Chapter VI: Appendix (5)

_Explanation._—The black board has both sides alike. On the one not seen at first by the audience a skeleton, drawn on black cardboard, is cut and pinned up by the head. The thread connecting the limbs at the joints and the pulling string should be black.

After making a few chalk marks on the board, you turn it and chalk the edges of the skeleton, the limbs, the ribs, &c., without moving it. Then take the pulling string in your left hand, held behind the board, whilst your right gesticulates and points out the osteological peculiarities, and set the figure dancing as you please.

If made of metal, strings can be adjusted to shake the head, unfold the fingers, &c.

Dolls with ball-and-socket joints to the limbs make excellent marionettes. Suspend them as in figure 148.

The rod A is held in the left hand, and the different threads are worked with the right fingers. If the figure has many articulations and threads to control their movements, hang the stick on a hook at its centre, and use both ends.

A proscenium is constructed, with “a scene flat” set far enough back to let your hands play freely in the intervening space.

THE GYROSCOPE.

This instrument illustrates the law, that the axis of rotation is preserved, in any fixed direction, immovable, while the particles surrounding it are in rapid rotary motion. Hence the humming and the peg-top stand erect, the axis of rotation—the spike or the peg—being kept in a vertical position while in motion; it falls as soon as this motion sinks below a certain rate. This power may be illustrated by placing a disc of wood, or of metal, upon one end of a weighing beam, from which one of the scales has been removed. The disc being equipoised by weights in the opposite scale, place the beam at an angle of 45—the disc being the lowest end—then, by striking the disc, get it into rapid rotation. It will be found that, while spinning, the beam is preserved rigidly in its position; but, as the disc comes to rest, the beam is restored to its horizontal position. Several small weights may be placed in the scale, while the disc is rotating, without disturbing the position of the beam.

EXPERIMENT WITH THE GYROSCOPE.

(From the _Mechanic_.)

The ordinary gyroscopic action takes place when the lever D is held, the weight F being carried horizontally round the vertical axis, passing through the pivots C C. When the wheel is not spinning, the weight F turns the ring A A into the vertical position, so that the weight pulls downwards in the vertical line passing through the centre of the wheel. The parts carried by the lever D are then accurately balanced by means of the adjustable weight H. The ring A A is next held, in the position shown, by the thread G being hooked on the pivot screw opposite the weight F. If now the ring B is turned round on the pivots C C, the gyroscope or the weight H will preponderate accordingly as the weight F is further from or nearer to the supporting point of the pillar E than the centre of the wheel. Finally, spin the wheel, and throw off the thread G. It will then be found that although the weight F, in being carried round by the gyration, is continually altering its distance from the point of support, the apparatus keeps in balance. The gravitation of the weight F is _not_, as some think, annihilated or converted into horizontal action, but still _tells_ fully, doing so, however, as though acting at the centre of the wheel. If any of my readers should wish to try this experiment, they must have the apparatus very carefully made; and they must bear in mind that the conditions required for the experiment cannot be maintained for many seconds, as the friction of the pivots and other resistances cause the introduction of forces which, slowly at first, but with increasing rapidity, change the relative positions of the parts.—E. H.

THE HIGHFLYER.

In two corks, A and B, insert four wing-feathers from any bird, so as to be slightly inclined, like the sails of a windmill, but in opposite directions to each set. A round shaft is fixed in the cork A, which ends in a sharp point. At the upper part of the cork B is fixed a whalebone bow, having a small pivot-hole in its centre, to receive the point of the shaft. The bow is then to be strung equally on each side to the upper portion of the shaft, and the little machine is completed. Wind up the string by turning the bow, so that the spring of the bow may unwind the corks, with their anterior edges ascending; then place the cork, with the bow attached to it, upon a table, and with a finger pressed on the upper cork, press strongly enough to prevent the string from unwinding, and taking it away suddenly, the instrument will rise to the ceiling.—Dr. Piesse.

THE MECHANICAL ÆROSTAT.

Make a “flyer” by attaching three vanes to a common centre, mounted perpendicularly on a pin. These vanes are segments of a circle of which the obliquity increases as they recede from the centre of motion.

A stand is made to hold it while a cord is wound round the spindle. On pulling the string, it will ascend.

The vanes must be adjusted angularly for the best effect.

ARTIFICIAL SNAKES.

String on three parallel threads a number of small wooden scales, somewhat thick in the middle, and rounded at the edges, to form a length tapering to a point, while the other end is furnished with a carved head as of a serpent. Fasten the threads so that they are moderately tight. When taken up by the middle horizontally the two ends have a tendency to sink, but being prevented by the connection, they move to one side or the other. They can also be made of flat pieces, with one thread running straight through all to form a length, and a thread to run through them all alternately on one side and the other, opposite each other. If turned, boxwood is better than ivory, which easily breaks.

