Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Sleepy Stories. I'm your host, Lucy,
Speaker 1: and my friends and I will be reading you a
Speaker 1: sleepy bedtime story every week to relax you and to
Speaker 1: help you to drift off into a RESTful sleep. From
Speaker 1: time to time, we will also read you a relaxing,
Speaker 1: peaceful meditation that will take you somewhere beautiful and calming.
Speaker 1: Once we have read the stories, we will then read
Speaker 1: them a second time, but this time they will be
Speaker 1: ready even slower. This will help you to relax even more.
Speaker 1: Before we begin, I would like you to close your
Speaker 1: eyes and breathe in and out nice and deeply. Take
Speaker 1: a few seconds to inhale, and then hold your breath
Speaker 1: for a few seconds more, and then release and breathe out.
Speaker 1: Do this a few times if you need to. While
Speaker 1: you listen to the music and you listen to my voice,
Speaker 1: give yourself time to let your body relax and your
Speaker 1: mind settle. It's important that we allow time for us
Speaker 1: selves to feel safe, cozy, and completely at ease. And
Speaker 1: now it's time for this week's story.
Speaker 2: The Magic Egg. The pretty little theater at attached to
Speaker 2: the building of the Unicorn Club had been hired for
Speaker 2: a certain January afternoon by mister Herbert Loring, who wished
Speaker 2: to give therein a somewhat novel performance to which he
Speaker 2: had invited a small audience consisting entirely of friends and acquaintances.
Speaker 2: Loring was a handsome fellow about thirty years old, who
Speaker 2: had traveled far and studied much. He had recently made
Speaker 2: a long sojourn in the Far East, and his friends
Speaker 2: had been invited to the theater to see some of
Speaker 2: the wonderful things he had brought from that country of wonders.
Speaker 2: As Loring was a club man and belonged to a
Speaker 2: family of good social standing, his circle of acquaintances was large,
Speaker 2: and in this circle a good many unpleasant remarks had
Speaker 2: been made regarding the proposed entertainment, made of course by
Speaker 2: the people who had not been invited to be present.
Speaker 2: Some of the gossip on the subject had reached Loring,
Speaker 2: who did not hesitate to say that he could not
Speaker 2: talk to a crowd, and that he did not care
Speaker 2: to show the curious things he had collected to people
Speaker 2: who would not thoroughly appreciate them. He had been very
Speaker 2: particular in regard to his invitations. At three o'clock on
Speaker 2: the appointed afternoon, nearly all the people who had been
Speaker 2: invited to the Unicorn Theater were in their seats. No
Speaker 2: one had stayed away except for some very good reason,
Speaker 2: for it was well known that if Herbert Loring offered
Speaker 2: to show anything, it was worth seeing. About forty people
Speaker 2: were present, who sat talking to one another or admiring
Speaker 2: the decoration of the theater. As Loring stood upon the stage,
Speaker 2: where he was entirely alone, his exhibition requiring no assistance,
Speaker 2: he gazed through a loophole in the curtain upon a
Speaker 2: very interesting array of faith. There were the faces of
Speaker 2: many men and women of society, of students, of workers
Speaker 2: in various fields of thought, and even of idlers in
Speaker 2: all fields of thought. But there was not one which
Speaker 2: indicated a frivolous or listless disposition. The owners of those
Speaker 2: faces had come to see something, and they wished to
Speaker 2: see it. For a quarter of an hour after the
Speaker 2: time announced for the opening of the exhibition, Loring peered
Speaker 2: through the hole in the curtain, and then, although all
Speaker 2: the people he had expected had not arrived, he felt
Speaker 2: it would not do for him to wait any longer.
Speaker 2: The audience was composed of well bred and courteous men
Speaker 2: and women, But despite their polite self restraint, Loring could
Speaker 2: see that some of them were getting tired of waiting
Speaker 2: so very reluctantly, and feeling that further delay was impossible,
Speaker 2: he raised the curtain and came forward on the stage. Briefly,
Speaker 2: he announced that the exhibition would open with some fireworks
Speaker 2: he had brought from Korea. It was plain to see
Speaker 2: that the statement that fireworks were about to be set
Speaker 2: off on a theater stage by an amateur had rather
Speaker 2: startled some of the audience, and Loring hastened to explain
Speaker 2: that these were not real fireworks, but that they were
Speaker 2: contrivances made of colored glass, which were illuminated by the
Speaker 2: powerful lens of a lantern which was placed out of sight,
Speaker 2: and while the apparent pyrotechnic display would resemble fireworks of
Speaker 2: strange and grotesque design, it would be absolutely without danger.
