m- me Circh ^i^^.^^^- NEW-YORK: ""^ FRia)EBIO A. BRADY, PUBLISHEB» No. 80 Aim Stbeet, /m Entered accM'JRng to A ct of Oongress.In the year 1869, by FREDERIC A. BRADY in the Clerk's Office of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. •;rr- . t. Contents of The Black Art TKICKS WITH CARDS, Fally eiplaining and detail- ing 68 diflferent most wonderful tricks and eitraordi- _, r nary processes, 5 to , 50 EXPERIMENTS BY CHEMISTRY, (fcc, . Eire from water— A gliastly appearance— Fire and •wine bottle 51 Tlie fiery flash— To boil a liquid without fire— Tj^ pro-> cure hydrogen gas, r. . . . . 53 Co copy writing with a flat-iron— To make fringe ap- pear on a flame — To produce instantaneous combus- tion — Light upori^ce 53 To make paper fireproof— To melt lead in paper — To melt steel as easily as lead — A light that bums for a year, 5i ^ame extinguished by gas — Tobacco-pipe cannon — Detonating gas bombs — To wash the hands in mol- ten lead, S5 To make an artificial earthquake — To produce fire f from cane — To soften iron and steej[, 58 To fill with smoke two apparently empty bottles — ^ To make luminous writing in the dark — To make red fire — To make green fire, 5T Te make wine float on water — To make colored water 58 TRICKS WITH COINS, 59 .>^^ THE BLACK ART. -•-♦-•- L~TRICKS WITH CARDS. 1.— How TO MAKE THE PASS. As what is termed making the pass is necessary for performing many of the tricks with cards, the follow- ing description of the operation should be well studi* ed. Hold the pack of cards in your right hand so that the palm of your hand may be under the cards ; place the thumb of that hand on one side of the pack; the first, second and third fingers on the other side, and your little finger between those cards that are to be brought to the top and the rest of the pack. ThiQ place your left hand over the cards in such % THE BLACK ART. manner that the thumb may be at C, the fore-finger at A, and the other fingers at B, as in the following figure:— B Bottom. Top. 2 Thumb. , 8 4 Little Finger. The hands and the two parts of the cards being thus disposed, you draw ofi the lower cards, confined by the little finger and the other parts of the right hand, and place them, with an imperceptible motioo, on the top of the pack, But before you attempt any of the tricks that de- pend on MA.KING THE pAss, you must have great prac- tice, and be able to perform it so dexterously and ex- peditiously that the eye cannot detect the movement of the hand ; or you may, instead of deceiving others, expose yourself 2.— The Long Card. Another stratagem, connected with the perform^ ance of many of the following tricks, is what is term* • ed the Long Card ; that is, a card either a trifle longer or wider than the other cards, not perceptible to the eye of the spectator, but eas% to be distinguished hy the touch of the operator. THE BLACS ART. 7 8. — To Pkoduce a Particular Card without Seeing the Pack. Take a pack of cards with the corners cut off. Place them all one way, and ask a person to draw 4* card; when he has done so, while he is looking at it, reverse the pack, so that when he returns the card to the pack, the corner of it will project from the rest; let him shuffle them ; he will never observe the pro- jecting card. Hold them behind your back. You can feel the projecting card— draw it out, and show it. Simple as this trick is, it will exciie great astonish- ment. 4. — To Call fob Any Card I^ the Pack. This is a very simple trick, but will greatly astonish an audience to whom it is not known. Seat your- fielf at a table, so as to have the whole of the com- pany as much as possible in front of you and at some distance. Take the pack of cards as it usually lies, and, in passing it under the table or behind you, glance at the card which happens to be exposed ; then, pretending to shuffle the cards, place the one you have seen, back to back on the other side of the pack, and holding the cards firmly by the edges, raise your hand between you and the company, and show tho card you have seen, calling out, at the same tim<5, what it is. Observe which card is facing you (for you have now the whole pack facing you, except the one card which is shown to the spectators), pass them under the table again, and transfer the card you have just seen to the other side of the pack, handling toe cards as if shuffling them ; again exhibit| and cry out tho 8 TBS BLIOS ART. i' name of the card turned to the company, taking eare to notice the card that faces yourself, which change as before, and so on. By this means you may go OTcr the whole pack, lelling each card as it is exposed, without looking at the cards, except when thoy ar« held up between you and the spectators, and when they ara anxiously looking at them themselves, to see whether you are right or not 6.— The Changeable Acm Take the Ace of Diamonds, and place over it with paste or soap, so as to slip off easily, a club cut out of thin paper, so as to entirely conceal it After showing a person the card, you let him hold one end ©f 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 wi h his hand; youthen knock under the table, and com- mand the club to turn into the^Ace of Diamonds* 6. — The Convertible Aces. This trick is similar to the foregoing. On the Act ef Spades fix a heart, and on the Ace of Hearts a bja le, in the manner already described. 