THE PIPING BULLFINCH.

If one of the mechanical singing-bird toy-boxes is opened so that the machinery is laid bare, the mystery will disappear.

The little bird who pops up on his feet when the lid of the box is opened, flutters his wings, and opens his mouth as the trill comes forth, has nothing to do with the sound.

That comes from a short tube, which has a supply of air from a little bellows, regulated by a piston. Its action is controlled by a lever, acted on by the same clockwork which works the bellows, and turns a barrel set with pins for the tune like any barrel-organ.

To make one, get a toy bird, and mount it on a box, concealed in which is such an instrument as is found in musical albums and valentines; the opening of its bill and wings needs a very simple connection with the wheel of the barrel.

THE WONDERFUL WELL.

A little model well, mounted on a stand, is shown to the company, and is held upside down to prove that it is empty. Four different kinds of seed, as rape, hemp, canary, millet, and so on, are mixed together (or coloured sweetmeats, those called “hundreds-and-thousands” being suitable), and the mass is thrown down the well. The company then decide in what order they will have the sorts of seed separately drawn up, and this had better be written down to prevent difficulties, as

1st, Hempseed; 2nd, canary; 3rd, rape; 4th, millet.

A little bucket attached to a revolving beam above the well is let down, and each time that it is drawn up, bring up the seeds in the order prearranged.

_Explanation._—In the lower half of the well, level with each other, are four cells, at the height of the bucket from the bottom of the well. The floor of these cells is inclined towards the well, so that, on the doors of these cells being opened, their contents must slide out into the well. In each cell is one sort of seed. The doors are valves opened by pressure on secret springs on the outside of the well, like the keys of a flute. The well narrows at the bottom so as to only admit the bucket. At the bottom of the well is a secret trap, down which the mixed seed falls and is no more seen.

_Operation._—When the mixed seed has been thrown down and falls into the secret receptacle, the performer takes the well in his hand, and places his fingers on the little slightly projecting pins which work the valves of the cells. All that is now to be done is to make that valve open which will open the cell of the seed demanded.

THE TWIN SINGING-BIRDS.

Mr. Panky brings forward a cage in which are two birds, perched on different branches of a tree, which sing, one the first part, the other the second, of a piece of music, which would hardly let anyone to believe them live birds trained to so exquisite a degree.

But when their bodies are found to be covered with shells, and their eyes made of precious stones, that illusion cannot for a moment be entertained. And yet it is unreasonable that mechanism should impel their action, when they are seen to spring from one bough to another, while perfectly detached from the cage itself.

The smallness of their size, and the multiplicity and variety of their movements, preclude the supposition of their tiny bodies being the cases of clockwork.

_Explanation._—The birds are really attached by wires of communication.

Their perches, on which they alternately alight, join at one end so as to form an angle of forty-five degrees. The birds are in no wise attached to either of them, but at the outer extremity of fine tubes—the other end being on a joint at the place of junction of the two perches—which tubes contain the fine wires which open the bill and wings. The outer point carries the bird, in each case, along the line of an arc of forty-five degrees. It passes so quickly through the air that a forewarned spectator would hardly perceive it; but as the exchange of position is made when attention is diverted by Mr. Panky, no clue is given.

This movement is a great improvement on the ordinary twin singing-birds of the conjurors, which simply stand on a cross-handled perch, or fixed tube, through which the wires pass.

THE AUTOMATON ARTIST AND WRITER.

(_Robert Houdin’s Improvement._)

Mr. Panky introduces to the audience his young friend, a puppet, arrayed as the secretary to royalty, in an exquisite court dress of the time of Louis XV., and removes him from a sideboard to his table set in front of the audience, that they may see no deception is possible.

The mannikin has a little table before him, on which his hands rest, but can be lifted up.

Mr. Panky furnishes him with paper and a pencil, and begs the audience to suggest a subject for the exercise of his artistic skill.

The ladies’ voice is for a rose or a bird. The secretary moves his eyes, bows, and at once sets to tracing before him an excellent picture of the objects voted for.

He also writes down answers to questions, tells the time to a second, the age of the inquirer, and all without the least vestige or sound of hidden mechanism.

At the end, Mr. Panky takes the figure up bodily from his little chair, and pops him into a hat, whence he mysteriously vanished.

_Explanation._—A pantograph is required, and upon that a preliminary description is given.

Four rules are mounted as a square, so as to move freely on the nails D, E, F, G; when the instrument is fastened on a table at the point C, and a pin at B traces the lines of a picture, the pencil placed at A duplicates the marks double that size. By shifting the slide attached to the fixed point C and the slide carrying the pencil along their respective arms, the proportion will be varied.

A fixed arm from F to G would conduce to the steadiness and reliability of the apparatus.

