onge
full of water. One of the players outside is then invited in; he is
told to kneel down and kiss the toe; the potentate on the chair leans
forward a little to bring his sponge immediately over the subject's
head; and a shower-bath follows. Then another subject is admitted, but
after a while there is enough water on the floor to make them
suspicious.

Mesmerism

Another trick. The players who are to be mesmerized--among them being
the one or two who do not know the game--stand in a row, each holding
a dinner-plate in the left hand. The mesmerizer, who also has a
dinner-plate, faces them, and impresses on them very seriously the
importance, if they really want to be mesmerized, of doing exactly
what he does and not moving their eyes from him in any direction. He
then holds the plate flat, rubs the first finger of his right hand on
the bottom of it, and makes an invisible cross on his forehead, on
each cheek, and on the tip of his nose. That is all. The trick lies in
the fact that the plates of the players who do not know the game have
been held in the flame of a candle until they are well blacked. This
means that when the mesmerism is over they each have black marks on
their faces, and know nothing about it until they are led to a
looking-glass.

Thought-Reading Tricks

In all thought-reading games it is best that only the two performers
should know the secret. Of these two, one goes out of the room and the
other stays in, after having first arranged on the particular trick
which will be used. Perhaps the company will then be asked to settle
on a trade. Let us say that they decide on a chemist. The other player
is then called in, and his companion puts questions to him in this
way:--"You have to name the trade which we have thought of. Is it a
grocer?" "No." "Is it a draper?" "No." "Is it a goldsmith?" "No." "Is
it a fruiterer?" "No." "Is it a lawyer?" "No." "Is it a chemist?"
"Yes." This will look rather mysterious to some of the company; but
the thing is really simple enough. The questioner merely arranged with
his companion that the trade thought of should follow a profession.

Perhaps on the next occasion the company will be asked to think of an
article in the room. Let us say that they fix on the clock. The
questions will then run something like this:--"You have to name the
article in this room which has been thought of. Is it the piano?"
"No." "Is it the curtain-rod?" "No." "Is it the carpet?" "No." "