path,page,folder,text
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,1,,"111
.
116"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,9,,"LATEST MAGIC
BEING
ORIGINAL CONJURING TRICKS
INVENTED AND ARRANGED
BY
PROFESSOR HOFFMANN
(ANGELO LEWIS, M.A.)
Author of ""Modern Magic,"" etc.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
FIRST EDITION
NEW YORK
SPON & CHAMBERLAIN, 120 LIBERTY ST.
1918"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,10,,"1.665
Copyright, 1918
Bx SPON & CHAMBERLAIN
$ 180
CAMELOT PRESS, 226-228 WILLIAM ST., NEW YORK, U. S. A.
CIA506691"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,11,,"TO
J. N. MASKELYNE, ESQ.
FOREMOST OF ENGLISH MAGICIANS,
AND
FEARLESS EXPOSER OF FALSEHOOD AND FRAUD
THIS Book IS DEDICATED
BY
His FRIEND AND ADMIRER,
THE AUTHOR"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,13,,"PREFACE
The tricks described in the following pages are
of my own invention, and for the most part are en-
tirely new departures: not only the effects pro-
duced, but the appliances by means of which they
are produced, being original.
From the nature of the case, it follows that few
of the items described have been submitted to the
supreme test of performance in public, but all have
been thoroughly thought out; most of the root-
ideas having in fact been simmering in my mind
for more than two years past. One or two of them
may demand a more than average amount of ad-
dress on the part of the performer; but the ma-
jority are comparatively easy, and I believe I may
assert with confidence that all will be found both
practicable and effective. Should any of my mod-
est inventions be found, as is not improbable, sus-
ceptible of further polish, the keen wits and ready
fingers of my brother wizards may safely be
trusted to supply it.
The items entitled The Mystery of Mahomet,
The Bewildering Blocks, and The Wizard's
vii"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,14,,"viii
PREFACE
Pocket-book, have been described in the columns of
an English magical serial, but have never appeared
in book shape, and are by special desire, included
in the present volume.
A final word on a personal matter. Had I been
prophet, as well as magician, when I first began
to write on conjuring, I should have chosen a dif-
ferent pen-name. In the light of later events, my
selection was unfortunate. My identity has long
been an open secret, but as I cannot flatter myself
that it is universally known, I take this opportun-
ity to assure all whom it may concern that I am
British to the backbone.
LOUIS HOFFMANN."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,15,,"CONTENTS
PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR HOFFMANN
Frontispiece
PAGE
PREFACE
vii
SOME New APPLIANCES OF GENERAL UTILITY
1
Magical Mats
1
Fairy Flower-Pots
5
Patter Introducing the Flower-Pots
8
Adhesive Cards and Tricks Therewith
10
The Missing Card
12
NOVEL APPLICATIONS OF THE ""BLACK ART"" PRINCIPLE
17
Black Art Mats and Black Art Patches
17
A Magical Transposition
23
The Detective Die
26
Dissolving Dice
32
Where is It?
38
CARD TRICKS
46
Arithmetic by Magic
46
Those Naughty Knaves
49
Magnetic Magic
55
The Telepathic Tape
57
A Card Comedy
60
The Fast and Loose Card-Box
63
A Royal Tug of War
64
Sympathetic Cards
66
Tell-Tale Fingers
68
Divination Doubly Difficult
72
A New Long Card and Tricks Therewith
77
The Mascot Coin Box
83
ix"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,16,,"<
PAGE
MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS
88
Money-Making Made Easy
88
The Missing Link
92
Culture Extraordinary
97
The Bounding Beans
104
Lost and Found
110
The Riddle of the Pyramids
115
The Miracle of Mumbo Jumbo
123
The Story of the Alkahest
130
The Oracle of Memphis
137
The Mystery of Mahomet
146
The Bewildering Blocks
156
An ""Od"" Force.
162
The Mystery of the Three Seals
170
The Wizard's Pocketbook
.
180
CONCERNING PATTER
192
THE USE OF THE WAND
203
A FEW WRINKLES
215
.
222"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,17,,"LATEST MAGIC
INTRODUCTORY
SOME NEW APPLIANCES OF GENERAL UTILITY
THE little appliances to be presently described
are the outcome of ideas which, after a long period
of incubation in my note-books, have ultimately
taken concrete form in what, I venture to believe,
will be found to be practical and useful items of
magical apparatus. I may further claim that they
combine in an exceptional degree absolute inno-
cence of appearance with a wide range of practical
utility. Examples of their uses are indicated in
the following pages, but the inventive reader will
find that these by no means exhaust their possibili-
ties of usefulness.
MAGICAL MATS
The first to be described are of two different
kinds, to be known as the ""Card"" and ""Coin"" Mat
respectively. They are in appearance simply cir-
cular table-or plate mats, with an ornamental
1"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,18,,"2
LATEST MAGIC
border as depicted in Fig. 1, and about seven inches
in diameter. In the centre of each is an embossed
shield, ostensibly a mere ornament, but in reality
serving, as will presently be seen, an important
practical purpose.
Fig. 1
To the casual observer the two mats look pre-
cisely alike, but there are in reality important
practical differences between them. The ""coin""
mat is covered with leather on both sides, and each
has the embossed shield, so that, whichever side is
uppermost, no difference is perceptible to the eye.
In the case of the ""card"" mat the upper surface
only is of leather, the under side being covered with
baize. The object of this difference is that the
exposure (accidental or otherwise) of the baize-
covered side of the card mat may induce in the
mind of the spectator the assumption that the
under side of the coin mat is covered in the same
way, such assumption naturally precluding the
idea that it is reversible."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,19,,"MAGICAL MATS
3
Each mat has a secret space, after the manner of
the old ""multiplying"" salver, between its upper
and under surfaces. The opening in each case is
opposite the lower end or point of the shield before
mentioned, so that, however the mat may be placed,
a glance at the shield will always furnish a guide
to the position, for the time being, of the opening.
Fig. 2
In the case of the card mat the secret space (see
Fig. 2) is just large enough to accommodate three
playing cards, one upon another. The corre-
sponding space in the coin mat (Fig. 3) is shorter,
narrower and deeper, being designed to receive,"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,20,,"4
LATEST MAGIC
one upon the other, a couple of half-crowns, or
coins of similar size.¹
When required for use, the coin mat is prepared,
shortly beforehand, by rubbing the whole of the
space within the ornamental border on one of its
faces with diachylon, in the solid form. The
FIG. 3
diachylon is used cold, the necessary rriction melt-
ing it sufficiently, without any additional heating.
This treatment renders the surface of the mat, for
the time being, adhesive, without in any way alter-
ing its appearance. To make sure of its being just
right, press a half-crown or penny down firmly
1 Where coins of English denominations are referred to in the text,
the American wizard will naturally replace them by corresponding coins
of the U. S. currency."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,21,,"THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS
5
upon it, turn the mat over, and wave it about
freely. If the coin adheres securely, the mat is
in working order.
THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS
These are, strictly speaking, only flower-pot
cases, called in French cache-pots. They may be
of leather or cardboard, ornamented on the out-
side, but plain black inside, their general appear-
Fig. 4
ance being as shown in Fig. 4. They have neither
top nor bottom, and when not in use, can be opened
out flat or rolled up as in Figs. 5 and 6, for greater
portability.
The pair, when needed for use, are exhibited in"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,22,,"6
LATEST MAGIC
the first instance as one only, the one within the
other. The professedly single pot, after being
proved empty by exhibiting the interior and pass-
0
0
FIG. 5
FIG. 6
ing the hand through it, is made into two, by sim-
ply drawing out the inner one. The duplication
is not presented as a trick, the modus operandi"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,23,,"THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS
7
being self-evident, but it has a pretty effect, and
the exhibiting of the two pots as one in the first
instance admits of the presence, within the outer
one, of a secret pocket, open at top, as depicted in
Fig. 7, but folding down, when not in use, flat
against its side.¹
0
o
0
0,
FIG. 7
The main object of this pocket is to enable the
performer to ""vanish"" a card. The card to be
got rid of is dropped ostensibly into the flower-
pot, or rather, the pot being bottomless, through
it on to the table, where, when the pot is lifted,
the spectators naturally expect to see it. It has
however disappeared, having in fact been dropped
into the pocket, where it remains concealed. Two,
or even three cards may on occasion be dealt with
in the same way. By covering the pocket with the
1 It is extremely difficult to construct the ""pots"" so that the pocket is
workable on the concave inner surface, but if they are made four, five or
six-sided the pocket folds against a flat surface and works perfectly.-ED,"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,24,,"8
LATEST MAGIC
fingers in the act of picking up the pot, the interior
of the latter may be freely shown after their disap-
pearance.
The pocket, previously loaded accordingly
(though the flower-pot is shown, to all appearance,
empty), may also be used for the production of a
card or cards.
PATTER APPROPRIATE TO THE FAIRY
FLOWER-POTS
The flower-pots may be introduced as follows:
""Permit me to call your attention to one of my
latest improvements. Conjurers have a foolish
fancy, as I dare say you have noticed, for borrow-
ing other people's hats. If a conjurer wants to
collect money from the air, he collects it in a hat.
If he wants to make an omelette, he cooks it in a
hat. If he wants to hatch a few chickens, he does
it in a hat. And, for fear of accidents, he never
uses his own hat, but always borrows somebody
else's. It's very wrong of us. As Sir William
Gilbert says, about some other forms of crime,
'It's human nature, P'raps. If so,
O! isn't human nature low.'
But we all do it. The worst of it is, we get so in
the way of borrowing hats that we do it without
thinking. You will hardly believe that one even-
ing I came away from the theatre with two hats."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,25,,"THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS
9
One of them was my own. The other I had bor-
rowed-from under the seat. You don't believe
it? Well, I said you wouldn't. I always know!
""But that is not all. It isn't only the bad effect
on the conjurer's own morals, and sometimes on
the hat. People are SO careless. They do leave
such funny things in their hats. Cannon balls and
birdcages; babies' socks and babies' bottles; rab-
bits and pigeons, and bowls of fish, and a host of
other things. And just when you are going to pro-
duce some brilliant effect, you are pulled up short
by finding some silly thing of that sort in the hat.
It's most annoying.
""So, after thinking it over, I made up my mind
to do away with hats altogether. Of course I
don't mean for putting on people's heads, but so
far as conjuring is concerned, and it struck me
that a pretty flower-pot, like this, would form a
capital substitute."" (Show as one, the combined
pots, inside and out.) ""Much nicer than a hat,
don't you think? It is prettier, to begin with, and
then again, you can see right through it, and make
sure there is no deception. You see that at pres-
ent the pot is perfectly empty.
""But no! I scorn to deceive you. I am like
George Washington, except that I haven't got a
little axe. I cannot tell a lie. At least it hurts
me very much to do so, and I don't feel well enough
to do it now. No! It is useless any longer to dis-
guise it! The pot is not really empty, for you see"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,26,,"10
LATEST MAGIC
here is another inside it.'' (Produce second pot.)
""You wouldn't have thought it, would you ? In
fact, you would never have known, if I hadn't told
you.
""Of course I could keep on doing this all the
evening, but there wouldn't be much fun in it, and
no time would be left for anything else, SO I will
proceed at once to make use of the pots for a little
experiment with cards.""
(Proceed with any trick for which the card mat
may have been prepared.)
N. B. It will be taken for granted, in the
description of tricks dependent upon the use of the
flower-pots, that these have been already intro-
duced, after the above or some similar manner.
ADHESIVE CARDS AND TRICKS THEREWITH
I believe I may safely claim that the device I
am about to describe was, until I disclosed it some
months ago in the Magazine of Magic, an absolute
novelty. It consists in the preparation of one card
of a pack (or, better still, of a spare card, to be
substituted at need for its double), by rubbing one
or other of its surfaces, shortly before it is needed
for use, with diachylon, in the solid form.
We will suppose, in the first instance, that the
back of the card is so dealt with. The rubbing
does not alter its appearance, but gives it a thin
coating of adhesive matter, and if another card is"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,27,,"ADHESIVE CARDS
11
pressed against the surface SO treated, the two
adhere, and for the time become, in effect, one card
only, viz., the one whose face is exposed, the other
having temporarily disappeared from the pack.
This renders possible many striking effects. To
take an elementary example, let us suppose that
the old-fashioned flat card-box, or some other
appliance for magically producing a card, is
loaded with, say, a seven of diamonds. The cor-
responding card is forced on one of the company,
and taken back into the middle of the pack, on
the top of the prepared card. The performer does
not disturb or tamper with the pack in the smallest
degree. He merely squares up the cards, and,
pressing them well together, hands them to be
shuffled, meanwhile calling attention to the card-
box, which is shown apparently empty. He then
asks the name of the drawn card, announcing that
it will at his command leave the pack and find its
way into the box.
He now counts off the cards, showing the face
of each as he does so, and leaving it exposed upon
the table. The seven of diamonds has disap-
peared, being in fact hidden behind the prepared
card, which we will suppose to be in this instance
the queen of clubs.
