Hocus Pocus Junior: The Anatomie of Legerdemain / Or, the art of jugling set forth in his proper colours, fully, plainly, and exactly, so that an ignorant person may thereby learn the full perfection of the same, after a little practise.

by Unknown

Fourthly, and lastly, such gesture of body as may leade away the spectators eyes from a strict and diligent beholding his manner of conveyance.

Of the Play of the Balls.

THe Operator thus qualified must have his Implements of purpose to play withall: and first he must have three Cups, made of brasse, or Crooked lane plate:

These Cups must be all of one sise, and the bottome of each of them must bee set a little within the cup; marke the following figure, for thereby they are truely represented, both in forme and bignesse: it is noted with the letter B. Also he must have foure Bals, made of Corke about the bignesse of small Nutmegs. First, he must practise to hold these Cork balls, two or three of them at once in one hand. The best place, and the readiest to hold one ball is betweene the ball of the thumbe, and the palme of the hand; but if you hold more than one at one time, betweene your fingers towards the bottoms. The place to hold a great ball is betweene your two middle fingers. Remember in your play alwaies to keep the palme of your hand downeward: After you have once learned to hold these balls handsomely, you may worke divers strange, and delightfull feats.

Some I have seene sit with their Codpiece open, others play standing with a budget hanging before them, but all comes to one end.
Some feats may with more grace be performed stãding then sitting. The manner of holding the cups will conceale the ball that you retein in your hand.

But whether you seeme to cast your ball in the ayre, or into your mouth, or into your other hand, yet still retaine it in the same hand, still remembring to keepe the palme of your hand downeward, and out of sight. Now to begin:

He that is to play must sit on the farther side of a Table, which must be covered with a carpet: partly to keepe the balls from rolling away, and partly to keepe them from ratling: likewise hee must set his hat in his lap, or sit in such manner as that hee may receive any thing into his lap, and let him cause all his spectators to sit downe: Then let him draw his foure balls, and lay three of them upon the table, (and retain the fourth in his right hand) and say, Gentlemen, here are three bals you see, 1. Meredin, 2. Benedic, and 3. Presto Iohn, then let him draw his cups and hold them all three in his right hand also, saying, Here are also three Cups, saying, See there's nothing in them, neither have they any false bottoms:

Then say, See I will set them all on a row, and clap them all on a row, & in clapping them downe, convey the ball that you reteined under the middlemost cup, saying as you set them downe, Nothing there, there, nor there. Then shew your hands, and say, Gentlemen, you see here is nothing in my hands, and say, Now to begin, and take up with your right hand one of the three bals that you layed downe, and say this is the first, and with that seeme to put it into your left hand, and presently shut your left hand, and being shut, clap it unto your eare, saying, This is for the purging of the braine, Presto bee gone, then move both the utmost cups (noted with A, and B.) with both your hands, saying, And there is nothing there nor there, and in the clapping them downe, conveigh the ball in your right hand under the Cup noted B.