Samuel Rid

“ I would rather vse my pen, and spend my time, to disswade and perswade all gamesters, to beware not onely with what dice, but with what company and where they exercise gaming: and be well assured Gentlemen that all the friendly entertainement you shall finde amongst them is for no other end, but to perswade you to play, and therby by to breede your great losse, if not altogether your vndoing. ”

“ If you take a ball or more, and seeme to put it into your other hand, and whilst you vse charming words, you conuey them out of your right hand into your lap, it will seeme strange, for when you open your left hand, immediately the sharpest lookers on will say, it is in your other hand, which also then you may open, and when they see nothing there, they are greatly ouertaken. ”

“ To leaue Dice and returne to Cardes, wherein is as much falsehood and cosening as in Dice: I will therefore disclose as much in one as in the other, for I would not giue a point to choose, which of them is the better, or rather the worse, for there is such a slight in shuffling and sorting of the Cardes, that play at what game you will, all is lost before hand, but if there be a confederate: either of the players or standers bie, the mischiefe can not be auoided. ”

“ The conueying of mony is not much inferiour to the Ball, but much easier to doe: The principall place to keepe a peece of mony in, is the palme of your hand: The best peece to keepe, is a testor, but with exercise all will be alike, except the mony be very small, and then it must bee kept betweene the fingers, and almost at the fingers end, where as the ball is to be kept, and below neere to the palme. ”

“ You shall see a Iugler take a testor or groate & throw it into a pot, or lay it on the middest of the table, and with inchanting words cause the same to leape out of the pot, or run towards him or from him wards alongest the table, which will seeme miraculous, vntill that you know that it is done with a long black haire of a womans head, fastned to the brim of a groat by meanes of a little hole driuen through the same with a spanish needle: in like sort you may vse a knife or any other small thing. ”

“ Take a shilling in each hand, and holding your armes abroad, to lay a wager that you will put them both into one hand without bringing them any whit nerer together: the wager being layde, hold your armes abroad like a roode, and turning about with your body, lay the shilling out of one of your hands vppon the table, and turning to the other side take it vp with the other hand, and so you shall winne your wager. ”

“ Lay one ball vpon your shoulder, an other on your arme, and the third on the table: which because it is round and will not easily lye vpon the point of your knife, you must bid a stander by, lay it theron, saying, that you meane to cast all those three Balls into your mouth at once: and holding a knife as a penne in your hand, when he is laying vpon the poynt of your knife, you may easily with the haft rap him on the fingers, for the other matter will be hard to doe. ”

“ And Gentlemen, if you will giue me patience, I will lay open vnto you the right Art Iugling and Legerdemain, in what poynt it doth chiefly consist: principally being sorry that it thus fals out, to lay open the secrets of this mistery to the hinderance of such poore men as liue thereby, whose doings heerein are not onely tollerable, but greatly commendable, so they abuse not the name of God, nor make the people to attribute vnto them his power, but alwaies acknowledge wherein the Art consisteth. ”

“ I haue read of a notable exploit done before a King by a Iugler, who painted on a wall the picture of a doue, and seeing a pigeon sitting vpon the top of an house, said to the King, looke now your grace shall see what a Iugler can doe, if he be his craftes master, & then pricked the picture with a knife, so hard and so often, and with so effectuall words, as the pigeon fell downe from the top of the house starke dead, you may imagine how the matter was taken, what wondring was thereat, how he was prohibited to vse that feat any further, least he should imploy it in any other kinde of murder. ”

“ There are diuers iugling trickes which I am loath to describe for some reasons before alleaged, whereof some are common some rarer and some desperate: I wil therefore shew a few desperate and dangerous iugling knackes, wherein the simple are made thinke, that a silly Iugler with words can hurt and helpe, kill and reuiue any creature at his pleasure: and first to kill any kinde of pullen and to make them reuiue. ”

“ These people continuing about the cuntry in this fashion, practising their cosening art of fast and loose, and legerdemaine, purchased to themselues great credit among the cuntry people, and got much by Palmistry, and telling of fortunes: insomuch they pittifully cosoned the poore cuntry girles, both of mony, siluer spoones, and the best of their apparrell, or any good thing they could make, onely to heare their fortunes. ”

“ A cupple of honest friends that drawe both in a yoke together, which haue bin the ouerthrow, of many a hundred in this Realme, and these are not the slightest matters whereuppon Iuglers worke vpon, and shew their feates. By which kinde of Iugling, a great number haue Iugled away, not only their money, but also their landes, their health, their time, and their honestie: I dare not (as I could) shew the lewde Iugling that cheaters practise, least it minister some offence, to the well disposed: to the simple hurt and losse, and to the wicked occasion of euill doing. ”

“ You may with the middle and ring-finger of the right hand, conuey a testor into the palme of the same hand, and seeming to cast it away, keepe it still, which with confederacy will seeme strange: to wit, when you finde it againe, where another hath bestowed the very like peece. But these things without exercise cannot be done, and therefore I will proceede to shew things to be brought to passe by many, with lesse difficulty, and yet as strange as the rest, which being vnknowne, are maruelously commended, but being vnknowne, are derided and nothing at all regarded. ”

“ For these kinde of people doe performe that in action, which the other do make shew of: and no doubt many when they heare of any rare exploit performed which cannot enter into their capacity, and is beyond their reach, straight they attribute it to be done by the Deuill, and that they worke by some familiar spirit, when indeede it is nothing els but meere illusion, cosoning, and legerdemaine. For you haue many now adaies, and also heeretofore many writers haue bene abused, as well by vntrue reports as by illusion and practises of confederacy, & legerdemaine, &c. ”