Leaving the cards outspread upon the table, the
performer opens the card-box, and shows that the
missing card has somehow found its way into it.
In the hands of a novice, the trick might end at"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,28,,"12
LATEST MAGIC
this point; but even a novice may very well carry
it a stage further. To do so, he will in the first
place replace the card in the box, in such a manner
that it can be again ""vanished."" In gathering
together the outspread cards, he takes care to place
the queen of clubs on top of the rest. As this,
however, is the double card, the actual top card is
of course the missing seven of diamonds. It is
an easy matter, in handling the cards, to detach
this from the queen of clubs, and, after a little
""talkee-talkee,"" show that it has left the box and
returned to the pack.
The above would, however, be much too crude
and elementary a proceeding to commend itself to
the expert. In the trick next to be described the
same expedient is employed after a more subtle
fashion.
THE MISSING CARD
The requirements for this trick consist of two
complete packs of cards and an extra card, which
we will suppose to be the knave of diamonds. One
of the two packs, which we will call A, has on top
a card made adhesive at the back as above
described, and its own knave of diamonds at the
bottom. The other pack, B, is wholly unprepared.
The first step is to offer pack B to be shuffled,
and when it is returned to palm on to it the spare
knave of diamonds, after which the pack is left"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,29,,"THE MISSING CARD
13
temporarily for the time being in view on the table.
The next step is to pick up pack A, and force from
it the knave of diamonds, receiving it back on top of
the prepared card, passed to the middle of the pack
for its reception. Squaring up the pack and
applying the necessary pressure, the performer
offers it to be shuffled, meanwhile delivering him-
self to something like the following effect.
""Before going further, ladies and gentlemen,
I want you to remember exactly what has been
done. A card has been chosen from this pack. It
has been put back again, the cards have been
shuffled, and you can all bear witness that I have
not touched them since. Nobody knows, except
the lady who chose it, what card she chose.
Whereabouts in the pack it may be at this moment
not one of us knows, even the lady herself. I can
assure you truthfully that I don't, but I propose,
by force of magic, to compel that card, whatever it
may be, to leave that pack altogether, and pass into
the other one. Nay, more than that, I shall com-
pel it to place itself at any number in that pack
you like to name. What shall we say ? Seventh:
Good.
""Now please bear in mind that that pack, like
the other, has just been shuffled, and that I have
not touched it since. It is therefore manifestly
impossible that I should know the position of any
card in it. Of course, as there is already a knave
of diamonds in the pack, it is just possible, though"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,30,,"14
LATEST MAGIC
scarcely likely, that that card may have been
shuffled into the seventh place. We will see.""
He counts off cards from the top of the pack on
to the table, faces down, not exposing any card till
he comes to the seventh, which he holds up so that
all may see it. ""Now, Madam, is that your card?
I don't want to know the name of it yet. It is not
your card I did not suppose it was, for the
chances were over fifty to one against it, but you
never can tell!""
He gathers up the cards counted off, and without
disturbing their order, replaces them on the top
of the pack, thereby bringing the original top card
to the seventh place.
""Now please observe that I do not touch these
cards again till the miracle has actually happened.
I will now ask you, madam, to be good enough to
name your card. The knave of diamonds, you
say ? That is all right. Had you taken the knave
of clubs, I should have feared for the success of
my experiment, for that knave always gives
trouble, if he can; but the knave of diamonds is a
very gentlemanly card, and I have no doubt that
he will readily oblige. Now, Percy (perhaps you
didn't know his name was Percy), I want you to
leave the pack you are in, and place yourself sev-
enth in the other pack. Go at once, like a good
boy. Start at the top, and go straight down.
One. two, three, four, five, six, seven!
""I should think he has arrived by this time."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,31,,"THE MISSING CARD
15
Let us make sure first, though, whether he has
really left the other pack.""
Picking up pack A, he counts the cards slowly,
not looking at them himself, but showing the face
of each before laying it on the table. ""Stop me,
please, if you see the knave of diamonds."" He
counts, ""one, two, three, four,' and so on to the
end. ""Fifty-one cards only! Then there is one
card missing, and as you have not seen the knave
of diamonds, and as all the other cards are here, it
is plain that it is he who has left the pack. We
have still to find out whether he has obeyed orders,
and gone over to the other pack. You wished him
to place himself seventh, I think. I won't touch
the cards myself. Will some gentleman come for-
ward, and count them off for me?"" (This is
done.) ""The seventh card is really the knave of
diamonds, is it not ?
""But, you may say, this might be the knave
properly belonging to this pack. Please look
through the pack, sir, and if there has been no
deception you will find the proper knave in some
other part of it. You have found the other knave ?
Then you will admit that that proves clearly that
this first one is the identical card the lady drew.""
1
It would be easy to give other combinations
dependent on the use of the adhesive principle, but
1 A somewhat more elaborate trick of mine on the same principle
(The Elusive Card) will be found described in the Magazine of Magic,
Vol. II, pp. 13, 47."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,32,,"16
LATEST MAGIC
these may safely be left to the ingenuity of the
reader. If the face, instead of the back, of a given
card be treated with the adhesive, that card will
itself disappear from the pack. By due adjust-
ment two adhering cards may (the one slightly
overlapping the other) be made to form a tem-
porary long or wide card."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,33,,"NOVEL APPLICATIONS OF THE
""BLACK ART"" PRINCIPLE
BLACK ART MATS AND BLACK ART PATCHES
The Black Art Table has long since established
itself in the affections of the conjurer as one of his
most effective aids. At a stage performance the
presence of one or more such adjuncts is almost a
matter of course, but the drawing room performer
finds many occasions when, for one reason or
another, the use of such an aid is precluded.
Some wizards, as a matter of personal convenience,
decline to burden themselves with more artistic
luggage than can be bestowed in an ordinary hand-
bag. Others, again, hold (and not without rea-
son) that the use of a special table, imported by
the performer himself, tends to discount the marvel
of his show; as being suggestive of that ""prepara-
tion"" which every artistic conjurer is anxious to
disclaim. It is no doubt an easy matter to arrange
a good enough programme for which the aid of
""black art"" is not needed, but this means the
exclusion not merely of a valuable auxiliary, but
of many of the most striking magical effects.
I have pleasure in introducing to the reader a
substitute which, though its capabilities fall a good
17"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,34,,"18
LATEST MAGIC
deal short of those of the actual table, will answer
many of its purposes, apart from special merits of
its own, and which has the further recommenda-
tion of exceptional portability. It may be appro-
priately entitled the Black Art Mat. It consists
of a piece of Bristol board of size and shape suit-
able to the purpose for which it is to be used, COV-
ered on both sides with black velvet and edged with
narrow ornamental braid or binding. The one
FIG. 8
side has no speciality, but the other has a flat
pocket across one or more of its corners; as indi-
cated in Fig. 8. In the case of a mat of small size
the pocket may extend diagonally from corner to
corner as in Fig. 9. The edge of the pocket may be
braided if preferred (the rest of the surface being
ornamented to correspond) but if the mat be well
made this is not necessary. The mouth of each
pocket is made slightly ""full,"" and is held open"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,35,,"BLACK ART MATS
19
a quarter of an inch or so by means of a stiffening
along its inner edge. By having the millboard
foundation cut in half before it is covered, the mat
may be made to fold like a chessboard for greater
portability.
FIG. 9
If some small article, say a coin or ring, is laid
on mat just behind the mouth of the pocket, it may
be made to disappear therein, being in fact swept
into the pocket in the act of apparently picking it
up. In the case of a coin, the pocket may by a
slight alteration of procedure be used to effect a
""change""; a substitute, palmed beforehand, being
exhibited in place of the one professedly picked up
from the mat.
It is desirable when placing the mat upon the
table for use to see that the mouth of the pocket
is duly open and has not been, by any accident,
pressed flat, and SO closed."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,36,,"20
LATEST MAGIC
The utility of the black art mat, however, does
not depend upon the pocket only. Its unbroken or
""plain"" side, or indeed a mat wholly without
pockets may also be very effectively used for van-
ishing purposes. In this case a little auxiliary
appliance comes into play. This is a small velvet
patch, serving as an ""overlay."" It may be round
or square, according to the purpose for which it is
intended to be used. For coin-vanishing purposes
it is best circular, and about two inches (or less,
as the case may be) in diameter. The foundation
is in this case a disc of thin card covered on both
sides with velvet, in colour and texture exactly cor-
responding with that of the mat, under which con-
ditions the patch, when laid on the mat, will be
invisible. The exact similarity of the two surfaces
is a point of the highest importance for black art
effects, and the velvet used, if not actually silk vel-
vet, should at least be of the silk-faced kind. Vel-
vet which is all cotton will never give satisfactory
results.
If a coin be laid on any part of the mat the
performer has only (in the supposed act of picking
it up) to lay the velvet patch over it to render it
invisible. If it is desired to reproduce the coin, a
handkerchief shown to be empty, may be laid over
the patch, and a moment or two later picked up
again, bringing away the overlay within it, and
again revealing the coin in statu quo. A practical
example of the use of this device will be found in"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,37,,"BLACK ART MATS
21
the case of the trick entitled Lost and Found, post.
Another little device which will be found useful
in connection with the black art mat is a cardboard
disc covered as above, to one side of which a coin,
say a half-crown or half-dollar, is cemented as in
Fig. 10
Fig. 10. Such a patch, laid on the mat, coin side
down, will attract no notice, but the mere act of
turning it over will at any given moment produce
the coin. The ""change"" of a coin may be expected
very neatly by the aid of this device. Suppose,
for example, that the performer desires to retain,
unknown to the spectators, possession of a marked
coin just handed to him. He lays it, to all appear-
ance, in full view upon the table, but as a matter
of fact merely turns over a patch, loaded as above,
already on the table, the borrowed coin remaining
in his hand.
The velvet patch may also be utilised in another"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,38,,"22
LATEST MAGIC
way for ""changing"" a borrowed coin. The per-
former, asking the loan of a marked coin, brings
forward held in his left hand a velvet mat (of small
size) whereon to receive it; the right hand mean-
while holding palmed against the second and third
fingers the velvet patch, and between this and the
hand a substitute coin of similar kind. Turning
(to the left) towards his table, with the coin in full
view on the mat, he (apparently) picks it up and
holds it aloft with the right hand, placing the
now empty mat alone on the table. What he
really does is to lay the velvet patch over the bor-
rowed coin and to pick the substitute in its place.
The original lies perdu on the mat, whence it is
child's play to gain possession of it at any later
stage of the trick.
The process may be varied by placing the mat,
after receiving the borrowed coin upon it, at once
on the table, and a little later picking up the mat
with the left hand, then proceeding as above indi-
cated. The advantage of this plan is that the turn
to the table to pick up the mat masks for the
moment the right side of the performer and gives
him a convenient opportunity to palm the coin and
patch, bestowed in readiness in the pochette on
that side.
The same principle may be applied with appro-
priate modifications to card tricks. The idea of
the black ait mat is so completely a novelty that I
have not found leisure to give it the full considera-"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,39,,"A MAGICAL TRANSPOSITION
23
tion it deserves, and have probably far from
exhausted its possibilities, but I offer by way of
illustration the trick next following, which it seems
to me would be rather effective, particularly as an
introduction to some other card trick. We will
call it
A MAGICAL TRANSPOSITION
Prepare two cards, say an eight of hearts and a
seven of spades, by blackening all their edges save
one of the narrow ends,¹ and backing each with
velvet matching the mat. Lay the two cards SO
treated face down with the white edge towards
yourself on the mat at some little distance apart,
or preferably on separate mats. Force corre-
sponding cards on two members of the company
and deliver an oration to something like the fol-
lowing effect:
""We hear people talk sometimes about the
quickness of the hand deceiving the eye. I sup-
pose such a thing must be possible, or nobody
would have thought of it, but it seems to me that if
it did anything of the kind, either the hand must be
extra quick, or the eye extra slow. I know I should
be afraid to attempt anything of that sort myself,
but if you are a magician of the right sort you have
no need to do so, for you can deceive the eye with-
1 Better still, thicken the under edge by the interposition between
card and velvet of a slip of white card, as described in The Detective
Die, post."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,40,,"24
LATEST MAGIC
out any quickness at all. I will prove it to you by
means of these two cards which have been chosen.
Please give me one of them. I don't mind which.""
We will suppose that the card handed up is the
eight of hearts.
""Notice please what card this is; the eight of
hearts. You can't possibly mistake it for any
other card, can you? I will turn it down here on
the table. And now for the other card."" (It is
held up that all may see it.) ""This one, you see,
is the seven of spades. No mistake about that,
either! I will lay that one here."" The card is in
each case laid upon the velvet-covered card of the
opposite kind.
""Please don't forget which is which. There has
been no quickness of the hand so far, has there ?
Now I am going to make these two cards change
places."" (You touch each with the wand.)
""Presto, change!"" (Picking up the upper and
lower cards exactly one upon the other you show
what was a moment previously the eight of hearts,
but which now appears to be the seven of spades.)