Speaker 2: He brought out some little bunches of bits of colored glass,
Speaker 2: hung them at some distance apart on a wire which
Speaker 2: was stretched across the stage, just high enough for him
Speaker 2: to reach it, and then lighted his lantern, which he
Speaker 2: placed in one of the wings, lowered all the lights
Speaker 2: in the theater, and began his exhibition. As Luring turned
Speaker 2: his lantern on one of the clusters of glass lenses, strips,
Speaker 2: and points, and unseen himself, caused them to move by
Speaker 2: means of long cords attached. The effects were beautiful and marvelous.
Speaker 2: Little wheels of colored fire rapidly revolved, miniature rockets appeared
Speaker 2: to rise a few feet and to explode in the air.
Speaker 2: And while all the ordinary forms of fireworks were produced
Speaker 2: on a diminutive scale, there were some effects that were
Speaker 2: entirely novel to the audience. As the light was turned
Speaker 2: successively upon one and another of the clusters of glass,
Speaker 2: sometimes it would flash along the whole line so rapidly
Speaker 2: that all the various combinations of color and motion seemed
Speaker 2: to be combined in one. And then for a time,
Speaker 2: each particular set of fireworks would blaze, sparkle, and chorus
Speaker 2: gaate by itself, scattering particles of colored light as if
Speaker 2: they had been real sparks of fire. This curious and
Speaker 2: beautiful exhibition of miniature pyrotechnics was extremely interesting to the audience,
Speaker 2: who gazed upward with wrapt and eager attention at the
Speaker 2: line of wheels, stars, and revolving spheres. So far as
Speaker 2: interest gave evidence of satisfaction, there was never a better
Speaker 2: satisfied audience. At first, there had been some hushed murmurs
Speaker 2: of pleasure, but very soon the attention of everyone seemed
Speaker 2: so completely engrossed by the dazzling display that they simply
Speaker 2: gazed in silence. For twenty minutes or longer. The glittering
Speaker 2: show went on, and not a sign of weariness or
Speaker 2: inattention was made by any one of the assembled company.
Speaker 2: Then gradually the colors of the little fireworks faded, the
Speaker 2: stars and wheels revolved more slowly, the lights in the
Speaker 2: bible of the theater were gradually raised, and the stage
Speaker 2: curtain went softly down anxiously, and a little pale Herbert
Speaker 2: Loring peered through the loophole in the curtain. It was
Speaker 2: not easy to judge of the effects of his exhibition,
Speaker 2: and he did not know whether or not it had
Speaker 2: been a success. There was no applause, but on the
Speaker 2: other hand, there was no signs that anyone resented the
Speaker 2: exhibition as a childish display of colored lights. It was
Speaker 2: impossible to look upon that audience without believing that they
Speaker 2: had been thoroughly interested in what they had seen, and
Speaker 2: that they expected to see more. For two or three minutes,
Speaker 2: Loring gazed through his loophole, and then, still with some
Speaker 2: doubt in his heart, but with a little more color
Speaker 2: in his checks, he prepared for the second part of
Speaker 2: his performance. At this moment, there entered the theater at
Speaker 2: the very back of the house a young lady. She
Speaker 2: was handsome and well dressed, and as she opened the
Speaker 2: door Loring had employed no ushers or other assistance in
Speaker 2: this little social performance. She paused for a moment and
Speaker 2: looked into the theater, and then noiselessly stepped to a
Speaker 2: chair in the back row and sat down. This was
Speaker 2: Edith's Starr, who a month before had been betrothed to
Speaker 2: Herbert Loring. Edith and her mother had been invited to
Speaker 2: this performance, and front seats had been reserved for them,
Speaker 2: for each guest had received a numbered card. But missus
Speaker 2: Starr had a headache and could not go out that afternoon,
Speaker 2: and for a time her daughter had thought that she too,
Speaker 2: must give up the pleasure Loring had promised her and
