CHAPTER III.

MISCELLANEOUS STAGE TRICKS. The tricks in this chapter are no less interesting than those which have gone before, but are rather of a more miscellaneous nature. The first trick which we shall describe, is called “The Illusion of Trilby.” The late Professor Herrmann won for himself a firm place in the regards of the civilized world, representing the _fin de siècle_ Houdin. His carefully executed work, with its perfect detail and finish, was a standard among performances of natural magic, and other exhibitions are referred to it as the gage of their quality. In Herrmann’s illusion of “Trilby,” hypnotism is supposed to play a part. As will be seen, it is really an ingenious application of mechanics. [Illustration: PREPARING TRILBY’S COUCH.] A plank is placed upon the backs of two chairs. A lady performer who is supposed to represent Du Maurier’s “Trilby” enters and, stepping on a foot-stool, lies down upon the plank. She holds a bouquet in her hand, which bouquet, unknown to the audience, has its own part to play. The other performer, Herrmann, who is supposed to be Svengali, carefully arranges the drapery, walking around her as he does so. Then he makes some passes, and one by one removes the chairs, and the lady and board remain in the air. In response to his passes the lady, still resting on the board, rises, and the position changes to an inclined one and back to the horizontal one. Finally the chairs are replaced, the lady by passes is supposed to be waked from her trance and steps down, chairs and plank are removed, and nothing is to be seen further. [Illustration: THE AËRIAL SUSPENSION OF TRILBY.] Two of the cuts show the progress of the performance as seen by the audience. The third cut explains the mechanism. Behind the scenes is a strong frame, up and down which a movable slide works. Tackle is provided to raise and lower the slide; and a workman behind the scenes is intrusted with its manipulation. A bar carrying at its rear end handles, and in front a socket, shown in the upper right-hand corner of the same cut, is journaled in the slide, and can also be thrust in and out through the journal box. When Trilby has been placed upon her board couch, the bar is thrust forward, drapery at the back having hitherto concealed its socket end. The fair Trilby with her bouquet now effectually conceals it as it emerges from behind the curtains. The performer, while apparently sedulously arranging the drapery, guides the socket and causes it to grip the board. The assistant behind the scene pulls upon the tackle and works the handle, so that Trilby’s weight leaves the chairs one by one, which are removed, and, supported by the bar, she seems to float in air. By manipulating the tackle she can be raised and lowered. By the handles she can be tilted about, giving a wonderfully good effect. Finally the chairs are replaced, and the assistant lowers Trilby upon them. During the waking passes the socket is detached and the bar is withdrawn. A close observer may notice a slight agitation of the drapery or curtains behind the stage as the bar is pushed out and withdrawn, but the attention of the audience in general is so taken up with the performance proper that this disturbance is overlooked by them. [Illustration: THE ILLUSION EXPLAINED.] The magician, it will be seen, can only walk completely around the reclining lady before the bar is in place or after it is withdrawn. When the bar is in place, he can walk behind her, but cannot go completely around her. Hence his complete excursions are restricted to the time when she is resting on the chairs, before the bar is in place or after it has been withdrawn. After the board is vacated, Svengali throws it down upon the stage, its fall, with accompanying noise and disturbance, showing that there is no deception about that portion of the display. THE “HAUNTED SWING.” [Illustration: TRUE POSITION OF THE SWING.] [Illustration: ILLUSION PRODUCED BY A RIDE IN THE SWING.] The supreme happiness of sitting in a swing which apparently whirls around its points of support, giving the occupant what is most properly described as a new sensation, may now be enjoyed by all. It is termed the “haunted swing,” and has been in most successful operation at Atlantic City and at the Midwinter Fair near San Francisco. Those who are to participate in the apparent gyrations of the swing--and there may be quite a number who enjoy it simultaneously--are ushered into a small room. From a bar crossing the room, near the ceiling, hangs a large swing, which is provided with seats for a number of people. After the people have taken their places, the attendant pushes the car and it starts into oscillation like any other swing. The room door is closed. Gradually those in it feel after three or four movements that their swing is going rather high, but this it is not all. The apparent amplitude of the oscillations increases more and more, until presently the whole swing seems to whirl completely over, describing a full circle about the bar on which it hangs. To make the thing more utterly mysterious, the bar is bent crank fashion, so that it seems demonstrably impossible for the swing to pass between bar and ceiling. It continues apparently to go round and round this way, imparting a most weird sensation to the occupants, until its movements begin gradually to cease and the complete rotation is succeeded by the usual back and forth swinging, and in a few seconds, as