,illustration3 ,,indian ,,conjuring ,,by ,,major ,l4 ,h4 ,,branson ,m4,i4,m4,c4 ,indian ,army ,with #h ,illustrations ,,london ,,george ,,routledge ,,sons ,,ltd4 ,,new ,,york3 ,e4 ,p4 ,,dutton ,,co4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i dedicate this small volume to ,,my ,,wife who has always been my best audience and my keenest critic at the innumerable sleight-of-hand performances that ,i have had the pleasure of giving in her presence4 99 99 99 99 99 ,portions of this book were published by the ,,times ,,of ,,india1 ,,illustrated ,,weekly1 by whose kind permission they are reprinted4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,a ,,comparison #a ,,ii4 ,,the ,,cup ,,and ,,balls #af ,,iii4 ,,the ,,bamboo-,,sticks #bc ,,the ,,ring ,,on ,,the ,,stick #bf ,,iv4 ,,the ,,glass ,,box #cb ,,the ,,bunder ,,boat #ce ,v4 ,,the ,,bowl ,,of ,,rice #ci ,,the ,,coloured ,,sands #db ,,vi4 ,a ,,rope ,,trick #df ,,the ,,swastika #di ,,the ,,egg ,,bag #eb ,,vii4 ,,the ,,dancing ,,duck #ed ,,the ,,mango ,,tree ,,trick #eg ,,viii4 ,,the ,,basket ,,trick #fe ,,ix4 ,,the ,,indian ,,rope ,,trick #gf ,x4 ,,snakes ,,and ,,crocodiles #hi ,,xi4 ,,generalities ,,and ,,other ,,myths #ih 99 99 99 99 99 ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,my old friend ,shah ,mahommed1 aged #hg years1 son of ,ghaus ,mahommed1 who died aged #ge years1 and grandson of ,nur ,mahommed who died at the age of #gh years1 ,all three were itinerant conjurers and had never seen the rope trick ,front ,shah ,mahommed singing ,ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay between two experiments ,facing page #aj ,shah ,mahommed with two assistants for the ,ring on the ,stick ,facing page #bh ,preliminaries of the ,restored ,rope1 the only rope trick that ,i have ever seen performed in ,india ,facing page #df ,shah ,mahommed performing the egg bag trick ,facing page #eb ,the ,dancing ,duck1 performed with an enamel bowl instead of the cocoa-nut shell ,facing page #ed ,the preliminary stage of the mango tree trick as shewn by ,shah ,mahommed ,facing page #fj ,conclusion of the mango tree trick ,facing page #fb 99 99 99 99 99 ,,indian ,,conjuring ,,chapter ,i ,a ,,comparison ,since the world began ,magic and wizardy seem to have held a great fascination for mankind1 an example being in the story of the ,witch of ,endor4 ,that this tendency has in no wise altered is clear from the popularity of conjurors1 illusionists1 and so called magicians who still1 be it ,east or ,west1 attract an audience so easily and so surely4 ,this little volume is written in the hopes that it may prove of interest to the thousands who reside in ,india1 and those other thousands who1 visiting its coral shores from time to time1 often discuss in wondering amazement how the ,indian conjuror performs his tricks4 ,it is also written to uphold the reputation of the ,western conjuror against the spurious ascendancy held by his ,eastern confrere4 ,before describing the many well known tricks that are shewn by the house to house ,jadoo-wallah1 and explaining how they are done1 we will compare the average ,indian conjuror with his mystic friends in ,europe1 ,america and ,china4 ,let us for a moment picture in our mind's eye the stage and person of the ,european or ,american conjuror4 ,a few small tables with spindle legs 7upon them a steel frame or so1 transparent and decorative7 are exposed to our view4 ,the performer appears with rolled up sleeves in close fitting clothes and by the end of his performance has filled the stage with several large flags1 a bouquet of flowers and1 may be1 a beautiful lady1 all1 possibly produced from a top hat4 ,his performance is given to the accompaniment of amusing patter and is brightened with the colour of the articles he produces4 ,he may be an illusionist pure and simple and does not indulge in sleight-of-hand at all4 ,in this case the comparison with the ,indian ,jadoo-wallah is not a fair one1 as the latter has not the means to purchase the complicated mechanism necessary for up-to-date illusions as shewn by ,european magicians4 ,whether or no his superior education is the reason1 the ,european conjuror gains in skill and shows his inventive genius as time goes on4 ,his effects are studied1 and his paraphernalia embraces more and more varied articles4 ,the disappearance of a ,christmas tree with all its candles lighted is an excellent example to what he has risen4 ,he takes an interest in his profession or calling and strives to outdo others in neatness or by inventing an exclusive trick to which his name can be given and handed down to posterity4 ,this may be the result of large fees that can be earned at the ,halls or by private entertainments by those at the top of the tree4 ,but these fees are open to a conjuror of any nationality1 and ,i am confident that the interest the ,european takes in his hobby has more to do with his superiority than education and large fees4 ,the ruling ,princes of ,india are very fond of watching a clever conjuror and can pay enormous fees1 but no ,indian conjuror appears to appeal to them4 ,a ,western performer always wants to give his best to his audience and takes a pride in mystifying them4 ,david ,devant1 who is one of the greatest living exponents has quite recently written an article in the ,strand ,magazine of his dreams of tricks that he would like to be able to do4 ,to meet the late ,charles ,bertram at home was a study in itself4 ,to have seen him playing1 as a child would play1 with a pack of cards until he stumbled across a new sleight and watched the enjoyment written all over his face1 was a proof of his deep interest in his hobby4 ,can anyone imagine an ,indian conjuror dreaming of a new trick8 ,ghee and khana 7clarified butter and food7 form the subject of the majority of his dreams4 ,when he does play with anything it is to caress lovingly the paisa or pieces of money that he last earned1 not to improve his dexterity but because they will give him a good meal1 a cup of arak1 7or intoxicating liquor7 and a long lazy sleep4 ,the ,chinaman gives his entertainment with his stage well filled with tables covered with gorgeous dragon-be-decked draperies that reach the ground1 and behind which useful assistants could be easily concealed4 ,his own garments are roomy and his sleeves could contain a multitude of billiard balls and rabbits4 ,but he gives a showy performance with clean bright articles1 ending up occasionally1 as ,i have seen1 with the production of twelve large ,chinese lanterns all lit6 ,the ,chinaman is the inventor of many of the most beautiful illusions that are performed4 ,one of the prettiest tricks imaginable is that of the production of bowls of gold fish in real water1 one of ,chinese origin4 ,he has improved from ancient times as an up-to-date showman1 and is a wonderful illusionist4 ,to show what can be done in the voluminous garments of a ,chinaman1 on one occasion1 ,i1 in his national costume1 produced a large bowl of water which took two men to carry away1 then a little boy aged ten1 and his younger brother aged five1 ostensibly from a shawl without moving from the centre of a stage devoid of trap doors1 or any furniture4 ,it was more a feat of strength than skill at conjuring1 though1 as one may readily imagine1 extremely effective4 ,the ,chinaman is also a clever productionist and excels in producing flowers1 lanterns and similar articles4 ,his dexterity or sleight-of-hand is good but inferior to that of the ,european4 ,he has and uses well1 many extremely ingenious devices1 or fakes4 ,one in particular has always appealed to me and is worth describing4 ,he takes a piece of tissue paper which he either chews1 or moistens somehow and rolls it into a small ball like pulp4 ,this he places on his fan and tosses up into the air several times while it gradually assumes the shape of an egg4 ,after some few seconds it has become a large duck's egg which he places in an egg cup on the table in full view of the audience4 ,this little trick is very effective1 easy to do1 and can be purchased for half-a-crown at any magical depot in ,london4 ,i hope that ,i have gained my point in showing that the ,chinaman is an ingenious and a neat performer4 ,there are many other amazing tricks which were originated in ,china and the far ,east1 7as the ,japanese are as good1 if not better than the ,chinese7 but this egg trick is to my mind the most symbolical of ,chinese magic4 ,the ,indian juggler or ,jadoo-wallah arrives with a basket large enough to contain a man1 as we will see later1 a huge dilapidated bag1 a voluminous dhotie or loin cloth1 and possibly a snake basket or two4 ,he is a poor man or gareeb admi and looks it4 ,he starts a whine in the hope of getting an audience through sympathy4 ,if he does not whine he assumes an air of superiority that is somewhat exasperating4 ,at sleight-of-hand he is far below the level of the average ,european performer4 ,he spoils his art by the continual diving into his bag ostentatiously to dig out the bone of a cow or an antiquated dolly1 of the rag doll type4 ,if only he would do his little tricks away from his impedimenta in clean clothes he would add #ej to the merit of his performance though it would probably be not so entertaining to those newly arrived in ,india4 ,i have very little praise to give to the ,indian conjuror as an artist1 either in sleight-of-hand1 in juggling1 or as an illusionist4 ,his tricks are as old as my unpaid bills and from time immemorial have been performed with the same monotonous patter and the irritating drone of the bean or so called musical instrument4 ,i may here say that this musical torture is used to disguise movements of the showman's hand in the same way as the ,european uses his magic wand1 an instrument that does not appeal to me at all1 though at times very useful4 ,the articles used by the ,indian conjuror are very very primitive and of indifferent manufacture4 ,the ,jadoo-wallah has remained as he was #ej1 #fj1 or #ajj years ago4 ,the old gentleman whose portrait forms the first illustration of this book told me that the tricks he does were learnt by his great grandfather from a friend