Coffee Break Collection 039 - Magic - Various

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A HANDFUL OF CLAY There was a handful of clay in the bank of a river.

It was only common clay, coarse and heavy, but it had high thoughts of its own value, and wonderful dreams of the great place which it was to fill in the world when the time came for its virtues to be discovered.

overhead in the spring sunshine the trees whispered together of the glory which descended upon them when the delicate blossoms and leaves began to expand and the forest glowed with fair clear colors as if the dust of thousands of rubies and emeralds were hanging in soft clouds above the earth the flowers surprised with the joy of beauty bent their heads to one another as the wind caressed them and said sisters how lovely you have become you make the day bright the river glad of new strength and rejoicing in the unison of all its waters murmured to the shores in music telling of its release from icy fetters its swift flight from the snow-clad mountains and the mighty work to which it was hurrying the wheels of many mills to be turned and great ships to be floated to the sea waiting blindly in its bed the clay comforted itself with lofty hopes my time will come it said i was not made to be hidden forever glory and beauty and honor are coming to me in due season one day the clay felt itself taken from the place where it had waited so long a flat blade of iron passed beneath it and lifted it and tossed it into a cart with other lumps of clay and it was carried far away as it seemed over a rough and stony road but it was not afraid nor discouraged for it said to itself this is necessary the path to glory is always rugged now i am on my way to play a great part in the world but the hard journey was nothing compared with the tribulation and distress that came after it the clay was put into a trough and mixed and beaten and stirred and trampled it seemed almost unbearable but there was consolation in the thought that something very fine and noble was certainly coming out of all this trouble the clay felt sure that if it could only wait long enough a wonderful reward was in store for it then it was put upon a swiftly turning wheel and whirled around until it seemed as if it must fly into a thousand pieces a strange power pressed it and moulded it as it revolved and through all the dizziness and pain it felt that it was taking a new form then an unknown hand put it into an oven and fires were kindled about it fierce and penetrating hotter than all the heats of summer that had ever brooded upon the bank of the river but through it all the clay held itself together and endured its trials in the confidence of a great future surely it thought i am intended for something very splendid since such pains are taken with me perhaps i am fashioned for the ornament of a temple or a precious vase for the table of a king at last the baking was finished the clay was taken from the furnace and set down upon a board in the cool air under the blue sky the tribulation was passed the reward was at hand close beside the board there was a pool of water not very deep nor very clear but calm enough to reflect with impartial truth every image that fell upon it there for the first time as it was lifted from the board the clay saw its new shape the reward of all its patience and pain the consummation of its hopes a common flower-pot straight and stiff red and ugly and then it felt that it was not destined for a king's house nor for a palace of art because it was made without glory or beauty or honour and it murmured against the unknown maker saying why hast thou made me thus many days it passed in sullen discontent Then it was filled with earth and something, it knew not what, but something rough and brown and dead-looking was thrust into the middle of the earth and covered over.

The clay rebelled at this new disgrace.

This is the worst of all that has happened to me, to be filled with dirt and rubbish.

Surely I am a failure.

But presently it was set in a greenhouse.

where the sunlight fell warm upon it and water was sprinkled over it and day by day as it waited a change began to come to it something was stirring within it a new hope still it was ignorant and knew not what the new hope meant one day the clay was lifted again from its place and carried into a great church its dream was coming true after all it had a fine part to play in the world glorious music flowed over it it was surrounded with flowers still it could not understand so it whispered to another vessel of clay like itself close beside it why have they set me here why do all the people look toward us and the other vessel answered do you not know you are carrying a royal sceptre of lilies their petals are as white as snow and the heart of them is like pure gold the people look this way because the flower is the most wonderful in the world and the root of it is in your heart then the clay was content and silently thanked its maker because though an earthen vessel it held so great a treasure a handful of clay by henry van dyck

Cards from the Mouth by Thomas Nelson Downes Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Cards from the Mouth this easy sleight has a stupendous effect upon the imagination of the average spectator and it certainly is startling to see six cards pulled from the mouth one after another the production of any small object from the mouth an egg or a billiard ball is effective but the mind cannot conceive how it is possible to conceal a playing card in the mouth to say nothing of stowing away six pasteboards in that useful member of the physical economy of man six cards are used for the slight vanish them in any manner that is most convenient we prefer back palming reversing the hand so that the face of the cards are towards the palm now move the right hand towards the mouth quickly insert the end of the cards in mouth in removing the cards the uppermost one is first drawn off with the right hand assisted by the left hand which eventually secures the first three cards the second three cards are now drawn off one by one and secured in the right hand in a similar manner the general effect at the conclusion of the slight is shown in the illustration drawing the cards down one by one gives the effect of actually pulling them from the interior of the mouth If the head be slightly tilted back and the mouth opened rather widely, the effect will be enhanced.

We cannot urge too strongly the acquirement of this effective move.

It can be introduced to advantage in the well-known trick of the cards passing up the sleeve and into the pocket of the performer.

End of Cards from the Mouth by Thomas Nelson Downes Read by Elsie Selwyn Clairvoyance with Cards by Thomas Nelson Downes Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Clairvoyance with Cards one of the oldest of card tricks as well as the most generally known is that in which all the cards in a shuffled pack are named without seeing them although the words and quotation marks must be taken in a pickwickian sense There are a hundred methods, more or less, of achieving this interesting effect, from the primitive prearranged deck in Memoria Technica to the small concave mirror held in the poem of the artist, but most of them are either suggestive or uncertain.

In this chapter we shall acquaint the reader with a number of new methods of reading cards, methods that have not been explained in treatises on the magic art.

A knowledge of the ordinary methods of performing the trick, such as the glass mirror, the reflecting ring, etc., is presupposed.

We shall begin the series with a very simple method of naming a single card and conclude with what is really one of the finest effects and most perfect tricks in this particular department of card conjuring.

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Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite, too.

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Get a sausage McMuffin with egg or sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddles, small hot coffee, and hash browns for just $6.

Price and participation may vary.

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Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite too.

Extra value meals are back.

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Get a sausage McMuffin with egg or sausage egg and cheese McGriddles, small hot coffee and hash browns for just $6.

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First method.

The pack is spread fan-wise, the face of the cards toward the audience.

a spectator is invited to touch the top of one of the cards the instant he does so the performer names the card the explanation is absurdly simple as the spectator touches the top of a card the performer with the left thumb slightly raises the lower left-hand corner of the same card and as the fanned pack is held quite away from the performer and also rather high a glimpse of the index is afforded although this effect may be repeated the wise conjurer will be satisfied with a single exhibition of his clairvoyant power second method in this form of the trick any number of cards are named in succession without the performer apparently seeing them this is a new original and very suitable method of reading cards and undoubtedly will be appreciated by the reader who is attracted by artistic card work The secret lies in the use of a little feek that reflects the index of the cards.

This feek is nothing more or less than an ordinary German silver or nickel-plated thumbtack, such as artists and architects use to pin sheets of paper to a drawing board.

The kind with the slightly convex head is the best for this purpose.

With a pair of pliers or other sharp instrument, cut off the tack part close to the head.

with a pellet of conjurer's wax attach the head to the back of the upper right hand corner of the playing card palm this prepared card and offer the pack to be shuffled or the card may be in the pocket while the audience has possession of the pack whichever subterfuge may be adopted the card is eventually placed on the bottom of the pack holding the pack in the left hand with the bottom cards squarely facing the audience the performer slides all the cards with the bottom one downward so that the head of the drawing-pin is visible as the back of the left hand is toward the audience the palm masks the cards so that there is no reason to suspect that the pack is not squared with the thumb of the right hand slowly push up the card on the back of the pack.

As it rises, the index is reflected in the polished surface of the thumbtack, and the performer is thus enabled to announce its name.

This may be repeated until nearly all the cards have been named, but the conjurer will find that reading ten or a dozen cards is just as effective as calling off the entire pack.

If anyone suspects a preparation of the pack, it is a simple matter to remove the feek when the pack may be passed out for examination.

third method this in the opinion of the author is the most perfect method of reading cards ever invented it is really a brilliant and bewildering trick the effect is as follows a pack of cards is offered to the audience for shuffling and while in possession of the audience a number of cards are drawn six eight ten any number in fact although six will be found the most effective number for the trick these cards are replaced and the pack is held to the performer's forehead whereupon he defines the name of each selected card the cards are not forced nor does the performer employ the pass or palm or any other slight furthermore the method is absolutely undetectable the trick we believe is the invention of theodore l deland jr in order to accomplish this effect two packs of cards are necessary one pack is quite unprepared but the other is not so innocent as it appears two of the cards are unprepared but each of the remaining fifty has one of its indexes cut out as in figure twenty one consequently if an unprepared card is replaced in a pack so prepared the index is plainly visible the working of the trick will now be clear to the reader The six cards, of course, are selected from the unprepared pack.

While the cards are being marked, the performer changes the unprepared pack for the prepared one, which can be done on the table or in the pocket.

The faked pack has an unprepared card on top and one on the bottom, so that it does not differ in appearance from the ordinary deck.

Holding the pack with the prepared end in the crotch of the left thumb, the performer rifles the other end and invites the spectators to return their cards, calling attention to the fact that the cards are replaced in different parts of the pack, and that everything is square and above board now slip the unprepared card from the bottom to the top of the deck and if the pack is placed to the performer's forehead the back of the cards of course toward the audience it is a simple matter to read the index of the first card or more properly the card nearest the front of the pack the card should not be named immediately the performer should press the pack to the forehead and endeavor to create the impression that the result is achieved by clairvoyance after naming the first card the performer fans the pack removes the card and handing it to the spectator requests him to identify the mark the reader will understand that it is necessary to remove each card after it has been named in order that the index of the card next nearest to the front may be seen whenever the face of the pack is exhibited cover the missing index with the flat of the thumb we have explained merely the bare bones of this effective trick leaving it to the individuality of the performer to present it in as dramatic a manner as possible and with suitable patter as the index of each card must be neatly cut out with mathematical precision it is impossible to prepare a pack without machinery made especially for the purpose the publishers of this book have had special machinery made for the manufacture of this pack and they feel assured that the conjuring fraternity will be glad to know that they can supply the prepared pack in any style of card at a reasonable cost End of Clairvoyance with Cards by T. Nelson Downes Read by Elsie Selwyn

Magic of Double Exposure Explained by Cameraman by Anonymous from the New York Times, November 15, 1925 Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Colleen McMahon.

Magic of Double Exposure Explained by Cameramen The motion picture camera is the greatest instrument of illusion in the entertainment world.

This fact was proved by Douglas Fairbanks in his picture The Thief of Baghdad, a marvelous example of trick photography.

Recently, there have been on Broadway instances of one actress figuring in a dual role.

There was Marion Davies, who portrayed twin sisters in The Lights of Old Broadway, and just prior to that, Constance Talmadge did much the same thing in Her Sister from Paris.

people who see these effects often wonder how they are filmed and no photographer has had more experience in this particular line than alvin j wyckoff who has just finished photographic work on thomas meaghan's production irish luck in which mr meaghan plays two characters double exposure is one of the oldest tricks in photography said mr wyckoff the other day it is not easy to do in motion pictures however because it requires such exact timing first let me say that one must remember that there are sixteen actual pictures on a foot of film and the present-day cameras have a device which numbers these frames or single photographs here's how we made the megan double exposure i placed a special shutter on my camera which virtually divides this strip of film into halves so that when an exposure is made only half of the frame is used we had mr meaghan impersonating an irish nobleman who went through the pantomime of meeting a man we counted and when we reached twenty-nine he stretched out his hand and shook that of the other man then later we shifted the shutter and got ready to make the exposure of the other side of the film in this mr megan impersonates a new york policeman he too went through the various actions of meeting another man and at the count of twenty-nine he also reached out his hand and shook that of the irish nobleman the timing had to be accurately synchronized to the fraction of a second otherwise the picture would reveal a dark shadow between the two characters This blur, by the way, is responsible for the common conception that double exposures are filmed by pasting the strips of film together.

