This trick is one of the many masterpieces of Mr. David Devant, and I am greatly indebted to him for his permission to include a full description of it in this book and to give his method of working the trick.
It was Mr. Devant's custom to follow this trick with the "Wine and Water," and he had an object in doing so, for the preparations for the second trick assisted him in performing the first.
On a tray on the table were four tumblers, the second and fourth of which (counting from the performer's left hand) were inverted. Behind the glasses there was a large glass lamp chimney with a piece of paper tucked into one end, and a finger bowl, with two spouts, filled with water, and a long hat pin.
The effect of the trick—to the audience—was as follows. The performer, having shown that the tube was not prepared in any way, closed one end with a piece of paper (half the piece which had been tucked into the tube at the commencement of the trick). He then filled the tube with water and placed the other piece of paper on the top. He then removed his hand from the lower piece and the water remained in the tube. He explained that there was no trick about that, the pressure of the air kept the paper in its place and so prevented the water from rushing out.
He then removed the paper from the lower end of the tube and still the water remained inside it. Then he took the paper from the top of the tube, and still the water remained in the tube. Having replaced the papers he picked up the large hat pin and held the tube over the bowl. He pierced the upper paper with the pin and held it there for a moment. Directly he withdrew the pin with the paper impaled on it the water fell out of the tube into the bowl, carrying the lower paper with it. The performer then showed once more that the tube was free from preparation by rattling the pin inside it, and he at once went on with the "Wine and Water" trick, using the water in the finger-bowl for that trick.
And now for the explanation. Two small discs of glass which fitted over the ends of the tube were required. The ends of the tube were ground perfectly level and the glass discs were made with a "shoulder" (or sunk edge), so that when once they were placed on the ends of the tube they could not be moved laterally. The edges of these glass discs were also ground perfectly flat and were made to fit exactly on the ends of the tube.
One of the glass discs had a hole in the centre, and this hole was filled up, just before the commencement of the trick, with a little piece of moistened soap. If the soap were prepared too long beforehand it would become crumbly and dry; it has to be soft and damp.
The other glass disc was not prepared in any way. Before the commencement of the trick the disc with the hole in it was placed on the top of the fourth tumbler—and therefore to the performer's right. The other disc was laid on the top of the second tumbler in the row of four.
The piece of paper tucked into the glass chimney was half of a double sheet of note-paper. (Tear a double sheet from side to side.)
And now for the actual performance.
Begin by taking up the glass chimney, removing the paper, picking up the hat pin and rattling it inside the chimney—thus showing that it is not prepared in any way for the trick.
Put the chimney down, pick up the paper and tear it in halves. (The object of having half a double sheet is to enable the conjurer to tear it easily; the crease is ready for him.) The action of tearing the paper is proof that there is no trickery in the paper.
Place one piece of paper on the top of the fourth tumbler (and therefore over the disc with the hole in it). Dip the other piece of paper into the glass bowl, shake it a little, and lay it on the top of the second tumbler. Take the piece from the fourth tumbler, wet it in the same way, and replace it on the top of the fourth tumbler.
Thus both pieces of paper are now wet and are over the two glass discs. Pick up the piece of paper on the second tumbler, secretly taking with it the glass disc (which, of course, is under the paper) and place it on the top of the tube, taking great care not to let the glass disc "talk" against the top of the chimney; the audience must not hear the slightest "chink" of glass knocking against glass.
Now turn the tube over, holding the disc and paper in place, with the second, third and little fingers underneath the paper, which should be moulded round the end of the chimney. Fill the chimney with water, and see that it is really full. Put the bowl down and pick up the other paper, secretly getting the disc under it, and place the disc with the paper over it on the top of the chimney.
Mould the paper round the top of the chimney and turn the chimney over, thus bringing the glass disc with the hole in it at the bottom of the chimney. Press on the disc and then slightly relax the pressure; if it is firmly in place you will feel that it is "sucking" and you can go on to the first part of the mystery.
Take your hand away from the lower end and the paper will naturally remain in position. Then, holding the tube by the middle with the right hand, peel the paper away slowly from the bottom of the tube and put the paper between the lips for a moment while you take the top paper away. In doing this you make use of an excellent little piece of showmanship; you pretend to be very nervous.
The tube is now held perfectly still for a second or two, and as the audience know that it is full of water and cannot see that there is anything either at the top or bottom of the tube, the effect is very mysterious.
