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latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,41 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,110 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 110 | 94 LATEST MAGIC Thirdly, two shorter lengths of similar chain, consisting of thirteen links each, and a loose brass link, corresponding to the one in the centre of the longer chain. The complete chain is to be placed at the outset in the hinder compartment of the mirror glass, which should be of such a size that the chain nearly fills it. Lastly will be needed a bottle containing Eau de Cologne, of which a few drops have been poured on the chain in the glass. The patter may run to something like the fol- lowing effect. "You are doubtless aware, ladies and gentle- men, that electricity is now largely employed in the welding of metals. Of course to produce such a result on a large scale, such as welding guns, enor- mous strength of current is required; amounting in fact to millions of ampères, or volts, or ohms, or watts. I blush to confess I don't know which is which, but it's of no consequence. If I had ever SO many ampères, or the rest of it, I shouldn't know what to do with them. I am only able to manu- facture my electricity on a very small scale, but with the aid of a little magic, I get very good results. "You are also no doubt aware that when certain metals, particularly copper and zinc, are brought into close connection, an electrical current is set up between them. The same thing applies, in a | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,111 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 111 | "Now I am going to give these two chains an opportunity to convert themselves into that lucky number, by taking in this extra link, which as you perceive is brass, an opposition metal. Observe, I drop one of the chains into this glass. See that I do SO fairly. Then I drop in the single link, and lastly, the other piece of chain. And now, in order to set up an electrical reaction, I add just a few drops from this bottle of Eau de Cologne. As a matter of fact, a little salt and water would have | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,112 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 112 | 96 LATEST MAGIC the same effect, but I use Eau de Cologne because it smells nicer. And now I must ask the loan of some lady's handkerchief, to cover the glass, and concentrate the electric current." Holding the handkerchief in right hand, pick up the glass with left hand, and raise it a few inches from the table. In lowering it, cover it with the handkerchief, and at the same time give it the necessary half-turn. Take out your watch, and make believe to time the operation, remarking, "I find it needs a full half-minute, to allow the charm to work. Time! Let us see how we have suc- ceeded." Take off the handkerchief, and draw the chain slowly out of the glass. "Yes. All is well. I should say welded, and I trust you will say, 'Well done.' The chain is complete, and now consists of twenty-seven links, the lucky number. Perhaps some gentleman will verify the fact. "I must tell you frankly that I don't guarantee the correctness of my explanation. I can't say exactly how much the electricity has to do with it. I only know that if you go to work the right way, which means, do as I do, you gret the result, and there you are. This experiment always provokes a lot of discussion. The other evening one gentle- man said it was done this way. A lady said it was that way, and a sharp boy (the younger they are the more they know) was quite sure it was done another way altogether. But they were all wrong. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,113 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 113 | THE MISSING LINK 97 It is done just the way I have shown you, and if you do as I do, and say as I say, you will no doubt produce the same result.¹ If you don't, well, you will be no use as a conjurer, and you had better go into some other business." Some less instructed reader may possibly enquire, "But why the Eau de Cologne? What does that do?" Precisely nothing, and therein lies its virtue. As indicated in the section on "patter" (post) it often happens that some little bit of spoof, supererogatory in reality so far as the spec- tator is concerned, is accepted as covering the real key to the puzzle. This is a case in point. Taking it for granted that the Eau de Cologne would not be used without some reason, the spectator sets to work to discover that reason, and so gets farther from the real solution. CULTURE EXTRAORDINARY The root-idea of this item must be credited to Signor Antonio Molini, the inventor of the very effective stage trick known as Le Souper du Diable. The principle on which that trick is worked is so subtle, and withal SO simple, that it is surprising that it has not long since been applied to the production of less bulky objects than the tablecloth, eatables and drinkables which figure in 1 This last bit of patter is a plagiarism from somebody or other, I rather think the late Dr. Lynn. