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latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,14 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 14 | viii PREFACE Pocket-book, have been described in the columns of an English magical serial, but have never appeared in book shape, and are by special desire, included in the present volume. A final word on a personal matter. Had I been prophet, as well as magician, when I first began to write on conjuring, I should have chosen a dif- ferent pen-name. In the light of later events, my selection was unfortunate. My identity has long been an open secret, but as I cannot flatter myself that it is universally known, I take this opportun- ity to assure all whom it may concern that I am British to the backbone. LOUIS HOFFMANN. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,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,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,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,183 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 183 | inspection. The performer takes back the tram- way in the left hand, holding it by one end in such manner that it is gripped in the fork of the thumb, leaving the thumb itself comparatively free. Tak- ing back the ball with the right hand and remark- ing "Now to develop the force," he rubs it on his left coat-sleeve, and strokes the surface of the tram- way two or three times with it. "Having now established a proper degree of 'oddity' between the tram and the crystal, I will ask for the loan of a half-dollar (or florin as the case may be) marked in any way the owner pleases." He replaces the ball on the table, and in the act of again turning to the audience gets hold of the waxed disc and draws it away from the body, hold- ing it clipped between the ends of the first and sec- ond fingers, the left thumb pressing the thread against the cloth top of the tramway, and acting for the time being (and indeed throughout the trick) as a brake neutralising at pleasure the pull of the weight. He receives the coin on the tramway; then pick- ing it up with the right hand, makes some obser- vation as to the mark, meanwhile pressing the waxed side of the disc against it, then replacing it, disc down, in the middle of the tramway. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,145 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 145 | ing away farther from the table and moving about behind it SO as to cause a gradual pull upon the thread; the effect being that the severed parts of FIG. 23 the pagoda mount gradually one upon another in due order. It is probable that they will not rest exactly one upon the other. In any case the per- former affects to notice that they do not. Making a remark to that effect he steps close to the table to straighten them up, and under cover of so doing draws with the finger nail the pin in the uppermost portion, thereby releasing the thread. Stepping back again, as though the better to judge whether the pagoda is now "plumb," he thereby draws | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,203 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 203 | card is to be found on pages 1, 3 and 6: the key num- ber of these three pages being 1, 4 and 32: together making 37, and thirty-seven less twenty-six being eleven, he knows that the card must be the eleventh of the third suit, otherwise the knave of spades. If he is told that the card is on the third, fifth and sixth pages, the key numbers of which are 4, 16 and 32, total 52, it is clear that the card must be the last in the list, viz., the king of diamonds. So much for the working of the trick. But the reader, if of an. enquiring mind, will naturally ask, "How is this result obtained?' The answer rests upon a special property of the geometrical pro- gression which forms the six key numbers. It is a curious fact that by the use of these six numbers, either singly or in combination with others of the series, any number, from unity up to 63, can be expressed. Thus, the numbers, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 we already have, these being numbers of the series. As to other numbers: 1 + 2 = 3 4 + 1== 4 + 2== 6 4 + 2 + 1 = 7 8 + 1 = 9 | |
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,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,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,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,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,11 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 11 | TO J. N. MASKELYNE, ESQ. FOREMOST OF ENGLISH MAGICIANS, AND FEARLESS EXPOSER OF FALSEHOOD AND FRAUD THIS Book IS DEDICATED BY His FRIEND AND ADMIRER, THE AUTHOR | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,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,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,207 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 207 | THE WIZARD'S POCKETBOOK 191 to call attention by name to the cards exposed, and say, "When these three cards appear in conjunc- tion, it is clear that the card drawn was the queen of spades" (or whatever it may happen to be). Any one deluded, as the majority will probably be, into believing that you really infer the name of the drawn card from those on the table, will be farther from the real solution than ever. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,205 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 205 | THE WIZARD'S POCKETBOOK 189 ing on the same page, their appearing under these conditions making no difference to the calculation. I am indebted to an ingenious amateur, Mr. Victor Farrelly, for the idea of a novel method of using the pocket-book. Mr. Farrelly does not offer of his own accord to show what can be done with it, but keeps it in reserve, for use in a special emergency. Every conjurer meets now and then with the pig-headed person who absolutely declines to have a given card forced upon him, and persists in endeavouring to extract one from some other part of the pack. Armed with the pocket-book, the performer can set such a person at defiance, and indeed get additional kudos from his objectionable behaviour. He cheerfully gives up the struggle, saying"You seem to think, sir, that I wish to influence your choice in some way. To prove the contrary, I give the pack into your own hands. Shuffle it well. Thank you. Now take from it any card you please. Look at it, and put it in your pocket. You are satisfied, I presume, that I do not know that card? You are quite right. I have not the smallest idea of it, but I shall discover it without the smallest difficulty by a process of mathematical magic. I have here" (producing pocket-book) "a little book of six pages, on each of which thirty-six cards are illustrated. Will you kindly see whether the card you chose is represented among those on the first page? Meanwhile I will divide the pack, which | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,201 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 201 | THE WIZARD'S POCKETBOOK 185 43. Four of diamonds. 48. Nine of diamonds. 44. Five of diamonds. 49. Ten of diamonds. 45. Six of diamonds. 50. Knave of diamonds. 46. Seven of diamonds. 51. Queen of diamonds. 47. Eight of diamonds. 52. King of diamonds. The arrangement of the table being once under- stood, the number associated with any given card in the club suit suggests itself automatically, e.g., the seven of clubs is likewise No. 7 in the list. To ascertain the name of the card corresponding to any of the higher numbers, all that is needed is to subtract from that number 13, or such higher mul- tiple of thirteen as the case will admit, and the difference will represent its position in its own suit. Suppose, for instance, that the performer desires to know what card answers to the number 20. Deducting thirteen from 20, the remainder, 7, tells him that the card is the seventh (i.e. the seven) of the second suit, viz., hearts. If he wants to know the name of No. 29, he deducts 26, when the remainder, 3, tells him that the card is the three of the third suit, spades. If the card be No. 40, the number to be deducted will be 39, and the remainder, 1, tells him that the card is the first of the fourth suit, viz., the ace of diamonds. After a very few trials, this little exercise in mental arithmetic becomes so familiar that the calculation becomes practically instantaneous. Going a step further; with each of the six pages | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,199 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 199 | THE WIZARD'S POCKETBOOK 183 0 Fig. 41 P 8 Fig. 42 | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,197 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 197 | THE WIZARD'S POCKETBOOK 181 8 8 a 8 s 0 FIG. 37 V 8 a a Fig. 38 | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,219 