Put the paper which was on the top under the lower end, pressing it well round that end, and take the other piece from the lips and mould it firmly round the top. Then invert the chimney, thus bringing the disc with the hole in it to the top again. Again press the papers well round both ends of the chimney.
Remove the lower paper once more, and still the water remains in the chimney. At this point in the trick Mr. Devant had an excellent line of patter which I hope he will forgive me for giving away; it always brought a round of laughter. "Supported entirely by voluntary contributions."
Replace the paper on the lower end of the chimney, and pick up the hat pin. Place the pin in the top paper; of course, the pin passes through the little plug of soap in the glass disc. As you take the pin out again the air naturally gets in and the water begins to fall. (It will be understood, of course, that at this stage of the trick you hold the chimney over the bowl.) Directly you feel the water is moving put the pin back into its place; this is a very important "move."
The water rushes out, naturally taking the disc and paper at the lower end with it. The pin is sticking through the top paper and therefore through the top disc. Remove the pin, taking the disc and paper impaled on it, and push the paper off into the bowl; while you do this you can lift the first paper slightly out of the bowl, so that the top disc sinks to the bottom on the top of the one already there. Then remove both papers and hold up the bowl of water. All trace of the method you employed for bringing about this very mysterious effect is now concealed, for the glass discs cannot be seen at the bottom of the bowl. You pick up the pin and once more rattle it in the glass chimney to show that you have nothing inside it, and then you go on to the next trick.
I have heard conjurers say that if they get one good trick out of a book they have received excellent value for their money. If that be true—and I, for one, certainly think it is—then, thanks to Mr. Devant, purchasers of this book have no cause for complaint, for I know of no finer trick with water than "The Hydrostatic Tube."
One little helpful hint. When the conjurer is about to put the pin through the top paper he may have a slight difficulty in finding the exact place for it. A little stain on the plug of soap will help him to find the right place at once.
The trick needs a steady hand, and the conjurer must not know the meaning of "nerves," but if he will see that the discs fit the ends of the glass chimney perfectly and will carry out these directions he need have no fear of any mishap.
This is a very old trick, but one which is seldom performed in its original and proper form. After being out of fashion for a number of years the trick has been recently revived, and there are now several versions of the trick. To the best of my knowledge, however, all the modern versions of the passe-passe trick omit one important detail—some water or other liquid.
In the original version of the trick the performer comes forward with a bottle and a glass—if these things are not already on the table. (As a matter of fact, it is a good plan to have two small tables on either side of the stage for the presentation of this trick.) Two cardboard cylinders, one fitting inside the other, are also required, together with a small tin funnel. The bottle may be of the champagne kind, or a wine bottle, or a beer bottle; the latter is generally the most convenient; a Bass's label on the bottle serves as a kind of guarantee that the bottle is "genuine."
The performer pours water from the bottle into the glass; in fact, he fills the glass with water. Finding that he has a little too much water for his purpose he pours a little back into the bottle, using the funnel to aid him in the task of getting the water into the bottle. He then places the bottle on the table on his right and the glass on the table on his left.
The next thing to do is to show the cardboard covers to the audience, and in doing this some little amusement may be caused by pretending that you have something concealed in one of the covers. Thus, you lead off by nursing the smaller cover carefully under one arm and showing the larger cover. When this is returned to you slip it over the smaller cover, withdraw the smaller, and hand that out for examination. The audience will at once jump to the conclusion that you have concealed something in the larger cover and will demand to be allowed to "look at the other." Then the argument begins.
"But you have already seen that one," you say.
"Ah," comes the quick reply, "but you've slipped something from the other one into that since we saw it."
Take back the smaller cover, pass it through the larger one, and hand that out for examination. The audience, being now convinced that there is "some trick" in the covers, will demand to see both of them at once, and with a show of reluctance you hand out both covers at once and the audience laugh at themselves for being "had." Possibly, however, some of the more knowing ones will still think that the covers "have something to do with the trick"; if so, all the better for you, because in that case those persons are on the wrong scent altogether.
Having received the covers again you can assure your audience that the covers are made in that way to save space in packing—a remark that is sure not to be believed—and you go on to demonstrate the real use of the covers. One covers the glass, the other the bottle.
