Part 24
When a card has been mentally noted by one of the audience, proceed to deal out the cards in three heaps, with the faces of the cards turned uppermost, and so that the first card shall be first in the first heap, the second card first in the second heap, the third card first in the third heap, and so on. When the heaps are completed, ask to be informed in which heap the selected card will be found, and place that heap in the middle, and again deal out the cards as before. Again ascertain in which heap the card noted will be found, and once more let that heap be placed second among the heaps. Once again form the three heaps, and once again ask for the same information, making the same arrangement of the heaps. The card selected should then be the last card of the first half of the pack, if the whole number of the pack be even--that is to say, the twelfth in a pack of twenty-four, or the eighteenth in a pack of thirty-six. The arrangement is somewhat simpler when the number of cards is odd, as: fifteen, twenty-one, &c., for then the card selected should be the middle one of the heap in which it is found after the third time of dealing the cards.
TO TELL THE CARD THOUGHT OF BY ARRANGING THE CARDS IN A CIRCLE.
Arrange the first ten cards of any suit in the manner shown in the annexed diagram. Request some one present to think of one of the exposed cards and to touch some other card; desire also that the number of the card touched may be added to the number of cards exposed, namely, ten; and then ask him to count that sum backwards, beginning at the card touched, and reckoning that card as the number thought of. For example, suppose the three was the card thought of and the six was the card touched: six added to ten makes sixteen; and if commencing with three at the sixth card, and counting up to sixteen on the cards backwards--that is, three on the six, four on the five, five on the four, six on the three, seven on the two, and so on up to sixteen--it will be found that the counting will end on the three, the card thought of.
[Illustration: Cards in Circle Trick.]
TO NAME A CARD NOTED.
Take a number of cards out of a full pack, say from ten to twenty, carefully counting and remembering the number, and holding them up with their faces to the audience, and so that the backs only can be seen by the performer. Open the cards out, commencing from that card which was uppermost when they were turned faces downwards, and request some person present to note the designation of any one of the cards shown, together with its order from the top of the pack, whether it is first, second, third, fourth, or what order, and to name the order. Immediately then place the cards face downwards on the table, and place upon them the remainder of the pack of cards, knocking the sides and ends well together, or indeed, if it is desired, letting the cards be knocked together by any of the audience. To find the card noted, subtract from fifty-two (the number of cards in a full pack) the number of cards held out at the commencement of the trick, and to the result add the order number of the card noted; the result will give the position in the whole pack at which the card will be found. For example, hold out twenty cards, and suppose that the seventh card from the top was the card noted; the position of that card in the whole pack will be found by subtracting twenty from fifty-two, and adding seven to the result, which will indicate that the card noted will be the thirty-ninth card in the whole pack. To pick out the card and show it is, of course, then an easy matter.
TO GUESS THE RESPECTIVE CARDS THOUGHT OF BY DIFFERENT PERSONS.
Show to each person cards equal in number to the number of persons the performer intends to request to think of a card, and from the cards shown to each person request that one may be mentally noted. For example: if three persons are to make selections, to each show three cards. When the first has made his selection, place on one side the cards from which his choice was made, and proceed in the same manner with the second and third. Then deal out the first three cards, placing them with their faces uppermost, on them deal the second three cards, and on these again the third three cards. Request each person to name the heap in which the card he selected is to be found, and the result will be that the card chosen by the first will be at the bottom, by the second in the middle, and by the third at the top of the respective heaps in which the cards are to be found. The more persons selecting cards the better and more complicated does the trick appear.
TO DISCOVER A CARD BY THE TOUCH OR SMELL.
This is not a first-rate trick, as it is done either with prepared cards or with the aid of a confederate; as, however, it is a universal favourite, we give it a place here.
_First Method, with Prepared Cards._--Offer the long card (previously described) or any other card of which the designation is known, and as the person who has drawn it holds it in his hand, pretend to feel the pips with the forefinger, or, if blindfolded, smell it, and declare its designation.
