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The Blob on Bob Marv Alinas

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 Published in 2016 by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC
243 5th Avenue, Suite 136, New York, NY 10016

Copyright © 2016 by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC

First Edition

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Boehme, Gerry.

Title: Roberto Clemente: the pride of Puerto Rico / Gerry Boehme.

Description: New York: Cavendish Square Publishing, 2016 | Series: Game-changing athletes |
Includes index.
Identifiers: ISBN 9781502610584 (library bound) | ISBN 9781502610591 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Clemente, Roberto, 1934-1972—Juvenile literature. |
Baseball players—Puerto Rico—Biography—Juvenile literature.
Classification: LCC GV865.C45 2016 | DDC 796.357092—dc23

Editorial Director: David McNamara

Editor: Fletcher Doyle
Copy Editor: Rebecca Rohan
Art Director: Jeffrey Talbot
Designer: Joseph Macri
Senior Production Manager: Jennifer Ryder-Talbot
Production Editor: Renni Johnson
Photo Research: J8 Media
The photographs in this book are used by permission and through the courtesy of: Photo File/
MLB Photos via Getty Images, cover; Keystone-France/Gamma Keystone via Getty Images,
cover (background); Stephen Dunn/Getty Images, 5; Stephen Dunn/Getty Images,6; Hulton
Archive/Getty Images, 8; AP Photo, 13; AP Photo/File, 17; Keystone/Getty Images, 20–21;
Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images, 26; Sporting News via Getty Images, 28;
Sporting News/Sporting News via Getty Images, 34; J. R. Eyerman/The LIFE Picture
Collection/ Getty Images, 41; AP Photo, 43; Nina Leen/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty
Images, 46; NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images, 48; Photo File/Getty Images, 52–53;
Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images, 56; Andrew Burton/Getty Images, 59;
William Greene/Sports Studio Photos/Getty Images, 63; Sporting News/Sporting News via
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Picture Collection/Getty Images, 95; Diamond Images/Getty Images, 98–99; Norman
Potter/Express/Getty Images, background
(used throughout).

Printed in the United States of America

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Beginnings of Greatness

Chapter 2: New Life, New Challenges

Chapter 3: Starring on the National Stage

Chapter 4: Triumph and Tragedy

Chapter 5: Clemente Lives On

Glossary

Selected Bibliography

Further Information

Index
After inducting its newest members in the summer of 2015, the National
Baseball Hall of Fame included only 310 people. Out of those 310, only 215
were major league players. Roberto Clemente Walker joined that select group
in 1973, recognized as one of the greatest to ever play the game—a significant
achievement, to be sure, but “Baseball Hall of Famer” paints much too limited
a picture of this larger-than-life man who is still mourned and respected more
than forty years after his untimely death. In truth, few athletes have ever
reached the stature of Roberto Clemente. Few people have ever compressed so
much life, and so many accomplishments, into just a few short years.
Roberto Clemente was indeed a great baseball player. Perhaps the best right
fielder in baseball history, he was the first Latino baseball player to reach three
thousand career hits. He starred in the 1971 World Series in front of more
than sixty million television viewers, a record-setting audience. He collected
numerous awards, batting titles, and fielding accolades.
But Clemente also lived another full life, one devoted to service. He used
his talent and fame as a stepping-stone to accomplish good for all, both in his
sport and in life outside of baseball. He championed his homeland, his race,
and those in need of help. Fiercely proud, Clemente was raised to respect all
people, regardless of race or wealth. He insisted that he be respected as a man,
not just as a baseball player.
Superstar player Roberto Clemente spent his entire major league baseball career
with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
 Roberto Clemente made sure his wife Vera, three sons, and his parents Melchor
and Luisa, joined him when the Pirates honored him on July 24, 1970.

Called by some the “Latino Jackie Robinson,” Roberto fought against those
who would not treat him equally because of the color of his skin or the
language that he spoke, paving the way for hundreds of Latino players who
followed. Roberto Clemente died as he lived, perishing in a tragic accident as
he tried to deliver relief supplies to a country stricken by an earthquake.
Writer Mike Freeman helped the Clemente family write a book about
Roberto’s life, Clemente: The True Legacy of an Undying Hero. Freeman once
asked famous boxer Muhammad Ali to name the athletes Ali admired the
most. Ali did not take long to mention Roberto Clemente. “I think the
greatest thing you can say about a person,” Ali said, “is that they gave their life
for their cause. That’s what Roberto Clemente did. He was a beautiful human
being.”
Roberto Clemente devoted his time on Earth to many things: his family, his
sport, his people, his heritage, and his mission. He embodied pride,
determination, and honor. He died supporting the principles that drove his
life.
Roberto Clemente’s name continues to live on—in baseball’s record books,
in the memories of the players he mentored, on the nameplates of the
countless schools, ball fields and buildings christened in his honor, and in the
causes and organizations that still serve those in need, the people that Roberto
always held close to his heart. He was, and forever will be, the Pride of Puerto
Rico.
Roberto Clemente first played professional baseball as a teenager with the
Santurce Cangrejeros in Puerto Rico.
 “I want to be remembered as a ballplayer who gave all he had to give.”

—Roberto Clemente, noted by Vicky Franchino in her book Roberto Clemente

R
oberto Clemente Walker is one of the most famous athletes to come from
Puerto Rico. He was born on August 18, 1934, in Carolina, a town lying
about 7 miles (11.3 kilometers) southeast of the capital city of San Juan.
The island of Puerto Rico is located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, east
of the Dominican Republic and west of both the US Virgin Islands and the
British Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico is a small place, only about 100 miles long
(161 km) and 35 miles (56 km) wide. Explorer Christopher Columbus
discovered the island on November 19, 1493, and claimed it for Spain. Spain
brought slaves from Africa to help the native tribes already living there work
on its sugar plantations. The mix of native, Spanish, and African populations
all contributed to Puerto Rico’s rich heritage.
Spain controlled Puerto Rico until it ceded the island to the United States
after the Spanish-American War in 1899. Puerto Rico has its own
democratically elected government and is officially known as the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico), but as
a United States territory it remains under the control of the US government.
 Puerto Rico’s historical connection with Spain and its mix of racial cultures
played a large role in shaping Roberto Clemente’s life and how he felt about his
role in society. Roberto had dark skin and spoke Spanish, still Puerto Rico’s
primary language. Although he learned a bit of English in high school, he did
not speak it well when he started his baseball career on the mainland. The
language barrier and his color made Clemente feel isolated from his teammates
and other people when he moved away from Puerto Rico to play professional
baseball in the United States and Canada. The challenges that he faced helped
transform him from a young but gifted teenager into the famous and
influential person he became, a man who far transcended his role as a sports
hero.
A statue of Roberto Clemente stands outside Sports City, a 304-acre (123-
hectare) sports complex established by his family in Carolina, Puerto Rico, after
 his tragic death.

Life During a Time of Change

When Roberto Clemente was born, Carolina was a rural town that had been
hit hard by the Great Depression, a period of economic hardship that also
affected the United States and the rest of the world. Businesses failed and many
people lost their jobs.
Clemente’s ancestors had been workers on the island’s coffee and sugar
plantations. Roberto’s father, Don Melchor Clemente, was raised during a time
of great change in Puerto Rico. Slavery had been abolished on the island in
1873, not long before Melchor Clemente was born. Puerto Rico was under
Spanish rule until Melchor turned fifteen.
Melchor worked at a sugarcane mill as a foreman, supervising groups of
men who used machetes to cut the thick sugarcane in the fields. To make more
money to support his family, Melchor also ran a small grocery store.
Roberto’s mother, Dona Luisa Walker, had been married once before. After
Luisa’s first husband passed away, she then met and married Melchor
Clemente. The family had a total of seven children, five boys and two girls, and
Roberto was the youngest.
When Roberto was still an infant, his five-year- old sister Ana Iris died in a
tragic household accident. Although Roberto was too young to remember Ana
Iris, as he got older, he always said that he felt his sister’s presence in his life.
 Roberto Clemente’s father Melchor worked as a foreman on a sugar cane farm
similar to this one in Puerto Rico.

Melchor was already in his early fifties when Roberto was born. Roberto’s
father has been described as a stern and serious man who taught his children
about the value of hard work, sacrifice, and the importance of helping others.
Melchor wanted all of his children to carry themselves with pride and dignity.
In his book Clemente!, author Kal Wagenheim said that Melchor told Roberto,
“I want you to become a good man, a serious man.”
Luisa also worked hard for her family, washing laundry for the owner of the
mill and making lunches for the workers. Luisa often worked at night so that
she could be home with her children during the day while Melchor worked at
his job. Luisa was very religious and kind to the people in the area, often
taking in and feeding poor children who came to the Clemente house.
 While the Clemente family was not poor during Roberto’s childhood, they
had only enough money for their basic needs. They were lucky to have food, a
house, electricity, and clothing, which many others did not. Roberto learned
the meaning of hard work at a young age. When he was nine he asked his
father for a bicycle. His father told him he needed to earn the money himself,
so Roberto got up early every morning before school to deliver milk and do
other jobs, saving money for three years in order to buy the bicycle.
In addition to hard work, Clemente’s parents taught their children other
important values, such as respect for others and the virtue of generosity.
Melchor and Luisa stressed that every person was equal, regardless of the color
of their skin or the amount of money they had. Roberto took that message to
heart. He tried to treat everyone fairly, and he expected the same in return.
Clemente fought all his life to make sure that he and other players who had
dark skin and spoke a different language were treated with the same respect as
white players.
Bruce Markusen, who authored a biography of Clemente entitled Roberto
Clemente: The Great One, wrote that Roberto greatly respected his mother and
father. “I owe so much to my parents,” Roberto once said. “They did so much
for me. I never heard my mother or father raise their voices in our home. I
never heard hate in my house.” Clemente loved and honored his parents
throughout his life.
Roberto’s parents also discouraged rash behavior, and Roberto learned to
make decisions carefully. He was often quiet and shy as a child, and he usually
would not do anything before thinking about it. Sometimes Roberto answered
requests from his friends and teachers by saying momentito, a Spanish word
meaning, “wait a small minute.” David Maraniss, a famous writer and the
author of Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero, said that
Clemente said “momentito” so often that his family and friends gave him a
nickname, shortening “momentito” to “momen.” The name stuck with
Roberto for the rest of his life.
Roberto’s mother strongly believed that her children should be well
educated and get jobs to help people in society. During an interview with the
San Juan Star newspaper in 1960, Luisa talked about her hopes for Roberto.
She wanted him to complete school and find a career in a field like engineering
rather than turn to sports. But, she said, “God wished it differently.” She
admitted that her son “was born to play baseball.”
Little did she know that Roberto’s path toward sports and stardom would
have a much greater effect on people than she could ever have imagined.

