylinder is made to revolve, by the hand, at the same time that a
small ball is thrown in the opposite direction upon the fixed parts of
the machine, where, after several circuits, it falls into one of the
numbered compartments, which are alternately black and red.
At each end of the table, numbers corresponding with the thirty-seven
upon the cylinder, are stamped on the cloth in three columns, with the
words _manque_ (“dead” or missed), _pair_ (even), and _rouge_ (red), on
one side of the columns; and _passe_ (stake), _impair_ (odd), and _noir_
(black), on the other side. While, in the line below the columns and the
divisions mentioned (namely, _manque_, _pair_, _impair_, &c., &c.) are
nine spaces, marked below the columns, first C, second C, third C; and
to the right and left three spaces marked first D, second D, third D.
_Mode of Playing._—The smallest stake allowed by the foreign tables is
one florin. If the player bet upon any odd number, and the ball drops
into the compartment so numbered, he receives thirty-six times the
amount of his stake; but since there are always thirty-eight chances
against him, he may lose a very large sum before winning at all.
To simplify matters, and to encourage the player, he is at liberty to
divide his stakes among several numbers, lay his wagers upon any of the
columns containing twelve numbers each, or upon the first, second, or
third series of twelve numbers (in these cases he is paid double if he
win); or play upon red or black, odd or even—the former including the
numbers from 1 to 18, and the latter from 19 to 36.
The three D’s printed on the cloth stand for _Douzaine_, and signify the
first, second, or third dozen on the red or black side; and the three
C’s similarly stand for the _column_ of figures under which they are
placed.
The game, however complicated it may appear at first glance, is really
quite simple, as a little attention to the explanation will attest, and
affords great variety in the betting.
As the bank must win in the long run, and its percentage is but small,
the “regular” places can afford to dispense with deceptions. In private
gaming-houses, however, as many tricks as ingenuity can invent are
employed to fleece the unwary.
ENGLISH ROULETTE.
(From _Rogues and Vagabonds of the Race-Course_.)
The thirty-six divisions of the English roulette-table into which the
ball falls, are thus designated:—
Two Crowns.
Two Feathers.
Three Yellows.
Four Blues.
Ten Reds.
Fifteen Blacks.
The odds laid are— The proper odds being—
Against Crown 12 to 1 17 to 1
„ Feather 12 to 1 17 to 1
„ Yellow 8 to 1 11 to 1
„ Blue 5 to 1 8 to 1
„ Red 2 to 1 13 to 5
„ Black 1 to 1 7 to 5
Any one not acquainted with the roulette man would almost marvel that
with such immense odds in his favour, he should think it necessary to
cheat; but to cheat is his delight and recreation.
The man who enters the roulette-tent on the racecourse, should he be the
only _bonâ fide_ player, may well leave all hope behind. Supposing that
he commenced playing with the determination of losing a certain sum
only, he would save himself trouble by paying down that sum then and
there.
True, if several are playing at the same time, he does stand a chance; a
poor one, perhaps, but yet he may win considerably—for however sharp the
man at the wheel may be, he cannot fleece everybody at once. If anything
delights the roulette man, it is to slay his victims one by one; for
where there are many playing, some shrewd man is sure to place his
sovereign or two exactly opposite the large stakes; and should he vary
this amusement by an occasional half-sovereign on zero, when heavy
stakes are on the black and red, he becomes an intolerable nuisance. In
this game the ball can be made to fall into zero at will, and very often
into any other number. Should a heavy stake be placed on red, it is any
odds on black turning up, and _vice versâ_; and should, as is often the
case, a large stake be on both red and black, provided there is no stake
on zero, then zero will inevitably turn up.
On examining a roulette wheel, it will be found, probably, that the
brass partition on one, and often on each side of zero, can be drawn out
slightly, thus causing a projection. We say probably, for in case of any
untoward event, a perfectly fair duplicate movable bottom, with which
most tables are provided, will be substituted for the unfair one with
marvellous rapidity.
Supposing that the man at the wheel wishes zero to turn up, by the same
movement with which he starts the wheel to the right, he dexterously
pulls out the brass partition on the left of zero, causing a projection
which, in the rapid rotary motion, escapes notice; he then carefully
sends the ball in the opposite direction, which, as it encounters the
projection, jumps forcibly, making a peculiar clicking noise. As it
lessens its speed the jumping becomes less violent, till, at last, the
ball has not impetus sufficient to clear the projection; it therefore
calmly “refuses,” or, in other words falls into zero “dead beat.” Of
course, the same principle holds good conversely, for by drawing out the
other partition, or by turning the wheel to the left, it is a moral
impossibility for the ball to rest in zero.
To stand a chance, then, the player should _never on any account stake
until the ball is fairly in play_.
The clever way in which the partitions are restored to their proper
places is worthy of notice. After the ball has fallen into the desired
place, but before the wheel has ceased to revolve, the roulette man
places his hand, apparently with the intention of stopping the wheel,
but in reality so as to make each partition, as it passes his finger,
strike up against it. Those that have been pulled out are thus driven
back again.
There is another way of preparing the table, bungling and apparent; but
it is only attempted upon the intoxicated and very inexperienced young
men.
In this case, though only one or two of the brass partitions can be
pulled out, on _the left_ of the crowns, feathers, yellow, and blue, the
partitions were all fixed projecting more or less, so that no sleight of
hand was at all necessary in the manipulation of the wheel; for when it
is turned to the right, and the ball of course thrown in the opposite
direction, the ball must necessarily fall into one of the
above-mentioned divisions; but, on the other hand, were the wheel turned
to the left, red or black would necessarily turn up.
If the roulette man cannot by this system, as he can by the other, turn
up what he likes, he can, at all events, prevent anything turning up
that he would lose upon.
Roulette is considered vulgar compared with 30-and-40 (Trente et
Quarante), otherwise Red and Black (Rouge-et-Noir).
ROUGE-ET-NOIR, OR, TRENTE ET QUARANTE.
This game is played, like roulette, on a table covered with green cloth.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF ROUGE-ET-NOIR.]
The _tailleur_ (“cutter of the cards,” banker or dealer) seats himself
at the centre of the table, while opposite him, and at each end, are
croupiers (rakers-in), to see that no mistakes are made, to aid bettors
in placing stakes, and to draw or push money lost or won with long
wooden rakes.
On one side of the table is a piece of red cloth, diamond shaped, and,
opposite it, a piece of black cloth of the same shape.
The bettors who believe that red will win, put their money on the red
side, and those who believe in black, lay their wagers on the black
side.
The dealer continually calls out, “_Faites votre jeu_” (Make your play),
and when he sees that all the stakes are down on the table, he adds,
“_Le jeu est fait_” (The game is made), closing, as he begins to deal
out the cards, “_Rien ne va plus_” (no more stakes can be received).
All bets are then rejected, and all stakes pushed back.
_Mode of playing._—The game is played with six packs of cards, the court
cards counting ten each, and all the others according to the number of
spots upon their faces. They are shuffled and held face down, and laid
on the cloth face up in two rows or series. The dealer continues dealing
out, and counting in a loud voice, until the added numbers reach
thirty-one, but they must not be beyond forty. The first row counts for
black, and the second for red. Supposing that the first row or series of
black came thus:
[Illustration]
This makes in all 32, completing that series.
Now, supposing that the second row or series of red came thus:
[Illustration]
This makes in all, 37. In this case, black wins, because 32 is nearer 31
than 37.
The dealer, therefore, declares, “_Noir gagne_” (Black wins), or “_Rouge
perd_” (Red loses), whereupon all bets upon black are paid, and all the
stakes upon red taken in by the croupiers.
_Wagers on colour_ are made during the play, and decided by the colour
of the last card in the winning series.
Thus: if black wins, and the last card of that series be clubs or
spades, colour wins; but if hearts or diamonds has been turned up last,
colour loses.
The bank has, in the long run, advantages enough to defeat all players.
