Water Wizardry: A collection of tricks in which water is the chief agent

ks are easy, but I advise the amateur conjurer to try them over private

Impo

ch is about half full. Be very anxious-before an audience-to see that there is the same quantity of water in each glass, not that this little

rest, while the hand still holds it, on the paper bridge. Naturally, the paper will sink down under the weight. Then you move the

g.

again. You explain that there is a way of resting the glass on the paper in such a way that the paper shall not sink down. Some br

r giving me the clue. It won't be such a bad trick-will it?-if I make a bridge between the

l in the glass," say

the water stil

hat it cannot be done; others will beg to be allowe

t. Why was he so jolly careful to get the same quant

audience will suggest putting something under the paper-a strip of cardboard or something

g besides the articles they see is used, but they are w

nd rest the paper on the tops of two of the glasses. The paper is then in corrugated form and it wil

king: "Can you do this?" and then proceeding to do it, but by workin

ufficiently thick, that the pleats are folded properly (they must not be too wide) and that the glass is not too heavy. The trick is quite simple with a "pony"

Old

he has seen it before and that it is an old trick, but you need not let a little thing like that worry you. The tric

ping you to drop the penny into the glass of water when you say "Go!" They obey your instructions and the penny is heard to drop into the water. (You will understand, of course,

up and under the handkerchief while you kept the penny concealed in your hand. The eyeglass was therefore dropped into the glass and it sank to the bottom. B

the conclusion of the trick the sm

look at t

thinks he has "got you," but

able to get at it easily. The prepared corner, with the eyeglass resting on it, should be at the top. When you take the handkerchief by the prepared corner from your pocket the eyeglass will hang down behind the handkerchief and be hidden there. Then take the handkerchief by the prepared corner in your left hand and apparently place the penny under the handkerchief, but of course you conceal the penny in your hand and bring up the eyeglass. Someone grasps the eyeglass by the edge (through the handkerchief) and lets it fall

int M

er to half a pint of water, and a cup of coffee wit

t placing a small tumbler in the large one, pouring the coffee into the small tumbler and the water around it. But can it be said that you pour both t

which you carry o

very slowly, a few drops at a time, on to the top of the cardboard, which breaks the fall of the water. The water runs off to the edge, and as the coffee is

fer to drink the coffee without drinking the water, and you achieve this apparent miracle by mer

care, of course, not to disturb the surface of the coffee. You can also take out near

hower

somebody at a Christmas party. Just tell your audience that instead of doing the next trick yourself you will show somebody else how to do it. Then pour out a glass of water, put a small plat

ut in order to get the glass to yo

ressing the glass against the plate with the right hand, bend down to the table until you can put the glass on t

not result in a shower bath for the man who is trying it for t

ottom of the glass. Then, pressing the plate against the glass slowly raise the head and stand erect

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h water and place the empty glass on the top of it. The trick is to pour the water into the empty

bed during the rehearsal) and then pull off the top one with your mouth and hold it firmly between the teeth. Then you can pour the water into it. St

eady

ake the precaution to slip a match under the table-cloth before you begin. If you are doing the trick at a dinner table it is just possible that some evil-disposed person may notice the little bump in the tablecloth caused by the match, and so you prepare for t

the

ece about eight inches square is large enough-and on the cardboard and exactly over the glass stand a cork. On the top of the cork balance a tangerine orange. Now, if you give a

en you can do the trick every time with one glass you can try it with two glasses-using a larger

t follow up your stroke when you are hitting the cardboard away. Just give it a sharp knock and bring the hand to a standstill with a jerk. Look around you before you do the trick; otherwi

y is generally used, and the raised edge of the tr

the

ght hand, the face of the card being towards the audience. Now,

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se you are not likely to trouble to learn it; it consists in actually doing what you profes

specially prepared card. This is m

r card and then fold back the half which is not stuck so that the ba

here will naturally be a little curve in the part which you folded back) you must make a little spring hinge by means of a strip of india-rubber down the card. A card prepared in this way can be bought at a conjuring shop. The trick is quite a good one when done in this way, but, of course, it has this

ourse, if you are performing with a borrowed pack of cards you will have to seize your opportunity to do this w

he top of the card the back of the left hand is towards the audience and the hand nearly covers the whole of the card. This gives you the chance of bending back the top card to make a firm resting-place for the glass. The bending is done with the right first finger. To assist you in keeping the cards nicely square

y return the two cards to the pack and shuffle th

ass on the edge with your left hand just stick your right first finger straight up behind the card and rest the glass partly on the edge of the card and partly on the tip of your finger which, of course, is hidden by