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.

Note for this feate yow must haue fower boxes made in the manner of extinguishers that are made to put out candles, but as big againe: but for want of them, you may take smal candlesticks, or saltseller couers, or som such like.

Lay three or fower balls before you, and as many boxes or small candlesticks &c, then first seeme to put one ball into your left hand, and therewithall seeme to holde the same fast. Then take one of the boxes &c. or any other thing (hauing a hollow foote, and being great) and seeme to put the ball which is thought to be in your left hand vnderneath the same, and so vnder the other candlesticks Boxes &c. seeme to bestow the other balls, and all this while the beholders will suppose each ball to be vnder each box, or candlestick &c. this done vse some charme or forme of words (before set downe) as hey Fortuna furie nunquam credo, passe passe: then take vp the candlestick with one hand and blow, saying thats gone you see: and so likewise looke vnder each candlestick with like grace and words (for you must remember to carry a good grace and face on the matter) and the beholders will wonder where they are become: But if you in lifting vp the candlesticks with your right hand leaue all those three or fower balls vnder one of them (as by vse you may easily doe) hauing turned them all downe into your hand and holding them fast with your little, and ring finger, and take the box or candlestick &c. with your other fingers and cast the balls vp into the hollownes thereof (for so they will not rowle so soone away) the standers by will be much astonished, but it will seeme wonderfull strange, if also in shewing how there remaineth nothing vnder an other of the said candlesticks taken vp with your left hand you leaue behinde you a great ball, or any other thing, the miracle will be the greater. For first, they will thinke you haue pulled away all the balls by miracle, then that you haue brought them againe by like meanes and they nether thinke, or looke that any other thing remaineth behinde vnder any of them, and therfore after many other feates don returne to your candlesticks, remembring where you left the great ball, and in no wise touch the same, but hauing another great ball about you, seeme to bestow the same in manner and forme aforesaid vnder a candlestick which standeth farthest from that where the ball lyeth, and when you shall with words and charmes seeme to conuey the same ball from vnder the same box or candlestick &c. (and afterward bring it vnder the box &c. which you touched not) it will (I say) seeme wonderfull strange.

To make a little Ball swell in your hand
till it be very great.

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. These things to them that know them are counted ridiculous, but to those that are ignorant they are maruelous.

To consume, (or rather conuay) one or many
Balls into nothing.

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.

An other pretty feat with Balls.

Take foure Balls, one of the which keep betweene your fore-finger and your middle, laying the other three vpon the table, then take vp one and put it into your left hand, and afterward take vp another, and conuaying it and the other betweene your fingers into your left hand, taking vp the third and seeming to cast it from you into the ayre, or into your mouth, or else where you please, vsing some words or charmes as before: the standers by when you aske them how many you haue in your hand, will iudge there are no more then two, which when you open your hand they shall see how they are deluded. But I will leaue to speake of the ball any more, for heerein I might hold you all day, and yet shall I not be able to teach you the vse of it, nor scarcely to vnderstand what I meane or write, concerning it, vnlesse you haue had some sight thereof heeretofore by demonstration: and alwaies remember that the right hand be kept open and straight, only keepe the palme from view: and therefore I will end with this miracle.

A feat, tending chiefly to laughter and mirth.

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 thus much of the Balls. To come to the second principall part of Legerdemaine, which is conuayance of mony, wherein by the way obserue that the mony must not be of too small nor too great a circumference, least either, it hinder the conuayance.

Of conueyance of mony.

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.

To conuey mony out of one hand into the
other, by Legerdemaine.

First you must hold open your right hand and lay therin a testor or counter, and then lay thereupon the top of your long left finger, and vse words &c. and vpon the sudden slip your right hand from your finger, wherewith you held downe the testor, and bending your hand a very little, you shall retaine the testor therein, and sodainely (I say) drawing your right hand thorough your left, you shal seeme to haue left the testor there, especially when you shut in due time your left hand, which that it may more plainely appeare to be truely done, you may take a knife and seeme to knocke against it, so as it shall make a great sound: but instead of knocking the peece in the left hand (where none is) you shall hold the point of the knife fast with the left hand, and knocke against the testor held in the other hand, and it will be thought to hit against the mony in the left hand: then vse words, and open the hand, and when nothing is seene, it will be wondred at, how the testor was