taking the third ball in your right hand, seem to put it under your
left, but still retain it in your right hand; then with your left hand
seem to fling it in the cup, and it will appear thus:--
[Illustration]
All the balls being under one cup.
If you can perform these feats with the cups and balls dexterously, you
may change the balls into apples, pears, plums, or living birds, as
your fancy leads you.
_A still more Extraordinary Mode of Playing at Cups and Balls._
You must provide six cups made of the same size and metal (persons
with hands, as seen above, require only three), but keep three of them
concealed in the juggling-bag until they are required.
The trick performed by the three first cups is as follows:--Take out of
the bag your three cups, and place them on a table. You must have balls
of cork provided, and concealed, but one ball must be on the table.
Then say, “_Ladies and Gentlemen_,” turning up your three cups (though
at the same time you must have a ball concealed), “_you see there is
nothing under my cups; I take and put this cup here; I put the second
there; and the third there_.” The ball you have hid must be clapped
under one of the cups at the time you were placing them.
You must have a tin bottom in the inside of one of your cups, and
holes punched in it like a grater. Then say, “_Ladies and Gentlemen_,”
(taking the ball off the table, and placing it on the cup the ball is
under), “_observe, I cover this ball with this cup_,” clapping the
third cup on the other two; then say, “_Presto, I command the ball from
under the middle cup to the bottom._” Then taking off the first and
second cups, the ball, they think, is gone to the bottom; whereas the
ball that is laid on the top of the undermost sticks fast to the grater
that covers it, and, when the cup is turned up, it is the ball that was
conveyed first that appears.
Next place, take the ball that is on the table, and say, “_Ladies and
Gentlemen, there is but one ball left_,” clapping the cup with the tin
bottom, where the ball is concealed, over that ball on the table, so as
that ball that was sticking to the tin falls down, and makes two; then
clapping the cup down, convey another ball you have secured, and say,
“_Vene tome_;” then say, “_Ladies and Gentlemen, there are three balls
and three cups_;” first having secured two balls (having some strange
gestures of body and speech to take off the eyes of the spectators), at
the same time taking up one of the cups, but putting it down on one of
the balls, with the two balls secured; then clap the second cup on the
second ball, and the third cup on the third ball.
Now say, “_I’ve covered the three balls._” Then turn up one cup, and
say, “_There is the first ball_;” then turn up the other, saying,
“_There is the second ball._” Then take up either of the balls, and lay
it on the top of the third cup, and cover it with the cup that has the
tin bottom, clapping the third cup in the place of the other two; say,
“_Ladies and Gentlemen, there is one ball at the bottom, one in the
middle, and the third and last ball I strike through the board, saying,
‘Presto, be gone.’_”
Now, you must understand, the third ball you drop, the second sticks to
the tin grater, and three balls appear under the lowermost cup; then
place your three balls on the table, and your cups opposite the balls;
then say, “_I cover this ball with this cup, and I cover this third
ball with this one cup._” Then turning up one cup, take up the ball,
and say, “_Presto, I command you under the second cup_;” but at the
same time you must retain the ball, for the ball that was sticking to
the tin is dropped, and makes two; then clapping the cup down, with the
ball that you have retained, turn up the cup, and say, “_I’ll strike
this ball to the other two_;” and drop that ball, being three before.
Next place the balls and cups as they were before; then clap the first
cup on the first ball, and the second on the second; then take up the
cup with the grater, which generally is in the middle, saying, “_I’ll
put this cup in my bag_;” and take up this ball, saying, “_I’ll put
this ball in my bag_;” and take up the next ball, saying, “_I’ll put
this ball in my bag too_,” clapping under the cup at the same time the
ball you have retained. At last, say, “_I shall have too many balls_,”
or something to that purpose; seem in a fury, and toss your cups away;
then put them into your juggling-bag, that, when you show the other
three, the company may think they were the first cups.
CONVEYANCE OF MONEY, &c.
The conveyance of money is not much inferior to the tricks with Cups
and Balls, but much easier to perform. The principal place to hold the
coin is the palm of the hand; and the best piece to play with is a
sixpence. But, by practice, all coins will be alike, unless they are
very small, and then they must be kept between the fingers, almost at
the fingers’ ends; whereas the ball is to be kept below, near the palm.
