Or Sleight of Hand;

A DENOMINATION given to certain deceptive performances, which either depend altogether on dexterity and address, or derive but a small degree of aid from philosophical principles. Of these we shall present our readers with a selection of the best that have been either explained in books, or publicly exhibited.

SECT. I. Performances with the Cards.

Previous to the performances with cards, it will be necessary to explain the method of making the pass; that is, bringing a certain number of cards from the bottom of the pack to the top; as many of these performances depend on that manoeuvre.

1. Hold the pack of cards in your right hand, so that the palm of your hand may be under the cards; place the thumb of that hand on one side of the pack, the first, second, and third fingers on the other side, and your little finger between those cards that are to be brought to the top and the rest of the pack. Then place your left hand over the cards, in such a manner that the thumb may be at C, (fig. 20, 21.) the forefinger at A, and the other fingers at B.

The hands and the two parts of the cards being thus disposed, you draw off the lower cards confined by the little finger and the other parts of the right hand, and place them, with an imperceptible motion, on the top of the pack.

It is quite necessary, before you attempt any of the experiments that depend on making the pass, that you can perform it so dexterously that the eye cannot distinguish the motion of your hand; otherwise, instead of deceiving others, you will expose yourself. It is also proper that the cards make no noise, as that will occasion suspicion. This dexterity is not to be attained without some practice.

There is a method of preparing a pack of cards, by inserting one or more that are a small matter longer or wider wider than the rest; which preparation will be necessary in several of the following experiments.

2. Have a pack in which there is a long card; open the pack at that part where the long card is, and present the pack to a person in such a manner that he will naturally draw that card. He is then to put it into any part of the pack, and shuffle the cards. You take the pack, and offer the same card in like manner to a second or third person; observing, however, that they do not stand near enough to see the card each other draws. You then draw several cards yourself, among which is the long card, and ask each of the parties if his card be among those cards, and he will naturally say Yes, as they have all drawn the same card. You then shuffle all the cards together, and cutting them at the long card, you hold it before the first person, so that the others may not see it, and tell him that is his card. You then put it again in the pack, and shuffling them a second time, you cut again at the same card, and hold it in like manner to the second person, and so of the rest (A).

If the first person should not draw the long card, each of the parties must draw different cards; when, cutting the pack at the long card, you put those they have drawn over it, and seeming to shuffle the cards indiscriminately, you cut them again at the long card, and show one of them his card. You then shuffle and cut again, in the same manner, and show another person his card, and so on; remembering, that the card drawn by the last person is the first next the long card; and so of the others.

This experiment may be performed without the long card, in the following manner. Let a person draw any card whatever, and replace it in the pack; you then make the pass, and bring that card to the top of the pack, and shuffle them without losing sight of that card. You then offer that card to a second person, that he may draw it, and put it in the middle of the pack. You make the pass and shuffle the cards a second time in the same manner, and offer the card to a third person, and so again to a fourth or fifth, as is more fully explained further on.

3. You let a person draw any four cards from the pack, and tell him to think on one of them. When he returns you the four cards, you dexterously place two of them under the pack and two on the top. Under those at the bottom you place four cards of any sort; and then, taking eight or ten from the bottom-cards, you spread them on the table, and ask the person if the card he fixed on be among them. If he say No, you are sure it is one of the two cards on the top. You then pass those two cards to the bottom, and drawing off the lowest of them, you ask him if that is not his card. If he again say No, you take that card up, and bid him draw his card from the bottom of the pack.

If the person say his card is among those you first drew from the bottom, you must dexterously take up the four cards that you put under them, and, placing those on the top, let the other two be the bottom-cards of the pack, which you are to draw in the manner before described.

4. After a card has been drawn, you place it under the long card, and by shuffling them dexterously you bring it to top of the pack. Then lay, or throw, the pack on the ground, observing where the top-card lies. A handkerchief is then bound over your eyes, in such a manner however that you can see the ground, which may be easily done. A sword is then put into your hand, with which you touch several of the cards, seemingly in great doubt, but never losing sight of the top-card, in which at last you fix the point of the sword, and present it to him who drew it. Two or three cards may be discovered in the same manner, that is, by placing them under the long card, and then bringing them to the top of the pack.

5. You must have in the pack two cards of the same fort, suppose the king of spades. One of these is to be placed next the bottom-card, which may be the seven card of hearts, or any other card. The other is to be placed at top. You then shuffle the cards, without displacing those three cards, and show a person that the bottom-card is the seven of hearts. Then drawing that card privately aside with your finger, which you have wetted for that purpose, you take the king of spades from the bottom, which the person supposes to be the seven of hearts, and lay it on the table, telling him to cover it with his hand. You then shuffle the cards again, without displacing the first and last card, and passing the other king of spades at the top to the bottom, you show it to another person. You then draw that privately away; and taking the bottom-card, which will then be the seven of hearts, you lay that on the table, and tell the second person, who believes it to be the king of spades, to cover it with his hand.