Delicate work.

In making double exposures, the work is so delicate that every precaution has to be taken so that the camera will not shift a scintilla of an inch.

The apparatus is attached to the floor by cables, otherwise even a jumpiness would destroy the illusion.

Another cameraman elucidated on trick photography as follows.

visions which means the same character appearing twice in the same scene and one character disappearing into another are all forms of double exposure and in some cases triple exposure with the proper apparatus care and timing many exposures can be made all these effects come under the head of trick photography and cameramen pride themselves on the success of their efforts in this line the most simple form is what one might term the vision fading in and fading out of something recalling a past event this effect is planned before and provision is made to have some place on the set for a black curtain or dark section of wall on which it is possible to double expose the vision first the scene is shot and the action timed so that at the proper moment the characters will look in the exact direction and register the desired expression this is done by count each number representing about one-half turn of the camera handle one two three character sitting in a chair four five six seven turns head slowly looking upward at space reserved for the other exposure eight nine ten eleven twelve vision fades in and out and so on after this scene is taken the film is carefully rewound to the beginning the camera is focused so that the vision will appear in the proper space

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McDonald's is putting value back on the menu.

Whether you're craving a Big Mac, McNuggets, or sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddles, make it a meal and save.

Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite, too.

Extra value meals are back.

Sun rises, prices fall.

Get a sausage McMuffin with egg or sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddles, small hot coffee, and hash browns for just $6.

Price and participation may vary.

Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.

Ba-da-ba-ba-ba.

McDonald's is putting value back on the menu.

Whether you're craving a Big Mac, McNuggets, or sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddles, make it a meal and save.

Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite, too.

Extra value meals are back.

Sun rises, prices fall.

Get a sausage McMuffin with egg or sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddles, small hot coffee, and hash browns for just $6.

Price and participation may vary.

Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.

Which can be done by a piece of test film over the lens.

This is carefully adjusted, the count has begun, and at the proper count, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, the vision is faded in and out, and the double exposure is complete.

Making ghosts.

Another more common form of double exposure is having one character in a room, and a second character, apparently a ghost, walks into the room and seemingly all over it or through it.

In this case, the first exposure is made carefully to count.

After the action is finished, the film is turned back and the set made ready for the second exposure.

In order that the figure in this exposure will stand out, and so that the dressing of the room will not be exposed on the film a second time, the whole set, chairs, tables, and wall are draped in black.

They therefore will not register on the negative for the second time.

The figure will go through his scene to the same count as for the first exposure.

In the final picture, he will be seen to walk through furniture, walls, or anything in his way.

Now we come to the more difficult exposures.

We will take a concrete instance of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with John Barrymore.

As Dr. Jekyll, John Barrymore goes to bed.

A spider crawls up on him and he turns into Mr. Hyde.

The first exposure is made of Barrymore in bed as Dr. Jekyll, which scene fades out, and Barrymore, changing his makeup to Mr. Hyde, gets into bed in exactly the same position.

The film is turned back to where the fade-out began and a fade-in is made of Barrymore as Mr. Hyde and the scene is continued.

This film is then turned back to just before the first fade-out and the entire room is wrapped in black.

The spider is seen to emerge, crawl up on Dr. Jekyll in the bed and dissolve into him as he changes to Mr. Hyde.

This is all done very carefully to the count and is a very difficult piece of photography.

End of Magic of Double Exposure Explained by Cameramen by Anonymous from the New York Times, November 15th, 1925.

The Hour of Magic by William Henry Davies Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic The Hour of Magic this is the hour of magic when the moon with her bright wand has charmed a tallest tree to stand stone-still with all his million leaves i feel around me things i cannot see i hold my breath as nature holds her own and do the mice and birds the horse and cow sleepless in this deep silence so intense believe a miracle has happened now and wait to hear a sound they'll recognize to prove they still have life with earthly ties the magic bonbons by l frank baum coffee break collection thirty nine magic

THE MAGIC BON BONS there lived in boston a wise and ancient chemist by the name of dr dawes who dabbled somewhat in magic there also lived in boston a young lady by the name of claribel sudds who was possessed of much money little wit and an intense desire to go upon the stage So Clarabelle went to Dr. Dawes and said, I can neither sing nor dance.

I cannot recite verse nor play upon the piano.

I am no acrobat, nor leaper, nor high kicker.

Yet I wish to go upon the stage.

What shall I do? Are you willing to pay for such accomplishments? asked the wise chemist.

Certainly, answered Clarabelle, jingling her purse.

Then come to me tomorrow at two o'clock, said he.

all that night he practised what is known as chemical sorcery so that when claribel suds came next day at two o'clock he showed her a small box filled with compounds that closely resembled french bonbons this is a progressive age said the old man and i flatter myself your uncle dawes keeps right along with the procession now one of your old-fashioned sorcerers would have made you some nasty bitter pills to swallow but i have consulted your taste and convenience here are some magic bonbons if you eat this one with the lavender color you can dance thereafter as lightly and gracefully as if you had trained a lifetime after you consume the pink confection you will sing like a nightingale eating the white one will enable you to become the finest elocutionist in the land the chocolate piece will charm you into playing the piano better than rubinstein while after eating the lemon-yellow bonbon you can easily kick six feet above your head how delightful exclaimed claribel who was truly enraptured you are certainly a most clever sorcerer as well as a considerate compounder and she held out her hand for the box ahem said the wise one a cheque please oh yes to be sure how stupid of me to forget it she returned he considerately retained the box in his own hand while she signed a cheque for a large amount of money after which he allowed her to hold the box herself are you sure you have made them strong enough she inquired anxiously it usually takes a great deal to affect me my only fear replied dr dawes is that i have made them too strong for this is the first time i have ever been called upon to prepare these wonderful confections don't worry said claribel the stronger they act the better i shall act myself she went away after saying this but stopping in at a dry goods store to shop she forgot the precious box in her new interest and left it lying on the ribbon counter then little bessie bostwick came to the counter to buy a hair ribbon and laid her parcels beside the box when she went away she gathered up the box with her other bundles and trotted off home with it bessie never knew until after she had hung her coat in the hall closet and counted up her parcels that she had one too many then she opened it and exclaimed why it's a box of candy some one must have mislaid it but it is too small a matter to worry about there are only a few pieces so she dumped the contents of the box into a bonbon dish that stood upon the hall table and picking out the chocolate piece she was fond of chocolates ate it daintily while she examined her purchases these were not many for bessie was only twelve years old and was not yet trusted by her parents to expend much money at the stores but while she tried on the hair ribbon she suddenly felt a great desire to play upon the piano and the desire at last became so overpowering that she went into the parlor and opened the instrument the little girl had with infinite pains contrived to learn two pieces which she usually executed with a jerky movement of her right hand and a left hand that forgot to keep up and so made dreadful discords but under the influence of the chocolate bonbon she sat down and ran her fingers lightly over the keys producing such exquisite harmony that she was filled with amazement at her own performance that was the prelude however the next moment she dashed into beethoven's seventh sonata and played it magnificently her mother hearing the unusual burst of melody came downstairs to see what musical guest had arrived but when she discovered it was her own little daughter who was playing so divinely she had an attack of palpitation of the heart to which she was subject and sat down upon a sofa until it should pass away Meanwhile, Bessie played one piece after another with untiring energy.

She loved music, and now found that all she need do was to sit at the piano and listen and watch her hands twinkle over the keyboard.

Twilight deepened in the room, and Bessie's father came home and hung up his hat and coat and placed his umbrella in the rack.

Then he peeked into the parlor to see who was playing.

"'Great Caesar!' he exclaimed.

But the mother came to him softly with her finger on her lips and whispered, "'Don't interrupt her, John.

Our child seems to be in a trance.

Did you ever hear such superb music?' "'Why, she's an infant prodigy,' gasped the astounded father.

"'Beats blind Tom all hollow.

It's wonderful!' as they stood listening the senator arrived having been invited to dine with them that evening and before he had taken off his coat the yale professor a man of deep learning and scholarly attainments joined the party bessie played on and the four elders stood in a huddled but silent and amazed group listening to the music and waiting for the sound of the dinner gong mr bostwick who was hungry picked up the bonbon dish that lay on the table beside him and ate the pink confection The professor was watching him, so Mr. Bostwick courteously held the dish toward him.

The professor ate the lemon yellow piece, and the senator reached out his hand and took the lavender piece.

He did not eat it, however, for chancing to remember that it might spoil his dinner, he put it in his vest pocket.

Mrs. Bostwick, still intently listening to her precocious daughter, without thinking what she did, took the remaining piece, which was the white one, and slowly devoured it.

The dish was now empty, and Clara Balsud's precious bonbons had passed from her possession forever.

Suddenly Mr. Bostwick, who was a big man, began to sing in a shrill, tremolo, soprano voice.

It was not the same song Bessie was playing, and the discord was so shocking that the professor smiled.

The senator put his hands to his ears, and Mrs. Bostwick cried in a horrified voice, "'William!' Her husband continued to sing, as if endeavouring to emulate the famous Christine Nilsen, and paid no attention whatever to his wife or his guests.

Fortunately, the dinner gong now sounded, and Mrs. Bostwick dragged Bessie from the piano and ushered her guests into the dining-room.

Mr. Bostwick followed, singing the last rose of summer, as if it had been an encore demanded by a thousand delighted hearers.

The poor woman was in despair at witnessing her husband's undignified actions and wondered what she might do to control him.

The professor seemed more grave than usual.

The senator's face wore an offended expression, and Bessie kept moving her fingers as if she still wanted to play the piano.

Mrs. Boswick managed to get them all seated, although her husband had broken into another aria, and then the maid brought in the soup.

when she carried a plate to the professor he cried in an excited voice hold it higher higher i say and springing up he gave it a sudden kick that sent it nearly to the ceiling from whence the dish descended to scatter soup over bessie and the maid and to smash in pieces upon the crown of the professor's bald head at this atrocious act the senator rose from his seat with an exclamation of horror and glanced at his hostess FOR SOME TIME MRS. BOSTWICK HAD BEEN STARING STRAIGHT AHEAD WITH A DAZED EXPRESSION.

BUT NOW, CATCHING THE SENATOR'S EYE, SHE BOWED GRACEFULLY AND BEGAN RECITING THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE IN FORCEFUL TONES.

THE SENATOR SHUDDERED.

SUCH DISGRACEFUL RIOTING HE HAD NEVER SEEN NOR HEARD BEFORE IN A DECENT PRIVATE FAMILY.

HE FELT THAT HIS REPUTATION WAS AT STAKE, AND BEING THE ONLY SAME PERSON APPARENTLY IN THE ROOM, THERE WAS NO ONE TO WHOM HE MIGHT APPEAL.

the maid had run away to cry hysterically in the kitchen mr bostwick was singing oh promise me the professor was trying to kick the globes off the chandelier mrs bostwick had switched her recitation to the boy stood on the burning deck and bessie had stolen into the parlor and was pounding out the overture from the flying dutchman the senator was not at all sure he would not go crazy himself presently so he slipped away from the turmoil and catching up his hat and coat in the hall hurried from the house That night he sat up late writing a political speech he was to deliver the next afternoon at Faneuil Hall, but his experiences at the Bostwick's had so unnerved him that he could scarcely collect his thoughts, and often he would pause and shake his head pityingly as he remembered the strange things he had seen in that usually respectable home.

