Thus, with a switch as in Fig. 3, the door can only be opened by
the person who has the key, for the circuit cannot be closed with
an ordinary nail or wire. B, Fig. 2, shows catch B, Fig. 1,
enlarged; 0, Fig. 2, is the cut through which the rope runs; H,
Fig. 1, is an elastic that snaps the catch back into place, and at
G the wires run outside to the keyhole.

This arrangement is very convenient when one is carrying something
in one hand and can only use the other. Closing the door winds up
the apparatus again.
--Contributed by E. H. Klipstein, 116 Prospect St., East Orange,
New Jersey.

** Parlor Magic for Winter Evenings [90]
By C. H. CLAUDY

You are seated in a parlor at night, with the lights turned low.
In front of you, between the parlor and the room back of it, is an
upright square of brightly burning lights, surrounding a perfectly
black space. The magician stands in front of this, in his shirt
sleeves, and after a few words of introduction proceeds to show
the wonders of his magic cave.

Showing you plainly that both hands are empty, he points with one
finger to the box, where immediately appears a small white china
bowl. Holding his empty hand over this bowl, some oranges and
apples drop from his empty hand into the bowl. He removes the bowl
from the black box, or cave, and hands its contents round to the
audience. Receiving the bowl again, he tosses it into the cave,
but it never reaches the floor--it disappears in midair.

The illusions he shows you are too many to retail at length.
Objects appear and disappear. Heavy metal objects, such as forks,
spoons and jackknives, which have been shown to the audience and
which can have no strings attached to them, fly about in the box
at the will of the operator. One thing changes to another and back
again, and black art reigns supreme.

Now all this "magic" is very simple and requires no more skill to
prepare or execute than any clever boy or girl of fourteen may
possess. It is based on the performance of the famous Hermann, and
relies on a principle of optics for its success. To prepare such a
magic cave, the requisites are a large soap box, a few simple
tools, some black paint, some black cloth, and plenty of candles.

The box must be altered first. One end is removed, and a slit,
one-third of the length from the remaining end, cut in one side.
This slit should be as long as the width of the box and about five
inches wide. On either side of the box