However, it suffices for Mr. Hanky Panky’s experiment.

The puppet seems to be completely isolated from any underhand management, because it can be detached from its seat and the table; but a real communication exists between its right arm and that of a confederate in the room beneath.

When the automaton is in his seat, the needle A B is thrust up through the floor, carpet, and table, E F, to enter the cylinder, C D, concealed in the chair at the part of the pantograph B.

Then the part A B, hidden in the room below, forms one with the part C D, within the figure, and the two united become the end of the pantograph.

_Performance._—All the drawing done by the assistant unseen must be repeated at the point K. Now, the pantograph being within the body of the automaton, and setting its arm in motion, it seems as if it was drawing of its own volition.

_Observation._—The needle A B, and the cylinder C D, when in junction, form a kind of lever with its fulcrum in the room below, and, consequently, all the movements given to the point B are first repeated in miniature at B of the pantograph in reverse, and then large at A.

THE AUTOMATON PERFORMER ON THE HORIZONTAL BAR.

Make a puppet with its arms inflexible at the elbow; put on a ball-and-socket joint at the shoulder; the arms are bent as shown in the illustration.

At the points G H and L M on the bar are tubes, covering it; with the joins hidden by mock garlands of flowers; the tube can, however, enter the two supports. To this tube the figure is fastened by the forearms.

An assistant of Mr. Panky is concealed on the side C, where he turns the crank R, to make the figure execute a quarter turn to the left. The automaton now moves, from having his arms parallel with the horizon; rises gradually until his arms are placed vertically and parallel to the rest of his body.

If another quarter turn be made in the same direction, the upper arms then lean towards the spectator, and necessarily drag the body after them. The limbs offer no resistance, as they are jointed at the hip and knee.

The confederate, being on the watch, can take advantage of the moment when one leg passes before the other to let the mannikin drop astride the bar. Then he makes him swing, and finally execute a somersault; all to the movements of a piece of music.

As a finish, a jerk is given to a wire, and the figure is detached and falls to the floor. It will be believed thereby that mechanism made it grasp the bar, perform, and detach itself.

As the tube wraps the bar in all places except where the figure is attached, and hides all the turnings of the bar, no complicity is ever suspected.

THE AUTOMATON TUMBLER.

Figure 158 represents the only motor of a little figure which, placed in a cell on top of a flight of stairs, will, upon the bell of his residence being pulled, fly out heels over head, and, tumbling somersaults down the steps, alight in a chair at the bottom, in order to be at his ease before his visitor.

It is a small piece of light wood, two inches long, one-sixth of an inch thick, half an inch broad.

At its two ends are two holes, C and D, which receive two pins, around which the legs and arms of the figure play. At each end also is a small receptacle, nearly concentric with the holes C and D, having an oblique prolongation towards the middle of the piece of wood. From their ends proceed two grooves, G and F, in the wood, a-twelfth of an inch wide.

Nearly fill one of these receptacles with quicksilver, and glue pasteboard on the sides to close it up.

To the axis passing through C fix two legs with long feet. The other has the arms with hands so placed as to become a base when the figure is turned backwards. On the G H part a head of elder-pith is glued, painted and dressed with a wig and cap. The body is made of the same substance, and a silk petticoat or skirted coat is added.

To prevent the figure or its legs turning any more after reaching the resting-place of the feet, two small pegs are made to meet a prolongation of the thighs.

To make the arms present themselves firmly and horizontally when the figure turns backwards, furnish the arms with two small pulleys, concentric to the axis of the motion of these arms, over which run two silk threads, uniting under the front of the figure, and fixed to a small cross-bar joining the middle of the thighs. Adjust these threads till there is no unsteadiness in the figure when it is placed up or down on its four supporters.

Generally a box is made to contain this figure, and open out into being the flight of stairs to be performed upon.

THE AUTOMATON FLUTE-PLAYER.

(_The Masterpiece of Vaucanson._)

A figure is made of about quarter life size. (Vaucanson’s stood five feet and a half.) In it and its pedestal are contained these works:—A strong spring, which, when wound up, moves nine bellows, three rows of three each. One set is soft, one medium, and one forte. Three separate reservoirs receive the air from each series, each by a valve letting it then into a single pipe ending in the figure’s mouth.

The same spring makes a barrel, on which is mounted an air, as usual in organs, revolve. Its pins set three levers in play, which connect, by chains, with the three valves, and so control the force required, whether natural, forte, or piano.

Another lever moves a chain which opens or shuts a tongue in the figure’s mouth, in order to emit or stop all sounds.

Of four other levers, one opens the lips, one closes them; one draws them back, and one moves them forward.

Seven other levers communicate with the seven fingers, which do all the fingering, and make them move properly.

As there will be breaks in the direct line of action, use bell-levers where required.