The trick is, of course, to make the glass of water and the bottle change places. You pronounce the magical word, lift the covers, and show that your command has been obeyed. Having done that it is as well to raise the glass to let the audience see that there is water in it. Then you cover the glass and the bottle again and cause them to return to their original places, and once more you show that the two covers are empty.
Unknown to the audience the conjurer uses two bottles for this trick and two glasses. The bottles are made of tin and are painted black to resemble dark glass bottles. Neither bottle is quite "ordinary." One of them has no bottom to it, and is therefore a mere shell. The other has the bottom fixed in about half-way down, leaving room for a small glass to be hidden in the bottle under the bottom. Close up against the neck of this bottle there is fixed a tiny tin tube which passes down the neck and then through the centre of the bottom. Therefore, if you merely pour water into the neck of the bottle it remains in the bottle, but if you insert a funnel into the top of the little tube and pour water into the funnel you are really pouring the water into the glass hidden under the bottom of the bottle.
Of course, both bottles must be exactly alike and the label on one must match the label on the other; it is a good plan to have a little piece "accidentally" torn off the label. At the outset of the trick a glass, similar to the "visible" one, is placed in the small bottle (the one holding the water); the shell bottle is placed over that bottle. To enable the conjurer to pick up the bottles and glass together two small holes are made in the backs of the bottles; the tip of the middle finger passes through both holes and holds the glass against the interior of the bottle. In order to prevent the glass from "talking" (making any sound by knocking against the inside of the bottle) it is a good plan to line the lower half of the bottle with cloth.
The working of the trick will now be clear. Hold the bottle in the right hand and the glass in the left. Pour out the water and stand the bottle down, taking care to keep the side with the hole away from the audience. Then apparently pour some of the water back into the bottle, but by using the funnel you pour it into the glass below. When you are practising the trick you can find out by experiment just how much water to pour back in this way, and if you make a little scratch on the glass you will guard against the fatal mistake of pouring in too much (because you cannot get it back again) or pouring too little. Obviously, the water you pour into the bottle (really into the glass below) should be equal in quantity to that which you leave in the glass.
Having settled this matter to your satisfaction place the glass on the other table or, if you are performing with only one table, keep the bottle and glass as far apart as possible; if they are close together some members of your audience may be confused and forget on which side is the bottle and which the glass.
Now comes the business of handing round the cardboard covers for examination. When you get them back again take care to hold the larger one in the right hand. While pattering to your audience you quietly pass the larger cover over the bottle, raise it, and then put the smaller one over the bottle. In raising the larger cover you should nip it slightly and so get the shell bottle inside it.
A word of caution is here necessary. Do not forget that there is a hole in the back of the bottle; when you place the cover containing the shell bottle over the glass—which you do immediately after you have covered the bottle with the smaller cover—you want to make sure that the hole in the shell bottle is still at the back. Therefore, note carefully the position of the hand when you raise the cover with the shell bottle inside it, and when you place the cover over the glass see that your hand assumes the same position. You will probably find it convenient to stand behind the table and to keep your thumb at the back of the cover.
Now the bottle and the glass are covered, and all you have to do to cause them to change places is to raise both covers; you grip the one on the right rather tightly, thus raising the bottle inside it and disclosing the glass, and you hold the other loosely, thus leaving the bottle in view. Cover the glass and bottle again and to cause them to go back to their original positions first pick up the one on your left—gripping tightly to hold the shell bottle inside it; then walk over to the other and raise it, showing the bottle.
This leaves you with the shell bottle inside the larger cover, and you naturally have to get rid of it. Drop the cover over the bottle quickly and then apparently attempt to put the other cover over it. It is impossible to do this, of course, because the cover which held the shell bottle is the larger of the two; therefore you raise the larger cover again, leaving the shell bottle in its original position over the other bottle. Then put the smaller cover inside the larger one, pick up the bottle, taking care to hide the glass inside it, and place it behind your screen or on a side table. Then take away the glass and you are ready for the next trick.
A word as to the appearance of the bottles and the covers. These can be bought at a conjuring shop and you will find that, as the Scotsman said of various brands of whiskey, "Some are better than others." You want a bottle which looks exactly like the real thing, and the only way of making quite sure of getting it is to take an empty bottle with you when you are buying the trick. Note the slope of the "shoulder" of the bottle. The labelling you can do yourself.