The next day he met Mr. Bostwick in the street, and passed him by with a stony glare of oblivion.

he felt he really could not afford to know this gentleman in the future mr bostwick was naturally indignant at the direct snub yet in his mind lingered a faint memory of some quite unusual occurrences at his dinner-party the evening before and he hardly knew whether he dared resent the senator's treatment or not the political meeting was the feature of the day for the senator's eloquence was well known in boston so the big hall was crowded with people and in one of the front rows sat the bostwick family with the learned yale professor beside them they all looked tired and pale as if they had passed a rather dissipated evening and the senator was rendered so nervous by seeing them that he refused to look in their direction a second time While the mayor was introducing him, the great man sat fidgeting in his chair, and happening to put his thumb and finger into his vest pocket, he found the lavender-colored bonbon he had placed there the evening before.

This may clear my throat, thought the senator, and slipped the bonbon into his mouth.

A few minutes afterwards he arose before the vast audience, which greeted him with enthusiastic plaudits.

My friends began the senator in a grave voice.

This is the most impressive and important occasion.

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Then he paused, balanced himself upon his left foot, and kicked his right leg into the air in the way favored by ballet dancers.

There was a hum of amazement and horror from the spectators.

but the senator appeared not to notice it he whirled around upon the tips of his toes kicked right and left in a graceful manner and startled a bald-headed man in the front row by casting a languishing glance in his direction suddenly claribel sudds who happened to be present uttered a scream and sprang to her feet pointing an accusing finger at the dancing senator she cried in a loud voice

that's the man who stole my bonbons seize him arrest him don't let him escape

but the ushers rushed her out of the hall thinking she had gone suddenly insane and the senator's friends seized him firmly and carried him out the stage entrance to the street where they put him into an open carriage and instructed the driver to take him home the effect of the magic bonbon was still powerful enough to control the poor senator who stood upon the rear seat of the carriage and danced energetically all the way home to the delight of the crowd of small boys who followed the carriage and the grief of the sober-minded citizens who shook their heads sadly and whispered that another good man had gone wrong it took the senator several months to recover from the shame and humiliation of this escapade and curiously enough he never had the slightest idea what had induced him to act in so extraordinary a manner perhaps it was fortunate the last bonbon had now been eaten for they might easily have caused considerably more trouble than they did of course claribel went again to the wise chemist and signed a cheque for another box of magic bonbons but she must have taken better care of these for she is now a famous vaudeville actress This story should teach us the folly of condemning others for actions that we do not understand, for we never know what may happen to ourselves.

It may also serve as a hint to be careful about leaving parcels in public places, and incidentally, to let other people's packages severely alone.

The Magic Legacy by Anonymous Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

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The Magic Legacy A king had a son named Alendor, whom he had made an accomplished prince.

A few minutes before his death, he addressed him in the following words, son it is time i should make room for thee the crown has been a burden to my head thou wilt wear it with honour i have long possessed a treasure which enchantment has prevented me from enjoying but nothing restricts thee from the use of it open a chest that thou wilt find buried beneath the fountain possess thyself of this prize and let justice guide thee in the application of it receive the last breath of thy expiring father in a prayer for thy prosperity with these words the old king breathed his last alendor hung long sorrowing over the lifeless corpse he caused his father to be interred and then set fifty labourers to dig under the fountain and a vault was discovered many feet under the earth the prince was present when it was found all that it contained was a chest of ebony which alendor could carry without difficulty on opening the chest he found an empty purse a horn of metal and a girdle of coarse hair his disappointment was so great that he stood motionless alendor examined the chest with more attention and in one corner discovered a parchment on which he read these words when thou hast need of gold open the purse and thou wilt find whatever thou hast occasion for if soldiers be necessary to thee blow the horn three times and an army will stand at thy command whom thou mayest dismiss with a word wouldst thou be transported from one place to another gird thyself with the belt and it will convey thee instantly to the place where thou wishest these wisely employed may make thee the most powerful of monarchs but be careful to preserve them for they will possess the same virtues in the hands of another and what may conduce to thy prosperity may also be employed for thy destruction the purse was required to do its office and it swelled to such a weight that he let it fall to the floor which was covered with gold he then blowed the horn and was surrounded with soldiers these proofs satisfied him that his girdle would not fail when brought to the trial He languished for Zenomia, the daughter of a caliph.

Zenomia was selfish and ambitious, at the same time an admirable creature.

Her beauty held a crowd of young princes in her chains.

Alendor sighed for her, while his richer rivals openly contended for her favor.

The treasure he possessed furnished him with the means of surpassing every competitor.

His appearance at court awakened the jealousy of all the rival princes.

the caliph and his consort encouraged the addresses of so rich a monarch and zenomia displayed a marked preference for him the violence of his passion drew from him a formal declaration How canst thou expect acceptance of my love, said the princess, when thou hast reposed no confidence in me? The petty kingdom of which thou callest thyself the ruler could never suffice to thy profusion.

There is something mysterious in your appearance, which must be explained.

Alendor protested that his name and title were what he professed them, but Zenomia still persisting to maintain the contrary.

he revealed to his beloved fair the secret source of his riches zenomia was not content with this assurance she would see the purse and make experiment of its virtues no sooner was it in her power than she flew out of the apartment after some time a slave came to thank him for his present and announced to him that zenomia in company of the caliph and her mother was about to set off for one of their country palaces the plot now stood revealed to the prince and he saw that the father mother and daughter had engaged in a conspiracy to plunder him He had no resource but to return to his kingdom for the most potent of his father's gifts, to revenge the injury.

In two months he appeared before the capital of the caliph, provided with his horn and girdle.

No sooner had he given three blasts than an army of fifty thousand men stood at each of the four gates of the city, while a large body of horsemen scoured the country.

The caliph sought to save himself and his family by flight.

the fugitives were intercepted by the prince's cavalry and brought captives into the tent of alendor zenomia wiped away her tears scarcely can i trust my eyes said she when i behold in thee prince the ravager of our city and empire alas i see that thy vows were words devoid of sentiment shame who to avenge a woman's frolic wastes kingdoms and assails his mistress zanomia concluded her address with such tenderness that alvandor cast himself at her feet and swore to disband his troops as soon as his purse was restored to him here take it and know that i feel no more pain in parting with it than i do in flying a lover so impetuous and fatal alandor now turned to the caliph and conjured him to reconcile him with the princess he dismissed his army the caliph besought him to accompany him to the city where a banquet should consign all enmity to oblivion he now renewed his wish to possess the heart of the princess willingly would i obey a voice that speaks too eloquently for thee in my heart were not thy powers too tremendous disclose to me the means by which thou hast brought so innumerable a host before our gates speak prove thyself of a mortal nature like myself and all within me shall be alendors he produced the magic horn and informed zenobia of the effect of its operation the artful beauty soon found means to gain this instrument and as soon as it was in her hands she gave three blasts and in an instant an army attended her orders he requested her to dismiss the magic host into the air when to his amazement the princess instead of listening to his words turned to the nearest soldiers and bade them seize the prince and convey him to her father fortunately alendor had girded himself with the magic belt and this with his first wish transported him instantly to his own kingdom but what words could speak his frenzy when recurring to his purse to replenish his coffers it remained empty when on inspection he found it totally different from his own and perceived the black fraud of zenomia he was not long in inventing a plan of his revenge and the means of executing it were found in the magic girdle on this he reposed all his hopes of vengeance and waiting for midnight he bound the girdle about his waist and wished himself in the princess's apartment the belt fulfilled its office in an instant and placed him beside the couch of his false mistress who sunk in her sound sleep apprehended nothing from her enraged lover the charms of his false zenomia reclined before him more enchanting than ever he forgot his wrongs and had no care but to excuse his temerity a sigh disturbed her she leaped from the sofa and cried for help alendor embraced her and besought her to be tranquil forgive my temerity zenomia i conjure thee to banish every fear and give me a patient audience

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Refreshers contain caffeine.

Xenomia now recollected the voice of her injured lover, foreboded his design, by thus addressing him.

"'I am culpable, prince, I own.

I urge too far the proud design of robbing you of everything.

You have mistaken my sentiments.

I will not inquire by what new charm you have penetrated through the guards of my palace.

I revere the mysterious powers that obey you.

Yet you need not their assistance to recover your treasures, ere morning they shall be restored.' but prince there is a reparation owing me which thou wilt not scruple to acquit thyself of thou hast exposed my name to calumny by this intrusion from this hour thou art my husband is it possible cried alendor that thou canst return my rashness with such generosity yes beloved zenomia i am thine and nothing shall disturb our harmony zenomia observed his girdle whose shaggy texture rendered it perceptible on the robe which the prince wore and she thought that some new magic was concerned with this uncouth ornament hoping to win the secret from her lover she loosed the belt gradually and when she had so far effected her purpose that another touch would detach it she drew back in the midst of a tender address of the prince pretending to have been hurt by some part of his apparel she now fain to perceive the magic girdle and ridiculing it for its ungraceful appearance begged him to divest himself of so odious an ornament do not despise this belt of all the wonders i possess it is most precious to it i owe all the happiness of my future life to support his words alin dora related how he had made a journey of many weeks in an instant and informed her it had the virtue of transporting him whithersoever he would no sooner was zenomia acquainted with the secret than she approached the prince threw him off his guard and loosed from his body the girdle which now scarcely hung to his side instantly binding it round her waist she wished herself in the caliph's apartment allan dore's astonishment was so great that he lost all consciousness and was near falling into the hands of the guards whom she had despatched to seize him fortunately the rattle of the gates awakened him from the stupefaction in which the perfidy of the princess had left him and he saved himself by a staircase that led into the gardens for two days he wandered about a horrid wilderness to meet that death which he could never find fatigued beyond sufferance he resolved to terminate all his miseries and accordingly mounting the steepest precipice he threw himself headlong down the fall must have proved death to him had not his robe caught the branch of a fig-tree this broke his fall and let him down gently on a bed of thick moss that preserved him from fracture but he lay some time motionless on the ground when his reason returned he found himself tormented by such a thirst that he strove to raise himself that he might search for some water but his struggles were ineffectual and he seemed held to the ground by some vast weight looking for what restrained him he perceived a vast branch which he had by the violence of his fall detached from the tree lay under him and was entangled with his garment with joy he saw it covered with ripe figs of extraordinary size and beauty he devoured them with avidity no sooner had the prince appeased his thirst than he was disturbed by a frightful prodigy with every fig he had eaten his nose extended itself the length of a thumb He observed it with amazement.

Perhaps it is a brand of ignominy for my folly in losing the precious donations of my father.

During these reflections he wandered about the valley in search of an outlet.

Noontide advanced, and Alendor's thirst returned on him with new fury.

Happily he heard the gushing of water, and perceiving a spring, he reclined beside it to drink the clear liquid.

he drank the cool water out of his palms and observed that with every draught the monstrous exuberance of his nose diminished meditating on the possibility of regaining all his treasures the accident that had befallen his countenance suggested to him a stratagem which promised to restore his losses and effect revenge on his false mistress he broke off a branch of the finest figs and returning to the spring with an earthen vessel he filled it with water he entered the city in the disguise of a peasant and proceeded to the palace of the caliph as the fruit was of uncommon beauty they were immediately purchased for the table of the sultaness and her daughter alin dora retired from the palace when the bargain was concluded and disguising himself anew he hired a house in the suburbs and assumed the character of a physician The mother and daughter, allured by the delicious flavor of the fruit, devoured it with eagerness.

