Part 9
Lay sixteen cards on the table, in four divisions, four cards in each, with their faces upwards. You then state that you will leave the room, and, on your return, will name any one card which may have been touched in your absence, on one of the company (your confederate) pointing out a passage from any author to be read to you, on your return, by any person present. To perform this trick, the cards should be placed in the order in which they appear in the cut inserted on the next page, you previously making your confederate acquainted with your mode of proceeding, which is thus: The cards are supposed to be divided into four classes, as A, B, C, D; you likewise agree to class everything in the world under the four denominations of biped, quadruped, vegetable, and mineral: class A stands for bipeds, B for quadrupeds, C for vegetables, and D for minerals. Each class must now be subdivided in the same manner: in class A, No. 1 is the biped, 2 the quadruped, 3 the vegetable, and 4 the mineral; and so with the other classes. When performing the trick, your confederate must take care to select an appropriate passage. For example, we will suppose the card No. 4 to have been touched, and that a volume of Moore having been presented to your confederate to select from, he gives the following lines to be read:
"Breathes there the _slave_ so lowly, Condemned to _chains_ unholy, Who, could he burst his bonds at first, Would pine beneath them slowly?" &c.
The first word which can be classed as above is _slave_, you may thus be certain that the card touched is in class A, a slave being a biped. The next word you can fix upon is _chains_, which being commonly made of some metal, you rank in the mineral class, and know that card No. 4 was the one touched, it being the mineral of the biped class.
Supposing the trick to be repeated, as is very likely, and that a volume of Byron is given to your confederate, who selects the passage commencing--
"Know ye the land, where the cypress and myrtle Are emblems of deeds that are done in their clime?" &c.
you know, "cypress" being the first word that can be classed, the card touched must be in class C (vegetable), and the next word "myrtle" being also a vegetable, the card touched must have been No. 11, which is the vegetable of the vegetable class. Many appropriate passages may be easily selected, and your confederate should select a long passage to be read, as it gives greater scope, and helps to mislead the rest of the company; for should they imagine that the card is discovered by the number of lines read, and they touch the same card again, he can select another passage, desiring them to read only as many lines as they choose.
29. "HOLD IT FAST."
You commence by asking the most athletic person in company whether he is nervous; he will most probably answer in the negative; you then ask whether he thinks he can hold a card tightly. If he answers, No, ask the question of some one else, till you obtain an answer in the affirmative. You then desire the party to stand in the middle of the room, and holding up the pack of cards, you show him the bottom card, and request him to proclaim what card it is; he will say it is the knave of hearts; you then tell him to hold the card tightly at the bottom, and look to the ceiling. While he is looking up, you ask him if he recollects his card; if he says, Yes, desire him to draw it away, and ask him what it is; he will, of course, answer, the knave of hearts; tell him he has made a mistake, for if he look at his card, he will find it to be the knave of spades, which will be the case. You then give him the remainder of the pack, telling him that if he looks over it, he will find the knave of hearts in quite a different situation.
This feat, though it excites much admiration, is very simple. You procure an extra knave of hearts, and cut it in half, keeping the upper part, and throwing away the lower. When commencing your feat, get the knave of spades to the bottom of the pack, and lay over the upper part of it, unperceived, your half knave of hearts; and, under pretence of holding the pack very tight, throw your thumb across the middle of the knave, so that the joining may not be perceived, for the legs of those two knaves are so much alike that there is no danger of detection. You, of course, give him the legs of the knave of spades to hold, and when he has drawn the card away, hold your hand so that the faces of the cards will be turned towards the floor, and take an opportunity of removing the half-knave: you may vary the feat by having a half-knave of spades.
30. THE CHARMED TWELVE.
Let any one take a pack of cards, shuffle, take off the upper card, and, having noticed it, lay it on the table, with its face downward, and put so many cards upon it as will make up twelve with the number of spots on the noted card. For instance: if the card which the person drew was king, queen knave, or ten, bid him lay that card, with its face downward, calling it ten; upon that card let him lay another, calling it eleven, and upon that card, another, calling it twelve; then bid him take off the next uppermost card: suppose it to be nine, let him lay it down on another part of the table, calling it nine, upon it let him lay another, calling it ten, upon the latter another, calling it eleven, and upon that another, calling it twelve; then let him go to the next uppermost card, and so proceed to lay out in heaps, as before, until he has gone through with the whole pack.
