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cond and third fingers, with the forefinger on the top, he rubs it up
and down on his sleeve for a few minutes in order, as he says, to ge-
nerate electricity. Then he removes all but the forefinger to which the
nut is seen to adhere. The reason is plain. The rubbing on the sleeve
was, as may be supposed, merely a ruse to give the performer an op-
portunity to separate the two shells at the top. It is into this opening
that the performer presses the skin of the forefinger, and thus holds
the nut suspended, as shown in Fig. 120.
Should there be an opportunity it is well to separate the shells slightly at the top before
attempting the trick, as some nuts do not give way readily except under very strong fingers.
An Elusive Ring
THE performer has in his pocket a handkerchief to the center of which is fastened the two ends of
a short thread, thus forming a loop. Hanging from this loop is a cheap finger ring. When he is called
on for a trick, he selects a small goblet and a napkin, with which to stow his deftness. Borrowing a
ring from a lady, he pretends to put it under the handkerchief, but keeps it and in its place puts the
hanging ring, which he holds through the handkerchief by his fingers on the outside. Giving the go-
blet to a second lady he asks her to hold it. Then he puts the handkerchief over it so that the bowl is
completely covered, asks her to keep hold of the bottom of the glass with one hand and with the
other to hold the ring (always from the outside). Getting the borrowed ring between the tips of his
thumb and first and second fingers, he picks up the napkin and shows it is empty, holding the ring
concealed at one corner. Then gathering the corners of the napkin together, so as to make a bag into
which he lets the ring slide, he hands it to a third lady, with the request that she holds the corners
tightly together. Taking a table knife, he approaches the lady who holds the hanging ring, and says:
"When I say three, be good enough to drop the ring into the glass. Now, one, two, three". She drops
the ring as requested, and every one hears it strike. Then he taps the glass with the knife, lifts off the
handkerchief, and shows that the glass is empty. The third lady is asked to open the napkin, and to
her surprise she finds the ring inside. "I am sorry to trouble you, madam, but will you kindly hand the
ring to the owner, so that she may identify it. Thank you!"
A Borrowed Bank Note that is Destroyed by
Tearing or Burning is Found Imbedded in a Lemon
THIS trick is frequently exhibited at a dinner party or in some public place where a lemon may be
procured. The performer has the nail of his right thumb quite long and trimmed to a sharp edge.
With this he cuts a hole in one end of a lemon, and in it he thrusts his forefinger. To do this without
being seen he puts the lemon into his trousers pocket, while some one of the audience is taking the
number of the borrowed bank note so that it may be identified readily. As the performer is looking
on, his hand goes into the pocket and does the cutting. As he takes the lemon out, which has been
marked in some way at the beginning of the trick, he brings with it an imitation bank note (profes-
sionally known as "stage money") folded up. The lemon he lays on the table, and as the real bank
note is returned to him he joins the imitation note to it, and folds it till the two notes look alike.
Then he places the dummy note alongside the lemon and palms the original. Picking up the lemon,
he applies a lighted match to the stage money, and while he watches it burn, his hands naturally go
behind his back, which enables him to push the genuine note into the lemon. By this time the other
note is destroyed. Gathering the ashes, he rubs them on the lemon, and then proceeds to cut it
open at the perfect end. As soon as the bank note is seen he goes to its owner and asks him to take
it out and identify it, reading aloud its number.
Some performers use an imitation bank note that is printed on flash paper. This disappears the
moment it is lighted.