You then command the seven of hearts, which is supposed to be under the hand of the first person, to change into the king of spades; and the king of spades, which is supposed to be under the hand of the second person, to change into the seven of hearts; and when the two parties take their hands off, and turn up the cards, they will see, to their no small astonishment, after having so carefully observed the bottom-cards, that your commands are punctually obeyed.

6. Take a card, the same as your long card, and rolling it up very close, put it in an egg, by making a hole as small as possible, and which you are to fill up carefully with white wax. You then offer the long card to be drawn; and when it is replaced in the pack you shuffle the cards several times, giving the egg to the person who drew the card, and, while he is breaking it, you privately withdraw the long card, that it may appear, upon examining the cards, to have gone from the pack into the egg. This experiment may be rendered more surprising by having several eggs, in each of which is placed a card of the same fort, and then giving the person the liberty to choose which egg he thinks fit.

This deception may be still further diversified, by having, as most public performers have, a confederate, who is previously to know the egg in which the card is placed; for you may then break the other eggs, and show that the only one that contains a card is that

(A) There is frequently exhibited another experiment, similar to this, which is by making a person draw the long card; then giving him the pack, you tell him to place his card where he pleases and shuffle them, and you will then name his card or cut the pack where it is. You may also tell him to put the pack in his pocket, and you will draw the card; which you may easily do by the touch. that in which you directed it to be.

7. Divide a piquet pack of cards into two parts by a long card. Let the first part contain a quint to a king in clubs and spades, the four eights, the ten of diamonds and ten of hearts; and let the other part contain the two quart majors in hearts and diamonds, the four sevens, and the four nines (v).

Then shuffle the cards, but observe not to displace any of those cards of the last part which are under the long card. You then cut at that card, and leave the pack in two parts. Next, present the first of those parts to a person, and tell him to draw two or three cards, and place the remainder on the table. You present the second parcel in like manner to another. Then having dextrously placed the cards drawn by the first person in the second parcel, and those drawn by the second person in the first parcel, you shuffle the cards, observing to displace none but the upper cards. Then spreading the cards on the table, you name those that each person drew; which you will very easily do, by observing the cards that are changed in each parcel.

8. On the ace of spades fix, with soap, a heart, and on the ace of hearts, a spade, in such a manner that they will easily flip off.

Show these two aces to the company; then taking the ace of spades, you desire a person to put his foot upon it, and as you place it on the ground, draw away the spade. In like manner you place the seeming ace of hearts under the foot of another person. You then command the two cards to change their places; and that they obey your command, the two persons, on taking up their cards, will have ocular demonstration. A deception similar to this is sometimes practised with one card, suppose the ace of spades, over which a heart is placed slightly. After showing a person the card, you let him hold one end of it, and you hold the other, and while you amuse him with discourse, you slide off the heart. Then laying the card on the table, you bid him cover it with his hand. You then knock under the table, and command the heart to turn into the ace of spades. By deceptions like these, people of little experience and much conceit are frequently deprived of their money, and rendered ridiculous.

9. You must be prepared with two cards, like those represented by fig. 22, and with a common ace and a five of diamonds.

The five of diamonds and the two prepared cards are to be disposed as in fig. 23, and holding them in your hand, you say, "A certain Frenchman left 15,000 livres, which are represented by these three cards, to his three sons. The two youngest agreed to leave their 5000, each of them, in the hands of the elder, that he might improve it." While you are telling this story, you lay the 5 on the table, and put the ace in its place, and at the same time artfully change the position of the other two cards, so that the three cards may appear as in fig. 24. You then resume your discourse, "The eldest brother, instead of improving the money, lost it all by gaming, except 3000 livres, as you here see." You then lay the ace on the table, and, taking up the 5, continue your story: "The eldest, sorry for having lost the money, went to

(a) The cards may be divided in any other manner that is easy to be remembered. more in the two grooves CD and EF, and so much of the quicksilver must be scraped off, as is equal to the size of a common card. You will observe that the glass must likewise be wider than the distance between the frame, by at least the width of a card.

Then paste over the part where the quicksilver is rubbed off, a piece of pasteboard, on which is a card that must exactly fit the space, which must at first be placed behind the frame.

This mirror must be placed against a partition, through which is to go two strings, by which an assistant in the adjoining room can easily move the glass in the grooves, and consequently make the card appear or disappear at pleasure (c).

Matters being thus prepared, you contrive to make a person draw the same sort of card with that fixed to the mirror, and place it in the middle of the pack; you then make the pass, and bring it to the bottom; you then direct the person to look for his card in the mirror, when the confederate behind the partition is to draw it slowly forward, and it will appear as if placed between the glass and the quicksilver. While the glass is drawing forward, you slide off the card from the bottom of the pack, and convey it away.

The card fixed to the mirror may easily be changed each time the experiment is performed. This experiment may also be made with a print that has a glass before it and a frame of sufficient width, by making a slit in the frame through which the card is to pass; but the effect will not be so striking as in the mirror.

14. Place a vase of wood or pasteboard AB (fig. 19.) on a bracket L, fixed to the partition M. Let the inside of this vase be divided into five parts, c, d, e, f, g; and let the divisions c and d be wide enough to admit a pack of cards, and those of e, f, g, one card only.

