“MAGIC” FOR THE PARTY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 82, Issue 305, 24 December 1938, Page 21 (Supplement)

“MAGIC” FOR THE PARTY

SIMPLE CONJURING TRICKS

SECRETS OF SLEIGHT OF HAND

By

LEON GUISE

Even in these days of sophisticated entertainment the conjuror still more than holds his own. And at Christina*, time, when the family party has assembled, there is none so popular as he who demonstrates how the quickness of the hand can deceive the eye by presenting a few well-selected but very puzzling tricks. I propose to teii in this article how a little programme of such tricks can be performed—simply, without a great deal of preparation, but in a manner that will entertain and amuse. The Speaking Half-crown The speaking half-crown is a little trick which requires perhaps more / than usual care, but will prove most An ordinary glass salad

bowl i> a good thing to use for this trick. After having this bowl closely inspected by the company, place it on a table, or, better still, on a book on the table, in order to remove any suspicion that there is a connection between bowl and table-top. Next borrow' a half-crown, and ask the owner to mark it, so that he will recognise it again. “A most remarkable coin,’* you observe, scrutinizing it carefully. “Did you know that it can answer questions?” And you proceed to show’ how it can, and does. Dropping the coin into the bowl so that it rings as it falls, you ask some ordinary question the answer to which is known to every one present. “If it isi ‘Yes,’ ” you point out, “the coin imnps three times: if it is ‘No,’ it just still.”

■ And the coin does so. The reason is .that as y.ou drop it into’the bowl you , deftly press to it a tiny piece of wax, I held in your palm. Attached to that (wax pellet is one end of a length ot | black silk thread. The other end is looped about a finger of your left ■ hand. Stand as far away from the I table as you can, with your right side I nearest the audience. You will be | able to manipulate the silk thread I easily by a swift movement of the linger holding the loop; and the halfcrown will answer every question put to it! The Flying King : Let me go on to a simple little trick ( of palming, which, if performed with | due neatness and facility, both of I 1 which can be quite easily acquired, will prove very mystifying. This trick is the flying ring. It is done with a ring borrowed from one of the ladies or gentlemen who are gathered to watch you. I Display the ring prominently; then i place it between the thumb and first ; finger of the left hand. See that the inside of this hand is turned towards yourself, and then move the right hand towards it as though intending i to grasp it in that hand. J In the apparent act of taking the I ring away from the left hand, pass the ' four fingers of the right hand between i the thumb and first finger of the left i hand, and at the Instant when the i ring is hidden by the four fingers let it fall into the hollow of the left hand. Continue the movement of the right [hand as though the ring had been firmly grasped and, as you separate the hands, allow the right hand to appear slightly puffed out as though it held something in it. Now you can say some "magic" words, declare you are going to throw the ring right away, and pretend to do so, at the same time opening the right hand and disclosing its emptiness. The ring has gone, but you know where it is, you declare—in the inside breast pocket of the man seated on the chesterfield. And, stepping forward, you plunge your left hand into

that pocket and triumphantly produce it. If you perform this trick correctly, no one will ever guess the ring was in your left hand all the while. Practise it before a mirror for a while, and you will see how puzzling it can appear. A Shilling that Melts An excellent trick which can be acquired with a little practice needs for its performance a borrowed shilling and a lighted candle in a candle-stick. After borrowing the shilling and lighting the candle, you claim that it is possible for the flame to melt the coin immediately—when the right sort of magic is used. You then take the coin in the right hand and palm it. This can be done by taking it between the second and third fingers and the thumb of the right hand, which is then moved towards the left hand as though to place the coin therein. During this passage the fingers nai turally turn over, and the coin is hid- | den from the audience by the back of , I the hand. At this moment let the ( thumb release the coin, which is taken I by the two other fingers and pressed I secretly into the hollow of the hand beneath the root of the thumb. The right hand is now just above the left, which is half open as though to receive the coin: close it, as though it ‘ has done so. The action, if properly ■ performed, will deceive everyone. - The coin is still in the right hand, and you hold it there securely while taking hold of the candlestick with the ends of the fingers in such a way that the back of the hand is presented to the audience. Then hold the left hand, which everyone thinks contains the coin, over the flame and pretend to work the coin out into the flame. ! "There you are, it is melting,” you ■ exclaim, and, showing the left hand : fully open now, you declare that the coin has gone. Ask the owner of the coin if he ■ would rather have it melted or in its former shape. He is bound to say the latter, and then you reply that you will try and get it back for him. You pretend to take it from the flame with the left hand, and in order to get hold of it better you now employ the right hand. Under cover of the getting the "hot” coin from the flame it is quite simple to work it into the left hand. When you hold it out to its owner he is likely to be rather cautious of taking it, in case it is really hot —that is, if you have performed the trick neatly enough. You will not find that it requires very much practice to be able to do that. How to Mesmerize Cards The trick of the mesmerized card is