Born to Play Baseball

Roberto was not a big man. Even when he reached adulthood, he was only five
feet eleven inches tall (1.8 meters) and weighed 175 pounds (79 kilograms).
However, he was very strong and very fast, and he had very large hands. From
his early childhood, Roberto showed great athletic ability and excelled at many
sports.
He often said that he inherited one of his most famous assets, his strong
throwing arm, from his mother. “My mother has the same kind of an arm,
even today at seventy- four,” Clemente said in a 1964 interview with The
Sporting News, a weekly magazine. “She could throw a ball from second base to
home plate with something on it. I got my arm from my mother.”
Clemente became a star athlete at Vizcarrondo High School in Carolina. A
member of the track team, Roberto used his speed to compete in sprinting and
hurdling. He also excelled at throwing the javelin, a light spear used in track
events. Roberto said that throwing the javelin in high school was part of the
reason he developed a strong arm. Some people believed he might be selected
to represent Puerto Rico in the 1952 Summer Olympics. But from an early
age, Roberto Clemente’s real passion was baseball. “I wanted to be a
ballplayer,” he said. “I became convinced God wanted me to.”
Baseball was very popular in Puerto Rico when Roberto was young.
Students who returned to Puerto Rico after studying in the United States
brought baseball with them, as did the US soldiers who came to the island
after the end of the Spanish-American War. Many large towns and cities fielded
baseball teams that competed for the island championship.
 David Maraniss wrote that Roberto’s older brother Justino, usually called
“Matino,” loved baseball as much as Roberto did. Matino was seven years older
than Roberto and was the first person to really teach him the game. Roberto
admired his older brother, who continued to give him advice for the rest of his
life. Roberto always said that Matino was the best ballplayer in the family until
he joined the US Army in 1950.
Roberto would continuously hit bottle caps with a broomstick and throw
rubber and tennis balls against the walls and ceilings of his house. He made his
first bat using a branch from a large tree. His fashioned his first baseball glove
from a sack that was used to store coffee beans.
Nick Healy, in his biography Roberto Clemente: Baseball Legend, wrote that
Clemente said, “I started playing baseball in the neighborhood before I was old
enough to go to school. … We played until it got so dark we couldn’t see. I
would forget to eat because of baseball.”
One day, Roberto’s mother became so angry about him staying out late to
play baseball that she threw his bat in the fire. Roberto managed to rescue it
before it was too badly damaged.
When Roberto Clemente started playing with Matino and his other older
brothers, they played softball rather than baseball. Softball is a sport similar to
baseball, except that the ball is larger and a bit softer and the pitcher throws to
the batter with an underhand motion. When Roberto was eight years old, he
joined his first softball team with other boys from his neighborhood. It was a
slow-pitch league, in which the pitcher would throw the ball slowly with a
high arc towards the batter.
When Clemente was fourteen, a man named Roberto Marin saw him
playing ball with friends. Marin, a parttime teacher and a salesman for a rice
company, noticed Roberto’s talent right away. Marin was in charge of finding
players for his company softball team and he asked Clemente to play. This
marked the start of a special personal relationship between Roberto Clemente
and Roberto Marin, with Marin helping to guide Clemente during the early
years of his long career.
Marin first placed Roberto at shortstop because he needed infield help and
he wanted to take advantage of Clemente’s strong arm. After a short time,
however, Marin realized that Clemente’s speed and arm could better be taken
advantage of in the outfield. Clemente switched positions and became an
outfielder, a position he would play for the rest of his life.
During this time, Clemente switched from slow-pitch to fast-pitch softball,
in which the pitcher threw much harder. He adjusted to the faster speed and
excelled. The other coaches and managers in the league picked Roberto to play
in their “Future Stars” competition, which only included the best players in the
league. Roberto was still only fourteen years old, and most of the other players
were two years older.
Roberto’s success in softball soon attracted notice from local scouts who were
looking for talented players for their baseball teams. Clemente quickly moved
up to a very competitive amateur baseball league, playing for a team owned by
a man named Ferdinand Juncos.
After watching him play for nearly four years, Roberto Marin felt that the
seventeen-year-old Clemente was ready to move up to professional baseball.
Marin spoke to his friend Pedrin Zorrilla. Zorrilla owned the Santurce
Cangrejeros, or “Crabbers,” a popular professional baseball team in the Puerto
Rican Winter League.
Many Latin American countries, including Puerto Rico, Mexico, the
Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, had winter baseball leagues. In the
1950s, many experienced professional players from the United States used
Winter League baseball to keep in shape during the off-season and to earn
some extra money. In those days, Major League Baseball (MLB) salaries were
much less than they are today.
Winter League rosters included many well-known African-American stars
even before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the major leagues in
1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Many of them played in the United States in
the Negro Leagues during the regular baseball season because of MLB’s ban
on players of color. Even after the color barrier was broken, black professional
baseball players continued to play in Puerto Rico when their regular seasons
ended.
Young players like Roberto Clemente used the Winter League to showcase
their skills alongside some of the best players in the world. Author Thomas E.
Van Hyning once called Puerto Rico and its Winter League “Major League
Baseball’s launching pad.”
Roberto Marin arranged for Pedrin Zorrilla to see Clemente play, and
Zorrilla was immediately impressed. Besides owning the Santurce Cangrejeros,
Zorrilla also worked as a scout for an MLB team, the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Zorrilla invited Roberto to a tryout camp sponsored by both the Crabbers and
the Dodgers.
In those days, Alexander “Al” Campanis was the head scout for the Dodgers
in the Caribbean area. Campanis knew that more than seventy young players
were coming to the camp, but he had low expectations. In his experience, it
was rare to find an outstanding prospect at an open tryout like this one.
However, when Campanis saw Roberto Clemente field, hit, and throw, he
changed his mind.
During one of the drills, Clemente threw a ball all the way to home plate
from deep center field, a distance of about 400 feet (122 m). In his book
Roberto Clemente: The Great One, author Bruce Markusen wrote that
Campanis asked for “uno más,” Spanish for “one more.” Roberto’s second
throw was just as good. Then Clemente ran the 60-yard (55 m) dash in 6.4
seconds, less than half a second behind the world record for that distance.
When he repeated that as well, Campanis knew that Clemente had the tools to
be great.

A Five Tool Player

When baseball scouts evaluate players, they rate them for five particular
physical skills: hitting for average, hitting for power, fielding ability, arm
strength, and running speed. Scouts refer to these five skills as “tools.” Great
baseball players who excel at all five skills are called “five- tool players.” It’s hard
to find players that can do all five things, and when baseball scouts find a five-
tool player, they jump at the chance to recruit that player. Campanis
immediately recognized Roberto Clemente as one of those rare five-tool
players. Years later, Campanis told famous sportswriter Dick Young that
“Clemente was the greatest natural athlete I have ever seen as an amateur free
agent.”
Campanis wanted to sign Roberto for the Dodgers right away, but MLB
required players to be at least eighteen years old to sign a contract. Roberto
was only seventeen, so the Dodgers could not sign him after the tryout.
However, Campanis decided to keep a close eye on Clemente for the future.
While the Dodgers did not sign Clemente, Pedrin Zorrilla did. The Puerto
Rican League did not require players to be at least eighteen years old, so
Zorrilla offered Clemente a contract to play for the Santurce Cangrejeros. The
contract included a salary of $40 per week and a signing bonus of $500.

Willie Mays, a star baseball player for the New York Giants, played with Roberto
Clemente on the Santurce Cangrejeros in the Puerto Rican Winter League.

The amount of Roberto’s salary and bonus looked like a fortune to the
Clemente family. It was much more money than his father or mother made for
all their hard work. His parents also knew how much baseball meant to
Roberto, so they agreed that he should sign with the Cangrejeros. After signing
the contract with Santurce on October 9, 1952, Roberto Clemente was no
longer an amateur. He was a professional baseball player.
Roberto was still in high school when he started playing in the Puerto
Rican Winter League. The Cangrejeros were already a very good team,
however, and they had many top African-American baseball stars in their
lineup. Clemente was very excited to play with a Winter League team against
major league players from the United States, but it was not easy for him to
compete with older professional players at such a young age. Roberto’s
excitement soon turned to frustration when he found himself spending most of
his time on the bench and not playing. When he did play, Roberto did not
perform as well as he had hoped.
The team’s manager, James Buster “Buzz” Clarkson, decided to bring
Clemente along slowly, given his age and inexperience. Clarkson had been a
great player in the Negro Leagues in the United States and had also played
many winters in Puerto Rico. He knew what it took to be successful, and he
wanted to make sure Roberto was not overwhelmed as he began his
professional career.
Clarkson also tried to give Clemente advice on how to improve. For
example, when Clemente was at bat he dragged his front (left) foot and would
swing at almost every pitch. Clarkson told Clemente that he could be a great
player but he needed to improve his footing and only swing at good pitches.
Clemente took Clarkson’s advice and worked hard to get better.
Although Roberto played only part-time, the Cangrejeros won the Puerto
Rican championship in his rookie year. During his second season (1953–
1954) he played alongside Willie Mays, a developing star who would hit .345
for the World Series Champion New York Giants and be named the Most
Valuable Player (MVP) in the National League in 1954. He continued to get
better and became a starter during the season. Playing every day and feeling
more comfortable, Roberto’s true skill began to emerge. Clemente finished
with a batting average of .288 and attracted the attention of scouts from the
United States.
 The Brooklyn Dodgers remembered Roberto from his tryout in front of Al
Campanis, but now other teams were interested in him as well. In the early
1950s, scouts from the Milwaukee Braves, New York Giants, St. Louis
Cardinals, New York Yankees, and other teams came to Puerto Rico to watch
Clemente play.
The Giants made the first contract offer to Clemente. While they
recognized his speed and fielding ability, they weren’t sure if he could hit well
enough for the major leagues, so the amount they offered in the contract was
not very high.
The Dodgers believed more strongly in Roberto’s talent. They offered a
salary of $5,000 for a year plus a $10,000 bonus. Clemente liked that the
Dodgers were already famous for breaking the color line in baseball by
accepting Jackie Robinson and including other black players on their team. He
also was comfortable with the idea that Brooklyn was a part of New York City,
a place where many Puerto Ricans and African Americans already lived.
Clemente agreed to sign with the Dodgers.
The Milwaukee Braves then offered even more money, including a $30,000
bonus. Roberto did not know what to do. He did not know the Braves or the
city of Milwaukee as well as he knew the Dodgers and New York. However,
Milwaukee’s offer was much higher.
Roberto turned to his parents for advice. Both his mother and father said
that since he had already agreed to play for the Dodgers he should keep his
word and go to Brooklyn. Roberto Clemente and his father signed the
Dodgers contract on February 19, 1954. According to baseball writer Phil
Musick, who authored Who Was Roberto: A Biography of Roberto Clemente,
Roberto’s father Melchor had to sign with an “X” since he could not read or
write.
When Roberto signed with the Dodgers, scout Al Campanis pleaded with
the Dodgers management to place him on the major league roster right away
instead of sending him to the minor leagues, a lower level of baseball where
young players were often sent to gain experience and prepare for the majors.
However, the Dodgers decided not to put Clemente on the major league
roster. Instead, they assigned Roberto to their top minor league team, the
Montreal Royals of the International League, where Jackie Robinson had
played in 1946.
The decision to send Clemente to Montreal instead of directly to Brooklyn
would play a huge role in Roberto Clemente’s career. It was also a decision that
the Dodgers would always regret.
When Roberto Clemente first visited the southern United States, many public
services, including drinking fountains, were reserved for whites only.
 “I don’t believe in color. I believe in people.”