Each perceived the alteration in herself and the other at the same moment, and both burst into exclamations of surprise and horror.

Both mother and daughter ran to a mirror, and, seeing their faces thus hideously disfigured, brought all their attendants about them.

The rumor of this miraculous event spread through the palace, and the caliph came to satisfy himself of the extraordinary incident.

the caliph summoned the most celebrated physicians and promised a kingly recompense to him who should relieve his wife and daughter from their encumbrances it was agreed that the misfortune was not to be removed by medicine alendor now thought it time to hasten the progress of his stratagem he accordingly announced himself as a sage experienced in all the mysteries of medicine and was received with every mark of respect the water from the fount effected on the sultaness all she could wish alendor said to the princess your aspect princess moves me at once to mirth and compassion then after pronouncing many strange words he administered to her a cup of common water which was without any consequence but to irritate the hopes of the princess the nose of the princess was not lessened a hair's breadth by this tantalizing process alendor repeated three days successively this pantomime till the anguish and tears of the princess had become almost insupportable he then appointed the hour of midnight for a grand and final attempt if the magnificent rewards promised by my father be insufficient to excite your diligence know that i possess treasures of inestimable value and on the instant you effect my cure i will demonstrate to you my gratitude i am too familiar with the promises of the sick and know how little sure they are of performance zenomia without answering stepped into her closet and returned with her magic purse together with the horn and girdle these three insignificant utensils possess such miraculous virtues that it depends only on my use of them to become the richest and most powerful of mortals from this instant they are your own and i will instruct you how to employ them when you have restored me to my proportion of feature I need not thy directions.

I resume what thou hast robbed me of, and leave thee thy false heart and thy monstrous nose.

While he spoke these words, he girded himself in his magic belt, and wishing himself in his own kingdom, left the false fair one to deplore the loss of her ill-gotten gains and her beauty.

The Magic Number by Anonymous Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Beeswax Candle The Magic Number I have a telephone.

A simple, unpretentious toy, just like the next one.

sometimes i think it must be exceptional but anon i hear other telephoners talking and i realize that theirs too have the same repertory of pretty mannerisms especially i found a matter for complaint re wilmer especially wilmer found matter for complaint re me wilmer and i are friends and neighbors no doubt the people at the exchange have made a note of it For if I ever rang up Wilmer, he, they told me, answered not.

And if ever Wilmer rang up me, I, they told him, was engaged.

To discover that these things were not so, it was only necessary for the ringer to step across the road.

Nay, even a shout from the garden was sufficient.

Having matter for complaint, we complained.

After that, Nothing could redeem us in the ears of our exchange.

Formally, we got through to each other once in four shots.

Thereafter, the blockage was complete.

So, we laid our plans.

One evening, at half-past eight, I rang up the exchange.

"'I want 4792 Marble Arch,' I began.

An interval, then.

"'Sorry, there's no answer.' i made a bad-tempered noise full of incredulity and baffled urgency and yet i was not wholly surprised four seven nine two makes wall-papers up to seven p m and then puts up the shutters i rang up the exchange i want five nine two one b city please again there was no answer this was wilmer's office Wilmer, who was standing behind me, made them ring it up twice again to make sure.

Then I went on to the other eight impossible numbers we had fixed on.

They were unresponsive to a man.

Ten rings and not a single answer.

Then we crossed to Wilmer's house.

Wilmer rang up the exchange.

Bitter experience has assured us that we share the same operator.

i want four seven nine two marble arch he began four seven nine two was still mute so was five nine two one b city so were no fewer than all the eight further numbers pre-arranged then i went back again and rang up four seven nine two This precipitated the crisis.

Oh, I'm sorry, sir, but I'm nearly sure I can't get them.

Would you let me have a list of the numbers you want, and I'll get when I can? The number I really want, I said, is Mr.

Wilmer's, 729 Lane, but I've given up trying to get that.

I was through to Wilmer like lightning, and a little later he rang me up by the same strategy.

Nowadays, if Wilma or I have any trouble in getting one another, we have only to whisper 4792 Marble Arch, and we're through before we thought of what to say.

End of The Magic Number by Anonymous

The Magic Ring by Anonymous Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

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The Magic Ring Sounds of the chase had died away Far through the somber wood Alone beside his weary steed A youthful monarch stood when low from out the brushwood near a milk-white rabbit sprang chased by his hound and to the king for aid and shelter ran he saved it from the eager hound he bore it to his home he fed it let it rest awhile then left it free to roam that night beside the monarch's couch a lily lady stood and said o king in rabbit guise you saved me in the wood as guerdon for so kind a deed this precious gift i bring a talisman to be your guide a magic ruby ring wear it and if in evil hour from virtue's path you stray a warning stab will call you back into the better way she vanished and the king awhile the magic circlet wore yet with impatience and contempt its frequent warnings bore time passed from toil of fruitless chase king ahmed came one day and round his feet his little dog gambolled in joyous play Impatiently he threw it off, it bounded back a vein.

In wrath he raised his hunting spear, and poor Fideli was slain.

And then the ring with cruel stab drew blood, a warning sent, in vain to curb his temper's haste, and bid the man repent.

The pain increased King Ahmed's wrath, roused all his wicked pride.

He tore the fairy favour off, and cast the gem aside.

No check thenceforward has his will, free from the magic ring.

He ruled his people savagely, a tyrant, not a king.

He sent them chained to distant mines, he wore them out with toil.

Nor age nor infancy escaped, hard labor on the soil.

Once more the lily lady came and frowning sternly said, A life unworthy of a man, tyrant by thee is led.

Cruel and savage take the shape that for thy soul is meet.

A gaunt wolf as the fairy spake.

lay crouching at her feet the king had vanished from his realm how no one could explain they thought when they beheld the wolf the monarch had been slain to the menagerie they drag the dumb and struggling king and into a dark horrid den the wolf-like man they fling and there henceforward he must dwell his howls in fury vain they only bring the keeper's lash or heavy galling chain and where he lies he hears all day the people shout of glee the tyrant's gone rejoice rejoice once more the land is free the keeper was a cruel man who badly used his power and causelessly upon his beasts oft savage blows would shower but in his wolf disguise the king a solemn lesson learns and to atone for his past crimes with helpless anguish yearns one day the tiger much provoked upon the keeper springs and to the earth with savage roar his tyrant master flings the victim thinks his fate is sealed but unhoped aid is nigh he sees the wolf with sudden bound upon the tiger fly the man is saved he gains his feet for succor loudly cries men fly to help the tiger seized and once more captive lies the keeper turns to praise the wolf no wolf is to be seen a stately lion king of beasts stands where the wolf has been and while in motionless surprise the keeper gazing stood the noble beast with thankful heart made off to the near wood there seated neath a mighty tree upon the mossy ground a lovely lady all in tears the kingly lion found in seeming fear the lady rose from off her grassy seat but when she saw the lordly beast crouch lowly at her feet and try his sympathy to show and mutely offer aid she laid her white hand on his mane and was no more afraid she told him how in fear she fled all hopeless and alone from that false traitor who usurped her father's ancient throne by signs he made her mount his back and saying he was sent by providence to give her aid fearless with him she went attacked by outlaws in the wood for her he fought and bled and saith the lily lady bore when half her foes were dead so sped they for many a league through wild and wold and wood until they reached the monarch's home and at the gate they stood and then the lily lady spoke resume thy former shape now thou hast learnt that to be good is to be truly great he rose again a stately prince once more he was a king and on his finger shone again the fairy's magic ring with royal steps once more he trod his ancient palace home and no one dared to ask of him where he had pleased to roam But with Frank's smile and princely grace this strange wild tale he told, and promised that his future rule should not be like the old.

End of The Magic Ring by Anonymous Read by Elsie Selwyn

Two Tricks from Magic, Stage Illusions, and Scientific Diversions including trick photography, compiled and edited by Albert A. Hopkins, published 1897.

Coffee Break Collection 39.

Magic.

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For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. TWO TRICKS FROM MAGIC, STAGE ILLUSIONS AND SCIENTIFIC DIVERSIONS, INCLUDING TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY CHAPTER THREE MISCELLANEOUS STAGE TRICKS THE HAUNTED SWING AND MAGIC HARPS THE HAUNTED SWING the supreme happiness of sitting in a swing which apparently whirls around its points of support giving the occupant what is most properly described as a new sensation may now be enjoyed by all it is termed the haunted swing and has been in most successful operation at atlantic city and at the midwinter fair near san francisco those who are to participate in the apparent gyrations of the swing and there may be quite a number who enjoy it simultaneously are ushered into a small room from a bar crossing the room near the ceiling hangs a large swing which is provided with seats for a number of people after the people have taken their places the attendant pushes the car and it starts into oscillation like any other swing the room door is closed gradually those in it feel after three or four movements that their swing is going rather high but this it not all the apparent amplitude of the oscillations increases more and more until presently the whole swing seems to whirl completely over describing a full circle about the bar on which it hangs to make the thing more utterly mysterious the bar is bent crank fashion so that it seems demonstrably impossible for the swing to pass between bar and ceiling it continues apparently to go round and round this way imparting a most weird sensation to the occupants until its movements begin gradually to cease and the complete rotation is succeeded by the usual back-and-forth swinging and in a few seconds as the children say the old cat dies the door of the room is opened and the swinging party leave those who have tried it say the sensation is most peculiar and the deception perfect the illusion is based on the movements of the room proper during the entire exhibition the swing is practically stationary while the room rotates about the suspending bar At the beginning of operations, the swing may be given a slight push.

The operators outside the room then begin to swing the room itself, which is really a large box journaled on the swing bar, starting it off to correspond with the movements of the swing.

They swing it back and forth, increasing the arc through which it moves until it goes so far as to make a complete rotation.

The operatives do this without special machinery, taking hold of the sides and corners of the box or room.

At this time, the people in the swing imagine that the room is stationary while they are whirling through space.

After keeping this up for some time, the movement is brought gradually to a stop, a sufficient number of back-and-forth swings being given at the finale to carry out the illusion to the end.

The room is as completely furnished as possible, everything being, of course, fastened in place.

What is apparently a kerosene lamp stands on a table, near at hand? it is securely fastened to the table which in its turn is fastened to the floor and the light is supplied by a small incandescent lamp within the chimney but concealed by the shade the visitor never imagines that it is an electric lamp and naturally thinks that it would be impossible for a kerosene lamp to be inverted without disaster so that this adds to the deception materially the same is to be said of the pictures hanging on the wall of the cupboard full of chinaware of the chair with a hat on it and of the baby carriage all contribute to the mystification even though one is informed of the secret before entering the swing the deception is said to be so complete that passengers involuntarily seize the arms of the seats to avoid being precipitated below magic harps the experiment which we are about to describe while it is thoroughly scientific was taken up under the name of aeolian harps by robert houdin who introduced several modifications of it when the experiment was performed by wheatstone in eighteen fifty five four harps were arranged in a semicircle on the stage of the polytechnic institution these harps at the pleasure of the experimenter vibrated as if they were made to resound by invisible hands This effect was produced by fixing to the sounding board of each of them vertical rods of fir wood, which passed through the floor of the stage and ceilings, into the cellar of the institution, where one of them was fixed upon a sounding board of a piano, another upon the sounding board of a violoncello, and two others upon the sounding boards of violins.

In order to render it possible to interrupt the vibrations between the instruments and the harps, the rods supporting the latter were divided at two inches above the floor.

Each harp could be cut off from communication with the instrument below by turning it around upon its axis.