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,114 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 114 | 98 LATEST MAGIC the Satanic supper. The following is an applica- tion of the Signor Molini's idea on a scale better adapted to the drawing room. Requisites. (1) Three zinc or zinc-lined tubes, as a, b, c, in Fig. 15, ranging in height from about three inches A B C FIG. 15 upwards, and graduated in size so as to fit easily one within the other. (2) Three balls, one red and two white, of such diameter as to pass easily through the narrowest tube. Two smaller balls, one red and one white, about half an inch in diameter. (3) A box of matches. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,115 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 115 | and gentlemen, what a lot of hints I get from dif- ferent people for the improvement of my enter- tainment. If I were to adopt them all, I have no | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,116 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 116 | 100 LATEST MAGIC doubt it would be very fine indeed. The worst of it is that it would take a year or two to try them, SO for the present I am obliged to leave things as they are. "You will observe that I have here three tubes" (showing No. 1 and passing wand through it to prove it is empty), "quite ordinary tubes, with a hole at each end, and nothing at all between. I don't suppose you would notice anything to object to about them, but some people are so very par- ticular. A gentleman who said he had an artistic eye (I don't know which eye it was) said to me, 'Look here, Professor, that trick of yours would be ever SO much better if you had all those tubes the same size. That lot looks as if you had picked them up at a jumble sale.'¹ I explained to him, kindly but firmly, that there was a special reason for having the three tubes of different sizes; namely, that by so doing it was made possible" (suiting the action to the word) "to pass this one (No. 1) over this other (No. 2): ; and this again over the smallest one, thereby saving much space in packing. He said, "Never mind, you take my tip and make 'em all the same size.' I dare say he was right, but I haven't had time to do it yet." During this little harangue, which appears to be mere "spoof," you have practically worked the trick. Suiting the action to the word, you have passed the largest tube No. 1 over No. 2 and lifted 1 Rummage, | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,117 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 117 | CULTURE EXTRAORDINARY 101 it off again. In its downward movement the tube passes over the little hook on No. 2; but in lifting it off again its upper edge comes within the outer arm of the hook, and carries this off with the ball attached to it, leaving tube No. 2 empty. The lat- ter, shown empty accordingly, is passed over No. 3 and carries off its load in the same way. You have thus proved (!) in the most convincing way that all three tubes are empty, though as a matter of fact No. 3 is the only one in that con- dition, Nos. 1 and 2 each containing a suspended ball. The patter from this point may vary according to the fancy of the performer. If he has the knack of producing the appropriate combination of fact and fiction, it is preferable that he should do SO for himself. As I have elsewhere remarked, bor- rowed patter rarely comes SO "trippingly on the tongue" as that of which the performer can say with, let us hope, undue depreciation of his merits, "a poor thing, but mine own." The fable with which I should myself introduce the trick would run somewhat as follows: "You have all heard, ladies and gentlemen, of intensive culture, gooseberries grown while you wait, and that sort of thing. It is done by enclos- ing the seed, or the young plant, in a confined space and keeping it warm and comfy. It has always seemed to me that there is a good deal of magic about the process, and I thought I would like to | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,118 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 118 | 102 LATEST MAGIC try it myself, but it would be no good my trying to grow vegetables. I shouldn't have room to grow more than one radish, or one spring onion at a time, which would hardly be worth while. I finally decided to grow a few billiard balls, for use in my entertainment, and I'll show you how it's done. "You must please imagine that these three tubes are three hothouses on the new system." (Picks up and exhibits one of the little white balls.) "Of course everything has to be raised from seed in the first instance, but it would take too long to show you the whole process from the beginning, SO we will start with this little ball, grown from seed last night. In its present condition it is too small to be of any use, but by means of my intensive cul- ture we can soon make it grow larger. I will drop it into No. 1 forcing house." Performer shows little ball in right hand and makes believe to transfer it to the left, in reality rolling it, as in the well-known "Cups and Balls" trick, between the roots of the