Part 118

Any carpenter can run up a temporary stage in a drawing room, from a slight sketch, in a day, without doing any damage to the walls. The curtain ought to be rehearsed as much as the play, till it goes up and down or pulls aside without a hitch. (E. E. C.)

=Tricks and Illusions.=--Much amusement may be derived from the practice of conjuring tricks and illusions, and such entertainments are not without an educational value, as they excite curiosity and develop a desire in young minds to acquire knowledge, and induce an exercise of the reasoning faculties in endeavouring to learn how they are performed.

_Sleight of Hand._--The following notes on sleight of hand tricks are taken from a chapter in _A Curious Company_, by that entertaining writer, Max Adeler.

“Before beginning to explain the _modus operandi_ of the impromptu illusionist, let me just tabulate eight golden rules, which you must always bear in mind if you hope for anything like success.

“1. Never look at your hands, unless to attract attention to one of them.

“2. Cultivate the art of chattering freely, with as much original wit as you can invent, or plagiarise without fear of detection.

“3. Never tell a lie that you cannot stick to, and illustrate if necessary. You can always ward off an explanation for a few instants whilst you remove the chances of discovery, and you will find as you get on that you can boldly do the most outrageously transparent things _coram populo_, without being found out or observed.

“4. Your hands must always work _together_, never be easy with one hand and constrained with the other; unless you can by no other means distract the attention of some horribly sharp person from one hand, when an awkward movement of the other will often divert his undesired watchfulness.

“5. Cultivate the art of scoring off rude people, who ask awkward questions. If any one _thinks_ he has discovered ‘the way it’s done’ (but not the right way), _let_ him think so, and swagger his astuteness, and his desire to slip through to New Zealand will be all the greater when you prove him wrong. _Sæpe interereunt aliis meditantes necem._ If you are really found out beyond recovery, don’t try to carry it off; throw yourself at _once_ on the generosity of the discoverer or discoverers, and ask him or her not to expose you; remember you are only an amateur, and not getting your living.

“6. _Never_ go on an instant after you detect the least signs among the audience of ‘having had enough of it.’

“7. When doing anything quite harmless, make a great _unostentatious_ parade of your innocence; your audience will be all the more ready to take you on trust when you are taking them in.

“8. Never perform a trick in public which you have not amply rehearsed in private.

“Your dress will of course, as a rule, be the ordinary evening dress, and unless you have a great reputation as a prestidigitateur, no alteration is required. However, a little pocket an inch deep, contrived in and hidden by the seam of the trousers just where the tips of the fingers fall when the hand is naturally lowered to the side is a great convenience for getting rid of small articles when palmed, or for producing them suddenly by the same means. Otherwise, the natural movement of getting at one’s handkerchief, &c., will answer the same purpose, if neatly and unostentatiously done. It is as well to turn up the coat-sleeves, for though they are _never_ used in legerdemain, it is impossible to disabuse people of the notion that they are.

“These maxims (which are, after all, the chief art to be acquired by the amateur conjuror) having been digested, let us turn to the considerations of the principles and practice of the science of legerdemain. These may be summed up thus: Every conjuring trick or illusion, not involving the use of a stage, apparatus, and accomplices, is performed in, and has for its foundation one of three proceedings; these are, (1) The Palm, (2) The Pass, (3) The Slip, and the motive power of the trio is the same, and is expressed in one word, viz. ‘cheek.’

“1. _Palming_, is the art of holding in one hand any article (coin, card, &c.) unknown and unseen by the spectators, or of retaining in one hand anything which, by the ‘pass’ has apparently left it.

“2. _Passing_, is the art of so palming any article that it is _apparently_ transferred to some other receptacle, or altering the position of the cards in a pack unseen by the audience.

“3. _Slipping_, is the art of moving, altering the position of, or getting possession of any _single_ card without being detected, and,

“4. _Cheek_ is--[3].

“Coin Sleights.--Palming.--1. Place a penny or florin across the middle joints of the second and third fingers of either hand, as at _a_, Fig. 99, reproduced from illustrations by Miss Dora Noyes; on slightly bending the hand in an easy and natural manner, the coin will be clipped, as at _b_, by the fleshy part of the other two joints, and the hand may be turned over, and in fact placed in any position, so long as the back of the hand is presented to the audience. This is a useful palm on an emergency, as when people suspect that the coin is in the palm of the hand it may be shown empty, the top joints of the fingers hiding the coin thus held.

“2. Place the coin between the joint of the thumb and the hand, and on slightly bending the thumb the coin will be held flat. This is most useful for changing, described further on, but as an ordinary concealment of a coin it is too dangerous except for small coins which the thumb is large enough to hide.