When Robert Houdin introduces the illusion, he used a stage elevated in the very midst of the spectators.

this stage was traversed by two firwood rods which, after passing through the floor, rested upon harps placed in the hands of skillful players.

At the command of the prestidigitator, two other harps supported upon the upper extremity of the rods executed a concert which was very successful, thanks to the careful preparations and the elegant mise-en-scene.

Of course, The harps were supposed to operate through the intervention of mediumistic spirits.

End of Two Tricks from Magic, Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, including trick photography.

Compiled and edited by Albert A. Hopkins.

Recording by Marissa D.

Six, Largo, Florida, November 8th, 2023.

Magic Wands and Divining Rods by Richard Fulkard Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

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For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Larry Wilson at so remote a period as the vedic age we find allusions to magic wands or rods in the vedas the hindu finds instructions for cutting the mystic sami branch and the arani this operation was to be performed so that the eastern and western sun shone through the fork of the rod or it would prove of no avail the chinese still abide by these venerable instructions in the cutting of their magic wands which are usually cut from the peach or some other fruit tree on the night preceding the new year which always commences with the first new moon after the winter solstice the employment of magic wands and staffs was in vogue among the chaldeans and egyptians who imparted the knowledge of this system of divination to the hebrews dwelling among them thus we find the prophet hosea saying my people ask counsel at their stocks and their staff declareth unto them rhabdomancy or divination by means of a rod was practised by the ancient greeks and romans and the art was known in england at the time of agricola though now it is almost forgotten in china and eastern lands the art still flourishes and various kinds of plants and trees are employed the principal being however the hazel osier and blackthorn the druids were accustomed to cut their divining rods from the apple tree in competent hands the golden rod is said to point to hidden springs of water as well as to hidden treasures of gold and silver some sorcerers do boast they have a rod gathered with vows and sacrifice that borne aloft will strangely nod to hidden treasure where it lies shepherd sixteen hundred in cornwall the divining rod is still employed by miners to discover the presence of mineral wealth in lancashire and cumberland the belief in the powers of the magic wand is widely spread and in wiltshire it is used for detecting water the virgula divinatoria is also frequently in requisition both in italy and france experts will tell you that in order to ensure success certain mystic rites must be performed at the cutting of the rod this must be done after sunset and before sunrise and only on certain special nights among which are those of good friday epiphany shrove tuesday and st john's day the first night of a new moon or that preceding it in cutting the divining rod the operator must face the east so that it shall be one which catches the first rays of the morning sun or it will be valueless these conditions it will be found are similar to those contained in the hindu vedas and still enforced by the chinese some english experts are of opinion that a twig of an apple-tree may be used as successfully as a hazel wand but it must be of twelve months growth The seventh son of a seventh son is considered to be the most fitting person to use the rod.

In operating, the small ends, being crooked, are to be held in the hands in a position flat or parallel to the horizon, and the upper part at an elevation having an angle to it of about seventy degrees.

The rod must be grasped strongly and steadily, and then the operator walks over the ground.

when he crosses a lode its bending is supposed to indicate the presence thereof according to valmont the author of a treatise on the divining rod published towards the end of the seventeenth century its use was not merely confined to indicate metal or water but it was also employed in tracking criminals and an extraordinary story is told of a frenchman who guided by his rod pursued a murderer by land for a distance exceeding forty-five leagues besides thirty leagues more by water from an article in the quarterly review number forty four the statements in which were vouched by the editor it would seem that a lady noel possessed the faculty of using the defining rod in operating this lady took a thin forked hazel twig about sixteen inches long and held it by the end the joint pointing downwards when she came to the place where the water was under the ground the twig immediately bent and the motion was more or less rapid as she approached or withdrew from the spring when just over it the twig turned so quick as to snap breaking near the fingers which by pressing it were indented and heated and almost blistered a degree of agitation was also visible in her face the exercise of the faculty is independent of any volition in germany the divining rod is often called the wishing rod and as it is by preference cut from the black thorn that tree is known also as the wishing thorn in prussia the hazel rod must be cut in spring to have its magical qualities thoroughly developed when the first thunderstorm is seen to be approaching a cross is made with the rod over every heap of grain in order that the corn so distinguished may keep good for many a month in bohemia the magic rod is thought to cure fever it is necessary however when purchasing one not to raise an objection to the price in ireland if any one dreams of buried money there is a prescribed formula to be employed when digging for it a portion of which is the marking upon a hazel wand three crosses and the recital of certain words of a blasphemous character over it sir thomas browne tells us that in his time the divining rod was called moses rod and he thinks with agricola that this rod is of pagan origin the ground whereof were the magical rods in poets that of pallas and homer that of mercury that charmed argus and that of circe which transformed the followers of ulysses too boldly usurping the name of moses rod from which snot was standing and that of aaron will probably occasion the fables of all the rest for that of moses must needs be famous unto the egyptians and that of aaron unto many other nations as being preserved in the ark until the destruction of the temple built by solomon The rabbis tell us that the rod of Moses was originally carved by Adam out of a tree which grew in the Garden of Eden, that Noah, who took it into the ark with him, bequeathed it to Shem, that it descended to Abraham, that Isaac gave it to Jacob, that during his sojourn in Egypt he gave it to Joseph, and that finally it became the property of Moses.

Malkior Makes Magic by Charles Henry Macintosh Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

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For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Ben Tucker Malkior Makes Magic by Charles Henry Macintosh Thrice thirteen in number were the worn stone slabs leading downward to the massive metal door of the underworld dwelling where Malkior made his dreadful magic.

Envis, later named the Unlucky, counted them carefully as he stepped slowly from one to the next.

Not that he needed to know the number, but because the counting kept his mind from his mission.

He stood on the thirty-ninth slab to study the metal door.

It was rust-red, channeled with green slime, neither noteworthy nor cheering, but Invis examined it with sustained regard.

His pulse-beats pounded out the passing moments into thin strips of eternity, while the consciousness grew in his sixth sense that he was no longer alone in his watchfulness.

Someone, or something, was watching him from behind all that massiveness of metal.

The conviction carried his hand to his sword hilt, though he remained sufficiently aware of his situation not to draw the weapon, but to strike its heavy hilt against the door.

The blow left a deep mark, perceptible even in that dimness, but the sound was dull and reluctant.

he would have struck again and harder but he perceived that the door had dissolved or slid away along hidden grooves and the darkness beyond seemed more dreadful than the door dank air rushed out upon him and pressed a thousand ice-cold lips against his skin He would have fled, but a bobbing light appeared somewhere at the back of the blackness, bobbing as lanterns bob when they are borne by men, and the familiar sight restored a little of his subconscious courage.

A purring growl came nearer with the light, but soon resolved itself into very ordinary complaints, such as servitors make when roused from their warm couches by untimely visitors.

the mysteries of malchior were not well served by this one who acted all too much as ordinary humans act he should have been trained in the demoniacal manner thought invas but both the thought and the returning courage which inspired it were stricken from him as the light illuminated the face green-tusked red-eyed drooping-eared dreadful as a bloodshot dream i seek your master inva stammered cryptically enough came the answer many seek few find but follow The voice, at least, was human, Envis followed, feeling with a foot before him, and then throwing forward his weight, till the light lit up another door.

His guide tapped against this with a hammer so tiny that the sound of its stroke fell silent almost before it could come into the ears of Envis, where he stood at the sword's length behind.

Yet the guide seemed satisfied, for he put up the hammer, grunted, "'Wait here!' and was gone, light and all, swallowed up in darkness." Again, the moving air chilled him and warned that this door, too, had melted into darkness, but Malkior well knew the value of suspense, and for several seconds the silence worked for him upon his visitor's network of nerves.

Just before Dread would change into courage came a voice deep, booming, and beautiful.

"'Set your sword at your feet! Step over it, and enter!' So, Malkior was human enough to fear a weapon in the hand of a warrior? The darkness seemed to catch the thought in booming back a contemptuous answer.

Weapons cannot serve you here, but unless you believe that, you may not enter, and if you believe it, you will set your sword at your feet, step over it, and enter.

Invis obeyed, took three or four steps, and stood again, while the darkness lessened, for, though there was still no light, the darkness did lessen.

suddenly he was aware of two eyes regarding him from a point some distance before him at his own height above eye-level the eyes were like large living opals green and blue with sudden shifts shot through with orange fire and though they held him like giant hands still he was aware that a face was forming round those eyes in the darkness first the grizzled eyebrows then a huge bulbous dome above and a hawk nose beneath finally a slow-forming cataract of silvery hair falling over the mouth and trailing down into the darkness nothing more than the face cruel and cunning and powerful with a force that was insistently felt did invas see while he remained except later for just a moment a slender fingered hand of old ivory which reached him things that he shuddered to take things for which he had come that dreadful journey and then after he had them the hand vanished like a blown torch within three days the great voice boomed at him when he had the things your enemy will be dead but but you know not even the name of mine enemy as yet how can you slay him for me if you know not whom to slay I, to slay your enemy? answered the voice with mocking astonishment.

I, a priest of Beale? No, it is yourself who will slay.

Thus, hear now and remember, when you are again in your own place.

Invis had a momentary, heartsick vision of his cozy quarters.

In your own place on the night of the third day from this.

You will take that lump of tallow.

Yes, it is only tallow, although it is true that it was sweated from the fat flesh of one who had just died, with the king's stake piercing up into his entrails.

But it is just tallow.

Take it, and knead it in the warmth of your hands, and begin to shape it, however roughly, into human form." into the form of your foe and as you shape each part you will pronounce his name and say this is the head of such a one and these his eyes and this his nose and here his mouth and now his neck his breast his loins his thighs and so until you have shaped the whole Then in the midst of the belly you will make the mark of the navel, and when that is done all is ready.

Take then that tiny dart of gold between forefinger and thumb, and when you have recited the whole of the curse, which is pictured plainly for you upon the parchment, plunge the dart into the navel of your enemy and press it out of sight into the tallow.

Then fling all into the brazier and repeat the curse quickly while the flame blazes.

And mine enemy? Your enemy will feel the dart enter his entrails.

He will die before dawn.

And on the day following, I shall be the king's— Stop! Tell me not to what place of power you aspire.

It would be to name your enemy, and I must not hear his name.

A priest of Bealslay's not save as Bealslay's, unknowing and uncaring, simply placing the weapon in a hand of hatred.

Now leave your gift and go.

Invis dropped the bag of gold at his feet where it fell on the rock floor and rang true to its metal, and turned away to find the ghoul-faced guide awaiting him with the lantern outside the Hall of Darkness where the luminous face already was fading from sight behind him.

Foul as was the air of thrice thirteen steps, he drew deep, sobbing breaths of it as he darted up and away.

Far behind him the outer door had closed, and the guide, after removing his ghoul's mask, grumbled his way back to his master.

"'Bastif!' boomed the voice of Malkior.

"'Whose place does Invers covet? Is it known in the markets?' "'It is the mark of the markets.

Three days ago, when the captain of the King's Guard was slain by the worm that bites in the dust, Fornito, named the Fortunate, fell into it by a shrewd trick of his tongue, though Invers has been second officer for full five years.

"'To the marketplaces at dawn, then, and let it be whispered about that Invers has gotten a

death-charm from Malkior!'

For the full three days, while the whisperings went from mouth to ear all through the city, Invis kept the tallow and the dart and the parchment secreted on his person, though their tiny bulk pressed against him with the weight of a pyramid.

On the evening of the third day, however, he took them out, still wrapped in the parchment, weighted the package with a stone, and threw it far into the waters of the harbor.

For at heart Invis was a decent enough fellow, though proud and passionate.

