Thus we will suppose you are told that the card thought of is originally in the third line. Remember the first or key-card of that line, designated in the table as 11. If the card is in the fourth line after the second deal, you look to the top line for the key-card, and on finding it you have only to observe which card in the fourth row is immediately beneath it, to be sure that that card (in this instance designated by the number 14) is the card thought of.
You may perform the trick with either sixteen, twenty-five, thirty-six, or forty-nine cards, either of those being a square number, and thus making the number of cards in a row equal to the number of rows, which is essential to the success of the trick.
To Guess, by the aid of a Passage of Poetry or Prose, such one of Sixteen Cards as, in the Performer’s Absence, has been Touched or Selected by the Company.—This feat is performed by confederacy, the assistance of the confederate being open and avowed, but the mode in which the clue is given constituting the mystery. You allow the pack to be shuffled, and then deal sixteen cards, the first that come to hand, either face upwards or face downwards, in four rows on the table. The sole preparation on the part of yourself and your confederate is to commit to memory the following simple formula—animal, vegetable, mineral, verb, signifying respectively one, two, three and four. You retire from the room while the card is chosen, your confederate remaining. Upon your return your confederate selects and hands for your perusal a passage in any book which the audience may select, only taking care that the first word in such passage which comes within either of the four categories above mentioned, shall be such as to represent the number of the row in which the card is, and that the second word which comes within either of those categories shall represent the number at which the card stands in that row. We will suppose, for instance, that the passage handed to the performer is that portion of Hamlet’s soliloquy commencing, “Oh, that this too too solid flesh would melt.” Here the first word which comes within either of the four categories is “flesh,” which, being clearly animal (1), indicates that the chosen card is in the first row. The second word coming within either of the categories is “melt,” which, being a verb (4), indicates that the chosen card is the fourth of its row. Had the passage been “To be, or not to be, that is the question,” the two verbs would have indicated that the card was the fourth of the fourth row. “How doth the little busy bee,” etc., would have indicated the first of the fourth row, and so on. With a little tact and ingenuity on the part of the operators, this may be made an admirable trick, and, unlike most others, will bear being repeated, the mystery becoming deeper as passages of varying character and different length are employed.
To Detect, without Confederacy, which of Four Cards has been Turned Round in your Absence.—It will be found upon examining a pack of cards, that the white margin round the court cards almost invariably differs in width at the opposite ends. The difference is frequently very trifling, but is still sufficiently noticeable when pointed out, and may be made available for a trick which, though absurdly simple, has puzzled many. You place four court cards of the same rank, say four queens, in a row, face upwards, taking care that the wider margins of the cards are all one way. You then leave the room, and invite the company to turn round lengthways during your absence any one or more of the four cards. On your return you can readily distinguish which card has been so turned, as the wider margin of such card will now be where the narrower margin was originally, and vice versâ.
There is so little chance of the trick being discovered, that you may, contrary to the general rule, repeat it if desired. Should you do so, it is better not to replace the cards already turned, as this might give a clue to the secret, but carefully note in your own mind their present position, by remembering which you can discover any card turned just as easily as at first.
To Arrange Twelve Cards in Rows, in such a manner that they will Count Four in every Direction.—This is rather a puzzle than a conjuring trick, but may sometimes serve as an interlude to occupy the minds of your audience while you are preparing for some other feat. The secret is to place nine of the twelve cards in three rows, so as to form a square; then place the remaining three cards as follows: the first on the first card of the first row, the second on the second card of the second row, and the last on the third card of the last row.
Fig. 32.
To Place the Aces and Court Cards in Four Rows, in such a manner that neither Horizontally nor Perpendicularly shall there be in either Row two Cards alike either in Suit or Value.—This also is a puzzle, and a very good one. The key to it is to begin by placing four cards of like value (say four kings) in a diagonal line from corner to corner of the intended square, then four other cards of like value (say the four aces) to form the opposite diagonal. It must be borne in mind, that of whatever suit the two centre kings are, the two aces must be of the opposite suits. Thus, if the two centre kings are those of diamonds and hearts, the two centre aces must be those of clubs and spades; and in adding the two end aces, you must be careful not to place at either end of the line an ace of the same suit as the king at the corresponding end of the opposite diagonal. Having got so far, you will find it a very easy matter to fill in the remaining cards in accordance with the conditions of the puzzle. The sixteen cards when complete will be as in Fig. 32, subject, of course, to variation according to the particular cards with which you commence your task.
The Congress of Court Cards.—Take the kings, queens, and knaves from the pack, and place them face upwards on the table in three rows of four each, avoiding as much as possible the appearance of arrangement, but really taking care to place them in the following order: In the first row you have only to remember not to have two of the same suit. Begin the second row with a card of the same suit with which you ended the first, let the second card be of the same suit as the first of the first row, the third of the same suit as the second of the first row, and so on. The third row will begin with the suit with which the second left off, the second card will be of the same suit as the first of the second row, and so on. Now pick up the cards in vertical rows, beginning with the last card of the bottom row. The cards may now be cut (not shuffled) any number of times, but, if dealt in four heaps, the king, queen, and knave of each suit will come together.
C When the number named is more than half the total number of the pack, i.e., more than 16 in a piquet pack, or more than 26 in a whist pack, it is quicker, and has precisely the same effect, to count off the difference between that and the total number from the top, and place them at the bottom. Thus, in a piquet pack, if the number called be 12, you would count off 12 from the bottom, and place them on the top; but if the number called were 24 you would achieve the same object by counting 8 from the top, and passing them to the bottom.
CHAPTER IV.
Tricks involving Sleight-of-Hand or the Use of Specially Prepared Cards.
We have already explained the nature and use of the “forcing” pack of cards. It may be well, before we go further, to give a short account of one or two other species of prepared cards.
The Long Card.—This is the technical name for a card longer or wider, by about the thickness of a sixpence, than the rest of the pack. This card will naturally project to that extent beyond the general length or width of the other cards, and the performer is thereby enabled to cut the pack at that particular card whenever he chooses to do so. With the aid of such a card, and a tolerable proficiency in “forcing” and “making the pass,” many excellent tricks can be performed. Packs with a long card can be obtained at any of the conjuring depôts. The best plan, however, is to purchase two ordinary packs,