CONJURING 



1542 



CONJURING 



tioned below could manipulate the mechan- 

 ism. He improved also upon such effects as 

 the illusion of a detached human head, or head 

 and body seemingly floating without legs; or 

 again the mysterious appearance or disappear- 

 ance (vanishing) of a person in a cabinet. The 

 principle was thaf of a set of mirrors which 

 gave the effect of clear space under the body, 

 while actually the mirrors concealed the legs; 

 mirrors similarly provided a space for the 

 "vanishing lady." The mystery of a person 

 resting on one elbow supported by a rod, with 

 the body horizontal, was due to a rigid steel 

 frame worn under the clothing; the effect was 

 made more mysterious by the pretense of 

 "mesmerizing" the subject to produce the illu- 

 sion. 



Houdin employed magnets, then quite a 

 novel device; made a chest heavy or light (by 

 secretly turning on an electro-magnet under 

 the stage) ; he used an electric current to heat 

 a platinum wire, which burned a thread, which 

 released a false lid, and mysteriously made 

 coins appear in a transparent glass box. He 

 refined the devices and made the effects more 

 baffling. In such a trick as pouring all kinds 

 of liquors from the same bottle, he not only 

 used the older principle of controlling the fluid 

 by placing his thumb over an air-hole, but also 

 had different essences in the bottom of the 

 several glasses on the tray, so that by choosing 

 the glass, he could produce the desired flavor. 

 By palming, that is, skilfully concealing objects 

 in the hand, by directing the attention to the 

 one hand while the other performed the trick, 

 by clever talk and a mysterious setting, he 

 enhanced the art of the illusionist. 



The principles underlying the conjuring 

 tricks of the stage may be readily illustrated. 

 Some of the devices involve rather complex 

 applications of physical and chemical princi- 

 ples; a recent one controls a wooden hand that 

 answers questions, by a wireless telegraphy 

 outfit. But even simple devices, such as a 

 fine silk thread which pulls out of a pack a 

 desired card (which first has been "forced" 

 that is, pushed forward so that it will be 

 chosen when apparently a free choice of cards 

 is offered) are often quite as baffling. False 

 bottoms, pockets, hollow wands, substitution of 

 a second object like the first, traps in tables, 

 double openings, facilitate the disappearance 

 and reappearance and transformation of ob- 

 jects. 



A single trick, described in detail will best 

 illustrate the most important factors involved. 



Several gold rings are gathered from the audi- 

 ence on the conjurer's wand; they are then 

 thrown on a platter and hammered until they 

 fit in a pistol ; the pistol is fired at a set of boxes 

 hung from a cord; the first box is opened 

 with a key and a second taken from inside 

 it, then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth; in 

 the last box are found the original gold rings 

 quite whole and each tied to a bon-bon. What 

 the spectators fail to observe is (1) that the 

 wand is changed from the right to the left hand 

 of thfe performer as he steps back on the stage, 

 thereby allowing the real rings to slip into the 

 right hand of the performer, while false brass 

 rings which were in the left hand are pushed 

 forward on the wand; (2) that the performer 

 calls for a pistol, which is brought by an assist- 

 ant, to whom he at the same time gives the 

 gold rings; (3) that as the pistol is fired the 

 assistant pushes a small table (with a fringe) 

 on the stage; (4) that the performer gets this 

 table and places the boxes upon it; (5) that 

 the second box is really taken from the first 

 and the third from the second, but that the 

 last box is pulled from under the table (con- 

 cealed by the fringe) and the box displayed 

 as though it had come from the next larger 

 one. The assistant had tied the true rings to 

 the bon-bons and placed them in the box while 

 the hammering of the false rings was going on. 

 The ingenuity of a trick is thus seen to depend 

 upon the combined mechanical and psycho- 

 logical effect. 



There is a group of tricks which aims to 

 give the impression of the possession of un- 

 usual powers. The "second-sight," or "mind- 

 reading," performance answers questions, gives 

 numbers, names articles, etc., held up by the 

 audience. It may be done by means of a 

 code, in which a slight variation of the form 

 of the question is the clue to the answer, per- 

 former and assistant having memorized the 

 code. In another form the questions are writ- 

 ten (and a concealed impression taken, or 

 blank papers substituted for the originals) and 

 secretly conveyed to an assistant under the 

 stage, who in turn speaks to the blindfolded 

 "mind reader" through a tube; this form has 

 been used as an evidence of "spiritualistic" 

 power of the "medium" to read sealed messages. 



The cabinet mystery was also used as an evi- 

 dence of spirit-force in releasing the medium, 

 or ringing bells, playing on tambourines or 

 producing spirit forms. That all this is within 

 the power of clever trickery has been shown 

 again and again. Much myth and exaggeration 