The advantage at Rouge-et-Noir is called the _refait_ (drawn game),
which happens when there is a tie between the two series, and both count
the same number between 32 and 40. For instance, 34 or 39 for both the
series, red and black.
In this case, neither bank nor players win or lose. The players may
change their stakes, or let them remain, at pleasure.
Should each of the series count 31 (which occurs once in thirty-eight or
forty times), bets are _en prison_ (dead); that is, there they must
remain until the next deal decides their fate. This seems fair, but it
is equivalent to giving the bank half the stakes. The Homburg Bank,
which is the most liberal, puts the stakes _en prison_ only when the
last card of the second series is black.
The _refait_ at Rouge-et-Noir is estimated to make the percentage of the
bank about two and two-thirds, which is diminished at Homburg to one and
a third.
The advantage at Rouge-et-Noir is less than at roulette; while the
minimum stake is two florins, and the maximum is 5,600 florins. The bank
capital at the present game must be something like five times that at
roulette. The extent of stake, on a simple chance, is 4,000 francs.
J. Ogden and Co., Printers, 172, St. John Street, E.C.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Story for Children, by BRET HARTE. _With Six Illustrations in
Sepia by_ HENRY H. BANKS. 4to, cloth gilt. 5_s._
⁂ _An exquisite story. No other author could have written it except Bret
Harte. The late Charles Dickens would have been delighted with it._
9. _MISS SKAGG’S HUSBAND, and other Stories._ By BRET HARTE. Uniform
with the “Luck of Roaring Camp.”
[_Shortly._
10. _BRET HARTE’S COMPLETE WORKS, IN PROSE AND POETRY. Now First
Collected._ With Introductory Essay by J. M. BELLEW. _Portrait of
the Author, and Fifty Illustrations._ Crown 8vo, 650 pages, cloth
extra, 7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _Some of the finest and most moving of Mr. Bellew’s inimitable
readings are from the works of_ BRET HARTE. _The complete edition, now
first published, will receive a hearty welcome from the Author’s
numerous admirers; and those who assist at penny readings will find it
invaluable—a perfect cyclopædia of the most telling stories and humorous
verse of the past half century._
Uniform with Mr. Ruskin’s Edition of “Grimm.”
[Illustration]
_AS PRETTY AS SEVEN, and other Popular German Stories_. Collected by
LUDWIG BECHSTEIN. With additional Tales by the BROTHERS GRIMM. 100
Illustrations by RICHTER. Small 4to, green and gold, 6_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _One of the most delightful books for children ever published. It is,
in every way, a Companion to the German Stories of the Brothers Grimm,
and the tales are equally pure and healthful. The quaint simplicity of
Richter’s engravings will charm every lover of legendary lore. The
publisher hopes to make this book as well known here as it deserves to
be_.
_GOLDEN TREASURY of THOUGHT._ The Best Encyclopædia of Quotations and
Elegant Extracts ever formed. Edited by THEODORE TAYLOR, Author of
“Thackeray, the Humourist and Man of Letters.” 8vo, 700 pages,
7_s._ 6_d._
_THEODORE HOOK._ The choice Humorous Works, Ludicrous Adventures,
Bon-mots, Puns and Hoaxes of THEODORE HOOK. With a new Life of the
Author. PORTRAITS and ILLUSTRATIONS. 8vo, 7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ As a wit and humourist of the highest order “his name will be
preserved. His political songs and _jeux d’esprit_, when the hour comes
for collecting them, _will form a volume of sterling and lasting
attraction_!”—_J. G. Lockhart_. The time _has_ arrived, and Hook’s
inimitable songs, jokes, and stories are here for the first time
gathered together for the amusement of readers who delight in the hearty
waggeries of the old school of humourists.
_SKETCHES OF IRISH CHARACTER._ By Mrs. S. C. HALL. With numerous
Illustrations on Steel and Wood, by DANIEL MACLISE, R.A., JOHN
GILBERT, W. HARVEY, and G. CRUIKSHANK. 8vo, pp. 450, cloth, gilt
edges, 7_s._ 6_d._
“The Irish sketches of this lady resemble Miss Mitford’s beautiful
English Sketches in ‘Our Village,’ but they are far more vigorous and
picturesque and bright.”—_Blackwood’s Magazine._
_DROLLS OF OLD CORNWALL; or, Popular Romances of the West of England._
Collected and Edited by ROBERT HUNT, F.R.S. New Popular Edition,
Complete in One Vol., with Illustrations by GEORGE CRUIKSHANK.
Price 7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ “Mr. Hunt’s charming book on the Drolls and Stories of the West of
England.”—_Saturday Review._
_GESTA ROMANORIUM; or, Entertaining Stories invented by the Monks as a
Fireside Recreation, and commonly applied in their Discourses from
the Pulpit._ With Introduction by THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq., M.A.,
F.S.A. 2 vols. 8vo, only 250 copies printed, on fine ribbed paper,
18_s._; large paper, only 50 copies printed, 30_s._
WORKS by MARK TWAIN.
WIDELY KNOWN FOR THEIR FRESH AND DELIGHTFUL HUMOUR.
1. _PLEASURE TRIP ON THE CONTINENT OF EUROPE._ By MARK TWAIN. 500
pages, 2_s._; or in cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._
⁂ TWAIN’S PLEASURE TRIP _is also issued in Two-vol. form, under the
title of_
2. “_INNOCENTS ABROAD._” By MARK TWAIN. _THE VOYAGE OUT._ Cloth, neat,
fine toned paper, “SUPERIOR EDITION,” 3_s._ 6_d._; or in paper,
1_s._
3. _NEW PILGRIM’S PROGRESS._ By MARK TWAIN. _THE VOYAGE HOME._ Cloth,
neat, fine toned paper, “SUPERIOR EDITION,” 3_s._ 6_d._; or in
paper, 1_s._
4. _THE JUMPING FROG_, AND _other Humorous Sketches_. By MARK TWAIN,
1_s._
“An inimitably funny book.”—_Saturday Review._
[Illustration]
5. _BURLESQUE Autobiography_
_First Mediæval Romance_, AND _On Children_. By MARK TWAIN. 6_d._
6. _EYE-OPENERS._ A volume of immensely Funny Sayings, and Stories
that will bring a smile upon the gruffest countenance. By MARK
TWAIN. Cloth, neat, 2_s._ 6_d._; paper, 1_s._
7. _SCREAMERS._ A Gathering of Delicious Bits and Short Stories, by
MARK TWAIN. Cloth, neat, 2_s._ 6_d._; paper, 1_s._
8. _PRACTICAL JOKES; or, Mirth with Artemus Ward._ And other Papers.
By MARK TWAIN, and other Humourists. Price 1_s._; cloth, 2_s._
6_d._
⁂ _The connection of two such names as Mark Twain and Artemus Ward will
indicate to the reader the pleasant feast in store for him._
9. _A FURTHER GATHERING OF MARK TWAIN’S DELIGHTFUL PAPERS._ Price
1_s._
[_Shortly_.
10. _MARK TWAIN’S CHOICE WORKS. Now First Collected_. With extra
passages to the “Innocents Abroad,” now first reprinted, and a
Life of the Author. 50 Illustrations by MARK TWAIN and other
Artists, also Portrait of the Author. 700 pages, cloth gilt, 7_s._
6_d._
⁂ _Admirers of Mark Twain’s Humorous Works will be glad to possess such
a choice gathering as the above_.
_MAGICIAN’S OWN BOOK._ Containing Ample Instructions for PERFORMANCES
in LEGERDEMAIN with CUPS and BALLS, EGGS, HATS, HANDKERCHIEFS, &c.
By the Author of “The Secret Out.” All from Actual Experience, and
Edited by W. H. CREMER, Jun., of Regent Street. Crown 8vo, with
200 Illustrations, 4_s._ 6_d._
_THE SECRET OUT; or, One Thousand Tricks with Cards, and other
Recreations; with Entertaining Experiments in Drawing-Room or
“White Magic.”_ By the Author of the “Magician’s Own Book.” Edited
by W. H. CREMER, Jun., of Regent Street. With 300 Engravings.