the children say, “the old cat dies.” The door of the room is opened and the swinging party leave. Those who have tried it say the sensation is most peculiar and the deception perfect. The illusion is based on the movements of the room proper. During the entire exhibition the swing is practically stationary, while the room rotates about the suspending bar. At the beginning of operations the swing may be given a slight push; the operators outside the room then begin to swing the room itself, which is really a large box journaled on the swing bar, starting it off to correspond with the movements of the swing. They swing it back and forth, increasing the arc through which it moves until it goes so far as to make a complete rotation. The operatives do this without special machinery, taking hold of the sides and corners of the box or “room.” At this time the people in the swing imagine that the room is stationary while they are whirling through space. After keeping this up for some time, the movement is brought gradually to a stop, a sufficient number of back and forth swings being given at the _finale_ to carry out the illusion to the end. The room is as completely furnished as possible, everything being, of course, fastened in place. What is apparently a kerosene lamp stands on a table, near at hand. It is securely fastened to the table, which in its turn is fastened to the floor, and the light is supplied by a small incandescent lamp within the chimney, but concealed by the shade. The visitor never imagines that it is an electric lamp, and naturally thinks that it would be impossible for a kerosene lamp to be inverted without disaster, so that this adds to the deception materially. The same is to be said of the pictures hanging on the wall, of the cupboard full of chinaware, of the chair with a hat on it, and of the baby carriage. All contribute to the mystification. Even though one is informed of the secret before entering the swing, the deception is said to be so complete that passengers involuntarily seize the arms of the seats to avoid being precipitated below. THE “SCURIMOBILE.” [Illustration: THE SCURIMOBILE.] The peculiar gun shown in the cut is named after its inventor, Alessandro Scuri, of Liège, Belgium. M. Scuri is also known as the inventor of a unicycle and a quadruple cornet. The “scurimobile” is a gun with two barrels which can be aimed at different objects, the angle between the barrels being adjustable. The adjustment is effected by moving a ring located on the under side of the gun. The pivot of the barrels is so arranged that it is easy to sight two objects at the same time. Both cartridges are automatically ejected after each shot fired. It is also possible to use only one barrel in the ordinary way. In the cut the inventor is shown aiming at two balls placed about a yard apart. Another valuable feature of this new gun is its applicability as a range finder. The observer first sights two objects which are at about equal distances from him, and measures the distance or angle between the two barrels, a graduation being provided for this purpose. Then the same operation is made from a point more distant from the objects first sighted. If the observer steps back ten yards, and finds that the graduation indicates just one-half of the value obtained at first, he will know that in the second position he was just twice as far from the objects as in the first position, so that the objects are ten yards from the observer’s first position. This operation will give distances with sufficient accuracy in most cases, but more exact results can be obtained by means of a simple trigonometric formula when the angle between the barrels is measured. “THE NEOÖCCULTISM.” The X rays, after becoming the indispensable coadjutors of surgeons, and even of physicians, are now competing with the most noted mediums in the domain of the marvelous. M. Radiguet, the well known manufacturer of physical apparatus, has been devoting himself for a long time to experiments with the Roentgen rays in the laboratory, which is encumbered with electric lamps, lamp globes, and glass apparatus of all kinds. One day he perceived that these glass objects, under the action of the X rays, shone in the darkness. Here again was an amusing and perhaps a useful experiment due to accident. Useful, because the radiographs obtained up to the present, by means of artificial screens, have been really good only when the sensitive bodies have been in small crystals. In a pulverulent state they are nearly insensible to the X rays, and it is almost impossible to obtain the grain of the screen upon the photographic plate. It is easy, on the contrary, to work the glass in such a way as to prevent any irregularity in the radiograph. Such experiments will certainly be made ere long, but, for the present, it is the fantastic side of the discovery that we shall present to our readers. Porcelain, enamels, and diamonds, and also objects covered with platino-cyanides (used by Roentgen) and with calcium tungstate, zinc sulphate, etc., have, like glass, the property of becoming luminous in darkness under the action of the X rays. We have, therefore, only the trouble of selection in order to get up a “spirit séance” with every certainty of success, while genuine spiritual séances fail in most cases, as well known, because the spirits are in an ill mood and disposed to be coyish. [Illustration: ARRANGEMENT FOR A STRIKING