Part 5

Also see if you can write your name backward—that is, begin at the last stroke and go back to the first—and as a last trick try to write your name upside down. That is not at all easy, but copy your signature upside down and you will be able to do it quite well after a little practice.

=The Dice and Cup.= Take from the backgammon board two dice and the dice cup or shaker. Hold the cup in your right hand by putting your thumb and second finger around the bottom of it, at the same time holding one of the dice with the tips of the same finger and thumb. Next put the other die on top of the one you are holding. You will, of course, need the aid of your left hand in arranging the dice and cup in your right.

Now, by a quick upward movement of your right hand, send the top die flying up into the air, and as it comes down catch it in the cup.

Now comes the real trick—to get the other die in the cup also. If you try to do this by throwing the die upward as you threw the first one, you may catch it in the cup all right, but at the same time you will be pretty sure to throw the first one out of the cup. As for catching both together as they come down, you will find that almost impossible. The proper way to get the second die into the cup without losing the one that is already there, is, to let your hand drop suddenly, at the same time letting go the die which you have been holding.

The die will drop too, but not as rapidly as your hand, so that you will have no difficulty in getting the cup under it and catching it.

=The Surprising Paper Bands.= Cut three bands of paper about twenty-four inches long and two inches wide. In preparing the first strip of paper, simply gum the ends together, for the second strip, twist once and gum the ends together; for the third strip, twist twice and then gum the ends together. Now cut each of the bands in the centre lengthways and notice the results. In twisting the papers, it should be done unobserved.

=Napkin-ring Trick.= While waiting for dessert at dinner, it is fun for the family at table to exchange tricks. One is the napkin-ring trick. Holding your napkin-ring in one hand, look from your glass tumbler to some large object—say, the sugar-bowl,—pretending to hesitate between the two, then pick up the glass tumbler and say: “Safer to take the smaller article.” Then look around, and say: “Will any of you believe me when I say that I can push this glass full of water through this napkin-ring?” Something may be added about a newly discovered way of compressing glass.

Then you should set the glass down solemnly, place your napkin-ring in front of it, and, with an impressive flourish of your hand, thrust your finger through the napkin-ring and give the glass a shove.

“There!” you may exclaim in triumph, “Haven’t I pushed the glass through the napkin-ring?”

=The Magical Cups of Tin.= This little trick, performed in a parlor, will make you appear quite a magician. Get beforehand two perfectly plain tin cups, without handles and with the bottom sunk about a quarter of an inch, and straight sides. On the sunken bottom of each put some glue, and over it drop some birdseed, so that it looks as if the cups were full, whereas they are really standing upside down and the layer of seed is glued to the outside of the bottom.

When you are ready to perform the trick, have a bag of the same kind of seed, and, standing off from your audience, hold the cups so that they can see that they are empty, but don’t allow any one to approach you.

Now take one cup and dip it into the bag of seed, but instead of filling it, turn it upside down, so that when you take it out the seed glued to the bottom will show, and every one will think it is full.

Place the apparently full cup of seed under a hat, but in doing so dexterously turn it so that the empty cup is upright and the glued seed at the bottom. Don’t let your audience see this turn.

Now take the other cup, which is empty, and let them see you put it under another hat, but also turn this one, so that they do not see you do it. This brings the seed to the top and shows an apparently full cup, and when you remove the hat, after pronouncing some magic words, it will look as if the cups had changed places.

Remove the cups before any one has a chance to examine them.

=The Elusive Cork.= Lay any bottle of fair size with an open mouth on its side, and lay in the mouth of the bottle a piece of cork about the size of a pea. Ask any of the spectators to try to blow the cork into the bottle, and, try as they may, they will find that they cannot do it, as the piece of cork will always fly back in the face of the blower.

=The Three Pennies.= Three pennies are placed flat on the table, two tails and one head. The two tails are together and the head penny is some inches away. The coin with the head upwards must be placed between the other two coins without the tail penny nearest the head being taken away, and the other coin must not be touched. People not in the secret will not attempt to solve the problem, as they say it cannot be done.

This seemingly impossible trick is quite simple once you have learned the secret. Throw the head penny flat with some force, striking the tail penny nearest, at the same time holding the coin. This action will shoot the second coin (which you must not touch) and throw it some distance away. All that is left to be done is to put the head penny between the two coins.

=A Lesson in Gravity.= Stand against the wall with the left side, the cheek, hip, and foot touching it; then try lifting the right leg without moving the body away from the wall. It is laughable to see children trying to perform this feat, for it is one of the things that are impossible to accomplish.

