: Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th Edition Fairbanks Erastus to Fens Volume 10 Slice 2 by Various - Encyclopedias and dictionaries

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CHAP. PAGE

INTRODUCTION 1

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.

It is always a matter for self-congratulation on the part of an author to be called upon to furnish a Preface to a second or subsequent edition of some "bantling of his brain." In the present instance the task is more satisfactory than usual, the author not coming before the reader empty-handed. Since the publication of the first edition, conjurors have not been idle, and numerous new methods for producing magical surprises have been invented. Such of these as are suitable or worthy--for, in their haste to be novel, many have failed to be satisfactory--the author has incorporated; and, by a thorough revision of the work, he has placed before the aspiring conjuror, written up to date, all that it is possible for him to know in the region of SLEIGHT OF HAND.

E. S.

LONDON,

SLEIGHT OF HAND

INTRODUCTION.

"It is as pleasant to be cheated as to cheat," is a maxim that must have been framed expressly for conjuring, for the more completely one is deceived by its medium the better one is pleased.

The date of the origin of conjuring, as we now understand the art, is not known, but there must have been proficients in the practice of it as early as the time of Chaucer; for that ancient writer speaks of one Coll Tregetour producing a windmill from beneath a walnut shell. There is doubtless some slight exaggeration in this statement, or else modern wizards are far behind those of early days--an hypothesis I cannot accept. In the superstitious lands of the East, jugglery was doubtless at the bottom of the many manifestations that were mixed up with religion, and the wily priests made the best uses of its influence on the uncultivated mind. When we consider the effect that is even now produced on the minds of an enlightened audience by a skilful manipulator, the wonderment of people who were but half civilised, and who were taught to believe in spirits, is scarcely a matter for surprise.

Formerly, conjurors appeared clothed in long robes and tall, pointed hats, both covered with mystic signs and symbols; Robert Houdin, whom we may consider the father of modern conjuring, being the first to perform in the now conventional evening dress. This innovation had the effect of increasing the genuineness of the performance, as it was an easy matter to conceal large articles beneath a flowing robe, such as had been previously worn; but the close-fitting dress suit affords no means of concealment--to the minds of an audience, at any rate. Houdin was the means of elevating the art in the eyes of the public, besides investing it with nearly all that it possesses of the graceful; and, as it has undergone still more improvement since his time, it has now become a pursuit well worthy the attention of anyone inclined to follow it up, as much for the amusement of himself as of others. Besides its power of amusing, conjuring affords an immense amount of instruction to its student, and is useful in inculcating coolness, precision, and an endless amount of resource, which will always stand one in good stead on the world's wide and ever-changing stage.

It is my intention to give, in the following pages, such instruction as shall enable the merest tyro to become an adept in the art of Legerdemain, providing that a due degree of attention is given and a reasonable amount of practice undertaken. Practice, indeed, is what is required in order to achieve success in any pursuit or amusement, whatever its nature may be, and without it the best of instruction is given in vain. For this reason, I must exhort such of my readers as may seek to amuse their friends through the medium of what I shall impart to them to devote as much time as they can spare to practice at the outset, in order that they may acquire a neat method of manipulation, which is the keystone of success in a conjuror, and which, once attained, will never leave them. If to this delicacy of manipulation is added a suavity of manner, accompanied by a never-failing cool daring, then the perfection of a conjuror is attained.

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