Chapter IV (3)

TO MAKE TWO CARDS, EACH FIRMLY HELD BY A DIFFERENT PERSON, CHANGE PLACES.--For the purpose of this trick you must have a duplicate of some one of the cards, say the knave of spades, and you must arrange your pack beforehand as follows: The bottom card must be a knave of spades; the next to it an indifferent card, say the nine of diamonds; and next above that, the second knave of spades. You come forward carelessly shuffling the cards (which you may do as freely as you please as to all above the three mentioned), and finish by placing the undermost knave of spades on the top. The bottom card will now be the nine of diamonds, with a knave of spades next above it. Holding up the pack in your left hand, in such a position as to be ready to “draw back” the bottom card (_see_ page 36), you say, “Will you all be kind enough to notice and remember the bottom card, which I will place on the table here, so as to be in sight of everybody.” So saying, you drop the pack to the horizontal position, and draw out with the middle finger of the right hand apparently the bottom card, but really slide back that card, and take the one next to it (the knave of spades), which you lay face downwards on the table, and ask some one to cover with his hand. You then (by the slip or pass) bring the remaining knave of spades from the top to the bottom, and shuffle again as before, taking care not to displace the two bottom cards. Again ask the company to note the bottom card (which is now the knave of spades), and draw out, as before, apparently that card, but really the nine of diamonds. Place that also face downwards on the table, and request another person to cover it with his hand. The company are persuaded that the first card thus drawn was the nine of diamonds, and the second the knave of spades. You now announce that you will compel the two cards to change places, and after touching them with your wand, or performing any other mystical ceremony which may serve to account for the transformation, you request the person holding each to show his card, when they will be found to have obeyed your commands. The attention of the audience being naturally attracted to the two cards on the table, you will have little difficulty in palming and pocketing the second knave of spades, which is still at the bottom of the pack, and which, if discovered, would spoil the effect of the trick.

TO CHANGE FOUR CARDS, DRAWN HAPHAZARD, AND PLACED ON THE TABLE, INTO CARDS OF THE SAME VALUE AS A SINGLE CARD SUBSEQUENTLY CHOSEN BY ONE OF THE SPECTATORS.--This trick is on the same principle as that last above described, but is much more brilliant in effect. To perform it, it is necessary, or at least desirable, to possess a forcing pack consisting of one card several times repeated. We will suppose your forcing pack to consist of queens of diamonds. Before commencing the trick, you must secretly prepare your ordinary pack in the following manner:--Place at the bottom any indifferent card, and on this a queen; then another indifferent card, then another queen; another indifferent card, then another queen; another indifferent card, and on it the fourth and last queen. You thus have at the bottom the four queens, each with an ordinary card next below it. Each indifferent card should be of the same suit as the queen next above it, so that all of the four suits may be represented. Shuffle the cards, taking care however, not to disturb the eight cards above mentioned. Then say, “I am about to take four cards from the bottom, and place them on the table. Will you please to remember what they are?” Show the bottom card, then, dropping the pack to the horizontal position, “draw back” that card, and take the next, which is one of the queens, and, without showing it, lay it face downwards on the table. You now want to get rid of the card you have already shown, which is still at the bottom. To effect this without arousing suspicion, the best and easiest plan is to shuffle each time after drawing a card, not disturbing the arranged cards at the bottom, but concluding the shuffle by placing the bottom card, which is the one you desire to get rid of, on the top of the pack. Thus after each shuffle you are enabled to show a fresh bottom card, which, however, you slide back, and draw the next card (a queen) instead. Repeat this four times, when you will have all four queens on the table, though the audience imagine them to be the four cards they have just seen. In order to impress this more fully upon them, ask some one to repeat the names of the four cards. While the attention of the audience is thus occupied, you secretly exchange the pack you have been using for your forcing pack, and advancing to the audience say, “Now I shall ask some one to draw a card; and whatever card is drawn, I will, without even touching them, transform the four cards on the table to cards of the same value. Thus, if you draw a king they shall all become kings; if you draw a ten, they shall become tens, and so on. Now, choose your card, as deliberately as you please.” You spread the cards before the drawer, allowing him perfect freedom of choice, as, of course, whatever card he draws must necessarily be a queen of diamonds. You ask him to be good enough to say what the card he has drawn is, and on being told that it is a queen, you say, “Then, by virtue of my magic power, I order that the four cards now on the table change to queens. Pray observe that I do not meddle with them in any way. I merely touch each with my wand, so! Will some one kindly step forward, and bear witness that the change has really taken place.”