Speaker 2: stay with her mother. But when the elder lady dropped
Speaker 2: into a quiet sleep, Edith thought that late as it was,
Speaker 2: she would go by herself and see what she could
Speaker 2: of the performance. She was quite certain that if her
Speaker 2: presence were known to Loring, he would stop whatever he
Speaker 2: was doing until she had been provided with a seat
Speaker 2: which he thought suitable for her, for he had made
Speaker 2: a point of her being properly seated when he gave
Speaker 2: the invitations. Therefore, being equally desirous of not disturbing the
Speaker 2: performance and of not being herself conspicuous, she sat behind
Speaker 2: two rather large men, where she could see the stage
Speaker 2: perfectly well, but where she herself would not be likely
Speaker 2: to be seen. In a few moments, the curtain rose
Speaker 2: and Loring came forward, carrying a small light table, which
Speaker 2: he placed near the front of the stage, and for
Speaker 2: a moment stood quietly by it. Edith noticed upon his
Speaker 2: face the expression of uncertainty and anxiety which had not
Speaker 2: yet left it. Standing by the side of the table
Speaker 2: and speaking very slowly but so clearly that his words
Speaker 2: could be heard distinctly in all parts of the room,
Speaker 2: he began some introductory remarks regarding the second part of
Speaker 2: his performance. The extraordinary and I may say marvelous thing
Speaker 2: which I am about to show you, he said, is
Speaker 2: known among East Indian magicians as the magic egg. The
Speaker 2: exhibition is a very uncommon one and has seldom been
Speaker 2: seen by Americans or Europeans. And it was by a
Speaker 2: piece of rare good fortune that I became possessed of
Speaker 2: the appliances necessary for this exhibition. They are indeed very
Speaker 2: few and simple, but never before, to the best of
Speaker 2: my knowledge and belief, have they been seen outside of India.
Speaker 2: I will now get the little box which contains the
Speaker 2: articles necessary for this magical performance, and I will say
Speaker 2: that if I had time to tell you of the
Speaker 2: strange and amazing adventure which resulted in my possession of
Speaker 2: this box, I am sure you would be as much
Speaker 2: interested in that as I expect you to be in
Speaker 2: the contents of the box. But in order that none
Speaker 2: of you may think this is an ordinary trick executed
Speaker 2: by means of concealed traps or doors, I wish you
Speaker 2: to take particular notice of this table, which is, as
Speaker 2: you see, a plain, unpainted pine table with nothing but
Speaker 2: a flat top and four straight legs at the corners.
Speaker 2: You can see under and around it, and it gives
Speaker 2: no opportunity to conceal anything. Then standing for a few
Speaker 2: moments as if he had something else to say. He
Speaker 2: turned and stepped toward one of the wings. Edith was
Speaker 2: troubled as she looked at her lover during these remarks.
Speaker 2: Her interest was great, greater indeed than that of the
Speaker 2: people about her, but it was not a pleasant interest.
Speaker 2: As Loring stopped speaking and looked about him, there was
Speaker 2: a momentary flush on his face. She knew this was
Speaker 2: caused by excitement, and she was pale from the same cause.
Speaker 2: Very soon Loring came forward and stood by the table.
Speaker 2: Here is the box, he said, of which I spoke,
Speaker 2: and as I hold it up, I think you all
Speaker 2: can see it. It is not large, being certainly not
Speaker 2: more than twelve inches in length, and too deep, but
Speaker 2: it contains some very wonderful things. The outside of this
Speaker 2: box is covered with delicate engraving and carving which you
Speaker 2: cannot see. And these marks and lines have I think
Speaker 2: some magical meaning, but I do not know what it is.
Speaker 2: I will now open the box and show you what
Speaker 2: is inside. The first thing I take out is this
Speaker 2: little stick, not thicker than a lead pill, but somewhat longer.
