The Miraculous Portrait
Get a large print (suppose of the king) with a frame and glass. Cut
the print out at about two inches from the frame all round; then with
thin paste fix the border that is left on the inside of the glass,
pressing it smooth and close; fill up the vacancy, by covering the
glass well with leaf-gold or thin tin-foil, so that it may lie close.
Cover likewise the inner edge of the bottom part of the back of the
frame with t
and the tin-foil in the middle of the glass; then put in the board,
and that side is finished. Next turn up the glass, and cover the
fore-side with tin-foil, exactly over that on the back part; and when
it is dry, paste over it the panel of the print that was cut out,
observing to bring the corresponding parts of the border and panel
together, so that the picture will appear as at first, only part of it
behind the glass, and part before. Lastly, hold the print horizontally
by the top, and place a little moveable gilt crown on the king's head.
Now, if the tin-foil on both sides of the glass be moderately
electrified, and another person take hold of the bottom of the frame
with one hand, so that his fingers touch the tin-foil, and with the
other hand attempt to take off the crown, he will receive a very smart
blow, and fail in the attempt. The operator, who holds the frame by
the upper end, where there is no tin-foil, feels nothing of the shock,
and can touch the face of the king without danger, which he pretends
is a test of his loyalty.
More
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The Lead Tree
A more modern invention, and an easier method by far than the above, is the following: To a piece of zinc fasten a wire, crooked in the form of the worm of a still; let the other end of the worm be thrust through a cork. You then pour spring wate... The Leech A Prognosticator Of The Weather
Confine a leech in a large phial, three parts filled with rain water, regularly changed twice a week, and placed on a window frame, fronting the north. In fair and frosty weather it lies motionless, and rolled up in a spiral form, at the bottom of t... The Leyden Phial
When a nail or piece of thick brass wire, &c., is put into a small apothecary's phial, and electrified, remarkable effects follow; but the phial must be very dry or warm. Rub it once beforehand with your finger, on which put some pounded chalk. If a... The Long Card Another Stratagem Connected With The Performance Of
many of the following tricks, is what is termed the Long Card; that is, a card, either a trifle longer or wider than the other cards, not perceptible to the eye of the spectator, but easily to be distinguished by the touch of the operator. ... The Luminous Writing
Small pieces of tin-foil may be stuck on a flat piece of glass, so as to represent various fanciful figures. Upon the same principle is the word LIGHT produced, in luminous characters. It is formed by the small separations of the tin-foil pasted o... The Magic Bell
Fix a small bell to the wire that goes through the top of the receiver. If you shake the wire, the bell will ring while the air is in the receiver; but when the air is drawn off, the sound will by degrees become faint, till at last not the least noi... The Magic Bottle
Take a small bottle, the neck of which is not more than the sixth of an inch in diameter. With a funnel, fill the bottle quite full of red wine, and place it in a glass vessel, similar to a show-glass, whose height exceeds that of the bottle about t... The Magic Chase
On the top of a finely-pointed wire, rising perpendicularly from the conductor, let another wire, sharpened at each end, be made to move freely, as on a centre. If it be well balanced, and the points bent horizontally, in opposite directions, it wil... The Magic Dance
From the middle of the brass arch suspend three small bells. The two outer bells hang by chains, and the middle one by a silk string, while a chain connects it with the floor. Two small knobs of brass, which serve as clappers, hang by silk strings, ... The Magic Picture
Take two level pieces of glass, (plate glass is the best,) about three inches long and four wide, exactly of the same size; lay one on the other, and leave a space between them by pasting a piece of card, or two or three small pieces of thick paper,... The Magic Tube
Procure a small tube of glass, whose canal is extremely narrow, and open at both ends; let one end of it be plunged in water, and the water within the tube will rise to a considerable height above the external surface: or if two or more tubes be imm... The Magic Vase
Construct a vase of wood, or pasteboard, see Fig. 20. On the inside let there be five divisions; two of them, c d, to be large enough to admit a pack of cards each; and the other three, e f g, only large enough to contain a single card. Place this v... The Magic Verse
The eight words which compose this Latin verse, "Tot sunt tibi dote, quot coeli sidera, virgo,"[F] being privately placed in any one of the different combinations of which they are susceptible, and which are 40,320 in number, to tell the orde... The Magic Vessel
On the bottom of a vessel, lay three pieces of money, the first at A, the second at B, and the third at C, Fig. 3. Then place a person at D, where he can see no farther into the vessel than E. You tell him, that by pouring water in the vessel you wi... The Magical Cascade