If there be any cards at the last, that is, if there be not enough to make up the last noted card, the number twelve, bid him give them to you; then, in order to tell all the number of spots contained in all the bottom cards of the heaps, do thus: from the number of heaps subtract four, multiply the remainder by thirteen, and, to the product, add the number of remaining cards, which he gave you; but if there were but four heaps, then those remaining cards alone will show the number of spots on the four bottom cards. You need not see the cards laid out, nor know the number of cards in each heap, it being sufficient to know the number of heaps, and the number of remaining cards, if there be any, and therefore you may perform this feat as well standing in another room, as if you were present.
31. THE TRICK OF THIRTY-ONE.
A trick often introduced by "_sporting men_," for the purpose of deceiving and making money by it. It is called "thirty-one." I caution all not to play or bet with a man who introduces it: for, most probably, if he does not propose betting on it at first, he will after he gets you interested, and pretend to teach you all the secrets of it, so that you can play it with him; and perhaps he will let you beat him if you should play in fun; but if you bet, he will surely beat you. It is played with the first six of each suit--the _aces_ in one row, the _deuces_ in another, the _threes_ in another; then the _fours_, _fives_ and _sixes_--all laid in rows. The object now will be to turn down cards alternately, and endeavor to make thirty-one points by so turning, or as near to it as possible, without overrunning it; and the man who turns down a card, the spots of which make him thirty-one, or so near it that the other cannot turn down one without overrunning it, wins. This trick is very deceiving, as all other tricks are, and requires much practice to be well understood. The persons using it I have known to attach great importance to it, and say that Mr. Fox, of England, was the first to introduce it; and that it was a favorite amusement of his. The chief point of this celebrated trick is to count so as to end with the following numbers, viz., 3, 10, 17 or 24. For example, we will suppose it your privilege to commence the count: you would commence with 3, and your adversary would add 6, which would make 9; it would then be your policy to add 1, and make 10; then, no matter what number he adds, he cannot prevent you counting 17, which number gives you the command of the trick. We will suppose he add 6, and make 16; then, you add 1, and make 17, then he to add 6, and make 23, you add 1, and make 24, then he cannot possibly add any number to count 31: as the highest number he can add is 6, which would only count 30, so that you can easily add the remaining 1, or ace, and make 31. There are, however, many variations to the trick.
32. TO TELL THE NAMES OF THE CARD BY THE WEIGHT.
You desire any person to cut a pack of cards as often as he pleases, and undertake, by weighing each card for a moment on your finger, not only to tell the color, but the suit and number of spots, and, if a court-card, whether it be king, queen, or knave.
You must have two packs of cards exactly alike: one pack to be constantly in use during the evening in performing your other tricks; the second, or prepared pack, in your pocket, which take an opportunity of exchanging, so that it may be believed that the pack of cards of which you tell the names is the same as that you have been using with your other tricks, and which they must know have been well shuffled.
The manner of preparing your pack (which must be done previously) is by the following line, which you commit to memory, the words in italics forming the key:
Eight Kings threa-tened to save nine fair Ladies for one sick Knave. _Eight King three ten two seven nine five Queen four ace six Knave_,
You will perceive that this is a kind of artificial memory, formed by the circumstances of the initial letter of the words in the line and the names of the cards being identical, as well as the near resemblance of some of the words. The word "threatened" is divided into two words, in order that it may answer for the three and ten; you should pay attention to this, or you will be very likely to forget the ten altogether, which would set you entirely wrong; you should likewise commit to memory the order in which the suits come viz.: _hearts_--_spades_--_diamonds_--_clubs_.
You should now separate the different suits, and lay them on the table, face upwards, placing heart first, spades next, diamonds next, and clubs last. Having done so, begin to sort (to yourself), according to your key: take up the eight of hearts, placing it in the left hand with its back to the palm; then the king of spades, which you lay over it, next the three of diamonds, next the ten of clubs, then the two of hearts, and so on, until you finish your line, which will terminate with the knave of hearts. You then take up the eight of spades, and go on in the same way till you come to the knave of spades, when you begin again with the eight of diamonds, and go on until you come to the knave of diamonds, and beginning again with the eight of clubs, you go on until you come to the knave of clubs, which finishes the pack, and which is now ready for use; when you have made your exchange, and brought forward your prepared pack, hand it round to be cut.
You now want to know the first card, as a clue to the rest; and therefore take off the top card, and holding it up between you and the light, you see what the card is, saying at the same time, that the old way of performing the trick was by doing so, but that this was very easily detected.
