To transform the Four Kings into Aces, and afterwards to render them all Blank Cards.
A clever juggler will take four kings in his hand, and apparently show them to the bystanders, and then, after some words and charms, he will throw them down upon the table, taking one of the kings away, and adding but one other card; then taking them up again, and blowing upon them, he will show you them transformed into blank cards, white on both sides; then throwing them down as before, with their faces downwards, he will take them up again, and, blowing upon them, will show you four aces.
This trick is not inferior to any that is performed with cards, and yet is very pretty.
To perform it, you must have cards made for the purpose, half cards we may call them; that is, one half kings and the other half aces; so, laying the aces one over the other, nothing but the king will be seen, and then, turning the kings downwards, the four aces will be seen; but you must have two whole cards, one a king to cover one of the aces, or else it will be perceived, and the other an ace to lay over the kings, when you mean to show the aces; then, when you would make them all blank, lay the cards a little lower, and hide the aces, and they will appear all white. The like you may make of four knaves, putting upon them the four fives; and so of the other cards.
To name all the Cards in the Pack, and yet never see them.
To do this, you must privately drop a little water or beer, about the size of a crown-piece, upon the table before which you sit; then rest your elbows upon the table, so that the cuffs of your sleeves may meet, and your hands stick up to the brims of your hat; in this posture your arms will hide the drop of water from the company; then let any one take the cards and shuffle them, and put them into your hands; also let him set a candle before you, for this trick is best done by candlelight. Then holding the cards in your left hand, above the brim of your hat, close up to your head, so that the light of the candle may shine upon the cards, and holding your head down, so in the drop of water, like a looking-glass, you shall see the shadow of all the cards before you. Now draw the finger of your right hand along upon the card, as if you were feeling it, and then lay it down. Thus you may lay down all the cards in the pack, one by one, naming them before you lay them down, which will seem very strange to the beholders, who will think that you have felt them out.
To show any one what Card he takes Notice of.
Let any one take a card out of the pack, and note it; then take part of the pack in your hand, and lay the rest down upon the table, bidding him lay his noted card upon them; then, turning your back towards the company, make as though you were looking over the cards in your hand, and put any card at the fore-side; and, whilst your are doing this privately, wait till the cards are laid out in heaps, to find what the bottom cards are. Bid any one take four cards of the same number, viz. four aces, four deuces, four trèys, and any other number not exceeding ten (for he must not take court cards), and lay them out; then take the remaining cards, if any such there be, and divide their number by four, and the quotient shall be the number of spots of the four cards; if twelve cards remain, then on each bottom card are trèys, and, if there be no remaining cards, then the four bottom cards are aces.
To tell the Number of Spots on the Bottom Cards, laid down in several Heaps.
Bid any one take the whole pack of cards in his hand, and, having shuffled them, let him take off the upper card, and, having taken notice of it, let him lay it down upon the table, with its face downwards, and upon it let him lay so many cards as will make up the number of spots on the noted card, e. g. twelve. If the card which the person first took notice of was a king, queen, knave, or a single ten, bid him lay down that card with its face downwards, calling it ten; upon that card let him lay another, calling it eleven, and upon that another, calling it twelve; then bid him take off the next uppermost card, saying, “What is it?” Suppose it were a nine, laying it down on another part of the table, and calling it nine, upon it let him lay another, calling it ten; upon it another, calling it eleven; and upon it another, calling it twelve; then let him look on the next uppermost card: and so let him proceed to lay them out in a heap, in all respects as before, till he has laid out the whole pack; but, if there be any cards at the last (I mean if there be not enough to make up the last noted card twelve), bid him give them to you; then, to tell him the number of all the spots contained in all the bottom cards of the heaps, do thus:—from the number of heaps subtract four, and multiply the remainder by fifteen, and to the product add the number of those remaining cards which he gave you, if any did remain; but, if there were but four heaps, then those remaining cards alone show the number of spots sought.