“3. The principal palm (from which the manipulation derives its name) is as follows: Place the coin so that one edge just touches the highest of the three marked lines that cross the palm of the hand, rather towards the thumb. On slightly bending the hand the coin will be retained; you will find it difficult at first, but practice will show you the exact spot, where the difficulty is reduced to a minimum. If you take the coin flatwise between the thumb, the tips of the second and third fingers, by naturally closing the fingers over and clasping them tight in the palm of the hand, the coin will be brought into the exact position, so that if you pick up a coin, by a sudden outward sweep you can cover this movement, and on recovering the hand the coin will be palmed and the hand apparently empty.

“Other means of holding a coin _en cache_ will naturally present themselves when these have been thoroughly mastered.

“Passing.--1. Take the coin edgeways, between the thumb and the tips of the second and third fingers of the right hand, having the palm of the hand upwards, therefore the backs of the fingers presented to the audience, as at _c_. Approach the left hand to the right, with back of the hand upwards, and as soon as the left hand hides the tips of the fingers of the right hand, loosen the thumb so as to drop the coin on to the second and third fingers, as at _d_. Immediately close the left hand as if taking the coin out of the right hand and raise it up; meanwhile bend the fingers of the right hand so as to effect palm No. 1, and lower it steadily to the side _or_ holding the coin as in palm No. 1, and hidden by the bend of the little finger raise the right hand to the mouth and cough slightly before lowering it, this shows the audience (apparently) that the right hand is empty. Meanwhile you play about with the left hand, in which the audience thinks is the coin, and when you have diverted their attention and disposed of the coin you can imitate the motion with the left hand of throwing the (imaginary) coin into the air or rubbing it away to nothing, or any other fanciful way of (apparently) disposing of it, or if you have safely got rid of the coin, suddenly rub your hands together and gradually display the two hands both empty. This is one of the most effective and easy passes.

“2. Lay the coin on the left hand, approach the right to it, take the coin between the fingers and thumb of the right, carry the right hand smartly back, performing palm No. 3. Holding the left hand open jerk the right hand close to it, really holding the penny in the right palm, but apparently throwing it into the left; as you do it shut the fingers of the left hand smartly over the palm so as to produce a slap which people think is the slap of the coin falling into the hand, hold up the left hand so that people look at it, and lower the right with the coin palmed (No. 3); if any one is suspicious shift the coin to palm No. 1, and apparently show the hand empty in some artful manner. Then do what you like with the imaginary coin in the left hand.

“3. To pass several coins, let them all be (if possible) of the same size and hold them tight in the palm of the right hand, then perform pass No. 2, in exactly the same manner as with a single coin, except that instead of holding them in the palm they fall with a clink into the bend of the fingers where they must at once be secured by the thumb beyond fear of further rattle. The chink thus produced, the audience thinks is produced by the coins falling into the other hand, which being immediately closed apparently holds the coins. It is a ticklish trick to perform well, owing to the necessarily constrained position of the right hand, but when got well into control is very effective indeed.

“There are many other palms and passes, but with these all sleight-of-hand tricks may be done, and out of them the amateur can invent a quantity of simple little impromptu experiments.

“Card Sleights.--These are far more extensive than coin tricks, for the cards in themselves are in a way apparatus, the active principles of which are, as with coin, the palm, the pass, and cheek, to which are added last, but not least, the slip and the turnover. You must constantly ‘Ruffle’ the cards, i.e. holding the pack in one hand draw the fingers or thumb of the other across the edges at one end so as to rattle them all together. It conceals any manipulation which may have startled the audience, and should therefore be done in a quick or _degagé_ manner after every sleight or whenever needed, and as the audience do not understand it, they think that this movement is the actual operation by which the wonders are performed.

“Palming.--This is done as follows: Hold the pack as at _d_, Fig. 99, in the left hand, and covering the pack lengthways with the right, so that the top joint of the fingers touches the top edge of the top card, slide the top card forward, and press down the tips of the fingers; the card will be thus pressed into the hand and lie curled up in it as in _e_, if thin small cards are used, a card (or even two or three) thus held will be completely hidden by the hand, and may be curled up tight without injury to the card. In this sleight, it is difficult to avoid a constrained position of the hand, but it is very useful as hereinafter described for changing cards.