Fix a thread of silk at the point H, the other end of which passing down the division d, and over the pulley I, runs along the bracket L, and goes out behind the partition M.

Take three cards from a piquet pack, and place one of them in each of the divisions c, f, g, making the silk thread or line go under each of them. In the division c, put the pack of cards from which you have taken the three cards that are in the other divisions.

Then take another pack of cards, at the top of which are to be three cards of the same sort with those in the three small divisions; and, making the pass, bring them to the middle of the pack, and let them be drawn by three different persons. Then give them all the cards to shuffle; after which place the pack in the division d, and tell the parties they shall see the three cards they drew come, at their command, separately out of the vase.

An assistant behind the partition then drawing the line with a gentle and equal motion, the three cards will gradually rise out of the vase. Then take the

(c) This experiment may be performed without an assistant, if a table be placed against the partition, and the string from the glass be made to pass through a leg of it, and communicate with a small trigger, which you may easily push down with your foot; and at the same time wiping the glass with your handkerchief, as if to make the card appear the more conspicuous. It may also be diversified, by having the figure of a head, suppose that of some absent friend, in the place of the card.

Take a pack of cards that consists of 27 only, and giving them to a person, desire him to fix on any one, then shuffle them and give the pack to you. Place the 27 cards in three heaps, by laying down one alternately on each heap; but before you lay each card down, show it to the person, without seeing it yourself; and when the three heaps are finished, ask him at what number, from 1 to 27, he will have his card appear, and in which heap it then is? Then look at the heap through the glass, and if the first of the three numbers which stands against that number it is to appear be 1, put that heap at top; if the number be 2, put it in the middle; and if it be 3, put it at bottom. Then divide the cards into three heaps, in the same manner, a second and third time, and his card will then be at the number he chose.

For example: Suppose he desire that his card shall be the 20th from the top, and the first time of making the heaps he say it is in the third heap: you then look at the table in the perspective, holding it at the same time over that heap, and you see that the first figure is 2; you therefore put that figure in the middle of the pack. The second and third times you in like manner put the heap in which he says it is, at the bottom, the number each time being 3. Then looking at the pack with your glass, as if to discover which the card was, you lay the cards down one by one, and the 20th card will be that he fixed on.

You may show the person his card in the same manner, without asking him at what number it shall appear, by fixing on any number yourself.

The foregoing experiments with the cards will be found sufficient to explain most others of a similar nature that have or may be made; the number of which is very great. To perform those we have described requires requires no great practice; the two principal points are, the making the pass in a dexterous manner, and a certain address by which you influence a person to draw the card you present. Those that are performed by the long card are in general the most easy, but they are confined to a pack of cards that is ready prepared; whereas, those which depend on making the pass, may be performed with any pack that is offered.

Sect. II. Experiments with Sympathetic Inks. [See Sympathetic Ink.]

Experiments with Class I.

16. Make a book of 70 or 80 leaves; and in the cover at the end of it let there be a case, which opens next the binding, that it may not be perceived.

At the top of each right-hand page write any question you please; and at the beginning of the book let there be a table of all these questions, with the number of the page where each is contained. Then write with common ink, on separate papers, each about half the size of the pages in the book, the same questions that are in the book, and under each of them write, with the ink made of the impregnation of saturn, or the dissolution of bismuth, the answer.

Soak a double paper in the vivifying liquor made of quick-lime and orpiment, or the phlogiston of the liver of sulphur, and place it, just before you make the experiment, in the case that is in the cover of the book.

Then deliver some of the papers on which the questions are wrote to the company; and, after they have chosen such as they would have answered, they put them in those leaves where the same questions are contained, and, shutting the book for a few minutes, the sulphureous spirit with which the paper in the cover of the book is imbibed, will penetrate the leaves, and make the answers visible, which will be of a brown colour, and more or less deep in proportion to the time the book has been closed (p).

17. Make a box about four inches long, and three wide, as ABCD, and quite shallow. Let it shut with hinges and fasten with a hook; and let it have two bottoms, the lowest of wood, that draws out by a groove, and the uppermost of pasteboard. Between these two bottoms is to be placed a paper dipped in the vivifying liquor mentioned in the last experiment. Let there be also a board of the same size with the inside of the box, which being placed in it may press a paper against the pasteboard bottom.

Then take several pieces of paper, of the same size with the inside of the box, and draw on them the figures of men and women, in different attitudes and employments, as walking, riding, reading, writing, &c. These figures must be drawn with a new pen, or pencil, dipped in the impregnation of saturn.

Being thus provided, and having privately placed

---

† In that article, line 8. for invisible read visible.

(d) If a weight be placed upon the book, the effect will be the sooner produced. Or you may put the book in a box that will press it close down.

(e) The paper dipped in the vivifying liquor is to be previously placed against the opening in the table, and supported by the trap-door.

(f) This might be performed without an assistant, by means of a trigger placed in the leg of the table, and communicating with the handles, which the operator might thrust down with his foot. Where expense is not regarded, there may be a complete figure of a man in wood, or plaster of Paris, seated by the table. over the writing on the paper, it will make it become gradually visible, and in this case the trap-door and dipped paper may be omitted (a).

