CHAPTER XVII.
Stage Tricks.
The present Chapter will be devoted to such tricks as by reason of the cumbrousness or costliness of the apparatus required for them, are, as a rule, exhibited only upon the public stage. The stage performer may, if he pleases, avail himself of the aid of mechanical tables, electrical appliances, etc., which enable him to execute a class of tricks which are beyond the scope of an ordinary drawing-room performance, though the wealthy amateur will find no difficulty in converting his own drawing-room into a quasi-stage, and qualifying it for the presentation of the most elaborate illusions.
The leading items of apparatus in stage magic are mechanical tables. These are of various kinds, many being specially designed to assist in the performance of some one particular trick. Putting aside these, which will be separately noticed, stage tables may be broadly divided into three classes—trap tables, piston tables, and electrical tables. In practice, these classes are somewhat intermingled, for it is rather the rule than the exception for a stage table to be fitted with both traps and pistons, while either or both of these may be found in conjunction with electrical appliances.
Trap tables are such as are provided with one or more “traps,” their object being, at the will of the operator, to cause the disappearance of a given article into the interior of the table, or sometimes to produce or apparently change an article. The traps most generally used may be described as follows:—
1. The Plain Trap.—This consists of a thin plate of metal, generally zinc, screwed down flush with the top of the table. In this, which we will call the surface plate, is cut a hole, generally circular, and from two to four inches in diameter, closed by a flap or door, which by the action of a spring hinge is pressed up level with the rest of the trap, though it instantly yields to pressure from above, again rising as soon as such pressure is removed. Figs. 261 and 262 represent the trap as seen detached from the table, Fig. 261 exhibiting its under side. a is the circular flap, b b the spring hinge, c a little bolt by means of which the trap may be fastened at pleasure, and which is worked by a pin projecting upwards through a slot in the surface plate, and through the cloth which covers the table; d is a small flat piece of metal, screwed to the under side of the flap a, and acting as a “stop” to prevent the flap being forced by the action of the spring above the level of the surface-plate. The “mountings” of the trap are generally brass, and attached to the zinc by screws. A brass eyelet, e, is sometimes soldered to the centre of the under side of the flap. To this is attached a cord, which may hang down ready to the performer’s hand at the back of the table, or may be carried down a groove in one of the hinder legs, and either terminate in a pedal (to be pressed by the foot of the performer), or be continued behind the scenes within reach of the hand of the assistant. The mode of working the trap is as follows:—Any small article, being placed on it, is covered over (either with an ornamental cover or with a simple handkerchief). The cord being gently pulled by either of the means above mentioned, the trap opens, and the article falls into the body of the table. As soon as the pull is relaxed, the flap again rises and closes the opening. Where a cord is not used, the performer gets rid of the article by direct pressure on the trap, or the article upon it, with the one hand, while with the other he veils the opening in the table.
2. The “Wrist” or “Pressure” Trap.—With this form of trap the use of a cord is unnecessary, the trap being worked from the surface of the table, by pressure upon a particular spot. The manner of its construction will become clear upon an inspection of Figs. 263, 264. Fig. 263 represents the under side of the trap; a is the flap, working upon a spring hinge b b, as already explained in the case of the plain trap; c c is an oblong piece of metal, cut out of and lying flush with the surface-plate, and working upon an ordinary hinge at d. When c is pressed down, the crosspiece e, which is soldered to it, presses down the lever f, and this in turn acting upon the shorter lever g, which is fixed at right angles to the rod upon which the flap a is hinged, causes the latter to open.
The mode of using the wrist trap is as follows:—The performer has occasion, we will suppose, to cause the disappearance of an orange, as for instance, in the “Bran and Orange” trick, described at page 335. Placing the orange upon the flap a, he places both hands round it as though to pick it up between them. (See Fig. 265.) In this position the under side of the hand furthest from the audience (see Fig. 266, showing the right hand removed), is just over c, and pressing gently upon it, causes the flap to open, and the orange to fall through; the position of the hands completely veiling the operation. The operator now leaves the table, still holding his hands as though having the orange between them, and after a due interval, brings them closer and closer together, at last showing that it has vanished.
The wrist trap is generally worked by the performer standing at the side of the table, and the traps are therefore made right-handed and left-handed, according to the end at which they are intended to be placed, the rule being that c must be so placed with reference to a, as to be when in use under the hand furthest from the spectators. Fig. 267 illustrates this difference of make, to suit the one or the other end of the table.
