The Card Changed By Word Of Command

You must have two cards of the same sort in the pack, (say the king of

spades.) Place one next the bottom card, (say seven of hearts,) and

the other at top. Shuffle the cards without displacing those three,

and show a person that the bottom card is the seven of hearts. This

card you dexterously slip aside with your finger, which you have

previously wetted, and, taking the king of spades from the bottom,

which the perso supposes to be the seven of hearts, 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 king of spades from the top to the bottom,

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 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.