AMUSEMENTS WITH CARDS.

[G]A Torricellian vacuum is made by filling a tube with pure mercury and then inverting it, in the same manner as in making a barometer; for as the mercury runs out, all the space above will be a true vacuum.

[H]A glass is hermetically sealed by holding the end of it in the flame of a candle, till it begin to melt, and then twisting it together with a pair of pincers.

By the motion of circulating points, we may in some measure imitate the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, forming what is called theElectrical Orrery. Let a single wire, with the extremities pointed and turned, be nicely balanced on a point; fix a small glass ball over its centre to represent the sun. At one extremity of the wire, let a small wire be soldered perpendicularly, and on this balance another small wire with its ends pointed and turned, and having a small pith ball in its centre, to represent the earth, and a smaller ball of the same kind at one of the angles, for the moon. Let the whole be supported upon a glass pillar, and be conducted by a chain proceeding from the prime conductor to the wire supporting the glass ball. Now, when the machine is put in motion, the wires will turn round, so that the ball representing the earth will move round the central ball, and the little ball at the angle of the smaller wire will at the same time revolve about the earth.

Take a small lock of cotton, extended in every direction as much as can conveniently be done, and by a linen thread about five or six inches long, or by a thread drawn out of the same cotton, tie it to the end of the prime conductor; then set the machine in motion, and the lock of cotton, on being electrified, will immediately swell, by repelling its filaments from one another, and will stretch itself towards the nearest conductor. In this situation let the cylinder be kept in motion, and present the end of your finger, or the knob of a wire, towards the lock of cotton, which will then immediately move towards the finger, and endeavour totouch it; but take with the other hand a pointed needle, and present its point towards the cotton, a little above the end of the finger, and the cotton will be observed immediately to shrink upwards, and move towards the prime conductor. Remove the needle, and the cotton will come again towards the finger. Present the needle, and the cotton will shrink again.

When the prime conductor is situated in its proper place, and electrified by whirling the cylinder, if a metallic wire, with a ball at its extremity, or the knuckle or a finger be presented to the prime conductor, a spark will be seen to issue between them, which will be more vivid, and will be attended with a greater or less explosion, according as the ball is larger. The strongest and most vivid sparks are drawn from that end or side of the prime conductor which is farthest from the cylinder. The sparks have the same appearance whether they be taken from the positive or negative conductor; they sometimes appear like a long line of fire reaching from the prime conductor to the opposed body, and often (particularly when the spark is long, and different conducting substances in the line of its direction) it will have the appearance of being bent to sharp angles in different places, exactly resembling a flash of lightning.

The figure of a spark varies with the superficial dimensions of the part from which it is taken. If it be drawn from a ball of two or three inches in diameter, it will have the appearance of a straight line; but if the ball from which it is drawn be much smaller, as half an inch in diameter, it will assume the zig-zag appearance above mentioned.

Take a common tumbler or glass jar, and having placed a brass ball in one of the holes of the prime conductor, set the machine in motion, and let the balls touch the inside of the tumbler; while the ball touches only one point, no more of the surface of the glass will be electrified, but by moving the tumblers about, so as to make the ball touch many points successively, all the points will be electrified, as will appear by turning down the tumbler over a number of pith or cork balls placed on a table. These balls will immediately begin to fly about.

When a nail or piece of thick brass wire, &c., is put into a small apothecary's phial, and electrified, remarkable effects follow; but the phial must be very dry or warm. Rub it once beforehand with your finger, on which put some pounded chalk. If a little mercury, or a few drops of spirit of wine, be put into it, the experiment succeeds the better. As soon as this phial and nail are removed from the electrifying glass, or the prime conductor, to which it has been exposed, is taken away, it throws out a stream of flame so long, that with this burning-machine in your hand, you may take about sixty steps in walking about your room. When it is electrified strongly, you may take it into another room, and there fire spirits of wine with it. If, while it is electrifying, you put your finger, or a piece of gold which you hold in your hand, to the nail, you receive a shock which stuns your arms and shoulders.

A tin tube, or a man placed upon electrics, is electrified much stronger by these means than in the common way. When you present this phial and nail it to a tin tube, fifteen feet long, nothing but experience can make a person believe how strongly it is electrified. Two thin glasses have been broken by the shock of it. It appears extraordinary, that when this phial and nail are in contact with their conducting or non-conducting matter, the strong shock does not follow.

