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HOME FUN BY CECIL H. BULLIVANT NEW YORK DODGE PUBLISHING COMPANY 214-220 East 23rd St. COPYRIGHT , 1910, BY DODGE PUBLISHING COMPANY...
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Not to produce workers of wonders or exponents of marvelous mysteries; not to launch on an already over-crowded market a host of professional or semi-professional entertainers—but rather to give to those who can find real pleasure in amusing others, such knowledge as shall enable them to transform the lagging winter hours into periods of sheer delight, has this book been written. While in no sense does it claim to be an exhaustive guide to home amusements, it represents a serious effort to bring within the scope of one volume almost every form of popular home diversion. The subjects have been dealt with from a simple but perfectly practical point of view. In addition to the different accomplishments being so explained as to be easily comprehended and acquired, the successful presentment of them is made possible at a minimum of expense. The greatest difficulty which formerly faced the amateur entertainer was...
2 minute read
A great many people are deterred from embarking on the sea of amateur theatricals for the reason that the expense and trouble incurred in providing an adequate stage, and in finding plays suitable for amateurs, seem to outweigh other considerations. The following hints and suggestions, then, are not intended for the lordly Thespians who would aspire to flaunt their histrionic powers in public assembly-room or civic town-hall. For them there are those who make it their business to erect stages, provide “swell” scenery, and all the paraphernalia required. It is, of course, possible to act without a stage proper at all, especially if you happen to live in a house that boasts a double drawing-room with folding doors, in which case a curtain would also be a superfluity, for the doors could be closed and thrown open when the audience are in their places, though if a curtain should be...
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An essential piece of stage furniture for amateur theatricals is the drop curtain. It can be made from two equal widths of some serviceable material such as dark cretonne, supported by brass rings on a stout bamboo rod, to either end of which are attached large steel eyes (A, A, Fig. 1 ). Fig. 1.—Back view of drop curtain. The bamboo rod should be cut to such a length that when the eyes have been added, the whole can be fixed to steel hooks screwed into the picture-molding on either side of the room. Should any difficulty be experienced in procuring a rod of sufficient length, the difficulty may be overcome by the use of two shorter pieces joined at the middle by iron sockets. In the case where it is intended to give the performance in either a schoolroom or a small hall, a curtain of much greater size...
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Scenery, as a rule, proves a great barrier to the would-be promoters of amateur theatrical enterprises. The purchase of suitable surroundings for the presentation of various scenes is a luxury only to be indulged in by the well-to-do. In fact, to carry out an ordinary play on these lines involves the expenditure of many dollars. It is hoped that the practical instructions given here will not only avoid such unnecessary and perhaps unwarrantable expense, but will also tend greatly to increase the interest of those taking part in the work. Where scenery is required, it is as well to confine oneself to a play that takes place indoors, though, of course, it is possible even without a back-drop to give a praiseworthy presentment of an open-air scene by means of a plain background, against which are fastened boughs of trees, while the judicious grouping of greenhouse plants can be used...
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To deal first with the “flats” or separate parts of the scenery. The primary essentials for these are a number of lengths of 2 1 ⁄ 2 -inch battening; other requisites being a plenitude of nails of all sizes, glue, brown paper or canvas, powdered color, and size. The purpose of this latter commodity is for painting the wood-work or any other desired article, such as a sideboard, dresser, or fireplace. Cut the battening to lengths appropriate to the dimensions of the stage, or, in other words, with due regard to the height of the room and the width and depth of the platform. Fig. 2 shows the general arrangement of the five “flats,” placed in the order shown, with the largest one, consisting of the double doors, in the center. Now, as the width of these “flats” depends entirely upon the space they occupy when put into the position...
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The next item for consideration is papering. A visit to almost any paperhanger’s will reveal the fact, that the shopman possesses quantities of certain designs, perhaps not quite large enough to be of practical service to him for papering a room. In this circumstance the stage carpenter should be able, by the expenditure of a few cents, or a quarter at the outside, to obtain quite enough for his purpose. Next, he can procure from any builder’s yard a few lengths of architrave or beaded edging for doorways and windows. This will have to be mitered and fixed to the frames. A few slips of board, with beading along one edge, should also be purchased at the same time for fixing to the bottom of the frames to form the skirting. Now paste the wall-paper to the frames. Fig. 7.—Complete door with section. Fig. 8.—Flat 1 or 5 converted into...
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A glance at Fig. 9 will put the amateur stage carpenter in full possession of all details relating to the construction of this latticed porch. Of course, it will be found necessary to make two pieces of the part numbered 1— i.e. the batten frame and cross-pieces—as one will be fixed on either side of the door to support the roof. The lattice-work may be purchased in a length, or made from laths, and nailed to the frame. Fix the sides of the porch close up to the doorposts by means of zinc brackets and pins, as indicated by the two crosses. Next pin on the roof, as at 4, Fig. 9 . Paint the finished porch bright green and the roof red. A second reference to Fig. 8 shows that it suggests a design of bricks, covered with creeper or a tree. If necessary, treat the other side of...
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A very useful adjunct to the plain “flat” ( Fig. 6 ) is a portable fireplace, which is depicted in detail in Fig. 10 . To make this, buy a length or so of 3 ⁄ 4 -inch planking, one length of which should be cut for the mantelpiece, according to the size required. Next cut two supports of equal dimensions to form the sides (A, A, in elevation). These are nailed to the “flat,” and the mantelpiece is kept in position by two solid wooden brackets (D, D). Two slips are also added to the base of the supports at E, E. The piece C is let in flush with A, A. Fig. 9.—Construction of portable porch. Fig. 10.—Portable fireplace and grate. Below this, to the back of the rectangular opening, attach a piece of very stout blackened cardboard, of the shape shown, leaving an opening for...
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Fig. 11 gives the front and back view of this very useful piece of stage furniture, which may be utilized either as a counter, sideboard, or bottom of a dresser; or, appropriately draped and surmounted by a looking-glass, it may serve as a dressing-table. Fig. 11.—Portable counter or sideboard. Fig. 12.—Detached parts of counter or sideboard. The sections are illustrated in Fig. 12 , the pieces marked 1 forming the sides, 2 the top, and 3 the front. Steel eyes are numbered 4, and their purpose is to hold the sides, front, and top together by strong cord, attached as in the back view of Fig. 11 . 5 in Fig. 12 is a projecting panel, also seen in the front view of Fig. 11. 6 ( Fig. 12 ) indicates the back supports to which the front joined boards are nailed. The beading which is fixed along three sides...
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The construction of home-made theatrical effects may be closed with brief hints regarding the much-needed and ever-useful back-cloth, which plays a part in most exterior scenes, such as park lands, gardens, &c. It consists of several lengths of calico joined together to form a square of the size required. This is then fixed on a large wooden roller with a similar roller at the bottom to weight it, and prepared with a coating of size and whiting. A friend of unquestionable artistic ability should be asked to paint in a view or other scenery. In scene-painting bear in mind that only the brightest and most vivid colors are to be used. The colors are made from powder mixed with size, and must be applied with broad touches for distant effects. The back-cloth can be fixed according to the means available. For the proscenium, three pieces of wood to suit breadth...
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It is necessary that the amateur who wishes to make his efforts at private theatricals a success should have a fair knowledge of the art of “make-up.” While no great amount of money need be expended, at the same time the best results can be obtained only from the use of good cosmetics. Grease paints, obtainable from any purveyors of theatrical appliances, are excellent and not very expensive. There is no doubt that many people consider it quite sufficient to dab a little paint on the face, smear it over carelessly with the addition of some powder, and imagine, quite erroneously, that they are well made-up. The outward signs of character are to be represented by “make-up,” and it is quite essential that this effect should be produced; therefore, with a slight knowledge of what is to be avoided, and what effected, the home-actor should attain to some degree of...
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Lining is an important part of “make-up,” by its aid the lines of the face being diminished or deepened, shadows created for sunken effects, and “high lights” produced— i.e. touching up the cheek-bones to give them prominence. By careful use of this latter branch of “make-up” the whole character of the face can be changed. High lights are produced by a lighter shade of grease paint than that used for the rest of the complexion, being placed upon the feature to be emphasized; for instance, if the actor wishes his nose to appear thinner, he will draw a straight white line from the top to the tip, enhancing the effect with a careful application of the gray paint ( Fig. 1 a ). The cheek-bone, nose, chin, and brow are parts of the face which are made up for high lights, though if wrinkles are to be accentuated this is...
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In making-up for the character of a juvenile, the strength of light on the platform or stage is to be taken into consideration. If a fairly strong light, the make-up must not be too deep, but the player will soon become experienced in this matter by taking the trouble to consider the effect of different lights. Before commencing with the grease paints the face is well rubbed with cold cream or cocoa butter, and wiped with a towel, so that none of the former remains visible. Fig. 9.—Preliminary lining. The flesh-colored paint may now be drawn across the face several times, the method of procedure being: two lines across forehead, two on each cheek, one down the nose, and several on the neck ( Fig. 9 ). With the palms of the hands this is smoothed over carefully, and finally rubbed quite lightly with a dry towel. The foundation is...
43 minute read
This is perhaps the most difficult make-up, for it is much easier to go to one extreme from another, than to make a fairly young person look like a middle-aged one ( Fig. 13 ). In the case of a man it is advisable to depend on the addition of whiskers and mustache, and even glasses or spectacles lend age. A sallow paint is usually required for middle-age make-up, and it can be blended with a lighter paint for pale effects; but to produce a hearty bloom or florid complexion, the application of a little red or brown is recommended. Fig. 13.—“Middle-age” make-up. Fig. 14.—“Old-age” make-up. The mid-gray wig is also an immense aid, but failing this, a small amount of powder sifted over the hair will give a similar effect....
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If the character desired to be represented is carefully studied, notice being taken of where there is a high light and where the shadows of the face lie, there should be little or no difficulty in producing a lifelike representation. Particular notice should be taken of wrinkles and lines, and these must be carefully blended as in Fig. 14 . The next essential is the wig, either gray or white being the most useful. For the old age complexion it is better to get the grease paint for that purpose; but when the necessity for it is but seldom, an application of the sallow paint, or in the case of great emaciation, the addition of a little blue, well blended, will create quite a good effect. Fig. 15 a .—Natural features. Fig. 15 b .—Putty applications. Fig. 15 c .—Finished features. Fig. 15 c .—Finished features. Sometimes it...
44 minute read
The most inexpensive of these necessary adjuncts to the home entertainer’s make-up are undoubtedly those he models for himself from crêpe hair, which can be bought in a plait and untwined as it is wanted, a coarse-toothed comb being passed through it. With a few twirls it can be made the desired shape and cut, and when wanted for a beard, opened out until it has a hollow cone-shape appearance, and placed on the chin after a thin coating of adhesia has been applied. The same method applies to eyebrow and mustache making. When it is desired to create an unshaven, unkempt effect, pieces of crêpe hair are cut up exceedingly fine on to a newspaper, the chin covered with adhesia and the finely-cut hair sifted evenly over the skin. These little pieces are also useful for sprinkling where the false beard meets the face, in order to take away...
43 minute read
Having told how to put on make-up, a few instructions for its easy removal may not be out of place. Whilst soap and water will take off the grease paint, the simpler method is to remove it with one of the following: Cold cream, cocoa butter, or olive oil. Vaseline is to be avoided, as it will often cause a growth of hair; and for this reason when purchasing cold cream it is advisable to procure the best, for in the cheaper makes vaseline is largely employed. Pieces of cloth kept specially for the removal of “make-up” are to be recommended, one for taking the chief layer off and another of soft texture for final rubbing before the much-needed wash is resorted to. For dispelling traces of the prepared burnt cork used for minstrels and negro burlesques, a pure vegetable soap is all that is required....
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The machinations of the full-fledged quick-change artist afford the mind of his amazed spectator much speculation and curiosity as to how his marvels of dexterity and transformation are achieved. His velocity would put summer lightning to the blush. His mind and body are as pliable and elastic as his face; his very nature appears to undergo a swift metamorphosis of changes in the adoption of the various manners, idiosyncrasies, attitude, and gait of the character he portrays. Although agile and unerring, he possesses something of the stoic calm of the hedgehog, and is as natural in his art as when partaking of a beefsteak in privacy. He flashes before the vision on stage or drawing-room platform in dress so immaculate that it would seem to the uninitiated that his toilet is the result of hours of care and deliberation. In the costume of an old-world dandy he struts about, swaying...
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Let us study the tools and qualities essential to the quick-change artist. His stock and properties are all inexpensive, save the wigs. It is not advisable to purchase cheap ones, as they soon show the signs of wear; while hair in good condition, and carefully kept, lasts for years. His wardrobe contains garments of the cheapest material, and here the old clothes-bag of the house, in which articles doomed for a jumble sale are placed, is invaluable. A clever needle and a little ingenious manipulation result in splendid effects. Fig. 1.—Front view of “one-piece” garment; dotted lines denote springs. Fig. 1 a .—Back view of “one-piece” garment. Every garment is made in one piece, and fastens at the back of the performer by means of clock springs, which may be purchased from any clockmaker ( Figs. 1 and 1 a ). The springs are pliable bands of steel,...
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The dresser plays a part no less important than the artist. Upon leaving the stage the latter immediately wrenches from his person the garment in which he has just appeared. The dresser is close to the exit with costume No. 2 held out widely. The performer walks straight into the clothes, of which the clock springs are widely expanded. In a flash they close round his person. Another dresser adjusts wig, beard, &c., as he passes to his next entrance ( Fig. 4 ), with the result that he appears to answer the remark made by himself in the character No. 1 without any break being perceptible to the audience. Whilst speaking the words in the rôle of No. 2, the dresser is awaiting him at the next exit with No. 3 or No. 1 clothes, (if No. 1 and 2 are having a conversation), which he has swiftly picked...
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A very popular means of amusing a house-party is the impersonation of various characters. It is an entertainment more suitable to the limits of a drawing-room than tableaux or amateur theatricals, which of necessity entail a certain amount of expense, scenery, lighting, and much labor and anxiety in securing and drilling an efficient cast. Although it is doubtless true that this art needs some natural talent, skill, and mastery of detail, much can be done by practice and self-reliance. A clever man in the street amuses a long line of patient theater-goers, his only paraphernalia being a soft, pliable disc of black felt. The metamorphosis that article undergoes in his hands is a marvel. Dexterously he wields it—a mere twist, and it is the three-cornered biretta of a cardinal. Another, and it shades the villainous glare of a brigand, who appears quite capable of cutting the throats of his audience....
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In order to master the idiosyncrasies, mannerisms, eccentricities, and habits of characters, study is essential, and for this reason it is probably best to acquire knowledge, not from imaginary heroes of fiction or drama, but from the fount of Nature. Popular statesmen, musicians, admirals, soldiers, prelates, scientists, novelists, and famous actors walk our streets to-day, and each possesses some anomaly of expression, feature, speech, gesture, or mannerism which is distinctly his own, and distinguishes him from his kind. Just as no two leaves of a tree or petals of a flower are exact duplicates, so in mankind—no matter how subtle the anomaly—it exists, and must be fathomed and included in the portrait; delicately if it is delicate, proportionately broadly and ostentatiously as it is broad and ostentatious. For example, there are some persons whose peculiarities are as evasive and subtle as the bouquet of a wine, the bloom of a...
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Speaking impersonations are more difficult to achieve successfully, for in them, as a rule, the artist has no regalia to depend upon. His hair, his face, his voice, his limbs, his fingers are his only aids, but these are more than sufficient for the talented and skilled performer. His voice is as elastic as his features in power of mimicry. He should be clean-shaven, but with a plentiful crop of hair, which he can arrange and manipulate as he wishes with a mere twirl or pat of the hand, and these must be sympathetic and convincing expressions of his every movement. “There is no more expression in the back of the hand than in the back of the head,” yet of what subtle demonstrations is it not capable? A whole epitome of human emotions may be demonstrated by the gradual unfolding of the flexible, sensitive fingers. The first finger raised,...
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The psychological treatment of characters depends and is influenced in no slight degree by temperament. The character the student is about to study has its peculiar atmosphere of mind and body, which unconsciously dictates and regulates its actions from head to foot. The most important temperaments are:— 1. The optimistic temperament , embracing impulsive, warm-hearted, sanguine, easily-pleased, tender, ambitious dispositions. 2. The pessimistic temperament , embracing nervous, timid, sensitive, overwrought, peevish, unstable, irritable, depressed, neurotic, restless, dissatisfied, cynical, morbid, self-conscious dispositions. 3. The artistic temperament , embracing extravagant, sympathetic, imaginative, languid, reckless, turbulent, excitable, hot-tempered, brooding dispositions. 4. The commercial temperament , which embraces the phlegmatic, lymphatic, enigmatic dispositions. Now, the first way of approaching a new study is to consider what characteristics it possesses, and to what class of temperament it belongs, and, when this is decided, the student asks himself, what gesture will be the most symbolic and...
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The artist must never forget the important crucible of circumstances which molds and forms each character, and sometimes is potent to change the most optimistic temperament to one of pessimism and cynical bitterness. Yet, while remembering this, one must probe beneath the stamped envelope of environment to decipher the hieroglyphics of the fettered soul inclosed. One does not find the wild, untutored gestures of the stump orator in the refined politician, nor the turbulent raving of the fanatic in the sermon of the cultured ecclesiastic, while the expression natural to the plebeian is such as the aristocrat never indulges. There are many natures so complex as to defy all classification, and to portray them successfully is an almost impossible matter unless one masters the delicate mechanism of their nature. A grandfather’s clock to outward appearance is a figured circle in a narrow wooden case, with softly regularly-moving pendulum, but get...
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Every entertainer must have felt at some time or other the need of a short “gag” to fill up that awkward gap which so frequently occurs between the conclusion of one long piece and the commencement of another. The mind of an audience is of a flighty nature and requires to be kept continually amused, or it will wander into paths of boredom; and many a good entertainment has failed for the simple reason that the ball has not been kept rolling. It is during one of these uncomfortable pauses that the Universal Hat may be appropriately introduced, and, if worked well, it cannot fail to gain approval. You can either buy or make a Universal Hat, and as to do the former will cost a dollar or more, whilst the latter can be done for less than half that sum, it is well to be your own hat-maker. Obtain...
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Napoleon makes a good character to represent, and his hat is very easily made. Draw two sides of the felt through the hole in the center, and pull the hat firmly down about your ears, as in Fig. 2 . Assume a stern expression, suggestive of Waterloo, thrust your left hand into your breast, hump your shoulders, and look fiercely at the audience as though you could see Wellington at the farther end of the room. Later on in the performance you can represent Bonaparte’s great antagonist by making the hat in the same way, but wearing it with the peak forward as in Fig. 3 . Fig. 2.—A hat suggesting Napoleon. Fig. 3.—The Iron Duke. General Wolfe is another easy character to assume. His hat is made in this way. Lay the felt ring flat on the table, lift up one side, draw it towards you and then...
55 minute read
Some people imagine that a black face, a pair of large check trousers and a rather dilapidated hat, are all that’s necessary to make a nigger minstrel. This is, however, a great mistake, and whosoever feels the stirring of an ambition to amuse his friends with a nigger entertainment, must not be discouraged if he finds the road harder than he expected. Its difficulties, however, are far from insurmountable. Fig. 1.—Seating arrangements of nigger minstrel troupe. For a really successful nigger entertainment seven persons are necessary; the interlocutor—usually known as Mr. Johnson—one bass and one tenor singer and four “end-men.” The troupe should be arranged as shown in Fig. 1 . Now, before describing what to do, a few words as to how you should arrange yourselves will not be out of place. The stage should be raised, if possible, to enable any member of the audience to see the...
2 minute read
As far as “make-up” is concerned, this should present no difficulty whatever. Many barbers, and some music shops, can supply “nigger black,” which must be rubbed into the face and hands, after the skin has been well washed and dried. When the performance is over the black can easily be removed by means of soap and hot water. To redden the lips and enlarge the mouth, use carmine or rouge; cover the lips and paint them to appear as though stretching almost from ear to ear ( Fig. 2 ). Cheap wigs can be obtained for but a small sum from any hairdresser. Those of Mr. Johnson and the sentimentalists should be as shown in Fig. 3 , while each of the “end-men” should provide himself with one similar to that depicted in Fig. 4 . The “interlocutor” and sentimentalists usually wear ordinary evening dress, the “end-men,” however, wearing frilled...
1 minute read
The “end-men,” with whom lies the task of producing most of the fun of the nigger entertainment, must be possessed of a ready wit—able to tide over awkward pauses, prepared with some “gag” when the fun is beginning to flag, and capable of turning disaster into a mighty success. From Mr. Johnson’s placid obtuseness they will be able to draw much sport, and bandying jokes at each other’s and the interlocutor’s expense, should keep the audience shaking with laughter. Whilst on the subject of jokes a note of warning may be struck. The moment humor changes to vulgarity, it produces disgust in any respectable audience. It is therefore well worth while to think over the regular jokes you intend introducing into the performance, and if there be any that are in the remotest way likely to offend the feelings of any person in the company, cut them out. There is...
34 minute read
And now a word about the singing. It goes without saying that the larger the troupe and the better trained the voices, so much the more enjoyable will be the choruses. The number of songs from which to select is legion; the best plan is to write to some leading musical publisher, telling him what you want. He will be only too pleased to send his catalogue with some advice as to what will prove suitable. Avoid any comic songs with a double or doubtful meaning, and keep to strictly characteristic songs as far as possible. Old favorites never fail to win applause, and are always safe to fall back upon; but do not be too conservative—try some novelties....
38 minute read
Nigger entertainments are usually divided into two parts, the first consisting of songs and “gags,” as the short dialogues and impromptu jokes are called, whilst the second is devoted to stump speeches and one-act dramas or farces. So far as stump speeches are concerned, excellent collections are published by the leading publishers of that class of entertainment. Your bookseller will obtain a catalogue for you, and a choice can then be made. The speeches should be very carefully learnt by heart, together with the appropriate gestures (for which full instructions are always given), and unceasingly practiced until you are able to make your stump oratory bring down the house with delight. Stump speeches are the province of the “end-men,” and properly delivered, can be relied upon to prove one of the successes of the evening....
3 minute read
With regard to one-act dramas and farces, a very exhaustive catalogue can be furnished by publishers, with full instructions as to how they should be performed. A word of advice, however, to the intending actors. Too much care cannot be expended upon preparation and rehearsals. Nothing will go of itself in this world, and least of all plays and sketches; it is a fatal mistake to imagine that the smallest drama or even “gag” will succeed by its own merits and with only a little help from yourself. Endless trouble and care must be taken in preparing the simplest joke, and boisterous as the fun may prove upon the stage, it cannot be spontaneous, but must be diligently rehearsed again and again before it can be presented to your audience. Your great object is, not to enjoy the fun yourself but to make the others enjoy it, and if this...
2 minute read
In the previous chapter hints have been given to enable a party of five or more performers to give a Nigger Minstrel Entertainment. The object of the following is to show how one or two people can contrive to amuse their friends with a few negro performances. The pieces are suitable either as items in a variety entertainment, or as convenient “gags” to be introduced between longer entertainments when the interest of the audience is to be sustained by some timely diversion. It might be remarked, by the way, that it is surprising how much the effect of a joke depends upon the humor of the audience. If they are feeling in a happy and pleasant frame of mind, the mere sight of a comic man is sufficient to bring forth roars and shrieks of laughter. But if a gloom or lack of interest has settled over the company, even...
3 minute read
All jokes should be introduced by a certain amount of conversational patter between the Interlocutor and “Bones.” Mr. Johnson, the interlocutor, is always a very simple-minded person, unable to see any joke until it has been fairly thrown at him, and perfectly innocent in the presence of the most obnoxious puns. He has a certain patronizing air with his companion which only serves to make his innate simplicity more delightful. Mr. Johnson maintains an impassive face in the most ludicrous and trying situations by his very matter-of-fact behavior, extracting all kinds of smart things from the funny man. “Bones” is the very reverse of Mr. Johnson. He is up to all the latest catches, full of quips and puns, is possessed of a never-failing store of quaint experiences and remarkable stories, the most improbable of which are gravely swallowed by Johnson. Yet the big red lips on his broad black...
1 minute read
A little extra effort in the matter of make-up might be attempted for stump speeches, for the orator should be as “seedy” as possible in the way of costume. A tattered coat and battered hat are usually considered essential to the character, whilst an old dilapidated umbrella, of bulky form and shapeless proportions, is useful for brandishing at the emotional parts or thumping as the impressive points in the speech are reached. The stump orator should deliver his speech mounted upon a rickety chair or table, for his exaggerated endeavors to maintain his balance will be certain to cause fun amongst the audience. Having taken his position with much danger, and with a familiar look at the spectators, the speaker may embark upon the lecture. He should speak distinctly and slowly, pausing every now and again to illustrate his remarks with some quip or to steady himself upon the very...
1 minute read
Taking it for granted that the would-be minstrels have reasonably good voices, the only difficulty will be “selection.” Of course a great deal of tact is required to know what class of music is best suited to the audience. Have as much variety as possible. Do not confine yourself exclusively to comic songs or to sentimental ditties alone. At all costs keep your audience cheerful and amused. Too much humor is apt to nauseate, but too much melancholy will certainly spell failure. Try to gauge the temper of your company, and if they seem to prefer the serious to the comic parts on your programme, or vice versâ , make as quick and effective an alteration as you can. They must be made to appreciate you—not simply to tolerate you. To have a piano accompaniment is a distinct acquisition if the voices be of doubtful merit. For accomplished singers a...
3 minute read
Tableaux may be divided into two important classes—the portrayal of abstract qualities, which usually includes motionless figures posed in sustained attitudes, and historic and romantic groups, in which the actor is allowed some occupation. The Hero. The Martyr. The first class is most difficult of successful achievement. In it, the whole gamut of emotions common to mankind may be symbolized, and in these attitude and gesture are governed by the mind, which should be revealed in every muscle, curve, and limb of the human frame. The Ascetic. The Fanatic. Strength, courage, fidelity, chivalry, purity, and honesty should be posed in such a manner that the simple grandeur and dignity of these attributes cannot be mistaken. The hero, the martyr, the ascetic, the fanatic have each a commonly recognized type and pose. The shrinking form of the coward—he who fears all things greater than himself—must bear the stamp of...
2 minute read
Fig. 1 depicts the lighting arrangement at back of frame. The guard-wires, running from side to side, are to prevent the possibility of dresses catching fire. The footlights usually consist of ordinary night-lights with illumination glass covers. Behind these are tin shades for reflectors. Electric light, if available, can be substituted for oil lamps as shown. In the same sketch a curtain-raising apparatus also appears. Two persons should be chosen for its manipulation, and be always stationed in such a position that they can draw and divide the curtain at the given signal. Every separate production is timed by the stage manager or some other reliable person, and the duration of each should be exact. Three, or at the most four, minutes are ample time for the audience to take in the details of the picture, and the instant the curtain is drawn another group is arranged, the actors being...
1 minute read
For example, a pretty novice, sitting at a spinning-wheel, weaving imaginary threads from a spindle of flax, will do very well as Penelope, spinning her endless garment during the absence of Ulysses. In a simple white or colored gown, with her hair falling over her shoulders, and her head bent slightly over the wheel, she makes a pleasing picture. Cinderella, seated on the floor, gazing into the cinders, with her hands clasped round her knees, is another quite easily adopted attitude. Another pretty scene, acted over the spinning-wheel, is the Lady of Shalott, weaving “a magic web with colors gay,” and peering from time to time at the mirror above her, which reflects “the highway near, winding down to Camelot.” In this tableau the facial expression is wholly different from that which dominates Penelope’s features. Penelope’s labor is inspired by stratagem, to keep her unwelcome suitors at bay. Her soul...
1 minute read
The materials used for characters need not be expensive or difficult to procure. Cheap sateens, muslins, velveteens, gold paper pasted over cardboard and large buttons, glass diamonds and emeralds, tinsel and silver braid, bright-colored ribbons from the remnant basket, discarded shoes and stockings, transformed by cheap dyes, vari-colored beads, imitation ermines, tin swords and armor—all these are useful and effective beneath the lime-light. Backgrounds may be arranged by means of curtains draped over the walls in colors that blend or contrast harmoniously as desired with the tableau produced. Properties, such as old wine flagons, lamps, &c., may be fashioned by means of cardboard, cut in the necessary shape, gummed together, and covered with gold or silver paper. Fig. 2.—Tiers for back-stage grouping. Fancy dress magazines and illustrated histories will reveal many secrets to the stage manager. Better still, a visit to a museum, when he is in doubt about the...
1 minute read
One of the most popular indoor entertainments for winter evenings, or indoor parties, both with children and “grown-ups,” is charades. Not only do they afford amusement to the audience, but the players themselves obtain a good deal of fun from their efforts to baffle those who are listening to them. Suppose, for instance, that a “party” is composed of some twenty people. About five or six of them are selected to go outside, choose a word, which can easily be split into syllables, each making a word in itself. The players must not waste too much time in planning how best to act the words, or the audience will show signs of impatience. This can also be averted by the hostess arranging for a musical, or other little “stop-gap” to fill up the time which must necessarily elapse between the moment when the players retire and their subsequent appearance. Having...