=The Tantalizing Half-dollar.= Place a boy with his back against the wall, his heels standing firmly against it. Lay a half-dollar on the floor in front of him, about a foot distant from his toes, and tell him it is his if he can pick it up without moving his heels from against the wall. In vain will he try to get the coin under the conditions prescribed, for this feat is another of the impossible ones.

=Drawing Matches to Win.= Take 15 matches, bunch them up so they cannot be easily counted, lay them on a table, and tell some person that you will allow him to start the game, by drawing from the pile one, two or three matches—but no more. Tell him that you have the same privilege, and that you intend that he shall draw the last match, or, at least, that you will leave the last for him to draw.

If you watch your turns carefully you will succeed perfectly, unless, of course, your opponent is acquainted with the system—and very few persons are.

If he should first draw one, you draw one. If his second draw should be three, then you draw one again. Observe now that there are six drawn. In order to assure yourself of winning, make certain that this is the case either at your first or second draw—get six off the board. Then there are nine remaining. The next time you draw let it make four with what he draws, leaving five still to be drawn. Now if he draws three, you take one; if he draws two, you take two, and so on. You will thus see that the last match will always be left to your opponent.

He will now surely want to try it again. This time you begin the drawing by taking one, as he did at first, making a remark to that effect. Whatever number he takes, it cannot make the six. But should he follow your example and take but one, you still must be careful and trust to luck and careful computation, taking only one more on your second draw, which will make three off. The chances are small that he will take the remaining three to make the six. But if he does, it is an evidence that he is “getting on,” and he may possibly (but not probably) beat you.

Whether he does or does not, you simply let him start out again, and you proceed to follow according to his lead. You will defeat him nine times in ten without your being compelled to make your play certain, which can be done when you get your first draw, as follows: draw two; he cannot then defeat you, for whatever he draws, he will still leave from one to three for you, and you take the sixth off, when the rest is easy. Better not do this until he is quite sure that he has “discovered” your method, when this will put him all at sea again. This game is great fun, and will puzzle all of your friends.

=Eye-Errors and Ghosts.= A few experiments with the eyes will be found very interesting, and to the uninitiated, very queer. If you will hold up your forefinger about a foot from your face, and look at a tree or object beyond it, or at any tall object, you will see your finger double. Then look directly at your finger and you will see the tree double.

The explanation is that each eye sees separately, and when both are looking at the finger the right eye sees the tree or object on the right side of the finger and the left eye sees it on the left. When, however, you look at the tree directly with both eyes, each eye sees the finger apparently in a different place. If you will cover the one eye and look with the other, you cannot see either the tree or the finger double, which is the proof of the experiment.

Place two bits of white paper about a foot apart on a table. Cover the right eye and look steadily at the right-hand piece of paper with the left eye. By stepping backward you will reach a spot where the left-hand piece of paper will disappear. You can make the right-hand piece of paper disappear by looking at the left-hand piece of paper with the right eye.

When you have made one disappear in this way, move your head ever so slightly backward or forward, and the paper will instantly reappear. The reason of this is that every person’s eye has a blind spot on the retina, and when an image of the piece of paper falls on the spot it cannot be seen.

Instead of snatching the paper away after looking at it steadily, look up at the ceiling, and the image will be seen there. These “ghosts,” as they are sometimes called, are caused by the action of light on the retina of the eye.

=The Detaining Hand-clasp.= Grasp a person firmly by the wrists as if you were about to handcuff him, and say that you can clasp his hands in such a way that he cannot leave the room without unclasping them. Probably he will look sharply at you for a while, trying to divine your purpose, and if you maintain your firm hold on his wrists, he will be led to believe that you intend to use your strength for the purpose.

Then lead him to a table and seating him on a chair by it, clasp his hands about one of the legs. Of course, he cannot now leave the room without unclasping them unless he overturns the table or drags it with him.

=The Pictorial Nail.= By having in your possession an extraordinarily strong magnet, you can perform the following very effective trick. Prepare a large frame with a paper centre, now take a crayon and draw a nail or a hook, then borrow a key or key-ring and make the announcement that you will hang one of the articles on the picture. This is easy if you have an assistant in the rear, with the magnet attached to a stick, which he holds directly in the rear of the drawn picture, the magnet holding the article on the front.

=Cane Trick.= Measure the length of your forearm along a cane by placing your elbow even with its head and marking the point to which the tip of your middle finger reaches.

Take hold of your cane with your middle finger, covering the mark, and your little finger nearest to the head. The cane must be at right angles to the hand and be grasped firmly so that the tips of all the fingers are pressed tightly against the palm of the hand. It is not “fair” to hold the cane obliquely.

Now try to put the head of the cane to your lips. If you succeed you are an exception to the general rule, and even you will probably fail if you hold the cane, in the same manner, at a point a little further from the head.