_Second Method, with the Aid of a Confederate._--Offer, when blindfolded, to select from a pack of cards all the court or some other combination of cards. Before commencing, however, arrange some signal with a confederate that shall be intelligible to the performer, but that shall remain unnoticed by the audience. Accompany the performance of the trick with plenty of "patter," the better to keep attention away from the confederate; expatiate upon the delicacy of the sense of touch or upon the strength of the sense of smell, directing full attention to the thoroughness of the blindfolding, and one by one hold up the cards to the audience, declaring in accordance with the signal given whether the cards held up are of the designation to be named, or the reverse. The signal agreed upon may be by touch or sound, according to the circumstances of the case.
TO TELL ALL THE CARDS WITHOUT SEEING THEM.
This is generally one of the most successful of this series of tricks, inasmuch as the whole pack of cards is brought into use, and in the hands of an operator of ordinary intelligence and care it need never fail. The secret of the whole trick is a pre-arranged order, and if this be not carefully done the trick, of course, fails. The following is the order in which the cards may be arranged: 6, 4, 1, 7, 5, king, 8, 10, 3, knave, 9, 2, queen; but it is, of course, open to the performer to vary the order, and provided he maintains a uniform order throughout, and remembers the order, one arrangement is as good as another. In order to keep the above order in mind, the following sentence has been prepared to serve as an artificial aid to memory:--
The _sixty-fourth regiment_ beats the _seventy-fifth_; 6 4 1 7 5
up starts the _king_ with _eight thousand_ and king 8 10
_three men_ and _ninety-two women_. 3 knave 9 2 queen.
In the above sentence it will be seen that certain words which suggest numbers or particular cards are made to be reminders of those cards. As this trick only undertakes to designate the value and not the suit of the cards, it is not necessary in picking up the cards that the whole of one suit should be lifted before commencing another, and the numbers only need be according to the series adopted. The cards, being duly arranged, should be handed round to be cut, with the understanding that they may be cut whist-fashion only, and not shuffled: that is, a portion of the cards may be removed from the top to the bottom of the pack again and again by as many of the audience as may desire to make the cut. By means of a judicious sleight, all that is necessary for the performer to do is to sight the bottom card, or if he is clever at _palming_, the top card will give the necessary key to the whole. The cards may then be dealt out in the ordinary way from the top card, each card as it is dealt being named and then turned over. For example: if the cutting has resulted in leaving a knave at the bottom of the pack, that will give a three at the top, and taking the key from either of these two cards, the order will be as follows: 3, 10, 8, king, 5, 7, 1, 4, 6, queen, 2, 9, knave, and so on throughout. When the sequence is thoroughly mastered a corresponding sequence of suits may be arranged, so that the full designation of the card may be given.
THE NERVE TRICK.
This is another of the same class of tricks that enables the performer to name a card selected by some other person. Any one may select a card. After it has been examined and returned to the pack, make the pass, and bring the card to the bottom. Then cut the cards in two packs of about equal size, and to the person who selected the card give that half of the pack which contains the card selected at the bottom, requesting him to hold it tightly at the corner between his forefinger and thumb. Impress upon him the necessity of holding the cards tightly, as the success of the trick depends entirely upon him, and all the performer offers to do is to knock all the cards on the floor except the one that was chosen. When the cards are properly held, the performer has to strike them sharply, upon which all except the bottom card should fall to the ground, and that, of course, is the selected card. The trick of striking the cards in the right place can only be learnt by practice.
TO MAKE SOME OTHER PERSON DRAW THE CARDS THE PERFORMER CALLS FOR.
