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

YOu must have a stone of a reasonable bignesse, such as you may well hide in your hand, sitting in such manner as I have formerly said, that you may receive any thing into your lappe, take this stone out of your pocket, saying, You see, Gentlemen, here is a stone, a miraculous stone: Will you have it vanish, vade, or go away invisible; which being said, withdraw your hand to the side of the table letting the stone slip down into your lap, in which time stare about you, saying, chuse you whether. Then reach out your hand and say: Fortuna variabilis, lapis inestimabilis Iubeo, vade, vade, couragius. Open your hand then tossing it up, and blow a blast, and look up, saying, Do you see it is gone. Your looking up will make them to looke up, in which time you may take the stone againe in the other hand, and slip it into your pocket.

Another.

By agility and nimblenesse of hand you may make a piece of a Hares skin to stir and run about you as a live creature, and at last to vanish away, which will bee imagined to be some Familiar that you deale withall.

TAke your stone againe out of your pocket, saying, here it is once againe, and I will give it unto any of you to hold, and reach your hand out unto them, and opening your hand, say Loe here it is. Then when any one is about to take it, withdraw your hand to the side of the table, and make your conveyance as before, in which time say, But you must promise mee to take it quickly:

Then will hee say, I will, then reach your hand being shut, out unto him againe, and while hee striveth, thinking to take it quickly, hold fast and say, Vade couragious, celeriter vade: in which time you may take up the stone in the other hand, and hold it from you. Then open your hand and say, loe, If you can hold a pretty Lasse no faster, when you have her, I will not give a pin for your skill.

How to make a Card vanish, and finde it againe in a Nut.

TAke what card you will, pill the printed paper from off it, and roll it hard up, and make a hole in a nut, and take out the kernell, and then thrust in the card, afterwards stop the hole of the Nut neatly with waxe, this Nut you must have in readinesse about you, and when you are in your play, call for such a card as you inclosed in your Nut, or else haue one in a readinesse, and say, You see Gentlemen, here is such a card: then wet it, and pill off the printed side, roll it up, and the usuall manner conuey it away: Then take your Nut out of your pocket, and giue it unto one, and say, Cracke that Nut, and tell mee if you can finde the card there, which being found, will bee thought very strange.

Then haue another such like Nut, but filled with Inke, and stopped after the same manner that your other Nut was, and giue that unto another, and bid him cracke it, and see what he can finde in that, and so soone as he hath cracked it, all the inke will run about his mouth, which will move more mirth and laughter than the former.

How to seeme to eate a Knife.

DEsire any one of your spectators to accommodate you with a Knife, which when you haue gotten, hold it in such manner as that you may cover the whole knife with both your hands, the end of the haft excepted, and set the point of it unto your eye, and say, some body strike it in with his fist, but no body will, because it is so dangerous a thing: then set your hands upon the edge of the Table, and looking about you, say, why what will no body strike it in, in which time let the knife slip downe into your lap. Then nimbly make as if you chopt it hastily into your mouth, or to hold it in one hand, and strike it in with the other (but nimbly) then make two or three sowre faces, saying, some drinke, some drinke: or else you may say, now some one put his finger in my mouth, and pull it out againe; some will say haply you will bite me, say, no I will assure you. Then when he hath put his finger into your mouth, he will pull it out, & say, here is nothing, (this time is sufficient to conuey the Knife out of your lap into your pocket) say againe, why, you have your finger out againe, did you thinke to pull the knife out? if that should be in my mouth, it would kill mee. The knife is here in my pocket, and with that take it out, and deliver it againe.