Read Ebook: Hocus Pocus Junior: The Anatomie of Legerdemain Or the art of jugling set forth in his proper colours fully plainly and exactly so that an ignorant person may thereby learn the full perfection of the same after a little practise. by Unknown Harper Thomas Printer Mab Ralph Publisher

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HOCVS POCVS IVNIOR.

The Art of Iugling set forth in his proper colours, fully, plainly, and exactly, so that an ignorant person may thereby learn the full perfection of the same, after a little practise.

Vnto each Tricke is added the figure, where it is needfull for instruction.

Prestat nihili quam nihil facere.

To the Reader.

Farewell.

IT came first into the Kingdome by certain AEgyptians, that were transported hither, who growing to numerous multitudes, dispersed themselues thorow most parts of the Kingdome: who being most expert in this art, and in Palmestrie, cousened the people in all parts wheresoeuer they came. Now diuers vagrant English joyning with them in time learnt both their language and cousening delusions, whereby at length they were discovered, and thereupon the next ensuing Parliament, there was a statute enacted: that whosoeuer should transport an Egyptian, should have a Fine imposed upon him; Moreouer, that whosoever should assume unto themselves the names of AEgyptians, it should be imputed unto them as fellonie, in so high a degree, that they might not haue their Booke granted unto them, which statute was put in execution, and since that time our Kingdome hath beene well disburdened of those AEgyptian Iuglers.

THe end of this Art is either good or bad, accordingly as it is used: Good, and lawfull when it is used at Festivals, and merry meetings to procure mirth: especially if it be done without desire of estimation above what we are. Bad, and altogether unlawfull when it is used on purpose, to cozen, deceive, or for vaine glory to esteemed above what is meet and honest.

FIrst, hee must be one of an impudent and audacious spirit, so that hee may set a good face upon the matter.

Secondly, he must have a nimble and cleanly conveance.

Thirdly, he must have strange termes, and emphaticall words, to grace and adorne his actions, and the more to astonish the beholders.

Fourthly, and lastly, such gesture of body as may leade away the spectators eyes from a strict and diligent beholding his manner of conveyance.

THe Operator thus qualified must have his Implements of purpose to play withall: and first he must have three Cups, made of brasse, or Crooked lane plate:

These Cups must be all of one sise, and the bottome of each of them must bee set a little within the cup; marke the following figure, for thereby they are truely represented, both in forme and bignesse: it is noted with the letter B. Also he must have foure Bals, made of Corke about the bignesse of small Nutmegs. First, he must practise to hold these Cork balls, two or three of them at once in one hand. The best place, and the readiest to hold one ball is betweene the ball of the thumbe, and the palme of the hand; but if you hold more than one at one time, betweene your fingers towards the bottoms. The place to hold a great ball is betweene your two middle fingers. Remember in your play alwaies to keep the palme of your hand downeward: After you have once learned to hold these balls handsomely, you may worke divers strange, and delightfull feats.

But whether you seeme to cast your ball in the ayre, or into your mouth, or into your other hand, yet still retaine it in the same hand, still remembring to keepe the palme of your hand downeward, and out of sight. Now to begin:

Set your cups then all on a row againe, and under one of them, as D, conveigh your fourth ball which you retained in your hand, and lay the other three balls by.

Then take up the second ball with your right hand, and seeme to put it into your left, shutting it in due time, and as you did before: now in like manner seeme to make the same to vanish with a word of command, then take up the cup C, and clap it upon the cup A, and in clapping it on, convey the ball you retained in your right hand, upon the top of the cup noted A,

So then you have conveyed under each cup a ball, then take up the third ball, seeming to vanish it as the two former, but retaine it, then shew them under each cup one, which will be very strange.

Then take one cup in your right hand, and clap it upon another, saying, see Gentlemen I will set you one cup upon another, and in clapping it on, convey the ball you retained in your right hand upon the top of the lowermost cup: marke the figure following.

