TRICKS INVOLVING SLEIGHT-OF-HAND OR THE USE OF SPECIALLY PREPARED CARDS.
We have already explained the nature and use of the “forcing” pack of
cards. It may be well, before we go further, to give a short account of
one or two other species of prepared cards.
THE LONG CARD.--This is the technical name for a card longer or wider,
by about the thickness of a sixpence, than the rest of the pack. This
card will naturally project to that extent beyond the general length
or width of the other cards, and the performer is thereby enabled to
cut the pack at that particular card whenever he chooses to do so. With
the aid of such a card, and a tolerable proficiency in “forcing” and
“making the pass,” many excellent tricks can be performed. Packs with
a long card can be obtained at any of the conjuring depôts. The best
plan, however, is to purchase two ordinary packs, precisely alike, and
to have the edges of one of them shaved down by a bookbinder to the
requisite extent, when you can insert any card of the other pack at
pleasure to form your long card, and thus avoid the suspicion which
would naturally arise from the performance of several tricks with the
same card. A still greater improvement upon the ordinary long-card pack
is the _biseauté_ or tapering pack, in which, though only one pack is
used, any card may in turn become the long card. A _biseauté_ pack
consists of cards all of which are a shade wider (say the thickness
of a shilling) at one end than the other. (_See_ Fig. 33, in which,
however, the actual difference of width is exaggerated, in order to
make the shape of the card clear to the eye.)
[Illustration: FIG. 33. FIG. 34.]
[Illustration: FIG. 35.]
When two cards shaped as above are placed one upon another, but in
opposite directions, the effect is as in Fig. 34. If the whole pack
is at the outset placed with all the cards alike (_i.e._, their ends
tapering in the same direction), by reversing any card and returning
it to the pack, its wide end is made to correspond with the narrow ends
of the remaining cards, thereby making it for the time being a “long”
card. By offering the pack for a person to draw a card, and turning the
pack round before the card is replaced, the position of that card will
thus be reversed, and you will be able to find it again in an instant,
however thoroughly the cards may be shuffled. By pre-arranging the pack
beforehand, with the narrow ends of all the red cards in one direction,
and those of the black cards in the other direction, you may, by
grasping the pack between the finger and thumb at each end (_see_ Fig.
35), and, drawing the hands apart, separate the black cards from the
red at a single stroke, or, by preparing the pack accordingly, you may
divide the court cards from the plain cards in like manner. Many other
recreations may be performed with a pack of this kind, which will be
noticed in due course. The long card and the _biseauté_ pack have each
their special advantages and disadvantages. The long card is the more
reliable, as it can always be distinguished with certainty from the
rest of the pack; but it is very generally known, and after having
made use of it for one trick, it is clear that you cannot immediately
venture upon another with the same card. It is further comparatively
useless unless you are proficient in “forcing.” The _biseauté_ pack
may be used without any knowledge of “forcing,” and has the advantage
that any card may in turn become the key card, but it is treacherous.
The necessary turning of the pack is likely to attract observation,
and any little mistake, such as allowing the card to be replaced in
its original direction, or a few of the cards getting turned round in
shuffling, will cause a breakdown. Notwithstanding these disadvantages,
both the long card and the _biseauté_ pack will be found very useful to
the amateur; but it should be borne in mind that both these appliances
are in reality only makeshifts or substitutes for sleight-of-hand.
Professionals of the highest class discard them altogether, and rely
wholly on the more subtle magic of their own fingers.
We subjoin a few of the best of the feats which specially depend upon
the use of a long card or the _biseauté_ pack.
A CARD HAVING BEEN CHOSEN AND RETURNED, AND THE PACK SHUFFLED, TO
PRODUCE THE CHOSEN CARD INSTANTLY IN VARIOUS WAYS.--Request some person
to draw a card, spreading them before him for that purpose. If you
use a long-card pack you must force the long card; if you are using a
_biseauté_ pack any card may be drawn, the pack being reversed before
the card is replaced. The card being returned, the pack may be shuffled
to any extent, but you will always be able to cut by feel at the card
chosen.
You may vary the trick by taking the cards upright between the second
finger and thumb of the right hand, and requesting some one to say,
“One, two, three!” at the word “three” drop all the cards save the card
chosen, which its projecting edge will enable you to retain when you
relax the pressure upon the other cards.
Another mode of finishing the trick is to request any one present
to put the pack (previously well shuffled) in his pocket, when you
proceed, with his permission, to pick his pocket of the chosen
card. This is an effective trick, and, if you are proficient in
sleight-of-hand, may be also performed with an unprepared pack of
cards. In the latter case, when the chosen card is returned to
the pack, you make the pass to bring it to the top, palm it, and
immediately offer the cards to be shuffled. (_See_ Fig. 15.) The pack
being returned, you replace the chosen card on the top, and when the
pack is placed in the pocket you have only to draw out the top card.
The feat of cutting at the chosen card may also by similar means be
performed with an ordinary pack. For this purpose you must follow the
directions last above given up to the time when, the pack having
been shuffled, you replace the palmed card on the top. Then transfer
the pack to the left hand, and apparently cut with the right. We say
_apparently_, for though to the eye of the spectator you merely cut the
cards, you really make the pass by sliding the lower half of the pack
to the left, the fingers of the left hand at the same moment opening
a little to lift the upper packet, and so give room for the upward
passage of the lower packet. The cards remaining after the pass in the
left hand, which the spectators take to be the bottom half of the pack,
are in reality the original upper half; and on the uppermost of such
cards being turned up, it is found to be the one which was chosen.
Another good mode of finishing the trick is to fling the pack in the
air, and catch the chosen card. For this purpose, after forcing the
long card, and after giving the pack to be shuffled, you cut the pack
at the long card as before, but without showing it, and place the
original lower half of the pack on the top. The chosen card will now be
at the bottom. Take the pack face downwards upon the right hand, and
quickly transfer it to the left, at the same time palming (with the
right hand) the bottom card. Spread the cards a little, and fling them
into the air, clutching at them with the right hand as they descend,
and at the same moment bring the chosen card to the tips of the
fingers. The effect to the spectators will be as if you actually caught
it among the falling cards.
This feat also may be performed without the aid of a long card, and
without the necessity of forcing a card. In this case, as in the
pocket-picking trick, you make the pass as soon as the card is returned
to the pack, in order to bring it to the top, and palm it; then offer
the pack to be shuffled. When the cards are handed back, place the
chosen card for a moment on the top of the pack, and endeavour to call
attention--indirectly, if possible--to the fact that you have no card
concealed in your hand. Then again palming the card, you may either
yourself fling up the cards or request some other person to do so, and
terminate the trick as before.
A still more effective form of this trick, in which the chosen card is
caught upon the point of a sword, will be found among the card tricks
performed by the aid of special apparatus.
