CUPS AND BALLS.
You must place yourself at the farther end of the table, and provide three cups made of tin; you must likewise have your black magical stick, to show your wonders withal. You are also to provide four small cork balls, to play with; but do not let any more than three of them be seen upon the table.
N. B.—Always conceal one ball in the right hand, between the middle finger and the ring finger; and be sure you make yourself perfect to hold it there, for by this means all the tricks of the cups are done.
Now say something to the followingeffect:—
Three cups, you see, have I got here,’Tis true they are but tin;Silver and gold are much too dearFor me to conjure in.Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, here are no equivocations at all;But, if your eyes are not as quick as my hands, I shall deceive you all.View them well within,View them all round about;Where there’s nothing in,There’s nothing can come out.
Three cups, you see, have I got here,’Tis true they are but tin;Silver and gold are much too dearFor me to conjure in.Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, here are no equivocations at all;But, if your eyes are not as quick as my hands, I shall deceive you all.View them well within,View them all round about;Where there’s nothing in,There’s nothing can come out.
Three cups, you see, have I got here,’Tis true they are but tin;Silver and gold are much too dearFor me to conjure in.
Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, here are no equivocations at all;But, if your eyes are not as quick as my hands, I shall deceive you all.
View them well within,View them all round about;Where there’s nothing in,There’s nothing can come out.
Then take your balls privately between your fingers, fling one of them upon the table, and saythus—
The first trick that I learned to doWas out of one ball to make two:Ah! since it cannot better be,Of these two I will soon make three,Which is called the first trick of dexterity.
The first trick that I learned to doWas out of one ball to make two:Ah! since it cannot better be,Of these two I will soon make three,Which is called the first trick of dexterity.
The first trick that I learned to doWas out of one ball to make two:Ah! since it cannot better be,Of these two I will soon make three,Which is called the first trick of dexterity.
So then you have three balls on the table to play with, and one left between the fingers of your right hand.
The Position of the Cups is thus—
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Lay your three balls upon the table; then say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, you see here are three balls, and here are three cups; that is, a cup for each ball, and a ball for each cup.” Then taking the ball which you have in your right hand (which you are always to keep private) and clapping it under the first cup; and, taking up one of the three balls with your right hand, seem to put it into your left hand, but retain it still in your right, shutting your left hand in due time; then say, “Presto, begone.”
Then taking the second cup up, say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, you see there is nothing under my cup;” so clap the ball under that you have in your right hand, and then take the second ball up with your right hand, and seem to put it into your left, but retain it in your right, shutting your left hand in due time, as before, saying, “Vado, begone.”
Then taking the third cup up, saying, “Ladies and Gentlemen, you see there is nothing under my last cup,” clap the ball under your right hand, and, taking the third ball up with your right hand, seem to put it into your left hand, but retain it in your right hand; so, shutting your left hand in due time, as before, saying, “Presto, make haste”: so you have your three balls come under your three cups, as thus, and so lay your three cups down upon the table.
Then with your right hand take up the first cup, and clap the ball under that you have in your right hand; saying, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this being the first ball, I’ll put it in my pocket;” but that you must still keep in your right hand to play withal.
So take up the second cup with your right hand, and clap that ball under which you have concealed, and then take up the second ball with your right hand, and say, “This likewise I take and put into my pocket.”
Likewise take up the third cup, and, clapping the cup down again, convey the ball that you have in your right hand under the cup; then take the third ball, and say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this being the last ball, I take this and put it in my pocket.” Likewise then say to the company, “Ladies and Gentlemen, by a little of my fine powder of experience I’ll command these balls under the cups again,” asthus:—
So lay them all along the table, to the admiration of the beholders.
Then take up the first cup, and, clapping the ball under that you have in your right hand, and taking the first ball up with the right hand, seem to put the same into your left hand, but retain it still in your right hand; then say, “Vado, quick, begone when I bid you, and run under the cup.”
Then taking that cup up again, and flinging it under that you have in your right hand, you must take up the second ball, and seem to put it into your left hand, but retain it in your right, saying, “Ladies and Gentlemen, see how the ball runs on the table.”—So, seeming to fling it away, it will appearthus:—
Now, taking the same cup up again, clap the ball under as before; and, taking the third ball in your right hand, seem to put it under your left, but still retain it in your right hand; then with your left hand seem to fling it in the cup, and it will appearthus:—
All the balls being under one cup.
If you can perform these feats with the cups and balls dexterously, you may change the balls into apples, pears, plums, or living birds, as your fancy leads you.
You must provide six cups made of the same size and metal (persons with hands, as seen above, require only three), but keep three of them concealed in the juggling-bag until they are required.
The trick performed by the three first cups is as follows:—Take out of the bag your three cups, and place them on a table. You must have balls of cork provided, and concealed, but one ball must be on the table. Then say, “Ladies and Gentlemen,” turning up your three cups (though at the same time you must have a ball concealed), “you see there is nothing under my cups; I take and put this cup here; I put the second there; and the third there.” The ball you have hid must be clapped under one of the cups at the time you were placing them.
You must have a tin bottom in the inside of one of your cups, and holes punched in it like a grater. Then say, “Ladies and Gentlemen,” (taking the ball off the table, and placing it on the cup the ball is under), “observe, I cover this ball with this cup,” clapping the third cup on the other two; then say, “Presto, I command the ball from under the middle cup to the bottom.”Then taking off the first and second cups, the ball, they think, is gone to the bottom; whereas the ball that is laid on the top of the undermost sticks fast to the grater that covers it, and, when the cup is turned up, it is the ball that was conveyed first that appears.
Next place, take the ball that is on the table, and say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, there is but one ball left,” clapping the cup with the tin bottom, where the ball is concealed, over that ball on the table, so as that ball that was sticking to the tin falls down, and makes two; then clapping the cup down, convey another ball you have secured, and say, “Vene tome;” then say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, there are three balls and three cups;” first having secured two balls (having some strange gestures of body and speech to take off the eyes of the spectators), at the same time taking up one of the cups, but putting it down on one of the balls, with the two balls secured; then clap the second cup on the second ball, and the third cup on the third ball.
Now say, “I’ve covered the three balls.” Then turn up one cup, and say, “There is the first ball;” then turn up the other, saying, “There is the second ball.” Then take up either of the balls, and lay it on the top of the third cup, and cover it with the cup that has the tin bottom, clapping the third cup in the place of the other two; say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, there is one ball at the bottom, one in the middle, and the third and last ball I strike through the board, saying, ‘Presto, be gone.’”
Now, you must understand, the third ball you drop, the second sticks to the tin grater, and three balls appear under the lowermost cup; then place your three balls on the table, and your cups opposite the balls; then say, “I cover this ball with this cup, and I cover this third ball with this one cup.” Then turning up one cup, take up the ball, and say, “Presto, I command you under the second cup;” but at the same time you must retain the ball, for the ball that was sticking to the tin is dropped, and makes two; then clapping the cup down, with the ball that you have retained, turn up the cup, and say, “I’ll strike this ball to the other two;” and drop that ball, being three before.
Next place the balls and cups as they were before;then clap the first cup on the first ball, and the second on the second; then take up the cup with the grater, which generally is in the middle, saying, “I’ll put this cup in my bag;” and take up this ball, saying, “I’ll put this ball in my bag;” and take up the next ball, saying, “I’ll put this ball in my bag too,” clapping under the cup at the same time the ball you have retained. At last, say, “I shall have too many balls,” or something to that purpose; seem in a fury, and toss your cups away; then put them into your juggling-bag, that, when you show the other three, the company may think they were the first cups.