— Roberto Clemente, noted by Mary Olmstead in her book Roberto Clemente

W
hen Roberto Clemente came to North America to play baseball, he
experienced many things for the first time. He had to learn a new
language and a new way of life. Unfortunately, he also had another
new experience: racial prejudice. Roberto found out that some people did not
like him solely because of the color of his skin.
Everything was strange and different in Montreal. Roberto was lonely,
homesick, and still a teenager. The weather was much colder than in Puerto
Rico. Most residents spoke French, so Clemente did not have many people to
talk to. While his teammates and some Montrealers also spoke English, young
Roberto had only studied English in high school and could not speak or
understand it very well. This was the first time he had to really communicate in
a language other than Spanish.
His new team, the Royals, played in the International League, and the
league name fit. Three teams were based in Canadian cities: Montreal, Ottawa,
and Toronto. The league also included a team based in Havana, Cuba, as well
as four teams in the United States. Three of the US teams were located in New
York State—in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. The other US
team was based in Richmond, Virginia.
Victimized by Prejudice
Roberto’s eyes were soon opened to something even worse than not speaking
the language. When the Royals traveled to cities in the United States, and
especially to Richmond, Clemente realized that people with dark skin were
often treated badly.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, most public places in the southern
United States were segregated, meaning that blacks and whites were often
separated. Some white Americans still felt that black citizens should not have
equal rights. African Americans could not use hotels, restaurants, trains, busses,
or even water fountains that were designated for whites only. For the first time
in his life, people told Clemente that he could not eat or stay in the same
places as his white teammates.
Author David Maraniss wrote: “Color of skin is noted in Puerto Rico—
there is racism there—but it tends to be hidden and silent, with a history far
different than the States.” Roberto Clemente came from a place where
everyone spoke his language (Spanish) and many people had dark skin like he
did. He never really felt out of place until he went to play baseball in North
America.
Luckily, racial prejudice was not as strong in Canada or in the cities in New
York State that were part of the International League. Even so, Roberto still
had trouble getting used to his new life away from home. He noticed that his
teammates often separated themselves into different groups, depending on
whether they were black or white. Although some of his African-American
teammates had already lived this way in America, he had never experienced
anything like this in Puerto Rico.

Riding the Bench

In addition to not speaking the local language and having dark skin, Clemente
faced another big problem when he arrived in Montreal: he didn’t play very
much. He expected to take the field every day, but he often found himself on
the bench instead of in the starting lineup. Even more puzzling, the manager
used him more if he was not playing well, but he’d be benched if he started
playing better. This odd treatment confused Roberto and made him angry.
Today, more than sixty years later, baseball experts still disagree on the reasons
why the Royals treated Roberto Clemente so strangely. However, at least part
of the reason had to do with baseball’s rules regarding new players.
At that time, Major League Baseball’s rules stated that any team that paid a
player more than $4,000 per year had to keep him on the major league roster.
If they were not kept with the big-league club, the player could be claimed by
another team in a special draft held at the end of the season. The major league
team with the worst record chose first in the draft. The rule prevented teams
with the most money from signing players and stashing them in the minors
just to keep them away from other teams. Clemente’s salary was above $4,000,
and the Dodgers knew they could lose him in the special draft. However, the
Dodgers still chose to send him to Montreal, their minor league team, instead
of the major league team in Brooklyn.

Unanswered Questions
The Dodgers obviously believed in Clemente’s talent and potential, so why did
they risk losing him in the draft by assigning him to the Montreal Royals
instead of putting him on the Dodgers? And why did they play him only part-
time? Some people believe that the Dodgers knew Clemente would be a great
player but thought he needed more experience. Others think that the Dodgers
didn’t really want him and signed him only to keep him away from their
biggest rival, the New York Giants. Still others feel that the Dodgers already
had enough outfielders on their team and had no room for him right then, so
they tried to “hide” him from other teams by not playing him that much and
only letting other teams see him when he didn’t perform well. However, there
may have been one more reason why the Dodgers did not add Clemente to
their major league roster right away. It may have had something to do with
Clemente’s skin color.
The Dodgers had already made history when they brought Jackie Robinson,
an African-American player, to the major leagues in 1947. By breaking the
color barrier in baseball, Robinson made it easier for the Dodgers and other
baseball teams to start adding black players. By the time Roberto Clemente
signed with the Dodgers in 1954, several African Americans already played for
Brooklyn. Some baseball historians believe that there was an unofficial
agreement among the major league teams not to have more than a few black
players on any team’s roster. Some also think that the Dodgers management
did not want more black starting players. Since Roberto Clemente had dark
skin and was a Latin American, the Dodgers may not have wanted to take a
white player off their team to add Clemente.
Emil “Buzzy” Bavasi was a Dodgers vice president at the time. Bavasi
approved the decisions to sign Clemente to his first contract and to send him
to Montreal. Years afterwards, Bavasi made contradictory statements about
why Clemente played so little in Montreal. In a June 1967 issue of Sports
Illustrated, Bavasi said that the Dodgers were indeed afraid of losing Roberto to
another team in the draft. According to writer Stew Thornley, Bavasi also has
said that the Dodgers’ decision had nothing to do with the Giants or any
agreement about race quotas with other teams. He did admit, however, that
race did play a role in the decision. “The thought (among people in the
Dodgers organization) was that too many minorities might be a problem with
the white players,” Bavasi said.
 Brooklyn Dodgers Vice President Emil “Buzzy” Bavasi (left) convinced team
owner Walter O’Malley (center) and VP of Scouting Fresco Thompson (right) to
sign Robert Clemente to a contract.

Whatever the reason, Clemente became so unhappy that toward the end of
the season he angrily left the ballpark when he was replaced during a game by
another hitter. He intended to quit the Royals and return to Puerto Rico.
Carin T. Ford talked about this situation in her book Roberto Clemente:
Baseball Legend. She wrote that Howie Haack, a scout for the Pittsburgh
Pirates, had been sent to the game to see Clemente play. By chance, Haack
arrived too late to see the game, so he went to Roberto’s hotel to meet him.
When Clemente told Haack he was going to leave Montreal and go home,
Haack attempted to get him to change his mind. If he left the team, Haack
said, the league would put him on the suspended list, meaning he could not
play for any team and no one else could draft him.
 Clemente then spoke with Al Campanis, the Dodgers scout who had seen
him a few years earlier. Campanis also urged Clemente to be patient and that
everything would be all right. Luckily, Clemente listened and stayed with the
team for the rest of the season.
After that frustrating season with the Royals, Clemente went back to Puerto
Rico to play for his Winter League team. That year the Santurce Cangrejeros
boasted many star players, including Willie Mays. Roberto played left field and
hit an outstanding .344, helping the team win the Caribbean World Series.
Many consider the 1954–1955 Cangrejeros to be the best Caribbean baseball
team of all time.
Clemente also learned a very important lesson that year. Baseball wasn’t just
a sport he loved to play. It was a tough and nasty business as well. All of these
new experiences helped shape his outlook as he prepared to go to the major
leagues.

On to Pittsburgh
Legendary baseball executive Branch Rickey moved from the Dodgers to the
Pittsburgh Pirates after the 1950 season, and he knew all about Roberto
Clemente’s skill and promise. The Pittsburgh Pirates finished in last place that
year and had the first pick in the National League baseball draft. They claimed
Clemente from the Dodgers on November 22, 1954. According to Ford, when
Roberto heard that he was drafted by Pittsburgh, he said, “I don’t even know
where Pittsburgh is.”
During the off-season in Puerto Rico, tragedy again struck the Clemente
family. Roberto’s brother Luis became ill with a brain tumor, and Roberto
often visited him in the hospital. Shortly before Luis died from his illness,
Roberto was driving home from the hospital when his car was hit by a
speeding drunk driver who ran a red light. He injured his back in the accident,
and back pain would bother him for the rest of his life.
Roberto did not have much time to recover from the accident before he had
to join his new team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, for spring training in Fort Myers,
Florida. Returning to the southern United States, he once again faced the racial
prejudice that he had experienced the previous year. During one game in
Birmingham, Alabama, Roberto and two other teammates were not even
allowed to play because the city had passed a law forbidding white and black
players to participate in sporting events together.

The Majors at Last

The Pirates were not a strong team when Clemente arrived. They had finished
in last place for four of the last five years. They had not finished first since
1927 and had not won a World Series in thirty years. The Pirates played their
home games in Forbes Field, a stadium with an unusually large outfield. When
Roberto saw the long distances from home plate to the outfield fences, he
decided to try to hit line drives rather than home runs. Line drives don’t carry
into the outfield seats, but on bigger fields they can turn into doubles and
triples.
Early baseball cards identified Roberto Clemente as “Bob,” even though his
signature showed his correct first name.
 Clemente played well enough in spring training to make the Pirates’ major
league roster, but he did not win a starting position when spring training
ended. He first wore the number 13 but quickly switched to 21 when another
player gave it up. According to Ford and other writers, Roberto said he chose
“21” while sitting in a movie theater by counting up the total number of letters
in his full name—Roberto Clemente Walker.
On April 17, 1955, Roberto Clemente had his first at- bat in the major
leagues. In a twist of fate, the Pirates were playing the Brooklyn Dodgers, the
team that originally had signed Roberto to a contract. He reached base in his
first at-bat and scored his first major league run. He impressed his manager
and stayed in the lineup, finishing his first week of regular play with nine hits.
As the season went on, however, Roberto began to struggle. Opposing
pitchers saw that he was a “free- swinger,” meaning that he would often swing
wildly at pitches that were far from the strike zone. He also stood very far from
the plate, making pitchers think they could get him out by throwing the ball
on the outside part of the plate and making him chase the ball.
 SCORECARD
Major League Career Statistics:
Games: 2,433, all with Pittsburgh
Seasons: 18
Batting Average: .317
Hits: 3,000
Doubles: 440
Triples: 166
Home Runs: 240
RBIs (runs batted in): 1,305
Outfield Assists: 266 (NL record five times leading league)

Awards:
Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, 1973; World Series MVP
(Most Valuable Player), 1971; World Series champion, 1960 and
1971; All-Star Games, 12; Gold Gloves (best fielder at his
position), twelve consecutive years for right field, 1961–1972;
National League MVP, 1966; Sporting News Player of the Year,
1966; NL batting titles in 1961, 1964, 1965, and 1967; NL Player
of the Month for May 1960, August 1967, and July 1969;
Congressional Gold Medal, 1973; Frank Slocum Big B.A.T. Award,
2002; Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2003; Commissioner’s
Historic Achievement Award, 2006.
 Roberto Clemente crosses home plate after hitting one of his four home runs for
the Pirates in 1959, one year before his breakout season.

Clemente soon was not playing regularly, and he again became frustrated.
Like many young players, he was impatient and wanted success right away. He
sometimes let his temper get the best of him, and he exploded on the field or
in the clubhouse. After being fined several times by the Pirates for bad
behavior and for damaging team equipment, Clemente decided that he needed
to act with more maturity and correct his behavior, both to improve his image
and also to save money.

Feeling Out of Place

Even though Pittsburgh was not in the southern United States, Roberto
Clemente still did not have an easy time living there. Just like when he was in
Montreal, Clemente often felt lonely in Pittsburgh. He missed his family, his
life, and Puerto Rican food, such as fried plantains (a fruit much like a banana)
and rice and beans. He also missed his homeland’s weather, which was usually
warm and sunny compared to cold, cloudy, and rainy Pittsburgh. To make
things worse, there were few Latinos or African Americans living in Pittsburgh.
Clemente was both black and Hispanic, which made his life even more
difficult. He was viewed as a black man because of the color of his skin, but
American blacks did not easily accept him because he came from another
country and spoke mostly Spanish.
Many people in Pittsburgh, even his teammates on the Pirates, made fun of
the way he talked. Some Pirate players used racial slurs when talking about
him. Author Herôn Márquez wrote about Clemente’s situation in his book
Roberto Clemente: Baseball’s Humanitarian Hero. While some fans loved him,
Márquez wrote, others sent him letters calling him racist names and telling
him to return home to the “jungle.”

