Hanky Panky

As the deceptions performed by sleight of hand at cards rely, notwithstanding their variety, on only a few easily acquired movements, and these have been fully explained, with illustrative diagrams, in “The Secret Out,” we do not repeat the revelation, in all cases, of these processes.

The tricks immediately following are quite innocent, and may be performed in any private circles. We have thought it advisable to append an exposure of the devices by which gamblers or any persons who cheat their associates and strangers, deceive the inexperienced.

The conjuror always warns the company that his exhibitions of dexterity, are meant to delude the inattentive and untaught, so that he can do no harm and occasion no loss.

THE GARCIA SLIP, OR TOUR D’HOMBOURG.

You must remember the bottom card of the pack, which you hold face down in your left hand. Cover the cards with your right hand, held over them palm down, and run the cards one by one in under the right hand by means of the finger ends. One of the company is to lay his finger on any card he pleases and stop it. Let us call this one A.

On his doing so you secretly slip back the bottom card, and, opening the pack at the card A, get the bottom card up next under it. Now bring the lower portion to the top of the other, and show B as the bottom card.

The audience having fully taken note of it, you let them shuffle the cards as much as they please, for it little matters while you know what the card is.

On receiving the cards again, you spread them out on the table, face up, and readily point to the card B as if it were the card A which was really selected, but for which B was substituted.

TO TELL A CARD THOUGHT OF.

Take a pack containing fifty-two cards, then lay out one card, any card you see proper. Then divide the cards into three rows, by laying them down face upwards. When you have laid down three begin at the left and lay one upon the first, so continue to the right until you have laid out the fifty-one; at the same time request some person to think of a card. When they are laid out, ask which parcel the card is in; he tells you, place that parcel in the middle of the other. This done, lay them out again in three parcels; so continue to do for four times, and the card he thought of will be the twenty-sixth card.

TO GUESS THE SPOTS ON A CARD.

Take a whole pack, consisting of 52 cards, and desire some person in company to draw out any card, at pleasure, without showing it. Having assigned to the different cards their usual value, according to their spots, call the knave 11, the queen 12, and the king 13. Then add the spots of the first card to those of the second; the last sum to the third; and so on, always rejecting 13, and keeping the remainder to add to the following card. It may be readily seen that it is needless to reckon the kings, which are counted 13. If any spots remain at the last card, you must abstract them from 13, and the remainder will indicate the card that has been drawn: if 12 remains, it has been an ace; but if nothing remains, it has been a king.

Demonstration.—Since a complete pack contains 13 cards of each suit, the values of which are 1, 2, 3, &c., as far as 13, the sum of all the spots of each of the different suits will be 7 times 13 (91), which is a multiple of 13; consequently the quadruple is also a multiple of 13: if we add the spots of all the cards, always rejecting 13, the remainder at last must be 0. Hence it is evident, that if a card, the spots of which are less than 13, be drawn, the difference between its spots and 13 will be what is wanting to complete the number. If, at the end, then, instead of attaining to 13, we attain only to 10, for example, it is plain, that the card wanting is a 3; and if we attain exactly to 13, the card missing must be equivalent to 13; that is, it must be a king.

You must retain in your memory the four following words, with the arrangement of the letters which compose them:—

Collect all the cards into the left hand, two by two, as they lay on the table, and then place them, one by one, in the same order as the preceding letters, taking care to place the two first as the two m, the two next as the two i, the two following as the two s, and so on.

Ask each person in which horizontal row his two cards are. If he says they are both in the same row, for example the third, they will be pointed out by the letters n and n, contained in that row; if they are in two different rows, as the first and last, the letters s and s will indicate the place which they occupy.

TO BRING ALL THE CARDS OF THE SAME KIND TOGETHER.

Have in readiness a pack, all the cards of which are arranged in successive order; that is to say, if it consists of 52 cards, every 13 must be regularly arranged, without a duplicate of any one of them. After they have been cut as many times as a person may choose, form them into 13 heaps of 4 cards each, with the coloured faces downwards. When this is done, the 4 kings, the 4 queens, the 4 knaves, and so on, must necessarily be together.