3. The “Rabbit” or “Dove” Trap.—This, as its name indicates, is a trap for causing the disappearance of a rabbit or pigeon. The opening is in this case oval, measuring about eight inches by six, and closed by a double flap, divided down the middle (see Fig. 268, representing the under side of the trap.) It has no string, the animal being simply pushed down through the trap under cover either of a second rabbit, or of a piece of paper in which the victim is supposed to be wrapped. As the rabbit trap requires considerable space, and, moreover, involves the necessity of some sort of an inclosure within the table to prevent an unexpected reappearance of the animal, it is a convenient plan to devote to it a small special table. This should be circular; about thirty-two inches in height, and sixteen to eighteen in diameter. The upper part of the table must form a circular wooden box, about eight inches in depth, with an opening behind to get out the rabbit. The table may, like the principal table, have a servante behind it, which will greatly increase its utility. The depth of the upper part may be concealed by a hanging fringe; the general appearance of the table (seen from the back) being as shown in Fig. 269. A table of this class makes a very pretty side table, and may be balanced on the opposite side of the stage by another of similar appearance, but designed for some different purpose.
The interior of the table should be well padded with wadding or hay, that the animal may not be hurt by its sudden descent.
Each of the traps above-mentioned should be so made as to be capable of being secured, when necessary, by a bolt, or there would be considerable risk of a trap giving way unexpectedly under any article carelessly placed on it. The mode of bolting, however, varies considerably. Some traps are fastened by little bolts on the under side, which, being only get-at-able from the inside of the table, must be bolted or unbolted for good before the curtain rises, occasioning considerable embarrassment in the case of a slip of the memory. Others again are secured by means of long bolts, or wire rods extending across the under surface of the top of the table, each terminating in a hook at the back, within reach of the performer’s hand. A third, and, we think, the best, plan is to have the bolt (as shown in Figs. 261 and 262, and therein marked c) worked backwards and forwards by means of a little pin projecting upwards through the surface plate and the cloth of the table. By the adoption of this plan the performer is enabled to draw back the bolt with the finger-tip in the very act of placing the article upon the trap. It will readily suggest itself to the reader that some provision must be made within the table for making the various articles drop noiselessly through the traps. The best plan of effecting this is to use what is called a “railway.” This is a wooden frame just large enough to lie within the table, with a piece of black serge or alpaca stretched all over its under side. This is so placed within the table, as to slope gently down to the level of the servante, with a fall of three or four inches. Any article dropped through a trap will not only fall noiselessly upon the surface of the stretched alpaca, but will immediately roll down the incline towards the servante, so that it is instantly get-at-able, should the performer have occasion to reproduce the same article at a later stage of the trick.
4. “Changing” Traps.—The traps which we have hitherto discussed have only had the faculty of causing the disappearance of a given article. Those which we are about to describe will not only do this, but will, moreover, produce an article on the surface of the table where a moment previously there was nothing, or will replace a given object by another.
The trap for this purpose is a somewhat complicated arrangement, of the appearance shown in Figs. 270 and 271. The surface-plate, a a a a, is oblong, measuring about twelve inches by six, with a circular opening b b in the centre. Below it are fixed vertically two brass cylinders c and d, which are so arranged as to work backwards and forwards on a kind of railway e f e f, in the direction of the length of the surface-plate, just so far in either direction as to bring c or d in turn immediately under b. The two cylinders are soldered together, so that the one cannot move without the other. If, therefore, the cylinders are drawn back to the utmost by means of one of the bent iron rods or handles g h, the cylinder c will be below the opening b, as in Fig. 272. If, on the contrary, they be pushed forward, d will in turn be below the opening, as in Fig. 273. Each cylinder contains a brass piston, faced with zinc on its upper surface, and moved up and down by a lever attached at right angles to one or other of the iron handles g h already mentioned, and working through a vertical slot in the side of the cylinder. A piece of clock-spring, attached to the iron handle at the point of junction, gives the piston a gentle upward tendency, which is so regulated, that if either of the cylinders be brought under the opening b, the piston belonging to that cylinder is made to rise into the opening, its upper surface resting just flush with that of a a a a. The piston of the forward cylinder c is made to work very easily within it, so as to rise spontaneously by the action of the spring; but that of the hinder cylinder, d, for a reason which will presently appear, works a little more stiffly, so as to require a little assistance from the lever to make it rise into its proper position. The action of the handles g h is outwards, in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 274, the movement of either handle in the direction so indicated drawing down the piston to which it belongs.
