New volumes of the Encyclopædia Britannica > Volume 30, K-MOR

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the form in which the question was put conveying the
appropriate answer. Now it is customary to avoid
speech altogether. The information is conveyed by
means of gesture or slight sounds at varying intervals.
This business requires an enormous amount of practice,
and an abnormal memory on the part of those who
become expert.
But there are certain tricks of this class which require
little or no skill and a very small amount of practice.
These are generally introduced by impostors who claim
or tacitly suggest the possession of supernatural powers.
The following is a very familiar example of the kind of
trick employed by such persons. The performers are
usually a man and a woman. The man first appears, and
informs the audience that he will shortly introduce a lady
possessing extraordinary powers. Not only can she read
the thoughts of any person whose mind is en rapport with
hers, but also she can foretell the future, trace missing
friends, discover lost property, &c. In order to display
the lady’s capabilities, he requests that any members of the
audience who have questions they would like answered
will write them secretly. For convenience in writing,
slips of paper, pencils, and squares of thick millboard are
passed round, the millboard squares being for use as
writing-desks. The writers are particularly cautioned to
allow no one to see what is written, but to fold up the
papers and retain them in their own possession. 1111 thei,
the writers are instructed that, when the clairvoyant
appears, the thoughts of each must be kept intently fixed
upon what he has written. The pencils and millboards
are then collected, and the preparations being so far
complete, other portions of the entertainment are pro¬
ceeded with. Finally, as the last item in the pro¬
gramme, the clairvoyant is introduced. A handkerchief,
upon which some liquid has been poured, is held O’ver the
lady’s nose and mouth, and apparently she falls into a
trance. Then she proceeds to describe the appearance of
certain of the writers, the position they occupy in the
room, and the nature of the questions they have written,
giving to those questions more or less plausible answers.
The trick never fails to produce the most profound
astonishment, and by its means several persons have
made rapid strides to fortune. But the whole business
is an impudent imposture. Therefore it cannot be too
often or too thoroughly exposed. It is accomplished as
follows. Some of the millboards passed round for con¬
venience in writing are built up of a number of thick¬
nesses, fastened together at the edges only. Beneath the
outer layer a sheet of carbon paper is concealed, so that
the pressure of the pencil causes a reproduction in dupli¬
cate to be impressed upon an inner layer of cardboard.
These prepared pads are handed round by attendants,
who note the dress and appearance of the. persons. by
whom the questions are written. That information,
together with the prepared pads, is subsequently con¬
veyed to the clairvoyant. She requires a certain amount
of time in order to memorize the questions and the
description of the writers; consequently she is not intro¬
duced to the audience until, say, an hour has elapsed.
Of course, it would not be discreet to have all the mill¬
boards prepared. Many of them, perhaps the majority,
are really what they appear to be; but, needless to say,
the questions written upon these are never answered. It
is carefully pointed out beforehand that the clairvoyant
can only read the questions of those whose minds are in
sympathy with hers. That statement, naturally, serves
to account for her inability to read or answer questions
written by those who have used the plain millboards.
In connexion with this trick a further imposture is
carried out by inviting strangers to send, by post, any
\ I 0
questions they wish to have answered. Such an. invita¬
tion appears to be quite straightforward and. genuine, but
those who are sufficiently credulous or sufficiently curious
to respond to it lend themselves to the perpetiation of. an
ingenious fraud. In reply to any such communication,
the writer is informed that it is necessary for him to
attend one of the public performances, and endeavour to
bring his mind into harmony with that of the. claii vo} ant.
Enclosed is a complimentary ticket entitling him to
attend any performance he pleases. The procedure, then,
is simply this. Each ticket bears a private mark, and a
corresponding mark is pnt upon the letter written, by the
person to whom it is sent. When any marked ticket is
presented, the attendant notes the dress and appearance
of the visitor and the seat he occupies. That information
is given to the clairvoyant, together with the ticket. She
refers to the letter bearing the mark corresponding to the
ticket, and ascertains what that particular visitor wishes
to know. Thus to the public she appears to read and
answer a question which has not been written down, but
merely thought of by a total stranger. There are
numerous methods of obtaining information by means
similar to those already described. Sufficient, however,
has been said to show that such devices are of the
simplest, and require nothing more than a callous
effrontery to carry them into effect. Of course, all kinds
of mischances are bound to occur. But, when one is
supposed to be dealing with undiscovered laws of natuie,
it does not require much ingenuity to wriggle out of anj
situation, however difficult.
In reference to that branch of conjuring known, as
“ Legerdemain ” or “ Sleight-of-hand,” which relies mainly
upon dexterity of the fingers, for many years little advance
was made. But recently some new sleights were intro¬
duced from America. These consist in an amplification
of the method of concealing coins and cards at the back
of the fingers. The principle has received the incongruous
title of “ back-palming.” By means of this method both
back and front of the hand alternately can be shown
empty, while, notwithstanding its apparent emptiness,
the hand nevertheless conceals a coin or card. The first
and fourth fingers are caused to act as pivots, upon which
the concealed articles are turned from front to back, and
vice versa, the turning being performed by the second and
third fingers. The movement is very rapid, and is accom¬
plished in the act of turning over the hand to show the
two sides alternately. The sleight requires an enormous
amount of practice. It has been brought to the highest
state of perfection by Herr Valadon.
In all ages a very popular magical effect has been the
apparent floating of a person in empty space. An endless
variety of ingenious apparatus has been invented for the
purpose of producing such effects, and the present article
would be incomplete without some reference to one or twro
of the more modern examples. A very pretty illusion of
this kind is that originally produced under the title, of
“ Astarte.” A lady is brought forward, and after making
her bow to the audience she retires to the back of the
stage, the whole of which is draped with black velvet
and kept in deep shadow'. There she is caused to rise, in
the air, to move from side to side, to advance and retire,
and to revolve in all directions. The secret consists in an
iron lever, covered with velvet to match the background,
and therefore invisible to the audience. This lever is
passed through an opening in the back curtain and
attached to a socket upon the metal girdle worn by
the performer. The girdle consists of twro rings, one
inside the other, the inner one being capable of turning
about its axis. By means of this main lever and a
spindle passing through it and gearing into the inner