The following is a good long-card trick, but demands considerable
proficiency in sleight-of-hand. You “force” the long card, allowing
it to be returned to any part of the pack, and the whole to be well
shuffled. You then say, “You must be by this time pretty certain that,
even if I knew your card in the first instance, I must have quite lost
sight of it now. If you do not feel quite certain, please shuffle the
cards once more.” Every one being fully satisfied that the card is
completely lost in the pack, you continue, “Let me assure you that I
do not know, any more than yourselves, whereabouts in the pack your
card is at this moment. You can all see that I have no duplicate card
concealed in my hands. I will now take the top card, whatever it may
be, or, if you prefer it, any one may draw a card from any part of the
pack, and I will at once change it to the card originally chosen.” The
audience will probably prefer to draw a card, which, when they have
done, you continue, “I presume the card you have just drawn is not the
one originally chosen. Will the gentleman who drew the first card look
at it and see if it is his card?” The reply is pretty certain to be
in the negative. During the discussion you have taken the opportunity
to slip the little finger of the left hand immediately _above_ the
long card (which, it will be remembered, was that first drawn), and
to make the pass, thereby bringing it to the top, and enabling you to
palm it. You now ask the person holding the second card to place it
on the top of the pack, which you immediately transfer to the right
hand, thus bringing the palmed card upon it. You then say, “To show
you that this trick is not performed by sleight-of-hand, or by any
manipulation of the cards, I will not even touch them, but will place
them here on the table in sight of all. Will the gentleman who drew the
first card please to say what his card was?” The card being named, you
slowly and deliberately turn over the top card, which will be found to
be transformed into that first chosen. The other card is now the next
card on the top of the pack, and, as somebody may suspect this, and by
examining the pack gain a partial clue to the trick, it will be well to
take an early opportunity of removing this card, either by shuffling,
or by making the pass to bring it to the centre of the pack.
If you make use of a _biseauté_ pack, there is, of course, no necessity
for forcing the card in the first instance.
You may also reveal a chosen card with very good effect in the
following manner: A card having been freely drawn, open the pack in
such manner that it may be placed, when returned, immediately under
the long card, which, by the way, should in this instance really be a
_wide_ card, though the term “long card” applies, as already mentioned,
to both kinds of card. The pack may be moderately shuffled, with very
little risk of the two cards being separated, the greater width of the
long card tending to shelter the card beneath it, and making it very
unlikely that that card will be displaced. If after the shuffle the
long card does not happen to be tolerably high up in the pack, you
should cut the cards in such manner as to make it so. Holding the cards
in a horizontal position, face downwards, above the table, the thumb
being on one side and the fingers on the other side of the pack, you
say, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am now about to drop the cards, a few at
a time, in a number of little heaps upon the table, stopping when you
tell me to do so. It will be equally open to you to stop me when I have
made one or two heaps only, or not until I have made seven or eight,
but, whenever it is, the card at the top of the heap last made will
be the identical card which was just now drawn, and which has since,
as you have seen, been thoroughly shuffled in the pack.” You now drop
the cards, four or five at a time, on various parts of the table. When
the word “stop” is pronounced you let go all the remaining cards below
the long card, which, from its greater width, a very slight pressure
suffices to retain. The card chosen having been next below the long
card, is now at the top of the last heap. You ask the person who drew
to name his card, and, touching the back of the top card with your
wand, turn it over to show that it is the right one.
If you are tolerably expert in sleight-of-hand you may repeat the trick
in a yet more striking manner. Proceed as before up to the moment when
the word “stop” is pronounced. Having let fall as before all the cards
below the long card, lay down the remainder of the pack, and take in
the left hand the heap which you last dealt. Cover it with the right
hand for an instant, and, sliding away the hand gently to the right,
palm the top card, and immediately take by one corner the next card,
holding it face downwards until the drawer has named his card, which
was, we will suppose, the queen of hearts. As soon as the card is
named, you turn towards the audience the face of the card you hold,
saying, “Here is the card, as before.” Do not look at it yourself, but
at once replace it on the pack, and, covering the pack with the right
hand, leave the palmed card upon it. You are by this time made aware
by a murmur, if not by a more decided manifestation on the part of the
audience, that something is wrong. You ask what is the matter, and
are told that, so far from showing the queen of hearts, the card you
produced was a totally different one, say, the seven of spades. You
pretend to look embarrassed, and ask if they are quite sure. “It is
very strange,” you remark, “I never failed in this trick before. Will
you allow me to try again?” Then, appearing to recollect yourself, “Oh,
of course!” you exclaim, “I forgot to touch the card with the magic
wand.” You do so. “Will some one be kind enough to look at the card
now?” The card is examined, and proves to be, as it ought to have been
originally, the queen of hearts.
TO TEACH THE COMPANY A TRICK WHICH THEY LEARN WITHOUT DIFFICULTY;
THEN TO ALLOW THEM TO SUCCEED OR TO CAUSE THEM TO FAIL AT YOUR
PLEASURE.--This surprising trick is performed with the piquet pack
of thirty-two cards, from which you must beforehand take away, and
secretly pocket, one card of each suit, the spectators, however,
believing that you use the whole thirty-two cards.
You announce to the company that you will teach them a trick. You deal
the cards face upwards in rows of four, according to the rules set
forth in the trick already described under the title of “The Congress
of Court Cards,” _i.e._, you place a card of each suit in the top row;
you commence each row with a card of the suit with which the row above
ended; you make the second of each row the same suit as the first of
the row above, and the third the same suit as the second of the row
above, and so on. Thus, if your top row be club, diamond, heart, spade,
your second will be spade, club, diamond, heart; your third, heart,
spade, club, diamond; your fourth, diamond, heart, spade, club; your
fifth, club, diamond, heart, spade; your sixth, spade, club, diamond,
heart; and your seventh, heart, spade, club, diamond. You now gather
up the cards as directed in the trick already mentioned, _i.e._, in
vertical rows, from the bottom upwards, commencing at the right-hand
bottom corner. The pack thus arranged may be cut any number of times,
but, if dealt in four heaps, all the cards of each suit will be found
to be together.
So far, the trick is ingenious rather than astonishing, although, the
arrangement of the cards having reference only to the suits, and not
to individual cards, the cards do not at first sight appear to be
specially arranged; and if you are rapid and apparently careless in
placing them, the spectators will in all probability believe that they
are placed hap-hazard. If you can induce this belief, you will greatly
heighten their surprise at finding the different suits regularly sorted
after the deal. But the trick is not yet finished. You again place the
cards as before, remarking that the trick is simplicity itself when
once the principle is known, and on this occasion you draw special
attention to the necessary arrangement of the cards. Having completed
the trick for the second time, you invite some of the audience to
try their hands, which they do, and of course succeed, there being
really no difficulty in the matter. When one or two have tried and
succeeded, they will probably disparage the trick, as being absurdly
easy. “Pardon me,” you say, “you have succeeded so far, because it was
my will and pleasure that you should do so. You seem incredulous, but
I am perfectly serious. To prove that I am so, I give you warning that
the next person who attempts the trick will fail. Come, who accepts
the challenge?” Some one is sure to respond, and in all probability to
offer you a bet that he will succeed. “Sir,” you reply, “I never bet
on certainties, or your money would be already lost. I have said that
you shall fail, and you cannot, therefore, possibly succeed.” You have,
meanwhile, secretly palmed the four cards which you pocketed before
beginning the trick, and have watched your opportunity to replace them
on the table with the rest of the pack.