The handles further serve, as already mentioned, to move the cylinders backwards and forwards as may be required. It should, however, be noted that no backward or forward movement can take place so long as either of the pistons stops the opening b; but as soon as the piston is, by turning the proper handle, depressed ever so little below the level of the surface-plate, it no longer forms any obstacle to the movement. The trap is fixed in the table in such manner that the handles g h shall be just within the opening at the back of the table (see Fig. 274), and thus be within easy reach of the performer’s hands when standing behind it. We will suppose, for the sake of illustration, that the performer desires to change an empty tumbler (of small size) to a full one. The trap is beforehand prepared by bringing the foremost cylinder c under the opening b. The full glass is then placed on the top of the piston, which is then lowered gently downwards by means of the proper handle, the glass sinking into the cylinder. The cylinders are now pushed forward, so that d in turn comes under b, the piston being then moved up into its proper place, and so closing the opening. This is, of course, arranged before the curtain rises.
When the performer desires to perform the trick, he places the empty glass upon b, and conceals it with a cover of any kind. Standing carelessly behind the table, and keeping the attention of the audience occupied by any observations he may deem most appropriate for that purpose, he takes hold with his right hand of the handle h, and turns it outward, thereby lowering the empty glass into d. As soon as he feels that it will sink no further, he shifts his hand to the handle a, and therewith draws the cylinders back so as to bring c under b, and then, by turning g, gently raises the full glass of water up through b to the surface of the table. The reader will now perceive the reason why, as already mentioned, the piston in d is made a little tight, so as to require the assistance of the handle to raise it into its position. It is necessary that this piston, when once depressed with the object to be changed, shall remain down while the hand is shifted from handle h to handle g. If it were not made to work somewhat stiffly, the moment the handle h was released the piston would instantly fly up again with the object upon it, thus neutralizing what had been already done. The cylinder c, which is to produce the substitute object, is not brought under b until the hand of the performer is already on the handle belonging to it, and can thereby check its upward ascent as may be necessary.
It is obvious that the changing trap will be equally available to produce an object under an empty cover. The object to be produced will be placed in c as above, the piston in d going down empty, and that in c rising with the object upon it.
The above are the traps in most frequent use, but there are others designed for special purposes. Thus there is a trap for causing the disappearance of six or eight half-crowns (as, for instance, in the well-known trick of the “crystal cash-box,” which will be described in the course of the present chapter). Of course the coins could be made to disappear through an ordinary trap, but they would cause a suggestive “chink” in their fall. The trap to which we are now referring (see Figs. 275 and 276) is designed to prevent this tell-tale sound, and to cause the half-crowns to disappear in perfect silence. The opening in the surface plate is an inch and three-quarters in diameter, and is closed by a circular piston of brass or zinc, a, working up and down in a small brass cylinder b, and so arranged as to drop by its own weight to the bottom of the cylinder, save when kept up by a little lever catch at the side of the cylinder. A short pin d attached to this catch projects upwards through a slot in the surface plate, and stands up very slightly above the cloth of the table. The disc a being raised level with the surface plate, and secured by means of the catch, six or eight half-crowns or florins are placed on a. The performer, in making the motion of picking up the coins (with one hand), with the tip of the third finger pulls the pin d towards him. This withdraws the catch, and a instantly drops down to the bottom of the cylinder, carrying the coins with it. As soon as a reaches its lowest point, it draws down the pin e, thereby releasing a similar disc f, which, working laterally on a spring pivot at the edge of the opening, describes a semicircle, and assumes the position previously occupied by a, a portion of one side of the cylinder, at the top, being cut away to allow of its passage. Fig. 275 shows the trap in its first, and Fig. 276 in its second condition, the latter being, for greater clearness, drawn in section. The apparatus is rather complicated, and it is almost hopeless to endeavour to render it clearly intelligible by description only. In the absence of this special trap, the same object may be nearly as well effected with an ordinary trap by using half-crowns (be it remembered that it is always substitute coins which are made to disappear in this manner) which have been beeswaxed on both sides. A very slight pressure will cause a number of coins thus prepared to adhere together, and form for the time being a solid mass, which will fall through the trap without causing any “clink.”
