HALF A BURNT MESSAGE FOUND RESTORED IN A CANDLE
Procure two candles and from one cut one-third off, in which piece drill a hole lengthwise and remove the wick. Put this piece in your pocket and place the other candle in a candlestick. Give a small piece of paper to a member of the company and request him to write a short sentence on it. Tear the paper in two, and giving him half, retain the other half yourself, which you fold up. Have a similar piece of paper, folded, concealed in your right hand, and as you turn to get the candle (which should be lighted), substitute one for the other. Burn the plain piece of paper in the candle, and obtaining the piece of candle from your pocket put your hands behind your back, and, having rolled up the half message, work it into the hole in the piece of candle. In order to gain the time to do this stoop over the lighted candle and make several unsuccessful attempts to blow it out. When the paper is in the piece of candle give one good hard blow and extinguish the light. With the piece of candle concealed in your left hand, take the candle out of the candlestick, lay it on the table, and with a knife cut off the burnt end, which throw away and divide the remainder into three equal parts. Then ask the person who wrote the message to select one piece. When he does so pick up the selected piece with your right hand and pretend to transfer it to your left, but retain it in the right and show the piece concealed in your left, which you present to the 47 person who wrote the sentence and request him to pull out the piece of paper, which he will find to be the corresponding half of the piece in his possession.