The self-moving wheel is made of a thin round plate of window-glass, seventeen inches in diameter, well gilt on both sides, to within two inches of the circumference. Two small hemispheres of wood are then fixed with cement, to the middle of the upper and under sides, centrally opposite, and in each of them a thick strong wire, eight or ten inches long, making together the axis of the wheel. It turns horizontally on a point at the lower end of its axis, which rests on a bit of brass, cemented within a glass salt-cellar. The upper end of its axis passes through a hole in a thin brass plate, cemented to a long and strong piece of glass, which keeps it six or eight inches distant from any non-electric, and has a small ball of wax or metal on its top.

In a circle on the table which supports the wheel, are fixed twelve small pillars of glass, at about eleven inches distance, with a thimble on the top of each. On the edgeof the wheel is a small leaden bullet, communicating by a wire with the upper surface of the wheel; and about six inches from it is another bullet, communicating, in like manner, with the under surface. When the wheel is to be charged by the upper surface, a communication must be made from the under surface with the table.

When it is well charged it begins to move. The bullet nearest to a pillar moves towards the thimble on that pillar, and, passing by, electrifies it, and then pushes itself from it. The succeeding bullet, which communicates with the other surface of the glass, more strongly attracts that thimble, on account of its being electrified before by the other bullet; and thus the wheel increases its motion, till the resistance of the air regulates it. It will go half an hour, and make, one minute with another, twenty turns in a minute, which is six hundred turns in the whole, the bullet of the upper surface giving in each turn twelve sparks to the thimbles, which make seven thousand two hundred sparks, and the bullet of the under surface receiving as many from the thimble, these bullets moving in the time nearly two thousand five hundred feet. The thimbles should be well fixed, and in so exact a circle, that the bullets may pass within a very small distance of each of them.

If instead of two bullets you put eight, four communicating with the upper surface, and four with the under surface, placed alternately, (which eight, at about six inches distance, complete the circumference,) the force and swiftness will be greatly increased, the wheel making fifty turns in a minute; but then it will not continue moving so long.

Wrap some cotton wool, containing as much powdered resin as it will hold, about one of the knobs of a discharging-rod. Then having charged a Leyden jar, apply the naked knob of the rod to the external coating, and the knob enveloped by the cotton to the ball of the wire. The act of discharging the jar will set fire to the resin.

A piece of phosphorus or camphor wrapped in cotton wool, and used in the same way, will be much more easily inflamed.

Hang a small ball with a stem to the prime conductor, so that the ball may project below the conductor. Then warma little ardent spirit, by holding it a short time over a candle in a metallic spoon; hold the spoon about an inch below the ball, and set the machine in motion. A spark will soon issue from the ball and set fire to the spirits.

This experiment may be varied different ways, and may be rendered very agreeable to a company of spectators. A person, for instance, standing upon an electric stool, and communicating with the prime conductor, may hold the spoon with the spirits in his hand, and another person, standing upon the floor, may set the spirits on fire, by bringing his finger within a small distance of it. Instead of his finger he may fire the spirits with a piece of ice, when the experiment will seem much more surprising. If the spoon be held by the person standing upon the floor, and the insulated person bring some conducting substance over the surface of the spirit, the experiment succeeds as well.

Two balloons, made of the allantoides of a calf, are to be filled with hydrogen gas, of which each contains about two cubic feet. To each of these is to be suspended, by a silken thread about eight feet long, such a weight as is just sufficient to prevent it from rising higher in the air; they are connected, the one with the positive, the other with the negative conductor, by small wires about 30 feet in length; and being kept nearly 20 feet asunder, are placed as far from the machine as the length of the wires will admit. On being electrified, these balloons will rise up in the air as high as the wire will allow, attracting each other, and uniting as it were into one cloud, gently descending.

Connect one end of a chain with the outside of a charged phial, and let the other end lie on the table. Place the end of another piece of chain at the distance of about a quarter of an inch from the former; and set a glass decanter of water on these separated ends. On making the discharge, the water will appear perfectly luminous.

The electric spark may be rendered visible in water, in the following manner:—Take a glass tube of about half an inch in diameter, and six inches long; fill it with water,and to each extremity of the tube adapt a cork, which may confine the water; through each cork insert a blunt wire, so that the extremities of the wires within the tube may be very near one another; then, on connecting one of these wires with the coating of a small charged phial, and touching the other wire with the knob of it, the shock will pass through the wires, and cause a vivid spark to appear within their extremities within the tube. The charge in this experiment must be very weak, or there will be danger of bursting the tube.