in ,lahore4 ,this takes us back some #aej years4 ,the tricks have remained the same as when taught at ,lahore though my old friend has brought them up-to-date by singing ,ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay between each experiment6 ,the ,indian conjuror has never indulged in pure sleight-of-hand to any extent1 and has never improved upon any of his illusions4 ,illustration3 ,shah ,mahommed singing ,ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay between two experiments4 ,he seldom has any patter worth listening to and that which he uses consists usually of ,beggie1 beggie1 aow or ,beggie beggie jaow4 ,bun1 two1 three1 four1 five1 white1 bite1 fight1 kite4 ,amusing to a casual observer but hopeless from an artists point of view4 ,latterly some ,indian conjurors have attempted to give in ,india performances on ,european lines4 ,they have purchased the necessary paraphernalia from ,london and have as much idea of using it to its best advantage as a crocodile has of arranging the flowers on a dinner table4 ,our ,indian ,jadoo-wallah usually gets himself into a very tight fitting third or fourth hand evening dress on these occasions1 to show1 ,i presume1 how ,european he is4 ,the audience is more concerned with the possibility of its bursting and their having to leave the theatre for decency's sake than they are of the feats he is attempting to imitate4 ,his patter is excruciating and1 to hide his want of skill in sleight-of-hand1 he moves his hands and arms in grotesque curves1 with his body so bent that it is almost impossible to see what he is trying to do4 ,i have never yet seen any ,indian give an ,english performance that would be tolerated on the sands at ,slushton-on-,sea the seat of my ancestral home4 ,while writing the above ,i have in mind one of these ,indians1 an impossible person1 who1 as ,court performer to several of the ,ruling ,indian ,princes1 makes the astonishing total of ,rs4 #abjj or ,l#hj a month4 ,the only native conjurors that ,i have seen who are consistently good at sleight-of-hand1 7and they are ,arabs or ,egyptians7 are the invaders of the ships at ,port ,said1 and their one and only good point1 magically1 is their manipulation of those unfortunate chickens4 ,their ,gillie1 gillie1 ,mrs4 ,langtry is more up-to-date and an improvement upon the ,beggie1 beggie1 aow of ,india4 ,it has always been a marvel to me how the ,indian conjuror has gained his spurious reputation4 ,i can only ascribe the fact to the idea that the audience start with the impression1 sub-conscious though it may be--of ,mahatmaism1 ,jadoo1 or any other synonym by which ,oriental ,magic is designated4 ,this allows them to watch with amazement tricks that are so simple that no ,english conjuror would dare to show them to his youngest child4 ,without partiality ,i can safely assert that of the three types under discussion1 the ,european1 the ,chinaman1 and the ,indian1 the average ,european conjuror is the most skilled particularly at sleight-of-hand4 ,he certainly excels in card manipulation which is seldom touched by the ,oriental magician4 ,in illusions he is beyond comparison1 as many of our readers may certify who have seen the wonderful productions by ,messrs4 ,maskelyn and ,cooke1 ,devant1 and their many followers4 ,the gradual disappearance of a lady in evening dress1 visibly1 and in mid stage growing smaller and smaller until she is small enough to be put into a paper bag1 which is rolled into a ball and thrown away1 is an illusion that no ,oriental will ever attempt to compete with4 ,such illusions can be seen at any time of the year at the ,palace ,theatre and other halls in ,london1 in ,paris and even ,bombay4 ,there may be many who will readily disagree with my disparagement of the ,indian ,jadoo-wallah4 ,i admit that ,magic may have come originally from the ,east4 ,the ,egyptians for instance1 had wonderful illusions that were freely used by their priests in the temples mainly for the extortion of money or valuables from their gullible disciples4 ,these illusions were merely mechanical devices such as the mysterious opening and shutting of doors on the sound of a certain word like ,abracadabra4 ,these devices can be duplicated by our skilful mechanics1 but would not be worth very much these enlightened days as a lucrative investment4 ,it may also be said that the comparison to the detriment of the ,indian is not a fair one as he has no stage upon which to perform1 whereas the ,european gives his show usually in a roped off portion of the drawing room1 or on the stage of a concert hall4 ,the reason of this is that the ,european cannot as a rule collect his audience in the open4 ,when he does get an outdoor assembly he is just as much an adept as he is indoors4 ,many of my readers may have regrettably to agree with me1 especially those who have met our three card trick friend1 or the perfectly good gentleman with the thimbles and the pea1 at ,ascot4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,when the ,jadoo-wallah has sat himself down with his bag and baskets in their correct places he usually proceeds to show the following tricks3-- ,the cups and balls4 ,the bamboo sticks4 ,the ring on the stick4 ,the ball in the glass box4 ,the bunder-boat4 ,the bowl of rice4 ,the coloured sands4 ,the rope trick4 ,the egg bag4 ,the swastika4 ,the dancing duck4 ,the mango tree4 ,the basket trick4 ,i will attempt to describe each trick for the benefit of those who have not actually seen them performed1 and will then attempt to give a lucid explanation of how these tricks are done4 ,,the ,,cup ,,and ,,balls ,the performer has three cups of wood1 somewhat similar to crude wine glasses overturned1 the base of the wine glass forming the handle by which the cup is manipulated4 ,under these he places1 without detection1 little woollen or cloth balls and extracts them in the same mysterious manner4 ,similarly he shows two balls1 one under each of two cups1 and by a drone on the bean or musical instrument1 one ball flies magically from the one cup to join its mate under the other4 ,various combinations and permutations of this sleight complete the experiment which is accompanied by a running patter of ,go ,bombay ,go ,london4 ,in my opinion this trick is the only one in which the ,indian conjuror shows any aptitude at sleight-of-hand1 and the average ,jadoo-wallah is very good at it4 ,it is a trick that at first needs a little practice1 but it is easy to learn and can be made into a first-class stage or drawing room entertainment4 ,one of our greatest exponents in ,london performs the trick with three breakfast cups inverted1 three lumps of sugar1 some walnuts1 and tangerine oranges to a most amusing patter about ,cuthbert1 ,clarence1 and ,algernon1 who are represented by the three lumps of sugar and undergo all sorts of misadventures in the night clubs in the ,west ,end of ,london4 ,the explanation is simple4 ,illustration ,instead of three balls the performer has four4 ,one of these he conceals in the palm of the hand by which he lifts the cup4 ,the handle of the cup can be grasped between the outstretched fingers--7first and second7--and the ball is securely held by the muscle at the ball of the thumb4 ,by bending the first and second fingers that hold the cup1 its lip is brought in close proximity to the secreted ball4 ,by a sharp or jerky movement forward to place the cup on the ground1 and at the same time releasing the muscle of the ball of the thumb1 the woollen ball naturally finds its place under the cup and the deception is complete4 ,the performer then picks up one of the three exposed balls and pretends to place it in his bag or into the other hand4 ,a blow on the bean and ,hey6 ,presto6 the ball appears under the cup that a moment ago was placed apparently empty on the ground4 ,illustration ,i will not go any further into the combinations and permutations1 which are unlimited1 of the trick4 ,once a person has mastered the easy dexterity described above to get the ball into the cup1 he can devise further developments for himself4 ,the diagrams given will1 ,i trust1 clear up any misunderstanding that may be left after reading my explanation4 ,if there is still any uncertainty1 for a few annas or pence1 any itinerant conjuror will show the sleight1 and ten minutes practice ought to bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion4 ,this may be a fitting opportunity to disabuse the minds of some about the amount of practice undertaken by a really first-class performer4 ,i consider that a man who is an expert needs no practice at all4 ,sleight-of-hand to him is just as innate as hitting any shaped ball with any shaped stick1 is to a man with an eye for games4 ,the artists who drew these illustrations1 draw anything instinctively4 ,years of practice will never make the faces of a pretty girl that ,i draw look less like an amphibious cow4 ,but ,i have frequently given performances of two hour's duration without any previous practice whatever1 beyond a quick rehearsal to see that all the various properties are in their correct places1 ready at hand when wanted4 ,i do not want the person who wishes to do a few tricks like the cups and balls1 and those which ,i will describe later1 to be discouraged under the impression that not being a born conjuror it will be useless for him to attempt small tricks without constant and monotonous practice4 ,a little attention and trouble will make him hot stuff with the cups and balls and will lead him on to higher things4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,bamboo-,,sticks ,we have now the second trick that is usually shewn by the ,jadoo-wallah1 that of the bamboo sticks1 essentially one of purely ,indian origin4 ,the performer takes two small bamboo sticks which have threaded through them a piece of string at each end of which is a bead4 ,he holds these sticks together and when he pulls one bead the other is naturally drawn into its stick4 ,he now takes a knife and passes it between the sticks ostensibly cutting the string between them4 ,he again pulls one bead and wonderful to relate the other bead is still drawn in towards its