THE YOUNa SCIENTIST. 
9 
you think you will, but so many wonderful 
things are happening just now, that it is possi- 
ble—understand me, sir, not probable, but mere- 
ly possible— that you might even forget the 
card you drew. To guard against this I will 
tear a piece out of it, which I will give to you 
to hold." As you say this 'you tear a small 
eenii-circular piece out of the top of the card 
and hand it to him. When the card appears 
from out of the pack the piece of course is 
wanting. You take it from the person who 
has it, and making a motion, as if throwing it 
towards the pack, the piece disappears from 
your hand, and at the same moment the torn 
card appears whole. 
There are several ways of mending a card, 
each "magician" using that which he likes 
best, but the principle is the same in all, i. e., 
a hinged piece, working on a spring and flying 
into its place at the right moment. 
"Psha!" I think one of my young friends 
says, " there's another spring. I hate springs." 
But springs are very good in their place and 
in no place are they more useful than in me- 
chanical tricks. The only trouble is, that in 
most descriptions of conjuring tricks, they are 
pressed into service when not absolutely neces- 
sary. If a trick is being explained the work- 
ing of which the writer does not very clearly 
understand himself, the first thing you know, 
up pops a spring in your face. They are so 
handy, they save a deal of trouble and ex 
planation. 
But the spring in the " mended card" is a 
very simple thing, being nothing more than a 
piece of india-rubber, one of those long strings 
such as elastic cloth is made with. 
I will begin, however, as I ought, and de- 
scribe the whole arrangement. Take a dupli- 
cate of the card which you intend to force, and 
from one end of it, at about the centre, tear out 
a semi-circular piece. Next cut out a square 
piece of bristol-board, somewhat larger than 
the piece torn out, and on this paste the torn 
piece. When dry fit the piece back in the 
card and paste the lower part of the bristol- 
board to the back of the card. Fasten a piece 
of elastic cord to the back of the card in such 
a way that it crosses the piece of bristol-board, 
In the annexed illustration, which represents 
the back of the card, B is the piece of bristol- 
board, C the piece torn from the card, shown 
by dotted lines, as it is on the other side of the 
bristol-board, and A A the points at which the 
ends of elastic are fastened. Suppose, now you 
bend back the piece B until it lies against the 
back of the card ; so long as it is held it will 
stay there, but the moment it is released, the 
action of the " spring" will force it in its place 
again. When about to ex- \ q ! 
hi bit the trick take the card, ^M^l limi 
press back the piece B until ^ g 
perfectly flat, and push the t^^^^^^^^^ 
card down into the pack (car- 
rying the thread with it). If 
the thread is pulled so as to ^^l^l^^^l^^^^a 
draw the card partly out, it ^t^^^^^^^^^ 
will appear without the piece, ^^^^^11^^^^ 
as the other cards will hold it back, but if 
drawn out a trifle further, until the piece is 
clear of the other, it will fly into its place and 
that so quickly, that the audience will not be 
able to see whence it comes. 
The trick as I have described it, can only be 
done at the theatre, or if exhibited at a private 
soiree, the young magician will require to have 
part of the room set off" for his stage, and not 
allow his audience to intrude therein. It may 
be arranged, however, so as to be shown under 
the very noses of the audience, and if the per- 
former only has sufficient impudence it will 
not be detected. For this purpose we use a 
hair, instead of a thread. Get a dozen long 
black hairs from some lady friend and tie them 
together by the ends, until they form a string 
about a yard long. 
The best knot for this purpose is that known 
as "the figure eight," and when neatly made 
is almost imperceptible. Arrange the cards in 
the same way as if for the thread, using the 
hair instead, and in place of having it carried 
off" to the hands of an assistant, fasten the loose 
end by means of a bit of wax to an old-fashion- 
ed copper cent. Place your prepared cards on 
the table, and the cent at a little distance from 
them. On the same table have an ordinary 
glass goblet. After the cards have been drawn 
and replaced in the pack, return to the table 
and place them on top of the prepared cards. 
Take the goblet to the audience, and when they 
have examined it to their satisfaction, give it 
to the person whose card is to come up first. 
Go back to the table for your pack ; pick up 
the cent with your right hand, and " palm" it, 
and with the same hand take up the pack. Ap- 
proach the person who has the goblet and re- 
quest him to hold it as high above his head as 
possible, " That all may see it," you say, but 
really that he may not see too much. Place 
the pack in the goblet, retaining the cent in 