Your opponent may now try as much as he pleases, but he cannot possibly
succeed, the fact being that the process above described produces
the desired effect with twenty-eight cards, but will not do so with
thirty-two. The first thought of your audience is sure to be that you
have abstracted some of the cards in order to make the trick fail, but
on counting they find the number correct. Not one in a hundred will
suspect that the reverse is the case, and that when you performed the
trick the pack was incomplete.
By the time three or four of the company have tried and failed, you
will probably have found an opportunity of again pocketing a card
of each suit; and you may then announce that, having sufficiently
proved your power, you will now graciously condescend to remove the
prohibition, and allow the next person who tries to succeed. This, of
course, he will do; and the trick may very well end here, with the
satisfaction on your part that you have kept your secret, and that,
even when removed from the sphere of your adverse influence, your
pupils will fail in performing the trick, making the attempt, as they
naturally will, with the full piquet pack. But it is just possible that
a _contretemps_ may arise, for which it will be well to be prepared.
Some one of the audience, more acute than the generality, may suggest
again counting the cards, to see if all are there when the trick
succeeds. Even in this case you need not be discomfitted. At once offer
yourself to count the cards, and, gathering them up for that purpose,
add to them the four which you removed, which you should again have
palmed in readiness. Count them deliberately on to the table, and, when
every one is satisfied that the pack is complete, announce that you
will once more perform the trick, in order to let every one see that
you actually use no more and no less than thirty-two cards. Place the
cards as before, counting aloud as you do so, till the whole thirty-two
cards are placed. So far you have not varied your method of proceeding,
but to succeed with the whole thirty-two cards you must secretly make
a slight variation in the manner of picking up. You will remember that
the cards were picked up _face upwards_, beginning from the bottom of
the right hand row, placing the cards of that row on those of the next
row, and so on. Now, to perform the trick with thirty-two cards, the
bottom cards of each row must be gathered up all together, and placed
on the face of the pack. Thus, if the bottom card of the first or
left hand row be the knave of spades, that of the second row the ten
of diamonds, that of the third row the ace of hearts, and that of the
fourth row the seven of clubs, those four cards must be picked up as
follows: The knave of spades must be placed (face upwards) on the ten
of diamonds, the ten of diamonds on the ace of hearts, and the ace of
hearts on the seven of clubs, which will occupy its own place on the
face of the cards of the last or right-hand row. For convenience of
picking up, it will be well to place the four rows very near together,
slightly converging at the bottom, when it will be tolerably easy, by
a bold, quick sweep of the left hand from left to right, to slide the
three other cards in due order, on to the bottom card of the last row;
while the performer, looking not at the cards but at his audience,
diverts their attention by any observations which may occur to him. The
trick in this form requires considerable address, and the performer
should not, therefore, venture upon it until, by frequent practice, he
can be certain of placing the four cards neatly with his left hand, and
without looking at his hands, which would infallibly draw the eyes of
the audience in the same direction, and thereby spoil the trick.
TO DISTINGUISH THE COURT CARDS BY TOUCH.--This trick is performed by
means of a preliminary preparation of the court cards, to be made as
follows: Take each court card separately, edge upwards, and draw a
tolerably sharp knife, the blade held sloping backwards at an angle of
about 45°, once or twice along the edge from left to right. This will
be found to turn the edge of the card, so to speak, and to leave on
each side a minute ridge, not noticeable by the eye, but immediately
perceptible, if sought for, to the touch. Prepare the opposite edge of
the card in the same way, and again mix the court cards with the pack,
which is now ready for use.
Offer the prepared pack to be shuffled. When the pack is returned to
you, you may either hold it above your head, and, showing the cards in
succession, call “court card” or “plain card,” as the case may be, or
you may offer to deal the cards into two heaps, consisting of court
cards in one heap and plain cards in the other, every now and then
offering the cards to be again shuffled. You can, of course, perform
the trick blindfold with equal facility.
You should endeavour to conceal, as much as possible, the fact that
you distinguish the court cards by the sense of touch, and rather seek
to make your audience believe that the trick is performed by means of
some mathematical principle, or by any other means remote from the
true explanation. This advice, indeed, applies more or less to all
tricks. Thus your knowledge of a forced card depends, of course, on
sleight-of-hand; but you should by no means let this be suspected, but
rather claim credit for some clairvoyant faculty; and _vice versâ_,
when you perform a trick depending on a mathematical combination,
endeavour to lead your audience to believe that it is performed by
means of some impossible piece of sleight-of-hand. Further, endeavour
to vary your _modus operandi_. If you have just performed a trick
depending purely on sleight-of-hand, do not let the next be of the same
character, but rather one based on a mathematical principle, or on the
use of special apparatus.
TO NAME ANY NUMBER OF CARDS IN SUCCESSION WITHOUT SEEING THEM.--_First
Method._--This trick, in its original form, is so well known that
it is really not worth performing; but we describe it for the sake
of completeness, and for the better comprehension of the improved
method. The performer takes the pack, and secretly notices the bottom
card. He then announces that he will name all the cards of the pack
in succession without seeing them. Holding the pack behind him for an
instant, he turns the top card face outwards on the top of the pack;
then holding the pack with the bottom card towards the audience, he
names that card. From the position in which he holds the pack, the
top card, which he has turned, is towards him, and in full view.
Again placing his hands behind him, he transfers the last named to
the bottom, and turns the next, and so on in like manner. Even in an
audience of half-a-dozen only, it is very likely that there will be
some one acquainted with this form of the trick, who will proclaim
aloud his knowledge of “how it is done.” We will suppose that you
have performed the trick with this result. Passing your hands again
behind you, but this time merely passing the top card to the bottom,
without turning any other card, you reply that you doubt his pretended
knowledge, and name the card as before. He will naturally justify his
assertion by explaining the mode of performing the trick. You reply,
“According to your theory, there should be an exposed card at each end
of the pack. Pray observe that there is nothing of the kind in this
case” (here you show the opposite side of the pack), “but, to give a
still more conclusive proof, I will for the future keep the whole of
the pack behind me, and name each card _before_ I bring it forward.
