First card A bird Second A seven of diamonds Third A flower Fourth Another seven of diamonds Fifth A bird Sixth A ten of clubs Seventh A flower Eighth Another ten of clubs;

then seven or eight indifferent cards, the knave of spades, which is the wide card, the seven of diamonds, the ten of clubs, and the rest any indifferent cards.

Two persons are to draw the two cards that are under the wide card, which are the seven of diamonds and the ten of clubs. You take the pack in your left hand, and open it at the wide end, as you open a book, and tell the person who drew the seven of diamonds to place it in that opening. You then blow on the cards, and, without closing them, instantly bring the card which is at top, and on which a bird is painted, over that seven of diamonds. To do this dexterously, you must wet the middle finger of your left hand, with which you are to bring the card to the middle of the pack. You then bid the person look at his card, and when he has remarked the change, to place it where it was before. Then blow on the cards a second time, and, bringing the seven of diamonds, which is at the top of the pack, to the opening, you bid him look at his card again, when he will see it is that which he drew. You may do the same with all the other painted cards, either with the same person, or with him who drew the ten of clubs.

The whole artifice consists in bringing the card at the top of the pack to the opening in the middle, by the wet finger, which requires no great practice. Observe, not to let the pack go out of your hands.

_To discover the Card which is drawn, by the Throw of a Die._

Prepare a pack of cards, in which there are only six sorts of cards.

Dispose these cards in such manner that each of the six different cards shall follow each other, and let the last of each suite be a long card. The cards being thus disposed, it follows, that if you divide them into six parcels, by cutting at each of the long cards, those parcels will all consist of similar cards.

Let a person draw a card from the pack, and let him replace it in the parcel from whence it was drawn, by dexterously offering that part.

Cut the cards several times, so that a long card be always at bottom.

Divide the cards in this manner into six heaps, and giving a die to the person who drew the card, tell him that the point he throws shall indicate the parcel in which is the card he drew; then take up the parcel and show him the card.

_To tell the Number of the Cards by their Weight._

Take a parcel of cards, suppose forty, among which insert two long cards; let the first be, for example, the fifteenth, and the other the twenty-sixth from the top. Seem to shuffle the cards, and then cutting them at the first long card, poise those you have cut off in your left hand, and say, "There should be here fifteen cards." Cut them again at the second long card, and say, "There are here only eleven cards."

Then poising the remainder, you say, "Here are fourteen cards."

_The Four Inseparable Kings._

Take the four kings, and behind the last of them place two other cards, so that they may not be seen. Then spread open the four kings to the company, and put the six cards at the bottom of the pack. Draw one of the kings, and put it at the top of the pack. Draw one of the two cards at the bottom, and put it towards the middle. Draw the other, and put it at some distance from the last, and then show that there remains a king at bottom. Then let any one cut the cards, and as there remains three kings at bottom, they will then be altogether in the middle of the pack.

_To change the Cards which several Persons have drawn from the Pack._

On the top of the pack put any card you please--suppose the queen of clubs; make the pa.s.s, bring that card to the middle of the pack, and offer it to a person to draw. Then, by cutting the cards, bring the queen again to the middle of the pack. Make the pa.s.s a second time, bring it to the top, and shuffle the cards without displacing those on the top. Make the pa.s.s a third time, bring it to the middle of the pack and offer it to a second person to draw, who must be at a proper distance from the first person, that he may not perceive it is the same card. After the like manner let five persons draw the same card.

Shuffle the pack without losing sight of the queen of clubs, and, laying down four other cards with the queen, ask each person if he see his card there? They will all reply, "Yes," as they all drew the queen of clubs. Place four of those cards on the pack, and, drawing the queen privately away, you approach the first person, and showing him that card, so that the others cannot see it, ask if that be his card; then patting it on the top of the pack, blow on it, or give it a stroke with your hand, and show it in the same manner to the second person, and so of the rest.

_The Card discovered under the Handkerchief._

Let a person draw any card from the rest, and put it in the middle of the pack; you make the pa.s.s at that place, and the card will consequently be at top; then placing the pack on the table, cover it with a handkerchief; and, putting your hand under it, take off the top card, and after seeming to search among the cards for some time, draw it out.

This amus.e.m.e.nt may be performed by putting the cards in another person's pocket, after the pa.s.s is made. Several cards may also be drawn and placed together in the middle of the pack, and the pa.s.s then made.

_The Convertible Aces._

On the ace of spades fix, with soap, a heart, and on the ace of hearts a spade, in such a manner that they will easily slip off.

Show these two aces to the company; then, taking the ace of spades, you desire a person to put his foot upon it, and as you place it on the ground, draw away the spade. In like manner you place the seeming ace of hearts under the foot of another person. You then command the two cards to change their places; and that they obey your command, the two persons, on taking up their cards, will have ocular demonstration.

A deception similar to this is sometimes practised with one card, suppose the ace of spades, over which a heart is pasted lightly. After showing a person the card, you let him hold one end of it, and you hold the other, and while you amuse him with discourse, you slide off the heart. Then laying the card on the table, you bid him cover it with his hand; you then knock under the table, and command the heart to turn into the ace of spades.

