Читать книгу Treatise on Modern Magic - Professor Hoffmann - Страница 13

It is, however, quite possible that the person, by accident or design, may have thought, not of the knave of hearts, but of some other card, say the nine of diamonds. Even in this case you need not be at a loss, although the card on the table is a wrong one. When the card is named, you say, “The nine of diamonds. Quite right! Let me show you, in the first place, that it is not here in the pack.” Advancing to the audience, and at the same time running over the cards, as in the last trick, you draw the nine of diamonds behind the other cards, and show that, apparently, it is not among them. On turning the pack over it will be at the top. Taking the pack in the left hand, and, returning to your table, pick up (with the right hand) the knave of hearts, and without looking at it yourself, say, “Here it is, you see, the nine of diamonds.” Then, with a careless gesture, and making a half turn to the right or left to cover the movement, “change” the card by the third method (see page 30), taking care not to show the card after the change. The audience will naturally exclaim that the card you have just shown them is not the nine of diamonds. You affect great surprise, and ask, “Indeed, what card was it then?” They reply, “The knave of hearts.” “The knave of hearts; surely not!” you exclaim, again showing the card in your hand, which is now found to be the nine of diamonds. “Indeed,” you continue, “you could not possibly have seen the knave of hearts, for that gentleman in the front row has had it in his pocket all the evening.” The knave of hearts was, in truth, left after the change on the top of the pack. As you advance to the audience, you palm it, and are thereby enabled to find it without difficulty in the pocket of a spectator, or in any other place which you may choose to designate.

It will be observed that the mode here indicated of changing a wrong card into a right one differs from that described in the last trick. Either method will be equally available, but it will be well to practise both, as it is a great desideratum to be able to vary the dénouement of a trick.

The course of action above directed in the event of an unexpected card being thought of, may be made available as a means of escape from a break-down in many other cases. Thus, for instance, if you are using a biseauté pack, and a chosen card has been replaced without the pack having been previously reversed, or if you have from any other cause accidentally lost the means of discovering a card drawn, you may still bring the trick to an effective termination as follows:—Give the pack to some one to shuffle, and then, drawing a card haphazard, and placing it face downwards on the table, announce boldly that the card drawn is now upon the table. Ask the person to name his card, show apparently that it is not in the pack, and finish the trick in one or other of the modes above described.

A Card having been Drawn and Returned, and the Pack shuffled, to divide the Pack into several heaps on the Table, and to cause the Drawn Card to appear in such heap as the Company may Choose.—Invite a person to draw a card. When it is returned, make the pass to bring it to the top. Make a false shuffle, and leave it still at the top. If any of the audience requests to be allowed to shuffle, palm the card, and hand him the pack. When it is returned, again place the card on the top.

Taking the cards in the right hand, face downwards, drop them, in packets of four or five cards each, on the table, noting particularly where you place the last packet (on the top of which is the chosen card). Ask the audience in which of the heaps they would like the chosen card to appear, and when they have made their choice, pick up all the other packets and place them in the left hand, placing the packet on which is the chosen card at the top. Divide the chosen packet into two, and bid the audience again choose between these, placing the cards of the non-chosen packet below the pack in the left hand. If the packet still remaining will admit of it, divide it into two again, but endeavour so to arrange matters that the packet ultimately chosen shall consist of two cards only, concealing however from the audience the precise number of cards in the packet. When you have reached this stage of the trick, palm the drawn card, which we will suppose to have been the ace of diamonds, and picking up with the same hand the chosen packet, secretly place that card on the top. Place the three cards face downwards side by side, the ace of diamonds in the middle, and ask the audience which of the three they desire to become the card originally drawn. If they choose the middle card, the trick is already done, and after asking the person to name his card, and showing that neither of the two outside ones is the card in question, you turn up the ace of diamonds.

If the choice falls on either of the outside cards, gather together all three, without showing them (the ace still being in the middle) and ask some one to blow on them. Then deal them out again in apparently the same order as before, but really deal the second for the first, so as to bring that card into the place of the card indicated. Then, after showing the two other cards as above directed, finally turn up the ace of diamonds, and show that it is the card originally chosen.