Take four kings, and place between the third and fourth any two common cards whatever, which must be neatly concealed; then show the four kings, and place the six cards at the bottom of the pack; take one of the kings, and lay it on the top, and put one of the common cards into the pack nearly about the middle; do the same with the other, and then show that there is still one king at the bottom: desire any one to cut the pack, and as three of the kings were left at the bottom, the four will therefore be found together in the middle of the pack.

Show as many cards to each person as there are persons to choose; that is to say, 3 to each, if there are three persons. When the first has thought of one, lay aside the three cards in which he has made his choice. Present the same number to the second person, to think of one, and lay aside the three cards in the like manner. Having done the same in regard to the third person, arrange all these cards in three rows, with their faces turned downwards, and then put them together in order. If you take the 3 first, and present them successively to the different persons, and do the same thing with the others, you may easily guess the cards, by observing, that the card thought of by each person will have the same place among the cards as the person has in regard to the other two; that is to say, the card thought of by the first person will be first of that packet in which he discovered it; that thought of by the second will be the second in the packet where he recognized it; and that of the third will be the last and in the last packet.

The operation is exactly the same when the number of persons is greater. If, instead of 3, there are 4 or 5 persons, four or five cards must be presented to each.

A NEW THREE-CARD TRICK.

As it is necessary that the cards presented should be distinguished, we shall call the first A, the second B, and the third C. Let the persons, whom we shall distinguish by first, second, and third, choose privately whichever of the cards they think proper, and when they have made their choice, which is susceptible of six variations, give the first person 12 counters, the second 24, and the third 36: then desire the first person to add together the half of the counters of the person who has chosen the card A; the third of those of the person who has chosen B; and the fourth part of those of the person who has chosen C; and ask the sum, which must be either 23 or 24, 25 or 27, 28 or 29, as in the following table:

This table shows, that if the sum is 25, for example, the first person must have chosen the card B, the second the card A, and the third the card C; and that, if it be 28, the first person must have chosen the card B, the second the card C, and the third the card A; and so of the rest.

TO TELL THE SPOTS ON ALL THE BOTTOM CARDS OF SEVERAL HEAPS.

Arrange each heap of cards in such a manner that the spots on the bottom one, added to the cards above it, may always amount to twelve; continue to make as many heaps as possible, in the manner above prescribed, and place the remaining cards on one side. Then separate in your mind four heaps, and multiply the heaps which remain, after these are deducted, by 13; this product, added to the number of cards, will be that of the spots required. We give the solution of this problem by an analysis in “To Guess the Spots on a Card,” p. 253.

TO NAME ALL THE CARDS OF A PACK.

Have a complete pack of 52 cards, and arrange them according to the order of the following words, which you must retain in your memory.

Besides this first order, you must arrange them also according to the order of the colours, spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds; so that the 52 cards may be disposed as follows:

ORDER OF THE CARDS.

1

Ace of spades

2

Five of hearts

3

Nine of clubs

4

Knave of diamonds

5

Six of spades

6

Four of hearts

7

Two of clubs

8

King of diamonds

9

Seven of spades

10

Eight of hearts

11

Queen of clubs

12

Three of diamonds

13

Ten of spades

14

Ace of hearts

15

Five of clubs

16

Nine of diamonds

17

Knave of spades

18

Six of hearts

19

Four of clubs

20

Two of diamonds

21

King of spades

22

Seven of hearts

23

Eight of clubs

24

Queen of diamonds

25

Three of spades

26

Ten of hearts

27

Ace of clubs

28

Five of diamonds

29

Nine of spades

30

Knave of hearts

31

Six of clubs

32

Four of diamonds

33

Two of spades

34

King of hearts

35

Seven of clubs

36

Eight of diamonds

37

Queen of spades

38

Three of hearts

39

Ten of clubs

40

Ace of diamonds

41

Five of spades

42

Nine of hearts

43

Knave of clubs

44

Six of diamonds

45

Four of spades

46

Two of hearts

47

King of clubs

48

Seven of diamonds

49

Eight of spades

50

Queen of hearts

51

Three of clubs

52

Ten of diamonds

This order is of such a nature that, by knowing any one of the 52 cards, that which follows it may be also known.

Thus, for example, if it were required to know what card follows the king of spades, it will be sufficient to recollect that septem, in the two Latin lines above given, which follows that of rex, denotes that it is a seven; and as the colour which follows the spades is hearts, it is the seven of hearts, and so for the rest.