EXPERIMENT WITH THE X RAYS.] The following will prove a scene sufficiently weird to put the most intrepid worldlings in a flurry if some one of our friends takes it into his head to give them the mysterious spectacle thereof before they have read an exposure of the trick. [Illustration: THE APPARITION.] The first figure that we present herewith exhibits a Ruhmkorff coil, which is placed here to show the operation in its entirety. But, as the first effect of its vibrations would be to attract the attention, and consequently the suspicions of the spectators, whom it is a question of transporting into the domain of the marvelous, this apparatus is relegated to some distant room. The current that produces the X rays is led into the Crookes tube by wires. This apparatus, moreover, which is not very bulky, may be placed behind a door or be concealed under black cloth. The objects designed to become luminous are placed as near to the tube as possible. In the experiment under consideration a diner (who is doubtless near-sighted, since he wears eyeglasses) is about to do justice to his breakfast. Armed with a knife and fork, he attacks his beefsteak; but he is assuredly a greater eater than drinker, since he contents himself with water, while his light consists of a single candle. A black curtain on the other side of the table conceals from the spectators a skeleton covered with zinc sulphide. Let us now put out the light and set the Ruhmkorff coil in action. What a surprise! A plate, a glass, a water bottle, and a candle shine in space with the light of glow-worms. A sinister guest in the form of a skeleton sits opposite the place occupied by the near-sighted gentleman, who has disappeared, and whose eyeglasses alone have held their own before this ghastly apparition. Finally, to complete the illusion, hands are seen moving over the heads of the spectators, and those multiply, and then disappear, only to appear anew. It must be remarked that, in order to render the experiment more conclusive, it is allowable for the most incredulous members of the party to tie the gentleman tightly to his chair, and, if they desire, to hold his hands and feet during the entire time of the experiment. It is scarcely necessary to explain how the latter is performed. The X rays pass through the black cloth on the door that conceals the Crookes tube and also through the body of the gentleman, and render luminous the glass objects covered with zinc sulphide. As for the mysterious hands, those are simply gloves covered with the same substance and fixed to the extremity of long sticks that are moved in all directions by confederates. Such scenes may naturally be varied to infinity; and the spirit of invention is so fertile, there is no doubt that before long ladies will be giving a place in the programme of their soirées to this up-to-date spiritualism. “THE MASK OF BALSAMO.” [Illustration: THEATRICAL SCIENCE. FIG. 1.--The Enchanted Death’s Head. FIG. 2.--The Mask of Balsamo] This illusion is a variation of the enchanted “death’s head” which was for a long time the attraction of the Robert-Houdin Theater. Our engraving shows both the “death’s head,” the “mask of Balsamo,” and the method of producing the illusion. Under the influence of the passes of the prestidigitateur the skull on the glass plate bends forward and seems to salute the spectators. The nodding of the “death’s head” was utilized in a number of ways, as, to indicate the number when dice was thrown. This trick was performed as follows: Upon a table near the magician was placed a ball of soft wax attached to a string which ran to the side scenes, where it could be pulled by a confederate. After passing the skull around to be examined, the prestidigitateur, in laying it upon the table, fixed the ball of wax at the top of it. After the experiment a simple scraping with the finger nail removed every trace of the trick. The Isola Brothers used electricity in a somewhat similar illusion. The skull is replaced by a wooden mask laid flat on a small table and the mask answers questions by rocking slightly. The magician then brings the table into the midst of the spectators, and the mask still continues to move, to the astonishment of the onlookers. The secret of the trick is that part of the wood which forms the chin is replaced by a small strip of iron which is painted the same color as the mask so that it cannot be seen; an electro-magnet is let into the top of the table so that the cores shall be opposite the strip of iron when the mask is laid upon the table. Contact is made by means of a push button somewhere in the side scenes, the wires run under the stage, and connection is made through the legs of the table when the legs are set on the foreordained place. Upon the same principle is Robert-Houdin’s heavy chest and magic drum. A rapping and talking table may be made by carrying out the same idea. The battery is carried in the lower part of the table, where the three legs join. The top of the table is in two parts, the lower of which is hollow and the top being very thin. In the center of the hollow part is placed an electro-magnet, one of the wires of which connects with one of the poles of the battery, while the other is connected with a flat metallic circle glued to the cover of the table. Beneath this circle and at a slight distance from it there is a toothed circle connected with the whole pole of the battery. When the table is pressed lightly