Having thus obtained a knowledge of the first card, which we will suppose to be the ten of diamonds, you then take the next card on your finger, and while pretending to weigh it, you have time to recollect what is the next word in your key, to _ten'd_, which is _to_--you consequently know that this card is a _two_; you must then recollect what suit comes after diamonds, which is _clubs_; you, therefore, declare the card you are now weighing on your finger to be the _two of clubs_; the next will of course be the seven of hearts, the next to that the nine of spades, and so on as long as you please.
TRICKS WITH CARDS, THAT REQUIRE APPARATUS.
I shall only give one or two of these tricks, because, in general, the apparatus required for cards is exceedingly expensive. Those that I shall give require but little apparatus, and any boy with the use of his hands can make it.
33. THE CARDS IN THE VASE.
Make a vase with five divisions, two of which hold an entire pack of cards, and the remaining three are only large enough just to admit one card each, as in the figure. A strong silk thread is fastened at A, passes over the three little compartments, through the bottom of the vase, and running over two pulleys, terminates in the weight at B.
Take three cards, say the ace of spades, the ten of diamonds, and the king of hearts, out of a pack of cards, and put one into each of the little divisions pressing the thread down into the bottom of each division. If the cards are left, the weight will descend, and the string being tightened, will push the cards upwards. So a kind of trigger shelf is made, on which the weight rests. The remainder of the pack you put into division 2.
When you show the trick, you take another pack of cards exactly like that which is already in the vase, and handing it to three persons successively, compel them to choose the ace of spades, the ten of diamonds, and the king of hearts.[3] Let some one shuffle the cards, and when this is done, put the pack into division 1. Tell the spectators that when you have struck three times on the table, the cards will come out of the vase. At the third stroke, loosen the catch on which the weight stands, by means of the string that communicates with your table, and the three cards will rise slowly up. In order to show that the cards have really vanished from the pack, take the pack out of division 2 and let any one examine it.
If you prefer, you can draw the thread yourself, by having a kind of a pedal under your table, to which the other end of the string is attached, instead of being fastened to the weight B. If you prefer the weight, you must have a small shelf for the weight to rest upon, when it has descended sufficiently low, or the cards will be forced entirely out by the thread. C is a representation of one of the divisions, showing the semi-circular cut that is made in them for the convenience of taking out the cards.
34. THE METAMORPHOSIS.
In this most excellent trick you choose from the pack the four eights and the two of diamonds; you put the four eights in your left hand and the two on the table; you take in the two, placing an eight on the table, and they are all twos. You exchange the two for the eight, and they all become black cards; you again exchange the eight for the two, and they all turn red; and after again exchanging, you have, as before, the four eights and the two of diamonds.
The method of accomplishing this trick is as follows: Get three plain white cards, exactly like playing cards, and paint them as in the engraving. Mix them with an ordinary pack, and when you are searching for the four eights, with which you say you are going to perform a trick, take them from the pack, and with them an ordinary eight of clubs and a two of diamonds.
Show the cards as in fig. 2, making the spectators observe that there are the four eights. Put the two of diamonds behind the eight of clubs, and lay the eight on the table. The two must be inserted before the eight is removed, or the mystery of the marking will be apparent. Close the cards, turn them over, and spread them out, when they will appear as in Fig. 3. Take in the eight and lay the two on the table; close the cards, and while shuffling them, turn card No. 2 the other way upwards. The cards will then all appear black, as in Fig. 4. Take in the two and remove the eight, turn them over, and spread them out, when they will appear all red, as in Fig. 5. Finally, take the eight, replacing the two on the table, reverse No. 2, and you will have the four eights and the two of diamonds, just as they were at first. You must invent plenty of talk during your changes. If the spectators say that the cards are double, spread them out, and hold them up to the light, (for the light cannot penetrate through the places where the cards are placed over each other,) and if they are still skeptical, hand them the two of diamonds to look at, and in a moment or two hand them the eight of clubs, asking them whether they would like to examine a black card also. This will effectually disarm suspicion.
35. TO HOLD FOUR KINGS OR FOUR KNAVES IN YOUR HAND, AND TO CHANGE THEM SUDDENLY INTO BLANK CARDS, AND THEN TO FOUR ACES.
It is necessary to have cards made on purpose for this trick; half cards, as they may be properly termed, that is, one half kings or knaves, and the other half aces. When you lay the aces one over the other, of course nothing but the kings or knaves can be seen; and on turning the kings or knaves downward, the four aces will make their appearance. You must have two perfect cards, one a king or knave, to put over one of the aces, else it will be seen; and the other an ace, to lay over the kings or knaves. When you wish to make them all appear blank, lay the cards a little lower, and by hiding the aces, they will appear white on both sides; you may then ask which they wish to have, and may show kings, aces, or knaves, as they are called for.