Problems with Reporters

When Clemente joined the Pirates, he was also surprised at the treatment he
received from writers and announcers. Many people in the United States were
not yet familiar with Latin American names and customs. The Census Bureau
did not even track the Hispanic population until 1970. So people called him
“Bobby” or “Bob” instead of “Roberto.” They even thought his full name was
Roberto Walker Clemente.
In truth, Clemente’s real name was Roberto Clemente Walker. As they do
in many Latino countries, Puerto Ricans use two last names. Roberto’s first
name was followed by his father’s last name and then his mother’s last name.
Clemente was a proud man. His parents taught him to respect all people, and
he felt he should be respected in turn. He also believed that he should speak up
when he felt strongly about an issue. He spoke loudly and proudly of his
Puerto Rican heritage and asked to be called by his true name, Roberto.
Sportswriters and announcers who covered the Pirates were not used to
hearing athletes speak out so openly about things they didn’t like, especially
African-American and Latino players. Clemente’s outspoken nature and Puerto
Rican heritage sometimes led reporters to write negative things about him. In
the press, writers emphasized his origins and appearance, calling him a “dusky
flyer” and a “chocolate-colored islander.”
Some newspaper writers made the problem worse when they interviewed
Clemente and other Latinos. Roberto could speak English but, like many
people using a new and unfamiliar language, his pronunciation and grammar
were far from perfect. While baseball writers often corrected the grammar of
white players when they wrote stories, some writers quoted Latino players
exactly, writing how the words sounded rather than what they meant.
In the biography that he wrote about Roberto Clemente, author Bruce
Markusen included an article he found in The Pittsburgh Press. The writer
quoted Clemente as saying, “I no play so gut yet. Me like hot weather, veree
hot. I no run fast in cold weather.” Articles like these made Clemente and
other Latin players appear less intelligent than they were.
Sometimes Latin American players were also accused of being lazy or faking
an injury if they missed a game because they were sick or ill. Roberto suffered
many injuries during his career, and he became upset when his manager or
reporters didn’t believe him when he said he was hurt. Some writers called
Roberto a hypochondriac, someone who says he is ill or injured when he isn’t.
People said at the time that white players did not complain about injuries and
played through pain better than Latin American players.
Even if some writers did not let Clemente’s race affect their reporting, they
still misinterpreted some things that he said because they did not understand
how differently he was brought up in Puerto Rico. For example, when
someone said that Clemente was the best right fielder in baseball, he agreed
and said he worked hard to be the best. Many journalists thought that he was
bragging and conceited. However, while people in the United States were
expected to be modest and say they didn’t deserve the compliment, people in
Puerto Rico are taught to accept compliments and agree to them. Roberto was
only reacting the way that he was taught.
Sportswriter Phil Musick, who long covered Clemente’s career, admitted
years later that he was one of those who focused more on racist
characterizations of Clemente than on his skills as a player. Musick later
apologized in his 2001 book Reflections on Roberto, writing, “There was a racial
overtone to much of what was written about Clemente early in his career, and
unfortunately it precluded much reporting on his baseball skills and how they
were acquired. The author of this work [Musick] bears some of that
responsibility.”
Some African-American players told Clemente not to say anything about
how he was treated, telling him that he could not change anything and that he
might make things worse. However, Clemente did not think that was right and
continued to get angry when he or his teammates were mistreated due to their
race and heritage. Roberto always had trouble understanding why people felt
that way about him and other players of color, or those who spoke a different
language.

Roberto Clemente with St. Louis Cardinals Tim McCarver (center) and Orlando
Cepeda (right) in 1967. Clemente and the powerful Cepeda were the first Puerto
Rican MLB stars.
 In 1959, nearly all of the players on the Pittsburgh Pirates and most of their
spectators were white.

Years later, Clemente was able to see clearly how much he had to learn as a
rookie with the Pirates. “I wasn’t ready for the majors when I joined the Pirates
in 1955,” he said, according to author Bruce Markusen. “I was too young and
didn’t know my way around.”
After leading the team in hitting for the early part of his first season,
Clemente finished with only a .255 batting average and five home runs. While
the Pirates again finished in last place, Roberto did show the first signs of how
popular he would become with the Pittsburgh fans. He would sign autographs
long after the game ended, and some fans would even bring him sandwiches to
eat between the first and second games of doubleheaders.

Signs of Things to Come

When Roberto returned to Pittsburgh for the start of his second season, the
team had made many changes. In addition to hiring a different manager and
adding some new players, the Pirates also asked former baseball star George
Sisler to help Clemente with his hitting. A great hitter, Sisler had already been
elected to the baseball Hall of Fame. He worked with Clemente on his batting
style, and it worked. After two months of the season, Clemente was third in
the National League in batting average, which is the percentage of hits per
times at bat not counting walks or sacrifices. He finished the season hitting
.311. Any batting average higher than .300 is considered to be outstanding, so
Clemente was proving to be a star player.
Clemente also impressed people with his fielding skill and his powerful
throwing arm. According to writer Vicky Franchino, famous broadcaster Vin
Scully once said, “Clemente could field a ball in Pennsylvania and throw out a
runner in New York.”
After the season, Clemente received a raise in pay from the Pirates and used
some of that money to buy his parents a new house. Kal Wagenheim wrote
that Clemente said, “I am trying to pay my parents back for giving me so
much.” Roberto was starting to show what he could do. In just a couple of
years, he’d perform on the World Series stage for the first time.
Roberto Clemente displays his legendary throwing ability in Yankee Stadium
during the 1960 World Series.
 “Just the best player in baseball, that’s all.”

— Pirates manager Harry Walker, talking about Roberto Clemente

A
fter the 1958 baseball season, Roberto Clemente served in the Marines
for six months. The training and physical exercise that he went through
during boot camp seemed to improve Clemente’s back. He had another
good year after returning to the Pirates from the Marines, but the team
finished only in fourth place in 1959.
Clemente and the Pirates finally put it all together in 1960. He had his best
season so far, hitting .314 with 94 runs batted in (RBIs). The Pirates finished
first in the National League and went on to face the American League
Champion New York Yankees for the major league baseball championship. The
Pirates had not played in the World Series in thirty-five years. Whichever team
won four games would win the series. After six games were played, the Pirates
and the Yankees were tied with three wins apiece. It would all come down to
the seventh game, to be played at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
In a tense, back-and-forth matchup, each team took turns taking the lead
and then falling behind. The Yankees were winning, 7 to 4, in the bottom of
the eighth inning when the Pirates came back with five runs to take a 9 to 7
lead. Roberto Clemente kept the rally alive when he beat out a ground ball to
first base, outrunning the first baseman of the Yankees to the bag and
extending the inning.
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being held in the hand. Besides this, thin coins give a good business-
like clink; whilst a large coin is always more effective than a small
one. Pennies plated over make very fair substitutes, and do not
entail much loss of capital if kept aside ready for use, as they always
should be, which can hardly be said to be the case with florins or
half-crowns.
 CHAPTER III.

TRICKS WITH COMMON OBJECTS.

ON RAPIDITY AND DECEPTION—MISDIRECTION—A JAPANESE
SUGAR TRICK—"FLY AWAY, JACK; FLY AWAY, JOHN: COME AGAIN,
JACK; COME AGAIN, JOHN"—A "RISING BLADE"—TO RESTORE A
PIECE OF COTTON THAT HAS BEEN CUT UP IN SMALL PIECES—TO
PASS A RING FROM A HANDKERCHIEF ON TO A WAND HELD AT
EACH END—A SECOND METHOD—A THIRD METHOD.
I commence this, the second portion of drawing-room conjuring,
with the decided hope that, before my readers attempt to follow me,
they will have attained some proficiency in the art of palming and
other little matters alluded to in my remarks concerning the
treatment of coins. If such skill has been acquired, although in a
small degree only, it will be of use in rendering the manipulation of
other objects much easier. The prevailing idea with the public is that
a conjuror moves things about from place to place before one's very
eyes, but with such extreme rapidity as to avoid detection. This, I
say, is the prevailing idea, and long may it continue to be so, since it
is the very thing an audience is supposed to imagine. The learner,
however, must, from the outset, dismiss such an impression from his
mind as untenable, even for an instant. If he has a lurking opinion
that a hand can be moved without the motion being detected, let
him practise at moving, say, a cork or a piece of sugar, a distance of
only one short inch. Let him practise for a twelvemonth to begin
with, and I will guarantee that at the end of that period he is no
nearer the consummation of the feat than he was at the
commencement. If time hangs heavily on his hands, let him go on
practising, say, for five or ten years: the result will be precisely
similar. No; conjuring is based upon more deceptive principles than
mere rapidity of movement, although that, of course, enters largely
into its composition. Articles are, indeed, transmitted from one place
to another before the eyes of the audience, but it is always, as it
were, sub rosa. This is the reason why conjurors say so much about
the hand being quicker than the eye, &c. The audience is continually
trying to detect movements which are never even attempted, the
result being that other movements are conducted with impunity. The
conjuror must start with the one principle firmly fixed in his mind
that he is to deceive his audience in every way possible. At no time
is he actually to do that which he says he is doing. Every look and
gesture, besides every word, should tend to lead the mind into the
wrong groove. Misdirection is the grand basis of the conjuror's
actions; and the more natural the performer's movements in this
particular, the more complete will be his success. With each trick
that requires it, I shall give hints for misdirecting the spectator's
attention, although I am of opinion that every conjuror can best suit
himself if he is only firmly impressed with the necessity for
misdirection. The drawing-room conjuror must hold himself prepared
to perform offhand with any article that may happen to present itself
to view; although it is, of course, perfectly allowable for him to send
for anything he may require. An article which one is tolerably certain
to find in most houses is
Sugar.—Take four well-shaped pieces, of a medium size, and place
them before you on a table, at which you will sit at your ease, in the
form of a square, and about a foot from each other. Hatch up a long
rigmarole about one piece being the Emperor of Japan, another his
wife, another his daughter, and another his prime minister, or any
other rubbish you please, so long as you bring it about that it is
necessary that all four should assemble together in one place. In the
country of which you are speaking, you will explain, it is the custom
of Royalty to travel by telegraph, and invisible to the gaze of the
"common herd." To illustrate how it is done, you will cover two of
the four pieces, each with a separate hand, and, at the word "pass,"
make a slight movement as if throwing a piece from one hand to the
other. On raising the hands, two pieces will be found under one, and
none under the other. Repeat this operation (the minority always
going over to the majority) until all four pieces are collected under
one hand. The explanation of this really pretty, and, to the
uninitiated, inexplicable trick, is, that you have a fifth piece of sugar
palmed. If this piece be released, and that under the other hand
palmed, the effect is the same as if an invisible journey had really
been made. Supposing the five pieces of sugar to be represented by
numerals, the various changes may be thus tabulated:

Left Hand. Right Hand.

1.—Raise 1 and Drop 5 with 2.
2.—Drop 1 with 5 and 2 and Raise 3.
3.—Raise 4 and Drop 3 with 1, 5, and 2.
4.—Raise both hands and pocket 4.

