This movement must be assiduously practised before it is exhibited in public, as nothing looks more awkward than to see it clumsily performed, in which case two or three cards generally tumble on the floor.
2. TO TELL A CARD BY ITS BACK.
While shuffling the pack, cast a glance at the bottom card, make the pass, and bring it to the top. Continue to shuffle, and lay upon it by degrees as many cards as you like, say six. Then lay the pack on the table, face downwards, and divide it into seven heaps, beginning at the bottom, and leave the seventh heap larger than any of the others.
When you have done this, take one card from the top of the seventh heap, appear to calculate, and lay it, face upwards, on one of the other heaps. Do so with five more cards, thus leaving your slipped card at the top of the seventh heap. You then announce that by the aid of the six cards you will name the seventh. You name it accordingly, after carefully studying the other cards, and on asking a spectator to take it up, it will be seen that you are right.
If you place five cards above the slipped card, you will lay out six heaps, and if eight cards, there will of course be nine heaps.
3. THE CARD NAMED WITHOUT BEING SEEN.
As in the last trick, cast a glance at the bottom card, say the ace of spades. Lay out the pack in as many heaps as you like, noting where that one is laid which contains that bottom card. Ask any one to take up the top card of any heap, look at it, and replace it. You then gather up the heaps apparently by chance, but you take care to put the heap containing the bottom card upon the card which has been chosen. You then give any one the cards to cut, and on counting them over, the card that immediately follows the ace of spades is the card chosen.
If by any accident the two cards should be separated when cut, the upper card of the pack is the chosen one, and can be picked out with seeming care.
4. THE CARD TOLD BY THE OPERA GLASS.
Make out a table, such as is given on the next page, [Fig. 1], and place it in an opera-glass, so that the figures will be visible when you look through it. For convenience, I have made mine as seen in [Fig. 2], the numbers 1, 2, 3 in each series being understood. The best plan is to write the numbers, or cut them out of a book, and paste them on a circular piece of cardboard, which must then be soaked in oil, so as to make it semi-transparent. The light will then easily pierce through it, and the figures will be better visible than if it were opaque.