CARD TRICKS WITH ORDINARY CARDS, AND NOT REQUIRING SLEIGHT-OF-HAND.
There is a large class of tricks which may be described as consisting
of two elements--the discovery of a chosen card by the performer, and
the revelation of his knowledge in a more or less striking manner.
We propose to give, in the first place, three or four methods of
discovering a given card, and then a similar variety of methods of
concluding the trick. It must be remembered that for our present
purpose we exclude all tricks for which any special dexterity is
requisite. There will be little that is absolutely novel in this
chapter, but it will be for the student to supply the want of freshness
in his materials by the ingenuity of his combinations.
[Illustration: FIG. 28.]
SIMPLE MODES OF DISCOVERING A GIVEN CARD. _First Method._--Hold the
pack face downwards in the left hand, having previously noticed the
bottom card. Secretly draw down this card about three-quarters of an
inch, and hold the part so drawn down between the thumb and fourth
finger of the right hand, the palm of the right hand being above the
cards. (_See_ Fig. 28.) Now, with the tip of the first or second finger
of the right hand, draw down the cards one by one about half an inch
(beginning with the top card, and so on), inviting your audience to
stop you at any card they may choose. When they do so, draw down all
the cards, as far as you have gone, completely away from the remaining
cards; but with them draw down at the same time the bottom card. This
card, coalescing with the upper portion, will be, to the eyes of the
spectators, that at which you were directed to stop. Holding the cards
with their backs towards you, request them to observe what the card is.
The pack may now be shuffled to any extent, but, being acquainted with
the card, you can find or name it at pleasure.
The above may be employed as a means of “forcing,” where it is
essential to force a given card, and you are not sufficiently
proficient to feel certain of effecting that object by the regular
method. Thus, suppose that the card which you desire to force is the
seven of diamonds, you place that card at the bottom of the pack, and
proceed as above directed. When the audience desire you to stop, you
draw off the upper packet, and with it the seven of diamonds, which
will thereby become the bottom card of that packet. You request them to
note the card, and at once hand the pack to be shuffled. This is a very
simple and easy mode of forcing, but it is very generally known, and it
would not, therefore, be safe to use it before a large or very acute
audience.
_Second Method._--Deal the cards into three packs, face upwards, and
request a spectator to note a card, and remember in which heap it is.
When you have dealt twenty-one cards, throw the rest aside, these not
being employed in the trick. Ask in which heap the chosen card is, and
place that heap between the other two, and deal again as before. Again
ask the question, place the heap indicated in the middle, and deal
again a third time. Note particularly the fourth or middle card of each
heap, as one or other of those three cards will be the card thought of.
Ask, for the last time, in which heap the chosen card now is, when you
may be certain that it was the card which you noted as being the middle
card of that heap.
This same effect will be produced with any number of cards, so long as
such number is odd, and a multiple of three. The process and result
will be the same, save that if fifteen cards are used each heap will
consist of five cards, and the _third_ card of each will be the middle
one; if twenty-seven cards, each heap will consist of nine cards, and
the _fifth_ will be the selected one, and so on.
_Third Method._--Take any number of the cards, and deal them face
upwards upon the table, noting in your own mind the _first_ card dealt.
Ask any number of persons each to note a card, and to remember at what
number it falls. When you have dealt all the cards you first took in
your hand, take them up again, without disturbing their order, and turn
them face downwards. In order to show that the trick is not performed
by any arithmetical calculation (you should lay great stress upon this,
the fact being precisely the reverse), invite the company to take any
number they choose of the remaining cards (such number being unknown
to you), and place them either above or below the cards you have
dealt. Allow the cards to be cut (not shuffled) as many times as the
audience please. You now, for the first time, ask each person what was
the number of his card, and, on being informed, again deal the cards,
turning them face upwards. When the original _first_ card appears,
count on (silently) from this as number one to the number mentioned, at
which number the noted card will again appear. Should the whole of the
cards be dealt out without reaching the required number, turn the cards
over again, and continue from the top of the pack until that number is
reached.
Having indicated how a card may be discovered, we proceed to describe
various modes of disclosing the card thus ascertained.
_First Method._--Get the card to the top of the pack. Give the pack
to some person to hold. The cards should be face upwards, so that the
chosen card will be undermost, with the thumb of the holder above and
the fingers below the pack. The fingers should extend under the pack
for about an inch, but the thumb above not more than half an inch.
