36 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
goblet, yoTi pull off the handkerchief which 
covers it, and there inside is the red hand- 
kerchief snugly stowed. 
"Examine those carefully," you say, 
"and I will show you something more of 
the wonderful qualities of the egg." 
But before going further, I will give the 
explanation of "The Egg Ching-Ching. " 
As real eggs are apt to get broken, get a 
turner to make you a lot of wooden ones, 
which you have painted, some of a bluish 
white, and others of a light cream color, 
so as to look as near like the genuine arti- 
cle as possible. Into one of these drive 
a small staple, which you may easily make 
by cutting the head off a pin, and then 
bending it back till both ends meet. To 
this staple you fasten one end of a piece of 
thread, and the other end to the centre of 
the cotton handkerchief. Next you get 
two pieces of red silk — the kind known as 
Florence or Marceline is best, as it is 
flimsy and soft — and, finally, get a tin- 
smith to make a tin egg, with a hole in 
one side to admit of one of the pieces of 
silk being placed inside; this egg you 
have painted the same color as the wood- 
en egg which has the staple in it. Your 
apparatus is now complete. Before com- 
mencing the trick, fold one of the pieces 
of silk into as small a package as pos- 
sible, and place it in the cotton hand- 
kerchief, putting the tin egg under your 
waistcoat. 
Approaching the audience, you keep the 
centre of the cotton handkerchief in your 
left hand, holding it in such a way as to 
conceal the piece of silk and the wooden 
egg. 
Now call for some eggs, and when one 
is selected by the audiencC; take it in your 
right hand, throw the cotton handker- 
chief over it, and whilst it is covered, con- 
ceal the egg, either by dropping it in your 
sleeve or tucking it into your waistcoat. 
Withdraw the right hand, and tell the 
audience that the egg is under the hand- 
kerchief; they will probably doubt you, 
but to convince them that it is so, you 
pull up one end of the handkerchief and 
show the wooden egg, which will satisfy 
them. Now request some one to hold a 
goblet; throw the cotton handkerchief 
(which you still hold by the centre, to 
prevent the piece of silk from dropping) 
over it, and place the wooden egg and the 
piece of silk in the goblet. 
Ask the person who holds the glass to 
shake it, so that all may hear that the egg 
is really inside. Being convinced that it 
is there, you produce piece of silk No. 2, 
which you allow the audience to examine, 
and then return to the stage. As you gro ■ 
on to the stage, you take the tin egg from 
under the waistcoat, and hold it concealed 
in your right hand. Take the piece of 
silk between your two hands, and begin 
waving them about, and at the same time 
manage, by means of your thumbs, to 
tuck the silk into the egg. When it is 
entirely in, close the right hand over the 
egg, and, going to the glass, lift up the 
handkerchief, being careful at the same 
time to take the wooden egg out. The 
audience, seeing a piece of silk in the 
glass, will suppose it is the same you held 
a moment before ; and as you open your 
hand and show an egg in it, they will take 
it for granted that it is the one that was in 
the goblet. 
As some inquisitive person may want to 
examine the egg, you may change it for a 
real one in this way. Have a little pocket 
cut in each side of the skirts of your coat, 
at just about the spot that your wrist 
would reach if your arm was dropped to 
its full length. 
As you conclude your trick, approach 
some person on your left side, holding the 
tin egg in your right hand. Ask the gen- 
tleman if he will be kind enough to look 
at the egg and see that it is perfectly good. 
As he extends his hand to take it, you 
pretend to put it in your left hand, but 
retaining or palming it with the right, let 
that hand drop to your side, and slip the 
egg into the pocket in your skirt. The 
left hand, which is closed and supposed to 
hold the egg, you put out, to meet that of 
the person who is to receive the egg, and 
at the moment your hands meet, you open 
your left, and all are astonished to see 
that it is empty. 
" Would you like to know where it is?" 
you ask. "See here." Open your waist- 
coat at the place where you hid the egg 
which was chosen first for the trick, and 
show it. 
