pages: practicalmagicia00harr.pdf, 52
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practicalmagicia00harr.pdf | 52 | 42 THE PRACTICAL MAGICIAN. one of their ears ; it will be heard "tic, tic; then holding it in his left hand and telling it to stop, they will also find that it does stop. You can pretend to doubt whether they are all deaf of one ear, but lastly may declare that this is caused by the obedi- ent disposition of the watch, which so orderly obeys your com- mand. Remind your audience that savages upon first seeing a watch believe it to be a living animal with power to think and act of itself 'At any rate," you may conclude, "the present watch seems to hear, to understand, and to obey my orders." : It will be an amusing addition to the above trick to say that you will now order the watch to fly away and conceal itself. You must for this purpose have provided yourself with an electro-plated locket resembling a lady's watch, and have two loaves ready in some convenient corner. When the watch has finished its "manual and platoon" exer- cise on the platform, you may say, "I will now place this watch visibly to all upon the table." Turn round to go to your table, and in walking to it, substitute the locket for the watch, and place the locket on some spot visible to all. It will not be dis- tinguishable from the watch by the spectators at six or eight yards' distance from them. Conceal the watch itself in the palm of your hand. You can now exclaim, "I require two loaves," and walking towards them, slip the watch into the one you have prepared with a slit in its side. Advancing to the audience, ask in which loaf they will prefer that you shall bid the watch fly. If they name the one in which you have concealed it, proceed to break open the loaf and find the watch. But suppose they name the wrong one: you then, remembering that the left hand of the spectators is your right hand, proceed with the true loaf, which- ever they have named, or manage to cross the position of the loaves as yon place them on the table. Then taking up the locket with your right hand, make Pass 1, as if transferring it to your left hand, but really retaining it in your right hond (as described in my first paper.) Blow upon your closed left hand, and say, "Watch, fly into that loaf.' Clap your hands. It is gone. Advancing to the loaf, get rid of the locket from your right hand: take up the loaf, break it open on the other side from that in which the locket was introduced, bring out the watch, and ap- peal to the lady to declare whether it is the same which she lent to you. TRICK 17. An experiment with a very mild dash of electricity in it, which will at any rate be a popular trick with most people that trv it. It will do for a small entertainment, or at any joyous party of |