“ But you will say by this reason, he that hath the first dice, is like alwaies to stripp and rob all the table about. To helpe this, there must be for that purpose, an odd Die, called a flat Cater trea ready at hand, and no other number, for graunting the trea and Cater be allwaies vppon the one Die, then is there no chance vpon the other Die, but may serue to make fiue or nine, & cast forth, & loose all. ”

“ Art of Iugling or
Legerdemaine.
Heretofore we haue runne ouer the two pestiferous carbuncles in the commonwealth, the Egyptians and common Canters: the poore Canters we haue canuased meetely well, it now remaines to proceede where I left, ond to goe forward with that before I promised: St. Quintane be my good speede, I know I haue runne thorow the hands of many, censured of diuers, & girded at not of a few: But humanity is euer willinger to loue then hate: curtesie much forwarder to commend then dispraise: clemency infinitely proner to absolue then to cõdemn. ”

“ Take a very great ball in your left hand, or three indifferent big balls, and shewing one or three little balls, seeme to put them into your said left hand, concealing (as you may well do) the other balls which were there before: Then vse charmes, and words, and make them seem to swell, and open your hand &c. This play is to be varied an hundred waies for as you finde them all vnder the boxe or candlesticke, so may you goe to a stander by, and take off his hat or cap and shew the balls to be there, by conueying them thereinto as you turne the bottome vpward. ”

“ Lastly the same small ball is to be practised in the palme of your hand, and so by vse, you shall not only seeme to put any ball from you, and yet retaine it in your hand, but you shall keepe fower or fiue, as clenly and certaine as one, this being first learned and sleight attayned vnto, you shall worke wonderfull feates: as for ensample. ”

“ There is a very pretty trick to make wine or beere, to come out of your browe, or eare, with a funnell after you haue drank the same, the which I am loath to discouer, as not willing to haue all the poore Iugglers trickes made known at once: there is a way to make fire to come out of your mouth by burning of towe, all which for reasons before aleadged, I wil here omit to discouer. ”

“ Vsus promptus facit, and by that meanes your feats being cunningly handled, you shall deceaue both the eye, the hand, and the eare: for often times it will fall out in this arte, and deuises Deceptio visus, Deceptio tactus, et Deceptio Auditus.
Note also that you must haue none of your Trinckets wanting, least you be put to a non plus: besides it behooueth you to be mindefull whereabout you goe in euery trick, least you mistake, and so discredit the arte. ”

“ At Trumpe, Saunte, and such other like games, cutting at the nick, is a great aduantage, so is cutting by Bumcard, finely vnder or ouer: stealing the stock or the discarded Cardes.
At Decoye they drawe twentie hands together and play all vpon assurance when to winne or loose, other helpes there be as I haue before set downe, with a looking glasse and confederacy: all which and such like, tende to cosoning and hurt of our brother: But we will proceed with the other vse of Cardes, which tendeth to mirth and recreation of minde and which in themselues simply is no hurt, vnles they are abused. ”

“ Then it pleased Queene Elizabeth to reuiue the Statute before mentioned, in the twentith yeare of her happy raigne, endeauouring by all meanes possible to roote out this pestiferous people, but nothing could be done, you see vntill this day: they wander vp and downe in the name of Egiptians, cullouring their faces and fashioning their attire and garment like vnto them, yet if you aske what they are, they dare no otherwise then say, they are Englishmen, and of such a shire, and so are forced to say contrary to that they pretend. ”

“ There be diuers iugling boxes with false bottomes, wherein many false feates are wrought. First they haue a boxe couered or rather footed alike at each end, the bottome of the one end being no deeper then as it may containe one lane of corne or pepper, glewed there vpon. ”

“ Many other pretty feates of this nature might be here sett downe, as to cut of ones head and to laye it in a platter, which Iuglers cal the decollation of S. Iohn the Baptist, also to thrust a dagger or bodkin through your gutts very strangely, and to recouer imediately: after another way then with the bodkyn before rehearsed, also to draw a corde through your nose, mouth or hande so sencibly, as is wonderful to see, al wc with many more, I here forbeare for breuities sake. ”

“ He will first serue his owne turne, and releeue his priuate pouerty, for Alcumisters are a beggerly kinde of people, who though they confesse themselues bare, and needy: yet wil they make other rich, and wealthie, as though others pouertie did molest, and greeue them more then their owne, so far the words of petrarke. ”

“ Such be also cal'd bard Cater treas, because commonly, the longer end will of his owne sway drawe downewards, and turne vp to the eie, Sixe, Sincke, Deuce or Ace. The principall vse of them is at Nouum, for so longe a paire of Bard cater treas be walking on the bourd, so longe can ye not cast fiue, nor nine, vnles it be by greate chance, that the roughnes of the table, or some other stoppe force them to stay, and runne against their kinde: for without Cater or trea, ye know that fiue or nine can neuer come. ”

“ Now that we are come to our iournies end, let vs sit downe and looke about vs, whether we are al sonnes of one father, if there be no knaues among vs: St. Boniface light me the candle. Who doe I see? what the lustie lad of the Myter, that will binde beares, and ride his golden Asse to death but he will haue his will? Birlady, birlady sir, you of all the rest are most welcome, what how doth your stomack after your carrowsing banquet? what gorge vpon gorge, egges vpon egges, and sack vpon sack, at these yeares? ”

“ The beholders all this while thinking that there lye foure aces on the table, are greatly abused, and will maruell at the transformation.
How to tell one what Card he seeth in the bottome,
when the same Carde is shuffled into the stock. ”