handled without any suspicion; he then requests one of the persons to put the card he has selected into one of the caddies, taking care that he puts it into the caddy into which you placed the other card; the second person, of course, puts his card into the other caddy. The operator then desires them to lock the caddies, and in doing this the flap becomes unlocked, falls to the bottom, and covers the cards, and when opened, the caddies show apparently that the cards have been transposed.

THE VANISHING CARD.

Another good trick is thus performed: Divide the pack, placing one-half in the palm of the left hand, face downwards; and taking the remainder of the pack in the right hand, hold them between the thumb and three first fingers, taking care to place the cards upright, so that the edges of those in your right hand may rest upon the back of those in the left, thus forming a right angle with them. In this way the four fingers of the left hand touch the last of the upright cards in your right hand. It is necessary that the cards should be placed in this position, and that once being attained, the rest of the trick is easy. These preliminaries having been gone through, one of the company, at your request, examines the top card of the half-pack that rests in the palm of your left hand, and then replaces it. Having done this, you request him to look at it again, and to his astonishment it will have vanished, and another card will appear in its place. In order to accomplish this, having assumed the position already described, you must damp the tips of the four fingers that rest against the last card of the upright set in your right hand. When the person who has chosen a card replaces it, you must raise the upright cards in your right hand very quickly, and the card will then adhere to the damped fingers of your left hand. As you raise the upright cards, you must close your left hand skilfully, and you will thereby place the last of the upright cards-which, as we have explained, adheres to the fingers of your left hand-upon the top of the cards in the palm of your left hand, and when you request the person who first examined it to look at it again, he will observe that it has been changed. Rapidity and manual dexterity are required for the performance of this capital sleight-of-hand trick.

TO TELL THE NUMBER OF CARDS BY Weight.

The apparently marvellous gift of telling the number of cards by weight depends on the use of the long card. Take a portion of a pack of cards-say forty-and insert among them two long cards. Place the first-say fifteen from the top and the other twenty-six. Make a feint of shuffling the cards, and cut at the first long card; poise those you hold in your hand, and say, "There must be fifteen here;" then cut at the second long card and say, "There are but eleven here;" and poising the remainder, say, “And here are fourteen." The spectators, on counting them, will find that you have correctly estimated the numbers.

TO PRODUCE A MOUSE FROM A PACK OF CARDS.

Cards are sometimes fastened together like snuff-boxes. If you possess such a pack, or can procure one, you may without difficulty perform this feat. The cards are fastened together at the edges, but the middles must be cut out, leaving a cavity in the pack resembling a box. A whole card is glued on to

the top, and a number of loose ones are placed above it. They must be skil fully and carefully shuffled, so that your audience may be led to believe that it is an ordinary and perfect pack. The card at the bottom of what we may term the "box" must likewise be a whole card, but must be glued to the box on one side only, so that it will yield immediately to internal pressure. This bottom card serves as the door through which you convey the mouse into the middle of the pack. Being thus prepared, and holding the bottom tight with your hand, request one of the company to place his open hands together, telling him you intend to produce something very marvellous from the pack. Place the pack in his hands, and whilst you engage his attention in conversation, affect to want something out of your bag, and at the same moment take the pack by the middle, and throw it into the bag, and the mouse, which you had previously placed in the box, will remain in the hands of the person who held the cards.

TO SEND A CARD THROUGH A TABLE.

Request one of the company to draw a card from the pack, examine it, and then return it. Then make the pass-or, if you cannot make the pass, make use of the long card-and bring the card chosen to the top of the pack, and shuffle by means of any of the false shuffles before described, without losing sight of the card. After shuffling the pack several times, bring the card to the top again. Then place the pack on the table, about two inches from the edge near which you are sitting, and having previously slightly damped the back of your right hand, you strike the pack a sharp blow, and the card will adhere to it. You then put your right hand very rapidly underneath the table, and taking off with your left hand the card which has stuck to your right hand, you show it to your audience, who will at once recognize in it the card that was drawn at the commencement of the trick. You must be careful while performing this trick not to allow any of the spectators to get behind or at the side of the table, but keep them directly in front, otherwise the illusion would be discovered.

TO KNOCK ALL THE CARDS FROM A PERSON'S HAND EXCEPT

THE CHOSEN ONE.