stick1 as before4 ,he now separates the sticks and holds them in the shape of a ,v1 and one can see that there is no string between the sticks4 ,still the same thing happens4 ,when he pulls one bead the other is drawn into its stick4 ,illustration3 ,sticks held together till the knife is passed between them ,illustration3 ,held in ,v position ,this little trick is usually sold as one of a box of tricks for children at any of the toy shops in ,england4 ,the explanation is given in the diagrams below1 which show that the string does not pass directly through each stick1 but from one side only1 then through its centre down to the bottom1 across to the other stick1 up through its centre1 and out through its side4 ,consequently passing the knife between the sticks cannot harm the string in any way4 ,the ,indian conjuror goes still farther than the trick as supplied in the child's box of tricks4 ,after pulling the string to and fro while the sticks are held as a ,v he separates the sticks completely4 ,the same result occurs nevertheless4 ,when he pulls one end of the string the other end is drawn towards its stick4 ,this is brought about by a different construction of the apparatus than that described above4 ,in this case the string is put through one side of the stick and is attached to a small weight that can move freely up and down the hollowed out centre of the bamboo4 ,when the stick is held vertically the weight will drop and the bead attached to the visible end of the string will be automatically drawn in4 ,when the performer wishes to leave the pulled string out1 he must incline the stick to a horizontal position when the weight will not slide down4 ,the diagrams will show how the sticks should be held while showing the trick4 ,it can be easily manufactured or bought in a bazaar for a few annas4 ,illustration3 ,both sticks held vertically and both beads in ,illustration3 ,one stick held horizontally allows the bead to remain out1 while the other being held vertically has the bead drawn in ,illustration3 ,vice-versa with sticks separated ,,the ,,ring ,,on ,,the ,,stick ,the sticks are put away into the basket1 and the magic wand is produced for our next little experiment1 that of putting a borrowed ring on to the middle of a stick that is held at both ends4 ,almost every ,european in ,india has seen this performed in ,india for it is the favourite of the ,jadoo-wallah1 and is the most effective of the small tricks that he can show4 ,it takes up a considerable time and is simplicity itself4 ,in case any of my readers have not seen the trick in ,india1 or on their way out at ,port ,said1 ,i will describe it4 ,the performer either borrows or uses his own thin cane1 and passes it round to his audience to show that it is devoid of all mechanism4 ,he then borrows a wedding ring1 which he also allows to be freely examined4 ,he gets ,a and ,b1 two of his audience1 to hold the ends of the stick each by one hand4 ,he then boldly proclaims that he proposes to pass the ring on to the middle of the stick without either ,a or ,b letting go of their respective ends4 ,in order1 however1 not to divulge the secret he must pass it on under cover of a handkerchief4 ,he takes the borrowed ring and wraps it up in the middle of the handkerchief which he asks some one to hold1 and to feel the ring wrapped up in it4 ,in order to let everyone know that the ring is really there1 he takes the stick from ,a and ,b and gives a tap on the ring4 ,he then gets ,a and ,b to hold the stick once more and persuades ,c1 who is assisting with the handkerchief1 to hold it over the middle of the stick4 ,the performer holds the corner of the handkerchief and instructs ,c to let go his hold on the word three4 ,one6 two6 three6 ,the handkerchief is sharply pulled away and the borrowed ring is seen to be spinning on the middle of the stick6 ,illustration3 ,shah ,mahommed with two assistants for ,the ,ring on the ,stick4 ,this is how it is done4 ,the stick is an ordinary one1 thin enough to pass easily through a wedding ring4 ,the only prepared article is the handkerchief1 in one corner of which is a duplicate wedding ring sewn into a small pocket4 ,it does not matter whether or no it is exactly similar to the ring that is borrowed1 as the performer takes care that the owner of the borrowed ring does not get a chance of feeling the duplicate even through the folds of the handkerchief4 ,when the performer takes the borrowed ring to fold in the handkerchief1 he folds the one that is already sewn in it1 and secretes the borrowed ring in his hand4 ,he takes the stick from ,a and ,b to tap on the ring folded in the handkerchief1 really to slide the borrowed ring into the middle of it4 ,he hands the stick back to be held by ,a and ,b but keeps his hand over the ring now on it1 thus concealing it until it is covered by the handkerchief4 ,when the handkerchief is pulled away on the word three it takes with it the ring sewn into its corner and as it brushes the stick it makes the borrowed ring on the stick revolve apparently as if it had just arrived in that position4 ,for simplicity's sake let us take the various moves as they occur4 ,a4 ,borrow a stick and hand it round for examination4 ,b4 ,get ,a and ,b to hold it at the ends4 ,c4 ,borrow a wedding ring4 ,d4 ,take the handkerchief from the pocket4 7,the duplicate ring sewn in the corner being held preferably in the right hand47 ,e4 ,pretend to wrap up the borrowed ring in the handkerchief1 in reality wrapping up the corner ring1 and secrete the borrowed ring in the right hand4 ,f4 ,take the stick from ,a and ,b and tap the folded ring with it1 now being held by ,c4 ,while doing so1 slip the borrowed ring into the middle of the stick4 ,g4 ,hand the stick back to ,a and ,b but keep the hand on the stick over the ring4 ,h4 ,get ,c to cover this hand with the handkerchief1 holding the ring over the middle of the stick and instruct him to let go on the word three4 ,a neat little trick that can be performed by anybody who takes the trouble to practice it a couple of times4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,glass ,,box ,the ,glass ,box and ,ball4 ,the next trick presented to us is usually the glass box and woollen ball4 ,the performer takes a very badly constructed glass box through which one can see in any direction4 ,he covers this with a handkerchief and places it on the ground4 ,having played his bean for some moments he takes up the box4 ,there is a loud click1 and snatching away the handkerchief the ,jadoo-wallah shows the box filled with a variegated cloth ball4 ,he opens the lid1 takes the ball out1 and after casually showing it to the audience thrusts it into his bag4 ,he is inordinately proud of this effort1 as he assures one that it is from ,bilayat 7,england71 a slander that is at once discountenanced by a glimpse at the box1 obviously made by the most indifferent teen banane wallah 7tinsmith7 that ever had the impertinence to undertake to make anything4 ,illustration ,the construction of the box is shewn in the diagram below4 ,its sides are of glass but the top and bottom are of tin4 ,before presenting the trick a cloth ball1 made of a spiral spring covered with cloth1 7triangular pieces of different colours sewn together71 is compressed and placed between the bottom of the box and a glass flap which is pressed down over it until caught by a pin at the back of the box4 ,when the ball is to appear1 this pin is pressed and the catch releases the glass flap4 ,the spring in the ball forces it up against one of the sides while the ball fills the box and holds the flap up4 ,illustration ,it is a most futile trick with little effect and usually uncommonly badly shewn4 ,but the man of mystery himself is delighted with it and thinks it is the best trick in his repertoire4 ,the ,bunder ,boat4 ,our next trick--so called because the toy boat used is intended to be a miniature of the harbour or bander boat used in ,bombay--is a trick which depends entirely on natural principles1 and only needs a careful eye to time its required patter4 ,it is a trick that is more commonly shewn in the ,bombay districts than elsewhere1 though there is no reason why it should not have travelled throughout ,india since its invention countless years ago4 ,illustration3 ,small hole out of which the water pours into the boat while the bottom of the mast is free of the water in the boat4 ,cocoa-nut shell full of water ,hollow mast ,hole through which the water leaks4 ,this leakage is not observed owing to the careless767 spilling of the water referred to in the text4 ,a piece of wood cut into the shape of a boat is placed on the ground1 and a mast about #ab inches high is fixed into its one and only seat by being firmly pressed into the hole cut through the seat4 ,to the top of the mast is affixed a cocoa-nut shell which has a small hole cut into it about one third of the way up4 ,prior to the fixing of the mast and the shell1 the boat and the shell are filled with water4 ,the bottom of the mast--which is hollowed down its centre--just touches the top of the water in the boat4 ,while filling the articles with water the performer carelessly--very carelessly--spills some on the ground all round the boat4 ,he then blows his bean4 ,after a short interval he orders water to pour out of the hole in the shell4 ,it does so until he tells it to stop4 ,he again blows his bean4 ,again he orders the water to pour out of the shell4 ,again it pours out until told to stop4 ,and so on until the shell is quite empty and the trick is at an end4 ,wonderful isn't it8 ,marvellous6 ,mahatmaism6 ,now let us have the explanation4 ,the cocoa-nut shell is full of water4 ,it has only one outlet1 the small hole in its side4 ,this is so small that the air cannot get in to let the water out4 ,the only way the air can get in is up the hollowed mast1 the bottom of which is immersed in the water in the boat4 ,there is a small hole in the bottom of the boat through which the water in it leaks away4 ,this lowers the water until it has cleared from the bottom of the mast through which a puff of air goes up into the shell1 allowing some of the water in the