1 minute read
A start can be made in construction by procuring a sheet of strong white paper of the requisite size. With India ink or chalk the thick black lines, as shown in Fig. 1 , are painted in. The dotted lines represent the sheet of paper, the four holes the positions at which the nails fasten it to the wall, and the finished effect of an interior window is obtained by the draping of art muslin or curtains, as suggested by the diagram. Oftentimes a little exterior scene is wanted. A simple way of improvising a cottage is that of using two screens placed as shown (A, A, Fig. 2 ). A plank or the shelf of a cupboard is placed across the top (D, Fig. 2 ), and kept in position either by nails or gimlets screwed into the top of the screens. A tablecloth of any bright color, preferably...
1 minute read
At first sight it might seem out of the question to produce a really passable scene representing “the rolling deep.” This may be easily carried out, however, by a careful study of Fig. 4 , and the requisitioning of such commonplace articles as a large white sheet, which is stretched and nailed to the wall, a few rolls of stout white-backed wall-paper, hassocks, boxes, and old brown or gray cloths. Fig. 4.—A sea scene. The wall-paper is cut into three lengths corresponding with the width of the sheet, one about 18 inches in depth (A, Fig. 4 ), the next 28 inches (B, Fig. 4 ), and the third 34 inches (C, Fig. 4 ). At each end a piece of wood is fastened (D, Fig. 4 ), behind which is glued a block of wood or small weighted box (E, Fig. 4 ). The lengths of paper, marked A...
26 minute read
Fig. 5.—A portable tent. A portable tent is made from a few sheets of brown paper glued together to form a huge square (A, A, A, A, Fig. 5 ), the paper cut out to the shape described (B, B, B, B, Fig. 5 ), and folded at the dotted lines, C, C, C, C. The whole is then arranged over three poles, crossed and tied together at the top, an opening or entrance being formed by the segment cut away....
1 minute read
A highwayman’s mask will prove easy of construction, and a thing of delight to the average boy. Moreover, it will often find a place in charades. Fig. 6.—A highwayman’s mask. Fig. 7.—Highwayman’s leggings. On a width of black sateen or any other suitable material a design is drawn as shown in Fig. 6 , marked with chalk and cut away to fit the face. A piece of thin black tape is fixed to either side, so that the mask may be tied round the head just above the ears. Amongst the highwayman’s outfit there must certainly be a pair of high boots, but as these are not found in every household, it may be as well to give a few simple directions for the making of them. From several sheets of stout brown paper four pieces of the shape indicated at (A, Fig. 7 ), are cut. So...
51 minute read
Two hard felt derby hats properly treated make an excellent representation of a policeman’s helmet, which will very often be found useful for charade acting. It is first of all necessary to cut off the brim of one of the hats at the point where the band comes. The crown of the second one is also cut off, but some three inches above the band. Fig. 9.—Front and back view of a policeman’s helmet. The first crown is next carefully fitted over the brim portion of the other one, and tacked round firmly so that the two pieces do not slip. The headgear now presents the appearance of an abnormally high derby hat. The curved part of the brim is cut away, and the front shaped to a point, as shown in Fig. 9 , and the brim at the back is nicely rounded. The usual ornamentation may be suggested...
39 minute read
A Chinaman is a character quite easily portrayed, and one which can be simply represented by pressing into service articles of everyday use. From a piece of pale pink sateen the head covering (A, Fig. 10 ) is fashioned, a string run through at C to be drawn out or in at will; and a piece of rope or twist of darning cotton, B, sewn on at the back for a pigtail. Then if the would-be Chinaman wishes to cover his head still further, the lid of the linen basket provides him with a hat, when a piece of braid or black paper has been fixed to the rim, and a string sewn on for the chin-strap. A highly-colored dressing jacket and a pair of rather loose white trousers complete the Chinaman’s outfit....
59 minute read
Whilst some people consider the ordinary charades the best fun, there are others equally ready to admit that they prefer the “dumb” representation of words chosen, one of the most popular of these being the “advertisement” charade, wherein some well-known poster is chosen and acted in silence. A well-known soap advertisement which has been so popular for years serves as an excellent illustration. There are few, if any, who could not recall the picture. A man, dirty of face and hands, with torn clothing, sits at a table writing a letter. A faithful representation of this can be easily produced by the aid of soot smeared carefully over the face and hands, and a wig of tousled hair. Perhaps a dozen advertisements can be “played,” a few moments elapsing between each for the audience to write down their “guesses” on slips of paper, which are afterwards collected, and a prize...
2 minute read
Enter two boys dressed as highwaymen. For this purpose art muslin scarves tied round the waist, hats and masks as already described , and toy pistols are enough, with a scenery of trees painted on some stout paper. First boy addresses his comrade in tones of mystery, glancing to right and left as though he is expecting somebody. At length he holds up a warning finger: “Hist! The Baron comes this way!” They secrete themselves and wait until the Baron approaches. He looks round, whereupon the two highwaymen jump out, secure him, and make off. The Baron’s servants arrive on the scene too late, but vow they will track the robbers, and start off in hot pursuit. End of First Act. Baron asleep in one corner of a tent (made as previously described ). The robbers are eating their dinner, and talking in low tones of the ransom they expect...
4 minute read
Scene. —Widow Frankey’s kitchen. Representation of this made by use of window described above , kitchen table and chairs, plates, pastry board, &c. Widow Frankey, in apron and cap, is busy making pastry, and talking to herself about her son Jack, and wondering when he will return from the errand on which she has sent him. Jack appears. Tells his mother where he has been, and she scolds him for being so slow. He goes out in a temper, and Widow Frankey leaves her work, sits down and cries, finally falling asleep. Jack returns, finds his mother asleep, and determines to make up for his ill-temper by finishing the pudding she has already begun. (An amusing scene can be shown here by the funny mistakes he makes, putting into the pudding all kinds of odd ingredients, amongst them a bean.) His mother awakes, to find dinner set, and ready. There...
1 minute read
The artist should study and cultivate the correct and various methods of telling a story, remembering Pope’s adage— If the style of writing is important, how much more is the manner of verbal narration. The wittiest story may fall to pieces in the hand of the inartistic, while the most trivial incident humorously handled may be greeted with shrieks of merriment. The raconteur must give his audience the impression of frank geniality and friendliness without familiarity, his attitude cunningly eloquent of the man who is about to open his heart to a confidante. Orchestra chairs and gallery are his bosom friends. He twinkles and patters at them right merrily. If he paints their peculiarities or laughs at their social ways he must flavor his babbling with the tender fun of that greatest of humorists, Charles Lamb, who never aped or scoffed at physical deformity, and was never cynical at another’s...
2 minute read
The artist should be large-souled and natural in attitude and gesture—a gentleman from head to heel in the best sense of the word—and the result will brace up and encourage him, for he will observe the faded city merchant laughing with the heart-whole abandon of the child. It is not necessary, and it may become even monotonous, to pose forever as the comedian who sees fun in every incident around him. A great and versatile artist, now deceased, in the middle of his recital would sit down at the zither when the room was still ringing with laughter, provoked by his keen shafts of humor, and win tears by the exquisite pathos of the refrain: “The mill will never grind with the water that is past.” Maudlin melodrama is not pathos any more than vulgar mockery is humor. A thin veil lies between tears and laughter, and both are nearer...
3 minute read
The speaker should learn to harmonize his music so exquisitely with his words that to the uninitiated the accompaniment seems rather extempore improvising than the result of toil and diligence. As a matter of fact, it is extremely rare that even the greatest artists dare trust to the inspiration of the moment to provide them with adequate accompaniment. An artist may have a theme or motif borrowed from some composer, and he may be sufficiently gifted to plan it out and develop it for himself, but always with careful thought and deliberation before he gives it public expression. The dual art is as full of vagaries and traps as the French language, and at first the student who finds himself handicapped by inability to conquer it, cannot do better than study some poems written to music, and at these he must work steadily before he attempts to patter to accompaniment....
1 minute read
Whilst “vamping,” or the improvising of a musical accompaniment, is considered by many anything but a classical accomplishment, yet those who can accompany in this way are a decided help to a general or children’s party. In either case among the guests will be found some who possess the gift of song, either comic or sentimental, but who lack the power or the ability to play their own accompaniments. Fig. 1.—First chord. Play First chord Moreover, it may happen that the services of a skilled pianist are not available, and in these circumstances any one who can vamp will be deemed a useful acquisition. The object of this chapter is not to give either intricate or comprehensive instruction, but rather to suggest, even to those who have had no musical training, a few rules whereby they will be enabled to step into the breach occasioned by the absence of an...
3 minute read
There are three principal chords in a key which are sufficient to cover the range of melody. Starting in C, the first chord for the right hand from the little finger to the thumb is made up of the notes middle C, bass G, and bass E. The left hand strikes the octave C immediately below the right hand thumb on E. ( Fig. 1 .) The second chord starts from little finger of right hand on F, first finger on C, and thumb on A in bass, the octave F, below the right hand A, being struck in the bass. ( Fig. 2 .) Fig. 2.—Second chord Play Second chord The third chord starts with little finger of right hand on G, third finger on F, and thumb on B in bass, the left hand striking the octave G below the B on which thumb of right hand is...
3 minute read
To possess a gramophone or phonograph is to be already furnished with the means of giving a very successful and pleasurable entertainment. There are so many “entertainments” that do not entertain, and so many “amusements” that do not amuse, that it is a distinct relief to know where to turn when a mixed party of guests have honored you with their presence. With the number of gramophones, phonographs, talking-machines and zonophones now on the market, it is not the object of this chapter to specialize any particular make or type of article. As in most things, quality means expense, and there is little use in hoping for fine results from a cheap machine. Any respectable dealer will give useful advice as to the type of gramophone worth buying, and it must be left with you to make your own choice. Presuming you have obtained your machine and accustomed yourself to...
2 minute read
With a mixed company humorous songs are usually appreciated, and one may be very well introduced at this point. The greatest care must be exercised in avoiding anything that the most squeamish person might think objectionable. The number of perfectly harmless and refined comic songs is great, but unfortunately the number of vulgar songs is greater. Accept nothing, therefore, that you have not heard yourself and know to be perfectly suitable. A good piano solo may now be very serviceable, or even a piano and violin duet. A piece of Chopin or Schumann, a short piece of Godard, or the like, is sure to be appreciated. The most carping of critics will be unable to find fault with the execution of Paderewski, Hoffman, or other great pianists, all of whose records are easily obtainable. A popular item from one of the current operas or musical comedies will then be acceptable....
1 minute read
And now for a few hints as to the actual performance. Do not be too ready to give encores. Many people really dislike to hear a thing twice, and unless you see there is a very general desire amongst your audience for a repetition, pass on to the next item immediately. Have the seats comfortably arranged, and see that every one is seated before beginning your programme. Copies of the programme should be handed to each person present, and the name and number announced before starting the machine. Be careful that no hitch occurs in the arrangements. Remember that the greatest of artists can be called to your assistance—Caruso, Melba, Patti, Albani, Tamagno (who though dead yet sings), Constantino, Tetrazzini, and numberless other great singers and musicians are at your beck and call, ready to sing to your friends or to exert their greatest talents on your behalf. Avail yourselves...
1 minute read
A hundred and fifty years ago the fashionable society of London went mad over musical glasses. When the cloth had been removed and the company were seated at the polished table, discussing the dessert and enjoying the rare old port, it was considered a great attainment, after having partially filled the finger-bowls, to be able to extract music by casually rubbing a finger around their rims. Strange as it may seem, even the great composer Gluck did not consider this musical trick beneath his genius, and used to pride himself upon the skill he had acquired in this kind of performance. Mozart composed a song to be played in this manner, and many famous musicians devoted their energies to perfecting a branch of the science which they considered to be full of promise. Even Benjamin Franklin turned his genius to the subject, and after many experiments succeeded in inventing an...
57 minute read
The note given out depends entirely upon the amount of liquid in the glass. The less water the lower will be the note; the more water the higher it will be. Therefore taking eight glasses, or fine finger-bowls, and filling each one to a different level with water, a complete octave can be obtained. The amount of water to be placed in each depends entirely upon the size of the bowl and the texture of the glass, and must therefore be determined by the performer himself. A keen ear will soon enable him to get the glasses thoroughly in tune, and they can then be arranged before him in the order of the notes in the scale. For those who desire to attain proficiency in this art, it would be well to color the water distinctively in each glass, in a manner similar to the following: By this arrangement the...
2 minute read
Half-notes can be made by adjusting the amount of water, which can be colored accordingly; but for an ordinary entertainment the octave will be found quite sufficient, and at any rate to begin with, will require all the musician’s attention. When he can play quickly and correctly with his first eight glasses, he can introduce half-notes, but it is very unwise to start with too many vessels, for it will give both him and his audience far greater satisfaction to hear eight glasses played well than to hear a larger number played indifferently. An important point to remember is to keep the finger and the rim thoroughly wet. If this be borne in mind, the notes will come much more easily and clearly, whilst the disagreeable droning sound will entirely disappear. Care must also be taken to see that the glasses are steady on their bases, as, in the case...
1 minute read
There is something vital in the ordinary bell that dominates all of us. It is an important factor in our lives. The railway bell’s clamor reminds us that haste is needed to catch the departing train. The dinner bell tells that the meal is ready for our consumption. The church bell, the wedding chime, the fire bell, the tolling funeral bell, are all our faithful monitors and guardians, but the exquisite voice of the hand-bell is the sweet-lipped friend that wooes us in our hour of ease. Hand-bell ringing is full of charm and interest, and it is astonishing of what changing harmonies these instruments are capable when manipulated by dexterous hands. Undertaken with perseverance and patience to overcome its rudimentary difficulties, this form of campanology may be achieved with great success. The first thing to do is to go to a well-known firm to secure the necessary bells, which...
3 minute read
Bell-ringing companies consist of five players, and these are generally composed of two ladies and three gentlemen; all should be physically strong and possessed of the sense of strict notation and music-reading ability. The ladies generally undertake the alto and tenor parts. The strongest player manages the bass bells, and the most reliable and cool-headed of the party the treble, which is divided into first and second, and is extremely important, needing no small amount of agility and nerve, especially in difficult and intricate passages. There are many reasons why five players are advisable. Four could not manage the full harmonies of treble, alto, tenor, and bass, while more than five are apt to get in each other’s way, besides taking up too much space on a small platform in a drawing-room. A long table, covered with some heavy material, such as thick baize or half-a-dozen pairs of good blankets,...
3 minute read
“Flourishing” the bells is impossible in quick music, and is only undertaken in slow passages, when the notes are to be sustained. In working the bells alternately, the dying vibration of one bell must never be allowed to mingle with the next, for this is even more discordant than when, in pianoforte playing, a pedal is kept down too long, and makes the vibration of one chord jar into the next. To prevent this, the vibrating bell should be placed on the table immediately before the other is about to be struck, but not in such a manner as to rob the note of its proper value. In a staccato passage, on the contrary, the bells should be set quickly on the table as soon as they have sounded. In practicing the ringing of alternate bells, make each vibration the value of a semibreve, then a minim, and lastly a...
2 minute read
Fig. 1. One of the most delightful sounds in the drawing-room is the music of the human voice, uplifted in song to a soft pianoforte accompaniment, if, of course, the voice be tuneful, easily produced, and sympathetic, and the breathing taken without effort. The first steps to be considered in singing are (1) correct breathing, (2) voice production, (3) clear pronunciation. The tongue should be hollowed behind the teeth, not rolled up in a ball, thus closing the vocalist’s throat. The uvula, so called because of its supposed likeness to a grape, should be lifted to the roof of the soft palate, the mouth presenting a hollow open chamber, through which the notes issue in clear, bell-like tones ( Fig. 1 ). The beginner will find this a difficult matter, and effort and will are needed to keep the tongue down and the uvula up. The position of the former...
2 minute read
In drawing-room singing, four or five-versed lyrics are not nearly so charming as the dainty modern songs of two or three verses, and these must never be undertaken until the student has reached a proper understanding of phrasing, breathing, and expression. Many singers prefer to accompany themselves, but this has its disadvantages, as the voice is far better produced when the vocalist is standing. The position should be easy and natural, the head erect, but not lifted back, as this contracts and narrows the larynx. While the singer should enter into the idea of the composer, she should have her own conception of the song, and endeavor to give it, as far as possible, her own individual expression, her voice being colored by the cultivation of her soul; otherwise the most perfect vocalization will fail to move the audience. These elementary rules hold good for the male as well as...
3 minute read
When performing, it is necessary to be equipped with a good accompanist—one who understands the art thoroughly, and refrains from banging out the notes as if the voice of the singer were merely the background to his own performance. The three qualities essential in an accompanist are sympathy, artistic sensibility, and discernment to understand the temperament and conception of the vocalist. An inefficient accompanist has power to transform an artist’s highest and most conscientious endeavor into irritability and inability to render individual expression. Pianists frequently are highly recommended to singers because of their gift of sight reading. Now this is a very valuable and important accessory, but there are many excellent sight readers who have no idea of that delicate and tactful manipulation of accompaniment found in the true artist, and who, even though they play correctly the most difficult music placed before them, sadly fail because of inadequate comprehension...
1 minute read
It is very usual for an ambitious student to be consumed with conscientious determination. She makes up her mind to learn a difficult song, and she works assiduously at it day after day, week after week, until she knows every word and every note. By-and-by she performs it proudly to a select circle of friends, and she is surprised and discouraged to find that all her keen enthusiasm for the song has gone. It does not seem to suit her voice; the words have lost meaning. The emotion she at first poured into it has disappeared, and she is thoroughly disheartened, and is quite unable to find reason or remedy for her indifference. An experienced artist would be able to show that student in a moment wherein her failure lay. She had allowed herself to become too familiar, and familiarity had bred contempt. The song doubtless needed practice, but not...
2 minute read
Fig. 1.—Correct position for reciter. Fig. 1 a .—The stiff, unnatural position. It is frequently and quite erroneously supposed by the uninitiated that, given a good memory and a pleasing voice, the young would-be elocutionist may become highly successful in the art of reciting. It is only the painstaking, experienced artist who realizes that these attributes are but as the husk to the nut, the calyx to the bud. Cased in its shell is the kernel, and folded in its green sheath are the petals of the flower. So, likewise, the voice and power of memorizing must be but the covering of numerous other qualities, attained only by perseverance, judicious practice, and that artistic sense of fitness without which all attempts to excel are in vain. It is impossible to play a symphony on the pianoforte before grinding away at the rudiments of music, and no one may build a...
2 minute read
The paragraph may be repeated in a gradual crescendo until the full power of the voice is used, always taking care to avoid harsh and stridulous tones, and not strain or fatigue the throat. When the student has accomplished this to her satisfaction, she should allow her voice to die gradually away, until it is almost a whisper, but her tone must always be clear and round in quality. This method will bring many different shades of inflection and feeling into the voice, and she will be astonished at the notes she will add to her speaking register. A good exercise is to make out a list of abstract words, and, concentrating attention upon them, endeavor to convey their full meaning with the aid of the mirror. Such sentences as: “I love you dearly ,” “My hate is too deep for words ,” “My scorn is intense ,” “My tender...
4 minute read
Appropriate gesture presents difficulties, and, although occasionally a powerful aid, it is more often a stumbling-block to the inexperienced reciter. Many otherwise excellent recitals have been marred by superfluous demonstrations, which remind one forcibly of the action songs and recitations performed in a kindergarten, whilst not a few reciters hedge themselves in with boundaries. They will mention the sea, and point to a horizon, indicate distant hills, wood and lake, frequently forgetting their respective situations. I have seen upon more than one occasion a reciter engaged in a ludicrous juggling of her scenery, pushing the sea aside to make room for the hills, and merging her forests in the lake. This forgetfulness, usually engendered by extreme nervousness, renders an artist ridiculous. How much better, then, to refrain from gesticulation, unless she has mastered its intricacies. In drawing-room reciting the voice must expand according to the acoustic properties of the apartment....
2 minute read
There is no form of drawing-room entertainment which, when well done, is more interesting than whistling, with pianoforte accompaniment. Below are embodied the views and methods of Mr. Charles Capper, the famous English siffleur, regarding this unique and attractive means of entertainment. The great part of humanity knows nothing of that ability of piping and whistling so natural and melodious in the blackbird and thrush. Most of us have at some time or other put by a little of our bread-and-butter earnings in order to take a few lessons in learning to sing or to play the pianoforte or some stringed instrument. But there are comparatively few who turn to whistling as a means of livelihood or as an accomplishment. It is fortunate that this is the case, for, unless one possesses considerable natural talent, it is mere waste of money, time, and endeavor. Whistling cannot be hammered into being....
1 minute read
The most important qualities to be observed in whistling are production and control of breathing, modulation, purity and roundness of tone. The method of breathing in whistling is exactly similar to that used in vocalization, and can be taught by any good teacher of singing. Scales and exercises should be daily practiced with infinite care,—to keep the notes clear and of even pitch. Slurring or stumbling in a quick passage can be easily perceived—perhaps more so in the whistler than in the singer. Scales and runs should be undertaken, slowly at first, gradually increasing speed and tone until perfect flexibility is attained. Many a whistler capable of faultless execution fails to charm, through monotony of tone. This is a fault as common as it is serious. Whistling, with practice and thought, can be modulated in a far greater degree than either the flute or the piccolo, and with much greater...
2 minute read
Whistling may be divided into two classes:— (1) The florid. —necessary in such solos as Arditi’s “Il Bacio,” which seems at first to the beginner to teem with insurmountable difficulties, but which a little earnest practice will soon overcome. (2) The sentimental. —In this category are Bishop’s early English songs, such as “Bid me discourse,” “Tell me, my heart,” “Should he upbraid,” “Lo, hear the gentle lark,” “Love has eyes,” Clay’s “I’ll sing thee songs of Araby,” &c. All these songs make excellent whistling solos, and are delightful when rendered with artistic sympathy and meaning. All songs must be memorized. The whistler cannot give necessary control to his breathing and production if he holds the music in his hand. In practicing, it should be placed on a music-stand, and, in performing, must be note perfect. His whistling must be so faultless in its conception that the audience must almost hear...
4 minute read
It has been asserted that the noun “bunkum” is first cousin to the verb “to bunk.” If so, the dealer in bunkumisms disdains the connection until matters grow too hot for him at the end of a performance, when, as a last resource, he hugs his relative gladly. Cupboard affection this, and in order to shelter himself from the righteous wrath of the audience, achieves a flying bunk from the platform. The word “bunkum” is interesting. It is defined in the dictionary as “speech spoken merely to please one’s supporters or constituents and secure their votes—mere talk.” It originates from “Buncombe, a district in North Carolina, with a constituency, to please whom a member of theirs once boasted he made a speech in Congress.” Bunkum covers a wider field than science, woman’s suffrage, or politics. It is an autocrat that stands aloof, and demands the gentle hearts of greenhorn and...
1 minute read
I am sure of success. I imitate the performer’s patronizing complacency perfectly. I smile and sneer politely with all his evil suavity, and then I fire my pistol, shatter the glass of the threepenny, and my aunt rises from her chair with a piercing shriek. “Tom, you little wretch, what have you done?” With an airy smile I bid her be calm, and from the rear part of my person produce with a deft movement her precious belonging. “Your watch, madam,” I say, with all the superior pleasantry of the “bunkum” performer. Then the smile freezes on my face, the timepiece feels strangely light in my clammy hand. I gaze at it in horror. My eyeballs distend, my heart swings backwards and forwards between my ribs. I have bungled! The good watch is shattered beyond hope of redemption. The disc of paper and glass cowers up at me, its hands...
2 minute read
I told them briefly and airily that I was now about to exhibit my wonderful skill in thought-reading. Perhaps I should add that my sister Jane, who adores me, was chosen as my confederate. Bidding them fix on a number, which I would at once discover by the simple means of placing my fingers on their temples, I withdrew with a bland smile into the passage. When I returned they giggled a little, and one twelve-year-old cynic of the opposite sex piped out scornfully— “You’ll never guess it, Tom. You can’t possibly—so there.” This maiden, often a thorn in my flesh, I silenced with a severe frown. “If you please, I must request the audience to be perfectly silent, to concentrate their minds—those of you who possess them——” I paused to scowl at my pink-and-white torment—“concentrate them absolutely on the chosen number. I am not going to guess it. I...
3 minute read
By-and-by, delighted with my many successes, I studied and exhibited the difficult art of ventriloquism. Jane and I, after long saving of pocket-money and hoarding of occasional tips—bestowed by kindly relatives, susceptible to hints—succeeded in purchasing a dilapidated doll from a second-hand dealer, and, mastering the anatomy of its joints, produced it, seated in the place of honor in front of a curtained receptacle in which Hyde, our servant, was cramped with a mouth organ, glass of water, straw and other apparatus, carefully schooled beforehand as to cues and the order of utensils to be used. Or in place of a lay figure, another boy seated in the chair, and appropriately dressed, can act as dummy ( Fig. 1 ). The bunkum ventriloquist must insert his hand in the hole at the back of the dummy, so that he can move his head and limbs as desired. He must also...
2 minute read
An item that makes for novelty and change in an evening’s performance is the following:— Secure three young girls—I don’t mean kidnap them, but use your masculine powers of persuasion. (I find the majority of women folk need little when it’s a matter of dressing up and showing off to hilarious friends.) This is a digression. Each damsel must have an old woman’s mask, the uglier the better, secured at the back of her head by means of elastics, which are easily hidden by her hair. She must wear a long skirt that conceals her feet, the back part of it covered by a small apron. Her hands, in mittens, should be clasped behind her over a stick. To hide the edge of the mask, some fluffy headgear is essential, such as a lace fascinator with a rose or two fixed at the side, which is folded crosswise over the...
4 minute read
I have frequently amused my long-suffering friends and relatives by Bunkum Lectures. For example, one on Toe and Cornology, quite an original science, gives scope for the most idiotic remarks on the characteristic traits portrayed by toes. For my lecture I have an easel, covered with a block of thin paper perforated at the top, so that the sheets are easily torn off. On these I rapidly sketch in turn different types of toes in chalk. If the entertainer is unable to draw, he can probably persuade an artist friend to sketch the members required beforehand. In this case the sheets need not be perforated, but simply thrown over the top of the easel as he exhibits the different drawings. An easel is soon constructed, and can be made at home out of soap boxes by the amateur carpenter; or the block of paper may be placed on a music-stand....
1 minute read
After this, in order to secure the forgiveness of my hearers for my opinions and oratory, both pure bunkum, I bring a trick to their notice, which I work with Hyde, and of which I am rather proud, because it is quite original and works awfully well, in spite of the fact that it’s as simple as the alphabet. For those who would like to try it, here it is:— Hyde, hidden behind me, is armed with a paper bag inflated with air. Beforehand I place a used bullet on the floor at the spot at which I intend aiming my pistol. I employ some patter to remove the growing alarm of my family, and the anxiety expressed for themselves, the furniture, and lastly—my own person. “Ladies and gentlemen,” I say with self-complacency extreme, “I am about to perform a feat with my hands ”—(joke—pause—a flutter of laughter). “Thank you,”...
1 minute read
Occasionally I work a ghost in the following way. After some patter, in which I inform the onlookers that I am about to conjure up the shade of some famous character, I extinguish the lights, and withdrawing to a corner of the room, enfold myself in a long black mackintosh or coat that shrouds my head and figure completely. I strike a match behind the curtain, and, when I have a good spark that will last a few seconds, blow out the flame, and hold the end of the match between my teeth, so that my mouth is lit up ( Fig. 3 ). My lips are drawn in a fiendish grin, and I strike an attitude, accompanied by inhuman moans and drum-beating from Hyde. Fig. 3.—The Ghost. When the spark dies, I hide the black garment behind the curtain, and assume the position I occupied before the appearance of...
2 minute read
There is one form of entertainment which perhaps makes a stronger appeal to the average boy and young man than almost any other. It would not, in a sense, be wrong to say that ventriloquism is, and has been for a great number of years, the most envied of all accomplishments incidental to the art of the amateur and semi-professional entertainer. True, ventriloquism for many centuries was regarded as an adjunct to wizardry, and the exponents of black magic, but the great success achieved by the writer of “Valentine Vox,” the central character in which was endowed with the most wonderful and extraordinary powers of voice throwing, brought the subject of ventriloquism at once under general notice, and ever since it has steadily won its way into universal favor, with the result that, at the present time, it easily eclipses in popularity most other forms of amusement. Despite this, however,...
2 minute read
Unhappily there are other very prevalent misconceptions to be removed before instruction can be either given or undertaken. The marvelous and almost incomprehensible powers attributed by the late Mr. Henry Cockton to his popular character, doubtless gave rise to the idea that ventriloquism was a gift natural only to those possessing unusual formation of the throat and vocal organs. Modern research and investigation, however, have proved that every one is a born ventriloquist, that the power to make sounds appear to emanate at a point remote from the speaker is universal—and that all those who study the subject from a proper and sensible standpoint can easily acquire the art. Then, again, it has long been supposed by the uninitiated that ventriloquial practice is injurious to the throat, and capable of harming the lungs. Exactly the opposite is the case; the exercises necessitated by the proper study of the art are...