As to the covers, take care that they fit properly and are not too stiff. If the larger one is really a shade too small for the shell bottle and is also too limp you will have difficulty in raising the cover quickly and leaving the shell bottle on the table; the bottle will get jammed in the cover and then—well—perhaps you had better tell the audience that the trick has not happened yet, but you hope it will in time! It is better to guard against such a catastrophe by having covers of the right size; they must not be too large or too small.
Although the trick is quite an easy one it requires more than a little practice. The most important move of all is that which enables you to get the shell bottle into the larger cover. You will find that the knack of putting the cover quickly over the bottle and then lifting it up as quickly with the shell bottle inside it is not learned in a moment; at any rate, you cannot learn to do that in a natural way in a moment. To get the move quite right put the cover over the shell bottle and lift it without the shell inside; keep to the same movement when you lift the cover with the shell bottle inside it. To guard against the dropping of the shell you can place your little finger under the cover.
I give a few suggestions for "patter."
"A trick with a bottle and a glass. All kinds of tricks are done with bottles and glasses, but this is not one of those tricks; this is a perfectly harmless trick. At the risk of disappointing the male members of my audience I may say at once that this bottle contains water. I mention that because I noticed that one or two men seemed rather anxious to come on the stage and assist in this experiment. They don't look so anxious now. (This as you pour out the water.) Just ordinary plain water, the stuff that farmers and gardeners always want when they haven't got it, and always grumble about when they have. If you live in a town you grumble because you have to pay for it, whether you use much or little; some people don't run any risk of using too much. I'm afraid there's a little too much there—better put some back; it will do another time. (Pour with funnel into bottle.) There, that's just right; now we can begin. I put the glass over there and the bottle here. There are two other things used in this experiment; you see, this trick ought to be done in the dark because it's rather dangerous, but as we cannot have all the lights put out I have to put the glass and the bottle into these little dark rooms; perhaps you would like to have a look at them. (Then follows the business, already explained, of having the two covers examined.)
"You will notice that both the covers fit over the bottle and, therefore, over the glass, but as we have to cover both we put one on the bottle and the other on the glass. If we were to put one on the glass and the other over the bottle we could not do the trick.
"Now I want somebody to say the magic word, because it doesn't always work if I say it. Will someone please start talking about the weather. That's easy. If you just say the word 'weather' I daresay it will do. (Look inside one of the covers.) It must have heard me; you see, the weather is so changeable—it always is; that's why the word is so useful to conjurers, although I once knew a conjurer who used a shorter word when his trick went wrong. I don't think this trick has gone wrong so far because you see the bottle and glass have changed places. (Lift covers and show them.) The worst of our magic word is that it works only once in a trick. You might keep on saying: 'weather, weather, weather, weather, weather' all day to the trick, but nothing would happen—unless, of course, a kind policeman, thinking that you were temporarily insane, took care of you. No, if we want the rest of the trick to happen we have to whistle to the bottle to come back. You know that beautiful song—'Whistle, and I shall hear.' Well, the bottle always hears. (Whistles.) Here it comes and here it is, and very possibly we shall find that the glass has returned to its original position." (Show it.)
In presenting this trick the conjurer begins by showing two small bowls on a tray. Into one of the bowls he places a little rice and covers it with the other bowl. On lifting the uppermost bowl the conjurer shows that the quantity of rice has increased; the lower bowl is now heaped up with rice, some of which falls on to the tray.
Using the empty bowl as a kind of scoop the conjurer removes some of the surplus rice, letting it fall on the tray. Thus one bowl is now filled to the brim with rice and the other is empty.
Once more the conjurer places the empty bowl over the one containing the rice, and once more he raises the empty bowl. All the rice has now vanished, for it has been magically transformed into water, which the conjurer pours from bowl to bowl.
Thus there are two entirely different effects in this trick. A small quantity of rice placed in a bowl increases in a mysterious manner; the rice is afterwards changed into water.
There are two entirely different methods for this trick. For one of them two china bowls are required; for the other the bowls are of brass. I used the latter method when I presented this trick at St. George's Hall, and I prefer it to the other, especially if I am performing in a room. However, the other method is the more popular of the two, and I will explain that before giving away the secret of the other method.
First, let me give a rough idea of the secret of the first method, in which two china bowls are required, because this method admits of one or two variations, and, of course, it is useless to describe these until the reader knows just "how it is done."
