"This may seem strange," says the performer, "that I can pour from this pitcher, which certainly is not prepared in any way, water or wine at pleasure. The fact is, however, that when once the fumes of the wine have thoroughly permeated the atmosphere, it is a difficult matter for the ordinary spectator to tell positively what I _do_ pour out. No doubt many of you imagine that I have filled these glasses with water and wine, while others are just as positive that there is nothing but wine. The pitcher is empty, nothing in it, as all can see. Let us pour the contents of the glasses back." Here he empties the water and wine into the pitcher. "And now what have we? Wine, wine, wine--nothing but wine." Filling the glasses again. "Again return it to the pitcher"--which he does, "and this time, on refilling the glasses, there seems to be nothing but water. No, I am wrong, for here is a glass of wine." For a third time he returns the contents of the glasses to the pitcher, and this time pours out nothing but wine, and finally, for a fourth time, goes through the same routine, and ends the trick by pouring water, water--nothing but water. Let us suppose that sixteen glasses are to be used in the trick. Six are left clean; in each of six others is put one drop of a strong tincture of iron about half an hour before beginning the performance. Two other glasses are about half filled with a saturated solution of oxalic acid in water, and in still another glass is poured some strong ammonia. To prevent the fumes of the ammonia from escaping into the room this glass must be covered with a handkerchief folded several times, or, what is still better, with a piece of transparent mica cut to fit the top. Lastly a glass is quarter filled, with a saturated solution of tannin in water. Beginning with a clean glass, the six clean glasses and the six containing the iron are placed alternately in a row at the front of the table. Behind them, in the following order, stand the tannin glass, an acid glass, the ammonia glass, and the second acid glass. The performer begins by filling a clean glass and the tannin glass with water from the pitcher. The clean glass he offers to the audience to taste, or sips of it himself. Then he pours the contents of both glasses into the pitcher. Now if he fills the clean glasses and the iron glasses from the pitcher, they will appear to be filled alternately with water and wine. Pouring the contents back and immediately refilling the glasses, they are all filled with wine. Before filling the twelfth glass, however, the performer picks up an acid glass, covering it with his hand so as to conceal its contents, and, filling it, remarks: "All wine. No, here is water, and here again"--filling the twelfth glass--"is wine." When the contents of the glasses are poured into the pitcher this time, the action of the acid will bleach the solution completely, and on filling the glasses this time there appears to be nothing but water.