Crown 8vo, cloth, 4_s._ 6_d._
[Illustration]
⁂ _These Books are complete Cyclopædias of Legerdemain. Under the title
of “Le Magicien des Salons,” the first has long been a Standard Magic
Book with all French and German Professors of the Art. The tricks are
described so carefully, with engravings to illustrate them, that anybody
can easily learn how to perform them._
ENTIRELY NEW GAMES.
_THE MERRY CIRCLE._ A Book of NEW, GRACEFUL, and INTELLECTUAL GAMES
and AMUSEMENTS. Edited by Mrs. CLARA BELLEW. Crown 8vo, numerous
Illustrations, 4_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _A new and capital book of Household Amusements. These are in every
way Intellectual Games, and will please both old and young. It is an
excellent book to consult before going to an evening party._
_THE ART OF AMUSING._ A Collection of Graceful Arts, Games, Tricks,
Puzzles, and Charades, intended to amuse everybody, and enable all
to amuse everybody else. By FRANK BELLEW. With nearly 300
Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 4_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _One of the most entertaining handbooks of amusement ever published._
_HANKY-PANKY._ A New and Wonderful Book of VERY EASY TRICKS; VERY
DIFFICULT TRICKS; in fact, all those startling Deceptions which
the Great Wizards call “Hanky-Panky.” Edited by W. H. CREMER, of
Regent Street. With nearly 200 Illustrations. Price 4_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _Sure to be a_ VERY POPULAR BOOK.
WORKS OF THE LATE ARTEMUS WARD.
New Edition, price 1_s._; by post 1_s._ 2_d._
_ARTEMUS WARD: HIS BOOK._ The Author’s Enlarged Edition. With Notes
and Introduction by the Editor of the “Biglow Papers.” One of the
wittiest, and certainly one of the most mirth-provoking, books
published for many years. Containing the whole of the Original,
with the following extra chapters:—Babes in the Wood; Tavern
Accommodation, Betsy-Jain-Re-Organized; A. Ward’s First Umbrella;
Brigham Young’s Wives; Artemus Ward’s Brother; Mormon Bill of
Fare.
_NOTICE.—Mr. Hotten’s Edition it the only one published in this
country with the sanction of the Author._
The _Saturday Review_ says of Mr. Hotten’s edition: “The author combines
the powers of Thackeray with those of Albert Smith. The salt is rubbed
in by a native hand—one which has the gift of tickling.”
“We never, not even in the pages of our best humorists, read anything so
laughable and so shrewd as we have seen in this book by the mirthful
Artemus.”—_Public Opinion._
_ARTEMUS WARD: His Travels Among the Mormons and on the Rampage._
Edited by E. P. HINGSTON, the Agent and Companion of A. WARD
whilst “on the Rampage.” New Edition, price 1_s._
⁂ _Some of Artemus’s most mirth-provoking papers are to be found in this
book. The chapters upon the Mormons will unbend the sternest
countenance. As bits of fun they are_ IMMENSE!
_ARTEMUS WARD AMONG THE FENIANS: with the Showman’s Experiences of
Life at Washington, and Military Ardour at Baldinsville._ Toned
paper, price 6_d._; by post, 7_d._
_ARTEMUS WARD’S LECTURE AT THE EGYPTIAN HALL_, with the Panorama.
Edited by the late T. W. ROBERTSON (Author of “Caste,” “Ours,”
“Society,” &c.) and E. P. HINGSTON. Small 4to, exquisitely
printed, bound in green and gold, with NUMEROUS TINTED
ILLUSTRATIONS, price 6_s._
“Mr. Hotten has conceived the happy idea of printing Artemus Ward’s
‘Lecture’ in such a way as to afford the reader an accurate notion of
the emphasis, by-play, &c., with which it was delivered. We have no
hesitation in saying that Mr. Hotten has almost restored the great
humourist to the flesh.”—_Daily Telegraph._
“The tomahawk fell from our hands as we roared with laughter—the pipe of
peace slipped from between our lips as our eyes filled with tears!
Laughter for Artemus’s wit—tears for his untimely death! This book is a
record of both. Those who never saw Artemus in the flesh, let them read
of him in the spirit.”—_Tomahawk._
“It actually reproduces Ward’s Lecture, which was brimful of first-class
wit and humour.”—_Daily News._
“It keeps you in fits of laughter.”—_Leader._
“One of the choice and curious volumes for the issue of which Mr. Hotten
has become famous.”—_City Press._
“The Lecture is not alone droll: it is full of information.”—_Examiner._
“It adds one to our books of genuine fun.”—_Sunday Times._
12mo, 200 pages, 1_s._ 6_d._; or cloth, neat, 2_s._
_ARTEMUS WARD IN LONDON._ Comprising the Letters to “Punch,” and other
Humorous Papers, now first collected.
⁂ _Contains some quaint and humorous compositions which were found upon
the authors table after his decease._
_ARTEMUS WARD, Complete._ The Works of CHARLES FARRER BROWNE, better
known as “ARTEMUS WARD,” now first collected. Crown 8vo, with fine
Portrait, facsimile of handwriting, &c., 540 pages, cloth neat,
7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _Comprises all that the humourist has written in England or America.
Admirers of poor Artemus Ward will be glad to possess his writings in a
complete form._
GUSTAVE DORÉ’S MOST CHARACTERISTIC WORKS.
[Illustration]
_RABELAIS._ Faithfully translated from the French, with variorum
Notes, and numerous characteristic Illustrations by GUSTAVE DORE.
Cloth neat, 600 pages. Price 7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _When it is stated that this is a “faithful translation,” scholars
will know what is meant. The 60 full-page Illustrations are in the
Artist’s best and most fantastic manner._
_COCKAYNES IN PARIS, The; or, an English Family Abroad._ By BLANCHARD
JERROLD. With MOST AMUSING thumb-nail SKETCHES of the ENGLISH by
GUSTAVE DORE, taken on the Rail, the Steam-boat, and the Pavement.
Price 7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _Returned tourists who would like to see themselves from a French
point of view, will be greatly diverted with this new travel-book. The
pictures are very droll, and give the exact notions of foreigners
concerning us. One of these notions is that all English ladies and
gentlemen breathe through their mouths instead of through their noses,
hence our mouths are always open, our teeth protrude, and we are
continually on the grin. Some of their caricatures of our weaknesses are
not wholly devoid of truth_.
_COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS, The._ By PAUL DU CHAILLU. New Book of
Hair-breadth Escapes. Reveals a New World to the reader. 1_s._ in
paper; 3_s._ 6_d._ in cloth. Full-page Illustrations.
_Hotten’s Edition of “CONTES DROLATIQUES” (Droll Tales collected from
the Abbeys of Lorraine)_, par BALZAC. With 425 Marvellous,
Extravagant, and Fantastic Woodcuts by DORE. Beautifully printed,
thick 8vo, half morocco, Roxburghe. 12_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _The most singular designs ever attempted by any artist. So crammed is
the book with pictures that even the contents are adorned with
thirty-three illustrations._ DIRECT _application must be made to_ Mr.
HOTTEN _for this work_.
GUSTAVE DORE’S FAVOURITE PENCIL SKETCHES.
_HISTORICAL CARTOONS; or, Rough Pencillings of the World’s History
from the First to the Nineteenth Century._ By GUSTAVE DORE. With
admirable letterpress descriptions by THOMAS WRIGHT, F.S.A. Oblong
4to, handsome Table Book. Price 7_s._ 6_d._
[Illustration]
⁂ _This is a new book of daring and inimitable designs, which will
excite considerable attention, and doubtless command a very wide
circulation._
_AN EPIC OF WOMEN, and other Poems._ By ARTHUR W. E. O’SHAUGHNESSY.
With Original Designs by Mr. J. T. NETTLESHIP. Cloth, neat, price
6_s._
“What he has given us is remarkable. With its quaint title, and quaint
illustrations, ‘AN EPIC OF WOMEN’ will be a rich treat to a wide circle
of admirers.”—_Athenæum_, Nov. 5, 1870.