Request the person to nip the cards tightly, and as he does so give
them a smart downward rap with your forefinger, which will knock all
the cards out of his hand with the exception of the lowest card, which
will be retained by the greater friction of the fingers, and will
remain staring him in the face. This is a very old and simple finish,
but it appears marvellous to those who witness it for the first time.
You may, if you prefer it, hold the cards yourself as above directed,
and allow another person to strike them downwards. It is well to
moisten the fingers (not the thumb) slightly, as you thereby increase
the hold on the chosen card.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.]
_Second Method._--Get the card to the top of the pack, and hold the
pack lightly between the thumb and fingers of the right hand, the thumb
being on the face, and the fingers (which should be previously slightly
moistened) on the back of the cards. (_See_ Fig. 29.) Give a sharp
downward jerk of the hand and arm, when, as in the last case, all the
cards will fall save the top card, which is retained by the greater
friction of the moistened fingers.
_Third Method._--Get the chosen card to the top, and hold the pack in
the right hand, lengthways and face downwards, about two feet above the
floor or table. Push the top card a little off the pack sideways, so
as to make it project throughout its whole length about an inch beyond
the rest of the cards. Now let fall the pack, when the resistance of
the air will cause the top card to turn over in its fall, and to appear
face upwards, all the other cards remaining face downwards.
_Fourth Method._--Place the card in question and seven other
indifferent cards in two rows, face downwards, on the table. Keep in
your own mind which is the chosen card, but do not let the audience
see the face of either of the cards. Ask the drawer if he is sure that
he will know his card again. He will, of course, answer “yes.” Now ask
either the same or another person to touch four of the eight cards upon
the table. Necessarily, the four which he touches will either include
or not include the chosen card. In either case you take up (whether
he touches them or not) the four which do _not_ include the chosen
card, remarking, “I will return these to the pack.” Invite the same
person to touch two out of the four which remain. Again take up the
two (whether touched or not touched) which do not include the chosen
card, saying, “I return these also to the pack.” You have now only two
cards left on the table, one of which is the chosen card. Invite one
of the spectators to touch one of these cards. As before, whichever
he touches, you pick up and return to the pack the non-chosen card,
remarking, “We have now only one card left. You have all seen that I
dealt out eight cards on the table, and that I have withdrawn seven,
you yourselves choosing which I should withdraw. Now, sir, be kind
enough to name the card you drew.” The card having been named, you turn
over the card left on the table, and show that it is the right one.
This trick is based upon a kind of _double entendre_, which, though
apparently obvious, is rarely seen through by the audience if performed
in a quick and lively manner. The secret lies in the performer
interpreting the touching of the cards in two different senses,
as may best suit his purpose. If the chosen card is not among the
cards touched, he interprets the touching as meaning that the cards
touched are rejected, and to be returned to the pack. If the card
is among those touched, he interprets the touching in the opposite
sense,--namely, that the cards touched are to be retained, and the
others rejected. If he is lucky in the cards touched, it may happen
that he is able to interpret the touching in the same sense throughout
the trick, in which case there will be no clue whatever to the secret;
but even in the opposite case, where he is compelled to put aside
first the cards touched and then the cards not touched, the difference
generally passes unnoticed by the spectators, or, if noticed, is put
down as a slip on the part of the performer, rather than as being, as
it really is, the key to the trick.
Where the performer is proficient in sleight-of-hand, the above may be
worked up into a really brilliant trick. Any indifferent card being
drawn and returned, is brought to the top by the pass, palmed, and the
pack shuffled. Eight cards are laid out, and the drawn card revealed as
above.
Having described these few commencements and terminations, we will next
proceed to the discussion of some complete tricks.
[Illustration: FIG. 30.]
TO MAKE A CARD VANISH FROM THE PACK, AND BE FOUND IN A PERSON’S
POCKET.--Slightly moisten the back of your left hand. Offer the pack to
be shuffled. Place it face downwards on the table, and request one of
the company to look at the top card. Request him to place the back of
his left hand upon the cards, and press heavily upon it with his right.
In order that he may the better comprehend your meaning, place your own
hands as described (_see_ Fig. 30), and request him to imitate you.