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 Sf a le. In like manner you place the seem- ing Ace of Hearts under the foot of another perdon. Youthen command the two cards to change their places ; and that they obey your command, Uie two persons, on taking up Uieir cards, will have occular demooj^tratioB. YHX 9U0I iBT^ f 7.— The GiTHEsiKa of xbi CI'^^vi. Have in readiness a pack of cards, all the cards of which are arranged in successive order; that is to say, if it con silts of fifty-two cards, every thirteen must be regularly arranged, without a duplicate of any one of them. After they have been cut (do not suffer them to be shuffled) as many times as a person may choose, form them into thirteen heaps of four cards each, with the colourd faces downwards, and put them carefully together ag\in. When this is done, the king, the four knaves, the four queens, and so on, must necessarily be together. 8.— EVERTBODY*S CaB0. Provide a pack in which there's a long card ; open it at that part where the long card is and precept the pack to a person in such a manner that he will natu- rally draw that card. After telling him to put it in- to any part of the pack, you shuffle the cards. Then take the pack and offer the same card to a second or third person, taking care that they do not stand near enough to see the card each other draws. Draw several cards yourself, among which is the long card, spread them, or show thtm, and ask each of the parties if this card be among thtse cards, and he will naturally auswer yes, as they have all drawn the same card. You then shuffle all the cards together, and cutting them at the long card, you hold it before the first person, so that the others may not see it, and tell him ttml is bis card. Return it to the pack» ^nOt and etit Chan %p\n at Use same eur'd, ^d hoU 10 f as BUCK ARVi . i — FoRCiNo A Card. By forcing a card you compel a person to iake sucb a card as you think fit, while he imagines he is taking one hap-hazard, or according to his own choice. It is almost impossible to describe accurately the method of performing this trick, but it is as 'follows: — Ascer- tain secretly, or whilst you are amusing yourself with the cards, what the one Ls which you intend to force, place it in the pack, but keep your eye, on the little finger of yoar left hand, in which you hold the pack, upon it Next desire a person to select a card from the pack, for which purpose you must open it quickly from left to right, spreading the cards backwards and forwards so as to perplex his choice, and when you see him about to take one, open the pack until you come to that one which you intend him to have, and, just at the moment his fingers are touching the pack, let its corner project invitingly a little forwards in fi-ont of the others ; this^ will seem so fair that in nine cases out of ten he will take the one so offered, unless he is himself quite aware of the secret of forcing. Having by this method forced your card, you may request him to examine it, and then give him the pack to shuffle, which he may do as often as he likes, for you are of course always aware what card he has taken. A perfect knowledge of forcing is indispen- sably necessary before you attempt the mor« d^ficuU tricks with cards. 10.— T^^tE^ Caer hit ijpon by Gucfi* Spread part of a pack before a persoD, in such* ^'ay that otily one coiirl card is visible, and aftarige THS BLACK ART. 11 that it ^all appear the most prominent and striking car^. You desire him to think on one, and observe if ho fixes his eye on the court card. When he tells you he has determined 0:1 one, shuffle the cards, and turn them up one by one, when you come to the court card, tell him that is the one. If he does not seem to fix his eye an the court card, you should not hazard the experiment, but frame an excuse for pcr- formirg some other amusement, this trick should not be attempted with those who are conversant with this sort of deception. 11.— Ups and Downs. This is a very simple way of ascertaining what card a person chooses. When you are pjaying with the pack, drop out th^ diam:)nds, from the ace to the ten, and contrive, without being perceived, to get all the other cards with their heads in the same direction ; then request a person to choose a card : do not forcb one, but let him choose whichever he pleases : while he has it in his hand and is looking at it, carelessly turn the pack in your hand, so that the position of the cards may be reversed ; then bid him put the card he has chosen into the centre of the pack : shuffle and cut them, and you may to a certainty know the C!ird chosen, by its head being upside down, or in a different direction from the rest of the pack, 12. — To TELL THE CarD THAT A PeRSON SAS TOUCHED WITH HIS FiNGER. This amusement has to be performed by confeden- cy. You previously agree with your confederate on certain signs, by whichhe is to denote the suite, and lis Vai BLACK ART. i • th« particular card of each suite ; thus : — if he touch the first button of his coat, it signifies an ace; if the aecond a king, &c ; and then again, if he take out this handkerchief, it denotes the suite to be hearts ; if he takes snufl| diamonds, &a These prel'm-naries being settled, jou gire the pack to a person vrho 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 3'ou the pask, and while you are shufifling the cards, you earefally note the signals made by your confei- erate ; then turning the cards over one ky one, you directly fix on the card he touched. 