“Combine Morris and Swinburne, and inspire the product with a fervour
essentially original, and you have, as we take it, a fair notion of Mr.
O’Shaughnessy’s poems.”—_Dispatch_, Oct. 30, 1870.
_ANACREON._ Illustrated by the Exquisite Designs of GIRODET.
Translated by THOMAS MOORE. Bound in vellum cloth and Etruscan
gold, 12_s._ 6_d._
[Illustration]
⁂ _A MOST BEAUTIFUL AND CAPTIVATING VOLUME. The well-known Paris house,
Firmin Didot, a few years since produced a miniature edition of these
exquisite designs by the photographic process, and sold a large number
at £2 per copy. The designs have been universally admired by both
artists and poets._
_ECHOES FROM THE FRENCH POETS._ An Anthology from BAUDELAIRE, ALFRED
DE MUSSET, LAMARTINE, VICTOR HUGO, A. CHENIER, T. GAUTIER,
BERANGER, NADAUD, DUPONT, PARNY, and others. By HARRY CURWEN.
Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 5_s._; half morocco, 6_s._
“A pleasant little volume of translations from modern French
poets.”—_Graphic_, Aug. 20, 1870.
_FAIR ROSAMOND, and other Poems._ By B. MONTGOMERIE RANKING (of the
Inner Temple). Fcap. 8vo, price 6_s._
[Illustration]
_HOGARTH’S FIVE DAYS’ Frolic; or, “Peregrinations by Land and Water.”_
Illustrated with TINTED DRAWINGS, made by HOGARTH and SCOTT during
the Journey. 4to, beautifully printed, 10_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _A graphic and most extraordinary picture of the hearty English times
in which these merry artists lived._
_ACROSTICS, in Prose and Verse._ Edited by A. E. H. 12mo, gilt cloth,
gilt edges, 3_s._
—— SECOND SERIES, cloth gilt, 3_s._
—— THIRD SERIES, cloth gilt, 3_s._
—— _Fourth Series._ With 8 Pictorial Acrostics. Cloth gilt, 3_s._
—— _Fifth Series._ An entirely New and Original Work. Cloth elegant,
4_s._ 6_d._
—— SUPPLEMENT, under the title of “Easy Double, Historical, and
Scriptural Acrostics.” Cloth gilt, 3_s._
⁂ _Each series sold separately. These are the best volumes of Acrostics
ever issued. They comprise Single, Double, Treble, and every variety of
acrostic, and the set would amuse the younger members of a family for an
entire winter._
The Five Series Complete in a Case, “_The Acrostic Box_,” price 15_s._
_WONDERFUL CHARACTERS: Memoirs and Anecdotes of Remarkable and
Eccentric Persons of Every Age and Nation._ From the text of HENRY
WILSON and JAMES CAULFIELD. 8vo, with SIXTY-ONE FULL-PAGE
ENGRAVINGS OF EXTRAORDINARY PERSONS, price 7_s._ 6_d._
[Illustration]
⁂ _There are so many curious matters discussed in this volume, that any
person who takes it up will not readily lay it down. The introduction is
almost entirely devoted to a consideration of Pig-Faced Ladies, and the
various stories concerning them._
_THE COLLECTOR; Essays on Books, Newspapers, Pictures, Inns, Authors,
Doctors, Holidays, Actors, Preachers._ By HENRY T. TUCKERMAN; with
an Introduction by Dr. DORAN. Half morocco, 6_s._
⁂ _A charming volume of delightful Essays, and, a Companion to John Hill
Burton’s “Book-Hunter.”_
_LITERARY COPYRIGHT. Seven Letters addressed by permission to Earl
Stanhope, D.C.L., F.R.S._ By JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN. Price 5_s._
“A sensible and valuable little book.”—_Athenæum._
“We agree with Mr. Hotten.”—_Saturday Review._
OLD DRAMATISTS—NEW EDITIONS.
_MARLOWE’S (Christopher) WORKS; Including his Translations._ Edited,
with Notes and Introduction, by Lieut. Col. F. CUNNINGHAM. Cr.
8vo, Portrait. Cloth, 6_s._; cloth gilt, 6_s._ 6_d._
_MASSINGER’S (Philip) PLAYS._ From the Text of WM. GIFFORD. With the
addition of the Tragedy of “Believe as You List.” Edited by Lieut.
Col. FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM. Crown 8vo, Portrait. Cloth, 6_s._; cloth
gilt, 6_s._ 6_d._
_BEN JONSON’S WORKS._ With Notes, Critical and Explanatory, and a
Biographical Memoir by WILLIAM GIFFORD. Edited by Lieut. Col.
FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM. Complete in 3 vols., crown 8vo, Portrait.
Cloth, 6_s._ each; cloth gilt, 6_s._ 6_d._ each.
_LIFE AND NEWLY-DISCOVERED WRITINGS OF DANIEL DEFOE._ Comprising
Several Hundred Important Essays, Pamphlets, and other Writings,
now first brought to light, after many years’ diligent search. By
WILLIAM LEE, Esq. With Facsimiles and Illustrations. 3 Vols.,
uniform with “Macaulay’s History of England.” 36_s._
A VERY USEFUL BOOK.—In folio, half morocco, cloth sides, 7_s._ 6_d._
_LITERARY SCRAPS, CUTTINGS from NEWSPAPERS, EXTRACTS, MISCELLANEA,
&c._ A FOLIO SCRAP-BOOK OF 340 COLUMNS, formed for the reception
of Cuttings, &c., with guards.
⁂ _A most useful volume, and one of the cheapest ever sold._
_THE ROSICRUCIANS; their Rites and Mysteries._ With Chapters on the
Ancient Fire and Serpent Worshippers, and Explanations of the
Mystic Symbols represented in the Monuments and Talismans of the
Primeval Philosophers. By HARGRAVE JENNINGS. 10_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _A volume of startling facts and opinions upon this very mysterious
subject, illustrated by nearly 300 engravings._
“Curious as many of Mr. Hotten’s works have been, the volume now under
notice is, among them all, perhaps the most remarkable. The work
purports to describe the Rites and Mysteries of the Rosicrucians. It
dilates on the ancient Fire and Serpent Worshippers. The Author has
certainly devoted an enormous amount of labour to these memorials of the
ROSE-CROSS—otherwise the Rosicrucians.”—_The Sun._
The New Books.
THE STANDARD EDITION.
_ROBINSON CRUSOE._ Profusely Illustrated by ERNEST GRISET. Edited,
with a New Account of the Origin of Robinson Crusoe, by WILLIAM
LEE, Esq. Crown 8vo, 5_s._
⁂ _This edition deserves special attention from the fact that it is the
only correct one that has been printed since the time of Defoe. All
those alterations and blunders which have been discovered in every
recent edition are here avoided. There is no living artist better
adapted to the task of illustrating Crusoe than Ernest Griset._
[Illustration]
_LIVINGSTONE. THE FINDING OF LIVINGSTONE BY H. M. STANLEY_, Special
Commissioner of the _New York Herald_. With the full text of Mr.
Stanley’s graphic and very interesting Despatches, now first
printed in this Country, and the whole of Dr. Livingstone’s
Despatches and Letters to the Government. With numerous full-page
Illustrations and Portraits. 8vo, 350 pages, cloth gilt, 5_s._
“_Letters like these reveal the man more than books which are composed
in comfort and peace of mind after a return home._”—TIMES, Aug. 12.
⁂ _It was thought that a graphic account of the discovery of
Livingstone, in Mr. Stanley’s own words, and offered at a low price,
with admirable Illustrations, would be acceptable to those readers who
have not a guinea to spare._
_HENRY M. STANLEY: The Story of his Life_; from his Birth, in 1841, to
his Discovery of Livingstone, in 1871. With Portraits, Views of
his Birth-place and School; Facsimiles of Handwriting, &c. By
CADWALADER ROWLANDS. 8vo, 12 Illustrations, cloth gilt, 5_s._
“_We desire to do honour to his energy, courage, and pluck._”—Sir HENRY
RAWLINSON.