When you remove your left hand, the back being moistened, the card will
stick to it. Put your hands carelessly behind you, and with the right
hand remove the card. All will crowd round to see the trick. Pretend
to be very particular that the person who places his hand on the
card shall do so in precisely the right position. This will not only
give you time, but draw all eyes to his hands. Meanwhile, watch your
opportunity and slip the card into the tail pocket of one or other of
the spectators. Now announce that you are about to order the top card,
which all have seen, and which Mr. A. is holding down so exceedingly
tight, to fly away from the pack and into the pocket of Mr. B., making
the choice apparently hap-hazard. On examination your commands will be
found to have been fulfilled. It has a good effect, when practicable,
to slip the card into the pocket of the same person who is pressing
upon the pack.
TO PLACE THE FOUR KINGS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE PACK, AND TO BRING
THEM TOGETHER BY A SIMPLE CUT.--Take the four kings (or any other
four cards at pleasure), and exhibit them fanwise (_see_ Fig. 31),
but secretly place behind the second one (the king of diamonds in
the figure) two other court cards of any description, which, being
thus hidden behind the king, will not be visible. The audience being
satisfied that the four cards are really the four kings, and none
other, fold them together, and place them at the top of the pack. Draw
attention to the fact that you are about to distribute these four kings
in different parts of the pack. Take up the top card, which, being
really a king, you may exhibit without apparent intention, and place
it at the bottom. Take the next card, which the spectators suppose to
be also a king, and place it about half way down the pack, and the
next, in like manner, a little higher. Take the fourth card, which,
being actually a king, you may show carelessly, and replace it on the
top of the pack. You have now really three kings at the top and one
at the bottom, though the audience imagine that they have seen them
distributed in different parts of the pack, and are proportionately
surprised, when the cards are cut, to find that all the kings are again
together.
[Illustration: FIG. 31.]
It is best to use knaves or queens for the two extra cards, as being
less distinguishable from the kings, should a spectator catch a chance
glimpse of their faces.
There are other and better modes of bringing together four apparently
separated cards by the aid of sleight-of-hand, which will be explained
in due course; but we have thought it well to give also this simpler
method, as it is always an advantage to possess two different modes of
performing the same feat.
THE FOUR KINGS BEING PLACED UNDER THE HAND OF ONE PERSON, AND THE
FOUR SEVENS UNDER THE HAND OF ANOTHER, TO MAKE THEM CHANGE PLACES AT
COMMAND.--Exhibit, fanwise, in one hand the four kings, and in the
other the four eights. Behind the hindmost of the kings, and so as
not to be noticeable by the audience, secretly place beforehand the
four sevens. Hold the four eights in the other hand in such manner
that the lower of the two centre pips of the foremost is concealed by
the first and second fingers. The same pip on each of the other cards
will be concealed by the card immediately before it, so that the four
cards will to the spectators appear equally like the sevens. Place
the pack face downwards on the table. Draw attention to the fact that
you hold in one hand the four kings, and in the other the four sevens
(really the disguised eights). Fold up the supposed sevens, and place
them on the pack. Fold up the kings, and place them on the top of the
supposed sevens. As the real sevens were behind the last of the kings,
they are now on the top, with the kings next, though the audience are
persuaded that the kings are uppermost, and the sevens next following.
Deal off, slowly and carefully, the four top cards, saying, “I take
off these four kings,” and lay them on the table, requesting one of
the spectators to place his hand firmly upon them. Do the same with
the next four cards (which are really the kings). Ask if the persons
in charge of the cards are quite sure that they are still under their
hands, and, upon receiving their assurance to that effect, command the
cards they hold to change places, which they will be found to have done.
FOUR PACKETS OF CARDS HAVING BEEN FORMED FACE DOWNWARDS ON THE TABLE,
TO DISCOVER THE TOTAL VALUE OF THE UNDERMOST CARDS.--This trick must
be performed with the piquet pack of thirty-two cards. Invite one of
the spectators to privately select any four cards, and to place them,
separately and face downwards, on the table; then, counting an ace
as eleven, a court card as ten, and any other card according to the
number of its pips, to place upon each of these four so many cards
as, added to its value thus estimated, shall make fifteen. (It must
be remembered that _value_ is only to be taken into consideration as to
the original four cards, those placed on them counting as one each,
whatever they may happen to be.) You meanwhile retire. When the four
heaps are complete, advance to the table, and observe how many cards
are left over and above the four heaps. To this number mentally add
thirty-two. The total will give you the aggregate value of the four
lowest cards, calculated as above mentioned.