We next come to—
Pistons.—These are appliances for working pieces of mechanical apparatus—as, for example, the Watch Target, the Card Star, the Demon’s Head, etc., etc. A piston (see Figs. 277, 278) consists of a brass tube a, about five inches in length by five-eighths of an inch in diameter, with a collar at one end pierced with screw-holes for affixing it to the under surface of the table. Within this tube works a wire rod, b, three-sixteenths of an inch thick, and terminating in a small round disc of brass c, just large enough to work freely up and down the tube. A spiral spring, also of brass, keeps the rod down, unless when forced upwards by pulling a piece of whipcord, which is attached to the disc c, and thence passes up the tube, and over a small pulley d, which is soldered to the collar already mentioned. When this cord is pulled, b is forced to rise, which it does to the extent of about two inches above the surface of the table (see Fig. 278), again sinking under the pressure of the spring, as soon as the pull is relaxed. Each piston is screwed to the under surface of the top of the table, in which a small hole is bored, in order to allow of the upward passage of the piston rod. Where complicated mechanical pieces have to be worked, three, four, or more of these pistons are placed side by side. The cords are carried behind the scenes, either directly from the back of the table, or down grooves in the legs, and through holes in the stage to the hiding-place of the assistant. Where a single piston only is required, it may be made to work in the central pillar of a light guéridon, or fancy table, such as shown in Fig. 279, the lightness and simplicity of the table, and the thinness of its top, apparently precluding all possibility of the presence of concealed mechanism. The cord may be made to pass down the centre pillar, so as to be quite invisible to the audience.
The mechanical pieces worked by the agency of these pistons vary greatly in construction, but they are alike in one particular, viz., that they are set in motion by one or more vertical rods passing up the shaft or column on which they stand, and each terminating in a flat metal disc, or pedal, which receives the upward pressure of the piston. Fig. 280 shows the arrangement of the foot of a mechanical piece worked by one such rod only. Another specimen will have been observed in the case of the pedestal for the animated money. (See page 186.) Where three or four pedals are necessary, they are generally enclosed in a square wooden base, as in the case of the “Demon’s Head,” described at page 458.
Before quitting the subject of the tables used upon the stage, we must not omit to say a few words as to what is called the “bellows” table, though it is now comparatively little used. It was formerly (say forty or fifty years ago) the fashion among conjurors to use tables with drapery hanging to within a few inches of the floor. The table being, say, two feet seven inches high, this gave room for a box-like arrangement, of two feet deep, or thereabouts, within the body of the table. In this box, which was open at the back, was hidden an assistant, who worked the pistons, managed the traps, effected necessary substitutions, etc., etc. Conjuring under such circumstances was very easy work. In 1845, however, Robert-Houdin gave his first public performance, and one of the earliest of his reforms in the magic art was the suppression of the too suggestive drapery, and the substitution of tables of light and elegant form, allowing no possible room for the concealment of an assistant. A reaction set in in favour of the new fashion, which has ever since maintained its ground. The “bellows” table combines the apparent simplicity of the undraped table with the internal capacity of the old-fashioned draped article. There is a trick, formerly very popular as the wind-up of an entertainment, which consists of the magical disappearance of a youthful assistant, male or female. The subject of the trick, generally dressed in a page’s costume, is made to mount upon a table, and is covered by a wicker cone, which being almost instantly removed, he or she has vanished. The table in this case is draped to within a few inches of the ground, but to show that no hidden receptacle is thereby concealed, the performer before commencing the trick lifts up the table-cloth, and shows that the top of the table is at most not more than two or three inches in thickness. The drapery is then again allowed to fall into position, and the trick proceeds. The table used in this trick is a bellows table; i.e., it has a double top, or rather two tops, one above the other. The upper one is a fixture, with a large wooden trap (opening upwards) in it, to allow of the passage of the person to be conjured away. The under top is moveable, being in its normal condition pressed against the upper one by the action of four spiral springs (one in each leg of the table), but sinking down to nearly the depth of the cover under the weight of a person stepping upon it, and thus affording the requisite hiding-place, in which the person remains until the fall of the curtain enables him or her to come forth with safety. Cloth is nailed round three sides of the upper and lower boards, folding between the two when closed, after the manner of the leather of a bellows; and from this circumstance the table derives its name.
