Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

The performer is now ready to begin the trick. He brings forward the saucepan, holding it as in Fig. 151, in which position the pressure of the first and second fingers on d prevents it falling off, as, being loose, it would otherwise do. Placing it on the table, he mixes the bread, cheese, etc., on the plate, and then pours all into the saucepan, where, of course, they fall into b. As b is comparatively shallow, it is well to place the saucepan in some tolerably elevated situation, so that the audience may not be able to see into it, or they may perceive that the bread, etc., do not fall to the bottom. The lid is next placed on the saucepan. The hat and handkerchief are borrowed, the latter, which is to serve as fuel, being dropped into the hat. The performer, as if bethinking himself of a possible difficulty, carelessly remarks, “We mustn’t have the stove too small for the saucepan;” and so saying, lifts the latter, as shown in Fig. 151, and lowers it for a moment into the hat, as though testing their relative sizes. In that moment, however, he relaxes the pressure of his fingers on d, and so leaves it within the hat, placing the saucepan on the table beside it.