The rough and adhesive nature of sugar renders it very easy to

palm. In palming, avoid all contraction of the muscles of the back of
the hand, which is visible to the audience, or a clue to the solution
of the trick will be given. If going out to a place where you are likely
to be asked to exhibit your skill, be provided with a piece of sugar,
and then ask for the requisite four pieces. If you are unprovided,
then you must secure possession of the sugar basin, and secrete the
extra piece as best you can. The extreme simplicity of this trick is
only equalled by the astonishment of the audience, who are
straining their eyes to catch a glimpse of the piece of sugar as it
passes. I need hardly remark that they never succeed.
Fig. 19.

Fig. 20.
Knives, I think I may say, are also tolerably common articles, and
some good tricks are performed with them. Take a cheese knife and
four tiny squares of paper. Stand facing your audience, however
small it may be, and, wetting the papers separately, stick two on
each side of the blade, taking care that the positions on both sides
correspond as nearly as possible. Hold the knife before you in the
fingers of the right hand (Fig. 19), and in such a position that only
one side of the blade is visible. With the thumb and finger of the left
hand remove the piece of paper nearest the handle, and, putting
your hand behind your back, make a feint of throwing it away,
without actually doing so. Now, with a rapid movement, cause the
knife to describe a half circle in the air still with the same side
uppermost; but the position of the hand will be slightly altered (Fig.
20), which will lead the audience to think that the knife has been
actually turned over. Barely before the movement is completed a
finger of the left hand must be upon the spot recently occupied by
the piece of paper, as if taking off a second piece from the opposite
side. The first piece, which has all the time been in the left hand, is
thus made to do duty twice. The second time, it is dropped on the
floor in full view of the audience, accompanied by the remark, "that
makes the second piece." Now remove the other piece of paper, and
repeat the manœuvre executed with the first piece, taking the
greatest care that only one side of the blade is visible, and that the
finger of the left hand, with the concealed paper, is down upon the
vacant spot before the spectators' eyes can rest there. Having
ostensibly removed the fourth and last piece of paper, the knife is
supposed to be empty, which you boldly declare to be the case,
making a rapid backward and forward movement with the blank side
to prove it. You then say you will cause the papers to re-appear
upon the knife instantaneously. All you have to do is to put your
hand behind your back and reverse the position of the knife so that
the side of the blade with the two pieces of paper still remaining
upon it is uppermost. Bringing the knife again to the front, make
another quick backward and forward movement, saying, "Here are
the papers back again on both sides as before," and then, without
any further preliminaries, draw the blade through the fingers and
cause the two papers to fall upon the floor. If this final movement is
not executed, the audience will, when they have recovered their
senses, point to the two papers which you dropped on the floor
during the performance of the trick, and want to know why they are
there and not on the knife. Continued rapidity of motion is what is
required for the success of this trick. There must be no halting in the
middle or hesitation of any kind, to avoid which practice in private
will be essential, as, indeed, it will be with every trick worth doing at
all.
Borrow a light penknife, and take care that it is not too sharp, and
has a good deep notch at the haft. You are previously prepared with
about two feet of very fine black silk, one end of which is attached
to a button of your vest, the other end being furnished with a loop
large enough to pass over a finger. This can either be wound round
the button, or can hang loosely, with the free end looped up. I prefer
the latter method, and have never found it lead to any
inconvenience, which at first sight it appears extremely likely to do.
Also borrow a hock or champagne bottle; pint size preferred. First
send round the knife to be examined, and, whilst the examination is
going on, get the loop of the silk over the end of one of the fingers
of the left hand. When the knife is returned to you, and not before,
give the bottle to be examined, and distract the attention of the
audience by allusions to the "departed spirits" of the bottle, and
admonitions to be sure and see that the bottom does not take out.
By the time the bottle comes back you have slipped the loop over
the blade of the knife and allowed it to catch in the notch, where
cause it to remain. If the knife is a sharp one, extra caution must be
observed, or the silk will be severed. This actually happened to me
on one occasion, so I speak from direful experience. By sending the
bottle away to be cleaned, I gained sufficient time to tie another
loop in the silk, and went on as usual; but the incident was not a
particularly cheerful one taken altogether—there was too much
"glorious uncertainty" about it. Take the knife upside down, i.e., with
the sharp edge of the blade uppermost, between the finger and
thumb, hold the silk sufficiently taut to keep the loop in position by
means of the other fingers, and drop the whole into the bottle. This
must not be done with the bottle in a perpendicular position (in
which case the loop will probably either break or slip off the knife),
but with it inclined at an angle of about 45 deg. (Fig. 21). This will
allow the knife to slide down at a safe speed and yet reach the
bottom with a good "thud." Having satisfied yourself that everything
is in order, hold the bottle perpendicularly in the left hand between
the audience and yourself, and about breast high. Make use of any
cabalistic nonsense you please, and then cause the knife to rise from
the bottle by the action of moving it from you and towards the
audience. The action of raising the bottle must be but sparsely
indulged in, if at all, as it is easily noticed; not so the horizontal
motion. When brought to the mouth of the bottle the knife quietly
topples over on to the floor, whence allow it to be picked up by a
spectator, who will not require much admonition to examine it. Also
send the bottle round again; and get rid of the silk as soon as you
can after the trick is done. It will be noticed that I have directed the
performer to use a hock or champagne bottle. The reason for this
will be obvious after once trying the experiment with a bottle having
an abrupt shoulder, such as an ale bottle. The knife catches in it, and
a vigorous jerk, which is as likely to cause a breakage as anything
else, has to be resorted to to free it. The sides of hock and
champagne bottles presenting an even surface the whole way up,
that class of bottle is therefore to be preferred. By means of the
foregoing three tricks I have seen a room full of intelligent people
utterly bewildered.
 Fig. 21

The following trick I have never known to be discovered if only

properly performed. For it you will require another exceedingly
common object, viz.:
Cotton.—Take a piece of any colour, 12in. to 15in. long, and see that
one of the audience is provided with a very sharp penknife. Double
the cotton once, and have the bend cut quite through. Double again
and have it cut, and repeat the operation until it is nothing but
pieces, each barely a third of an inch long. Rub the pieces together
in the fingers, and, after a short time, quietly draw out the cotton
again as it was in the first instance. That is what you must ostensibly
do: now for how to do it. First of all, have concealed between your
finger and thumb a piece of cotton about the length above
mentioned. This you must roll up small, and deliberately hold
between your finger and thumb, or, better still, if the fingers be
sufficiently large, between the tips of any two fingers, as they are
more naturally kept together. Nobody will notice it if the hand is
engaged in negligently holding the lappel of your coat, the wand,
&c. I need hardly mention that the concealed piece must be of the
same colour as that operated upon, as the production of a white in
place of a black piece would scarcely be satisfactory. To ensure the
success of this preliminary, some considerable manœuvring has
often to be gone through, and no small amount of tact exhibited.
Where you are showing the trick for the first time, you can of course
ask for any coloured cotton you please (always choose black when
you have a choice), but it is such a fascinating trick that you will be
called upon to perform it over and over again in the same house, or
before the same people—which is quite as bad—and you will find
that all kinds of ingenious devices will be brought to bear upon you.
As a commencement, always carry in the corners of your waistcoat
pockets two black and two white pieces, ready for emergencies.
Each pocket will contain two pieces of the same colour, but differing
in thickness, one in each corner. It is useless to carry other colours
on the mere chance, as you are sure to be unprovided with the
exact one required at the moment. When coloured cotton is
produced, you must, by some means or other, get at the reel from
which the cotton is taken. If driven right into a corner, you must go
so far as to ask someone (always let it be the master or mistress of
the house) to secretly obtain a piece for you; but this you will have
to resort to on rare occasions only. Make all sorts of excuses so as to
cause a delay, even going so far as to postpone the performance of
the trick, but not before you have seen what colour you are likely to
be favoured with. Your wits must do the rest. The reader must
remember that I have taken extreme cases, and such as but rarely
occur; but still they do occur, and if I did not warn the beginner of
pitfalls ahead, he would not think much of my teaching. In the
ordinary way, he will be able to ask for any colour he pleases, which
will of course be similar to that with which he is provided. We will
suppose that everything has progressed favourably. Take the cotton
to be cut between the thumb and forefinger of each hand, by the
extreme ends, and, doubling it, let one hand hold the loop to be cut,
the fingers of the other hand holding the ends. As soon as the knife
has passed through the cotton, give it a "twitch," and bring the
ends, of which there will now be four, quickly together, as if you had
performed some very intricate manœuvre. Of course, you have really
done nothing at all, the movement being only a deceptive one to
lead the spectators to believe that the secret of the trick consists in
the way in which you twist or double the cotton. Have this in mind
all through the trick, and keep up the deception. Continue to double
the cotton, taking the greatest care that the ends all come neatly
together, and that all the loops are cut through. Do everything with
the greatest deliberation (except the delusive "twitch"), for there is
no occasion for any hurry. When the cotton is cut so small that it will
not double any more, commence to knead in the fingers, and
gradually work the fragments behind the concealed piece, which
must be brought to the front. This you will do without once
removing the hands from the full view of the audience—in fact,
under their very eyes. When you feel quite sure that everything is
snug and secure, commence to unravel the whole piece, which will
pass for the resuscitated original.
People who have seen the trick performed before will sometimes
suggest that the piece of cotton should be measured before being
cut up. Allow this to be done with all the grace in the world (when
you find that you cannot do otherwise), but, before operating upon
it, roll it up in the fingers, either absently, whilst engaging the
audience in conversation, or for the purpose of seeing if it is of the
proper dimensions, and exchange it, unperceived, for the concealed
piece, which will be cut up instead. Although it is not advisable to
have the cotton measured first, yet, when it is done, it invariably
adds lustre to the feat. The pieces must never be carelessly thrown
away, but secreted in a pocket on the first opportunity that presents
itself, and afterwards burnt.
 Fig. 22.