_Explanation of the Action._—To sound the _mi_ base, the cylinder-pin for that note would move that lever of the right third finger, which opens the first flutehole; another pin moves the lever of the tongue; a third, the _piano_ valve; a fourth is the lip-opener, and a fifth draws the lips back from the flutehole. In all, five movements, executed at the same time.

THE AUTOMATON DRUMMER.

This figure is worked after the same plan. But it has been superseded for magicians by the “Spirit Drum.”

_Performance._—If the machine can play but one tune, the following trick is devised to make it seem that it plays at will any one of twelve airs. Twelve blocks are shown to the company, on which are written the titles of as many airs for the flute or drum. These are put into a bag, and any one in the company is allowed to insert his hand and draw out one at random, the music on which the automaton will play. The bag is double, and the part where the hand is thrust contains twelve blocks, like the others, except that all have the same named tune on them.

TRICKS WITH CARDS, DICE, DOMINOES, &c.

As the deceptions performed by sleight of hand at cards rely, notwithstanding their variety, on only a few easily acquired movements, and these have been fully explained, with illustrative diagrams, in “The Secret Out,” we do not repeat the revelation, in all cases, of these processes.

The tricks immediately following are quite innocent, and may be performed in any private circles. We have thought it advisable to append an exposure of the devices by which gamblers or any persons who cheat their associates and strangers, deceive the inexperienced.

The conjuror always warns the company that his exhibitions of dexterity, are meant to delude the inattentive and untaught, so that he can do no harm and occasion no loss.

THE GARCIA SLIP, OR TOUR D’HOMBOURG.

You must remember the bottom card of the pack, which you hold face down in your left hand. Cover the cards with your right hand, held over them palm down, and run the cards one by one in under the right hand by means of the finger ends. One of the company is to lay his finger on any card he pleases and stop it. Let us call this one A.

On his doing so you secretly slip back the bottom card, and, opening the pack at the card A, get the bottom card up next under it. Now bring the lower portion to the top of the other, and show B as the bottom card.

The audience having fully taken note of it, you let them shuffle the cards as much as they please, for it little matters while you know what the card is.

On receiving the cards again, you spread them out on the table, face up, and readily point to the card B as if it were the card A which was really selected, but for which B was substituted.

TO TELL A CARD THOUGHT OF.

Take a pack containing fifty-two cards, then lay out one card, any card you see proper. Then divide the cards into three rows, by laying them down face upwards. When you have laid down three begin at the left and lay one upon the first, so continue to the right until you have laid out the fifty-one; at the same time request some person to think of a card. When they are laid out, ask which parcel the card is in; he tells you, place that parcel in the middle of the other. This done, lay them out again in three parcels; so continue to do for four times, and the card he thought of will be the twenty-sixth card.

TO GUESS THE SPOTS ON A CARD.

Take a whole pack, consisting of 52 cards, and desire some person in company to draw out any card, at pleasure, without showing it. Having assigned to the different cards their usual value, according to their spots, call the knave 11, the queen 12, and the king 13. Then add the spots of the first card to those of the second; the last sum to the third; and so on, always rejecting 13, and keeping the remainder to add to the following card. It may be readily seen that it is needless to reckon the kings, which are counted 13. If any spots remain at the last card, you must abstract them from 13, and the remainder will indicate the card that has been drawn: if 12 remains, it has been an ace; but if nothing remains, it has been a king.

_Demonstration._—Since a complete pack contains 13 cards of each suit, the values of which are 1, 2, 3, &c., as far as 13, the sum of all the spots of each of the different suits will be 7 times 13 (91), which is a multiple of 13; consequently the quadruple is also a multiple of 13: if we add the spots of all the cards, always rejecting 13, the remainder at last must be 0. Hence it is evident, that if a card, the spots of which are less than 13, be drawn, the difference between its spots and 13 will be what is wanting to complete the number. If, at the end, then, instead of attaining to 13, we attain only to 10, for example, it is plain, that the card wanting is a 3; and if we attain exactly to 13, the card missing must be equivalent to 13; that is, it must be a king.

TO TELL TWO CARDS OUT OF TWENTY.

You must retain in your memory the four following words, with the arrangement of the letters which compose them:—

_m_ _i_ _s_ _a_ _i_
_t_ _a_ _t_ _l_ _o_
_n_ _e_ _m_ _o_ _n_
_v_ _e_ _s_ _u_ _l_

Collect all the cards into the left hand, two by two, as they lay on the table, and then place them, one by one, in the same order as the preceding letters, taking care to place the two first as the two _m_, the two next as the two _i_, the two following as the two _s_, and so on.

Ask each person in which horizontal row his two cards are. If he says they are both in the same row, for example the third, they will be pointed out by the letters _n_ and _n_, contained in that row; if they are in two different rows, as the first and last, the letters _s_ and _s_ will indicate the place which they occupy.