Magician's Tricks: How They are Done
Instead of a lemon a small apple may be used. In this case two apples, alike in size and general
appearance, are used. In one of these a hole is cut, large enough to admit the borrowed note. This
apple is in the trousers pocket. Under the performer's vest or under his coat lapel is a small packet
of flash paper. The perfect apple is on a table. When the performer borrows the bank note he
wraps it in a piece of tissue paper and getting hold of the flash paper packet brings the two packets
together and exchanges one for the other. The flash paper he asks some lady to hold. As he goes
for the good apple his hand is thrust into his pocket and the bank note packet is pushed into the
cut apple. The good apple is then handed out for examination. In the meanwhile he palms the
other, and as he goes back to his table, ostensibly for a knife, he puts the good apple under his vest
and lays the prepared one on the table. Then he returns to the lady who holds the flash paper. Ta-
king it in his fingers, he lights it. Whiff ! it is gone. Hurrying to his table, he cuts open the apple,
beginning to pare it at the perfect part. As soon as the bank note appears, he takes it out, holding
it at arm's length so that the audience may see it is not exchanged, and hands it to its owner. The
apple he crushes and lays on a plate, which he carries off as soon as possible.
Each form of the trick has its advantages. The one in which the lemon is used is the more bri-
lliant, as the lemon may be marked for identification; while in the use of the apple, the bank note is
not soiled by lemon juice, which is sometimes objected to.
Disappearing Knife
WHILE seated at the table after dinner, the performer picks up a knife, and wraps it up in a
handkerchief, part of the blade projecting from below. See Fig. 121.
Holding the packet in his right hand, and standing up, he calls attention to the blade. With his
left hand he pushes the blade up into the handkerchief until it can no longer be seen. Then taking
hold of the two upper corners of the handkerchief, he shakes it, and shows both sides. The knife
has vanished.
The handkerchief is double, that is, two handkerchiefs, exactly alike, are sewed together around
the edges. On the inside of one is a pocket, with the open side toward the edge of the handker-
chief. In this pocket is hung part of a knife-blade, in the upper part of which is drilled a hole
through which a strong thread runs, the ends being fastened to the bottom of the pocket. The
thread is of such length that the blade will be drawn entirely inside the pocket when the upper
ends of the handkerchief are held. See Fig. 122. To hold the real knife there is a black bag long
enough to conceal it. The bag hangs on the performer's back between the vest and the coat and
reaches nearly to his waist. The mouth of this bag is held open by a wire ring (a large key-ring will [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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cond and third fingers, with the forefinger on the top, he rubs it up
and down on his sleeve for a few minutes in order, as he says, to ge-
nerate electricity. Then he removes all but the forefinger to which the
nut is seen to adhere. The reason is plain. The rubbing on the sleeve
was, as may be supposed, merely a ruse to give the performer an op-
portunity to separate the two shells at the top. It is into this opening
that the performer presses the skin of the forefinger, and thus holds
the nut suspended, as shown in Fig. 120.
Should there be an opportunity it is well to separate the shells slightly at the top before
attempting the trick, as some nuts do not give way readily except under very strong fingers.
An Elusive Ring
THE performer has in his pocket a handkerchief to the center of which is fastened the two ends of
a short thread, thus forming a loop. Hanging from this loop is a cheap finger ring. When he is called
on for a trick, he selects a small goblet and a napkin, with which to stow his deftness. Borrowing a
ring from a lady, he pretends to put it under the handkerchief, but keeps it and in its place puts the
hanging ring, which he holds through the handkerchief by his fingers on the outside. Giving the go-
blet to a second lady he asks her to hold it. Then he puts the handkerchief over it so that the bowl is
completely covered, asks her to keep hold of the bottom of the glass with one hand and with the
other to hold the ring (always from the outside). Getting the borrowed ring between the tips of his
thumb and first and second fingers, he picks up the napkin and shows it is empty, holding the ring
concealed at one corner. Then gathering the corners of the napkin together, so as to make a bag into
which he lets the ring slide, he hands it to a third lady, with the request that she holds the corners
tightly together. Taking a table knife, he approaches the lady who holds the hanging ring, and says:
"When I say three, be good enough to drop the ring into the glass. Now, one, two, three". She drops
the ring as requested, and every one hears it strike. Then he taps the glass with the knife, lifts off the
handkerchief, and shows that the glass is empty. The third lady is asked to open the napkin, and to
her surprise she finds the ring inside. "I am sorry to trouble you, madam, but will you kindly hand the
ring to the owner, so that she may identify it. Thank you!"