_Notice.—This work answers the question which has been in everybody’s
mouth for some time past. It gives interesting anecdotes of Stanley’s
youth and early adventures; also gives a graphic account of a previous
expedition successfully undertaken by him—an expedition attended with so
many dangers that a United States Minister declared “his search after
Livingstone to be a safe trip compared with it._”
_BOOK OF HALL-MARKS; or, Manual of Reference for the Goldsmith and
Silversmith._ By ALFRED LUTSCHAUNIG, Manager of the Liverpool
Assay Office. 8vo, with 46 Plates of the Hall-Marks of the
different Assay Towns of the United Kingdom, as now stamped on
Plate and Jewellery, 7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _This work gives practical methods for testing the quality of gold and
silver. It was compiled by the author for his own use, and as a
Supplement to “Chaffers._”
For Gold and Silversmiths.
_PRIVATE BOOK OF USEFUL ALLOYS AND MEMORANDA for GOLDSMITHS and
JEWELLERS._ By JAMES E. COLLINS. C.E., of Birmingham. Royal 16mo,
3_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _The secrets of the Gold and Silversmiths’ Art are here given, for the
benefit of young Apprentices and Practitioners. It is an invaluable book
to the Trade._
_THE STANDARD WORK ON DIAMONDS AND PRECIOUS STONES: their History,
Value, and Properties; with Simple Tests for ascertaining their
Reality._ By HARRY EMANUEL, F.R.G.S. With numerous Illustrations,
tinted and plain. New Edition. Prices brought down to the present
time, full gilt, 6_s._
[Illustration]
“Will be acceptable to many readers.”—_Times’_ review of three columns.
“An invaluable work for buyers and sellers.”—_Spectator._
⁂ _This Second Edition is greatly superior to the previous one. It gives
the latest market value for Diamonds and Precious Stones of every size._
_GUNTER’S MODERN CONFECTIONER._ The Best Book on Confectionery and
Desserts. An Entirely New Edition of this Standard Work, adapted
for Private Families or Large Establishments, By WILLIAM JEANES,
Chief Confectioner at Messrs. GUNTER’S, Berkeley Square. With
Plates, 8vo, cloth, 6_s._ 6_d._
“All housekeepers should have it.”—_Daily Telegraph._
⁂ _This work has won for itself the reputation of being the Standard
English Book on the preparation of all kinds of Confectionery, and on
the arrangement of Desserts._
_HOUSEKEEPER’S ASSISTANT._ A Collection of the most valuable Recipes,
carefully written down for future use by Mrs. B——, during her
Forty Years’ active Service. Cloth, price 2_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _As much as two guineas have been paid for a copy of this invaluable
little work_.
_THE YOUNG BOTANIST: A Popular Guide to Elementary Botany._ By T. S.
RALPH, of the Linnæan Society. In 1 vol., with 300 Drawings from
Nature, 2_s._ 6_d._ plain; 4_s._ Coloured by hand.
⁂ _An excellent book for the young beginner. The objects selected as
illustrations are either easy of access as specimens of wild plants, or
are common in gardens._
_CHAMPAGNE: its History, Manufacture, Properties, &c._ By CHARLES
TOVEY, Author of “Wine and Wine Countries,” “British and Foreign
Spirits,” &c., Cr. 8vo, numerous illustrations, 5_s._
⁂ _A practical work, by one of the largest champagne merchants in
London._
_BRIGHAM’S (Dr. A.) MENTAL EXERTION: Its Influence on Health._ With
Notes and Remarks on Dyspepsia of Literary Men. By ARTHUR LEARED,
M.D. 8vo, boards, 1_s._ 6_d._
_NAPOLEON III., THE MAN OF HIS TIME_:
PART I.—The STORY OF THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON III., as told by JAS. W.
HASWELL.
PART II.—The SAME STORY, as told by the POPULAR CARICATURES of the
past Thirty-five Years. Crown 8vo, 400 pages, 7_s._ 6_d._
[Illustration]
⁂ _The object of this Work is to give Both Sides of the Story. The
Artist has gone over the entire ground of Continental and English
Caricatures for the last third of a century, and a very interesting book
is the result._
[Illustration]
_CRUIKSHANK’S COMIC ALMANACK._ A Nineteen Years’ gathering of the BEST
HUMOUR, the WITTIEST SAYINGS, the Drollest Quips, and the Best
Things of THACKERAY, HOOD, MAYHEW, ALBERT SMITH, A’BECKETT, ROBERT
BROUGH, 1835–1853. With nearly Two Thousand Woodcuts and Steel
Engravings by the inimitable CRUIKSHANK, HINE, LANDELLS, &c. _Two
Series_, Crown 8vo, each of 600 pages, price 7_s._ 6_d._ each.
⁂ _A most extraordinary gathering of the best wit and humour of the past
half-century. Readers can purchase one Series and judge for themselves.
The work forms a “Comic History of England” for twenty years._
_Original Edition of the Famous JOE MILLER’S JESTS; the politest
Repartees, most elegant Bon-Mots, and most pleasing short Stories in the
English Language._ London: printed by T. Read, 1739. Remarkable
facsimile. 8vo, half morocco, price 9_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _ONLY A VERY FEW COPIES OF THIS HUMOROUS AND RACY OLD BOOK HAVE BEEN
REPRODUCED._
_HISTORY OF PLAYING CARDS._ With Sixty curious Illustrations, 550 pp.,
price 7_s._ 6_d._
“A highly interesting volume.”—_Morning Post._
[Illustration: ANECDOTES, ANCIENT AND MODERN GAMES, CONJURING, FORTUNE
TELLING AND CARD-SHARPING, SKILL AND SLEIGHT OF HAND, GAMBLING AND
CALCULATION, CARTOMANCY AND CHEATING, OLD GAMES AND GAMING-HOUSES, CARD
REVELS AND BLIND HOOKEY, PICQUET AND VINGT-ET-UN, WHIST AND CRIBBAGE,
OLD-FASHIONED TRICKS.]
_SLANG DICTIONARY; or, The Vulgar Words, Street Phrases, and “Fast”
Expressions of High and Low Society_; many with their Etymology,
and a few with their History traced. WITH CURIOUS ILLUSTRATIONS. A
New Dictionary of Colloquial English. Pp. 328, in 8vo, price 6_s._
6_d._
[Illustration: _See_ TWO UPON TEN, _in the Dictionary_, p. 264.]
[Illustration: _Egyptian Hieroglyphic verb, to be drunk, showing the
amputation of a man’s leg._ See _under_ BREAKY LEG (viz. _Strong Drink_)
_in the Dictionary_, p. 61.]
“It may be doubted if there exists a more amusing volume in the English
language.”—_Spectator._
“Valuable as a work of reference.”—_Saturday Review._
“All classes of society will find amusement and instruction in its
pages.”—_Times._
_CAPTAIN GROSE’S DICTIONARY of the VULGAR TONGUE, 1785._ A genuine
unmutilated Reprint of the First Edition. Price 8_s._
⁂ _Only a small number of copies of this very vulgar, but very curious,
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Colloquialisms, on fine toned paper, half-bound morocco, gilt top._
THE NEW “PUNIANA” SERIES OF
CHOICE ILLUSTRATED WORKS of HUMOUR.
_Elegantly printed on toned paper, full gilt, gilt edges, for the
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[Illustration]
1. _CAROLS OF COCKAYNE._ By HENRY S. LEIGH. Vers de Société, and
charming Verses descriptive of London Life. With numerous
exquisite little Designs by ALFRED CONCANEN and the late JOHN
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2. _COUNTRY-HOUSE CHARADES, for Acting._ By Capt. E. C. NUGENT. With
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⁂ _An entirely new book of Household Amusements. An Appendix gives the
various Songs set to Music for accompaniment upon the Pianoforte._
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3. _PUNIANA: Thoughts Wise and Otherwise._ Best Book of Riddles and
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Contains nearly 3,000 of the best Riddles and 10,000 most
outrageous Puns, and is one of the most Popular Books ever issued.
