Water Wizardry Part 4

CHAPTER IV

THE Pa.s.sE-Pa.s.sE TRICK

This is a very old trick, but one which is seldom performed in its original and proper form. After being out of fas.h.i.+on 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 pa.s.se-pa.s.se 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 gla.s.s--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 Ba.s.s'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 gla.s.s; in fact, he fills the gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s 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 amus.e.m.e.nt 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, pa.s.s 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 a.s.sure your audience that the covers are made in that way to save s.p.a.ce 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 gla.s.s, the other the bottle.

The trick is, of course, to make the gla.s.s of water and the bottle change places. You p.r.o.nounce the magical word, lift the covers, and show that your command has been obeyed. Having done that it is as well to raise the gla.s.s to let the audience see that there is water in it. Then you cover the gla.s.s 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 gla.s.ses. The bottles are made of tin and are painted black to resemble dark gla.s.s bottles. Neither bottle is quite "ordinary." One of them has no bottom to it, and is therefore a mere sh.e.l.l. The other has the bottom fixed in about half-way down, leaving room for a small gla.s.s 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 pa.s.ses 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 gla.s.s hidden under the bottom of the bottle.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

_Hole in back of bottle_

_BOTTLE NO 2._

{special bottle with straw to gla.s.s inside, and hole in side so finger can hold gla.s.s against edge of bottle} _Finger thro' hole_

_FRONT._

_LIFTING BOTTLE AND GLa.s.s._

Fig. 7]

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 gla.s.s, similar to the "visible" one, is placed in the small bottle (the one holding the water); the sh.e.l.l bottle is placed over that bottle. To enable the conjurer to pick up the bottles and gla.s.s together two small holes are made in the backs of the bottles; the tip of the middle finger pa.s.ses through both holes and holds the gla.s.s against the interior of the bottle. In order to prevent the gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s below) should be equal in quant.i.ty to that which you leave in the gla.s.s.

Having settled this matter to your satisfaction place the gla.s.s on the other table or, if you are performing with only one table, keep the bottle and gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s.

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 pa.s.s 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 sh.e.l.l 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 sh.e.l.l bottle over the gla.s.s--which you do immediately after you have covered the bottle with the smaller cover--you want to make sure that the hole in the sh.e.l.l bottle is still at the back. Therefore, note carefully the position of the hand when you raise the cover with the sh.e.l.l bottle inside it, and when you place the cover over the gla.s.s see that your hand a.s.sumes 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 gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s, and you hold the other loosely, thus leaving the bottle in view. Cover the gla.s.s 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 sh.e.l.l bottle inside it; then walk over to the other and raise it, showing the bottle.

This leaves you with the sh.e.l.l 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 sh.e.l.l bottle is the larger of the two; therefore you raise the larger cover again, leaving the sh.e.l.l 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 gla.s.s inside it, and place it behind your screen or on a side table. Then take away the gla.s.s 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 sh.e.l.l bottle and is also too limp you will have difficulty in raising the cover quickly and leaving the sh.e.l.l 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 sh.e.l.l 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 sh.e.l.l 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 sh.e.l.l bottle and lift it without the sh.e.l.l inside; keep to the same movement when you lift the cover with the sh.e.l.l bottle inside it. To guard against the dropping of the sh.e.l.l you can place your little finger under the cover.

I give a few suggestions for "patter."

"A trick with a bottle and a gla.s.s. All kinds of tricks are done with bottles and gla.s.ses, 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 a.s.sist 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 gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s, but as we have to cover both we put one on the bottle and the other on the gla.s.s. If we were to put one on the gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s 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 gla.s.s has returned to its original position." (_Show it._)

CHAPTER V

THE RICE BOWLS

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 quant.i.ty 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 quant.i.ty 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 bra.s.s. 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.