Rings can be made use of in many tricks, both in the drawing-room

and on the stage. The following will be found very neat and
effective: Procure a metal imitation of a wedding-ring, and have it
cut neatly through. Pass this ring under a single thread of your
handkerchief near one of the corners. Borrow a lady's ring, which
palm, under pretence of putting it in the handkerchief. (The best
method for palming a ring is to hold it between two fingers at the
roots.) This you will appear to have done if you give the false ring
(under cover of the handkerchief) to be held by someone who is not
the owner of the borrowed article. It is immaterial whether the
genuine ring has a fancy head or not, as the back of it will usually be
about the width of a wedding-ring. Take the wand in the hand, and,
unperceived, slip the ring in your palm over it until it reaches the
middle, still covered by the hand. Now ask two persons to hold the
wand, one at either end, and lay the handkerchief containing the
false ring (still held from the outside by the original holder) over it. If
you now remove your hand, you will leave the ring on the wand still
concealed by the handkerchief (Fig. 22). Take hold of the end of the
handkerchief which hangs down below the wand, and instruct the
person holding the false ring to leave go when you count "three." As
soon as you are obeyed, draw the handkerchief smartly across the
wand. This will cause the ring to spin round, and assist materially in
inducing the audience to believe that it was actually conjured from
the handkerchief on to the wand whilst the latter article was being
held at either end by two people. A slight jerk will detach the false
ring from the handkerchief, which you can send round to be
examined. A hint I can give the learner is, never to ask a lady to
lend you her wedding-ring or keeper. Many ladies are exceedingly
superstitious, and feel embarrassed when asked, from not liking to
refuse, and yet being unwilling to take their rings from their fingers.
Always borrow a ring the back of which nearly, if not quite, matches
your false article in substance.
Procure a metal ring, similar to the one used in the last trick, of very
soft brass, and, when you have cut it through, sharpen up the two
ends to points with a file, or any other way you please. Borrow a
lady's ring, and exchange it, as in last trick, putting the false one in a
handkerchief, which have tied with tape or string in such a manner
that the ring is contained in a bag. If the borrowed ring is narrow all
round, you may make use of your nest of boxes (described in trick g,
Chapter II.), if it has not been previously utilised in some other trick;
it being a golden rule among conjurors never to use the same
apparatus twice during the same evening. An apple (a potato, small
loaf, &c., will do as well) can be used instead with effect, if a goodly
slit be made in it, and the ring pushed in while you are taking it from
your bag or from behind the screen. Show the apple round, boldly
saying that everyone can see that there is no preparation about it, at
the same time taking care that no one has time to decide either one
way or the other from the rapidity with which you pass it about.
Place it in a prominent position, and then take the handkerchief
containing the false ring by the bag, allowing the ends to fall over
and conceal your hands. Quickly unbend the ring, and, working one
of the pointed ends through the handkerchief, draw it out, and rub
the place of exit between your fingers, so as to obliterate all traces
of it. All this you must do very quickly, and, dropping the
handkerchief on the floor, say, "Without untying the string, I have
abstracted the ring, which I now pass into that apple." Here make a
pass. Take a knife in the hand holding the false ring (unless you
have been clever enough to get rid of that article), and, showing the
audience that the other hand is quite empty, proceed to cut open
the apple slowly. When the knife touches the ring, allow it to "clink"
upon it as much as possible, and call attention to the fact, as it is a
great feature in the trick. Do not cut the apple completely through,
but, taking it forward (on a plate is the best way), allow the owner
of the ring to take it out with her own hand. Of course, the audience
must not be allowed to handle the apple, and so discover the old
slit. This trick should not be performed with the preceding one, but
on another evening. The principal effect of the trick is the apparent
abstraction of the borrowed ring from its confinement in the
handkerchief in an incomprehensible manner, and you must,
therefore, allow the audience to see that the ring undoubtedly is tied
up securely in the first instance.
Another trick with a ring is performed by aid of the wand only.
Borrow a good stout ring, a signet for example, and, holding it near
the roots of the fingers of the right hand, pretend to pass it over the
wand, but, in reality, let it slide along on the outside of it, and still
keep it in the hand. The deception is assisted if the ring be first
carelessly placed upon the wand, and taken off again, two or three
times. Say to one of the audience, "Will you be so kind as to hold
one end of the wand with either hand?" and, in stretching the wand
out towards him, allow the left hand momentarily to pass close
under the right, and let the ring fall into it—of course, unperceived.
If you look at your hands whilst doing this, you are a lost man. You
must look the addressee boldly in the face, and thereby divert
attention to him—not that there is the slightest excuse for exposing
the ring during its passage from one hand to the other. When the
wand is firmly held at both ends, say something about the futility of
strength in certain cases, and eventually show the ring in the left
hand, and remove the right from the wand to show that it is empty.
If relinquished at this stage, the trick is very incomplete, as the
audience usually divine, or affect to divine, that the ring never was
put upon the wand at all. It is a peculiarity of this trick that this
remark is almost invariably made, so the conjuror must be prepared
with something still more "staggering." Return the ring to its owner,
and call attention to the fact that you have not cut it in any way (not
that anyone will ever think that you would do so, but you must
assume that this idea is prevailing in the minds of the audience), and
secretly take from your pocket, or wherever it may be concealed, a
thick metal (or gold) ring, which keep in the left hand. Borrow the
ring again, and slide it over the wand with precisely the same
movement which you used in the first instance, when you did not
put the ring on. This time you must appear to be very clumsy, and
let the two hands come together so that everyone can see the action
clearly, and snatch the left hand away sharply as if it contained the
ring. You will doubtless see a number of heads lean towards each
other, and hear a good deal of loud whispering, in which the words
"left hand" will be conspicuous. Take no notice of this beyond
looking as confused as possible, and the audience will think they
have bowled you out at last. The strange part of it is that, in a trick
of this kind, a spectator who fancies, rightly or wrongly, that he has
discovered something, never attributes the fact to your want of skill,
but to his own remarkable powers of perception. The effect of the
ruse will be heightened if you allow a tiny portion of the false ring to
catch the eye of one or more of the audience; or resort to any other
artifice to induce them to believe that you really have the borrowed
ring in the left hand, and have allowed the fact to transpire through
carelessness. Now say that, the ring being securely on the wand,
you mean to take it off as before, and give the two ends of the wand
to be held. You will then appear to notice the incredulous looks and
remarks of the audience for the first time, and stoutly deny that the
ring is in the left hand, which, however, you decline to open. Allow
the audience to argue the point with you, and, when one has said
that he saw you take the ring in the left hand, and others have
made a similar statement, pretend to give in, and say that you must
admit that you are discovered; but, at the same time, you feel it
incumbent on you to do something to retrieve your character. You
will, therefore, pass the ring, now in the left hand, invisibly on to the
wand. Make a pass with the left hand, and draw the right smartly
away from the wand, causing the ring on it to spin round. The effect
may be imagined. At the instant the right hand leaves the wand, the
left should place the false ring (supposing one is used) in the pocket,
as all manner of questions will be asked afterwards. The trick can be
varied in many ways, by confusing the spectators. Peripatetic
conjurors make a good deal of money by means of this trick, by
betting that the ring is either on or off the wand. Manner has a great
deal to do with the success of it.
 CHAPTER IV.

TRICKS WITH CUPS AND BALLS.

THE CUPS—THE BALLS—HOW TO CONCEAL A BALL—HOW TO SLIP
A BALL UNDER A CUP UNPERCEIVED—HOW TO VANISH A BALL:
PHASE ONE, PHASE TWO, PHASE THREE—THE MANUFACTORY—
HOW TO INTRODUCE LARGE OBJECTS BENEATH THE CUPS—BAG
FOR HOLDING ARTICLES—HINTS—TALK FOR THE TRICK.

Fig. 23.

The variety of tricks performed with the aid of cups and balls take a
prominent position in the repertory of every conjuror laying claim to
any proficiency in pure sleight of hand. Three tin cups (or, rather, as
they are always used in an inverted position, covers), rather more
than 4in. in height, and some 3in. across the mouth, with the
bottom concave, and two or three little rings near the mouth (Fig.
23) will be required. Also make, to commence with, four cork balls,
blackened, either by burning or by colouration, each about the size
of an ordinary bullet. The audience know of the existence of three
balls only, the fourth being concealed by the conjuror between the
roots of the third and middle fingers. The very first thing the learner
must acquire is the knack of slipping the ball rapidly from the
exposed (Fig. 24) to the concealed position (Fig. 25) in a secure
manner. The ball is partly slid, partly rolled, partly dropped into the
position, the thumb, with a slight motion, which, in time, will
become quite an unconscious one, pressing it finally home.

Fig. 24.

Fig. 25.

