Читать книгу The Practical Magician and Ventriloquist's Guide - Anonymous - Страница 5

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REQUISITE PREPARATIONS, TO BE MADE PRIVATELY.

You will require a glass bowl or quart basin, and you must have a flattened tube of tin about four inches long. It must be just large enough to let a dime slide easily through it by its own weight. Round the end on this tube wind a ball of Berlin wool of bright color, covering about two inches of the tube, and projecting about an inch beyond the end of it. Place this ball with the tube in it in your right-hand pocket of coat tail, (or in the left breast-pocket, if that is large enough to hold it completely covered.) Lastly, place a dime concealed in the palm of your left hand.

Commence the exhibition of the trick by requesting one of the spectators to mark a dime (or cent) of his own, so that he will be sure to know it again. Then ask him to lend you that coin. Holding it up in your right hand, you may say, “Now, ladies and gentlemen, this is the marked dime which I shall experiment with. The gentleman has accurately marked it, so that there can be no mistake about its identity when reproduced.” Then by Pass 1 pretend to transfer the marked coin to your left hand, but in reality retain it in your right hand. Next, hand with your left hand your own dime (which had been secreted in that hand) to some person, and request him to hold it. Choose for this person some one three or four yards distant from yourself, and also from the person who originally marked the coin. It is unnecessary to explain that you do so, lest the two should compare notes. Of course, the person who is asked to hold it will believe that it is the very dime that was borrowed.

You may proceed to say: “Now we want a ball of worsted.” So, placing your right hand in your pocket, pretend to feel about for something in your pocket, and while doing so you must place the dime in the top of the tin tube, and shake it down. Then carefully draw the tube out of the ball of worsted; and leave the tube in your pocket, but draw the ball out of your pocket, pressing it together while doing so.

Then request some one to feel the ball in order to ascertain that it has no opening towards its centre.

You may here make some humorous remark about your having such a ball in your pocket. As for instance:

“Ladies may think it odd that I have such a ball of Berlin wool in my pocket. It was bought to please my cousin Mary Ann, or my Aunt Tabitha. Well, it will do very fairly for our experiment.”

Then request some one to hold the glass basin containing the woollen ball. While you retain in your hand the end of the woollen thread, address the gentleman who has consented to hold the dime, asking him to hand it to you. Take it in your right hand, pretend by Pass 1 to transfer it to your left hand, but in reality keep it concealed in your right hand.

Holding up your closed left hand, (which in fact has nothing in it,) you may say:

“Now, dime, pass along this woollen thread into the very centre of the woollen ball which is there held in the glass bowl or basin.”

Blow upon your left hand, and show that the dime is gone.

You must adroitly get rid of the dime, which has remained secreted in your right hand, by placing it in your pocket or sleeve while making some humorous remark, or while asking some lady or gentleman to draw the woollen thread till it is all unwound. It will be done the quicker by letting the ball be confined loosely in the bowl with two fingers preventing its leaping out.

Draw attention to how completely the coin is wrapped up till you arrive at the very last circles, when it will drop into the bowl.

Hand the dime to the owner who marked it, and let him declare whether he recognizes it as the very one he lent you. His affirmative will surprise the spectators.