He requests the first to give him the card he has drawn; he looks
at it, and placing it on the table face downwards, he asks the
lady to name the card, which she does instantly and without
hesitation.
Of course this appears wonderful to the spectators, and their
astonishment goes on increasing whilst the lady names every card
in succession to the last.
It is, however, a very simple affair. Each card represents a
letter of the alphabet, as we see by the figure, and all the
performer has to do is to begin every question with the letter
corresponding to the card.
Suppose the party has drawn the king of hearts. Its letter is A.
The performer exclaims--'Ah! I'm sure you know this!' The A at
once suggests the card in question. Suppose it is the ace of
clubs. He says--'Jump at conclusions if you like, but be sure in
hitting this card on the nail.' J begins the phrase, and
represents the card in question. Suppose it is the ten of
spades, he cries out--'Zounds! if you mistake this you are not so
clever a medium as I took you for.' The ace of diamonds--'Quite
easy, my dear sir,' or 'my dear ma'am,' as the case may be. Q
represents the ace of diamonds.
Pages:
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385