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 219 | THE USE OF THE WAND CLOSELY connected with the subject of patter is the use of the wand, which in my own opinion can- not be too sedulously cultivated. To the cases in which the wand itself forms the prominent item of the trick, I devoted a special chapter in "Later Magic." To these therefore I need not further refer. More important, however, is the part played by the wand from the point of view of gen- eral utility. In the first place, it is the only remnant of the traditional outfit of the magician. Time was, when the regulation costume of the wizard was a sugarloaf hat, and a robe embroidered with highly coloured mystic symbols. Such a robe is still worn as part of their make-up, by Chung Ling Soo and a few other Orientals, but the orthodox costume of the latter-day wizard is ordinary evening dress. The wand alone remains; the symbol and the pro- fessed instrument of his mystic powers, and from its traditional connection with magic, there is a special prestige attached to it. For these reasons alone it would be desirable to retain the use of the wand, but apart from them, its practical uses are many and various. One of 203 | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,229 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 229 | THE USE OF THE WAND 213 hoist him up and drop him in the water-butt, or into the Red Sea, according to order. If the magician wanted a week at the seaside, he had no need to pay railway fare. The familiar would just pick him up, house and all, and land him gently in the middle of the mixed bathing. The only draw- back was that, sooner or later, a time came when there was no performance, because the magician had been carried off by his familiar on a pitchfork. "As the French say, nous avons changé tout cela, Familiars are as extinct as the dodo. Per- haps it's as well, but it makes it very much harder to be a magician. In the first place you must know all about astrology, anthropology, Egyptology and all the other ologies. You must be well posted in mathematics, hydrostatics, pneumatics and numis- matics. You must know all about clairvoyance, palmistry and thought reading, sympathy and antipathy, magnetism, mesmerism, wireless teleg- raphy, X rays and all the other kinds of rays. Of course you must be well up in Greek and Latin, and a little. Hebrew, not to mention a few other things which I forget for the moment, but I won't stop to think of them now. When you have stud- ied these little matters fourteen hours a day for nine or ten years, you will be as 'chock-full of science' as old Sol Gills himself, and you will be able to do all sorts of wonderful things, some of which I hope to show you this evening. "Before I begin, there is just one little matter | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,227 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 227 | THE USE OF THE WAND 211 His skill in sleight-of-hand, which he had in the first instance taken up merely as a pastime, proved to be of immense service to him in his desert wan- derings; adding not only to his popularity but fre- quently gaining for him the prestige of a genuine magician, and thereby increasing his influence. In 1871 he was appointed to the professorship of Oriental languages at Cambridge, his official title being the Lord High Almoner's Reader of Arabic. In 1882, in anticipation of the Arabi trouble in Egypt, he was entrusted by the then Government with the difficult and dangerous task of winning over the Sinaitic tribes, and preventing the threat- ened destruction of the Suez Canal. His first trip, extending from Gaza to Suez, was carried out successfully, but on penetrating farther into the desert, he and his two companions, Captain Gill, R.E., and Lieutenant Charrington, R.N., fell into the hands of a tribe to whom Palmer was unknown, and were barbarously put to death. Happily, their bodies were recovered, and received from the nation the posthumous honour of burial in St. Paul's Cathedral. The wand presented to me by Professor Palmer is a curiosity in many ways. It is made of acacia wood (the "shittim" wood of the Old Testament) brought by Palmer himself from Mount Lebanon. Around it, in spiral form, is inscribed an invoca- tion from the Koran, in Arabic characters. The writing of the inscription is a genuine work of art, | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,225 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 225 | THE USE OF THE WAND 209 portions of one-while walking-sticks, promoted to a nobler use. Mr. J. N. Maskelyne's "wand" is an ordinary file, which, from the inventor point of view, he regards as the greatest of wonder-work- ing appliances. My own contribution may claim to be of excep- tional interest, not merely as being in itself a curio, but as a memento of a very remarkable man, SO remarkable, indeed, that a brief notice of his career may be interesting. It was presented to me by Professor Palmer, a gentleman who was not, like myself, a bogus professor, but the real thing, and withal an exceptionally eminent man. Skill in sleight-of-hand was the least of his accomplish- ments. He had a marvellous gift of tongue, there being scarcely a European or Oriental language with which he was not thoroughly familiar. He was born at. Cambridge in 1840, and from his earliest years showed indications of his peculiar gift for acquiring languages. As a school-boy he made friends among the gipsies, and learned to speak their queer language so perfectly as to deceive even those to whom it was their native tongue. In later life it was a favourite joke of his to saunter, in company with his equally accom- plished friend, Leland, into some gipsy encamp- ment where they were not known, and after pay- ing their footing by having their fortunes told, to ask some of the nomads gathered round the fire, to talk a little Rommany for their benefit. Gip- | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,223 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 223 | THE USE OF THE WAND 207 even though he be a Past Grand Everything, knows no more than the veriest outsider. When in this direction there were no more mys- teries left for him to conquer, Dr. Ellison natur- ally turned his attention to Magic: and in accord- ance with his habitual determination to know all that there is to be known with regard to his hobby for the time being he began to collect books upon the subject. At first there were but few to collect, but the literature of magic has grown, and grown, and side by side with its advance Dr. Ellison's col- lection has grown larger and larger till it numbers some hundreds of volumes. Harry Kellar, the dean of American magicians, and himself an enthusiastic collector, yearned to possess it, and offered the doctor for it the handsome sum of two thousand dollars, equivalent in English money to about four hundred pounds. But Dr. Ellison was not to be tempted. In order that the collection should be preserved intact, he donated it, some years ago, to the New York Public Library, also providing a fund for its upkeep and further devel- opment. But Dr. Ellison's interest in, and services to Magic did not end here. He has made a collection of models, entirely the work of his own hands, of the appliances for over sixty stage illusions. Some are of full size, others quite miniature affairs, but one and all exact to scale. Further, the doctor has a special affection for souvenirs of | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,221 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 221 | THE USE OF THE WAND 205 produced. There is much virtue in what may be called a magical atmosphere, and after the wizard has proved his magical power by performing two or three apparent impossibilities, the mind of the spectator (though in his calmer moments, he knows, or should know, better), is led to adopt in a greater or less degree the solution "forced" upon him by the conjurer. Habitual use of the wand, with apparent seriousness, goes far to create the desired atmosphere. A good effect may be produced by "electrifying" the wand now and then, by rubbing it with a hand- kerchief. The main uses of electricity are so widely known, and so little understood by the mil- lion, that they are quite ready to give it credit for still more marvellous possibilities. My friend Mr. Holt Schooling, mentioned in connection with The Secret of the Pyramids, finds an additional use for the wand. He uses, not one only, but half a dozen, of different appearance, each credited with some special magical virtue. At the outset of his show these are arranged horizontally, one above another on pins projecting from a small sloping blackboard. For each fresh trick the wand professedly appropriate to it is brought into action, the one last used being at the same time replaced on the stand. The spectators do not sus- pect that behind each top corner of the board is a small servante, enabling the performer, under cover of the change of wands, to change a pack of | |
