Part 5
This is called Trouble-Wit, or Puzzle-Wit, which you please to call it, and indeed it is a very fine invention, by folding a sheet of paper as that, by art, you may change it into many several forms or fashions, take a sheet of marble Paper, fold it down the middle of the sheet long ways, when you have so done, turn down the edge of each fold outwards, the breadth of a single penny; then measure it as it is so folded into three equal parts with compasses, which makes six divisions in the sheet, let each third part be turned outward, and the other in course will fall right; then pinch it a quarter of an inch deep, in the manner as you pinch paper lanthorns, that is, in plaits like a ruff, so that when the paper lies pinched in its form, it is in the fashion represented by the figure A; when closed together like the figure B; unclose it again, and shuffle it with each hand, it resembles the shuffling of a pack of cards: close it, and take each corner inward with your fore-finger and thumb, it resembles a rose for a lady’s shoe, as is seen in the figure C, stretch it forth into the same form, and it resembles the cover for an Italian couch, as is shewed by the letter D; let go your fore-finger, at the lower end, and it resembles a wicket to a gate, or a portal to a nobleman’s door, as is shewed by the letter E; close it again, and pinch it at the bottom, spreading it on the top, and it is the fashion of a screen. For as it is shewed by the letter F. Pinch it half way, and open the top, and it is in the fashion of a shoe-maker’s cutting knife, which is shewn by the letter G; holding of it in that form, and with the thumb of your left-hand, turn out the next fold, and it is in form of a curry-comb, as it is shewed by the letter H. So that those who are resolved to learn to comb, do this feat, innocent, and diverting enough, both in city and country.
And I would have shewn more of the cuts, but that here is enough for the ingenious, since they have the manner of folding the paper, which is a great help to do it: the next fashion is a buttrice, such as farriers use to pair their horses heels withal; in the fashion of a lawyer’s desk; in the fashion of a bridge made of wood to carry a troop of horse over a river: in the fashion of a dark lanthorn: in the fashion of a bough-pot; in the fashion of a lanthorn with a rose at each end: in the fashion of a minced-pye, without any meat in it; in the fashion of a cardinal’s cap; in the fashion of a coster-monger’s cap; in the fashion of a sugar dish; and many more knacks to be played with it.
_To make sport in company._
When you are in company, and shewing your tricks, and that you have done as many as you can, or think to do at this time, then say, to conclude, I will shew you the best and cleverest trick that ever I did shew in all my life; not only shew you, but learn it you, that you may do it yourself another time. The trick is this: how to set a glass of brandy on the other side of the table, and to make it come jumping and never touch it.
First, fill a glass of brandy, and put it on the farther end of the table, and have in readiness the crown of your hat blacked, then say to the company, gentlemen, whatever you see or hear, I desire you to say nothing; for this is done by the black art; now I desire every one of you to change hats one with another, and do as I do, and say as I say; now you must all turn the crowns of your hats towards your faces, and so speak as I do, saying, John of Basket; John of Basket! then rub your face, and he that hath your blacked hat, will laugh because the glass doth not move, and the others will laugh at his black face; and so you will make sport enough, then you must speak two or three bold words to the glass; as thus: glass of brandy, glass of brandy, come to me, if you will not, I will fetch you, and so take it up with your hand and drink it, then seem to fling the glass up against the cieling, and break it, and it will seem very strange. I have done this often.
_How to command seven half-pence through a table._
This feat is one of the greatest that the jugglers have done, and is inferior to none. To do this, you must go to some tinman, or any body that knows how to make your holes room enough for a die to go in and out, and then let them clap a good half-penny upon them all, and so make them fast, and nobody can tell them from real ones; then you must get a cap to cover your half-pence, a cap and a die for the company to fling to amuse them; when you are thus provided with half-pence, a cap, and a die, the manner of performance is thus: desire any body in the company to lend you seven half-pence, telling them that you will soon return them their own again; 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 to see what they can fling, and in so doing, take off the cap and convey your false money into the cap, so that the company may not see you put it in, then with your cap cover the die, so with your right-hand take up the true money, and put it into the left under the table, saying, Vada, 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, covering the money again with the cap, so taking the true money in your right-hand, and knocking under the table, making a jingling as though the money was coming through the table, then flinging then on the table, 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. This is an ingenious feat if well handled, here make the figure of a die, and the fashion of seven half-pence, and a cap to cover them.
