Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

You continue, “You all think you know how that was done, I dare say. You imagine, no doubt, that the money was merely thrown from one hand to the other with extreme rapidity. ‘The quickness of the hand deceives the eye,’ as Shakspeare (or somebody else) says. I will therefore show you the same experiment in another form in which you will find that no such solution is admissible. I will pass the money right through this table, which is, as you see, pretty solid. The quickness of the hand would not be of much use in this case. I take one of the coins in the left hand, as before.” Here, however, you introduce a feint. Taking up the coin in the right hand, you transfer it to the left, but purposely do it with a pretended awkwardness, and hold the right hand afterwards rather stiffly, so as to lead the spectators to believe that you have really retained the coin in the right hand. To do this cleverly will require considerable practice, but it will by no means be labour lost, as feints of this kind are of frequent use. The spectators, delighted to have, as they imagine, caught you tripping, are sure to exclaim that the coin is still in your right hand. “Surely, ladies and gentlemen,” you say, with an injured air, “you don’t think that I would avail myself of such a transparent artifice. See for yourselves!” opening your hands. “I won’t ask you to apologize, but pray give me a little more credit for the future. Come; we will have no mistake about it this time.” Take the florin between the finger and thumb of the left hand, and, by means of the tourniquet or pincette, appear to transfer it to the right. Pick up the second coin with the left hand, and place that hand under the table, holding the closed right hand above it. Say “Pass!”, open the right hand, show it empty, and at the same moment chink the two florins together in the left hand, and bring them up for inspection.