shell to pour out into the water in the boat4 ,now the water from the shell pours out in greater volume into the boat than the water that is leaking out of the boat4 ,this fills it up again until the bottom of the mast is again immersed1 stopping any air going up into the shell and the water stops pouring out of it4 ,the performer drones away on his musical instrument until he sees that the water level in the boat is just about to clear the bottom of the mast4 ,he then orders the water to come out of the shell4 ,he watches until the newly added water to that in the boat is about to cover the bottom of the mast again1 and then gives that wonderful and much used order ,bus that1 possibly1 many of my readers may use from time to time after the sun has set4 ,the water stops pouring out of the mast4 ,wonderful isn't it8 ,mahatma4 ,ghandi ki ,jai6 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,bowl ,,of ,,rice ,a surprising little trick was once shewn to me by a performer whose exhibition of magic was otherwise of a very low class4 ,he borrowed a lota or brass water bowl of one of the servants4 ,these lotas are invariably so shaped that the circumference of the top is about half that of the widest part1 thus3-- ,illustration ,he then borrowed some uncooked rice with which he proceeded to fill the bowl to its utmost capacity4 ,while doing so he kept on bumping the bowl on the ground so that the rice was packed as closely as possible inside it1 until finally one could see the last few grains in a pyramid on top4 ,he then borrowed a large table knife1 and as it were1 stabbed it into the rice down into the bowl4 ,little stabs at first1 and then deeper and deeper until the whole of the blade of the knife was in the rice1 and the handle alone remained to be seen4 ,after an incantation and jadoo-music1 he caught hold of the handle and raised the bowl and the rice slowly into space4 ,he then swung it to and fro and eventually spun round and round1 holding the handle of the knife while the bowl and its contents of rice clung tenaciously to the blade4 ,beginning to slow down1 he at last replaced the bowl on the ground1 extracted the knife and handed it to me for examination4 ,he emptied the bowl pouring the rice into some paper laid out to receive it4 ,the closest scrutiny revealed no trace of gadgets or of any artifice that had enabled him to thus lift the filled bowl4 ,a small bribe could not tempt him to reveal the secret1 and in such cases ,i make it a rule to try the trick exactly as ,i have seen it done4 ,i took a similar bowl1 filled it with rice1 and stabbed it with a table knife4 ,gently at first and then more firmly4 ,to my astonishment ,i found that after three or four stabs in exactly the same place1 the rice below the blade seemed to get harder1 until ,i pressed down the knife and found that ,i could not extract it with a straight pull6 ,i lifted the bowl of rice1 and could with impunity swing it round over my head just as one uses an ,indian club4 ,to extract the knife one has to twist the handle slightly1 when it comes out immediately4 ,try it and see4 ,the ,coloured ,sands4 ,occasionally our conjuring friend breaks out from the stereotyped programme already described1 and one of the most common additions to his programme is the coloured sand trick4 ,he has a bowl of water on the ground1 and from a number of small packets of paper he takes a corresponding number of different coloured powders4 ,let us say ,green1 ,red1 ,white1 ,orange and ,blue4 ,he pours all these into the bowl of water1 which assumes a dirty blue colour when stirred up well4 ,finally1 from a box containing common sand he puts two or three handsfull into the basin of water and thoroughly mixes up the contents of the bowl4 ,he then asks his audience which coloured sand they would like extracted from the water4 ,the reply may be green4 ,wet or dry8 asks the conjuror4 ,let us ask for dry4 ,he dips his hand into the water and grasping1 apparently1 a handful of the mixture1 draws it out again1 and squeezes out a shower of dry green sand1 unmixed with any other colour6 ,now what colour will you have8 asks the magician4 ,let us ask for wet blue sand4 ,he dips his empty hand into the water1 and draws out a handful of wet blue sand1 for1 when he opens his hand1 a damp ball of blue sand falls on to the ground4 ,he can deal with the other coloured sands in the same way1 bringing out each colour separately1 and wet or dry as desired4 ,how on earth is it done8 ,the different coloured sands or powders are put into the water in a fair and square manner4 ,but the solution of the trick is to be found in the way in which he puts the common sand into the water4 ,this common sand is kept in a box1 and in it are little balls of prepared powders or sand of colours corresponding to those already put into the water4 ,these balls are prepared by being mixed with a little water1 rolled into a ball1 which is smeared all over with grease1 and then baked until dry4 ,each ball can then be immersed in water for a minute or so without crumbling or being damaged by the water4 ,these balls are put into the common sand box1 so that they are only just visible to the performer4 ,he puts his hand into the box and extracts a handful of common sand1 together with a ball of powder4 ,he thrusts his hand into the bowl leaving the ball immersed1 and notes its position4 ,he again takes a handful of common sand and with it another ball which he places in the water4 ,similarly he places all the coloured balls into the water1 under the guise of adding plenty of common sand1 to make the trick more difficult and wonderful4 ,he notes very carefully the position of each coloured ball as he puts it into the water1 as when immersed they cannot be seen either by him or the audience1 owing to the dirty blue-ishness of the whole mixture4 ,the audience now select the colour of the powder to be extracted4 ,the performer remembers the position of the required ball and takes it out4 ,if it is to be poured out wet1 he opens his hand and drops it on to the ground4 ,if it is wanted ,dry1 by squeezing the ball1 its baked shell is cracked and its contents pour out4 ,there is no difficulty in performing the trick4 ,it is very effective and one that is included in the programme of many ,european conjurors1 though their modus operandi is more efficient and needs less preparation4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,a ,,rope ,,trick ,the only rope trick ,i have ever seen performed by an ,indian conjuror1 is that of ,the cut string restored1 as it is called in ,england4 ,the idea is to get one of the audience to cut a piece of string or rope ostensibly in half and by magic to restore it1 without the use of knots4 ,illustration3 ,,preliminaries ,,of ,,the ,,restored ,,rope4 ,the only rope trick that ,i have ever seen performed in ,india4 ,the explanation of this trick is given in many books for beginners in ,magic4 ,the author of ,modern ,magic--the best work to my mind on ,elementary conjuring--says of it ,this trick is of such venerable antiquity1 that we should not have ventured to allude to it1 were it not that the mode of working1 which we are about to describe1 though old in principle is new in detail and much superior in neatness to the generally known methods4 ,after offering the rope for thorough examination ,shah ,mahommed took the two ends and manipulated the rope in such a manner that when it was held out to be cut it was in this wise3-- ,illustration ,held at ,a by the left hand and at ,b by the right4 ,it was cut at x and consequently was in two pieces not of equal length1 but of which one was practically the whole length of the rope while the other was the piece ,,ax1 or possibly some six inches long4 ,while gathering up the rope to be magically restored1 the old scoundrel simply got rid of this small piece and showed the longer one as the restored rope4 ,to go into details and to give the drill as to how to get the string or rope into the required position would be tedious and difficult to understand4 ,the illustration1 ,i trust1 explains sufficiently clearly the secret of the trick1 and if one tries to get it into this position it will be found quite easy to do1 chacun a son gout4 ,shah ,mahommed made quite a feature of the trick1 using two assistants for it1 one to hold the rope occasionally and the other to cut it4 ,the first time ,i remember seeing it was when ,uncle ,george showed it to me on my fourth birthday1 many long weary years ago4 ,illustration ,the string 7as shewn in the above illustration7 being held for the audience to cut at x4 ,,the ,,swastika ,i remember on one occasion some #bj years ago1 being very puzzled by a trick that is often performed in ,bengal4 ,the magician gets from one of the servants a broken chatti or earthenware bowl4 ,he selects a piece about two inches square and asks one of his audience to draw upon it with a piece of charcoal1 borrowed from the ,khansamah or cook1 the sign of the ,swastika1 with which most people are familiar4 ,illustration ,the draftsman is then requested to place the piece of earthenware or tile on the ground and after gazing intently at the ,swastika to crush it to powder with the heel of his boot4 ,these instructions are accordingly carried out4 ,the man of magic now asks his assistant to look at the palm of his hand and see that there is no mark upon it4 ,there is no mark4 ,the hand is then held out palm upwards over the powdered tile and the assistant is told to gaze at it intently4 ,after a few seconds the performer turns the assistant's hand over so that it is now palm downwards4 ,a little music on the bean1 a magic pass1 a mystic word1 and the assistant is requested to look at the palm of his hand1 when to his astonishment1 there is a distinct mark of the ,swastika upon it6 ,truly a miracle6 ,the trick is a most effective one1 and when well performed1 with intervals for gazing at the dust1 the clean palm1 mystic words and so forth1 it would baffle most audiences4 ,yet it is simplicity itself1 and this is the secret4 ,when the ,swastika is drawn on the piece of tile1 the performer in placing it on the ground to be