But any one can do the trick easily by holding the cane at a less distance from its head than the length of his forearm.

PANTOMIMES

=General Directions.= The best place for a pantomime show is where two rooms are connected by folding doors. A screen or curtain can be fitted to this opening. Care should be given that this screen fits the opening so that no light can show over the top or from around the sides or bottom. If the screen does not fit, this can be remedied by hanging some curtains or other draperies at the top and on the sides, and by putting carpets or rugs at the bottom.

Now for the screen. This is a sheet or square of muslin or light-colored calico, tacked on a light wooden frame or to the opening. The cloth must be stretched tightly, as any wrinkles spoil the effect of the shadows. Dampen your cloth before tacking it on the frame, and then pull it as tightly as you can before tacking; when it dries, it will be found to have drawn tightly, and will be free from seams or wrinkles.

If you desire to have the shadows show up sharp and clear, make your screen semi-transparent by painting it with a solution of paraffine wax, dissolved in spirits of turpentine. This, of course, should be done at least twenty-four hours before your show is to take place, so as to give it a chance to thoroughly dry.

Your theatre is now ready, all but the light, and that is prepared and used as follows: First, secure a large lamp, and then a large pan, which is filled with sand; the lamp is to be in the centre of this pan, and the reasons for this precaution are obvious, as, should the lamp be accidentally overturned, it will not ruin the floor covering, as the oil will be absorbed by the sand; besides it obviates the risk of a fire or explosion.

You are now all in readiness for your performance. The light is placed upon the floor about four feet from the centre of the screen on the actors’ side of same; the other side of the screen, where your audience sit, is, of course, in complete darkness, otherwise the shadows of the actors would not be in evidence.

Every one not engaged in the performance, but who is behind the screen, waiting for his part, must be particular to keep back of the light, so their shadows will not be thrown on the screen.

In making entrances and exits, come on from the sides, about two feet from the screen, and you must remember that the farther you are from the screen, and the nearer to the light, the larger will be your shadow on the screen. Recollect, too, that you must be in profile, or sideways to your audience, otherwise the effect of your acting is lost; as in case you face your audience your actions are all lost to them.

=Aerial Figures.= A very funny entrance can be made by jumping over the light, which gives the appearance on the screen as if you had just dropped through the ceiling, and an exit by jumping over the light looks like flying up there again in a most weird manner. A dummy figure (suppose that of a witch, riding on the conventional broomstick) is suspended by a fine thread or wire on the side of the screen remote from the spectators. Behind this are ranged, one behind the other, and at right angles to the screen, a row of lighted candles. Being all in the same line, they throw one shadow only on the screen. The figure is now made to oscillate slightly, so as to impart some little motion to the shadow. One of the candles is now removed from its place in the row, and waved gently about, now high, now low, the effect to the spectators being that a second shadow springs out of the first, and dances about it on the screen. A second and third candle as it leaves its place in the line produces a separate shadow. It is well to have three or four assistants, each taking a candle in each hand.

=Silhouettes.= The idea of projecting silhouettes with the hands on a wall or illuminated screen is an old one. These shadows are best made on a screen, which is illuminated by a single lamp enclosed in a projecting apparatus, using acetylene gas. The lens must consequently be of very short focus. The electric light may be replaced at the amateur’s house by a lamp, or better by a wax candle. The candle will do very well in a small room where one can be in total obscurity except for the candle light. The chief fault of this light for shadowgraphy, is, that the distance from light to screen must necessarily be short, or shadows will not be sharp. The oil lamp should not be used if another better light can be obtained, because the shadows must necessarily be somewhat blurred. The main thing to be studied in the selection of a light is to get a brilliant point of light and not necessarily a large surface. Now, an oil lamp, having a large or probably double flame, has too large a surface of illumination. Moreover, the rays should always travel uninterceptedly to the screen, never through the glass, and never thrown from a reflector. Seeing that a glass chimney and reflector are almost indispensable to an oil lamp, there is abundant reason for not using it. If the lamp is used, turn the edge and not the flat side of the light before the screen.

=Shadow Pictures= may be accompanied by a phonograph. Care must be taken in arranging the lights so that the shadows of the actors may be clear cut and not out of proportion to the size of the sheet on which they are thrown. The concealed phonograph starts, and presto! the shadow actors behind the sheet seem to be the very embodiment of the voices of the records. It is difficult to realize that a machine is talking. Especially is this true when the impersonators are sufficiently familiar with the words as to be able to form them with their lips, although not really uttering them.

=Shadow Show.= One of the most pleasurable forms of entertainment, in which every boy and girl takes delight, is the shadow show, and a home-made one can be easily constructed and varied to your heart’s content, if you are at all ingenious.

