Ever since magicians started their attempts to pass a thought of card from one spot to another, Dr. Lyons has desired such an effect which would be absolutely impromptu. It appears that he has solved the problem. A member of the audience comes forward and may be seated before a small table. He brings a pack of his own, and two envelopes. He mixes the cards and gives them to the performer, who counts off ten cards and puts them on the table. The spectator is asked to spread them face down, and while the performer’s back is turned, to look at one card. The performer turns his back and at this time counts off nine cards from the top of the deck in left hand, and holds them palmed in right. The easiest move here, is to palm the cards in right hand, and then hold deck in same hand by the fingers from the top.

The spectator is now asked to shuffle the ten cards. At this point the performer turns around and holds out the deck with left hand, for the placing of the ten cards on top, Immediately, the right hand takes the deck and places it on the table, the nine cards being added. The envelopes are now picked up, and spectator asked to number them 1 and 2. Then he is asked if he knows which of the ten cards on the deck is his. He says, “No.” Picking up cards, the performer counts off the ten cards as before, singly and deliberately. However, after the first three or four are counted, the same snap is made for one count, but no card passed. Thus only nine cards are counted as ten. These are handed to the spectator to seal in envelope 1 which he pockets. Now the performer remarks that the spectator has ten cards sealed in his pocket, one of which he has in his mind, and that not even he, himself, knows where it may be located among the group.

Again the performer counts ten cards openly from the deck, and drops them on the table. The spectator is asked to take envelope 2. At this point, the performer palms one card from the deck, lays deck aside with left hand, picks up the pile of ten, adding palmed card, hands them to spectator to seal. This envelope 2 the performer now takes and pockets. The performer merely states that in his pocket, the spectator has a thought of card among ten, and that he, the performer, also has a sealed envelope with ten cards.

The feat is to cause one card to pass from the spectator’s envelope to the performer’s envelope, and in order to prove, without doubt, that a card does really pass, it will be the one thought of at the start by spectator. The spectator opens his envelope and counts the cards. There are only nine. Then he names his thought of card. Then he looks for it. It is gone. The performer now opens his envelope and counts. Eleven. Repeating the name of the chosen card, he reaches into the fan of eleven and picks it out for all to see. All cards and envelopes are returned to the spectator.