Part 3

Secretly getting the shell ball into his right hand, and picking up the red ball with the left, the performer proceeds:

“Well, here we have three balls, one red and two white. To prevent ill feeling between them, I think we had better make them all the same colour: and as the white are in the majority, we will have them all white. It is quite easy, if you know how to do it. You have only to breathe on the ball, give it a roll round in the hand to take the colour off, and there you are.”

After breathing on the ball, you bring the right hand containing the shell over it, and exhibit it, shell in front. You then transfer it in the same condition, to the opposite hand. Then pick up one of the two white balls with the right hand, transfer it to the left and show the two side by side. Then pick up and add the third ball, in so doing letting the red ball fall into the right hand, and while calling attention to the three in the opposite hand, drop it into the profonde. You then bring up the shell over one or other of the two solid white balls, thereby transforming the three into two. Drop the solid from the shell into the right hand, making the two into one; finally causing the disappearance of this last after the usual manner.

If the reader (being an expert) is provided with a spare red ball and red shell, he may offer the choice as to which shall be the colour of all three, finally causing their disappearance after the manner above described, or his own version thereof.

WHERE IS IT?

This is another of the tricks dependent on the novel application of the black art principle.

For programme purposes the trick may, if preferred, be entitled “The Erratic Shilling.” Its effect may be broadly described as follows:

A marked shilling, lent by some member of the company, after being professedly magnetised or mesmerised by rubbing, is laid upon a black velvet mat and covered with a playing card, face down. Two other cards are laid (also faces down), one on each side of the first, at a few inches distance from it, and the audience are given to understand that the rubbing has imparted to the coin the power to travel from card to card at command, and indeed sometimes of its own accord. When the card which covered the coin is lifted, this is found to be the case. The shilling is no longer where first seen, but is found to have placed itself under one of the other two cards. The spectators may be invited to say under which of the cards they would like the coin to pass, when it will place itself accordingly. The coin may be identified by the owner in the course of the trick, as well as at its close.

The requirements for the trick are as follows:

1. The velvet mat.

2. A pack of cards, arranged as presently to be explained.

3. Three overlays (see p. 20), each consisting, in the present instance, of a court card, backed with velvet of similar tint and texture to that with which the mat is covered. Three of the edges of each card are blackened, but the fourth (one of its shorter sides) is left white, and thickened by the insertion of an extra slip of white card along that end. The effect of this is that, as the card lies on the mat, its white edge is visible from that side, but from no other position.

4. Three cards, corresponding with the three overlays, which we will suppose to represent the queen of clubs, and the knaves of spades and diamonds respectively. The queen is wholly unprepared, but each of the two knaves has a point of fine wire, or a black bristle projecting a sixteenth of an inch or so, midway from each of its sides. The “queen” overlay is furnished with similar points, the object of these being to enable the performer the more easily to lift a given card with or without its duplicate overlay.

In preparing for the trick the two “knave” overlays, each covering a shilling, are laid beforehand on the mat, velvet side up, eight or ten inches apart, as shown in Fig. 11, under which circumstances they are invisible to the spectators at a few feet distance, and very nearly so to the performer, save that their white edges, turned towards himself, furnish him with an exact guide to their position. On the top of the pack are laid, first the two knaves. On these the queen overlay, and uppermost the unprepared queen.

In presenting the trick the borrowed shilling is laid on the mat midway between the two overlays already on the table, and is covered with the top card of the pack, the third overlay being lifted off with it, and resting beneath it with its centre as nearly as possible over the coin.

The two following cards are now laid one on each side of the first, as in Fig. 12, each on the corresponding overlay, the white edges of these, visible to the performer, but not to the company, serving as guides to exact position. When the performer desires to show that the coin is not under a given card, he raises the card only, lifting it lengthwise, and leaving the coin covered by the overlay. When he desires to exhibit a coin, he picks up the card covering it breadthwise between finger and thumb and with it the overlay beneath it.

The introductory patter may run as follows:

“You have all heard, no doubt, of what is called the thimblerig trick, frequently exhibited at fairs and on race-courses. Some of you gentlemen may even have parted with a little money over it. For the benefit of the ladies I will explain what it is.

“The operator has before him on a small board or tray three thimbles, or half walnut-shells. He exhibits a small pea, or a pellet the size of a pea, which he affectionately calls the ‘joker.’ This he places under one of the thimbles, all three of which he then shifts about on the tray; inviting the spectators to bet with him as to which thimble the pea is under. He has two or three confederates, who bet, and naturally win, but if an outsider is rash enough to back his own supposed smartness he loses; for as a matter of fact the pea is not placed under either of the thimbles at all until after the bet is made, when it is skilfully introduced under whichever thimble best suits the performer.