If you do not possess a forcing pack, but rely upon your own skill in forcing with an ordinary pack, it is well to prepare this second beforehand by placing the four queens (supposing that you desire a queen to be drawn) at the bottom. Making the pass as you advance to the company, you bring these to the middle and present the pack. It is comparatively easy to insure one or other of four cards placed together being drawn.

TWO HEAPS OF CARDS, UNEQUAL IN NUMBER, BEING PLACED UPON THE TABLE, TO PREDICT BEFOREHAND WHICH OF THE TWO THE COMPANY WILL CHOOSE.--There is an old schoolboy trick, which consists in placing on the table two heaps of cards, one consisting of seven indifferent cards, and the other of the four sevens. The performer announces that he will predict beforehand (either verbally or in writing) which of the two heaps the company will choose; and fulfils his undertaking by declaring that they will choose “the seven heap.” This description will suit either heap, being in the one case understood to apply to the number of cards in the heap, in the other case to denote the value of the individual cards.

The trick in this form would not be worth noticing, save as a prelude to a newer and really good method of performing the same feat. You place on the table two heaps of cards, each containing the same number, say six cards, which may be the first that come to hand, the value of the cards being in this case of no consequence. You announce that, of the two heaps, one contains an odd and the other an even number. This is, of course, untrue; but it is one of the postulates of a conjuror’s performance that he may tell professionally as many fibs as he likes, and that his most solemn asseverations are only to be taken in a Pickwickian sense. You continue, “I do not tell you which heap is odd and which is even, but I will predict to you, as many times as you like, which heap you will choose. Observe, I do not influence your choice in any way. I may tell you that you will this time choose the heap containing the odd number.” While delivering this harangue, you take the opportunity of palming in your right hand a single card from the top of the pack, and place the remainder of the cards apart on the table. When the audience have made their choice, you pick up the chosen heap with the right hand, thereby adding the palmed card to that heap, and, coming forward, ask some one to verify your prediction. The number is, naturally, found to be odd. You then bring forward the second heap, which is found to be even. Join the two heaps together, and again separate them, palming the top card of the odd heap, replace the two heaps on the table, and this time predict that the audience will choose the heap containing the even number. When they have made their selection, you have only to pick up the non-chosen heap with the hand containing the palmed card, and the chosen heap with the empty hand.

You may with truth assure the audience that you could go on all the evening predicting their choice with equal certainty, but it is best not to repeat the trick too often. You will do wisely to pass on at once to the next trick, which will enable you to display your powers of divination in a yet more surprising form.

A ROW OF CARDS BEING PLACED FACE DOWNWARDS ON THE TABLE, TO INDICATE, BY TURNING UP ONE OF THEM, HOW MANY OF SUCH CARDS HAVE DURING YOUR ABSENCE BEEN TRANSFERRED FROM ONE END OF THE ROW TO THE OTHER.--This trick is somewhat out of place in this chapter, inasmuch as it involves no sleight-of-hand, but we insert it here as forming an appropriate sequel to that last described. It is thus performed:--You deal from the top of the pack, face downwards on the table, a row of fifteen cards. To all appearance, you are quite indifferent what cards you take, but, in reality, you have pre-arranged the first ten cards in the following manner:--First a ten, then a nine, then an eight, and so on down to the ace inclusive. The suits are of no consequence. The eleventh card should be a blank card, if you have one of the same pattern as the pack; if not, a knave will do. This card, in the process which follows, will stand for 0. When the fifteen cards are dealt, their arrangement will therefore be as follows:--

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, *, *, *, *,--

the four asterisks representing any four indifferent cards. This special arrangement is, of course, unknown to the audience. You now offer to leave the room, and invite the audience, during your absence, to remove any number of the cards (not exceeding ten) from the right hand end of the row, and place them, in the same order, at the other end of the row. On your return, you have only to turn up the eleventh card, counting from the beginning or left hand end, which will indicate by its points the number of cards removed. A few examples will illustrate this fact. Thus, suppose that two cards only have been removed from the right to the left hand end, the row thus altered will be as follows:--

*, *, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, [2], 1, 0, *, *.

The eleventh card from the left will be a two, being the number moved. Suppose that seven cards have been removed, the new arrangement will be--

2, 1, 0, *, *, *, *, 10, 9, 8, [7], 6, 5, 4, 3,

and the card in the eleventh place will be a seven. Suppose the audience avail themselves of your permission to the fullest extent, and remove ten cards, the same result follows.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, *, *, *, *, [10], 9, 8, 7, 6.

