Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

It will be found a very convenient arrangement to have the magnet enclosed in a little mahogany box, as shown in the diagrams, in which condition it can readily be fixed in any required position. THE MAGIC BELL.--Precisely the same in principle, though differing somewhat in detail, is the magic bell. The bell, which is of glass, and of the form shown in Fig. 306, is hung up above the stage by two silk or woollen cords, and thus apparently placed wholly out of the reach of human influence. Nevertheless, at the command of the magician, it becomes endowed with seeming vitality. The hammer strikes any number of times at command, answers questions (with three raps for “yes,” and one for “no,” after the approved spiritualistic manner), indicates chosen cards, and generally displays a remarkable amount of intelligence. The reader who has followed our description of the spirit-rapping magnet will hardly require an explanation of the magic bell. The brass cap, from which the hammer projects, contains a small electro-magnet, the wire which carries the hammer being fixed to the keeper, and bringing the hammer down smartly on the glass whenever the electric circuit is made complete. “But,” says the sagacious reader, “how is the circuit made complete? In the former case there were hidden wires, passing through the legs of the table, to convey the electric current, but in this instance the bell is suspended in mid-air by a couple of ordinary cords. How can the electric fluid therefore be conveyed to the bell?” The answer lies in the fact that the cords are not quite ordinary cords. In appearance they are two pieces of common cord, with a brass hook at each end, for the purpose of first attaching them to corresponding hooks in the ceiling, and, secondly, attaching the bell to their opposite ends. But on a closer examination it will be found that a fine copper wire extends from hook to hook through the centre of the cord, making it a perfect conductor, while yet not diminishing in the least its perfect flexibility. The hooks in the ceiling communicate with hidden wires, and these with the electric battery behind the scenes.