TO BRING ALL THE CARDS OF THE SAME KIND TOGETHER.

Have in readiness a pack, all the cards of which are arranged in successive order; that is to say, if it consists of 52 cards, every 13 must be regularly arranged, without a duplicate of any one of them. After they have been cut as many times as a person may choose, form them into 13 heaps of 4 cards each, with the coloured faces downwards. When this is done, the 4 kings, the 4 queens, the 4 knaves, and so on, must necessarily be together.

THE FOUR INDIVISIBLE KINGS.

Take four kings, and place between the third and fourth any two common cards whatever, which must be neatly concealed; then show the four kings, and place the six cards at the bottom of the pack; take one of the kings, and lay it on the top, and put one of the common cards into the pack nearly about the middle; do the same with the other, and then show that there is still one king at the bottom: desire any one to cut the pack, and as three of the kings were left at the bottom, the four will therefore be found together in the middle of the pack.

TO GUESS CARDS SELECTED BY SEVERAL PERSONS.

Show as many cards to each person as there are persons to choose; that is to say, 3 to each, if there are three persons. When the first has thought of one, lay aside the three cards in which he has made his choice. Present the same number to the second person, to think of one, and lay aside the three cards in the like manner. Having done the same in regard to the third person, arrange all these cards in three rows, with their faces turned downwards, and then put them together in order. If you take the 3 first, and present them successively to the different persons, and do the same thing with the others, you may easily guess the cards, by observing, that the card thought of by each person will have the same place among the cards as the person has in regard to the other two; that is to say, the card thought of by the first person will be first of that packet in which he discovered it; that thought of by the second will be the second in the packet where he recognized it; and that of the third will be the last and in the last packet.

The operation is exactly the same when the number of persons is greater. If, instead of 3, there are 4 or 5 persons, four or five cards must be presented to each.

A NEW THREE-CARD TRICK.

As it is necessary that the cards presented should be distinguished, we shall call the first A, the second B, and the third C. Let the persons, whom we shall distinguish by first, second, and third, choose privately whichever of the cards they think proper, and when they have made their choice, which is susceptible of six variations, give the first person 12 counters, the second 24, and the third 36: then desire the first person to add together the half of the counters of the person who has chosen the card A; the third of those of the person who has chosen B; and the fourth part of those of the person who has chosen C; and ask the sum, which must be either 23 or 24, 25 or 27, 28 or 29, as in the following table:

First. Second. Third. Sums.
12 24 36
A B C 23
A C B 24
B A C 25
C A B 27
B C A 28
C B A 29

This table shows, that if the sum is 25, for example, the first person must have chosen the card B, the second the card A, and the third the card C; and that, if it be 28, the first person must have chosen the card B, the second the card C, and the third the card A; and so of the rest.

TO TELL THE SPOTS ON ALL THE BOTTOM CARDS OF SEVERAL HEAPS.

Arrange each heap of cards in such a manner that the spots on the bottom one, added to the cards above it, may always amount to twelve; continue to make as many heaps as possible, in the manner above prescribed, and place the remaining cards on one side. Then separate in your mind four heaps, and multiply the heaps which remain, after these are deducted, by 13; this product, added to the number of cards, will be that of the spots required. We give the solution of this problem by an analysis in “To Guess the Spots on a Card,” p. 253.

TO NAME ALL THE CARDS OF A PACK.

Have a complete pack of 52 cards, and arrange them according to the order of the following words, which you must retain in your memory.

_Unus_ _quinque_ _novem_ _famulus_ _sex_ _quatuor_ _duo_
Ace five nine knave six four two
_Rex_ _septem_ _octo_ _fœmina_ _trina_ _decem_
King seven eight queen three ten

Besides this first order, you must arrange them also according to the order of the colours, spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds; so that the 52 cards may be disposed as follows:

ORDER OF THE CARDS.

1 Ace of spades

2 Five of hearts

3 Nine of clubs

4 Knave of diamonds

5 Six of spades

6 Four of hearts

7 Two of clubs

8 King of diamonds

9 Seven of spades

10 Eight of hearts

11 Queen of clubs

12 Three of diamonds

13 Ten of spades

14 Ace of hearts

15 Five of clubs

16 Nine of diamonds

17 Knave of spades

18 Six of hearts

19 Four of clubs

20 Two of diamonds

21 King of spades

22 Seven of hearts

23 Eight of clubs

24 Queen of diamonds

25 Three of spades

26 Ten of hearts

27 Ace of clubs

28 Five of diamonds

29 Nine of spades

30 Knave of hearts

31 Six of clubs

32 Four of diamonds

33 Two of spades

34 King of hearts

35 Seven of clubs

36 Eight of diamonds

37 Queen of spades

38 Three of hearts

39 Ten of clubs

40 Ace of diamonds

41 Five of spades

42 Nine of hearts

43 Knave of clubs

44 Six of diamonds

45 Four of spades

46 Two of hearts

47 King of clubs

48 Seven of diamonds

49 Eight of spades

50 Queen of hearts

51 Three of clubs

52 Ten of diamonds

This order is of such a nature that, by knowing any one of the 52 cards, that which follows it may be also known.

