The xxx. Chapter.
Juggling knacks by confederacie, and how to know whether one cast crosse or pile by the ringing.
AIE a wager with your confederate (who must seeme simple, or obstinatlie opposed against you) that standing behind a doore, you will (by the sound or ringing of the monie) tell him whether he cast crosse or pile: so as when you are gone, and he hath fillipped the monie before the witnesses who are to be cousened, he must saie;What is it? What ist? signes of confederacie. What is it, if it be crosse; or What ist, if it be pile: or some other such signe, as you are agreed upon, and so you need not faile to gesse rightlie. By this meanes (if you have anie invention) you may seeme to doo a hundreth miracles, and to discover the secrets of a mans thoughts, or words spoken a far off.
To make a shoale of goslings drawe a timber log.
TO make a shoale of goslings, or (as they saie) a gaggle of geese to seeme to drawe a timber log, is doone by that verie meanes that is used, when a cat dooth drawe a foole through a pond or river: but handled somewhat further off from the beholders.
To make a pot or anie such thing standing fast on the cupboord, to fall downe thense by vertue of words.
LEt a cupboord be so placed, as your confederate may hold a blacke thred without in the court, behind some window of that roome; and at a certeine lowd word spoken by you, he may pull the same thred, being woond about the pot, &c. And this was the feate of Eleazar, Eleazers feate of cōfederacie. which Josephus reporteth to be such a miracle./
To make one danse naked.339.
MAke a poore boie confederate with you, so as after charmes, &c: spoken by you, he uncloth himselfe, and stand naked, seeming (whilest he undres/seth239. him) to shake, stampe, and crie, still hastening to be unclothed, till he be starke naked: or if you can procure none to go so far, let him onelie beginne to stampe and shake, &c: and to uncloth him, and then you may (for the reverence of the companie) seeme to release him.
To transforme or alter the colour of ones cap or hat.
TAke a confederates hat, and use certeine *words* As, Droch myroch, & senaroth betu baroch assmaaroth, roūsee farounsee, hey passe passe, &c: or such like strange words. over it, and deliver it to him againe, and let him seeme to be wroth, and cast it backe to you againe, affirming that his was a good new blacke hat, but this is an old blew hat, &c: and then you may seeme to countercharme it, and redeliver it, to his satisfaction.
How to tell where a stollen horsse is become.
BY meanes ofPope and Tailor cōfederates. confederacie, Steeven Tailor and one Pope abused divers countrie people. For Steeven Tailor would hide awaie his neighbours horsses, &c: and send them*[* ? then] to Pope, (whom he before had told where they were) promising to send the parties unto him, whome he described and made knowne by divers signes: so as this Pope would tell them at their first entrance unto the doore. Wherefore they came, and would saie that their horsses were stollen, but the theefe should be forced to bring backe the horsses, &c: and leave them within one mile south and bywest, &c: of his house, even as the plot was laid, and the packe made before by Steeven and him. This Pope is said of some to be a witch, of others he is accompted a conjuror; but commonlie called a wise man, which is all one with a soothsaier or witch./
The xxxi. Chapter.340.
Boxes to alter one graine into another, or to consume the graine or corne to nothing.
HERE be divers juggling boxes with false bottoms, wherein manie false feates are wrought. First they have a box covered or rather footed alike at each end, the bottome of the one end being no deeper than as it may conteine one lane of corne or pepper glewed thereupon. Then use they to put into the hollow endNote the maner of this conveiance. thereof some other kind of graine, ground or unground; then doo they cover it, and put it under a hat or candlesticke: and either in putting it therinto, or pulling it thence, they turne the box, and open the contrarie end, wherein is shewed a contrarie graine: or else they shew the glewed end first (which end they suddenlie thrust into a boll or bag of such graine as is glewed alreadie thereupon) and secondlie the emptie box./
240.How to conveie (with words or charmes) the corne conteined in one box into an other.
THere is another box fashioned like a bell, wherinto they doo put so much, and such corne or spice as the foresaid hollow box can conteine. Then they stop or cover the same with a peece of lether, as broad*[* = thick] as a testor, which being thrust up hard towards the midle part or waste of the said bell, will sticke fast, & beare up the corne. And if the edge of the leather be wet, it will hold the better. Then take they the other box dipped (as is aforesaid) in corne, and set downe the same upon the table,You must take heed that when the corne commeth out it cover & hide the leather, &c. the emptie end upward, saieng that they will conveie the graine therein into the other box or bell: which being set downe somewhat hard upon the table, the leather and the corne therein will fall downe, so as the said bell being taken up from the table, you shall see the corne lieng thereon, and the stopple will be hidden therwith, & covered: & when you uncover the other box, nothing shall remaine therein. But presentlie the corne must be swept downe with one hand into the other, or into your lap or hat. Manie feats maie be done with this box, as to put therein a tode, affirming the same to have beene so turned from corne, &c: and then manie beholders will/341. suppose the same to be the jugglers divell, whereby his feats and miracles are wrought. But in truth, there is more cunning witchcraft used in transferring of corne after this sort, than is in the transferring of one mans corne in the grasse into an other mans feeld: which†† See the 12 booke of this discoverie, in the title Habar, cap. 4. pag. 220, 221. the lawe of the twelve tables dooth so forceablie condemne: for the one is a cousening slight, the other is a false lie.