With a little care a novice may easily learn this trick. It is not new, and is called by some the "Nerve Trick." Force a card, and request the person who has taken it to return it to the pack and shuffle the cards. Then look at the card yourself, and place the card chosen at the bottom of the pack. Cut them in two, and give him the half containing his card at the bottom, and request him to hold it just at the corner between his finger and thumb. After telling him to hold them tight, strike them sharply, and they will all fall to the ground except the bottom one, which is the card he has chosen. An improvement in this trick is to put the chosen card at the bottom of the pack and turn the face upwards, so that when you strike, the card remaining will stare the spectators in the face.

ANOTHER CLEVER CARD TRICK.

This trick, commonly called the "Turnover Feat," is easily performed, and yet is difficult of detection. Having forced a card, you contrive, after sundry shufflings, to convey it to the top of the pack. Make the rest of the cards perfectly even at the edges, but let the chosen card project a little over the

others. Then, holding them between your finger and thumb, about two feet above the table, let them suddenly and quickly drop, and the projecting card in the course of its descent will be turned face uppermost by the force of the air, and exposed to the view of the whole company.

TO TELL THE NAME OF A CARD THOUGHT OF.

One of the company must, at your request, draw seven or eight cards promiscuously from the pack, and select one from among them as the card he desires to think of. He then returns them to the pack, and you, either by shuffling or in any other way which will not be noticed, contrive to pass the whole of them to the bottom of the pack. You then take five or six cards off the top of the pack, and throw them on the table face upwards, asking if the card thought of is among them. Whilst the person is examining them, you secretly take one card from the bottom of the pack and place it on the top; and when he tells you that the card he thought of is not in the first parcel, throw him five or six more, including the card you have just taken from the bottom-the denomination and suit of which it is presumed you have taken the opportunity to ascertain-so that should he say that his card is in the second parcel, you will at once know which card is indicated, and in order to "bring it to light," you may make use either of the two foregoing tricks, or any other you think proper.

TO TELL THE NAMES OF ALL THE CARDS BY THEIR WEights. The pack having been cut and shuffled to the entire satisfaction of the audience, the operator commences by stating that he undertakes, by poising cach card for a moment on his fingers, to tell not only the colour, but the suit and number of spots, and, if a court card, whether it be king, queen, or knave. For the accomplishment of this most amusing trick we recommend the following directions: You must have two packs of cards exactly alike. One of them we will suppose to have been in use during the evening for the performance of your tricks; but in addition to this you must have a second pack in your pocket, which you must take care to arrange in the order hereinafter described. Previous to commencing the trick you must take the opportunity of exchanging these two packs, and bringing into use the prepared pack. This must be done in such a manner that your audience will believe that the pack you introduce is the same as the one you have been using all the evening, which they know has been well shuffled. The order in which the pack must be arranged will be best ascertained by committing the following lines-the words in italics forming the key:

Eight kings threa-ten'd to save.
Eight, king, three, ten, two, seven,
Nine fair ladies for one sick knave.
Nine, five, queen, four, ace, six, knave.

These lines thoroughly committed to memory will be of material assistance. The alliterative resemblance will in every instance be a sufficient guide to the card indicated. The order in which the suits should otherwise be committed to memory,-viz., hearts, spades, diamonds, clubs. Having sorted your cards in accordance with the above directions, your pack is "prepared" and ready for use; and when you have successfully completed the exchange, you

bring forward your prepared pack, and hand it round to be cut. The pack may be cut as often as the audience please, but always whist fashion,—¿.e., the lower half of the pack must be placed upon the upper at each cut. You now only want to know the top card, and you will then have a clue to the rest. You therefore take off the top card, and holding it between yourself and the light, you see what it is, saying at the same time, by way of apology, that this is the old way of performing the trick, but that it is now superseded. Having once ascertained what the first is, which, for example, we will suppose to be the king of diamonds, you then take the next card on your finger, and poise it for a moment, as if you were going through a process of mental calculation. This pause will give you time to repeat to yourself the two lines given, by which means you will know what card comes next. Thus:-" Eight kings threa-ten'd 1o," &c.; it will be seen that the three comes next.

THE QUEEN'S DIG FOR DIAMONDS.