First secure some light strips of wood one inch thick and two inches wide; you will need two of these six feet long and two of them three feet long. These are to be joined together, making a frame six feet high by three feet wide.

Next secure two strips one inch thick, one inch wide, and three feet long, and two strips of the same size, but one foot long. Attach the one-foot pieces to the three-foot strips six inches from each end.

This frame is to be attached to your larger frame, twelve inches from the top.

Your framework should be joined so that it presents a flush, smooth surface at all of the joints of the two frames. Over your large framework you will now tack or glue black paper or muslin, leaving the opening made by the smaller frame to be covered by white muslin, making a semi-transparent screen 12 × 24 inches, upon which are to be shown the figures.

A piece of tape is stretched across the bottom of the screen, close to the frame. This holds against the frame the figures used in the show and at the same time allows a continuation of their feet in the cardboard from which they are cut to project below, and so be held by the exhibitor.

By means of these continuations below the feet, the exhibitor can make the figures glide along, rock backward and forward, or suddenly disappear by pulling them downward.

All the figures should be cut out of cardboard and should have the projection or continuation of the feet. Scenery can be cut out the same way, and is quite easy, as you only need side screens. The scenes can be held by the tape strip or can be fastened to the sides by using thumb tacks. The joints of the figures are made with bits of broom wire. If you want the eyes of the comic figures to roll about, string a glass bead upon a thread and insert in a place cut for eyes in the figure; fasten the thread at either side with a bit of glued muslin. During the performance, this screen is illuminated by placing a light about three feet behind it; the room in which the audience is seated being, of course, dark. To shut out any light that may shine out at the sides or top of the doorway, you should hang shawls or strips of your black paper muslin.

Humorous and grotesque pictures may be cut out of newspapers and magazines, pasting them on cardboard and then cutting out the cardboard. The show may be a pantomime or the exhibitor may speak for the different characters. All the figures to be used should be placed on a table or a chair near the exhibitor or held by an assistant. With a little ingenuity you can make the figures so that the arms and legs and head work on pivots, attaching them to thread so small that it will not cast a shadow on the screen. There is hardly any end to the amusement you may have in this way.

CARD TRICKS

=Calling the Cards.= To begin with, allow the pack of cards to be thoroughly shuffled. When the pack is returned to you, adroitly notice the value (suit and denomination) of the bottom card, which we will suppose happens to be the four of spades.

Now, with apparent carelessness, throw the cards face downward on a table and scatter them about with your fingers. However, you must not lose sight of the bottom card, and wherever your fingers may push it your eyes should follow also, in order that you may know exactly where it lies. The spectators, meanwhile, are unaware of this knowledge on your part.

Say to those present: “I will now present to you a mystery which is apparently very simple, yet to my mind is a profound problem. It is one of those mental wonders that cannot be readily understood, and the deeper we study into them, the farther we seem to be from the truth. You will therefore observe closely and see what you see.”

You continue: “I have, as you probably noticed, allowed Mr. —-- to shuffle the cards thoroughly and they have been scattered over this table at random. I shall allow five cards to be selected and I shall endeavor to name each one before it is taken up. In order that nobody’s attention may be distracted, I shall hold the cards taken up until the entire five have been selected. To prevent any mistake, let some person write the names of the cards upon a paper as they are called and see if I am correct.”

You will then remark: “I will now call for cards, one by one and shall ask Mr. Brown (any person desired) to make the first selection. Mr. Brown, you will please find for me the four of spades, without turning the card over.”

Naturally Mr. Brown smiles and says that such a thing is impossible. You ask him, however, to simply rest his fingers upon the back of any card his fancy may dictate. Having touched a card, you carefully draw it away from the table, making sure that its face cannot be seen. Hold it in your hands, close to your body, in an easy, unsuspicious manner, just as if you were confident the four of spades had been selected. Let us suppose, however, that the card is the seven of hearts. You remark: “I will next ask Mr. Jones to touch a card in the same manner as did Mr. Brown, but I predict beforehand that it will be the seven of hearts.” The card is tapped, and you pick it up, as before. Let us suppose this second one is the ace of diamonds. If so, you ask Mr. Smith to touch a card, which you expect to be the ace of diamonds. This, you notice, happens to be the queen of hearts. You then ask Mr. Robinson to touch a card, which you intend shall be queen of hearts, and after he does so you secretly ascertain that it is the eight of clubs.

Up to the present moment, four cards have been chosen. For the fifth time, you are to have a card selected “by chance.” You decide, however, to save time, that you will try your own luck and see if you can pick out the eight of clubs. In doing this, you allow your finger to rest, with apparent carelessness, upon the real four of spades, the position of which you have known all the while. Having picked up the four of spades, you place it with the others in your hand.