The edge of one of the bowls is ground perfectly flat. This bowl is then filled nearly to the brim with water. A disc of thick celluloid of the same size of the top of the bowl is also required. The disc should be made with a "lip," so that when it is laid on the top of the bowl it cannot easily be pushed off it.
To prepare for the trick dip a finger into the water and run it round the edge of the bowl; dampen the "lip" of the celluloid disc in the same way. Then put the disc on the top of the bowl and press it down evenly all round the edge. If the disc fits properly it will then be possible to turn the bowl upside down without spilling the water; the disc will adhere to the bowl. It is always advisable to have a disc specially made to fit the bowl; then you may be certain that, with a reasonable amount of care, accidents will not happen. If the disc fits properly you can throw the bowl into the air and catch it without any fear of the disc coming away from the bowl.
After the disc has been properly fitted to the bowl wipe it thoroughly dry and place it, upside down, on the tray on which a couple of wooden matches have previously been placed; there is then no risk of the disc adhering to the tray. The empty bowl is placed, upside down, over the faked bowl, and with a bag of rice on the tray, you are ready to do the trick.
Pick up the empty bowl and show it to the audience. Fill it about half full with rice and stand it on the table. Place the faked bowl on the top of it and, holding the hands round the bowls, get them exactly "together"—an easy thing to do because the bowls are the same size.
Keeping the hands in the same position round the bowls pick up both bowls together and reverse them, so that the faked bowl is now underneath. Obviously, there must be some excuse for doing this; that will be provided for in the "patter." The rice naturally falls on to the top of the celluloid disc, and when the top bowl is lifted the rice seems to have increased in quantity.
Hold the empty bowl in both hands and scoop off some of the rice, letting it fall on to the tray. Repeat the operation, taking a little more rice away. In taking still a little more rice away get a finger nail under the edge of the disc, and in apparently scooping off a little more rice lift the disc under the bowl and place it on the tray; as the disc with the rice on it is placed over the loose rice which fell on the tray in the first instance it is not noticed. The latter part of this "move" must be done fairly quickly, especially if one is performing at close quarters, and the empty bowl is at once placed on the top of the other bowl which now contains only water. To show the final effect is, therefore, an easy matter. The top bowl is lifted with the right hand, the other with the left hand, and the water is poured from bowl to bowl.
Now for the "variations" of the trick. The weak point of the trick is at the beginning; only one bowl is shown to be empty. Is it not possible that some of the very attentive members of your audience will notice this fact and will say to themselves: "He showed us only one empty bowl—wonder what's in the other?" Of course, people ought not to think in this way, and some conjurers believe that they do not, but my experience tells me that there are always some persons in every audience who do not miss much when it comes to judging a trick and trying to find out the method of the conjurer.
Theoretically, when the conjurer picks up the faked bowl and holds it upside down he convinces the audience that the bowl is empty. How can there be anything in a bowl which is held upside down? Still, I think you will admit that if you can show the interiors of both bowls at the beginning of the performance you make it a much "stronger" trick than if you show only one bowl and let the state of the other be taken for granted. Besides, being an enthusiastic magician you will naturally want to make your performance as nearly perfect as possible, and therefore you will want to begin this trick by showing "two empty bowls." How are you to do it?
Obviously, one bowl has to be exchanged for the faked bowl, and that means that the faked bowl has to be hidden at the beginning of the trick. Here is a simple way of getting over that difficulty.
Have a fairly large bag of rice. Place the faked bowl near the back of the tray and the bag of rice in front of it; the bag can be shaped round the bowl. You will also need a "servante" at the back of your table; this can be either a small shelf or, better still, a bag with the mouth slightly stiffened with a strip of whalebone. The "servante" is hidden from the audience by the tablecloth, which hangs down in front of the table.
Proceed in this way. At the beginning of the trick stand on the left-hand side of your table. Pick up a bowl in each hand, show the bowls to the audience, put the one in the left hand on the table and apparently put the other on the table behind the bag of rice; of course, you really drop it into the bag or place it on the shelf at the back of the table. Continue the movement of the arm until your right hand is resting against the faked bowl which is hidden behind the bag of rice. At the same moment pick up the bag of rice with the left hand. The audience see two bowls on the table and naturally think that they are the two bowls which you have just shown to them. One of the bowls has not left their sight, and if you make the "change" skilfully no one will suspect you of having made it.