_To tell the Card that a Person has touched with his Finger._

This amus.e.m.e.nt is to be performed by confederacy. You previously agree with your confederate on certain signs, by which he is to denote the suite, and the particular card of each suite; thus: if he touch the first b.u.t.ton of his coat, it signifies an ace; if the second, a king, &c.; and then again, if he take out his handkerchief, it denotes the suite to be hearts; if he take snuff, diamonds, &c. These preliminaries being settled, you give the pack to a person who is near your confederate, and tell him to separate any one card from the rest, while you are absent, and draw his finger once over it. He is then to return you the pack, and while you are shuffling the cards, you carefully note the signals made by your confederate; then turning the cards over one by one, you directly fix on the card he touched.

_The Card in the Pocket-book._

A confederate is previously to know the card you have taken from the pack, and put into your pocket-book. You then present the pack to him, and desire him to fix on a card, (which we will suppose to be the queen of diamonds,) and place the pack on the table. You then ask him the name of the card, and when he says the queen of diamonds, you ask him if he be not mistaken, and if he be sure that the card is in the pack: when he replies in the affirmative, you say, "It might be there when you looked over the cards, but I believe it is now in my pocket;"

then desire a third person to put his hand in your pocket, and take out your book, and when it is opened the card will appear.

_The Card in the Egg._

Take a card, the same as your long card, and, rolling it up very close, put it in an egg, by making a hole as small as possible, and which you are to fill up carefully with white wax. You then offer the long card to be drawn, and when it is replaced in the pack, you shuffle the cards several times, giving the egg to the person who drew the card, and while he is breaking it, you privately withdraw the long card, that it may appear, upon examining the cards, to have gone from the pack into the egg. This may be rendered more surprising by having several eggs, in each of which is placed a card of the same sort, and then giving the person the liberty to choose which egg he thinks fit.

This deception may be still further diversified, by having, as most public performers have, a confederate, who is previously to know the egg in which the card is placed; for you may then break the other eggs, and show that the only one that contains a card is that in which you directed it to be.

_The Card discovered by the Touch or Smell._

You offer the long card, or any other that you know, and as the person who has drawn it holds it in his hand, you pretend to feel the pips or figure on the under side, by your fore-finger; or you sagaciously smell to it, and then p.r.o.nounce what card it is.

If it be the long card, you may give the pack to the person who drew it, and leave him at liberty either to replace it or not. Then taking the pack, you feel immediately whether it be there or not, and, shuffling the cards in a careless manner, without looking at them, you p.r.o.nounce accordingly.

_The Inverted Cards._

Prepare a pack of cards, by cutting one end of them about one-tenth of an inch narrower than the other; then offer the pack to any one, that he may draw a card; place the pack on the table, and observe carefully if he turn the card while he is looking at it; if he do not, when you take the pack from the table, you offer the other end of it for him to insert that card; but if he turn the card, you then offer him the same end of the pack. You afterwards offer the cards to a second or third person, for them to draw or replace a card in the same manner. You then let any one shuffle the cards, and, taking them again into your own hand, as you turn them up one by one, you easily perceive by the touch which are those cards that have been inverted, and, laying the first of them down on the table, you ask the person if that card be his; and if he say _no_, you ask the same of the second person; and if he say _no_, you tell the third person it is his card; and so of the second or third cards. You shall lay the pack on the table after each person has drawn his card, and turn it dexterously in taking it up, when it is to be turned, that the experiment may not appear to depend on the cards being inverted.

_The Trans.m.u.ted Cards._

In a common pack of cards let the ace of hearts and nine of spades be something larger than the rest. With the juice of lemon draw over the ace of hearts a spade, large enough to cover it entirely, and on each side draw four other spades.

Present the pack to two persons, so adroitly, that one of them shall draw the ace of hearts, and the other the nine of spades, and tell him who draws the latter, to burn it on a chafing-dish. You then take the ashes of that card, put them into a small metal box, and give it to him that has the ace of hearts, that he may himself put that card into the box and fasten it. Then put the box for a short time on the chafing-dish, and let the person who put the card in it take it off, and take out the card, which he will see is changed into the nine of spades.

_The Convertible Cards._

To perform this amus.e.m.e.nt you must observe, that there are several letters which may be changed into others, without any appearance of the alteration, as the _a_ into _d_, the _c_ into _a_, _e_, _d_, _g_, _o_, or _q_; the _i_ into _b_, _d_, or _l_; the _l_ into _t_; the _o_ into _a_, _d_, _g_, or _q_; the _v_ into _y_, &c.

Take a parcel of cards, suppose twenty, and on one of them write with juice of lemon or onion, or vitriol and water, the word law, (these letters should not be joined;) and on the other, with the same ink, the words _old woman_; then holding them to the fire, they both become visible. Now, you will observe, that by altering the _a_ in the word _law_ into _d_, and adding _o_ before the _l_, and _oman_ after the _w_, it becomes _old woman_. Therefore you make those alterations with the invisible ink, and let it remain so. On the rest of the cards you write any words you think fit.

Present the cards in such manner to two persons, that one of them shall draw the word _law_, and the other the words _old woman_. You then tell the person who drew the word _law_, that it shall disappear, and the words on the other card shall be written in its place; and, that you may not change the cards, desire each of the parties to write his name on his card. Then putting the cards together, and holding them before the fire, as if to dry the names just written, the word _law_ will presently change into _old woman_.