Place an ivory ball on the prime conductor of the machine, and take a strong spark, or send the charge of a Leyden phial through its centre, and the ball will appear perfectly luminous; but if the charge be not sent through the centre, it will pass over the surface of the ball and singe it. A spark made to pass through a ball of box-wood, not only illuminates the whole, but makes it appear of a beautiful crimson, or rather a fine scarlet colour.

Put some of Canton's phosphorus into a clear glass phial, and stop it with a glass stopper, or a cork and sealing-wax. If this wire be kept in a darkened room (which for this experiment must be very dark) it will give no light; but let two or three strong sparks be drawn from the prime conductor, when the phial is kept about two inches distant from the sparks, so that it may be exposed to that light, and this phial will receive the light and afterwards will appear illuminated for a considerable time.

This powder may be stuck upon a board by means of the white of an egg, so as to represent figures of planets, letters, or any thing else, at the pleasure of the operator, and these figures may be illuminated in the dark, in the same manner as the above described phial.

A beautiful method of expressing geometrical figures with the above powder, is to bend small glass tubes, of about the tenth part of an inch diameter, in the shape of the figure desired, and then to fill them with the phosphoric powder. These may be illuminated in the manner described; and they are not so subject to be spoiled, as the figures represented upon the board frequently are.

Small pieces of tin-foil may be stuck on a flat piece of glass, so as to represent various fanciful figures. Upon the same principle is the wordLIGHTproduced, in luminous characters.

It is formed by the small separations of the tin-foil pasted on a piece of glass fixed in a frame of baked wood. To use this, the frame must be held in the hand, and the ball presented to the conductor. The spark will then be exhibited in the intervals composing the word, from whence it passes to the hook, and thence to the ground by a chain. The brilliancy of this is equal to that of the spiral tubes.

Take a card, a quire of paper, or the cover of a book; and keep it close to the outside coating of a charged jar: put one knob of the discharging-rod upon the card, quire of paper, &c., so that, between the knob and coating of the jar, the thickness of that card or quire of paper only is interposed; lastly, by bringing the other knob of the discharged rod near the knob of the jar, make the discharge, and the electric spark will pierce a hole (or perhaps several) quite through the card or quire of paper. This hole has a bur raised on each side, except the card, &c., be pressed hard between the discharging-rod and the jar. If this experiment be made with two cards instead of one, which, however, must be kept very little distant from one another, each of the cards, after the explosion, will be found pierced with one or more holes, and each hole will have burs on both surfaces of each card. The hole, or holes, are larger or smaller, according as the card, &c., is more damp or more dry. It is remarkable, that if the nostrils are presented to it, they will be affected with a sulphurous, or rather a phosphoric smell, just like that produced by an excited electric.

If, instead of paper, a very thin plate of glass, resin, sealing-wax, or the like, be interposed between the knob of the discharging-rod and the outside coating of the jar, on making the discharge, this will be broken in several pieces.

Fix two or three pointed needles into the prime conductor of an electrical machine, and set the glass in motion so as tokeep the prime conductor electrified for several minutes. If now, an electometer be brought within the air that is contiguous to the prime conductor, it will exhibit signs of electricity, and this air will continue electrified for some time, even after the machine has been removed into another room. The air, in this case, is electrified positively; it maybe negatively electrified by fixing the needles in the negative conductor while insulated, and making a communication between the prime conductor and the table, by means of a chain or other conducting substance.

The air of a room may be electrified in another way. Charge a large jar, and insulate it; then connect two or more sharp-pointed wires or needles, with the knob of the jar, and connect the outside coating of the jar with the table. If the jar be charged positively, the air of the room will soon become positively electrified likewise; but if the jar be charged negatively, the electricity communicated by it to the air will also become negative. A charged jar being held in one hand, and the flame of an insulated candle held in the other being brought near the knob of the jar, will also produce the same effect.

From the prime conductor of an electric machine suspend six concentric hoops of metal at different distances from each other, in such a manner as to represent in some measure the proportional distances of the planets. Under these, and at a distance of about half an inch, place a metallic plate, and upon this plate, within each of the hoops, a glass bubble blown very thin and light. On electrifying the hoops, the bubbles will be immediately attracted by them, and will continue to move round the hoops as long as the electrification continues. If the electricity be very strong, the bubbles will frequently be driven off, run hither and thither on the plate, making a variety of surprising motions round their axis; after which they will return to the hoop, and circulate as before; and if the room be darkened, they will all appear beautifully illuminated with electric light.