Taking the pack in your hands, you separate from it the four kings, queens, knaves, and aces, and also four common cards of each suit. Then laying the four queens, face upwards, in a row on the table, you commence telling your story somewhat after this fashion:

These four queens set out to seek for diamonds. [Here you place any four cards of the diamond suit half over the queens.] As they intend to dig for diamonds, they each take a spade. [Here lay four common spades half over the diamonds.] The kings, their husbands, aware of the risk they run, send a guard of honour to protect them. [Place the four aces half over the spades.] But fearing the guard of honour might neglect their duty, the kings resolve to set out themselves. [Here lay the four kings half over the four aces.] Now, there were four robbers, who, being apprized of the queens' intentions, determined to waylay and rob them as they returned with the diamonds in their possession. [Lay the four knaves half over the four kings.] Each of these four robbers armed himself with a club [lay out four clubs half over the knaves]; and as they do not know how the queens may be protected, it is necessary that each should carry a stout heart." [Lay out four hearts half over the knaves.]

You have now exhausted the whole of the cards with which you commenced the game, and have placed them in four columns. You take the cards in the first of these columns, and pack them together, beginning at your left hand, and keeping them in the order in which you laid them out. Having done this, you place them on the table, face downwards. You pack up the second column in like manner, lay them on the first, and so on with the other two.

The pack is then handed to the company, who cut them as often as they choose, provided always that they cut whist fashion. That done, you may give them what is termed a shuffle-cut; that is, you appear to shuffle them, but in reality only give them a quick succession of cuts, taking care that when you are done a card of the heart suit remains at the bottom.

You then begin to lay them out again as you did in the first instance, and it will be found that all the cards will come in their proper order.

MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF THE KNAVE OF SPADES.

Fixing your eye upon the stoutest-looking man in the room, you ask him if he can hold a card tightly. Of course he will answer in the affirmative; but

if he should not, you will have no difficulty in finding some one who does. You then desire him to stand in the middle of the room, and holding up the pack of cards, you show him the bottom one, and request him to state what card it is. He will tell you that it is the knave of spades. You then tell him to hold the card tightly and look up at the ceiling. While he is looking up you ask him if he recollects his card; and if he answer, as he will be sure to do, the knave of spades, you will reply that he must have made a mistake, for if he look at the card he will find it to be the knave of hearts, which will be the case. Then handing him the pack, you tell him that if he will look over it, he will find his knave of spades somewhere in the middle of the pack. This trick is extremely simple and easy of accomplishment. You procure an extra knave of spades, and cut it in half, keeping the upper part, and throwing away the lower. Before showing the bottom of the pack to the company, get the knave of hearts to the bottom, and lay over it, unperceived by the company, your half knave of spades; and under pretence of holding the pack very tight, put your thumb across the middle, so that the joining may not be seen, the legs of the two knaves being so similar that detection is impossible. You then give him the lower part of the knave of hearts to hold, and when he has drawn the card away hold your hands so that the faces of the cards will be turned towards the floor. As early as possible you take an opportunity of removing the half-knave,

SLEIGHT-OF-HAND TRICKS, &c.

Having completed our catalogue of card feats, we now proceed to give a short selection of other conjuring tricks.

A CHEAP WAY OF BEING GENEROUS.

You take a little common white or bees'-wax, and stick it on your thumb. Then, speaking to a bystander, you show him sixpence, and tell him you will put the same into his hand; press it down upon the palm of his hand with your waxed thumb, talking to him the while, and looking him in the face. Suddenly take away your thumb, and the coin will adhere to it; then close his hand, and he will be under the impression that he holds the sixpence, as the sensation caused by the pressing still remains. You may tell him he is at liberty to keep the sixpence; but on opening his hand to look at it he will find, to his astonishment, that it is gone.

THE FAMOUS MOUNTEBANK TRICK.

In the days when merry-andrews and mountebanks met with a hearty welcome on every English village green, no conjuring trick was more popular than this; yet there are few that can be performed with less difficulty. You first of all procure a long strip of paper, or several smaller strips pasted together, two or three inches wide. Colour the edges red and blue, and roll up the paper like a roll of ribbon. Before doing so, however, securely paste a small piece of cotton at the end you begin to roll. Then, when the proper time has arrived, you take hold of this cotton, and begin to pull out a long roll which very much resembles "a barber's pole." In order to perform this trick with good effect, have before you some paper shavings, which may easily be procured at any bookbinder's, and commence to appear to eat them. The