58 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
Lessons in Magic— VI. 
A Pretty Ring IHck. 
FOE this trick, a handkerchief, a gold 
ring, a plate, a glass goblet, a thin 
light stick about eighteen inches long, 
and two assistants, are needed. 
The goblet is ijlaced on the plate, and 
each of the assistants requested to hold 
the latter by one hand. A ring is then 
borrowed, covered with the handkerchief, 
and given to one of the assistants to hold 
over the goblet. 
He is then asked if he is certain that he 
has the ring, and on answering in the 
affirmative is told to drop it into the gob- 
let, allowing the handkerchief to fall at 
the same time. With their disengaged 
hands, they are requested to take hold of 
the ends of the stick, which is placed hor- 
izontally under the plate. The performer 
begins the trick with the question, 
"Are you sure the ring is in the goblet?" 
"I think it is," the assistant will pro- 
bably answer. 
"Don't think about it, sir. Shake the 
goblet, and tell the audience whether you 
hear it rattle. " 
" Yes sir ; quite distinctly," he answers. 
The performer then approaches the gob- 
let, and, taking hold of the handkerchief, 
bids the ring to " pass ;" at the same mo- 
ment, he raises the handkerchief, and the 
ring is seen revolving on the stick and the 
goblet is empty. 
There is very little preparation required 
for this trick, the only thing necessary 
being to attach a ring to one end of a 
short thread, the other end of which is 
fastened to the centre of a handkerchief. 
When the performer receives the ring, 
which he borrows, he pretends to cover it 
with the handkerchief, but instead of 
doing so, palms it, and gives the one that 
is attached to the handkerchief to the 
assistant to hold. The borrowed ring he 
slips on to the stick, and easily hides it 
with the hand that holds the stick. When 
it is laid under the plate, the handker- 
chief falls over it, and so prevents the 
audience from seeing it. 
The one that is in the goblet is lifted 
out in the act of raising the handkerchief, 
care being taken that it does not strike 
against the sides of the glass. 
When the trick is finished, the per- 
former requests one of the assistants to- 
help him with another trifling illusion. ; 
Having obtained his consent, he hands, i 
him the goblet used in the last trick, and 
asks, 
" What is that article, sir?" 
"A glass goblet. " 
"And what does it contain?" 
"Nothing." 
"Sir?" 
. " Nothing." 
"Sm?" 
"Nothing." 
"SIK? Why it is full, sir; full of air. 
Do you know how that air may be dis- 
placed?" 
"No, sir." 
" By a very simple method. By merely 
filling the goblet to the brim." 
And now commences 
The Aclventu7^es of a Glass of Water. — 
The goblet is filled to the brim with water 
and placed on a table ; the performer then 
covers it with a handkerchief, and taking- 
it by the edge, offers it to the person who- 
is assisting him. Just as he is about to- 
take it, however, the performer shakes the 
handkerchief, and, lo! it is empty. He 
then asks the assistant if he can tell where 
it has gone, which, of course, he can not, 
unless he is a conjurer. The handker- 
chief is then spread out on the seat of a 
cane-bottomed chair, and to the astonish- 
ment of the audience, the performer lifts- 
the goblet up from it as shown in the^ 
illustration (Fig. 7). The next moment,, 
however, the handkerchief is thrown into> 
the air, and is again empty. Finally it 
is spread out on his elbow, and once more, 
when Mr. Magician raises it, the form of" 
the goblet is seen: the handkerchief is- 
now removed, and the goblet is found to- 
be still full of water. 
To perform this trick, first get a wir& 
ring made of the same circumference as- 
the top of the goblet. This ring is laid 
to the centre of the handkerchief and 
stitched to it. When the goblet is to be- 
covered, it is placed on the edge of the- 
table at the back, and as the handker- 
chief is thrown over it, the performer- 
takes hold of the bottom of it with his. 