36. TO CHANGE A CARD IN A PERSON'S HAND.
Cut very neatly the spots from a three of spades. Lay the pierced card on an ace of diamonds, and rub pomatum on the ace of diamonds through the places which the spades occupied. Remove the pierced card, and sprinkle the ace of diamonds with jet powder, which adhering to the pomatum, will transform the card into a three of spades.
Place the transformed card at the bottom of the pack, and show a person what card it is. Make him declare it that every one may hear, then place it on the table, face downwards, and push it over the cloth to the spectator, which action will rub off all the jet powder. Tell him to place his hand on the card. Let a three of spades be at the top of the pack, and an ace of diamonds the second from the bottom. Show another person the ace of diamonds, and ask him to tell the name of the card openly. Put the pack down, face downwards, and in so doing make the pass, and bring the three of spades to the bottom.
Tap the hand of the person who is guarding the card, and then tell him to take up the card and show it to the spectators, when it will be seen to be the ace of diamonds. Simultaneously, you take up the pack, and show the three of spades at the bottom.
37. THE CARD IN THE EGG.
To perform this feat, provide a round hollow stick, about ten inches long and three quarters of an inch in diameter, the hollow being three eighths of an inch in diameter. Also, have another round stick to fit this hollow, and slide in it easily, with a knob to prevent its coming through. Our young readers will clearly understand our meaning, when we say, that in all respects it must resemble a pop-gun, with the single exception that the stick which fits the tube, must be of the full length of the tube exclusively of the knob.
Next steep a card in water for a quarter of an hour, peel off the face of it, and double it twice across, till it becomes one fourth of the length of a card, then roll it up tightly, and thrust it up the tube till it becomes even with the bottom. You then thrust in the stick at the other end of the tube till it just touches the card.
Having thus provided your magic wand, let it lie on the table until you have occasion to make use of it, but be careful not to allow any person handle it.
Now take a pack of cards, and let any person draw one; but be sure to let it be a similar card to the one which you have in the hollow stick. This must be done by forcing. The person who has chosen it will put it into the pack again, and, while you are shuffling, you let it fall into your lap. Then, calling for some eggs, desire the person who drew the card, or any other person in the company, to choose any one of the eggs. When he has done so, ask if there be anything in it? He will answer there is not. Place the egg in a saucer; break it with the wand, and pressing the knob with the palm of your right hand, the card will be driven into the egg. Then show it to the spectators.
A great improvement may be made in this feat, by presenting the person who draws the card with a saucer and a pair of forceps, and instead of his returning the card to the pack, desire him to take it by the corner with the forceps and burn it, but to take care and preserve the ashes; for this purpose you present him with a piece of paper (prepared as hereafter described), which he lights at the candle; but a few seconds after, and before he can set the card on fire, it will suddenly divide in the middle and spring back, burning his fingers if he do not drop it quickly. Have another paper ready and desire him to try that; when he will most likely beg to be excused, and will prefer lighting it with the candle.
When the card is consumed, say that you do not wish to fix upon any particular person in company to choose an egg, lest it might be suspected he was a confederate; therefore, request any two ladies in company to choose each an egg, and having done so, to decide between themselves which shall contain the card; when this is done, take a second saucer, and in it receive the rejected egg, break it with your wand, and show the egg round to the company; at the same time drawing their attention to the fact of those two eggs having been chosen from among a number of others, and of its not being possible for you to have told which of them would be the chosen one.
You now receive the chosen egg in the saucer containing the ashes, and having rolled it about until you have blacked it a little, blow the ashes from around it into the grate; you then break the egg with the same wand, when, on touching the spring, the card will be found in the egg.
The method of preparing the paper mentioned in the above feat is as follows: Take a piece of letter paper, about six inches in length and three quarters of an inch in breadth, fold it longitudinally, and with a knife cut it in the crease about five inches down; then take one of the sides which are still connected at the bottom, and with the back of the knife under it, and the thumb of the right hand over it, curl it outwards as a boy would the tassels of his kite; repeat the same process with the other side, and lay them by for use. When about using them, (but not till then, as the papers will soon lose their curl if stretched,) draw them up so as to make them their original length, and turn the ends over a little, in order that they may remain so; when set on fire, they will burn for a minute or two, until the turn-over is burnt out, when the lighted ends will turn over quickly, burning the fingers of the holder: this part of the trick never fails to excite the greatest merriment.
38. THE FIFTEEN THOUSAND LIVRES.