We have given several tricks in which the performer finds out the card or cards selected by the audience, but in this trick we explain how the performer makes one of the audience select the cards he calls for. After shuffling the cards, let the performer spread them out with their faces downwards, without entirely separating them; before, however, letting them leave his hand, sight and note the designation of the bottom or some other card--say, for example, the ace of spades. Then call up any one of the audience, or request that some one of those present will kindly step forward and assist in the development of the trick; say that neither he nor you have seen the faces of the cards on the table, but, nevertheless, you will get him to select from the pack just those cards called for, and ask him to be good enough to hand you up some cards one by one, without looking at their faces, as you call for them. The card the position and designation of which you know should be first asked for, when probably--indeed, almost certainly--some other card will be handed in. Suppose the card handed in is the two of diamonds, then call for the two of diamonds, and receive, say, the queen of clubs; for the third card call for the queen of clubs, and perhaps the jack of diamonds will be picked out. Say now that you will select a fourth card, which shall be the jack of diamonds, and leisurely examine the cards on the table, finally taking up the ace of spades, the position of which you have borne in mind. The four cards in the performer's hand will then be the four cards that have been named. If, however, the known card should be picked up, expose at once what you have, and bring the trick to a conclusion.
TO CALL FOR ANY CARD.
Having seen a card, make the pass, and bring the seen card to the bottom of the pack; place the cards behind the back, and call for the card that is known, at the same time turning the top card face outwards. Bring the cards forward, showing the bottom card only to the audience, and again place the cards behind; call for the top card, bringing it now to the bottom, and turning over the card which will be left at the top; and so on proceed until the audience is satisfied that you are able to discern the cards by the touch.
_Another Method_ of performing this trick is done by the performer standing in the middle of a room in which there is a mirror, and while holding the cards high above his head reading them off from the reflection in the mirror; this form of the trick, however, can only be expected to deceive very simple or young persons.
TO DISCOVER WHAT CARDS HAVE BEEN TURNED.
Place the court cards and a certain number of diamonds (but not the ace or seven) in a row on the table, and undertake to go out of the room, and name upon return which, if any, of the cards have been reversed in position by being turned during your absence. Except the court cards, the spades, clubs, and hearts are useless for this trick, inasmuch as the form of the designation printed on the card is irregular. A very careful examination of any pack of cards will show that they are not evenly printed--that is, that the pips of the common cards or the lines of the court cards are nearer to the outside edge of the card on the one side than on the other. The cards on which the difference is not distinguishable reject, placing the others with the broad margin to the right and the narrow margin to the left hand. Explain that the position of any one card or cards may be reversed by turning the top to the bottom, and _vice versâ_, and that upon your return to the room you will denote the card or cards. This, of course, with the above explanation as to how the cards are printed, will be an easy matter.
TO SEND A CARD THROUGH A SOLID TABLE.
Request some one of the company to draw a card, examine it, and return it to the pack. Make the _pass_, and bring the chosen card to the top of the pack; make a few false shuffles, always leaving the chosen card at the top of the pack. Place the whole of the pack, face downwards, on the table, and near to the edge at which the performer is sitting, the performer being careful to be alone on one side of the table, with the audience facing him. Slightly moisten the back of the right hand and sharply strike the cards therewith; the top card will then adhere to the hand. Bring both hands at once smartly under the table, in such a way as to prevent the card being seen. Take the chosen card with the left hand, and bring it up from underneath the table. Show the card, which will be recognised as the one chosen at the commencement of the trick.
TO TELL THE PAIRS.
Deal out twenty cards, and request ten persons each to take two cards during your absence, to return them to the table in pairs, and to remember their designation. Upon your return collect the pairs, and distribute the cards according to the numbers in the following table:--
M U T U S 1 2 3 2 4 D E D I T 5 6 5 7 3 N O M E N 8 9 1 6 8 C O C I S 10 9 10 7 4
Upon now being told in which row or rows the cards selected by any individual are placed, you will be able to point out the pair selected by that individual. The key to the trick is in the four following Latin words, "Mutus dedit nomen cocis." In these words it will be seen that there are ten different letters, each of which is repeated. The figures under the letters denote the pairs as they are placed. If it is stated that a pair selected is in the first and third rows, it will be evident that the cards are those placed under the letters "M" which appear in those lines. If both the cards are stated to be in the fourth row, it is evident that they must be the tenth pair, or those placed under the letter "C." The performer will, of course, understand that the key must be remembered, and the necessary arrangement of the pairs of cards be made from memory.
THE FOUR KINGS.
