Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

THE CHARMED BULLET.--As a rule, people object to being shot at, and the least nervous person might fairly demur at facing the muzzle of a loaded pistol at six paces’ distance; but the magician is superior to such weakness, and will face a bullet with as little compunction as he would stop a ball at cricket. Neither must it be imagined that there is any “deception,” at any rate in the quality of the articles employed. The pistol is a real pistol, the powder is genuine powder, and the bullet--an ordinary leaden bullet--is chosen and marked by one of the audience, fairly placed in the pistol, and fairly rammed home. The pistol is fired with deliberate aim by a disinterested spectator; but no sooner has the smoke cleared away than the performer is seen standing unharmed, with the marked bullet caught between his teeth. So much for the effect of the trick; now for the explanation. The pistol (see Fig. 245) is, as already stated, an ordinary weapon, and the only speciality of the bullets is that they are a size or two smaller than the bore of the pistol. The ramrod, b, is a plain cylinder of wood or metal, tapering very slightly at each end. The secret lies in the use of a little metal tube a, about two inches in length, open at one end, but closed at the other. This tube, which is of such a size as to fit loosely within the barrel of the pistol, but tightly upon either end of the ramrod, is placed in the right-hand pochette of the performer, and a small bag of bullets in the pochette on the other side.