New Edition, uniform with the “Bab Ballads.” Price 6_s._
_Why did Du Chaillu get so angry when he was chaffed about the
Gorilla?—Why? we ask._
_Why is a chrysalis like a hot roll?—You will doubtless remark, “Because
it’s the grub that makes the butter fly!” But see “Puniana.”_
_Why is a wide-awake hat so called?—Because it never had a nap, and
never wants one._
The _Saturday Review_ says of this most amusing work:—“Enormous
burlesque—unapproachable and pre-eminent. We venture to think that this
very queer volume will be a favourite. It deserves to be so; and we
should suggest that, to a dull person desirous to get credit with the
young holiday people, it would be good policy to invest in the book, and
dole it out by instalments.”
NEW SOCIETY BOOK BY THE AUTHOR OF “PUNIANA.”
[Illustration]
4. _GAMOSAGAMMON; or, Advice to Parties about to Connubialise._ By the
Hon. HUGH ROWLEY. With numerous exquisite and fanciful designs
from his pencil. Small 4to, green and gold, 6_s._
⁂ The Quaintest, Funniest, most Original Book published for a long time.
_PIERCE EGAN’S “FINISH” TO “LIFE IN AND OUT OF LONDON.”_ Royal 8vo,
cloth extra, WITH SPIRITED COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS BY CRUIKSHANK,
21_s._
⁂ _An extraordinary picture of_ “LONDON BY NIGHT” _in the Days of George
the Fourth. All the strange places of Amusement around Covent Garden and
in St. James’s are fully described, and very queer places they were
too!_
_LIFE IN LONDON; or, The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn and
Corinthian Tom._ Crown 8vo. WITH THE WHOLE OF CRUIKSHANK’S VERY
DROLL ILLUSTRATIONS, IN COLOURS, AFTER THE ORIGINALS. Cloth extra,
7_s._ 6_d._
[Illustration: TOM AND JERRY TAKING A STROLL.]
⁂ _One of the most popular books ever issued. It was an immense
favourite with George IV., and as a picture of London life fifty years
ago was often quoted by Thackeray, who devotes one of his “Roundabout
Papers” to a description of it. Clean Second-hand copies of this work
always realize from £1 to £2._
_VYNER’S NOTITIA VENATICA: A Treatise on Fox-Hunting, the General
Management of Hounds, and the Diseases of Dogs; Distemper and
Rabies; Kennel Lameness, &c._ Sixth Edition, Enlarged. By ROBERT
C. VYNER, Esq., of Eathorpe Hall, Warwickshire. Royal 8vo. WITH
SPIRITED ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOURS, BY ALKEN, OF MEMORABLE
FOX-HUNTING SCENES. 21_s._
⁂ _An Entirely New Edition of the best work extant upon Fox-Hunting._
“TOM SMITH.”
_REMINISCENCES OF THE LATE THOMAS ASSHETON SMITH, Esq.; or, The
Pursuits of an English Country Gentleman._ By SIR JOHN E. EARDLEY
WILMOT, Bart. With Illustrations COLOURED and PLAIN. New Edition,
uniform with Nimrod’s “Chase, Turf, and Road.” Price 7_s._ 6_d._
_FINE OLD HUNTING BOOKS, with Coloured Plates._
_MR. JORROCKS’S JAUNTS AND JOLLITIES._
_LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF JACK MYTTON._
_ANALYSIS OF THE HUNTING FIELD._
_LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN. By NIMROD._
_Apply to Mr. Hotten_ DIRECT _for these books_.
_HISTORY OF CARICATURE AND THE GROTESQUE in Art, Literature,
Sculpture, and Painting, from the Earliest Times to the Present
Day._ By THOMAS WRIGHT, F.S.A. (Author of “A Caricature History of
the Georges.”) 4to, profusely illustrated by FAIRHOLT. 21_s._
⁂ _A valuable historical, and at the same time most entertaining work.
The author’s first idea was to call it a “History of Comic Literature
and Art in Great Britain.” The illustrations are full of interest._
[Illustration: GEORGE III. WONDERING HOW THE APPLES GOT INSIDE THE
DUMPLINGS.]
_CARICATURE HISTORY OF THE GEORGES (House of Hanover)._ Very
Entertaining Book of 640 pages, with 400 Pictures, Caricatures,
Squibs, Broadsides, Window Pictures. By T. WRIGHT, F.S.A. 7_s._
6_d._
⁂ _Companion Volume to “History of Signboards.” Reviewed in almost every
English journal with the highest approbation._
“A set of caricatures such as we have in Mr. Wright’s volume brings the
surface of the age before us with a vividness that no prose writer, even
of the highest power, could emulate. Macaulay’s most brilliant sentence
is weak by the side of the little woodcut from Gillray, which gives us
Burke and Fox.”—_Saturday Review._
“A more amusing work of its kind was never issued.”—_Art Journal._
“It is emphatically one of the liveliest of books, as also one of the
most interesting. It has the twofold merit of being at once amusing and
edifying. The 600 odd pages which make up the goodly volume are doubly
enhanced by some 400 illustrations, of which a dozen are full-page
ones.”—_Morning Post._
LARGE PAPER EDITION, 4to, only 100 printed, on extra fine paper, wide
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A Companion Table Book to “Leech’s Sketches.”
_MAIDEN HOURS AND MAIDEN WILES._ Designed by “BEAUJOLAIS” (CAPTAIN
HANS BUSK). A SERIES OF REMARKABLY CLEVER SKETCHES, showing the
Occupations of a Fashionable Young Lady at All Hours of the Day.
With appropriate Text. Folio, half morocco, blue and gold, gilt
edges, 10_s._ 6_d._
A CLEVER AND BRILLIANT BOOK,
_Companion to the “Bon Gaultier Ballads.”_
[Illustration]
_PUCK ON PEGASUS._ By H. CHOLMONDELEY PENNELL. In 4to, printed within
an India-paper tone, and elegantly bound, gilt, gilt edges, price
10_s._ 6_d._ only.
⁂ _This most amusing work has already passed through Five Editions,
receiving everywhere the highest praise as “a clever and brilliant
book.” To no other work of the present day have so many distinguished
Artists contributed Illustrations. To the designs of_ GEORGE CRUIKSHANK,
JOHN LEECH, JULIAN PORTCH, “PHIZ,” _and other Artists_, Sir NOEL PATON,
MILLAIS, JOHN TENNIEL, RICHARD DOYLE, _and_ M. ELLEN EDWARDS, _have now
contributed several exquisite pictures, thus making the New
Edition—which is Twice the Size of the old one, and contains
irresistibly funny pieces—the best book for the Drawing-room table now
published_.
_AUSTIN’S (Alfred) THE SEASON: A Satire._ Elegantly bound for the
Drawing-room, 5_s._
⁂ _An entirely New Edition of this famous Work, it having been out of
print seven years._
_SIGNBOARDS: Their History. With Anecdotes of Famous Taverns and
Remarkable Characters._ By JACOB LARWOOD and JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN.
“A book which will delight all.”—_Spectator._ Fourth Edition, 580
pp., price 7_s._ 6_d._ only.
_From the “Times.”_
[Illustration: BULL AND MOUTH.]
“It is not fair on the part of a reviewer to pick out the plums of an
author’s book, thus filching away his cream, and leaving little but
skim-milk remaining; but, even if we were ever so maliciously inclined,
we could not in the present instance pick out all Messrs. Larwood and
Hotten’s plums, because the good things are so numerous as to defy the
most wholesale depredation.”—_Review of three columns._
⁂ _Nearly 100 most curious illustrations on wood are given, showing the
various old signs which were formerly hung from taverns and other
houses._
_ROMANCE OF THE ROD: An Anecdotal History of the Birch, in Ancient and
Modern Times._ With some quaint Illustrations. Crown 8vo,
handsomely printed.