Speaker 2: As you see, this is a magical wand, and is
Speaker 2: covered with inscriptions of the same character as those on
Speaker 2: the outside of the box. The next thing is this
Speaker 2: little red bag, well filled as you see, which I
Speaker 2: shall put on the table, for I shall not yet
Speaker 2: need it. Now I take out a piece of cloth
Speaker 2: which is folded into a very small compass. But as
Speaker 2: I unfold it you will perceive that it is more
Speaker 2: than a foot square and is covered with embroidery. All
Speaker 2: those strange lines and figures in gold and red which
Speaker 2: you can plainly see on the cloth as I hold
Speaker 2: it up, are also characters in the same magic language
Speaker 2: as those on the box and Wand I will now
Speaker 2: spread the cloth on the table, and then take out
Speaker 2: the only remaining thing in the box. And this is
Speaker 2: nothing in the world but an egg, a simple, ordinary
Speaker 2: hen's egg. As you all see as I hold it up.
Speaker 2: It may be a trifle larger than an ordinary egg,
Speaker 2: but then after all it is nothing but a common
Speaker 2: egg that is in appearance. In reality it is a
Speaker 2: good deal more. Now I will begin the performance. And
Speaker 2: as he stood by the back of the table over
Speaker 2: which he had been slightly bending, and threw his eyes
Speaker 2: over the audience, his voice was stronger, and his face
Speaker 2: had lost all its pallor. He was evidently warming up
Speaker 2: with his subject. I now take up this wand he said,
Speaker 2: which while I hold it, gives me power to produce
Speaker 2: the phenomena which you are about to behold. You may
Speaker 2: not all believe that there is any magic whatever about
Speaker 2: this little performance, and that it is all a bit
Speaker 2: of machinery. But whatever you may think about it, you
Speaker 2: shall see what you shall see. Now with this wand
Speaker 2: I gently touch this egg, which is lying on the
Speaker 2: square of cloth. I do not believe you can see
Speaker 2: what has happened to this egg, but I will tell you.
Speaker 2: There is a little line like a hair entirely around it.
Speaker 2: Now that line has become a crack. Now you can
Speaker 2: see it. I know it grows wider and wider. Look,
Speaker 2: the shell of the egg is separating. In the middle.
Speaker 2: A whole egg slightly moves. You. Notice that now you
Speaker 2: can see something yellow showing itself between the two parts
Speaker 2: of the shell. See, it is moving a good deal,
Speaker 2: and the two halves of the shell are separating more
Speaker 2: and more. And now out tumbles this queer little object.
Speaker 2: Do you see what it is? It is a poor, weak,
Speaker 2: little chick, not able to stand, but alive, alive. You
Speaker 2: can all perceive that it is alive. Now you can
Speaker 2: see that it is standing on its feet, feebly enough,
Speaker 2: but still standing. Behold it takes a few steps. You
Speaker 2: cannot doubt that it is alive and came out of
Speaker 2: that egg. It is beginning to walk about over the cloth.
Speaker 2: Do you notice that it is picking the embroidery. Now,
Speaker 2: a little chick, I will give you something to eat.
Speaker 2: This little red bag contains grain, a magical grain with
Speaker 2: which I shall feed the chicken. You must excuse my
Speaker 2: awkwardness in opening the bag, as I still hold the
Speaker 2: wand but this little stick I must not drop. See,
Speaker 2: little chick, there are some grains. They look like rice,
Speaker 2: but in fact I have no idea what they are.
Speaker 2: But he knows. He knows. Look at him, See how
Speaker 2: he picks it up. There he has swallowed one, two, three.
Speaker 2: That will do little chick for a first meal. The
Speaker 2: grain seems to have strengthened him already. For see how
Speaker 2: lively he is, and how his yellow down stands out
Speaker 2: on him, so puffy and warm. You are looking for
Speaker 2: some more grain, are you well? You cannot have it
Speaker 2: just yet, And keep away from those pieces of egg shell, which,
Speaker 2: by the way, I will put back into the box. Now, sir,
Speaker 2: try to avoid the edge of the table, and to
Speaker 2: quiet you, I will give you a little tap on
Speaker 2: the back with my Wand now then please observe closely.
Speaker 2: The down which just now covered him has almost gone.
Speaker 2: He is really a good deal bigger and ever so
Speaker 2: much uglier. See the little pin feathers sticking out over him.
Speaker 2: Some spots here and there are almost bare. But he
Speaker 2: is ever so much more active. Ah, listen to that.
Speaker 2: He is so strong that you can hear his beak
Speaker 2: as he pecks at the table. He is actually growing
Speaker 2: bigger and bigger before our very eyes. See that funny
Speaker 2: little tail, how it begins to stick up, and quills
Speaker 2: are showing at the end of his wing. Another tap
Speaker 2: and a few more grains. Careful, sir, don't tear the cloth.