Then may you seeme to pull all the three corks out of the top of the upper cup, causing them to vanish one after another, as I have sufficiently taught you before, which may be performed by that one ball that you reteine in your right hand.

And lastly, take the uppermost cup, and set it down first by it selfe, then with both hands nimbly hosting the two other cups, shuffle them one upon another, and the bals will not fall out, and so it will be thought that you have pulled the three bals out of the bottomes of the two uppermost cups. I could teach you to vary these feats a hundred wayes, but I leave that to those that intend to follow the trade.

SEt one of your cups upon a Table, and take a good big stoole-ball out of your pocket, and say, clapping your hand with the ball in it under the Table, My masters would you not think it a pretty trick that I should make this ball come thorow the table into the cup:

TAke up one of the bals in your right hand, & put it into your left, holding it firmely between your forefinger and thumbe of your said left hand. Then with your forefinger and thumbe of your right hand seeme to pull one ball out of another, which you may doe by slipping the ball that you retained in your right hand betweene the forefinger and thumb of the said hand, saying, Thus by activity have I learn'd to do, out of one little ball for to make two: and all of a bignesse, then lay all foure balls upon the table.

TAke your stone againe out of your pocket, saying, here it is once againe, and I will give it unto any of you to hold, and reach your hand out unto them, and opening your hand, say Loe here it is. Then when any one is about to take it, withdraw your hand to the side of the table, and make your conveyance as before, in which time say, But you must promise mee to take it quickly:

TAke what card you will, pill the printed paper from off it, and roll it hard up, and make a hole in a nut, and take out the kernell, and then thrust in the card, afterwards stop the hole of the Nut neatly with waxe, this Nut you must have in readinesse about you, and when you are in your play, call for such a card as you inclosed in your Nut, or else haue one in a readinesse, and say, You see Gentlemen, here is such a card: then wet it, and pill off the printed side, roll it up, and the usuall manner conuey it away: Then take your Nut out of your pocket, and giue it unto one, and say, Cracke that Nut, and tell mee if you can finde the card there, which being found, will bee thought very strange.

Then haue another such like Nut, but filled with Inke, and stopped after the same manner that your other Nut was, and giue that unto another, and bid him cracke it, and see what he can finde in that, and so soone as he hath cracked it, all the inke will run about his mouth, which will move more mirth and laughter than the former.

DEsire any one of your spectators to accommodate you with a Knife, which when you haue gotten, hold it in such manner as that you may cover the whole knife with both your hands, the end of the haft excepted, and set the point of it unto your eye, and say, some body strike it in with his fist, but no body will, because it is so dangerous a thing: then set your hands upon the edge of the Table, and looking about you, say, why what will no body strike it in, in which time let the knife slip downe into your lap. Then nimbly make as if you chopt it hastily into your mouth, or to hold it in one hand, and strike it in with the other then make two or three sowre faces, saying, some drinke, some drinke: or else you may say, now some one put his finger in my mouth, and pull it out againe; some will say haply you will bite me, say, no I will assure you. Then when he hath put his finger into your mouth, he will pull it out, & say, here is nothing, say againe, why, you have your finger out againe, did you thinke to pull the knife out? if that should be in my mouth, it would kill mee. The knife is here in my pocket, and with that take it out, and deliver it againe.

TAke a ball and lay it on the Table, and holding a knife in one hand by the blade, desire some body to take the Ball that is upon the Table, & lay it upon the haft of the knife, pretending that you will blow it thence invisibly, and when he is laying it on, take him a good rap on the knuckles.

THis Pudding must be made of Tin, it consisteth of twelve little hoops made Tape-wise, so that they may almost fall one thorow another, and have a piece of Canvas tyed over the biggest end thereof, to the end it may not hurt your teeth by hastily clapping it into your mouth. The figure whereof followeth, and is marked with the letters A A.

FOr the effecting of this feate, you must have a knife for the nonce, made with a gap in the midst of the blade, as it is demonstrated in the following figure noted with the letter A.

