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The true nature and limit of the art of Conjuring has now been defined—what it is that we assume to do, and wherein we have discontinued the exaggerated pretensions of the conjurors of the old school; and I have hinted in what respects, and within what bounds, a young amateur may gim at exhibiting some amusing experiments in our art. But it remains for me to explain the grand pre-requisite for a novice to cultivate before he should attempt to exhibit before others even the simplest tricks of prestidigitation or legerdemain, to which we at present confine our attention.

I have first to speak of Palmistry, not in the sense that the fortune-teller uses the word, but as expressing the art of the conjuror in secreting articles in the PALM of one hand while he appears to transfer those articles to his other hand. It is absolutely necessary that the young amateur should acquire the habit of doing this so adroitly as to escape the observation of others while doing it openly before their eyes.

The two principal passes are the following:

FIRST PASS; or, method of apparently carrying an object from the right hand to the left, while actually retaining it in the right hand.

The reader will please to observe that the illustrative sketches depict the hands of the performer as seen by himself.

FIRST POSITION OF PASS 1.

The right hand, having the knuckles and back of the fingers turned toward the spectators, and holding openly a cent, or some similar object, between the thumb and forefinger, must be moved toward the left hand.

The left hand must be held out, with the back of the hand toward the ground, as exhibited in the illustration. (Fig. 1.)

Fig. 1.

First Position of Pass 1.

SECOND POSITION OF PASS 1.

The left hand must appear to close over the object that is brought toward it, at the same instant that the right hand secretes and withdraws that object.

The left hand that appeared to receive it must continue closed. The right hand, though it actually retains the object, must be allowed to hang loosely over it, so that it appears to have nothing in it.

Fig. 2.

Second Position of Pass 1.

The performer then may blow upon the closed left hand, and may say, “Fly,” or “Begone,” or any similar expression, and then open his left hand, holding it forward. Of course there is nothing in it, and the object seems to have flown from it, and the spectators are much surprised.

SECOND PASS.—Method of apparently transferring an object from the left hand to the right, while retaining it in the left hand.

FIRST POSITION.

Let the left hand hold up the object in its open palm. The right hand is brought toward the left hand, but only appears to grasp it.

Fig. 3.

First Position of Pass 2.

SECOND POSITION.

The left hand secretes the object in its palm, while the fingers are allowed to fall loosely down, appearing to retain nothing under them. At the very same moment the right hand must be closed, and remain in shape as if containing the object, with the second joints of the fingers pointed toward the spectators, and the back of the hand toward the ground. The performer then holding his right hand forward, may blow on it and say “Change—fly,” and opening that hand, the spectator deems the object has passed away from it, though in fact it has remained all along in the left hand.

Fig. 4.

Second Position of Pass 2.

The illusion in either of these passes is, that the spectator seeing both hands move as if the object were passing from one to the other, thinks it has done so; whereas, in fact, the object always remains in the hand where it was first visible to the spectators. The BACK of that hand where the object is first displayed must afterwards be kept well toward the spectators.

Observe, the eye of the performer must rest always on the hand or object at which he desires the spectators to look, and whatever he wishes them not to notice, he himself must refrain from looking at.

If it is not required that the very object that has been held up in these passes be seen again by the spectators, the performer must quietly pocket it, or drop it on a handkerchief on his table, or inside a hat, or otherwise get rid of it as soon as he conveniently can.

On the contrary, if that very object must be again produced or transferred to a person standing at some little distance, this must be effected by one of the following methods:

Either you must take care beforehand to place adroitly in that person’s cap or pocket a double or similar object.

Or, you must walk up to him, and putting your hand on his hair, sleeve, or pocket, quickly place there the object you have all along retained, and which you must pretend by this manœuvre to find in his possession.

Or, lastly, you will see in the first trick subjoined, a method of substituting one object for another.