If you use this method of exchanging one ordinary bowl for the faked bowl you should have a very small tray and a very small table; otherwise, you have no excuse for apparently putting one bowl behind the bag of rice. Why should you not put it at the side of the bag if there is room for it there? Inquisitive people ask themselves these questions sometimes. If you have a very small tray you naturally have to put the second bowl down on the only vacant spot on it—behind the bag of rice—but at the same moment you lift the bag.
Directly you have picked up the bag of rice with the left hand you pass it to the right, pick up the empty bowl with the left hand and pour some rice into it. Take care to let the audience see that rice, and nothing but rice, goes into the bowl. Then put the bag down, pick up the faked bowl, and present the rest of the trick in the way described.
This method is perfectly safe if you are performing on a small platform or stage, so that your table is raised, but it is not practical in a small room with the audience close to the table. If you wish to do the trick under those difficult conditions I suggest that you use very small bowls and have a box of rice in place of the bag. The exact size of the box will depend on the size of the bowls.
Dip both bowls (having first shown them to be empty) into the box and scoop up as much rice as you can get into them. Pour the rice back into the box. Do this two or three times, and while you are apparently doing the same thing for the third time bury the bowl which you have been holding in your right hand in the box of rice and bring up in its place the faked bowl, which was hidden in the box before the commencement of the trick. You must take care to remember the position of the faked bowl in the box.
In exchanging one bowl for another in this way your hand must not pause in its movement down into the box and up again. To make quite sure of getting the movement right practise in front of a looking-glass. First, dip the two bowls into the box of rice and scoop up the rice into both bowls. Remember just how your hands moved when you did that. Now start again, but this time exchange the bowl in your right hand for the faked bowl.
Now tilt the rice back into the box, and the audience should be convinced that you have two empty bowls in your hands because both bowls are now upside down. Put the faked bowl, upside down, on the table. Take a little rice from the box with the right hand and let it fall into the empty bowl; continue doing this until you have filled the bowl. Then pick up the faked bowl and continue the trick in the way already described. You will find it convenient to close the lid of the box and to use the top of it as your table.
If brass bowls are used no celluloid disc is required, and it is not necessary to exchange one bowl for another; the secret of the trick lies in the preparation of one of the bowls, and yet, at the beginning of the trick, both bowls can be held with their interiors facing the audience. Thus, the second method is altogether different from the first.
The shape of the two brass bowls is shown in the illustration. The faked bowl has an inner lining fitted to it, with sufficient space between the lining and the bowl itself to hold a considerable quantity of water. The lining is of highly polished brass, like the rest of the bowl, and if it is kept "on the move" it can safely be shown to the audience. People think that the lining is really the interior of the bowl, and the fact that they can see inside both bowls helps to convince them that the bowls are unprepared.
It will be obvious that the interior of the faked bowl is really much smaller than that of the "plain" bowl; if, therefore, the latter bowl is filled with rice and the faked bowl placed on the top and both bowls are turned over together the quantity of rice appears to have increased because it overflows. (The edge of the faked bowl is made to fit into the edge of the other bowl, and thus the task of inverting the bowls is simplified; they cannot slide apart.)
Near the brim of the faked bowl there is a small air hole, and there is another hole in the centre of the bottom of the bowl. To fill the space between the inner lining and the bowl itself with water and to prevent the water from falling out until you wish it to appear, proceed in this way.
Place the bowl in water and let it remain there until no more air bubbles rise to the surface. Move the bowl once or twice in the water to make sure that the space is properly filled. Lift the bowl out of the water by the brim, but just before you get the brim clear of the water put a finger on the air hole there; then the water will not run out of the air hole at the bottom of the bowl.
Keep the finger jammed down tightly on the air hole in the brim of the bowl, wipe the outside of the bowl thoroughly dry and place a small piece of adhesive rubber plaster over the air hole in the bottom of the bowl. You can then turn the bowl upside down without any fear that the water will escape through the air hole in the brim. Wipe the inside of the bowl thoroughly dry and you are ready to start the trick.
Place the faked bowl, upside down, on the table and the other bowl over it. (You will understand, of course, that the bowls should be in this position on the table when you are about to present the trick.)