Small round tables (for the disappearance of a rabbit, or the like) are sometimes made on the same principle. The following will be found a simple and convenient arrangement:—Let the table be of the form shown in Fig. 281, and two feet seven inches high. Let the uppermost eight inches of the pillar be a plain cylinder a a, an inch and a half in diameter. Below this the pillar may increase in size, and may be of an ornamental character. Take two circular boards of deal or mahogany, each eighteen to twenty inches in diameter, and five-eighths of an inch thick. In the centre of one of them, b, cut a circular hole an inch and three-quarters in diameter. This will form the under side of the “bellows,” the object being to allow the board to slide freely up and down on a a. The other board, which we will call c, is screwed firmly on to the pillar, to form the top of the table. Next take a strip of black alpaca, ten inches in width, and nail its opposite edges round b and c, leaving a small space at one side to give access to the interior. Tie a piece of cord elastic round the centre of the alpaca, tightly enough to exercise a considerable degree of tension. Fix such traps as may be desired in c, and glue over it a fancy-patterned cloth, with a fringe or border hanging down nine or ten inches round the sides. The performer, before executing any trick with this table, may pointedly draw attention to the fact that it contains no drawer or other place of concealment. In doing this (see Fig. 282) he with one hand raises the lower board level with the upper (the action of the elastic drawing in the alpaca between the two), while with the other hand he raises the fringe, and shows, apparently, that the top of the table is but a single board.
The top of every conjuring table should be covered with woollen cloth, not only to prevent the clatter which would be occasioned by the placing of objects upon the bare wood, but to conceal the presence of the traps and pistons. The cloth used should, for this latter reason, be of two colours, and of a tolerably intricate pattern, as the outline of the traps will be thereby rendered much less perceptible; indeed, if the pattern of the cloth be a favourable one for the purpose, the traps should be, by gas-light, absolutely invisible. The cloth should be glued over the top of the table after the manner of a card-table; the upper surface of the traps being first roughed slightly, to make the glue adhere to the metal. When the glue is thoroughly dry (but not until then) the cloth may be cut along the outline of the traps with a very sharp penknife, and small holes bored to allow of the upward passage of the piston rods. As it is necessary in placing a mechanical piece upon the table, to do so exactly over the pistons, it is well to have a couple of wire points projecting upwards a quarter of an inch or so from the surface of the table, in such positions that if the piece of apparatus rests firmly against these (which the performer can tell instantly by feel) it must necessarily be in proper position.
Where “wrist” traps are used, the cloth need not be cut out round the little oblong slab marked c in Figs. 263, 264, but the cloth should be without glue over this particular spot, and for half an inch round it on either side. The cloth will by this arrangement be found, without cutting, to stretch sufficiently over c to allow of the proper working of the trap.
Assuming that our stage appliances are complete, we will proceed to—
The Rabbit Trick.—The performer comes forward to the audience, and borrows a hat. He asks whether it is empty, and is answered that it is; but he, notwithstanding, finds something in it, which the owner is requested to take out. The article in question proves to be an egg. No sooner has this been removed, than the performer discovers that there is still something in the hat, and immediately produces therefrom a live rabbit, quickly followed by a second. Not knowing what other use to make of these, he proposes to pass one of them into the other. The audience decide which is to be the victim, and the performer, placing them side by side on the table, proceeds to roll them together, when one is found to have vanished, nobody knows when or how; but the theory is that it has been swallowed by the remaining rabbit, to the (imaginary) increased fatness of which the performer draws special attention.
Having thus passed one rabbit into the other, the next step is to get it out again. To do this the performer calls for some bran, and his assistant immediately brings forward, and places on a table or chair, a huge glass goblet, twelve inches or thereabouts in height, filled to the brim with that commodity. The performer takes the borrowed hat, and (after showing that it is empty) places it mouth upwards upon another table, so as to be at some considerable distance from the goblet of bran. He then places a brass cover over the glass, first, however, taking up and scattering a handful of the bran to prove its genuineness. Taking the surviving rabbit, and holding it by the ears above the covered goblet, he orders the one swallowed to pass from it into the glass, at the same time stroking it down with the disengaged hand, as though to facilitate the process. He remarks, “You must excuse the comparative slowness of the operation, ladies and gentlemen, but the fact is, the second rabbit passes downwards in an impalpable powder, and, if I were not to take sufficient time, we might find that a leg or an ear had been omitted in the process, and the restored rabbit would be a cripple for life. I think we are pretty safe by this time, however. Thank you, Bunny; I need not trouble you any more.” So saying, he releases the visible rabbit, and on taking off the cover the bran is found to have disappeared, and the missing rabbit to have taken its place in the goblet; while on turning over the borrowed hat the vanished bran pours from it.