13. — Thb Gaud Disco vbrhd by Touch or Smell. Offer the long card, or any o'her that you thorough- ly well know, and as the person who has drawn it holds it in his hand, pretend to feel the pips or figures on the under side with your forefinger, or Bmell it, and then sagaciously decl xre what card it is. If it is the lo ig card y ju may give th« pa:;k to the person who drew it, and allow him either te replace it or not The take the p ick, and feel whether it is there or not; shufiie the cards in a careless man ler, aiMl, without looking at it, decide accordingly. 14. CONFEDERAia CaRDS. Request a person to draw four cards Iroia the pack, and tell him to remember one of them. He then re- turns them to the pack, and you dexterously plact two under and two on the top of the pack. Under the bottom ones you place four cards of any •tH, and then, taking eight or ten from the bottom 'cards you THE BLACK ART. I'd spread them on the table, and ask the person if thft card he fixed on be among them. If he say no, yoa may be sure that it is one of the two cards on the top. You then pass those two cards to the bottom, and drawing off the lowest of them, you ask if that is not his card. Should he again say no, you take up that card, and bid him draw his card from th« bottom of the pack. But if, on tho contrary, he says his cards are among tl.one you first drew from the bottom, yoa must dexterously tike up the four cards you put under thtm, and placing those on the top, let the other two be the bottom cards of the pack, which yoU itf • t# draw in the manner before described. 15. — The Ten Duplicates, ob Cards ih Coixn.E8» Select any twenty cards. Let any person shuflSo them; lay them in pairs upon the table without look- ing at them. You next desire sereral persons (ai many f orsons as there are pairs on the table) to look at different pairs, and remember what cards compos* them. You then take up all the cards in the order in which th«y have been laid, and replace them with their faces uppermost upon the table, according to th» situation of the letters in the following word ; — M U T U S 1 2 3 4 5 D E D I T 6 7 8 9 10 N M E N 11 12 13 14 16 C I S 16 17 18 19 M 14 THE BLAOX ART. These words, which have no particular meaning, contain ten letters repeated, or two of each sort. You therefore ask each person which row or rows the cards he looked at are in ; if he says the first, they must be the second and forth in that row, these being the only duplicates or two letters of the same (U's) in them; if he says the second and fourth, they must be the ninth and nineteenth (two I's), and so of ail the rest This amusement, which is very simple, and re- quires very little practice, will excite considerable as- tonishment in those unacquainted with the key. 16. — The Turn-Over Fejlt. Having found a card chosen which you have pre- viously forced, or any card that has been drawn, which you have discovered by the means before de- scribed, in order to do the feat cleverly, convey the card privately to the top of the pack ; get the rest of thi cards even with each other, making the edge of the top card project a little over the others ; then, holding them between your finger and thumb, about two feet from the table, let them drop, and the top card which as has been said, must be the one drawn will fall face uppermost, and all the others with their faces towards the table. 17. — The Nerve Feat. Force a card, and request the person who has taken it to put it in the pack, and shuflBe the cards ; then look at them again yourself, find the card, and place it at the bottom ; cut them in two parts : give him the 9HB BLACK AftT. IS part containing his card at the bottom, and desire him to hold it between his finger and thumb just at tht corner ; after telling him to hold them tight, strike them sharply, and they will all fall to the ground, ex- cept the bottom one, which is the card he has chosen. It is an improvement in this feat to put the chosen card at the top of the pack, and turn the cards face upwards so that when you strike, the ehosen party's card will remain in his hand, staring him in the face. 18,— To TELL THB NUMBER OV OaBDS BY THE Weight. Take a parcel of cards, say forty, and privately in- sert amongst them two long cards ; let the first be for example, the fifteenth, and the other the twenty-sixth, from the top. Seem to shuflBe the cards, and