Provide a ball of cork about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, hollowed out in the internal part by cutting it intwo hemispheres, scooping out the inside, and then joining them together with paste. Having attached this to a silk thread between three and four feet in length, suspend it in such a manner that it may just touch the knob of an electric jar, the outside of which communicates with the ground. On the first contact it will be repelled to a considerable distance, and after making several vibrations, will remain stationary; but if a candle be placed at some distance behind it, so that the ball may be between it and the bottle, the ball will instantly begin to move, and will turn round the knob of the jar, moving in a kind of ellipsis as long as there is any electricity in the bottle. This experiment is very striking, though the motions are far from being regular; but it is remarkable that they always affect the elliptical rather than the circular form.

Stick a small piece of sealing-wax on the end of a wire, and set fire to it. Then put an electrical machine in motion, and present the wax just blown out at the distance of some inches from the prime conductor. A number of extremely fine filaments will immediately dart from the sealing-wax to the conductor, on which they will be condensed into a kind of net-work resembling wool.

If the wire with the sealing-wax be stuck into one of the holes of the conductor, and a piece of paper be presented at a moderate distance from the wax, just after it has been ignited, on setting the machine in motion, a net-work of wax will be formed on the paper. The same effect, but in a slighter degree, will be produced, if the paper be briskly rubbed with a piece of elastic gum, and the melting sealing-wax be held pretty near the paper immediately after rubbing.

If the paper thus painted, as it were, with sealing-wax be gently warmed by holding the back of it to the fire, the wax will adhere to it, and the result of the experiment will thus be rendered permanent.

A beautiful experiment of the same nature is made with camphor. A spoon holding a piece of lighted camphor is made to communicate with an electrified body, as theprime conductor of a machine; while the conductor continues electrified by keeping the machine in motion, the camphor will throw out ramifications, and appear to shoot like a vegetable.

Many of the following recreations are performed by arithmetical calculations, and may therefore be considered as connected with science; but as it has been the aim of this work to unite amusement with instruction, some experiments on this subject are introduced, the performance of which depends on dexterity of hand. As this is only to be acquired by practice, and, after all, is merely a mechanical operation, the study of it will produce little useful knowledge, though it may afford much entertainment; but as it must be gratifying to know the method by which they are performed by those persons skilled in such manœuvres, who publicly exhibit them to the astonishment of the spectator, they are presented to our readers, that when they recognize them at any of these exhibitions, their eyes may not be in danger of deceiving their judgment.

You first premise that the ace counts for eleven; the court cards ten each; and the others according to the number of their pips. You then propose to any person in company to choose three cards, and to place over each as many as will make the number of the points of that card, fifteen; take the remaining cards, and, under the appearance of looking for a particular card, count how many there are, and by adding sixteen to that number, you will have the amount of the pips on the three cards. For example:

Suppose a person choose a seven, a ten, and an ace; then over the seven he must place eight cards; over the ten, five cards; and over the ace, four cards. In this instance there will remain twelve cards; to which if you add sixteen it will make twenty-eight, which is the amount of the pips on the three cards.

Select any twenty cards; let any person shuffle them; lay them by pairs on the board, without looking at them. You next desire several persons, (as many persons as there are pairs on the table,) each to look at different pairs and remember what cards compose them. You then take up all the cards in the order they lay, and replace them with their faces uppermost on the table, according to the order of the letters in the following words:

M U T U S1 2 3 4 5D E D I T6 7 8 9 10N O M E N11 12 13 14 15C O C I S16 17 18 19 20

(These words convey no meaning.)—You will observe, that they 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 say the first, you know they must be the second and fourth, there being two letters of a sort (two U's) in that row; if he say the second and fourth, they must be the ninth and nineteenth, (two I's,) and so of the rest. This amusement, which is very simple, and requires very little practice, will be found to excite, in those who are unacquainted with the key, the greatest astonishment.

The readiest way is to have a fac-simile of the key drawn on a card, to which you refer.

To perform this, you must so dispose aPIQUETpack of cards, that you can easily remember the order in which they are placed. Suppose, for instance, they are placed according to the words in the following line,

Seven Aces, Eight Kings, Nine Queens, and Ten Knaves;

and that every card be of a different suite, following each other in this order: spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds.Then the eight first cards will be the seven of spades, ace of clubs, eight of hearts, king of diamonds, nine of spades, queen of clubs, ten of hearts, and knave of diamonds, and so of the rest.