second and third fingers. The left hand, held above tube No. 1, makes the movement of crumbling an imaginary ball into it. "Now we will plant another in the same way." You pick up apparently another little white ball, but in reality the same; which has remained in the right hand. Now, however, it will be well to vary the sleight used, so you show the ball between the | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,119 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 119 | CULTURE EXTRAORDINARY 103 second finger and thumb of the left hand, and apparently take it back by means of the pincette or tourniquet; then professedly dropping it into the second tube. "And now, to complete the set, we shall have to grow a red ball. Here is a seedling of that col- our." You pick up the little red ball, and make believe to pass it after the same fashion into the third tube. "And now to supply the heat. We do not need much, the space being SO confined. I find that even the flame of a match is sufficient." You strike a match and move the flame round and round within the top of the larger tube till the thread catches fire and releases the ball. Should this be heard to drop, you account for it by remark- ing "I dare say you noticed a little explosion. That is caused by the sudden radio-activity of the component atoms re-arranging themselves in the expanded form." You raise the tube and show the ball: then go through the same process with the second tube. Under cover of raising this tube to show the ball, you get the large red ball from the vest into the left hand and palm it. "Perhaps you would like to watch the progress a little more closely." You pick up the third tube and place it upright on the palm of the left hand, in so doing introducing the palmed ball from below, and advance with it to the company. "The red balls are especially sensitive to heat. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,120 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 120 | 104 LATEST MAGIC Even the warmth of the breath is generally enough for these. Anyhow, we will try." You breathe into the tube, and lifting it show the ball, then offering both tube and ball for inspection. It will hardly be necessary to point out to the acute reader that the alteration of procedure in the case of the last tube is rendered necessary; first, by the fact that the tube up to that point contains no ball, and secondly in order to avoid the difficulty of striking a match with the right hand only, the left being otherwise occupied. The trick may appropriately be followed by the exhibition of a few of the usual ball sleights. If it is worked on a "black art" table it may be brought to an effective close by the "dematerialisa- tion," in succession, of the three balls. THE BOUNDING BEANS This is another application of the principle introduced by Signor Molini and utilised in the trick last described. The requisites for the trick are as follows: (1) Mirror glass; at the outset, empty. (2) Two tubes of cardboard, sheet brass, or zinc, as A and B in Fig. 17. The height and width of A are about 31/2 and 21/2 inches respectively. B is a little taller, but a trifle less in diameter. (3) A third tube, C, with its lower edge turned inward an eighth of an inch all around. This tube | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,121 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 121 | is a little shorter than A, and in diameter a trifle smaller than B, which must pass easily over it. Attached to either side of its upper edge, outside, are soldered two little wire hooks, the points on the outside directed downwards. (4) A coil of paper ribbon, of such size as to fit closely into the lower end of C, and forming, when A B c Fig. 17 so placed, a temporary bottom to it. The inner end of the coil must be drawn up an inch or so, so as to form a little cone in the centre. (5) A similar coil unwound into a loose mass of paper ribbon. (6) About three-quarters of a pint of haricot beans. Of these a sufficient number must be | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,122 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 122 | 106 LATEST MAGIC The remainder are to be brought forward on some sort of tray.¹ C loaded as last described, is to be placed within B. The trick may be introduced as follows: "Most of you, I dare say, have seen the little natural curiosity known as the Jumping Bean. To all appearance these are just like other beans; but if you spread a dozen or SO of them on the table and watch them carefully, you presently see one or more of them turn over, or even make a little jump. A young and lively bean will sometimes hop as far as half an inch. "Scientific gentlemen tell us that their agility is caused by a little insect inside the bean. When he wags his tail, or scratches himself with his hind leg, it causes the bean to turn over, or to make a hop. That seems to me rather a lame explanation because there is no hole in the bean that the insect could possibly have got in at. I believe myself, that they are in truth magic beans, and I have been trying to train some beans of my own to do the same thing on a larger scale, and in such a way that you can all see them do it. "Here are my beans." (Show those on tray.) "Examine them as much as you like. The more you examine them, the more you won't find any- 1 The little dishes of paper pulp sold for pienic purposes will be found to answer this and similar purposes excellently and have the further advantage of being exceptionally portable. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,123 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 123 | THE BOUNDING BEANS 107 thing particular about them. You won't notice any difference between them and any other beans, but as a matter of fact they are a good deal more energetic than beans of the ordinary kind, and when they get to know and love you, they will do all sorts of remarkable things. "I will pour a few of them into this glass." (The front compartment of the mirror glass is filled to about two-thirds of its height.) "To pre- vent their getting out again without your knowing it I will press them down with a handful of these pretty paper shavings." This is also done, the quantity of paper being SO regulated, in accordance with previous experi- ment, that when pressed down it shall come half an inch or SO below the brim of the glass. "To make matters still more secure I will ask the loan of a lady's handkerchief to cover the glass with." The handkerchief is taken in the right hand, the left meanwhile raising the glass a little way to meet it. In covering and lowering it again to the table the needful half-turn is made. "I will not touch the glass again until the experi- ment is finished. Meanwhile I want to call your attention to these two tubes. You will observe that one of them is slightly larger than the other. A gentleman told me the other evening that I was wrong in saying SO. He maintained that the one was smaller than the other. I didn't argue with | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,124 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 124 | 108 LATEST MAGIC him. I never do with that sort of man. It is just a question of the point of view. Anyhow, I had the one made larger, or the other one smaller, whichever way it is, SO that the one can go com- fortably over the other, like this." first carelessly moved about so as to show clearly that it is empty, is brought down over B and lifted off again, carrying off within it C and its load; after which B is in turn shown to be empty. "Now I am goong to order the beans to jump out of the glass and into one or other of these empty tubes, at your own choice. Right? or left? Which shall it be?" Performer asks the question standing behind his table, and by means of the familiar equivoque ("my" or "your" left or right) interprets the answer to mean A. "And now I have only to pronounce the proper magic spell. The trouble is to remember the right one. They are rather confusing, and if you hap- pen to pronounce the wrong one, or even pronounce the right one the wrong way, the consequences may be serious. But I think I know this one pretty well. 'Peripatetico-paticocorum.' I fancy I have got it right. I don't know quite what it means myself, and nobody seems to be able to tell me. A Japanese gentleman told me he thought it was Spanish, but a Spaniard said he felt sure it was Welsh. Somebody else suggested that I | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,125 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 125 | THE BOUNDING BEANS 109 should 'ask a pleeceman.' I did ask a policeman, and he said, 'Go I won't mention, but I don't think he meant it as a translation. My own idea is that it is a bit of Esperanto. Anyhow, it has the desired effect; for you see the beans have left the glass" (uncovering it and showing it empty), "and they have jumped into this tube, which is what I wanted them to do." The beans are poured from the tube into the vacant portion, now to the front, of the mirror glass, with due care that the coil at bottom shall not be seen. "But there's something wrong here. I must have made some little mistake in the pronunciation of the magic spell, for the paper seems to have dis- appeared as well as the beans. There is certainly no room for it in the tube. Here it is, though, or some of it." The paper is unwound, and when it comes to an end the wand is passed through A and C (now bottomless) together, again proving (?) that the former which is always shown to the spectators could not possibly have contained the beans in any natural way. A moment or two later the inner tube can easily be got rid of behind the mass of paper ribbon. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,126 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 126 | 110 LATEST MAGIC LOST AND FOUND This trick may be worked either upon a black art table or black art mat. We will assume that the latter is used. The requisites for this trick will in such case be as follows: 1. The mat. This may be a small circular one, a few inches in circumference without pocket. 2. A handkerchief, fourteen or fifteen inches square, of some gaudy pattern, carefully folded and placed in a square Japanese handkerchief box.