""One card has changed, you see. And now for
the other."" (You show the other pair after the
same fashion.) ""And here we have the eight of
hearts. I will now order them to change back
again."" You lay both pairs again face down.
""Now I again give the cards a touch with my
wand, and say 'Right about! Change!' and now,
you see"" (showing the faces of the original cards),"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,41,,"THE DETECTIVE DIE
25
""they have returned to their original positions.
""Now you will realise, if you think about the
matter, that those two cards couldn't in any nat-
ural way change places without your seeing them
do it, neither could the one change into the other.
But this is where magic comes in. What I really
did was to hypnotise you a little SO as to make you
fancy, when I told the cards to change, that the
eight of hearts was the seven of spades, and that
the seven of spades was the eight of hearts. It's
quite simple, when you know it, and you can see
for yourselves that the quickness of the hand has
had nothing to do with the matter. For my own
part I like to do things slowly; the more slowly
the better, and then you can all see how it's done.""
The trick is simple enough; but it will test the
performer's expertness as to neatness of execu-
tion. He must be careful in the first place to put
each of the drawn cards as exactly as possible on
the opposite velvet-backed card; and in picking up
two cards together he should frame them, so to
speak, between the middle finger and thumb at top
and bottom, and the first and third fingers at the
sides. Held in this manner they rest squarely one
upon the other and there is little fear of their
""duplicity"" (or ""duplexity"") being perceived.
In the act of again turning the double card down
the upper one should be partially drawn off the
one below it; this facilitating the picking of it up
alone a few moments later.
/"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,42,,"26
LATEST MAGIC
An illustration of the use of the same device
in a somewhat different form will be found in the
item next described, and in the trick entitled
""Where is it?'' post. Other ways of using it will
suggest themselves to any reader of an inventive
turn.
THE DETECTIVE DIE
This is another of the new departures dependent
upon the use of the velvet mat. Broadly stated,
the effect of the trick is as follows.
One of a group of six different cards laid out in
a row or rows repeatedly changes place with some
other, the position which it occupies, or to which it
has moved, being indicated by the cast of an ordi-
nary die. This may be repeated any number of
times.¹
The requirements for the trick are as follows:
1. The Velvet Mat. This should be one with
a plain surface, diniensions preferably eighteen
inches by ten, so as to admit of the six cards being
laid in one row. A smaller size, say twelve by
nine, may suffice, the six cards in this case being
arranged in two rows. In either case there must
be a space of an inch or SO between each pair.
1 Since the description which follows was written. it has come to my
knowledge that there is already on sale a trick on somewhat similar
lines in point of effect entitled The Educated Die. I need hardly say
that my own trick, so far as I am concerned, is absolutely original. The
advertised description of The Educated Die would suit either trick, but
there is little further resemblance between them."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,43,,"THE DETECTIVE DIE
27
2. Six cards of like denomination (say for the
purpose of illustration six queens of diamonds),
each backed with black velvet and blackened at the
edges all around save at one end. Here the card is
thickened by the interposition of a slip of white
card-board between itself and the velvet, so that the
card as viewed from that end shall show a clearly
visible white edge. Each card has all four of its
corners snipped off to a microscopie extent, say a
sixteenth, or less, of an inch.
3. An ordinary pack of cards one of which (in
the case supposed, the queen of diamonds) bears a
mark upon its back recognisable by the performer,
but not conspieuous enough to be noticed by any
one else.
4. An ordinary die and dicebox, or a champagne
tumbler to be used in place of the latter.
5. A tray or plate, about six inches in diameter,
whereon to throw the die.
6. The wand.
Preparation. Velvet mat on table, and laid
upon it, face down in a row (or a double row, in
the case of a small mat), the six velvet-backed
cards. These, SO laid, will be undistinguishable by
spectators at a very short distance from the mat
itself. Each is laid with its ""white"" end toward
the hinder part of the table, so that this shall be
visible to the performer when standing behind it.
The marked queen of diamonds is laid on the top
of the pack. The die and dice-box, on their tray,"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,44,,"28
LATEST MAGIC
are laid on the mat, which may partially cover two
or more of the six cards.
Presentation. Performer, picking up the pack
of cards with his right hand, transfers it to his left,
leaving the queen of diamonds palmed in the right.
Picking up the tray and its contents with the right
hand and advancing with it, he offers the pack to
some member of the company, saying: ""Will you
kindly look well over this pack of cards and satisfy
yourself that there is nothing exceptional about
them; and when you have done SO give them a
thorough shuffle. And you, Sir"" (handing tray
and die to another spectator), ""please test this die
in any way your please. Throw it as many times
as you like. I want you to be quite sure that it
throws a different number each time, and that it is
not loaded, or 'faked' in any way.
""I don't like bothering people to examine things,
for in most cases it is a mere waste of time. But in
this case I have a special reason for asking. There
is something about this pack of cards and this die
which I myself don't understand; and I shall be
much obliged to anyone who will help me to do SO.
As a matter of fact, these cards, though quite ordi-
nary in other respects, are afflicted with a peculiar
restlessness. They change places without notice
and without any apparent reason. If I were to
try to play bridge with them, for instance, I should
find as likely as not that my best trump had invis-
ibly left my hand and passed over to the enemy,"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,45,,"THE DETECTIVE DIE
29
which would naturally upset my game and get me
into trouble with my partner. The die is equally
peculiar, but in another way. From some curious
effect of sympathy it knows where a given card
is to be found when I don't know myself.
""The only possible explanation I can think of
for their peculiarities is the fact that both cards
and die were formerly the property of an old
magician, and that after his death they were shut
up together for some years in the same box with
this wand, which also belonged to him, and that
they have imbibed some of its magical qualities.
I will give you a sample of their 'eccentricities.'' "",
Performer takes back the cards and proceeds to
force the queen of diamonds on some member of
the company (a lady for choice). Leaving the
drawn card for the time being in her hands, he
asks a gentleman to shuffle and cut the rest of the
pack and count off from the cut five indifferent
cards. The card drawn by the lady is then shuffled
with these, so that its position among the six shall
be unknown. Performer, taking these from the
holder, deals them in a row (or double row, as the
case may be) upon the velvet mat, placing each
exactly over one of the velvet-backed cards; the
white hinder edges of these guiding him as to their
positions.
""We will now consider these cards as numbered
in regular order, One, Two, Three, Four, Five,
Six! Among them somewhere or other, is the"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,46,,"30
LATEST MAGIC
card the lady chose. At what number it stands
nobody knows (I can assure you that I don't), but
the die will tell us instantly. May I ask you,
Madam, to name your card. The queen of dia-
monds; you say? Good! Now will the gentle-
man who holds the die kindly throw it. What is
the number thrown? A three?"" (Whatever the
number happens to be.) ""The die says the card
stands number three. Let us see whether that is
correct.""
He picks up the two cards occupying the posi-
tion indicated, and shows the face of the under-
most, which is of course seen to be the queen of
diamonds.
""But now we come to the more remarkable fea-
ture of the case. I told you about the queer way in
which the cards change places. Even in this short
time I daresay the lady's card has got tired of
being number three, and has moved away to some
other number. If so, the die will tell us. Throw
it again, Sir, please.""
This is done, the die bringing up a new num-
ber, say ""five.""
""The die declares that the card has moved, and
now stands fifth. We shall soon see whether such
is really the case. First, however, let us see
whether it has really departed from number
three.""
Performer has meanwhile replaced the two
cards just lifted. He now lifts the upper one only,"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,47,,"THE DETECTIVE DIE
31
which (being one of the indifferent cards) shows
a different face. ""The queen has gone, you see.
And now to ascertain whether she has really
passed to number five.""
The two cards standing at that number are lifted
together, and again a queen of diamonds is exhib-
ited. The trick can of course be repeated any
number of times, but it is better not to prolong it
beyond a third or fourth ""move.""
In picking up two cards together, in order to
show the undermost, they are lifted with second
finger at top, thumb at bottom and the first and
third fingers at the sides. Thus ""framed"" SO to
speak, the two cards will lie squarely the one upon
the other and be undistinguishable from a single
card. When it is desired to lift the upper card
alone, it should be nipped between the second fin-
ger at top right-hand corner and thumb at bottom
left-hand corner, when it will be brought away
clear without difficulty.
There is one contingency for which the per-
former must be prepared, namely, that the throw
of the die may happen to correspond with the
actual position of the card drawn. Both cards of
the pair are in this case alike, and the performer
cannot, at the succeeding throw, show that the
drawn card is no longer in its late position. This
possibility is provided for by having the back of
the card marked as before explained. Should the
contingency in question arise, the performer, hav-"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,48,,"32
LATEST MAGIC
ing meanwhile noted the marked card, does not call
attention to the disappearance of the queen from
that number, but proceeds at once to show that it
has moved to its new position. There is not the
smallest fear that anyone will notice the omission.
THE DISSOLVING DICE
To be worked on a Black Art Table
The requisites for this trick are as under:
1. Three small billiard balls, one red, two white.
2. A white half-shell to correspond, vested or
placed in a pochette.
3. Three hollow wooden dice, each of such a size
as just to contain one of the balls, and lined inside
with velvet to prevent ""talking."" One side of
each is left open, but the opening can be closed
at pleasure by the insertion of a loose side with a
beveled edge. When this is in position, the die
appears solid. The inner surface of each of the
loose sides is also covered with black velvet, so that
when lying with that side upwards on a black art
table it is practically invisible.
4. Three cardboard covers, fitting easily over
the dice. In preparation for the trick the three
balls are placed inside the dice, and these are
placed on the table, open side upward, but with the
loose sides inserted on top, and the covers over
them."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,49,,"THE DISSOLVING DICE
33
Presentation. The opening ""yarn"" may run as
follows:
""I once read a story about a man who invented
a most ingenious piece of furniture of the 'com-
bination' kind. It started, say, as a table, but by
giving it a pull here and a push there, it became a
step-ladder. Another pull and push, and it turned
into a mangle, or by just turning a button or two,
you could make it a clothes-horse.
""The story says that at first it was a great suc-
cess, but after a little while the thing began to work
too easily, and sometimes changed of its own
accord when least expected, which was a drawback.
It was annoying, naturally, when you were using
it as a step-ladder, and hanging up a picture, to
have it suddenly turn into a clothes-horse, and land
you on the floor. It was vexing, too, when it was
a table, and the family were seated round it at
breakast, to have it turn into a mangle, and mangle
the cups and saucers.
""I shouldn't care myself to have a piece of fur-
niture like that: it would make life too exciting.
But the story gave me an idea. It struck me what
a convenience it would be, after showing one of my
little experiments, to be able to turn the articles I
had been using into what I wanted for the next. I
haven't got very far as yet, but I have made a
beginning in a small way, and I will show you how
it's done.
""I have here three wooden dice, with a cover for"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,50,,"34
LATEST MAGIC
each of them."" (Take off all three covers, placing
each beside its own die. Then, placing one of them
on the end of your wand, advance with it to the
company, tacitly inviting anyone who pleases to
take it off and examine it.) ""I use these covers
to spare the feelings of the dice at the critical
moment. Like myself, they are rather bashful.
They don't mind doing the Jekyll and Hyde busi-
ness, but they don't like to be seen doing it. By
the way, there is a very ancient trick (believed to
have been invented by Noah in the Ark, to amuse
the boys on a wet Sunday), which is worked by
means of a sham die fitting over the real one.
Please take my word for it that I do not use any
such stale device. If I did, you may be quite sure
I should not mention it. These are all three gen-
uine dice. They are rather too large to play back-
gammon with, but save as to size, they are merely
big brothers of the regular article. Most of you
know, no doubt, that in properly made dice, the
points on opposite sides always together make
seven. Notice please, that each of these dice has
the numbers placed correctly."" (Taking up one
of the dice and turning it about.) ""You see, five
on this side, two on that; together, seven. Three
on this side, four on that; together, seven. Six on
this side, one on that; again seven.""
This is repeated, in a casual way, with the other
two dice, the object being two-fold, viz.: first, by
showing all six sides, to induce the belief that the"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,51,,"THE DISSOLVING DICE
35
dice are solid, and secondly, to enable the per-
former, in replacing them on the table, to turn each
the other way up, so as to bring the loose side
undermost. This is best done by placing the
thumb on top of the die, with the first and second
fingers behind it, then tilting the die over a little
to the front, and slipping the two fingers under-
neath it. After showing it on all sides, as above
mentioned, it is an easy matter to replace it with
the loose side undermost, as desired.
""Now, as it happens, I have no immediate use for
dice, but I want to show you a pretty little effect
with billiard-balls. Naturally, the thing to be
done is to change the dice into billiard-balls. It's
quite easy, if you are provided with my patent
quick-change combination dice. All you need to
think about is to take care to have even numbers
in front."" (You turn the dice accordingly, and in
so doing lift each die a little, and shift it forward
a couple of inches or so, leaving the loose side
undisturbed just behind it, the ball travelling for-
ward with the die, though still covered by it.)