Thus, for example, if it were required to know what card follows the king of spades, it will be sufficient to recollect that _septem_, in the two Latin lines above given, which follows that of _rex_, denotes that it is a seven; and as the colour which follows the spades is hearts, it is the seven of hearts, and so for the rest.

Everything being thus arranged, having retained in your memory the above words, and the order of the colours, desire any person to cut the pack as many times as he chooses; for it will be easy to name all the cards in order provided you have found means, by some dextrous manœuvre, to observe that one which is at the top of the pack.

The same arrangement of the cards may be employed for the following two tricks especially, as well as others.

EVEN OR ODD.

First, find out whether the last card in the pack be black or red; then, on the pack being cut into two parts, if the card found at the bottom of the upper division is of the same colour as that at the bottom of the pack, the two parts which have been separated, contain each an even number; on the other hand, if it be of a different colour, they contain each an odd number.

TO TELL THE SPOTS ON SELECTED CARDS.

Having presented the pack, that the person may choose several succeeding cards at pleasure, privately observe the card which is above those he has chosen, and how many he has drawn from the pack; it will then be easy to count how many spots they ought to contain.

For example, if the observed card be a nine, and four cards have been drawn, it may readily be seen that those drawn must be a knave, equivalent to 10 spots: a six, a four, and a two. You may then announce, that the cards in the person’s hand contain 22 spots.

TO TELL A CHOSEN CARD OF FOUR.

Let the person draw four cards from the pack at pleasure, and desire him to think of one of them; then take these four cards back, and place two of them at the top and two at the bottom of the pack, in a dextrous manner, so as not to be perceived: under the two last, place any four cards whatever; then display the lower part of the pack on the table, showing only 8 or 10 cards, and ask the person whether the one he thought of be among them. If he says No, you may be sure that it is one of the two which you put at the top of the pack; in that case you must transfer them to the bottom, and then, showing the bottom of the pack, say, Is not this your card? If he replies No, turn aside that card with your third finger, which you must have previously moistened, and desire him to draw out his card himself from the bottom of the pack.

If the person should say, that the card he thought of is among the first shown to him, dextrously remove the four cards put at the bottom of the pack, in order that the two, one of which is the card he thought of, may be the lowermost of the pack, and you may then either show him his card, or make him draw it out himself, as above explained.

TOPSY TURVY.

On receiving the selected card pretend to shuffle it amongst the others, but really bring it to the top. The rest of the pack you arrange with their edges even, whilst the top card projects a little.

On pushing that card a little out, at the same time as you drop the pack perpendicularly, the resistance of the air will turn the single card upside down, so that it will rest face up on the top of the fallen cards.

THE CONJUROR’S CARD CASTLE.

From a pack of cards two are forced upon two of the company. They are replaced, and the pack is shuffled. While this is being done, a little model house is brought into the room and placed on the table.

In its front are two windows, with closed blinds, and a door.

The pack is thrust down the chimney of the house, when, instantly, the door flies out and emits the pack of cards without the two selected cards, which appear one at each window.

_Explanation._—The house is already prepared with a pack of cards, the duplicate of that used, less the two cards like the couple forced. These two are placed in the windows behind the closed shutters or drawn blinds, as the case may be.

When the second pack is thrust down the chimney, it touches a lever, which at the same time throws open the door and pushes out the other pack, and discloses the cards in the windows.

ODD OR EVEN.

Let one of the company take in each hand several cards, an even number in one hand, and an odd in the other.

You engage to tell in which hand he holds the even number.

To do so, bid him multiply the number held in his right hand by three, and that in his left hand by two, and add the product together. He is then to answer whether the sum is odd or even.

If even, the right hand contained an even number, and _vice versâ_.

MYSTERIOUS TRICK OF THIRTY-SIX CARDS. TELLING THE CARD YOU LOOK AT
WITHOUT SEEING THE PACK.

