t that
the card thought of by the first party is the first of the lot he points
to; that of the second, is the second of the lot he points to; that of
the third, the third of the third lot; that of the fourth, the fourth of
the fourth lot; that of the fifth, the fifth of the fifth lot.

Of course five persons are not necessary. If there be but one person,
the card must be the first of the lot he points to.

It would be more artistic, perhaps, if you dispense with seeing the
cards, making the lots up with your eyes turned away from the table.
Then request the parties to observe in which lot their respective card
is, and, taking the lots successively in hand, present to each the card
thought of without looking at it yourself.

17. The Arithmetical Puzzle.

This card trick, to which I have alluded in a previous page, cannot fail
to produce astonishment; and it is one of the most difficult to unravel.

Hand a pack of cards to a party, requesting him to make up parcels of
cards, in the following manner. He is to count the number of pips on the
first card that turns up, say a five, and then add as many cards as are
required to make up the number 12; in the case here supposed, having
a five before him, he will place seven cards upon it, turning down the
parcel. All the court cards count as 10 pips; consequently, only two
cards will be placed on such to make up 12. The ace counts as only one
pip.

He will then turn up another, count the pips upon it, adding cards as
before to make up the number 12; and so on, until no more such parcels
can be made, the remainder, if any, to be set aside, all being turned
down.

During this operation, the performer of the trick may be out of the
room, at any rate, at such a distance that it will be impossible for him
to see the first cards of the parcels which have been turned down; and
yet he is able to announce the number of pips made up by all the first
cards laid down, provided he is only informed of the number of parcels
made up and the number of the remainder, if any.

The secret is very simple. It consists merely in multiplying the number
of parcels over four by 13 (or rather vice versa), and adding the
remaining cards, if any, to the product.

Thus, there have just been made up seven packets, with five cards over.
Deducting 4 from 7, 3 remain; and I say to myself 13 times 3 (or rather
3 times 13) are 39, and adding to this the five cards over, I at once
declare the number of p