[_In preparation_
_THE FAMOUS “DOCTOR SYNTAX’S” THREE TOURS._ One of the most amusing
and Laughable Books ever published. WITH THE WHOLE OF ROWLANDSON’S
VERY DROLL FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS, IN COLOURS, AFTER THE ORIGINAL
DRAWINGS. Comprising the well-known TOURS—
1. In Search of the Picturesque.
2. In Search of Consolation.
3. In Search of a Wife.
The Three Series Complete and Unabridged in One Handsome Volume with a
Life of this industrious Author—the English Le Sage—now first written by
JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN. This Edition contains the whole of the original,
hitherto sold for 31_s._ 6_d._, now published at 7_s._ 6_d._ only.
UNIFORM WITH “WONDERFUL CHARACTERS.”
_REMARKABLE TRIALS AND NOTORIOUS CHARACTERS._ From “Half-Hanged
Smith,” 1700, to Oxford who shot at the Queen, 1840. By CAPTAIN L.
BENSON. With spirited full-page Engravings by PHIZ. 8vo, 550
pages, 7_s._ 6_d._
[Illustration]
⁂ _A Complete Library of Sensation Literature! There are plots enough
here to produce a hundred “exciting” Novels, and at least five hundred
“powerful” Magazine Stories. The book will be appreciated by all readers
whose taste lies in this direction. Phiz’s pictures are fully equal to
those in “Master Humphrey’s Clock.”_
A Keepsake for Smokers.
“_THE SMOKER’S TEXT-BOOK._” By J. HAMER, F.R.S.L. Exquisitely printed
from “silver-faced” type, cloth, very neat, gilt edges, 2_s._ 6_d._,
post free.
“A pipe is a great comforter, a pleasant soother. The man who smokes,
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“A tiny volume, dedicated to the votaries of the weed; beautifully
printed on toned paper, in, we believe, the smallest type ever made
(cast especially for show at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park), but
very clear, notwithstanding its minuteness.... The pages sing, in
various styles, the praises of tobacco. Amongst the writers laid under
contribution are Bulwer, Kingsley, Charles Lamb, Thackeray, Isaac
Browne, Cowper, and Byron.”—_The Field._
[Illustration:
18
THE TRUE CONSOLER.
He who doth not smoke hath either known no great griefs or refuseth
himself the softest consolation, next to that which comes from
heaven. “What, softer than woman?” whispers the young reader. Young
reader, woman teases as well as consoles. Woman makes half the
sorrows which she boasts the privilege to soothe. Woman consoles us,
it is true, while we are young and handsome: when we are old and
ugly, woman snubs and scolds us. On the whole, then, woman in this
scale, the weed in that. Jupiter, hang out thy balance, and weigh
them both; and if thou give the preference to woman all I can say
is, the next time Juno raffles thee—O Jupiter! try the weed.
BULWER’S “What will he do with it?”
]
MR. SWINBURNE’S ESSAY.
⁂ “_A wonderful literary performance._”—“_Splendour of style and
majestic beauty of diction never surpassed._”
_WILLIAM BLAKE: A Critical Essay._ With facsimile Paintings, Coloured
by Hand, from the Original Drawings painted by Blake and his Wife.
Thick 8vo, pp. 350, 16_s._
[Illustration]
“An extraordinary work: violent, extravagant, perverse, calculated to
startle, to shock, and to alarm many readers, but abounding in beauty,
and characterized by intellectual grasp.... His power of word-painting
is often truly wonderful—sometimes, it must be admitted, in excess, but
always full of matter, form, and colour, and instinct with a sense of
vitality.”—_Daily News_, Feb. 12, 1868.
“It is in every way worthy of Mr. Swinburne’s high fame. In no prose
work can be found passages of keener poetry, or more finished grace, or
more impressive harmony. Strong, vigorous, and musical, the style sweeps
on like a river.”—_The Sunday Times_, Jan. 12, 1868.
_MR. SWINBURNE’S SONG OF ITALY._ Fcap. 8vo, toned paper, cloth, price
3_s._ 6_d._
⁂ The _Athenæum_ remarks of this poem—“Seldom has such a chant been
heard, so full of glow, strength, and colour.”
_MR. SWINBURNE’S POEMS AND BALLADS._ FOURTH EDITION. Price 9_s._
_MR. SWINBURNE’S NOTES ON HIS POEMS, and on the Reviews which have
appeared upon them._ Price 1_s._
_MR. SWINBURNE’S ATALANTA IN CALYDON._ New Edition. Fcap. 8vo, price
6_s._
_MR. SWINBURNE’S CHASTELARD. A Tragedy._ New Edition. Price 7_s._
_MR. SWINBURNE’S QUEEN MOTHER AND ROSAMOND._ New Edition. Fcap. 8vo,
price 5_s._
_MR. SWINBURNE’S BOTHWELL. A New Poem._
[_In preparation._
_CHARLES DICKENS—The Story of his Life._ By the Author of “The Life of
Thackeray.” Price 7_s._ 6_d._, with NUMEROUS PORTRAITS AND
ILLUSTRATIONS, 370 pp.
[Illustration: DICKENS’S SUMMER HOUSE.]
“Anecdotes seem to have poured in upon the author from all quarters....
Turn where we will through these 370 pleasant pages, something worth
reading is sure to meet the eye.”—_The Standard._
_Dickens’s Life: Another Edition_, without Illustrations, uniform with
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_Dickens’s Life._—CHEAP POPULAR EDITION, in paper, 2_s._
_DICKENS’S SPEECHES, Literary and Social._—Now first collected. With
Chapters on “Charles Dickens as a Letter Writer, Poet, and Public
Reader.” Price 7_s._ 6_d._, with Fine Portrait by Count D’ORSAY,
370 pages.
[Illustration]
⁂ “His capital speeches. Every one of them reads like a page of
‘Pickwick.’”—_The Critic._
“His speeches are as good as any of his printed writings.”—_The Times._
_Dickens’s Speeches._—Uniform with the “CHARLES DICKENS EDITION,” and
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_Dickens’s Speeches._—CHEAP EDITION, without Portrait, in paper
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_HUNTED DOWN._ A Story by CHARLES DICKENS. With some Account of
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⁂ _A powerful and intensely thrilling story, now first printed in
book-form in this country._
GEORGE COLMAN’S HUMOROUS WORKS.
[Illustration]
_BROAD GRINS. My Nightgown and Slippers, and other Humorous Works,
Prose and Poetical, of_ GEORGE COLMAN _the Younger. Now first
collected_, with Life and Anecdotes of the Author, by GEORGE B.
BUCKSTONE. Crown 8vo, 500 pages, 7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _Admirers of genuine old English wit and humour—irresistible and
always fresh—will be delighted with the collected edition of George
Colman’s humorous works. As a wit, he has had no equal in our time; and
a man with a tithe of his ability could, at the present day, make the
fortune of any one of our so-called “comic journals,” and bankrupt the
rest._
Are you Engaged? If so, procure
_ADVICE TO PARTIES ABOUT TO MARRY._ A Series of Instructions in Jest
and Earnest. By the Hon. HUGH ROWLEY. With Humorous Illustrations.
Price 3_s._ 6_d._, elegantly bound.
⁂ _Before taking the “awful plunge” be sure to consult this little work.
If it is not a guarantee against life-long misery, it will at least be
found of great assistance in selecting a partner for life._
_SEYMOUR’S SKETCHES. A Companion Volume to “Leech’s Pictures.”_ The
Book of Cockney Sports, Whims, and Oddities. Nearly 200 highly
amusing Illustrations. Oblong 4to, a handsome volume, half
morocco, price 12_s._
⁂ _A re-issue of the famous pictorial comicalities which were so popular
thirty years ago. The volume is admirably adapted for a table book, and
the pictures will doubtless again meet with that popularity which was
extended towards them when the artist projected with Mr. Dickens the
famous “Pickwick Papers.”_
[Illustration]
_THE GENIAL SHOWMAN; or, Adventures with Artemus Ward, and the Story
of his Life._ By E. P. HINGSTON, companion of Artemus Ward during
the latter’s Adventures. Cheap and popular Edition, cr. 8vo,
illustrated by Brunton, 7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _This is a most interesting work. It gives Sketches of Show-Life in
the Far West, on the Pacific Coast, among the Mines of California, in
Salt Lake City, and across the Rocky Mountains; including chapters
descriptive of Artemus Ward’s visit to England._
_RUSKIN AND CRUIKSHANK. “German Popular Stories.”_ Collected by the
Brothers GRIMM. Translated by EDGAR TAYLOR. Edited by JOHN RUSKIN.
