To Pass Several Coins

Palm a penny (Palm No.1); borrow another. and a florin. Ask one of the audience to extend his or her hands (palms open and upwards) towards you; give the borrowed penny to be held by someone else, hold the florin at the ends of the fingers of the left hand, and execute the pass described in trick c, which will leave the florin in the palm of the left hand. The penny in the right hand must not, however, be actually exhibited, as is the coin in trick c, but be immediately placed in one of the outstretched hands before you. If the owner of them is at all restive, and anxious to see what is in his or her hand, or is a person you know or think you cannot trust, ask the nearest person to assist in the operation by holding the hand in one of his or her own. This, you will explain, is to show that yon have no confederates. If the two parties are of opposite sexes, you can improve the occasion by some gentle sally about the gentleman being honoured by holding a lady's hand, &c. This operation concluded. the audience, including the holder of the coin. is, you may have no fear, under the impression that the florin is in the holder's hand. You have now to make believe to place the penny into the other outstretched hand. To do this, you must execute the same pass as before, only reversed; i.e., the right hand will hold the penny, and the left the palmed florin. This trick affords an instance where palming with both hands is a requisite accomplishment. If the performer is not able to palm with both hands, an opportunity must be made for getting the coin in the left hand back into the right. By repeating the change as before, you will be supposed to place the penny in the other hand of the holder, and, drawing particular attention to the exact position of the coins, command them to change places. This trick, so simple to look at, is one of the most difficult to perform of those yet described; for not only must the sleight of hand be well executed, but the whole demeanour of the performer must be impressive of the fact that he really is doing what he says he is, instead of exactly the reverse. Yet the impressiveness must not be too pointed, or the natural suspicion in human nature will be aroused The "happy medium" is well hit if the performer, in giving the florin (in reality the penny), says, "Now, sir" (or "madam," as the case may be), "I will ask you to take great care of this coin for me. Conjurors are but poor people, and cannot well afford to lose money; for this reason I have given you the florin to hold in your right hand, it being the stronger." On giving the penny, you can say that "I would rather, for safety's sake, that it were along with the florin in the right hand, only, in that case, there would be no trick." In giving the coins into the holder's hands, it is highly essential that you close the latter rapidly, the coins being so covered by your own fingers during the operation that nothing is seen of them. Otherwise, it would be unnecessary to proceed further with the trick. The florin may be marked, but not so the penny, unless the audience insists upon it, as they sometimes will, at the instigation of Mr. Interference; in which case the pennies must be once more exchanged-a very simple matter-before the coins are returned to their owners.