The action, which must be accompanied by the backward and

forward swing used when palming coins, must be practised with
both hands, the more awkward hand of the two being taught first.
When tolerably perfect in this, practise getting the ball down to the
tips of the fingers at the roots of which it is held, care being of
course taken that no portion of it protrudes. The object of getting
the ball into this position is, that it may be placed under any cup,
raised ostensibly for some other purpose, without detection. As the
cup is placed on the table, the ball held in the fingers is slid quietly
under it. All conjurors do not use this method, some grasping the
cup as low down as possible, and jerking it up and down, thus
getting the ball inside direct from the concealed position (Fig. 25).
This latter method is exceedingly neat, but is the more difficult one
to accomplish. However, the learner may try for himself, and adopt
the method which comes the easier to him. The ball is not taken in
the tips of the fingers until the hand is about to grasp the cup, the
major motion shielding the minor one. With the two movements
described under his control, the learner should proceed thus: Place
the three cups in a row, with a ball in front (i.e., towards the
audience) of each, and explain that the cups are solid tin and are
not provided with permeable bottoms. There is no objection to
allowing an examination to be made, but it had better take place at
the end of the trick, or much time will be wasted. Say that the tin
cups are for the purpose of covering the balls, and place one cup
over each to illustrate it. Now take up cup No. 1, and, whilst placing
it down a few inches off, slip the concealed ball under it. Pick up ball
No. 1, and vanish it by concealing it in the prescribed method (Fig.
25). You can pretend to throw it into the air, or affect to put it into
the other hand (see Coins, Fig. 7), from which it will be "passed" by
a rap from the wand, which article you will find a true friend when
performing with the cups and balls, and which should be held in
readiness under the arm. Repeat the operation with cups No. 2 and
No. 3, each having a ball placed under it when shifted. Tell the
audience that so well trained are the little balls, that, at your word of
command, they will return from their invisible wanderings to their
imprisonment beneath the cups, which you will then raise, and show
the balls beneath. This is the first and simple phase.
In the next, cup No. 1 is placed over a ball, and the concealed one
slipped in with it. Take up another ball, and pretend to "pass" it
through the cup, which raise, showing two balls together, and then
replace, slipping concealed ball under along with the other two; and
then "pass" the third ball through, which will bring all three balls
under one cup. On putting cup No. 1 down, after exhibiting the
three balls together, slip concealed ball under it, and pick up one of
the three, which vanish. Then say it is as easy for you to abstract a
ball from beneath a cup as it is for you to pass it to the inside. Put
cup No. 2 over the two balls, and pretend to take one out by means
of the wand, the concealed ball being exhibited as the one thus
abstracted. "Pass" this through cup No. 1, which raise, showing the
ball already there, and, on replacing it, slip under concealed ball.
Recall the ball you vanished previously, and show it under cup No. 1,
and then "pass" it back to cup No. 2, where the two balls still are;
slip concealed ball under, and then "pass" ball from cup No. 1 to cup
No. 2. The ball "passed" must in each instance be picked up and
vanished, and not merely told to pass from one cup to another. The
changes can be kept up for a long time if a ball be slipped under a
cup whenever it is raised; but the performer must keep his head
clear, or he will find himself getting into trouble by showing four balls
at the same time.
Phase 3 consists of piling the three cups one over the other, and
passing the balls into what I may term the storeys thus formed. It is
for this phase that the bottoms of the cups are made concave to
receive the ball. If the bottom were flat, the ball would roll off at an
awkward moment. Place cup No. 1, with concealed ball underneath,
on the table, and, taking up a ball, "pass" it through. Put cup No. 2
over cup No. 1, concealed ball being sandwiched between the
bottoms of the two. The slipping of a ball beneath a cup which is
placed on the table is a very simple matter, but it requires
considerable adroitness to slip one cleanly between two cups. It is
only to be done with a sharp jerk, the ball being thus sent to the top
of the cup, which is then rapidly placed over the other. Considerable
practice will be required to attain this knack, but the pretty effect
well repays any trouble. Even when taking the greatest care, the ball
is very liable to become jammed between the sides of the cups
instead of their bottoms. The noise made by the rattling of the ball
in the cup is covered by that occasioned by one cup being placed
over the other. Repeat the operation with the third cup, and then
show the balls in their respective positions. Should a cup cant over
to one side, it will be because the ball beneath, it is not in its place,
but is jammed in between the two sides of the cups. In this case,
care must be taken in removing the uppermost cup. If adroitly
managed, the errant ball can be brought back to its proper position
on the top of the lower cup by the action of withdrawing the upper
one. This should be practised in private, so that the emergency may
be met without difficulty when it occurs.
The fourth phase consists in apparently manufacturing an
inexhaustible quantity of balls beneath the cups. This is very easily
managed by first covering each of the three balls with a cup openly.
Take up cup No. 1, and put it down again a few inches off, with the
concealed ball under it. Pick up ball No. 1, and pretend to put it in
your pocket, but conceal it in the fingers; take up cup No. 2, and
replace it, with concealed ball beneath it, and affect to put ball No. 2
into the pocket, but conceal as before. Repeat operation with cup
and ball No. 3, and then recommence with cup No. 1. This phase
can be prolonged at will. A number of balls can be carried in the
pocket, and afterwards exhibited as the ones you have
manufactured; but this is by no means necessary to the success of
the trick.
A most startling and amusing conclusion to a display with the cups
and balls is the introduction of large balls, potatoes, oranges,
lemons, apples, &c., beneath the cups. Care must be taken that
these larger articles will go into the cups easily, or a fiasco may
result. The best balls are those made of fancy paper, as they are
nice and light. A convenient place for keeping them ready for use is
a shallow, oblong, open bag, made out of black silk or alpaca, and
furnished with a bent pin at each end, and one in the middle. This
bag you can affix to the tablecloth behind the table. In the absence
of such a receptacle, the tablecloth can be pinned up, and so form
an impromptu one; but this can hardly be arranged unperceived in
front of an audience. In the absence of both cloth and bag, the
articles to be conveyed inside the cups must be kept under the
waistcoat, or in the pockets, but, in this case, the pockets must be
side ones, and easily got at. The moment for introducing the large
ball, orange, &c., into a cup is when the eyes of the audience are
attracted towards any object just revealed to them. The orange, &c.,
must be taken by the left hand from its place of concealment whilst
the right is engaged with the cup; and the instant the latter is
raised, for the purpose of showing whatever may be under, it must
be passed briskly—at the same time, in a manner not too marked—
to the left hand, and the article slipped inside. The hands must
remain together only sufficiently long to permit the completion of the
manœuvre, when the cup must be again held by the right hand
only; the article inside being prevented from falling by having the
little finger placed beneath it. Sometimes, I press the paper balls
lightly into the cup, and am so enabled to hold the cup by the top,
and to raise it from the table, to show that there is nothing under it.
By bringing the cup down hard on the table, the ball will become
disengaged. This method should only be used as a change.
Supposing that you have an orange inside cup No. 1, place it gently
and unconcernedly on the table whilst drawing attention, by means
of your tongue, to cup No. 2. By the time cup No. 2 is raised, the left
hand will contain, say, an apple, which will go inside the cup, and
public attention drawn to cup No. 3, which, in its turn, will be raised,
and tenanted with a potato. You can now either knock over all three
cups, and reveal their contents, which has a very good effect, or
continue the manufactory as with the cork balls, pretending to put
the potatoes, oranges, &c., into the pocket. It will be only necessary
to have one of each kind of article, although the audience will be led
to believe that your pockets are crammed with them by the time you
have finished. It is best to have four kinds, as by that means each
cup has something different under it every time it is raised. It is not
advisable, however, to fill the cups more than twice by this method.
The performer must not have his head filled with the idea that his
movements are noticed, for the eyes of the spectators are sure to be
riveted on the article last revealed. Any hesitation will be attended
with disastrous results, so the thing must be done with dash, or not
at all. Every conjuror should endeavour to become perfect with the
cups and balls, as they not only amuse and astonish audiences, but
afford great practice to the learner.
One very important thing in connection with this trick is the talk with
which it is accompanied. The performer should be talking the whole
time, explaining everything as he goes on; at the same time, he
must not talk a lot of nonsense, which will only cause the audience
to form a low estimate of his prestidigitatorial powers, but infuse his
harangue with a little very mild humour. Something like the
following, varied to suit the circumstances, will be to the point: "I
have here three little tin cups, solid, and free from any trickery or
deception, as you may see for yourselves." (Hand cups round.)
"Kindly see that the bottoms do not take out. I have also three little
cork balls, equally guileless with the cups. Madam, will you be so
good as to squeeze one, and see that it is solid?" (Give a ball to a
lady.) "Thank you. These little balls, ladies and gentlemen, are, you
will be interested to hear, trained to a high degree of perfection, and
are perfectly obedient to my will, as I will shortly show you. This
cup, which you will perceive is perfectly empty, I place here on the
table, and, taking up one of the balls, I simply say to it, 'Hey, presto!
begone!' and it has vanished. The second little ball I take from
beneath this cup, and command it to keep company with its
predecessor. 'Fly!' and it has gone. The remaining ball I treat in the
same manner. By the aid of my magic wand, I recall my little
servants. See, here comes one, and, following my wand, it passes
through into this cup" (tap a cup with the wand), &c., &c. It will be
as well for the conjuror to study what he intends saying beforehand,
in the early stages of his career, for he will find his wits sufficiently
troubled to execute his tricks properly without requiring to think
about his language.
A little sleight, which may be introduced with effect, is the apparent
throwing of one cup through the other. This illusion is effected by
holding a cup, mouth upwards, lightly between the thumb and
forefinger. The other hand then throws a second cup sharply into it.
The lower cup is allowed to fall, and the second cup caught by the
thumb and forefinger, the appearance being that one cup has passed
completely through the other.
 CHAPTER V.

TRICKS WITH HANDKERCHIEFS.

BURNING A HANDKERCHIEF IN A SMALL WAY—HINTS ABOUT
APPARATUS—HOW TO PULL A HANDKERCHIEF THROUGH THE LEG
—THE KNOT UNTIED BY MAGIC—THE CONFECTIONER
HANDKERCHIEF—FEATS WITH HANDKERCHIEFS.
What conjurors would do without pocket handkerchiefs, I will not
venture to suggest. Almost every trick has a handkerchief of some
kind as a component part. Handkerchiefs are torn up, burnt up, tied
into knots, made receptacles for money, and used in a variety of
other ways; in fact, they are the conjuror's most faithful allies.
Burning a Handkerchief is usually made a stage trick, and belongs
properly to Grand Magic; but there is a method which may be
successfully tried in the confined limits of the drawing-room. I do not
allude to the use of the "burning globe," which article entirely
dispenses with the necessity for the display of anything approaching
sleight of hand, with which I, in this book, have only to deal. By
using mechanical tricks, many feats of sleight of hand are imitated;
but then the apparatus cannot be shown round, and the audience
goes away from the performance impressed with the idea that
conjuring means exhibiting a certain number of cunningly-devised
boxes, canisters, &c. I remember being present at an amateur
conjuring entertainment, where tricks were exhibited that must have
cost two hundred pounds, at least. The eye was perfectly bewildered
with the array of electric clocks, drums, &c.; but every third trick
failed at some point, which was not to be wondered at, seeing that
the thing was got through as though against time. This sort of thing
is not conjuring; although it would be bad for conjuring-trick
manufacturers if everyone thought the same. Some apparatus one
must have; but only what is absolutely necessary. The difference
between an apparatus conjuror and an adept at sleight of hand is as
great as that between an organ-grinder and a skilled musician.
To burn a handkerchief in what I may term a small way, be provided
with a piece of cambric, or other material resembling a handkerchief,
about four inches square. The best way is to cut up a cheap
handkerchief that has been hemmed. Have this piece rolled up in the
hand, and concealed by the act of holding the wand. Borrow a
handkerchief, which carelessly roll up in the hands, as if judging as
to its size, and get the piece mingled in its folds. Ask the owner if he
or she has any objection to your burning the end of it. Say "Thank
you," whether the answer be "Yes" or "No" (conjurors are often
afflicted with a convenient hardness of hearing), and proceed at
once to burn what is, in reality, your interpolated piece, but which
will appear to the audience to be the handkerchief, at a candle.
When you have burnt a tolerably large hole, put out the flame, and
walk towards the owner of the handkerchief, as if about to return it
to him, thanking him, at the same time, for the loan of it. If you had
not permission to burn the handkerchief, the owner of it will
probably now tell you so; and if he is at all testy on the point, so
much the better for the success of your trick. Say that you really
thought he said "Yes," are sorry for the mistake, which, however,
cannot now be helped, &c. If, on the other hand, you had
permission to do as you pleased, which a flattering, implicit faith in
your abilities will frequently accord to you, you must affect to see in
the person's looks an objection to take the handkerchief in a burnt
state, and so, in either case, eventually set yourself the task of
having to restore the injured article. This you can very simply do by
rubbing it in your hands, and concealing the fictitious piece rolled up
in the palm; or you can prolong the operation by folding the
handkerchief in a piece of paper, omitting the burnt piece, and then
pronouncing some cabalistic words over it, whilst it is held by
someone in the audience. This is, perhaps, the better way of the
two. If the beginner is afraid to trust to his own skill, and prefers
using apparatus, he can procure many kinds of canisters, &c., for
changing handkerchiefs, the working of which will be explained by
the vendor, so there is no necessity to do so here.
To Pull a Handkerchief through the Leg.—This is a trick which will
bear exhibition in any company. It recommends itself especially for
drawing-room purposes. Take a very long handkerchief, and, seating
yourself, pass the handkerchief (apparently) twice round the leg, just
above the knee, and tie the two ends securely together, or have
them tied for you. Take hold of a single thickness of the
handkerchief, and jerk it sharply upwards, when it will appear to
pass through the leg. The secret of the trick is thus explained: When
you pass the ends below the leg, for the purpose of ostensibly
crossing them, so as to bring them up on opposite sides, you rapidly
make a bend in one, and pass the other firmly round it. By this
means, a temporary junction is formed strong enough to bear a
slight strain. By distending the sinews of the leg, the folds are
compressed, and additional security is thus obtained. The ends are
of course brought up again on the sides on which they descended,
and the knot tied above the thigh—not beneath it. The formation of
the bend and loop round it must be practised assiduously, for I do
not know of any trick of the same magnitude requiring more skill in
execution than this one. The hands should not remain an instant
longer under the leg than one would require to merely cross the
ends, and there must be no fidgeting observable. For performing this
trick, Döbler (the original one) received a diamond ring from the
Emperor of Russia.
To Untie a Knot by Word of Command.—Tie a knot with two ends of
a handkerchief, but in such a manner that one end is always quite
straight; in fact, one end should be tied round the other, and not the
two ends tied together. If you take the extreme end of the straight
portion, anyone may pull as hard as he likes at it from the other side
of the knot without making it any tighter, although you must lead
him to believe that he is doing so. When he has pulled to his heart's
content, take the knot in one hand and cover it with the rest of the
handkerchief. Whilst doing so, work, with the concealed hand, the
straight end through the folds of the other, but do not destroy the
folds, which give to be held, of course under cover of the
handkerchief. Command the knot to come undone, and then shake
the handkerchief out. This is the groundwork of a trick on a much
larger scale, which will be treated of in Grand Magic. It is a very
effective little trick, and should never be despised.
To Find Sweetmeats in a Handkerchief.—For this pretty trick the
performer will require a conical bag, made of fine calico, cambric, or
any other substance resembling a handkerchief. The length of the
bag should be about 5in.; and it must be furnished at the apex with
a bent pin—a black one. The mouth must be fitted with two pieces
of flat watch or crinoline spring, sewn in the stuff in such a manner
as to keep the opening closed. This bag must be filled with sweets,
and suspended, by means of the bent pin, on the edge of the table
—out of view of the audience, as a matter of course. Borrow a
handkerchief, and say that you will now find something that will
please the juvenile portion of the audience. Wave the handkerchief
mysteriously about, and then spread it out upon the table. Wave
your hands over it, take it up delicately by the centre with one hand,
and squeeze it with the other over a plate with which you will be
provided. Naturally, nothing will come of it, so you repeat the
operation, this time at a different part of the table. At the third or
fourth attempt, the handkerchief should hang over that portion of
the table where the bag is suspended, and when it is raised the bent
pin should be included in the grasp. On squeezing the handkerchief
this time, the hand should compress the ends of the springs, which
will open, and allow the sweets to escape and fall upon the plate
with a great clatter. Do not empty the bag at once, but give it two or
three squeezes, allowing a little to fall out each time, which will
greatly heighten the effect. When the bag is empty, the next thing to
do is to remove it from the handkerchief. If a chair is handy, the bag
can be dropped on it; but the best way is to boldly introduce the
hand beneath the handkerchief, and, whilst calling attention to the
sweets, hang it again on the edge of the table, which can easily be
managed behind the handkerchief. The sweets used should be small
round or oval ones, they being best suited for the purpose.
There are many little feats performed with handkerchiefs hardly
deserving the title of tricks, in the way of tying bows and knots, &c.,
by entirely unorthodox methods. They are too insignificant for
performance alone; but they look very well when worked in with
more important tricks. Besides (and it cannot be too often stated),
conjurors should endeavour to know everything connected with
sleight of hand. In drawing-room circles, one is continually asked if
one can do this, that, or the other; and it is quite as well to be able
to reply in the affirmative, for it always tells detrimentally to fail in a
little matter. The following feats will be found effective:
To Lengthen a Handkerchief.—Having borrowed a handkerchief,
great amusement is caused when the performer observes that the
article is not long enough, and expresses his intention of stretching
it. This is done by taking the handkerchief by one corner in each
hand, and, whilst twisting it up, gathering an inch or two in each
palm. Stretch the arms wide apart, so that the handkerchief lies
across the chest, without allowing any of the gathered-up portions
of it to escape. Now give the handkerchief a turn or two in the air,
and again stretch it across the chest, this time allowing about half an
inch to escape out of the hands. Twist again and stretch, allowing a
little more to escape, and repeat the operation until the extreme
ends are reached. Imply by manner, as much as possible, that a deal
of stretching is taking place, and the audience will be led to believe
that the handkerchief has been extended at least six inches beyond
its original length.
To Appear to Tie a Knob that will not Draw Tight.—This feat is also
exceedingly diverting. The performer, apparently, goes through all
the necessary formulæ for forming a knot; but, lo! when the ends
are pulled out, no knot is seen. There are three ways of doing this.
One is to pass one end behind the other, instead of through the
loop, as usual, which must apparently be done. To do this neatly,
one end must be held in each hand, the handkerchief twisted
sharply up, and the hands then brought quickly together, which will
cause a coil of about two turns to be formed. Pass the right end
quickly round the back of the left, and then draw out both, as if
tightening the knot. As you pull, the coil will bunch in the middle, as
if a knot were really there, and increased tension will pull it out quite
straight. The second method is thus performed: Lay one end of the
handkerchief across the right hand, the major portion of it being on
the outside, and the short end held down by the little finger only.
With the left hand, take the hanging end, and, bringing it round on
the inside, lay it over the other. Pass the left hand through the loop
thus formed, take with it the uppermost end, and draw it through;
but, just as you pull the two ends out straight, slip the thumb of the
right hand under the inside bend of the lower end, and hold it
between the finger and thumb. In the third method, commence by
taking one end of the handkerchief in either hand. Pass the right
hand over to the left side, in front of the left arm, which is kept
perfectly still in front of the body, so that the handkerchief hangs on
the left forearm in the shape of a loop. The second end must now be
placed in the left hand, which thus detains both for the time being.
Pass the right hand, now free, through the loop from the inside, and,
reaching up with it, let it grasp its original end just placed in the left
hand, and pull it through. This must be done with great deliberation,
as the beauty of the sleight rests in the extreme slowness with
which it can be executed, the secret lying, not in any quickness of
fingers, but in the fact that the handkerchief ends are never looped
one over the other, as would be the case if the right hand were
passed through the loop from the outside, which the learner may at
once discover by experiment. In pulling the end out, as though tying
the knot, if it be retarded by the left thumb, a more natural
appearance is given. This method is to be preferred to the foregoing,
which, however, are useful as changes.
To Tie a Knot Instantaneously.—Take an end of the handkerchief in
either hand between the thumb and forefinger, the end in the left
hand pointing inwards, and that in the right hand outwards, the
hands being held so that their backs are towards the company, the
thumbs on top and the little fingers below. Open the fingers of each
hand at the first and middle fingers, and then bring the hands
together until they overlap a couple of inches, the right hand on the
outside. This will bring the end of the handkerchief in either hand
between the opened fingers of the opposite one. The fingers close
on the ends, and the hands are at once separated, when the knot
will be found to be tied. This may be first practised with a piece of
stout string, and the learner must not be satisfied until he can tie
the knot by merely bringing the fingers together for an instant, the
knot being tied apparently by means of the mere collision of the two
hands. It is astonishing what perfection can be attained by means of
practice, the knot at last seeming to appear on the handkerchief,
instead of being tied.
To Tie a Knot on the Wrist whilst Holding an End of the Handkerchief
in either Hand.—Jerk the right hand towards the left one, so as to
throw a loop in the handkerchief, through which dart the left hand,
still holding its end, and the feat will be accomplished. It should be
done in a nonchalant manner, and without any ostentation. Practise
first with a piece of string.
The performance of the foregoing feats will be facilitated by the use
of a silk handkerchief that is not too new, and it should always be
first twisted, rope-fashion.
 CHAPTER VI.