“The trick is in truth a mere affair of dexterity; the performer having acquired by long practise the power of placing the pea under any thimble he pleases. What I propose to show you is a similar effect, but more surprising, because, as you will see, there is no room for dexterity, or indeed any form of trickery; so that I have to depend entirely upon my magic power. I shall use a shilling, as being more easily seen than a pea, and three cards from this pack to represent the thimbles.

“Will some gentleman oblige me with the loan of a shilling; marked in such a way that he may be sure of knowing it again.”

Receiving the coin in his right hand, the performer makes believe to transfer it to his left; wherein he already has a shilling of his own. Surreptitiously depositing the coin lent to him behind the pack of cards on the table, he exhibits the substitute on the palm of the left hand and rubs it with the fingers of the right.

“I do this,” he explains, “in order to drive out all adverse magnetisms, and to substitute my own. I will now put the coin in full view on the table and cover it with a card. See that I do so fairly.”

After laying down the coin he takes the top card of the pack, and with it, unknown to the spectators, the overlay beneath it, and lowers them on to the coin.

“Notice particularly, please, where I have placed the coin, and notice too that I do not touch it again. I will now place two more cards, one on each side of the first one.” He does so, letting the spectators see clearly that there is nothing in the hand save the card itself, and then slowly lowering it exactly on to one of the two overlays on the table. “Now I make a few magnetic passes over the cards, so.” He waves his wand backwards and forwards above the cards, at a few inches’ distance.

“And now, where is the coin? Still under the middle card, you would say? You are mistaken.” He lifts that card lengthwise, leaving the overlay covering the coin; then replacing the card. “It is no longer there, you see. In point of fact it has passed under this card.”

He lifts one of the side cards breadthwise, the overlay coming with it, and exposes the coin beneath it. “Here it is, you see. We will try once more.” He replaces the card and then shows, in like manner, that the coin has passed to the card on the opposite side. After one or two transpositions have been shown, the audience being allowed to say under which card the coin shall appear, and the last shift having been to one of the side positions, the performer says: “I should like you to be satisfied that it is really the marked coin and no other, that wanders about in this way. I will ask the gentleman who lent it to me to verify his mark.”

He picks up from one of the side positions the coin last uncovered and brings it forward, but in transit “switches” it for the borrowed coin, which he has a moment previously picked up from its resting place behind the pack. It is, of course, this last which he offers for identification, again exchanging it for the substitute before replacing this in its former position. The final reproduction must be from under the centre card, the performer again ringing the changes before returning the coin to the owner. At the close of the trick all three cards are placed on the pack, the centre overlay going with them. The other two overlays are left on the mat, each still covering its own coin, and the whole being carried off together. If the mat is of the folding kind it can be closed before removal, effectually concealing the accessories used in the trick.

Some amount of skill will be found necessary to pick up the card with or without the corresponding overlay, as may be desired. The difficulty however speedily disappears with practice. On the other hand, the trick is well worth the trouble needed to master it, for if the spectators are convinced (as, given perfect execution, they should be) that it is really the borrowed coin which travels about as it appears to do, nothing short of genuine magic will furnish an adequate explanation.

The performer is of course by no means bound to adopt the _mise en scène_ above suggested. If preferred, the patter might be based on a supposed plot between the two knaves to rob the queen, the coin representing the stolen property, secretly passed from the one to the other when either was accused of the theft. The story might conclude with an appeal by the queen to a benevolent magician, through whose good offices her property is brought back to its original position, and in due course restored to her. The touch of the mystic wand would naturally play an important part in effecting the restoration.

CARD TRICKS

ARITHMETIC BY MAGIC

_Preparation._ The two “flower-pots” (see page 5), separated, are placed upon the table. Also the card mat (see page 1), loaded with the _ten_ of any given suit, say diamonds, taken from the pack performer is about to use, and a double-faced card, representing on the one side the seven, and on the other the three of the same suit. The deuce and five of same suit to be laid on the top of the pack.

Performer, advancing pack in hand, palms off the two top cards, and offers the rest to be shuffled. This done, he forces these two cards on different persons. On receiving back one of them, he brings it to the top; executes a false shuffle leaving it in the same position; brings it again to the middle by the pass, and has the second card replaced upon it; then, once again making the pass, brings both together to the top.

(The use of the Charlier pass is here recommended.)

The patter may be to something like the following effect: “Two cards have been chosen, ladies and gentlemen. I can’t say what they are, but I can very easily find out. I shall simply order them to rise up and paw the air. It all depends on the strength of the will. I myself happen to have a very strong will, in fact, I don’t know anyone who has a stronger will, except my wife. I exert my will, and say, ‘first card, rise!’ and up it comes, as you see.”