cut them at the first long card; poise those you have taken off in your hand, and say, " There must be fifteen cards here ;" then cut th^m at the second long fOard, and say, " There are but eleven here ;" and poi- sing the remainder, exclaim, " And here are fourteen tcards." On counting them, the spectators will find ;jova calculations correct M.9, — To OaASGB T3f Oard by Word of Command. You must hav« two -eards of the same sort in the pack, the King of Spades. Place one next the bottom card, (say, the ^eyen of Hearts,) and the other at the top. Shuffle the.caa'ds without displacing those threg, aad show a peTSOB iJJiat the boitom card is the Sev^ ^ S^li^ y^ c^ you the top. 50. — To Tell the Amount of the Numbers of ANY Two Cards Drawn from a Common Pack. Each court card in this case counts for ten, and the other cards according to the number of their pips. Let the person who draws the cards add as many more cards to each of of those he has drawn as will make each of their numbers twenty -five. Then take the remaining cards in your hand, and, seeming to search for some card among them, tell them over to yourself, and their number will be tke amount of the two cards drawn. For example— Suppose a person has drawn a ten and a seven ; then he must add fifteen cards to the first, to make the number twenty-five, and eighteen to the last, for the same reason. Now, fifteen and eighteen make thirty-three, and the two cards thcm- seWes make thirty-five, which, deducted from fifty-two, leaves seventeen, which must be the number of the re- maining cards, and also of the two cards drawn. You may perform this amusement without touch- ing the cards, thus : Let the person who has drawn the two cards deduct the number of each of them from twent3^-six, which is half the number of the pack ; and, after adding the remainders together, let him tell you the amount^ THl BLICS ART. 37 which you privately deduct from fifty-two, the total number of all the cards, and the remainder will betho amount of the two cards. Example.— Suppose the two cards to be as before, ten and seven ; then the person deducting ten from twenty-six, there r^ains sixteen, and taking seven from twenty-six, there remains nineteen ; these two remainders added together make thirty-five, which you substract from fifty-two, and there must remain seventeen for the amount of the two cards, as befora 61. — Ten Cards being Arranged in l Circle, TO Tell that which Any One Thought of. Arrange the spotted cards of any suit, that is from one to ten, in a circular form, as in the annexed dia- gram. Ask a person to think of a number or card, and to 8 touch also any other number or card ; desire him to add to 2 4 the number of the card he touched the number of the Acb 6 cards laid out— that is, ten— and then bid him count that 10 6"^ sum backwards, beginning at the card he touched, and reck- 9 ^ oning that card at the number he thought of: by counting 8 thus he will end it at the card or number he first thought of, and thereby enable you to ascertain what that was. For example, suppose he thought of the number three, and touched the sixth card, if ten be added to alx, it will of course 88 THl BLACK ART. "^ ^ make sixteen ; and if he counts that number from the sixth card, the one touched, in a retrograde or- der, reckoning three on the sixth, four on the fifth, five on the fourth, six on the third cards, and so on, it will be found to terminate on the third card, which will therefore show you the number the person thought of When the person is counting the num- bers he should not, of course, call them out aloud. 52. — A New Method to Tell a Card by its Weight. You declare to the company that you can tell a card b}' weighing it You take the pack in your hand, let one of the company draw a card, look at it, and place it face downwards in your hand. You then look at it attentively, apparently trying its weight, while in fact you are examining it very closely, to see if you cannot discern upon its back some mark by which you may know it again, and if there is none you mark it secretly with your nail. You let the person put the card in the pack, shuffle it, and hand it b ick to you. You now look through the pack, take one card after another, and appear as if you were weighing them, vvhile you search for the mark by which you may discover the drawn card. 53. — The Window Trick. Place yourself io the recess of a window, and let any one stand close to you, as near to the window as possible. You now draw a card, hand it to him, and request him to note it This you must contrive to do THl BLICK ART. S9 in Bach a manner, that you can catch a'glirapse of the image of the card reflected in the window. You. now know what the card is as well as he does, andj ean point it out to him after the cards have been tho- roughly shuffled. 54.