You show that the cards are placed promiscuously, and you offer them with their backs upward to any one, that he may draw what quantity he pleases; you then dexterously look at the card that precedes and that which follows those he has taken. When he has carefully counted the cards, which is not to be done in your presence, (and, in order to give you time for recollection, you tell him to do it twice over, that he may be certain,) you then take them from him, mix them with the pack, shuffle, and tell him to shuffle.

During all this time you recollect, by the foregoing line, all the cards he took out; and as you lay them down, one by one, you name each card.

Unless a person has a most excellent memory, he had better not attempt the performance of the above amusement, as the least forgetfulness will spoil the whole, and make the operator appear ridiculous.

Write on ten cards a hundred different names, observing that the last name on each card begins with one of the letters in the word INDROMACUS, which letters, in the order they stand, answer the numbers 1 to 10, thus:

I N D R O M A C U S1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

On ten other cards write the same names, with this restriction, that the first name on every card must be taken from the first of the other cards, whose last name begins with I; the second name must be taken from that whose last name begins with N; and so of the rest. Then let any person choose a card out of the first ten, and after he has fixed on a name, give it to you again, when you carefully note the last name, by which you know the number of that card. You then take the other ten cards, and, after shuffling them, show them to the person, and ask if he sees the name he chose, and when he answers in the affirmative, you look to that name which is the same innumber from the top with the number of the card he took from the other parcel, and that will be the name he fixed on.

Instead of ten cards there may be twenty to each parcel, by adding duplicates to each card; which will make it appear more mysterious, and will not at all embarrass it, as you have only to remember the last name on each card. Instead of names you may write questions on one of the parcels, and answers on the other.

There must be as many different cards shown toeach person, as there are cards to choose; so that, if there are three persons, you must show three cards to each person, telling the first to retainonein his memory. You then lay those three cards down, and show three others to the second person, and three others to the third. Next take up the first person's cards, and lay them down separately, one by one, with their faces upwards; place the second person's cards over the first, and the third over the second's, so that there will be one card in each parcel belonging to each person. You then ask each of them in which parcel his card is, and by the answer you immediately know which card it is; for the first person's will always be the first, the second person's the second, and the third person's the third in that parcel where each says his card is.

This amusement may be performed with a single person, by letting him fix on three, four, or more cards. In this case you must show him as many parcels as he is to choose cards, and every parcel must consist of that number, out of which he is to fix on one; and you then proceed as before, he telling you the parcel that contains each of his cards.

The rank of a card means whether it be an ace, king, queen, &c. You therefore first fix a certain number to each card; thus you call the king four, the queen three, the knave two, the ace one, and the others according to the number of their pips.

You then shuffle the cards, and let a person draw any one of them; then turning up the remaining cards, you add the number of the first to that of the second, the second to the third, and so on, till it amounts to ten, which you then reject, and begin again; or if it be more, reject the ten, and carry the remainder to the next card, and so on to the last; and to the last amount add four, and subtract that sum from ten, if it be less, or from twenty, if it be more than ten, and the remainder will be the number of the card that was drawn; as for example, if the remainder be two, the card drawn was a knave; if three, a queen, and so on.

Each court card in this amusement 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 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 the amount of the two cards drawn.

For example.—Suppose the 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 themselves make thirty-five, which deducted from fifty-two, leave seventeen, which must be the number of the remaining cards, and also of the two cards drawn.

You may perform this amusement without touching the cards, thus:

Let the person who has drawn the two cards deduct the number of each of them from twenty-six, which is half the number of the pack, and after adding the remainders together, let him tell you the amount, which you privately deduct from fifty-two, the total number of all the cards, and the remainder will be the 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 remain sixteen, and deducting seven from twenty-six, there remain nineteen; these two remainders added together make thirty-five, which you subtract from fifty-two; and there must remain seventeen for the amount of the two cards, as before.

After the person has drawn his three cards, draw one yourself and lay it aside, for it is necessary that the number of the remaining cards be divisible by three, which they will not be in a pack of fifty-two cards, if only three be drawn. The card you draw, you may call the confederate, and pretend it is by the aid of that card you discover the amount of the others. Then tell the party to add as many more to each of his cards as will make its number sixteen, which is the third part of the remaining forty-eight cards; therefore, suppose he has drawn a ten, a seven, and a six; then, to the first he must add six cards, to the second nine, and to the third ten, which together make twenty-five, and the four cards drawn being added to them make twenty-nine. You then take the remaining cards, and, telling them over, as in the last amusement, you find their number to be twenty-three, the amount of the three cards the person drew.

