The Magician's Own Book, or, the Whole Art of Conjuring / Being a complete hand-book of parlor magic, and containing over one thousand optical, chemical, mechanical, magnetical, and magical experiments, amusing transmutations, astonishing sleights and subtleties, celebrated card deceptions, ingenious tricks with numbers, curious and entertaining puzzles, together with all the most noted tricks of modern performers.

by George Arnold; Frank Cahill

THE DOUBLE DOZEN.

Present a pack of cards to one of the company, desiring him to shuffle them well, and to get them shuffled by whomsoever he pleases; then make several persons cut them; after which you will propose to one of the company to take the pack and think of a card, and remember it, and likewise its order in the pack, by counting one, two, three, four, &c., till he comes, exclusively, to the one thought of; offer to go into another room, or to be blindfolded, while he is doing this. Now declare in what order the card shall be in the pack; say, for instance the twenty-fourth; and, by attending to the following instructions, it will prove to be so:—Suppose the person who thinks of the card stops at thirteen, and that the thirteenth card was the queen of hearts, the number you have stated it shall be in the pack being twenty-four; you return to the room, in case you had left it, or desire the handkerchief to be removed, if you have been blindfolded; and, without asking any question of the person who has thought of the card, ask only for the pack, and apply it to your nose, as if to smell it; then passing it behind your back, or under the table, take, from the bottom of the pack, twenty-three cards; that is to say, one less than the number you have stated the card thought of shall be; place these twenty-three cards on the top. This being done, return the pack to the person who had thought of the card, requesting him to reckon the cards from the top of the pack, beginning by the number of the card he thought of. His card being the thirteenth, he will be compelled to count fourteen, and you are to stop him when he comes to twenty-three, reminding him that the number you have mentioned is twenty-four, and that, consequently, the twenty-fourth card, which he is going to take up, will be the card thought of; and so it will most certainly be.[15]

THE HOUSEBREAKERS.

Take a pack of cards, and place all the aces together, the twos, the threes, and so on up to the kings. There will then be thirteen different heaps. You say, "Here are four houses (laying down the four aces separately), which four knaves enter for the purpose of robbing (laying a knave upon each ace), and take with them their implements for housebreaking (and upon each of the knaves you lay a two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight). The mistresses of the houses come home (laying a queen upon each of the heaps), bringing their money with them (laying a nine upon each queen). Shortly after, their husbands also return (laying a king upon each queen), also bringing money with them" (laying a ten upon each heap). You have now disposed of all the cards, which form four distinct heaps. Then lay one heap over the other, and let as many persons cut them as please. When this is done, if you commence at the top of the pack, and lay the cards face downwards, one by one, so as to make thirteen separate heaps, you will find all the aces together, the twos, and so on, as you originally placed them.

THE MAGIC BOOK.

Provide an octavo book of plain paper, of whatever thickness you please. Turn over seven leaves from the beginning, and paint a group of flowers; then turn over seven more leaves, and paint the same again, and so on, until you have turned the book through to the end. Then paste a slip of paper or parchment to each of the painted leaves. Turn the book over again, and paint upon every sixth leaf a parrot, and then paste strips upon them as you did upon the first, only a little lower down. Proceed in this manner until you have painted the book full of pictures of various sorts, taking care one side of the leaves is left white paper. When you use the book, hold it in your left hand, and set the thumb of your right hand upon the first of the parchment stays; run the book through, and it will appear full of flowers; then stop and, blowing upon the book, run it through again, with the thumb upon the second slips of parchment, and it will, appear full of parrots. Afterwards, reverse the book, and run it through as before, and it will appear composed of blank paper.

THE TAPE TRICK.

This trick consists in suffering a person to tie your thumbs together tightly, and yet that you shall be able to release them in a moment, and tie them together again. The mode of performing this trick is as follows:—Lay a piece of tape across the palms of your hands, placed side by side, letting the ends hang down; then bring your palms quickly together, at the same time privately catching hold of the middle of the tape with your fourth and fifth fingers. Then direct any person to tie your thumbs together as tight as he pleases, but he will not, of course, in reality be tying them, because you have hold of the tape, yet it will nevertheless appear to him that he is doing so. Request him to place a hat over your hands; then blow upon the hat, and say, "Be loose," slipping your thumbs from under the tape; direct him to remove the hat, and show your thumbs free. You then request the hat may again be placed over your hands, and blowing upon it, you say "Be tied," slipping your thumbs under the tape again; and when the hat is removed, your thumbs will appear tied as at first. After performing the trick, convey the tape away, lest it be detected.

MORE THAN FULL.

Fill a glass to the brim with water, and you may add to it spirit of wine without causing the water to overflow.