CHINESE TRICKS.
A NEW MARBLE TRICK—FIRE-EATING—FINAL EFFECT—THE
BUTTERFLY TRICK—THE FAN—HOW TO MAKE THE BUTTERFLIES—
HOW TO KEEP THEM IN THE AIR.
Chinese Marble Trick.—Some years ago, there came over to England
a few Chinese conjurors, who were seen by the public but very little,
but who favoured me on several occasions with private views. Their
skill lay chiefly in the performance of such delectable feats as
swallowing sword-blades, tiny china cups, glass balls, and large
leaden plummets. Although appreciating such tricks, I respectfully
declined attempting to astonish my audiences by their means. There
was, however, one little trick performed with four small marbles,
which struck me as being something quite novel and quaint. Of the
four marbles (little ivory balls are what I invariably use), one is
concealed in the fingers, as in the cup and ball trick, unknown, of
course, to the audience, who are supposed to know of the existence
of three only. These three the performer puts into his mouth—one at
a time, slowly, is the best way—to show that there is "no deception."
He now forms his left hand into a fist, and holds it steadily in front of
him, thumb upwards, as though holding a sword at rest. With the
right hand he pretends to take a marble from the mouth, the
concealed one being exhibited. The action of taking a marble from
the mouth must be imitated exactly; and this is best done by rolling
it along the lips until it travels from the roots of the fingers to their
tips. The sleight must be quickly done, for the eyes of the audience
are full upon the hand. Place the marble on the top of the left hand,
i.e., on the doubled-up first finger, which, after a few seconds, open
slightly, so as to allow the marble to disappear in the hand. With the
right hand actually take a marble from the mouth, which will now
contain two. Pretend to place this marble on the left hand, as you
did the first one, but in reality conceal it. When the left hand is
momentarily covered with the right, as it feigns to place a marble
upon it, open the first finger, and, with the least possible jerk, bring
the first marble again to the top. The audience will think that marble
No. 1 is in the hand and marble No. 2 atop. After another short
pause, allow the marble to again sink in the hand, thereby causing
the idea that two marbles are concealed in it, and, with the right
hand, affect to take another marble from the mouth, the concealed
one being, of course, shown. Ostensibly, place this one on the left
hand (deception as before), and allow it to disappear like its two
supposed predecessors. At this stage, the state of affairs will be
thus:—The right hand, presumably empty, contains one marble; the
left hand contains presumably three, but in reality only one marble;
the mouth, presumably empty, contains two marbles. The performer
then proceeds as follows: Allow the marble in the left hand to sink
until it is in the position for concealing at the roots of the fingers. If
with the tips of the second or third fingers it can be pressed firmly
home, so much the better, for the command to vanish can at once
be given, and the hand opened—palm downwards, of course. If the
marble cannot be secured in this way, the thumb must be brought
into use in the usual way; but the hand must be waved about a little
so as to cover the movement. The three marbles are now supposed
to be non est. The performer can proceed to find the first of them in
whatever manner he pleases. He may pretend to pick it from the
table cloth, break it from the end of his wand, or find it in the
possession of one of the audience; how, is quite immaterial. As each
hand conceals a marble, it is also immaterial which one is used. This
first marble is placed on the table, and another one found. This
second one, instead of placing on the table, the performer affects to
pass into his ear, concealing it as before, and after a few seconds, it
appears at his lips, the one thence protruding being, of course, one
of the two concealed in the mouth. Allow it to fall from the mouth,
and then proceed to find the third marble, which pass, say, through
the top of the head. The remaining marble in the mouth is then
exhibited, and the three wanderers are recovered. If the marbles or
ivory balls are not small, their presence in the mouth, when they are
not supposed to be there, will be discovered. I always conceal one
on each side of the mouth, between the lower gums and the cheek.
Ivory balls are in every way preferable, as they do not strike cold to
the teeth, and do not rattle much, both of which disagreeable
properties are possessed by marbles. Any ivory-turner will supply the
little balls very cheaply. The performer must study to execute this
trick with the greatest possible delicacy, or—especially before ladies
—it will become repulsive. The method of finding the balls after
vanishing them should be varied, each one being found in a different
way. The portion of the trick requiring the most practice is that in
which the left hand is opened. The knack of concealing the ball held
in it unobserved requires some little address.
Fire-eating.—This was another trick performed remarkably well by
my Chinese. It is, I should think, one of the best-known in England,
for every country fair has its fire-eater; but it is not everyone who
knows how it is performed. In the first place, prepare some thick,
soft string, by either boiling or soaking it in a solution of nitre
(saltpetre). Take a piece, from 1in. to 2in. in length, and, after
lighting it, wrap it in a piece of tow as large as an ordinary walnut.
Conceal this piece under a heap of loose tow, the whole of which is
put on a plate, and so exhibited to the audience. The string will burn
very slowly indeed, and the very little smoke issuing from it will be
quite smothered by the tow. Show the mouth empty, and then put a
little tow into it. Commence chewing this, and, after a little time, put
in some more. Repeat this three or four times, taking the chewed
portion secretly away each time you put any fresh tow into the
mouth, and in one of the bunches include the piece containing the
burning string. Do not chew this about at all, in reality, although you
will make great gestures as if so doing. Take a fan, and fan the ears,
and presently take in a good breath at the nostrils, blowing it out at
the mouth. This will cause some smoke to be ejected, the volume of
which will increase as the breathings are kept up. Always be careful
to draw in at the nostrils, and eject at the mouth; otherwise you will
be choked. Renew the fannings (merely for effect), and, by
continued breathings, the tow in the mouth will be brought into a
glow, and one or two sparks will issue from the mouth. When this
has continued sufficiently long, take in more tow, and so smother
the burning string again, extracting the piece containing it under
cover of a loose bunch. There need be no fear of burning the mouth,