Stepping well back from the spectators, so that they cannot distinguish from what part of the pack the card comes, he works up the hindmost card by the familiar “hand” method. (“Modern Magic,” p. 129.)

“Here we have one of the two cards. Let us see what it is. The five of diamonds! Good! And now for the other. Second card; rise! Up comes another card, you see, the deuce of diamonds. Those are the cards which were drawn, are they not?

“Now the question arises, ‘what shall we do with them?’ It is a pity the ladies didn’t choose bigger cards. You can’t ‘go nap’[6] on a deuce and a five, can you? I think I can’t do better than use them to show you a little experiment in conjurer’s arithmetic. Will some young mathematician among the audience kindly tell us what two and five, added together, make?” (He waits for reply, but if none, pretends to hear one.) “Seven! Right first time. And if you take two from five how many remain? Three? Good again. Really there are lot of clever people about, if you know where to look for them.

“Now I want to show you that the cards know all about it themselves; in fact, they are just as clever at doing sums as we are. I will take these two cards and drop them into one of these pretty flower-pots. Let me show you first that it is quite empty.”

He lays the cards on the little mat while showing inside of flower-pot (the one with secret pocket), then picks up mat, and transfers it from hand to hand, showing, without remark, that the hands are otherwise empty, and lets the two cards slide off it into the flower-pot, the concealed cards naturally going with them.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, what shall the cards do for you, the addition, or the subtraction sum? It is all the same to me. The addition? Very good. They can’t talk, so they will call another card from the pack to give you the answer. Yes, here we have it. Five--and two--are--seven.”

As he names each card, he produces it from the flower-pot, the third being the double-faced card, shown as the seven.

“Now I can hear what some of you are thinking. Oh, yes! I often hear what people think. You are thinking that if you had said subtraction instead of addition, I should have been in what is popularly called a hole. But you are mistaken. Now we will ask the cards to do the subtraction sum. The seven will go back to the pack, and send another card in its place.” He drops all three cards back into the flower-pot, and brings them up as before, save that this time the trick card is made to face the other way. “_Five_--less _two_--are _three! Quod erat demonstrandum_, as our old friend Euclid used to say when he had just floored a new poser. As the cards seem to be in a good humour, we will try them once more, and see if we can get them to do a little multiplication.” (He drops the three cards into the flower-pot, as before, but this time lets the fake card fall into the pocket.) “Five times--two--are ‘ten.’” (Showing the two cards and the ten, in that order.)

“Now I will ask some gentleman to see that these three cards really belong to the pack. The three and seven went back to it as soon as they were done with. The flower-pot, as you see, is again empty.” (He shows by lifting it that apparently it is so.)

If the first choice of the audience is for subtraction the order of production will naturally be varied accordingly.

[6] To endeavor to take all five tricks in the game of Napoleon.

THOSE NAUGHTY KNAVES

This item may be described, if preferred, as “Knavish Tricks.”

_Requirements._ Card mat loaded with knaves of spades, hearts and diamonds, taken from the pack in use. Knave of clubs on top of pack.

_Presentation._ Advance, palming off the knave of clubs, and offer pack to be shuffled. When it is returned, force the knave on one of the company. Borrow a hat, and after showing that it is empty, place it, crown downwards, on the table. Receive back the drawn card upon the mat, remarking that you will place it in the hat, which you do accordingly, the other three knaves going in with it. Then, assuming a worried expression, deliver patter to something like the following effect.

“I am afraid, ladies and gentlemen, that I shall not be able to show you the experiment I had intended. I have a telepathic nerve in my left thumb, a sort of private fire alarm, only more so, which always gives me warning when things are going wrong, and I feel it now. If you have read ‘Macbeth,’ you will remember that one of the witches says:

‘By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.’

“I have often wondered whether that old lady could have been a sort of great-great-great grandmother of mine. Magic certainly runs in the family, and we may have inherited it from her. Anyhow, I have just the same sort of sensation myself. Unfortunately, in my case the warning is incomplete. I dare say you will remember that story (I rather think it’s in Macaulay’s ‘Lays of Ancient Rome’), about Little Queen Cole. Her Majesty had the misfortune to develop a mole upon her nose, and King Cole was worried about it. He consulted Old Moore and Zadkiel, and all the leading astrologers of the day, but all they could tell him was

‘A mole upon the face Shows that something will take place, But not what that something will be.’

That’s just my case. My prophetic thumb merely tells me that something is wrong, but doesn’t say what. It may be drains, or the house on fire, or something in the county court. You never can tell!