Perhaps, to preclude any idea of arrangement of the cards, some one
will kindly shuffle them.” When the cards are returned, you give them
a slight additional shuffle yourself, and remarking, “They are pretty
well shuffled now, I think,” continue the trick by the
_Second Method._--Glance, as before, at the bottom card. Place the
cards behind you, and name the card you have just seen. Passing the
right hand behind you, palm the top card, and then taking hold of the
bottom card (the one you have just named) face outwards, with the two
first fingers and thumb of the same hand, bring it forward and throw it
on the table. Pause for a moment before you throw it down, as if asking
the company to verify the correctness of your assertion, and glance
secretly at the card which is curled up in your palm. Again place your
hands behind you, call the name of the card you last palmed, and palm
another. You can, of course, continue the trick as long as you please,
each time naming the card which you palmed at the last call. You should
take care to have a tolerably wide space between yourself and your
audience, in which case, with a very little management on your part,
there is little fear of their discovering the secret of the palmed card.
You should not be in too great a hurry to name the card you have just
seen, or the audience may suspect that you gained your knowledge in
the act of bringing forward the card you last named. To negative this
idea, you should take care first to bring forward again the right hand,
manifestly empty, and do your best to simulate thought and mental
exertion before naming the next card.
TO MAKE FOUR CARDS CHANGE FROM EIGHTS TO TWOS, FROM BLACK TO RED,
ETC.--For this trick you require three specially prepared cards. The
backs should be similar to those of the pack which you have in ordinary
use, the faces being as depicted in Fig. 36. They may be purchased at
any of the conjuring depôts.
[Illustration: FIG. 36.]
[Illustration: FIG. 37.]
[Illustration: FIG. 38.]
[Illustration: FIG. 39.]
You place these three cards privately at the bottom of the pack. You
begin by remarking that you will show the company a good trick with
the four eights and the two of diamonds. (If you use a piquet pack,
you must provide yourself with a special two of diamonds, of similar
pattern to the rest of the pack.) You take the pack, and picking out
the four genuine eights, hand them for examination. While they are
being inspected, you insert the little finger of your left hand between
the three bottom cards (the prepared cards) and the rest of the pack.
When the eights are returned, you place them with apparent carelessness
on the top of the pack (taking care, however, to have the eight of
clubs uppermost), and hand the two of diamonds for examination. While
this card is being examined, you make the pass to bring the three
prepared cards on the top. The two of diamonds being returned, you lay
it on the table, and taking off the four top cards, which are now the
three prepared cards and the eight of clubs, you spread them fanwise,
when they will appear to be the four eights, as in Fig. 37. The eight
of clubs is alone completely visible, one half of each of the other
cards being covered by the card next preceding it. The spectators
naturally take the four cards to be the four ordinary eights which
they have just examined. Insert the two of diamonds behind the eight
of clubs, and lay that card in turn on the table. Close the cards and
again spread them, but this time with the opposite ends outward, when
they will appear to be the four twos, as in Fig. 38. Again take in
the eight of clubs in place of the two of diamonds, and _turn round_
the supposed two of hearts. This you may do easily and naturally by
remarking, “I must now touch something black; my coat-sleeve will do.
I gently pass either card along it, thus, and replace it as before.
The cards are now all black cards,” which they actually appear to be.
(_See_ Fig. 39.) Again substitute the two of diamonds for the eight of
clubs, touch any red object, and again turn and spread out the cards,
when they will appear to be all red cards, as in Fig. 40. Once more
take in the eight of clubs in place of the two of diamonds, and replace
the four cards on the pack, again making the pass in order to bring the
three prepared cards to the bottom, and to leave the genuine eights on
the top.
[Illustration: FIG. 40.]
There is a more elaborate form of this trick procurable at the
conjuring depôts, in which several groups of cards are used in
succession, and the changes are proportionately multiplied, various
colours and patterns being produced in the place of the ordinary
figures on the cards. In our own opinion, the trick loses rather than
gains by this greater elaboration, as the more fanciful changes have
the disadvantage of showing clearly (which the simpler form of the
trick does not) that the cards used are not ordinary cards; and this
being once understood, the magic of the trick is destroyed.
We have had occasion more than once to direct you to turn round the
cards, and it will be well for you to know how to do this neatly and
without exciting suspicion. Hold the four cards fanwise in the left
hand, the fingers behind and the thumb in front of the cards. Having
exhibited them, turn their faces towards yourself, and with the thumb
and finger of the right hand close the fan, and taking them by their
upper ends lay them face downwards on the table. Their lower ends
will now be away from you, and when you desire again to exhibit the
cards (in a transformed condition), you have only to turn them over
_sideways_, and pick them up by the ends which are now directed towards
you. This little artifice (which is simplicity itself in practice,
though a little difficult to describe) must be carefully studied, as
upon neat manipulation in this respect the illusion of the trick mainly
depends.
A CARD HAVING BEEN DRAWN AND RETURNED, AND THE PACK SHUFFLED, TO MAKE
IT APPEAR AT SUCH NUMBER AS THE COMPANY CHOOSE.[D]--Invite a person to
draw a card. Spread out the pack that he may replace it, and slip your
little finger above it. Make the pass in order to bring the chosen card
to the top; palm it, and offer the pack to be shuffled. When the pack
is returned to you, replace the chosen card on the top, and make the
first of the false shuffles above described, but commence by sliding
off into the right hand the two top cards (instead of the top card
only), so that the chosen card may, after the shuffle, be last but one
from the bottom. Take the pack face downwards in the left hand, and
carelessly move about the pack so that the bottom card may be full in
view of the audience. Inquire at what number the company would like the
card to appear; and when they have made their decision, hold the pack
face downwards, and with the first and second fingers of the right hand
draw away the cards from the bottom one by one, throwing each on the
table face upwards, and counting aloud “one,” “two,” “three,” and so
on. The first card which you draw is naturally the bottom one, and the
chosen card, which is second, would in the ordinary course come next;
but you “draw back” this card with the third finger of the left hand
(_see_ page 36) and take the next instead, continuing in like manner
until you have reached one short of the number at which the card is
to appear. You now pause, and say, “The next card should be the card
you drew. To avoid any mistake, will you kindly say beforehand what it
was?” at the same time placing the card face downwards on the table.
When the card is named, you request the drawer or some other person to
turn it up, when it is found to be the right one.
[D] Another form of this trick, in which sleight-of-hand is not
needed, has been given at page 52.
_Another Method._--The card having been drawn and replaced, bring it to
the top by the pass, palm it, have the pack shuffled, and replace it on
the top. Invite the audience to choose at what number it shall appear.
They choose, we will suppose, fifth. “Very good,” you reply; “permit
me, in the first place, to show you that it is not there already.” Deal
out the first five cards, face downwards, and show that the fifth is
not the chosen card. Replace the five cards, in their present order on
the pack, when the card will be at the number named.