This amusement may also be performed without touching the cards, thus:—When the party has drawn his three cards, and you have drawn one, let him deduct the number of each of the cards he has drawn from seventeen, which is one-third of the pack after you have drawn your card; and let him tell you the amount of the several remainders, to which you privately add one to the card you drew, and, deducting that amount from fifty-two, (the whole number of the cards,) the remainder will be the amount of the three cards drawn.

Example.—Suppose the three cards to be ten, seven, and six, as before; then, each of those numbers subtracted from seventeen, the remainders will be respectively, seven, ten, and eleven, which, added together, make twenty-eight, to which the single card you drew being reckoned as one, and added, makes twenty-nine; and that number deducted from fifty-two, leaves twenty-three, which is the amount of the three cards the party drew.

The following amusements principally depend on dexterity of hand; and, as what is termedmaking the pass, will be necessary to be acquired, to enable the operator to perform many of them, we subjoin the following explanation of this term:

How to make the Pass.—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. Then place your left hand over the cards in such a manner that the thumb may be at C, the fore-finger at A, and the other fingers at B, as in the following figure:

The hands and the two parts of the cards being thus disposed, you draw off the lower cards, confined by the little finger and the other parts of the right hand, and place them, with an imperceptible motion, on the top of the pack.

But before you attempt any of the tricks that depend onmaking the pass, you must have great practice, and be able to perform it so dexterously and expeditiously, that the eye cannot detect the movement of the hand; or you may, instead of deceiving others, expose yourself.

The Long Card.—Another stratagem, connected with the performance of many of the following tricks, is what is termed theLong Card; that is, a card, either a trifle longer or wider than the other cards, not perceptible to the eye of the spectator, but easily to be distinguished by the touch of the operator.

Provide a pack in which there is a long card; open it at that part where the long card is, and present the pack to a person in such a manner that he will naturally draw that card. You then tell him to put it into any part of the pack, and shuffle the cards. You take the pack, and offer the samecard in like manner to a second or third person, taking care that they do not stand near enough to see the card each other draws.

You then draw several cards yourself, among which is the long card, and ask each of the parties if his card be among those cards, and he will naturally sayyes, 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 that is his card. You then put it in the pack, shuffle it, cut it again at the same card, and hold it to the second person.

You can perform this recreation without the long card, in the following manner:

Let a person draw any card, and replace it in the pack. You thenmake the pass, (see p. 107,) and bring that card to the top of the pack, and shuffle them, without losing sight of that card. You then offer that card to a second person, that he may draw it, and put it in the middle of the pack. Youmake the pass, and shuffle the cards a second time in the same manner, and offer the card to a third person, and so again to a fourth or fifth.

A person draws four cards from the pack, and you tell him to remember one of them. He then returns them to the pack, and you dexterously place two under and two on the top of the pack. Under the bottom ones you place four cards of any sort, and then, taking eight or ten from the bottom cards, you spread them on the table, and ask the person if the card he fixed on be among them. If he sayno, you are sure 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. If he again sayno, you take up that card, and bid him draw his card from the bottom of the pack. If, on the contrary, he say his cardsareamong those youfirstdrew from the bottom, you must dexterously take up the four cards you put under them, and, placing those on the top, let the other two be the bottom cards of the pack, which you are to draw in the manner before described.

Let the long card be the sixteenth in the pack of piquet cards. Take ten or twelve cards from the top of the pack,and, spreading them on the table, desire a person to think on any one of them, and to observe the number it is from the first card. Make the pass at the long card, which will then be at the bottom. Then ask the party the number his card was at, and, counting to yourself from that number to sixteen, turn the cards up, one by one, from the bottom. Then stop at the seventeenth card, and ask the person if he has seen his card, when he will sayno. You then ask him how many more cards you shall draw before his card appears; and when he has named the number, you draw the card aside with your finger, turn up the number of cards he proposed, and throw down the card he fixed on.

When a card has been drawn, you place it under the long card, and by shuffling them dexterously, you bring it to the top of the pack. Then lay or throw the pack on the ground, observing where the top card lies. A handkerchief is then bound round your eyes, which ought to be done by a confederate, in such a way that you can see the ground. A sword is put into your hand, with which you touch several of the cards, as if in doubt, but never losing sight of the top card, in which at last you fix the point of the sword, and present it to the party who drew it.

Spread part of the pack before a person, in such way that only one court card is visible; and so arrange it, that it shall appear the most prominent and striking card. You desire him to think on one; and observe if he fix his eye on the court card. When he tells you he has determined on one, shuffle the cards, and, turning 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 on the court card, you should not hazard the experiment; but frame an excuse for performing some other amusement; neither should it be attempted with those who are conversant with these sort of deceptions.

