A second method depends upon the neat execution of the pass, and is to be commended because, each time three cards are placed upon one of the four lying upon the table, they are first shown to be ordinary mixed cards, and not knaves. Three cards are palmed, and placed upon top of the four knaves, as in the first method, and the three ordinary cards and one knave are placed in a row, as before. Three mixed cards are then taken from any part of the pack, their faces shown casually, and they are then put upon an ordinary card. This is gone through three times, the knave being left till the last. As if by mistake, the performer places the three cards, which he has shown to be mixed ones, upon the cards in his left hand, instead of upon the knave on the table. At this instant the three are passed to the bottom, the right thumb at once taking off the three knaves, as though they were the cards just placed there by mistake. On no account must the performer make any apology; he need merely say, "Oh! that's wrong; they must go here," and place the cards upon the knave. One must be perfect in making the pass before attempting this method; but it is very easy indeed to pass so few cards as three from top to bottom.
A third method is also accomplished by means of the pass, and is preferred by many conjurors. The four cards are shown, and, as they are being put upon the pack, the little finger is passed between the third and fourth, three cards thus being above it. The insertion of the little finger is in all cases greatly facilitated if the cards are spread a little, fanwise, at the moment of placing them on the pack. The three topmost cards (knaves) are immediately passed to the bottom, leaving one knave on the top, and the little finger kept between them and the rest of the pack. This card is then placed upon the table, its face being accidentally (?) shown to the spectators, and three others (ordinary cards) successively laid beside it. Three ordinary cards, always taken from the top, are then placed upon each of the ordinary ones lying singly upon the table, the audience seeing their faces each time, and then the pass is made, bringing the three knaves from the bottom back again to the top. These three cards are then placed upon the other knave, which brings about the desired state of affairs. As these three knaves cannot be shown to be ordinary cards, as was each preceding set of three cards, I here recommend the conjuror to make use of a little ruse of mine. It is to take off from the pack four, instead of three, cards, the three knaves thus having an ordinary card beneath them. Holding the edges even, so that only the lowest card can be seen, the performer says, "Now I once more take three cards, and"—here he turns them over, and, spreading them slightly, discovers four cards, so he continues, "Oh! I see, I have taken one card too many." He then removes the underneath card, and places the remaining three upon the knave. To show the faces of three out of four heaps of cards and not those of a fourth, causes suspicion to be thrown upon the latter. By adopting the ruse described, this is ostensibly done; at any rate, sufficiently so to satisfy the spectators, which is all that is desired.
A fourth method is bolder still, and calls for a masterly execution of the change. Matters progress precisely as in the second method, except that the three knaves are always slightly pushed off the top of the pack, ready to be exchanged at any moment. It is just as easy to change three cards as one by the method illustrated at [Fig. 36]. The fourth time is perhaps again the most favourable for the substitution, as the performer may cover the action of changing by handing the pack to be held. Holding the pack, with the knaves on the top, in the left hand, and the three ordinary cards in the right, he should turn round suddenly to someone on his extreme left, and somewhat behind him, when every opportunity will be afforded for executing the sleight. Or the act may be gone through by giving the last three cards to someone on the performer's left to place upon the remaining uncovered knave, when the same facility for an exchange will be afforded.
Yet a fifth method remains, which is a very fine one indeed, if the performer should happen to be an adept at changing. To attempt this method, he must be absolutely perfect in this sleight. The four knaves are first thrown down upon the table, faces upwards. One is then taken in the right hand, and three cards put upon it from the top of the pack, held in the left hand. That is what the performer appears to do, but, in reality, as he approaches the pack with the knave, the change is effected, the knave being thereby placed at the bottom of the pack. As he executes the change, the performer says, "I will now take three more cards from the pack," and, under cover of the quite natural action of bringing the knave into proximity to the pack, the change, if only adroitly executed, will pass unnoticed. The three cards required are drawn off by means of the right thumb, and the heap of four placed at a corner of the table. A second knave is similarly treated, followed by a third. Three knaves are now at the bottom of the pack. The performer may now either make the pass, bringing the three knaves to the top, and then place them upon the fourth, or else he may say that he will take three cards from the bottom of the pack, to show that it is immaterial to him from whence they come. As the feat of changing three times in succession is materially assisted by some freedom of movement, it is as well to place the four heaps at the corners of the table, wide apart, the performer being thereby compelled, in the eyes of the company, to move about a good deal. The one great feature connected with this method is, that the four knaves are shown faces upwards, until the very moment of their being placed in a heap. In each of the last three methods, the selection of the knave heap proceeds as described in the first method.
The five methods described give the conjuror his choice according to his greater facility with the pass, the palm, or the change; and he will also find that they are capable of far wider application, in connection with other card tricks.