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,151 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 151 | THE STORY OF THE ALKAHEST 135 him. No I feared not! Another pretty ex- periment is the dissolving of a diamond ring, but I have no diamond rings myself, and I find that if I borrow other people's and don't return them I get myself disliked. So I must try to show the power of the Alkahest in a less expensive way." Returning to his table, the performer with his right hand picks up the prepared wand (holding it SO as to conceal the ribbon coiled upon it), and with the left hand the mass of loose ribbon. "I have here a piece of ribbon : just ordinary ribbon. Will some lady oblige me by tying a knot in it, about three inches from the end. Thank you! Now will some other lady tie another knot about three inches from the first one." This is repeated till five or six knots have been tied, taking up about half the ribbon. "I am not sure how many knots have been tied. Please count them for me as I roll the ribbon round my wand." So saying, he winds the ribbon, beginning with the knotted end, on to the free portion of the wand, counting the knots as he does so, and continuing the winding till the whole has been taken up. In so doing he takes care to cover up the knots, and to make the appearance of the rolled ribbon cor- respond as nearly as possible with the hidden coil upon the other end, finally securing it with the rub- ber ring from his pocket. We will suppose that five knots are found to | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,149 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 149 | THE STORY OF THE ALKAHEST 133 ing ladies something to put in their husbands' tea. History doesn't say what. Let us hope it was only sugar. Well, this old gentleman managed to get hold of the recipe for making the Alkahest. Whether he found it out himself, or whether he cribbed it from the cookery-book of some other alchemist, I can't say. Anyhow, he got it; and he made up some of the stuff and put it in that bottle. "When he was just going to be burnt as a wiz- ard, which was the regular thing with scientific men in those days, he handed the bottle to his eld- est son, my great-great-grandfather seventeen times removed, saying, "Take it, my son, and may it do you more good than it has done me.' "My great-great-grandfather took the bottle; but he had no idea what it contained. He was just going to ask his father what the letters on it meant, but just at that moment the old gentleman flared up, and it was too late. For the rest of his life my great-great-grandfather puzzled his head as to what those two letters H R stood for, but all he could think of was "horse-radish,' and he knew it couldn't be that. "Since that the bottle has been handed down in our family for sixteen generations, till at last it came to the hands of my Uncle James, and he puz- zled over those letters like the rest. Uncle James was a bit of a "nut,' and prided himself on his fine head of hair, but in course of time he found he was | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,147 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 147 | THE STORY OF THE ALKAHEST 131 (2) Two pieces of ribbon, three-quarters to one inch wide, alike in colour. Of these, one piece is to be wound round the end of wand No. 2 at about three inches from the end, and secured by a rub- ber ring, of the solid kind used for holding together the ribs of an umbrella. This wand, after being "switched" for the unprepared one, must be SO placed upon the table that the end on which the ribbon is wound shall be masked from view by the second piece of ribbon, lying in a loose heap in front of it. (3) A stoppered bottle of clear glass, preferably of some ornamental or quaint design. This bears a label, of discoloured and time-worn appearance, with the letter H R written on it in crabbed but distinct characters, and is about half-filled with Eau de Cologne or lavender water, to which a few grains of cochineal have been added, giving it a rich ruby colour. So far as the working of the trick is concerned plain water might be used, but a coloured and scented liquid is preferable for the sake of effect. (4) A spare rubber ring, of the kind above described, placed in left-hand vest-pocket. fessedly picked up again, but as a matter of fact is pushed forward by the tips of the fingers, and takes the place of the prepared wand, which is picked up in its stead. A pack of cards may be "changed" for another after a similar fash- ion, the first finger and thumb picking up the faked pack, while the unprepared pack is pushed forward by the second and third fingers into the place it occupied. | |
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,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,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,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,161 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 161 | THE ORACLE OF MEMPHIS 145 ourite plaything of Helen of Troy. Historians do tell such tarradiddles that one doesn't know what to believe. "The powers of the Oracle are limited, for it will only answer eight questions, and in its own way, but its answers are quite trustworthy-well, per- haps not quite. Let us say as trustworthy as those of Bond Street fortune-tellers at a guinea a guess. Who will be the first to test its veracity ? "I should mention, by the way, that, as each answer exhausts a certain amount of power, the same question must not be asked more than three times. You would like to consult the Oracle, Madam? Then please select one of the questions on this card, and read it out for the information of the Company. "You wish to know" (repeating question). "Good. The answer to your question will be found on one or other of the cards in this pack, and the Oracle will tell us which one to look for. First, however, I must ask you to breathe into this glass. That supplies the missing link, SO to speak, and makes it a sort of personal affair between you and the Oracle." (This is done.) "Thank you. Now I shall place the glass on its stand, and this little pointer" (holding it up and placing it on its pivot) will reveal the correct answer, first indicating the suit among which the answer is to be found. You may notice that it wobbles a bit at first. That is because it is think- | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,159 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 159 | THE ORACLE OF MEMPHIS 143 Ten of Spades. Not likely. " Clubs. It is like your cheek to wish for it. 5. What am I thinking about at this moment? Jack of Diamonds. A new hat. " Hearts. Servants. " Spades. You wouldn't like me to tell. " Clubs. That it is a long time between drinks. 6. What shall I do to get health? Queen of Diamonds. Don't think about it. " Hearts. Keep smiling. " Spades. Take Podger's Purple Pills. " Clubs. Eat less. 7. How old am I? King of Diamonds. Just right, don't get any older. " Hearts. Whatever you are, you don't look it. " Spades. You never tell, so I won't. " Clubs. Old enough to know better. 8. What shall I be this time next year Ace of Diamonds. A year older. " Hearts. A trifle stouter. " Spades. A year wiser. " Clubs. Bald as a baby. It will be found on comparing them that the answers are arranged on a regular system, those on the red cards being of a more or less complimen- tary nature, or otherwise favourable; the black suits less so, particularly the clubs, which are | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,157 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 157 | THE ORACLE OF MEMPHIS 141 the two ends of the ribbon, and so arranged in point of length that when the glass is suspended from the forefinger, as in the diagram, the thumb and second finger of the operator shall be just right for moving it round in either direction, the little knot guiding him by feel to bring it to the desired point. not C FIG. 28 The exhibitor is not limited to any particular set of questions and answers. At the cost of a fresh pack of cards and a little ingenuity, he can | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,153 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 153 | THE ORACLE OF MEMPHIS 137 THE ORACLE OF MEMPHIS This is of the nature of a magical toy rather than a conjuring trick proper, but its exhibition may form a pleasant interlude in the course of a social entertainment. I invented it at an early O b Fig. 24 stage of my magical career, and exhibited it on various occasions for the amusement of friends, but made no further use of it. The apparatus has been put aside, and has been out of sight, out of mind, for many years past. Coming across it acci- dentally some short time ago, I was agreeably sur- prised to find that it would still answer questions as promptly, and doubtless as truthfully, as of yore. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,195 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 195 | THE MYSTERY OF THE THREE SEALS 179 find by no means difficult of execution, though it will need some little practice to work it neatly. While the second envelope is being opened, get the trick envelope from the pochette into the right hand, clipping it against the second and third joints of the second and third fingers, with the "seal" side turned away from them. When the genuine envelope is handed to you receive it with the left hand, and immediately transfer it to the right, pushing it between the fingers and the palmed one, with the seal facing in the same direction. The moment it is masked by the fingers push the trick envelope outward with the thumb, bringing this into view in its place. Smartly executed the change is instantaneous and cannot possibly be detected. The apparent object of passing it from hand to hand is to have the left hand empty and SO free to take back the penknife from the last holder. From this point all will be easy, as it is the trick envelope which is now alone in view, and all you have to guard against is any accidental exposure of the one now hidden in the hand. This description may justly appear somewhat long-winded, but its length is occasioned by the number of small details demanding notice. In performance, the trick should not take, at most, more than ten minutes. The introductory patter may of course be shortened at pleasure. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,193 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 193 | THE MYSTERY OF THE THREE SEALS 177 hands into the innermost envelope. But I don't expect you to take my word for it. Will you, sir" (any given spectator) "open the outermost envel- ope, first, however, satisfying yourself that it is still securely sealed ?" It is just possible, though not very likely, that the person to whom the envelope and penknife have been handed may notice, and remark audibly, that he cannot feel any coin in the envelope. If such a remark is made, you reply that the coin naturally had to be de-materialised before it could pass into the envelope, and it will take a few minutes for it to re-materialise, but it will become gradually more solid, and will then be distinctly perceptible. The outer envelope having been opened you take back its contents, and under pretext of getting as many witnesses as possible to fair play, have the next envelope opened by a second person, seated at some little distance from the lender of the shill- ing. The last named gentleman is invited himself to open the last envelope, or rather, the trick envel- ope, which you in transit substitute for it. Having already opened a precisely similar envelope, and found it securely fastened, he is not likely to antici- pate anything different about this one. If he uses the penknife and euts it open along the edge of the flap in the usual way he will naturally hold it with the thumb upon the seal and all will be well. As a rule, he will be more concerned to identify the coin as the one he lent than to seek for any sus- | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,191 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 191 | THE MYSTERY OF THE THREE SEALS 175 in the other hand: "I have here two envelopes, or, to be exact, six envelopes, for each of those you see contains two more, one within the other: all carefully sealed. I am going to pass the coin this gentleman has lent me into the innermost of one or other of them, I don't care which, for they are exactly alike, so I shall leave the choice to your- selves." While you are speaking as above the disengaged hand slips the genuine coin into the trick envelope, closes it, pressing the flap well down, and palms it, dropping it a moment or two later into a pochette till needed. "You decide for this envelope? Just as you please. As the other will not be needed I will ask somebody to open it, and bear witness that things are exactly as I have stated." Leaving the chosen envelope on the table in full view and bringing forward the other, have the lat- ter opened by some member of the company with the penknife. Hand the envelope produced from it, with the knife, to a second spectator, to be dealt with in like manner. When the innermost is reached, have this opened by the lender of the marked coin : this apparent proof of good faith tending to make him less critical when, at a later stage, he is invited to do the same with the trick envelope. "Nothing could be fairer, could it ? You will all agree that it would have been impossible to intro- | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,189 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 189 | THE MYSTERY OF THE THREE SEALS 173 George the Third, I can't say I do myself. He was. before my time, but there is a funny little story told about him. One day when out for a walk, he went into a farmhouse where he found the family having their dinner. One dish consisted of apple- dumplings, and the question crossed the King's mind, 'How on earth did the apples get into the dumplings? He didn't like to ask, but he couldn't get the puzzle out of his head. He thought about it SO much and it worried him SO that at last he went clean out of his mind. He became non compos mentis, which is the doctors' polite way of saying dotty. "I mention this story by way of a caution. What I am goong to show you is ever SO much more incom- prehensible than any number of apple dumplings; in fact, SO extra-extraordinary that if anybody here was the least bit 'excitable and I sprung it upon him unawares he might go dotty like old Georgie. So if any of you feel at all nervous, don't hesitate to go home, or you can go and sit on the stairs till this particular experiment is over. Nobody moves! I am pleased to find that you are all SO strong-minded, but if anything happens don't blame me. "I have known strong men ; men of massive intel- lect, like myself, come here with a smile on their faces, but when they left the smile was replaced by an air of grim determination. You could see at a glance that they had made up their minds to find | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,187 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 187 | THE MYSTERY OF THE THREE SEALS 171 "trick" envelope. This is of the same size and kind as the innermost of the nested envelopes but has undergone special preparation as follows: Taking two ordinary envelopes, cut round the edges of one of them with a penknife, completely dividing back from front. Take the plain or non- flap side of the one SO treated, lay it squarely under FIG. 36 the flap of the other, and stick the flap down upon it in the ordinary way: then add a seal of red wax, as closely as possible corresponding in appear- ance with the two seals of the innermost of the nested envelopes. Lastly, cut away the super- fluous paper round the seal and the edges of the flap. The envelope will now be shown as in Fig. 36, and when closed will have the appearance of an envelope sealed in the ordinary way, though it | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,185 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 185 | THE MYSTERY OF THE THREE SEALS 169 now moved away from himself, and the pressure of the brake being relaxed, the coin is now drawn in the same direction. "Quod erat demonstrandum," as our old friend Shakespeare (or was it Euclid) used to say." (To the lender of the coin.) "You must take care of this coin, Sir; it is now charged with a minute quantity of the 'od' force, and SO long as you keep it you can never be 'stony-broke.' I will show you just one more effect with it before I return it to you." While speaking, he has carelessly picked up the coin, and replaced it on the inner side of the screw SO that this shall be no longer encircled by the thread. Picking up the match box from the table, he pushes out the "tray" portion with the fore- finger; then throwing aside the outer case, he picks up the tray, and inverts it over the coin. "I will now show you that the 'od' force still operates even though it is cut off from any direct connection with the subject of the experiment: but in this case a little more power is required." So saying he rubs the glass ball again on his coat- sleeve, and, moving the ball accordingly, causes the coin to travel towards him, the matchbox natur- ally moving with it. In again picking up the coin, to return it to the owner, he detaches it from the disc, which flies back to its original resting-place. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,171 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 171 | THE MYSTERY OF MAHOMET 155 becomes very sensitive to colour. I will just give the ball a rub with this red silk handkerchief and drop it into the tube again." Drop in white ball after rubbing, keeping tube closed; then raise it and show red ball at bottom. "Here it is again, you see, but it has taken the colour of the handkerchief and is now a rosy red, a sort of maiden's blush; the blush of a very shy maiden. Unfortunately maiden's blush is not a fast colour, unless it's the wrong kind; the kind that's rubbed in with a powder puff. This kind soon gets pale again. I rub the ball again, this time with a white handkerchief, and again drop it into the tube." Drop in red ball, tube closed, lift and show white ball, under cover of its appearance transferring tube to opposite hand and allowing red ball to run back into palm to be got rid of a moment later. "I think I heard a lady say, 'Where is the red ball ? This is the red ball, at least it was the red ball a moment ago. There is no other, for, as you see, the tube is empty." Again drop tube over candle as in Fig. 30. Pass ball from hand to hand and finally make believe to swallow it, meanwhile dropping it into the pro- fonde. "After being treated like this the ball becomes so volatile that I used to be always losing it. But I never lose it now. I just swallow it and then I | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,169 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 169 | THE MYSTERY OF MAHOMET 153 table and drop the ball in once more. Where is it now' ? On the table, you say. Quite right: here it is."7 (Lift tube, closing it, and placing it on end beside ball.) "But now I take a few handfuls of air and press them well down into the tube" (makes believe to do so), "and I drop the ball in again. This time you see it does not fall through. As a matter of fact it has stopped halfway, resting on the compressed air in the tube." (Lift tube, showing that the ball has not passed through. After replacing the tube switch the wire loop to the horizontal position, allowing the ball to drop inside the tube.) "I think there can be no doubt that this is the way Mr. Home, the medium, man- aged to float about with his head in the air and his feet on the mantelpiece. All that was needed was a few pints of compressed air in his tail-pockets. It's quite simple, when you know how it's done. "Of course, as the tube is open at the top, the effect doesn't last very long. The compressed air gradually expands again and becomes too thin to support the ball any longer. I dare say by this time it has done so."7 (Lift tube, exposing ball, and re-closing tube). "Yes, here it is." "I can keep the air from escaping to a certain extent, because I happen to have a very strong won't. A strong will is a good thing to have, but sometimes a strong won't is even more useful. Once again I will fill the tube with compressed air." (Make believe to do so, then pick up the closed | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,167 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 167 | THE MYSTERY OF MAHOMET 151 other people. His coffin was placed in a mosque, where it hangs in the air like a captive balloon, about twenty feet up, resting on nothing at all. I am not certain as to the exact height from the ground, but that is what the Moslems say, and they would hardly tell a story about a little thing like that. It has always been a mystery what keeps the prophet up aloft. Some say it is done by mes- FIG. 30 merism, some say by magnetism, and one old gen- tleman declared it was done by mormonism. No doubt, when you come to think of it Mahomet was a bit of a Mormon. But they are all wide of the mark. As a matter of fact the coffin rests on a slab of compressed air. It's quite simple, when you know it. I haven't a coffin handy, but by means of this little tube I can show you the effect of the same principle on a smaller scale. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,165 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 165 | THE MYSTERY OF MAHOMET 149 switch to right or left, raises the loop to a hori- zontal position against one or other of the sides of the tube, when it no longer offers any obstacle to the passing of the ball. The wire used is SO thin that with the halfhoop lying against its side a spec- tator may safely be allowed to look through the tube even at a very short distance, without fear of his perceiving the presence of the wire. The requirements for the trick, all told, are as follows: (1) The wand. (2) The plain tube. (3) The trick tube. (4) Two white balls. (5) A red ball. (6) A lighted candle. (7) A small red silk handkerchief. One of the white balls must be vested or other- wise so placed as to be ready for production from the wand. The second white ball and the red ball are stowed in the pochettes, one on each side. The faked tube may be vested and exchanged for the plain one during the journey back to the table after the dummy has been tendered for inspec- tion; the latter being dropped into the profonde. These however are matters which the expert will arrange after his own fashion. If the perfor- mer, not being an expert, doubts his ability to | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,163 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 163 | THE MYSTERY OF MAHOMET 147 down, the internal diameter of the tube is very slightly narrowed, forming a sort of "choke," SO that a ball dropped into it at the upper end does not fall right through, as one would naturally expect, but stops at that point, wedging itself lightly, SO that the tube can be reversed without any fear of the ball falling out, though it can be instantly driven out by bringing down the tube smartly on the table, or by very slight pressure behind it. The other part of the secret lies in the fact that two balls are in reality used, the existence of the second being of course unknown to the spectator. The tube being loaded as above mentioned, i.e. hav- ing the one ball wedged in it just below the choke, if the duplicate is dropped in from above it will apparently fall through, though as a matter of fact this ball comes to a standstill in the tube above the choke, while the other is driven out at the bottom. The secret use of this second ball enables the per- former to produce sundry surprising results in the way of appearances and disappearances. The possibilities of the trick in this form are however speedily exhausted, and it has a serious drawback in the fact that it is necessary to invert the tube afresh before each production, as it is obvious that a ball contained in it must be brought below the choke before it can be produced. I had at one time rather a fancy for the trick, but it seemed to me that it was capable of a good deal of | |
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,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,31 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 31 | THE MISSING CARD 15 Let us make sure first, though, whether he has really left the other pack." Picking up pack A, he counts the cards slowly, not looking at them himself, but showing the face of each before laying it on the table. "Stop me, please, if you see the knave of diamonds." He counts, "one, two, three, four,' and so on to the end. "Fifty-one cards only! Then there is one card missing, and as you have not seen the knave of diamonds, and as all the other cards are here, it is plain that it is he who has left the pack. We have still to find out whether he has obeyed orders, and gone over to the other pack. You wished him to place himself seventh, I think. I won't touch the cards myself. Will some gentleman come for- ward, and count them off for me?" (This is done.) "The seventh card is really the knave of diamonds, is it not ? "But, you may say, this might be the knave properly belonging to this pack. Please look through the pack, sir, and if there has been no deception you will find the proper knave in some other part of it. You have found the other knave ? Then you will admit that that proves clearly that this first one is the identical card the lady drew." 1 It would be easy to give other combinations dependent on the use of the adhesive principle, but 1 A somewhat more elaborate trick of mine on the same principle (The Elusive Card) will be found described in the Magazine of Magic, Vol. II, pp. 13, 47. | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,29 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 29 | THE MISSING CARD 13 temporarily for the time being in view on the table. The next step is to pick up pack A, and force from it the knave of diamonds, receiving it back on top of the prepared card, passed to the middle of the pack for its reception. Squaring up the pack and applying the necessary pressure, the performer offers it to be shuffled, meanwhile delivering him- self to something like the following effect. "Before going further, ladies and gentlemen, I want you to remember exactly what has been done. A card has been chosen from this pack. It has been put back again, the cards have been shuffled, and you can all bear witness that I have not touched them since. Nobody knows, except