You should not let your audience perceive that you count the remaining
cards, or they will readily conjecture that the trick depends on some
arithmetical principle. You may say, “You will observe that I do not
look even at one single card:” and, so saying, throw down the surplus
cards with apparent carelessness upon the table, when they are sure
to fall sufficiently scattered to enable you to count them without
attracting observation.
TO NAME ALL THE CARDS IN THE PACK IN SUCCESSION.--This is an old trick,
but a very good one. To perform it, you must arrange the cards of a
whist pack beforehand, according to a given formula, which forms a sort
of _memoria technica_. There are several used, but all are similar in
effect. The following is one of the simplest:--
“Eight kings threatened to save
Ninety-five ladies for one sick knave.”
These words suggest, as you will readily see, eight, king, three, ten,
two, seven, nine, five, queen, four, ace, six, knave. You must also
have a determinate order for the suits, which should be red and black
alternately, say, diamonds, clubs, hearts, spades. Sort the pack for
convenience into the four suits, and then arrange the cards as follows:
Take in your left hand, _face upwards_, the eight of diamonds, on
this place the king of clubs, on this the three of hearts, then the
ten of spades, then the two of diamonds, and so on, till the whole
of the cards are exhausted. This arrangement must be made privately
beforehand, and you must either make this the first of your series of
tricks, or (which is better, as it negatives the idea of arrangement)
have two packs of the same pattern, and secretly exchange the prepared
pack, at a suitable opportunity, for that with which you have already
been performing. Spread the cards (which may previously be cut any
number of times), and offer them to a person to draw one. While he is
looking at the card, glance quickly at the card next above that which
he has drawn, which we will suppose is the five of diamonds. You will
remember that in your _memoria technica_ “five” is followed by “ladies”
(queen). You know then that the next card, the one drawn, was a queen.
You know also that clubs follow diamonds: _ergo_, the card drawn is the
queen of clubs. Name it, and request the drawer to replace it. Ask
some one again to cut the cards, and repeat the trick in the same form
with another person, but this time pass all the cards which were above
the card drawn, below the remainder of the pack. This is equivalent to
cutting the pack at that particular card. After naming the card drawn,
ask if the company would like to know any more. Name the cards next
following the card already drawn, taking them one by one from the pack
and laying them face upwards on the table, to show that you have named
them correctly. After a little practice, it will cost you but a very
slight effort of memory to name in succession all the cards in the pack.
THE CARDS BEING CUT, TO TELL WHETHER THE NUMBER CUT IS ODD OR
EVEN.--This is another trick performed by the aid of the prepared pack
last described, and has the advantage of being little known, even to
those who are acquainted with other uses of the arranged pack. Notice
whether the bottom card for the time being is red or black. Place the
pack on the table, and invite any person to cut, announcing that you
will tell by the weight of the cards cut whether the number is odd or
even. Take the cut cards (_i.e._, the cards which before the cut were
at the top of the pack), and poising them carefully in your hand, as
though testing their weight, glance slily at the bottom card. If it is
of the same colour as the bottom card of the other or lowest portion,
the cards cut are an even number; if of a different colour, they are
odd.
THE WHIST TRICK.--TO DEAL YOURSELF ALL THE TRUMPS.--The cards being
arranged as above mentioned, you may challenge any of the company to
play a hand at whist with you. The cards are cut in the ordinary way
(not shuffled). You yourself deal, when, of course, the turn-up card
falls to you. On taking up the cards, it will be found that each person
has all the cards of one suit, but your own suit being that of the
turn-up card, is, of course, trumps; and having the whole thirteen, you
must necessarily win every trick.
The weak point of the feat is, that the cards being regularly sorted
into the four suits, the audience can hardly help suspecting that the
pack was pre-arranged beforehand. There is another and better mode of
performing the trick, by which you still hold all the trumps, but the
three remaining players have the ordinary mixed hands. This method,
however, involves sleight-of-hand, and would therefore be out of place
in the present chapter.
