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PART I (Magic, Sleight of Hand and Riddles: Pub/Audience Tricks)

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Knife

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Knife to cut a nose or a finger
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This is a well-furbished knife, assembled with a nail in the middle so that it can easily swivel to one side or the other and be hidden, alternately on side A or on side B, inside its handle marked C. The two stops you see on the tips of the knife are used to block it on one side or the other against a nail which is at the butt of the aforesaid handle, so that when one wants to press hard on something in order to cut it, it does not move from the handle. You might as well allow the side marked B to cut, only not during your performance, but the side that is notched and marked A must not be sharp, it should only be furbished. And the notch must also be as wide as the edge of a knife so that it cannot hurt.
And you will only show the part where the knife is not notched, for the side with the notch must be hidden inside the handle. And when you want to cut a nose or a finger, pretend to sharpen your knife on your thigh and at the same time turn it deftly, and the part with the notch, which you will cover with one finger, will come into your hand, and you will place the notch, colored with brazilwood “rosette” or black cherry juice, upon the nose.
The conjuror must not amuse himself by watching what he is doing, but must look at the spectators while entertaining them with hocus-pocus words to make them look at his face and not his hands.

Relight a Candle

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To relight an extinguished candle in your hands without blowing
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Take a twig of well dried wicker and cut a small piece like a toothpick, and put one of its ends between your index and middle fingers and clasp both your hands together, fingers well joined, and move them deftly around the lit candle as if you wanted to cover it, and your wicker will light. And instantly remove your hands thus clasped, and instantly put out the candle. And then put your hands around it again as if you wanted to cover it, together with your little light from the glowing wicker. By means of the smoke that you are holding in your two palms, the candle will light. And then instantly extinguish your wicker and secretly discard it.


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Coin on Forehead

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To make it seem to someone that he has a piece of silver on his forehead

Take a token or a piece of silver and wet it and hold it against your forehead. Then, say to your assistant that if you put it thus on his forehead, he would not be able to make it fall without using his hands, no matter how he shakes his head and, making it seem as if you are placing it the coin on his forehead, keep it in your hand and wet your thumb with your saliva and press it [the coin or the finger??] quite strongly on his forehead and, thinking he has the piece on his forehead as a result of the coolness of the saliva, he will shake his head and will be able to do anything.

Blood on Forehead

FOLIO p033v_2
For making blood or wine appear on someone's forehead or on a wall
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Take a or funnel of white iron which is double-walled in the body but not at the tip. At the top edge, make a small hole and another slightly bigger on the inner wall that will be a bit higher than the tip, just as you can see in the opposing example. Then when you want to use it, put in wine or liquid "rosette" of Brazilwood or black cherry juice [again used for blood, see knife trick], and blocking the hole at the bottom tip with your little finger, make sure that the pipe is well-filled so that the wine can enter inside the double wall through the hole at the edge, and if it does not flow inside well, act as if you are tasting the wine, sip and draw in a little air through the little hole.
After, make a spectating neighbor drink the rest of the wine or throw it out or leave it to flow through the end, but before that, you must have pressed your thumb well against the hole on the top edge, because in this way, by the compression of air, the wine will be held inside the double wall. Then with a dagger dulled at the tip, pretend that you pierce the forehead of a person who holds a glass in his hand, and while you pierce, you conceal your act with the pipe that you hold close to his forehead, then removing your thumb from on top of the hole on the edge near the top, the air, being free, will make the wine flow out from the double wall through the hole marked B, and fall through the tip marked C into the glass. But you must bend the head of the spectator well in order to do it properly.

NOTE: Ok, this doesn't make much sense so far.


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Finger on Forehead

FOLIO p034r_1
To tell someone that if he keeps holding his finger on his forehead, you will be able to stop him from going out of a room

Make him hug a bedpost or something similar, and with the same arm, make him hold a finger to his forehead.

Boots Without Spurs

FOLIO p034r_2
Bet someone that when he walks to a certain place and returns, he cannot say “boot without spurs” four times in a row

If he tries to say it himself, be sure that he speaks loudly, so when goes and returns you tell him that he lost because he needed to say “boots” without saying “spurs” four times, for this was your bet.

Candlestick

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To hang a candlestick on a wall without making a hole

Make a groom hold it against the wall.

Log Not Breaking Glass

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How not to break a glass with a log or a large stick

You will cut a piece as small as a toothpick from a log or a large stick, and thus you will give it to him and he will not be able to break the glass.

Secret Writing

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Cunning writing

Cut some long rolls in fine parchment and mark them in order with A B C “et cetera”, then sew them inside the selvage of a rough cloth shirt, like for a messenger, who will not notice anything if you want to steal his shirt from him.


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Jewel in a Box

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For melting or transforming a jewel placed in a box
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Take a cylindrical ringed vessel carved in wood, as you see, into which you will insert another small vessel that easily fits, as you see in the one marked B, and make it so that it does not touch the bottom of the larger one marked A, but so that there is some distance. Whatever is entering the larger vessel must be , but that the rim is made in a circle so that, being joined, they will appear as if they are the same vessel. You must also have a round cover of <m>leather</m> of the same length as the vessel, as you see marked C, which will fit easily and surround the aforesaid vessels thusly, placed one within the other. But before you do your trick, you must put <m>gold</m> or <m>silver</m> powder or <m>mercury</m> amalgamed with <m>silver</m> at the bottom of the larger vessel, and then place the little vessel marked B on top. After, holding the vessel with your index finger on top, present it, and only showing the bottom of the smaller vessel marked B, put a ring or something similar in it. This being done, while placing the vessel on the table, cover it with the leather cap, and making the requisite facial expressions, you will remove the leather cap without showing the interior, and put it on the table and ask them to recall the ring that you placed in the bottom of the smaller vessel marked B. Then, place the leather cover gently back on top and after saying "inhonorificabilitidinitatudinibus," take the outside of the leather cover with two fingers, and squeezing it more firmly than before, then you will lift only the smaller vessel that is inside and contains the ring and you will place both carefully on the table. Then you will pour out the powder or amalgam that is in the bottom of the large vessel, then replace the leather cover with that ^vessel inside it, as it was at the start. Then, removing the leather cover without removing the smaller vessel, you will show the ring that returned to the bottom ^{of the vessel} in its previous state, holding your index finger on the rim of the vessel so that it does not fall out.</ab>