— The Card of One Colour foiind_in a Pack OF THE Other. Separate the pack into two parts, placing all the red cards in one pile, and all the black cards in the other. One of these packs you conceal in your pocket You let any person draw a card from the other pack, and while he is examining the card, substitute the pack in your pocket for the one you hold in your hand. Let him place his card in the pack you have taken from your pocket, and shuffle as much as he pleases. On receiving back the pack, you will at once recognize the card he has drawn by the difference of colour. 55. — To Name several Cards which have been Drawn out op a Pack which has been Di- vided INTO Two Heaps. For this trick you take a complete pack which has been divided into two such heaps that. all the aces, nines, sevens, fives, and threes are in one heap, and all the kings, queens, knaves, tens, eights, sixes, fours, and twos are in the other heap. You now let several of the company draw cards out of either of the heaps, change the heaps unperceiv- ed, and let the person place the odd cards, as ace, nine, &c., into the heap of even cards, and vice versa. Oh 40 TAB BLACK ART. "' running over the cards, you easily discover the draTm cards, the even cards being in the heap of odd cards, and the odd cards in the heap of even cards. 56 — To FIND A Certain Card after it has been Shuffled in the Pack, As you shuffle the cards, note the bottom one, being careful not to shuffle it from its place. Then let any one draw a card from the middle of the pack, look at it, and place it on the top. Let him then cut the pack. The card in question will be found in front of the one which was at first the bottom card. 57.— Op Twenty-five Cards laid in Five Rows upon A Table to Name the One Touched. To perform this trick you need a confederate. Tho latter sits near the table, has both his hands closed, and points out the card touched by the finger which he leaves extended. The fingers of the right hand indicate the cross rows counted from above down- wards; the fingers of the left hand, on the contrary, point out the number of the card in the cross row, counting from left to right. If, for example, the third card from the left in the second cross row is the one touched, your accomplice leaves the second finger of the right hand, and tho third finger of the left hand unbent, closing all the others. This must be done naturally, and not in too open a manner, as it might easily be detected. TEB sues AR?. 41 68.— Of Two Rows of Cahbs to tell thb Onb WHICH HAS BBEai TOUCHED. You lay two rows of cards upon the table, six or eight in each rcw. You have arranged with an ac- complice that the upper cards, counted from the left signify days, the lower cards hours. You now leave the room, requesting one of the company to touch a card. On returning you step to the table and begin to look for the card, when, after a while, your accomplice cries out, as if in mockery, "Yes, you might look for it three days, and never find it," if the touched card is the third card from the left in the upper row. You pay no attention, however, to his remark, but continue to search. At last you apparently lose your temper, and mix the cards together, exclaiming, " The cards are false to- day I" Then you reflect again, shuffle the cards, place them in two rows, and after some hesitation, point out the touched card, 69.— To Guess the Card Thought op. To perform this trick, the number of cards must be divisible by 3, and it is more convenient that the number should be odd. Desire a person to think of a card ; place the cards on the table with their faces downwards, and, taking them up in order, arrange them in three heaps, with their faces upwards, and in such a manner that the first card of the pack shall be first in the first heap, the second the first in the second heap, and the third Che first in the thirds the fottrth Ore s'eWnti in Qife fir^, unti ^ on. Whfci to 42 THK BLACK A»T, heaps are completed, ask the person in which heap the card he thought of is, and when he tells you, place that heap in the middle ; then turning up the packet, form three heaps as before, and again inquire in which heap the card thought of is ; form the three heaps afresh, place the heap containing the card thought of again in the centre, and ask which of them contains the card. When this is known, place it as before, between the other two, and again form three heaps, asking the same question. Then take up the heaps for the last time, put that containing the card thought of in the middle, and place the packet on the table with the faces downwards, turn up the cards till you count half the number of those con- tained in the packet ; twelve, for example, if there be twenty-four, in which case the twelfth card will be the one the person thoaght of. If the number of the cards be at the same time odd, and divisible by three, such as fifteen, twenty one, twenty-seven, &c., the trick will be much easier, for the card thought of will always bo that in the middle of the heap in which it is found the third time, so that it may be easily distinguished without counting the cards ; in reality, nothing is necessary but to remember, while you are arranging the heap for the third time, the card which is the middle one of each. Suppose, for example, that the middle card of the first heap be the Ace of Spades, that the second be the King of Hearts, and that the third be the Knave of Hearts ; if you are told that the heap containing the required card is the third, that card must be the Knave of Hearts. You may therefore have the cards gl>uffled, ^ritht^t tr'o'ubling Ih^ Unfmm] ^d'lh^ l^^kirig ffHS BLAOS ABT^ 4d them over for form*s sake, may name the Knave of Hearts when it occurs. 