**Deception with Class II.**

19. Take several pieces of paper, of a size that you can put in any book that will go into your pocket, and write at the top of each of them a question, with common ink, and under it write the answer with the solution of gold or silver. Give any of these papers, closely wrapped up, to a person, and tell him to place it against the wall of his chamber, and keeping the door locked he will next day find the answer written on it.

As the gold ink will sometimes give a yellow cast to the paper, you may previously give a slight tincture of that kind to the papers you use for this purpose.

**Deception with Class III.**

20. On different papers draw the figures of several leaves or flowers with one of the colourless juices mentioned; then take one of the corresponding leaves or flowers, and laying it on an iron plate, over a chafing-dish of hot coals, let it burn to ashes. Put these ashes into a sieve, in which there is some very fine steel filings, and sift them over the paper on which the flower is drawn, when they will adhere to the glutinous liquor, and form an exact representation of the figure of the leaf or flower.

**Deceptions with Class IV.**

21. Make a little triangular box, each side of which is to be about five inches, and let its inside be divided into three parts. The first part A, which makes the bottom of the box, is to be covered by the second part B, in form of a case, and let the top C exactly cover the part B, as is expressed in the figure and the profile.

Upon the bottom of the box let there be a plate of copper, about one twentieth of an inch thick, on which let there be a number of hieroglyphic characters, contiguous to each other, and cut in different sorts of metal.

On the top of the cover place a knob O, that goes through it, and to which the copper triangle Q is to be fixed occasionally, in such manner as it may go into the case B. There must be a space of one quarter of an inch between the triangle Q, and the bottom of the case B; into which another plate of copper, of that thickness, may be placed.

The outside of this talisman may be decorated with uncommon figures or characters, to give it the appearance of greater mystery.

On several pieces of paper, of the same size with the inside of the talisman, write different questions, in common ink, and write the answers in those different sorts of sympathetic ink, that appear when heated, observing that each word of the answer is to be wrote in a different ink.

Having properly heated the triangle, and placed it under the cover, you introduce the talisman, and tell any one of the company to choose one of the papers on which the questions are wrote, and place it in the talisman, and he will immediately have an answer written on that paper, the words of which will be of different colours, according to the different metals of which the talisman is composed. The paper being placed in the talisman, and the cover placed over it, the heat of the triangle will make the answer visible in a few moments. This experiment may be repeated if the triangle be made sufficiently hot; and two papers may be placed in the talisman at the same time.

This deception, when well executed, occasions a surprize that cannot be conceived by a mere description.

22. Make a wooden pedestal AB, about ten inches long, eight wide, and one deep: and at one end erect the box C, about ten inches high, eight broad, and two and a half deep.

The top of the pedestal must slide in a groove, on which inscribe a dial M, of six inches diameter, and which is to be divided into nineteen equal parts, in twelve of which write the names of the months, and mark the respective signs of the zodiac; and in the seven other divisions, which must be next the end B, write the days of the week, and mark the figures of the planets. Next the inner circle NO, make an opening into the box, of about one tenth of an inch. On the centre of the dial place an index that turns freely on its centre.

Within the pedestal place a pulley P, about four inches diameter, which is to turn on an axis that is directly under the centre of the dial; and on the upper part of that axis fix a bent index R, which comes out at the opening made by the inner circle (n), and passes over those seven divisions only on which are wrote the days of the week.

Within the box C, let there be two rollers S and T, as in the figure: let that of S contain a spring; and at the end of T let there be a pulley V, of three quarters of an inch diameter, round which goes a string or thread that passes under the small pulley X, and is fastened to that of P: so that when the last pulley makes about one-third of a turn, that of V may make three or four turns.

There must also be a scroll of paper, about two feet long, and each end of which must be passed to one of the rollers. In the front of the box, between the two rollers, make an aperture D, about four inches long, and one inch and a half wide: to this opening let there be a little flap or slider, by which it may be closed at pleasure.

The apparatus being thus disposed, place the index R successively against each of the divisions marked with one of the planets; and as the paper is gradually wound up the roller, mark, against that part which is at the aperture D, the name of one of the following sibyls:

- The Hellespontian - Cumean - Artemisian - Phrygian - Albunean - Persian - Libyan

On

(a) You may also have a glass ink-stand, with some of the vivifying liquor, into which the pen may be dipped, and it will then appear to write with common ink. The spectators should not be permitted to come very near this machine, which may be applied to several other purposes.

(b) If the axis be made to pass through the top of the pedestal, this opening will not be necessary. On each of the seven cards write a different question, and draw one of the seven planets. Next, take a memorandum-book that contains seven leaves, and on each of them write the name of one of the foregoing fables; in each of the leaves place several pieces of paper, and on each of them write, with the sympathetic ink that does not appear till the paper is heated, different answers to the same question.

Then give a person the seven cards on which the questions are wrote, and tell him to choose one of them privately, and conceal the rest, so that it cannot possibly be known which of them he has chosen.