You must conceale the notch with your finger, and then wring it over the fleshie part of your nose, and your nose will seeme as it were halfe cut off with the knife.

YOu must have likewise for the effecting of this delusion, an Implement on purpose. The figure wherof followeth. It may bee made of two elder sticks, thrusting out the pith, and afterward glued together, the ends whereof must have a piece of corke cut hollow and glued over them: then must there be a little whipcord put thorow them, the ends whereof must come out at two holes made on the outward side of each elder sticke.

Put this Trinket over the fleshie part of your nose, then pul one end of the rope, and afterwards the other, and it will be thought that the rope commeth quite thorow your nose.

YOu must have for the performing of this feate, divers counters having holes cut out of the midst of them, then they must be glued together so many of them as they may make a case sufficient to containe a Die: then glue one whole counter upon the top of them, and have a boxe made of white Tinne to fit them, but let it be deeper than the glued pile of Counters; also make a cover for this boxe. First, put into the boxe three loose counters, then put in the glued pile of counters with the hole upper-most, then put into the hole a Die, and lastly three other loose whole Counters, and cover it. Draw this boxe of Counters, and say, Gentlemen, here is a boxe of Barbarie gold, it was left me as a Legacie by a deceased friend, upon condition I should employ it well and honestly. Now sirs it was my fortune as I was travelling, to be benighted, and so forced to seeke for lodging, and as it happened, I tooke into an house of entertainment, where calling for my Ostesse, I drew my stocke, and said, what must I give you mine Ostesse for my meat, drinke, and lodging this night? My friend, quoth she, you must give me three French Crownes; with that I uncovered my boxe and set it upon the Table tooke my boxe from off the counters, and delivered her three from the top, saying, there they are; and casting my eye aside, I spyed a pretty lasse coming downe the staires; Sweet heart, said I to her, what shall I give thee to lie with thee this night? she replied, sir, for three French Crownes you shall: then I thrust my boxe forward, and delivered her three from the bottome, saying, there they are.

A, the figure of the Box, BB the lid of the Box, C the pile of Counters glued together, E the hole for the Die, D the Die.

YOu must have two rings made of brasse, silver, or what you will, of one bignesse, colour, and likenesse saving that one must have a notch cut through it as it is represented by the figure following noted with X

The other must be whole without a notch; shew the whole Ring, and conceale that which hath the notch, and say, now I will put this ring thorow my cheeke, and privily slip the notch one over one side of your mouth, and nimbly convey the whole Ring into your sleeve, or conceale it in your right hand: then take a small sticke which you may have in readinesse, and slip the whole Ring over it, holding your hand over it about the middle thereof, and bid somebody hold both the ends of the sticke fast, and say, see this Ring here in my cheeke, it turnes round, and indeed it will seeme to turn round if you stroake it nimbly with your fingers: and while you perceive them to fasten their eies intentively upon that Ring, upon a sudden whip it out, and smite upon the sticke therewith instantly, concealing it, and whirling the other Ring, you hold your hand over round about the sticke, and it wil be thought that you have brought that Ring upon the stick which was before upon your cheeke.

YOu must have a Locke made for the nonce, the figure whereof followeth, the one side of its bow must be immoveable, as that marked with A: the other side is noted with B, and must be pinned to the bodie of the locke, as may appeare at E, I say it must be so pinned that it may play to and againe with ease. This side of the bow must have a legge as C, and then turn into the Locke; this bending must have two notches filed on the inner side, which must be so ordered that the one may locke or hold the two sides of the bow as close together at the top as may be, the other notch to hold the said parts of the bows a proportionable distance asunder, that being lockt upon the cheeke, it may neither pinch too hard, nor yet hold it so sleightly that it may be drawne off;

YOu may cause someone to hold one tester edgelong betweene his teeth: Take also another tester and with your left hand proffer to set it edgelong betweene a second mans teeth, pretending that your intent is to turne both into whether of their mouthes they shall desire, and that by vertue of your words and circumstances which he shall no sooner essay to do, but you holding your locke privately in your right hand with your fore finger over the legge C, may presently slip it over the left side his cheeke, and single locke it, which you may do by pressing your said finger a little downe after some store of intreaties: the Locke having hung on a while, produce your key by some device and unlocke it, but immediately double locke it, for it will seeme a true locke, nor after sight be suspected for other.