Pick up the plain bowl with the left hand and the faked bowl with the right, and show the interiors of both bowls to the audience. Pour rice into the plain bowl until it is nearly full, and put the faked bowl on the top of it. Invert the two bowls together; when you separate them the quantity of rice will have apparently increased, because the interior of the faked bowl is really much smaller than that of the plain bowl.
As there is no celluloid disc to get rid of there is no need to use the empty bowl as a scoop with which to level the rice; in fact, it will be inadvisable to use it. By using the bowl as a scoop one would merely level the rice, whereas it is really necessary to get nearly all the rice out of the faked bowl. Begin by levelling the rice with the left hand while you hold the other bowl in front of it; just before you replace the empty bowl bend the left fingers slightly and thus scoop out as much of the rice as you can possibly get out in this way. You must not let the audience see that you are really trying to empty the bowl, and no harm is done if you leave a little rice in it.
Replace the empty bowl on the top of the faked bowl, and invert both bowls together; just before putting them on the table remove with the left thumbnail the piece of rubber plaster which has covered the air hole in the bottom of the faked bowl. (If you are performing in a hall with part of the audience in a gallery, so that they can look down on to the top of the bowls, it is as well to disguise the little piece of rubber plaster with a touch of gold paint.)
Directly the rubber plaster is removed the water will start to run out into the bottom bowl, and here we come to one of the disadvantages of this method. To my mind it is only a very trifling disadvantage, but I know that some conjurers regard it almost as a serious defect. The water runs out of the air hole slowly, and therefore it is necessary to "patter" for about a minute while the water is dropping into the lower bowl. (The exact time will depend on the size of the bowl.)
Some conjurers do not talk at all during their performance; therefore this method of doing the trick does not appeal to them. Some conjurers who do talk during their performances are chary of pattering for a whole minute without doing anything; they think that to do this looks as though they were "holding up" the trick. Until you have pattered for a whole minute without doing anything you do not realise what a very long time one minute can seem to be; you must remember that, to some members of the audience, at any rate, you appear to be talking for no reason whatever.
Well, I have presented this trick at St. George's Hall and at private performances and, as I have said, I prefer this method to the one with the china bowls. I admit, however, that a drawing-room conjurer may find the preparation of the trick a little tiresome. I have known a conjurer to prepare the faked bowl—fill it with water and seal it—before setting out on his journey to give his performance, but I should not care to risk doing that myself. If the air hole should get uncovered there would be a tragedy! The question therefore arises—How are you to prepare for the trick in a drawing-room?
The simplest plan is to take a small pail—about as large as a child's seaside pail—with you. Remember, the bowl has to be placed in the water. Carry your own pail in your bag, and then all you have to ask for is a large jug of water. Now, to continue with the presentation of the trick.
When the water has trickled through into the lower bowl pick up the top one—the faked bowl—with the left hand, take the other bowl with the right hand and pour some of the water into the faked bowl. There will be more than enough water to fill this bowl, and so if you wish you can pour some into a glass bowl on table. You will notice that in this form of the trick both the rice and the water increase.
I give some suggestions for "patter" which, of course, can be shortened considerably if the conjurer is using china bowls. Some "silent" conjurers dash through the trick in about half a minute, but it is as well to let your audience see what you are doing. If you are going to use brass bowls you should rehearse the trick very carefully, so that you may be able to fill in the time while the water is running from one bowl to another.
"I will try and show you how to make a rice pudding—a new kind of rice pudding. You cook it in two bowls, so as to give the rice room to swell. Even then it isn't swell rice. Swell rice is the kind which is used at weddings. A man doesn't mind how much of this (pouring rice into bowl) he has thrown in his face on his wedding day, but he does object to cold rice pudding more than five times a week after his wedding day. And he often gets it! Believe me, he does. You will notice that by this method of cooking (lift the bowls, wave them in the air and finally invert them), the rice is cooked entirely by friction. No fire needed; therefore no coal bill; therefore, the coal merchant goes broke. You see what new methods lead to. I don't know if the rice is done yet; excuse me for a moment while I listen to it. There is no sadder sight in this world than an underdone rice pudding. Yes, I think it is done; anyhow we'll chance it. (Lift bowl, showing quantity of rice increased.) You see, by this method your rice does not swell in the cooking; the more you cook the more rice you get; there's far too much here. (Level rice off and replace bowl; if brass bowls are used invert them.)