The reader who has duly followed our descriptions of the appliances employed in the magic art will have little difficulty in solving the riddle of this trick. The performer first comes forward with an egg palmed in one hand, and with a small rabbit in an inner breast-pocket on each side of his coat (see page 9). The first step is the pretended finding of something (it is not stated what) in the hat. The owner is requested to take it out, and while all eyes are naturally turned to see what the article may prove to be, the performer, without apparent intention, presses the mouth of the hat with both hands to his breast, and tilts one of the rabbits into it. This is next produced, and in placing it on the ground at his feet, the performer brings the second rabbit in the same manner into the hat. When he undertakes to pass the one rabbit into the other, he places both upon the table which contains the rabbit-trap, and, standing sideways to the audience, pushes the hindmost, under cover of the other, through the trap. This particular rabbit is not again produced, the rabbit in the “bran glass,” which has already been explained (see page 383), being another as much like it as possible. It only remains to explain how the bran comes into the borrowed hat. This is effected by having a black alpaca bag filled with bran in one of the profondes or under the waistcoat of the performer. This bag is introduced into the hat after the manner of the goblets (see page 308), and the bran having been allowed to run out, the bag is rolled up in the palm, and so removed, the bran remaining, to be produced in due course.
It is obvious that the trick may be varied in many ways. The following is an effective modification:—A rabbit having been produced by natural or supernatural means, is placed on the principal table (close to the hinder edge), and temporarily covered with a borrowed hat, while the performer goes in search of a sheet of paper, which when obtained, he spreads upon a small side table. Lifting the hat slightly, he takes out the rabbit, and walking with it to the side table, rolls it up in the paper, making a somewhat bulky parcel. Coming forward with this to the audience, he turns toward the principal table, and saying, “Now, ladies and gentlemen, if you watch me very closely, you will see the rabbit fly out of the paper, and back to the hat.” He crushes the paper together between his hands, and tearing it, shows it empty, while on lifting the hat the rabbit is again found safely ensconced beneath it.
The ingenious reader will readily guess that duplicate rabbits are employed. One of them is placed under the hat, and remains there throughout the trick. A second, of similar appearance, is placed in a box or basket on the servante, immediately behind the hat. This box has no lid, but is pushed until wanted just within the interior of the table, the top of which prevents the rabbit making a premature appearance. The performer, slightly raising the hat, as though to take the rabbit from under it, lifts up this second rabbit, which the spectators naturally believe to be the same which they have already seen, and in apparently wrapping it in paper on the side table, presses it, under cover of the paper, through the rabbit trap, and screws up the ends of the paper (which should be rather stiff) in such manner as to make it appear that the animal is still inside it. The same trick may be performed with a pigeon with equally good effect, and considerably less difficulty.
The Fairy Star.—This is one of the most telling of stage card tricks. The performer, coming forward with a pack of cards, allows six to be chosen. His assistant meanwhile brings forward and places on a table a handsome gilt “star” on a stand. The performer, collecting the chosen cards, places them in his pistol, and fires them at the star, when, at the moment of the explosion, they are seen to attach themselves one to each of its points, as in Fig. 283.
The principal point to be explained is the construction of the star. Behind each “ray” is a moveable arm, working on a spring hinge at about two inches’ distance from the point, and carrying a spring clip at its outer end wherein to insert a card. (See Fig. 284, representing a back view of the apparatus.) A card being placed in each of the clips, the six arms, with the cards attached to them, are folded down one by one behind the centre of the star, which is just large enough to conceal them. Each card, as folded, holds down the one which has preceded it. When the last card is folded down, the free end of a moveable button or lever at the top of the pillar on which the star rests is so turned as to press upon the arm which holds the card last folded, and thus to keep it and the five other cards preceding it in place. This button, however, is so arranged as to be instantly withdrawn upon an upward movement being communicated to a wire rod which passes up the centre of the pillar, and terminates in a flat disc of metal at its foot. The apparatus, thus prepared, is placed immediately over one of the pistons of the table. At the moment of firing the pistol the cord of the piston is pulled. The piston rises, pressing up the disc and wire rod, the button is withdrawn, and the arms, being thereby released, revert to their natural position, exhibiting a card upon each point of the star.