_How to turn a box of bird-seed into a living bird._
You must have a box made on purpose, with a false lid; for to describe it to you in words, is pretty hard, but you may have them ready made at my house. This box must be turned nearly like unto the egg-boxes, so that they cannot find out where it opens, and you must have a false lid to clap on and off, and on that lid glew some bird seed; so before you shew the box, to the company, put a bird in the box, and then the false lid, then shew the box to the company, and it will seem to be full of seed, then say to the company, ‘gentlemen you see my box is full of seed;’ which nobody can tell to the contrary, then put your true lid on, saying, Gentlemen, I will command all the seed out of my box, and command a living bird to appear; so taking off the covers the bird will appear. You may be furnished with all manner of instruments, cups, Dutch puddings, egg-boxes, globe-boxes, melting-boxes, sixpenny-boxes, bird-boxes, and bells and bushels.
_How to command a sixpence out of a box._
You must go and get a box turned of box-wood or any other wood which you fancy; you must have it turned with two lids, one must be a false one, and there put a counter, so that it may rattle; and you must have a small pegg, or button, to your box, to hinder the counter from jingling, and at the bottom of the box, which you have neatly turned, there you must have a half notch made in your box, 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 what they please, then let them put it into the box themselves, afterwards then put the cover on, then by shaking the box, the sixpence will come into your hand; then you may dispose of it as you know how when you are shewing your feats. This feat is not inferior to any that is shewn with boxes.
Note, This box you may have of me ready made in the new fashion.
_How to call for any card in the pack._
Take the cards and shuffle them, or let any body else shuffle them, or lay down the whole pack on the table before you, with their faces downwards, then drawing off the upper card say, Here I call for the card of good luck; and when you have seen what that card is, which you must do as privately as you can, and be sure not to let the company see him, then say, Here I call for ——, naming your card of good luck, and so take the next uppermost card, and then having seen him, say, Here I call for the ——, naming the card you took up last, and so take off the next uppermost card, and thus still calling for the card you last took up, you may call for as many as you please; or, if you will, you may thus go round the pack, and, in the mean time, cause one to write down the names of the cards, in the same order as you call for them, which they may do in brief, thus by writing a figure for the number of the spots, as 1 for the ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so to ten; and then kn. for the knave, q. for queen, and kg. for king, adding a letter for the suits viz. c. for clubs, s. for spades, h. for hearts, and d. for diamonds, e. g. is three or four cards; suppose the three first cards, called for, were, the ace of clubs, the tray of spades, and the five of diamonds, they be set down thus, 1 C——3 S—5 D, and so of any other: having thus gone round, with as many as you please, take them from the table, saying, Look now in your paper, see which card I call for first, which second, and which third, &c. and whilst he is looking, do you flip the card of good luck under the bottom of the pack, then holding the cards with their faces upwards, take them off one by one, and they will come in the same order as you called them, only the last card will not be set down in the paper, and it must be pretended he was the card of good luck.
_Another way to call for a card._
After having privately seen the uppermost card, lay the cards down in three or four heaps, but not above, then begin at the heap farthest off from you, that has the known card on the top, and say, Here I call for the ——, naming the known card; then go to the next heap, saying, Here I call for the ——, naming the card you took up last; proceed in the same manner, viz. still naming the card you last took up, till you come to the last heap, so the card you call for first, will come last; but here note, you must keep the cards close that they may not be seen till you have done calling, and then you must lay them down, one by one, in the same order as you called them.
_To tell one what card any one thinketh on._
Take 21 cards, and begin to lay them down, three in a row, with their faces upwards, then begin again at the left-hand, and lay one card upon the first, and soon the right hand, and then begin at the left-hand again and so go on to the right, do this till you have laid out the 21 cards in three heaps, but as you are laying them out, bid any one think on a card, and when you have laid them all out, ask him in which heap his card is in, then lay the card in the middle betwixt the other two; then lay them all out again into three heaps, as before, and as you lay them out, bid him take notice where his noted card goes; when you have laid them all out, ask him in what heap it is now? put that heap in the middle as before, and lay out the cards a third time, bidding him take notice where his noted card goes, and put that heap in the middle as before; then taking the cards with their backs towards you, take off the uppermost card, smelling to him, reckon him 1, then take off another, and smelling him, reckon him 2, this do till you come to the eleventh card, for that will always be the noted card, after the third time of laying them out, though you should lay in this manner ever so often; you must never lay out the cards less than three times, but as often above as you please. This trick may be done by any odd number of cards that may be divided by three.
_Another way to tell one what card is noted._
When one has noted a card, take it and put it at the bottom of the pack, then shuffle the cards till it come again to the bottom; then see what is the bottom card, for it is the noted card, which you may do without being taken notice of; thus, when you have shuffled the cards, turn them with their faces towards you, and nock their ends upon the table, as though you would knock them level; and whilst you are so doing, take notice of the bottom card, which you may do without suspicion, especially having shuffled them before; then when you know the card shuffle them again, and give them to any of the company, and let them shuffle them, for you know the card already, and may easily find it at any time.