It was the evening of the day following when Bastif brought his news from the marketplaces to the ears of his master.

"'Fornito died at midnight,

his entrails torn by the worm that bites in the dark.' "'And what of Invis?' "'Even now Invis rides on the king's stake, for the whole city said of him, "'Invis has gotten a death charm from Malkior.' And the king was very fond of Fornito.

"'Ah,' said Malkior, "'but even the king fears Malkior.' Did you put the gold in the deep cavern? The

Master of Magic The Story of a Boy Who Learned His Lessons in School By Elsie Spicer Eels coffee break collection thirty nine magic the master of magic the story of a boy who learned his lessons in school once upon a time there lived a man who had three sons the two older ones worked in the fields but the youngest one went to school learned how to read and write and do sums and make drawings at last he even learned magic the two elder brothers complained to their father about him one day their hearts were bitter against him it is not fair father they said we work hard every day in the fields and bring home money to enrich the family why shouldn't our brother work too he does nothing except study youngest son heard their words of complaint will you go hunting with me tomorrow father he asked i have learned much magic in fact i have become a master of magic i will turn myself into a hunting dog if you will go into the fields with me the next day the young man changed himself by magic into a hunting dog and his father went into the fields with him he bagged many rabbits that day as they returned home he met one of his friends luck to-day asked his friend the hunter proudly displayed the rabbits he had in his bag i have them thanks to my dog he said i'd like to buy that dog of yours said his friend what will you take for him the father named an enormous price and to his great surprise his friend accepted it the money was passed over at once and the hunting dog went home with his new master the next day they went on a hunting expedition into the deep forest suddenly the dog disappeared his master called and whistled to him in vain finally he was obliged to return home without him he had lost both the dog and the money he had paid for him have you seen my hunting dog were his words for many weeks to every one he met his hunting dog had fled into a deep forest and once more resumed his original form he returned home and told his two brothers that in a single day he had earned for his father more than their combined efforts for many weeks indeed it was quite true the next day the young man said to his father will you buy a saddle and bridle for me if i turn myself into a horse his father made the purchase and then the young man changed into a handsome black horse His father rode him up and down the streets very proudly.

The great magician noticed the beautiful beast.

He called the man to him and said, This is a very good horse you are riding.

What will you sell him for? The father named an enormous price, but he at once paid it cheerfully.

He ordered the horse placed in his stables.

Now this great magician had a beautiful daughter who was very fond of horses.

She went out to inspect his new purchase as soon as it was brought home.

She noticed that the horse ate nothing.

What a beauty, she cried, as she stroked his glossy black coat.

You are the handsomest horse in the stable.

Why don't you eat? I believe your bridle is hurting you.

I am going to take it off.

As soon as the bridle was removed, it was changed into a bird and flew out the window.

The great magician at that moment changed himself into a hawk and killed the bird, never dreaming that it was the bridle of the new horse he had purchased.

The next morning when the great magician went to mount his beautiful black steed, there was no new horse to be found in the stable.

The horse had changed into a kernel of corn.

The great magician transformed himself into a hen to eat up the corn.

But the youth was too quick for him.

He changed into a dog and seized the hen between his teeth and gave it a good shaking.

Then he returned to his own form and explained the whole affair to the great magician.

"'You are surely a master of magic,' was the comment of the magician." when the great magician had forgiven him for the shaking he had received when he was in the form of a hen, he gladly gave his consent to his daughter's marriage to the Master of Magic.

Night

Wings by Jack Snow from Weird Tales September 1927 Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Dale Grothman Night Wings by Jack Snow.

Nerl stood for a moment in the window, looking far down at the moonlit garden, with its nodding, moist blossoms and lichenous aged trunks.

A moth flitted past his shoulder in search of flame.

A rush of cool air swept around him, fluttering the window draperies.

He was wrapped deep in thought, his mind far away, like an adventurer in strange lands.

He stood on the very edge of the open window.

Suddenly he felt himself falling, down, down.

He closed his eyes to shut out the sight of the earth rushing toward him.

A host of lights sped like comet tails across his eyelids.

He awaited for the impact.

He was still falling, gently now, like an autumn leaf on a full, swelling breeze.

Slowly he opened his eyes.

The earth was only a few feet below him.

He was floating toward it, as gracefully as a feather loosened from the plumage of a bird.

Now the tips of his toes touched the glistening, dew-beaded grass blades, and became moist and coolly damp with the crystal drops.

And then, just as his toes touched the grass, he felt himself soaring high into the air again, rebounding, as if he were the lightest of airy bubbles.

Far above the tops of the tallest trees he rose and floated, on and on.

Now how cool the breeze! How gently it caressed his tired body, as if it would soothe him into rest! The earth lay far below him.

He flew gracefully on through the silver darkness.

At times he rolled on his back and watched the blue, peaceful heavens flow past him.

The twinkling stars nodded as if all were understood between them, and there were no mysteries at all.

Again he lay with his face toward the dark, sleeping earth.

How sad it looked, and forsaken! the quiet shell-like houses the dim deserted lanes and alleys the feeble street lamps flickering the melancholy trees sighing as the flowing wind plied their branches to and fro in a mournful reverie that seemed to whistle a sorrowful accompaniment to its own melody as it swept around corners and rolled up hills and sank into vales all this neural saw as he flew on and on the flying was no effort for he was a bit of the merest flotsam on the great soft sea once he passed over a town and swept low into the streets two men saw him and pointed and opened their mouths as if to shout in wonder although an earl heard no sound whatever Again he circled around the belfry of the old church.

The dust of the village lay thick on its stones, and as he swept past, three large bats fell from their perches and began swooping in ever-increasing circles as their ribbed wings clicked through the wind like ghastly castanets.

he followed the liquid path of a stream whose waters were bathed in moonlight and leapt over massive stones to leave them dripping in the streams of purest silver he watched it further on as it hurtled madly over a fall and dashed headlong into the rocks below he flew low enough to catch the cool spray in his face and listened to the roar of the water and glimpse a silver fin leap for an instant from its depths further on the stream widened into a lake a placid moonlit shimmering lake whose still surface rippled calmly in the breeze hurried by no rushing currents its edges were stagnant and fringed with round lily pads and tall slim rushes with forms like young girls and water moss and peopled with water insects that scurried like bits of broken light over its deep grassy surface from marshes came the voices of the stream animals the nocturnal birds, the loons sorrowing, and the chants of the devout frogs.

And all the while the breezes were fondling him, flowing over his naked body, tracing his shape, fluttering his hair, and touching his eyelids with cool fingertips.

Then the sense of motion seemed to lull and become gradually slighter and slighter Until neural seemed almost to be at rest The heavens grew dim and the stars receded and glimmered like the minutest pinpoints far far away in a remote background of nothingness the earth became blackness and at times all was swallowed up by the blackness earth sky heavens knurl and stars knurl lay like a dead motionless planet midway between the stars and the earth for some minutes then slowly he opened his eyes he lay flat on his back in his narrow bed gazing up at the ceiling so he had dreamed again yes it was a dream like those he had had many times before oh the times he had flown the times he had swung high above the earth in triumphant flight and still more numerous times his power was limited to short hops when he must return to the earth as if for momentum and fly only at broken intervals he supposed every one had dreams of this sort He had found many accounts of them.

King and beggar alike flew at night from the downy softness of velvet couches and the unyielding hardness of beds of stone.

And each time Nerl had flown, and he had begun in his childhood, he had thought that surely this time he would remember after he woke how he had done it.

But always the mists and fogs of reality arose to obscure the revelation There remained with him however the conviction that flight was as natural as instinctive as walking Tonight he had dreamed more perfectly more vividly than ever before and he had awakened while the dream was yet fresh and real and He was wide awake.

And he remembered.

There was no doubting it.

He remembered clearly, perfectly.

He was not disturbed nor excited.

He was entirely cool and calm.

Well, why not? What else had he been expecting, waiting, hoping for? He had dawned upon him that the only reason it had ever seemed difficult to fly was that he had not guessed its simplicity.

Now he would surprise his friends with his power.

He lay staring solemnly and unblinkingly up at the ceiling.

For some time he lay motionless, his mind quivering with thought.

And then he arose and crept from his bed.

It was not yet morning, and he could safely prove his power without fear of interference or detection.

He slipped his nightclothes from his body and stepped quietly to the window.

He threw wide open the doors of the window and gazed out.

It was just such a night as he had left.

There was the slumbering garden.

There the tall, murmuring trees.

there the starry heavens and the moon like a silver lady stepping among the twinkling flowers of her garden already the breeze was wrapping itself around his body filling him with intolerable delight he stepped from the window he fell horribly at first as he had in his dream He closed his eyes, and a myriad tiny balls burst into flaming light.

His bare toe touched the grass for an instant, then he soared aloft, high into the heavens.

He opened his eyes.

Ah, the bliss, the rapture of that flight! The floating in nothing, the contact with nothing! the complete airy lightness, the relaxation of strained muscles, and then the breeze, caressing, soothing, stroking, cool.

The faintest rosy glow was in the east, and toward it he was flying.

Early in the morning, just after dawn had broken, the old gardener, who had some new rose-trees to set out under Nerl's window, found the white, naked body of the sleepwalker lying on the ground beneath the window.

It was moist and covered with the dews of the morning, which glistened like a magical cloak threaded with diamonds, and possessed of miraculous power.

The End of Night Wings by Jack Snow

Recording by beeswaxcandle Preface The art of pretended magic dates back to the remotest antiquity.

It has been known under various names such as white magic, conjuring, natural magic, and prestidigitation.

Janus and Jambres, the magicians of Pharaoh, contended against Moses and Aaron.

In the British Museum there is an Egyptian papyrus, which contains an account of a magical seance given by a thaumaturgist named Chacha-em-Ankh before King Khufu, B.C. 3766.

In this manuscript it is stated of the magician, He knoweth how to bind on a head which hath been cut off, and he knoweth how to make a lion follow him as if led by a rope.

the decapitation trick is thus no new thing while the experiment with the lion unquestionably a hypnotic feat shows hypnotism to be old the temples of egypt greece and rome were veritable storehouses of magic and mystery the pagan priesthood attained a wonderful proficiency in optical illusions in the middle ages magic was greatly in vogue later on nostradamus conjured up the vision of the future king of france for the benefit of the lovely marie de medici this illusion was accomplished by the aid of mirrors adroitly secreted amid hanging draperies reginald scott in fifteen eighty four in discovery of witchcraft enumerates the stock feats of the conjurers of his day The list includes swallowing a knife, burning a card and reproducing it from the pocket of a spectator, passing a coin from one pocket to another, converting money into counters, or counters into money, conveying money into the hand of another person, making a coin pass through a table or vanish from a handkerchief, tying a knot and undoing it by the power of words, taking beads from a string, the ends of which are held fast by another person, making corn to pass from one box to another, turning wheat into flour by the power of words, burning a thread and making it whole again, pulling ribbons from the mouth, thrusting a knife into the head or arm, putting a ring through the cheek, cutting off a person's head and restoring it to its former position.

A number of these feats, in an improved form, survive to this day.

In the early part of the 18th century, conjuring made considerable progress.

Men of education and address entered the profession, thereby elevating it from the charlatanry of the strolling mountebank to the dignity of a theatrical performance.

The nobility of Paris flocked to the opera house to see the great Pinetti perform.