Of an other boxe to convert wheat into flower with words, &c.
THere is an other boxe usuall among jugglers, with a bottome in the middle thereof, made for the like purposes. One other also like a tun, wherin is shewed great varietie of stuffe, as well of liquors as spices, and all by means of an other little tun within the same, wherein and whereon liquors and spices are shewed. But this would aske too long a time of description.
Of diverse petie juggling knacks.
These are such sleights that even a bungler may doo them: and yet prettie, &c.THere are manie other beggerlie feats able to beguile the simple, as to make an ote stir by spetting thereon, as though it came to passe by words. Item to deliver meale, pepper, ginger, or anie powder out of the mouth after the eating of bread, &c: which is doone by reteining anie of those things stuffed in a little paper or bladder conveied into your mouth, and grinding the same with your teeth. ¶ Item, a rish through a peece of a trencher, having three holes, and at the one side the rish appearing out in the second, at the other side in the third hole, by reason of a hollow place made betwixt them both, so as the slight consisteth in turning the peece of trencher./
The xxxii. Chapter.241.
To burne a thred, and to make it whole againe with the ashes thereof.
T Marke the maner of this conceit and devise. is not one of the woorst feats to burne a thred handsomelie, and to make it whole againe: the order whereof is this. Take two threds, or small laces, of one foote in length a peece: roll up one of/342. them round, which will be then of the quantitie of a pease, bestow the same betweene your left forefinger and your thombe. Then take the other thred, and hold it foorth at length, betwixt the forefinger and thombe of each hand, holding all your fingers deintilie, as yong gentlewomen are taught to take up a morsell of meate.That is, neatlie and deintilie. Then let one cut asunder the same thred in the middle. When that is doone, put the tops of your two thombes together, and so shall you with lesse suspicion receive the peece of thred which you hold in your right hand into your left, without opening of your left finger and thombe: then holding these two peeces as you did the same before it was cut, let those two be cut also asunder in the middest, and they conveied againe as before, untill they be cut verie short, and then roll all those ends together, and keepe that ball of short threds before the other in your left hand, and with a knife thrust out the same into a candle, where you may hold it untill the said ball of short threds be burnt to ashes. Then pull backe the knife with your right hand, and leave the ashes with the other ball betwixt the forefinger and thombe of your left hand, and with the two thombs & two forefingers together seeme to take paines to frot and rub the ashes, untill your thred be renewed, andA thred cut in manie peeces and burned to ashes made whole againe. drawe out that thred at length which you kept all this while betwixt your left finger and thombe. This is not inferior to anie jugglers feate if it be well handled, for if you have legierdemaine to bestowe the same ball of thred, and to change it from place to place betwixt your other fingers (as may easilie be doone) then will it seeme verie strange.
To cut a lace asunder in the middest, and to make it whole againe.
BY a devise not much unlike to this, you may seeme to cut asunder any lace that hangeth about ones necke, or any point, girdle, or garter, &c: and with witchcraft or conjuration to make it whole and closed together againe. For the accomplishment whereof,The means discovered. provide (if you can) a peece of the lace, &c: which you meane to cut, or at the least a patterne like the same, one inch and a halfe long, & (keeping it double privilie in your left hand, betwixt some of your fingers neere to the tips thereof) take the other lace which you meane to cut, still hanging about ones necke,/343. and drawe downe your said left hand to the bought thereof: and putting your owne peece a little before the other (the end or rather middle whereof you must hide betwixt your forefinger and thombe) making the eie or bought, which shall be seene, of your owne patterne, let some stander by cut the same a/sunder,242. and it will be surelie thought that the other lace is cut; which with words and froting, &c: you shall seeme to renew & make whole againe. This, if it be well handled, will seeme miraculous.
How to pull laces innumerable out of your mouth, of what colour or length you list, and never anie thing seene to be therein.
AS for pulling laces out of the mouth, it is somewhat a stale jest, whereby jugglersA common juggling knacke of flat cousenage plaied among the simple, &c. gaine monie among maides, selling lace by the yard, putting into their mouths one round bottome as fast as they pull out an other, and at the just end of everie yard they tie a knot, so as the same resteth upon their teeth: then cut they off the same, and so the beholders are double and treble deceived, seeing as much lace as will be conteined in a hat, and the same of what colour you list to name, to be drawne by so even yards out of his mouth, and yet the juggler to talke as though there were nothing at all in his mouth.