To perform this trick you must take a pack of cards containing fifty-two in number. Then take out the two, three, four, and five spots of each suit (meaning the spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs). Then commence as follows with the remaining thirty-six: Commencing with six of diamonds, face downwards, seven of clubs, eight of hearts, nine of spades, ten of diamonds, jack of clubs, queen of hearts, king of spades, ace of diamonds, six of clubs, seven of hearts, eight of spades, nine of diamonds, ten of clubs, jack of hearts, queen of spades, king of diamonds, ace of clubs, six of hearts, seven of spades, eight of diamonds, nine of clubs, ten of hearts, jack of spades, queen of diamonds, king of clubs, ace of hearts, six of spades, seven of diamonds, eight of clubs, nine of hearts, ten of spades, jack of diamonds, queen of clubs, king of hearts, ace of spades.

After having arranged the cards in the order above mentioned, they may be cut by all in the house, or as many as please, and by placing the cut under the pack each time the relative position will not be changed. Then ask the person who has the cards in his hand what card he has at the bottom of the pack (the faces being down); he answers, giving the name of the bottom card; then you can answer positively, by calling the card one less in value. For example, the nine of clubs is at the bottom, the eight of diamonds will be upon the top, the second will be the seven of spades, the third the six of hearts, the fourth the ace of clubs, the fifth the king of diamonds, and thus you will find them completely arranged throughout the pack. At the conclusion of this feat you may shuffle them over and under by holding the main pack in the left hand, and slipping the cards off one at a time in the right hand, one over and the other under, until you change them entirely through the pack, then return the pack to the right hand and repeat the over and under shuffle. Then you can deal them out into four parcels, nine at a time, and you will find the nine hearts in one pile, the nine diamonds in the second, the nine spades in the third, and clubs in the fourth.

THE FOUR ASSOCIATES.

Let a person draw four cards from the pack, and tell him to think of one of them. When he returns you the four cards, dextrously place two of them under the pack, and two on the top. Under those at the bottom you place four cards of any sort, and then, taking eight or ten from the bottom cards, you spread them on the table, and ask the person if the card he fixed on be among them. If he say no, you are sure it is one of the two cards on the top. You then pass these two cards to the bottom, and drawing off the lowest of them, you ask if that be not his card. If he again say no, you take that card up, and bid him draw his card from the bottom of the pack. If the person say his card is among those you first drew from the bottom, you must dextrously take up the four cards that you put under them, and placing those on the top, let the other two be the bottom cards of the pack, which draw in the manner before described.

HOW TO CHANGE CARDS TO PICTURES.

Take a pack of cards, and paint the backs of one half of the pack with what figures you think fit, as men, birds, women, flowers, &c. Also, paint the faces of the other half of the cards in the same manner; thus, you will have a complete pack of odd pictures, and may—by showing the faces of that part of the pack whose backs only have been painted, and then by a momentary shuffle, apparently transforming them into a set of grotesque figures—produce much amusement.

There is another manner of making the pack; it is as follows:—Take a dozen cards or more, and draw a line from the right-hand upper corner, to the left-hand lower corner of the face of each of them; they will thus be all equally divided. Then paint part of some odd figure on the right division of each card, leaving the left untouched. By a little dexterity, you may now seem to transform a set of common cards into a painted pack.

MAGIC DISAPPEARANCE.

Divide the pack, placing one half in the palm of the left hand, with the face of the cards downwards; then take the balance of the pack in the right hand, holding them between the thumb and three first fingers, and place the cards upright, so that the edges of the cards in your right hand will rest upon the back of those lying in the palm of the left hand perpendicularly, and forming a right angle with them, by which means you will perceive that the four fingers of the left hand touch the last card of the upright cards in your right hand. Be sure you get this position correctly, for the rest of the trick is very simple. You now request any one of your audience to examine the top card of the half pack that rests in the palm of your left hand, and to replace it again. Having done this, you request him to look at it again, and to his amazement it will have disappeared, and another card will appear in its place.

To perform this trick after you have assumed the position already described, you must dampen the tips of the four fingers that rest against the last card of the upright cards in your right hand. You must now raise the upright cards in your right hand very quickly, and the last card, No. 1, will adhere to the dampened fingers of your left hand.

As you raise the upright cards you must close your left hand skilfully, and you will thereby place the last card of the upright cards—which adheres to the fingers of your left hand—upon the top of the cards in the palm of your left hand, and when you request the person who examined the top card in your hand to look at it once more, he will see the card you have just placed there, instead of the card he first examined.

Observe, be very rapid and dextrous in slipping the card at the back of the upright card from its position there to the top of the cards in the palm of your left hand.

SIXTEEN CARDS BEING IN TWO ROWS, TO FIND THAT WHICH A PERSON HAS THOUGHT
OF.