upon, the cover bends and the flat circle touches the toothed one. This closes the circuit, and the electro-magnet attracting the armature produces a sharp blow. When the hand is raised the circuit is broken, producing another sharp blow. By running the hand lightly over the table the cover is caused to bend successively over a certain portion of its circumference. Thus contact is made at a number of places, and the sharp blow is replaced by a quick succession of sounds. This table is very useful for spirit rappings; as the table contains all of the mechanism in itself, it can be moved to any part of the room. The table may be also operated from a distance by employing conductors passing through the legs of the table and under the carpet. By substituting a small telephone receiver for the electro-magnet, the rapping spirits may be made talking ones. [Illustration: RAPPING AND TALKING TABLE.] Electric insects may be constructed on the same plan and give a very life-like appearance when placed on an artificial bunch of flowers in a flower pot. The battery is concealed in the top. When the pot is raised a drop of mercury which occupies the bottom of the pot will roll over the bottom, closing the circuit successively on different insects, keeping them in motion until the pot has been set down. THE INVISIBLE WOMAN. [Illustration: THE INVISIBLE WOMAN.] At the end of the last century and the beginning of the present, a very curious experiment, and one which was looked upon as marvelous by the credulous, was wonderfully popular at Paris. The representation took place at the old Capuchin convent. The spectator entered a well lighted hall in which, in part of a window, there was a box suspended by four brass chains attached by bows of ribbon. The box, which was surrounded by a grating, was provided with two panes of glass that permitted of seeing that it was absolutely empty. To one of the extremities was fixed a speaking trumpet. When a visitor spoke in the latter, he was answered by a hollow voice; and when he placed his face near the box, he even felt upon it the action of a mysterious breath. When he presented any object whatever in front of the mouthpiece, and asked the voice to name it, an answer immediately came from the speaking tube. The box was suspended freely from the ceiling, and it could be made to swing at the extremity of the chains; it was empty and isolated in space. People were lost in conjecture as to the secret of the experiment. Among the unlikely theories that were put forth was that of the invisibility of a person obtained by unknown processes. As usual in these kinds of impostures, there was here merely an ingenious application of a scientific principle. A physicist, E. J. Ingennato, revealed the mystery in a pamphlet published in 1800 under the title of “The Invisible Woman and Her Secret Unveiled.” This tract, now rare, had for a frontispiece the engraving which we reproduce herewith and which explains the whole experiment. The invisible woman of the Capuchin convent was named Frances, and the following is the explanatory legend appended to the original engraving: “Questioner: ‘Frances, what is this that I have in my hand?’ “Frances (after looking through the little peep-hole, D): ‘A stick with a crooked handle.’ “The entire assembly at once: ‘It is incomprehensible!’” Ingennato, in his pamphlet, explains that above the ceiling there was a low, darkish chamber, in which Frances was concealed, and that she looked at the object presented to her through a small aperture, D, which was skillfully hidden by a hanging lamp, and then answered through the speaking tube, B B B, hidden in the wall. The sound traversed a space of about six inches, that separated the speaking tube from the speaking trumpet. MAGIC HARPS. The experiment which we are about to describe, while it is thoroughly scientific, was taken up under the name of “Æolian Harps” by Robert-Houdin, who introduced several modifications of it. When the experiment was performed by Wheatstone in 1855, four harps were arranged in a semi-circle on the stage of the Polytechnic Institution. These harps, at the pleasure of the experimentor, vibrated as if they were made to resound by invisible hands. This effect was produced by fixing to the sounding board of each of them vertical rods of fir-wood which passed through the floor of the stage and ceilings, into the cellar of the Institution, where one of them was fixed upon a sounding board of a piano, another upon the sounding board of a violoncello, and two others upon the sounding boards of violins. In order to render it possible to interrupt the vibrations between the instruments and the harps, the rods supporting the latter were divided at two inches above the floor. Each harp could be cut off from communication with the instrument below by turning it around upon its axis. When Robert-Houdin introduced the illusion, he used a stage elevated in the very midst of the spectators. This stage was traversed by two fir-wood rods which, after passing through the floor, rested upon harps placed in the hands of skillful players. At the command of the prestidigitateur two other harps supported upon the upper extremity of the rods executed a concert which was very successful, thanks to the careful preparations and the elegant _mise en scène_. Of course the harps were supposed to operate through the intervention of mediumistic spirits. [Illustration: ÆOLIAN HARP EXPERIMENT.]