152 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ishes, tossing an object up in the air, " ruffling " or " springing " a 

 pack of cards, a little joke — all these create a favorable oppor- 

 tunity, a "temp," when the attention is diverted and the other 

 hand can reach behind the table or into the "pocket." These 

 points would lead us too far, and perhaps it will suffice to analyze 

 the points of interest in the "chest and ring trick" described 

 above. Here the moment for the exchange of the rings is the 

 'one which is least suggestive of being a part of the performance, 

 and therefore least attended to. The preparations for the shoot- 

 ing absorb the attention and allow the introduction of the small 

 table at the rear to pass unnoticed ; while the series of drawings 

 of the chests so entirely prepare the spectator for the appearance 

 of the last chest from the one preceding, that he actually sees the 

 chest emerge from where it never was. 



There is, however, one important factor lacking in the con- 

 jurer's performance to completely illustrate the psychology of 

 deception. It is that the mental attitude of the observer is too 

 definite. He knows that he is being deceived by skill and adroit- 

 ness, and rather enjoys it the more he is deceived. He has 

 nothing at stake, and his mind rests easy without any detailed 

 or complete explanation of how it was done. Quite different 

 must have been the feeling of the spectator before the necro- 

 mancer of old, in whose performance was seen the evidence of 

 secret powers that could at a moment's notice be turned against 

 any one to take away good luck, bring on disease, or even trans- 

 form one into a beast. When magic spells and wonder-working 

 potions were believed in, what we would now speak of as a trick 

 was surrounded with a halo of awe and mystery by the sympa- 

 thetic attitude of the spectators. The most complete parallel to 

 this in modern times is presented by the physical phenomena 

 of spiritualism.* This is a perfect mine for illustrations of the 

 psychology of deception, and it is this that I will consider as the 

 final topic in this cursory view. 



The first general principle to be borne in mind is that the me- 

 dium performs to spectators in doubt as to the interpretation to be 

 placed upon what they see, or more or less determined to see in 

 everything the evidence of the supernatural. This mental atti- 

 tude on the part of the spectators is worth more to the medium 

 than any facts in the performance. The difference between such 

 a presentation and one addressed to persons cognizant of the con- 

 juring element in the performance, and bent upon its detection, 



* For the present purpose it is necessary to select only such spiritualistic phenomena as 

 have conclusively been proved to be producible by trickery, and to have been accepted as 

 evidences of spiritual aj^eney, without disposing of the problems of spiritualism in the least. 

 Personally, I believe all the phenomena explicable by the same physical and psychological 

 principles that have divested so many of them of their mystery. 