TO ALLOW A PERSON TO THINK OF A CARD, AND TO MAKE THAT CARD APPEAR AT
SUCH NUMBER IN THE PACK AS ANOTHER PERSON SHALL NAME.--Allow the pack
to be shuffled and cut as freely as the company please. When they are
fully satisfied that the cards are well mixed, offer the pack to any
of the spectators, and request him to look over the cards, and think
of any one, and to remember the number at which it stands in the pack,
reckoning from the bottom card upwards. You then remark, “Ladies and
gentlemen, you will take particular notice that I have not asked a
single question, and yet I already know the card; and if anyone will
kindly indicate the place in the pack at which you desire it to appear,
I will at once cause it to take that position. I must only ask that,
by arrangement between yourselves, you will make the number at which
the card is to appear higher than that which it originally held.” We
will suppose that the audience decide that the card shall appear at
number 22. Carelessly remark, “It is not even necessary for me to see
the cards.” So saying, hold the pack under the table, and rapidly count
off twenty-two cards from the bottom of the pack, and place them on
the top.[C] You then continue, “Having already placed the card thought
of in the desired position, I may now, without suspicion, ask for the
original number of the card, as I shall commence my counting with that
number.” We will suppose you are told the card was originally number
10. You begin to count from the top of the pack, calling the first card
10, the next 11, and so on. When you come to 22, the number appointed,
you say, “If I have kept my promise, this should be the card you
thought of. To avoid the suspicion of confederacy, will you please
say, before I turn it over, what your card was.” The card being named,
you turn it up, and show that it is the right one.
[C] When the number named is more than half the total number of
the pack, _i.e._, more than 16 in a piquet pack, or more
than 26 in a whist pack, it is quicker, and has precisely
the same effect, to count off the difference between that
and the total number from the top, and place them at the
bottom. Thus, in a piquet pack, if the number called be 12,
you would count off 12 from the bottom, and place them on
the top; but if the number called were 24 you would achieve
the same object by counting 8 from the top, and passing
them to the bottom.
In all tricks which depend on the naming of a card drawn or thought of,
it adds greatly to the effect to have the card named before you turn it
up.
This trick, unlike most, will bear repetition; but it is well on a
second performance to vary it a little. Thus you may on the second
occasion say, when the card has been thought of, “I will choose for
myself this time; your card will appear at number 30.” It is desirable
to name a number very near the total number of the pack (which we are
now supposing to be a piquet pack), as the difference between that and
the total number being very small, it is easy to see at a glance the
number of cards representing such difference, and pass them to the
bottom of the pack. You take in this instance two cards only, that
being the difference between 30 and 32, and pass them to the bottom,
when the card will, as you have announced, be the thirtieth.
If you are able to make the pass, you will, of course, avail yourself
of it to transfer the requisite number of cards to the top or bottom of
the pack.
THE CARDS REVEALED BY THE LOOKING-GLASS.--This is rather a joke than a
feat of magic, but it will create some fun, and may often be kept up
for some time without being discovered. Take up your position on one
side of the room, facing a good-sized mirror or chimney-glass. Make
your audience stand or sit facing you, when they will, of course, have
their backs to the glass. Offer the cards to be shuffled and cut. Take
the top card and hold it high up, with its back to you and its face to
the audience. As it will be reflected in the mirror opposite you, you
will have no difficulty in naming it, or any other card in like manner,
till your audience either find you out, or have had enough of the trick.
TO GUESS FOUR CARDS THOUGHT OF BY DIFFERENT PERSONS.--Offer the pack
to be shuffled. Place it on the table, and taking off the four top
cards with the right hand, offer them to any person, and ask him to
notice one of them, shuffle them, and return them to you. When they are
returned, place them, face downwards, in your left hand. Take the next
four cards, and offer them to another person in like manner. Proceed in
like manner with a third and fourth group of four. When all the sixteen
cards are returned, deal them out in four heaps, face upwards. Ask each
person in which heap his card now is. That of the first person will
be the uppermost of his heap, that of the second person second in his
heap, and so on. It will sometimes occur that two of the cards chosen
are in the same heap, but the rule will still apply. Should there be
three persons only to choose, you should give them three cards each;
and deal in three heaps.
THE PAIRS RE-PAIRED.--After performing the last trick, you may
continue, “As you have not yet found me out, I will repeat the
experiment, but in a slightly altered form. This time I will invite you
to think of two cards each, and all present may join if they please.”
