DEMONSTRATION III. Similar to the above is the feat known as the "Game of cards." Two players sit opposite each other at a table, having dealt themselves two hands of euchre. Have the Transmitter lead you behind the first player, and standing there have the player silently point out the card he wishes to lead, to the Transmitter. The Transmitter then should concentrate his mind on the card, and you will find it in the usual manner, and having found it will play it on the table. Then leading you around to the other player, the Transmitter repeats the process, and you find and play the card. Then back to the first play, and repeat. Then alternate between the players, in the same manner, until you have played out the game. This may be improved upon by the Transmitter thinking of which player has won the trick, when you will push the cards over to the winner, having discovered the direction in the usual manner. This feat is very effective indeed when properly performed.
THE MAPPED-OUT TRIP.
DEMONSTRATION IV. Have a map laid open on the table, and have the audience decide upon a trip between two points, either by rail or by water. Then returning to the room, stand as above described, and with your forefinger find the place from which the trip starts. Then move slowly along the selected course in the same manner in which the checker-game was played, passing along the chosen route until the end is reached. These feats are all really variations of the one principle.
THE PACK OF CARDS.
DEMONSTRATION V. This is a very effective feat, and requires some little skill and practice, but there is no reason why any careful, patient, and persistent student should not be able to master it. It consists in the audience selecting any given card from the pack, and then replacing it with the others, being sure that the Transmitter is familiar with the card chosen, and knows enough about cards to recognize it when he sees it again. Then the pack of cards should be placed on the table, face up. Returning to the room, you take the Transmitter's hand as usual, and with your right hand pick off the cards from the pack, slowly and one by one. As you pick up each card, slowly weigh it in your hand, so to speak, and then place it aside if you receive no "stop" orders from the mind of the Transmitter. Having previously practiced this feat in private you will have learned that peculiar "heavier" sensation that comes to you when you lift the right card from the pack, so that when you finally reach it you will know it. We cannot describe just what this sensation will feel like—you must learn it by actually experiencing it in private practice. We advise you to diligently practice this feat in private, for it is wonderfully effective. You will find that after a bit of practice you will be able to get the "heavy" feeling when you lift up and "weigh" the right card. You should perform this feat slowly, and carefully, shaking your head, "No," just before you discard a card. If by the lack of concentration of the Transmitter, you fail to feel the "heavy" feeling when you pick up the right card, the shake of the head will be apt to arouse him to exert his Will more actively, and you will receive the "hold on" impulse immediately. Do not be in too much of a hurry to discard, but make several feints at it before finally letting go. This feat may be improved by having the audience select a "poker-hand," such as a "flush," a "straight," "three-of-a-kind"; a "full-house," etc., etc., and having you find the hand one card at a time. This latter is a fine effect, and always brings down the house. But be sure that your Transmitter really knows and remembers the cards, else the feat will fail, of course. He must remember each card, and recognize it when it appears face up on the pack before you, as you proceed with the discarding. Never attempt this feat in public without previous careful, private, practice, for it requires the most delicate perception and skill. If you find that you cannot master it to your satisfaction, after sufficient practice, you may try it by the "Simpler Method" given at the conclusion of this Lesson.
THE CHOSEN WORD IN THE BOOK.
DEMONSTRATION VI. Like the last feat, this is a complex and difficult one, but one that always arouses enthusiasm in an audience when well performed. It will repay you for the private practice that you will have to employ upon it, before you produce it in public. The feat consists of the audience selecting a book from a pile, or a book-shelf, or book-case, etc.—then a given page is chosen—then a line of printed matter on that page—and then a word in that line. It is well to have the Transmitter draw a pencil circle around the chosen word, so that he may be sure to remember it later. The book is then replaced on the shelf. Then returning to the room, you first find the book, by the methods already given in previous feats; then laying it flat on the table you should begin to slowly and deliberately pick each leaf up separately. This part of the feat is almost identical with the last one, in which you picked up the cards from the pack. When you get the proper impression, you should announce that you have found the leaf. If satisfied that you are right, ascertain upon which side of the leaf, the chosen page is. This can be done by pressing the leaf to the right, or left, in succession, until you get the right impression as to which way to press it down. Then, having thus found the page, pass your finger slowly down and back over the page several times, until you get the impression of a centre. This centre will be the chosen line. Then by passing the finger slowly along the line, you will discover the Word when you reach it. This is a "ticklish" feat, but it may be mastered by practice—in fact some people have found it almost as simple as some of the easier feats, while others require careful practice with it. Do not be discouraged if you do not succeed at first trial, even in public, but try again, and after a bit you will seem to "get the knack" all at once, and thereafter will have but little trouble in making the demonstration. If you find that you do not meet with the desired degree of success in this feat, try it by the "[Simpler Method]" given at the last of this part of the book. But do not give it up without the proper practice. If you have carefully performed the previous feats, you should have so developed yourself by this time that you should have no special difficulty in this feat.
BLACKBOARD DEMONSTRATIONS.
The following feats may be performed either upon a large blackboard hanging from the wall, or upon a large sheet of card-board, or stiff paper, spread upon the table. If the blackboard is used, you should stand before it, the Transmitter standing in the usual position. If the table is used, you should stand before it, the Transmitter in his usual place.