SEVERAL PERSONS HAVING EACH DRAWN AND RETURNED A CARD, TO MAKE EACH
CARD APPEAR AT SUCH NUMBER IN THE PACK AS THE DRAWER CHOOSES.--Allow
three or four persons each to draw a card. When all have drawn, make
the pass in such manner as to bring the two halves of the pack face
to face. The pack should not, however, be equally divided. The upper
portion should only consist of about half-a-dozen cards, and therefore
in making the pass you should insert the finger only at that number of
cards from the bottom. Receive back the drawn cards on the top of the
pack, “ruffling” the cards (_see_ page 27), and saying “Pass!” as each
card is replaced. You may casually remark, “Your card has vanished;
did you see it go?” When all are returned, you quickly “turn over” the
pack (_see_ page 37), and, taking off the top card, say, addressing
yourself to the person who last returned a card, “You see your card
has vanished, as I told you. At what number in the pack, say from the
first to the tenth, would you like it to re-appear?” We will suppose
the answer to be “the sixth.” You deal five cards from the end of the
pack that is now uppermost, then pretending a momentary hesitation,
say, “I fancy I dealt two cards for one; allow me to count them again.”
This draws the general attention to the cards on the table, and gives
you the opportunity to again turn over the pack. You continue, after
counting, “We have five, this makes six; then this should be your card.
Will you say what the card was?” You place the card on the table,
face downwards, and do not turn it till it is named, this giving you
the opportunity to again turn over the pack, to be ready to repeat
the operation with the next card. You must be careful to invite the
different persons to call for their cards in the reverse order to that
in which they are replaced in the pack. Thus, you first address the
person who last returned his card, and then the last but one, and so
on. You must tax your ingenuity for devices to take off the attention
of the spectators from the pack at the moment when it is necessary
to turn it over; and as each repetition of the process increases the
chance of detection, it is well not to allow more than three or four
cards to be drawn.
If you have reason to fear that the cards left undealt will run short,
you may always replace any number of those already dealt upon the
reverse end of the pack to that at which the chosen cards are.
THE “THREE CARD” TRICK.--This well-known trick has long been banished
from the _répertoire_ of the conjuror, and is now used only by the
itinerant sharpers who infest race-courses and country fairs. We
insert the explanation of it in this place as exemplifying one form of
sleight-of-hand, and also as a useful warning to the unwary.
In its primary form, the trick is only an illustration of the
well-known fact that the hand can move quicker than the eye can follow.
It is performed with three cards--a court card and two plain cards.
The operator holds them, face downwards, one between the second finger
and thumb of the left hand, and the other two (of which the court card
is one) one between the first finger and thumb, and the other between
the second finger and thumb of the right hand, the latter being the
outermost. Bringing the hands quickly together and then quickly apart,
he drops the three cards in succession, and challenges the bystanders
to say which is the court card. If the movement is quickly made,
it is almost impossible, even for the keenest eye, to decide with
certainty whether the upper or lower card falls first from the hand,
and consequently which of the three cards, as they lie, is the court
card. This is the whole of the trick, if fairly performed, and so far
it would be a fair subject for betting, though the chances would be
much against the person guessing; but another element is introduced
by the swindling fraternity, which ensures the discomfiture of the
unwary speculator. The operator is aided by three or four confederates,
or “bonnets,” whose business it is to start the betting, and who,
of course, are allowed to win. After this has gone on for a little
time, and a sufficient ring of spectators has been got together, the
operator makes use of some plausible pretext to look aside from the
cards for a moment. While he does so one of the confederates, with a
wink at the bystanders, slily bends up one corner of the court card,
ostensibly as a means of recognition. The performer takes up the cards
without apparently noticing the trick that has been played upon him,
but secretly (that corner of the card being concealed by the third and
fourth fingers of the right hand) straightens the bent corner, and at
the same moment bends in like manner the corresponding corner of the
other card in the same hand. He then throws down the cards as before.
The bent corner is plainly visible, and the spectators, who do not
suspect the change that has just been made, are fully persuaded that
the card so bent, and no other, is the court card. Speculating, as they
imagine, on a certainty, they are easily induced to bet that they will
discover the court card, and they naturally name the one with the bent
corner. When the card is turned, they find, to their disgust, that they
have been duped, and that the dishonest advantage which they imagined
they had obtained over the dealer was in reality a device for their
confusion.
TO NAIL A CHOSEN CARD TO THE WALL.--Procure a sharp drawing pin, and
place it point upwards on the table, mantelpiece, or any other place
where it will not attract the notice of the spectators, and yet be so
close to you that you can cover it with your hand without exciting
suspicion. Ask any person to draw a card. When he returns it to the
pack, make the pass to bring it to the top, palm it, and immediately
offer the pack to be shuffled. While this is being done, place your
right hand carelessly over the pin, so as to bring the centre of the
card as near as possible over it, and then press gently on the card, so
as to make the point of the pin just penetrate it.
When the pack is returned, place the palmed card upon the top, and
thus press home the pin, which will project about a quarter of an inch
through the back of the card. Request the audience to indicate any
point upon the woodwork of the apartment at which they would like the
chosen card to appear; and when the spot is selected, stand at two
or three feet distance, and fling the cards, backs foremost, heavily
against it, doing your best to make them strike as flat as possible,
when the other cards will fall to the ground, but the selected one
will remain firmly pinned to the woodwork. Some little practice will
be necessary before you can make certain of throwing the pack so as
to strike in the right position. Until you can be quite sure of doing
this, it is better to be content with merely _striking_ the pack
against the selected spot. The result is the same, though the effect is
less surprising than when the cards are actually thrown from the hand.
THE INSEPARABLE SEVENS.--Place secretly beforehand three of the four
eights at the bottom of the pack, the fourth eight, which is not
wanted for the trick, being left in whatever position it may happen
to occupy. (The suit of this fourth eight must be borne in mind, for
a reason which will presently appear.) Now select openly the four
sevens from the pack, and spread them on the table. While the company
are examining them, privately slip the little finger of the left
hand immediately above the three eights at the bottom, so as to be
in readiness to make the pass. Gather up the four sevens, and place
them on the top of the pack, taking care that the seven _of the same
suit as the fourth eight_ is uppermost. Make a few remarks as to the
affectionate disposition of the four sevens, which, however far apart
they are placed in the pack, will always come together; and watch
your opportunity to make the pass, so as to bring the three eights,
originally at the bottom, to the top. If you are sufficiently expert,
you may make the pass at the very instant that you place the four
sevens on the top of the pack; but, unless you are very adroit, it
is better to bide your time and make it an instant later, when the
attention of the audience is less attracted to your hands. You then
continue, “I shall now take these sevens (you can see for yourselves
that I have not removed them), and place them in different parts of the
pack.” At the words, “You can see for yourselves,” etc., you take off
the four top cards, and show them fanwise. In reality, three of them
are eights, but the fourth and foremost card being actually a seven,
and the eighth pip of each of the other cards being concealed by the
card before it, and the audience having, as they imagine, already seen
the same cards spread out fairly upon the table, there is nothing to
suggest a doubt that they are actually the sevens. (You will now see
the reason why it is necessary to place uppermost the seven of the
same suit as the absent _eight_. If you had not done so the seven in
question would have been of the same suit as one or other of the three
sham sevens, and the audience, knowing that there could not be two
sevens of the same suit, would at once see through the trick.) Again
folding up the four cards you insert the top one a little above the
bottom of the pack, the second a little higher, the third a little
higher still, and the fourth (which is a genuine seven) upon the top
of the pack. The four sevens, which are apparently so well distributed
throughout the pack, are really together on the top, and you have only
to make the pass, or, if you prefer it, simply cut the cards, to cause
them to be found together in the centre of the pack.
