Miracles of Modern Magic
Harry Whiteley
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The Great Magic Kettle Act
Description of the Performance from beginning to end
The Secret Out
How the Kettle is made to Steam
A Word of Caution
Preparation
Presenting the Kettle Act
A Careful Description of the Performance from Beginning to End
DIRECTLY the curtain is raised we look for the kettle. There it is, slowly steaming on a stand, with a small spirit stove beneath. It is a most ordinary-looking kettle, and we barely notice a large block of ice on a centre table, two side-tables containing metal goblets or beakers, various culinary utensils, flowers, grapes, and other things, when the operator makes his entrance.
"Ladies and gentlemen," we hear him say, "I shall have the pleasure of conducting a series of experiments in which nature will contradict her own laws. Here you see the magic kettle slowly boiling over a stove. When I place it on this block of ice you will notice that instead of chilling the contents the kettle will be made to boil furiously."
This suggestion the operator carries out with precisely the prescribed results--the kettle steams as though some imp of darkness were inside puffing out a steady cloud of vapour through the spout. Leaving it to boil thus for the moment, the lecturer offers to conduct a scientific laundry, for which he borrows a gentleman's hat and a lady's handkerchief--the first for the washtub, the last for the wash. Dropping the cambric inside the improvised tub he lifts the kettle from the ice, and lowering the spout well within the hat, tilts up the kettle, and as volumes of steam ascend from the hat we shudder for the safety of the borrowed articles when the fiery liquid shall have done its work. Here the kettle is placed on the table while the operator condoles with the owners of his tub and its contents.
Our misgivings were of course unwarranted; the handkerchief is shaken out, but although it still steams slightly it is nevertheless dry, and, we are assured, much improved in the wash. Buth whether there is a difference in the cleanliness of it is open to question. The hat, it would seem, must be nearly full of liquid from the kettle; and here we are tricked again--it is as dry as the proverbial herring,--and both articles are restored to their respective owners.
"It is needless for an owner of a magic kettle to have empty pockets." This remark the operator illustrates by inserting the kettle spout in his various pockets and tipping up the still boiling vessel, seemingly filling his clothes with its very elusive contents.
"If your watch won't go, oil it," is another of his facetious phrases, as he takes out his apparently gold chronometer and liberally soaks it. Then we are assured that the match-making industry is doomed. "Instead of vestas, carry a kettle on your watch-chain; it's so much more reliable in windy weather." The application of this remark is plain when, taking a cigar from his case, the demonstrator doses it with the kettle, this causing a flame to spring up at the proper point. There is no question of the smoke being other than ordinary, for the lecturer calmly smokes away at it just as though it were the most natural thing in the world to use steam instead of matches.
Here the operator observes his kettle has become much "lighter," but whether this has reference to the cigar, or is meant to convey that the contents are exhausted, we are left to decide for ourselves while the entertainer retires behind the screen ostensibly to refill the article in question. When it is almost immediately brought forward again, we notice the kettle is now steaming but lightly, it being explained that to boil with its erstwhile fury it would have to be replaced on the block of ice. Other experiments, however, are started, and for the time being the kettle cannot be spared.
A rubber ball is bounced to assure its genuineness, then dropped in one of the metal beakers we previously noticed. Some liquid from the kettle is poured over the ball, and, as with the hat and handkerchief experiment, clouds of steam rise from the goblet. The operator begins to shake the beaker from side to side, at first with no perceptible difference, but gradually the soft rubber ball hardens and knocks against the side of the goblet with crisp, sharp rings.
"The ball is now as hard as steel, yet brittle as a piece of glass," says the exhibitor, picking out the same but now glistening ball. "Observe when I throw it on the floor it will break in hundreds of pieces." So saying, the ball is thrown down, when it splits with a report like a pistol shot, and pieces of it fly in all directions.
A bunch of grapes is next experimented with. Some are thrown to the audience, others (about a dozen) dropped into a second goblet. The operation of pouring liquid over the fruit is attended with similar results to the previous experiment--the grapes harden and knock against the sides of the vessel which contains them. They are now emptied out on to a metal tray, our ears telling us the fruit is as hard as bullets. When some are thrown on the floor they split; others are thrown to the spectators, who find the grapes transformed into veritable hailstones.
Chrysanthemums are treated in similar fashion. So soon as the flowers are dipped in a beaker containing more of the wonderful liquid the petals become hard and brittle, and when squeezed by the operator's fingers break in crisp pieces. Specimen chrysantemums in the petrified condition are presented to a few of the ladies present as souvenirs, with the remark: "Perhaps they will be appreciated the more if you retain the flowers in your warm fingers for ten minutes or so; they will then return to their normal condition."
