1. To tell a card thought of by a party after three
deals. Take twenty-one cards of a pack, and deal them out one by one
in three lots, requesting the party to think of a card, and
remember in which lot it is.
Having dealt out the cards, ask the party in which lot the
card is.
Take up the lots successively, and place the lot
containing the card in the middle.
Deal out the cards again, and ask the party to state in
which lot the card is; and proceed as before, placing the lot
containing the card in the middle.
Deal out the cards in like manner a third time, proceeding
as before.
Then deal them out as usual, and the eleventh card
will be the one thought of, infallibly. This is the usual way of
showing the card thought of; but, as the trick may be partly
discovered by the counting, it is better to hold the cards in
your hand, and take out the eleventh card, counting to yourself,
of course, from the left hand, but pretending to be considering
the guess.
This is apparently a most mysterious trick, although a
necessary consequence of the position of the lot containing the
card in the three deals.