""You don't see why they should show even num-
bers? Because they would look 'odd' - if they
didn't. Quite simple,-when you know it. Now
I cover all three dice over, to spare their blushes,
as I explained just now. I wave my wand over
them and say, 'Presto! Proximo! Change!
And we shall find the dice have all turned to bil-
liard-balls."""
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,52,,"36
LATEST MAGIC
The right hand lifts the first cover, pressing its
sides sufficiently to lift the die within it, exposing
the ball, and in bringing it down again lands it
close to one of the wells of the table. The exposed
ball is picked up with the left hand, and while the
attention of the company is attracted in that direc-
tion, the die is allowed to slide out of its case into
the well, after which the ball and cover are brought
forward and handed to someone of the company.
The other two balls are now uncovered in the
same way, but in this case the dice may be left in
their covers, the offer of the first cover, found
empty as above, having sufficiently proved that
they really disappear.
""Well, we have got our three billiard-balls.
Good, SO far. Next, can any gentleman oblige me
with the loan of a billiard table? Nobody offers:
that's unfortunate. Well, does any gentleman
happen to have a cue about him. No again ?
Well, perhaps it would be 'cuerious' if any gen-
tleman had. I beg your pardon, it slipped out
unawares. It shall not occur again.
""It's unfortunate that I can't borrow a billiard
table and a cue, because it prevents my showing
you my celebrated break of ninety-three off the
red with my eyes shut. When I showed it to Gray,
he turned green, but that is another story. You
don't believe it? Well, I told you it was a story.
""Anyhow, as we have got the balls, we must do
something with them."""
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,53,,"THE DISSOLVING DICE
37
The sequel may vary, according to the fancy of
the performer, and his skill in ball-conjuring.
For lack of a more effective dénouement, the trick
may be brought to a finish as follows:
Secretly getting the shell ball into his right
hand, and picking up the red ball with the left,
the performer proceeds:
""Well, here we have three balls, one red and two
white. To prevent ill feeling between them, I
think we had better make them all the same colour:
and as the white are in the majority, we will have
them all white. It is quite easy, if you know how
to do it. You have only to breathe on the ball,
give it a roll round in the hand to take the colour
off, and there you are.""
After breathing on the ball, you bring the right
hand containing the shell over it, and exhibit it,
shell in front. You then transfer it in the same
condition, to the opposite hand. Then pick up one
of the two white balls with the right hand, transfer
it to the left and show the two side by side. Then
pick up and add the third ball, in SO doing letting
the red ball fall into the right hand, and while
calling attention to the three in the opposite hand,
drop it into the profonde. You then bring up the
shell over one or other of the two solid white balls,
thereby transforming the three into two. Drop
the solid from the shell into the right hand, making
the two into one; finally causing the disappearance
of this last after the usual manner."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,54,,"38
LATEST MAGIC
If the reader (being an expert) is provided with
a spare red ball and red shell, he may offer the
choice as to which shall be the colour of all three,
finally causing their disappearance after the man-
ner above described, or his own version thereof.
WHERE IS IT?
This is another of the tricks dependent on the
novel application of the black art principle.
For programme purposes the trick may, if pre-
ferred, be entitled ""The Erratic Shilling."" Its
effect may be broadly described as follows:
A marked shilling, lent by some member of the
company, after being professedly magnetised or
mesmerised by rubbing, is laid upon a black velvet
mat and covered with a playing card, face down.
Two other cards are laid (also faces down), one on
each side of the first, at a few inches distance from
it, and the audience are given to understand that
the rubbing has imparted to the coin the power to
travel from card to card at command, and indeed
sometimes of its own accord. When the card
which covered the coin is lifted, this is found to be
the case. The shilling is no longer where first seen,
but is found to have placed itself under one of the
other two cards. The spectators may be invited
to say under which of the cards they would like the
coin to pass, when it will place itself accordingly."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,55,,"WHERE IS IT?
39
The coin may be identified by the owner in the
course of the trick, as well as at its close.
The requirements for the trick are as follows:
1. The velvet mat.
2. A pack of cards, arranged as presently to
be explained.
3. Three overlays (see p. 20), each consisting, in
the present instance, of a court card, backed with
velvet of similar tint and texture to that with
which the mat is covered. Three of the edges of
each card are blackened, but the fourth (one of its
shorter sides) is left white, and thickened by the
insertion of an extra slip of white card along that
end. The effect of this is that, as the card lies
on the mat, its white edge is visible from that side,
but from no other position.
4. Three cards, corresponding with the three
overlays, which we will suppose to represent the
queen of clubs, and the knaves of spades and dia-
monds respectively. The queen is wholly unpre-
pared, but each of the two knaves has a point of
fine wire, or a black bristle projecting a sixteenth
of an inch or so, midway from each of its sides.
The ""queen"" overlay is furnished with similar
points, the object of these being to enable the per-
former the more easily to lift a given card with or
without its duplicate overlay.
In preparing for the trick the two ""knave""
overlays, each covering a shilling, are laid before-
hand on the mat, velvet side up, eight or ten inches"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,56,,"40
LATEST MAGIC
apart, as shown in Fig. 11, under which circum-
stances they are invisible to the spectators at a few
feet distance, and very nearly so to the performer,
save that their white edges, turned towards him-
self, furnish him with an exact guide to their posi-
tion. On the top of the pack are laid, first the two
knaves. On these the queen overlay, and upper-
most the unprepared queen.
Fig. 11
In presenting the trick the borrowed shilling
is laid on the mat midway between the two
overlays already on the table, and is covered with
the top card of the pack, the third overlay being
lifted off with it, and resting beneath it with its
centre as nearly as possible over the coin.
The two following cards are now laid one on each
side of the first, as in Fig. 12, each on the corre-
sponding overlay, the white edges of these, visible"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,57,,"WHERE IS IT ?
II
to the performer, but not to the company, serving
as guides to exact position. When the performer
desires to show that the coin is not under a given
card, he raises the card only, lifting it lengthwise,
and leaving the coin covered by the overlay.
When he desires to exhibit a coin, he picks up the
card covering it breadthwise between finger and
thumb and with it the overlay beneath it.
Fig. 12
The introductory patter may run as follows:
""You have all heard, no doubt, of what is called
the thimblerig trick, frequently exhibited at fairs
and on race-courses. Some of you gentlemen may
even have parted with a little money over it. For
the benefit of the ladies I will explain what it is.
""The operator has before him on a small board
or tray three thimbles, or half walnut-shells. He
exhibits a small pea, or a pellet the size of a pea,
which he affectionately calls the 'joker.' This he"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,58,,"42
LATEST MAGIC
places under one of the thimbles, all three of which
he then shifts about on the tray; inviting the spec-
tators to bet with him as to which thimble the pea
is under. He has two or three confederates, who
bet, and naturally win, but if an outsider is rash
enough to back his own supposed smartness he
loses; for as a matter of fact the pea is not placed
under either of the thimbles at all until after the
bet is made, when it is skilfully introduced under
whichever thimble best suits the performer.
""The trick is in truth a mere affair of dexterity;
the performer having acquired by long practise
the power of placing the pea under any thimble
he pleases. What I propose to show you is a sim-
ilar effect, but more surprising, because, as you will
see, there is no room for dexterity, or indeed any
form of trickery; so that I have to depend entirely
upon my magic power. I shall use a shilling, as
being more easily seen than a pea, and three cards
from this pack to represent the thimbles.
""Will some gentleman oblige me with the loan
of a shilling; marked in such a way that he may
be sure of knowing it again.""
Receiving the coin in his right hand, the per-
former makes believe to transfer it to his left;
wherein he already has a shilling of his own.
Surreptitiously depositing the coin lent to him
behind the pack of cards on the table, he exhibits
the substitute on the palm of the left hand and rubs
it with the fingers of the right."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,59,,"WHERE IS IT?
43
""I do this,"" he explains, ""in order to drive out
all adverse magnetisms, and to substitute my own.
I will now put the coin in full view on the table
and cover it with a card. See that I do SO fairly.""
After laying down the coin he takes the top card
of the pack, and with it, unknown to the specta-
tors, the overlay beneath it, and lowers them on to
the coin.
""Notice particularly, please, where I have
placed the coin, and notice too that I do not touch
it again. I will now place two more cards, one on
each side of the first one."" He does so, letting the
spectators see clearly that there is nothing in the
hand save the card itself, and then slowly lowering
it exactly on to one of the two overlays on the
table. ""Now I make a few magnetic passes over
the cards, so."" He waves his wand backwards and
forwards above the cards, at a few inches' distance.
""And now, where is the coin? Still under the
middle card, you would say You are mistaken.""
He lifts that card lengthwise, leaving the overlay
covering the coin; then replacing the card. ""Itis
no longer there, you see. In point of fact it has
passed under this card.""
He lifts one of the side cards breadthwise, the
overlay coming with it, and exposes the coin
beneath it. ""Here it is, you see. We will try
once more."" He replaces the card and then shows,
in like manner, that the coin has passed to the
card on the opposite side. After one or two trans-"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,60,,"44
LATEST MAGIC
positions have been shown, the audience being
allowed to say under which card the coin shall
appear, and the last shift having been to one of
the side positions, the performer says: ""I should
like you to be satisfied that it is really the marked
coin and no other, that wanders about in this way.
I will ask the gentleman who lent it to me to verify
his mark.""
He picks up from one of the side positions the
coin last uncovered and brings it forward, but in
transit ""switches"" it for the borrowed coin, which
he has a moment previously picked up from its
resting place behind the pack. It is, of course,
this last which he offers for identification, again
exchanging it for The substitute before replacing
this in its former position. The final reproduc-
tion must be from under the centre card, the per-
former again ringing the changes before returning
the coin to the owner. At the close of the trick all
three cards are placed on the pack, the centre over-
lay going with them. The other two overlays are
left on the mat, each still covering its own coin,
and the whole being carried off together. If the
mat is of the folding kind it can be closed before
removal, effectually concealing the accessories
used in the trick.
Some amount of skill will be found necessary
to pick up the card with or without the correspond-
ing overlay, as may be desired. The difficulty
however speedily disappears with practice.- On"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,61,,"WHERE IS IT?
45
the other hand, the trick is well worth the trouble
needed to master it, for if the spectators are con-
vinced (as, given perfect execution, they should
be) that it is really the borrowed coin which trav-
els about as it appears to do, nothing short of gen-
uine magic will furnish an adequate explanation.
The performer is of course by no means bound
to adopt the mise en scene above suggested. If
preferred, the patter might be based on a supposed
plot between the two knaves to rob the queen, the
coin representing the stolen property, secretly
passed from the one to the other when either was
accused of the theft. The story might conclude
with an appeal by the queen to a benevolent
magician, through whose good offices her property
is brought back to its original position, and in due
course restored to her. The touch of the mystic
wand would naturally play an important part in
effecting the restoration."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,62,,"CARD TRICKS
ARITHMETIC BY MAGIC
Preparation. The two ""flower-pots"" (see page
5), separated, are placed upon the table. Also the
card mat (see page 1), loaded with the ten of any
given suit, say diamonds, taken from the pack per-
former is about to use, and a double-faced card,
representing on the one side the seven, and on the
other the three of the same suit. The deuce and
five of same suit to be laid on the top of the pack.
Performer, advancing pack in hand, palms off
the two top cards, and offers the rest to be shuffled.
This done, he forces these two cards on different
persons. On receiving back one of them, he brings
it to the top; executes a false shuffle leaving it in
the same position ; brings it again to the middle by
the pass, and has the second card replaced upon it;
then, once again making the pass, brings both
together to the top.
(The use of the Charlier pass is here recom-
mended.)
The patter may be to something like the follow-
ing effect: ""Two cards have been chosen, ladies
and gentlemen. I can't say what they are, but I
can very easily find out. I shall simply order
46"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,63,,"ARITHMETIC BY MAGIC
47
them to rise up and paw the air. It all depends on
the strength of the will. I myself happen to have
a very strong will, in fact, I don't know anyone
who has a stronger will, except my wife. I exert
my will, and say, ""first card, rise! and up it comes,
as you see.""
Stepping well back from the spectators, SO that
they cannot distinguish from what part of the pack
the card comes, he works up the hindmost card
by the familiar ""hand"" method. (""Modern
Magic,"" p. 129.)
""Here we have one of the two cards. Let us see
what it is. The five of diamonds! Good! And
now for the other. Second card; rise! Up comes
another card, you see, the deuce of diamonds.
Those are the cards which were drawn, are they
not ?
""Now the question arises, ""what shall we do with
21 It is a pity the ladies didn't choose bigger
cards. You can't'go nap' 1 on a deuce and a five,
can you ? I think I can't do better than use them
to show you a little experiment in conjurer's arith-
metic. Will some young mathematician among
the audience kindly tell us what two and five, added
together, make?"" (He waits for reply, but if
none, pretends to hear one.) ""Seven! Right
first time. And if you take two from five how
many remain? Three Good again. Really
1 To endeavor to take all five tricks in the game of Napoleon."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,64,,"48
LATEST MAGIC
there are lot of clever people about, if you know
where to look for them.
