Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

A lady suggested just now, by the way--it was only said in a whisper, but I heard it--that I didn’t really put the balls under the cup. It was rather sharp on the part of the lady, but you see she was wrong. Here are the balls.”[K] So saying, the performer lifts up the middle cup with his left hand, and picking up the ball with his right, holds it up that all may see, immediately replacing it under the same cup. The last movement is simulated only, the ball being in reality palmed in the supposed act of placing it under the cup. “We have now a ball under each of these two cups. We only want one more, and--here it is”--apparently producing a third ball (really the same again) from the wand. “We will place it under this last cup.” He actually does so. “Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have three cups and three balls, one under each cup. So far, I admit that I have not shown you anything very surprising, but now comes the puzzle, to take the balls from under the cups. Perhaps some of you sharp gentlemen will say there isn’t much difficulty in that. Lift the cup, and pick up the ball!” He suits the action to the word, lifting up the third goblet with the left hand, and picking up the ball with the right. “A very good solution, but it doesn’t happen to be the right one.