Next, tell him to place the index that points to the month against that in which he was born (1), and to place the index of the planets against that which is on the card he has chosen, and which is to predominate over the answer; you tell him to do this privately, that no one may see him, and after that to cover the dial with his handkerchief. Then let him open the door that is before the aperture in the box, and tell you the name of the fable there visible.

You then open the memorandum-book, and taking out the papers that are in the leaf where the name of the fable just mentioned is wrote, you desire him to choose any one of them he thinks proper. The talisman used in the last experiment being properly heated, is then to be introduced, when you direct the person to put the blank paper into it; and taking it out a few moments after, he will find the answer to his question.

To make this operation appear the more extraordinary, it will be proper to have a small press or cupboard, at the back of which there is a door that opens into an adjoining room, by which means an assistant having prepared the talisman may place it in the cupboard the moment before it is wanted. This contrivance will be useful on many other occasions.

22. Provide an urn of wood or metal about six inches high, and two and a half diameter in the widest part, and of such figure in other respects as you think proper (see fig. 9.). Let there be a cylinder of copper C, (fig. 10.) of about one-eighth of an inch diameter, which is to fill a hole AB, made in the urn. The top of this cylinder is to be in the top of the urn, so that it may be easily taken out. To this urn there must be a cover D, which fits it exactly.

On a small square piece of paper draw the figure of a flower or leaf, with that sort of sympathetic ink whose colour most resembles it. You then present several sorts of flowers or leaves to a person, and desire him to choose any one of them. Then put that flower on a chafing-dish of hot coals; and, taking the paper on which it is secretly drawn, you give it to the person to examine, and then put it in the urn, having previously heated the cylinder (x). Then taking some of the ashes of the burnt flower, you throw them over the paper, after which you take it out and show the company the figure of that flower. While the flower is burning you may sprinkle some powder over it, suppose that of saltpetre; and by that, mixed with the ashes of the flower, the company may imagine the effect is produced.

The press or cupboard mentioned in the preceding experiment will be here very convenient for heating the cylinder and placing it in the urn. A similar deception may be performed by putting the paper in a copper vessel, that may be placed on an iron plate over the chafing-dish in which the flower is burnt. But this method has not so mysterious an appearance as the other, and in some persons may cause a suspicion that the effect is produced by heat.

24. To perform this experiment you must observe, that there are several letters which may be changed into veritable others, without any appearance of the alteration; as, cards, the a into e, the c into a, e, d, g, o, or q, the i into b, d, or l, the l into t, the o into a, d, g, or q, the u into y, &c.

Take a parcel of cards, suppose 20, and on one of them write, with the ink of the fourth class, the word law (l), and on the other, with the same ink, the words old woman; then holding them to the fire, they will both become visible. Now you will observe, that by altering the a in the word law into e, and adding o before the l, and woman after the w, it becomes old woman. Therefore, you make those alterations with the invisible ink, and let it remain so. On the rest of the cards you write any words you think fit.

Present the cards in such a manner to two persons, that one of them shall draw the word law, and the other the words old woman. You then tell the person who drew the word law, that it shall disappear, and the words on the other card shall be wrote in its place; and that you may not change the cards, desire each of the parties to write his name on his card. Then putting the cards together, and holding them before the fire, as if to dry the names just wrote, the word law will presently change into old woman.

This experiment may be varied by fixing on a word that may be changed into three other words, and making four persons draw the cards on which those words are wrote; and it may be further diversified by choosing three such words, as that the first can be changed into the second, and the second into the third. You then tell him who drew the first word, that it shall be changed into that drawn by the second person; and him you tell, that his word shall be changed into that of the third person.

25. Write on several slips of paper different questions, and such as may be answered by the name of some person; for example, Who is the merriest man in the company? Answer, Mr. To whom will Miss be married? Answer, To Mr. These questions are to be wrote in the sympathetic ink of this class, and exposed to the fire, and the answers wrote in the same ink, and left invisible. The papers are to be folded in form of letters, and in such manner that the part where the name is wrote shall be directly under the seal, and the heat of the wax will make it visible. Then give the letter to the person who requires the answer, and he will find it plainly wrote.

A deception similar to this may be made with a num-

(1) These months and the index are of no other use than to give the experiment an air of greater mystery. (x) There are some sorts of sympathetic inks that require much more heat than others. (2) These letters should not be joined. number of blank cards, on each of which an ace of spades is drawn with the invisible ink; then let a person choose any one of them, and inclose it in a letter-case, prepared in such manner that the figure of the ace shall be directly under the seal, and on opening the letter it will be immediately visible.

Deceptions with Class V.

26. Have a box that is divided into three parts, after the same manner as the talisman in the 21st experiment, except that instead of being triangular, it must be of a long square (see fig. 14.) Divide its top B into two equal parts D and E, as in fig. 13, and to the part D adjust a plate of copper L, about one quarter of an inch thick, and under both the plate L and the opening E place a cloth. The upper part C must have a button by which it may be fixed on the cover B, so as to appear of one piece with it.