After giving the pack to be shuffled, you deal out twenty cards, face
upwards, but placing them in couples. Invite as many of the company as
please to note any particular couple they think fit, and to remember
those two cards. When they have done so, gather up the cards, picking
them up here and there in any order you please, taking care, however,
that none of the pairs are separated. You now deal them out again, face
upwards, in rows of five, according to the following formula: _Mutus
dedit nomen Cocis_, which, being interpreted, signifies, “Mutus gave
a name to the Coci,” a people as yet undiscovered. On examining the
sentence closely, you will observe that it consists of ten letters
only, m, u, t, s, d, e, i, n, o, c, each twice repeated. This gives you
the clue to the arrangement of the cards, which will be as follows:
M U T U S
1 2 3 2 4
D E D I T
5 6 5 7 3
N O M E N
8 9 1 6 8
C O C I S
10 9 10 7 4
You must imagine the four words printed as above upon your table. You
must deal your first card upon the imaginary M in MUTUS, and the second
on the imaginary M in NOMEN, the two next cards on the two imaginary
U’s, the two next on the two T’s, and so on. You have now only to ask
each person in which row his two cards now appear, and you will at once
know which they are. Thus, if a person says his two cards are now in
the second and fourth rows, you will know that they must be the two
cards representing the two I’s, that being the only letter common to
those two rows. If a person indicates the first and fourth rows, you
will know that his cards are those representing the two S’s, and so on.
THE MAGIC TRIPLETS.--This trick is precisely similar in principle to
the last, but twenty-four (instead of twenty) cards are used, and they
are dealt in triplets, instead of pairs. After the spectators have made
their selection, you take up the cards as directed for the last trick,
taking care to keep the respective triplets together. You then deal
them in rows of six, the formula in this case being:
L I V I N I
L A N A T A
L E V E T E
N O V O T O
ANOTHER MODE OF DISCOVERING A CARD THOUGHT OF.--Have the pack well
shuffled. Then deal twenty-five cards, in five rows of five cards each,
face upwards. Invite a person to think of a card, and to tell you in
which row it is. Note in your own mind the first or left-hand card of
that row. Now pick up the cards in vertical rows, _i.e._, beginning at
the last card of the last row, placing that card face upwards on the
last of the next row, those two on the last of the next row, and so on.
When you have picked up all the cards in this manner, deal them out
again in the same way as at first. You will observe that those cards
which at first formed the first cards of each row, now themselves form
the first row. Ask the person in which row his card now is. When he
has told you, look to the top row for the first card of the original
row, when the card thought of will be found in a direct line below it.
As you have just been told in which lateral row it is, you will not
have the least difficulty in discovering it, and by a slight effort of
memory you may even allow several persons each to think of a card, and
name it. A comparison of the subjoined tables, showing the original and
subsequent order of the cards, will explain the principle of the trick.
_First Order._
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25
_Second Order._
1 6 11 16 21
2 7 12 17 22
3 8 13 18 23
4 9 14 19 24
5 10 15 20 25
Thus we will suppose you are told that the card thought of is
originally in the third line. Remember the first or key-card of that
line, designated in the table as 11. If the card is in the fourth line
after the second deal, you look to the top line for the key-card, and
on finding it you have only to observe which card in the fourth row is
immediately beneath it, to be sure that that card (in this instance
designated by the number 14) is the card thought of.
You may perform the trick with either sixteen, twenty-five, thirty-six,
or forty-nine cards, either of those being a square number, and thus
making the number of cards in a row equal to the number of rows, which
is essential to the success of the trick.
TO GUESS, BY THE AID OF A PASSAGE OF POETRY OR PROSE, SUCH ONE OF
SIXTEEN CARDS AS, IN THE PERFORMER’S ABSENCE, HAS BEEN TOUCHED OR
SELECTED BY THE COMPANY.--This feat is performed by confederacy, the
assistance of the confederate being open and avowed, but the mode in
which the clue is given constituting the mystery. You allow the pack
to be shuffled, and then deal sixteen cards, the first that come to
hand, either face upwards or face downwards, in four rows on the table.
The sole preparation on the part of yourself and your confederate is to
commit to memory the following simple formula--_animal_, _vegetable_,
_mineral_, _verb_, signifying respectively one, two, three and four.