There are many little differences of detail between the “stars” of rival manufacturers, but the foregoing may be taken to represent the general principle of all. Some have the addition of a rose in the centre, which opens simultaneously with the appearance of the cards, and discloses a watch, borrowed a moment previously from one of the spectators.
The mode of working the trick varies a good deal in the hands of different performers. The most legitimate method is to “force” cards corresponding to those already folded behind the star, and this method has the advantage of allowing the star to be brought in and placed upon the table before commencing the trick; and as it is not again touched by the performer or his assistant, the appearance on its points of (apparently) the identical cards just chosen seems really miraculous.
To be able, however, to force six cards in succession with ease and certainty, demands a more than average degree of dexterity on the part of the performer; and a “forcing pack” (see page 23) is hardly available where more than three, or at most four cards have to be forced. Various expedients have been adopted to get over this difficulty. Some professors simply collect, or allow their assistant to collect, the cards which have been drawn, and forthwith secretly exchange them for the same number of others. These latter are laid upon the table, and subsequently placed in the pistol, while the originals are carried off by the assistant behind the scenes, and there attached to the star, which is then for the first time brought forward. Others, again, use what are called “longs and shorts”—i.e., two packs of cards, one of which has had a small portion shaved off its length or breadth. The performer offers the uncut pack for the company to draw from, letting each person retain his card, and then secretly exchanging the pack for the shortened pack, he requests each of the drawers (singly) to replace his card, and to shuffle freely. The substituted pack being a shade smaller than the returned card, the latter becomes a “long” card (see page 60); and therefore, however well the cards are shuffled, the performer is able, with absolute certainty, to cut at that particular card. “Here is your card,” he remarks, “the knave of diamonds.” As he names the card, the assistant, behind the scenes, takes the cue, and attaches a corresponding card to the star. The card named is removed from the pack and laid upon the table, in order to be subsequently placed in the pistol, and a second drawn card is returned and shuffled with the like result.
The star may, in the absence of a mechanical table, be placed on the hand, the disc being pushed up by the fingers. Some stars have a moveable stud at the side of the pillar, connected with the rod within, to facilitate this mode of working the trick.
The Card Bouquet.—This is a trick very similar in effect to that last described, though differing a little as to the manner of the appearance of the cards. Six cards are drawn, and placed in a pistol, as in the last case. A vase (apparently of china, but really of tin, japanned), containing a handsome bouquet, is placed upon the table, and, at the instant of firing, the six cards appear ranged in a semicircle above the flowers in the bouquet. (See Fig. 285.) In this instance, the cards are attached to the branches of a sort of fan, so constructed as to open of its own accord, unless forcibly kept closed. The cards having been duly placed in position, this fan is shut, and pressed downwards through a narrow opening in the lower part of the vase, the pressure of whose sides keeps it, for the time being, closed. When pressed upwards by the action of a piston, the fan rises above the level of the flowers, and at the same time opens and exhibits the six cards.
The vase is sometimes made with a second pedal, to produce a second series of six cards. In this case twelve cards are drawn; six of these first appear, and then, at the command of the performer, these six suddenly change to the other six. This is effected as follows:—The twelve cards are pasted back to back in couples. Each of the six arms which hold the cards is so arranged as to be capable of being turned half round (after the manner of the centre of the “watch target”), in which position it is retained by a catch, flying back however to its old position as soon as the catch is released. The six arms are each turned round in this manner, bringing what are naturally the hindmost cards in front. The movement of the first lever exhibits these cards; that of the second lever releases the six catches, when the arms instantly fly round and reveal the other six cards, into which those first exhibited appear to have changed.
The Demon’s Head.—This is a large and effective piece of apparatus, standing about twenty-eight inches from the table. It consists of a grotesque papier maché head, representing that of a demon or satyr, and painted according to taste. It is supported by an ornamental brass column, about an inch in diameter, springing from a velvet-covered base, nine inches square and four and a half high. (See Fig. 286.) At the will of the operator, the head rolls its eyes and opens its mouth, and is sometimes made available in this way to answer questions; the rolling of the eyes being taken to signify a negative, and the opening of the mouth an affirmative. In addition to these accomplishments, the demon will indicate chosen cards in the following manner: Five cards having been selected, are returned to the pack, which, after being duly shuffled, is placed in the demon’s mouth. The performer now orders him to produce the chosen cards, when two of them fly from his mouth, and the other two spring up between his horns.