The most curious and convincing property of the liquid is doubtless shown in its power to solidify mercury. The operator pours a phial of quicksilver in a cardboard box, places this in a metal dish, pours some of the liquid over it, and when the cardboard wrapping is torn away, the operator holds a mercurial hammer with which he drives nails through wood.
We are next invited to pass judgement on the entertainer's ability as a chef. He will fry us an omelette, substituting for the fire the block of ice, which it must be admitted appears in this instance to server the same purpose. An egg is broken into a frying-pan, some of the indispensable liquid is added, when at once the egg begins to fry, frizzling away for all world as though it were over the fiercest fire. "Some people like their eggs under-done, some well done," the chef observes; "I'm very much afraid this one is over-done." And so it is; so much so, in fact that nothing less than a hammer and chisel will induce the egg to leave the pan. When they do part company the egg is quite as hard as a piece of ice.
This brings us to another and more interesting feat of cookery--the making of ice-cream. Eggs, sugar, and cream are beaten together in a basin, then poured in the pan of a chafing dish, with some liquid from the kettle in the bottom part of the dish. One might expect the block of ice to be employed somewhere during this experiment, but it is not to be. By all that's contrary, the chef places the chafing dish on the stand whereon we first saw the kettle at the beginning of the act, and the spirit stove burns briskly underneath! Evidently he is going to grill his ice-cream! Such, in fact, is the operator's intention. In a very little time the ice-cream is pronounced ready; portions are spooned from the dish on to biscuit wafers, and passed round for us to sample. Any hesitation we may have felt is dispelled when the lecturer tastes his own cooking, assuring us it is quite nice. "Done to a turn," he adds; and while we proceed to verify his assertion, the kettle is again taken behind the screen for some more liquid.
The operator announces that he will now allow the kettle to boil again. It is placed on the ice and repeats its former defiance of nature by speedily starting to steam. So soon as the boiling is at its height, the demonstrator, in bringing his lecture to a close, remarks: "I trust you have been interested with this series of experiments, and I propose to bring my entertainment to a close by setting fire to this large block of ice." The steam from the kettle is now directed straight on to the ice, and (wonder of wonders!) it takes fire right from the centre. The flames leap round the ice and rise to a height of two or three feet above it, and upon this somewhat extraordinary spectacle the curtain comes down--the act is over.
The foregoing is a straightforward, unexaggerated description of the dish we are serving to you--the following, an equally honest explanation of the mystery.
The Secret Out
T
HE liquid we guarantee will duplicate the effects produced by liquid air is ether, in which is evaporated solid carbonic acid. Cheap ether at 1s. 4d. per pound is quite as useful for our purpose as the higher-priced purer quality, and one pound should last two or three shows. Ordinary methylated spirit may be substituted for ether, but we recommend the latter as more satisfactory.
Solid carbonic acid is only obtainable from gas cylinders of liquid carbonic acid. These cylinders are used in many of the large meat shops and cold storage establishments for refrigerating purposes; yet, while a certain quantity of solid acid may be secured from these cylinders, this is by no means a trustworthy source, it being merely mentioned in passing solely in order that the interested reader may, with the co-operation of his butcher, test the accuracy of our statements at the cost of a few pence. Otherwise we are afraid the practicability of our instructions may be pooh-poohed, perhaps considered unrealiable, and condemned to imprisonment in a corner of your bookshelf without a fair trial.
The makers of carbonic acid gas supply a special cylinder, with an interior syphon arrangement, which gives off a stream of liquid carbonic. This is precisely what we require for our experiments.
Presuming we are in possesion of a cylinder of the carbonic acid, or to give it its chemical formula, CO2, this difficulty presents itself: How can it be handled? The simplest method is to tie a flannel bag over the cylinder nozzle, and when all is secure to turn the key and allow some of the contents to escape. The liquid carbonic acid hisses through the nozzle into the bag, solidifies as it comes in contact with the air, and while the gas escapes through the flannel a solid deposit (like snow in appearance) is retained in the bag itself. The deposit, or "snow," is solid carbonic acid. The quantity obtained depends of course on the amount of liquid allowed to escape from the cylinder. In size the flannel bag should be about sixteen inches deep by twelve inches wide. For each full show enough snow, as we shall hereafter call it, to half fill the bag is required, this taking about one minute in the accumulation.
Having obtained the snow, it should be turned out on a tin dish to be made up into closely-packed cakes of about an inch in thickness and an inch and a half in diameter. A most convenient appliance for making these cakes is a wooden tube and rammer. A wooden gill measure with the bottom sawn off gives us an admirable tube or mould, and this has the added advantage of a handle, which users will appreciate owing to the intense coldness of the snow. For the rammer, a round stick nine inches long and easily fitting the mould is all that is required. To make a "snow cake," place the mould firmly on a metal tray, spoon some snow into the tube, and ram it down tight. Add more snow and continue ramming until the cake is of the required thickness, then raise the mould and push out the cake with the rammer.