The coin ought never to be too large, as that will considerably impede
the clever conveyance of it.
_To convey Money from one Hand to the Other._
Hold open your right hand and lay therein a sixpence, and on the top of
it place the top of your left middle finger, which press hard upon it,
at the same time using hard words. Then suddenly draw away your right
hand from the left, seeming to have left the coin there, and shut your
hand cleverly, as if it still were there. That this may appear to have
been truly done, take a knife, and seem to knock against it, so as to
make a great sound. This is a pretty trick, and, if well managed, both
the eye and ear are deceived at the same time.
_To convert Money into Counters, and the Reverse._
Another way to deceive the lookers-on is to do as before, with a
sixpence, and, keeping a counter in the palm of your left hand,
secretly, seem to put the sixpence therein, which being retained still
in the right hand, when the left hand is opened, the sixpence will seem
to be turned into a counter.
_To put a Sixpence into each Hand, and, with Words, bring them
together._
He that hath once attained to the faculty of retaining one piece of
money in his right hand may show a hundred pleasant deceits by that
means, and may manage two or three as well as one. Thus, you may seem
to put one piece into your left hand, and, retaining it still in your
right, you may, together therewith, take up another like piece, and
so, with words, seem to bring both pieces together. A great variety of
tricks may be shown in juggling with money.
_To put a Sixpence into a Stranger’s Hand, and another into your own,
and to convey both into the Stranger’s Hand with Words._
You take two sixpences evenly set together, and put the same, instead
of one sixpence, into a stranger’s hand, and then, making as though
you put one sixpence into your own hand, with words, you make it seem
that you convey the sixpence in your own into the stranger’s hand; for,
when you open your said left hand, there shall be nothing seen, and he,
opening his hand, shall find two sixpences, which he thought was but
one.
_To show the same Feat otherwise._
To keep a sixpence between your fingers serves especially for this and
such like purposes: hold your hand, and cause one to lay a sixpence
upon the palm thereof, then shake the same up almost to your finger’s
end, and putting your thumb upon it, you may easily, with a little
practice, convey the edge betwixt the middle and fore-finger whilst you
proffer to put it into your other hand (provided always that the edge
appears not through the fingers, on the back side); take up another
sixpence, which you may cause another stander-by to lay down, and put
them both together, either closely, instead of one into a stranger’s
hand, or keep them still in your own hand, and, after some words
spoken, open your hands, and, there being nothing in one hand, and both
pieces in the other, the beholders will wonder how they came together.
_To throw a Piece of Money away, and find it again._
You may, with the middle or ring finger of the right hand, convey a
sixpence into the palm, with the same hand, and, seeming to cast it
away, keep it still, which, with confederacy, will seem strange: to
wit, when you find it again, where another has placed the like piece.
But these things cannot be done without practice; therefore. I will
proceed to show how things may be brought to pass with less difficulty,
and yet as strange as the rest, which, being unknown, are much
commended; but, being known, are derided, and nothing at all regarded.
_To make a Sixpence leap out of a Pot or to run along a Table._
A juggler takes a sixpence and throws it into a pot, or lays it on the
middle of a table, and, with enchanted words, causes the same to leap
out of a pot, or run towards him or from him along the table, which
seems miraculous till you know how it is done, which is thus: Take a
long black hair of a woman’s head, fasten it to the rim of a sixpence,
by means of a little hole driven through the same with a Spanish
needle. In like sort you may use a knife or any small thing; but if you
would have it go from you, you must have a confederate, by which means
all juggling is graced and amended.
This feat is the stranger if it be done by night, a candle being placed
between the spectators and the juggler, for by that means their eyes
are hindered from discerning the deceit.