Following him came Torini, Comte, Bosco, Philippe, and finally the king of conjurers, Robert Houdin.

in the year eighteen forty four houdin inaugurated his fantastic evenings at the palais royal paris at a new era dawn for magic he reformed the art by suppressing the suspiciously draped tables of his predecessors substituting for these clumsy confederate boxes light and elegant tables a little girdons undraped he went still further in his innovations by adopting the evening dress of everyday life instead of the flowing robes of many of the magicians of the old regime.

His tricks were of a different order, sounding the death knell of double-bottomed boxes, an apparatus which was too evidently designed for the magical disappearance and reappearance of objects.

Houdin has well earned the title of the father of modern conjuring, and his autobiography makes fascinating reading.

Since Houdin's time, conjuring has made rapid strides.

The wide dissemination of literature on the subject and the consequent exposés have stimulated magicians to invent new tricks or improve old ones.

The study of magic, in addition to being a fascinating amusement, has a pedagogical value admitted by all professors of psychology.

It sharpens the mental faculties, especially those of observation and attention.

A comprehensive but concise manual on the subject of up-to-date tricks will be welcomed by the student.

I take pleasure in introducing to American readers Professor Ellis Stanion's Capital Manual on Sleight of Hand.

Professor Stanion is one of the most prolific, as well as one of the cleverest living writers on the subject of Lege de Mer.

He has done much to popularize the fascinating art of white magic.

His excellent chapter on after-dinner tricks is particularly recommended as being within the province of almost any amateur who possesses a modicum of personal address and a fair amount of digital dexterity.

i have supplemented the work with chapters on shadography and stage illusions also a number of tricks which have proved drawing cards in the hands of american conjurers like the late alexander hermann and living artists like keller elliot plate robinson fox powell c In the preparation of the additional matter, I am indebted for many valuable hints to those dexterous and clever performers, Dr. Eliot, Adrian Plate, and William E. Robinson, who are especially noted as inventive minds in the realm of pure sleight of hand.

Henry Ridgely Evans, Washington, D.C. End of Preface to Magic by Ellis Stanion

Relation Between Magic and Religion by Crawford H.

Toy, professor at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Coffee Break Collection 39, Magic.

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Relation Between Magic and Religion.

three views of the relation between religion and magic have been and are widely held that magic is a degraded form of religion that it is the parent of religion and that the two are independent mutually unrelated systems these views appear to rest partly on too restricted a historical survey partly on arbitrary definitions of terms and partly on incorrect interpretations of religious phenomena it is assumed that a refined conception of the relation between man and the deity existed from the outset or that there is in religion an impure idea which cannot be explained except as the product of a low initial magical form of thought or that religion as a friendly relation with the deity and magic as a hostile relation are mutually exclusive or that magical procedures have always been regarded by primitive peoples as lying outside the sphere of religion or that the continuous growth of culture would be impossible without an initial and persistent sense of friendship between man and the deity the opposing theories are sometimes stated thus if religion in our sense of the term had not existed from the beginning it could never have existed at all or if religion had existed from the beginning magic could never have existed at all footnote what is called sympathetic magic does not come under consideration here producing rain by sprinkling water on the ground torturing a man by sticking pins into an image of him killing him by destroying an image of him acquiring his virtues by eating a part of him getting control of him by learning his name or by securing a part of his person all these belong to the savage conception of natural law so far as savages may be supposed to have such a conception they are specimens of savage science and have nothing to do with religion we understand magic as meaning the power to control supernatural beings it is very doubtful whether such hard and fast dividing lines can be assumed for early stages of religion in the beginning everything seems to have been in flux there were no sharp definitions of natural and supernatural of gods and demons or in general of friendly and unfriendly powers there was a vague sense of power and doubtless of life in all things it was supposed that animals plants minerals and heavenly bodies and parts of them the foot or tongue of an animal a leaf a bit of stone were able to produce or ward off sickness or death and generally to effect the fortunes of men this universally present power does not appear to have been at first an object of worship its recognition probably did not involve distinct religious feeling in our sense of the term but in such recognition there was the germ of religion, the assumption of a relation between human life and a power outside the individual man.

The doings of this power were of all sorts, helpful and harmful, and there was neither logical nor moral element in them.

What might happen to a man from any object in the world was at first a matter of pure chance.

It was only after a long and painful experience that men were able to make trustworthy discrimination between phenomena and classify them as beneficial or injurious.

The attitude of early man toward his surroundings seems to have been one of doubt and caution.

He had to be on his guard for the sake of his own welfare and was prepared to be friendly or unfriendly as circumstances might seem to require.

this posture of mind is reflected in the stories of men and animals who at a later stage are the incarnations of power the creative and formative personages of the beginnings of society proper the coyote of the red men is a culture hero but a non-moral and impish one doing good or evil according to the freak of the moment the procedures of the australian ancestors while they are not malicious are still not directed by any welldefined desire to benefit men and traces of these qualities are visible in similar personages of more cultivated societies as in hercules and even in gods like indra The distinction between gods, friendly members of the human community, and demons, unfriendly outside powers, seems to be relatively late.

All such beings were, in very early times, classed together as agencies affecting man's life.

The two classes gradually assumed distinct characters, but, in the material accessible to us, it is often hard to say to which class a particular figure belongs.

Such a deity as the Hawaiian Pella, the goddess of the volcano, who is often vindictive, differs little from the demon that sends sickness and death.

When a tribe is described as demon worshippers, this means only that it has not made the distinction between gods and demons.

The Babylonians gave the same name, Shedu, to a class of demons.

and to the protecting half-gods allied to the Hebrew cherubs that guarded the entrances to temples, sacred gardens, and palaces.

The Mohammedan doctors divided the jinn into the two classes of believing and unbelieving, that is, friendly and unfriendly, and the later Jewish tradition regarded certain demons as having fallen from an original state of goodness.

These theological constructions may point to a belief in an original concord between gods and demons.

The Navajo personages, called Ye and Anaye, seem to hover on the borderline that separates the divine and demonic classes.

This son, according to the Thompson River folklore, was once a cannibal, but afterwards became beneficent.

The element of hostility to man that appears in some well-developed gods may be regarded as the survival of an attitude which was once far more common.

Footnote.

So, for example, a number of Egyptian deities.

End footnote.

early man in his struggle for existence protected himself against the powers about him or secured their aid as best he could by force or by gifts it is not only purely malevolent beings that are coerced in early forms of religion a sacred image or symbol is maltreated or destroyed if it does not comply with the wishes of the possessor or worshipper The Egyptians are said, by Plutarch, Isis, and Osiris 73, to have slain their divine animals if these fail to avert or remove calamity.

A divine king is put to death on certain occasions.

A god may be carried off to a distant land and compelled to do duty there.

Footnote.

So the Babylonian goddess Nana was carried away by the Elamites and restored to her place after 1,635 years by Assurbanipal.

End footnote.

or he may be confined in his temple to prevent him going away voluntarily or by constraint prometheus the champion of man against zeus is victorious in the end and the homeric heroes fight and vanquish gods the indian munis by ascetic observances acquire such power as arouses the jealousy and fear of indra the magician in his earliest form appears to be simply a master of the occult influences of the world He controls the elements in the heavenly bodies, inflicts and cures disease, awards plenty or want, victory or defeat, kills and restores to life.

He does all that the gods afterwards do and in later times is their rival.

At first he has no relations with extra-human persons.

He is not dependent on them and does not direct his efforts toward them.

He is a man who is gifted, by whatever means, with the power of producing all sorts of results in the world.

later when the occult influences take personal shape as daemonia footnote if the term spirit be used for these beings it must be borne in mind that they are not incorporeal of all characters it is these that he controls there are neither social nor moral distinctions in the earliest class of daemonia they all affect men's lives but they have no special friendly or unfriendly relations with individuals or communities and their procedures are determined not by considerations of right and wrong but by whim or by motives unknown to men but they are thought of as being amenable to certain laws and the magician is the man who knows these laws and is able by employing certain means to force these beings to do his will he may control good powers or bad and may himself at times be benevolent or malevolent but he is always a recognized member of the religious community employing methods which are regarded as lawful and right it appears then that the attitude of the early man towards supernatural powers was composite made up of friendship and hostility reverence and suspicion as society became better organized these elements of religious feeling were more and more sharply discriminated the tendency being to include only the friendly powers in the social system and look on the others as outsiders by the time the organization in clans was brought to a state of relative completeness The distinction between the two classes of deities was practically effected, and the history of civilizing religion begins at this point.

Men could not live in orderly society without coming to some sort of understanding with the most potent members of the community.

But the clan proper is a relatively late institution, and it is a mistake to make it the starting point of the history of religion.

the priest and the prophet are lineal descendants of the magician on one side of his function the side of friendly communion of intercourse with friendly powers the other side of him the coercive function comes to be more and more out of harmony with the feeling of the community and acquires an antisocial and disreputable character it becomes discourteous and disintegrating to attempt to force the god of the clan or tribe and such violent procedure is prohibited by law magic may possibly in some cases be the superstitious interpretation put by a relatively undeveloped people on the ritual of a higher religion which they have accepted it has been suggested that the term thus got its meaning the magi it is thought may have been looked on as sorcerers by the ignorant peoples on whom the masdian faith was forced The word was adopted by the Greeks no later than the early part of the 5th century BC, and the procedures of the Magi of that time are not known to us from other than Greek sources.

It may be that they were then in part simple sorcerers, coercing the supernatural powers, controlling the elements, and working good or evil on men in a non-moral way.

But, even if such an explanation holds in the case of relatively advanced societies… It does not apply to the savage tribes among whom sorcery is most prevalent.

It is hardly possible to conceive of their having come to it by a misunderstanding of higher forms of religion.

The facts seem to force us to reject the three views mentioned above, and to hold that the earliest beliefs and practices known to us contain the germs of both religion and magic, and that these have grown side by side, the one or the other getting the advantage in a given society according to the progress made in social organization.

Law and order is what man desires and civilization moves toward.

Order among men so that they may be friends, and order between men and gods for like reason.

Magic, however, comes to mean disorder, and therefore has not been able, in civilized peoples, to maintain itself against religion, which stands for order.

End of Relation Between Magic and Religion by Crawford H.

Toy Read by Elsie Selwyn Sawing a Person in Half by A. Hazleton Rice, Jr.

Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is a LibriVox recording.

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For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Sawing a Person in Half the cold-blooded dismembering of a young and otherwise very attractive young woman for no other purpose than the delectation of an audience of amusement seekers can be easily imagined as occurring in the arenas of ancient rome but it is well-nigh impossible to describe one's impressions upon witnessing such a feat on the modern vaudeville stage The surgeon extraordinaire appears before the curtain is raised, explaining that he is about to saw his lady assistant completely in two, and that the operation, while a very delicate one, is performed absolutely without pain.

Then, as though to put his audience at ease, he adds that she will be promptly restored to her normal condition after the operation, and that she has consented to the experiment without coercion.

after thus enlightening his audience the arch-vivisectionist turns to the rising curtain and greets the victim a charming little miss who instantly makes you resent the perpetration of any such villainous assault upon her anatomy as is contemplated the performer calls for assistance from the audience and after selecting two and seating them upon the stage he turns to the victim suddenly holding before her eyes a small crystal ball and now a secret gentle and unsophisticated reader the effect of this act is much greater on the audience than upon the subject no i do not mean as i have sometimes heard it said that the entire audience is hypnotized and consequently sees things that it does not see but for some unknown reason hypnotism and magic seem to have linked themselves inseparably and it is therefore entirely befitting that she should be placed in a comatose condition before proceeding further having been thoroughly satisfied that the subject is under the hypnotic spell the audience is willing to believe almost anything is possible in other words a mystic atmosphere is created the victim is then laid upon a table two straps are lowered from the flies or above stage and after being securely fastened she is raised a few feet in the air to make room for the cabinet into which she is to be placed aha says my reader the hindoo sword and basket trick again but wait the victim is lowered into the cabinet which is a bit short her head and arms protruding from one end and her feet from the other The two ends of the cabinet are placed in position, these latter having semicircular openings for the neck, hands, and feet.