trodden upon1 puts his thumb on the drawing1 and thereby gets an inverse print of it on the ball of his thumb4 ,the tile is powdered and the hand held palm upwards over it4 ,when turning the assistant's hand palm downwards1 the conjuror does so with his fingers at the back of the assistant's hand and the thumb on the clean palm1 leaving the imprint of the ,swastika upon it4 ,a rub with his thumb on his garment1 or the ground1 removes instantly all trace of the medium between the tile and the assistant's palm4 ,charcoal must be used as it is soft to write with and gives the best imprints4 ,an ,,hh pencil for instance1 might do1 but the imprint would be hardly visible on the palm4 ,i consider this little trick to be one of the most mystifying of the ,indian conjuror4 ,,the ,,egg ,,bag ,an effective little trick usually follows that of the ,cut and ,restored ,string in the form of an egg being put into a small bag4 ,a magic pass is made over the mouth of the bag1 which is then turned inside out1 stamped upon if necessary1 and slapped all over to show that it is quite empty and that the egg has disappeared4 ,at will1 and with another magic pass1 the egg reappears from the bag when it is turned over1 mouth downwards4 ,illustration3 ,shah ,mahommed performing the ,egg bag trick4 ,the secret lies in the fact that the bag1 which is of some opaque material1 and is nine inches deep and six inches broad1 has one of its sides double4 ,the easiest way to make such a bag is to take a piece of cloth six inches broad and #bd inches long4 ,fold six inches of one end over and then turn the other end to where the cloth has been folded4 ,stitch up either side1 thus making a bag4 ,when the egg is put in1 it drops to the bottom of the bag4 ,when the performer dips his hand in again to take out the egg1 in doing so he slips it into the pocket formed inside1 and leaves it there1 bringing his hand out empty and from which the egg has disappeared4 ,the bag being turned inside out does not expose the egg which is in the inner pocket4 ,when treading on or slapping the bag1 care should of course be taken to miss the egg4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,dancing ,,duck ,as his last trick was with water the ,jadoo-wallah sensibly enough proceeds to show another with water1 though an ,english conjuror would separate such tricks from an artistic point of view1 thinking that a change of diet in magic is just as necessary as it is in a meal4 ,the trick is that of the dancing duck4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,dancing ,,duck1 performed with an enamel bowl instead of the cocoa-nut shell4 ,a half cocoa-nut shell is dug out of the bag4 ,it is wrapped up in a piece of cloth and very carefully unfolded1 for reasons that will be apparent later4 ,in this shell is a little wooden duck4 ,the shell is placed on the ground and filled with water upon which the duck floats4 ,the performer takes his tom tom and while playing it the duck begins to dance1 as it were1 upon the water4 ,after an interval it is commanded to pay its obeisances or in other words1 to salaam1 which it does by going right under water4 ,on the word bas it comes up again4 ,and so forth and so on4 ,it is a clever little trick and we will now see how it is done4 ,the cocoa-nut shell has a hole through the bottom of it4 ,through this hole passes a horse hair that is attached at one end to the duck and at the other to a piece of bees wax4 ,the hair is about two feet long4 ,the whole apparatus is wrapped in a piece of cloth as otherwise the horse hair would get unwound and broken4 ,when placing it on the ground1 the bees wax enables the performer to see where the end of the hair is when unwound4 ,the shell is filled with water1 some being carelessly spilt to prevent the leakage through the little hole at the bottom being too noticeable4 ,when picking up his tom-tom the performer also picks up the bees wax1 and attaching it to the tom-tom the arrangements are complete4 ,bringing the tom-tom closer to the body makes the duck dive under water4 ,the ordinary shaking of the drum makes the duck dance4 ,this is not a trick that can be conveniently shewn by ,europeans1 because of the inconvenience of doing it on the ground4 ,the leakage of the water is not so apparent on the earth1 which hides the horse hair4 ,but at a small distance the trick can be done on a table1 as the horse hair is quite invisible at a range of five feet1 especially when it is against a dark back ground4 ,it can be easily made or bought for a few annas1 and with good patter presents a neat little after dinner experiment4 ,the ,mango ,tree ,trick4 ,to my mind it is amazing what a spurious reputation this trick has gained4 ,from a technical point of view1 it is possibly the worst performance of the ,indian conjuror4 ,from a physiological point of view the gullibility of the audience is astounding4 ,wherever one goes in ,england1 ,france or ,america1 in fact anywhere out of ,india1 and the conversation turns to ,magic1 one is asked about the ,mango ,tree trick1 and whether one has seen it done4 ,i have heard the most gorgeously elaborated descriptions of this trick1 given not only by persons who had heard about it but1 ,i regret to say1 by persons who said that they had seen it done4 ,on one occasion on board ship a ,eurasian1 who hailed from ---- and indulged in the ,mahommedan name of ,macpherson1 gave me the following details of the trick as he had seen it performed1 of course many many years ago4 ,when he was only two years old ,i expect4 ,a conjuror came into the compound1 and my father told him to clear out4 ,the man1 however1 persisted in remaining1 saying that he had something very wonderful to show us4 ,my father eventually agreed to watch the performance4 ,we all sat down on the verandah1 which was of solid concrete1 and the ,jadoo-wallah took off his dhoti or loin cloth1 and squatted in front of us4 ,he produced a mango stone and put it under some loose earth1 which he had gathered up from our own garden4 ,he played on his flute1 and as he did so the stone began to sprout until the little shrub was about two inches high4 ,he then watered it a little and again began playing the most beautiful music to it4 ,the little plant grew higher and higher as he did so1 until it was quite two feet high with a number of leaves upon it4 ,he then watered it a second time1 and again played his flute until the tree was four feet high with fruit on it4 ,he then stopped his music and cut one of the mangoes off the tree1 which my father ate and found to be delicious4 ,that was ,macpherson's story4 ,i have never seen the trick done this way1 and do not know of anyone who has4 ,but ,i have an explanation to give4 ,in fact four explanations4 ,these are3-- ,that ,macpherson and ,baron ,muenchausen were relations4 ,that ,macpherson's cousin was ,louis de ,rougement4 ,that the trick as above was explained to me late at night1 after ,macpherson had had one or two4 ,that it was never done at all4 ,of course ,i do not want to call ,macpherson a liar4 ,it would be rude4 ,he is a bigger man than ,i am1 and he might meet me again4 ,i will now describe the mango trick as ,i have seen it performed many many times4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,preliminary ,,stage ,,of ,,the ,,mango ,,tree ,,trick as shewn by ,shah ,mahommed4 ,the ,jadoo-wallah1 sitting under the porch and not upon a concrete verandah1 heaps up some earth in front of him4 ,he wets this until it has the consistency of mud4 ,he then places in this little mound a mango stone and covers the whole with a cloth4 ,he plays the bean and takes away the cloth when the heap is found to be as before4 ,he takes the lid of his basket1 and covering it with the cloth1 places it over the heap of mud propping up one end of it1 that towards himself1 with a little piece of stick4 ,more bean4 ,he then takes away the lid and cloth4 ,still no result4 ,he puts back the covering again4 7,i am going to call this point ,a for my explanation47 ,after a certain amount of manipulation1 during which is heard the rustling of leaves1 he lifts it up and ,lo6 and behold6 there is a small plant in view4 ,he administers to it with water and adjusts its leaves4 ,he again goes through the same performance as above4 ,each time that he takes away the basket cover the tree has grown larger4 ,the most developed finale that ,i have seen1 is when the tree was about two feet high with a number of leaves and two diminutive unripe mangoes on it4 ,my explanation will rob those who like to imagine that magic pure and simple1 accounts for the ,mango ,tree trick of a great deal of their enjoyment in that belief4 ,the making of the loose earth into a mud pie is necessary1 because1 otherwise the bits of branches that are to be stuck into it from time to time will not stand upright4 ,at the point ,a referred to above1 when the performer takes the basket lid away1 with the cloth he picks up a small bundle by his side which contains a small piece of a mango twig with two or three leaves upon it4 ,under cover of the replaced lid he undoes the bundle1 gets out the twig1 and sticks it into the mud heap pressing it firmly down1 so that it stands erect and appears to have grown there4 ,he plays a little music and carries away the lid1 and with it the empty rag that contained the twig4 ,he places the lid on the ground and so gets rid of the rag4 ,while his audience are showing their surprise at the development of the twig1 he picks up still another larger bundle containing a still bigger branch of a mango tree4 ,he replaces the lid1 and under cover of it unfolds the bundle1 gets out the branch1 adds it to the twig already in the mud heap and makes all secure by again pressing down the mud4 ,illustration3 ,,conclusion ,,of ,,the ,,mango ,,tree ,,trick4 ,finally he plants in the same way1 the branch which has possibly two mangoes upon it4 ,it might even have ripe fruit1 the means of getting them there being just the same1 though the ripe fruit being brought to view will of course depend upon the season of the year at which the trick is being shewn4 ,when the necessary monetary subscription