Thought-reading.—Give the pack into the hands of a spectator, and allow one card to be secretly chosen. Replaced in the pack, it is passed to the top (or bottom), and a furtive glance taken at it, the palm being employed, if necessary. Let three cards be chosen in this manner, a fourth being forced, consequently previously known. The object of this diversion is in order that the last card selected may be placed in the pack by the chooser, and the cards immediately shuffled, which will distract attention from the fact that this was not done in the other cases, which, however, could be done after the performer had glanced at the card, if necessary, which it is not, as it draws out any trick too long to have the cards frequently shuffled. The performer must be careful to remember the cards, and by whom drawn. Taking the pack in his hand, he presents one end of it to a card drawer, explaining that he is about to give an exposition of thought-reading. Although there is no reason for failing, it is as well not to make this announcement any earlier, in case of anything going not quite rightly. The performer makes a great fuss about the necessity for looking full in the eyes of the person drawing the card, and pretends to arrive at the designation of the card by slow degrees, saying to himself, but audibly enough to be heard, for instance, "A red card—hearts—one, two, three, four, five, six, seven spots;" and then, loudly, "The seven of hearts." Every incidental occurrence in the behaviour of the persons whose thoughts are being read must be taken advantage of; a want of alacrity in obeying instructions, for example, tending to make the reading more difficult, the subject being even left for the time being, and returned to after other cards have been revealed. This trick has the advantage of bearing considerable repetition.
A second method is as follows: The performer holds the cards in one hand, and presents them to a spectator to cut, with the injunction that the underneath card of the cut shall be removed, looked at, and remembered. It is immaterial how many cards are thus chosen. As they are selected they are replaced in the pack by the person choosing, the performer turning his head away, if necessary, whilst this is being done; or they may be put back together, and the pack shuffled by the company. Simply by placing one end of the pack in the chooser's hand, whilst holding the other end himself, the performer is enabled to name the cards as before. This phase of the trick is accomplished by means of a "cut force." Glancing at the bottom card, the performer makes the pass, keeping the two packets apart by means of the little finger. The card which the performer has seen is now at the bottom of the upper half, and the pack is presented for cutting. As the four fingers are along one side of the pack, and the thumb along the other, the cut must be made lengthwise; and, as the little finger keeps the pack open at the back, it must be made there. The person cutting will notice nothing. Whilst the card is being examined, the performer glances at the fresh bottom card, and, when the upper half of the pack is returned to him, once more makes the pass, and presents the cards to another person to be cut. Four cards are quite sufficient for the effect; but, if the performer can remember others, he is quite at liberty to increase the number. The finish of the trick will depend upon the performer's ability to simulate the possession of thought-reading powers. If he has been showing any card tricks previously, with success, he may commence this one by saying, "I have an idea that many here fancy I have a method for forcing certain cards upon persons, such cards being previously known to me. Now, in order to render such a proceeding quite impossible, I will ask this gentleman to shuffle the cards thoroughly, so that I cannot know the position of any one of them, and then have the cards cut haphazard." This explains why the cut is used, and at once makes the trick appear stupendously difficult.
The "cut force" here described may be successfully employed for the purpose of reproducing cards that have been previously chosen, thought of, &c.; one of the company being made to cut the pack at the very spot where that card is situated, after shuffling, &c.
If the company appears still sceptical about the powers of mind claimed by the performer, he may give a final convincing proof. Placing the pack entirely in the hands of the company, he desires them to select two or three cards. These cards are gathered by a spectator, and given to another to hold, and afterwards placed by him in the pack. The performer then presents his hand to each chooser, and reads the cards as before. Unless the performer can execute the change with certainty, he must not attempt this method, or ruinous exposure may await him. About the first portion of the trick all is fair and above board, the company selecting the cards as they please. The performer, taking the pack in his left hand, then says, "Now, in order that I may not get a sight of the cards, will some gentleman kindly gather them in his hand?" Whilst this is being done, the performer must watch narrowly whose card is placed first, whose second, &c. Taking the three cards from the hand of the collector, the performer turns to a spectator on his left, requesting him to hold them between his hands. As he turns, he makes the change, the three chosen cards being left at the bottom, and three indifferent ones removed from the top, and given to be held. Great caution is necessary to keep the cards well covered by the upper hand, so that the performer shall not see them—his actual anxiety, of course, being lest any one else should do so. By this time he has glanced at the bottom card, and, making the single card slip pass, sees the next also, and the third soon afterwards. Affecting to see mistrust in the faces of the company, the performer says that perhaps it would, after all, be better to have the three cards in the pack. For this purpose the pack is handed to the person holding the three cards, who is directed to shuffle them with the rest. The trick then proceeds as before. If the change is properly executed, the effect of this trick is extraordinary, because the three cards have, apparently, always been in full view of everyone; and even if the performer had accidentally seen the face of the lowest one, the others have certainly never been visible to him.
A Game at Napoleon.—The performer forces five cards in succession, as quickly as he can, and remembering the whole five. Practice in the preceding trick will enable him to accomplish this, at first, rather difficult task, in public, it being simple enough to remember five cards when one has nothing else on hand at the same time. It is best to force all five cards on one person, who retains them. If forced upon different people, they must be afterwards collected in one hand. Giving the pack to another of the company, the performer asks for any five cards to be given him. This done, he tells the holder of the forced cards that he is about to play a game at "Napoleon" with him. For the sake of effect, he may allow one half of the company to see his hand, the other half looking over the hand of his opponent. In this way, universal interest is excited. Should the opponent have a poor hand, the performer may give him the choice of saying how many tricks he will declare. Should the opponent have at all good cards, however, then the performer must say, "I declare first." What he declares will, of course, depend upon the cards; but, in nearly every case, he can go "Napoleon," one condition of the trick being, as he will explain just before playing the hand, that the opponent must play the cards as called for by the performer, who, of course, must not make his antagonist revoke. With this proviso, it is wonderful how often it is possible, even with the least promising cards, to win all five tricks; the cases in which four only are possible being very rare. A couple of sample hands will be instructive.