_To make a Sixpence sink through a Table, and to vanish out of a
Handkerchief._
A juggler will sometimes borrow a sixpence and mark it before you,
and seem to put the same in the middle of a white handkerchief, and
wind it so as you may the better see and feel it; then he will take
the handkerchief and bid you feel whether the sixpence be there or
no; and he will also require you to put the same under a candlestick,
or some such like thing; then he will send for a basin of water, and,
holding the same under the table, right against the candlestick, he
will use certain words of enchantment, and, in short, you shall hear
the sixpence fall into the basin. This done, let one take off the
candlestick, and the juggler take the handkerchief by a tassel and
shake it; but the money is gone, which seems as strange a feat as
any whatsoever, but, being known, the miracle is turned to a jest;
for it is nothing else but to sew a sixpence into a corner of the
handkerchief, finely covered with a piece of linen a little bigger than
your sixpence, which corner you must convey, instead of the sixpence
given you, into the middle of your handkerchief, leaving the other in
your hand or lap, which afterwards you seem to pull through the table,
letting it fall into the basin.
_To know if a Coin be a Head or Woman, and the Party to stand in
another Room._
This is done by confederacy: he that lays it down, says, “_What is
it?_” and that is a sign it is a head; or he says, “_What is it now?_”
and that is a sign it is a woman: cross and pile in silver is done the
same way. By confederacy, divers strange things are done: thus, you
may throw a piece of money into a pond, and bid a boy go to such a
secret place where you have hid it, and he will bring it, and make them
believe it is the same that you threw into the pond, and no other.
So let a confederate take a shilling and put it under a candlestick on
a table a good distance from you; then you must say, “_Gentlemen, you
see this shilling_;” then take your hand and knock it under the table,
and convey it into your pocket; then say, “_The shilling is gone; but
look under such a candlestick and you will find it._”
_To command Seven Halfpence through the Table._
To do this, you must employ a tinman to make holes, with room enough
for a die to go in and out, and let him clap a good halfpenny upon
them all, and so make them fast, that nobody can tell them from true
ones. Then get a cap to cover your halfpence, also a cap and a die for
the company to fling, to amuse them; when you are thus provided, the
manner of performing is thus:--Desire any body in the company to lend
you seven halfpence, telling them that they will soon be returned; then
say, “_Gentlemen, this is made just fit for your money_;” then clapping
your cap on, desire somebody in the company to fling that die, and, in
so doing, take off the cap, and convey your false money into it, so
that the company may not see you put it in; then with your cap cover
the die, while with your right hand you take up the true money, and put
it into the left under the table, saying, “_Vado, begone; I command the
die to be gone, and the money to come in the place_;” so take up the
cap, and the die is gone, and the money is come. Having covered the
money again with the cap, taking the true money with your right hand,
and knocking under the table, also making a jingling, as though the
money was coming through the table, fling them on the table, and say,
“_There is the money_,” and, with your right hand, take off the cap,
saying, “_And there is the die_;” so convey the false money into your
lap, and there is the cap likewise.
_To command a Sixpence out of a Box._
You must get a box turned with two lids (one must be a false one), and
there put the counter, so that it may rattle; and you must have a small
peg or button to your box, to hinder the counter from jingling, and at
the bottom of the box you must have half a notch made, just fit for a
sixpence to come out. So, to perform this feat, you must desire any
body to lend you a sixpence, and to mark it with whatever mark he may
please; then let him put it into the box himself; afterwards put the
cover on, and, by shaking the box, the sixpence will come into your
hand, when you may dispose of it as you please.
_To blow a Sixpence out of another Man’s Hand._
Blow on a sixpence, and immediately clap it into one of the spectator’s
hands, telling him to hold it fast; then ask him if he is sure he has
it. He, to be certain, will open his hand and look. Then say to him,
“_Nay, but if you let my breath go off, I cannot do it._” Then take
it out of his hand again, blow on it, and, staring him in the face,
clap a piece of horn in his hand, and retain the sixpence, shutting
his hand yourself. Bid him hold his hand down, and slip the sixpence
into one of his cuffs; then say, “_I command the money you hold in your
hand to vanish; Vade, now see._” When they have looked, they will think
it is changed by virtue of your stone. Then take the horn again, and
say, “_Vade_;” and then say, “_You have your money again._” He then
will begin to marvel, and say, “_I have not._” Then say to him again,
“_You have; and I am sure you have got it: is it not in your hand? If
it be not there, turn down one of your sleeves, for it is in one, I am
sure_;” where he, finding it, will not a little wonder.