THis feate cannot be performed at every time, but onely in Winter, and at such times as snow may be had, and he that will shew it must have in readinesse an handfull of salt. The time serving, and the partie provided, let him call for a Ioynt-stoole, a quart pot, an handfull of snow, a little water, and a short staffe or sticke, first let him powre a little water upon the top of the stoole, and upon it let him see the quart pot, and put the snow into the pot, the salt also, but privately, then let him hold the pot fast with his left hand, and take the short sticke in his right, and therewith churne the snow and salt in the pot as if one should churme for butter, and in halfe a quarter of an houre the pot will freeze so hard to the stoole, that you can scarcely with both hands pull it off from the stoole: there's a naturall reason may be given for this, which he thats a scholler need not be told, and for a common Iugler I would not have so wise as to know, therefore I omit it.

THe performance of this tricke consisteth in the rowling up of the towe. After you have made a rowle in readinesse, call for a pipe of Tobacco, light it, and take a whiffe or two, you may stop it downe with the one end of your rowle of tow, retaining it priuately in your hand: then deliuer the Pipe to some body else, and conuey the tow into your mouth: then blow gently, and smoake and fire will come forth of your mouth, which you may continue as long as you please by putting in more tow as it consumeth.

YOu must prouide you diuers sorts of Ribbins, some blacke, some blew, some greene, some yellow: measure it, and at the end of euery yard make a slip knot, then rowle each coloured ribben into a ball by it selfe, and dispose them about you, that you may know readily which to take in an instant. When you are called upon for so many yards of such a colour, conuey a ball of the same into your mouth, and draw it out, remembring how many knots haue slipped at your teeth, then cut it off and deliuer it.

THis feate must be performed with three bels, you must put one bell into your left sleeue, then put one Bell into one hand, and another Bell into the other hand withdraw your hands, and privily conuey the bell in your left hand, into your right hand: Then stretch both your hands abroad, and bid two folkes hold your hands fast, but first shake your hands and say, doe you heare them. The bell that is in your sleeve will not be knowne by the ratling, but that it is in your hand: Then say, hee now that is the arrantest Whoremaster or Cuckold of you both, shall have both the bels, and the other shall have none at all: open your hands then, and shew them, and it will be thought that you deale by art magicke.

MAke one boxe of Wood, Tinne, or Brasse: let the bottome fall a quarter of an inch into the boxe, and glue thereon a laying of Barlie or such like graine: draw the boxe with the bottome downewards, and say, Gentlemen, I met a Countrie man going to buy Barlie, and I told him I would sell him a penniworth, also I would multiplie one graine into so many bushels as hee should need, then cast a barlie corne into your boxe, and cover it with a hat, and in the covering it, turne the bottom upside down: then cause some bodie to blow on the hat, then uncover it, and they will think strangely of it. You may make another boxe of wood like unto a bell to hold so much just as your former box will, and make a bottome unto this boxe of shooe sole leather, to thrust into the bottome of the bell: then fill it with barlie, and thrust up the leather bottome, for it will keepe the barlie from falling out take this box out of your pocket, and set it down gently upon the table, and say, I will now cause all the barlie to goe out of my measure into my bell, then with a hat cover the boxe that hath the barlie glewed unto it, and in covering it, turne it with the barlie downeward: then say, first let us see whether there be nothing under the bell, and clap it hard downe upon the table, so the weight of the barlie will thrust the bottome downe; then bid some one blow hard on the hat, then take it up, where they will see nothing but an emptie measure, then take up the bell, and all the barlie will poure out. Sweep it then presently into your hat or lap, lest their busie prying may chance to discover your leather bottome.