1 minute read
Just as the successful illusionist is called upon to devote many many hours of his time to the speedy and finished manipulation of cards, coins, and billiard balls, so the young ventriloquist has an equally uninteresting course to traverse. It is, however, possible for the initial stages of the work to be accomplished in less time than is the case with conjuring, and while the work has to be done all the same, dry and tiresome though it may be, after it is once accomplished the performer can put it behind him for ever. The primary difficulty to be overcome is incorrect breathing. Possibly nine out of ten, when they come to read this chapter, will discover that their method of breathing is faulty. Most people, from lack of proper instruction and through carelessness, breathe through the mouth—and this fault must be remedied at once. For ventriloquism, as with singing,...
1 minute read
These should be undertaken regularly every day, preferably early in the morning and in the open air. Stand erect, shoulders drawn well back, arms hanging loosely at the sides, and then, closing the mouth tightly, draw in a deep breath, retaining it for some seconds in the lungs. Not infrequently it happens, that the ventriloquist when performing is called upon to keep a conversation going for quite a minute and a half without the opportunity of recharging the lung cells with a fresh supply of oxygen; from this it will easily be understood how important deep and sustained breathing is. At first difficulty will be experienced in holding the breath for more than five or six seconds; by the end of a week, after ten minutes’ practice every morning, the chest will be so expanded and strengthened that “half minute breaths” may be taken with ease. Continue the practice of...
1 minute read
It has previously been said that ventriloquism largely partakes of the nature of an illusion, and this effect is produced by the performer uttering sounds without giving visible indications of the fact. Consequently, when the audience have before them two figures, a live and a dummy one, and the mouth of the “dummy” opens and shuts to correspond with the words used, whilst the face of the ventriloquist remains mask-like and passive—the illusion that it is the “automaton,” and not the man who is speaking, is complete. So important indeed is the ability to do this properly, that speaking without facial movement ranks of equal importance with the placing of the vocal chords in such a position that “distant” effect is given to sound. In fact, one might almost say that a most amusing entertainment can be given without this latter power at all. Many ventriloquists or polyphonists, as they...
1 minute read
A study of the alphabet reveals that difficulties lie in the path of pronouncing certain letters—a, e, i, o, u, c, d, g, h, j, k, l, n, q, r, s, t, x, and z—issue from the mouth quite easily; but b, f, m, p, v, w, y all make a demand upon the muscles of the lips and cheeks. Unfortunately these letters often recur in ordinary speech, and as it is almost impossible to speak them distinctly without facial movement, appropriate vocal substitutes have to be made. On the border line is “b,” which is generally pronounced by bringing the upper row of teeth down to the under lip and forcing the breath out between the lip and teeth; by giving greater force to the exhalation, and, opening the mouth, it will be found that almost identically the same sound can be gained, and it is this one which...
2 minute read
Ventriloquism may be divided into two classes—the first and more easy of acquirement known as “near,” i.e. including all those vocal illusions produced with the aid of automata; and “distant,” which takes in the various illusions achieved by what is known as “throwing the voice.” The most finished exponent of both these branches, of this or any other age, was the great Lieutenant Walter Cole, and he introduced into his entertainment such an exquisite blending of the two styles that his example might well be imitated by other followers of the art. When carrying on an animated conversation with the “lay” figures placed at near quarters the proceedings would suddenly be interrupted by the low sound of voices coming from afar, and this would gradually increase in volume as the speakers were supposed to draw near, until at last they would be heard outside the very room in which the...
2 minute read
Known as the “theek” or “rush” voice, it partakes of the nature of the squeaky, shrill sound produced by a reed instrument. Most people are gifted with the power of singing “falsetto,” and the “theek” voice simply consists of falsetto tones somewhat exaggerated. Either the words “queek” or “theek” may be used for the preliminary practice, the latter perhaps being preferable. As it is not intended in these chapters to enter into a practical discourse on the anatomy of the throat and vocal chords, technical terms relating to such will be avoided as far as possible. However, the larynx must now be mentioned—this is the part of the throat often spoken of as Adam’s apple, and is the convex portion of the first cartilage of the larynx. It is, then, this part of the larynx that has to be compressed by muscular contraction in order to give the “theek” voice...
2 minute read
Perhaps it is hardly right to assume that every one has seen a ventriloquial figure; certainly many will be unacquainted with its peculiarities and modes of working. The dummy is usually a humorous representation of some grotesque character—an old man, with strongly accentuated peculiarities, such as a red nose, wrinkled skin, and big jaws; an old woman, with thin, pointed nose, sharp eyes, and scanty locks; a little boy grinning saucily, and having the appearance of possessing the wisdom of all the ages; the little “miss,” of perky manner; the good-natured, rollicking black man; and the longshoreman, square jowled and cheeky. Fig. 1.—Ventriloquist with knee figure. Fig. 2.—Working with two figures. The one essential about the ventriloquial figure is that it shall have a moving mouth. In reality the chin is cut away from the face, and the movable portion working on a pivot or string, gives the...
2 minute read
Always adhere to a prearranged order of ventriloquial figures. If you commence your entertaining career with the old man on the right knee and the old woman on the left, keep to that arrangement all along. A change will inevitably result in putting the wrong voice into the wrong mouth, and the result will be disastrous. Bear in mind that all the while the endeavors of the figures are to make you appear ridiculous in the eyes of the audience, and they should turn all your sensible remarks into nonsensical ones, so that the laugh is always against yourself. Of course the audience will join in the laugh against you, and it is the taking of this in the proper spirit that will signalize your success as a ventriloquist. When putting words into the mouth of an automaton, its face should be turned towards you; inversely, whilst you yourself are...
1 minute read
When a child speaks he almost invariably does so in a high-pitched tone, more or less directing the sound through his nose. This being so, the “theek” voice is the one most suitable for him. The similarity between it and the speech used for the “old woman” may be avoided by speaking in a somewhat lower tone, and in a simpler and more disjointed fashion. Suppose, for instance, that you ask the little boy a question? Get him to repeat that question after you, and give the answer in short, jerky, broken sentences. For the “little girl” use a slightly higher tone, without directing the sound through the nose. In her case also the mode of expression must be childish, but with slightly more refinement. The voice for the “longshoreman” and the “darky” are both of the “grunt” order. For the former, the “old man” voice is used, with the...
3 minute read
By this time the young ventriloquist should have attained sufficient proficiency in the art of manipulating “knee” figures to feel confident of venturing on the far more difficult and relatively more important “distant” voices. The real test of ventriloquial power is when the performer is capable of making sounds appear to come from a distance, i.e. so modify his utterances that they appear to the audience to proceed from some point remote both from the entertainer and from themselves. The basis of real ventriloquism, as apart from polyphony, i.e. “near” effects, is known as the “bee drone,” because the first sound of which the vocal chords are capable when placed in the required position much resembles the droning of a bee in full flight. The “bee drone” should be practiced in loosely fitting clothing, so that neither the muscles of the throat nor of the chest are unduly hampered. From...
1 minute read
Of the three “distant” voices, the “level” is, perhaps, the most useful and the most generally successful, because the mere fact of the entertainer being on the same plane as the door and the windows, from behind which people are supposed to converse with him, provides him with opportunities for using the facial muscles and for distorting sounds, and so heightening the illusion. For instance, whereas he must turn full or three-quarter face when using the “roof” voice, he can carry on a dialogue on the “level,” sideways to the audience; or in the case where the stage possesses a door at the rear, he may often be permitted for a moment to turn his back. Practice as before in the “bee drone” voice, without endeavoring to any great extent to shut off the sound in the throat. This may be done by curling up the tongue so that its...
39 minute read
This voice is extremely useful for such illusions as “the man in the cellar attending to the gas meter,” &c. It calls particularly for a display of histrionic powers, and the mere fact of bending down, as the sounds appear to come from below, helps to give it the necessary subdued and “distant” effect. Whilst speaking very slowly in the “bee drone” thrust the chin forward, contracting the larynx as much as you possibly can; roll back the tongue to stifle the sound in the throat, and the illusion will be complete. Immediately you change from the “floor” to the natural voice, resume the standing position and speak with unusual distinctness. The contrast cannot fail to escape the notice of the audience, who will be quite convinced that you have indeed carried on a conversation with some one below....
1 minute read
Although imitations can hardly be classed under the heading of pure ventriloquism, yet they may be pressed into the service of the entertainer to promote variety in his performance. They serve, too, another very useful purpose, inasmuch as they provide a relief from what must inevitably prove a strain on the vocal chords. As has already been said, ventriloquism necessitates the placing of the vocal chords in a somewhat unnatural position, and the result is that the exponent, particularly in the early stages of the work, is apt speedily to become tired. As a break between an exhibition of “near” ventriloquism—that is, with the automata—and an exposition of distant effects, one or two vocal or instrumental imitations will prove welcome both to the entertainer and the entertained. A witty person once remarked that the secret of success lies not so much in what you can do, as in what you...
2 minute read
An imitation of a dog fight will form a spirited item in your programme. By your actions you may suggest, for instance, a small cur yapping vigorously until a larger and more ferocious animal endeavors to quiet him. To produce the higher notes of the dog-bark, the falsetto or “thick” voice must be used, while the deeper guttural tones already explained for use with the “darky” serve for the larger dog. It is a little difficult to intersperse the two sets of sounds without expressing facial contortion, but you may obtain for yourself a certain amount of license by pretending that the dog fight is taking place beneath a covered table, behind which you may stoop in your supposed endeavors to stop the tumult. It is but natural to turn from dogs to cats. Whereas you have just given an imitation, perhaps, of a fierce duel, your next effort should...
1 minute read
Under the cover of a screen, the roaring of a lion is simple of accomplishment. Use an ordinary lamp chimney, and give vent to a series of deep-throated roars from this. The effect will both be natural and startling. With the same instrument the deep lowing of a cow can be perfectly imitated, the lips producing the familiar “moo,” the sound being gradually drawled through the glass chimney. To copy a saw at work is quite easy. Get a ruler, or some similar article, to represent the saw, and draw it backwards and forwards as though cutting a piece of wood. The sound is best made by clenching the teeth, placing the tongue a little forward between the upper and lower teeth, quickly inhaling and exhaling the air. The resultant noise will be an exact imitation of the saw cutting its way through the wood. Quite an effective item is...
1 minute read
By this time the young ventriloquist should have at his command both “near” and “distant” voices and imitations. It only remains to say a few words regarding the manner of giving an entertainment. Although smart dialogue is very entertaining, it is apt, after a little while, to pall; and to obviate this it will be found well to introduce an occasional song or comic recitation. In both cases these may take the form of parodies, but in the former a serious song really well sung by the ventriloquial figure will evoke both admiration and applause. Those not possessed of particularly good vocal qualifications may feel that the singing of a song successfully is beyond their capabilities. They should, however, bear in mind that nothing like “finish” or cleverness in execution is expected from a wooden figure. One or two verses and the chorus are quite enough to venture upon, as...
6 minute read
It is said that at some period of his life every boy becomes stage-struck, and it may be averred with equal truth that sooner or later every boy is seized with a desire to become a conjurer. Considering the fascination to old and young alike of a conjuring entertainment, this is not to be wondered at. But when the would-be conjurer begins to realize the years and years of practice necessary before he can accomplish his desire, he soon despairs; and instead of proudly mounting the platform as an entertainer, he finally satisfies himself by humbly occupying a chair as one of the entertained. It is the purpose of this chapter, however, to set forth a complete conjuring entertainment in such a manner that anybody can easily learn and perform it, in precisely the same manner as they would memorize and deliver a recitation. Before proceeding with the tricks themselves,...
3 minute read
Presentation. —The conjurer hands round for inspection a small sheet of white paper. Upon its being returned, he rolls it into a cylinder. Taking a couple of red silk handkerchiefs from the table, he proceeds to poke them into the tube by means of the magic wand. He continues to force them down until they at length make their appearance at the other end. During this short passage through the tube, however, an astonishing transformation has ensued. Instead of the handkerchiefs being red, one emerges a deep blue and the other yellow! Yet upon the roll of paper being passed round for inspection it is found to be perfectly empty. Fig. 3.—Cardboard tube with silk bag and handkerchief attached. Apparatus required. —(1) Two red, one blue, and a yellow silk handkerchief. (2) A sheet of stout white paper about six inches long by five wide. (3) A small cardboard tube...
3 minute read
Presentation. —The conjurer, standing a glass of water upon his table, borrows a quarter, and places it in the center of a loaned handkerchief. He then requests a member of the audience to hold it over the glass so that the folds of the handkerchief hang around it and completely hide it from view ( Fig. 5 ). The performer next asks the person holding the coin to let it drop into the water. He does so, and the audience hear it tinkle as it strikes the bottom of the glass. But when the handkerchief is removed, the quarter has disappeared! Fig. 5.—The dissolving coin. Fig. 6.—Quarter found inside the orange. A dish containing a number of oranges is standing upon the table. The conjurer picks up a knife and plunges it into one. Passing it to a member of the audience, he requests him to cut it...
4 minute read
Presentation. —The conjurer borrows a watch from a member of the audience and wraps it in a piece of paper. He next places it in the muzzle of a pistol, and then stands a target upon the table. Handing the pistol to a gentleman in the audience, the performer requests him to fire at the target. There is a loud report, and—hey, presto!—the watch is found swinging in the center of the target! And upon the paper parcel which contained the watch being removed from the pistol’s muzzle it is found to be perfectly empty. Fig. 7.—Conjuring pistol, showing flanged cap. Fig. 8.—Cup or pan to fit into muzzle of pistol. Apparatus required. —(1) A piece of paper in which to wrap the borrowed watch; and a second piece of the same size and color. This must be folded to create the impression that it contains a watch....
32 minute read
Fig. 1.—Handkerchief twisted for the performance. Fig. 2.—The one hand knot. The following explanations are intended to provide the beginner with the knowledge necessary to perform a few of the simple but neat tricks which can be done with no other apparatus than a handkerchief. For a short turn or “gag” these tricks are effective and useful, whilst their very simplicity renders a quick return for the little trouble required to learn them. A good-sized silk handkerchief must be procured. Before making any of the knots it should be twisted like a rope ( Fig. 1 ). Being of silk, the handkerchief will not untwine easily....
29 minute read
This knot is very simple to make. Hold the handkerchief, bent double, across the right hand ( Fig. 2 ). Now, suddenly drop the hand, letting the fingers pass over the end, A, and catch the end, B, at the point, C, between the first and second fingers. Let the remainder of the handkerchief slip off the hand, giving it a sharp flick, which will tighten the knot already loosely formed. Practice constantly until the whole movement can be done very rapidly. To the spectators it will appear as if you have suddenly flicked the handkerchief into a knot, and the effect will be striking....
36 minute read
Stretch the handkerchief between the finger and thumb in both hands, as in Fig. 3 . Cast a loop towards the left hand, taking care that it is thrown outwards. As the loop is made, the left hand, still with the end of the handkerchief between finger and thumb, is passed smartly through the loop from the outside—shown by the dotted lines in the illustration. This loop is now loosely round the left wrist, and the knot can be made taut by pulling the ends with both hands. The instant it is drawn tight let go of the ends of the handkerchief, and the result will be that a simple twitch of the right hand has seemed to tie a knot firmly round your left wrist....
58 minute read
This very pretty trick can be accomplished by making a double bow with a rapid turn of the hands. Hold the twisted handkerchief in both hands, as shown by Fig. 4 . The two hands are marked L and R— i.e. , left and right respectively. Now bring the right hand round and past the left, as indicated by the dotted lines, and nip the handkerchief at the point A with the first and second fingers of the right hand. Fig. 3.—The wrist knot. Fig. 4.—The double bow. By doing this you have naturally brought the point B opposite the first and second fingers of the left hand, between which it should be similarly nipped. During all these movements the remaining fingers and thumbs of each hand should retain their original hold on the handkerchief. Having now taken hold of both the points A and B, straighten your hands and...
58 minute read
These knots can be made at each end of the handkerchief by the following method. Hold the handkerchief in the position shown in Fig. 5 , where it appears lying over the third and fourth fingers with the two ends, A and B, hanging beyond the thumbs. The movements are done in the same way and simultaneously with both hands, and it will therefore suffice to describe the action of your right hand. Fig. 5.—Instantaneous knots. Bring the first and second fingers (1 and 2, Fig. 5 ) over C, catching hold of the end, A, behind the wrist. This will be easy after a few attempts, but you must be careful to see that the end A is of fair length, otherwise the trick will be impossible. Now bring the end A up through the resulting loop by means of the two fingers. The consequence will be a knot...
44 minute read
Hold the handkerchief stretched between your two hands in the manner shown in Fig. 6 —that is, inside the first and second, and outside the third and fourth fingers of each hand. Fig. 6.—A flick knot. Give the left hand a half turn, as in Fig. 7 , thus enabling the first and second fingers of the right hand to grip the end A, whilst at the same moment the thumb and third finger of your left hand catch hold of the end B. Fig. 7.—Second stage of the flick knot. Slip free the fingers of the left hand, excepting those holding the handkerchief, and you will find a loosely made knot. A smart flick of the right hand will now complete the trick, and if you have done all this very rapidly none of the movements will have been noticed by the audience....
1 minute read
The foregoing remarks have dealt entirely with making knots in the handkerchief. By following the instructions now given you will be able to make a knot disappear entirely. Take two differently colored handkerchiefs—red and white, for instance, and cross them, as in Fig. 8 . Now make a simple knot similar to that shown in Fig. 9 . By laying D over C and making another simple knot, as in Fig. 10 , the red end will appear on the left, whilst the white end will be on the right. This is called a Grannie’s knot. Fig. 8.—Colored silks for disappearing knot. Fig. 9.—Simple knot for disappearance. Fig. 10.—Grannie’s knot. It is now plain that if you take hold of each end of the red handkerchief it can be pulled quite straight and entirely free of the turns so closely resembling a genuine knot. Heighten the deception, however,...
2 minute read
The best method by which to advocate the “black stage” as a means of entertainment, will perhaps be to describe one of the many illusions that can be produced with its aid. The audience first witnesses the performer—who is generally made up as a Chinaman—and a young lady dressed in white, standing in the center of a small “black stage,” as shown in Fig. 1 . Fig. 1.—The floating head. The performer then throws a white cloth over the lady’s head. Without a moment’s pause he draws it away again, and—hey, presto!—the lady is headless! The Chinaman next takes a larger cloth, and holds it before the lady in such a manner that she is entirely hidden from the spectators. A second later, however, he drops the cloth to the ground. This time the audience is treated to the spectacle of the head of the lady floating in the air....
5 minute read
It is usual when working illusions of this description to have the assistance of a third person. This assistant must be dressed completely in black, with black gloves and a black mask. The latter can very easily be made from a piece of silk, or any other material that is slightly elastic. It should be stitched into the form of a cylinder sufficiently large to pull over the head. Two eyeholes are then cut in the desired position, and the mask is complete ( Fig. 5 ). Garbed in this somber attire, the assistant is able to move about the stage quite freely without being seen by the audience, and to lend powerful but invisible aid in accomplishing many first-class deceptions. However, this point will be referred to later, and attention should now be turned to the construction of the “black stage” itself. Fig. 2.—The finished frame. Fig. 1 illustrates...
5 minute read
The performer, who, as previously stated, should be dressed as a Chinaman, or in a white costume of some description, stands alone in full view of his audience. Presently he makes a beckoning motion, and a large white barrel floats slowly into view. To the amazement of the spectators, it drops gently to the ground at the magician’s feet. He then turns to the other side of the stage and repeats the beckoning motion. Immediately a second barrel makes its appearance, and deposits itself on the ground a short distance from the first. Turning to the audience the performer borrows a dozen or so rings, chains, and other trinkets. Walking back to the stage, he holds the borrowed trinkets above the mouth of one barrel, and clearly drops the mass of jewelry into it. The next moment, without a second’s pause, the illusionist seizes the barrel and turns it upside...
2 minute read
Another good effect, which would act as an excellent climax to the entertainment, can be brought about as follows: The performer makes his appearance carrying a large white shawl. This he spreads upon the ground. Taking the shawl by its two top corners, he holds it before him so that he is completely hidden. Next he commences slowly to wave the shawl to and fro, to advance to the front, and then to retreat to the back of the stage. As he is advancing for the second time, however, the shawl is suddenly dropped, and—hey, presto!—there is nothing behind it; the illusionist has gone! But at the very moment the shawl collapses, a loud shout is heard, and the illusionist is seen standing to the rear of the audience! In this illusion, as in the others, the “black” assistant plays an important part. His task is not nearly so difficult,...
1 minute read
If the Honorable Society of Stage Ghosts were to choose a motto, they would find few more suitable than the old adage, that “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” As the following remarks will serve to show, their very existence depends upon a sheet of glass, and if this be cracked or broken, farewell to the apparition and all its attendant mystery. If you look out of the window of a lighted room upon a dark night, you will notice that the pane, instead of being transparent, acts as a mirror and reflects the room behind you. It is on this principle, applied to a stage, that the greater number of ghost effects are produced. Owing to the fact that apparitions are usually seen at night, a good excuse is found for having the stage darkened, whilst the gloom serves to conceal several things highly undesirable...
2 minute read
“Ghost? What ghost? I saw no ghost, but I got very tired sitting up there all that time without anything happening.” So says the gentleman from the audience when he returns to his seat, and it is not until he has seen it all happen to some one else that he will believe anything really did occur. Fig. 1.—Arrangement of stage for ghost-producing. He is probably provoked when he finds that the next apparition takes the form of a fascinating young lady who vainly endeavors to make the young man who has taken his place kiss her. Indeed, such indifference is astounding, and all her pretty wiles and enticements are as wasted upon him as though he did not see her. As a matter of fact he does not know what pleasant temptations surround him. In Fig. 1 the stage is shown in section, and the phenomenon is explained. C,...
2 minute read
An interesting variation of this scene is produced in Paris at an old café, known as the “Cabaret du Néant,” in the Montmartre quarter. The whole interior of this restaurant is fitted up to appear as funereal as possible. Guests are served with refreshments upon coffins by waiters dressed as mourners, whilst the walls are covered with notices and advertisements of a similarly doleful character. Upon payment of a small fee the guests are taken into a cellar, completely dark except for a small glimmer at the farther end. Having seated themselves they observe this light slowly increase until it is sufficient to disclose an open coffin standing upright. Some person from the audience is then requested to accompany one of the attendants upon the stage, where he is asked to stand upright in the coffin. His friends and the remainder of the spectators are then informed in sepulchral tones...
2 minute read
The Sea Nymph, shown in Fig. 4 , is really a beautiful illusion. The scenery represents a rolling sea beneath an azure sky, flecked here and there with skimming clouds. Suddenly from out the waves a graceful form is seen to appear, and, rising steadily, gambol in the billows. Circling in the air, she plunges down into the waves, only to reappear once more, and repeat her charming sport. The sheet of glass is arranged for this performance as in the case of the ghost, Fig. 1 . The scenery, A, B, Fig. 5 , is painted as described, to represent the sea, and at L and M are placed additional waves, close to the footlights. The glass, H, K, descends diagonally. D, E is a large circular disc revolving upon an axle, F, which is connected by a rope or wire to a barrel and handle, G. At C...
1 minute read
Although from earliest times wizards and conjurers have attempted to create illusions to impose upon the more credulous of their dupes, it was not until the great Robert Houdin devoted his attention to the matter that any real progress was made in the art. Yet such was the genius of Houdin that his inventions have hardly been superseded in the many years which have elapsed since his death, whilst in the greater number of cases his original plans have barely been improved upon. Fig. 1.—The principle of reflection. Having dealt with the subject of stage apparitions in the previous chapter, it is the intention here to describe and explain the best illusions in so simple a manner that, with the minimum of trouble, any amateur can construct the apparatus necessary for their production. The successful working of the performance depends entirely upon the skill of the exhibitors. A great number...
2 minute read
This is a large cupboard, of sufficient height to hold a man comfortably, and about 4 feet wide by 2 1 ⁄ 2 feet deep ( Fig. 2 ). The doors should be double, and meet at the center post H. The cupboard can be lined with some simple paper of an unobtrusive pattern, and the doors should close easily and securely. Now to describe the performance as it appears to the audience. Fig. 2.—The magic cupboard. Fig. 3.—Plan of magic cupboard. The cupboard is opened, and anybody allowed to mount the stage and see for himself that there is no false bottom or trap in the floor. When he is perfectly satisfied and has returned to his seat, the magician introduces his assistant. At a nod from him she enters the cupboard, which is then closed. The wizard makes a few mystic passes with his wand, utters...
2 minute read
is arranged upon a principle somewhat similar to the foregoing. To the spectators the effect is this. A box, standing upon a simple card-table, is opened and seen to contain a human skull. Remarking that he will call up the original owner of the skull, the wizard closes the box, mutters a few incantations, reopens it, and displays a living human head as shown in Fig. 4 . This head laughs, speaks, and nods, and in numberless other ways shows itself to be no mere imitation. The box having been closed again, the incantations are reversed, and on the casket being opened once more the skull is found inside as at first. The secret of this remarkable illusion requires but little explanation. In the first place, the table has a hole in its top sufficiently large to allow of the passage of a human head. The hole is closed by...
1 minute read
is worked almost in the same manner. The effect of the trick is shown in Fig. 7 , where the head of the unfortunate Queen is seen resting upon the hafts of two axes laid over the arms of a chair. Fig. 7.—The Queen Mary illusion. Fig. 8.—The Queen Mary illusion. It need scarcely be said that the whole trick lies in the construction of the chair, illustrated by Figs. 7 and 8 . The peculiarity about the chair is that the back only reaches down to the spot where the arms join it, thus leaving a space behind the seat. This space is concealed from view by a slanting mirror, the bottom of which rests on the seat, whilst the top comes between the arms of the chair. This mirror must incline at an angle of 45° from the seat. The haft of one of the axes...
18 minute read
Most people know the old saying, “Two are company, three are a crowd,” and a glance at the illustration shows this may really be true. If three persons stand in a prism-shaped arrangement of mirrors, as indicated in plan in Fig. 9 , an innumerable series of reflections would appear and the three would in reality become a crowd....
2 minute read
A most interesting illusion is that of The Floating Lady, which, perhaps, should first be described from the point of view of the audience. Fig. 10.—The floating lady. The magician appears upon the stage leading by the hand a fairy-like lady. Introducing her to the spectators as Mademoiselle Volatile, he describes her susceptibility to his powers of mesmerism, in proof of which he offers to keep her suspended in the air for any length of time. Mlle. Volatile accordingly lies upon a board supported by two trestles or chairs of the same height. Next the wizard walks round her, carefully disposing of her drapery and tucking it neatly about her feet. He makes a few mesmeric passes, examines her pulse carefully, and removes the trestles. The lady is seen suspended in the air as in Fig. 10 . After a short time the magician reverses his passes, and smilingly helps...
2 minute read
Robert Houdin used to exhibit to large audiences with startling success the following example of his mesmeric powers. For the sake of clearness, let it be supposed that the magician and Mademoiselle Volatile are performing the trick. After the usual remarks as to his powers of mesmerism, and how they set at nought the laws of gravitation, the magician introduces the fair lady, who wears a short skirt for the occasion. Taking two sticks, each about five feet long, the wizard requests Mademoiselle to step upon a stool. Placing one of the sticks beneath each arm-pit, he then begins the incantation. When the mystic words have been pronounced and the correct passes made, the magician removes the stool, and Mlle. Volatile appears suspended between the two sticks. One or two more passes are made and then the wizard removes the stick from beneath her left arm, Fig. 12 , slowly...
2 minute read
This familiar deception is yet sufficiently thrilling to prove fascinating to the most blasé of spectators. With a little practice it can easily be worked at home, and the following hints will explain the performance. The magician, dressed as Bluebeard, leads Fatima on the stage, and, during the course of a short conversation, discovers that she has been prying into matters which had better have been left alone. In a fit of passion he draws his sword and rushes upon her, whereupon Fatima falls to her knees, crying for mercy. Bluebeard is obdurate, but after many tears from his wife he consents that she shall be blindfolded, to prevent her being a witness of her own fate. He binds a black scarf across her eyes, but has barely finished, when she breaks away, and rushes from the stage. Bluebeard pursues hotly, and in another moment returns dragging the blindfolded girl...
1 minute read
This is an illusion originally produced at one of the French ballets. A train of slaves appears, bearing a palanquin, in which reclines a dazzlingly beautiful Princess. The slaves march slowly round the stage, allowing the spectators ample opportunity to inspect the palanquin from all sides. Suddenly a band of brigands rushes upon the scene, with the obvious intention of seizing the lovely Princess. Flourishing their glittering swords and brandishing all manner of fearsome weapons, they surround the palanquin and its terrified bearers. The robber chieftain advances with uncouth flattery, assuring the lady that not a hair of her head shall be touched. But the only answer she makes is to lower in his face the curtain of the litter. Furious at such an insult, the robber stretches out his hand, and with a single touch causes the curtains to fly open. The Princess has disappeared! Gazing at one another...