Everything being thus arranged, having retained in your memory the above words, and the order of the colours, desire any person to cut the pack as many times as he chooses; for it will be easy to name all the cards in order provided you have found means, by some dextrous manœuvre, to observe that one which is at the top of the pack.

The same arrangement of the cards may be employed for the following two tricks especially, as well as others.

EVEN OR ODD.

First, find out whether the last card in the pack be black or red; then, on the pack being cut into two parts, if the card found at the bottom of the upper division is of the same colour as that at the bottom of the pack, the two parts which have been separated, contain each an even number; on the other hand, if it be of a different colour, they contain each an odd number.

TO TELL THE SPOTS ON SELECTED CARDS.

Having presented the pack, that the person may choose several succeeding cards at pleasure, privately observe the card which is above those he has chosen, and how many he has drawn from the pack; it will then be easy to count how many spots they ought to contain.

For example, if the observed card be a nine, and four cards have been drawn, it may readily be seen that those drawn must be a knave, equivalent to 10 spots: a six, a four, and a two. You may then announce, that the cards in the person’s hand contain 22 spots.

Let the person draw four cards from the pack at pleasure, and desire him to think of one of them; then take these four cards back, and place two of them at the top and two at the bottom of the pack, in a dextrous manner, so as not to be perceived: under the two last, place any four cards whatever; then display the lower part of the pack on the table, showing only 8 or 10 cards, and ask the person whether the one he thought of be among them. If he says No, you may be sure that it is one of the two which you put at the top of the pack; in that case you must transfer them to the bottom, and then, showing the bottom of the pack, say, Is not this your card? If he replies No, turn aside that card with your third finger, which you must have previously moistened, and desire him to draw out his card himself from the bottom of the pack.

If the person should say, that the card he thought of is among the first shown to him, dextrously remove the four cards put at the bottom of the pack, in order that the two, one of which is the card he thought of, may be the lowermost of the pack, and you may then either show him his card, or make him draw it out himself, as above explained.

On receiving the selected card pretend to shuffle it amongst the others, but really bring it to the top. The rest of the pack you arrange with their edges even, whilst the top card projects a little.

On pushing that card a little out, at the same time as you drop the pack perpendicularly, the resistance of the air will turn the single card upside down, so that it will rest face up on the top of the fallen cards.

THE CONJUROR’S CARD CASTLE.

From a pack of cards two are forced upon two of the company. They are replaced, and the pack is shuffled. While this is being done, a little model house is brought into the room and placed on the table.

In its front are two windows, with closed blinds, and a door.

The pack is thrust down the chimney of the house, when, instantly, the door flies out and emits the pack of cards without the two selected cards, which appear one at each window.

Explanation.—The house is already prepared with a pack of cards, the duplicate of that used, less the two cards like the couple forced. These two are placed in the windows behind the closed shutters or drawn blinds, as the case may be.

When the second pack is thrust down the chimney, it touches a lever, which at the same time throws open the door and pushes out the other pack, and discloses the cards in the windows.

Let one of the company take in each hand several cards, an even number in one hand, and an odd in the other.

You engage to tell in which hand he holds the even number.

To do so, bid him multiply the number held in his right hand by three, and that in his left hand by two, and add the product together. He is then to answer whether the sum is odd or even.

If even, the right hand contained an even number, and vice versâ.

MYSTERIOUS TRICK OF THIRTY-SIX CARDS. TELLING THE CARD YOU LOOK AT WITHOUT SEEING THE PACK.

To perform this trick you must take a pack of cards containing fifty-two in number. Then take out the two, three, four, and five spots of each suit (meaning the spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs). Then commence as follows with the remaining thirty-six: Commencing with six of diamonds, face downwards, seven of clubs, eight of hearts, nine of spades, ten of diamonds, jack of clubs, queen of hearts, king of spades, ace of diamonds, six of clubs, seven of hearts, eight of spades, nine of diamonds, ten of clubs, jack of hearts, queen of spades, king of diamonds, ace of clubs, six of hearts, seven of spades, eight of diamonds, nine of clubs, ten of hearts, jack of spades, queen of diamonds, king of clubs, ace of hearts, six of spades, seven of diamonds, eight of clubs, nine of hearts, ten of spades, jack of diamonds, queen of clubs, king of hearts, ace of spades.