60.— The Circle op Fourteen Cards. To turn down fourteen cards which He in a circle upon the table, observing to turn down only thoso cards at which you count the number seven. To do this you must bear in mind the card which yo'j first turn down. Begin counting from any card from one to seven, and turn the seventh card dowru Starting with this card, you again count from one to seven, and turn the seventh card down, &c., &o. When you come to the card which you first turned down, you skip it, passing on to the next, and so on until all the cards are turned. This is a very enter- taining ti'ick. 61. — The Shifting Card, Put at the top of your pack any card you please, say the Queen of Clubs. Make the pass, by which you put it in the middle of the pack and make some one draw it ; cut again, and get the same card into the middle; make the pass again, to get it to the top of the pack, and then present it and get it drawn by a second person, who ought not to be so near the first as to be able to perceive that he has drawn the same. Repeat this process untill you have made five people draw the same card. Shuffle, without loosing sight of the Queen of Clubs, and, spreading on the table any four cards whatever with this queen, ask if every one sees his own card They will reply in the 44 THS BLACK ARt. affirmative, since each sees the Queen of Cliibg. Turning over these cards, withdrawing the queen, and approaching the first person, ask if that be his card, taking care while showing it to him that the others may not be able to see it He will tell you it is.. Blow on it, or strike it, and show it to a second person,and so on. 62.-— The Magi« Slide, or to make a Card Dis* appear in an instant. Divide the pack, placing one half in the palm of the left hand, with the face of the cards downwards ; then take the balance of the pack, in the right hand, hold- ing them between the thumb and three first fingers, and place the cards upright, so that the edges of the cards in your right hand will rest upon the back of those lying in the palm of the left hand perpendicu- larly and forming a right angle, by which you will perceive that the four fingers of the left hand touch the last card of the upright cards in your right hand. Be sure you get this position correctly, for the rest of the trick is very simple. You now request any one of your audience to examine the top card of the half pack that rests in the palm of your left hand, and to replace it again. Having done this, you re- quest hhn to look at it again, and to his amazement it will have dsippeared, and another card will appear in its place. To perform this trick,'afler you have assumed the position already described, you must damp the tips of the four fingers that rests against the last card of the upright cards in your right hand. You must now *tHB BLACK ART. 48 raise the upright cards in your right hand very quickly, and the hat card will adhere to the damped fingers of jour left hand. As you raise the upright cards you must cl«se your left hand skilfully, and you will thereby place the last card of the upright cards — which adheres to the fingers of your left hand—upon the top of the cards in the palm of your left hand, and when you request the person who examined the top card in your hand to look at it once more, he will see the Cvird you hare just placed there, instead of the one he first examined. This is a capital sleight-of-hand trick, and with very little practice can be performed with gre\t dexterity. The principal thing you must observe is to be very rapid and dexterous in slipping]the card at the back of the upright card from its position there to the top of the cards in the palm of your left hand. 63.— The Fouk Transformed Kings. You have the four kings of a pack, and havo placed them in your hand' in such a manner that one slightly overtcpi the other, yet so that each can easi- ly be distinguished when held closely in the hand. Aftjr showing them to the company, you slide them together, and place them, thus joined, upon the top of the pack, which you hold in your right hand. Yon then draw off the four top cards, and lay each in a person's lap, face downwards, directing them to place the flat of the hand upon them. You now draw four other cards from the pack, and place thera each upon the lap of a neighbour of each of the four above persons, and direct them also to cover them with the flat of the hand Yoa now step with the 46 THB BLACK ART. rest of the cards in front of each of these eight per- sons, flirt the cards towards the lap of each, and when each lifts his card from his lap, and looks at it, it appears that the four persons upon whose lap you ha-ve placed the four kings have altogether different cards, and their neighbours have now the four kings. This is done in the following manner:— While you are drawing the four kings from the pack, and placing them as described, one upon the other in your hand, you at the same time, unperceived, carry off four other cards, and place them behind the four kings, so that they lie in the hollow of your hand, and cannot be seen. When, after having shown the four kings, you push them together in a heap, the four kings, of course, come in front of the four other cards, which latter now lie on the top of the pack. These you distribute to the first four persons, and then deal out the four kings to their neighbors. 