A Borrowed Bank Note that is Destroyed by
Tearing or Burning is Found Imbedded in a Lemon
THIS trick is frequently exhibited at a dinner party or in some public place where a lemon may be
procured. The performer has the nail of his right thumb quite long and trimmed to a sharp edge.
With this he cuts a hole in one end of a lemon, and in it he thrusts his forefinger. To do this without
being seen he puts the lemon into his trousers pocket, while some one of the audience is taking the
number of the borrowed bank note so that it may be identified readily. As the performer is looking
on, his hand goes into the pocket and does the cutting. As he takes the lemon out, which has been
marked in some way at the beginning of the trick, he brings with it an imitation bank note (profes-
sionally known as "stage money") folded up. The lemon he lays on the table, and as the real bank
note is returned to him he joins the imitation note to it, and folds it till the two notes look alike.
Then he places the dummy note alongside the lemon and palms the original. Picking up the lemon,
he applies a lighted match to the stage money, and while he watches it burn, his hands naturally go
behind his back, which enables him to push the genuine note into the lemon. By this time the other
note is destroyed. Gathering the ashes, he rubs them on the lemon, and then proceeds to cut it
open at the perfect end. As soon as the bank note is seen he goes to its owner and asks him to take
it out and identify it, reading aloud its number.
Some performers use an imitation bank note that is printed on flash paper. This disappears the
moment it is lighted.
Magician's Tricks: How They are Done
Instead of a lemon a small apple may be used. In this case two apples, alike in size and general
appearance, are used. In one of these a hole is cut, large enough to admit the borrowed note. This
apple is in the trousers pocket. Under the performer's vest or under his coat lapel is a small packet
of flash paper. The perfect apple is on a table. When the performer borrows the bank note he
wraps it in a piece of tissue paper and getting hold of the flash paper packet brings the two packets
together and exchanges one for the other. The flash paper he asks some lady to hold. As he goes
for the good apple his hand is thrust into his pocket and the bank note packet is pushed into the
cut apple. The good apple is then handed out for examination. In the meanwhile he palms the
other, and as he goes back to his table, ostensibly for a knife, he puts the good apple under his vest
and lays the prepared one on the table. Then he returns to the lady who holds the flash paper. Ta-
king it in his fingers, he lights it. Whiff ! it is gone. Hurrying to his table, he cuts open the apple,
beginning to pare it at the perfect part. As soon as the bank note appears, he takes it out, holding
it at arm's length so that the audience may see it is not exchanged, and hands it to its owner. The
apple he crushes and lays on a plate, which he carries off as soon as possible.
Each form of the trick has its advantages. The one in which the lemon is used is the more bri-
lliant, as the lemon may be marked for identification; while in the use of the apple, the bank note is
not soiled by lemon juice, which is sometimes objected to.
Disappearing Knife
WHILE seated at the table after dinner, the performer picks up a knife, and wraps it up in a
handkerchief, part of the blade projecting from below. See Fig. 121.
Holding the packet in his right hand, and standing up, he calls attention to the blade. With his
left hand he pushes the blade up into the handkerchief until it can no longer be seen. Then taking
hold of the two upper corners of the handkerchief, he shakes it, and shows both sides. The knife
has vanished.
The handkerchief is double, that is, two handkerchiefs, exactly alike, are sewed together around
the edges. On the inside of one is a pocket, with the open side toward the edge of the handker-
chief. In this pocket is hung part of a knife-blade, in the upper part of which is drilled a hole
through which a strong thread runs, the ends being fastened to the bottom of the pocket. The
thread is of such length that the blade will be drawn entirely inside the pocket when the upper
ends of the handkerchief are held. See Fig. 122. To hold the real knife there is a black bag long
enough to conceal it. The bag hangs on the performer's back between the vest and the coat and
reaches nearly to his waist. The mouth of this bag is held open by a wire ring (a large key-ring will [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]