To change a drawn Card into the Portraits of several of the Company in succession.—For the purpose of this trick you will require a forcing pack of similar pattern to your ordinary pack, but consisting throughout of a single card, say the seven of clubs. You must also have half-a-dozen or more sevens of clubs of the same pattern, on the faces of which you must either draw or paste small caricature portraits, after the manner of Twelfth Night characters; which should be of such a kind as to excite laughter without causing offence. You arrange your pack beforehand as follows:—On the top place a fancy portrait, say of a young lady; then a seven of clubs, then a fancy portrait of a gentleman, then a seven of clubs; another fancy portrait of a lady, another seven of clubs, and so on; so that the first eight or ten cards of the pack shall consist of alternate portraits and sevens of clubs (the top card of all being a lady’s portrait), and the rest of the pack of sevens of clubs only.

Secretly exchange the prepared pack for that which you have been using. Invite a young lady to draw, taking care to offer that part of the pack which consists of sevens of clubs only, so that the card she draws will, of necessity, be a seven of clubs. You then say, when she has looked at the card, “Will you now be kind enough to return that card to the pack, when I will paint your portrait on it.” You open the cards bookwise, about the middle of the pack, for her to return the card, and when she has done so, request her to breathe on it. As she does so, you “slip” (see page 35) the top card of the pack on to that which she has just replaced, and on examining that card (which she takes to be the one she has just seen) she is surprised to find that it is still a seven of clubs, but adorned with a more or less flattering likeness of herself. You continue, after the portrait has been handed round and replaced, “I would willingly give you this portrait to take home, but, unfortunately, being only a magical picture, the likeness fades very quickly. Will you oblige me by breathing on it once more, when you will find that the likeness will vanish, and the card will again be as it was at first.” On her doing so, you again slip the top card (which is now an ordinary seven), on to the portrait, and on again examining, the lady is compelled to admit that the card is again as she first drew it. You then offer to paint on the same card a gentleman’s likeness, and proceed as before, each time after taking a likeness changing it back again to an ordinary seven, which adds greatly to the effect of the trick.

You may, if you please, use allegorical instead of caricature portraits; e.g., for a young lady, a rose-bud; for a conceited young man, a poppy or dandelion, or a donkey’s head. It is hardly necessary to observe that nothing short of very close intimacy would excuse the use of any portrait of a disparaging or satirical nature.

A Card having been drawn and returned, and the Pack shuffled, to place on the Table six Rows of six Cards each, and to discover the chosen Card by a throw of the Dice.—The effect of this surprising trick is as follows:—You invite a person to draw a card, allowing him the utmost freedom of selection. You allow the drawer to replace his card in any part of the pack he pleases, and you thoroughly shuffle the cards, finally inviting him to “cut.” Then dealing out six rows of six cards each, face downwards on the table, you offer the drawer a dice-box and a pair of dice, and after he has thrown any number of times to satisfy himself that the dice are fair and unprepared, you invite him to throw each singly, the first to ascertain the row in which his card is, and the second to discover at what number it stands in the row. He throws, say, “six” first, and “three” afterwards, and on examination the card he drew proves to be the third card of the sixth row.

The whole mystery consists in the use of a forcing pack, all the cards of which are alike, and which must not consist of a less number than thirty-six cards. The dice are perfectly fair, but as each card of each row is the same, it is a matter of perfect indifference what numbers are thrown. It is advisable to gather up all the other cards, and to request the person to name his card, before allowing the one designated by the dice to be turned up. This will draw the attention of the company to the card on the table, and will give you the opportunity to re-exchange the cards you have used for an ordinary pack (from which, by the way, the card answering to the forced card should have been withdrawn). This pack you may carelessly leave on the table; so that in the event of suspicion attaching to the cards, it will be at once negatived by an examination of the pack.

The trick may be varied by using a teetotum, numbered from one to six, instead of the dice; or you may, if you prefer it, make the trick an illustration of second sight, by pretending to mesmerize some person in the company, and ordering him to write down beforehand, while under the supposed mesmeric influence, the row and number at which the drawn card shall be found. The mode of conducting the trick will be in either case the same.

A Card having been withdrawn and replaced, to call it from the Pack, and to make it come to you of its own accord.—This is a very simple trick, but, if neatly executed, will create a good deal of wonderment. It is performed as follows:—You must procure beforehand a long hair from a lady’s head. One end of this must be fastened by means of a bent pin, or in any other way you find most convenient, to the front of your waistcoat, which should be a dark one. At the other end of the hair fix a little round ball (about half the size of a pepper-corn) of bees’-wax. Press this little ball lightly against the lowest button of your waistcoat, to which it will adhere. You will thus always be able to find it at a moment’s notice, without groping or looking down for it, which would be likely to draw the eyes of the spectator in the same direction.