THE INSEPARABLE ACES.--This is really only another form of the last
trick, though it differs a good deal in effect. You first pick out and
exhibit on the table the four aces, and request some one to replace
them on the pack, when you place three other cards secretly upon them.
This you may either do by bringing three cards from the bottom by
the pass, or you may, while the company’s attention is occupied in
examining the aces, palm three cards from the top in the right hand,
and, after the aces are replaced on the top, simply cover them with
that hand, thereby bringing the three palmed cards upon them. You now
say, “I am about to distribute these aces in different parts of the
pack; pray observe that I do so fairly.” As you say this, you take
off and hold up to the audience the four top cards, being the three
indifferent cards with an ace at the bottom. You cannot, of course,
exhibit them fanwise, as in the last trick, or the deception would be
at once detected; but the spectators, seeing an ace at the bottom, and
having no particular reason for suspecting otherwise, naturally believe
that the cards you hold are really the four aces. Laying the four cards
on the table, you distribute them, as in the last trick, in different
parts of the pack; taking care, however, that the last card (which is
the genuine ace), is placed among the three already at the top.
You now invite some one to cut. When he has done so, you take up the
two halves, in their transposed position, in the left hand, at the
same time slipping the little finger of that hand between them. The
four aces are now, of course, upon the top of the lower packet. You
then announce, “I am now about to order the four aces, which you have
seen so well divided, to come together again. Would you like them
to appear on the top, at the bottom, or in the middle of the pack?
I should tell you that I know perfectly well beforehand which you
will choose, and indeed I have already placed them at that particular
spot.” If the answer is, “In the middle,” you have only to withdraw
the little finger, and invite the company to examine the pack to see
that they are already so placed. If the answer is, “On the top,” you
make the pass to bring them there. To produce them at the bottom is
rather more difficult, and unless you are pretty confident as to your
neatness of manipulation, it will be well to limit the choice to “top”
or “middle.” In order to be able to bring the four aces to the bottom,
you must, in picking up the cards after the cut, push forward a little
with the left thumb the four top cards of the lower packet, and slip
the little finger below and the third finger above them, so as to be
able to make the pass above or below those four cards as occasion may
require. If you are required to bring those four cards to the top, you
must withdraw the little finger (thereby joining those cards to the
upper cards of the lower packet) and make the pass with the aid of the
third finger instead of the fourth. If, on the contrary, you desire
to produce the four aces at the bottom, you simply withdraw the third
finger, thereby leaving the aces at the bottom of the upper packet,
when the pass will bring them to the bottom of the pack.
We have described the trick as performed with the aces, but the effect
will, of course, be the same with four kings, four queens, or any other
four similar cards.
HAVING PLACED THE FOUR ACES IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS IN THE PACK, TO
MAKE THE TWO BLACK CHANGE PLACES WITH THE TWO RED ONES, AND FINALLY
TO BRING ALL FOUR TOGETHER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK.--This trick may
immediately follow that last described. Again selecting the four aces
(or such other four cards as you used for the last trick), and placing
them on the table, take the two red ones, and opening the pack bookwise
in the left hand, ostentatiously place them in the middle, at the
same time secretly slipping your little finger between them. Ask the
audience to particularly notice which of the aces are placed in the
middle, and which at top and bottom. Next place one of the black aces
on the top, and then turning over the pack by extending your left hand,
place the remaining black ace at the bottom. As you again turn over the
pack to its former position, make the pass, which the movement of the
pack in turning over in the hand will be found to facilitate. The two
halves of the pack having now changed places, the aces will, naturally,
have changed their positions also, the two black ones now being in the
middle, and the two red ones at top and bottom; but it would be very
indiscreet to allow the audience to know that this is already the case.
As has been already mentioned, when a given change has taken or is
about to take place, you should always seek to mislead the spectators
as to the _time_ of the change, as they are thereby the less likely
to detect the mode in which it is effected. In accordance with this
principle, you should endeavour in the present case to impress firmly
upon the minds of your audience that the cards are as they have seen
you place them; and for that purpose it is well to ask some one to say
over again, for the general satisfaction, in what parts of the pack the
four aces are.
At this point a _contretemps_ may arise, for which it is well to be
prepared. The person interrogated may possibly forget the relative
position of the two colours, and may, therefore, ask to see again how
the cards are placed; or some person may have seen or suspected that
you have already displaced them, and may make a similar request for
the purpose of embarrassing you. In order to be prepared for such
a contingency, it is desirable, after you make the pass as above
mentioned, not to allow the two halves of the pack to immediately
coalesce, but to keep them still separated by the little finger. If you
have done this, and for any reason it becomes necessary to show the
cards a second time in their original condition, you have only to again
make the pass, in order to bring them back to the same position which
they occupied at first, making it a third time in order to effect the
change.
We will suppose that the audience are at length fully satisfied that
the two red aces are in the middle, and the two black ones at the
opposite ends of the pack. You then say, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am
about to command these aces to change places. Pray observe by what a
very simple movement the transposition is effected.” Making a quick
upward movement with the right hand, you ruffle the cards, at the same
moment saying, “Pass!” Turning the faces of the card to the audience,
you show them that the red aces are now at top and bottom, and the
black ones in the middle. While exhibiting them, take an opportunity to
slip the little finger between these latter, and in closing the cards
(while they are still face upwards), again make the pass, and place the
pack face downwards on the table. You then say, “I have now, as you
see, made the aces change places. I don’t know whether you saw how
I did it. Perhaps I was a little too quick for you. This time I will
do it as slowly as you please, or, if you prefer it, I will not even
touch the cards with my hands, but merely place my wand upon the pack,
so. Pass! Will you please to examine the pack for yourselves, when you
will find that the aces have again changed places, and have returned to
their original positions.” This is found to be the case. You continue,
“You have not found me out yet? Well, to reward your attention, as
this really is a very good trick, I will show you how to do it for
yourselves.” Pick out the four aces, and hand the two red ones to one
person, and the two black ones to another person. Then, taking the pack
in your left hand, and addressing yourself first to the person on your
right, request him to place the two aces which he holds respectively
at the top and bottom of the pack. Then, turning to the other person,
request him to place the two other aces in the middle of the pack,
which you (apparently) open midway with the right hand for the purpose.