The cabinet and table are then swung around a quarter turn so that the cover may be closed and locked in full view of the audience and its committee of two.

This accomplished, the cabinet and table are swung back into their original position.

one of the committee is assigned to the holding of a dainty pair of ankles at the foot of the cabinet and the less fortunate one vice versa the saw about the capabilities of which there can be no doubt is brought upon the stage and examined and then amidst goose-flesh music by the orchestra the cabinet and incidentally its occupant, are cleanly severed while the audience holds its breath and shudders.

A slide is then placed in each section of the cabinet, thus mercifully sparing the audience from an inspection of the debris, and the two sections are pulled apart in order that the performer may walk between them, and show that there is no deception.

Two window curtains of the proper size may be used to close the cabinet compartment, operating them by strings, etc., upon placing the sections of the cabinet together again and unlocking the cover the young lady much to the relief of the audience arises none the worse for her experience the inventor of this illusion as are all followers of magic is a true disciple of barnum and of his doctrine that the public likes to be fooled and in this he has certainly succeeded It is not the author's purpose to write an expose of the act as presented, but merely to point out how such an effect could be accomplished.

first it may be stated that two female assistants instead of one as supposed would be required and while they need not look alike it would be highly essential that the limbs of each be carefully selected for similarity an examination of the accompanying sketches should make the reason clear victim number one comes upon the stage and is placed in the cabinet hands head and feet remaining in the full view of the audience the ends are placed in position and the cabinet given a quarter turn so that the feet face the rear of the stage ostensibly this is for the purpose of lowering the cover and locking it but as soon as the cover is lowered victim number one withdraws her feet and doubles her body into as small a compass as possible while victim number two the silent partner who has been reclining comfortably within the table all this time, substitutes her ankles for those of victim number one.

It will thus be seen that the cabinet, which by the way may be made of heavy cardboard and decorated with an appropriate design, is free to be cut into two equal sections with no danger to its occupant, or rather occupants.

After the cabinet is sawed in two, the sections, and apparently the victim as well, may be separated by sliding the part which contains the trunk and head.

It is well to remind the prospective magician, however, that the slides referred to above must be first placed in position, and also that any attempt to slide the lower section on the table would result in the more or less sudden disappearance of Milady's ankles within the cabinet.

The victim can be reassembled by a reversal of the moves already described, Do not, however, forget to first remove the slides, or serious complications may arise.

The illusion is an innovation in the realms of magic, and the effect upon the audience is all that could be desired by the most fastidious wizard of the wand.

The Magic Net by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic Recording by Public Domain Scholar The Magic Net by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Do I see a contest yonder? See I miracles or pastimes? Muteous urchins, five in number, Against five sisters, fair contending, Measured is the time they're beating, At a bright enchantress bidding, glittering spears by some are wielded threads are others nimbly twining so that in their snares the weapons one would think must needs be captured soon in truth the spears are prisoned yet they in the gentle war-dance one by one escape their fetters in the rule of loops so tender that make haste to seize a free one soon as they release a captive so with contests strivings triumphs flying now and now returning is an artful net soon woven in its whiteness like the snowflakes that from light amid the darkness draw their streaky lines so varied as he in colors scarce can draw them who shall now receive that garment far beyond all others wished for whom our much-loved mistress favoured as her own acknowledged servant i am blest by kindly fortunes tokens true in silence prayed for and i feel myself held captive to her service now devoted yet e'en while i thus enraptured thus adored and proudly wandering see yon wantons are entwining void of strife with secret ardour other nets each finer and finer threads of twilight interweaving moonbeams sweet, night violets balsam, ere the net is noticed by us, is a happier one in prison, whom we, one and all together, greet with envy and with blessings.

End of The Magic Net by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.

THE BLUE FLOWER The parents were abed and sleeping.

The clock on the wall ticked loudly and lazily, as if it had time to spare.

Outside the rattling windows there was a restless, whispering wind.

The room grew light and dark and wondrous light again, as the moon played hide-and-seek through the clouds.

The boy, wide awake and quiet in his bed, was thinking of the stranger in his stories.

it

was not what he told me about the treasures he said to himself that was not the thing which filled me with so strange a longing i am not greedy for riches but the blue flower is what i long for i can think of nothing else Never have I felt so before.

It seems as if I had been dreaming until now, or as if I had just slept over into a new world.

Who cared for flowers in the old world where I used to live? I never heard of anyone whose whole heart was set upon finding a flower.

But now I cannot even tell all that I feel, sometimes as happy as if I were enchanted.

But when the flower fades from me, when I cannot see it in my mind, then it is like being very thirsty and all alone.

That is what the other people could not understand.

Once upon a time, they say, the animals and the trees and the flowers used to talk to people.

It seems to me every minute as if they were just going to begin again.

When I look at them I can see what they want to say.

There must be a great many words that I do not know.

If I knew more of them perhaps I could understand things better.

I used to love to dance but now I like better to think after the music.

Gradually the boy lost himself in sweet fancies and suddenly he found himself again.

in the charmed land of sleep he wandered in far countries rich and strange he traversed wild waters with incredible swiftness marvellous creatures appeared and vanished he lived with all sorts of men in battles in whirling crowds in lonely huts he was cast into prison he fell into dire distress and want all experiences seemed to be sharpened to an edge he felt them keenly yet they did not harm him he died and came alive again he loved to the height of passion and then was parted forever from his beloved at last toward morning as the dawn was stealing near his soul grew calm and the pictures showed more clear and firm it seemed as if he were walking alone through the deep woods seldom the daylight shimmered through the green vale soon came to a rocky gorge in the mountains under the mossy stones in the bed of the stream he heard the water secretly tinkling downward ever downward as he climbed upward the forest grew thinner and lighter he came to a fair meadow on the slope of the mountain beyond the meadow was a high cliff and in the face of the cliff an opening like the entrance to a path Dark was the way, but smooth, and he followed easily on till he came near to a vast cavern from which a flood of radiance streamed to meet him.

As he entered he beheld a mighty beam of light which sprang from the ground, shattering itself against the roof in countless sparks, falling and flowing altogether into a great pool in the rock.

Brighter was the light beam than molten gold, but silent in its rise and silent in its fall.

the sacred stillness of a shrine, a never-broken hush of joy and wonder filled the cavern.

cool

was the dripping radiance that softly trickled down the walls, and the light that rippled from them was pale blue.

But the pool as the boy drew near and watched it quivered and glanced with the ever-changing colors of a liquid opal.

He dipped his hands in it and wet his lips.

It seemed as if a lively breeze passed through his heart.

He felt an irresistible desire to bathe in the pool.

Slipping off his clothes, he plunged in.

it was as if he bathed in a cloud of sunset a celestial rapture flowed through him the waves of the stream were like a bevy of nymphs taking shape around him clinging to him with tender breasts as he floated onward lost in delight yet keenly sensitive to every impression swiftly the current bore him out of the pool and to a hollow in the cliff Here a dimness of slumber shadowed his eyes while he felt the pressure of the loveliest dreams.

When he woke again he was aware of a new fullness of light, purer and steadier than the first radiance.

He found himself lying on the green turf in the open air beside a little fountain which sparked up and melted away in silver spray.

Dark blue were the rocks that rose at a little distance, veined with white as if strange words were written upon them.

Dark blue was the sky and cloudless.

All passion had dissolved away from him.

every sound was music every breath was peace the rocks were like sentinels protecting him the sky was like a cup of blessing full of tranquil light but what charmed him the most and drew him with resistless power was a tall clear blue flower growing beside the spring and almost touching him with its broad glistening leaves round about were many other flowers of all hues their odours mingled in a perfect chord of fragrance he saw nothing but the blue flower long and tenderly he gazed at it with unspeakable love at last he felt that he must go a little nearer to it when suddenly it began to move and change The leaves glistened more brightly, and drew themselves up closely around the swiftly growing stalk.

The flower bent itself toward him, and the petals showed a blue spreading necklace of sapphires, out of which the lovely face of a girl smiled softly into his eyes.

His sweet astonishment grew with the wondrous transformation.

All at once he heard his mother's voice calling him, and awoke in his parents' room, already flooded with the gold of the morning sun.

From the German of Novalis.

End of The Blue Flower By Henry Van Dyck

SUNY Inoculative Magic By Elsie Clues Parsons Coffee Break Collection 39 Magic This is the LibriVox recording.

All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.

For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Zuni Inoculative Magic there are many varieties of sympathetic magic at zuni i shall give only instances of that subdivision of the homoeopathic variety which may be called magical inoculation it is the form as it were of discharming instead of applying a bit of the analogous thing to produce an analogy the direct form of homoeopathy a bit is applied to overcome the analogy the principle obviously of inoculation birth marks and malformations are accounted for by the zuni as due to parental for the most part paternal carelessness during the pregnancy the result of the expectant father taking part in a ceremonial or hunting rabbits or prairie dogs or other animals or killing a snake the child will be marked in some way like the ceremonial mask or spotted like a snake or according to the injury suffered by the quarry blinded or maimed A Madison member of the Nwekwi, or Galaxy Fraternity, told me that at birth the forehead and chest of his son had had the print of an entrail.

Preoccupation with the entrails of animals is a characteristic of the Nwekwe fraternity, and this man had, in fact, taken part in a fraternity ceremonial before the birth of his son.

The head of the daughter of this once birthmarked man was a bit flattened on one side.

It was flattened, believed her grandfather, because her father would go prairie dog hunting before her birth, and he always shot his prairie dogs in the head.

now the cures for birthmarks or malformations are the cause being a ceremonial to put on the ceremonial mask in question and dance hard in the presence of the child subsequently rubbing the sweat of one's body on to the child and the cause being a hunted animal to hunt the same animal and rub its blood on the child similarly to cure an infant of crying incessantly it cries because its back pains and its back pains because before its birth its father has overdriven his horses belaying them presumably on the back to cure it one must drive a team hard and rub on to the child's back the sweat from under their collar or some piece of their harness if a child becomes deaf cases of deafness at birth are unknown it is because during her pregnancy its mother stole to cure the child she must steal again and burning the object stolen put its ashes into the ears of the child if the cord of a new-born infant runs it is because one who has been bitten by a snake has been present in the room that person should be found and then four times he should wave some ashes around the heads of mother and child otherwise the child will die the deer hunter who sees the buck and doe together and the buck mount the doe knows that by this token the deer are telling him of what is happening at home his faithless wife is far from staying still in the house she should leave but once at noontime for water while her husband is off hunting it becomes his business therefore to shoot the deer and take out their hearts on his return home he will find his wife and her lover sick to cure them if he pity them he will have to rub them with deer heart made up into a ball with meal rubbing the woman with the heart of the doe the man with the heart of the buck should a person be struck by or shocked by lightning he or she must be given some rain-water of that same storm to drink rain water plus black beetle and suet otherwise the person will dry up and die about three years ago a certain house on the south side of the river was struck the three women in it neglected to take the prescribed drink to-day the three are dead two died a year or two ago the third this summer Should a person in dying frighten any one, from the head of his corpse the lock of hair is cut, the hair is burned, and the smoke of it is inhaled by the person who has been upset.

This practice, however, is uncommon.

End of Zuni Inoculative Magic by Elsie Clues Parsons Read by Elsie Selwyn