The cards being arranged as follow, desire the person to think of one, and to observe well in which row it is:

A B C D E F H I
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *
0 0 0 0 * 0 0 0
0 0 * 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Let us suppose that the card thought of is in the row A: take up the whole row in the order in which it now stands, and dispose it in two rows C and D, in such a manner, that the first card of the row A may be the first of the row C; the second of the row A, the first of the row D; and so on, transferring the 16 cards from A and B, to C and D. This being done, again ask in which of the vertical rows the card thought of stands. We shall suppose it to be in C; remove that row as well as D, observing the same method as before; and continue in this manner until the card thought of becomes the first of the row I. If you then ask in which row it is, it may be immediately known, because after the last operation it will be the first in the row said to contain it; and as each row has a distinguishing character or sign, you may cause them all to be mixed with each other, and still be able to discover it by the sign you have remarked.

If a greater number of cards be employed, disposed in two vertical rows, the card thought of will not be at the top of the row after the last transposition: if there are 33 cards, 4 transpositions will be necessary; if 64 there must be 5; and so on.

A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CARDS BEING SHOWN TO A PERSON, TO GUESS THAT WHICH
HE HAS THOUGHT OF.

To perform this trick, the number of the cards must be divisible by 3; and to do it with more convenience, the number must be odd.

The first condition, at least, being supposed, the cards must be disposed in three heaps, with their faces turned upwards. Having then asked the person in which heap is the card thought of, place the heaps one above the other, in such a manner that the one containing the card thought of may be in the middle. Arrange the cards again in three heaps, and having asked in which of them is the card thought of, repeat the operation as before. Arrange them a third time in three heaps, and having once more asked the same question, form them all into one heap, that containing the card thought of being in the middle. The card thought of must then necessarily be the middle one; that is to say, if 15 cards have been employed, it will be the eighth from the top; if 21, the eleventh; if 27, the fourteenth; and so on. When the number of the cards is 24, it will be the twelfth, &c.

THE RESTORATIVE CARD.

Secretly coil up a needle-full of thread by winding it round a ruler and slipping it off; and hide this in a card as you roll it up. Wind around this card a needleful of the same thread, which you then clip to pieces with scissors, shaking the bits into the fire or into your magic box by which they disappear. On unrolling the card, you seem to reproduce the destroyed thread.

THE FOUR CONFEDERATE CARDS.

A person draws four cards from the pack, and you tell him to remember one of them. He then returns them to the pack, and you dexterously place two of them under, and two on the top of the pack. Under the bottom ones you place four of any sort, and then taking eight or ten from the bottom cards, you spread them on the table, and ask the person if the card he fixed on is amongst them. If he says No, you are sure it is one of the two cards on the top. You then pass those two cards to the bottom, and drawing off the lowest of them, you ask if that is not his card. Should he again say No, you take up that card, and bid him draw his card from the bottom of the pack. But if, on the contrary, he says his cards are amongst those you first drew from the bottom, you must dexterously take up the four cards you put under them, and place them on the top. The other two are the bottom cards of the pack, and are to be drawn in the manner before described.

THE MAGIC POCKET-BOOK.

(_Die zwei magichen Brieftaschen._)

Cut out two rectangular pieces of pasteboard three inches by three and a half inches, A B. Run a band of tape on the board A, from C to E, and from D to F: then turn over and glue the tape at C D at the back of A; and at E F at the back of B.

Fasten two other tapes in the same way on card B at G L on the back of it, and at G H on the back of A.

The two boards will now form a book of two leaves, opening as on hinges.

Bring four other tapes under those already fastened, marked M H Q R, and glue their ends down at the back of the card; and two more tapes on O and B sides of B; all of which form borders and are for no other purpose.

Make two envelopes like those for letters, and fasten down the front, where the address is written—which must be the same size as the card, so as to cover all the tapes G J and H L as well as the space between them; one envelope being thus face down upon the ribbons to which it is glued, the second envelope is pasted to the first one, face to face, one hiding the other and both, of course, hiding the tapes from view.

As the book can be opened _twice over_, by bringing the leaf on the left upon that next to it, and that again over on the other, when the envelope now open and alone shown is the duplicate, and not that first seen, a deception is easily performed.

_Performance._ A coin is borrowed and marked, or a question is written, and the coin or the paper is put into one of the envelopes, and folded up. In closing up the book you secretly reverse it, and bring the second envelope up so as to be shown open and empty, or with an answer to the question.

_Performance with cards._ Having had a drawn card carefully noted, you undertake to change it into another one altogether. Placing it in your magic book and proceeding as with the coin above, the transformation is readily accomplished.

TO GUESS SEVERAL DRAWN CARDS.

A pack of similar cards is offered, from which two or three persons draw cards. They should not sit too closely together, however, lest one should see the cards drawn by the others. They note their cards and replace them in the pack. You turn, and while pretending to look through the pack, you take two other cards which you must have at hand, place with them a card out of the pack, and approach those persons who have drawn cards, asking each if his card is not among the three. On receiving an answer in the affirmative, you point out the drawn card.

THE BUTCHER’S GRIP, OR “HOLD IT FAST.”