In reality, instead of merely lifting up, as you appear to do, the top
half of the pack, you make the pass by sliding out the bottom half
of the pack to the left. This movement is completely lost in your
quick half turn to the left as you address the second person, which
so covers the smaller movement of the cards as to make it absolutely
imperceptible; and it is in order to create the excuse for this useful
half turn, that we have recommended you to place the aces in the
hands of two different persons, and to begin with the person on your
right. When the second pair of aces are thus replaced in the middle
of the pack they are in reality placed between the two others, which
the audience believe to be still at top and bottom. You now hand the
pack to a person to hold, placing it face downwards in his palm, and
requesting him to hold it very tightly, thus preventing any premature
discovery of the top or bottom card. You then say, “I have promised to
show you how to perform this trick. To make it still more striking,
we will have this time a little variation. Instead of merely changing
places, we will make all the four aces come together.” Then, addressing
the person who holds the cards, you continue, “The manner of performing
this trick is simplicity itself, though it looks so surprising. Will
you take my wand in your right hand? Hold the cards very tightly, and
touch the back with this end of the wand. Quite right. Now say ‘Pass!’
It is very simple, you see. Let us see whether you have succeeded. Look
over the pack for yourself. Yes, there are the aces all together, as
well as I could have done it myself. You can try it again by yourself
at your leisure, but please don’t tell any one else the secret, or you
will ruin my business.”
The above delusive offer to show “how it’s done” can be equally well
adapted to many other tricks, and never fails to create amusement.
A CARD HAVING BEEN THOUGHT OF, TO MAKE SUCH CARD VANISH FROM THE PACK,
AND BE DISCOVERED WHEREVER THE PERFORMER PLEASES.--This trick should
be performed with twenty-seven cards only. You deal the cards, face
upwards, in three packs, requesting one of the company to note a card,
and to remember in which heap it is. When you have dealt the three
heaps, you inquire in which heap the chosen card is, and place the
other two heaps, face upwards as they lie, upon that heap, then turn
over the cards, and deal again in like manner. You again inquire which
heap the chosen card is now in, place that heap undermost as before,
and deal again for the third time, when the card thought of will be
the first card dealt of one or other of the three heaps. You have,
therefore, only to bear in mind the first card of each heap to know,
when the proper heap is pointed out, what the card is. You do not,
however, disclose your knowledge, but gather up the cards as before,
with the designated heap undermost; when the cards are turned over,
that heap naturally becomes uppermost, and the chosen card, being the
first card of that heap, is now the top card of the pack. You palm this
card, and hand the remaining cards to be shuffled. Having now gained
not only the knowledge, but the actual possession, of the chosen card,
you can finish the trick in a variety of ways. You may, when the pack
is returned replace the card on the top, and giving the pack, face
upwards, to a person to hold, strike out of his hand all but the chosen
card (_see_ page 44); or you may, if you prefer it, name the chosen
card, and announce that it will now leave the pack, and fly into a
person’s pocket, or any other place you choose to name, where, it being
already in your hand, you can very easily find it. A very effective
finish is produced by taking haphazard any card from the pack, and
announcing that to be the chosen card, and on being told that it is the
wrong card, apologizing for your mistake, and forthwith “changing” it
by the fifth method (_see_ page 32) to the right one.
Some fun may also be created as follows:--You name, in the first
instance, a wrong card--say the seven of hearts. On being told that
that was not the card thought of, you affect surprise, and inquire what
the card thought of was. You are told, let us say, the king of hearts.
“Ah,” you remark, “that settles it; I felt sure you were mistaken. You
could not possibly have seen the king of hearts, for you have been
sitting on that card all the evening. Will you oblige me by standing up
for a moment,” and, on the request being complied with, you apparently
take the card (which you have already palmed) from off the chair on
which the person has been sitting. The more shrewd of the company
may conjecture that you intentionally named a wrong card in order to
heighten the effect of the trick; but a fair proportion will always be
found to credit your assertion, and will believe that the victim had
really, by some glamour on your part, been induced to imagine he saw a
card which he was actually sitting on.
This trick is frequently performed with the whole thirty-two cards of
the piquet pack. The process and result are the same, save that the
card thought of must be one of the twenty-seven cards first dealt.
The chances are greatly against one of the last five cards being the
card thought of, but in such an event the trick would break down, as
it would in that case require four deals instead of three to bring the
chosen card to the top of the pack.
It is a good plan to deal the five surplus cards in a row by
themselves, and after each deal, turn up one of them, and gravely study
it, as if these cards were in some way connected with the trick.
TO CAUSE A NUMBER OF CARDS TO MULTIPLY INVISIBLY IN A PERSON’S
KEEPING.--Secretly count any number, say a dozen, of the top cards, and
slip the little finger of the left hand between those cards and the
rest of the pack. Invite a person to take as many cards as he pleases,
at the same time putting into his hands all, or nearly all, of the
separated cards. If he does not take all, you will be able to see at
a glance, by the number that remains above your little finger, how
many he has actually taken. Pretend to weigh in your hand the remaining
cards, and say (we assume that you are using a piquet pack), “I should
say by the weight that I have exactly twenty-two cards here, so you
must have taken ten. Will you see if I am right?” While he is counting
the cards he has taken, count off secretly from the pack, and palm in
the right hand, four more. When he has finished his counting, you say,
“Now will you please gather these cards together, and place your hand
firmly upon them?” As you say this, you push them towards him with your
right hand. This enables you to add to them, without attracting notice,
the four cards in that hand. Continue, “Now how many cards shall I add
to those in your hand? You must not be too extravagant, say three or
four.” The person addressed will probably select one or other of the
numbers named, but you must be prepared for the possibility of his
naming a smaller number. If he says “Four,” you have only to ruffle
the cards in your hand, or make any other gesture which may ostensibly
effect the transposition; and he will find on examination that the
cards under his hand are increased by four, according to his desire. If
he says “Three,” you say, “Please give me back one card, to show the
others the way.” This makes the number right. If “two” are asked for,
you may ask for _two_ cards to show the way; or you may say, “Two, very
good! Shall I send a couple more for anybody else?” when some one or
other is pretty sure to accept your offer. If one only is asked for,
you must get two or three persons to take one each, taking care always
by one or the other expedient to make the number correspond with the
number you have secretly added. While the attention of the company is
attracted by the counting of the cards, to see if you have performed
your undertaking, again palm the same number of cards as was last
selected (suppose three), and, after the cards are counted, gather them
up, and give them to some other person to hold, adding to them the
three just palmed; then taking that number of cards from the top of the
pack, and again replacing them, say, “I will now send these three cards
into your hands in the same manner.” Ruffle the cards, as before, and,
upon examination, the number of cards in the person’s hands will again
be found to be increased by three.
THE PACK BEING DIVIDED INTO TWO PORTIONS, PLACED IN THE KEEPING OF
TWO DIFFERENT PERSONS, TO MAKE THREE CARDS PASS INVISIBLY FROM THE
ONE TO THE OTHER.--This trick is identical in principle with the one
last described, but the _mise en scène_ is more elaborate, and several
circumstances concur to give it a surprising effect. It was a special
favourite with the late M. Robert-Houdin, and we shall proceed to
describe it as nearly as possible in the form in which it was presented
by him.