Procure a tin vessel, shaped like Fig. 5, about five inches high and four in diameter, with a cover, C, closed at top. To the bottom of this vessel, let the pipe D E be soldered. This pipe is to be ten inches long, and half an inch in diameter, open... The Magical Mirrors
Make two holes in the wainscot of a room, each a foot high and ten inches wide, and about a foot distant from each other. Let these apertures be about the height of a man's head, and in each of them place a transparent glass in a frame, like a commo... The Magician's Mirror
Construct a box of wood, of a cubical shape, A B C D, Fig. 23, of about fifteen inches every way. Let it be fixed to the pedestal P, at the usual height of a man's head. In each side of this box let there be an opening, of an oval form, ten inches h... The Magnetic Cards
Draw a pasteboard circle; you then provide yourself with two needles, similar to those used in the foregoing experiment, (which you must distinguish by some private mark,) with their opposite points touched with the magnet. When you place that needl... The Magnetic Dial
Procure a circle of wood or ivory, about 5 or 6 inches diameter, which must turn quite free on a stand with a circular border; on the ivory or wood circle fix a pasteboard, on which you place, in proper divisions, the hours, as on a dial. There must... The Magnetic Orrery
Construct a round box, Fig. 16, about eight inches diameter, and half an inch deep. On the bottom fix a circular pasteboard drawn like the figure. You are likewise to have another pasteboard, drawn exactly the same, which must turn freely in the box... The Magnetic Wand
Bore a hole three-tenths of an inch in diameter, through a round stick of wood; or get a hollow cane about eight inches long, and half an inch thick. Provide a small steel rod, and let it be very strongly impregnated with a good magnet: this rod is ... The Magnifying Reflector
Let the rays of light that pass through the magnifying glass in the shutter be thrown on a large concave mirror, properly fixed in a frame. Then take a third strip of glass, and stick any small object on it; hold it in the intervening rays at a litt... The Mercurial Shower
Cement a piece of wood into the lower part of the neck of an open receiver, and pour mercury over it. After a few strokes of the pump, the pressure of the air on the mercury will force it through the pores of the wood in the form of a beautiful show... The Mercurial Wand
Take a piece of stick, cut it even at each end with a penknife, and immerse it in a vessel of mercury. When the air is pumped out of the receiver, it will at the same time come out of the pores of the wood, through the mercury, as will be visible at... The Metamorphosed Cards
In the middle of a pack place a card that is something wider than the rest, which we will suppose to be the knave of spades, under which place the seven of diamonds, and under that the ten of clubs. On the top of the pack put cards similar to these,... The Miraculous Luminaries
You must previously prepare the following phosphorus: Calcine common oyster-shells, by burning them in the fire for half an hour; then reduce them to powder; of the clearest of which take three parts, and of flowers of sulphur one part; put the mixt... The Miraculous Portrait
Get a large print (suppose of the king) with a frame and glass. Cut the print out at about two inches from the frame all round; then with thin paste fix the border that is left on the inside of the glass, pressing it smooth and close; fill up the va... The Mysterious Watch
You desire any person to lend you his watch, and ask him if it will go when laid on the table. He will, no doubt, say it will; in which case, you place it over the end of the magnet, and it will presently stop. You then mark the precise spot where y... The Mysterious Writing
Write on a piece of paper with common ink any question; then underneath it write the answer either in invisible silver ink, or the invisible green ink, made with zaffre and aqua regia, described in pages 24 and 25. You give this paper to your fri... The Numerical Cards
Let the long card be the sixteenth in the pack of piquet cards. Take ten or twelve cards from the top of the pack, and, spreading them on the table, desire a person to think on any one of them, and to observe the number it is from the first card. Ma... The Opaque Box Made Transparent
Make a box three or four inches long, and two or three wide, and have a sort of perspective-glass, the bottom of which is the same size with the box, and slides out, that you may privately place a paper on it. The sides of this perspective are to be... The Oracular Mirror
Provide a round mirror of about three inches in diameter and whose frame is an inch wide. Line the under part of the frame, in which holes are to be cut, with very thin glass; behind this glass let a mirror of about two inches diameter be placed, wh... The Penetrative Guinea
Provide a large tin box, of the size of a large snuff-box, and in this place eight other boxes, which will go easily into each other, and let the least of them be of a size to hold a guinea. Each of these boxes should shut with a hinge, and to the l... The Perspective Mirror