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Something Neither Knows

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To tell someone that you will teach him something he does not know, and neither do you

Take a string or a small stick and measure from the tip of his ear to the tip of his nose and show it to him. Thus you will teach him something you did not know, and neither did he.

Water Bucket on Knifes

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To support a bucket of water on the points of three knives laid flat without touching the ground
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According to the strength of your knives, either kitchen or table knives, you will make them support a large weight on their tips laid flat arranged in a triangle, edge to edge, as you can see, and not touching the ground. And after arranging them this way, if you turn them the other way without disassembling them, the handles can also support a large weight without touching the ground. You can as well adapt this to other uses with pikes, with timbers, or to quickly make a tripod in a camp with three halberd points.
--> If the edge of the knife marked A is turned to the left, the butts of the handles will rise, but if the edge of the same knife is turned to the right, the tips will rise. [Not sure about this.]

Boil Egg

FOLIO p035r_3
To boil an egg in cold water without a fire

Empty an egg from both ends so that nothing remains inside, then fill it with quicklime and natural sulphur, then plug the holes with wax and put it in water so that it floats two or three fingers [above the surface].

?Rabbits?

FOLIO p035r_4
To make rabbits come out of a burrow

Have some embers in a pot, and after putting sulphur on top, place it inside the burrows and block them with something light.


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Spoiling Meat

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For preventing someone from eating a piece of meat

Dry some calf’s foot root, otherwise iarus, and dust the meat with it. There is no danger in this. See Mattioli.

Comment by Marc Smith:
Commentaires de M. Pierre André Matthiole medecin senois, sur les six livres de Pedacius Dioscoride Anazarbeen..., Lyon 1579 (and earlier edns), pp. 366-368. Also provides the Arabic name "iarus". Contains illustrations.NB The root is edible, but bitter, and more so in certain regions.

Vessel Traveling Grain

FOLIO p035v_2
For making grain pass from one vessel to another
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Take two small wooden cylindrical vessels of the same size, hollowed on the bottom exterior by about the width of one knife or more. One of the two will remain empty, and on the bottom of the other you will glue grain with starch so that it will be covered entirely with grain, and will appear to be filled with it. Also, take a wooden bell cover into which you will place as much grain as one of the vessels can hold, and over the top place a piece of plain leather that fits well inside the bell cover. Put all into a bag or a napkin or a folded handkerchief, unless you want to use a conjuror’s pouch.
First show the empty vessel, then in front of the audience fill it with grain, then replace it in the napkin.
After, leave that one there and take the other where the grain has been glued with starch and it will appear to be the first one, filled with grain. Place it under a hat and place the bell cover on the table, gently this first time. And if you like, quickly and without stopping show the inside that is covered with white leather of the color of the wood.
Then, pretending that you are showing the vessel that is under the hat, turn it deftly to the side that is empty and leave it covered, and then you will command that by "invisibilim" the grain pass into the bell cover, which you will have previously tapped on the table a little strongly, and the grain will fall to the bottom and cover the piece of leather.
Then raise the hat, the vessel will be found to be empty and the bell cover full of grain, which you will scrape deftly the piece of leather

that cannot be seen, and you will skillfully and gently put all of it back into the bag or pouch.


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Change Ball to Thimble

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To make a ball change into a fine thimble
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Make a small case of plain cow leather or Spanish goat's leather quite thick, as high as three fingers, sewn like the finger of a glove and large enough that two fingertips can fit inside and which, at the tip, is a little creased, and has a round hole as large as a double “ liard.” Take two boxwood balls that look the same, and one should be hollowed and opened by a round hole only on one side so that the thimble can enter. Thus, when you want to perform, you will place your leather case on the table with the ball that is not hollow. Put a stick into the leather case to show that there is nothing inside it, also show the round ball, and hold the hollow one which has the thimble inside it between your little and ring finger, and do this with your right hand with which you hold the stick. After, take the leather case and place it over the hollow ball which is between your fingers and pretend you put some "goldibus" poweder upon it, and replace the leather case that contains the ball on the table, then you take the large round ball remaining on the table, and order it to enter from upon the table into the leather case. Then, lifting the leather, it will seem to be the same, although it is the hollow one. Then, cover it and command that it should become invisible, and lifting the case while pressing it, you will remove it at the same time as the ball, and meanwhile discreetly put it back in the case. In its place will be found a thimble for the ladies whose bottom hurts, that is the bottom of the needle.

PART II (Transmuted Wine: Imitation Trick)

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Varied and Transmuted Wine

Grate Brazilwood very fine, let it soak for one or two hours in clear water. Then take this tinted water and add some clear water and you will make wine as clear as you like. If you please, put a drop of lemon juice or orange juice in it and it will immediately become white. You can drink it without danger.