At the bottom of the box place a piece of cloth, or other stuff, on which you may stamp certain mysterious characters, and observe that the bottom of the cover must rest upon this cloth.

Then provide a slip of paper G H (fig. 12.) of the same size with the bottom of the box; and at each end of it write, with the green sympathetic ink, the name of a different card, and make some private mark by which you can tell at which end each name is wrote (n).

Take a parcel of cards, and offer those two of them whose names are wrote on the paper to the two persons, that they may draw them. You tell the parties to keep their cards to themselves, and you propose to make the names of those cards appear upon a slip of paper, which you put into the box. You then ask which name of the two cards shall appear first. The copper plate being previously heated and placed in the cover, you put it over that end of the paper on which is the name required, and it will presently appear. Then taking the paper out and showing the name wrote, you put it in again, turning the other end to the side of the box where the plate is, and it will in like manner become visible.

The first name may be made to disappear at the same time that the second appears, if the cloth at the end opposite to that where the plate is be made damp.

27. Take a print that represents winter, and trace over the proper parts of the trees, plants, and ground, with the green sympathetic ink; observing to make some parts deeper than others, according to their distance. When those parts are dry, paint the other objects with their natural colours. Then put the print in a frame with a glass, and cover the back of it with a paper that is pasted over its border only.

When this print is exposed to the heat of a moderate fire, or to the warm rays of the sun, all the grass and foliage will turn to a pleasing green; and if a yellow tint be given to some parts of the print, before the sympathetic ink be drawn over, this green will be of different shades; and the scene that a minute before represented winter, will now be changed to spring. When this print is placed in the cold, winter will again appear, and will again be driven away by the warm rays of the sun. This alternate change of seasons may be repeated as often as you please; remembering, however, as was before observed, not to make the print at any time too hot, for then a faded autumn will for ever remain.

Deceptions with Class VII.

28. Provide a number of artificial flowers, such as roses, jonquils, pinks, or any other you find convenient. These flowers must be made of white thread or quills, and their leaves of parchment. Dip the roses in the red sympathetic ink, the jonquils in the yellow, the pinks in the violet, and their leaves in a solution of salt of tartar. When they are all dry, form them into small bouquets, which will all appear white, and may be used in this experiment, either the day they are dipped, or several days after.

You take one of these bouquets, and after showing the company that every part of it is white, you dip it in an infusion of any of the blue flowers mentioned under the article Colour-Making, n° 13., and, drawing it presently out, all the flowers and leaves will appear in their natural colours (n).

29. Write on a paper, with the violet liquor, as many letters or words as you please; and ask any person whether he will have that writing turn to yellow, writing-green, or red.

Have a sponge with three sides that you can readily distinguish, and dip each of its sides in one of the three sympathetic inks. Draw the side of the sponge that corresponds to the colour the person has chose, over the writing once only; and it will directly change to the colour required (o).

Sect. III. Miscellaneous Performances.

30. A person having an even number of counters in one hand, and an odd number in the other, to tell in which hand the odd or even number is. Let the person multiply the number in his right-hand by an odd number, and the number in his left-hand by an even number, and tell you if the sum of the products added together be odd or even. If it be even, the even number is in the right hand; but if it be odd, the even number is in the left hand.

Example:

| Number in the right hand | 18 | |--------------------------|----| | Multipliers | 3 | | | | | Their sum | 54 |

That there may be no suspicion of the papers being prepared, you may cut it from a whole sheet, before the company, having previously wrote the names.

The liquor should be put in a sort of jar with a narrow neck, that it may not be seen by the company; and you should draw the flowers gently out, that the liquor may drop if thin, and they may have time to acquire their colours.

The sponge should be well cleaned immediately after the experiment. 31. To tell, by the dial of a watch, at what hour any person intends to rise. Let the person set the hand of the dial to any hour he pleases, and tell you what hour that is; and to the number of that hour you add, in your mind, 12. Then tell him to count privately the number of that amount upon the dial, beginning with the next hour to that on which he proposes to rise, and counting backwards, first reckoning the number of the hour at which he has placed the hand. An example will make this plain.

Suppose the hour at which he intends to rise be 8, and that he has placed the hand at 5. You add 12 to 5, and tell him to count 17 on the dial, first reckoning 5, the hour at which the index stands, and counting backwards from the hour at which he intends to rise; and the number 17 will necessarily end at 8, which shows that to be the hour he chose.

That the hour at which the counting ends must be that on which he proposed to rise, will be evident on a little reflection; for if he had began at that hour and counted 12, he would necessarily have come to it again; and calling the number 17, by adding 5 to it, only serves to dilute the matter, but can make no sort of difference in the counting.

32. If the number 11 be multiplied by any one of the nine digits, the two figures of the product will always be similar. As follows:

\[ \begin{array}{cccccccccc} 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 \\ 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 & 7 & 8 & 9 \\ 11 & 22 & 33 & 44 & 55 & 66 & 77 & 88 & 99 \end{array} \]

Place a parcel of counters on a table, and propose to any one to add, alternately, a certain number of those counters, till they amount to 100, but never to add more than 10 at a time. You tell him, moreover, that, if you stake first, he shall never make the even century, but you will. In order to which, you must first stake 1, and remembering the order of the above series, 11, 22, 33, &c. you constantly add, to what he stakes, as many as will make one more than the numbers of that series, that is, as will make 12, 23, 34, &c. till you come to 89, after which the other party cannot make the century himself, nor prevent you from making it.