14 minute read
One winter evening three boys—Jim Thompson, his cousin Will White, and a friend named Handley—approached the door of Bobbie Cargill’s house. Bobbie was a genius for inventions, and they all felt a desire to see his home. As they reached the door, White, who was a cynic in his own way, raised his hand to the knocker and was about to give a thundering “rat-tat,” when the door silently opened, revealing an empty hall in which the light flickered dimly. After a glance of surprise at one another the guests entered. “ Close the door! Wipe your boots, and come upstairs! ” The visitors started violently as these words were uttered by a hollow voice, coming from nowhere in particular, and yet quite close to where they were standing. After a moment Handley said in a whisper, “I don’t much like this. It seems——” “ Hang up your hats, and...
3 minute read
The tongue is proverbially a deceitful member, and the one lying before Bobbie Cargill was no exception to the rule. Indeed, except for its appearance there was really very little tongue about it. It consisted of a round tin, in which had been placed a small bar of highly magnetized iron. By fixing a slice of real tongue to the top of the tin, and disguising the sides in a similar manner, Bobbie had made such a good resemblance to the real thing, that it would have been hard to discover the deception in the subdued light of the “Den.” It is very easy to see what happened. So soon as the steel knife approached the dish, the magnet within the faked tongue made the latter leap up to meet the knife and cling to it. Of course, when the fork was plunged through the thin outer coating of meat...
9 minute read
An exhibition of so-called hypnotism and second-sight is a favorite item in the programmes of many professional entertainers. If well managed, the performance appears miraculous, and is sure to impress the majority of the audience as savoring strongly of the supernatural. The exhibition is usually somewhat of the following nature. A young lady is presented to the audience as being possessed of the marvelous faculty of second-sight, so keenly developed that she is able to see and describe whatever falls under the observation of her double. Needless to say, this individual is the performer who introduces her. Having given this explanation, Prof. B, as he may be called, bandages the eyes of the gifted young lady, Mlle. C, and seats her on the stage in full view of the spectators. The Professor now walks amongst his audience and asks some person to whisper a number. This having been done, he...
4 minute read
Touching a lady’s wrapper, the Professor says: “What do I touch? Answer quickly, if you please.” (Touch = part of clothing, A = wrapper, Q = silk.) “You are now touching a silk wrapper,” replies Mlle. Again there may be a separate code for flowers, to be introduced by “What is this before me?” to show Mlle. C that the Flower Code will follow. “What is this before me? Be descriptive.” “A red carnation,” replies the lady unhesitatingly. “Well, if you please, what is this flower?” “It is a violet.” The Professor and Mlle. C have nearly finished their entertainment. But before bowing farewell to the company, he approaches a little girl, let us say in the audience, and in a whisper asks her age. With the utmost secrecy she informs him that she is just nine. “Pray, how old is my little friend here?” he demands of Mlle. “Nine...
6 minute read
The greatest attraction wielded by Papergraphy is, perhaps, the extreme simplicity of the apparatus required. At first sight it seems utterly impracticable that a first-class entertainment, of almost a quarter of an hour’s duration, can be given with a sheet of paper. Moreover, very little practice is necessary. Cartridge paper is the kind usually employed by professional entertainers, and a suitable size is 54 inches by 36. A sheet of these dimensions may be purchased from any stationer’s or dealer in artists’ requisites. Fig. 1.—Paper folded. Fig. 2.—Paper pleated. Fig. 3.—Rosette. Fig. 3.—Rosette. The paper must be marked out lengthwise into five parts; the central section being 12 inches wide and the two on each side 6 inches in width. The paper should next be folded along these lines ( Fig. 1 ), and once again folded into a series of pleats, as depicted in Fig. 2 ....
43 minute read
There is no reason why any boy possessed of an average amount of dexterity should not be able to perform many juggling tricks after a certain amount of careful and patient practice. By a close study of the following instructions, a clear idea of the principles of the art can be obtained; and when these principles have been mastered, the beginner should have no difficulty in elaborating the tricks to suit his own fancy. As the system of juggling with knives, plates, or clubs is founded entirely upon the methods employed in manipulating balls, the simplest plan is to learn the tricks with these last before adapting them to larger objects. Any kind of ball may be employed for juggling, but the specially-prepared balls, made of heavy metal, are the best, and can be purchased for a small sum in a set of four from any dealer in games....
41 minute read
A ball should be thrown into the air in such a manner that it will descend to the exact point from which it was projected, as in Fig. 1 . It is quite unnecessary to throw the ball higher than four feet. By an observation of the usual method of catching a ball, it will be noticed that the hand usually follows the course of the ball; but the great object of the juggler is to learn to catch without moving the hand from the position it occupied when throwing the ball into the air. The great point of the vertical fall is to teach the beginner to move his hands as little as possible, and for this reason the exercise should be practiced with both right and left until such precision is acquired that the movement can be accomplished with the eyes closed....
46 minute read
The inside fall is done by throwing the ball with the right hand, in such a way that it describes a curve and drops towards the left, as in Fig. 2. But instead of catching it with the left hand, catch it with the right by a rapid movement of the hand across the body. The ball being held in the right hand, it should be thrown back from left to right in a similar way, as in Fig. 3. The latter is called the outside fall. This exercise is intended to teach the beginner to throw the ball several times in succession from side to side without its deviating from its course. The principle involved is very important for jugglery, and must be thoroughly acquired before proceeding with other tricks. Fig. 2.—The inside fall. Fig. 3.—The outside fall. ...
27 minute read
This fall presents greater difficulties. The ball should be thrown with the right hand, as in the vertical fall, although the hand must be kept in a line with the shoulder. As soon as the ball has been caught, the hand must be rapidly brought into line with the left shoulder, the ball thrown from that position, and caught ( Fig. 4 ). Having learned the trick with the right hand, it is essential to become accustomed to perform it equally well with the left hand, moving it to the right shoulder....
37 minute read
Both hands are required for these falls, which are simply an adaptation of what has just been described. The ball should be thrown exactly as described in No. 2 , but instead of moving the right hand across the body to catch the ball when it falls on the left side, the left hand should catch it, as in Fig. 5 , and should immediately return it by means of the outside fall to the right hand. But little practice is required to learn this perfectly, and when smartly performed it makes a pretty display. Fig. 4.—The parallel fall. Fig. 5.—Falls from right to left. ...
15 minute read
In this exercise the ball should be thrown from hand to hand in as straight a line as possible ( Fig. 6 ), whilst the beginner must endeavor, by continually increasing the distance between his hands, to maintain a rapid volley. Fig. 6.—The horizontal pass....
54 minute read
This is the first trick requiring two balls, and will need some attention. A ball should be taken in each hand, and the simple vertical fall performed with the right. Before this ball has descended, however, the ball in the left hand must be thrown in the air, as in Fig. 7 , so that the two balls are continually in motion. It is at this point that the juggler will find the advantage of being proficient in the use of both hands for the single vertical fall. Fig. 7.—The double vertical fall. Fig. 8.—Variation of double fall. A variation of this double fall can be acquired in the following manner:— Both balls should be thrown up at the same time, as in Fig. 8 , the hands being kept about two feet apart, care being taken that neither of the balls is thrown higher than the other....
22 minute read
This is a repetition of the outside and inside falls, but performed with two balls at once, and with both hands. The utmost care must be exercised to avoid a collision as they pass one another, and for this reason one ball must be thrown higher than the other, as in Fig. 9 . Until proficiency is attained the balls should be thrown at various heights, and the hands well apart....
1 minute read
Having acquired the last trick perfectly, the beginner should now bring into use a third ball. A glance at Fig. 10 will show that the triple pass is nothing but the double inside fall performed with an additional ball. Two balls are held in the left hand, and one in the right, the former being numbered 1 and 3, and the latter 2. Ball No. 1 is thrown from the left hand, and as soon as it is in the air, No. 2 is sent off from the right, after which No. 3 is thrown from the left hand. It will be noticed from Fig. 10 that No. 1 is sent the highest and No. 3 the lowest, and by this means a collision can best be avoided. The greatest care must be taken to throw the balls regularly, otherwise confusion will ensue. Fig. 9.—The double inside fall. Fig. 10.—The...
21 minute read
The only difference between this and the Triple Pass is that each ball, as thrown, passes over instead of under the ball that precedes. This is shown in Fig. 11 , where No. 2 passes over No. 1, whilst No. 3 is thrown the highest of all. This trick is usually combined with the ordinary Triple Pass, and from the spectator’s point of view presents no difference....
41 minute read
This is one of the prettiest of all the tricks of Juggling, and should be learned with two balls. Take a ball in each hand and throw the right one in the air towards the left, whilst as soon as it is in the air pass the left hand ball to the right hand, as in Fig. 12 . The moment this latter ball has been caught it must be thrown up in the wake of the first ball, and the whole trick continued as quickly as possible, so that one ball is always in the air. Fig. 11.—The triple over pass. Fig. 12.—The shower. This should be practiced continually until perfection is attained, as it forms an introduction to—...
48 minute read
Two balls must be taken in the right hand, and one in the left. The first two should be thrown in rapid succession from the right to the left, the ball in the latter hand being passed to the right, as in the Simple Shower. As each ball reaches the left hand pass it rapidly across, as in Fig. 13 , and start it off in the air once more. The trick has the effect of making the spectators imagine that you have a large number of balls in your hands, and the more quickly the trick is done the greater the deception. By starting with three balls in the right hand and one in the left a still prettier display can be provided with little extra trouble. In this case, however, the balls will have to be thrown rather higher to give the left hand more time to catch...
1 minute read
Four balls are required for this, a couple being taken in each hand, Nos. 1 and 3 being in the left and Nos. 2 and 4 in the right hand. Nos. 1 and 2 are thrown up simultaneously in the simple Vertical Fall, as in A, Fig. 14 . The hands are then rapidly moved apart and balls Nos. 3 and 4 are thrown over the first two balls in such a manner that they cross each other and are caught in the opposite hands ( Fig. 14 ). The volley with those two balls is immediately returned and the hands are brought nearer together to catch and throw Nos. 1 and 2 again. Thus the fountain is kept up indefinitely. It will be observed that the two hands constantly approach and separate, as the two sets of balls are caught in turn, and such action must be very smartly...
3 minute read
Few things are productive of such literally breathless interest as plate-spinning. In what a state of agonized anxiety your audience will be as they watch you imperturbably spinning a soup-plate on the end of a rod. How they will catch their breaths as they expect it to fall, and how surprised they will be when it keeps its position! Yet if you inform them that it is not so difficult as it looks, you will be stating a fact, although the art is acquired only after considerable practice and at the cost of several plates. To minimize the breakage of crockery it will be as well to begin your experiments with a mattress laid upon the floor, or failing this, with a good substantial down comforter. The first attempts will not then be accompanied by such mortality amongst the plates. Procure a rod or wand upon which the plates are...
1 minute read
As to the prepared plates. Take for example a thick soup-plate. From the center of the bottom of this plate a small, shallow piece must be drilled away, as in Fig. 4 , which represents a section of the article. Any china riveter will do this for you, and will, at your request, polish the cavity after it has been drilled. Explain the purpose for which you want it done, as that will insure his making the hole in the dead center. Fig. 4.—Plate with drilled cavity for spinning. You will now find that this plate not only spins much more easily, but will continue revolving upon the rod for a great while, even after you have ceased working the latter with your wrist. This is an important consideration in view of the balancing feats to be accomplished. The next thing to practice is catching the plates in mid-air upon...
1 minute read
Take a couple of rods, one in each hand, and send a plate spinning on the point of the right-hand rod. By giving a sharp upward jerk you will send the plate high into the air, and upon its descent you can catch it upon the end of the other rod. If the plate has been tossed very high, and is therefore likely to descend with some force, care must be taken when catching it not to shatter it into pieces. As soon as the plate touches the point of the wand, lower the latter some distance with the plate, and thus break the force of the impact—instead of breaking the plate. This performance will prepare you for successfully achieving the following very effective show. Two persons are required for it, however, and both must be good spinners. Fig. 7.—Plate spinning and balancing. Let each performer take a plate and...
2 minute read
Having graduated as a master of spinning and catching plates, the opportunity has arrived for attempting to balance the spinning dishes. This is largely a matter of knack, although a sure eye and a steady hand are indispensable. Start a plate spinning on a rod, and pass it to the left hand. Do the same with a second plate, holding the rod likewise in the left hand, taking great care, of course, that the plates do not collide. Now with the right hand start off a third plate, and balance the rod upon your forehead or chin, having done which pass one of the rods back from the left to the right hand. This makes quite a pleasing exhibition, as can be seen by Fig. 7 , and is well worth learning. Presuming you are now facing the spectators, with the three plates spinning as in Fig. 7 , the...
2 minute read
There is a kindred branch of the art which may be described here, and that is plate waltzing. It is really nothing but an extension of the trick of spinning a coin upon the table, which every one has done at some time or other. A perfectly level table is essential. To insure this it is a good plan to have a smooth, unpolished board that can be laid upon a table and made perfectly level by adjusting small pieces of cardboard at the corners. Around the edge a slight border should be made, rounded to the surface of the board, as shown in Fig. 9 . This will prevent the plates from dancing off the table and on to the floor. Fig. 9.—Showing section of table prepared for plate waltzing. Fig. 10.—The plate waltz. Fig. 11.—How to set the plate in motion. Plates of any description and size, from...
2 minute read
There are probably few actions more graceful than those of a skillful equilibrist. The necessity of maintaining a symmetrical posture and disposing the body in a well-balanced manner can produce nothing but a pleasing effect. To a lithe and healthy boy there are endless opportunities for creating new figures, whilst many will find an attraction in performing feats rarely attempted by any but professionals. The whole strain of tight-rope walking is centered in the back. The rigidity of the legs is also an important factor in maintaining the balance. For this reason no child under ten years of age should ever be allowed to attempt anything of this sort, for his bones and muscles will not be sufficiently developed until then. All the arrangements for a tight-rope exhibition can be made in an ordinary drawing-room. Very few fixtures are required, and the following instructions will give an idea of what...
1 minute read
There is much difference of opinion amongst acrobats regarding the balancing pole. Some prefer it long and heavy, whilst others dispense with it altogether. Amateurs can scarcely hope to do the latter, however, and 4 ft. 6 in. may be considered a suitable length. The pole should be smooth, round, and even, rather heavier than an ordinary broom-handle. It will probably prove useful to mark its exact center by a notch. A mattress must be laid beneath the rope to break any falls. Thin-soled dancing pumps should be worn, the soles being well chalked before use. Such is the apparatus connected with the public performance of tight-rope walking. The first attempts should be, however, on a rope suspended much lower, not more than 1 foot from the ground, as it is useless to try a high rope until the knack of balancing has been acquired. The assistance of two friends...
1 minute read
According to the recognized canons of the art, the first thing to be learnt is the “Forward Walk.” The gaze must never leave the “point of sight.” Each step must be made with the utmost care, and perfect confidence gained before any attempt is made at more difficult tasks. As soon as the feet begin to feel sore or tired, practice should be abandoned for that day. The next thing to be learned is walking backwards. This is really no harder than the “Forward Walk” and can be as easily acquired. The eye should be steadfastly fixed on the rag as in the former case. With the amateur there is always a tendency to run. This must be checked, and a stately gait acquired from the beginning. After the “Forward” and the “Backward” walks comes the “Forward Spring.” Both this and the “Backward Spring” are difficult, and can only be...
1 minute read
When the old Morris Dances decayed in the country districts of England, many of the local customs and manners died with them, and are now entirely lost; but what is considered a survival can yet be found, and is familiar to many of us under the name of Clog Dancing. The old Morris Dancers had attached to their ankles bands of bells, which sounded with the jerking and kicking of the dancers’ feet as they kept time with the measure and music of the accompaniment. The use of these bells has now, however, almost entirely ceased, and the heavy wooden clog alone remains. In place of the ringing and jingling, with which the Morris man accompanied his dance, the clog makes only a tapping against the floor, sharper in its precision, if less musical than the old bells. The clogs suitable for drawing-room dancing have wooden soles and leather “uppers.”...
39 minute read
The first step to learn is the shuffle, which should be attempted with one foot first, preferably the left. Stand firmly upon the right foot, and strike the left toe forward (as in Fig. 2 ) towards A, at the same time making a tap upon the floor. Draw it back from A towards B, making another tap. This should be done repeatedly until it is possible to make the taps in quick succession and in even time. Fig. 1.—Correct standing position. Fig. 2.—The single shuffle. Having mastered this with the left foot, acquire the same proficiency with the right. The ankle must be kept loose and mobile. Any stiffness or inflexibility will utterly spoil all efforts....
3 minute read
Having become familiar with the two taps with both feet, attempts to use right and left alternately should be made, the while standing upon the toes. Thus: left forward and back, two taps; right forward and back, two taps, making in all four taps in rapid and even succession. This is known as the single shuffle, and it is surprising how many music hall artists and public performers know no more than this rudimentary movement. Yet it shows how necessary it is to be perfectly easy and familiar with the action, which may be considered, together with the double shuffle, as the ground-work of the art. The double shuffle is simply a duplication of the single shuffle. Each foot goes forward and backwards twice, making four taps for the right and four for the left, or eight taps in all. This is really no harder than the single shuffle, and...
34 minute read
These variations require no detailed description. Wherever in the above-mentioned changes the single shuffle is mentioned, a double shuffle may be introduced. For example, in Variation No. 1 , for the double shuffle the instructions should read: Stand upon the toes of both feet; give one tap with the left toe, and a double shuffle with the right foot; then one tap with the right, and a double shuffle with the left. By treating the other variations in a similar manner, it will be seen that ten variations of the single and double shuffles can be obtained. They should all be learned and practiced until there is not the least difficulty in performing any one or all of them....
2 minute read
There now remains but the Slide to be learned, and as this is one of the prettiest of all the clog steps, it is well worth taking pains properly to acquire. Fig. 6.—The slide (first position). Fig. 7.—The slide (second position). Fig. 8.—The slide (third position). Stand as in Fig. 6 , throwing your weight on the left heel and right toe, which are to be kept stationary. Now move the left toe and the right heel in the directions shown by the dotted lines. Your feet will then be in the position shown in Fig. 7 . Keep the left toe and the right heel stationary, and move the left heel and right toe in the direction indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 8 . By continuing this movement you have a steady gliding action from left to right, and, reversing the steps, you can, of...
1 minute read
Few of us have not lain in bed by candle-light and with more or less success cast shadows upon the wall. Some may have seen public entertainments in which shadow pictures formed an important part of the programme, and have wondered in a dim kind of way how they were done. From what follows it will be seen how very simple are the arrangements, and how admirably adapted for a drawing-room entertainment a shadow theater can prove. Shadow shows may be divided into three kinds. They are:— 1. Hand Shadows—in which the performer stands in view of his audience. 2. Figure Shadows—in which he stands behind a screen. 3. Puppet Shadow Shows—in which the shadows of lay figures are exhibited. Of these three branches of the art, Hand Shadows are distinctly the easiest to do, but they do not give scope for great variety, and although very good in their...
2 minute read
Fig. 1.—A rabbit. Fig. 2.—A butterfly. In Fig. 1 you see the well-known rabbit, usually the first shadow made by the amateur performer. Stretch the right thumb down and the forefinger up as far as it will go, whilst the second and third fingers should be thrust out, slightly bent, as shown in the figure. With the left hand crook the forefinger against the upright forefinger of the right hand, bring the thumb to touch the last-mentioned finger, making a little loop as depicted. Stick the second and third fingers of the left hand upright, although slightly bent. Your two hands should now appear as in Fig. 1 , and the shadow they cast will be that of a rabbit. The butterfly in Fig. 2 is very easily made, and needs little explanation. Extend the thumbs of both hands, keeping the four fingers of each bunched together. Then...
1 minute read
These are, perhaps, more entertaining than hand shadows, but require much greater space, it being necessary to arrange them somewhat after the manner of tableaux. A white sheet must be drawn completely over one end of the room, as S in Fig. 8 , whilst near the opposite wall three boxes of varying height should be arranged as A B C in that figure, a candle being placed upon the middle one. There should be no other light in the room, upon either side of the screen. Fig. 8.—Arrangement of screen for figure shadows. When the performer enters by the door D his shadow is thrown upon the screen in a natural size, but as he retires from the screen and approaches the candle, his shadow increases to enormous dimensions, and very funny effects will be produced. A couple of performers may have a fight, the one near the candle...
1 minute read
A surprising effect to be obtained in these figure shadows is the total disappearance through the ceiling of one of the actors. This is very simply done by stepping upon the lowest box (C), striding over (B) which bears the candle, and on to (A) which makes the shadow appear to leap into the ceiling. Let a figure dressed as a policeman rush upon the scene, hotly pursued by a sailor brandishing a stout stick. The two chase each other about the stage for a time, and presently the sailor shouts very fiercely, “Get off the earth with you—get off!” and makes a savage rush at the policeman, who, casting one terrified glance over his shoulder, steps over the candle, and literally “gets off the earth.” The sailor then bursts into a roar of laughter, dances a hornpipe, and retires. During all these tableaux a running patter should be kept...
4 minute read
To work a Puppet Shadow Show is more difficult than either of the preceding entertainments, and requires considerable skill and ingenuity to present satisfactorily. As the name implies, the shadows in this case are cast upon the screen by lay figures, and the performers, of whom two are requisite, do not appear at all. The simplest way to make a “stage” upon which to exhibit your puppets is to stretch a strong piece of cord across the corner of a room, and hang therefrom a sheet which shall reach from one wall to the other. Some people prefer to stretch it across an open doorway, but this is largely a matter of convenience, and is not always possible. Before fastening up the sheet mark upon it a rectangle, as shown in Fig. 9 , the rectangle being five feet from the bottom, two feet high, and four feet wide. Fig....
2 minute read
The following hints should be borne in mind when manipulating the puppets. Keep all the figures ready for immediate use; lay them upon a table in the order in which they will be required, and remember where they are so that you can put your hand upon them the moment they are wanted. Keep your own head and fingers well out of sight—the whole effect will be spoiled if the spectators see a great black finger pulling some wire or adjusting a refractory limb. Keep as calm and collected as possible. If some part of a figure sticks and refuses to move, tell the audience, in an amusing piece of patter, that Jim, or whatever his name may be, has had a sudden stroke of paralysis, and must be carried away to the hospital. When there is a hitch—and this will occur even with a professional—pass it off with a...
2 minute read
Figures. Mrs. Hoggins . Mr. Plapper . Jim , the Plumber. Robert , the Policeman. Bridget , the Maid. With these five characters and a suitable amount of talking an amusing sketch can be given. The following is a mild suggestion of what can be done, but you will find that it can be made very much funnier when actually performed. Scene , a House ( Fig. 16 ). Mrs. Hoggins emerges, loudly complaining that a pipe has burst and spoiled her nice new carpet. She blames everybody in the neighborhood, not omitting Mr. Hoggins, who is in town. “Just like a man: never here when he is wanted.” She calls Bridget, and tells her to run for the plumber. Bridget seems unable to understand. “Sure, Mum, and the grocer came this mornin’ and ye didn’t want any fruit!” Mrs. Hoggins then explains matters with considerable volubility, and Bridget departs....
3 minute read
An exhibition of skill which cannot fail to win appreciation from any audience, particularly one composed largely of grown-ups, is that of making lightning cartoons and sketches. It is, however, a form of entertainment which should be undertaken only by those possessing some artistic qualifications. Although lightning cartoons do not call for any great genius, yet those with an inherent taste for caricaturing will find themselves the best exponents of the work. On the other hand, the task may be undertaken by any youth with even a moderate knowledge of drawing, because by the observation of the few rules hereafter indicated, quite passable and pleasing results may be obtained. The apparatus required is simple and easy to procure. The first essential is a cheap easel, which can be purchased for fifty cents from any art store. To give it a presentable appearance for a drawing-room entertainment, it should be stained...
36 minute read
A welcome variation to the above is produced by a brief exhibition of simultaneous drawing with both hands. The best method of procedure is to take a piece of chalk in each hand, and, bringing them together in the middle of the top of the drawing (A, in Fig. 6 ), take each hand round and down, the right hand drawing the profile, the left the back of the head, and so complete the picture by working off the lines respectively on the right side with collar and tie, and on the left with the neck and back of coat. In Fig. 6 the dots show the other lines necessary to complete the effect. Fig. 6.—Simultaneous drawing with both hands....
1 minute read
Another diversion may be caused by drawing at lightning speed a figured face. How this is to be accomplished is not at first apparent when you sketch in to all intents and purposes at random a few detached numerals, such as appear in Fig. 7 ; but the addition of extra figures produces the very expressive countenance depicted in Fig. 8 . Fig. 7.—Figured face partly finished. Fig. 8.—Figured face complete. A deal of fun may also be extracted from outline representations of an egg. Commence by sketching in with quick strokes three or four of these. Fill in the individual expression of each by such series of lines as are suggested in Figs. 9 and 10 , and as a climax pin to each a suitable paper costume or fancy collar, frill, or tie, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12 . These latter aids to the...
1 minute read
To produce wonderfully picturesque and striking examples of land and seascapes in the space of a few moments of time appears at first sight a task almost beyond the capabilities of the amateur draughtsman. Yet such effective additions may be made to the programme of the lightning cartoonist by his following out the subjoined simple instructions. First procure a large sheet of iron or tin, enameled white. To purchase this in a prepared state is rather expensive, but a very fair substitute can be made by coating the tin or iron with ordinary white enamel. Smoke the enamel surface to a uniform blackness by passing it backwards and forwards over an ordinary small hand-lamp, the glass chimney of which has been removed. Fix the black sheet to the easel, either resting it on a wooden rack or across the pegs. Fig. 13.—Sketch to memorize for smoke picture. Fig. 14.—Completed smoke...
39 minute read
Yet another variation in lightning cartooning is provided by the ability of the artist to produce pictures which, when turned upside down, show exactly the same view. These are best done in colored chalk or pastel, which is a softer medium and more workable. Landscapes are peculiarly adaptable to this purpose. Fig. 15 suggests a realistic example. Fig. 17.—House on cliff drawing completed. Yet a further pleasing addition to the entertainment may be made by sketching such a scene as Fig. 16 suggests, afterwards over-coloring with white the part representing the sea, and also the jutting rock marked A up to the dotted line; then turning the whole picture on end, blacking in on the whitened portion windows and doors, as shown in Fig. 17 . The result will be “The House on the Cliff.”...
30 minute read
A very interesting entertainment is to be brought to a close by a short exhibition of shadow drawing. The apparatus required is a magic lantern, before the lens of which is fixed a prepared plate consisting of glass previously covered with a coating of lamp-black and water. A sheet of calico should be attached, some distance away, to the wall. Between the plate and the lantern, and a little to one side, stands the operator, who with the aid of a stick or stump sketches the subject upon the plate, the light filtering through throwing an enlarged presentment of the picture upon the calico screen....
6 minute read
Electricity may be said to have a finger in most pies. From its manifestations it would appear to be an all-pervading force, and modern research tends always to substantiate this conclusion. Thus two coins—a cent and a quarter—cannot be brought into contact without producing their quotum of electrical force, and in like manner the principles of its working may often be demonstrated by the simplest apparatus. There are two states which this subtle force assumes, called Static and Dynamic. The former word indicates a condition of rest, and is applied to electricity when stored in suitable magazines ready for discharge at a favorable opportunity, just as water may be held in lofty reservoirs, ready to pour down and perform work—whether useful or otherwise—if the pipes be opened. Dynamic, on the other hand, indicates a state of motion; so that Dynamic Electricity means that it is flowing along conductors from one...
48 minute read
Procure as much metal foil as possible, either by raiding the nursery or by purchasing some tinfoil-wrapped butter scotch at the confectioner’s, and gum it round the jam jars so as to extend about half-way up the outside (A, Fig. 3 ). Next solder stiff brass wires (8 inches long) to two round pieces of metal, so cut as to pass the jar mouths readily. To the other end of one brass rod solder another disc of metal, tin—or, better, brass—nicely smoothed along its two edges by sandpaper. The other brass rod may be looped at its end and have tinfoil wrapped round until a respectable knob be formed, or else have a brass bedstead globe soldered on. Fig. 4.—The electroscope. These brass standards are then stood inside, with their metal bases resting on the bottom of the jars and surrounded by lead shot to the same height as that...
2 minute read
Fig. 5.—Electroscope parts. Obtain a square glass pickle or preserve jar, to the mouth of which has been fitted a large cork bung (A, Fig. 4 ). Next take a 7-inch length of 1 ⁄ 8 -inch brass wire (B, Fig. 4 ) (similar to that used for the Leyden jars above), and flatten one end by hammering (F, Fig. 5 ), after having bent it triangular-shape, as in (C, Fig. 4 ). A 2 1 ⁄ 2 inch length of cycle valve-tubing (A, Fig. 5 ) is to be slipped over the brass rod B ( Fig. 5 ), and then strips of gummed brown paper, 2 inches wide, lapped round and round the rubber-tubing until a paper cylinder some 1 ⁄ 4 -inch across the outside is formed (C, Fig. 5 ). Anyway, this paper cylinder must be a good fit for a hole bored through the center...
