I had the enjoyable task of preparing magic for a Massey wedding over the weekend. Master Emeritus John Fraser, president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown, hosted me in the Robertson Davies suite. This is a beautiful room with the feel of a gentleman’s study c.1920. Practising sleight-of-hand there was a communion with several aspects of the past. I communed with Davies as I walked past the familiar display of his book Fifth Business in the downstairs library. I communed with John Fraser, whose exotic souvenirs and writing instruments adorned my temporary desk. Finally, I communed with those years I spent as a resident Junior Fellow pouring over magic books in House II, room 15. Reflections of hands, illuminated by pools of light. This visit was a doubling of practising selves, an experience of the present happily mixing with the past.