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Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring
·
Professor Hoffmann
446
THE
DANCING
SAILOR.--The
Dancing
Sailor
is
a
figure
cut
out
of
cardboard,
eight
or
nine
inches
in
height,
and
with
its
arms
and
legs
cut
out
separately,
and
attached
to
the
trunk
with
thread
in
such
a
manner
as
to
hang
perfectly
free.
The
mode
of
exhibiting
it
is
as
follows:--The
performer,
taking
a
seat
facing
the
company,
with
his
legs
slightly
apart,
places
the
figure
on
the
ground
between
them.
As
might
be
expected,
it
falls
flat
and
lifeless,
but
after
a
few
mesmeric
passes
it
is
induced
to
stand
upright,
though
without
visible
support,
and
on
a
lively
piece
of
music
being
played,
dances
to
it,
keeping
time,
and
ceasing
as
soon
as
the
music
ceases.
The
secret
lies
in
the
fact
that,
from
leg
to
leg
of
the
performer,
at
about
the
height
of
the
figure
from
the
ground,
is
fixed
(generally
by
means
of
a
couple
of
bent
pins),
a
fine
black
silk
thread,
of
eighteen
or
twenty
inches
in
length.
This
allows
him
to
move
about
without
any
hindrance.
On
each
side
of
the
head
of
the
figure
is
a
little
slanting
cut,
tending
in
a
perpendicular
direction,
and
about
half
an
inch
in
length.
The
divided
portions
of
the
cardboard
are
bent
back
a
little,
thus
forming
two
“hooks,”
so
to
speak,
at
the
sides
of
the
head.
When
the
performer
takes
his
seat
as
before
mentioned,
the
separation
of
his
legs
draws
the
silk
comparatively
taut,
though,
against
a
moderately
dark
background,
it
remains
wholly
invisible.
When
he
first
places
the
figure
on
the
ground,
he
does
so
simply,
and
the
figure
naturally
falls.
He
makes
a
few
sham
mesmeric
passes
over
it,
but
still
it
falls.
At
the
third
or
fourth
attempt,
however,
he
places
it
so
that
the
little
hooks
already
mentioned
just
catch
the
thread
(see
Fig.
158,
showing
the
arrangement
of
the
head),
and
the
figure
is
thus
kept
upright.
When
the
music
commences,
the
smallest
motion,
or
pretence
of
keeping
time
with
the
feet,
is
enough
to
start
the
sailor
in
a
vigorous
hornpipe.
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