the lady who chose it, what card she chose. Whereabouts in the pack it may be at this moment not one of us knows, even the lady herself. I can assure you truthfully that I don't, but I propose, by force of magic, to compel that card, whatever it may be, to leave that pack altogether, and pass into the other one. Nay, more than that, I shall com- pel it to place itself at any number in that pack you like to name. What shall we say ? Seventh: Good. "Now please bear in mind that that pack, like the other, has just been shuffled, and that I have not touched it since. It is therefore manifestly impossible that I should know the position of any card in it. Of course, as there is already a knave of diamonds in the pack, it is just possible, though | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,143 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 143 | THE MIRACLE OF MUMBO JUMBO 127 "I mention these little matters in order to give you an idea of the place, in case any of you might like to take a week-end trip there. If you are old and tough, you might risk it. If you are young and tender, you had better not. "The special point of interest is a curious pagoda in the centre of the village. It is seventy-five feet high and is supposed to be the habitation of Mumbo Jumbo; a sort of deputy devil, much respected in those parts. This little model is an exact copy of it. You can't call it pretty, but there is a very remarkable thing about it. When the king dies (which happens by accident about once a fortnight), the pagoda is pulled down, and if the new king is acceptable to Mumbo Jumbo (which depends upon the amount of his tip to the chief witch doctor) old Mum rebuilds it himself by magic. You don't see him do it. The pagoda just sits up and paws the air, so to speak If Mumbo does not approve, the proposed king gets a knock on the head with a cocoa-nut, and some more liberal Golliwogg is crowned instead. "I naturally wanted to know how the miracle was worked; and I managed to buy the secret from one of the witch doctors. He sold it to me for a pair of sixpenny-half penny sock suspenders. He didn't wear socks, but that didn't matter. He put the suspenders on at once and strutted about, as proud as a dog with three tails. "Now, I am going to tell you the secret. Scien- | |
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,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,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,25 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 25 | THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS 9 One of them was my own. The other I had bor- rowed-from under the seat. You don't believe it? Well, I said you wouldn't. I always know! "But that is not all. It isn't only the bad effect on the conjurer's own morals, and sometimes on the hat. People are SO careless. They do leave such funny things in their hats. Cannon balls and birdcages; babies' socks and babies' bottles; rab- bits and pigeons, and bowls of fish, and a host of other things. And just when you are going to pro- duce some brilliant effect, you are pulled up short by finding some silly thing of that sort in the hat. It's most annoying. "So, after thinking it over, I made up my mind to do away with hats altogether. Of course I don't mean for putting on people's heads, but so far as conjuring is concerned, and it struck me that a pretty flower-pot, like this, would form a capital substitute." (Show as one, the combined pots, inside and out.) "Much nicer than a hat, don't you think? It is prettier, to begin with, and then again, you can see right through it, and make sure there is no deception. You see that at pres- ent the pot is perfectly empty. "But no! I scorn to deceive you. I am like George Washington, except that I haven't got a little axe. I cannot tell a lie. At least it hurts me very much to do so, and I don't feel well enough to do it now. No! It is useless any longer to dis- guise it! The pot is not really empty, for you see | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,23 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 23 | THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS 7 being self-evident, but it has a pretty effect, and the exhibiting of the two pots as one in the first instance admits of the presence, within the outer one, of a secret pocket, open at top, as depicted in Fig. 7, but folding down, when not in use, flat against its side.¹ 0 o 0 0, FIG. 7 The main object of this pocket is to enable the performer to "vanish" a card. The card to be got rid of is dropped ostensibly into the flower- pot, or rather, the pot being bottomless, through it on to the table, where, when the pot is lifted, the spectators naturally expect to see it. It has however disappeared, having in fact been dropped into the pocket, where it remains concealed. Two, or even three cards may on occasion be dealt with in the same way. By covering the pocket with the 1 It is extremely difficult to construct the "pots" so that the pocket is workable on the concave inner surface, but if they are made four, five or six-sided the pocket folds against a flat surface and works perfectly.-ED, | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,21 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 21 | THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS 5 upon it, turn the mat over, and wave it about freely. If the coin adheres securely, the mat is in working order. THE FAIRY FLOWER-POTS These are, strictly speaking, only flower-pot cases, called in French cache-pots. They may be of leather or cardboard, ornamented on the out- side, but plain black inside, their general appear- Fig. 4 ance being as shown in Fig. 4. They have neither top nor bottom, and when not in use, can be opened out flat or rolled up as in Figs. 5 and 6, for greater portability. The pair, when needed for use, are exhibited in | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,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,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,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,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,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,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,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,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,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,177 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 177 | THE BEWILDERING BLOCKS 161 bottom, checked by the third finger, and replaces tube upright on table. "As before, I drop in first the blue, then the white, then the red." (This last being the trick block, care must be taken to keep its red sides well to the front.) "Again I left off the chimney pot, and again you see, the bricks have changed places. White has come to the top, and red has gone to the bottom again." The trick block, which this time remained at the top, is now allowed to slide down to the bottom. The tube is again placed on the table, but so turned that the blue sides of the block within it are brought to the front. "I can't tell you why the bricks behave in this way, but you can see for yourselves that I have nothing to do with it. We will try it once more, and for a change I will put the red block in first, then the white and then the blue. That order will be easy to remember. Red, white and blue reckon- ing from the bottom upwards. Again I remove the cover. The same thing has happened again, but with a little difference. White has come to the top again, but blue has this time gone to the bot- tom."7 While attention is drawn to the new order of the blocks, the performer allows the ordinary blue one, now left in the tube, to slide out into his hand, and in picking up the others secretly substitutes | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,175 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 175 | THE BEWILDERING BLOCKS 159 man called Fidgety Phil, There is a little poem about him. It says: 'Fidgety Phil Couldn't keep still, Made his mother and father ill.' "There are a lot more verses but I am sorry to say I don't know them. However, these few lines are enough to show you what sort of a boy Fidgety Phil was. He was the kind of boy that wherever he is, he wants to be somewhere else. When he was standing up he wanted to sit down, and when he was sitting down he wriggled about on his chair till he was allowed to stand up again. "These little blocks are all that are left of a box of bricks which are said to have belonged to Fidgety Phil and they show what even a box of bricks may come to if a bad example is constantly set before them. These three little bricks have got to be just as fidgety as Phil was himself. Any- how, that is the only way in which I can account for their queer behaviour. "Please have a good look at them, and see if you can discover anything peculiar about them. I can't, myself." (The blocks are handed for exam- ination.) "They seem to me to be just ordinary bits of coloured wood, and this square tube is believed to have been a chimney pot belonging to the same set. I want you to notice particularly that the bricks are just the right size to fit closely | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,173 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 173 | THE BEWILDERING BLOCKS 157 inserted at the top is found to have passed to the bottom, the other two moving up accordingly. This surprising effect is produced by the secret introduction into the tube of a fourth block of which the spectators know nothing. This, which FIG. 32 FIG. 33 FIG. 34 we will call the "trick" block, is, like the rest, col- oured black at the top and bottom; but of the remaining four sides two, contiguous to each other, are red, and the other two blue. When the tube is handed back to the performer | |