The performer brings forward a pack of cards, still in the official
envelope. These he hands to a spectator, with a request that he will
open and count them. He does so, and finds that they have the full
complement (of thirty-two or fifty-two, as the case may be). He is
next requested to cut the pack into two portions, pretty nearly equal,
and to choose one of the packets. Having made his selection, he is
further asked to count the cards in the packet chosen. The general
attention being, meanwhile, drawn away from the performer, he has
ample opportunity to get ready in his right hand, duly palmed, three
cards of another pack, but of similar pattern to those of the pack in
use. (These may previously be placed either on the _servante_ or in
the performer’s right-hand _pochette_; or he may, if he prefers it,
have them ready palmed in his right hand when he comes upon the stage
to commence the trick.) The spectator, having duly counted the chosen
pack, declares it to consist, say, of seventeen cards. “A capital
number for the trick,” remarks the performer. “Now, sir, will you be
kind enough to take these seventeen cards in your own hands” (here he
pushes them carelessly towards him, and joins the three palmed cards
to them), “and hold them well up above your head, that every one may
see them. Thank you. Now, as your packet contains seventeen cards, this
other” (we are supposing a piquet pack to be used) “should contain
fifteen. Let us see whether you have counted right.” The performer
himself audibly counts the remaining packet, card by card, on the
table: immediately afterwards taking the heap in his left hand, and
squaring the cards together, thus obtaining the opportunity to separate
and palm in his right hand the three top cards. He continues, “Fifteen
cards here--and--how many did you say, sir?--yes, seventeen, which
the gentleman holds, make thirty-two. Quite right. Now will some one
else oblige me by taking charge of these fifteen cards.” He hands the
cards with the left hand, and at the same moment drops the three palmed
cards into the _profonde_ on the right side, immediately bringing up
the hand, that it may be seen empty. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, I will
show you a very curious phenomenon, all the more astonishing because
you will bear me witness that, from the time the cards were counted,
they have not been even one moment in my possession, but have remained
in independent custody. Will you, sir” (addressing the person who
holds the second packet), “hold up the cards in such a manner that I
can touch them with my wand. I have but to strike the cards with my
wand once, twice, thrice, and at each touch a card will fly from the
packet which you are now holding, and go to join the seventeen cards in
the other packet. As this trick is performed by sheer force of will,
without the aid of apparatus or dexterity, I shall be glad if you will
all assist me by adding the force of your will to mine, which will
greatly lighten my labour. At each touch of the wand, then, please,
all present, mentally to command a card to pass in the manner I have
mentioned. Are you all ready! Then we will make the experiment. One,
two, THREE! Did you see the cards pass? I saw them distinctly, but
possibly my eyes are quicker than yours. Will each of the gentlemen who
hold the cards be good enough to count his packet?” This is done, and
it is found that the one holds twenty cards, and the other twelve only.
It is obvious that the two packets now collectively contain duplicates
of three cards, while three others are missing; but it is extremely
unlikely that any one will suspect this, or seek to verify the
constitution of the pack.
TO ALLOW SEVERAL PERSONS EACH TO DRAW A CARD, AND THE PACK HAVING BEEN
SHUFFLED, TO MAKE ANOTHER CARD DRAWN HAPHAZARD CHANGE SUCCESSIVELY
INTO EACH OF THOSE FIRST CHOSEN.--Invite a person to draw a card. This
first card need not be forced, as it is not essential for you to know
what card it is, so long as you afterward keep it in sight. When the
card is returned to the pack, insert the little finger under it, and
make the pass in order to bring it to the bottom. Make the first of
the false shuffles (_see_ page 23), and leave it at the bottom. Again
make the pass to bring it to the middle of the pack, and force the
same card on a second and again on a third person, each time making a
false shuffle, and leaving the chosen card, which we will call _a_,
ultimately in the hands of the last person who drew.[E] When you have
concluded the last shuffle, which (the card not now being in the pack)
may be a genuine one, you offer the pack to some person who has not yet
drawn, and allow him to draw any card he pleases, which second card we
will call _b_. You open the pack, and ask the persons holding the two
cards to replace them one on the other; that first chosen, _a_, being
placed last--_i.e._, uppermost. You make the pass to bring them to the
top, and palm them, and then immediately hand the pack to be shuffled
by one of the company. This being done, you replace them on the top of
the pack, and, spreading the cards, and appearing to reflect a moment,
pick out by the backs as many cards as there have been persons who
drew (_i.e._, four) including among them the two cards _a_ and _b_.
Exhibiting the four cards, you ask each drawer to say, without naming
his card, whether his card is among them. The reply is, of course, in
the affirmative. Each person who drew, seeing his own card among those
shown, naturally assumes that the remaining cards are those of the
other drawers; and the remainder of the audience, finding the drawers
satisfied, are fully convinced that the cards shown are the four which
were drawn. You now replace the cards in different parts of the pack,
placing the two actually drawn in the middle, and secretly make the
pass to bring them to the top. Then, spreading the cards, you invite
another person to draw, which you allow him to do wherever he chooses.
When he has done so, you request him to name aloud his card, which
we will call _c_. Holding the card aloft, you ask each of the former
drawers in succession, “Is this your card?” To which each answers,
“No.” After having received this answer for the last time, you “change”
the card by the first method (_see_ page 28) for the top card. You now
have the card _a_ (the one drawn several times) in your hand, while _b_
has become the top card, and _c_, which you have just exhibited, is at
the bottom. You continue, before showing _a_, “You are all agreed that
this is not your card; you had better not be too sure. I will ask you
one by one. You, sir,” addressing the first drawer, “are you quite sure
this is not your card?” He is obliged to own that it now is his card.
“Pardon me,” you say, breathing gently on the back of the card, “it may
have been so a moment ago, but now it is this lady’s,” exhibiting it to
the second drawer, who also acknowledges it as her card. To the third
person you say, “I think you drew a card, did you not? May I ask you to
blow upon the back of this card! It has changed again, you see, for now
it is your card.” The card having been again recognized, you continue,
“There was no one else, I think,” at the same moment again making the
change by the first method, so that _a_ is now at bottom and _b_ in
your hand. The person who drew _b_ will, no doubt, remind you that you
have not yet shown him his card. You profess to have quite forgotten
him, and, feigning to be a little embarrassed, ask what his card was.
He names it accordingly, upon which you ask him to blow upon the card
you hold, and, turning it over, show that it has now turned into
that card. Then again making the change, you remark, “Everybody has
certainly had his card now.” Then, yourself blowing upon the card you
hold, which is now an indifferent one, you show it, and remark, “You
observe that now it is nobody’s card.”
[E] The different drawers should be persons tolerably far
apart, as it is essential that they should not discover
that they have all drawn the same card.