If the other party has no knowledge of numbers, you may stake any other number first, under ten, provided you take care to secure some one of the last terms, as 56, 67, 78, &c.

This deception may be performed with other numbers; and in order to succeed, you must divide the number to be attained, by a number that has one digit more than what you can stake each time, and the remainder will be the number you must first stake. Observe, that, to be sure of success, there must be always a remainder. Suppose, for example, the number to be attained is 52, making use of a pack of cards instead of counters, and that you are never to add more than 6; then divide 52 by the next number above 6, that is, by 7, and the remainder, which is 3, will be the number you must stake first; and whatever the other stakes, you must add as much to it as will make it equal to the number by which you divided, that is, 7. Therefore, if his first stake be 1, you must stake 6, &c. so that your second stake will make the heap 10, your third stake will make it 17, and so on, till you come to 45, when, as he cannot stake more than 6, you must make the number 52.

In this, as in the former case, if the other person has no knowledge of numbers, you may stake any number first under 7; or you may let him stake first, only taking care to secure either of the numbers 10, 17, 24, 31, &c. after which he cannot make 52, if you constantly add as many to his stake as will make it 7.

33. A person privately fixing on any number, to tell him that number. After the person has fixed on a number, bid him double it and add 4 to that sum, then multiply the whole by 5; to the product let him add 12, and multiply the amount by 10. From the sum of the whole fix on, let him deduct 320, and tell you the remainder; from which if you cut off the two last figures, the number that remains will be that fixed on.

Example.

Let the number chosen be

Which doubled is

And 4 added to it, makes

Which multiplied by 5, gives

To which 12 being added, it is

That multiplied by 10, makes

From which deducting 320, the remainder is

And by striking off the two ciphers, it becomes

the original number

34. Three dice being thrown on a table, to tell the number of each of them, and the order in which they stand.

Let the person who has thrown the dice double the points of number of that next his left hand, and add 5 to that thrown up sum; then multiply the amount by 5, and to the product add the number of the middle die; then let the whole be multiplied by 10, and to that product add the number of the third die. From the total let there be subtracted 250, and the figures of the number that remains will answer to the points of the three dice as they stand on the table.

Example.

Suppose the points of the three dice thrown on the table to be 4, 6, and 2,

Then the double of the first die will be

To which add

That sum multiplied by 5 will be

To which add the number of the middle die

And multiply the sum by

To that product add the number of the third die

From Mix foot with black or brown soap, with which rub the side of the black paper next the flap; then wipe it quite clean, so that a white paper pressed against it will not receive any mark.

Provide a black-lead pencil that will not mark without pressing hard on the paper. Have likewise a small box, about the size of the memorandum-book, and that opens on both sides, but on one of them by a private method. Give a person the pencil, and a slip of thin paper, on which he is to write what he thinks proper: you present him the memorandum-book at the same time, that he may not write on the bare board. You tell him to keep what he writes to himself, and direct him to burn it on an iron plate laid on a chafing-dish of coals, and give you the ashes. You then go into another room to fetch your magic box above described, and take with you the memorandum-book.

Having previously placed a paper under the flap in the cover of the book, when he presses hard with the pencil, to write on the paper, every stroke, by means of the stuff rubbed on the black paper, will appear on that under the flap. You therefore take it out, and put it into one side of the box.

You then return to the other room, and taking a slip of blank paper, you put it into the other side of the box, shewing the ashes of the burnt paper over it. Then shaking the box for a few moments, and at the same time turning it dexterously over, you open the other side, and show the person the paper you first put in, the writing on which he will readily acknowledge to be his.

37. Take two guineas and two shillings, and grind the part of them away, on one side only, so that they may possibly be but of half the common thickness; and observe that pieces they must be quite thin at the edge: then rivet a guinea and a shilling together. Lay one of these double pieces, with the shilling upwards, on the palm of your hand, at the bottom of your three first fingers; and lay the other piece, with the guinea upward, in like manner, in the other hand. Let the company take notice in which hand is the guinea, and in which the shilling. Then as you shut your hands, you naturally turn the pieces over; and when you open them again, the shilling and the guinea will appear to have changed their places.

38. Provide a round tin box, of the size of a large snuff-box; and in this place eight other boxes, which will go easily into each other, and let the least of them be of a size to hold a guinea. Each of these boxes should shut with a hinge; and to the least of them there must be a small lock, that is fastened with a spring, but cannot be opened without a key; and observe that all these boxes must shut so freely, that they may be all closed at once. Place these boxes in each other, with their tops open, in the drawer of the table on which you make your experiments; or, if you please, in your pocket, in such a manner that they cannot be displaced.