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,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,13 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 13 | PREFACE The tricks described in the following pages are of my own invention, and for the most part are en- tirely new departures: not only the effects pro- duced, but the appliances by means of which they are produced, being original. From the nature of the case, it follows that few of the items described have been submitted to the supreme test of performance in public, but all have been thoroughly thought out; most of the root- ideas having in fact been simmering in my mind for more than two years past. One or two of them may demand a more than average amount of ad- dress on the part of the performer; but the ma- jority are comparatively easy, and I believe I may assert with confidence that all will be found both practicable and effective. Should any of my mod- est inventions be found, as is not improbable, sus- ceptible of further polish, the keen wits and ready fingers of my brother wizards may safely be trusted to supply it. The items entitled The Mystery of Mahomet, The Bewildering Blocks, and The Wizard's vii | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,33 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 33 | NOVEL APPLICATIONS OF THE "BLACK ART" PRINCIPLE BLACK ART MATS AND BLACK ART PATCHES The Black Art Table has long since established itself in the affections of the conjurer as one of his most effective aids. At a stage performance the presence of one or more such adjuncts is almost a matter of course, but the drawing room performer finds many occasions when, for one reason or another, the use of such an aid is precluded. Some wizards, as a matter of personal convenience, decline to burden themselves with more artistic luggage than can be bestowed in an ordinary hand- bag. Others, again, hold (and not without rea- son) that the use of a special table, imported by the performer himself, tends to discount the marvel of his show; as being suggestive of that "prepara- tion" which every artistic conjurer is anxious to disclaim. It is no doubt an easy matter to arrange a good enough programme for which the aid of "black art" is not needed, but this means the exclusion not merely of a valuable auxiliary, but of many of the most striking magical effects. I have pleasure in introducing to the reader a substitute which, though its capabilities fall a good 17 | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,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,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,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,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,19 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 19 | MAGICAL MATS 3 Each mat has a secret space, after the manner of the old "multiplying" salver, between its upper and under surfaces. The opening in each case is opposite the lower end or point of the shield before mentioned, so that, however the mat may be placed, a glance at the shield will always furnish a guide to the position, for the time being, of the opening. Fig. 2 In the case of the card mat the secret space (see Fig. 2) is just large enough to accommodate three playing cards, one upon another. The corre- sponding space in the coin mat (Fig. 3) is shorter, narrower and deeper, being designed to receive, | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,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,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,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,244 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 244 | LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1 029 714 238 0 | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,17 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 17 | LATEST MAGIC INTRODUCTORY SOME NEW APPLIANCES OF GENERAL UTILITY THE little appliances to be presently described are the outcome of ideas which, after a long period of incubation in my note-books, have ultimately taken concrete form in what, I venture to believe, will be found to be practical and useful items of magical apparatus. I may further claim that they combine in an exceptional degree absolute inno- cence of appearance with a wide range of practical utility. Examples of their uses are indicated in the following pages, but the inventive reader will find that these by no means exhaust their possibili- ties of usefulness. MAGICAL MATS The first to be described are of two different kinds, to be known as the "Card" and "Coin" Mat respectively. They are in appearance simply cir- cular table-or plate mats, with an ornamental 1 | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,9 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 9 | LATEST MAGIC BEING ORIGINAL CONJURING TRICKS INVENTED AND ARRANGED BY PROFESSOR HOFFMANN (ANGELO LEWIS, M.A.) Author of "Modern Magic," etc. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS FIRST EDITION NEW YORK SPON & CHAMBERLAIN, 120 LIBERTY ST. 1918 | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,238 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 238 | L'ENVOI WITH these last lines I lay down my pen, as I have long since laid down the wand. I do SO with regret, for writing about magic has always been to me a labour of love, but failing energy and failing eyesight warn me that my day is over, and that "the night cometh, wherein no man can work." When I first began to discourse of magic, I had the whole field, in a literary sense, to myself. That state of things has long since ceased to be. Fertile brains and ready writers have taken up my task, and magic has now a worthy literature, growing day by day. "So mote it be!" Furthermore, if I may be allowed a word of ad- vice, let me say that every lover of magic, be he professional or amateur, should join a magical so- ciety. No great work can be carried forward with- out organization, and the success of such bodies as The Magician's Club and the Magic Circle here, and the Society of American Magicians over seas, has proved that magic is no exception to the rule. I must not close without a word of hearty thanks to Harry Houdini, Oscar S. Teale and John W. Sargent, of the Society of American Magicians, for their generous offices in connection with the publi- cation of my book. With this last legacy to the friends, at home and abroad, who have derived pleasure or profit from my writings, I bid them a cheery farewell. LOUIS HOFFMANN. 222 3477-3 | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,155 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 155 | Inn VRACLE OF 139 ing selected the question he or she desires to have answered, the dial is laid on the stand with the "suit" or Fig. 26 side uppermost, and the pointer is placed in position on its pivot. The querist is invited to breathe into the glass, which is then lowered on to the stand. The pointer begins to move, and after a moment or two of indecision, 9 Fig. 26 Fig. 25 Fig. 27 comes to rest opposite one or other of the four suit- pips; we will suppose, for the sake of illustration, the diamond. The glass is then lifted off, the dial reversed, the pointer replaced, and the glass once. more lowered on to the stand. Again the pointer moves, and stops this time, we will say, at the num- ber "seven." The seven of diamonds is sought | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,141 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 141 | Ine Or 120 tally across it, about halfway down. Through this a black pin, bent at the head, passes as shown in Fig. 22. In preparation for the trick a piece about three feet long of black plaited silk line, with a small wire ring at one end, is passed by the aid of a needle through the hole in the tray from the outer side; thence upward through the various sections of the pagoda, beginning with the undermost, till FIG. 22 it finally comes up through the head. After the needle has been drawn off, the end of the thread is formed into a loop, which is passed over the cross- pin before mentioned. The thread is then drawn taut from below, the several segments of the pagoda resting fairly one upon another in the cen- tre of the tray. The intermediate portion of the thread is drawn up till the little ring at the outer end comes close to the tray, and is laid upon it in | |
