FAMILY FUN

New Zealand Tablet, 5 June 1913, Page 62

FAMILY FUN

TRICKS AND ILLUSIONS. (Special to the N.Z. Tablet by Mahatma.) Heads or Tails.—This is an easy catch. The performer takes a florin, spins it on the table, and without looking at it, announces to the company whether it has fallen head or tail uppermost. He is able to do this any number of times. In order to perform this mysterious feat all that is necessary is to notch a little piece out of one side of a florin. When the florin falls on the table, the notched side will have a very different sound to the other side. This trick must be performed on the bare table. Silver to Gold. Fold each of two squares of paper into a kind of pocket, and paste the backs together. In one side insert a half-sovereign, and you are ready to perform. Borrow a sixpence, show the spectators the side of the paper which is empty, and place the sixpence in it. Fold the paper up and lay it upon the table. . Making some mystic passes with the hands, open it at the side which contains the half-sovereign. To show your power of re-converting gold into silver, reverse the process and again produce the borrowed sixpence. The Three Pieces of Apple. Place three pieces of apple upon the table, a little distance apart. Borrow three hats and place one hat on each piece of apple. Now with a little,cheerful patter take up the first hat, and, removing the piece of apple, place it in your mouth and let all see that you swallow it. After that, take up the second hat and swallow the morsel which was under that. Do the same to the third piece of apple. Now ask the company to choose which hat they would like to see the three pieces of apple appear under. When one hat has been chosen, calmly take it up and place it on your head.

A Surprising Card Trick.—Take four cards from the top of the pack, and hand them to a member of the company, asking him to mentally note one of these and return them to you. Place these face downwards in your left hand. Take the next four cards and offer them to another person in like manner. Repeat the procedure with a third and fourth group of four. When all the sixteen cards are in the left hand, deal them out upon the table, face upwards, in four heaps. Now ask each person in which heap his card is. The card which the first person chose will be the uppermost of his heap, that of the second person, second on his heap, and so on. It will sometimes occur that two of the cards chosen are in one heap, but the rule will still apply. Should there only be three persons to choose cards you should give them three cards each and deal in three heaps.

Ink to Water.—The effect of this illusion is as follows;—A glass full of ink is shown to the company. A playing card is dipped into the fluid, and when brought out the portion inserted into the tumbler is found to be quite black, proving conclusively that the glass contains genuine ink, A handkerchief is next placed over the tumbler, and upon withdrawing it the ink is found to be changed to water, with goldfish swimming about in it. The trick is very easy to work. The apparatus consists of a tube of black silk made to fit the inside of the tumbler exactly. It is but a few minutes work to make this. When the lining is in place, the glass is filled with water, and some small pieces of carrot, to represent gold fish, are inserted. The card which the performer inserts into the tumbler is prepared. Two cards are pasted back to back, and half of one of these cards is painted black. The two cards will, of course, have to be of the same The card is inserted into the tumbler clean face towards the audience, and it is quickly turned round and withdrawn with the blackened side When the handkerchief is placed over the tumbler, all the performer' has to do is to catch hold of the silk lining under the folds of the handkerchief and withdraw it. This latter move will be simplified if the lining has a piece of black thread attached to it, and carried outside the The performer can then more readily remove the lining.