Divide the pack, placing one half in the palm of the left hand, with the
face of the cards downwards; then take the balance of the pack in the
right hand, holding them between the thumb and three first fingers, and
place the cards upright, so that the edges of the cards in your right
hand will rest upon the back of those lying in the palm of the left hand
perpendicularly, and forming a right angle with them, by which means you
will perceive that the four fingers of the left hand touch the last card
of the upright cards in your right hand. Be sure you get this position
correctly, for the rest of the trick is very simple. You now request any
one of your audience to examine the top card of the half pack that rests
in the palm of your left hand, and to replace it again. Having done
this, you request him to look at it again, and to his amazement it will
have disappeared, and another card will appear in its place.
To perform this trick after you have assumed the position already
described, you must dampen the tips of the four fingers that rest
against the last card of the upright cards in your right hand. You must
now raise the upright cards in your right hand very quickly, and the
last card, No. 1, will adhere to the dampened fingers of your left hand.
As you raise the upright cards you must close your left hand skilfully,
and you will thereby place the last card of the upright cards—which
adheres to the fingers of your left hand—upon the top of the cards in
the palm of your left hand, and when you request the person who examined
the top card in your hand to look at it once more, he will see the card
you have just placed there, instead of the card he first examined.
Observe, be very rapid and dextrous in slipping the card at the back of
the upright card from its position there to the top of the cards in the
palm of your left hand.
[Illustration]
SIXTEEN CARDS BEING IN TWO ROWS, TO FIND THAT WHICH A PERSON HAS THOUGHT
OF.
The cards being arranged as follow, desire the person to think of one,
and to observe well in which row it is:
A B C D E F H I
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *
0 0 0 0 * 0 0 0
0 0 * 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Let us suppose that the card thought of is in the row A: take up the
whole row in the order in which it now stands, and dispose it in two
rows C and D, in such a manner, that the first card of the row A may be
the first of the row C; the second of the row A, the first of the row D;
and so on, transferring the 16 cards from A and B, to C and D. This
being done, again ask in which of the vertical rows the card thought of
stands. We shall suppose it to be in C; remove that row as well as D,
observing the same method as before; and continue in this manner until
the card thought of becomes the first of the row I. If you then ask in
which row it is, it may be immediately known, because after the last
operation it will be the first in the row said to contain it; and as
each row has a distinguishing character or sign, you may cause them all
to be mixed with each other, and still be able to discover it by the
sign you have remarked.
If a greater number of cards be employed, disposed in two vertical rows,
the card thought of will not be at the top of the row after the last
transposition: if there are 33 cards, 4 transpositions will be
necessary; if 64 there must be 5; and so on.
A CERTAIN NUMBER OF CARDS BEING SHOWN TO A PERSON, TO GUESS THAT WHICH
HE HAS THOUGHT OF.
To perform this trick, the number of the cards must be divisible by 3;
and to do it with more convenience, the number must be odd.
The first condition, at least, being supposed, the cards must be
disposed in three heaps, with their faces turned upwards. Having then
asked the person in which heap is the card thought of, place the heaps
one above the other, in such a manner that the one containing the card
thought of may be in the middle. Arrange the cards again in three heaps,
and having asked in which of them is the card thought of, repeat the
operation as before. Arrange them a third time in three heaps, and
having once more asked the same question, form them all into one heap,
that containing the card thought of being in the middle. The card
thought of must then necessarily be the middle one; that is to say, if
15 cards have been employed, it will be the eighth from the top; if 21,
the eleventh; if 27, the fourteenth; and so on. When the number of the
cards is 24, it will be the twelfth, &c.