¹ 3. A circular velvet patch as described ante, in the chapter dealing with novel applications of the Black Art principle. 4. A half-crown placed in a pochette, or other- wise so as to be readily get-at-able. Presentation. Performer opens the box and takes out the handkerchief, which he carefully unfolds, handling it as if it were something of extraordinary value. "I have here, ladies, a curio of an exceptionally curious kind. This is said to be the identical handkerchief which Othello gave to Desdemona, and which afterwards caused so much unpleasant- ness. No doubt you all know your Shakespeare, and will remember that Othello tells his wife, "There's magic in the web of it.' And there is 1 The handkerchief should be readily recognizable as a cheap and commonplace one. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,127 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 127 | LOST AND FOUND 111 magic in it still. Not so much as there was, I dare say, but still it retains a good many magical quali- ties. Among them is a curious talent for recover- ing lost property. For instance, I once had a dog. His name was Socrates, but he was generally called 'Socks.' In fact, he preferred it. He was a val- uable dog, because he combined SO many different breeds. He was partly pug, and partly grey- hound, and partly dachshund, and partly chow, and partly bull-dog and partly terrier, and partly of two or three other breeds that I can't for the moment remember. One day Socks went out to see a friend, and didn't come back again. I sat up all night for him with a stick, but he didn't come home till morning. In fact, he didn't come home even then. I thought I had lost him for good, and I was quite distressed about it. "Just when I was beginning to get over the loss I had a further shock. My precious Desdemona handkerchief was missing. But the very next day I heard a barking outside, and there was my dog with the handkerchief tied round his neck and three other dogs with him. The handkerchief had recovered them all. "You don't believe that little story. I thought you wouldn't. People never will believe anything a little bit out of the way. It is just the same with fish stories. I know a man who, when he was a boy, fishing in a pond with a maggot on a bent pin, caught a four-pound salmon. He didn't claim | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,128 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 128 | 112 LATEST MAGIC any credit for doing it. He says himself it was just an accident, and might have happened to any- body. But he never can get anyone to believe him, and it has spoilt his character. He was naturally a truthful man, but being always disbelieved has made him reckless, and now, whenever he tells the story he sticks another half-pound on to the sal- mon. I believe it is a fifteen pounder now.¹ "With regard to the handkerchief, however, I can easily prove to you that what I have stated is correct. I can't prove it quite in the same way, because even if any lady or gentleman present had lost a dog, it would take the handkerchief a day or two to find it, and you would get tired of waiting. So I must show you the virtues of the handkerchief in a simpler way. "Will some gentleman oblige me with the loan of a half-crown, marked SO that he can be sure of knowing it again? On receiving the coin the performer returns to his table, holding it on high SO that it can be seen that there is no substitution, and lays it on the black art mat. "Presently I propose to lose this coin, and get 1 This story, as also a few other "yarns" with which I have endeav- oured to brighten my otherwise serious pages, may be suppressed if it is thought desirable to shorten the patter. I ought perhaps to apologise for introducing such irrelevant fiction, but I am encouraged in misdo- ing by the example of the lamented Artemus Ward, who said that the best things in his lecture were generally the things that had nothing to do with it. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,129 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 129 | LOST AND FOUND 113 the handkerchief to find it, but first you would like, no doubt, to have a look at the handkerchief itself. Notice the richness of the pattern. It is said to be after a design in the Alhambra. I don't mean the Alhambra you gentlemen go to, but the real Moorish one in Spain. Leaving the handkerchief for the time being in the possession of a spectator he returns to the table, meanwhile palming the velvet patch, and the substituted half-crown, and ostensibly picks up the original, in reality rendering it invisible by laying the patch over it, and showing the substitute in its place, after the manner described at p. 19. He then advances to the company with the substi- tute coin and offers it to one or other of the spec- tators, remarking, "Take it, please, and pass it to one or other of your neighbours SO that I shan't know where it is."7 Under pretence of offering the coin, he passes it from the one hand to the other, and vanishes it by, say, the tourniquet, SO