that follows this trick has been completed1 the ,jadoo-wallah sweeps the branches1 earth1 and all away in one fell destructive swoop which does not allow his audience to ascertain whether or no the tree had any roots4 ,occasionally1 instead of the basket lid1 the magician uses three sticks tied together in the form of a tripod over which he places his cloth under which he works his mysteries4 ,this was the method of ,ghaus ,mahommed4 ,many of my readers may say that the above cannot be the explanation of the trick4 ,all ,i can say is1 that the next time they see the mango trick being performed1 let them take a copy of this little book and refer to it as the trick progresses1 when ,i feel confident that they will accept this true and only explanation4 ,if they are still unbelievers1 or rather believers in the real ,magic of the trick1 let them offer untold gold to any man who will do the ,mango ,tree trick in ,india in ,january1 or ,february1 culminating in the tree having ripe or unripe fruit upon it4 ,as far as ,i know1 the ,mango ,tree does not give fruit in these two months and the money will never be forfeited4 ,now that we know the explanation1 does it not strike the reader as amazing that such a crude1 simple trick should have gained the reputation it has done4 ,i can only attribute the fact to persons like our ,mahommedan and ,scotch friend ,macpherson1 who tell traveller's yarns until they in time begin to believe them themselves4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,basket ,,trick ,when we discussed the ,mango ,tree trick1 ,i commented unfavourably upon the veracity of our friend ,macpherson4 ,let me here state definitely that there is no such person as far as ,i know1 though the description of the trick as ,i have given it1 was related to me word for word in the smoking room of an outward bound ship4 ,it was capped by some one saying that they had seen the tree grown without earth1 on the deck of a steamer on its way to ,australia4 ,i make no comment on this version of the ,mango ,tree trick4 ,there are many people who describe tricks to me and ask how they could have been done4 ,some of these baffle all explanation4 ,they are so marvellous1 that ,i am convinced that they have never been done and could never be performed4 ,such tricks as described to me are usually the fruit of a vivid imagination1 pure and simple4 ,as an instance of this1 ,i will relate an incident that happened some time ago in ,calcutta4 ,i gave a performance in a public place in which ,i did a billiard ball trick4 ,in the trick1 the greatest number of billiard balls that ,i have at any one time in my hands is two4 ,throughout the whole of the trick ,i use no more than one red1 two white1 and two smaller white balls4 ,five in all4 ,after the performance1 ,i was having a well earned drink1 when a complete stranger to me asked if ,i had seen that chap who did the tricks4 ,i could truthfully answer no and did so4 ,he was an absolute marvel1 said the stranger there he was on the stage in evening dress with both arms bared 7,i never bare my arms7 and he produced the whole set of pool balls1 every single colour of them4 ,this was said to me within ten minutes of my having performed the trick1 and the five balls that ,i used had been exaggerated into sixteen or seventeen4 ,i forget how many balls are used at the game of ,pool4 ,the ,french ,police truthfully say that no two untrained persons can describe accurately in detail a scene witnessed an hour previously4 ,i am sure that all our ,indian judges can verify this statement4 ,it can be easily proved by any one of my readers trying with his friends4 ,it is this inability to accurately describe what has been seen that assists the conjuror so much in deceiving his audience4 ,it is this inability which unfortunately results in rumours being spread of wonderful performances being given by magicians in distant lands1 notably the ,rope trick1 with which ,i will deal later4 ,such rumours and stories are started by persons who from bravado will swear that they have seen this1 that1 and the other1 in order generally to be the centre of their astounded listeners4 ,a trick that is most frequently described is that known as the ,basket trick1 which is in my opinion the chef d'oeuvre of the ,indian ,jadoo-wallah4 ,it is a wonderful bluff usually wonderfully shewn4 ,a perfectly good basket is placed on the ground4 ,it is shewn to be quite empty and devoid of any trap1 false bottoms or other mechanism4 ,after a well conducted altercation with his assistant1 a small boy1 the performer tells him to get into the basket4 ,the boy attempts to do so1 but finds that it is too small to contain more than his feet and legs doubled up4 ,the ,jadoo-wallah presses forward the little boy's head and this leaves only his shoulders and back visible4 ,a large cloth of thick texture is then thrown over the little boy who is half in and half out of the basket1 and the lid is balanced on top of all4 ,a little more altercation ensues when the ,maestro takes a big stick and aims a mighty blow at the basket4 ,as the blow falls the lid sinks down on to the top of the basket1 and a terrible silence is the result4 ,the ,jadoo-wallah realises that he has killed his assistant1 and1 if a good showman1 bewails his lot suitably4 ,he then decides to get rid of the body and1 in some cases1 to restore it to life again4 ,in order to show that a tune on the bean has the required effect of making the body disappear1 he lifts the lid of the basket and first with one foot and then the other steps on to the cloth covering the basket and presses it down to the bottom4 ,there is nothing in the basket6 ,to further prove the emptiness of the basket he replaces the lid1 through the middle of which there is a hole1 and through this hole thrusts down in all directions a sword4 ,occasionally he thrusts it through the sides4 ,there is nothing in the basket4 ,the body has disappeared4 ,this ends the trick1 though on occasions the performer orders the lad to re-appear from the end of the garden1 or elsewhere4 ,the collection is made1 the basket is hitched up on the shoulder pole and with his bag of tricks the ,jadoo-wallah moves on to the next bungalow4 ,how can it be done8 ,illustration ,first let us note carefully the shape of the basket4 ,it is oblong1 about two feet high with a bulge in all its sides1 so that the bottom of the basket is larger than the top4 ,when the boy gets into the basket he places both feet into it and sits down1 filling the basket thus3-- ,illustration ,when the performer pushes his head forward the boy gets into this position3-- ,illustration ,the cloth is then thrown over all1 the boy and the basket1 and while the lid is being placed on top1 and the altercation continues1 the boy gets into this position1 holding the basket lid up with one hand4 ,illustration ,the lid of the basket being held up like this causes the audience to think that his former position is unaltered4 ,if one were to take away the cloth and look inside the basket one would see the boy lying something like this4 ,illustration ,the performer takes away the lid which the boy has allowed to sink into its proper place after the terrible blow with the big stick1 and to show the emptiness of the basket1 puts his feet into the basket1 between the body and bent up legs of the boy1 and sits down on top of the assistant4 ,by doing so he pushes the cloth down close on to the boy4 ,he then gets out again1 replaces the lid and thrusts the sword through the hole in the lid twisting it in all directions4 ,were it not for the thickness of the cloth1 which is by now close to the body of the boy by reason of the performer having pressed it down by sitting in the basket1 the sword would certainly hurt the little chap4 ,incidentally the sword is none too sharp4 ,the sword is withdrawn and pushed through the sides1 above the body of the boy4 ,the basket is proved undeniably empty4 ,if my readers doubt this explanation1 let them offer the ,jadoo-wallah1 at this stage of the game1 two thousand rupees to be allowed to fire a ,no4 #h cartridge from a #ab bore gun from a range of thirty yards at the empty basket4 ,the performer will not accept the offer unless he values the boy at less than two thousand rupees and has a good chance of escaping arrest for murder4 ,i have offered it twice with impunity4 ,the trick divides into two endings4 ,one can always tell which ending it will have by a glance at the basket4 ,if it has two ropes which pass underneath it1 permanently attached1 the betting is that the boy will appear from the end of the garden4 ,the reason of this is that after the re-appearance of the boy--a duplicate of the one in the basket--the permanent ropes on the basket allow it to be hitched up on the shoulder pole and carried away1 with the disappeared boy still inside it4 ,when the ,jadoo-wallah gets round the corner1 the little assistant gets out while his impersonator goes a round about way into the next compound ready to re-appear at the end of the next performance of the trick4 ,if the basket has no ropes attached to it1 odds are on the performance ending by the magician apologising profusely to his ,gods who restore the boy from the depths of the basket again4 ,the performer in this case has no duplicate1 and the trick if well presented is almost as effective as the other1 with the more elaborate ending4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,indian ,,rope ,,trick ,we have now gone through the average performance of the ,indian ,jadoo-wallah and have1 ,i trust1 some idea at any rate of how his tricks are done4 ,though this is as far as ,i know the first time that such explanations have been published in detail ,i do not want anyone to accuse me of trying to deprive the poor fellow of his means of livelihood1 which is far from my intention4 ,in fact1 though people who have read these pages have a glimmering of how he does his tricks1 few of these will be able to imitate them1 and those who are really interested will probably call in the next ,jadoo-wallah that appears1 to get him to give his show with the intention of checking my explanations