Speaker 2: See how rapidly he grows. He is fairly covered with
Speaker 2: feathers red and black, with a tip of yellow in front.
Speaker 2: You could hardly get that fellow into an ostrich egg. Now,
Speaker 2: then what do you think of him? He's big enough
Speaker 2: for a broiler, though I don't think any one would
Speaker 2: want to take him for that purpose. Some more grain
Speaker 2: and another tap from my Wand see he does not
Speaker 2: mind the little stick, for he has been used to
Speaker 2: it from his very berth. Now then he is what
Speaker 2: you would call a good half grown chick, rather more
Speaker 2: than half grown, I should say. Do you notice his tail?
Speaker 2: There is no mistaking him for a pullet. Long feathers
Speaker 2: are beginning to curl over already. He must have a
Speaker 2: little more grain. Look out, sir, or you will be
Speaker 2: off the table. Come back here. This table is too
Speaker 2: small for him. But if he were on the floor
Speaker 2: you could not see him so well. Another tap. Now
Speaker 2: see that comb on the top of his head. You
Speaker 2: scarcely noticed it before, and now it is bright red.
Speaker 2: And see his spurs beginning to show on good thick
Speaker 2: legs too. There is a fine young fellow for you.
Speaker 2: Look how he jerks his head from side to side,
Speaker 2: like the young prince of a poultry yard, as he
Speaker 2: well deserves to be. The attentive interest which had at
Speaker 2: first characterized the audience now changed to excited admiration and amazement.
Speaker 2: Some leaned forward with mouths wide open. Others stood up
Speaker 2: so that they could see better. Ejaculations of astonishment and
Speaker 2: wonder were heard on every side, and a more thoroughly
Speaker 2: fascinated and absurd disorbed audience was never seen. Now, my friends,
Speaker 2: Lauren continued, I will give this handsome fowl another tap.
Speaker 2: Behold the result, a noble, full grown cock. Behold his
Speaker 2: spurs they are nearly an inch long. See there is
Speaker 2: a comb for you. And what a magnificent tail of
Speaker 2: green and black, contrasting so finely with the deep red
Speaker 2: of the rest of his body. Well, sir, you are
Speaker 2: truly too big for this table. As I cannot give
Speaker 2: you more room, I will set you up higher. Move
Speaker 2: over a little, and I will set this chair on
Speaker 2: the table. There upon the seat that's right, But don't stop.
Speaker 2: There's the back which is higher yet up with you
Speaker 2: there he nearly upset the chair, but I will hold it.
Speaker 2: See he has turned around. Now then look at him.
Speaker 2: See his wings as he flaps them. He could fly
Speaker 2: with such wings. Look at him, See that swelling breast.
Speaker 2: Ha ha. Listen, did you ever hear a crow like that?
Speaker 2: It fairly rings through the house? Yes, I knew it.
Speaker 2: There is another. At this point, the people in the
Speaker 2: house were in a state of wild excitement. Nearly all
Speaker 2: of them were on their feet, and they were in
Speaker 2: such a condition of frantic enthusiasm that Loring was afraid
Speaker 2: some of them might make a run for the stage. Come, sir,
Speaker 2: cried Loring, now almost shouting, that will do you have
Speaker 2: shown us the strength of your lungs. Jump down on
Speaker 2: the seat of the chair, now on the table there.
Speaker 2: I will take away the chair and you can stand
Speaker 2: for a moment on the table and let our friends
Speaker 2: lie look at you, but only for a moment. Take
Speaker 2: that tap on your back. Now do you see any difference?
Speaker 2: Perhaps you may not, but I do, Yes, I believe
Speaker 2: you all do. He is not the big fellow he
Speaker 2: was a minute ago. He is really smaller, only a
Speaker 2: fine cockrell, a nice tail that, but with none of
Speaker 2: the noble sweep that it had a minute ago. No,
Speaker 2: don't try to get off the table. You can't escape
Speaker 2: my Wand another tap. Behold a half grown chicken, good
Speaker 2: to eat, but with not a crow in him. Hungry
Speaker 2: are you? But you need not pick at the table
Speaker 2: that way You get no more grain, but only this
Speaker 2: little tap. Ha ha, what are you coming to? There
Speaker 2: is a chicken barely feathered enough for us to tell
Speaker 2: what color he is going to be. Another tap will
Speaker 2: take still more of the conceit out of him. Look
Speaker 2: at him. There are his pin feathers and his bare spots.