“Passing.--This is the great stumbling-block of the amateur miracle-monger, and will require most practice, for when you begin it will seem impossible to do it _en cache_. Its object is to reverse the two halves of the pack (in fact, a sort of automatic _cut_; in fact the French term is ‘_sauter la coupe_,’ for by its means the demoralising effect of a cut may be avoided), and when properly practised and perfected it is done noiselessly, in a manner incomprehensible to the conjuror himself. Often, practising the pass before a looking-glass, I have wondered myself at my own performance, so completely does the automatic and sympathetic movement of the hands deceive the eye. The pack being divided into two halves, it is held in the left hand as at _f_, i.e. as seen from the front there is no division, but really whilst three fingers clasp it, it is divided (above or below any given card, or, as the case may be) by the little finger. Now cover the pack lengthways with the right hand, slip the first finger in also as at _g_, so that the upper half of the pack is held as it were in a hinge formed by the fingers of the left hand. Now seize the lower half between the thumb and fingers and the right hand, and press it sideways into the lower joint of the thumb as at _h_. Now by means of the fingers of the left hand raise the upper half hinge-wise, and with the fingers and thumb of the right, lift the lower half till it is just clear of the top half as at _i_, when on pressing down the thumb the lower half will be pressed over the top half as at _j_. The fingers may then be removed, and your purpose is accomplished; i.e. the top and bottom halves of the pack have changed places. As you acquire practice it will only be necessary to insert the little finger of the left hand, instead of two. It is well to lower the hands sharply as you perform this sleight, to cover the movement, which, however, by practice is reduced to a minimum. It is also well, if you feel that some one is suspicious, to ruffle the cards immediately afterwards to divert suspicion. This sleight requires much private rehearsal, but is the mainspring of a great many tricks, and its practice gives the hands a suppleness and sympathy not to be acquired in any other way.

“The _turnover_ is a sleight, practised when it is desired to present the backs of the cards whichever way the pack is presented. It is performed as follows: Beginning exactly as with the pass, except that when _i_ is reached instead of pressing the lower half over the top, the movement is continued to _k_, so that the two halves of the pack face one another, and now whether the top or bottom half be uppermost, the backs of the cards will be visible. You can now deal off cards from either half, and when you want to cease, and begin from the other, hold the cards as in _d_, but the thumb instead of being over the pack it is underneath as at _l_, so that the attention of the audience being diverted (by counting the cards already dealt, or otherwise) by an upward pressure of the thumb the pack is completely reversed, and the heretofore undermost card is now at the top. This is the principle of most tricks involving counting off cards.

“Slips.--These are the most useful and frequently required sleights practised by the amateur conjuror, and consist of the knack of drawing a card from the top, middle, or bottom of the pack, and placing it in any position in the pack which may be required by the trick.

“1. The pack being held in the ordinary manner in the left hand, with a chosen card on the top (either placed there by the chooser, or by the pass, or one of the subjoined slips), lift off the top half, raising it rather hingewise, so that the _top_ card being retained by the fingers of the left hand it is left on the top of the half retained in the left hand, as in _m_.

“2. The chosen card being on the top of the pack, being held as at _d_, and covered lengthwise by the right hand, by a sudden contraction of the fingers of the left hand, the top card is drawn off (under the right hand) as at _n_, with a ‘flip,’ caused by the bending of the card as it bends and straightens out at the bottom of the pack. The cards are immediately ‘ruffled’ to disguise the flip. In the same manner a card may be sprung from the bottom to the top, or from the top to the centre, in the latter case the pack being opened a little in the left hand, and the top half slightly raised by the thumb and fingers of the right hand. The elasticity of the card will cause it to spring, in the instant it finds an opening.

“3. A card having been chosen, the pack is presented, just raising the top half to make a place for it, but not looking at the place, or indeed at the hands at all. The card being inserted, before replacing the top half the two middle fingers are inserted just over it, and directly the two halves join, the card is flipped out by the two fingers as in _n_, and brought to the bottom. The cards are immediately ‘ruffled,’ and your point is gained, i.e. you know the exact card chosen. If the chooser demurs to re-inserting the card at the opening you make--

“4. Spread out the pack fanwise before him, spreading them _to your right_, and letting the fingers of your two hands meet underneath the fan. By this means wherever he pushes in his card, you can feel it, and in collapsing the fan into pack form, the fingers are slipped in over the top as in slip No. 3, and the card is flipped out as there set down.

“These demonstrate the active principles of slips, which your own ingenuity will multiply _ad infinitum_. It will be seen that by their means any card chosen and returned to the pack may be at once secured and ascertained, which is the prime object of the card trickster, in whatsoever experiment he may be engaged. Simply a ‘slip,’ combined with any of the following ‘exposures,’ will constitute a trick in itself, far above the comprehension of any one not himself a master of the art.

“Exposures.--These are the methods of ‘exposing’ a card chosen, and returned to the pack. Your own fancy will suggest any quantity of methods, but the following are a few for a start. In fact, almost all card-tricks consist of one sleight, and a more or less complicated exposure.

