For an impromptu puppet to answer questions about cards, concealed
watches, and so forth, cut a hole in a potato at one end for a
forefinger to enter. Scoop out for eyes, nose, and mouth; put on a
horsehair wig and beard. Drape the hand in a handkerchief to represent
the cloaked body, while the thumb and middle finger play the part of
arms, and you have such an improvised Talking Hand as Edmund Kean
employed to hold Byron spellbound for hours, and as is described of more
elaborate manufacture in the “Art of Amusing.”
[Illustration: Fig. 145.]