""Now I want to show you that the cards know
all about it themselves; in fact, they are just as
clever at doing sums as we are. I will take these
two cards and drop them into one of these pretty
flower-pots. Let me show you first that it is quite
empty.""
He lays the cards on the little mat while show-
ing inside of flower-pot (the one with secret
pocket), then picks up mat, and transfers it from
hand to hand, showing, without remark, that the
hands are otherwise empty, and lets the two cards
slide off it into the flower-pot, the concealed cards
naturally going with them.
""Now, ladies and gentlemen, what shall the cards
do for you, the addition, or the subtraction sum ?
It is all the same to me. The addition ? Very
good. They can't talk, SO they will call another
card from the pack to give you the answer. Yes,
here we have it. Five-and two-are-seven.'
As he names each card, he produces it from the
flower-pot, the third being the double-faced card,
shown as the seven.
""Now I can hear what some of you are thinking.
Oh, yes! I often hear what people think. You
are thinking that if you had said subtraction
instead of addition, I should have been in what is
popularly called a hole. But you are mistaken.
Now we will ask the cards to do the subtraction"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,65,,"tion the order of production will naturally be
varied accordingly.
THOSE NAUGHTY KNAVES
This item may be described, if preferred, as
""Knavish Tricks.""
Requirements. Card mat loaded with knaves of
spades, hearts and diamonds, taken from the pack
in use. Knave of clubs on top of pack."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,66,,"50
LATEST MAGIC
Presentation. Advance, palming off the knave
of clubs, and offer pack to be shuffled. When it is
returned, force the knave on one of the company.
Borrow a hat, and after showing that it is empty,
place it, crown downwards, on the table. Receive
back the drawn card upon the mat, remarking that
you will place it in the hat, which you do accord-
ingly, the other three knaves going in with it.
Then, assuming a worried expression, deliver pat-
ter to something like the following effect.
""I am afraid, ladies and gentlemen, that I shall
not be able to show you the experiment I had
intended. I have a telepathic nerve in my left
thumb, a sort of private fire alarm, only more so,
which always gives me warning when things are
going wrong, and I feel it now. If you have read
'Macheth,' you will remember that one of the
witches says:
'By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.'
""I have often wondered whether that old lady
could have been a sort of great-great-great grand-
mother of mine. Magic certainly runs in the
family, and we may have inherited it from her.
Anyhow, I have just the same sort of sensation
myself. Unfortunately, in my case the warning is
incomplete. I dare say you will remember that
story (I rather think it's in Macaulay's 'Lays of
Ancient Rome'), about Little Queen Cole. Her"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,67,,"THOSE NAUGHTY KNAVES
51
Majesty had the misfortune to develop a mole upon
her nose, and King Cole was worried about it. He
consulted Old Moore and Zadkiel, and all the lead-
ing astrologers of the day, but all they could tell
him was
'A mole upon the face
Shows that something will take place,
But not what that something will be.'
That's just my case. My prophetic thumb merely
tells me that something is wrong, but doesn't say
what. It may be drains, or the house on fire, or
something in the county court. You never can
tell!
""Of course it's nothing of that sort now. In
the present case it has no doubt something to do
with the experiment I want to show you. You
chose your card quite freely, did you not, Madam?
It never matters to me in the least what card is
chosen, with the exception of one particular card,
which is a holy terror. May I ask if you happened
to draw the knave of clubs ? Yes ? I feared as
much. The knave of clubs is the bane of my life.
He is always endeavouring to get himself chosen,
and then he does his best to upset my arrange-
ments. And the worst of it is, he leads away the
other three knaves. The four of them form a
secret society, which they call ""The cheerful black-
guards.' The knave of clubs is the president, and
the rest have to do just as he tells them. He com-"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,68,,"52
LATEST MAGIC
municates with them by means of a sort of wire-
less telegraphy, and when he calls they go to him
at once."" (You here make the ""click.""7 ""Did
you hear that sound? That's his call now,
despatched by wireless from the hat to the very
middle of the pack. I have no doubt that we shall
find that the other three knaves have already left it,
and joined him in the hat."" (Make believe to look
over the pack, and hand it to a spectator.) ""Yes!
just as I thought: they are all gone."" (To a spec-
tator.) ""See for yourself, sir. Not a single
knave left. And here they all are, in the hat.""
(Whence they are produced accordingly.)
As the ""click"" in some cases adds much to the
effect of a trick, and as it may to some readers be
an unfamiliar sleight, I may pause to explain that
it is executed as follows: Take the pack in either
hand, held upright between forefinger and thumb,
a little more than half-way down, with the middle
finger curled up behind it as in Fig. 13. With the
tip of the third finger bend back the extreme bot-
tom corners of the last half dozen or SO of the
cards, allowing them to escape again smartly.
The sound made by the corners in springing back
again constitutes the ""click."" It needs a little
practice, but if the cards are held properly, and
the sleight worked smartly, the sound will be
audible at a considerable distance, whilst the move-
ment of the finger producing it is quite invisible
to the spectators."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,69,,"THOSE NAUGHTY KNAVES
53
But we have not yet done with our trick. You
may resume as follows:
""I will give you a further illustration of what I
have to put up with from the knaves. I should
like you to be satisfied that I have nothing to do
C
FIG. 13
with their bad behaviour."" (You palm off the
three top cards, and with the same hand offer the
four knaves to a spectator. ""Will you, sir, make
sure that these really are the four knaves, and then
place them here on the top of the pack,""-offered"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,70,,"54
LATEST MAGIC
with the left hand. When the knaves have been
laid upon it, you transfer it to the opposite hand,
and palm on to them the three concealed cards,
but immediately slide them off again, with the
uppermost of the four knaves beneath them. You
hold them up in a careless way, so that the
audience, catching sight of this card, may be con-
firmed in the belief that the cards exhibited in the
right hand are really the four knaves.
""Here we have the four knaves, at present all
together. I will now distribute them in different
parts of the pack, as far apart as possible. One
here, nearly at the bottom, one a little higher up,
another about the middle, and this last"" (you show
it carelessly), ""close to the top."" (This, being a
genuine knave, must be placed among the other
knaves.) ""They could hardly be placed farther
apart than that: but to make things a little more
difficult for them, I will ask some lady to cut the
cards.""
This done, and the cards handed back to you,
you repeat the click. ""There it is again: the wire-
less signal. You can all bear witness that I have
nothing to do with the matter. Now, Sir, will you
kindly examine the pack, and unless I am much
mistaken, you will find that the other three knaves
have answered Black Jack's call, and that the four
cheerful blackguards have got together again, in
which case, with your permission, I will leave them
severely alone, and try some other experiment."""
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,71,,"MAGNETIC MAGIC
55
The expert will recognise this last effect as a
""chestnut"" among card tricks, but it is none the
worse on that account, and it forms a particularly
appropriate sequel to the principal trick.
If the performer possesses the ""flower-pot,"" one
of these will naturally be used in place of the hat.
MAGNETIC MAGIC
Requirements. Card mat, loaded with a single
known card (precise nature optional). Pack of
cards with corresponding card at top. A horse-
shoe magnet, the larger the better for the sake of
effect. The two flower-pots, placed at some dis-
tance apart, preferably on separate tables.
We will suppose that the card selected for the
purpose of the trick is the ten of spades. Per-
former advances, and delivers patter to something
like the following effect.
""By way of a change, I should like now to show
you a little experiment in magnetism, but mag-
netism of a new kind. The old sort was a com-
paratively poor affair. It was only useful with
iron or steel. Anything else it wouldn't attract
for nuts. My sort of magnetism is a very superior
article. It will attract all sorts of things, so long
as they are not too heavy, like a sack of coals, or a
lawyer's bill. So far, I have been chiefly experi-
menting with cards, and I will show you how it
works."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,72,,"56
LATEST MAGIC
""I want three ladies each to choose a card from
this pack."" (He forces the ten of spades, allow-
ing the other two cards to be chosen freely, and
takes all three back, face down, on the mat, keep-
ing in mind which of them is the forced card. ""I
will take one of these cards."" (He picks up the
forced card, and holds it aloft.) ""Please all
notice what it is: I don't want to see it myself. I
drop it into this pretty flower-pot"" (actually drop-
ping it into the secret pocket). ""And now as to
these other two."" (He picks them up and shows
them, then replacing them on the mat.) ""These
I will place in the other flower-pot. First, how-
ever, I will show you that at present it is empty.""
He does so, and then lets the two cards slide off
the mat into the pot, the concealed card going with
them.
""Now I take this magnet. It is a very power-
ful magnet, and I make it still more vigorous by
rubbing it on my left coat sleeve. Do you know
why on the left ? You all give it up ? Because in
this case the left happens to be right. Simple,
when you know it, isn't it? Again, you will
observe that one-half of this magnet is painted
red. Can you guess why that is? It's so that
when it is wanted it is sure to be 'reddy.' I hear
a lady smile! Thank you so much! This is the
eleven hundred and third time I have let off that
little impromptu joke, and no one has ever laughed
at it till now."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,73,,"THE TELEPATHIC TAPE
57
""Well, as I was saying, or as I was going to say
when the lady interrupted me--I mean compli-
mented me, by smiling-Upon my word, I've for-
gotten for the moment what I was going to say, but
I daresay it was of no consequence, SO we'll skip
it, and proceed àt once to ""business as usual.'
""Observe, I just draw the magnet slowly across
from the one flower-pot to the other, when the
single card, being naturally the weaker, will be
drawn out of its own flower-pot, and join the other
two."" (Looks into flower-pot holding the pair.)
""Yes, it has found its way, as you see.77 (Lifts
the pot, and shows that the third card is on the table
with the other two.) ""And as it's a well-known
fact that nobody but a bird can be in two places at
the same time, it naturally follows that it is no
longer in this other pot, which is once more
empty."" (Lifts it up and shows that it is so.)
Variation. If the flower-pots are not available,
the single card may be placed in a card box, or
other suitable appliance adapted for causing its
disappearance, the other two, with the concealed
card, being dropped from the mat into a borrowed
hat.
THE TELEPATHIC TAPE
Requirements. Two or three yards of half-inch
tape or ribbon, wound on a reel, to which its inner
end is secured, and having a loop on its outer end.
Coin mat made adhesive, and two packs of cards,"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,74,,"58
LATEST MAGIC
which we will call A and B respectively. From
pack A take a court card (say the queen of dia-
monds), and press it face down against the waxed
side of the mat: then turn this over, and place the
rest of the pack upon its unprepared side. On the
top of pack B lay the corresponding card, in readi-
ness for forcing. This pack also to be placed on
table.
Presentation. Advance with pack A on the mat.
Invite a gentleman to take it in his own hands
and after shuffling, to pick out a card, and without
looking at it, lay it face down on the mat. Re-
mark: ""I have asked you not to look at the card,
because I find people fancy I find out by what is
called thought-reading, and if you don't know the
card yourself, I can't find it out that way, can I?
You are sure you don't know what card you have
taken? I can honestly say that I don't. Now
please notice that I don't look at it, or even touch
it-I will place it here, where you can all keep an
eye on it. You had better keep the other eye on
me.""
You accordingly place the mat on the table, in
transit keeping the card just laid upon it in place
by the pressure of the thumb, and just as you
reach the table, under cover of your own body, turn
over the mat, SO as to bring the adhering card
uppermost.
You then say, picking up the reel, ""I must now
introduce to your notice my telepathic tape. Like"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,75,,"A CARD COMEDY
59
myself, it isn't anything particular to look at, but
it has an extraordinary talent for finding out
things; even secrets that people don't know them-
selves. Now you will admit that the name of that
card on the table is at present an A1, copperbot-
tomed secret. Even the gentleman who chose the
card doesn't know what it is; you don't know:
in fact nobody knows. Nothing could well be more
secret than that. But this tape will find it out.
Will you, Sir,"" (addressing the gentleman who
chose the card) ""be kind enough to pass this loop
over your left little finger. Thank you, and now
I want some lady to assist me. Perhaps you will
oblige, Madam?"" A sufficient length of the tape
is unrolled, and the reel placed in the lady's hands.
""And now I will ask you to do me the further
favor of taking a card from this other pack.""
(The second queen is forced on the lady.)
""Now, Madam, what was the card the gentleman
chose? You don't know Oh, yes, you do. The
tape has told you. Unless it has betrayed me for
the first time in my experience, it will have com-
pelled you by an effect of sympathy to draw the
very same kind of card as the one freely chosen, as
you will remember from the other pack. What
card did you draw? The queen of diamonds?
(Goes to table, and turns up card on tray.) ""The
tape was right, you see. The card the gentleman
drew is also a queen of diamonds.""
In default of the card mat, the trick can be"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,76,,"60
LATEST MAGIC
equally well performed by the aid of the card-box,
or any other appliance for ""changing"" a card.