1 minute read
Our Leyden jars have been constructed to store electrical energy, and the gold leaf electroscope to indicate its presence. But we do not yet possess the means of producing this energy in any considerable quantity. To make an instrument for this purpose proceed as follows: Clean the inner surface of a circular tin lid—diameter 6 inches or 7 inches, and about 5 ⁄ 8 -inch deep—(A, Fig. 6 ), and in the center stand upright on its head a brass screw, whose point has been filed down until it nearly reaches to the level of the upper edge of the lid (B, Fig. 6 ). Then carefully pour in melted lead or zinc to a depth of 1 ⁄ 8 -inch. This process is not absolutely necessary, but is advisable if the metal be available and the extra trouble is not distasteful. When this metal has thoroughly cooled, melt up...
10 minute read
One last piece of apparatus—the simplest in construction—remains to be made. Bend a piece of stout brass wire into a semicircle (A, Fig. 7 ); then, having flattened it at the middle, pass through a hole at the end of a wooden handle (B, Fig. 7 ), and fix in position by means of a tiny glued wedge (C, Fig. 7 ). Next twist the rod at both ends into loops, and wrap tinfoil round so as to form metal knobs (D, Fig. 7 ). Brass balls may be used instead. This arrangement is now complete, and we may commence experimenting. 11. Twist a stout piece of copper wire surmounted by a brass or tinfoil ball round the outside coating of a Leyden jar (A, Fig. 8 ), so that the two knobs are about 3 inches apart. Suspend a pith ball (B, Fig. 8 ), made from dried wood...
16 minute read
A phenomenon is always mysterious, so long as its origin remains hidden. That is to say that any event, the causes of whose manifestation are obscure, will be found to prompt some feeling of wonderment. For this reason then—just as an automobile in motion will bewilder a savage, because he has at no time seen any but living creatures moving, and does not understand the new mechanism—so for us an electrical effect mostly presents something of a miraculous nature. To take a concrete example. Whereas the ringing of a church bell by the sexton engenders no feeling of wonderment in the average listener’s breast, the buzzing of an electric bell, which ensues upon connecting with a battery, does have this influence to a greater or less extent, because the electricity’s behavior is by no means so obvious as that of the sexton pulling the rope. Let this character of the...
54 minute read
To many boys and girls who have acquired at school some knowledge of Science, the mere mention of the words “Scientific Experiments” recalls memories of experiments far from amusing, for the science of the laboratory is more often than not accompanied by some of the innumerable little worries of school life. When, however, experiments are conducted at leisure in the home, the work assumes a totally different aspect, and much pleasure may be derived from it. Not only may such experiments become a source of great amusement, but they are of considerable educational value, since it is from the study of the most elementary scientific laws that some of the greatest discoveries of modern science have been made. The aim of this chapter is, then, to place before you a series of interesting and instructive experiments which may be performed for the amusement of yourselves and friends on occasions when...
45 minute read
The first is one which, at a casual glance, seems impossible to perform. To pierce a copper coin with a needle, especially if the needle is thin, seems, indeed, a tremendous task. It is, however, very simple. The apparatus necessary consists of a cork, a needle, and a hammer. Stick the needle through the cork in such a manner that the point only just protrudes, and, with a pair of pincers, cut off the head of the needle remaining above the cork. Then, having placed the coin and cork as shown in the diagram, hit the cork vigorously with the hammer ( Fig. 1 ). The needle being unable to bend in any direction owing to the cork keeping it rigid, will pierce the coin quite easily, since we know that the steel of which the needle is composed is harder than the copper of the coin. Fig. 1.—Coin piercing...
57 minute read
Another very interesting experiment is that performed with an ordinary match, a bottle, and a coin. Fig. 3.—Coin leaving match and dropping into the bottle. Bend in two an ordinary large match, thus partly breaking it, in such a manner that the two parts hold together by a few fibers of wood. Place it, thus broken, on the neck of a bottle, and then on the match place a dime or any other small coin. Having done this ask a friend if he can make the coin fall into the bottle without touching the coin, the bottle, or the match. You will find that he will search in vain for a solution to this seemingly impossible task, which however may be overcome in a very simple manner, as may now be seen. Dip your finger in a glass of water, and placing it above the angle formed by the match,...
1 minute read
Most of us, if not all, know that if wine is carefully poured on water, it floats on the surface, but not every one knows how to place the wine at the bottom of the glass with the water above it, and this without mixing the two liquids. For this experiment make use of the different densities of hot and cold water. Take an ordinary glass (moistened first with hot water to prevent its cracking) and pour some boiling water into it. Then by means of a funnel placed almost to the bottom of the glass, pour in some wine which has previously been cooled by ice. By working carefully you will see the wine form in a red layer at the bottom of the glass ( Fig. 4 ). Fig. 4.—The wine at the bottom of the glass. Fig. 5.—The tricolor glass. Now gently remove the funnel,...
1 minute read
This is not a reproduction of the miracle performed at the wedding feast of Cana, but it is, nevertheless, a most interesting experiment. Fill two tumblers (A), or wine glasses, of equal diameter, with water, by completely immersing them in a basin of that liquid, standing one upright and the other upside down upon it. When they are both completely full, with not a bubble of air in either, join their rims and remove them from the basin. Now place them upright on a dish, and, if their rims fit accurately upon each other, the water will remain in them. It is now necessary to place on the top of the upper glass a third glass, (B), containing wine, or better still, spirits of wine in which is dissolved a little aniline dye. Now announce to your friends that without touching any of the glasses, you will, before the eyes...
1 minute read
Many of us, no doubt, have often tried to picture to ourselves a volcano in eruption, but most will confess that unless we have seen some very good pictures of an actual eruption, we are not at all certain that our self-made picture is correct. Now to detail an experiment which gives a vivid idea of a volcano in action. At the bottom of a large glass bowl put a flask containing red wine, or spirits of wine, in which has been dissolved a little aniline (B, Fig. 8 ). This flask should be closed by a cork pierced with a very narrow hole. By the aid of plaster, or, simpler still, of earth or clay, fashion a mountain around the flask, leaving at the top a hole through which the cork can just be seen. This will form the crater. Having made your volcano, fill the bowl with water...
54 minute read
Water supporting a lighted candle seems a very peculiar form of candlestick; and yet despite this it will be found quite as serviceable as any other. To make the candlestick is quite easy. All you have to do is first to weight the end of a piece of candle (previously used) with a nail or piece of metal, in such a manner that, when placed in a vessel of water, the liquid will be flush with the edge of the candle without wetting the wick. Next light the candle, and announce that, in spite of the unfavorable surroundings, your candle will burn to the end. This may at first seem extraordinary, but a little reflection will show that your statement is correct, for this experiment is only a striking example of the Law of Archimedes, which states that “when a body is immersed in water, it loses in weight an...
1 minute read
The title of this experiment suggests something rather wonderful, indeed, for it seems impossible to impart motion to a paper fish. It may be done, however, and quite easily, as will be seen from the following. From a piece of ordinary paper cut out a fish like that shown in the diagram , and of the size of an ordinary fish. In the center make a circular hole (A), communicating with the tail by a narrow canal. (A B) ( Fig. 11 ). Having done this, fill an elongated vessel with water, and place the fish on the surface of the liquid in such a manner that the underneath face is completely moistened, while the other remains quite dry. Fig. 11.—The swimming paper fish. You are now ready to set the fish in motion; but to add to the interest of the experiment, challenge any of your friends to make...
1 minute read
Fig. 13.—The floating pin. If a drop of water is placed on glass it will at once spread, but if the same thing is done with a drop of mercury, the liquid will not spread, but remain in the form of a bead. These two different results are due to the fact, that whilst the water wets the glass the mercury does not. Now take a pin which has been well dried; it is a body which water will moisten, but owing to its very smooth surface, not so easily as in the case of glass. Suppose, then, that by some means or other you can place the pin so gently on the surface of the liquid that the water does not make it wet, you will notice that the water takes on either side of the pin a convex shape, and in this way a sufficient volume of water...
1 minute read
The picture below is not taken from a prospectus advertising cement for joining glass and porcelain, but is simply used to show how atmospheric pressure may be utilized for joining glasses and plates. In order to accomplish this it is necessary to form a vacuum, but as an air-pump is not at the disposal of every boy a partial vacuum must suffice. To obtain this partial vacuum suspend a glass from the ceiling, or any other suitable place, by means of a string, and under it burn a piece of paper. This will cause the air it contains to expand. Immediately afterwards place the plate over the mouth of the glass, and it will adhere quite firmly. In order to prevent the entrance of any external air, and thus destroy the vacuum, the edges of the glass may be smeared with tallow. Now, how is it that the glass and...
1 minute read
This experiment, similar in principle to the last, is quite as striking in its effect. It consists of raising in air a glass filled with water, by causing it to adhere to the hand when the latter is held quite open. With the last experiment fresh in our minds, it is not difficult to guess that this phenomenon is due to the existence of a partial vacuum under the hand, but it is not so easy to know how to obtain this vacuum. The means of carrying out the experiments are as follows:— Put the glass filled with water on the table, and over the top place the palm of the hand, taking care that the four fingers are bent almost at right angles, as shown in the first of the accompanying figures ( Fig. 15 ). If, continuing to press the palm of the hand on the edge of...
1 minute read
If you are given a glass filled with water, and a bottle equally full, and then asked to empty the glass by means of the bottle, and that without emptying the bottle itself, you will imagine you have been set a very difficult task indeed. Fig. 17.—The glass-emptying bottle. You will soon see, however, that the solution to this seemingly difficult experiment is quite simple. First take a cork, and in it pierce two holes. Through these gently push two straws, one being as long as the glass, the other considerably longer ( Fig. 17 ). By means of a pellet of bread or wax close the opening of the shorter straw, and push the cork into the bottle until the water gushes out of the longer straw. In order to empty the glass it is now only necessary to turn the bottle upside down, in such manner that the...
1 minute read
A very pretty experiment with the siphon may be performed by making use of the following simple apparatus: An ordinary glass; a little water colored, say with aniline; a piece of rubber tubing about an inch long, one end of which is cut obliquely, as shown in the diagram ; together with a piece of glass tubing from four to five feet long. Fig. 19.—A siphon experiment. This tubing may be obtained from almost any druggist. Prepare for your experiment by taking the length of tubing and, with a gas flame, drawing one end out to a point. Having done this, bend the tube twice, as shown in Fig. 19 , particular care being taken to avoid any sharp angles. The bending of this tubing is easily done by holding it in a gas or spirit-lamp flame until the flame is colored yellow. The glass is then soft enough to...
1 minute read
Most of you would like to make an electric fountain, especially when you learn how simple and easily arranged is this striking experiment. Your apparatus consists solely of a glass, a long india-rubber tube, with two small glass tubes and a piece of sealing-wax (a stick of sulphur or piece of vulcanite will do just as well). Make a small nozzle by drawing out a length of bent glass tubing, and, by means of a long piece of india-rubber piping, fix it to another piece of bent glass tubing. Place the first piece of tubing bent at two right angles over the side of a glass filled with water, taking care that the reservoir thus formed is from 3 to 4 feet above the nozzle ( Fig. 20 ). When the fountain is playing the issuing jet of water will be inclined to one side. Now to electrify the fountain....
1 minute read
Doubtless you would like to have at home the experience of firing a cannon, of hearing a report loud enough to frighten nervous persons, to see the shell fly as quick as lightning, and then to witness the recoil of your home-made piece of artillery. Your apparatus will be quite simple, for you must first take a strong bottle, such as a vinegar, or better still, a champagne bottle, and fill it a third full with water. Next take a little carbonate of soda, and also some tartaric acid, both of which may be obtained at any druggist’s, taking care to wrap them in packets which will not be confused one with the other. Dissolve the carbonate of soda in the water contained in the bottle, at the same time placing the tartaric acid in a playing card rolled in the form of a cylinder, one end of which should...
58 minute read
As we stand in the twentieth century and peer curiously down the corridors of Time, we find at all periods a deep interest in chemical phenomena. From the age when wisdom devoted itself in vain to the discovery of an elixir of life and a method of transmuting the base metals into gold, to the present day, when scientists pursue their experiments with more reasonable and far worthier hopes, chemistry appears never to have suffered any dearth of devotees, despite the fact that in olden times one had either to occupy a high position or be a man greatly daring if the Black Art was to be followed without fear of molestation. To-day matters are different, so that the junior chemist need only anticipate interference from materfamilias —a truly excellent person, who, however, invariably regards chemical concoctions with hostile contempt. The obstacles instanced in the previous paragraph being foreseen, perhaps...
10 minute read
(1) Apparatus. —Erect a 4-oz. round-bottom flask about 8 inches above the table (A, Fig. 1 ), by clamping its neck in a wooden clip or twisted stiff iron wire, and fastening this to a firm standard. Introduce three or four tablespoonfuls of powdered manganese dioxide (obtainable cheaply in qr. lbs. at most druggists’), and pour over this spirits of salt until the flask is one-third full. Into the neck now fit a cork provided with two circular holes, through one of which a stem funnel passes, and into the other a glass tube fits tightly, being bent at two right angles, as shown in Fig. 1 . The glass tube may be readily bent by softening it first over a spirit lamp—the flame being colored distinct yellow when the glass reaches a pliable state. Slide a 4 1 ⁄ 2 -inch disc of paper (B, Fig. 1 ) on...
4 minute read
The famous King Belshazzar was much dismayed to see the mysterious writing upon the wall of his palace. Without reducing your friends to a similar state of terror, a very easy experiment can be performed productive of the same effect, and if it does not exactly make their knees strike together, it will astonish them very much. The appliances are such as can be found in any home, and the strange writing can be produced in the following way. Fig. 1.—Showing relative positions of candle and mirror so that patch of light is thrown on the wall. At one end of a dark room erect a screen that shall conceal you and your apparatus effectually from the spectators. Upon a table behind this screen place a large mirror, such as can be found upon any dressing-table. Put a lighted candle in front of this glass, placing the latter at such...
2 minute read
If at any time it should happen that an engaged couple are amongst the friends whom you wish to entertain, a very simple piece of apparatus can be made that will give these good people much pleasure. In the four sides of a cube box, measuring 18″ each way, make an oval opening, 9″ by 7″, as A, B, C, D in Fig. 9 . Inside the box place two mirrors, back to back, diagonally from G to E ( Fig. 10 ), and contrive four curtains to draw up simultaneously over the holes. Fig. 9.—Showing box with oval openings. Fig. 10.—Showing box with oval openings and mirrors. You must now get two couples to look through the holes, arranging the two men opposite each other, as at A and C, and the ladies at B and D, promising them that by looking into the simple but magical...
1 minute read
Why do we wear white clothes in extreme heat and dark clothes in the winter? To this question every one will answer that white clothes absorb less heat than black, and that we therefore feel the rays of the sun less. Quite true; and yet, how is it that Polar bears and other Arctic creatures exposed to such extreme cold are clothed in white? The fact is that not only does white absorb less heat, but it serves to retain heat, and a white coat preserves the natural warmth in the animal’s body. This is exemplified by the following experiment, for which only a tumbler is required. Choose a glass with the lower part faced, as in Fig. 12 . Color these faces black and white alternately, a little India ink serving for the former and some crushed chalk and water for the latter. With a very small knob of...
1 minute read
We all know that metals expand under heat. The amount of such expansion may be measured by a simple little apparatus called a pyrometer. Fig. 13.—Showing how to make a pyrometer. On a wooden base, B, C ( Fig. 13 ), make two uprights, A and D, of which A must be a half inch higher than D. Bore a hole a quarter of an inch from the top of A, but not right through the wood. A couple of pins must be bent into the shape of a Y and driven into the top of D, as in Fig. 13 . With a little sealing-wax fasten a paper pointer to the eye end of a needle and lay the needle across the pins, P, P ( Fig. 14 ). Next place an ordinary knitting-needle in the hole at A, and rest it over the small needle with the pointer....
1 minute read
An interesting and useful experiment with a broken bottle is depicted in Fig. 15 . Fill the broken piece with oil to whatever level you desire it to be cut, and stand it upon a perfectly level table. Now plunge a red-hot poker into the oil and hold it there for a few seconds, when there will be a loud crack, and the top of the broken part will come off, even and smooth, as in Fig. 16 . Fig. 15.—Portion of broken bottle for experiment. Fig. 16.—Showing smooth break after red-hot poker has been plunged into the oil. It may not be generally known that a sheet of glass may be cut regularly and evenly with a pair of strong scissors. A glance at Fig. 17 will give an idea of how this is done. The apparatus required is a large pail of cold water and a...
1 minute read
An interesting and effective experiment may be performed with compressed air. The arrangements are very simple and the requirements few. Fig. 18.—Walnut shell with necessary holes bored. Divide a walnut shell into two, and bore a hole in the bottom of each half. In one of the cups thus obtained make another hole half-way up the side, as in Fig. 18 . Now, with a little sealing-wax fasten three straws into these holes. In the cork of a fair-sized jar, which should be of some opaque glass, bore two holes, through which the straws must be placed at unequal heights, as shown in Fig. 19 . Having almost filled the jar with clear water, place the cork with the straws so tightly that no air can possibly enter either at the sides or by any other means than through the straws. The following strange effect will now be obtained. Pouring...
1 minute read
A very interesting and amusing experiment may be performed with a bottle and a cork. Take a cork of a diameter less than the internal diameter of the neck of the bottle you propose using, and ask a friend to make it enter the bottle by blowing upon it. At first sight this seems a very easy task, and your friend at once proceeds to blow strongly upon the cork. This, however, instead of making the cork enter the bottle, causes it to fly out. Again your friend tries to overcome the troublesome cork, on the next occasion by blowing very gently, but again it flies out ( Fig. 1 ). The explanation of this is as follows:— In blowing upon the cork, a certain amount of air at the same time enters the bottle, the air in which becomes so compressed that it rapidly ejects the cork. There are,...
52 minute read
You may be inclined to think that special apparatus is necessary to make a coin fly from the bottom of a glass, but here is shown a very simple method by which the trick may be performed at any moment in your home. First procure a liqueur glass of conical shape, having in its largest part a diameter not much greater than that of a silver dollar. At the bottom of this glass place a quarter, and above it, near the top of the glass, a silver dollar, the latter forming a kind of cover (A, Fig. 2 ). Now declare to your friends that, without touching the dollar, you will make the quarter jump from the glass. Fig. 2.—The flying coin. This at first seems to them an impossibility, but all you have to do is to blow very strongly on the edge of the dollar. This will make...
1 minute read
This is a very striking experiment, and is quite easy to perform. The apparatus is also quite simple, and may be easily obtained. It consists of a lamp-chimney, a cork, a cigarette, together with two little valves. Fig. 3.—The self-smoking cigarette. Tightly cork up one end of the lamp-chimney with a large cork, thus hermetically sealing it. In this cork bore two holes, one following the line of the cork’s axis and having exactly the same diameter as the cigarette: the other being oblique with respect to this axis, and having a much smaller diameter ( Fig. 3 ). Fig. 4.—The self-smoking cigarette. It is now necessary to make the valves. This is done by cutting from a glove two round pieces of the skin or leather, which, by means of pins, may be fixed over the holes, one being above the little hole on the top of the cork,...
1 minute read
Nearly every one has seen, at the circus or elsewhere, an acrobat executing giddy circular movements with a glass of water, and doubtless has wondered how it is that none of the liquid is spilt. This is due to the action of centrifugal force. Having placed the glass full of water on the table, it is only a matter of taking it properly with the hand, holding it at arm’s length, and, with the arm thus extended, describing a complete circle, after which it may be placed upon the table without the loss of a single drop. To insure the success of the experiment, particular attention must be paid to the manner in which the glass is held. Instead of taking it as you would when drinking, hold it with the hand reversed, the palm being turned upwards, as shown in Fig. 5 . Fig. 5.—Centrifugal force experiment. First position....
44 minute read
A simple method of illuminating the back of the mouth and throat, especially when throat trouble is suspected, may often be found extremely useful. Here is a means of supplying, at a moment’s notice, an extemporized illuminant of this kind. Take a well-cleaned spoon, and hold it against a candle flame, when you form an excellent mirror, which will permit you to concentrate the rays of light and produce at the back of the throat enough illumination for the making of a careful examination ( Fig. 8 ). A silver spoon, moreover, allows you to study the curious properties of curved mirrors. Holding the hollow part of the spoon before your face, notice that the head is at the bottom; turn the spoon round, and you have the bulging part a convex mirror, which will show an image, very long and narrow. If you approach this face in the spoon...
1 minute read
If you look at an object which has been placed in water, owing to the phenomenon of refraction, the article appears in a different position from that in which it really is. It is due to this phenomenon, therefore, that a stick, when half plunged into water, seems to be bent or broken. A very interesting experiment based on this principle is the following:— Take a bowl full of water, and at the bottom place a coin. Next request one of your friends to lower his head until his eye, the edge of the bowl, and the near edge of the cent, appear to be in the same line. As a matter of fact, it is not the coin itself that your friend can see, but only the image created by refraction. Now, keeping your friend in the same position, inform him that you intend to make the coin disappear...
1 minute read
Very few people realize that paper can be electrified at a moment’s notice, no special apparatus for the purpose being required. Take a piece of light paper, which should have been well dried, and rub it briskly with a clothes brush, silk handkerchief, or even the open hand. After a little time the paper, becoming electrified, will adhere to your face, your hands, or your clothes, as easily as if it were attached by means of gum. Nor is this property confined to thin paper. Thick paper, when dried, will act in the same manner. For instance, take a postcard, dry it, and rub it, and you will notice that, as is the case with sealing-wax, glass, sulphur, &c., the card has the power of attracting light bodies, such as small pieces of cork. The following interesting experiment may be carried out with an electrified postcard and a walking-stick. Balance...
48 minute read
From the last experiment it may have been gathered that if a piece of paper is dried and rubbed with a silk handkerchief or the dry hand it will adhere to the face, arms, or clothing. It may not be so widely known, however, that if toy balloons be filled with air, and then stroked for a short time with a piece of fur, they will act in the same way as the electrified paper. It is rather amusing to see these balloons, after being treated thus, placed against the wall or ceiling, where they will stick as if they were glued there. Fig. 11.—The electrified balloons. Having entertained your friends in this manner, you may, by way of a little change, take two of these toy balloons, and, after having electrified them, suspend them from the same point by means of two silken threads. You will be surprised to...
53 minute read
Flour will create an explosion! Take a large handful of flour, and leave it for some time near the fire, in order that every trace of dampness may be expelled. Whilst the flour is drying take a large tin box (a cracker tin will do admirably), and near the bottom make a small hole. Through this hole pass the end of a piece of india-rubber tubing, and place the handful of dry flour in front of it. At the other end of the box place a short piece of candle, and after lighting it, cover the box with the lid, taking care that it is not too firmly fixed. If you now blow down the tube with your mouth, or better still, with a pair of bellows an explosion at once takes place, as a result of which the lid will be blown off ( Fig. 12 ). Fig. 12.—Exploding...
2 minute read
Have you ever had tea on the top of a mountain? If so, you will agree that your cup of tea could by no means be termed excellent. Now, why is it that a cup of tea made on a mountain-top is much inferior to one made at a lower level? If the fault lay in the tea, the defect could be easily remedied, but such is not the case, for it depends upon the fact that water on the top of a mountain boils at a lower temperature than water at the sea-level. In order to make a good cup of tea, the water must boil at a temperature very near 100° C., and it is at this temperature that the water is generally boiled in your homes. Why is it, then, that water boils at different temperatures at different altitudes? It is because, as the altitude is increased,...
56 minute read
Here is a very simple way of obtaining coal gas. Procure an ordinary long clay tobacco pipe, the bowl of which should be filled with very small pieces of coal. Carefully cover the top with soft clay, and put the bowl in the fire, with the long stem protruding through the bars. Now watch this end of the pipe very closely and see what happens. Fig. 14.—Simple gas-making. Very soon you will notice a light-colored smoke issuing from the mouthpiece, but after a time this smoke disappears. But what happens if you hold a lighted match to the mouthpiece of the pipe? Immediately a bright yellow flame appears ( Fig. 14 ). The gas now burning is the same gas as is burnt in your house, although this latter, of course, is much purer. If now you take the pipe from the fire, allow it to cool and then break...
3 minute read
In a previous chapter , when describing how to make a miniature cannon, it was explained that the “gunpowder” with which the “shell” was fired is in reality carbonic acid gas. It may not be amiss to show how to generate it, in order that you may discover for yourselves some of its properties. There are several ways of obtaining carbonic acid gas, but most of these are of a complicated nature. The following, however, is an extremely simple method. Take a 6-oz. or 8-oz. flask, and fit it with a cork with a hole, in which may be fitted a piece of glass tubing. This tubing should be bent twice at right angles, as shown in Fig. 15 , and the longer end should be allowed to dip into a large glass. Fig. 15.—A carbonic acid gas experiment. Into the flask pour a little lemonade, soda water or ginger...
2 minute read
It has been presumed in commencing these notes that most would-be experimenters already possess a camera, or will at least shortly do so. Thus the greater number of experiments are such as would interest a camera fiend more deeply than the ordinary reader, although the latter might still derive much enjoyment from conducting them so far as the lack of a “dark box” will allow him. It will perhaps be as well to spend a paragraph at the outset in describing simply and noting a few peculiarities about the commonplace camera. Photography means drawing by the agency of light. Now light is reflected from an illuminated object in straight lines or rays, of which a proportion may be collected by a lens and thrown in points upon a surface behind. (See Fig. 1 , A, illuminated object; B, lens; C, surface behind lens; D, rays of light thrown upon surface...
2 minute read
Probably no souvenir can give greater pleasure to the amateur photographer, or prove more acceptable to his bosom chums, than their portrait, as a fireside group, lighted by the glow from a genial fire. Nor is this difficult of attainment. First the figures should be grouped seated on chairs—and perhaps some standing behind, if many faces are to be included—in a quarter circle from one chimney-corner, whilst the camera may be securely placed some 9 or 10 feet away, about the position shown at X in Fig. 3 . Fig. 3.—Relative positions of camera and sitters for a fireside photo. Next some shade like a small fire-screen must be placed between the blaze and the camera, in order to protect the sensitized plate from the full glare of the firelight. Now of course the photograph is not actually secured by the coal flame illumination, which would not be bright enough...
4 minute read
Salts of silver form the basis of most modern photographic processes. Thus in order to perform chemical experiments of a photographic nature, some solution of silver must be available, the nitrate salt being usually employed. Fig. 4.—Silver solution and precipitate. It is best procured at the druggist’s in solution or as crystals, in which latter case it must be dissolved for use in clean rain or distilled water. The solution need be only weak, but must be kept in a dark bottle screened from daylight. Chemical test-tubes, if they can be obtained, will be found best for the experiments. (1) Prepare a weak solution of table salt, and add it drop by drop to a little of the silver nitrate in a test tube (or wine-glass as a makeshift). A white sediment is precipitated, which, by shading part of the tube with a band of paper and exposing to daylight,...
1 minute read
Engineers’ drawings have for many years past been copied upon ferro-prussiate, or “blue print” paper. The original design being made in opaque ink upon tracing linen, a sheet of the sensitive paper is held against this in strong daylight until blue coloration has advanced everywhere except beneath the ink lines of the drawing. These remain yellow, or rather white, when finished, as the excess of sensitive salt is removed by washing. Since this last operation is in itself all-sufficient to insure permanency, the simplicity is unique. In fact, the impossibilty of securing other colors than blue has been the only factor to exclude this process from far wider use. The preparation of the sensitive surface presents no great difficulties, provided a drawing-paper of good quality be used. It should be cut into strips about 6 inches wide, which are passed one by one up and down (see Fig. 7 )...
3 minute read
Few physicists to-day doubt that light consists of waves set up in an all-pervading medium called ether; that, moreover, white light is composed of different tinted rays—to be seen reflected from the bevel edge of a looking-glass, or indeed from the more natural rainbow—which further are caused by the different lengths of waves whereby the colored lights are propagated. Now we may produce these phenomena for ourselves by cutting a slit 1 1 ⁄ 2 inches long in a temporary window-shutter, or, more conveniently, in the end of a large wooden box (A, Fig. 8 ). Near this a glass prism, such as once adorned gas-pendants so profusely, must be supported (B, Fig. 8 ) on a block of wood, and at the opposite end of the box a sheet of paper pinned to the inside (C, Fig. 8 ). The arrangement is shown in the diagram. Now notice, if...
2 minute read
Pictures of a man decapitating himself, or of the reader’s sister turning the skipping-rope for another girl, who is herself, may justly be called mystifying. Not only may they almost deceive the operator himself, but will quite nonplus the uninitiated, to whom proofs may thus be presented of the most impossible happenings. Two methods are applicable to the production of such freak portraits, viz:— (1) To photograph the entire picture in two separate halves on the plate, moving the sitter from one position to another for each exposure. (2) To employ a background as dark and dim as practicable, whilst well-lighting the sitter and furniture, and giving a separate exposure for each position of the model. The latter procedure is by far the simpler, and provided reasonably correct exposures are given, success should not be very elusive. To take for a concrete example the portrait of a boy playing checkers...
