Reuben's Bar, at the corner of Madison Avenue and 38th Street, where a group of almost 20 magicians get together every Saturday afternoon.

Every Saturday afternoon between one and four, Reuben's, an old-fashioned restaurant on the corner of Madison Avenue and 38th Street in Manhattan, turns into a realm of mystery.

In the backside of the restaurant, a couple dozen New York magicians trade tricks and secrets, and tell beautiful anecdotes about ancient cultures while they play with cards, coins and multicolor bandannas.

Many of them are in their sixties and seventies, like Tony Mullé, Oscar Weigel and Sol Stone. But surprisingly, many teen-agers come to Reuben's willing to learn from the more experienced magicians. It seems that magic - unlike modern disciplines - is still transmitted orally, from generation to generation. But no one tries to pull rank; at Reuben's, magic is the great equalizer.

"Everyone in here is equal, whether they are a lawyer, a judge, a senator, a congressman, a businessman or a shoeshine. If you can do magic, you're in," explains Mullé.

Stone, a 78-year-old Brooklynite, is definitely in. Stone is a veteran magician whose colleagues say has the softest hands in magic when it comes to handling coins.

"Watching Sol Stone is like watching a ballet," describes Mullé, who finds magicians to be the salt of the earth.

"I've met all kind of people in my life," he says. "I've hung out in saloons, poolrooms, gambling rooms, casinos, and I find that magicians are the finest people I've ever met."

Mullé also gives his own reasons for his interest in magic. "For me, magic is like going to an opera, like listening to jazz; I lose myself in magic."

While they talk, both Stone and Mullé are distracted by the action at the table beside them, where a colleague is showing some new card tricks. While being interviewed for the article, they are both polite, but can't seem to tear their attention away from the magic being performed around them.

"Magicians need to have a child-like quality," says Mullé. "Yes, magicians are essentially young at heart, they have a sense of playfulness and creativity and spontaneity," Stone agrees.

But what makes magicians get together at Reuben's is the same common interest that gets magicians together in Spain or in China: "We try to transmit the same feeling of surprise, wonder and delight that we feel when we see magic," Stone says. "I think that's a valuable feeling."