You must have two cards of the same sort in the pack, (say the king of spades.) Place one next the bottom card, (say seven of hearts,) and the other at top. Shuffle the cardswithout displacing those three, and show a person that the bottom card is the seven of hearts. This card you dexterously slip aside with your finger, which you have previously wetted, and, taking the king of spades from the bottom, which the person supposes to be the seven of hearts, lay it on the table, telling him to cover it with his hand.

Shuffle the cards again, without displacing the first and last card, and, shifting the other king of spades from the top to the bottom, show it to another person. You then draw that privately away, and, taking the bottom card, which will then be the seven of hearts, you lay that on the table, and tell the second person (who believes it to be the king of spades) to cover it with his hand.

You then command the cards to change places; and when the two parties take off their hands and turn up the cards, they will see, to their great astonishment, that your commands are obeyed.

Offer the long card to a person, that he may draw it, and replace it in any part of the pack he pleases.Make the pass, and bring that card to the top. Next divide the pack in three parcels, putting the long card in the middle heap. You then ask the person which of the three heaps his card shall be in. He will, probably, say the middle; in which case you immediately show it to him. But if he say either of the others, you take all the cards in your hand, placing the parcel he has named over the other two, and observing to put your little finger between that and the middle heap, at the top of which is the card he drew. You then ask at what number in that heap he will have his card appear. If, for example, he say the sixth, you tell down five cards from the top of the pack, and then, dexterously making the pass, you bring the long card to the top, and tell it down as the sixth.

Fig. 20.Fig. 20.

Construct a vase of wood, or pasteboard, see Fig. 20. On the inside let there be five divisions; two of them,c d, to be large enough to admit a pack of cards each; and the other three,e f g, only large enough to contain a single card. Place this vase on a bracket, L, which is fastened to the partition M. Fix a silken thread at H, the other end of which passes down the divisiond, and, over the pulley I, runs along the bracket L, and goes out behind the partition M.

Take three cards from the piquet pack, and place one of them in each of the divisionse f g, making the silk thread or line go under each of them. In the divisioncput the remainder of the pack.

You then get another pack of cards, at the top of which are to be three cards, the same as those in the three small divisions: and, making the pass, bring them to the middle of the pack. Let them be drawn by three persons; let them shuffle all the cards; after which place the pack in the divisiond, and tell the parties that the cards they drew will rise at their command, separately, from the vase.

A confederate behind the partition then gently drawing the line, the three cards will then gradually appear from the vase; then taking the cards fromc, you show that those three are gone from the pack.

The vase must be placed so high that the company cannot see the inside.

Procure a small perspective-glass, wide enough, where the object-glass is placed, to hold the following table:

Take a pack of twenty-seven cards; give them to a person, bid him fix, on one, shuffle them, and return them to you. Arrange the twenty-seven cards in three parcels, by laying one down, alternately, on each parcel; but before you lay each card down, show it to the person, without seeing it yourself. When you have completed the three parcels, ask him at what number, from one to twenty-seven, he will have his card appear, and in which heap it then is. You then look at the heap through your glass; and if the first of the three numbers, which stands against the number it is to appear at, be one, put that heap at top; if the number be at two, put it in the middle; and if it be three, put it at the bottom. Next divide the cards into three heaps, in the same manner, a second and third time, and his card will be at the number he chose.

Example.—Suppose the person wishes his card to be the twentieth from the top; and the first time of making the heaps, he says it is in the third heap; you then look at the table in the perspective, and you see that the first figure is two; you, therefore, put that heap in the middle of the pack. The second and third times, you in like manner put the heap in which he says it is, at bottom; the number each time being three. Then looking at the pack with your glass, as if to discover which the card was, you lay the cards down, one by one, and the twentieth will be the card fixed on.

Get a ring, made of any metal, in which is set a large transparent stone or piece of glass, to the bottom of which is fastened a small piece of black silk; under the silk is to be the figure of a small card; and the silk must be so constructed that it may be either drawn aside or spread, by turning the stone round.

You then cause a person to draw the same sort of card as that at the bottom of the ring; and tell him to burn it in the candle. Now, the ring being so constructed that the silk conceals the card underneath it, you first show him the ring, that he may see it is not there, and tell him you will make it appear; then rubbing the ashes of the card on the ring, you manage to turn the stone or glass dexterously round, and exhibit to him the small card at the bottom.

