ny person shuffle them; lay them by
pairs on the board, without looking at them. You next desire several
persons, (as many persons as there are pairs on the table,) each to
look at different pairs and remember what cards compose them. You then
take up all the cards in the order they lay, and replace them with
their faces uppermost on the table, according to the order of the
letters in the following words:

M U T U S
1 2 3 4 5
D E D I T
6 7 8 9 10
N O M E N
11 12 13 14 15
C O C I S
16 17 18 19 20

(These words convey no meaning.)--You will observe, that they contain
ten letters repeated, or two of each sort. You therefore ask each
person which row or rows the cards he looked at are in; if he say the
first, you know they must be the second and fourth, there being two
letters of a sort (two U's) in that row; if he say the second and
fourth, they must be the ninth and nineteenth, (two I's,) and so of
the rest. This amusement, which is very simple, and requires very
little practice, will be found to excite, in those who are
unacquainted with the key, the greatest astonishment.

The readiest way is to have a fac-simile of the key drawn on a card,
to which you refer.

_To tell how many Cards a Person takes out of a Pack, and to specify
each Card._

To perform this, you must so dispose a PIQUET pack of cards, that you
can easily remember the order in which they are placed. Suppose, for
instance, they are placed according to the words in the following
line,

_Seven Aces, Eight Kings, Nine Queens, and Ten Knaves;_

and that every card be of a different suite, following each other in
this order: spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds. Then the eight first
cards will be the seven of spades, ace of clubs, eight of hearts, king
of diamonds, nine of spades, queen of clubs, ten of hearts, and knave
of diamonds, and so of the rest.

You show that the cards are placed promiscuously, and you offer them
with their backs upward to any one, that he may draw what quantity he
pleases; you then dexterously look at the card that precedes and that
which follows those he has taken. When he has carefully counted the
cards, which is not to be done in your presence, (and, in order to
give you time for recollection, you tell him to do it twice over, that
he may be certain,) you then take them from him, mix them with the
pack, shuffle, and tell him to shuffle.

During all this time you rec