64. — To Guess the Spots on Cards at the Bot- tom OF TuKEE Packets, which have been made by THE Drawer. Tell a person to choose, as ho pleases, three cards from a Eucre pack, informing him that the ace counts for eleven, the picture cards for ten, and the others according to the number of spots. When he has chosen these three, tell him to put them on the table, and to place on each as many cards as spots are re- quired to make fifteen. That is to say, in the exam- ple, eight cards would have to be put on the seven of clubs, four cards on the ace, and five above the ten. Let him return you the rest of the pack, and (wkile pretending to count something in them) count THB BLACK ART. 47 how many remain. Add sixteen to this number, and you will have the number of spots in the three bot- tom cards, a^ may be seen in this example, where Seven of Clubs. Ace of Diamonds. Ten of Spades. twelve cards remain, to which number add sixteen, and the amount (twenty -eight) is the number on the three cards. 65— To Guess the Cards which Four -Personb HAVE FIXED TUEIR THOUGHTS UPON. You take four cards, show them to the first person, request him to select one of them in tlieought, and lay them asida Then take four other cards, let a second person choose one of them, phice these four cards upon the t-iece of white wax on the nail of your middle finger, lay a sixpence on the palm of your hand, and state to the company that you will make it vanish at the word of command, at the same time observing that many persons perform the feat by letting the six- pence fall into tUeir sleeve, but to conviu^e th^m that 60 THB BLACK ART. you have not recourse to any Bucli deception, turn up your cuffri. Then close your hand, and by brinp;inff the wjixed nail in contact with the sixpencf', it will firmly adhere to it. Then blow upon your hund «nd cry "Begone;" and suddenly openinir it, smd extend- ing your palui, you show that the sixpence has vanisih* ed. Care must be taken to remove tbe wax from the sixpence before restoring it to the owner, if it should have been borrowed from one of the company. To Bring two separate Coins into One Hand. Take two halfpence, which must be carefully placed in each hand ; the right hand with the coin on the third and little finger, and the left hand with the coin on the palm. Then place at a short distance from each other both hands open on the table, the left palm being level with the fingers of the right. By now suddenly turning ^the hands over, the halfpenny from the right hand will fly, without being perceived, into the palm of the left, and make the transit appear most unaccountable to the bewildered eyes of the spectator. By placing the audience in front, and not at the side of the exhibitor, this illusion, if neatly performed, can never be delected. The Magic Coin. Although a purely sleight-of-hand trick, it requires bnt little practice to perform it witli dexterity. Take a shilling between the thumb and forefinger of the rijjht hand ; then, by a rapid twist of the fingers, twirl the coin by thesame motion that you would use tospin a teetotum, at the same time rapidly close your hand, and the coin will disappear up your coat-sleeve ; you can now open jour haud| and, much to the astonishment of your THE BLACK ABT, 61 andience, the coin will not be there. Thfg capital trick may be varied in a hundred ways. One good way ig to take three shillings, and, concealing one in the palm of your left hand, place tlie other two, one each between the thumb and forefinger ol each hand, then give the coin in the right hand the twirl as al- ready described, and, closing both hands quickly, the coin in the right hand will disappear up your eleeve, and the left hand, on being unclosed, will be found to contain two shillings, whilst that which was In the right will have disappeared. TLius you will make the surprised spectators believe that you con- jured the coin from the right band into the left. The Hat and Shilling Trick. Place a hflit over a tumbler, the side of the hat rest- ing on the top of the tumbler, and a shilling on the upper side of the hat ; then, after making several feints, as if you intended to strike the hat upon the rim, give the hat a sharp quick blow upon the indde, and the coin will fall into the tumbler. This is a beautiful trick, if skilfully performed. To^Take a Shilling Out op a Handkerchief. Conceal in your palm, or where