Request the audience to examine the cards, that they may be sure that there is no preparation about them, and as a further proof get two or three persons to shuffle them in succession. When the cards are returned to you, invite some person to draw one, and, while he is examining it, drop your right hand carelessly to your waistband, and remove the little ball of wax to the tip of your right thumb, to which it will adhere without interfering with the movements of the hand. When the card is returned, make the pass to bring it to the top of the pack, and press the little ball of wax upon the back of the card, as near the edge as possible. Then shuffle the cards. The shuffle may be a genuine one, but you must take care to keep the lower edge of the chosen card half an inch or so below the remaining cards, that the little ball of wax may not be disturbed. The chosen card will, after the shuffle, be in the middle of the pack, but attached to your waistcoat by the hair. Spread the cards face upwards on the table (by which means the wax, being on the back of the card, will be out of sight), taking care not to detach the hair. You then address your audience to the following or some similar effect:—“In the old style of conjuring, I should merely have picked out your card, and handed it to you; and there was a time when people would have thought that a very good trick, but nowadays we should regard that as a very lame conclusion. I can assure you that I have not the smallest idea what your card was. How do you suppose I intend to find out?” Various guesses are hazarded, but you shake your head at each. “No,” you continue, “my process is much simpler than any you have suggested. I shall merely order the card you chose to walk out of the pack, and come to me.” Pronounce any magic formula you like, at the same time beckoning to the cards, and gradually withdrawing yourself away from the table, when the card must needs follow you. As it reaches the edge of the table, receive it in the left hand, and then take it in the right, drawing off with the first finger and thumb of the left hand the wax at the back. Ask the person who drew whether that was his card, and again hand the card and the rest of the pack for examination. This little trick, though simple, will require a good deal of practice to enable you to perform it neatly, but the effect produced by it will well repay your trouble.

It may be well to mention, once for all, as bees’-wax is an article of frequent use in magical operations, that if, as sometimes happens, the pure wax is found too hard, or not sufficiently adhesive, the addition of a small quantity (say an eighth part) of Venice turpentine, mixed with it in a melted condition, will make it all that can be desired.

The Whist Trick.H Improved Method. To deal yourself all the Trumps, the three other Players holding the usual mixed Hands.—Having decided which suit (suppose diamonds) is to be the trump suit, arrange the pack in such manner that every fourth card shall be of that suit, the intervening cards being taken haphazard. When about to perform the trick, secretly exchange the pack you have hitherto been using for the prepared pack. Make the bridge (see page 39), and then a false shuffle by the third method (see page 24). Invite some one to cut, and make the pass at the bridge, thus restoring the cards to their original condition. Deal in the usual manner, when you will be found to hold all the trumps, the remaining suits being distributed in the ordinary way among the other three players.

H For an inferior form of this trick, in which sleight-of-hand is not employed, see page 51.

Where in this or any other trick it is found necessary to change one pack for another, the following will be found the neatest way of effecting that object. Have the prepared pack in the pochette on the left side. Hold the ordinary pack in the right hand, and in moving from the audience to your table, drop the left hand to the pochette, seize the prepared pack, bring the hands together, and make the pass with the two packs, when they will have changed hands. Drop the left hand, and get rid of the ordinary pack into the profonde, the prepared pack being left in the right hand. Any little clumsiness in making the pass is of small consequence, the hands being covered by the body. If, however, you find it impossible to make the pass with so large a bulk of cards, the prepared pack may be placed under the waistband, held in position by a strap of half-inch-wide elastic, stitched to the inside of the vest; the right hand in this case, at the moment of the turn to the table, transferring the ordinary pack to the left, and immediately drawing down the prepared pack, while the left hand, as in the former case, drops the ordinary pack into the profonde.

E The different drawers should be persons tolerably far apart, as it is essential that they should not discover that they have all drawn the same card.

F It will be observed that this trick is terminated after the manner described at page 45, to which the reader is recommended to refer, as the above description will be more clearly intelligible by the aid of the further explanations there given.

G The reader should specially note this expedient, as it is of constant use in conjuring.