If no card is moved, the 0 will remain the eleventh card, as it was at first. If you repeat the trick a second time, you must replace the cards moved in their original positions. Do not, if you can possibly help it, allow the audience to perceive that you count the cards.

You are not necessarily restricted to fifteen cards, but may increase the number up to twenty if you please, making up the complement by increasing the number of the indifferent cards at the right hand of the original row.

The trick may be equally well performed with dominoes, or with numbered pieces of paper, as with playing cards.

SEVERAL CARDS HAVING BEEN FREELY CHOSEN BY THE COMPANY, RETURNED AND SHUFFLED, AND THE PACK PLACED IN A PERSON’S POCKET, TO MAKE SUCH PERSON DRAW OUT ONE BY ONE THE CHOSEN CARDS.--This trick is an especial favourite of the well-known Herrmann, in whose hands it never fails to produce a brilliant effect. The performer hands the pack to one of the company, who is requested to shuffle it well, and then to invite any four persons each to draw a card. This having been done, the pack is returned to the performer, who then requests the same person to collect the chosen cards face downwards on his open palm. The cards so collected are placed in the middle of the pack, which is then handed to the person who collected them, with a request that he will shuffle them thoroughly. After he has done so, the pack is placed by the performer in the volunteer assistant’s breast-pocket. The performer now asks one of the four persons who drew to name his card. He next requests the person assisting him to touch the end of his wand, and then as quickly as possible (that the mystic influence may not have time to evaporate) to put his hand in his pocket, and draw out the card named. He takes out one card accordingly, which proves to be the very one called for. A second and third card are named and drawn in the same manner, to the astonishment of all, and not least of the innocent assistant. The fourth and last card, which is, say, the ten of spades, he is requested to look for in the pack, but it proves to be missing, and the performer thereupon offers to show him how to _make_ a ten of spades. To do so, he requests him to blow into his pocket, where the missing card is immediately found. But he has, unfortunately, blown too strongly, and has made not only a ten of spades, but a host of other cards, which the performer pulls out in quantities, not only from his pocket, but from the inside of his waistcoat--ultimately producing a final shower from his nose.

This trick, which appears marvellous in execution, is really very simple, and depends for its effect, not so much on any extraordinary degree of dexterity, as on the manner and address of the performer. When the four cards are replaced in the middle of the pack, the performer makes the pass to bring them to the top, and palms them. He then hands the pack to be shuffled. When it is returned, he replaces them on the top, and, placing the person assisting him on his left hand, and facing the audience, places the pack in the left breast-pocket of such person, taking care to place the top of the pack (on which are the chosen cards) outwards. In asking the names of the drawn cards, he puts the question first to the person who _last_ replaced his card (and whose card is therefore on the top), and so on. He is particular in impressing upon the person assisting him that he must draw out the card as quickly as possible, thus giving him no time to select a card, but compelling him, so to speak, to take that which is readiest to his hand, which will always be the outermost, or top card.

Should he notwithstanding, by accident or finesse, draw out a card from the middle of the pack, the performer at once says, “Oh, you were not half quick enough! You must pull out the card as quick as thought, or the magic influence will go off. Allow _me_!” then pulling out the outer card himself, he shows that it is the right one. When three cards have been thus produced, he himself plunges his hand into the pocket, and takes out the whole pack, with the exception of the then top card, which is the fourth of the cards drawn; then, pretending to recollect himself, he says, “Stay; we had four cards drawn. Will you say what your card was, madam?” We have supposed that it was the ten of spades. He hands the pack to the person assisting him, saying, “Will you find the ten of spades, and return it to the lady?” Being in his pocket, of course it cannot be found in the pack, and on blowing into the pocket it is naturally discovered there. The performer meanwhile has palmed about a third of the pack, which he introduces into the pocket at the same moment that he places his hand therein to take out the supposed superfluous cards. From this stage to the close the trick is merely a repetition of that already given under the title of the “Shower of Aces” (_see_ page 97), to which the reader is referred.