Speaker 2: Don't try to get away. I can easily tap you again. Now, then,
Speaker 2: here's a lovely little chick, fluffy with yellow down. He
Speaker 2: is active enough, but I shall quiet him one tap.
Speaker 2: And now what do you see? A poor feeble chicken,
Speaker 2: scarcely able to stand with his down all packed close
Speaker 2: to him as if he had been out in the rain. Ah,
Speaker 2: little chick. I will take the two halves of the
Speaker 2: eggshell from which you came and put them on each
Speaker 2: side of you. Come, now get in I close them up.
Speaker 2: You are lost to view. There is nothing to be
Speaker 2: seen but a crack around the shell. Now it has gone. There,
Speaker 2: my friends, as I hold it on high, behold the
Speaker 2: magic egg, exactly as it was when I first took
Speaker 2: it out of the box into which I will place
Speaker 2: it again with the cloth and the wand and the
Speaker 2: little red bag, and shut it up with a snap.
Speaker 2: I will let you take one more look at this
Speaker 2: box before I put it away behind the scenes. Are
Speaker 2: you satisfied with what I have shown you? Do you
Speaker 2: think it is really as wonderful as you supposed it
Speaker 2: would be. At these words, the whole audience burst into
Speaker 2: riotous applause, during which Loring disappeared, But he was back
Speaker 2: in a moment. Thank you, he cried, bowing low and
Speaker 2: waving his arms before him in the manner of an
Speaker 2: Eastern magician, making a salaam from side to side. He turned,
Speaker 2: bowing and thanking, and then with a hearty good bye
Speaker 2: to you, good bye to you all, he stepped back
Speaker 2: and let down the curtain. For some moments, the audience
Speaker 2: remained in their seats, as if they were expecting something more,
Speaker 2: and then they rose quietly and began to disperse. Most
Speaker 2: of them were acquainted with one another, and there was
Speaker 2: a good deal of greeting and talking as they went
Speaker 2: out of the theater. When Loring was sure the last
Speaker 2: person had departed, he turned down the lights, locked the door,
Speaker 2: and gave the key to the steward of the club.
Speaker 2: He walked to his home a happy man. His exhibition
Speaker 2: had been a perfect success, with not a break or
Speaker 2: a flaw in it from beginning to end. I feel,
Speaker 2: thought the young man as he strode along, as if
Speaker 2: I could fly to the top of that steeple and
Speaker 2: flap and crow until all the world heard me. That evening,
Speaker 2: as was his daily custom, Herbert Loring called upon miss Starr.
Speaker 2: He found the young lady in the library. I came
Speaker 2: in here, she said, because I have a good deal
Speaker 2: to talk to you about, and I do not want
Speaker 2: interruption with this arrangement. The young man expressed his entire
Speaker 2: satisfaction and immediately began to inquire the cause of her
Speaker 2: absence from his exhibition in the afternoon. But I was there,
Speaker 2: said Edith. You did not see me, But I was there.
Speaker 2: Mother had a headache and I went by myself. You
Speaker 2: were there, exclaimed Loring, almost starting from his chair. I
Speaker 2: don't understand you were not in your seat, no, answered Edith.
Speaker 2: I was on the very back row of seats. You
Speaker 2: could not see me, and I did not wish you
Speaker 2: to see me, Edith, exclaimed Loring, rising to his feet
Speaker 2: and leaning over the library table, which was between them.
Speaker 2: When did you come? How much of the performance did
Speaker 2: you see? I was late, she said, I did not
Speaker 2: arrive until after the fireworks or whatever they were. For
Speaker 2: a moment, Loring was silent, as if he did not
Speaker 2: understand the situation. Fireworks, he said, how did you know
Speaker 2: there had been fireworks. I heard the people talking of
Speaker 2: them as they left the theater, she answered. And what
Speaker 2: did they say, he inquired quickly. They seemed to like
Speaker 2: them very well, she replied, But I do not think
Speaker 2: they were quite satisfied from what I heard some person say.