Take the four kings and two knaves out of a pack of cards, and spread the kings only before the audience, in order that it may be seen that they are the kings, at the same time hiding the two knaves between the third and fourth king; then place the six cards at the bottom of the whole pack, face downwards, on the table. Lift up the pack and remove the bottom card, which will be the fourth king; let it be seen that it is a king, and place it on the top of the pack. Take the next two cards, which will be the knaves, carefully keeping them from being seen, and one by one place them in different positions in the pack. This arrangement will leave one king at the top of the pack and three kings at the bottom, but as the kings only have been shown, it will appear as though there was one king at the top, one at the bottom, and the other two in different positions in the pack. Let any one present cut the cards, and the performer, while placing the bottom cut on the top, may say that he is now, without apparently altering the relative position of any of the cards, going to bring the four kings together into the middle of the pack. Make a few conjuring passes and utter some conjuring mumblings over the pack, hand it to any person in the audience, and announce the trick as completed. The four kings will be found together as promised.
THE TURNOVER.
The turnover is a pretty sleight, and forms an appropriate termination to some of the before described tricks, in which the card selected by one of the audience is found and exposed by the performer. When the card selected has been ascertained let it be brought to the top of the pack, and held there with its edge somewhat pushed over the remaining cards, which are to be held with their edges perfectly even. If when so placed the whole pack is suddenly dropped out of the hand, the cards, all excepting the top card, will fall on their faces, while the projection of the top card, finding resistance in the air as it falls should, during its descent, turn over and fall face upwards.
TO TELL THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PIPS SHOWN AT THE BOTTOM OF PACKS MADE UP IN A CERTAIN MANNER.
Take the whole pack of fifty-two cards, and let them be well shuffled by as many persons as care to do so. Explain that if during your absence any one present will deal out the cards, faces downwards, into packs made up according to instructions, you will upon your return tell the aggregate number of pips shown on the bottom cards of the packs, the court cards being considered as equal to ten pips and the ace as equal to one pip. The dealing has to be done in this way: Take the top card, and count it as the number shown upon its face; place upon it then sufficient cards to make that number up to twelve; then take the next card, and proceed in the same way, and so on until all are dealt out, or until the remaining cards are insufficient in number to make up twelve. The remaining cards must be handed to the performer. To ascertain the number of pips on the bottom cards, the performer counts the number of packs on the table, from that number deducts four, multiplies the remaining number of packs by thirteen, and adds to the result the number of cards remaining which were insufficient to make up twelve; the number so obtained will be found to be equal to the aggregate of the pips on the bottom cards of the packs. This counting will, of course, be done with many apparently intricate calculations, founded upon the pips of the cards in the performer's hand combined with the packs on the table. Below is an illustration of the trick, which will perhaps make the above more intelligible. Suppose (1) a seven card is first turned out: it will be placed on the table, with five cards on the top of it to make up twelve; (2) a court card next, counting ten, has two cards placed upon it; (3) a two has ten cards placed over it; (4) a nine requires three more cards, or, in all, four to form the pack; (5) a five requires seven more cards; (6) a three requires nine additional cards; (7) an eight card requires four; (8) a court card and two cards, leaving two cards remaining.
The table annexed will show the pips on the bottom cards of the respective packs, with the number of cards in each pack:--
Bottom Card Number of Cards Counts in Pack. 1st pack 7 6 2nd " (Court Card) 10 3 3rd " 2 11 4th " 9 4 5th " 5 8 6th " 3 10 7th " 8 5 8th " 10 3 ---- ---- 54 50
This arrangement shows eight packs, with two cards over; following the rule given, deduct four packs from the number of packs, multiply the remainder by thirteen, add two (the cards remaining), and the result will be 54, the aggregate number of pips on the bottom cards; thus: 8-4=4×13=52+2=54.
TO ASCERTAIN THE NUMBER OF PIPS ON UNSEEN CARDS.
In these tricks aces count as eleven instead of as one, court cards count as ten. The piquet pack of thirty-two cards only must be used for the first method, the ordinary pack of fifty-two for the second method.