“1. Slip the chosen card to the top. Let the pack be held by any one (say the chooser of the card) with the face upwards, i.e. so that his card is at the bottom. See that the pack is held well into the hand of the holder, secured by the thumb set rather near the edge of the pack. Now, with your own hand, or let any one else, strike the pack smartly downwards, and all the cards will be knocked out of his hand except the bottom one (his own) which remains staring him in the face, retained by adhesion to his own fingers. Result, natural, but extraordinary.

“2. Slip the chosen card to the top. Take the pack in the right hand, and cover it with the left, as you do so sliding the top (chosen) card sideways till it projects nearly half over the side of the pack. This state of things will be hidden by the left hand, holding the pack endways. On dropping the pack bodily from the left hand at an elevation of about 1½ feet from floor or table, the top (chosen) card will turn as it falls, and lie face upwards on the top of the pack. Result, simple, but startling.

“3. Slip the chosen card to the top. Give the chooser a paper knife, and, holding the pack as at _d_, tell him to cut the pack with it where he likes. Where he cuts, divide the pack, and lift off the top half, doing at the same time slip No. 1, which will bring his card to the top of the lower half. Put down the top half, and observing that you in no way influenced his cut, tell him to take the (now) top card. He will be surprised to find it his own. Result, easy but supernatural.

“Space forbids me to suggest any others, which you can easily work out for yourself. If time and space would allow, it would be easy to fill a volume with card tricks requiring no preparation, apparatus, or accomplices; but as they are all based upon the above sleights, mere repetition would be useless.

“The following selection are very telling and are easily performed.

“1. To tell any card by looking at its back. This is founded on a manipulation, which I have not described above, and which is called the ‘drawback.’ The pack is held in the left hand as at _p_, with the faces downwards. Look at the bottom card, and as you turn the pack down draw down the bottom card with the little finger as at _q_. Asking some one to tell you when to stop, commence drawing back the cards on the top as at _o_. When told to stop, name the bottom card (looked at and drawn back) and drawing out all the intermediate cards, inform the teller that that is the card he stopped at, and in effect on turning up the remaining cards, the card drawn back and named will be at the bottom, and apparently the one at which he stopped. I have done this trick twenty times running without being detected.

“2. Let any one choose a card and get it to the bottom of the pack by slips Nos. 3 or 4. Put down the cards haphazard in three packs, noting at the bottom of which the chosen card is. Ask the chooser in which pack he would imagine his card to be; if he chooses the right one (which is lucky) throw away the other two; if not, place the one he chooses _on_ the right one and throw away the _other_ wrong one. Redivide the cards left into three packs and proceed as before, always retaining the pack _at the bottom of which_ his card is, until only three cards are left, including the right one. If he now chooses the right one it is exceptional luck, though it often so happens: if not, appear to hesitate a moment, and then retaining his own and the one he chooses, throw away the third, and mixing the two left but remembering his own yourself, throw them down, and the chances are even he will choose his own card. If he doesn’t, boldly throw down the one he chooses and turn up the other, which is his own. Casually observe that you in no way influenced his choice, and leave him astonished.

“3. Pass or slip the chosen card to the top and make a great show of a false shuffle, i.e. shuffle all the cards, but retain or manipulate the top card so that it is shuffled to the bottom and thence back to the top. Then have the cards cut, and taking them up yourself, slip out the card by slip Nos. 3 or 4, and re-slip it to the top, or avoid the entire cut by means of the pass. Having _convinced_ him that his card is lost _in gurgite vasto_ of the pack, let him count off 8 cards from the top and spread them in any order in a row, face downwards, _but_ keep your eye on and note the position of the first or top card, which is his own. Put away the rest of the pack, and tell him to touch four out of the eight. If he touches his own amongst them, take up and throw away the four untouched, or if he does not touch his own, take up those he touches. Then let him touch two of the four left, and throw away as before, leaving his own one of the two left. Then let him touch one of the two left, and as before leave his own solus. Turn it up, and his astonishment will be unbounded. Your victim will often enable you _always_ to throw away the ones touched, and of course this improves the trick, otherwise it is twenty to one against his noticing that you do not always throw away the same set. If he does, you must trust to providence and let the best liar win.

“4. Choose out the four kings (or any other four similar cards) and divide the pack into two halves, place the cards, a black on the top and a red on the bottom of one half, and a red on the top and a black on the bottom of the other half, so that when the halves are united the two blacks will be in the middle and the two reds on the top, as you reunite them slip in the little finger as at _f_. Make the victim recite aloud the position of the reds and that of the blacks, and repeat it after him so that there is _no_ doubt. Freely expose the faces fanwise (keeping the place) to let him be certain. When this is accomplished make the ‘pass’ so as to reverse the order of things. Expose the pack as reversed, and begging him to be more careful in future repeat the experiment to his utter mystification. If you are really good at ‘passing,’ this trick may be repeated over and over again with great effect.