Each cake of the size mentioned is ample for one experiment. Place a snowcake in a metal goblet, drop in a rubber ball, pour a little ether over it, and in a very few seconds the ball will be frozen so hard that if dropped on the floor it will smash like glass.
To explain the cause of this result briefly, it must be understood that so soon as ether or spirit comes into contact with the cake of carbonic acid the cake evaporates very rapidly, resulting in a lowering of the temperature to something like 150 degrees below freezing point. In this condition the combination gives off a steamlike vapour, and has every visible resemblance to water at boiling point.
How the Kettle is made to Steam
WE VENTURE to digress a little for the moment to discuss the most desirable method by which to make the kettle steam. Without a doubt this can be achieved with carbonic acid and ether, yet an even better and cheaper result may be obtained by using ordinary builder's lime. In purchasing this lime hard lumps should be chosen, small pieces or droppings being of little use. The lumps should be broken into pieces the size of one's fist, as required, since in this way we can be assured of having our lime fresh. Three or four pieces of lime placed in a kettle, with half a pint of hot water added, ensure the kettle boiling splendidly in thirty seconds. If the kettle is not required to boil so suddenly, use water only to warm. By using half a pint only of water the lime will absorb all the moisture by the time the kettle fairly begins to steam, and there need be no fear of pouring anything in the shape of liquid therefrom, no matter how freely it be tilted. This part wants well experimenting with to obtain the desired results. The most suitable kettles are the ones with their spouts high up, this construction preventing the lime from reaching and clogging the stem, which misadventure might easily happen to a kettle of the low-down-spout variety.
Three kettles in all are required during the act--two for lime, one for ether. The lime kettles are not prepared in any way, and the arrangement we advise for the ether kettle is simplicity itself. Obviously the three kettles must be of one pattern, the one used for ether only differing from its fellows by reason of a tea-strainer kind of cup inside the kettle in front of the spout hole. This perforated cup is open at the top, and of a size to hold four snowcakes, which are dropped into this holder through the lid space. This arrangement is merely to keep the snow clear of the ether in the well of the kettle until the spirit is poured from the spout. When this is done the ether has naturally to pass through the cup, and, in passing, it sets the snow into evaporation, the result being a steamlike vapour issuing from the spout of the kettle, giving it an appearance of water boiling slightly.
A Word of Caution
THE snow obtained from the cylinder is frightfully cold, and although it may be handled lightly, if retained for more than a second or two in the fingers, the holder exposes himself to the certain risk of painful frost bite. The snow must never, under any consideration, be corked or fastened up, as the constant evaporation which is taking place generates a gas which would burst any vessel from which there was no outlet. Therefore, when making the cakes, place them in a glass tumbler, and either cover it with a handkerchief or not, at will. If these instructions are remembered, there is no other danger except it be that of the snow vanishing, and this will assuredly happen if the cakes are made very long before they are required for use. When exposed to the air the snow evaporates away gradually. If left for more than an hour there would probably be no trace of its existence remaining. It is therefore advisable to make all your other preparations prior to running off the carbonic, leaving this until, say, fifteen minutes before the show. If used within thirty or forty minutes of their moulding the cakes should answer for all that is required of them. The syphon carbonic gas cylinders, costing 7s. 6d., are supposed to contain 28 lbs. of CO2; generally there are about 30 lbs. in them. For a full act it will be necessary to run off from 3 lbs. to4 lbs. of gas, so that one cylinder should supply enough snow for seven to eight shows. The quantity of CO2 in hand may be ascertained by weighing the cylinder, each one of which has is tare and gross weight impressed on the case.
Preparation
IN ARRANGING the requirements for the Kettle Act, the reader cannot do better than prepare each of the following items, in the rotation in which they are given. First see to your block of ice. This should be square, and a well should be chipped from the top as near to the back as possible. This well is to contain ether which is required for the blaze at the finish of the performance. One ounce of ether is plenty for this effect, but it must not be emptied in the ice-well until just before the rise of the curtain.
A pint of water should be put to boil on a stove, to be ready for use when required a little later on. Now see to the lime-kettles by dropping four pieces of lime in each. The cigars require attention next, and it is advisable to prepare two or three, using for preference the thickest obtainable. With a heated iron burn out an inch-deep hole in the large end of each smoke, and insert firmly in the cavity a pea-sized portion of metal potassium. Thus prepared, the cigars should be placed in a tumbler in readiness on one of the stage tables. During this operation it is imperative that one's hand are quite dry; if they are at all damp when handling metal potassium it is liable to take fire. Before placing aside the potassium put two small pieces of the metal in a thin box-lid, together with a little of the naphta in which metal potassium is packed for safety. These pieces are required for lighting the ether in the ice-well, and are placed behind the block of ice.