while the tricks are being performed4 ,i sincerely trust that this will be the case as ,i shall have done at least one ,jadoo-wallah a good turn4 ,it is true that conjurors have a code of honour--this may not be believed of such deceptive people--in that they do not divulge each others tricks which are performed exclusively4 ,for instance1 suppose that ,mr4 ,a invented a new trick and showed it to ,mr4 ,b1 who is also a finished artist4 ,though ,mr4 ,b could see the modus operandi of the trick he would be quite unjustified in giving it away or in doing the trick himself without the permission of ,mr4 ,a4 ,this is an inviolate law of ,members of the ,magic ,circle and applies equally1 or should do1 to showmen who do not belong to the circle4 ,there is no harm1 however1 in one of us explaining tricks that have been performed for centuries and are almost common property4 ,these tricks have lost1 as it were1 their patent rights4 ,personally1 ,i do not mind explaining any tricks of my own that ,i am certain an unskilled person could never possibly do4 ,having completed the average programme of our ,jadoo-wallah1 ,i feel sure that people will say to each other ,yes but what about the ,rope trick8 ,he cannot explain that and has avoided the best known trick of all ,indian conjuring tricks4 ,in self-defence therefore1 we will deal with the ,great ,rope trick4 ,i will describe it as it has been described to me4 ,the performer1 in one's own compound1 throws up the end of an ordinary rope into the air4 ,by some mysterious means this end remains suspended in mid-air1 without any visible means of support1 so much so that the little boy assistant climbs up the rope to its very highest point1 whence1 after an interval1 he entirely disappears4 ,the performer then takes a sword and waves it in the air1 when the legs and arms1 disjointed1 and finally the trunk and head of the little boy fall with a profusion of blood upon the ground at the foot of the rope4 ,by means of an incantation these resume their natural positions1 and the little boy gets up and walks off1 apparently none the worse for his most trying ordeal4 ,this trick was first described in writing by one ,,ibn ,,batuta1 an ,arab1 who made a journey round the world about the year #acfh4 7,i am not quite sure of this date74 ,as far as ,i remember he saw it in ,china4 ,he gives the most blood curdling description of the trick1 and ends up with so much so that we had to have another drink4 ,please note the expression another drink4 ,i am of opinion that this other little drink did all the harm4 ,missionaries have from time to time stated that they have seen this trick performed1 though in no instance do they give the place or the name of the wonderful man who did it4 ,although ,i have been most anxious to see the trick for the last twenty-three years1 during which period ,i would gladly have travelled from one end of ,india to the other to do so1 ,i have never yet met anyone who has definitely told me that he with his own eyes had seen the trick4 ,there is one exception to this statement1 an ,irish bandmaster of a ,gurkha regiment1 who was ,i think1 trying to pull my leg4 ,i have met innumerable people whose aunt's sister's cousin saw it done1 but never have ,i had the pleasure of meeting anyone directly deceived by it4 ,a reward of a year's pay has been open to every sepoy 7or ,indian soldier7 ,i have met1 who has seen the trick and can give me the name and residence of the performer4 ,this for #bc years4 ,so far there have been no acceptances4 ,eminent conjurors have travelled throughout ,india on purpose to get into touch with any man who does the trick1 but their travels have been in vain4 ,large rewards have been offered for such a meeting1 and larger still for the performance of the trick4 ,one single performance only1 not the exposition of it4 ,these rewards have never been claimed4 ,the late ,mr4 ,charles ,bertram was one of these eminent men1 and though he travelled twice throughout ,india1 he returned to ,england without having been shewn the trick4 ,in #aiah1 ,captain ,holmes1 ,v4,c41 gave a lecture on this illusion before the members of the ,magic ,circle at ,anderton's ,hotel1 ,fleet ,street1 ,london1 at which all the press correspondents of the leading news-papers were present4 ,he produced a snapshot of a man purporting to be showing the ,rope ,trick in ,poona1 or ,kirkee1 one of its suburbs4 ,captain ,holmes explained that though the boy did climb up what he 7,holmes7 thought was a rope1 he did not disappear at the top1 nor did the disgusting exhibition of blood and disjointed limbs take place4 ,this snapshot was carefully examined through a powerful magnifying glass1 and the supposed rope had distinct joints in it similar to any bamboo pole1 which ,japanese jugglers use when showing the feat of balancing a pole on their chins and allowing a boy to climb to its top4 ,a trick that most of us have seen many times in the music halls of ,london4 ,at his lecture1 ,captain ,holmes stated that he did not see the man throw the rope up into the air1 as he arrived late just in time to take a photo of the boy while in the air4 ,many explanations have been given from time to time as to how this mythical trick has been done4 ,the most amusing is that which was quoted at the ,mass ,meeting referred to above1 and as far as my memory goes ,i will quote it here4 ,the trick is performed during the heat of the day1 when the sun is at its zenith4 ,the performer gets his audience to sit in a verandah facing the most powerful glare of the sun4 ,the rope is thrown up and the boy climbs to its topmost end4 ,on the explosion of a gun the boy completely disappears only to re-appear from the other side of the house or garden4 ,the explanation is simple1 on the sound of the gun1 when the audience are somewhat startled1 the boy jumps from the rope on to the top of the verandah up which he climbs1 coming down the other side of the house and re-appears4 ,i make no comment on this explanation4 ,it is not worthy of one4 ,it is done by mesmerism4 ,how many times have ,i heard this futile remark when discussing the ,rope trick4 ,what always defeats me is this4 ,supposing it could be done by mesmerism1 why does this wonderful mesmerist1 hypnotist1 or suggestionist limit his powers1 marvellous as they are1 to making people believe that they see a boy climb up a rope4 ,why does he not make people believe that he is ,mahatma ,ghandi and the ,ali brothers rolled into one8 ,as the trick is done for a means of livelihood1 why does he not make people see him as ,dr4 ,barnardo asking for funds for charities4 ,his limitations are unbounded1 yet he sticks to this absurd rope and the boy climbing up it4 ,tum tua res agito paries cum proximus ardet4 ,i do not know what this ,latin quotation means1 but ,i would like it to convey don't you think it rot yourself8 ,ask any medical man about the explanation of hypnotism and kindred other isms being accountable for the performance of this trick4 ,i understand that a hypnotist can persuade a patient to believe that his finger is momentarily stiff1 and that when released from this suggestion1 the patient can remember that it had been made to him4 ,but in order to persuade a person that he sees such a thing as a rope being thrown in the air and so forth1 that person must be so much under the influence that when he is released from it he is totally unable to remember what he saw when under the trance4 ,how then1 can he describe what he saw when he comes to8 ,some people say that photos have been taken of the trick and that when the plate was developed it was found to be blank4 ,as ,i say1 a person to be sufficiently mesmerised to imagine that he sees the trick being done1 must perforce be so much under the influence that he cannot remember what he saw or anything that he did when under that influence4 ,how does he know that he took a photo8 ,or that anyone else took one8 ,or remember anything at all about it8 ,i hope that the above arguments will do away with the plea of mesmeric power being accountable for this myth4 ,the plea is to my mind too absurd for words1 yet it is wonderful that many people put it forward in all good faith4 ,while on the subject of photography1 let me now point out that although the magicians of ,europe and ,america have for ages been trying to get in touch with the trick1 and although the ubiquitous ,kodak has been in vogue for at least thirty years1 not one single photo or snapshot is available that depicts any part or portion of this trick4 ,if there is such a snapshot1 and its owner cares to communicate with me through my publishers1 ,i can get him a good price for the plate or film1 even for a copy of the picture4 ,a really handsome price for it4 ,to sum up ,i maintain that the trick has never been performed out of doors4 ,that is to say that a rope thrown up into the air has not remained suspended in mid-air1 nor has any boy ever climbed up it4 ,that when at the top he has not disappeared and that after his disappearance he did not come down in bits1 covered with blood or otherwise4 ,i further maintain that no one has seen this trick1 as described above1 or in any way similar to the above description1 who can come forward to give the approximate date1 of such a performance1 the place1 and the names of the performer1 his assistants1 or of any two other persons who saw the trick done at that time and place4 ,i only wish there might be such a person4 ,we might then get in touch with the ,indian ,rope trick and ,ibn ,batuta's character might be vindicated4 ,i offer ,rs4 #ejjj4 7,l#cjj7 to anyone who will show me the ,rope ,trick in the open4 ,this amount will be payable to anyone who will arrange that the trick is performed for my benefit1 in my presence4 ,the trick must be similar to the description given by ,ibn ,batuta1 and must be brought to a successful conclusion before the reward can be claimed4 ,it is to be performed at a place selected by me1 either in ,india or ,england4 ,this offer holds good for five years from the #ast ,january1 #aibb4 ,my address is3-- ,major ,l4 ,h4 ,branson1 ,m4,i4,m4,c41 ,the ,magic ,circle1 ,anderton's ,hotel1 ,fleet ,street1 ,london1 ,england4 ,,chapter ,x ,,snakes ,,and ,,crocodiles ,the best trick ,i have ever seen in ,india during my #bc years in that country1 was one that was performed especially for my benefit twice before ,i tumbled to the way in which it was done4 ,we were in our own compound or garden in a military station not far from ,bombay1 having tea on a small lawn--green grass--of which we were inordinately proud4 ,suddenly we heard the chanter of the itinerant ,jadoo-wallah1 and as usual ,i called him in to ask him if he had anything new4 ,i wanted a really wonderful trick4 ,yes ,saheb he replied ,i have something really good1 that few sahebs have seen before4 ,what is it said ,i1 thoroughly aroused by his earnest manner1 and hoping that at last ,i should have an opportunity of seeing an oriental miracle worthy of the spurious reputation held by ,eastern ,magicians4 ,it is a trick with some snakes and a crocodile said our friend and if the saheb will sit down with the memsaheb1 and will call the orderly1 ,i will show it now4 ,no sooner said than done4 ,we sat down and called ,aba ,nalaode1 our ,mabratta orderly4 ,illustration3 ,filling the ,assistant's hands with earth4 ,while he came from his quarters1 the ,jadoo-wallah proceeded to divest himself of all his clothing1 with the exception of his dhotie or loin cloth4 ,on the arrival of our orderly1 he too was made to take off his shirt1 leaving him dressed in a similarly neglige manner to our entertainer4 ,the ,jadoo-wallah then took some earth and made our orderly hold it in his two hands held together in front of his body4 ,he then pranced round the orderly two or three times1 making1 as he did so an imaginary circle round his assistant4 ,he next called our attention to the fact that he had nothing concealed about his person4 ,illustration3 ,the ,performer showing that he has nothing concealed about him4 ,illustration3 ,the actual moment of the appearance of the ,snakes and ,crocodiles4 ,we could see that this was so as regards his bare chest1 arms and waist1 and to convince us that he had nothing hidden in his dhotie he showed us one bare leg at a time1 avoiding barely any immodesty4 ,concealing our blushes1 we felt satisfied that his dhotie was the only worldly possession that he had with him at the moment4 ,he picked up his chanter and continued to circle round and round our orderly1 gradually closing into him4 ,suddenly he ran towards the outstretched hands with a crouching movement and struck them a smart blow1 causing the orderly to pull his parted hands away and a small cloud of dust to appear from the falling earth4 ,the cloud faded in a moment and there1 to our intense astonishment1 on the ground at our retainers feet were three snakes1 two of which were cobras1 and a baby crocodile6 ,needless to say that as soon as our orderly saw these unpleasant creatures writhing at his feet he cleared off to a safe distance4 ,the ,jadoo-wallah caught the reptiles and placed them in his snake basket4 ,i took him aside and asked him to divulge the secret of the trick4 ,ha6 ,ha6 saheb said he at last ,i have shewn you something that you do not know4 ,i will not tell you how it is done1 but will come again in a week's time and will perform it once more for your benefit4 ,i agreed1 and after the usual remuneration or bucksheesh1 with a little extra1 had passed hands1 away went our friend down the road to the bazaar4 ,the following week he sent word that he was coming on a particular day1 and that if ,i got some friends to come he would repeat the trick4 ,the more friends1 the more bucksheesh6 ,i gathered a few people in to have tea1 and in due course the magician arrived1 and with our head servant again performed the trick with the same wonderful result4 ,this time ,i solved the mystery4 ,i told the performer my impressions of it and was glad to get his corroboration4 ,there was of course no collusion with the volunteer assistants4 ,the secret of the trick lies in a bag suspended mouth downwards from a string round the magician's waist so that it lies between his legs4 ,this bag contained the three snakes and the small crocodile4 ,the mouth of the bag was threaded with a string1 and naturally remained closed until the string was pulled right away when the weight of the wriggling contents caused the mouth to open and the reptiles to fall upon the ground beneath4 ,the crouching position of the magician enabled him to get his legs spanning the ground immediately beneath the orderly's hands1 and the earth falling in a dust prevented the possibility of our seeing the snakes during the brief interval of their falling from under the dhotie to the ground4 ,needless to say that the cobras had had their fangs extracted1 that the third snake was harmless1 and that the baby crocodile was too small to inflict any damage1 though all four participants could hiss like a young steam engine4 ,it was1 as ,i say1 the best trick ,i have ever seen in ,india1 and from a magician's artistic point of view1 the beauty of it lies in the fact that the bag is concealed through the modesty of the performer1 and that in consequence the trick is not likely to be found out except by reasoning and the careful watching of all his movements4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,generalities1 ,,and ,,other ,,myths4 ,this little book is written on ,indian ,conjuring1 and with the exception of a dissertation upon the great ,indian ,rope ,imagination1 we have confined ourselves to tricks that we ourselves have seen1 and which are common to the ,indian conjuror4 ,it would however1 be incomplete without touching on one or two other broadcast myths that are frequently talked about4 ,messrs4 ,maskelyn ,devant used to show a very clever illusion called the ,new ,page1 in which a page boy was tied up in an upright position in a cabinet just large enough to contain him4 ,the showman then took a doll--a small model of the page boy--and illustrated that whatever happened to the doll would happen to the boy in the box4 ,as a convincing example he turned the doll upside down4 ,miraculous to relate1 when the cabinet was opened the page boy was found to be upside down with the original knots and seals intact6 ,this experiment according to the excellent patter of the showman1 was based upon the prevalent idea that in ,india certain magicians make a small effigy of a person on whom some dire calamity is intended1 and that whatever is done to this doll1 happens to the unfortunate person at any distance1 but at that identical moment4 ,i am glad to say that ,i have never seen or heard of this myth being verified4 ,on one occasion a medical officer knowing that ,i was interested in ,magic1 told me that he was attending an idiot girl who was covered with sores and that the common idea in the bazaar was that some person was working ,jadoo upon her1 using this doll method of doing so4 ,he kindly allowed me to visit the girl with him1 and1 being an ordinary mortal and unused to horrible sights1 ,i was shocked at her appearance4 ,she had nasty open sores on her cheeks1 arms and forehead4 ,she was certainly an imbecile4 ,her father was adamant in his belief that ,jadoo and nothing else accounted for her state4 ,her imbecility was due1 we found1 to her having had a fall as a baby4 ,in order to ascertain the cause of the sores the medical officer removed her to the cantonment 7,government7 hospital1 where after a period they yielded to treatment and were eventually cured4 ,evidently the ,jadoo had ceased4 ,on her return to her ancestral hut1 these sores again appeared4 ,with the permission of the medical officer and the parents1 ,i employed a reliable attendant to watch the girl4 ,in three days ,i received the following report4 ,the previous evening1 when the girl thought that she was not being watched1 the attendant saw her take something from a hiding place and rub her face with it two or three times4 ,he watched her replace whatever it was1 and later found it4 ,he gave it to us with his report4 ,it proved to be a piece of nut used by ,dhobies or ,indian ,washermen to mark the clothing committed to their destruction-care1 ,i should say4 ,on every article of clothing returned by the ,dhobie there is in one corner a small brown mark1 corresponding to the stitched mark used by ,laundries in ,england1 by which the owner of the article washed is identified4 ,this nut is called1 ,i believe1 ,areca nut4 ,when applied to the human skin it causes a sore4 ,the illness from which the poor girl was suffering was an inclination to maim or disfigure oneself1 commonly found with imbeciles4 7,i have touched wood1 you medical people1 so please don't abuse me if ,i am wrong67 ,as the parents were not fully convinced that ,jadoo was not being worked1 we again took the girl to hospital and again was she cured of the ghastly sores4 ,this is the only case of such ,jadoo that has come to my personal knowledge4 ,there is another form of ,jadoo that is believed in by the inhabitants of the bazaar4 ,a maliciously inclined person has a spite against another4 ,he makes a small bouquet of tomato leaves1 or cabbage or some such herb1 sprinkles it with salt1 green powder1 and so forth and so on1 and lays this down as close as possible to the door of the person to whom he wants to bring bad luck for #ab months6 ,it is true that we had this delightful bouquet thrown into our compound on one occasion1 and that shortly afterwards-- 7#a7 our gardener's wife died in childbirth4 7#b7 my wife got hay fever4 7#c7 my agents declined to meet any more of my cheques until they had received a substantial instalment4 7#d7 we were again ordered to move to another ,station4 ,i regret to say that of the above1 #b1 #c and #d were of such frequent occurrence that we did not assign them to the receipt of the bouquet4 ,the gardener however1 was convinced that it caused his wife to die in childbirth as she had never done so before4 ,i have no explanation for the denouement and give the story as it happened1 allowing my readers to judge for themselves whether or no any credence should be given to the fable after such convincing proof4 99 99 99 99 99