THE CARDS HAVING BEEN FREELY SHUFFLED, AND CUT INTO THREE OR FOUR HEAPS, TO NAME THE TOP CARD OF EACH HEAP.--Note the bottom card of the pack, which we will suppose to be the nine of diamonds. Shuffle the cards, so as to bring this card to the top, and palm it. Then remark, “But perhaps you would rather shuffle for yourselves,” and hand the pack to some one of the company for that purpose. When the pack is returned, replace the card on the top, and continue, placing the pack on the table, “You observe that I do not meddle with the cards in any way. Now will some one be good enough to cut them into two, three, or four parts, when I will at once name the top card of each.” To do this you must take especial notice where the upper part of the pack is placed, as you know that the top card of this particular heap is the nine of diamonds. Placing your finger gravely, not on this, but on one of the other heaps, you say, appearing to reflect, “This is the nine of diamonds.” We will suppose that it is in reality the queen of spades. You take it in your hand without allowing the audience to see it, and, noticing what it is, at once touch the top card of another heap, saying, “And this is the queen of spades.” Glancing in like manner at this card, which is, say, the seven of clubs, you touch another card, and say, “This is the seven of clubs.” We will suppose that this third card is really the ace of hearts. You conclude, taking up the card you have all along known (the real nine of diamonds), “And this last is the ace of hearts.” Then, throwing all four on the table, show that you have named them correctly.

This trick should be performed with considerable quickness and vivacity, so as not to give the audience much time for thought as you name the cards. It is further necessary that the spectators be well in front of you, and so placed that they cannot see the faces of the cards as you pick them up.

TO ALLOW A PERSON SECRETLY TO THINK OF A CARD, AND DIVIDING THE PACK INTO THREE HEAPS, TO CAUSE THE CARD THOUGHT OF TO APPEAR IN WHICHEVER HEAP THE COMPANY MAY CHOOSE.--Hand the pack to the company, with a request that they will well shuffle it. When it is returned, cut the pack into three heaps on the table, and invite some one to secretly think of a card. When he has done so, say boldly, “The card you have thought of is in _this_ heap,” touching one of them--say the middle one. “Will you be kind enough to name it?” The person names, say, the queen of spades. You continue, “Your card, as I have already told you, is in this centre heap. To satisfy you that it is so, and that I do not now place it there by means of any sleight-of-hand, I will, in the first place, show you that it is not in either of the other heaps.” Gathering together the two heaps in question, and turning them face upwards, you come forward to the audience, rapidly spreading and running over the cards the while in order to ascertain whether the queen of spades is among them. If it is not, the trick has so far succeeded without any trouble on your part; and, after showing that the card is not among those you hold, you bring forward the remaining packet, and show that you were correct in your assertion. You then say, “I do not generally repeat a trick, but on this occasion, as you may possibly imagine that my success was a mere result of accident, I will perform the trick once more, and, if you please, you shall yourselves name beforehand the packet in which the card thought of shall appear.” The packet having been chosen, you join the other two in your left hand, and invite some one to think of a card. When he has done so, you come forward, as before, to show that it is not among the cards you hold. Luck may again favour you; but if not, and you see the card chosen among those you hold in your hand, you quickly draw it, by a rapid movement of the second finger of the right hand, behind the rest of the pack, and, continuing your examination, show the company, to all appearance, that the card is not there. Having done this, you again turn the pack over (when the card thought of will be on the top), and, covering the pack for a moment with the right hand, palm that card. Then, picking up with the same hand the heap remaining on the table, you place the palmed card on the top, and, transferring the cards to the left hand, you say, “You are welcome to watch me as closely as you please. You will find that I shall cut these cards at the precise card you thought of.” To all appearance you merely cut the cards, but really at the same moment make the pass (by lifting away the lower instead of the upper half of the packet). The upper part of the packet, with the card on the top, remains in the left hand. You request some one to look at the top card, which is found to be the card thought of.

Should the card in the first instance prove to be among the _non_-designated cards, you will proceed as last directed; but do not in this case repeat the trick.

TO ALLOW A PERSON SECRETLY TO THINK OF A CARD, AND, EVEN BEFORE SUCH CARD IS NAMED, TO SELECT IT FROM THE PACK, AND PLACE IT SINGLY UPON THE TABLE.--This trick is on the same principle, and performed in a great measure by the same means, as that last described. You invite a person to think of a card (without naming it). When he has done so, you offer the pack to another person to shuffle, and finally to a third person to cut. Then, selecting any one card from the pack, you walk to your table, and, without showing what it is, place it face downwards on the table, retaining the rest of the pack in your left hand. Then, addressing the person who was requested to think of a card, you say, “The card which I have just placed on the table is the one you thought of. Will you be good enough to name it?” We will suppose that the card thought of was the ace of spades. You say, as in the last trick, “Allow me to show you, in the first place, that the ace of spades is no longer in the pack.” Coming forward to the audience, and rapidly running over the cards, you catch sight of the ace of spades, and slip it behind the rest. Having shown that it is, apparently, not in the pack, you turn the cards over (when the ace will, of course, be on the top), and palm it. Leaving the pack with the audience, you advance to your table, and pick up the card on the table with the same hand in which the ace of spades is already palmed. Draw away the card towards the back of the table, and, as it reaches the edge, drop it on the _servante_, and produce the ace of spades as being the card just picked up. The trick requires a little practice, but, if well executed, the illusion is perfect.

