Hocus Pocus; or The Whole Art of Legerdemain, in Perfection. / By which the meanest capacity may perform the whole without the help of a teacher. Together with the Use of all the Instruments belonging thereto.

The Whole ART of
LEGERDEMAIN;
OR,
HOCUS POCUS
IN PERFECTION, &c.

Leger­de­main is an oper­a­tion where­by one may seem to work won­der­ful, im­pos­si­ble, and in­cred­i­ble things, by agil­ity, nim­ble­ness, and slight of hand. The parts of this in­gen­i­ous art, are prin­ci­pal­ly four.

• First, In conveyance of balls.
• Secondly, In conveyance of money.
• Thirdly, In cards,
• Fourthly, In con­fed­er­acy.

2. He must have strange terms, and emphatical words, to grace and adorn his actions; and the more to amaze and astonish the beholders.

3. And lastly, He must use such gestures of body, as may take off the spectators eyes from a strict and diligent beholding his manner of performance.

Note. Always conceal one ball in the right hand, between your middle finger and ring finger: and be sure make yourself perfect to hold it there, for, by this means, all the tricks of the cups are done.

Then say as followeth.

Then take your four balls privately between your fingers, and so sling one of them upon the table, and say thus,

So then you have three balls on the table to play with, and one left between the fingers of your right hand.

Then taking the second cup up, say, Gentlemen, you see there is nothing under my cup; so clap the ball that you have in your right hand under it, and then take the second ball up with your right hand, and seem to put it into your left, but retain it in your right hand, shutting your left in due time, as before, saying, Verda, be gone.

Then take the third cup, saying, Gentlemen, you see there is nothing under my last cup; then clapping the ball you have in your right hand under it, then take the third ball up with your right hand, and seeming to put it into your left hand, but retain it in your right; shutting your left hand in due time, as before, saying, Presto, make haste; so you have your three balls come under your three cups, as thus: and so lay your three cups down on the table.

Then with your right hand take up the first cup, and there clap that ball under, that you have in your right hand; then saying, Gentlemen, this being the first ball, I will put it into my pocket; but that you must still keep in your hand to play withal.

So take up the second cup with your right hand, and clap that ball you have concealed under it, and then take up the second ball with your right hand, and say, this likewise, I take and put into my pocket.

Likewise, take up the third cup, and clapping the cup down again, convey that ball you have in your right hand under the cup, then taking the third ball, say, Gentlemen, this being the last ball, I take and put this into my pocket. Afterwards say to the company, Gentlemen, by a little of my fine powder of experience, I will command these balls under the cups again. As thus,

So lay them all along upon the table to the admiration of all the beholders.

Then take up the first cup, and clap the ball you have in your right hand under it, then taking the first ball up with your right hand, seem to put the same into your left hand, but retain it still in your right, then say, Vade, quick be gone when I bid you, and run under the cup.

Then taking that cup up again, and flinging that you have in your right hand under it, you must take up the second ball, and seem to put it into your left hand, but retain it in your right hand, saying, Gentlemen, see how the ball runs on the table.

So seemingly fling it away, and it will appear as thus.

So taking the same cup again, then clapping the ball under again, as before, then taking the third ball in your right hand, and seem to put it under your left, but still retain it in your right, then with your left hand seem to fling it in the cup, and it will appear thus; all the three balls to be under one cup.

And if you can perform these actions with the cups, you may change the balls into apples pears, or plumbs, or to living birds, to what your fancy leads you to. I would have given you more examples, but I think these are sufficient for the ingenious, so that, by these means, you may perform all manner of actions with the cups.

Note. The artificial cups cannot well be described by words, but you may have them of me, for they are accounted the greatest secrets in this art: therefore, I advise you to keep them as such, for this was never known to the world before.

This lanthorn is called magic, with respect to the for­mid­able ap­par­i­tions that by vir­tue of light it shews upon the white wall of a dark room. The body of it is generally made of tin, and of a shape of the lamp; towards the back part, is a concave looking glass of metal, which may either be spherical or parabolical, and which, by a grove made in the bottom of the lanthorn, may either be advanced nearer or put farther back from the lamp, in which is oil or spirit of wine, and the match ought to be a little thick, that when it is lighted, it may cast a good light that may easily reflect from the glass to the fore part of the lanthorn, where there is an aperture with the perspective in it, composed of two glasses that make the rays converge and magnify the object.

When you mean to make use of this admirable machine, light the lamp, the light of which will be much augmented by the looking glass at a reasonable distance. Between the fore-part of the lanthorn, and the perspective glass, you have a trough, made on purpose, in which you are to run a long, flat thin frame with different figures, painted with transparent colours upon glass; then all these little figures passing successively before the perspective glass, thro’ which passes the light of the lamp, will be painted, and represented with the same colours upon the wall of a darkroom, in a gigantic and monstrous manner.

By this Lanthorn you may shew what man, or woman, or birds, or beasts, and all sorts of fish that are in the sea: so if any gentleman has a desire to furnish themselves with one of these lanthorns, I have the best that can be made.

To seem to swallow a long pudding made of tin.

This pudding must be made of tin, consisting of twelve or thirteen little hoops made as in the figure following, so as they may almost seem to fall one through another, having little holes made at the biggest end thereof, that it may not hurt your mouth, hold this pudding (for so it is called) privately in your left hand, with the hole end uppermost, and with your right hand take a ball out of your pocket, and say, ‘If here is ever a maid, that has lost her maidenhead or an old woman that is out of conceit with herself, because her neighbours deem her not so young as she would be, let them come to me, for this ball is a present remedy:’ then seem to put the ball into your left hand, but let it slip into your lap, and clap your pudding into your mouth, which will be thought to be the ball that you shewed them; then decline your head, and open your mouth, and the pudding will slip down at its full length, which with your right hand you may strike it into your mouth again, doing this three or four times, then you may discharge it into your hand, and clap it into your pocket without any suspicion, by making three or four wry faces after it, as tho’ it stuck in your throat, and if you practise smiting easily upon your throat with your fist on each side, the pudding will seem to chink; as if it were flying there; then say, ‘Thus they eat puddings in High Germany, they fling it down their throats before their teeth can take possession of it.’