Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

In each case he takes up a handful, and lets them flow back from his hand into the coffer, the better to impress upon the audience the contents of each, finally placing a bean in the hands of the youth who holds the supposed coffer of beans, and a berry in the hands of the holder of the supposed coffee-berries. Again closing the lids, he requests the person holding the bean to throw it into the closed coffer held by the other. The juvenile, looking foolish, replies that it can’t be done; and a similar reply is received from the youth holding the other coffer. The performer, addressing the company, asks some one else to make the attempt, but equally without success. He continues, “Gentlemen, among this large and brilliant audience not one person can be found who will undertake to throw this little bean into one of those coffers. Imagine, then, the difficulty of passing the whole of the beans which this coffer contains into the other, not dropping even one on the way, and at the same moment transferring the whole of the berries in this coffer into that which, a moment before, was full to the brim with the beans. But it must be done. Young gentlemen, will you be kind enough to repeat with me, One, two, three! At the word ‘three,’ by the way, you had better close your eyes, or they might possibly be injured by the shower of beans and berries. Are you ready, Mr. Beans? Are you ready, Mr. Berries? Now, then, One! two! three!!! Did you feel them pass? I hope they did not hurt you. Now let us once more open the coffers. I have kept my word, you see--Mr. Beans has the coffee-berries, and Mr. Berries has the beans. Will you please step forward, and show the company that the coffers are, as at first, full to the very bottom.” The lids, containing the moveable compartments, he meanwhile places carelessly upon his table.