Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-03-29
New Card Tricks.

II }ousre more than II Years old it's al
most copper-riveted certainty that At |
some time or other you have encountered |
one q those most mystifying of all ex-
perieees-that of having some one read |
yons mind. There is nothing new about |
mind -eadine. 1t is almost as old rs the
worth itself, and there are mind readers |
seod had aid Indifferent
Thee once was a time when mind |
readhE was decried. and when the
sliglast evidence of such ability would
have cen very apt to get the possessoi
of tha ability burned as a witch. or III
least hunned on every side as being
in leaue with the evil one. But times
have hanged. y brief example of mind
readin is now considered one Of the
most fascinating of parlor tricks The
only touble is that attempts to exhibit
such over all too frequently result in
disna failures
Thet IS one mind reading. trick.
towetd. little. pracuced. because it is
little snown which can always be
| worked successfully, no matter whether
he Spectators concentrate or not. OF
course they are asked to concentrate
but thdr failure to do SO doesn't have
the slightest effect on the trick The
trick Hcver fails. for the very simple
reason that ii cannot. It is trick
laughable in it's simplicity when ex-
planned yet when worked without ex-
planation is as mystifying as anything
ever seen on stage. worked by d pro-
fessional mind reader.
The trick is worked with pencil. n
piece Of paper and an imaginary pack Of
cards. The person working it takes pen
ell and paper and writes Out the name of
any face card. folds up the paper and
gives + 70 one of the persons watching
| him ID hold against his forehead. Then
| after asking every one present Ia con-
eentrab their minds on the power of his
thought he asks some one to select.
through dong process particular suit
and fhaIly particular card. And.
wondeI'o of wonders, when the final card
| las bee mentioned il will be found that
| IT Is id,ntical with the name the. 'nntd
reader,awfote on the papetsat the very
beginning
For astance. the mind readers may
write dswn the jack of spades, and in
variably it will be the JACK OF spades
which the person upon whom the trick
is worked finally mentions. All very
nsystifyipg but the result, for all that
il looks Ike mind reading and the power
of concetuation is nothing Of the sort.
It is inevifable. Here is how it is
worked:
Limit the Imaginary pack of cards to
THE face cards of tine four snits-the
Psaek. queen. King aud ace of hearts, dia-
monds. clubs and spades. First write
the namehf any card among these 16 You
wish. Fob up the paper and go through
with the concentration bluff. Say. for
example Fou have written the Jack of
clubs
Now ash one of your spectators to
meptian tfosof the four suits. IF clubs
happens II De one of the two suits he
names. tbF triel< is shortened. In that
ease ask INN 70 mention one of those
two. IF he again selects the clubs, ask
him to meptfon two of the four cards IN
that saiit Suppose me- names the {lck
and the king: then ASK, him to mention
and be careful to use tire word 'nlentfon'
-one of them. Perhaps he will pick the
jack. If SO, show him abe papti son
which you have already wfitteuA down
the name of that card WondeffnE
But this is unusual. More frequently
the person doing the selecting.wil fail
to choose the suit you have'@written
down. In that case you set about TO
make him choose it, and the procedure