You retire from the room while the card is chosen, your confederate
remaining. Upon your return your confederate selects and hands for
your perusal a passage in any book which the audience may select,
only taking care that the first word in such passage which comes
within either of the four categories above mentioned, shall be such
as to represent the number of the row in which the card is, and that
the second word which comes within either of those categories shall
represent the number at which the card stands in that row. We will
suppose, for instance, that the passage handed to the performer is that
portion of Hamlet’s soliloquy commencing, “Oh, that this too too solid
_flesh_ would _melt_.” Here the first word which comes within either
of the four categories is “flesh,” which, being clearly animal (1),
indicates that the chosen card is in the first row. The second word
coming within either of the categories is “melt,” which, being a verb
(4), indicates that the chosen card is the _fourth_ of its row. Had the
passage been “_To be_, or not _to be_, that is the question,” the two
verbs would have indicated that the card was the fourth of the fourth
row. “How _doth_ the little busy _bee_,” etc., would have indicated the
first of the fourth row, and so on. With a little tact and ingenuity on
the part of the operators, this may be made an admirable trick, and,
unlike most others, will bear being repeated, the mystery becoming
deeper as passages of varying character and different length are
employed.
TO DETECT, WITHOUT CONFEDERACY, WHICH OF FOUR CARDS HAS BEEN TURNED
ROUND IN YOUR ABSENCE.--It will be found upon examining a pack of
cards, that the white margin round the court cards almost invariably
differs in width at the opposite ends. The difference is frequently
very trifling, but is still sufficiently noticeable when pointed out,
and may be made available for a trick which, though absurdly simple,
has puzzled many. You place four court cards of the same rank, say four
queens, in a row, face upwards, taking care that the wider margins
of the cards are all one way. You then leave the room, and invite the
company to turn round lengthways during your absence any one or more of
the four cards. On your return you can readily distinguish which card
has been so turned, as the wider margin of such card will now be where
the narrower margin was originally, and _vice versâ_.
There is so little chance of the trick being discovered, that you may,
contrary to the general rule, repeat it if desired. Should you do so,
it is better not to replace the cards already turned, as this might
give a clue to the secret, but carefully note in your own mind their
present position, by remembering which you can discover any card turned
just as easily as at first.
TO ARRANGE TWELVE CARDS IN ROWS, IN SUCH A MANNER THAT THEY WILL COUNT
FOUR IN EVERY DIRECTION.--This is rather a puzzle than a conjuring
trick, but may sometimes serve as an interlude to occupy the minds of
your audience while you are preparing for some other feat. The secret
is to place nine of the twelve cards in three rows, so as to form a
square; then place the remaining three cards as follows: the first on
the first card of the first row, the second on the second card of the
second row, and the last on the third card of the last row.
[Illustration: FIG. 32.]
TO PLACE THE ACES AND COURT CARDS IN FOUR ROWS, IN SUCH A MANNER THAT
NEITHER HORIZONTALLY NOR PERPENDICULARLY SHALL THERE BE IN EITHER ROW
TWO CARDS ALIKE EITHER IN SUIT OR VALUE.--This also is a puzzle, and
a very good one. The key to it is to begin by placing four cards of
like value (say four kings) in a diagonal line from corner to corner of
the intended square, then four other cards of like value (say the four
aces) to form the opposite diagonal. It must be borne in mind, that of
whatever suit the two centre kings are, the two aces must be of the
opposite suits. Thus, if the two centre kings are those of diamonds and
hearts, the two centre aces must be those of clubs and spades; and in
adding the two end aces, you must be careful not to place at either end
of the line an ace of the same suit as the king at the corresponding
end of the opposite diagonal. Having got so far, you will find it a
very easy matter to fill in the remaining cards in accordance with the
conditions of the puzzle. The sixteen cards when complete will be as in
Fig. 32, subject, of course, to variation according to the particular
cards with which you commence your task.
THE CONGRESS OF COURT CARDS.--Take the kings, queens, and knaves from
the pack, and place them face upwards on the table in three rows of
four each, avoiding as much as possible the appearance of arrangement,
but really taking care to place them in the following order: In the
first row you have only to remember not to have two of the same suit.
Begin the second row with a card of the same suit with which you ended
the first, let the second card be of the same suit as the first of
the first row, the third of the same suit as the second of the first
row, and so on. The third row will begin with the suit with which the
second left off, the second card will be of the same suit as the first
of the second row, and so on. Now pick up the cards in vertical rows,
beginning with the last card of the bottom row. The cards may now be
cut (not shuffled) any number of times, but, if dealt in four heaps,
the king, queen, and knave of each suit will come together.