“Of course it’s nothing of that sort now. In the present case it has no doubt something to do with the experiment I want to show you. You chose your card quite freely, did you not, Madam? It never matters to me in the least what card is chosen, with the exception of one particular card, which is a holy terror. May I ask if you happened to draw the knave of clubs? Yes? I feared as much. The knave of clubs is the bane of my life. He is always endeavouring to get himself chosen, and then he does his best to upset my arrangements. And the worst of it is, he leads away the other three knaves. The four of them form a secret society, which they call ‘The cheerful blackguards.’ The knave of clubs is the president, and the rest have to do just as he tells them. He communicates with them by means of a sort of wireless telegraphy, and when he calls they go to him at once.” (You here make the “click.”) “Did you hear that sound? That’s his call now, despatched by wireless from the hat to the very middle of the pack. I have no doubt that we shall find that the other three knaves have already left it, and joined him in the hat.” (Make believe to look over the pack, and hand it to a spectator.) “Yes! just as I thought: they are all gone.” (To a spectator.) “See for yourself, sir. Not a single knave left. And here they all are, in the hat.” (Whence they are produced accordingly.)

As the “click” in some cases adds much to the effect of a trick, and as it may to some readers be an unfamiliar sleight, I may pause to explain that it is executed as follows: Take the pack in either hand, held upright between forefinger and thumb, a little more than halfway down, with the middle finger curled up behind it as in Fig. 13. With the tip of the third finger bend back the extreme bottom corners of the last half dozen or so of the cards, allowing them to escape again smartly. The sound made by the corners in springing back again constitutes the “click.” It needs a little practice, but if the cards are held properly, and the sleight worked smartly, the sound will be audible at a considerable distance, whilst the movement of the finger producing it is quite invisible to the spectators.

But we have not yet done with our trick. You may resume as follows:

“I will give you a further illustration of what I have to put up with from the knaves. I should like you to be satisfied that I have nothing to do with their bad behaviour.” (You palm off the three top cards, and with the same hand offer the four knaves to a spectator.) “Will you, sir, make sure that these really are the four knaves, and then place them here on the top of the pack,”--offered with the left hand. When the knaves have been laid upon it, you transfer it to the opposite hand, and palm on to them the three concealed cards, but immediately slide them off again, with the uppermost of the four knaves beneath them. You hold them up in a careless way, so that the audience, catching sight of this card, may be confirmed in the belief that the cards exhibited in the right hand are really the four knaves.

“Here we have the four knaves, at present all together. I will now distribute them in different parts of the pack, as far apart as possible. One here, nearly at the bottom, one a little higher up, another about the middle, and this last” (you show it carelessly), “close to the top.” (This, being a genuine knave, must be placed among the other knaves.) “They could hardly be placed farther apart than that: but to make things a little more difficult for them, I will ask some lady to cut the cards.”

This done, and the cards handed back to you, you repeat the click. “There it is again: the wireless signal. You can all bear witness that I have nothing to do with the matter. Now, Sir, will you kindly examine the pack, and unless I am much mistaken, you will find that the other three knaves have answered Black Jack’s call, and that the four cheerful blackguards have got together again, in which case, with your permission, I will leave them severely alone, and try some other experiment.”

The expert will recognise this last effect as a “chestnut” among card tricks, but it is none the worse on that account, and it forms a particularly appropriate sequel to the principal trick.

If the performer possesses the “flower-pot,” one of these will naturally be used in place of the hat.

MAGNETIC MAGIC

_Requirements._ Card mat, loaded with a single known card (precise nature optional). Pack of cards with corresponding card at top. A horseshoe magnet, the larger the better for the sake of effect. The two flower-pots, placed at some distance apart, preferably on separate tables.

We will suppose that the card selected for the purpose of the trick is the ten of spades. Performer advances, and delivers patter to something like the following effect.

“By way of a change, I should like now to show you a little experiment in magnetism, but magnetism of a new kind. The old sort was a comparatively poor affair. It was only useful with iron or steel. Anything else it wouldn’t attract for nuts. My sort of magnetism is a very superior article. It will attract all sorts of things, so long as they are not too heavy, like a sack of coals, or a lawyer’s bill. So far, I have been chiefly experimenting with cards, and I will show you how it works.

“I want three ladies each to choose a card from this pack.” (He forces the ten of spades, allowing the other two cards to be chosen freely, and takes all three back, face down, on the mat, keeping in mind which of them is the forced card.) “I will take one of these cards.” (He picks up the forced card, and holds it aloft.) “Please all notice what it is: I don’t want to see it myself. I drop it into this pretty flower-pot” (actually dropping it into the secret pocket). “And now as to these other two.” (He picks them up and shows them, then replacing them on the mat.) “These I will place in the other flower-pot. First, however, I will show you that at present it is empty.” He does so, and then lets the two cards slide off the mat into the pot, the concealed card going with them.