Provide a box, A B C D, Fig. 24, of about two feet long, 15 inches wide, and 12 inches high. At the end A C, place the concave mirror, the focus of whose parallel rays is 18 inches from the reflecting surface. At I L place a pasteboard, blacked, in ... The Phantom
You inform a person that at a certain hour, and in a certain place, he shall see the apparition of a deceased friend, (whose portrait you possess.) In order to produce this phantom, there must be a door which opens into an apartment to which there i... The Phial Of The Four Elements
Take a phial, six or seven inches long, and about three quarters of an inch in diameter. In this phial put, first, glass coarsely powdered; secondly, oil of tartar per deliquum; thirdly, tincture of salt of tartar; and lastly, distilled rock oil. ... The Philosophical Candle
Provide a bladder, into the orifice of which is inserted a metal tube, some inches in length, that can be adapted to the neck of a bottle, containing the same mixture as in the last experiment. Having suffered the atmospheric air to be expelled from... The Power Of Water
Let a strong small iron tube of twenty feet in height be inserted into the bung-hole of a cask, and the aperture round so strongly closed, that it shall be water-tight; pour water into the cask till it is full, through the pipe; also continue fillin... The Power Of Water When Reduced To Vapour By Heat
Whatever force water may have while its parts remain together, is nothing, if compared to the almost incredible power with which its parts are endued, when they are reduced to vapour by heat. Those steams which we see rising from the surface of boil... The Pressure Of Water
The pressure of water may be known to every one who will only take the trouble to look at the cock of a water-butt when turned: if the tub or cistern be full, the water runs with much greater velocity through the cock, and a vessel will be filled fr... The Restored Flowers
Make a bouquet of artificial flowers; the leaves should be formed of parchment. Dip the roses in the red invisible ink, the jonquilles in the yellow, the pinks in the violet, and the leaves in the green ink. They will all appear white; and you show ... The Self-moving Wheel
Take a circle of tin, about ten inches in diameter, or of any other size that will go into the receiver, and to its circumference fix a number of tin vanes, each about an inch square. Let this wheel be placed between two upright pieces on an axis, w... The Self-moving Wheel
The self-moving wheel is made of a thin round plate of window-glass, seventeen inches in diameter, well gilt on both sides, to within two inches of the circumference. Two small hemispheres of wood are then fixed with cement, to the middle of the upp... The Silver Tree
Dissolve an ounce of fine silver in three ounces of strong aqua fortis, in a glass bottle. When the silver is dissolved; pour the aqua fortis into another glass vessel, (a decanter will be best,) with seven or eight ounces of mercury, to which add a... The Solar Concerto
In a large case, similar to what is used for dials and spring clocks, the front of which, or at least the lower part, must be of glass, covered on the inside with gauze, place a barrel organ, which when wound up is prevented from playing by a catch ... The Solar Magic Lantern
Make a box, a foot high, eighteen inches wide, and about three inches deep. Two of the opposite sides of this box must be quite open, and in each of the other sides let there be a groove wide enough to admit a stiff paper or pasteboard. You fasten t... The Sublimated Tree
Into a large glass jar inverted upon a flat brick tile, and containing near its top a branch of fresh rosemary, or any other such shrub, moistened with water, introduce a flat thick piece of heated iron, on which place some gum benzoin, in gross pow... The Talking Busts
Procure two busts of plaster of Paris; place them on pedestals, on the opposite sides of the room. Let a thin tube, of an inch diameter, pass from the ear of one head through the pedestal, under the floor, and go up to the mouth of the other; taking... The Ten Duplicates
Select any twenty cards; let any person shuffle them; lay them by pairs on the board, without looking at them. You next desire several persons, (as many persons as there are pairs on the table,) each to look at different pairs and remember what card... The Three Magical Parties
Offer the long card to a person, that he may draw it, and replace it in any part of the pack he pleases. Make the pass, and bring that card to the top. Next divide the pack in three parcels, putting the long card in the middle heap. You then ask the... The Transmuted Cards
In a common pack of cards let the ace of hearts and nine of spades be something larger than the rest. With the juice of lemon draw over the ace of hearts a spade, large enough to cover it entirely, and on each side draw four other spades. Present... The Transposable Pieces
Take two guineas and two shillings, and grind part of them away, on one side only, so that they may be but half the common thickness; and observe, that they must be quite thin at the edge; then rivet a guinea and a shilling together. Lay one of thes...