The above directions are framed upon the assumption that you are performing with a proper conjuror’s table, which, as already stated, has a _servante_, or hidden shelf, at the back for the reception of objects which the performer may require to pick up or lay down without the knowledge of his audience. The trick may, however, be performed without the aid of such a table, but will, in such case, require some little variation.

If you are using an ordinary table, the most effective mode of finishing the trick is as follows:--Walk boldly to the table, and pick up with the right hand (in which the card actually thought of is palmed) the card lying on the table, and, without looking at it yourself, hold it towards your audience, remarking, “Here it is, you see, the ace of spades.” The card being, in truth, a totally different one (say the seven of diamonds), the audience naturally imagine that the trick has broken down, and a derisive murmur apprises you of the fact. You thereupon glance at the card, and affect some little surprise and embarrassment on finding that it is a wrong one. However, after a moment’s pause, you say, taking the card face downwards between the thumb and second finger of the left hand, “Well, I really don’t know how the mistake could have occurred. However, I can easily correct it.” Change the card by the fifth method (_see_ page 32), and, after a little byplay to heighten the effect of the transformation, again show the card, which this time proves to be the right one. The audience will readily conclude that the supposed mistake was really a feint, designed to heighten the effect of the trick.

A CARD HAVING BEEN SECRETLY THOUGHT OF BY ONE OF THE AUDIENCE, TO PLACE TWO INDIFFERENT CARDS UPON THE TABLE, AND TO CHANGE SUCH ONE OF THEM AS THE AUDIENCE MAY SELECT INTO THE CARD THOUGHT OF.--Arrange your pack beforehand in such manner that among the fifteen or sixteen undermost cards there may be only one court card, and note at what number from the bottom this card is. Advance to the company, offering the cards face downwards in the ordinary way, and requesting some person to draw a card. Then, as if upon a second thought, say, before he has time to draw, “Or, if you prefer it, you need not even touch the cards, but merely think of one as I spread them before you.” So saying, spread the cards one by one, with their faces to the company, beginning at the bottom. The single court card being conspicuous among so many plain cards, and there being nothing apparently to create a suspicion of design about the arrangement it is ten to one that the person will note that particular card, which we will suppose to be the knave of hearts. When you have run over twelve or fourteen cards in this way, ask, still moving on the cards, “Have you thought of a card?” On receiving an answer in the affirmative, you make the pass two cards _below_ the court card (which you know by the number at which it stands), and forthwith make a false shuffle, leaving the last three cards undisturbed, so that the court card remains third from the bottom. Turning to the audience, you remark, “I will now take the two bottom cards, whatever they may happen to be, and lay them on the table.” Then, holding up the pack in the left hand, with the bottom card towards the audience, you inquire, “That is not your card, sir, I suppose? nor that?” each time lowering the cards in order to draw away with the moistened finger of the right hand, and place face downwards on the table, the card just shown. The second time, however, you do not really draw the card you have shown, but draw back that card and take the one next to it--viz., the knave of hearts. You then, standing behind your table and facing the audience, again repeat the question, “You are quite sure, sir, that neither of these two cards is the card you thought of? Which of them would you like me to transform into your card, the right or the left?” Whichever the answer is, it may be taken in two ways, and you interpret it as may best suit your purpose. Thus, if you have placed the knave of hearts on your own right, and the choice falls on the right-hand card, you interpret it to mean the one on _your own_ right hand. If, on the contrary, the person chooses the card on the left, you interpret him to mean the card on _his_ left, and therefore on _your_ right; so that in either case you make the choice fall on the knave of hearts.[G] Taking up the other card, and holding it, without apparent design, so that the audience can see what it is, you return it to the pack. Then say boldly, “This card upon the table will forthwith change to the card you thought of. Will you be good enough to name it?” If he names the knave of hearts, you have nothing to do but to turn up, or request some other person to turn up, the card on the table, and show that it is the right one.