_How to make a card jump out of an egg._
To do this wonderful feat, you must have two sticks made, both of one bigness, and both of a likeness, so that no person can know one from the other; one of the sticks must be made so artificially as to conceal a card in the middle, as thus: you must have one of your sticks turned hollow quite through, and then an artificial spring to throw the card in the egg, at your pleasure; the operation is thus: take and peel any card in the pack, which you please, and so roll it up, and then put it into your false stick, and there let it be till you have occasion to make use of it; then take a pack of cards, and let any body draw a card, but be sure let it be the same sort of card that you have in the stick already; then let them put it in the pack again, and when you are shuffling them, let that card fall into your lap, which the party drew, so calling for some eggs, desire that party that drew the card, or any person else in the company, to choose any one of these eggs, and when they have chosen one, ask them if there be any thing in it, and they will answer no; then take the egg in your left-hand, and your false stick in your right, and so break the egg with your stick, and then let the spring go, and the card will appear in the egg, very amazing to the beholders; then conceal that stick and produce the true one upon the table.
_How to make the fountain of command._
You may contrive this fountain of what figure you will.
Take a vessel A. B. which has two bottoms, this is close on all sides like a drum; through the middle of it run a long pipe, C. D. sodered to the lower bottom at F, with its two ends open, C. D. the first of which C. must not quite touch the uppermost bottom, but leave passage for the water; when one has a mind to fill the vessel A. B. which is done by turning up the vessel A. B. with its pipe C. D. so that the hole D. will then be the uppermost, and pouring in the water at D. this done, stop up the pipe C. D. with another, and a very little smaller pipe E. D. that can just enter it, and is fixed in the bottom of a case or cistern that is a little longer than one of the two bottoms of the vessel A. B. the two pipes C. D. ought to have at an equal height, two appertures or holes I. I. and the smallest D. E. ought to be movable within the greater, C. D. that so you may turn the smaller with its case G. H. when you will, fill the two holes I. I. meet farther the vessel A. B. ought to have several little holes in its lower bottom, as K. L. for giving egress to the water, and the case or receptacle G. H. ought likewise to have smaller vent, M. N. for the water to run out. Now the vessel A. B. being filled with water as we directed but now, and the pipe C. D. being stopt by the pipe D. E. which is supposed so thin, that it could just fill it without any necessity of the extremity E. it reaching to the end C. provided the other two ends D. D. do but fit: is it done, I say, turning the vessel again to its first position, in which it will stand as in the figure, the case G. H. being its base, and being turned together with its pipe E. till the two vents I. I. meet and make but one orafice, for then the water contained in the vessel A. B. will run out at the vents K. L. as long as the air can pass through the apperture I. to supply the room of the water that runs A. B. into the case G. H. but when the water in the receptacle G. H. rises above the vent I. which will infallibly happen, since more water runs at the vents K. L. than at M. N. the former being supposed to be larger than the latter, the air not finding access at I. the water in the vessel A. B. will give over running through the vents K. L. but the water in the receptacle G. H. will continue to run at the vents M. N. so that this water will grow lower by degrees, till the vent I. is uncovered again, and then the air having access at I. will renew the flux of the water thro’ K. L. which in a small time will raise the water in the case G. H. so as to recover the vent I. again, upon which the stream A. B. will stop, and so on alternately, till there is no water in the vessel A. B.
This is called the fountain of command, because it runs at a word, when the water is near the renewal of its flux, thro’ the vents K. L. which is easily known; for when the vent I. begins to get clear of water in G. A. the air struggling for access at the vent makes a little noise, and so gives notice that the fountain is about to run. This is a merry device.
_To seem to kill a horse, and to cure him again._
Take the seed of henbane, and give it the horse in his provender, and it will cast him into such a deep sleep, that he will seem dead; and if you will recover him again, rub his nostrils with vinegar, and he will be revived again.