3 minute read
Spirit or ghost photography is but a modification of these methods. The chief element of success is to ignore the caution of the preceding paragraph, and render the ghost figure as transparent as possible. The first exposure should be an adequate one of the human model, who has twisted himself into an attitude of groveling terror compatible with the fright from which he is supposed to be suffering, whilst the background behind him must be dark and indistinct, if he is next to impersonate the spook. The latter’s surroundings, on the contrary, may be as detailed and well-lighted as convenient, because the white-robed figure is to appear transparent. A sheet will be fit apparel for the “spirit,” and must be large enough to drape entirely the gliding form with outspread arms. The second exposure must be abnormally short, so as just to obtain a faint impression of the sheet and...
1 minute read
Excellent imitations of crayon pictures are to be produced by taking the required photograph through a negative screen, which has been made by copying to equal size or slight reduction, a piece of rough drawing-paper rubbed evenly with charcoal. It is employable in two ways, either by keeping it in contact with the sensitive plate in the dark slide whilst the photograph is being taken—a slightly longer exposure being given—or else holding it in the frame on the opposite side of the negative to the sensitive paper during printing, which is conducted in the sunshine. By systems of double or triple printing, all manner of novel results are obtainable. The only difficulty presented in this work is that of correct registration, but if printing paper—the most usual medium—be employed, this should not be insurmountable even at the first trial. As a first instance of these compositions, suppose out of black...
2 minute read
Marionettes , though claiming no rivalry to the time-honored institution of Punch and Judy, have a great charm of their own, and, with no traditional story of Punch, Judy, and Dog Toby, are at liberty to perform whatever play their manager may desire. Although it is possible, of course, to purchase ready-made Marionette theaters and puppets, the purpose of this chapter is to describe a method by which the whole apparatus can be constructed at home at the cost of very little money and time. Naturally, the first thing to be made is the stage. This must depend very much upon the Marionettes you intend to work. As a convenient size, suppose you decide upon figures 8 inches in height. This means that the frontage of the stage must be about 28 inches wide by 16 inches high, whilst it will run back to a depth of some 14 inches....
2 minute read
The following plan will be found very suitable for the arrangement of the movable curtain. Take a piece of strong copper wire and bend it, as shown in Fig. 4 . The length of the unbent portion should be about 30 inches. Fit the two ends, A and B, into holes bored in the stage front, inside and above the opening. The wire rod will thus run the whole length of the actual stage, whilst the ends A and B suffice to clear the fixed curtains already tacked up. Hang the movable curtains by a number of little rings upon this rod. When drawn, the two curtains, which should be of some stout material, will completely cover the stage. Fig. 4.—Wire rod for movable curtain. The method of drawing the curtains is arranged thus: A string (L, Fig. 5 ) is passed through the loop C in the rod, through...
1 minute read
The next questions that arise concern scenery. This depends entirely upon the play to be performed. The floor of the stage must be covered with suitable paper, or better still with a carpet. In the arrangement of the wings and the scenery connected therewith, do not forget that the spaces on each side must be left clear. Marionettes cannot enter by doors, and a descent from the ceiling is not only undignified but impracticable. The side scenery must therefore be as simple as possible. Unless your performance is to be upon a very extensive scale, the actual amount of scenery required is not great. An interior can easily be painted. Pieces representing the walls of the room can be hung upon what may be called the wing wires, whilst the rest of the interior can be painted upon the stage back. In all probability a rural scene will also be...
2 minute read
Fig. 9.—Universal arm-joint. The following hints will show how the figures are to be made at home at slight cost. Get an ordinary Dutch doll (similar to that shown in Fig. 8 ) of the proper size and neatly made. Notice that the hip-joints allow the legs to move upwards freely, a convenience that the ordinary doll lacks. The knee-joints are after the same pattern, and allow the lower part of the leg to double up for sitting and kneeling. These joints should be made to work easily and evenly. The arms should be attached to the body by what is known as a universal joint (seen in Fig. 9 ). Make the surface A B ( Fig. 10 ) perfectly even, and then scoop a slight hollow in the wood. In this hollow drive a staple almost up to the head, leaving only enough room to insert a piece...
2 minute read
Fig. 13.—Finger loops for manipulating puppet. There are two methods of holding the threads and working the puppets, the first of which is also shown in Fig. 12 . The arm threads, A and B, are attached to the end of a stick, F; the leg threads are similarly attached to another stick, G, to the center of which the body thread, E, is fastened. The sticks are then held, one in each hand, or both in the same. Although more convenient for manipulation, this method possesses the disadvantage of limiting each operator to the management of one puppet, and where there are several characters upon the stage, much confusion may result. If the two sticks be held in one hand free play, so far as pulling the strings is concerned, is allowed to the fingers, and there should be no difficulty in working two Marionettes at the same time,...
1 minute read
Practice the parts carefully and thoroughly. Be ready with some joke or patter to cover any mishap that may occur. Accidents are unfortunate, but in Marionette-land quite probable, so if Aladdin’s left arm fails to work at the critical moment, there is nothing to do but make the audience think it all part of the fun. Supposing the evening for your entertainment to have arrived, and that all is in readiness, place the theater upon a table at such a height that the spectators will get a clear view of the stage, but will not be able to see the flies. The table should be against a wall, and arranged in such a manner that you and your partner have sufficient room to move behind it. In the space between the table and wall a couple of boards must be placed on trestles, so that the operators may stand above...
3 minute read
A living Marionette entertainment is well adapted for a “One Man Show,” and sure to prove a success. The very appearance of the weird creature, half human and half doll, makes the spectators laugh, and this laugh will scarcely subside until the curtain has been finally rung down on the entertainment. Fig. 1.—The dummy body with the human head. Fig. 2.—Front view of living Marionette stage. The mysterious combination shown in Fig. 1 needs but little explanation, since it is very clear that the head is human whilst the body is wooden. This makes so comical a figure that anything but pure humor would seem singularly out of place issuing from those lips; it must, therefore, be clearly understood that the living Marionette is comic from beginning to end. The stage must be about 3 feet wide, and of the same height, thus allowing room for the head and false...
2 minute read
Songs and monologues are naturally the best turns for the Living Marionette. Choose a rollicking, nautical song, suitable to Jack Tar. All the gestures and motions can be given to the limbs by means of the threads, whilst every now and again Jack can enliven himself and the audience by executing a hornpipe. A little practice with the leg-strings will enable you to perform this with great effect. Fig. 3.—Black cloth arrangement to conceal top of performer’s body. Always strive to obtain comical effects. If the gallant mariner has a telescope in his hand, this should be raised to the eye, where the extraordinary contrast between the tiny hand holding a midget telescope, and the enormous face emerging from its forest of beard, is ludicrous in the extreme. Or if the other branch of the Service be on the boards, the cavalryman may flourish a saber, which, at full arm’s...
3 minute read
A home circus has so far been beyond the wildest dreams of the amateur showman. Yet when one considers the wide scope a circus presents to performers of every type, it is curious that “amateur circuses” are not almost as popular as “amateur theatricals.” At first sight such a show seems impracticable, on account of the large floor area required for the ring. This need occupy but little more space than a stage, however; and, taking into consideration the fact that the audience almost completely surrounds the performers, it will ultimately be found that a circus does not necessitate so large a room as might be anticipated. Fig. 1.—Showing barricade and ring entrance. Of premier importance, of course, is the ring itself. It need not be more than fifteen feet in diameter; but if additional space can be spared, so much the better. Fig. 1 gives a plan of a...
3 minute read
The “noble thorough-bred” is now ready for its final decorations. Unravel some coarse rope and sew it along the neck of the horse to represent the mane. Another piece, unraveled at one end only, does duty for a tail. The ears are constructed by cutting a piece of calico, folded in the form of a sugar bag, perpendicularly down the center, and stitching the two halves into position on the head. The color of the horse must next be determined. If dapple-gray, a few ink blobs upon the white background will suffice; but if chestnut, brown, or black, a distemper must be applied with a thick brush. This distemper can be made by mixing ordinary water color, of the shade required, with size water, and thickening with whiting. When the distemper is dry, the “rider” of the horse must get into the hollow in the center, and secure it to...
3 minute read
Another item suitable for the programme of the home circus is a “mock” conjuring entertainment. The ring-master announces that Herr Bluffemstein, the famous illusionist, will present his marvelous performance. Thereupon one of the boys or young men taking part in the circus must stalk majestically into the ring, and bow stiffly to the audience. If possible he should be attired in evening dress. He should also wear a fierce, upturned mustache, and carry an air-gun under his arm. A large target is then placed in the curtained entrance to the ring. This target consists merely of a wooden board containing several bent nails, upon which lighted candles are stuck. Below each candle a large number is painted ( Fig. 7 ). “Herr Bluffemstein” then requests the audience to call out one of these numbers. Upon their complying, he loads the air-gun, raises it to his shoulder, takes aim, fires—and the...
1 minute read
In this illusion the assistant brings forward a sack and proceeds to get into it. The conjurer then seizes the top of the sack, and pulls it right over the boy’s head. Producing a piece of rope, he requests some one in the audience so to tie the mouth of the sack that it will be impossible for the assistant to get out. When this is done, the conjurer places a screen round the boy, and slowly counts “One, two, three!” As he utters the last word, he pulls away the screen. The assistant is then seen to be perfectly free, with the sack slung carelessly across his shoulder. When the sack is examined it is found to be still securely tied with the identical knot made by the member of the audience. The explanation lies in the fact that two sacks are employed. The assistant has one secreted up...
3 minute read
Fig. 8 shows the first feat—that of balancing a stick, card, and wooden ball upon the hand. The whole secret lies in the card. It really consists of two cards pasted together, with a piece of wire passing diagonally between them and protruding about half an inch at each end. In both the ball and stick are small holes into which this wire fits. The audience, of course, must be kept in ignorance of this—not a difficult thing to do when several feet separate them from the performer. Fig. 8.—Balancing stick, card, and wooden ball. Fig. 9.—Two balls balanced upon stick. The feat depicted in Fig. 9 consists in balancing two balls upon a stick. This is done by means of a wire constructed to slide up and down in the center of the stick. At first this wire is completely hidden, but by pushing up the small...
7 minute read
A peep-show makes an excellent and quite novel form of home entertainment, and a boy would be well repaid for any trouble to which the construction of one might put him. The first consideration is the dimensions of the show. One can be large enough to occupy the whole of a table, or so small that it can be made from a soap or cigar box. The best course, therefore, will be to leave the question of size to the reader. Fig. 1 is an illustration of the peep-show when finished. Fig. 1.—The finished show. The first requisite is a wooden box of the shape shown in Fig. 2 . As previously mentioned, for a small show a cigar box does admirably. If you visit a friend who has just commenced smoking, and ask him for a box, he will most likely bless you for the opportunity you have given...
5 minute read
There is another variety of peep-show well worthy of attention. It is known as the “mechanical” peep-show. A short account of the finished show will not be out of place before proceeding with a more detailed description. Upon looking through the peep-holes the interior of a cottage is perceived, including side wings. The next moment, however, a faint click is heard—and the interior of the cottage miraculously vanishes, giving place to a scene in a forest glade! The simplest and most satisfactory manner of explaining this marvelous transformation is to describe how one of these “mechanical” shows may be made. Procure a wooden box similar to the first of those employed in the manufacture of the previous show. Having decided upon the number of peep-holes, cut them out in the manner already described . Another “stage front” must then be fixed in position about 3 inches from the peep-holes (...
2 minute read
Mr. Punch and Mrs. Judy at one time held quite an exalted position among forms of entertainment dear to the heart of the British boy. As far back as the reign of Queen Anne, a well-known periodical devoted quite a considerable space to a criticism of a Punch and Judy performance! Fig. 1.—The framework. Fig. 2.—Frames hinged together. Moreover, in England, less than fifty years ago it was no unusual occurrence for a traveling showman to hire a barn or large room and give a whole evening’s performance with his Punch and Judy. Punch is just as amusing indoors as out, and the boy who is interested in giving different forms of home entertainment will find a Punch and Judy an excellent addition to his other shows. The stage upon which Mr. Punch performs his amusing antics is simple of construction. It will first be necessary to procure...
1 minute read
When the Punch and Judy Show has to be packed away, it is merely necessary to unhook the front cloth, take out the platform, and fold the framework up as though it were a screen or a clothes’ horse. But before this trial “pack up” is attempted, there are one or two small but important additions to be made. First of all, the top of the opening at which Punch presents his cheery countenance must be decorated. This is easily done. Two small nails are driven perpendicularly into the top of the front uprights, and a stout piece of wire stretched between them. A frieze of cambric is then hemmed round the wire ( Fig. 5 ). The wire should be simply hooked on the nails, so that it can easily be detached when the show is folded up. A similar frieze must also be tacked along the edge of...
3 minute read
The “stage” is now complete, and it remains but to make the grotesque little puppets that perform upon it. Pride of place must be given, of course, to the redoubtable Punch himself. The most difficult part of this puppet to construct is the head. There are very few boys skillful enough to carve out the correct features from an ordinary block of wood; therefore they must find some other foundation upon which to work. A Dutch doll, to be purchased at any toyshop for a few cents, serves splendidly. Whilst the reader is in the toyshop buying the one doll, he may as well extend his order to about a dozen more; not only are they useful for making Punch, but their stony countenances can be transformed into those of Judy or any of the other characters. The dolls should all be decapitated, and have their hands and feet removed...
59 minute read
To “work” the figures the performer first puts his hand up the back of the coat, and sticks the tip of his forefinger in the hole in the head. He then places his thumb and second finger in the diminutive sleeves. By this means the puppet can be made to fling his arms about, and move his head in a most grotesque fashion. The other puppets are constructed on practically the same lines; but in the majority of cases it will be unnecessary to provide them with knickerbockers and legs, as the audience see only the upper part of the bodies above the platform. In these circumstances the attire can take the form of a simple, long, loose gown, such as that worn by the Clown in Fig. 12 . Fig. 12.—The Clown. Fig. 13.—Skull head for the Ghost. Judy’s prepossessing features may be made from another of the dolls’...
2 minute read
The Ghost, however, may receive a little special treatment. One of the heads should be vividly painted in black and white to represent a skull. Then attach it to a wooden stick, decorated with a series of black rings, as shown in Fig. 13 . The body consists of a long white gown similar to the other dresses, the only difference being that the head is left quite free in the collar. When the mysterious visitor makes his first appearance his head is right down upon his shoulders, as in Fig. 14 . Directly Punch becomes too familiar, however, the showman can make the Ghost suddenly shoot out his long neck, thereby giving the old gentleman a bad attack of the “nerves.” There remains one other piece of “stage furniture” to be constructed. This is the gallows—which plays such an important part in the exciting scene where Punch turns the...
3 minute read
Previous to the introduction of the cinematograph, dissolving views ranked amongst the most popular of entertainments. By means of a specially-constructed magic lantern, a painted picture from a glass slide is thrown upon a screen. Then, at the will of the operator, the picture apparently dissolves into a haze, through which a second picture gradually makes its appearance. Subjects are usually chosen which specially adapt themselves to such an optical illusion. For instance, a picture might be shown of a small country village, which slowly dissolves into a view of the same place several years after, when it has developed into a thriving and populous town. But the specially constructed magic lantern necessary for these dissolving views is a very costly piece of apparatus, the purchase of which would entail the careful saving of two or three years’ pocket money. However keen a boy may be to provide some form...
2 minute read
Whilst the paint is drying the young showman can turn his attention to the lights. These merely consist of two lamps—photographic dark-room lamps are most suitable, or a wax candle will serve quite well. Each lamp is provided with a cardboard shutter serrated at the bottom, as shown in Fig. 5 . It is this serration that imparts the dissolving effects to the various views. When the paint is dry the first exhibition may be given. The room in which the entertainment is to take place must be darkened; the glass placed in position between the cigar-box and the stage front, and the lamps lit. Two picture postcards must also be obtained; the first being placed upright upon the cigar-box at the back of the show, and the other on the wooden base between the glass and the stage front. A glance at Fig. 4 explains this. The two lamps...
3 minute read
A firework display without the employment of brimstone and saltpeter is somewhat unusual. But it is quite possible to give such a display, and to do so without the heavy expense usually attending Fourth of July pyrotechnics. It is first necessary to make a frame or “stage,” upon which to present the firework display. In appearance this frame greatly resembles a three-winged clothes-horse; in fact, one of these humble home “thoroughbreds” may, after slight alteration, be easily pressed into service. Fig. 1.—Showing frame and side wings. The question of dimensions rests entirely with the exhibitor. Fig. 1 shows a diagram of the frame. As will be seen, its front is divided into two compartments, A and B. The lower compartment, B, is occupied by a scene of some Exposition Building. This must be made of cardboard, and can either be permanently nailed to the frame, or so constructed as to...
1 minute read
But our firework show gives scope for far better effects even than this. Some time ago great surprise was caused at an exhibition by the production of a firework boxer. With a little care and ingenuity, the same surprising result may be produced in the following manner:— By means of a needle prick out two boxers in a defensive position (C and D, Fig. 5 ). The others must then be designed; only in this case, one boxer is administering the coup de grace to his unfortunate opponent. Two grooved strips of wood are next glued to the top and bottom, as shown at A, Fig. 5 , and two pieces of cardboard slid between them (B, B). These two cards should then be connected by three pieces of wire, as shown in the diagram, and have their corners rounded off in order to insure free movement in the grooves....
1 minute read
It is quite easy to make a telephone, which besides affording amusement, will, at times, be found extremely useful. Fitted from the ground floor to the rooms above, or from your friend’s house to your own, it is impossible to overestimate its convenience. Fig. 1 a .—Section of case. Of course it is quite possible to buy the parts of a telephone ready made and fitted together, but it is much more interesting to construct the apparatus yourself. The whole affair is so easily and cheaply made that no difficulty can possibly be experienced, and you have only to exercise care in order to succeed in constructing a very handy and interesting machine. Fig. 1 b .—Magnet case. For the apparatus to be of any practical use, a pair of receivers are required—one for the person speaking, and the other for the person listening. First of all purchase two bar-magnets,...
2 minute read
Having made the cases for the magnets, now make the mouthpieces. Procure two wooden boxes such as boot-buttons are sold in, and glue one to the end of each of the wooden tubes you have just made, cutting a hole in the bottom of the box to correspond with the bore of the case. In Fig. 1 a you will see the work, so far as you have completed it, shown in section. In the lid of the box cut a clean hole the size of a dime right in the center, but this lid must not be fastened to the box just yet. The next things to be made are two bobbins upon which to wind the wire—one for each instrument. Cut a piece of fairly strong cardboard about 1 ⁄ 4 -inch wide and just large enough in circumference to fit the marked end of the magnets tightly....
1 minute read
Fig. 5.—Sectional view of microphone. This instrument, as its name implies, serves to make small sounds greater. Besides being useful in conjunction with a telephone, it is also of interest in itself. Make a base, BC, and an upright, A, from a piece of thin pine wood, as shown in Fig. 5 . Buy from the electrician two blocks of carbon such as are used in batteries (these will cost but a few cents), each measuring about a cubic inch. In one side of each of these blocks fasten a long binding screw, whilst in an adjacent side make a hollow with a rat-tailed file or a penknife. Then get a small pencil of charcoal such as is used in the large arc lamp, and cut off a piece 4 inches long; file both ends to a point in the way that you sharpen a pencil (E, Fig. 5 )....
5 minute read
Like most of the inventions that have revolutionized the world, the electric telegraph is constructed upon the simplest principles. As will be shown, an instrument for transmitting and receiving messages can easily be made at a very small cost by any one prepared to devote a little care to its construction; and when completed it will be found of considerable use and convenience. To make a model of the elaborate machines now employed, which not only receive but print messages in legible Roman characters, would be far beyond the scope of any amateur, necessitating the purchase of many costly parts and requiring a considerable knowledge of engineering to fit them satisfactorily together. But the instrument that can be made according to the following instructions, is exactly similar to those in use throughout many smaller offices the world over. The telegraph is based upon the following principle. A current of electricity,...
1 minute read
It would now be as well to test what you have already done. Connect the loose ends of the coil to the poles of a battery, reverse them, and repeat this two or three times. If the instrument has been properly made, the needle should swing to the left when the wires are connected in one way; to the right when they are reversed. Fig. 4.—The keyboard. Nothing more remains to be done but to make the keyboard, which is really the base of the instrument you have just been constructing. A glance at Fig. 4 shows how this is to be done. C and D are two thin brass springs, 5 inches long, and, as they have to pass through the notches in the dial, less than half an inch in width, they must be bent upwards, so that when fastened to the board at C and D the...
1 minute read
At the ends CD of the springs fasten two binding screws, and do the same at A and B. Fasten the two loose ends from the coil to C and D, and attach the wires from the battery to A and B. Now is the time to see whether your machine has been properly made. By pressing down one key you will find that the current of electricity deflects the needle and the pointer to one side, and by releasing this key and pressing the other one, the pointer will swing down to the other side. If this is done satisfactorily your telegraph instrument is complete, and with a couple of them you will be able to send messages from one room, or one house, to another. The complete apparatus should appear as in Fig. 5 , which also shows the connections with the battery. A couple of Daniels’ cells,...
4 minute read
The term “Hypnotism” is defined in Nuttall as “an artificially induced state of sleep,” and is of Greek origin, the prefix “hypo” signifying “under” or “beneath,” and the Greek root “hypnos,” sleep. Hypnotic, or “under-sleep” conditions, may be induced in several ways, and are not limited to the best-known method, that of absorbing the attention of the subject by means of an object; for oblivion may be caused quite as successfully by means of the sense of touch as in gentle continuous stroking, pressure of the skin, by the motion of the hands over the body without touch, or by soothing words, which, accompanied by the penetrating magnetism of the eye, convey hints or suggestions to the intelligence. Methods of hypnotism may be divided into two classes:— 1. The Mental Method —which directs the subject’s imagination and senses to co-operation, creates an image in his mind, thrusts the dormant brain...
4 minute read
Some subjects are less amenable to hypnotic influence than others. The belief that those of weak will are the easiest prey is a fallacy. The real reason lies in the fact that the individual is incapable of concentrating his will in obedience to the dominating mind. This is generally the case with persons inclined to hysteria or of neurotic temperament, and for such, a revolving glass is the best object to be gazed upon, as it wearies the eye and induces slumber without the need of concentration or surrender of will. There are others who cannot easily be hypnotized because they determinedly set themselves to oppose the purpose of the operator to such an extent that his brain becomes exhausted in the process and loses its potency. In such cases the best plan is for the hypnotizer to inspire faith by means of experiments performed over other individuals in the...
5 minute read
In order to cultivate these, experiment upon yourself by the means of auto-suggestion or self-hypnosis, which is a splendid means of training those faculties necessary to the mastery of other minds. Change your state by means of words which imply a condition either mental or physical not personally experienced by you, and believe implicitly in your own ideas. Treat yourself exactly as if you were experimenting on another individual, surrendering your subjective and objective mind wholly to absorb the idea conveyed, and gradually its meaning will influence and take possession of your brain to the exclusion of everything else. The change suggested should be exactly opposite to your natural state—for instance, if you are warm, tell yourself determinedly that you are cold until you credit the fact, when your body, which blindly follows mind and will, experiences the sensation of cold. If you have a headache, suggest that the pain...
2 minute read
Clairvoyance , originally a French word, means the ability to see clearly. The reason so few people possess this extraordinary psychic faculty, is because most human beings are three-quarter parts blind, deaf, and insensate to anything beyond the ordinary emotions. The power of prophecy and acute intuition is a sixth sense which most of us have in a slight degree dormant and uncultivated. Clairvoyance has often been mistaken for superstition or wilfully imposed and cunning deceptions, and it is difficult for ignorant and cynical people to believe that it is founded on science and truth. It has stood firm through the ages in spite of the quackery of wizards, paraphernalia of sorcerers (used to inspire fear and awe in the uninitiated), the sneers of those of material minds. All of us at some time or other have felt the control of that still small voice, potent and penetrating as conscience,...
2 minute read
These colors, however, although providing the key to the character, are subject to constant changes. Our moods sway and change our thoughts according to the happenings that affect us. For example, bereavement or anxiety has power to transform the blue aura of the optimistic temperament to gray, and this temporary change of color studied alone may perplex the clairvoyant, and mislead him to a false diagnosis of character. In order to prevent this, the seer will do well to request some article constantly worn by the inquirer to be handed him; the older and shabbier it is the better. A dilapidated glove, an everyday tie or a ring constantly worn are equally valuable by which to discriminate between the temporary and habitual aura peculiar to temperament. When a man’s glove emits a pale blue aura, in contradiction to the gray of his own personality, the deduction is that he is...
2 minute read
By means of crystal scrying the gazer creates and becomes subject to the influence of auto-hypnosis—that is, he is able to throw himself into a trance which veils his own personality and links him to that of his client. The surface of the crystal gradually reflects images, and subconscious impressions conveyed by and vital to the individual whose past, present, and future are being revealed. Sympathy and intuition merge the soothsayer’s aura with the temperamental coloring of his client. His magnetic force creates further powers, while his psychic discernment or sixth sense is the nucleus about which these are bound. No student of clairvoyance can be successful in discerning character and personal emanations of color unless he is disciplined by simple rules which should govern his life. Excessive eating, drinking, intemperance in any form, self-indulgence, bad habits, and drugs destroy this delicate sixth sense past redemption. Want of sincerity and...
4 minute read
The simpler the manifestation, the more assured the clairvoyant may be of arriving at the truth. Self-confidence, an absolute belief in his gift, and faith in his methods dominate him. He does not endeavor to avoid exertion of his nervous forces by discreetly “pumping” the inquirer as to ways and means, but takes a delight in silent investigation. The clairvoyant should come to his task fresh and buoyant, bubbling with enthusiasm, and yet without frivolity or thoughtless mind. At the slightest sense of fatigue he should desist from his efforts, for it is extremely harmful to apply any force or strain to this abstract power. Physical fatigue and excitement must be avoided, for these engender jangled nerves, sleeplessness, and finally inability to isolate the mind from the orbit of our own concerns to the sphere of others. The processes that occur in crystal-gazing are thought transference and telepathy. A communication...
2 minute read
The eternal question based on introspection faces him. “What am I? Whither am I going? What is the meaning of this thoughtful brain, this palpitating heart, these stirring pulses through which the mysteries of the soul flash in a thousand directions?” These and many other questions will move into being until the eternal atmosphere of spirituality is reached, and the wings of the soul become unfurled and increase in strength and power to lift him to the realms of his desire. Only when the heart is pure and worthy will the vision be granted—the dross of bitterness, envy, hatred, and malice, which generally hide the precious jewel from the light, and render scintillating brilliance impossible, all discarded. Every one knows how difficult it is to control the mind, and keep it from mean and uncharitable thoughts. It is more rebellious even than the body, and influences it for good or...
3 minute read
There is something sufficiently fascinating about table-turning to fix the attention and interest of guests gathered for an evening’s recreation, and as it needs no previous arranging, it is an excellent device at an impromptu party. The table must be round, light, and of wood. As many of the company as can be squeezed in its circle may take part, but the excitement will be shared by the onlookers. Each places both hands lightly on the surface with the thumbs touching, and the little finger joined to that of his neighbor. It is important that there should be no break in the chain of hands, as this prevents the flow of the electric current, which is alone responsible for the vibration and movement of the table. The time of waiting for its first motion must be spent in silence, and may last from five to twenty minutes. Any “wag” who...
2 minute read
Should the spirit refuse to communicate at the end of twenty minutes, the manipulators may be sure that an “unbeliever” is in their midst, or that the whole assembly has too small magnetic power. When this happens, other persons should try their skill. As mediums are not uncommon, there will probably be one among them, and a brief waiting at the table will prove that this is the case. A good experiment to spare further waste of time is for the circle of attendants to decrease until only sufficient are left to maintain the chain. In this way the medium is discovered. A good medium creates movement in five minutes or less, and, with a tiny tea-table, it has often been shown that, when once set in full motion, all may withdraw except the medium under whose magnetic touch the table will continue to gyrate for several minutes. The spirit...
4 minute read
At social functions, such as garden and evening parties, fairs, &c., there are few people whose notice and attentions are so solicited as the palmist’s. He speedily finds himself the central figure of a knot of people of both sexes, all eager to thrust their hands under his discerning eye, and compare their own estimation of their character—which, alas! is often subject to a severe shock—with that revealed by the sage’s comparison of lines, mounts, and stars engraved upon the palm. The true palmist is no flatterer, nor is he over-hasty in judgment. Fig. 1.—Names of the “mounts” and their signs. Most hands index as many contradictions and complexities of disposition as the human face, and the experienced reader of these hieroglyphics finds that, to secure a just diagnosis of the subject’s character, comparison of the many signs and minute calculations are necessary. The art of addition, subtraction, and multiplication...