[G] The reader should specially note this expedient, as it is
of constant use in conjuring.

It is, however, quite possible that the person, by accident or design, may have thought, not of the knave of hearts, but of some other card, say the nine of diamonds. Even in this case you need not be at a loss, although the card on the table is a wrong one. When the card is named, you say, “The nine of diamonds. Quite right! Let me show you, in the first place, that it is not here in the pack.” Advancing to the audience, and at the same time running over the cards, as in the last trick, you draw the nine of diamonds behind the other cards, and show that, apparently, it is not among them. On turning the pack over it will be at the top. Taking the pack in the left hand, and, returning to your table, pick up (with the right hand) the knave of hearts, and without looking at it yourself, say, “Here it is, you see, the nine of diamonds.” Then, with a careless gesture, and making a half turn to the right or left to cover the movement, “change” the card by the third method (_see_ page 30), taking care not to show the card after the change. The audience will naturally exclaim that the card you have just shown them is not the nine of diamonds. You affect great surprise, and ask, “Indeed, what card was it then?” They reply, “The knave of hearts.” “The knave of hearts; surely not!” you exclaim, again showing the card in your hand, which is now found to be the nine of diamonds. “Indeed,” you continue, “you could not possibly have seen the knave of hearts, for that gentleman in the front row has had it in his pocket all the evening.” The knave of hearts was, in truth, left after the change on the top of the pack. As you advance to the audience, you palm it, and are thereby enabled to find it without difficulty in the pocket of a spectator, or in any other place which you may choose to designate.

It will be observed that the mode here indicated of changing a wrong card into a right one differs from that described in the last trick. Either method will be equally available, but it will be well to practise both, as it is a great desideratum to be able to vary the _dénouement_ of a trick.

The course of action above directed in the event of an unexpected card being thought of, may be made available as a means of escape from a break-down in many other cases. Thus, for instance, if you are using a _biseauté_ pack, and a chosen card has been replaced without the pack having been previously reversed, or if you have from any other cause accidentally lost the means of discovering a card drawn, you may still bring the trick to an effective termination as follows:--Give the pack to some one to shuffle, and then, drawing a card haphazard, and placing it face downwards on the table, announce boldly that the card drawn is now upon the table. Ask the person to name his card, show apparently that it is not in the pack, and finish the trick in one or other of the modes above described.

A CARD HAVING BEEN DRAWN AND RETURNED, AND THE PACK SHUFFLED, TO DIVIDE THE PACK INTO SEVERAL HEAPS ON THE TABLE, AND TO CAUSE THE DRAWN CARD TO APPEAR IN SUCH HEAP AS THE COMPANY MAY CHOOSE.--Invite a person to draw a card. When it is returned, make the pass to bring it to the top. Make a false shuffle, and leave it still at the top. If any of the audience requests to be allowed to shuffle, palm the card, and hand him the pack. When it is returned, again place the card on the top.

Taking the cards in the right hand, face downwards, drop them, in packets of four or five cards each, on the table, noting particularly where you place the _last_ packet (on the top of which is the chosen card). Ask the audience in which of the heaps they would like the chosen card to appear, and when they have made their choice, pick up all the other packets and place them in the left hand, placing the packet on which is the chosen card at the top. Divide the chosen packet into two, and bid the audience again choose between these, placing the cards of the non-chosen packet below the pack in the left hand. If the packet still remaining will admit of it, divide it into two again, but endeavour so to arrange matters that the packet ultimately chosen shall consist of two cards only, concealing however from the audience the precise number of cards in the packet. When you have reached this stage of the trick, palm the drawn card, which we will suppose to have been the ace of diamonds, and picking up with the same hand the chosen packet, secretly place that card on the top. Place the three cards face downwards side by side, the ace of diamonds in the middle, and ask the audience which of the three they desire to become the card originally drawn. If they choose the middle card, the trick is already done, and after asking the person to name his card, and showing that neither of the two outside ones is the card in question, you turn up the ace of diamonds.

If the choice falls on either of the outside cards, gather together all three, without showing them (the ace still being in the middle) and ask some one to blow on them. Then deal them out again in apparently the same order as before, but really deal the second for the first, so as to bring that card into the place of the card indicated. Then, after showing the two other cards as above directed, finally turn up the ace of diamonds, and show that it is the card originally chosen.