_To make a Ring shift from one Hand to another, and to make it go on
whatever Finger is required, while Somebody holds both Arms._
Desire some person in company to lend you a gold ring, recommending him
at the same time to make a mark on it, that he may know it again. Have
a gold ring of your own, which you are to fasten by a small piece of
catgut string to a watch-barrel, which must be sewn to the left sleeve
of your coat. Take in your right hand the ring that will be given
you: then, taking with dexterity, near the entrance of your sleeve,
the other ring fastened to the watch-barrel, draw it to the fingers’
ends of your left hand, taking care nobody perceives it. During this
operation, hide between the fingers of your right hand the ring that
has been lent to you, and fasten it dexterously on a little hook, sewed
on purpose on your waistcoat, near your hips, and hid by your coat.
You will, after that, show your ring, which you hold in your left hand;
then ask the company on which finger of the other hand they wish it to
pass. During this interval, and as soon as the answer has been given,
put the before-mentioned finger on the little hook, in order to slip
on it the ring; at that moment let go the other ring, by opening your
fingers. The spring which is in the watch-barrel, not being confined
longer, will contract and make the ring slip under the sleeve without
any body perceiving it, not even those who hold your arms: as, their
only attention being to prevent your hands from communicating, they
will let you make the necessary motions. These must be very quick, and
always accompanied by stamping of the foot.
After this operation, show the assembly that the ring is come on the
other hand; make them remark that it is the same that had been lent
to you, or that the mark is right. Much dexterity must be made use of
to succeed in this entertaining trick, that the deception may not be
suspected.
_To Transfer a Counter into a Silver Groat._
Take a groat, or a smaller piece of money, and grind it very thin on
one side; then take two counters, and grind them, the one on one side,
and the other on the other side; glue the smooth side of the groat
to the smooth side of the counter, joining them as close together as
possible, especially at the edges, which may be so filed that they
shall seem to be but one piece; to wit, one side a counter and the
other side a groat. Then take a little green wax, for that is softest,
and therefore best, and lay it on the smooth side of the counter, as it
does not much discolour the groat; and so will that counter, with the
groat, cleave together as though they were glued, and, being filed even
with the groat and the other counter, it will seem so perfectly like an
entire counter, that, though a stranger handle it, he cannot betray it;
then, having a little touched your fore-finger, and the thumb of your
right hand, with soft wax, take therewith this counterfeit counter,
and lay it openly upon the palm of your left hand, wringing the same
hard, so as you may leave the glued counter with the groat apparently
in the palm of your left hand, and the smooth side of the waxed counter
will stick fast upon your thumb, by reason of the wax wherewith it is
smeared: and so you may hide it at your pleasure (always be sure to lay
the waxed side downward, and the glued side upward); then close your
hand, and, in or after closing thereof, turn the piece, and so, instead
of a counter, which they suppose to be in your hand, you shall seem
to have a groat, to the astonishment of the beholders, if it be well
handled. The juggler must not leave any of his tricks wanting for hard
and break-jaw words.
_To make a Silver Twopence be plain in the Palm of your Hand, and be
passed from thence wherever you like._
Put a little red wax, not too much, upon the nail of your longest
finger; then let a stranger put a two-penny piece into the palm of
your hand, and shut your fist suddenly, and convey the two-penny piece
upon the wax, which, with use, you may so accomplish, as no man shall
perceive it; then, and in the meantime, use words of course, and
suddenly open your hand; hold the tips of your fingers rather lower
than the palm of your hand, and the beholders will wonder where it is
gone; then shut your hand suddenly again, and lay a wager whether it
be there or no, and you may either leave it there or take it away at
pleasure. This, if it be well handled, hath more admiration than any
other feat of the hand.--Note: This may be best done by putting the
wax upon the two-penny piece, but then you must put it into your hand
yourself.
_To convey a Sixpence out of the Hand of one that holds it fast._
Stick a little wax upon your thumb, and take a bystander by the
fingers, showing him the sixpence, and telling him you will put the
same into his hand; then wring it down hard with your waxed thumb, and,
using many words, look him in the face, and, as soon as you perceive
him look in your face, or on your hand, suddenly take away your thumb,
and close his hand, and it will seem to him that the sixpence remains.
