Xmas Magic.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 December 1926, Page 8 (Supplement)

Xmas Magic.

BY OSWALD WILLIAMS. Let me, gentle reader, conjure you to avoid a mistake that led me intoi ttrouble during one of the very earli-i est stages of my career as a mystery man. It was the present of a half-crown box of tricks at Christmas when I had reached the ripe age of nine that started me on the hard road to fame by magic. For months I practised with that box; and al, last the time arrived when I proudly succeeded in evolving a trick of my own. There was only one thing I needed in order to give a public pe.rformance of my trick. That was the brim of a clergyman’s round hat —'.he kind of hat my father wore. But here a difficulty arose. My father, who was poor but strictly honest, possessed but one hat. I hadn’t the heart to mutilate that. However, I was promised that if ever he bought a new hat I should have the old one to do what I liked with. Many more months rolled by, and at last the long-coveted hat was discarded. Losing no time, I set to work with, a pair of scissors. I had got about half-way round the crown when it! suddenly struck me that the hat looked very new. Well, it was! Over the ensuing scene I draw thq curtain.

SHOWMANSHIP. In order to be a successful magician, take my advice and make sure of your materials first. This includes your own proficiency. Never attempt to show a trick until you have mastered all the details of it. Never neglect an opportunity of practising. Never leave the preparations to othes people. See to everything yourselfl before you begin your performance. A thorough examination of every article used will save many a disappointment when giving a show. I remember once showing an illusion which required a very important trick jug that had to be brought on empty. One> night, just as I came to use it, thei precious jug was missing. 1 searched high and low, but without result. My audience began to grow impatient. At last in desperation I walked to the wings-—just in time to see a stage hand arrive with the jug. He had borrowed it to fetch himself a pint of porter. Well, to teach him a lesson, I drank the porter. But the moral is that, if I had gone through my "properties" before starting this wouldn't have happened. Needless to say, it| never occurred again. THE MAGIC FISH BOWL. For this you require a bowl of goldfish, a piece of black silk, and a large, • dark-coloured handkerchief. Prepare the bowl by lining it with the black silk, which should come up neatly to the very edge. It will then look exactly like a bowl of ink, and should be described as such. Before commencing, fill the silk-lined bowl with water, and put in a few goldfish. Invite a member of your audience to come up and hold the bowl of “ink.” Drop the dark silk handkerchief over it. Make a pass with your l magic wand over the bowl, then pick off the handkerchief, at the same time dragging the black silk away under cover of it, and disclosing the clear, water and goldfish in the bowl. Throw away the handkerchief with the black silk hidden in it, so that none of your onlookers will notice it in their astonishment at seeing the goldfish appear. This is a trick that requires a considerable amount of practice, as, in drawing away the silk, no water must bo spilt.

KING COLE’S PIPES. Here is a much easier trick, and one which will cause considerable amazement. Procure two long clay “churchwarden” pipes. Explain to your audience that they are the genuine pipes smoked long ago by old King Cole, and that they have magic properties; for example, they produce smoke without any tobacco being used. Before starting, be careful to prepare one of the pipes by rubbing the inside of the bowl with a piece of paper dipped in spirits’ of salts, and the other with a piece of paper dipped in liquid ammonia. These chemicals leave no visible trace, so that, when you hand the pipes round for examination, they will be seen to be quite empty. You may even ask a small boy to smoke one of the pipes. Of course, he will find that he cannot do so. Only the magician can bring into play the pipes’ magical properties. Now take both pipes yourself, and, placing the two bowls together “smoke” one of the pipes. You will instantly be able to blow out clouds of smoke.

A HAT TRICK. The production of masses of coloured paper from an apparently empty hat always creates a surprise. A magician who wishes to ingratiate himself with his youthful audience may substitute thin silk ribbon for paper, afterwards distributing lengths suitable for hair-ribbons to little girls sitting around him. The reels, whether of paper or ribbon, must be so rolled that, once they are unfastened from the centre, they unwind themselves almost of their own accord. Should they cease to unwind, that portion which has already been produced should be stirred with a wand. Under cover of

this stirring, more will be drawn off. Care must, however, be taken that the whole of each reel is wound off, so that nothing even remotely resembling a reel can be seen at the finish. In transferring things like reels of ribbon or paper to the hat, the servante (or conjurer’s bag) is used. The hat Is placed bottom downwards upon the table near the servante, and the four fingers are inserted in the brim, while the thumb of the hand that holds the hat s«rr < t'.o’ article