your hand can easily get it, a common curtain ring. Spread on the table a handkerchief, and wrap up a shilling in it. Open out the handkerchief to convince the spectators that there is no deception, slip in the curtain ring, removing the shilling ; and while the person is eagerly holding the handkerchief, with his eyes on the circular form o/ the shilling, take the opportunity of patting it aside into a hat or elsewhere. When you take up the hand* kerchief again, contrive to slip away the ring. m THS BLACK ART. To CnjLNQB A Secpence into a Half-Sovereigw. Take two square pieces of paper, each as drupgista use for makinor up powders, fold them up in a similar manner, pnsiinp the backs together, and in one sida place a half-sovereign. Show the spectators the side which is empty; borrow a sixpence, place it in the paper and fold it up; then say,—" With the touch of my magic wand, which has the virtue of the '• Philoso- pher's stone." I change the sixpence into a half-sov- ereign." Tapping the paper, and turning it round with a flourish in the air. you open it at the side which contains the half-sovereign. To show your power of reconverting gold into silver, fold the paper up again, give it a tap with the other end of the wand, and after a similar flourish in the air, open it and deliver the sixpence to the owner. The Magic Halppbnity. Procure a small round box, about one inch deep, and of the same diameter aa a halfpenny, line it with crimson, pasting a piece of the same paper on one side of a halfpenny, so that, when lying in the box, it will appear as if there was nothing there. Borrow a half- penny from one of the company, substitute the pre- pared one for it, and, placing it in the box, sbut the lid, and shake it up and down to let the spectators know by the sound that the coin is there. Now com- mand it to disappear, and shake tlie box sideways ; as the coin is made to fit the box accurately no noise is heard ; the coin seems to be gone — to prove which open the box, and dislay the Interior ; the paper on the coin coiiot'nls it, and you can then direct the audience to look in any ornament or other place in the room, where you have previously hidden another halfpenny, which they will mistake for the one borrwed. tfiB BLACL ART. To Multiply Coin. Inform th« company that you can, by the exercise of your masrical powers, increase sixpence to eigliteen- pence bdfore tlieir eyea. To effect tliis, borrow a six- pence, get a tumbler of water and a plate ; put the six- pence into the glass, and then, coverings it with the plate, invert it on the table ; the coin will appear on the plate to be a 8hilling,while the sixpence wi»l seem the bcfloaiixig on the top at the same lime. The Sixpence and Half-Crown in a Glass. Place a sixpence in the bottom of a conical shaped glass, and over the latter place a half-crown. Tlie puzzle is to remove the small coin from beneath the larger onf», without touching either of the coins, or touching or upsetting the gluss. Blow with considerable force down one side of the glass upon the edge of the half crown. The sixpence will be expelled by the force oi the air, and will fall either upon the upper surface of the half-crown, or upon the table. A little practice will render the per- formance of this feat very easy. The Dinnek Table Puzzle. Lay a sixpence between two half-crowns, and placo npon the larger coins a tumbler. Remove the sixpence without displacing either of the half-crowns, or the glass. After having placed the tumbler and coins as indi- Oated, simply scratch the table-cloth vYiih the nail of th« fore-finger, in the direction you would have the six- pence to move, and it will answer imtuediutely. The table-cloth is necessary — for this reason the trick is best •oited to the breakfast or diii&er-tabl«. 64 THB BLACK ART. To Make a Sixpence Vanish. The performer, who on all occasions should endeavor to keep his audience ignorant of what he is going to show, begins by inquiring which of the company can hold a sixpence securely in his hand. He selects one, and bidding him extend the palm of his right hand, placea the coin in its centre, pressing it so.hard with the thumb, that the impression will be retained a few seconds. Regaining the sixpence with his finger and thuaab, he must jerk his arm up and down twic or thrice, and at the last movement of the hand above Lis head, the exhibitor should adroitly conceal the six- pence in his hair when bringing the hand down again ; and, pretending to place the coin in the palm, wiiich must be instantly closed, the sixpence will have seem- ed to have vanished. TJie delusion may be completed by the operator putting his hat on his head, and after allowing time for conjecture, command the coin to appear in the hat, where, by slightly inclining the Lead, and removing the hat, it will of course be found aad idetttified by the company. THE END. NEW YORK: FREDERIC A. BRADY, PUBLISHER [I 2 6 k^s Street. Fopuhr Bodies mailed free cf Postaje en receipt of prices ncrmed. Brady's People's IfoYelettes. 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