3 minute read
Each finger has three divisions, known as the phalanges, and these are supposed to represent three worlds. The first, which includes the nail, stands for the spiritual. The second stands for the intellectual. The third stands for the material. Correct comparison of these phalanges provides the orbit of thoughts and ambitions in which the mind of the individual revolves, and when one of these predominates in length over the others, that quality for which it stands is the principal quality possessed, although a further study of the hand may contradict these attributes, or render them more excessive. For this reason the student is warned not to form his judgment by one indication only. He can arrive at no reliable solution to the riddle of character until he has studied every portion of the hand and linked together the various peculiarities it expresses. The thumb is, as it were, the figurehead...
2 minute read
The age of the subject is arrived at in the following manner. Divide the fate line, call the point of division 30. The age of 10 is slightly above the base of Luna. From 10 to 50 the line should be partitioned into equal parts; after that, however, the distances lessen. The life line may also be used to calculate age, but here the method of calculation is reversed, for childhood is above the thumb, and old age is indicated by the length of the curve to the wrist. Doubtless the most interesting marks to be found among the minor lines of the hand, such as indicate voyages, change of environment, talents and ambitions, are those which concern the attachments, love affairs, and future marriage of the subject. These are the influence lines, which may be discerned running from Mount Luna to the line of Fate, from Mount Venus to...
1 minute read
We all hold ourselves very dear; flaws in our natures, however serious and detrimental to character, seem trifles light as air. We appear to ourselves—especially when we are young—to be very good and guileless. We are assured that all follies will be conquered, repented of, left far behind us in the land of oblivion, long before old age catches us in the hip and thigh. And the palmist will often find that those who clamor most loudly for frank and impartial revelations are just those who are wounded by a single word that jars their self-esteem or questions the high price set upon their individual qualities. For this reason he must go gently, speaking without flattery or undue censure, and upon such occasions he would do well to keep his mind from diving beneath the surface of the trivial pleasant prophecies expected of him. He should never wound the susceptibilities...
5 minute read
Phrenology is that science which may be said to provide a chart or map for the discovery of the treasures existing in the “estate under the hat.” It is of Greek origin ( phren , the mind; and logos , science), and is closely allied to craniology (Gr.: kranion-logos , skull-science). The difference between these terms is as follows:— Craniology is a mere acquaintance with the skull. Phrenology is a full and detailed knowledge of its contents. This study is not founded on superstition, and the phrenologist is neither charlatan nor magician, for, just as a man’s mind may be revealed by the contour of his features, the twitching or tightening of his lips, a frowning or smoothing of the brows, so the physical formation of his skull reveals the propensities, talents, virtues, and weaknesses peculiar to his nature. The thin leather of a bulging purse indicates an amount of...
56 minute read
In case the would-be phrenologist is not possessed of an amiable, bald-headed relation, he should endeavor to ingratiate himself in the favors of a hairless friend, for there is nothing so excellent for practice as a thatchless skull. Indeed, he is fortunate who has a large circle of bald-pated friends and acquaintances, for, even if he dare not attempt to find out their qualities by the sense of touch, he may achieve much by observation. Women’s heads are the most difficult to examine, and never should the student exhibit his art on the well-coiffured damsel. There deception lies, for what seems to him an abnormal development of “bumps” will in all probability be artificial pads used by the fair one to discipline her tresses into fashion’s latest erection, to say nothing of hairpins and many other mysteries which the mind of a man, be he ever so learned in phrenology,...
1 minute read
Students of phrenology will be astonished to find what a great deal of information may be gained by means of careful observation, when actual investigation is impossible. No opportunity should be lost of studying shape, poise, and balance of the human head. From the temples and brows of the man occupying the same seat on an omnibus a great deal is to be learnt, in spite of his headgear; the faculties 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, and 35 will probably protrude, and demonstrate what degree of love of form, size, individuality, eventuality, alimentiveness, destructiveness, vitativeness, conjugality, and amativeness exist in his nature. Churches, concert rooms, and theaters abound with opportunities for the scrutiny of masculine heads, and upon each is engraved those abstract qualities furnished by the memorized chart. The phrenologist should take pains to keep his hands and nails...
1 minute read
In drawing-room exhibitions, only the lighter side of phrenology should be dealt with. A fund of humor and wit can be demonstrated here, so that instruction is blended with amusement, and it is not unfitting to use animals as illustrations of different qualities. For instance, the refrain in the once-popular lyric, “But the cat came back,” clearly testifies that this animal possessed the nodosity of inhabitiveness to a marked degree. Not so the man of music-hall fame whose pathetic pleading, “Please don’t take me home,” stirs our heartstrings most potently, or “Bill Bailey,” the wanderer. The small dog that ogles a larger comrade engaged with a bone, but who fears his mightier powers too greatly to venture open attack, possesses “cupboard” affection rather than amativeness. The blinkered horse, were it granted speech, would doubtless demonstrate the fact that it has cultivated the faculty of spirituality in no small degree, for...
36 minute read
There is no more amusing diversion for a frivolous half-hour’s entertainment than that of fortune-telling by cards. Young or old enjoy it, and with a ready tongue the combinations presented may be so varied that quite surprisingly good predictions can be made. Surround the whole business with as much mystery as possible. Insist that all shuffling be done by the subject himself, and that cutting is always carried out with the left hand. Learn the meanings of the cards by heart. This is not difficult, and by doing so one is enabled to tell a fortune quickly : always a more impressive proceeding than telling it card by card. These are the generally accepted meanings of the cards:—...
32 minute read
Ace of Clubs, wealth and prosperity . King of Clubs, upright , affectionate . Queen of Clubs, deeply in love . Knave of Clubs, generous and sincere . Ten of Clubs, a fortune from an unexpected quarter . Nine of Clubs, obstinacy ; disputes with friends . Eight of Clubs, a love of money . Seven of Clubs, fortune and great happiness . Six of Clubs, a lucrative partnership . Five of Clubs, marriage with a wealthy person . Four of Clubs, inconstancy . Three of Clubs, a second or third marriage . Two of Clubs, opposition ....
35 minute read
Ace of Spades, a love affair ; if reversed, a death . King of Spades, an ambitious person . Queen of Spades, a treacherous friend . Knave of Spades, indolent, but well-meaning . Ten of Spades, an unlucky card . Nine of Spades, the worst card in the pack ; sickness, or loss of fortune . Eight of Spades, opposition from friends . Seven of Spades, sorrow . Six of Spades, great fortune . Five of Spades, success ; a happy marriage . Four of Spades, illness ; small loss of money . Three of Spades, an unfortunate marriage . Two of Spades, a death ....
42 minute read
Ace of Hearts, pleasure ; if with Spades, quarreling ; if with Diamonds, news of an absent friend ; if with Clubs, merry-making . King of Hearts, nice, but hasty and passionate . Queen of Hearts, fair, affectionate . Knave of Hearts, the subject’s dearest friend . Ten of Hearts, the antidote of bad cards that lie near it, but confirming the good . Nine of Hearts, wealth ; this is also the wish card . Eight of Hearts, feasting and merry-making . Seven of Hearts, fickle . Six of Hearts, generous, easily imposed upon . Five of Hearts, waverer, changeable . Four of Hearts, marriage late in life . Three of Hearts, imprudent ; hot-headed action, which has disastrous consequences . Two of Hearts, extraordinary success and good fortune ....
3 minute read
Ace of Diamonds, a letter; the card next to it will indicate its nature . King of Diamonds, hot tempered . Queen of Diamonds, a coquette . Knave of Diamonds, a selfish person . Ten of Diamonds, money . Nine of Diamonds, a roving person . Eight of Diamonds, marriage late in life . Seven of Diamonds, a gambler . Six of Diamonds, early marriage . Five of Diamonds, friendship . Four of Diamonds, unhappy marriage . Three of Diamonds, quarrels, lawsuits, and disagreements . Two of Diamonds, a serious love affair . There are two effective ways of fortune-telling. For the first, ask your subject to shuffle the cards very thoroughly and to wish all the time. Then cut them into three piles with the left hand. Should the wish card (the Nine of Hearts) be one of those cut, it is a lucky omen. Notice two other cards...
1 minute read
Although forecasting of the future from dice is one of the most ancient methods of prediction, it is curiously enough almost unknown in modern days. For this reason it is of special value to the home entertainer, and will prove infinitely simpler than the cards, the meanings being easier to learn as well as fewer in number. First chalk a magic circle on the table, then obtain a small cup or box to shake the dice in. Three dice only should be used. The person whose future is at stake must shake and cast the dice in the circle. This, as in card fortune-telling, should be done with the left hand. Three tells you of an approaching accident; four, a rise in your position; five, that you will make the acquaintance of one who will be a friend; six, predicts loss; seven, a scandal; eight, a reproach—that is not undeserved;...
3 minute read
A fairly unique accomplishment is to reveal the future by the aid of dominoes, and there is something sufficiently fascinating and mysterious about this mode of revelation to fill the uninitiated with awe at the powers of the exponent. Each small oblong has its secret meaning by which some happening vital to the subject is illustrated. It is a matter of little difficulty to commit these to memory; and in this, as in other methods of divination, the fundamental principle is that of comparison and calculation. The dominoes used range from double-six to double-blank, and by these are symbolized the various vicissitudes of fate likely to befall mankind. The exponent places his paraphernalia upon the table, and, having turned them with their black spots facing the surface, proceeds to shuffle them. When this is done, the subject is requested to draw three pieces, one at a time. Between the choice...
2 minute read
That a certain amount of character and future may be revealed by means of figures is a fact that may be tested for itself. The results achieved by this method of divination are truly astonishing, and an ample reward to the mathematician for his attempt to solve the riddle of human nature. Certain groups of figures stand for different qualities. Those given in the table which follows are only a small portion of the whole, but they are sufficient for the beginner. Each letter of the alphabet has its accompanying digit, and each digit has its abstract conditions, thus:— The first thing the exponent asks is the name of the subject. He writes it on a slip of paper, and next to each letter its accompanying figure. Supposing the name to be Dick James Smith, it should appear thus:— Now they are added separately thus:— Dick 26 James 726 Smith...
1 minute read
Tarocs differ from the numeral cards used for bridge, whist, &c., in several ways. A pack consists of seventy-eight cards, made up of twenty-two emblematic pictures and fifty-six ordinary. These latter are grouped into four suits of fourteen cards each:—four coat cards —king, queen, chevalier, and valet; and ten pip cards , numbering from 1 to 10. The twenty-two emblematic cards are known as the Major Arcana , and are divided into three groups of seven, which equal twenty-one cards. The twenty-second stands for the highest point successful achievement may reach. The Major Arcana contains:— The remaining card, No. 22, which belongs to this division, is The Universe, emblematic of success. The Minor Arcana , divided into two groups of four, corresponding to the suits of ordinary playing cards:— The four coat cards stand for different conditions of existence:— The remaining cards of these suits (1 to 10) are important...
1 minute read
The complete pack is used. Shuffle and cut into three parts, each composed of twenty-six cards, thus:— 26 26 26 Take the central pack, and place on the right . The inquirer shuffles the two remaining packs, which equal fifty-two. These are dealt out in a similar fashion—three groups of seventeen cards, thus:— 17 17 17 Again remove central pack to the right . Deal out the remaining packs, which equal thirty-four, in three groups of eleven, thus:— 11 11 11 It will be seen that seventy-eight cards divide equally in the first deal. In the second deal, however, only fifty-one cards are used, so that there is one over. This card is shuffled with the third deal. Two cards are now over, and these are placed as discards, until the central pack of the last deal of eleven is put on the right, when they are shuffled with the...
2 minute read
More or less consciously, every one is a reader of handwriting! If we have not devoted thought and study to the subject, we merely gather a vaguely favorable, or unfavorable, impression from the first letter written to us by a new acquaintance, and store it up with the other impressions we have already gleaned from their personality. When, however, time and thought are given to the fascinating cult of Graphology, it will be found to reward its students, by letting a thousand little sidelights on to character—and if the most “proper study of mankind is man,” then assuredly is Graphology a most helpful adjunct to that end. One must crawl before one can walk, and learn the alphabet before one can master a language, therefore an impulsive learner must not grow disgusted because his laborious reading of a handwriting is disjointed, and may be obviously unlike the writer. By the...
1 minute read
Taken in alphabetical order, the following are the principal letters to study:— A. Well made, and simple in outline, indicates refinement, gentleness, intelligence, perhaps poetic feelings. Flourishes are always bad, and tell of pretension and egotism. If a small a is unjoined—open-mouthed as it were—the subject is something of a gossip. This also applies to the small o . Artistic—refined—loves poetry. Selfish and egotistical. B. This is a letter that frequently tells of ostentation and kindred failings. If the small b is well looped, look for an affectionate nature. C. A well-rounded C shows a kindly, perhaps indolent nature. A curly tail suggests selfishness and egotism. D. The small d is very truth-telling. A small d united to the letter following shows a good sequence of ideas. Too much flourish tells of an ill-balanced imagination. E. The capital letter shows egotism, even as the letter C does, in the...
4 minute read
It cannot be too emphatically impressed on the beginner, that it is fatal to judge from one sign alone. Study them all ere you commit yourself to an opinion; above all, study the signature. A specimen for delineation should always consist of about six lines, not of copied matter. It must be written on unlined paper, and have the writer’s usual signature attached. Never attempt to gather anything from an envelope, as one is so often asked to do. Like copied matter, or indeed anything written specially to order, it is hopelessly misleading. Flourishes always show a certain vulgarity of mind. A small and graceful one after the signature—particularly in the case of a woman—is, however, quite pardonable, and is indicative merely of love of praise and appreciation. Thick and heavy marks of punctuation are one of the signs of a passionate nature. Caution and careful attention to detail are...
2 minute read
It is undoubtedly one of the hardest tasks imaginable to give a successful children’s party, and the reasons that militate against success are legion. In the first place children are the keenest of critics; secondly, that which interests a mite of three will bring boredom unmitigated to the “fellow of ten,” while the maiden of twelve and the “man” of fifteen have very strong views of their own on the subject of amusements. A children’s party, then, is not an undertaking to be approached lightly. It is of course an easy matter to hire the services of a ventriloquist or a conjurer or some public entertainer for the afternoon, and leave the rest to luck, yet how many hostesses have come to grief on the rocks of such an enterprise. And let it be remembered that it is an absolute impossibility to provide an entertainment that will appeal equally to...
2 minute read
Half-past four will be found a good time for tea. Soon after five the healthiest hunger will have been appeased, and then, having “let digestion wait on appetite,” marshal your guests into the drawing-room and allow them to “fall to” to amuse themselves. Let the revels be of the simplest. If there is one game children love more than another it is Musical Chairs, and as there cannot be a person living, who does not know that historic pastime, there will be no need to describe it in detail. However, among your young guests you will be sure to find one or two boys who do not care to play the game, yet who can be made exceedingly useful in another way as “umpires.” Most boys of fourteen or fifteen have a great sense of honor when games are under consideration; let two boys, then, be the arbiters of the...
47 minute read
At Christmas parties, at which guests of all ages are found, it is sometimes a perplexing riddle to the hostess to know how to entertain them all. Musical items which may delight the older members of the company may only serve to render younger folk restless and dull, and dancing is not always possible in rooms of limited size. Moreover, there are still many young folk who are unable to set their feet nimbly to waltz and two-step, and would much prefer a romp to whirling round in time to a measure. Self-consciousness and shyness are usually very evident when the party enters the drawing-room, and this coating of ice, if not thawed quickly, will rapidly freeze into impenetrable restraint and gloom. At such times a good game, quickly organized, is invaluable. The rules should be explained by the hostess in so simple a manner that the youngest person present...
51 minute read
The players are formed into two lines a few feet apart; at the top and bottom of the lines are two tables upon which as many pins as there are players are placed, and exactly divided into two heaps. The hands of all are crossed at the wrists. The first players of each line use the second player’s right hand to pick up a pin. The latter in the same way passes it to the next player, and in this manner it goes through the lines to the table at the end, upon which the last players place it. Meanwhile, of course, the first players are sending other pins down the rows. The line that succeeds in removing all the pins in the heap from one table to the other in the shortest time wins the game. The fun lies in the awkward manipulation of one’s neighbor’s hand. Should a...
42 minute read
One of the party retires while the rest decide upon a well-known proverb. When he returns, he stands in the center of a semicircle. Some one taps three times with a stick, and at the third tap each player shouts one word of the proverb loudly and simultaneously. This is repeated three times, and it is amazing how difficult it is to distinguish even the most well-known proverb in the uproar. Should one word give the key to the player not in the secret, the individual who speaks it takes his place. For instance, in the proverb, “All is not gold that glitters,” it may happen that the word “glitters” provides the keynote. Therefore, he or she who speaks it takes the place of the one who guesses. The proverb must contain as many words as there are players, and each shouts only the one word allotted to him....
31 minute read
A white sheet is stretched against the wall, with a lamp immediately before it. All other lights are extinguished. One of the company sits on a chair or stool with eyes fixed on the sheet. Behind him the company files noiselessly, the while he endeavors to identify them by means of the shadows silhouetted on the screen. Simple disguises are allowable and increase the fun. For example, a boy may don a girl’s hat, a girl a boy’s; or a skirt or shawl may be draped over a boy’s suit, thus concealing the wearer’s identity. The one whose shadow betrays her takes the place of the player who identifies her....
57 minute read
Two rows, headed by a chosen captain, face each other. In turn they fire at each other the names of vegetable, flowers, or fruit, beginning with the letter A, and using in turn the other letters of the alphabet—asparagus, artichokes, apples, &c. The players on each side set their wits to work to aid their captain when he shows signs of faltering. They are not allowed to speak aloud, their promptings being given in whispers, and this is where the fun comes in, for, when one is excited and eager to give a word, it is very difficult to remember to whisper, especially when placed at the tail of the line. When a gardener and his side pause to remember a word the opposite side counts twenty slowly; if at the end of that time their opponents still fail they forfeit a man. The game goes on until one captain...
1 minute read
Each player adopts some trade or profession. One member reads out the social gossip from a daily paper. When he pauses and points at one of the rest, that one must reply quickly some sentence regarding his calling or the stock he sells, for instance— Reader. —The ball that took place at the residence of the Hon. Mrs. Mortimer last evening was distinguished by the presence of the President. A number of débutantes were present, the majority of whom were dressed in—Here the reader glances at the carpenter, who answers, “Shavings.” Reader —“Their headgear consisted of (glances at the fruiterer)— Fruiterer —“Pine-apples.” Reader —“Their jewels were necklaces (glances at the ironmonger)— Ironmonger —“Of nails.” Reader —“The dancing took place in— Tobacconist —“A cigar box.” Reader —“The walls of which were richly decorated with— Lawyer —“Red tape.” Reader —“The band was composed of forty instruments all— Doctor —“Medicine bottles.” Reader —“The...
51 minute read
The party is divided into two rows, through which walks the lawyer. He asks a number of questions, and the answers may contain any words except “yes,” “no,” “white,” “black.” The person to whom he puts his query does not reply, but the one immediately opposite does. The lawyer exchanges places with the one who makes the first mistake. Lawyer (pointing to Mary)—“Your hair is very long; is it your own?” Tom opposite bawls “false.” To Jessie —“Do these pretty boots pinch your feet?” Jack —“Of course, they are two sizes too small.” To John —“Did you use your razor this morning?” Jane —“He hasn’t any hair to cut.” To Timothy —“Is your nurse waiting to put you to bed?” Elsie —“Naturally—he goes to bed at seven.” To Dick —“What would you like on your next birthday?” Ethel —“A rattle.” To James —“What is your favorite pastime?” Alice —“Putting dolly...
34 minute read
Any number of players can take part in this game. They kneel in a circle on the floor with fingers stretched out before them and thumbs tucked in. The game is started by the leader’s query to her neighbor: “Can you play cabbages?” As the latter has not been initiated into the mysteries of the game, she at once replies— “No.” The question is asked by each player, and is always answered in the negative until the circle is completed, when the leader again queries: “Can you play cabbages?” Neighbor—“No.” Leader (suddenly)—“Then why on earth are we sitting here?” The blank expressions which result in this query are ludicrous in the extreme, and are followed by bursts of merriment....
47 minute read
All the members of the party save one are massed together at the end of the room. The leader walks close to them, and throws a light rubber ball towards any person she likes. The person must be prepared to catch the ball. As the leader throws it, she accompanies the action with these words, “My lover comes thus”—the ball is tossed in a way to illustrate the manner of the supposed lover. The thrower terminates her sentence by a letter of the alphabet. The one to whom the ball is thrown has to provide an adjective beginning with the given letter as she catches the ball—thus: Leader —“My lover comes g”—(throws ball). Catcher —“Gayly”—(tosses ball back). Leader —“My lover comes h.” Catcher —“Hopping.” Leader —“My lover comes o.” Catcher —“One-eyed.” Leader —“My lover comes s.” Catcher —“Smirking.” Excitement is caused by the difficulty in producing a word at a...
39 minute read
Each player is provided with paper and pencil, upon which any twelve letters are written, with sufficient space left between for words. The leader gives a topic, such as a wedding, accident, invitation, &c. A watch is placed on the table, and from ten to fifteen minutes given, during which each player concocts a telegram from the letters supplied by his left-hand neighbor. At a signal, the telegrams are thrust under a hat, and read out in turn by the leader. Example 1. —Topic: a sensational robbery. From these letters may be devised the following telegram:— “Serious burglary; one box hairpins missing. Jane prostrate; kindly inform police—Henry.” Example 2. —Topic: a catastrophe. “Cat ate Sunday dinner. Please bring cheese and bread; quite distracted—Wifie.” The funnier the telegram, the greater the laughter when it is read out....
50 minute read
The players divide into two lines. A piece of tape is stretched across the room, and before every two players a feather is placed. Each player possesses a Japanese fan, and the object is to lift the feather and waft it on to a stretch of newspaper, which marks the opponents’ den. The dens are guarded by goal-keepers, also armed with fans, and their business is a lively one. Feathers must not be blown, or pushed with the hand, as happens sometimes when the excitement of the game makes one forgetful of all else but the threatening direction the feather is taking. Only the fan is to be used. The feathers should be of different colors. When one of a side succeeds in driving a feather into the opposite den, he and his adversary retire from the game, but naturally they share the prevailing excitement and watch every movement of...
1 minute read
One of the company is chosen as director, and addresses the company in some such way as this:— “Ladies and Gentlemen,—It having been discovered by the director of the Panama Canal Company that the water of the canal is often disturbed to a dangerous degree by means of the passionate sighs and turbulent emotions of the passengers cruising upon it, they have decided that a penitentiary tax shall be levied upon all ships containing lovers, and that, for every kiss given, toll shall be exacted.” The company now pass slowly before the director, who asks each questions as to the name, destination, cargo, number and description of passengers, and any other questions relating to vessels which may occur to him. No answer must contain the letter K, for this being the initial letter of “kiss” is forbidden, and the person who uses it is obliged to pay any forfeit demanded...
17 minute read
This is a good competitive game. Men and boys should stand with their feet on a chalked line. Each must stoop down to a half-sitting position, and with the left hand resting on the knee and the right hand inserted beneath the right leg, draw a line as long as possible without rising or using the left hand....
20 minute read
Station a person in each corner of the apartment. Then blindfold one of the party, and lead him to the center. The master of the ceremonies points to each of the four in succession, and each says in a clear separate tone the word “Come.” When the word has been said by each in turn, the blind man endeavors to find his way towards the person who spoke first....
1 minute read
For this seemingly mysterious achievement a confederate is required. He must know that— Consonants are revealed by means of sentences, which the wizard speaks in a natural and unostentatious manner. The confederate is banished from the room while the party decide upon the word he shall be called upon to guess. Monosyllables are preferable. When he returns the wizard is armed with a wand, by means of which he proceeds to make imaginary pictures on the carpet. Supposing the word to be orange . He begins with four taps, and the confederate, who is all attention, knows that the word begins with the fourth vowel, O. The wizard, flourishing his wand, remarks with extreme innocence: “Rather fatiguing work, as you perceive.” The confederate says to himself R. One tap is the next sound for A. And some sentence such as— “No one can imagine the mental strain,” supplies the letter...
2 minute read
This is a most fascinating resource for a wet wintry afternoon, and its preparations are interesting enough to keep a whole houseful of young folk occupied and amused. A large piece of cardboard is cut into twenty-five squares, and on each is pasted a picture of some article taken from advertisements in old newspapers, magazines, or catalogues. The pictures are numbered, and on the back a price in keeping with the article is written. The more variety there is among the stock for sale the better. It may contain anything from a thoroughbred Persian to a set of ninepins, and the prices may be copied from the catalogues, &c. When this is done, a mint of paper or cardboard money is manufactured. The range of coin corresponds to the prices of the articles. Should the most expensive of these be marked $500, the paper money must include that amount. Upon...
56 minute read
Another excellent game is played in the following manner. One of the company is blindfolded, and a long ribbon, through which is threaded a whistle, is pinned to his back, and he is told that he must catch the blower and discover the whistle. Of course, he has no idea that it is on his own person. He is swung into the center of the room, and his playmates make surreptitious dives at the whistle and raise it to their lips, taking care not to stretch the ribbon so that he will feel the tug. Perfect silence should be maintained by those eddying round him; they move on tip-toe, with bated breath, but now and then sounds of stifled laughter are heard. The “blind” man seeks high and low for the possessor of the whistle, his ears strained to catch the direction of the sound. He may succeed in embracing...
1 minute read
All who are unfamiliar with this mysterious game are banished from the room and brought in separately. The master of ceremonies blandly invites each to be seated on one of two chairs placed back to back and touching each other; the other chair is occupied by one of the initiated in the performance. A sheet is thrown over the couple, and round them circle those of the guests who are aware of what is to happen. One of the two blind men, the confederate, is secretly armed with a light roll of paper. To the strains of the pianoforte, the other players march round. Suddenly the individual who has been brought in feels a light tap on his head; he should at once cry out to his companion— “Brother, I’m balked.” The confederate immediately replies, “Who balked you?” The other tries vainly to guess. Presently his companion bangs his own...
1 minute read
This is an excellent and ingenious pastime for young men and women who have outgrown the old-world games of “Hunt the Slipper” and “Hide and Seek.” The “poets” are each given a slip of paper and pencil, at the head of which they write any question they like. When this is written, the papers are folded, so that the sentence is concealed, and passed on to the left-hand neighbor, who, without looking at the question, writes any word she likes beneath so long as it is a noun. This is again concealed, and passed to a third party, who must compose a rhythm or stanza, which includes both question and noun. As these have no relation to each other, some ingenuity is needed to link the two in a verse. For example, suppose the question given is as follows:— Question —What is the time? Noun —Chair. Verse. Or— Question —What...
34 minute read
“Jack” is a piece of firewood, held in the flames until its tip glows. It is then passed from hand to hand among the players. Each says, as he receives the smoldering torch, “Jack’s going strong.” The aim is to get rid of “Jack” before the spark dies. The player, who is obliged to own that “Jack is dead,” is compelled to pay a forfeit. “Jack” should be a long stick, held out at arm’s length, so that, if he falls by accident, he will not burn holes in party dresses. The floor should be without a carpet. There is much fun and excitement to be gleaned from this simple game, as no one wishes to have “Jack’s” corpse on their hands....
1 minute read
This is a clever puzzle game, which seems to the beholder to be steeped in magic and mystery. In order to discover the name or birthplace of a person, the following table of five columns is necessary:— The manipulator shows the table to the individual whose name he wishes to discover, asking him to point out the column or columns that contain the initial letter. A glance at the table will show that if it is in only one column it must be the top letter. Should it be found to be in more than one, it is discovered by adding the first letters of the columns in which it is stated to be, the sum supplying the alphabetical position of the letter. For example, take the name Elizabeth . Elizabeth glances at the table and looks for the columns in which her initial letter occurs. It is obvious that...
1 minute read
The wizard, who possesses a confederate, is banished from the room. During his absence the latter produces a piece of paper, and declares his intention of taking a photograph of any individual among the company upon it, in such a manner that it shall be visible to the wizard alone, who, upon examining it closely, will call out the name of the original. Naturally every one considers that this must be quite an impossible proceeding, and for that reason every one becomes very curious and watchful, making up his mind to discover the trick. The confederate fixes upon one of the company, poses her to his satisfaction, tells her not to look grave, &c., just as professional photographers do, and when she is quite ready and gazing at the sheet of paper, which is held out in the manipulator’s left hand, he passes his right over it, snaps his fingers,...
27 minute read
A plain curtain ring is threaded through a piece of tape or ribbon, knotted at the ends. The guests form a circle round a central figure. The ring is passed swiftly along through hands gripping the tape, while the master of ceremonies counts one, two. At three, all fists must be threaded by the tape and perfectly motionless, and the man in the center, who is permitted to observe the circuit of the ring, is called upon to say which person has possession of it. Should he guess rightly, he changes places with the individual....