"Perhaps I ought to have explained at the beginning that this method of cooking rice is rather slow; if the rice is at all aged and tough it may take hours and hours—or even longer—to cook itself in a proper manner; of course, this rice is strictly proper—highly refined. It can be used for puddings, cakes, poultices, dog-biscuits and bill-stickers' paste; it can also be used for waterproofing boots, and it is invaluable for invalids. I once induced an invalid friend of mine to try some of my patent rice pudding. The invalid got better at once—afraid of having to face a second dose. It's dangerous stuff—rice pudding. Many a happy home has been nearly wrecked—all through a cold, heavy, stodgy, underdone, beastly rice pudding. Ladies, let it be a warning to you. . . . I beg your pardon—I've been talking so much that I've been forgetting my own cooking. (Lift bowl and pour water from one bowl to the other.) I'm very sorry. Really I must apologise. All the rice has been cooked away—perhaps it's as well, because nobody really likes rice pudding."
In its simplest form this trick consists in putting some silver sand into a bowl of water and taking it out—perfectly dry. But the trick in that form is hardly worth doing and certainly not worth the trouble involved in its preparation.
An important additional effect is produced by using sands of three colours—red, white, and blue. The white sand is not really white, but the natural colour of the sand. In this case, not only does the conjurer take out the sand perfectly dry, but he takes out the sand of the colour named by the audience.
This is a trick which depends largely for its effect upon the showmanship of the performer, for unless the audience are thoroughly convinced that the bowl of water is what the conjurer says it is and nothing more—an ordinary bowl nearly filled with ordinary water—and unless the audience are further convinced of the fact that the sands of different colours are poured into the bowl and are thoroughly stirred up into the water they will not be properly surprised when the conjurer comes to the climax of the trick.
Therefore, the conjurer should lead off by giving the bowl out for examination. The bowl can be either of glass, metal, or china. The trick is most effective, I think, when a glass bowl is used; it should be a large flat bowl.
The different sands should be placed in bags, the red sand being in a red bag, and so on.
If the conjurer uses a glass bowl he should have the water in a large glass jug. He leads off by holding up the bowl for inspection; then he gives it out for examination. If he is performing in a room he should have a box or some kind of stand on the table, so that everyone can see the bowl during the whole of the performance.
Having received the bowl back again the conjurer pours in the water, and he should take note beforehand of the actual quantity required. If there is too much water some of it may get splashed over the brim during the performance of the trick, and if there is too little the trick is not sufficiently effective; besides, with a little water the trick is more difficult.
The conjurer then picks up the red bag and pours out the sand, a little at a time, on to his other hand; he should take care to let the audience see that he has nothing concealed in his hand at the beginning of the trick, and in pouring out the sand he should work slowly so that the audience see that he pours out nothing else but sand. While he is doing this he should hold his hand over the bowl, because some of the sand will drop off his hand into the water. There will naturally be quite a little mound of sand on his hand when the bag is empty. He then tips the sand into the bowl and stirs it slightly. The dye will colour the water.
He proceeds to empty the other two bags in the same way, taking great care to let the audience see that the bags contain nothing but sand and that he places nothing else in the water. At the end of these proceedings the water will be thoroughly coloured.
The conjurer, having turned up his sleeves, dips his right hand into the water, and stirs it up. Then, displaying his empty hand to the audience, he dips it into the water and takes out a handful of the wet sands and holds it up so that the audience can see it. He returns the "mud" to the bowl and washes off any sand from his hands.
Once more he dips his hand into the bowl and takes it out closed. Picking up a glass goblet with his other hand, he holds it under his right hand from which dry red sand slowly trickles. When the hand is empty he opens it, shows it to the audience, and puts the goblet down. Then he washes his hands in the bowl, and repeats the performance with the white sand and the blue, so that at the end of the trick the audience can see the sands in the three goblets. At the conclusion of the trick he can pour all the water with the sand "mud" into another vessel and thus show once more that the bowl is not prepared in any way for the trick.
This splendid effect is brought about by very simple means. Most conjurers hold the opinion that the best tricks are simple; this one is both simple and easy.
The principal secret consists in the preparation of small quantities of the different sands. First of all a quantity of sand is dyed red and a similar quantity is dyed blue, and both are left to dry. While they are drying the conjurer can prepare the white sand.