A CARD COMEDY
This may be otherwise described for programme
purposes as. ""A Royal Row,"" or ""A Row in a
Royal Family.""
Preparation. Card mat loaded with two kings
of hearts: one of them taken from the pack
to be used: the other a spare card. The king of
clubs and queen of hearts to be laid on top of pack.
The two flower-pots, on table.
Presentation. Advancing to the company, palm
off the two top cards, and hand the pack to be
shuffled. This done, force the palmed cards on
two different persons. Then say, ""I want you to
take notice that I do not handle or tamper in any
way with either of the cards you have chosen.
Please lay them yourselves face down on this mat.
Thank you. Now still without touching them I
will put them temporarily in this elegant flower-
pot, which you observe is quite empty. You see
that it has neither top nor bottom, and nothing
between. You couldn't have anything much
emptier than that, could you?""
Having duly exhibited the flower-pot (this by
the way must be the one without pocket) you let
the two drawn cards slide off the mat into it, the
two concealed kings going with them. Then,"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,77,,"A CARD COMEDY
61
assuming a perplexed air, you say, ""I don't know
why it is, but I have that peculiar sensation in
my left thumb that always means that something
has gone wrong. What it is in this case I can't
imagine, but I must find out before we go further.
As the two chosen cards have passed out of my
hands, I may now ask the ladies who drew them
to name them.
""The queen of hearts and the king of clubs, you
say? Ah! that accounts for it. When those two
cards come together there is sure to be trouble.
The queen of hearts is a bit of a flirt, and the king
of hearts is very jealous, particularly of the king
of clubs, who is rather a gay dog, though he is old
enough to know better. I fancy I hear some sort
of commotion going on in the flower-pot."" (You
look into it.) ""Yes, it is just as I feared. The
king of hearts has found out that his queen has gone
off with the king of clubs, and has followed the
queen post-haste. Here he is, you see."" (You
plunge hand into flower-pot, and take out and
exhibit the two drawn cards, and with them one of
the two kings of hearts.) ""It's too bad, for as a
matter of fact the queen of hearts doesn't really
care two-pence about the king of clubs. In fact
she has even been known to call him a giddy old
kipper.
""But I can't have my arrangements upset by
these little family jars. To teach the king of
hearts better manners I shall put him in solitary"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,78,,"62
LATEST MAGIC
confinement. We will drop him into the other
flower-pot, which, as you see, is also empty.""
(The card is in this case not dropped through the
pot, but into the pocket.)
""Now we shall be able to get on. No ! my left
thumb tells me that there is still something not
quite right..' (Glance into second flower-pot.)
""Upon my word, this is too bad. The king of
hearts has already. got away and followed the
queen again."" (Lift flower-pot, and show that the
king has disappeared.) ""I thought I had him
safe, but his prison, as you see, is empty, and here
he is again in the first flower-pot."" (Show the
three cards accordingly.) ""He is too many for
me; I can't show you what I had intended. I must
give it up and try something else.""
Variation. Load mat with a single king of
hearts and the queen of clubs, the latter taken from
the pack. Proceed as before up to the putting of
the king in prison, and then exhibit the queen of
clubs, as having come in pursuit of her spouse, the
patter being modified accordingly. The impris-
oned king of hearts will still be found to have
escaped, but in this case to have returned to the
pack.
For lack of the two flower-pots, the drawn cards
may be dropped with the concealed pair into a bor-
rowed hat, and the jealous king made to escape
from a card-box, or some similar appliance.
Apropos of the card-box, by the way, I have"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,79,,"A CARD COMEDY
63
always had a sort of affection for this in its oldest
and simplest form, viz., the reversible flat box with
loose flap falling from the one into the other half
at pleasure. I should not recommend the use of
it at a school treat, as there would be much risk
of some demon small boy proclaiming to all whom
it might concern that he ""knows how that's done,""
but before an average mixed audience its use is
safe enough. Should one of the spectators happen
to be acquainted with the box he will probably
smile in a superior way, pluming himself on having
a little inside information, though he may be no
nearer the complete solution of the trick than the
rest of the company.
The expert will easily guard himself against
even this small risk. For example, he may use a
duplicate box, innocent of guile, ostensibly merely
to contain the cards he is about to use, and after
turning the pack out of it upon the table, switch
this (obviously empty) box for the faked box to be
used later, or after using the latter he may extract
the fake and the superseded card during the jour-
ney back to his table, where the box will of course
be inspection-proof.
Better still, he may make matters absolutely safe
by using an improved box, which has been chris-
tened the ""Fast and Loose'' card-box. This is a
recent invention of an Italian wizard named
Veroni, of Glasgow (an old soldier of Garibaldi).
It is an idealised version of the old flat box, being"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,80,,"64
LATEST MAGIC
of the same shape, but a trifle larger. The loose
slab is retained, but it is only loose when the per-
former desires it to be SO. The box may be
handled beforehand with the utmost freedom, and
after a card has been placed in it it may be closed
and re-opened any number of times, nothing hap-
pening till, ""Presto,"" a mere touch in the right
place, and the flap is free. When the box is now
closed, this falls into the opposite portion, con-
cealing the card, or producing another; and again
locking itself, automatically, in its new position.
The box in this condition will again stand the
closest scrutiny.
Whether this box is yet placed upon the market
I cannot say (having myself been favoured with a
sight of an ""advance"" model), but it will certainly
commend itself to all who appreciate a good thing
in the way of ingenuity of contrivance and
mechanical finish.
A ROYAL TUG OF WAR
Preparation. Card mat to be loaded with king
of hearts and king of diamonds, not taken from
the pack in use. Flower-pots on table.
Performer advances with ordinary pack, deliv-
ering patter to something like the following effect.
""It is not generally known, ladies and gentlemen,
what a lot of human nature there is about a pack
of cards. They have their likes and dislikes, and"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,81,,"A ROYAL TUG OF WAR
65
their little tempers, just as we have. Some of
them are bosom friends; others again hate each
other like rival suitors to the same best girl. The
four kings are generally pretty friendly, but there
is a good deal of emulation between them, par-
ticularly between the two red kings on the one
hand, and the two black ones on the other. Each
pair claims to be the stronger, and they are always
pleased to have a chance of putting the matter to
the test.
""I will give you an illustration of this, by allow-
ing them to hold a little tug of war. They have
already had six trials, and each side has won three
of them. This evening we will let them play a
final game, which is to settle the matter. Will you,
sir, kindly pick out the four kings for me, and lay
them on this little tray. Thank you! (This
done, performer lays mat with cards on table.)
""I will drop the two red kings into this flower-
pot."" He takes them from the mat and after
showing them drops them into the flower-pot (in
reality into the pocket), ""and the black ones into
this other."" (The black kings are allowed to slide
directly off the mat, into the flower-pot, the con-
cealed pair going with them. ""Are your Majes-
ties ready? Silence gives consent! Then Go!""
He waits a moment or two, and then looks over
into the flower-pot with the pocket. ""Nothing has
happened yet. Yes, there goes the king of dia-
monds, pulled over to the other side. There's not"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,82,,"66
LATEST MAGIC
much chance now for the poor king of hearts, left
single-handed. He won't hold out long. Yes!
Now he is gone too.""
Performer lifts flower-pot, with fingers inside
pressing against pocket, and shows it apparently
empty. ""And here, in the other flower-pot"" (lifts
it and shows the four cards lying together on
table) ""are all four Kings. One more score to
black. You didn't see the cards go ? Of course
you didn't; because they fly horizontally, like the
aeroplanes, and they go SO fast that they get there
almost before they have started.""
SYMPATHETIC CARDS
Preparation. Card mat loaded with two cards
of different denomination, say the queen of clubs
and the knave of diamonds, taken from the pack.
Flower-pots on table.
Presentation. Force the corresponding cards
of same colour (in this case the queen of spades
and the knave of hearts), lay the pack aside, and
take the drawn cards back face down on the mat,
leaving them thus on table till needed. The patter
may run as follows:
""As I think I have mentioned before, the cards
of a pack, from long association, become a sort of
family. They have their likes and dislikes, just
as human beings have. In particular, there is a
curious bond of sympathy between each pair of"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,83,,"67
the same colour, say the king of hearts and the king
of diamonds, or the ten of clubs and ten of spades.
If they are parted, and they possibly can, they will
get together again.
""I will try to give you an example with the cards
that have been drawn. We will put them for the
moment in this pretty flower-pot, which, as you see,
is quite empty."" (Show by lifting it up, that it is
so, and then drop the two cards from the mat into
it, the concealed pair going with them.) ""They
will only require to be assisted by a gentle electric
current, which I shall create by waving my wand,
SO.
""Before we go any further, will the ladies who
drew the cards say what they were,-1 don't mind
asking you now, because they have passed ont of
my control. The queen of spades and the knave
of hearts, you say ? A fortunate choice, for the
queen of spades and the knave of hearts happen to
be particular friends, so I think we may now be
sure of success. Now to establish the wireless
wave, and I doubt not the queen of clubs and the
knave of diamonds will speedily find them.
(Make any appropriate gesture with wand.)
""Did you notice a little flash, like the striking
of a very inferior lucifer match in a gale of wind ?
That's when they went. Quick work, isn't it ?
The cards were timed by two gentlemen one even-
ing, each with his own watch. By the one gentle-
man's watch they started at one minute past nine,"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,84,,"68
LATEST MAGIC
and by the other gentleman's watch, they arrived
at one minute to nine, SO it is clear that they must
have made the journey in two minutes less than no
time. But let us make sure that they have
arrived."" Lift the flower-pot, and show the four
cards lying on the table together. ""And now, to
convince you that there is no deception, will some
lady or gentleman kindly look through the pack,
and make sure that the queen of clubs and knave
of diamonds have really left'it."" Which is found
to be the case.
The trick may of course be worked with any two
pairs of cards, the mat being loaded and the cor-
responding cards forced accordingly.
TELL-TALE FINGERS
The discovery, in some more or less mysterious
way, of an unknown card is one of the stock feats
of the conjurer, and indeed in one shape or another
is one of the most hackneyed of card tricks. But
the wise magician never discards a good trick sim-
ply because it is an old one. He repolishes it, adds
a bit here, takes away a bit there, presents it in a
new shape and with new patter, and behold! the
""chestnut"" of yesterday becomes a latest novelty
of today.
To obtain the maximum effect from a trick of the
above kind, it is necessary in the first place to con-
vince the spectator that the drawn card cannot pos-"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,85,,"TELL-TALE FINGERS
69
sibly be known beforehand to the performer; and
in the second place to persuade him that it is dis-
covered in some actually impossible (and therefore
magical) way; taking advantage, where possible,
of some known scientific truth which may lend
colour to your suggestion. It is surprising, in con-
juring matters, how much even the smallest per-
centage of fact increases the power of the average
spectator for swallowing fiction. The patter for
the trick which follows has been arranged upon
these lines.
The requisites for the trick are a pack of cards
from which three known cards have been with-
drawn and palmed (or SO placed to be in instant
readiness for palming), a hand-mirror, and a silk
handkerchief.
The introductory oration may run somewhat as
follows:
""You all know, ladies and gentlemen, what an
important part finger-prints now play in the detec-
tion of crime. Happily. there is no connection
between conjuring and crime, beyond the fact that
they both begin with a C. No conjurer that I
know of has ever murdered anybody or been mur-
dered himself, and when a conjurer borrows a half-
crown, he always-well, almost always returns it.
But each one of us, whether criminal or curate,
burglar or bishop, possesses a definite set of finger-
prints, quite unlike those of anybody else. And,
what is more, we cannot touch anything, ever SO"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,86,,"70
LATEST MAGIC
lightly, without leaving upon it our sign manual
in the shape of a more or less perfect impression
of our fingers, imperceptible to ourselves, but quite
visible to the expert in such matters.
""Practice in distinguishing such points forms
a highly interesting study. Of course it must be
pursued with a proper amount of tact, or it may
get you into trouble, as in the case of a gentleman
I once heard of who took up the study with more
zeal than discretion. He said to his wife, not lead-
ing up to the subject gently, as he should have done,
but in a peremptory sort of way, 'Maria, I want
your finger-prints.' Unfortunately, Maria was
rather a quick-tempered lady, and she had just
been having a few words, of a hostile nature, with
the cook. She slapped his face, and said, 'Well,
now you've got 'em.' He had They were very
distinct, but not quite in the shape he wanted. I
am going to ask permission to read some of your
finger-prints, but, I trust without fear of such
painful results.
""In the first place, I should like this pack of
cards to be thoroughly well shuffled.""
While this is done, performer palms the three
known cards, and when the pack is returned, pro-
ceeds to force them on different members of the
company. Each of the drawers is requested to
allow his or her card to lie for a few moments face
down on the palm of the outspread hand. The
cards drawn are then returned to the pack, which"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,87,,"TELL-TALE FINGERS
71
is again shuffled, and spread face upward on the
table.