34 minute read
Mix a number of hazel nuts and apples together on a table removed from the wall; hand a teaspoon and table knife to each of the guests. Bid them, at a given signal, move to the table, with the knife in the right hand, the spoon in the left, and scoop up one apple and one nut. This is no easy matter on a smooth surface, for the probability is that the fruit and nuts will roll to the floor. When they are secured they must be conveyed to a dish at the other end of the room. He who performs this feat successfully the most times wins, and the apples and nuts are awarded him as a prize....
25 minute read
The party is divided into two lines. The first player begins by saying, “Our little dog is amiable.” The first player on the opposite side must answer quickly with another adjective beginning with the same letter thus, “Our little dog is artful.” Meanwhile, the first player counts ten. If in that time his opponent fails to respond he is obliged to go over to the opposite rank. Other letters of the alphabet may be used. The side that gains all the “men” wins....
3 minute read
One of the oldest and most fascinating puzzles comes, like so many quaint things, from the Far East where, over four thousand years ago, a learned Chinaman named Tan made the invention which forty centuries have been unable to improve or alter. Worthy of a civilization that invented Chess, Tan’s puzzle has lived on unchanged through the ages, affording amusement and thought to men of such ability as Napoleon, who, during his exile on St. Helena, used to spend hour after hour with the little black geometric figures. Fig. 1.—Showing dotted lines marked off for black pieces in tangram puzzle. Fig. 2.—Showing square dissected and numbered for tangrams. Take a perfect square of stiff cardboard of any size, say five inches, and see that the angles and sides are true. Now, very carefully mark it off according to the dotted lines in Fig. 1 , which may be...
1 minute read
Ask one of the ladies, who naturally knows all about scissors, to do the following trick. Holding the hands with palms upward, hang a pair of scissors on the little fingers, as shown in Fig. 7 . The fingers should then be slightly bent so that the scissors stick upright as in Fig. 8 ; next ask her to turn the hands round rapidly back to back when the scissors will make a complete revolution, and should finally point upward again. But it is just at this point that the trick comes in, for the fair lady will find that instead of the scissors pointing up to the ceiling, they are directed down to the floor! ( Fig. 9 .) Fig. 7.—How to hold the scissors. Fig. 8.—Showing fingers slightly bent and scissors sticking upright. Fig. 9.—Position of scissors after complete revolution. This is the occasion for you...
36 minute read
Can you blow hard enough to make your breath pass right through a thick glass bottle? The majority of people will say “No,” and dare you to perform the task. It is really very easy. Take a large round bottle or jam jar, and place a lighted candle behind it, as in Fig. 10 . Now stand so that the bottle or jar is interposed between yourself and the light, and blow. The flame will be extinguished at once! There is scarcely need to tell your surprised friends that the shape of the bottle has really caused your breath to follow the curve of the two sides, unite at the back, and blow out the light. Fig. 10.—How the candle flame is extinguished....
34 minute read
Lay a dime, or a dollar if you feel so inclined, upon the palm of your hand, and promise to give it to whoever can brush it off with an ordinary clothes brush, as shown in Fig. 11 . The only condition you need make is that they shall brush towards the tips of the fingers and not to one side. You need have no fear of the result, and can feel quite assured that your money is as safe as if it were in your own pocket. Whatever the explanation may be, the fact remains that no amount of brushing will move the coin the hundredth part of an inch on your open palm. Fig. 11.—The position of coin in palm....
25 minute read
Place a dime upon a polished table and ask one of your friends to pick it up without touching either the coin or the table. Fig. 12.—Showing how coin is removed from table. A glance at Fig. 12 shows how the trick is done. Slightly curve your hand so that it almost touches the table, and blow steadily upon the table at a distance of about five or six inches. The force of your breath passing beneath the coin will carry it into your hand....
57 minute read
If there happen to be a newly-married couple amongst your friends, the following little trick may cause them a blush of happiness. Get them to fold their hands, as shown in Fig. 13 , in such a way that the wedding-ring finger of the left hand, and the corresponding finger of the right hand, are doubled inwards as far as the second joint, and the knuckles of those joints press firmly against each other. Fig. 13.—Hands folded. Fig. 14.—Thumbs separated. Now, tell them to separate their two thumbs, as in Fig. 14 , while you say, “Parents and children may be separated!” Then let them do the same with the two forefingers, remarking, “Brothers and sisters may be separated!” The same performance may be repeated with the two little fingers, and you remark, “Even lovers may be separated!” Finally, let them try to separate the two middle fingers,...
22 minute read
Take a piece of coarse brown paper, the coarser the better, and warm it steadily before the fire. Now draw it rapidly a dozen times between your arm and your body, as in Fig. 15 , so that it receives a good friction upon each side. Now press the paper against the wall, and you will find that it remains as firmly stuck as though a whole pot of the best paste had been used for the purpose....
42 minute read
A prophet is never without honor but in his own country, and few of your acquaintances will believe you to be such a wonderful person that with a single shout you can break a glass. Yet it is very easy to convince them. Take an ordinary wine-glass, and hold it by its foot firmly to the table. Make the glass ring with a touch of the finger (it will probably sound a rather low note). While the glass is yet tingling, raise it rapidly to your mouth, and shout the same note that it rang full into the bowl with all your force. The chances are ten to one that the glass will shiver to pieces. The reason of this phenomenon is the vibrations caused by the tingling are so suddenly increased by the strength of your voice that the glass is unable to bear the strain, and therefore breaks....
45 minute read
It is surprising how universal is the law of love! Even two plain pieces of wood are unable to resist the impulses of the great passion. Take out the bottom of a match-box, and split it into two pieces. Double over the ends at about a quarter of the way up, as in Fig. 16 . On one piece make the rough sketch of a girl, and upon the other a similar drawing of a man, and then place the pieces together, as shown in the illustration. Fig. 16.—Drawings in position. If you pour a few drops of water over the joints of the two pieces of wood, you will find that the two figures slowly and surely rise up to meet each other, and will eventually press their two faces closely in a long kiss. They may be some time about it, but then pleasures delayed are always doubly...
51 minute read
Cut a piece of deal into a prism about four inches long, and color two of the sides black or dark blue, painting the remaining side white. Sharpen one end into a small triangular point, and paint two eyes and a mouth thereon, so that the completed figure appears as in Fig. 17 . Now, if you put this in a basin of water very heavily salted, you will find that the fish floats quite naturally, as in Fig. 18 , whilst if you place him in a basin of plain fresh water, he will immediately turn on his back and float dead, with the white side uppermost, as in Fig. 18 a . Fig. 17.—Completed figure of fish. Fig. 18.—“Dead” fish floating. Fig. 18 a .—Fish on his back. This is caused by the greater density of the salt water acting upon the prism. Fig. 19.—Showing egg...
29 minute read
Here is a very handy method of discovering whether an egg is fresh or not. Pass an elastic band around the egg, and hang it upon a wire, as shown in Fig. 19 . Twist the egg and band round several times, and then release it, when the band will rapidly untwist with the egg. If the latter be quite fresh, it will stop almost immediately, but if it happens to be rather older than is desirable, it will twist and untwist, reversing several times before it finally comes to rest. This applies to eggs which have been boiled—indeed to any egg that is “set.”...
1 minute read
This is scarcely a trick, as it really serves to prove which of two persons has the stronger will-power. Place a door-key between the pages in the middle of a book in such a way that the handle projects an inch or two, as in Fig. 20 . Pass a piece of string round the book, and draw into a tight knot, so that the key is held firmly in its place. Now, let the persons who desire to test the strength of their wills support the book by the ring of the key resting on their extended forefingers, as in the illustration . If one person wills the book to turn from right to left, and the other wills it to turn in the opposite direction, it will be found that the book obeys whichever party is possessed of the stronger will. Fig. 20.—A will-power trick. There is yet...
56 minute read
This is an interesting example of some strange agency at work amongst us. Make a running noose at the end of a piece of fine thread, and pass it securely round a quarter, as shown in Fig. 21 . Taking care that the thread passes over the tip of the thumb, support the thread from your hand, in the manner shown in the illustration, in such a way that the quarter is hanging within a wine-glass or tumbler. Take care also to keep the hand perfectly steady, and await results. For a few seconds the quarter will oscillate, but it will soon become quite still. Then, actuated by no motion of your hand, it will begin to swing to and fro like a pendulum, and will finally strike one of the sides of the glass. Counting the number of times it thus makes the glass ring, you will find that...
49 minute read
It is rare that one can get a fruit so obliging as to peel itself, but upon certain occasions a banana will put itself out of the way to render this favor. Cut off one end of a banana, and with a knife just start ripping up the skin on the four sides in the usual manner. Now take an empty bottle, put some methylated spirit inside, and drop a lighted match to ignite the spirits. As soon as the flame has died out, place the prepared end of the banana in the mouth of the bottle, and you will find that the banana is slowly drawn inside, peeling off its skin as the fruit disappears ( Fig. 22 ). The reason for this condescension on the part of the banana is simple. As soon as the bottle begins to cool from the heat of the flames, the air is...
36 minute read
Although most ardent smokers will admit there is little pleasure in smoking in the dark, there are few who will not be surprised at the following trick. Induce a cigarette devotee to have his eyes bandaged, and make him moisten the ends of two cigarettes. Having lighted one of them, allow the victim to have a few whiffs and then take it out of his mouth and replace it by the unlighted cigarette. Continue changing the cigarettes in this manner for a few minutes, and you will presently find that he is quite unable to tell which he has in his mouth, and is quite at a loss to know whether he is puffing away at the lighted “cig.” or not. Fig. 23.—The mysterious bands—first stage....
1 minute read
Take a full sheet of a large newspaper, e.g. the first and last pages (which make one sheet) of a paper like the New York Times , and cut three straight strips (a, b, c) about three inches wide, as shown in Fig. 23 . Now join the ends of these strips in the following manner in order to make three loops. In the strip a bend round D, and paste it on to the under side of E. Make a loop of b in a similar manner, but giving the strip a half turn, and pasting the under side of F to the under side of G. In the third strip this twist is replaced by a full turn of the paper, so that H is pasted on the under side of N, as in the first instance. When making these bands it will be quite easy to conceal...
21 minute read
Get some one to take a nickel out of his pocket, and, without showing it to you, ascertain the date of the coin, and then turn it face upwards on the palm of his hand. You will now remark that “you can tell the date.” Appear to scrutinize the coin very attentively, and then, with the utmost importance, tell the owner of the penny the actual day of the month, and smile complacently at his indignation....
27 minute read
If you have fifteen matches and remove six, how can you obtain a remainder of ten? Fig. 25.—Showing first arrangement of matches. Arrange the matches as in Figs. 25 a , b , and c , and ask a friend the above-mentioned question. When he gives it up, remove the six matches marked A, B, C, D, E, and F, and you will have the result shown in Fig. 26 . Fig. 26.—Showing result when six matches have been removed....
1 minute read
Take a piece of string about a yard long and tie the ends together, making a loop. Passing this loop through the ring of a key, hang it upon the extended thumbs of a friend, as in Fig. 27 . The strings are crossed. The trick is to remove the key without taking the string from the other person’s thumbs. Fig. 27.—Showing string upon extended thumbs. Fig. 28.—Second stage of string trick. Fig. 29.—Showing mode of freeing key from string. To understand the diagrams it will be necessary to remember the following explanations of the letters used in Fig. 28 . A and B are the hands of the person just described whose thumbs bear the string. C and D are your own hands, left and right respectively. E is the hand of a third person who holds the key. F and G are the two sides of...
38 minute read
Stick a sharply-pointed knife, preferably with a heavy handle, into the lintel of the door, or into a wooden beam upon the ceiling. Then ask for some one with a sure eye to mark the exact spot on the floor by putting a cent upon it, where the knife will drop when displaced. This is easily done in the following manner. Take care that the knife is very lightly stuck into the wood, so that it will fall at the slightest touch. Fill a glass with water, and raising it to the knife immerse the handle to the height of an inch or so. Then watch where the drop of water, which will fall when you remove the glass, strikes the ground, place the cent upon the spot, and you will find that the knife will fall upon that identical place....
54 minute read
Fold a piece of paper into four, and cut a pointer out of it, as shown in Fig. 30 . Now run a needle through a cork and balance the pointer on its tip, as shown. Place an inverted tumbler over the whole contrivance ( Fig. 30 a ). Fig. 30.—The paper pointer. Fig. 30 a .—Pointer mounted on cork. By rubbing the outside of the tumbler with a piece of rag, or even a handkerchief, you can make the pointer turn in whatever direction you desire, as it will swing round to whatever portion of the glass you happen to rub. Announce that you will make it point to Mr. Jones. If you then rub the glass on the side nearest to that gentleman, the paper needle will swing round and point directly to him. By rubbing the handkerchief rapidly round and round the glass the needle...
1 minute read
Thread a No. 6 needle with a couple of yards of fairly coarse cotton or thread, and draw them through until the two ends are of equal length. Now pass the point of the needle right through the two strands, as in Fig. 31 , and continue pulling the needle as in Fig. 31 a until the threads have passed through each other and appear a continuous piece, as in Fig. 31 b . This should have been done before showing the trick to the company. As there will be no knot, it is highly improbable that any one will notice a peculiarity in the thread. Fig. 31.—Needle-threading—first stage. Fig. 31 a .—Thread passing through itself. Fig. 31 b .—Showing thread as a continuous piece. You then state that, without looking at the needle, you will thread it with as many strands of cotton as it will hold....
1 minute read
Take an ordinary piece of string or thread, and offer to cut it in two if somebody present will guarantee to join it into one piece again without any knot. You may announce at the same time that by wizardry you are able yourself to do this by a simple bite of the teeth. Fig. 34.—Showing string passed round hands. Fig. 34 a .—Showing ends of string looped together. The trick is done in this way. Appear to pass the string round the hands twice, as in Fig. 34 , whereas by a deft movement, which can be acquired with a little practice, you really loop the two ends round each other, as in Fig. 34 a . Holding the point where they cross each other between the finger and thumb (see H, Fig. 35 ), you request some person to cut the two ends at G, promising to join...
41 minute read
This trick can only be done on a sunny day, for a reason which will be very evident to those who try it. Obtain a clear glass bottle, in the cork of which stick a hooked pin. By means of a piece of thread hang a small weight from this pin within the bottle, as in Fig. 37 , and then request some one to cut the cord without drawing the cork. Fig. 37.—Sun’s rays focused on weighted thread. All that is necessary to do this is a magnifying glass which is placed between the bottle and the sun at the right distance to focus the rays of the latter upon the cord. In a few seconds the heat of the converging rays will burn through the thread, and the weight will fall to the bottom of the bottle. In the same way you can...
10 minute read
Concentrate the rays of the sun upon the end of the cigarette, and draw in the ordinary way (if you are old enough to smoke), when the cigarette will rapidly be ignited....
50 minute read
Stick a penknife into a post or tree, or other strong upright of wood, and pass a piece of string behind the post and above the knife, as in Fig. 38 . Bring the end C round the post and pass B over it. Bring C round again and cross it over the knife, and B round the knife over C, as in Fig. 38 a . Pass the ends round the post again, always remembering that B must be over C, and then tie the two ends in a knot, as in Fig. 39 . Fig. 38.—Knife and string trick—first stage. Fig. 38 a .—Knife and string trick—second stage. Fig. 39.—Knife and string trick—third stage. By removing the knife from the post, you will now find that the whole loop comes away intact, having never really been passed round the post at all....
20 minute read
A candle can be lighted without approaching the match to the wick in this way. Light a candle in the ordinary manner, and take care that the wick is fairly long and burns brightly. Blow it out suddenly, and by applying a lighted match to the smoke at the height of an inch or two, the candle will instantly relight without your having to put the match to the wick....
42 minute read
If any of your friends boast of a steady hand, you can easily give their pride a fall by wagering that not one of them can move a glass of water from one table to another without spilling every drop it contains. Fill a tumbler with water to the very brim. Place a piece of perfectly flat, stout paper on the top of it, as shown in Fig. 40 , and the palm of the hand on the top of that. Now turn the glass upside down very quickly and carefully, and place it upon a flat part of the table, having done which slide the piece of paper from beneath it. As the air cannot enter none of the water escapes, but it will be absolutely impossible to move the glass without spilling the water. Fig. 40.—A water trick....
5 minute read
History records that the blind poet Homer lost his reason in a vain endeavor to solve a riddle, and from his days until these present times much care and thought have been expended in the invention of puzzles both difficult and simple. It is the object of this chapter to present the reader with a few simple ones. Two easy and yet fascinating puzzles can be worked with an ordinary checker-board. Place a checker upon a square near the center of the board, as in Fig. 1 . In how few moves can you make it traverse every square in the board and return to its starting-point? Fig. 1.—The traveling checker. Fig. 2.—Joining the rings. Place sixteen men on a checker-board in such a manner that no three men shall be in a line, either horizontally or perpendicularly. Nine rings are connected by six straight lines, as shown in Fig....
3 minute read
You cannot make the checker traverse all the squares in less than sixteen moves, as shown in Fig. 12 . Fig. 12.—Solution to traveling checker. Fig. 13.—Solution to second checker puzzle. The way to place the sixteen pieces so that no three are in a line in any direction, can be seen from Fig. 13 . The nine rings can be joined by four lines, as shown in Fig. 14 . Fig. 14.—The joined rings. The complicated geometrical figure shown in Fig. 15 shows the ten rows formed with nine counters. By making the two cuts shown in Fig. 16 , the piece of paper will be divided into four parts that will fit together into a square. Fig. 15.—The ten rows. Fig. 16.—Solution to cabalistic sign puzzle. The simplest method of rearranging the prisoners was as follows (as there was only one vacant cell at...
3 minute read
“ But , I tell you, I saw it; surely I can trust my own eyes!” How often have we heard this uttered as a conclusive proof of some friend’s statement! And really at first it would seem to be an assertion admitting of no further question, were it not for the fact that we know our eyes are no more infallible than anything else in this world, and are quite as liable to make mistakes as are our memories. It is true that eyes are good and faithful servants, fit to be trusted in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, but like all good and faithful servants there is that hundredth case when their judgment goes wandering, and when they leap to rash conclusions, carried away by deceptive appearances. Strange as it may seem, upon certain occasions, the best eyes are actually blind! If you shut one eye and...
1 minute read
Should it ever happen that you go cycling in France, you will find this deception practiced upon your eyes all day long. The roads in that country are very straight, and are bordered upon either side by tall trees, so that from wherever you stand a long avenue stretches before you to a point where the trees seem to merge into one another, as parallel lines invariably appear to do. But flat as the country may be, you will always find yourself confronted with a gentle incline, as it seems, very slight but none the less perceptible. You brace for a long and steady climb, yet somehow, as you cover the ground, the hill seems always before you and yet there is no noticeable ascent. The reason is simple. There is no ascent. The borders of trees, like the little lines in Fig. 6 , deceive the eyes in a...
2 minute read
Every cloudless night the eyes make a mistake that we can easily discover, but which we are totally unable to remedy. Of course you have looked up to the sky thousands of times and seen the stars twinkling. Not only that, but if the night is clear you can see they are stellate, or star-shaped, like the starfish which is named after them. You can see both of these things, and yet the strange fact is that neither of them is true! The stars do not twinkle at all, and they are not stellate. The twinkling is the result of the intervening atmosphere, and not the fault of our eyes; but the second error can be easily brought home to our untrustworthy organs of vision by the following experiment. Fig. 9.—The illusion of the stars. Take a piece of tinfoil and prick a small hole with the point of a...
53 minute read
Now if we make a drawing such as Fig. 10 , which represents three men walking down a passage, our eyes know quite well that if all these men were of the same size, Mr. Jones in front would appear smaller than Mr. Smith behind him. And Mr. Smith in his turn would appear smaller than Brown who closes the procession. Yet in our illustration Jones appears a veritable giant, towering above Smith and making Brown appear a mere pigmy. If you measure them, you will find they are all three the same size. The reason of the deception is this. The lines showing the passage disappearing into the far distance immediately suggest to the eye the correct perspective, and, knowing the laws of that perspective, the eye is perfectly convinced that if all three were the same size, Brown in the rear would appear proportionately bigger than Jones. As...
2 minute read
Most of us know the result of turning a series of circles (as in Fig. 11 ) horizontally with the eye. The circles appear to revolve rapidly round their center, and in different directions. This is solely because the eyes become confused, giving one more proof, were it needed, that they are no more infallible than anything else on this wide earth. Some very interesting experiments in color illusions can be made. So cunning is the deception played upon us by our eyes, it is extremely difficult to believe that some of the tints we see in the experiments are but imaginary. Fig. 11.—Revolving circles. Fig. 12.—The color top. In Fig. 12 you see a top which can be constructed of cardboard in this way. Take a postcard and cut a circle, upon which you draw a diameter as A B. Black the part A C B with...
5 minute read
From the earliest times secret writing has been considered no less an art than a necessity. Innumerable have been the systems invented and the means employed to insure the secrecy of messages and instructions. Yet in the passage of time by far the greater number of these methods of cipher has become obsolete and practically useless, failing in most cases to comply with the three great necessities which Bacon declared to be indispensable to all ciphers and cryptograms: (1) Easy of reading and writing; (2) difficult of solution; and (3) void of suspicion. Ciphers may be generally divided into two branches—code ciphers and letter ciphers. The first of these terms refers to systems so arranged that one group of characters represents several words or sentences, whilst the other term designates those cryptograms where each letter in every word has its corresponding symbol. As letter ciphers are the more usual, and...
3 minute read
An adaptation of the last-mentioned system is shown in Fig. 5 , where the letters at the side and top are replaced by numerals. This method is very much in use amongst the Russian Nihilists, who would therefore write the sentence “Plot discovered” as follows: 41, 32, 35, 45; 14, 24, 44, 13, 35, 51, 15, 43, 15, 14. This, again, can be very much complicated by multiplying each number by the position held by the letter in the word. Thus in the sentence just put into cipher, P is the first letter in the word “plot,” L is the second, O the third, T the fourth, whilst in the next word D is the first, I the second, &c. You therefore multiply the ciphers in the first word by 1, 2, 3, 4 respectively, and deal similarly with those of the second word. The sentence thus treated would appear—41,...
2 minute read
Now to turn to more scientifically constructed ciphers, such as have been employed by various Governments in correspondence with their ambassadors and secret servants. The Sphinx Cipher, shown in Fig. 11 , is based upon a key-word of six or seven letters, previously arranged by the parties concerned A key-alphabet is written in full at the top of the plan, and against each letter of the key-word a complete alphabet is written as shown in the figure. Fig. 11.—A Government cipher, called the “Sphinx.” Suppose that the key-word chosen is BALFOUR, and that the message to be sent is WAR DECLARED LEAVE NOW, the key-word is then applied to the message thus:— You then find in the top row the first letter of your message, which is W, and you see that the letter on a line with B and under W is X, which will be the first letter...
1 minute read
In a condition of affairs where every man’s hand was against his neighbor’s, the necessity of being able to tell friend from foe was more urgent than in these peaceable times. When plotting was rife upon every hand, and one man possibly held the lives of many confederates in his power, knowing that an incautious word of his might doom them all to punishment and probably death, it became of paramount importance to have some means of discerning allies from enemies. Obviously the means of finding out such important information must be such as to awaken no suspicion in the event of a mistake, whilst on the other hand there should be no possibility of a stranger inadvertently obtaining possession of the secret. From earliest times the formation of Secret Societies has necessitated the invention of Secret Signs, and in nine cases out of ten, it may be said, the...
3 minute read
In this latter case a very good “shake” can be obtained by pressing the thumb firmly against the back of the hand, as shown in Fig. 1 . This will arouse no suspicion in anybody ignorant of the meaning, though, if reciprocated, it forms an excellent sign of recognition. Fig. 1.—A handshake sign. Fig. 2.—An eyebrow sign. The variety of passes that can be executed with different meanings is astonishing. Yet it should be remembered that, although outsiders may not know what you are saying, it will always be apparent that “something is up,” and a very undesirable curiosity will be awakened. On the other hand, there are many little actions, unnoticeable in themselves, which may have a great meaning to those “in the know.” A simple stroking of the eyebrows ( Fig. 2 ) is to all appearances a harmless movement, but in the secret signs of...
40 minute read
Pass-words, and the methods of giving them, vary considerably. The word, which must of course be known to all duly intrusted with the secret, should be of two syllables. One party called A says the first syllable, and the other person B repeats the second, then saying the whole word. Supposing the pass-word chosen be Oxford, A would make some remark introducing the word Ox, whilst B, replying in a similar vein, would mention the last syllable “ford” and conclude by repeating the whole word. With this system it is almost impossible for an outsider to palm himself off as one of the elect, even if he has become acquainted with all the signs of the society. It is a well-known fact that gypsies have a concerted plan of signals which are employed to show members of the party the direction taken by their leaders....
52 minute read
The “patteran,” as it is called, is made in various ways. A piece of rag fluttering from some bush near a cross-road, is a favorite signal, whilst small twigs or leaves strewn in a particular direction, have a somewhat similar meaning. Tramps and vagrants of all kinds have a series of signs, which they chalk upon the walls of the various houses at which they call, serving to inform their brethren of the treatment received at the hands of the occupiers. By this method a rude cross will usually describe the rather chilling welcome offered them by an irate householder, whilst a rough sketch of a loaf of bread shows that the inmates are sufficiently sympathetic to dispense with a portion of “the staff of life.” On the other hand, an upraised leg with a boot upon its foot tells a tale which need not be further enlarged upon. As...
35 minute read
It cannot fail to strike those of us who are blessed with the use of our eyes how extremely fortunate it is that our blind friends need not be debarred from many of our games. Being deprived of their sight, their sense of touch is developed to such an incredible extent that in the playing of many games their fingers prove of the same use to them as our eyes do to us. Practically all games for the blind can be purchased at very moderate cost, yet as they can be quite easily made at home the following hints are offered in the hope that they will prove of use, and help some of our readers to entertain a friend less fortunate than themselves....
1 minute read
An ordinary pack of cards can be very simply adapted to the use of the blind. Fig. 1.—Pin pricks showing value and suit of card. Fig. 2.—Distinguishing marks for suits and color respectively. By means of a large pin, the designation and value of a card can be pricked on the back, so that the upraised holes are perceptible to touch. These values and denominations should be pricked in the corner where the small designation of the value of a card is always to be found, as in Fig. 1 . In Figs. 2 and 3 are shown the marks which should be pricked. These are in the Braille alphabet, now universally understood by the blind, and read by them with the same ease as we read printing. Fig. 3.—Values to precede the signs for suits. Fig. 4.—Cards prepared for Patience. In Whist or Bridge, each person, as...
55 minute read
An ordinary Checker Board can be adapted for the use of the blind with very little trouble and no expense. Cut thirty-two squares of thick cardboard, each square identical in size with the black squares on the Checker Board. Upon each of the black spaces one of these pieces of card should be glued, so that when complete the board is composed of sunk and raised instead of colored squares. For the convenience of any ordinary person who may be playing with a blind opponent, the cardboard squares should be colored black with India ink. The checkers usually purchased have a molding on both top and bottom. It will simplify matters considerably if you can buy a set with one side only molded. By using the white men with the molding uppermost and the black men reversed, as in Fig. 5 , the difference will be sufficient to enable the...
1 minute read
The preparation of a Halma board is very similar to that of a checker board. Having raised the alternate squares with cardboard, the “Homes” at each corner should be further raised by glueing a piece of cardboard over all the spaces, and then raising the alternate squares upon this base, as in Figs. 6 and 6 a . Fig. 6.—Section of Halma board showing “Home.” In the center of each square a nail should be driven from the back of the board, with the end cut off and point filed to smoothness. These nails should project from the face of the board about half an inch. The ordinary Halma men have a hole on the under side, which enables you to place them upon the upraised points, where they will be held firmly. Fig. 6 a .—Plan of raised corner. It will now be necessary to make some alteration in...
15 minute read
Owing to their construction, Dominoes really need no alteration to make them suitable for the blind, but care should be taken when purchasing to see that the pips are cut deep into the ivory, so that the player can tell at a touch how many there are in the piece before him....
1 minute read
This is one of the games in which the blind frequently excel, and in consequence it is a general favorite. The undivided attention they are able to give, and the natural acuteness which their affliction usually brings to such a pitch of excellence, serves them in good stead when playing “the king of games.” The board should be prepared as in the case of checkers, with the exception that points should be made from the back , in the manner described in connection with the Halma board . The different men are, of course, by their construction, easily distinguishable from one another, but it will assist matters very materially if a set is used in which the men differ considerably in shape and size. In the center of each piece a hole must be bored in the base, large enough to allow the man to be placed, and removed from...
1 minute read
In the majority of round games the blind are able to take an active part, but this depends very much upon the individual concerned. As a general rule rough games should be avoided, especially if the space for playing be limited. Fig. 9.—The Braille Alphabet. Games in which a certain amount of writing is requisite are rarely suitable, although here again it must be a matter solely dependent upon the person concerned. At spelling and guessing games the cleverest seeing player must look to his or her laurels, for the blind are very quick-witted in such contests, and frequently have the answer ready while others are still repeating the question. As a matter of interest as well as of use, the blind alphabet of the Braille system is shown in Fig. 9 , and by this means letters and notes can be written, which will be perfectly intelligible to a...