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,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,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,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,15 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 15 | CONTENTS PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR HOFFMANN Frontispiece PAGE PREFACE vii SOME New APPLIANCES OF GENERAL UTILITY 1 Magical Mats 1 Fairy Flower-Pots 5 Patter Introducing the Flower-Pots 8 Adhesive Cards and Tricks Therewith 10 The Missing Card 12 NOVEL APPLICATIONS OF THE "BLACK ART" PRINCIPLE 17 Black Art Mats and Black Art Patches 17 A Magical Transposition 23 The Detective Die 26 Dissolving Dice 32 Where is It? 38 CARD TRICKS 46 Arithmetic by Magic 46 Those Naughty Knaves 49 Magnetic Magic 55 The Telepathic Tape 57 A Card Comedy 60 The Fast and Loose Card-Box 63 A Royal Tug of War 64 Sympathetic Cards 66 Tell-Tale Fingers 68 Divination Doubly Difficult 72 A New Long Card and Tricks Therewith 77 The Mascot Coin Box 83 ix | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,208 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 208 | CONCERNING PATTER IT will doubtless have been observed that I have in the foregoing pages been somewhat lavish in respect of patter. I have done SO for two or three reasons. First, in order to enable the reader to form a better estimate of the effect of the trick presented, duly clothed and coloured, to the mind of the spec- tator. A trick described, however minutely, from the mere mechanical or technical point of view, gives scarcely more idea of its actual effect than the rough charcoal sketch of the artist does of the finished painting. Secondly, because ready-made patter, if the reader cares to use it, will save him a considerable amount of trouble. My third reason is more personal, namely, that it has been a labour of love to do SO. To my mind the devising of some little bit of appropriate fiction to serve as intro- duction to a trick is the pleasantest part of the inventor's work. It may perhaps be thought that I have, in some of the more ambitious tricks, been overliberal in this particular. I remember thinking, after wit- nessing a "show" by Dr. Lynn, a popular per- former of the last generation, that he had talked a 192 | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,217 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 217 | CONCERNING PATTER 201 that he is actually the person whom he represents. The modern magician should do the same. If he has enough of the true artistic spirit to imagine, when he steps forward on the platform, that he is a magician, and that his miracles are genuine, he will go a long way towards producing a like impres- sion in the minds of his audience. Bearing this in mind, describe what you propose to do as an "effect," a "marvel," an "experiment," or a "phenomenon"; never by any chance as a "trick." It may be objected that I have myself repeatedly used the obnoxious word in the course of the fore- going pages, but that is another matter. This book is written by a conjurer for conjurers: and as between ourselves we are forced to admit, painful though it be to do so, that our greatest miracles are only tricks. But we need not tell the public SO. Logically-minded persons know it well enough, if they are allowed to think about the matter. Our business is to make them, for the time, forget it. A wise old Roman said: Populus vult decipi: decipiatur. Your audience wish to be deceived; in fact they have come together for that purpose. By all means let them be deceived to the top of their bent; and the first step towards effectually deceiv- ing them, is to persuade them, if possible, that there is "no deception." The patter for a given trick, once composed, and tested by a few performances in public, may thenceforth, SO far as the professional is concerned, | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,215 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 215 | CONCERNING PATTER 199 cheerful. Geniality of manner is one of the most valuable assets of the conjurer. Above all, don't be nervous. You may say "I can't help it," but to a great extent you can. It is largely a matter of will. Start with the idea that all will go well, and it will probably do SO. On the other hand, a low- spirited conjurer always makes a low spirited audience. In any case, be sparing of puns, which have been deservedly described as the lowest form of wit. A single pun, if good enough (or bad enough) may win a laugh, and score to your credit, but to pep- per an audience with verbal shrapnel in the shape of puns is an outrage on good taste. Passing to the third function of patter, the mis- direction of attention in the course of a trick, we will assume that you have made a start in the right direction at the outset, by suggesting some fanciful explanation of the effect you intend to produce, SO that your audience, starting from wrong premises, do not know the points at which their too close observation would be inconvenient. The best way of diverting their attention at one of these critical points is obviously to attract it to some other direc- tion. A mere sentence, particularly if accom- panied by appropriate action, will suffice. Sup- posing, to take an elementary instance, that the performer desires to drop unseen into the profonde from his left hand some small article for which he has just deftly substituted a duplicate, now exhib- | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,213 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 213 | CONCERNING PATTER 197 but with only a cloudy recollection as to what they were. In devising, as is sometimes desirable, new patter for an old trick, an endeavour should be made to look at the effect from an entirely fresh point of view, so as to make the trick practically a new one. A remarkable instance of such a transformation is furnished by an incident in the life of Robert- Houdin. At one period of his career he was entrusted by the French Government with a very important mission. He was sent to Algeria, spe- cially charged to "astonish the natives," and by his greater wonders to destroy their belief in the pretended miracles of the Aissoua. Among other surprises, he decided to make use of his "Light and Heavy Chest," a chest which, as the reader is doubtless aware, became at command, by means of an electro-magnet in the pedestal on which it rested, so "heavy" that the strongest man could not lift it from its base. This trick, pro- duced at a time when the phenomena of electricity were but little understood, has produced an immense sensation at his Paris performances. But the Master instinctively felt that the trick in that shape would produce little or no effect on the more primitive mind of the Arab. He would sim- ply have taken for granted some mechanical means of holding down the chest, beyond his own com- prehension, no doubt, but by no means to be regarded as miraculous. Robert-Houdin decided | |
latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf,211 | latestmagicbeing00hoff.pdf | 211 | CONCERNING PATTER 195 away from the true explanation of the marvel, and to suggest, in a more or less plausible way, some other, remote from the real one. The suggested explanation may be either pseudo- scientific, where possible based on some generally accepted truth (and it is surprising what a long way even a few grains of truth go in such cases) ; or it may be downright "spoof," delivered however with due appearance of seriousness. The explana- tions will naturally fall a good deal short of the George Washington standard of truthfulness, but the most tender conscience need not in such a case have any scruples on the score of veracity. No sane person expects truth in a fairy tale, and a magical entertainment, from beginning to end, is but a fairy tale in action. To put the matter in an epigrammatic nutshell: Truth is "a gem of purest ray serene," A virtue always to be cultivated, But such depends,-you'll gather what I mean, On how you happen to be situated. At home, abroad, wherever I may be, I tell the honest truth, and shame the d- . But when you ask to be deceived. Good gracious! You can't expect me then to be veracious. In that case only do I make exception, And most deceive when vowing "no deception." This function of patter, the leading away the minds of the audience from the true explanation of the puzzle offered them, may be materially assisted |
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