""Each of the three cards which have been drawn
now has a complete set of finger-prints upon its
surface, but there are no doubt others on many
other cards, the result of previous handling. To
enable me to distinguish the right ones, I must ask
each person who chose a card to give me, for the
purpose of comparison, a fresh impression, on
the glass of this mirror. First, however, we
must remove any prints that may already be upon
it.""
He accordingly breathes upon the glass, and
wipes it carefully with the handkerchief.
""Now, Sir"" (to the person who first drew), ""will
you kindly press your hand flat against the glass.
Thank you. Not a very clear impression, but I
dare say it will be good enough. I have now only
to discover the card bearing the same imprint, and
I shall know that it was the one you drew."" (He
picks it out from the exposed cards on the table.)
""Here it is, I think, the of "" (as the case
may be).
The other two cards are then discovered after
the same fashion. As the performer knows
beforehand what they are, this will give him little
trouble, but he will be wise, for the sake of effect,
not to discover them too readily. For the same
reason, great importance should ostensibly be
attached to the thorough cleaning of the hand mir-"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,88,,"72
LATEST MAGIC
ror before each new attempt, so as to get a clear
impression.
The trick as above described can be worked with
any pack of cards, but where those used are the
performer's own property, he can make it even
more effective by marking the three cards to be
freed in such a way as to be distinguishable (by
himself only) by their backs. The drawers in this
case are requested to press their hand against the
back of the card, and the cards are spread face
down upon the table, the performer apparently not
knowing the nature of the card indicated to him
until he has turned it up.
DIVINATION DOUBLY DIFFICULT
This trick, though it merely rests upon a com-
bination of methods already familiar to the expert,
may as a whole fairly claim to be a complete nov-
elty. The mise en scène is SO simple, and the
room for deception apparently SO small, that to the
uninitiated it seems like a genuine miracle.
Unlike most card tricks, it is even better adapted
to the stage than to the drawing-room.
The effect of the trick, baldly stated, is that the
performer divines the nature of nine cards,
selected apparently quite haphazard, and then
picks out the corresponding cards from another
pack, freely shuffled and covered by a handker-
chief."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,89,,"DIVINATION DOUBLY DIFFICULT
73
The requirements for the trick consist of two
packs of cards, and an envelope with adhesive flap,
of such a size as to accommodate one of them. One
of the two packs is a ""forcing"" pack, consisting of
three cards only, each seventeen times repeated.
The cards of each kind are however not grouped
all together, as is usually the case, but are arranged
after the manner explained in More Magic (p. 13),
viz. : assuming the three cards to be the knave of
clubs, the seven of spades, and the nine of dia-
monds, the pack will consist of groups of those
three cards, in the same order, repeated through-
out. The effect of this arrangement is that,
wherever the pack be cut, the three cards above
or below the cut will always be a set of those three
cards: and the same result follows, however many
times the pack may be cut, or however many such
groups may have been taken from it.
The second pack has no preparation, but the
three cards corresponding to those of which the
forcing pack is composed are SO placed as to be
ready to hand for palming.
The performer advances with the forcing pack,
meanwhile executing a false shuffle of the kind
which leaves the pack as if cut, but otherwise
undisturbed as to order. Holding the pack on the
outstretched palm of his left hand, he invites some-
one to cut it. This done, he takes back with the
other hand the upper portion of the cut, and says,
""You have cut where you pleased, have you not ?"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,90,,"that I have not sought to influence the choice of
these gentlemen"" (or ladies, as the case may be)
""in the slightest degree, and it must be equally
clear to you that I cannot possibly know even one
of the cards that have been chosen. To make sure
that I do not get sight of them in any way, we will
have them placed, with the remainder of the pack,
in this envelope."" He collects the cards accord-
ingly, allowing each person who drew to replace
his cards himself in the envelope, and requesting
the last person to moisten the flap, and make all
secure.
Returning to his table, he places the closed
envelope in full view. ""I shall now want the
assistance of some gentleman. Thank you, sir."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,91,,"DIVINATION DOUBLY DIFFICULT
75
Will you kindly shuffle this other pack for me.""
(He runs the cards over fanwise, showing their
faces, SO as to prove that they are an ordinary
mixed pack: then hands them to be shuffled, and
while this is being done, palms the three secreted
cards. ""Shuffle them thoroughly, please, and then
spread them a little, faces down, upon the table,
and lay your handkerchief over them.
""Now I am going, in the first place, to attempt
a little thought-reading. I shall endeavour by
that means to discover the three cards each person
chose, and then, by means of the sense of touch,
which I have cultivated to a rather unusual degree,
to pick them out, without seeing them, from among
the cards under the handkerchief. I shall only
ask one indulgence. To leave a little margin for
possible mistakes. I shall ask your permission to
pick out four cards instead of three for each per-
son, SO as to give me one extra chance. Will the
gentleman who drew first kindly look my way, and
say to himself slowly, the names of the cards he
drew. Thank you, Sir! I think I read them
right."" He inserts his hand under the handker-
chief, and after a little pretended fumbling, brings
out the three palmed cards, with one indifferent
card in front of them. He does not show or look
at them, but asks the second chooser to think hard
of his three cards, afterwards taking four more
from under the handkerchief. Having done the
same in the case of the third drawer, he spreads"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,92,,"76
LATEST MAGIC
the twelve cards he has taken from under the hand-
kerchief, and shows them fanwise. Addressing
the first drawer, he says, ""Your three cards are
among these, I think, sir?"" and the same question
is then addressed to the other two choosers, the
answer being of course in the affirmative.
""'Now, gentlemen, in order to prove that there
is no deception, I will take away three cards at a
time, one from each set of three. Pray observe
that from beginning to end, I have not looked at
the face of any card.""7 He accordingly removes
one of the forced, and two of the indifferent cards,
making however some pretence of selection and
throws them aside. ""There are now only two
cards belonging to each gentleman left. That is
so, is it not?""
The question is addressed to each of the three
drawers in turn, and answered accordingly, after
which the same process is again twice repeated.
""And now, gentlemen, we have three cards left,
belonging to neither of you, which is just as it
should be. It is a peculiarity of this experiment
that if it comes out right it always brings good
luck to those taking part in it, SO you may all fairly
expect to live happily ever afterwards, and I trust
you will.""
If the performance is given before the family
circle, or very intimate friends (who sometimes
consider themseles privileged to be disagreeable),
it is just possible that some ill-mannered person,"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,93,,"A NEW LONG CARD PACK
77
in the hope of embarrassing the conjurer, may ask
at the close to be allowed to examine the envelope
containing the drawn cards. Such an examina-
tion, if permitted, would of course largely give
away the trick. If the performer has any reason
to fear such a contingency, he may guard against
it by ""switching"" the envelope, during his return
to the table with it, for a duplicate containing an
ordinary mixed pack. In some part of this the
three cards corresponding to those drawn should
be placed together, as the obnoxious person, if him-
self one of the drawers, will naturally expect SO to
find them.
At a public performance such a precaution
would be supererogatory.
A NEW LONG CARD PACK AND A TRICK
DEPENDENT ON ITS USE
Some few months ago I was shown by a clever
amateur, Mr. Victor Farrelly, a pack of cards pre-
pared, after a method of his own, to replace in a
more subtle form, the familiar biseauté pack. Mr.
Farrelly's plan is to round off, in a very minute
degree, three of the corners of an ordinary pack.
If a given card be turned round in a pack SO
treated, it is obvious that its unfiled corner will
project, to a microscopic extent, beyond those
above and below it, rendering the card instantly
discoverable by touch."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,94,,"78
LATEST MAGIC
Mr. Farrelly's idea is decidedly ingenious, but
the uses of the biseauté pack are rather limited,
and the fact that the pack must be reversed before
the card is replaced in it is a drawback. It struck
me, on reflection, that the idea might be developed,
in a slightly different direction, to greater advan-
tage.
My own plan is as follows: Two packs, exactly
alike are used. As to one of these, I treat all four
corners after the manner indicated by Mr. Far-
relly, when any card of the second pack, inserted
into the one so treated, naturally becomes in effect,
a long card. There is in this case no need to
reverse the pack, and as the minute projection is
duplicated at each end of the diagonal, a less degree
of rounding off is necessary.
As a practical illustration of the possible uses
of such a pack, I offer the trick which I am about to
describe. The expert will recognise that, save for
the use of the new pack, it is merely a combination
of well-known methods, but as regards the mode
of presentation it is original, and I think will be
found worthy of a place in the répertoire of the
card-conjurer.
For the purpose of description we will call the
pack with rounded corners the ""short,"" and the
other the ""long"" pack. Three known cards are
borrowed from the long pack, which may then be
put aside, as it plays no further part in the trick.
These three cards are palmed, and after the short"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,95,,"A NEW LONG CARD PACK
79
pack has been shuffled by one of the company, are
added to it, and forced upon three different spec-
tators. We will suppose that the three selected
cards are the queen of hearts, forced on a gentle-
man; the king of clubs and the ten of diamonds;
the two last mentioned forced on ladies.
This done, each of the drawers is invited to
replace his or her card in the pack, which is passed
from the one to the other for that purpose, and
before it is returned to you is once more shuffled.
You then deliver a ""yarn"" to something like the
following effect:
""Please bear in mind, ladies and gentlemen,
exactly what has been done. To begin with, you
have seen that the pack was thoroughly well
shuffled. Three cards were then freely chosen
from it. They have been put back, not by me, but
by the persons who drew them, and the pack has
since been shuffled again. It is therefore
obviously impossible that I should know either
what cards have been chosen, or whereabouts they
may now be in the pack. But I enjoy impossibili-
ties. The more impossible a thing is, the more I
want to do it. I will find out these cards or die!
Don't be alarmed, I don't mean to die just yet; SO
I must do the other thing. It's easy enough, if
you know how to do it.
""In the first place I cut the pack into three por-
tions."" (You cut three times, nipping the ""long:""
corners between second finger and thumb, at each"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,96,,"80
LATEST MAGIC
of the drawn cards in succession, and placing the
cards left at bottom on one or other of the three
heaps; then solemnly rub your wand, without
remark, with a silk handkerchief, and lay it across
the tops of the three packets.)
""Now, if the electric influence is strong enough,
the three chosen cards will gradually sink down
to the bottom of these three heaps. A nice easy
way of finding them out, is it not ? It will take a
minute or two for the charm to operate, so in the
meantime I will try to find out the names of the
cards for myself by thought-reading. You drew
a card, I think, Sir? Will you kindly think of
that card, as hard as you can, and meanwhile look
straight at me? Thank you. Judging by physiog-
nomy, I should say that you were rather a ladies'
man. Don't blush, Sir. It's nothing to be
ashamed of, is it, ladies ? But he did blush, didn't
he? Now, being a ladies' man, you will naturally
have chosen one of the ladies of the pack, that is to
say one of the queens, and your blush suggests that
it was a red queen. Now there are only two red
queens to choose from. The queen of hearts rep-
resents Love, and the queen of diamonds Money.
If I read your thoughts aright I feel safe in declar-
ing that you chose the queen of hearts. That is
right, I think? Quite simple, when you know how
it's done.
""And now, Madam, for your card. I can see at
a glance that you have a liking for aristocratic"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,97,,"A NEW LONG CARD PACK
81
society, and you will therefore naturally have
chosen a king. But which king? Think hard of
your card, please. A picture of a dark-complex-
ioned gentleman comes up before my mind's eye,
and I feel that I can say with confidence that
the card you chose was the king of clubs. Am I
right?
""And you, Madam. I have an idea that you
have a taste for pretty things, particularly jew-
ellery. Such being the case, you would naturally
choose diamonds. Think of your card, please.
Thank you. I see I was right in my guess. The
card you chose was the ten of diamonds.
""And now to verify my discoveries. If my
wand has done its work, those same three cards will
now have percolated through the rest, and settled
down at the bottom of these three heaps. Let us
see whether they have done so."" (The three heaps
are-turned over.) ""Yes, here we have them: the
king of clubs, the queen of hearts, and the ten of
diamonds. It is a curious thing for the cards to
do, and I daresay you would like to know how it is
done. As a matter of fact, it is done by synthetic
readjustment of dissociated atoms. You don't
know what that means, perhaps? Well, to say the
truth, I don't quite know myself, but that is the
scientific explanation, so no doubt it is correct.""
The trick may very well end at this point, but
if the reader possesses a card-box, or other appar-
atus adapted for ""vanishing"" cards, he may bring"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,98,,"82
LATEST MAGIC
it to a still more striking conclusion. In this case
he may continue as follows:
""Now, I should like to show you a curious effect
of sympathy. I take away these three cards and
hand the rest of the pack to the gentleman who
drew the queen of hearts. Kindly hold it up above
your head where all can see it. The three drawn
cards"" (show them one by one) ""I place in this
box. Again I electrify my wand a little, and lay
it across the box. Now I want each gentleman or
lady to think of his or her card. Think of it
kindly, and feel as if you would like to see it again.