After having arranged the cards in the order above mentioned, they may be cut by all in the house, or as many as please, and by placing the cut under the pack each time the relative position will not be changed. Then ask the person who has the cards in his hand what card he has at the bottom of the pack (the faces being down); he answers, giving the name of the bottom card; then you can answer positively, by calling the card one less in value. For example, the nine of clubs is at the bottom, the eight of diamonds will be upon the top, the second will be the seven of spades, the third the six of hearts, the fourth the ace of clubs, the fifth the king of diamonds, and thus you will find them completely arranged throughout the pack. At the conclusion of this feat you may shuffle them over and under by holding the main pack in the left hand, and slipping the cards off one at a time in the right hand, one over and the other under, until you change them entirely through the pack, then return the pack to the right hand and repeat the over and under shuffle. Then you can deal them out into four parcels, nine at a time, and you will find the nine hearts in one pile, the nine diamonds in the second, the nine spades in the third, and clubs in the fourth.

THE FOUR ASSOCIATES.

Let a person draw four cards from the pack, and tell him to think of one of them. When he returns you the four cards, dextrously 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 these two cards to the bottom, and drawing off the lowest of them, you ask if that be 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 dextrously 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 draw in the manner before described.

Take a pack of cards, and paint the backs of one half of the pack with what figures you think fit, as men, birds, women, flowers, &c. Also, paint the faces of the other half of the cards in the same manner; thus, you will have a complete pack of odd pictures, and may—by showing the faces of that part of the pack whose backs only have been painted, and then by a momentary shuffle, apparently transforming them into a set of grotesque figures—produce much amusement.

There is another manner of making the pack; it is as follows:—Take a dozen cards or more, and draw a line from the right-hand upper corner, to the left-hand lower corner of the face of each of them; they will thus be all equally divided. Then paint part of some odd figure on the right division of each card, leaving the left untouched. By a little dexterity, you may now seem to transform a set of common cards into a painted pack.

MAGIC DISAPPEARANCE.

Divide the pack, placing one half in the palm of the left hand, with the face of the cards downwards; then take the balance of the pack in the right hand, holding them between the thumb and three first fingers, and place the cards upright, so that the edges of the cards in your right hand will rest upon the back of those lying in the palm of the left hand perpendicularly, and forming a right angle with them, by which means you will perceive that the four fingers of the left hand touch the last card of the upright cards in your right hand. Be sure you get this position correctly, for the rest of the trick is very simple. You now request any one of your audience to examine the top card of the half pack that rests in the palm of your left hand, and to replace it again. Having done this, you request him to look at it again, and to his amazement it will have disappeared, and another card will appear in its place.

To perform this trick after you have assumed the position already described, you must dampen the tips of the four fingers that rest against the last card of the upright cards in your right hand. You must now raise the upright cards in your right hand very quickly, and the last card, No. 1, will adhere to the dampened 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 card of the upright cards—which 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 examined the top card in your hand to look at it once more, he will see the card you have just placed there, instead of the card he first examined.

Observe, be very rapid and dextrous in slipping the card at the back of the upright card from its position there to the top of the cards in the palm of your left hand.

The cards being arranged as follow, desire the person to think of one, and to observe well in which row it is:

Let us suppose that the card thought of is in the row A: take up the whole row in the order in which it now stands, and dispose it in two rows C and D, in such a manner, that the first card of the row A may be the first of the row C; the second of the row A, the first of the row D; and so on, transferring the 16 cards from A and B, to C and D. This being done, again ask in which of the vertical rows the card thought of stands. We shall suppose it to be in C; remove that row as well as D, observing the same method as before; and continue in this manner until the card thought of becomes the first of the row I. If you then ask in which row it is, it may be immediately known, because after the last operation it will be the first in the row said to contain it; and as each row has a distinguishing character or sign, you may cause them all to be mixed with each other, and still be able to discover it by the sign you have remarked.

If a greater number of cards be employed, disposed in two vertical rows, the card thought of will not be at the top of the row after the last transposition: if there are 33 cards, 4 transpositions will be necessary; if 64 there must be 5; and so on.

To perform this trick, the number of the cards must be divisible by 3; and to do it with more convenience, the number must be odd.