that the person holding out a hand to receive it gets nothing, and says SO. "What do you say, Sir? You have not got it? But surely, I have just handed it to you. You are not joking? Then it must have fallen on the floor. Please look around you a bit." (Pretends to do so himself.) "Not there? Well, this is extra- ordinary." (To the lender of the coin.) "I am very sorry, Sir. Your money is lost in a way I did not anticipate. But after all, when I come to | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,130 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 130 | 114 LATEST MAGIC think of it, it's of no consequence. The handker- chief will find it wherever it is, even if it has to follow it into somebody's pocket. By the way, where is the handkerchief?" He takes it from the person with whom it was left, and holding it by two of its corners, and showing both hands other- wise empty, lowers it down carefully over the black patch on table. "And now to work the spell. 'Bismillah! Bechesm! Salaam Aleikoum!' You must excuse my speaking Arabic, but that is the only language the handkerchief understands. I see that the gen- tleman who lent me the half-crown is looking a little bit anxious. Cheer up, Sir, the handkerchief has never failed me yet. But we must give it time. Say, half a minute." (Looks at watch.) "This is curious. Half a minute gone. One minute, and nothing has happened. The handkerchief has made no move. Something must have gone wrong. But stay If the handkerchief has not gone to the coin, perhaps the coin has gone to the handker- chief. Let us see!" He lifts the handkerchief by the centre, picking up the black patch with it, and thereby disclosing the coin, which is handed back on the mat to the owner. Then carefully folding up the handker- chief, performer replaces it in its box, and in so doing regains possession of the velvet patch, to be got rid of at a convenient opportunity. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,131 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 131 | LOST AND FOUND 115 THE RIDDLE OF THE PYRAMIDS This, in good hands, will be found a very effec- tive trick. I have the less hesitation in saying so, because the assertion is only to a very limited extent self-praise. The idea of the effect to be pro- duced was my own, as also to a certain extent the method of producing it. I had even got SO far as to devise, in anticipation, suitable patter. When, however, I proceeded to put my ideas into practice I found myself pulled up by unexpected obstacles. The object to be attained, as will be seen by the sequel, was the instantaneous re-adjustment of the sundered parts of a small pyramid, and this I pro- posed to do by means of the pull of a thread, fine enough to be practically invisible. Now, to make segments of a pyramid not only draw together, but sit squarely one upon another, it is necessary to have forces operating simultaneously in two dif- ferent directions, and the need for this caused diffi- culties which I found myself unable to cope with. Indeed, I had practically decided to content myself by producing a somewhat similar effect in a sim- pler way, as exemplified in the trick which I have called the Miracle of Mumbo Jumbo, which next follows. As luck would have it, however, I mentioned my difficulties to my good friend, Mr. Holt Schooling, a gentleman whom I have more than once had occasion to refer to in my writings in connection | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,132 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 132 | 116 LATEST MAGIC with some neat device. Mr. Schooling declared that the original idea was too good to be abandoned, and offered to try his hand at bringing it to a suc- cessful issue. I must frankly confess that I had no great hope of his success; but Mr. Schooling is a man of many talents. Apart from eminence in his own profession (that of actuary and statis- tician) he- is not only an expert amateur conjurer, Fig. 18 but an exceptionally skilful mechanic, and he possesses withal an unlimited capacity for taking pains. He used these qualities to such good pur- pose that I am enabled to include this striking effect among the contents of the present volume. The principal item of apparatus is naturally the pyramid itself, which is of blackened wood as illustrated in Fig. 18. For the sake of lightness it | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,133 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 133 | THE RIDDLE OF THE PYRAMIDS 117 is of necessity a small affair, being four inches in heiglt, about six across the base, and two across the top. It is divided into five horizontal slabs or segments, as indicated by the dotted lines. Mid- way on each side of each slab, at about half an inch distance from the upper edge, a minute hole is bored, parallel to the outer slope of the segment; exactness in this particular being an essential con- dition of success. Of the four holes in each slab, two only are actually used in the trick, the other two being added partly for the sake of uniformity, and partly to disguise the significance of the other