Think hard, please, because it is you, not I, that
perform this experiment, and if you don't think
hard it will be a failure. I am pleased to see by
the expression of your countenances that you are
all thinking hard. Thank you very much. You
may leave off now. The deed is done. The three
cards have left the box, and gone back to the pack.
Please look it through, sir, and tell the company
whether it is not so.""
The reader, being familiar with the wiles of con-
jurers, will doubtless have guessed that the three
cards supposed to have returned to the pack have
in fact never left it, being those naturally belong-
ing to it, corresponding with the three long cards.
But to the outsider their supposed return will be,
in the words of the lamented Lord Dundreary,
""one of those things that no fellow can under-
stand."""
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,99,,"THE MASCOT COIN BOX
83
As regards the disappearance of the three cards,
the performer is of course by no means restricted
to the use of the card-box. If he is an expert in
sleight-of-hand, he may with even better effect,
""vanish"" them one by one by means of the back
palm, dropping them a moment later into the pro-
fonde.
THE MASCOT COIN BOX
This is a little device on the same principle as
the well-known flat card-box, but adapted for use
with coins, and with an addition which largely
increases its utility inasmuch as it will not only
enable the performer to ""change"" or ""vanish,""
but to get instant and secret possession of a coin
placed in it.
The box (see Fig. 14) is of ebonized wood,
unpolished, and in size about three inches square.
It consists of two parts (a and b), which are
alike in size and appearance, so that either half
may be regarded as ""box"" and either as ""lid,"" at
pleasure, according as the one or the other is made
uppermost, no difference being perceptible be-
tween them. In the centre of each half is a cir-
cular well, not quite two inches in diameter.
Used with the box is a thin dise of wood corre-
sponding to that of which the box is made. This
is of such diameter as to fall easily from the one
well into the other, according to the way in which
the box is turned, but on the other hand fits so"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,100,,"84
LATEST MAGIC
closely within that its presence or absence is not
perceptible to sight. If a coin be laid in the box
upon the disc and the box is then closed and turned
over, the disc settles down over the coin in the
opposite half, either leaving the box apparently
b
a
C
FIG. 14
empty or exhibiting in place of the original coin a
substitute with which the opposite side of the box
has been previously loaded.
Thus far, as the reader will doubtless have per-
ceived, the effect produced (save that a coin instead
of a card is dealt with) is precisely the same as in"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,101,,"THE MASCOT COIN BOX
85
the case of the card-box. But the ""mascot"" has
a speciality of its own, in the fact that in that half
of the box marked a (see Fig. 14) a horizontal
slot is cut on the side opposite to the hinge, just
long enough and wide enough to allow the passage
of a halfcrown. The wood being dead black, this
small opening is invisible save to close inspection,
which the box is never called upon to undergo.
When it is desired to gain secret possession of a
coin lent by one of the company, the lender is
invited to place it himself in the box, held open
bookwise as in Fig. 14, the side b of the box having
been previously loaded with a duplicate coin.
The lender of the coin may place it in whichever
side of the box he pleases, but the manner of clos-
ing the box will vary accordingly. If he places it
in the side a, the opposite (or loaded) side is treated
as the lid and turned down over a. In this case,
the coin being already in the slotted half, no turn-
over of the box is necessary, the performer having
merely to allow the coin to slip out into his hand.
In the opposite case, viz., that of the coin being
placed in b, a is treated as the lid, and the coin
being in this case above the disc the box must be
turned over before it can be extracted. If pre-
ferred the performer can hold the box SO that the
coin will naturally be placed in b, but in this case
the turn-over is unavoidable.
When the box is again opened, the duplicate coin
is revealed in place of the original, which is mean-"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,102,,"86
LATEST MAGIC
while dealt with as may be necessary for the pur-
pose of the trick. After the borrowed coin has
been extracted, the further fall of the disc closes
the slot, and bars any possibility of the substitute
coin escaping in the same way.
The following will be found an easy way of
working the exchange.
""For the purpose of my next experiment,' says
the performer, ""I shall have to ask the loan of a
halfcrown; marked in such a way that you can
be sure of knowing it again. I should like one, if
possible, that has seen some service, for a coin in
the course of circulation imbibes a certain amount
of magnetic fluid from each person who handles it ;
and this renders a well-worn coin more susceptible
to magical influences than a new one.""
The reason alleged for asking the loan of an old
coin is of course ""spoof,"" but there is a reason;
and it is twofold. In the first place it ensures your
getting a coin tolerably like your own; which you
have chosen in accordance with that description,
and which you have marked after some common-
place fashion, say with a cross scratched upon one
of its faces. Secondly, a well-worn coin, having
lost the sharp edge which is caused by the milling
in a new one, passes the more easily through the
slot, which for obvious reasons is kept as narrow as
possible.
Performer, advancing toward the person offer-
ing the coin, continues:"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,103,,"THE MASCOT COIN BOX
87
""I don't want even to touch the coin myself till
the very last moment, so I will ask you meanwhile
to put it in this little box. I believe it was built for
a watch-case, but as I don't happen to need one, I
use it to hold my money, when I have any, or when
I can get somebody to lend me some.""
The box is held open bookwise, as above men-
tioned, and closed according to circumstances, in
one or the other of the two ways described.
""I will now ask some gentleman to take charge
of the coin in the box. Who will do so? You will,
Sir? Thank you. But stay! I think I heard
somebody say (it was only said in a whisper but I
heard it) 'I don't believe the halfcrown is in the
box.' It is very sad to find people so suspicious,
especially when I take such pains to prove that
there is 'no deception.' But the gentleman was
wrong, you see."" (He opens box, and shows the
substitute coin.) ""Here it is. Take it out, sir,
and keep it in your own hands till I ask you for
it again.""
During the delivery of the patter the borrowed
coin has been extracted, and the coin exhibited in
the box and handed for safe-keeping is, of course,
the substitute. The box, as being no longer needed,
is laid without remark upon the table, and the
trick proceeds, after whatever may have been its
intended fashion."
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,104,,"MISCELLANEOUS TRICKS
MONEY-MAKING MADE EASY
Requirements. Coin mat loaded with two
double pennies, shell side undermost. Lighted
candle and velvet mat (with pocket) on table.
Presentation. Performer comes forward with
coin mat hanging down in his right hand (mouth of
loaded space upwards), and asks for the loan of a
penny, marked in some conspicuous way. Receiv-
ing it on the mat, he shows it, so placed, to the per-
sons, seated on each side of the owner, in so doing
making it obvious to them, without remark, that
his hands are otherwise empty. Then returning to
his table, with the mat and the coin on it still in
his hand, he delivers patter to the following effect:
""Now I am going to show you a nice easy way
of making money. I was told when I was a small
boy, ""Take care of the pence, and the pounds will
take care of themselves.' I believe they do. The
pounds take such good care of themselves that very
few of them seem to come my way. But you can
make a bit even with pennies, if you know how to
set about it. All you need is a really good penny
to start with. It doesn't matter how you get the
penny. You may beg, borrow, or steal it. Per-
88"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,105,,"MONEY-MAKING MADE EASY
89
sonally, I prefer to borrow it. If you try the other
two ways you get yourself disliked, but you can
always get people to lend you things, if you ask
prettily; and I've always been celebrated for my
nice borrowing manner. You must all have no-
ticed that the gentleman lent me a penny without
the slightest hesitation. I daresay if I had asked
him, he would have made it two-pence, or even six-
pence, if he had as much about him. In this case,
however, one penny is enough for my purpose;
and here it is with the owner's own mark upon it.
Observe that it is just a plain ordinary penny, and
you can see for yourselves that it is the only one
I have-in my hands, I mean. I am always truth-
ful. As a matter of fact, I believe I have another
in my left trouser-pocket, but I promise you that
I won't use it.''
Pass mat, with coin on it, from one hand to the
other, showing the hands otherwise empty, and
leaving the mat finally in the right hand: then let
the marked coin slide off it into left hand, the
concealed coins passing with it. Put down the
mat, and show all three coins together (the marked
coin in front) held between fore-finger and thumb,
broadside toward the spectators. Thus held, they
are, even at a few feet distant, undistinguishable
from a single coin.
""Now I am going to make money. Not much,
perhaps, in fact only a penny at a time. I shall
start by making this one penny into two. Cent"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,106,,"90
LATEST MAGIC
per cent is not bad, is it ? Observe, I use no vio-
lence. It's all done by kindness. I just warm the
coin a little over this candle-flame. That softens
the metal and I am able to squeeze another penny
out of this one, so!""
Show as two accordingly, by sliding off the
hindermost coin in its shell, exhibiting it on both
sides, and laying it on the table.
""You have all heard of turning an honest penny.
Well, this is one way of doing it. It is said, too,
that one good turn deserves another, so we'll try
again. I warm the first penny a little more, and
again I pull another out of it.'' (Draw second
double coin from behind the original penny.)
""Now we have three, two in my hands"" (showing
one in each hand) ""and one on the table.
""I think I heard somebody say that I couldn't
make any more I don't like to do it, because the
process takes a good deal out of the original penny,
and I might spoil it. On the other hand, I don't
like to decline a challenge, so here goes! I warm
these two again, and then, with a little extra pres-
sure, because it naturally becomes more difficult
each time, I get yet another penny, as you see.
So now, in all, we have four.""
(Show
those
in
hand as three, by drawing solid coin out of shell,
then, picking up double coin from mat, show as four
accordingly.) ""Did I hear a lady say 'Just one
more'? Well, then, one more."" (Develop the
double coin just picked up, and show as five.)"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,107,,"MONEY-MAKING MADE EASY
91
""But here I must really draw the line. If k ept
on like this, there would be none of the original
penny left. It is already getting weaker and
weaker. Besides, there wouldn't be time for any-
thing else, and I have several still more wonderful
things to show you.
""And now to put these extra pennies back again
into the original coin. At present it is only one-
fifth its proper weight and if the owner tried to
pass it in this condition there would be trouble.
I should explain, by the way, that these others are
not really solid coins: though they look like it.
They are what the spiritualists call astral coins,
if you know what that means: I don't quite know
myself; SO I won't attempt to explain, but I believe
in the Police Courts they are known as 'duffers.' "",
Lay all five coins on the velvet mat, each of the
shells slightly overlapping the solid coin to which
it belongs.
""Here we have one, two, three, four, five. I
pick up two of them."" (Draw shell over solid in
act of picking up.) ""I give them a gentle squeeze
and they become one only."" (Show as one, and
replace on mat behind the mouth of pocket.)
""Now I treat two more in the same way.""
(Repeat accordingly, replacing these also, as one,
on mat.) ""We have now only three left. Let me
see, which is the original? Ah here it is, with the
owner's mark upon it."" (Pick it up and show in
left hand.) ""Now I rub one of these others into"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,108,,"92
LATEST MAGIC
it."" (Make the movement of picking up one of
the double coins, and of rubbing it into the coin in
left hand, but in reality ""vanish"" it, in the sup-
posed act of picking up, into the pocket of mat.)
""And now I pass this other one into it in the
same way, and we have only the original penny left.
It is like the ten little niggers, isn't it, only that
they never came back. Here is your penny, Sir.
Please observe that it still has your own mark
upon it, which is proof positive that there has
been 'no deception.'""
N. B. If the performer is a novice, he may
simplify the trick by loading the coin mat with
one double and one ordinary coin only, or two
ordinary coins, limiting the successive productions
accordingly.
THE MISSING LINK
At an early period of my magical career, I
devised a trick to which I gave the name of Con-
catenution Extraordinarg, and which will be found
described in Later Magic, page 94. In effect it
consisted of the magical welding of a number of
loose iron links into a continuous chain. It was
performed by the aid of a Black Art table, a bot-
tomless tumbler, and a silk thread. ""Though I
say it that shouldn't,"" it was an ingenious trick,
and I was very proud of it. Unfortunately, some
good natured friend (I rather think it was"
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,109,,"THE MISSING LINK
93
Mr. David Devant) pointed out to me that about
ninety-live per cent of my ingenuity was wasted,
inasmuch as the same effect, SO far as the spectator
was concerned, could be produced by infinitely
simpler means, viz.:-by using a glass with double
mirror partition, when all the other paraphernalia
became unnecessary. You had only to load the
hinder compartment with the complete chain, and
after a due amount of ""talkee-talkee,"" drop the
loose links into the forward one, turn the glass
round, and the deed was done.
The trick, as a trick, was just as good in its new
shape as before, but being at that time (compara-
tively) young and foolish, its extreme simplicity
spoilt it for me, and I lost all interest in it. Not
long since, however, I was reminded of it by com-
ing across the chain and links which had figured in
my performance of the trick, and it struck me that,
in a slightly modified form, it may still be worth
the attention of the drawing-room conjurer.
The requirements for the trick in this, its latest
form, are as follows:
First, the mirror glass; and as to this I may note
in passing that the ""mirror"" is best made of tin-
plate, not too highly polished, in place of the look-
ing-glass plate which was, until a quite recent
period, generally employed for the purpose.
Secondly, a length of small iron chain, made up
of twenty-six links, connected in the centre by a
twenty-seventh link of brass."