Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

When he again takes out the (supposed) handkerchief, and sets light to it, it is, of course, the substitute that is actually burnt, the genuine handkerchief meanwhile remaining hidden beneath d in the crown. The effect of the flames rising from the hat, in which the audience cannot suppose any preparation, is very startling, and yet, unless the substitute handkerchief is unusually large, or the spirit has been applied with a too liberal hand, there is no real danger of injuring the hat. The performer moves about the saucepan above the blaze at such a distance as not to inconvenience the animal within, and, after a moment or two, brings the saucepan sharply down into the hat, for the ostensible purpose of extinguishing the flames, but in again lifting it out he brings with it d, and places all together on the table. Nothing is now left in the hat but the borrowed handkerchief, which may be restored in any manner which the performer’s fancy may suggest. When the lid of the saucepan is removed, as it fits more tightly within b than the latter fits within the saucepan, it naturally carries b with it, thus causing the disappearance of the bread, cheese, etc., and revealing in its place the live rabbit. Some fun may be created by selecting beforehand an assistant from the juvenile portion of the audience, and dressing him up with a pocket-handkerchief round his head, and another by way of apron, to act as assistant cook.