TAke a low glasse, fill it reasonable full of Beere, and take a sixpence and lay it downe upon the table, and set the glasse of Beere upon it, and dipping your finger into the Beere, say, whether is the sixpence in, or under the glasse. Some will say perhaps, it is under: then say, let's see, and take up at once both sixe pence and glasse and let the glass slip plum downe into your lap, then make as if you threw it away, looking up after it. Then seeme to blow your nose, and let fall the sixpence upon the table, saying, I am glad I have got my mony againe: but now what's become of the glasse? Then seeme to take it out of your pocket, saying, I am a good fellow, and would not willingly lose my liquor, then drinke it up. This is an excellent tricke if it be swiftly and neatly performed. Though you spill a part of the Beere, it is no matter, neither is it any disgrace unto it, besides you may put it off very well.

YOu must have a table with two good wide holes towards one end, also a cloth on purpose to cover the table with, so that the said covering may hang to the ground round about the table; also this covering must have two holes made in it even with the holes of the table, you must also have a platter of wood for the purpose, having a hole in the bottom to fit also unto the holes of the table, and it must, as also the table, be made to take in two pieces: having these in readinesse, you must have two boyes; the one must lie along upon the table with his backe upward, and he must put his head thorow the one hole of the table, cloth and all; the other must sit under the table and put his head thorow the other hole of the table, then put the platter about his neck, to make the sight more dreadfull to behold, you may forme some loome about the neckes of them, making small holes in them as it were veins, and besmeare it over with sheepes bloud, putting some bloud also and little bits of liver into the platter, and set a chafing-dish of coales before the head, strewing some brimstone upon the coales; for this will make the head seem so pale and wan, as if in very deed it were separated from the body.

The head may fetch a gaspe or two, and it will be better. Let no body bee present while you doe this, neither when you have given entrance, permit any to be medling, nor let them tarry long.

YOu must get a double Tunnell, that is, two Tunnels sodered one within the other, so that you may at the little end poure a quantitie of wine, water, or any liquor. This Tunnell you must have readie filled before hand with whatsoever liquor you please: call for some of the same kinde: then draw your Tunnell, and setting your middle finger unto the bottome of it, bid some body, or else do you your selfe poure it full, and drinke it up before them, and turne the broad end of the Tunnell downeward, saying, Gentlemen, all is gone, and in a trice turne your selfe about, and in turning, pronounce some tearmes of art, withdraw your finger from the narrow end, and let all the liquor out that was betweene the Tunnels, and it will be thought to be that which you drunke out of the Tunnell, and so you may perswade them that it is the very same.

YOu must have some great tooth in a readinesse, as the tooth of a Hog, a Calfe, or of an Horse; this you must retain privately in your right hand, and with the same hand take out of your pocket a small corke bal, and having used some Rhetorick to perswade them that it is of some excellent property, incline your head, and therewith touch some one of your farther teeth, and immediately let the tooth that you held in your hand drop downe, saying, and this is the fashion of Mountebanks, Touch and take.

TAke your ball in one hand, and the tooth in the other, and stretch your hands as farre as you can one from the other, and if any will, lay a quart of wine with him that you will not withdraw your hands, and yet will make both of them come into either hand which they please: It is no more to do, than to lay one downe upon the Table, and turne your selfe round, and take it up with the other hand, and your wager is won, and it will move no small laughter to see a foole so lose his money.

PRovide a good thick staffe about two yards long, three parts wherof ought to be made scoope-wise, or halfe hollow, like a basting ladle, the fourth part must serue for the handle. At the end of the scoope must be made a hole, and therein put a broad pin about the length of an egge, and it is done. Rest the handle of this staffe against your right thigh, and hold it with your right hand neere to the beginning of the scoope; lay an egge then into the scoope of the staffe, and turne your selfe round, bearing the staffe now up, and anon downe, with the scoope side of it alwayes upward, so the eg will tumble from one end of the scoop unto the other, and not fall out. After the same manner may you make two or three egges by a little practice to wamble one after another.

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