Speaker 2: I inferred that they thought it was not very much
Speaker 2: of a show to which you had invited them. Again,
Speaker 2: Loring stood and thought, looking down at the table. But
Speaker 2: before he could speak again, Edith sprang to her feet,
Speaker 2: Herbert Loring, She cried, what does all this mean? I
Speaker 2: was there during the whole of the exhibition of what
Speaker 2: you called them egg. I saw all those people wild
Speaker 2: with excitement at the wonderful sight of the chicken that
Speaker 2: came out of the egg and grew to full size,
Speaker 2: and then dwindled down again and went back into the egg.
Speaker 2: And Herbert, there was no egg, and there was no
Speaker 2: little box, and there was no wand and no embroidered cloth,
Speaker 2: and there was no red bag, nor any little chick,
Speaker 2: and there was no full grown fowl, and there was
Speaker 2: no chair that you put on the table. There was nothing,
Speaker 2: absolutely nothing but you and that table. Even the table
Speaker 2: was not what you said it was. It was not
Speaker 2: an unpainted pine table with four straight legs. It was
Speaker 2: a table of dark polished wood, and it stood on
Speaker 2: a single post with feet. There was nothing there that
Speaker 2: you said was there. Everything was a sham and a delusion.
Speaker 2: Every word you spoke was untrue. And yet everybody in
Speaker 2: that theater, excepting you and me, saw all the things
Speaker 2: that you said were on the stage. I know they
Speaker 2: saw them all, for I was with the people and
Speaker 2: heard them and saw them, and at times I fairly
Speaker 2: felt the thrill of enthusiasm which possessed them as they
Speaker 2: glared at the miracles and wonders you said were happening.
Speaker 2: Mooring smiled, Sit down, my dear Edith, he said, you
Speaker 2: are excited, and there is not the slightest cause for it.
Speaker 2: I will explain the whole affair to you. It is
Speaker 2: simple enough. You know that study is the great object
Speaker 2: of my life. I study all sorts of things, and
Speaker 2: just now I am greatly interested in hypnotism. The subject
Speaker 2: has become fascinating to me. I have made a great
Speaker 2: many successful trials of my power, and the affe a
Speaker 2: fair of this afternoon was nothing but a trial of
Speaker 2: my powers on a more extensive scale. Than anything I
Speaker 2: have yet attempted. I wanted to see if it were
Speaker 2: possible for me to hypnotize a considerable number of people
Speaker 2: without anyone suspecting what I intended to do. The result
Speaker 2: was a success. I hypnotized all those people by means
Speaker 2: of the first part of my performance, which consisted of
Speaker 2: some combinations of colored glass with lights thrown upon them.
Speaker 2: They revolved and looked like fireworks and were strung on
Speaker 2: a wire high up on the stage. Kept up the
Speaker 2: glittering and dazzling show, which was well worth seeing, I
Speaker 2: can assure you. Until the people had been straining their
Speaker 2: eyes upward for almost half an hour. And this sort
Speaker 2: of thing, I will tell you if you do not
Speaker 2: know it is one of the methods of producing hypno sleep.
Speaker 2: There was no one present who was not an impressionable subject.
Speaker 2: For I was very careful in sending out my invitations,
Speaker 2: and when I became almost certain that my audience was
Speaker 2: thoroughly hypnotized, I stopped the show and began the real exhibition,
Speaker 2: which was not really for their benefit but for mine.
Speaker 2: Of course, I was dreadfully anxious, for fear I had
Speaker 2: not succeeded entirely, and that there might be at least
Speaker 2: some one person who had not succumbed to the hypnotic influences,
Speaker 2: And so I tested the matter by bringing out that
Speaker 2: table and telling them it was something it was not.
Speaker 2: If I had had any reason for supposing that some
Speaker 2: of the audience saw the table as it really was,
Speaker 2: I had an explanation ready, and I could have retired
Speaker 2: from my position without anyone supposing that I had intended
Speaker 2: making hypnotic experiment. The rest of the exhibition would have
Speaker 2: been some things that anyone could see, and as soon
Speaker 2: as possible, I would have released from their spell those
Speaker 2: who were hypnotized. But when I became positively assured that
Speaker 2: everyone saw a light pine table with four straight legs,
Speaker 2: I confidently went on with the performances of the Magic egg.
