The Magician's Own Book, or, the Whole Art of Conjuring / Being a complete hand-book of parlor magic, and containing over one thousand optical, chemical, mechanical, magnetical, and magical experiments, amusing transmutations, astonishing sleights and subtleties, celebrated card deceptions, ingenious tricks with numbers, curious and entertaining puzzles, together with all the most noted tricks of modern performers.

by George Arnold; Frank Cahill

Here we see, that in the second and third case, one had to be added, and, looking at the table, we find that the only corresponding word having an i in its second and third syllables is Ob-tin-git, which represents the figures one and nine. Then, as one had to be added in the fourth case, we know by the rule, that the figure in the second column, 9, is the one required. Observe, that if no addition be required at any of the four stages, the number thought of will be fifteen; and if one addition only be required at the fourth stage, the number will be seven.

WHO WEARS THE RING?

This is an elegant application of the principles involved in discovering a number fixed upon. The number of persons participating in the game should not exceed nine. One of them puts a ring on one of his fingers, and it is your object to discover—1st. The wearer of the ring. 2d. The hand. 3d. The finger. 4th. The joint.

The company being seated in order the persons must be numbered 1, 2, 3, &c.; the thumb must be termed the first finger, the fore finger being the second; the joint nearest the extremity must be called the first joint; the right hand is one, and the left hand two.

These preliminaries having been arranged, leave the room in order that the ring may be placed unobserved by you. We will suppose that the third person has the ring on the right hand, third finger, and first joint; your object is to discover the figures 3131.

Desire one of the company to perform secretly the following arithmetical operations:

1.	Double the number of the person who has the ring; in the case supposed, this will produce	6
2.	Add 5	11
3.	Multiply by 5	55
4.	Add 10	65
5.	Add the number denoting the hand	66
6.	Multiply by 10	660
7.	Add the number of the finger	663
8.	Multiply by 10	6630
9.	Add the number of the joint	6631
10.	Add 35	6666

He must apprise you of the figures now produced, 6666; you will then in all cases subtract from it 3535; in the present instance there will remain 3131, denoting the person No. 3, the hand No. 1, the finger No. 3, and the joint No. 1.

PROBABILITIES.[12]