TO CHANGE A DRAWN CARD INTO THE PORTRAITS OF SEVERAL OF THE COMPANY IN SUCCESSION.--For the purpose of this trick you will require a forcing pack of similar pattern to your ordinary pack, but consisting throughout of a single card, say the seven of clubs. You must also have half-a-dozen or more sevens of clubs of the same pattern, on the faces of which you must either draw or paste small caricature portraits, after the manner of Twelfth Night characters; which should be of such a kind as to excite laughter without causing offence. You arrange your pack beforehand as follows:--On the top place a fancy portrait, say of a young lady; then a seven of clubs, then a fancy portrait of a gentleman, then a seven of clubs; another fancy portrait of a lady, another seven of clubs, and so on; so that the first eight or ten cards of the pack shall consist of alternate portraits and sevens of clubs (the top card of all being a lady’s portrait), and the rest of the pack of sevens of clubs only.

Secretly exchange the prepared pack for that which you have been using. Invite a young lady to draw, taking care to offer that part of the pack which consists of sevens of clubs only, so that the card she draws will, of necessity, be a seven of clubs. You then say, when she has looked at the card, “Will you now be kind enough to return that card to the pack, when I will paint your portrait on it.” You open the cards bookwise, about the middle of the pack, for her to return the card, and when she has done so, request her to breathe on it. As she does so, you “slip” (_see_ page 35) the top card of the pack on to that which she has just replaced, and on examining that card (which she takes to be the one she has just seen) she is surprised to find that it is still a seven of clubs, but adorned with a more or less flattering likeness of herself. You continue, after the portrait has been handed round and replaced, “I would willingly give you this portrait to take home, but, unfortunately, being only a magical picture, the likeness fades very quickly. Will you oblige me by breathing on it once more, when you will find that the likeness will vanish, and the card will again be as it was at first.” On her doing so, you again slip the top card (which is now an ordinary seven), on to the portrait, and on again examining, the lady is compelled to admit that the card is again as she first drew it. You then offer to paint on the same card a gentleman’s likeness, and proceed as before, each time after taking a likeness changing it back again to an ordinary seven, which adds greatly to the effect of the trick.

You may, if you please, use allegorical instead of caricature portraits; _e.g._, for a young lady, a rose-bud; for a conceited young man, a poppy or dandelion, or a donkey’s head. It is hardly necessary to observe that nothing short of very close intimacy would excuse the use of any portrait of a disparaging or satirical nature.

A CARD HAVING BEEN DRAWN AND RETURNED, AND THE PACK SHUFFLED, TO PLACE ON THE TABLE SIX ROWS OF SIX CARDS EACH, AND TO DISCOVER THE CHOSEN CARD BY A THROW OF THE DICE.--The effect of this surprising trick is as follows:--You invite a person to draw a card, allowing him the utmost freedom of selection. You allow the drawer to replace his card in any part of the pack he pleases, and you thoroughly shuffle the cards, finally inviting him to “cut.” Then dealing out six rows of six cards each, face downwards on the table, you offer the drawer a dice-box and a pair of dice, and after he has thrown any number of times to satisfy himself that the dice are fair and unprepared, you invite him to throw each singly, the first to ascertain the row in which his card is, and the second to discover at what number it stands in the row. He throws, say, “six” first, and “three” afterwards, and on examination the card he drew proves to be the third card of the sixth row.

The whole mystery consists in the use of a forcing pack, all the cards of which are alike, and which must not consist of a less number than thirty-six cards. The dice are perfectly fair, but as each card of each row is the same, it is a matter of perfect indifference what numbers are thrown. It is advisable to gather up all the other cards, and to request the person to name his card, before allowing the one designated by the dice to be turned up. This will draw the attention of the company to the card on the table, and will give you the opportunity to re-exchange the cards you have used for an ordinary pack (from which, by the way, the card answering to the forced card should have been withdrawn). This pack you may carelessly leave on the table; so that in the event of suspicion attaching to the cards, it will be at once negatived by an examination of the pack.

The trick may be varied by using a teetotum, numbered from one to six, instead of the dice; or you may, if you prefer it, make the trick an illustration of second sight, by pretending to mesmerize some person in the company, and ordering him to write down beforehand, while under the supposed mesmeric influence, the row and number at which the drawn card shall be found. The mode of conducting the trick will be in either case the same.