Then ask a person to lend you a new guinea, and desire him to mark it, that it may not be changed. You take this piece in one hand, and in the other you have another of the same appearance; and putting your hand in the drawer, you slip the piece that is marked into the least box, and, shutting them all at once, you take take them out. Then showing the piece you have in your hand, and which the company suppose to be the same that was marked, you pretend to make it pass through the box, and dexterously convey it away.

You then present the box, for the spectators do not yet know there are more than one, to any person in company; who, when he opens it, finds another, and another, till he comes to the last, but that he cannot open without the key, which you then give him; and retiring to a distant part of the room, you tell him to take out the guinea himself, and see if it be that he marked.

This deception may be made more surprising, by putting the key into the souff-box of one of the company; which you may do by asking him for a pinch of his snuff, and at the same time conceal the key, which must be very small, among the souffs; and when the person who is to open the box asks for the key, you tell him that one of the company has it in his snuff-box. This part of the deception may likewise be performed by means of a confederate.

39. Provide a small tin mortar, that is double, as A, (fig. 8.) whose bottom B turns round on an axis, by means of a spring which communicates with the piece C. There must be a hollow space under the false bottom. To the under-side of the bottom fasten, by a thread of fine silk, a flower, with its stalk and leaves.

Then take a flower that exactly resembles the other, and plucking it from the stalk, and all the leaves from each other, put them into the mortar, and pound them with a small pestle; after which you show the mortar to the company, that they may see the parts are all bruised.

Then taking the mortar up in your hands, you hold it over the flame of a lamp or candle, by whose warmth the flower is supposed to be restored; and at the same time pressing the piece at C, the bottom will turn round, the bruised parts descend into the space under the bottom, and the whole flower will be at top: you then put your hand into the mortar, and easily breaking the silk thread, which may be very short as well as fine, you take the flower out and present it to the company.

There is an experiment similar to this, in which a live bird is concealed at the bottom of the mortar, and one that is dead is pounded in it; after which, by the motion of the bottom, the live bird is set at liberty. But surely the pounding a bird in a mortar, though it be dead, must produce, in persons of any delicacy, more disgust than entertainment.

40. Procure a tin box ABCD, (fig. 1.) about eight inches high, four wide, and two deep, and let it be fixed on the wooden stand E. On two of the inside let there be a groove FG; and in the front an opening I, three inches wide and one high.

At the back of the box let there be a little tin door, that opens outward, by which two wax-candles M may be put in. Let the top of the box have a cover of the same metal, in which there are several holes, and which may be taken off at pleasure.

Vol. VI.

(Q) This flower must not be placed so near the front glass, as to make it in the least degree visible.

(k) You may present several flowers, and let the person choose any one of them. In this case, while he is burning the flower, you fetch the box from another apartment, and at the same time put in a corresponding flower, which will make the experiment still more surprising.

Provide a double glass OP, (fig. 2.) constructed in the same manner as that in the last experiment. On one of its sides you are to paste a black paper, the length of which is to be divided into three parts, and the breadth into fifteen: in every two of these fifteen divisions you cut out letters, which will make in the whole three answers, to three questions that may be proposed. On the other side of the glass paste a very thin paper, and to the top fasten a small cord, by which they may be made to rise or descend in the groove FG.

Then take a slip of pasteboard RS, (fig. 3.) one inch and a half wide and three inches long, which is to be divided into fifteen equal parts similar to those of the paper OP, and cut out spaces, as in the figure, so that this paper, sliding horizontally before OP, will either cover or conceal the letters cut in that.

This pasteboard is to slide between two brass wires, and is to be fastened to one side of the box, by a string that communicates with a small brass spring; and to the other side, by a string fastened to the box by a small piece of wax, so situated that the string may be easily set at liberty by the heat of the candles placed in the box.

Take a parcel of cards, and write on them different questions, three of which are to correspond with the answers on the glass. Shuffle these cards, and let a person draw any one of the three questions. Then by raising the glass you bring the answer against the hole in the front in the box. You next place the candles in the box, the heat of which will melt the wax that holds the paper RS, which being then drawn by the spring the answer will be visible, and in proportion as the composition between the glasses becomes diluted by the increase of the heat, the letters will become more strongly illuminated.

The letters cut in the paper may be made to answer several different questions, as has been explained in other experiments; and the whole parcel of cards may consist of questions that may be answered by one or other of the three divisions in the paper.

30. Make a tin box ABCD, (fig. 4.) with a cover M, that takes off. Let this box be supported by produced the pedestal FGH, of the same metal, and on which from its there is a little door L. In the front of this box is to be a glass, O.

In a groove, at a small distance from O, place a double glass of the same sort with that in the last experiment. Between the front and back glasses place a small upright tin tube supported by the cross-piece R. Let there be also a small chafing-dish placed in the pedestal FGH. The box is to be open behind. You privately place a flower (a.) in the tin tube R; and presenting one that resembles it to any person (x.), desire him to burn it on the coals in the chafing-dish.

You then strew some powder over the coals, which may be supposed to aid the ashes in producing the flower; and then put the chafing-dish in the pedestal, under the box. As the heat by degrees melts the composition between the glasses, the flower will gradually