The first condition, at least, being supposed, the cards must be disposed in three heaps, with their faces turned upwards. Having then asked the person in which heap is the card thought of, place the heaps one above the other, in such a manner that the one containing the card thought of may be in the middle. Arrange the cards again in three heaps, and having asked in which of them is the card thought of, repeat the operation as before. Arrange them a third time in three heaps, and having once more asked the same question, form them all into one heap, that containing the card thought of being in the middle. The card thought of must then necessarily be the middle one; that is to say, if 15 cards have been employed, it will be the eighth from the top; if 21, the eleventh; if 27, the fourteenth; and so on. When the number of the cards is 24, it will be the twelfth, &c.

THE RESTORATIVE CARD.

Secretly coil up a needle-full of thread by winding it round a ruler and slipping it off; and hide this in a card as you roll it up. Wind around this card a needleful of the same thread, which you then clip to pieces with scissors, shaking the bits into the fire or into your magic box by which they disappear. On unrolling the card, you seem to reproduce the destroyed thread.

A person draws four cards from the pack, and you tell him to remember one of them. He then returns them to the pack, and you dexterously place two of them under, and two on the top of the pack. Under the bottom ones you place four 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 is amongst them. If he says 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 if that is not his card. Should he again say No, you take up that card, and bid him draw his card from the bottom of the pack. But if, on the contrary, he says his cards are amongst those you first drew from the bottom, you must dexterously take up the four cards you put under them, and place them on the top. The other two are the bottom cards of the pack, and are to be drawn in the manner before described.

THE MAGIC POCKET-BOOK.

Cut out two rectangular pieces of pasteboard three inches by three and a half inches, A B. Run a band of tape on the board A, from C to E, and from D to F: then turn over and glue the tape at C D at the back of A; and at E F at the back of B.

Fasten two other tapes in the same way on card B at G L on the back of it, and at G H on the back of A.

The two boards will now form a book of two leaves, opening as on hinges.

Bring four other tapes under those already fastened, marked M H Q R, and glue their ends down at the back of the card; and two more tapes on O and B sides of B; all of which form borders and are for no other purpose.

Make two envelopes like those for letters, and fasten down the front, where the address is written—which must be the same size as the card, so as to cover all the tapes G J and H L as well as the space between them; one envelope being thus face down upon the ribbons to which it is glued, the second envelope is pasted to the first one, face to face, one hiding the other and both, of course, hiding the tapes from view.

As the book can be opened twice over, by bringing the leaf on the left upon that next to it, and that again over on the other, when the envelope now open and alone shown is the duplicate, and not that first seen, a deception is easily performed.

Performance. A coin is borrowed and marked, or a question is written, and the coin or the paper is put into one of the envelopes, and folded up. In closing up the book you secretly reverse it, and bring the second envelope up so as to be shown open and empty, or with an answer to the question.

Performance with cards. Having had a drawn card carefully noted, you undertake to change it into another one altogether. Placing it in your magic book and proceeding as with the coin above, the transformation is readily accomplished.

TO GUESS SEVERAL DRAWN CARDS.

A pack of similar cards is offered, from which two or three persons draw cards. They should not sit too closely together, however, lest one should see the cards drawn by the others. They note their cards and replace them in the pack. You turn, and while pretending to look through the pack, you take two other cards which you must have at hand, place with them a card out of the pack, and approach those persons who have drawn cards, asking each if his card is not among the three. On receiving an answer in the affirmative, you point out the drawn card.

THE BUTCHER’S GRIP, OR “HOLD IT FAST.”

Asking the most athletic person in company whether he is nervous, he will most probably answer in the negative; then ask whether he thinks he can hold a card tightly. If he answers, “No,” ask the question of some one else, till you obtain an answer in the affirmative. Desire the party to stand in the middle of the room, and holding up the pack of cards, you show him the bottom card, and request him to proclaim what card it is; he will say it is the knave of spades; you then tell him to hold the card tightly at the bottom, and look to the ceiling. While he is looking up, ask him if he recollects his card; if he says, “Yes,” desire him to draw it away, and ask him what it is; he will, of course, answer, “The knave of spades.” Tell him he has made a mistake, for if he looks at his card, he will find it to be the knave of hearts, which will be the case. Then give him the remainder of the pack, telling him that if he looks over it he will find the ace of spades in quite a different situation.

