Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1886-05-21
a JUGGLER'S TRICKS.


n white cloth upon the floor and sat
down upon it with his back TO the wall,
he door of the room being on his right
hand. His spectators were disposed in
tho following fashion: Mr.. Smyth
sat on chair nearly in the middle Of
the room, | was sitting on a sofa near
The door, the Parsec merchant stood in
the doorway about arms length from
me. The servants stood about in
groups. the largest group being be-
tween the door and the conjurer As
soon as he had settled himself he turned
TO tho parsec and asked for the loan of
a rupee. The peddler ut first demurrcd
little, but. on being guaranteed
against loss, he produced the coin. lie
was going to put it into the con juror :
hand, but the latter refused and told
the Parscc to hand it to Mr.. Smyth :
bearer The bearer took it; and, at
the request of the conjurer. looked at it
and declared il TO be really a rupee.
The coniurer then told him 10 hand it
to his master. Mr.. Smyth took it, and
then followed this dialogue:
Conjurer-Are you sure it is rupee?
Smyth-IeS.
Conjurer Close your hand and hold
it tight Now think of some country in
Europe, but do not tell me your
thought.
Then the coniurer ran over the names
of several countries, such rs France,
Germany, Russia, Turkey and America
for the native of India is under the
impression that America is in Europe.
After moments pause Mr.. Smyth
said he had thought of a country.
Then open your hand said the
jugglcr; 'sen what you have got, and
tell me if it is a coin Of the country you
thought of.
1t was a 5-franc piece, and Mr.. Smyth
had thought of France. He was going
to hand the coin to the coniurer, but
the latter said:
mo; pay it to the other sahb.
Mr.. Smyth accordingly put the D.
franc piece into my hand. looked
closely at it, then shut my hand, and
thought of Russia. When opened it
| found, not a Russian, but Turkish
silver piece about the size of j-franc
piece or of our own crown piece. This
handed to Mr.. Smyth and. suggested
that he should name America. which
he did, and found Mexican dollar in
his hand. The coin. whatever it was.
had never been in the coniurcr'S hand
FROM the time the rupee was borrowed
from the Parsee merchant. Mr.. Smyth
and his bearer had both of them closely
examined the rupee, and Mr. Smyth
and myself turned over several times
the 5-franc piece, the Turkish coin. and
the dollar; SO the trick did not depend
on a reversible coin. Indeed. il could
not, for the coin underwent three
changes, rs has been seen. | only add.
for the information of those readers
who do not know India. that rupee is
only about the size of form, and
therefore about half the weight OF D.
franc piece.
He did another trick almost equally
as wonderful. As before, he was seated
on white cloth, which this time.
think. was Il tablccloth. borrowed from
the mess sergeant. He asked some one
present to produce Il rupee, and to lay
it down ut II remote edge OF the cloth.
The cloth being three or four yards
in length. the coniurcr could not have
touched the coin without being seen.
and. in fact, did not touch il. lie then
asked for a signet ring. Several were
offered him, and he chose out one
which had a very large oval seal, pro-
iecting well beyond the gold hoop on
both sides. The ring he tossed and
tumbled several times in his hands. now
throwing it into the air and catching
it, then shaking it between hi, cla,ped
hands, I'LL the time mumbling half-in.
articulatc words in some IndooStance
patos. Then setting the ring down on
the cloth at about half arms length in
front of him, he said, slowly and dis
tinctly, in good Hindoostanee:
Ring, rise up and go to the rupee.
The ring rose, with the seal uppermost,
and, resting on the hoop. slowly. with
a kind of dancing or jerking motion.
it passed over the cloth until it came to
where the rupee was on the remote
edge. then it lay down on the coin.
The coniurer then said Ring. lay
hold of the rupee and bring it TO me-.
The projecting edge of the seal seemed
to grapple with the edge of the coin:
the ring and the rupee rose into kind
of wrestling attitude, and, with the
same oancing or jerking motion, the
two returned to within reach of the
juggler's hand.
have no theory to explain either OF