rather a bewildering one, yet it is ale very simple business. All you need' t for this is a thread of fine black silk, > a tiny pellet of wax, an ordinary pack < of cards, and a glass goblet, or any 1 glass sufficiently wide to accommodate |1 the pack when placed endwise on it. ! I Before you begin this trick tie one 1 end of the thread to the lower button 1 of your waistcoat. To the top or sec- ' 1 ond button you press the pellet oi j ‘ wax, to which is attached the other end of the thread. Ask a member of your audience which card he will prefer to have mesmerized. Choose whichever he nominates, and display it to 1 the full view of the company. Then f place it at the bottom of the pack, 1 which you shuffle, doing this, how- j ( ever, in such a way that you keep the • chosen card at the bottom of the pack. 1 You stand the pack in the glass, 1 with the back of the cards towards 1 you. Now, however, it occurs to you 1 that the audience may like to examine this glass, and you take the cards from it again with the right hand and pass the glass to someone to examine. While this is being done you find an opportunity to remove the pellet of wax from your waistcoat button with the tip of the finger of your left hand | —a little practice will make you quite ’ proficient in the action—and when ’ you get the glass back you transfer ' the cards to that hand, which gives ; you an oportunity to transfer the, pellet of wax from the finger tip to the edge of the chosen card. 1 That card, remember, is still at the : bottom of the pack. Replace the 1 cards edgewise in the glass, so that ’ their backs are towards you and stand back half a pace. Then move your hands over the top of the glass and 5 murmur some "magic” words as though you were mesmerizing the ■ cards. By moving slowly backwards ' you will cause the silk thread to become taut, of course, and the effect : will be to cause the chosen card to rise slowly from the glass. Finally, it can leave the pack alto1 gether. When the moment for this arrives, take it in one hand and swiftly remove the wax with one scraping ' movement of the finger-nail as you ’ turn it about to assure yourself that it is the card that has been chosen, the denomination of which you now inquire. And when the wax is removed —it will come away quite easily and cleanly—the card can be. passed over for every examination. As a preliminary to this trick you can execute a little card "flourish" which will convince every one of your ' [unusual dexterity. You lay a pack of ■cards on the table, spread them all out so as to form a long row, and by placing a finger beneath the last card cause each card to turn over. This sleight of hand is really quite simply done. Having placed the pack i

lon the table towards your right, < spread the cards with a swift move- .■ ment, pressing slightly on the top card and pushing them towards the ii left. Then slip the forefinger of the |i [right hand under the last card and h ■ turn it over, taking care that the fln- ] ger shall follow the direction in which ; the rest of the pack lies. This move- 1 ment causes the whole of the other ’ j cards to turn over. Balancing Hie Penny An amusing little trick which, it properly performed, will convince 1 everyone that you possess exceptional powers in the balancing line, may be 1 carried out with the aid of two pennies 1 and a tiny pellet of cobbler’s wax. It {■ is always best to borrow the coins from a member of the audience and to preface the trick with a few observations 'about the steadiness of nerves and the like. Then begin to make one of the pennies stand perfectly balanced on the top of its fellow, edge to edge, the coins being held between the fingers • and thumb of your outstretched hand. L Manipulating the coins to do this will [ take a minute or so, but finally your

audience will see the top coin standing » on its edge on the edge of the coin j held between your fingers. What they i

do not know is that, attached to the tip of one of your fingers, there has been a tiny blob of wax, which, under cover of the early preliminary manipulations, you have adroitly transferred to the edge of the lower coin. It is this wax which, unseen to the audiience, keeps the top coin in position. Before returning the pennies to their lawful owners the wax can be easily and secretly scraped off with the fingernail. Eating Corks I have shown you how to palm a coin. You can, of course, palm a cork

or any other small object in the same ■way. A little practice will soon make (you efficient. Your apparatus for this Itrick will simply be a small soup (tureen, filled with corks. It can stand (on the table before you, and about half way through your performance you can observe that, as you are getting a little hungry, perhaps no one will mind if you just take a snack there and then. "Corks are what X like,” you say, and you proceed to take one from the tureen. You take it with the right hand and make believe to transfer it to the left hand. Really, however, you palm it in the right one. The left hand closes, but be careful to keep it puffed out, ,as though it really holds the cork. This you now pretend to put in your

! mouth. In order to complete the illu(sion, puff out one of your cheeks by i forcing the tongue against it. After ’ having pretended to chew the cork for a moment or two, you make believe, lat last, to swallow it. "That is good, (I’ll have another,” you say, and slip i your right hand into the tureen to [ take a second cork. In doing so, howi over, you quietly lay down upon the others the one you have palmed. Then, taking the second cork, you proceed as before, repeating the process again and again until you declare you have made quite a good meal.