With Twenty-two Illustrations after the inimitable designs of
GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. BOTH SERIES COMPLETE. Cloth, 8vo, 6_s._ 6_d._;
gilt leaves, 7_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _These are the designs which Mr. Ruskin has praised so highly, placing
them far above all Cruikshank’s other works of a similar character. So
rare had the original book (published in 1823–1826) become, that £5 to
£6 per copy was an ordinary price._
_“FAMILY FAIRY TALES;” or, Glimpses of Elfland at Heatherston Hall._
Edited by CHOLMONDELEY PENNELL, Author of “Puck on Pegasus,” &c.
Adorned with beautiful Pictures of “My Lord Lion,” “King
Uggermugger,” and other Great Folks. Handsomely printed on toned
paper, in cloth, green and gold, price 4_s._ 6_d._ plain, 5_s._
6_d._ coloured.
⁂ _This charming volume has been universally praised by the critical
press._
_SCHOOL LIFE AT WINCHESTER COLLEGE; or, The Reminiscences of a
Winchester Junior._ By the Author of “The Log of the Water Lily,”
and “The Water Lily on the Danube.” Second Edition, Revised,
COLOURED PLATES, 7_s._ 6_d._
[Illustration]
⁂ _This book does for Winchester what “Tom Brown’s School Days” did for
Rugby._
_PRINCE UBBELY BUBBLE’S NEW STORY BOOK. The Dragon all Covered with
Spikes; The Long-tailed Nag; The Three One-legged Men; The Old Fly
and the Young Fly; Tom and the Ogre_; and many other Tales. By J.
TEMPLETON LUCAS. With numerous Illustrations by MATT MORGAN,
BARNES, GORDON THOMPSON, BRUNTON, and other Artists. In small 4to,
green and gold, 4_s._ 6_d._; gilt leaves, 5_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _The Times devoted a special column in praise of this New Story Book._
_MADGE AND THE FAIRY CONTENT._ A charming Child’s Story. By BLANCHARD
JERROLD. Intended to inculcate a spirit of Contentment. With
nearly 100 Pictures of the Industry requisite to produce the
Christmas Pudding. 4_s._ 6_d._
_LITTLE CHARLIE’S LIFE OF HIMSELF._ Edited by the Rev. W. R. CLARK, M.
A., Vicar of Taunton. 4to, cloth, full of curious Illustrations,
3_s._ 6_d._
⁂ _A most amusing Present for a child. It is an exact facsimile of the
autobiography of a boy between six and seven years of age, as written by
himself in his copy-book._
_FLAGELLATION and the FLAGELLANTS; A History of the Rod in all
Countries, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time._ By the
Rev. WILLIAM COOPER, B.A. With numerous Illustrations. Thick crown
8vo, 12_s._ 6_d._
THE ROD IN THE CHURCH, CONVENT, MONASTERY, PRISON, ARMY, NAVY, IN PUBLIC
AND IN PRIVATE.
[Illustration]
THE BIRCH IN THE FAMILY, LADIES’ SEMINARIES, BOYS’ SCHOOLS, COLLEGES,
THE BOUDOIR, Ancient and Modern.
⁂ “A very remarkable, and certainly a very readable volume. Those who
care for quaint stories of the birch will find much matter for
reflection, and not a little amusement, in Mr. Cooper’s ‘Flagellation’
Book.”—_Daily Telegraph._
_The ENGLISHMAN’S HOUSE, from a Cottage to a Mansion._ A Practical
Guide to Members of Building Societies, and all interested in
Selecting or Building a House. By C. J. RICHARDSON, Architect,
Author of “Old English Mansions,” &c. Second Edition, Corrected
and Enlarged, with nearly 600 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 550 pages,
cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._
[Illustration]
⁂ _This Work might not inappropriately be termed “A Book of Houses.” It
gives every variety of house, from a workman’s cottage to a nobleman’s
palace. The book is intended to supply a want long felt, viz., a plain
non-technical account of every style of house, with the cost and manner
of building._
⁂ Mr. HOTTEN _is enabled to afford most material and important
assistance to all interested in Genealogical Inquiries, difficult
Pedigree Researches, or in the Compilation of Family Histories. He has
the following FAMILY HISTORIES FOR SALE_:—
_FORSTER AND FOSTER FAMILIES._ 4to, 31_s._ 6_d._
_BAIRD FAMILY._ Roy. 8vo, 10_s._ 6_d._
_CHICHESTER AND RALEIGH FAMILIES._ 4to, 21_s._; with Arms Emblazoned,
31_s._ 6_d._
_WASHINGTON FAMILY._ _Preparing._
_MILLAIS FAMILY._ With Etchings by Millais. 28_s._
_COLE FAMILY._ 5_s._ 6_d._
_STUART FAMILY._ 8_s._ 6_d._
_CHICHELE FAMILY._ (Contains Pedigrees of many other Families.) 17_s._
6_d._
_HANDBOOK OF FAMILY HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH COUNTIES_: Descriptive
Account of 20,000 most Curious and Rare Books, Old Tracts, and
Ancient Manuscripts. 350 pages, 5_s._
[Illustration]
_THE BEST HANDBOOK of HERALDRY._ Profusely Illustrated with Plates and
Woodcuts. By JOHN E. CUSSANS. 8vo, pp. 360. in emblazoned gold
cover, with copious Index, 7_s._ 6_d._
Best Guide to Reading Old MSS., Records, &c.
_WRIGHT’S COURT HAND RESTORED; or, Student’s Assistant in Reading Old
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_LISTS OF ROMAN CATHOLICS AND RECUSANTS IN YORKSHIRE., temp. James I._
(A. D. 1604.) With copious Genealogical Notes, by EDWARD PEACOCK,
F.S.A. Small 4to, 15_s._
_ROLL OF CAERLAVEROCK; with Arms of Knights present at the Siege in
Scotland_, A.D. 1300. In Gold and Colours, 4to, 12_s._
_MAGNA CHARTA._ EXACT FACSIMILE of Original Document. ARMS AND SEALS
OF BARONS IN GOLD AND COLOURS, 5_s._
⁂ _Framed in Carved Oak_, 22_s._ 6_d._ _A full translation, with notes,
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_ROLL OF BATTLE ABBEY: List of the Normans who came with William the
Conqueror, and settled in this Country_, A.D. 1066–1067. ARMS OF
BARONS IN GOLD AND COLOURS. Price 5_s._
⁂ _Of great interest to all of Norman descent. Framed in carved oak_,
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_WARRANT TO EXECUTE CHARLES I._ Exact Facsimile, with the 59
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_WARRANT TO EXECUTE MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS._ Signature of Elizabeth, and
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⁂ _Both warrants, carved oak and glazed_, 14_s._ 6_d._
JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN, 74 AND 75, PICCADILLY, LONDON.
Hotten’s “Golden Library”| OF THE BEST AUTHORS.
⁂ _A charming collection of Standard and Favourite Works, elegantly
printed in Handy Volumes, uniform with the Tauchnitz Series, and
published at exceedingly low prices. The New Volumes are_—
_ROCHEFOUCAULD.—Reflections and Moral Maxims._ 1_s._; cloth, 1_s._
6_d._ Essay by SAINTE-BEUVE.
_SHELLEY.—Poetical Works._ From the Author’s Original Editions. First
Series, QUEEN MAB and EARLY POEMS. 1_s._ 8_d._; in cloth, 2_s._
2_d._
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