If you wring a sixpence upon one’s forehead, it will seem to stick
when it is taken away, especially if it be wet; then cause him to hold
his hand still, and, with speed, put out into another man’s hand, or
into your own, two sixpences instead of one, and use words of course,
whereby you shall make the spectators believe, when they open their
hands, that, by enchantment, you have brought both together.
_To convey a Shilling from one Hand into another, holding your Hands
apart._
It is necessary to mingle some merry pranks among your grave miracles,
as, in this case of money, to take a shilling in each hand, and,
holding your arms abroad, to lay a wager that you will bring them both
into one hand without bringing them any nearer together; the wager
being laid, hold your arms abroad, like a rod, and, turning about with
your body, lay the shilling out of one of your hands, upon the table,
and, turning to the other hand, so you shall win your wager.
_To transform any small Thing into any other Form, by holding of Paper._
Take a sheet of paper, and fold or double the same, so as one side be
a little longer than the other; then put a counter between the two
sides of the leaves of the paper, up to the middle of the top of the
fold; hold the same so as it be not perceived, and lay a sixpence on
the outside thereof, right against the counter, and fold it down to the
end of the longer side. When you have unfolded it again, the sixpence
will be where the counter was, so that some will suppose you have
transformed the money into a counter; and with this many tricks may be
done.
_Another Trick of the same Nature._
Take two papers, three inches square each, divided into two folds, of
three equal parts on either side, so as each folded paper remains one
inch square; then glue the back side of the two together, as they are
folded, and not as they are opened, and so shall both papers seem to
be but one, and, which side soever you open, it shall appear to be the
same, if you have handsomely done the bottom, as you may well do with
your middle finger, so that, if you have a sixpence in one hand, and
a counter in the other, you show but one, and you may, by turning the
paper, seem to change it; this is best performed by putting it under a
candlestick or a hat, and, with words, seem to do the feat, which is by
no means an inferior one.
_A Watch recovered after being beaten to Pieces in a Mortar._
A watch is borrowed from one of the company, and, being put into
a mortar, another person is shortly after requested to beat it to
pieces with a pestle. It is then shown to the company, entirely
bruised; in a few minutes the watch is restored entire to its owner,
who acknowledges it to be his property. It is easy to devise that,
to effect this, the mortar must be placed near a concerted trap, and
that it must be covered with a napkin, to afford an opportunity to the
confederate to substitute another watch, unperceived by the company.
In order to succeed in the illusion of this trick, you must take care
to provide yourself with a second watch, somewhat resembling the first
in the size, case, &c. which will not be very difficult, as you may
either be furnished with a watch by a person with whom the matter is
preconcerted, or by addressing yourself to some one whose watch you
have before observed, and procured yourself one like it. After having
placed all the pieces in the mortar, you must cover them a second time
with a napkin, and whilst you amuse the company with some trick or
story, you afford time to your confederate to take the bruised pieces
away, and replace the first watch in the mortar.
TRICKS WITH BOXES, &c.
_The Egg-Box._
[Illustration]
This is the Egg-box, put together like two beehives--one on the top of
another. The following is the under-shell,
[Illustration]
covered over artificially with the white thin skin of a real egg. The
upper shell is of the same shape, but
[Illustration]
larger, and is merely the lid of the box. The following
[Illustration]
is the lower part of the box. Put B, which is the outward shell,
upon C, and both upon D, which arrangement puts all in readiness for
the performance of the trick. Now call for an egg, and bid all the
bystanders look at it, to see that it is a real egg. Then take off
the upper part, B C, with your fore-finger and thumb, and placing the
egg in the box, say, “_Ladies and Gentlemen, you see it fairly in the
box_;” and, uncovering it again, say, “_You shall see me fairly take
it out_;” putting it into your pocket in their sight. Now open your
box again, and say, “_There’s nothing_;” close your hand about the
middle of the box, and, taking B by the bottom, say, “_There is the egg
again_;” which appears to the spectators to be the same that you put
in your pocket; then clapping that on again, and taking the lid of C
between your fore-finger and thumb, say, “_It is gone again._”
_The Penetrative Guinea._