The real second-sight, as practised by such eminent professors of the art as Houdin and Heller, is greatly superior to ‘Ex-conjurer’s’ code, and is contained partly in our instructions, and more exhaustively in a work recently published. In this the code for figures is arranged exactly in the same way as that given by us; with the addition that the word ‘Quick’ is used to give notice of fractions. Then if the interlocutor says, ‘Tell, now!’ the blindfolded wonder-worker knows the initials indicate 1 and 2; therefore, by aid of the preliminary warning, he (or she) ascertains that 1⁄2 is meant. Thus, if one-seventh had to be signalled, after ‘Quick!’ the cue might be given by saying, ‘Tell correctly, if you please, what other numbers are there.’
The work now under consideration, in addition to a code for spelling words the same as we have given, has also codes for money, coins, cards, colour, dates, etc., quite different from those in the preceding pages, and well worth perusal before any particular system is fixed upon.
The book concludes with an observation that an exhibitor of second sight will as likely as not tell you that this or that system is not the one by which his ‘clairvoyant’ reads mentally; and here the professor may speak quite truly. Nevertheless—and this point cannot be too frequently insisted upon, because abnormal, and even supernatural, power is frequently spoken of in connection with second sight—there is nothing in the mystery that cannot be solved with a little patience and perseverance; and you may feel satisfied that by a code and by that alone—word-signals carefully studied and rehearsed between the clairvoyant and the interlocutor—do all the seeming wonders come to pass.
‘Unconscious Counting.’
We cannot more suitably conclude this chapter than by referring to an ingenious article some time ago on ‘unconscious counting’ in the Gartenlaube, in which the writer, Herr W. Preyer, points out that the ability possessed by any one of ordinary intelligence to distinguish three, four, or even five objects at a glance, and without being conscious of counting them, may by practice be perfected to such a degree that it becomes quite as easy to count ten objects as it is to count three, and that it is possible to give the exact number up to thirty objects at a single glance. As an example of the latter attainment, the writer points to the well-known arithmetician Dase, who died in 1861, and who declared that he could count thirty objects of the same kind as quickly and easily as other people could count three or four. The truth of the assertion was often proved when Dase, with lightning rapidity, gave the correct number of a herd of sheep, of the books in a library, or the window-panes in a large house. The test of how far any one can count at a glance is easily made by putting several small objects, such as coins, pins, or matches, under a sheet of paper, then lifting the paper for a second and looking at the objects, and, after covering them again, give an estimate as to the number. At first it will be found difficult to fix the number if there are more than from three to five objects, but the eye becomes very soon accustomed to distinguish between larger numbers, so that after a short time eight or nine objects will be counted by the eye with the same facility. Care should, however, be taken that the counting is not done consciously, for that would take far too much time; the number of objects should only be valued.
The mistakes which are at first frequently made in this guessing game will become rarer and rarer, and almost anybody can become an expert in rapid counting up to ten objects; after that it becomes more difficult. The sensation, says Herr Preyer, of a person practised in unconscious counting, when looking attentively at larger numbers of objects, is that their number shoots rapidly through the head. To acquire this method of counting black spots should be made on white square pieces of cardboard, first symmetrically and in small numbers, as, for instance, the following:—
Afterwards their number may be increased and their position altered. It will also be good practice to open a book, cover part of the page, rapidly look at the lines left uncovered, and to guess at their number. It is astonishing how soon the eye gets accustomed to the numbers. The more advanced ‘unconscious counter’ should practise on spots not regularly arranged, which is much more difficult at first. Herr Preyer concludes his interesting article with the remark that unconscious counting, like all other oft-repeated processes, such as lifting the hat as a token of salutation, becomes at last an entirely mechanical process.