A CARD HAVING BEEN WITHDRAWN AND REPLACED, TO CALL IT FROM THE PACK, AND TO MAKE IT COME TO YOU OF ITS OWN ACCORD.--This is a very simple trick, but, if neatly executed, will create a good deal of wonderment. It is performed as follows:--You must procure beforehand a long hair from a lady’s head. One end of this must be fastened by means of a bent pin, or in any other way you find most convenient, to the front of your waistcoat, which should be a dark one. At the other end of the hair fix a little round ball (about half the size of a pepper-corn) of bees’-wax. Press this little ball lightly against the lowest button of your waistcoat, to which it will adhere. You will thus always be able to find it at a moment’s notice, without groping or looking down for it, which would be likely to draw the eyes of the spectator in the same direction.

Request the audience to examine the cards, that they may be sure that there is no preparation about them, and as a further proof get two or three persons to shuffle them in succession. When the cards are returned to you, invite some person to draw one, and, while he is examining it, drop your right hand carelessly to your waistband, and remove the little ball of wax to the tip of your right thumb, to which it will adhere without interfering with the movements of the hand. When the card is returned, make the pass to bring it to the top of the pack, and press the little ball of wax upon the back of the card, as near the edge as possible. Then shuffle the cards. The shuffle may be a genuine one, but you must take care to keep the lower edge of the chosen card half an inch or so below the remaining cards, that the little ball of wax may not be disturbed. The chosen card will, after the shuffle, be in the middle of the pack, but attached to your waistcoat by the hair. Spread the cards _face upwards_ on the table (by which means the wax, being on the back of the card, will be out of sight), taking care not to detach the hair. You then address your audience to the following or some similar effect:--“In the old style of conjuring, I should merely have picked out your card, and handed it to you; and there was a time when people would have thought that a very good trick, but nowadays we should regard that as a very lame conclusion. I can assure you that I have not the smallest idea what your card was. How do you suppose I intend to find out?” Various guesses are hazarded, but you shake your head at each. “No,” you continue, “my process is much simpler than any you have suggested. I shall merely order the card you chose to walk out of the pack, and come to me.” Pronounce any magic formula you like, at the same time beckoning to the cards, and gradually withdrawing yourself away from the table, when the card must needs follow you. As it reaches the edge of the table, receive it in the left hand, and then take it in the right, drawing off with the first finger and thumb of the left hand the wax at the back. Ask the person who drew whether that was his card, and again hand the card and the rest of the pack for examination. This little trick, though simple, will require a good deal of practice to enable you to perform it neatly, but the effect produced by it will well repay your trouble.

It may be well to mention, once for all, as bees’-wax is an article of frequent use in magical operations, that if, as sometimes happens, the pure wax is found too hard, or not sufficiently adhesive, the addition of a small quantity (say an eighth part) of Venice turpentine, mixed with it in a melted condition, will make it all that can be desired.

THE WHIST TRICK.[H] IMPROVED METHOD. TO DEAL YOURSELF ALL THE TRUMPS, THE THREE OTHER PLAYERS HOLDING THE USUAL MIXED HANDS.--Having decided which suit (suppose diamonds) is to be the trump suit, arrange the pack in such manner that every fourth card shall be of that suit, the intervening cards being taken haphazard. When about to perform the trick, secretly exchange the pack you have hitherto been using for the prepared pack. Make the bridge (_see_ page 39), and then a false shuffle by the third method (_see_ page 24). Invite some one to cut, and make the pass at the bridge, thus restoring the cards to their original condition. Deal in the usual manner, when you will be found to hold all the trumps, the remaining suits being distributed in the ordinary way among the other three players.

[H] For an inferior form of this trick, in which
sleight-of-hand is not employed, see page 51.

Where in this or any other trick it is found necessary to change one pack for another, the following will be found the neatest way of effecting that object. Have the prepared pack in the _pochette_ on the left side. Hold the ordinary pack in the right hand, and in moving from the audience to your table, drop the left hand to the _pochette_, seize the prepared pack, bring the hands together, and make the pass with the two packs, when they will have changed hands. Drop the left hand, and get rid of the ordinary pack into the _profonde_, the prepared pack being left in the right hand. Any little clumsiness in making the pass is of small consequence, the hands being covered by the body. If, however, you find it impossible to make the pass with so large a bulk of cards, the prepared pack may be placed under the waistband, held in position by a strap of half-inch-wide elastic, stitched to the inside of the vest; the right hand in this case, at the moment of the turn to the table, transferring the ordinary pack to the left, and immediately drawing down the prepared pack, while the left hand, as in the former case, drops the ordinary pack into the _profonde_.