pair. Each slab, save those at the top and bottom, is also perforated perpendicularly by three or four holes of considerable diameter, the object of these being merely to lessen the weight of the slab. In preparing the pyramid for use in the trick, a piece of plaited silk fishing-line, stained black, and in length five to six feet, is passed by the aid of a needle upwards through the small hole in one side of the largest slab; then in the same way through the corresponding hole in the next, and SO on till it comes out through the uppermost. Thence it is again passed downward through the next adjoin- ing hole in each slab till it comes out at the bot- tom, when the ends are drawn level and tied in a knot. The use of plaited silk fishing line for such pur- poses is one of Mr. Schooling's specialties, and is a "tip" to make a note of. Line of this kind is in | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,134 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 134 | 118 LATEST MAGIC proportion to its thickness much stronger than ordinary silk thread, and, not being liable to untwist, its surface remains permanently hard and smooth, a great desideratum where it is important to minimise friction. Further, it does not "kink" as a twisted thread is liable to do. Two other items of apparatus are used, viz.: (1) An electric torch in the shape of a wand, the light appearing at the end. Fig. 19 Fig. 20 (2) A little knife or cutter specially designed by Mr. Schooling for use in this trick. This consists of a half-inch length of a safety-razor blade, set in a handle consisting of a piece of tin one inch square, folded in half, and then bent back to a right angle on each side, the blade projecting along the line of juncture as shown in Fig. 19. In use the cutter is held by what may be called its backbone between the first joints of the first and second fingers of the extended hand, as shown in Fig. 20. This cutter must be placed ready to hand upon the | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,135 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 135 | THE RIDDLE OF THE PYRAMIDS 119 table. It is SO minute that there is no fear of its attracting attention.¹ In presenting the trick the pyramid, with its sec- tions duly threaded and placed one upon another, is brought in on a wooden board similar to an ordinary drawing-board, measuring twenty-four inches by sixteen, and like the pyramid itself, stained black. It is essential to the satisfactory working of the trick that the "base" section of the pyramid shall not shift when the thread is pulled. This is ensured by having two L shaped "stops" of thin wood glued or screwed to the board near the left hand corner nearest to the performer when in use. The trick may be introduced as follows: "I don't know whether any of you ladies and gentlemen are well up in Egyptology. I can't say I am, myself. I know a camel when I see one, but that is about as far as I have got. There is, how- ever, one point about it which has always inter- ested me very much. It is a point which has puz- zled not only the Egyptologists, but all the other ologists; namely, how the pyramids were built. They consist, as no doubt you know, of enormous masses of stone; so large that the cleverest engi- neers of our day cannot tell us how they were placed one upon another. If you can imagine the lifting of the Royal Exchange in one lump and dumping it down on the top of the Bank of Eng- 1 As a further precaution it should be painted flesh-color. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,136 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 136 | 120 LATEST MAGIC land, you will have some idea of the sort of job the Egyptian builders had to tackle.¹ Anyhow, the work was done, and as it is clear that it could not have been done by any known mechanical means, we are compelled to seek some other solu- tion of the problem. "I don't know whether any of you read novels. If you do, you must often have noticed the curious way in which fiction constantly anticipates fact. The novelist describes some utterly impossible thing, and a few years later some other fellow goes and does it. Jules Verne described a voyage under the sea long before the submarine was invented, and Mr. Wells wrote The War in the Air' while the aeroplane and the Zeppelin were still in their infancy. But there is one conception of the novelist which has not till now been made an accomplished fact. That is the force called 'Vril,' described by Lord Lytton in his novel, "The Coming Race.' He describes Vril as a sort of hyper-electricity capable in the hands of those who know how to gather and use it, of producing all sorts of wonders, even to removing mountains. Imprisoned in a wand and directed by a strong will, it will shrivel up an enemy or a wild beast as by a flash of lighting. "I have always had an idea that this must have been the force used by the Egyptians to build the 1 Before an American audience the names of any two well-known buildings in New York may be substituted. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,137 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 137 | THE RIDDLE OF THE PYRAMIDS 121 pyramids. I have managed to collect a small quantity of an unknown force which answers very closely to Lord Lytton's description of Vril, and I have charged this wand with it. As regards kill- ing things, I have only tested it SO far on a black beetle. The experiment was a success. He was blown to atoms, all but one hind leg. I should like to try it on a tiger; if I could get one cheap. Does any gentleman present know of a second- hand tiger in a good strong cage going cheap ? No? I was afraid you wouldn't. I am hoping however for a chance of trying it some night on a burglar. If a gentleman of the Bill Sykes per- suasion should steal into my chamber at dead of night with felonious designs upon my Waterbury and my collarstud, he will be as a dead man. I shall just point this wand at him and say 'Die,' and he will be merely a little heap of ashes to be swept up by the housemaid in the morning. "I can however give you an example of the power of my Vril as a motive force. I shall do so by using it to build or rather rebuild this little pyra- mid in your presence. "This is a correct copy of the real thing. It takes to pieces, as you see. One, two, three, four, five!" As he pronounces the last few words, the per- former, standing behind his table, picks up the pyramid, and holding it aloft in his right hand draws away the base from the other sections, slid- | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,138 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 138 | 122 LATEST MAGIC ing it along the thread, and "bedding" it between the "stops" at the left hand bottom corner of the board. He then slides the other portions, one by one, along the thread in the same way, laying them in a row diagonally across the board. This will have taken up a considerable portion of the thread, but there will still be a loop some inches in length hanging down near the left hand corner of the table. "Now please watch carefully. This wand, you will remember, has been carefully charged with my limitation Vril." While speaking these last words the performer gets one finger of his left hand within the loop. He now turns on the light at the end of the wand, and with it makes a quick sweep from right to left over the severed parts of the pyramid, making at the same time a half-turn away from the table, and quickly drawing away the thread. If this is done neatly the severed parts of the pyramid l'un together one upon the other in a single instant. It is probable that the parts may not sit exactly one upon another. Whether this is SO or not, the performer makes believe to notice that it is so, as it gives him a needful opportunity. He remarks: "The power was hardly strong enough, I see. There is a block here that needs a little straighten- ing up." Having meanwhile picked up the little cutter between the fingers he bends over the table and squares up the pyramid as may (or may not) | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,139 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 139 | THE RIDDLE OF THE PYRAMIDS 123 be necessary, and under cover of SO doing draws the blade across the thread where it crosses the top, thereby severing it, and then moving back a little to note the effect of his correction draws it away altogether. Shifting the restored pyramid to the centre of the board he brings all forward for examination. The severed thread is allowed to drop on the floor, to be picked up after the per- formance is over. THE MIRACLE OF MUMBO JUMBO The items needed for the presentation of this trick are as follows: (1) A miniature pagoda of quaint design. It consists of five circular sections, resting one upon another as illustrated in Fig. 21. The trick in effect consists of the automatic re-adjustment of these sections after being taken apart and shown lying apparently haphazard on a Japanese tray. For drawing-room use the pagoda is about six inches high and the same diameter across the base. For stage purposes it may be made a trifle larger. (2) The tray. This, for use with a pagoda of the size above mentioned, should be not less than twenty inches long by ten or twelve wide, and fairly heavy, as being less liable to shift in use. It must have an upright rim; through one corner of which a minute hole is bored, countersunk and polished on each side of the opening in order to | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,140 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 140 | 124 LATEST MAGIC diminish friction on a thread passing through it. (3) An electric torch in the shape of a bottle; the light showing itself at the mouth. (4) A black dress-hook, sewn point upwards to the lower edge of the performer's vest on the right FIG. 21 or left side, as may best suit his own position in working the trick, just where back and front meet. It will be found on examination of the pagoda that each of the parts of which it consists has a hole bored vertically through its centre. The topmost portion has in addition a pinhole passing horizon- |
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