A glass jug must now be filled with "cream," which in reality is unfrozen ice-cream mixture, which is made as follows: One pint of milk thickened with cornflour, to which is added vanilla fravouring and castor sugar to taste, well boiled and allowed to cool. Such is the contents of the jug. And also required for the ice-cram making experiment are one egg, basin of white sugar, a dozen ice wafers, empty basin, egg whisk, two spoons, and a chafing dish.
The remaining properties to be arranged to their own advantage and the operator's convenience, are a bunch of grapes, rubber ball, another egg, chrysantemums, tube of mercury, cardboard box, a small piece of stick, and a hammer and chisel.
About three-quarters of a pound of ether should now be poured in the well of the ether kettle. This quantity, be it noted, is more than is used in one demonstration, but it is advisable to have too much rather than too little; the ether remaining over from one show may be re-bottled and used again.
Having concluded the arrangements already set forth, the next item is to run off the CO2 and make your snowcakes. Nine cakes are required, their distribution being one each in three beakers, two in a metal dish for the mercury freezing, one in the frying-pan for poaching the egg, and four in the cup of the ether kettle. All the loose snow remaining after making the cakes must be tightly packed in the base of the chafing dish, and the pan placed over the snow, to prevent as far as possible its evaporation.
A screen should be placed in front of a table at the back of the stage, and on the table the operator must arrange his three kettles and pint jug full of hot water. All is now in readiness for the stage to be set and the experiments presented.
Presenting the Kettle Act
THE description prefacing our explanation of the experiments now to be conducted was written largely with the object of acquainting the reader with the order and style in which the different effects are shown. Therefore we shall, in this concluding section, content ourselves with brief directions which, if properly followed, must assure a certain success.
We assume the stage setting is finished, everything required in the act being in their right places. The operator first pours a half pint of hot water in one of his lime kettles, sets this above the spirit stove, and gives the word to "ring up." By the time his opening remarks are made and the kettle poised on the ice, it will be abundantly steaming. In tilting the kettle spout inside the borrowed hat for the washing trick, nothing issues but steam, which remark also applies to the effect of emptying some of the contents into the pockets.
To light the cigars it is only necessary to hold them for a moment in the steam; almost so soon as the potassium in the cigar ends is reached by the steam a small flame springs up. The operator may draw at the lighted weed with impunity; there is no taste from the metal and no danger. This effect is worth repeating with other cigars. By this time the steaming power of the lime will be lessening, and this kettle is changed behind the screen for the one containing ether.
To freeze or petrify the rubber balls, grapes, and flowers, it is only required to placethem in one of the beakers containing a snowcake, and pour a little ether over them. For the egg-poaching on the ice the proceeding is the same, using, of course, a frying-pan instead of a beaker. It is advisable to break the yolk in this instance, since the egg will freeze more quickly in this condition. Slightly more ether is required for the egg, owing to it being a larger area to cover than the other objects frozen, and the frying pan must be tilted to cause the ether to wash over its contents. When properly frozen, break the egg by hammering at it for the audience to see how hard it has become. Mercury is no more difficult to freeze than the objects already treated, although it returns more quickly to its normal condition.
For the ice-cream making, first break an egg into the empty basin and beat it well up with a whisk. Now pour the cream into the basin and add a very little sugar, pretending you are using considerably more than is really the case. The mixture is now to be well beaten together and poured into the top pan of the chafing dish. To freeze the mixture, raise the pan and pour a good quantity of ether over the snow in the bottom half of the dish, at once clapping the pan back again. A little time is now wasted in lighting the spirit stove over which the chafing dish is to be placed. Some moments are also gained in laying out the ice wafers on a tray, by which time the cream will be frozen about half way up from the bottom. Begin spooning the underneath portion of cream out first, and dividing it on the wafers. By the time a dozen portions are served the whole of the mixture will be frozen and the pan can be placed on a tray with a number of spoons, and passed round for any who wish to help themselves. Here the ether kettle is changed for the second lime kettle, in which the remaining water is poured. Placing it on the ice while making his concluding remarks, the operator waits for a few seconds until steam is well up, and then directs the spout round the sides of the ice, and secretly picks up the pieces of potassium from behind. In changing from one side of the ice to the other the potassium is let fall into the well of ether. At once the whole block of ice appears to catch fire, and will burn for quite two minutes, in which time the curtain has fallen and, we hope, been raised again for the operator to take a call.
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