To melt a Five-Franc piece, held in the Hand, at the Flame of a Candle, to cause it to pass into the Candle, to take it out again in a melted condition, and again to restore it
to its original state.
I
t will, of course, be understood that, both in this trick and in those which follow, the descriptions given of effects produced refer not to reality but to illusions."Certain metals," you remark, "only melt at a very high temperature. Silver is one of these; it must be heated to nearly 1000 degrees centigrade before it will melt. If, however, the coin is beforehand submitted to certain mesmeric frictions, the mere warmth of the flame of a wax candle is enough to melt it.
"If one of you gentlemen will oblige me with the loan of a five-franc piece, we will at once proceed to put my assertion to the test. You need be under no apprehension, by the way, as to the safety of your money, for when anybody lends me any money, I almost always return it."
We have omitted to state that the performer has provided himself with a candlestick holding a lighted candle, which he places close by him on a small table, or if there be none such at hand, on a chair.
Having received from one of the spectators a five-franc piece, you lay it beside the candlestick, and rub your hands briskly one against the other, remarking:-
"This friction of the hands is intended to develop the mesmeric power necessary for the operation." Then, looking intently at your left hand--"Very good, I see that the
electricity is collecting in large quantities.... I think we shall succeed; at any rate we are far enough advanced to try the experiment. Let us see."
Take the coin in the right hand, move it towards the left as though to place it therein, but, during its passage, palm it in the right hand, according to the method described in Chapter I.
You have made believe to put the coin in the left hand, and you have closed the left hand accordingly, as though it really held something. Such being the position of affairs, work about the fingers of this hand as though to mesmerise the coin. At the same time take the candlestick in the right hand, your so doing appearing to exclude all possibility that you can have kept the coin in that hand.
"By this time," you continue, "I should think that the coin was sufficiently impregnated
The Melting Coin
with the mesmeric fluid to be easily melted. Let us try."
You hold the left hand, still closed, over the flame of the candle, and work the fingers a little as though to squeeze the coin and force it out.
"There, you see, it melts, and the metal passes right into the candle. Did you not see it go?"
Here you open the left hand, and show that the coin is no longer there.
"So far, we have succeeded very nicely; but I must own, ladies and gentlemen, that I should find some little difficulty in restoring the coin to its owner, unless I was also able, after having melted it, to bring it back again to its original condition.
"You observe a little bright shining point in the wick of the candle" (the spectators don't see anything of the kind, but they take the statement on trust). "Well, that luminous point is one end of the melted coin, and I shall seize it by that end, and so take it out, just as it is." (You pinch the flame of the candle with the fingers of the left hand, and make believe to take something from it.) "Yes, here we have it. Can't you see it?" (You show the tips of the fingers gathered together as if holding something.) "You don't? I will take it in the other hand, so that you may be able to see it better."
You put down the candlestick on the table, and with the fingers of the right hand, in which, as will be remembered, the coin remains hidden, you make believe once more to take the supposed molten metal which you pretend to be holding between the fingers of the left hand. In executing this movement, the palmed coin is brought immediately above the hollow of the left hand, into which, in the act of removing the imaginary melted metal, you secretly let it fall. For the modus operandi See Fig. 11, in the trick next following, save that instead of actually taking a coin from the left hand, as there represented, you only take an imaginary one.)
The right hand being now relieved of the coin, you may, by drawing attention in a careless manner to the imaginary melted coin between the tips of the fingers, show the interior of the hand empty, and thereby negative any idea that the piece was retained therein.
"As I hold it now," you remark, "you will all, I should imagine, be able to see the coin; which, by the way, is beginning to burn my fingers, so I had better make haste to restore it to its original form."
The left hand, after having received the coin, is not closed, but is held just sufficiently high to prevent the spectators seeing what it contains. You now lay the tips of the fingers of the right hand on the palm of the left, remarking:-
The Melting Coin
"I will place this melted metal in the hollow of my left hand, and by rubbing it in a particular manner with the tip of one finger, I shall proceed to harden it and bring it back to its original form." As you say this, you place the finger on the coin which is hidden in the left hand, and rub it for an instant or two; then you turn over the hand, and the middle finger which you keep pressing lightly against the coin, holds it poised upon it. You present it to the company on the tip of this finger, saying:-
"Here it is; take it, gentlemen; but it is still hot, you must take care not to burn yourselves."
This little feat of sleight-of-hand has a very pretty effect, and forms a good
commencement to a series of tricks with coins. My description has been perhaps rather lengthy, but in explaining matters of this kind, it is impossible to go too fully into detail.*
*It is a great addition to the effect of this trick to show, before getting rid of the coin altogether, that it is growing gradually softer. this is done by bending it (apparently) backwards and forwards, after the manner described (in relation to a watch) at p. 214 of Modern Magic--ED.
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The Melting Coin
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