Explanation.—An extra knave of spades is cut in half, the upper part alone retained. When commencing your feat, get the knave of hearts to the bottom of the pack, and lay over the upper part of it, unperceived, your half knave of spades; and, under pretence of holding the pack very tight, throw your thumb across the middle of the knave, so that the joining may not be perceived, for the legs of those two knaves are so much alike that there is no danger of detection. You, of course, give him the legs of the knave of hearts to hold, and, when he has drawn the card away, hold your hand so that the faces of the cards will be turned towards the floor, and take an opportunity of removing the half knave: you may vary the feat by having a half knave of hearts.

Place the four kings face up upon the top of the pack, their feet towards the company. As you place the topmost king upon the pack, you bend it secretly in the middle, folding the lower part back upon the upper half of the card, the head of which is now only visible, the feet of the king below seeming to belong to it. You conceal the deception by placing your two thumbs across the middle of the pack.

In this manner you can let three persons draw, and neither will draw the king that is on the top of the pack.

THE RECOVERABLE CARD.

Procure fifty-three cards exactly the same. Let a person draw from them, as from a regular pack, one card which he may burn or otherwise destroy.

Nevertheless, on his or another’s picking a second card at will out of the pack, it will appear to be the same as that destroyed.

It will possibly be observed: “You had two similar cards!” and a wiseacre will defy you to let the cards be counted, since he will suppose you were not prepared for this objection.

You can count them out, face down, and prove there are, indeed, fifty-two.

If other remarks are made substitute a regular pack of the same appearance.

Variation.—With two duplicate cards. After having shuffled the pack let the bottommost be drawn, examined, and destroyed.

Go to the chimney place and whistle: “Father, come home!” and, on returning to your former place, pull the duplicate card from the selector’s ear.

Modification.—Let a corner of the destroyed card be given to you. For this substitute a corner of the duplicate card. On returning and producing the card it is found to want that very piece by which it is to be identified.

A PACK OF CARDS KEPT TOGETHER IN THE AIR.

Have a pack of cards bound together with a hair, on the shelf at the back of your table. After having shuffled another pack of cards, bunch them rapidly, and, in lowering your hand as if to throw them away—substitute the prepared pack. These will fly through the air like a solid body until it comes in contact with ceiling, wall, or floor, when it will fall asunder.

Have two cards of the same sort in the pack (say the ace of hearts). Place one next the bottom card (say ten of clubs), and the other at top. Shuffle the cards without displacing those three, and show a person that the bottom card is the ten of clubs. This card you slip aside with your moistened finger, and, taking the ace of hearts from the bottom, which all suppose to be the ten of clubs, lay it on the table, telling him to cover it with his hand. Shuffle the cards again, without displacing the first and last card, and, shifting the other see of hearts from the top to the bottom, show it to another person.

You then draw that secretly away, and, taking the bottom card, which will then be the ten of clubs, you lay that on the table, and tell the second person (who believes it to be the ace of hearts) to cover it with his hand.

You then command the cards to change places; and when the two parties take off their hands and turn up the cards, they will see, to their great astonishment, that your commands are obeyed.

TO PLACE THE FOUR KNAVES UPON ONE ANOTHER SO THAT ONLY THE UPPER HALF OF EACH CARD IS VISIBLE.

Upon the lower half of one of four knaves place the upper half of the second at right angles; upon the lower half of the second knave place the upper half of the third, also rectangularly; then the upper half of the fourth knave upon the under half of the third; and lastly push the under half of the fourth knave under the upper half of the first, and the trick is done.

Draw a sharp knife gently across the middle of four kings of an ordinary pack. Peel the picture carefully from one half of the cards, and paste upon the blank part the four half pictures of four queens, which have been peeled off in the same manner. In this way you have four cards, each representing both a king and a queen.

To these prepared cards add an ordinary king and queen. These six cards you fan out, from the left to the right, in such a manner that only the kings are visible.

This is easily done if you keep the ordinary king at the end of the fan to the right, and the queen concealed behind it. You show the five kings, say that you will change them into five queens, blow upon the cards, reverse them, placing the king behind the queen, and display them as five queens.