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

"Pozed, puzzled, and perplexed."

Puzzles are by no means of modern origin; the Sphynx puzzled the brains of some of the heroes of antiquity, and even Alexander the Great, as it is written, made several essays to untie the knot with which Gordius, the Phrygian king, who had been raised from the plow to the throne, tied up his implements of husbandry in the temple, in so intricate a manner, that universal monarchy was promised to the man who could undo it: after having been repeatedly baffled, he, at length, drew his sword, considering that he was entitled to the fulfillment of the promise, by cutting the Gordian knot.

1. THE CHINESE CROSS.

Have six pieces of wood, bone, or metal, made of the same length as No. 6, in the above figures, and each piece of the same size as No. 7. It is required to construct a cross, with six arms, from these pieces, and in such a manner that it shall not be displaced when thrown upon the floor.

The shaded parts of each figure represent the parts that are cut out of the wood, and each piece marked a is supposed to be facing the reader, while the pieces marked b are the right side of each piece turned over towards the left, so as to face the reader. No. 7 represents the end of each piece of wood, &c., and is given to show the dimensions.

2. THE PARALLELOGRAM.

A parallelogram, as in the illustration, fig. 1, may be cut into two pieces, so that by shifting the position of the pieces, two other figures may be formed, as shown by figs. 2 and 3.

3. THE DIVIDED GARDEN.