_A very strange trick, whereby you may seem to cut a piece of tape into four parts, and make it whole again with words._
Take a piece of narrow white tape, about two or three yards long, first present it to view to any that may desire it; then tie both the ends of it together, and take one side of it in one hand, and the other in the other hand, so that the knot may be about the midst of one side, and using some circumstantial words to beguile your spectators, turn one hand about towards yourself, and the other from you, so shall you twist the tape once; then clap the ends together, and then if you slip your fore-finger and thumb of each hand between the tape, almost as one would hold a skane of thread to be wound, this will make one fold or twist, as appears where A signifieth the twist or fold; B the knot; then in like manner make a second fold, about the line D. C. as you may see by the second figure, where B. signifieth the knot, C. the first fold, A. the second fold: hold then the fore finger and thumb of your left hand upon the second twist and upon the knot also, and the fore-finger and thumb of your right hand upon the first fold C. and desire some one of your spectators to cut all asunder with a sharp knife, at the cross line E. D. when it is cut, hold still your left hand, and let all your ends fall, that you hold in your right hand, for there will be a shew of eight ends, four above and four below, and so the strings will be thought to be cut into four parts, as may be seen by the third figure; then gather up the ends that you let fall into your left hand, and deliver two of the ends, (seeming to take them at random) unto two several persons, binding them to hold them fast, still keeping your left hand fingers upon the twists or folds; then with your right and left hands seem to tumble all the ends together that you had in your left-hand, twist out the slips or pieces, which are three, as you may see at A. and B. in the third figure, twist them all I say, into a little ball, and conceal it between some of your fingers of your left hand, and crumble thereon another confused heap, and after some words said, with your right-hand deliver this confused heap unto any one of the company, biding him hold it fast, Hulla, Passa, then bid them look on it, who while they are greedily looking after the event, you with ease convey the ball or roll of ends into your pocket; so it will be thought that you have made it whole by virtue of your words. An excellent trick if it be gracefully handled; and a trick that cost me trouble to find.
_A device to multiply one face, and make it seem to be a hundred or a thousand._
This feat must be performed by a looking-glass made on purpose, the figure whereof I have fully described, with the manner of making it, which is this; first make a hoop, or phillet of wood, horn, or such like, about the width of a half crown piece in the circumference; the thickness of this hoop, or phillet, let it be about a quarter of an inch; in the middle of this hoop fasten a bottom of wood or brass, and bore in a decent order, divers small holes, about the bigness of small pease, then open the one side of this bottom, set in a piece of crystal-glass, and fasten it in the hoop close to the bottom, then take a quantity of quick-silver, and put so much into the hoop as will cover the bottom; then let into the hoop another piece of chrystal-glass fitted thereto and cement the sides, that the quick-silver may not run out, and it is done; the figure whereof I have before set. A. presenteth the one side that giveth the form of one face to the beholders? B the other side that multiplieth the beholder’s face so oft as there are holes in the middle bottom. The use whereof I shall not insist upon, since he that is versed in the former feats will better conceive of himself to use it, than my words can either direct or assist him.
_To make the fulminating thundering powder._
Take three parts of salt-petre, two parts of salt of tarter, and one part of sulpher, pounded and mixed together, heat in a spoon sixty grains of this composition, and it will fly away with a fearful noise, like thunder, as loud as a cannon, breaking through the spoon and every thing underneath it, for it exerts itself downwards, contrary to the nature of gun-powder.
* * * * *
I have here set down, KIND READER, not only all usual feats, that either myself have seen or heard of, but divers others also, which I am sure were never in print, nor as yet performed by any I could ever hear of except myself, and all to give thee thy full content; and note this from me, if you rightly understand this, there is not a trick that any juggler in the world can shew thee, but thou shalt be able to conceive after what manner it is performed.
FINIS.
Printed by R. Folwell, No. 33, Arch-street.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Original spelling and grammar have been generally retained, with some exceptions noted below. Original small caps are now uppercase. Italics look _like this_. The transcriber produced the cover image and hereby assigns it to the public domain. Original page images are available from the Library of Congress, at https://lccn.loc.gov/90101687.
Page 5. The illustration under “The Operation of the Cups is thus” is retained as originally printed, with the numerals flipped 180° horizontally. The numerals in the illustration of the “pudding” on page 12 are also flipped.
Page 12. Right single quotation mark inserted after “before their teeth can take possession of it.”
Page 22. “hole in on of their legs” to “hole in one of their legs”.
Page 24. Right single quotation mark inserted after “look about him before he goes;”.
Page 27. “hundred conciets may be shewed” to “hundred conceits may be shewed”. Also, “beholders will wonder bow they came” to “beholders will wonder how they came”.
Page 30. “you lay the waked side downward” to “you lay the waxed side downward”.
Page 47. Unbalanced left parenthesis removed from “mouth as before, (the company will be laughing”.
Page 60. In “kings away, and adding but one other card, then taking them up again, and blowing upon them, will shew you them transformed into blank cards, white on both sides,”, the “one” was originally printed “on”, and “on” was originally “one”.
Page 61. Comma is removed from original “put them into your hands; also let, them”.
Page 89. One “city” removed from “and diverting enough, both in city city and country”.
Page 93. Single quotation mark removed from “gentlemen you ‘see my box is full”.