Provide a mirror, either round or oval, the frame of which must be at least as wide as a card, and the glass must be wider than the distance between the frame, by at least the width of a card. The glass in the middle must be made to move in two grooves, and so much of the quicksilver must be scraped off, as is equal to the size of a common card. You then paste over the part where the quicksilver is rubbed off, a piece of pasteboard, on which is a cord, that must exactly fit the space, which must at first be placed behind the frame.

Fix this mirror against a partition, through which two strings are to go, by which an assistant in an adjoining room can easily move the glass in the grooves, and make the card appear or disappear at pleasure. Or it may be done without an assistant, if a table be placed against the partition, and a string from the glass be made to pass through a leg of it, and communicate with a small trigger, which you may easily push down with your foot, and at the same time wiping the glass with your handkerchief, under the pretence that the card may appear more conspicuous; which will also serve most effectually to disguise the operation.

Having every thing thus arranged, you contrive to make a person draw the same sort of card as that fixed to the mirror; if you do not succeed in this with a stranger, make some pretence for shuffling the cards again, and present the pack to a confederate, who, of course, will draw the card you wish, and who is to show it to two or three persons next to him, under the pretence that it might slip his memory. This card you place in the middle of the pack, thenmake the pass, and bring it to the bottom. Direct the person to look for his card in the mirror, which the confederate behind the partition is to draw slowly forward; or if you perform the operation yourself, press the trigger with your foot, and the card will appear as if placed between the glass and the quicksilver. While the glass is drawing forward, you slide off the card from the bottom of the pack, and convey it away.

Procure an opera-glass, two inches and a half long; the tube to be made of ivory, so thin that it may appear transparent. Place it in a magnifying glass, of such a power, and at such a distance, that a card, three-quarters of an inchlong, may appear like a common-sized card. At the bottom of the tube lay a circle of black pasteboard, to which fasten a small card, with the pips, or figures, on both sides, and in such a manner, that by turning the table, either side of the glass may be visible.

You then offer two cards to two persons, similar to the double card in the glass. You put them in the pack again, or convey them to your pocket; and after a few flourishing motions you tell the persons you have conveyed their cards into the glass; then you show each person his card in the glass, by turning it in the proper position.

You may easily induce the parties to draw the two cards you wish, by placing them first on the top of the pack, and then, by making the pass, bringing them to the middle.

When you can make the pass in a dexterous manner, it is preferable to the long card, which obliges the operator to change the pack frequently, as, if the same card is always drawn, it may excite suspicion.

To perform this amusement, all the cards of one colour must be cut something narrower at one end than the other. You show the cards, and give them to any one, that he may shuffle them; then holding them between your hands, one hand being at each extremity, with one motion you separate the hearts and diamonds from the spades and clubs.

In the middle of a pack place a card that is something wider than the rest, which we will suppose to be the knave of spades, under which place the seven of diamonds, and under that the ten of clubs. On the top of the pack put cards similar to these, and others on which are painted different objects,viz.:

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.

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.

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."

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.

On the top of the pack put any card you please—suppose the queen of clubs; make the pass, 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 pass a second time, bring it to the top, and shuffle the cards without displacing those on the top. Make the pass 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.

Let a person draw any card from the rest, and put it in the middle of the pack; you make the pass 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 amusement may be performed by putting the cards in another person's pocket, after the pass is made. Several cards may also be drawn and placed together in the middle of the pack, and the pass then made.

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.

This amusement is to be performed by confederacy. You previously agree with your confederate on certain signs, bywhich he is to denote the suite, and the particular card of each suite; thus: if he touch the first button 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.

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.

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 youmay then break the other eggs, and show that the only one that contains a card is that in which you directed it to be.

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 pronounce 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 pronounce accordingly.

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 sayno, you ask the same of the second person; and if he sayno, 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.

In a common pack of cards let the ace of hearts and nine of spades be something larger than the rest. With the juiceof 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.

To perform this amusement you must observe, that there are several letters which may be changed into others, without any appearance of the alteration, as theaintod, thecintoa,e,d,g,o, orq; theiintob,d, orl; thelintot; theointoa,d,g, orq; thevintoy, &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 wordsold woman; then holding them to the fire, they both become visible. Now, you will observe, that by altering theain the wordlawintod, and addingobefore thel, andomanafter thew, it becomesold 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 wordlaw, and the other the wordsold woman. You then tell the person who drew the wordlaw, 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 wordlawwill presently change intoold woman.

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