Speaker 2: Edith's star was still standing by the library table. She
Speaker 2: had not heeded Loring's advice to sit down, and she
Speaker 2: was trembling with emotion. Herbert Loring, she said, you invited
Speaker 2: my mother and me to that exhibition. You gave us
Speaker 2: tickets for front seats where we would be certain to
Speaker 2: be hypnotized if your experiment succeeded, and you would have
Speaker 2: made us see that false show, which faded from those
Speaker 2: people's minds as soon as they recovered from the spell.
Speaker 2: For as they went away, they were talking only of
Speaker 2: the fireworks, and not one of them mentioned a magic egg,
Speaker 2: or a chicken or anything of the kind. And answer
Speaker 2: me this, Did you not intend that I should come
Speaker 2: and be put under that spell? Loring smiled, Yes, he said,
Speaker 2: of course I did. But then your case would have
Speaker 2: been different from that of the other spectators. I should
Speaker 2: have explained the whole thing to you, and I am
Speaker 2: sure we would have had a great deal of pleasure
Speaker 2: and profit too in discussing your experiences. The subject is
Speaker 2: extremely explain to me, she cried, You would not have
Speaker 2: dared to do it. I do not know how brave
Speaker 2: you may be, but I know you would not have
Speaker 2: had the courage to come here and tell me that
Speaker 2: you had taken away my reason and my judgment as
Speaker 2: you took them away from all those people, and that
Speaker 2: you had made me a mere tool of your will,
Speaker 2: glaring and panting with excitement at the wonderful things you
Speaker 2: told me to see where nothing existed. I have nothing
Speaker 2: to say about the others. They can speak for themselves.
Speaker 2: They ever come to know what you did to them.
Speaker 2: I speak for myself. I stood up with the rest
Speaker 2: of the people. I gazed with all my power, and
Speaker 2: over and over again, I asked myself if it could
Speaker 2: be possible that anything was the matter with my eyes
Speaker 2: or my brain, and if I could be the only
Speaker 2: person there who could not see the marvelous spectacle that
Speaker 2: you were describing. But now I know that nothing was real,
Speaker 2: not even the little pine table, not even the man,
Speaker 2: even me, exclaimed Loring. Surely I was real enough on
Speaker 2: that stage, yes, she said, But you there proved you
Speaker 2: were not the Herbert Loring to whom I promised myself
Speaker 2: he was an unreal being. If he had existed, he
Speaker 2: would not have been a man who would have brought
Speaker 2: me to that public place, all ignorant of his intentions
Speaker 2: to cloud my perceptions, to subject my intellect to his
Speaker 2: own and make me believe a lie. If a man
Speaker 2: should treat me in that way once, he would treat
Speaker 2: me so at other times and in other ways, if
Speaker 2: he had the chance. You have treated me in the
Speaker 2: past as to day you treated those people who glared
Speaker 2: at the magic egg. In the days gone by, you
Speaker 2: made me see an unreal man. But you will never
Speaker 2: do it again. Good Bye. Edith, cried Loring, you don't.
Speaker 2: But she had disappeared through a side door, and he
Speaker 2: never spoke to her again. Walking home through the dimly
Speaker 2: lighted streets, Loring involuntarily spoke aloud, and this, he said,
Speaker 2: is what came out of the magic egg. The magic egg.
Speaker 2: The pretty little theater attached to the building of the
Speaker 2: Unicorn Club had been hired for a certain January afternoon
Speaker 2: by mister Herbert Loring, who wished to give therein a
Speaker 2: somewhat novel performance to which he had invited a small
Speaker 2: audience consisting entirely of friends and acquaintances. Loring was a
Speaker 2: handsome fellow about thirty years old, who had traveled far
Speaker 2: and studied much. He had recently made a long sojourn
Speaker 2: in the Far East, and his friends had been invited
Speaker 2: to the theater to see some of the wonderful things
Speaker 2: he had brought from that country of wonders. As Loring
Speaker 2: was a club man and belonged to a family of
Speaker 2: good social stands, his circle of acquaintances was large, and
Speaker 2: in this circle a good many unpleasant remarks had been
Speaker 2: made regarding the proposed entertainment. Made, of course, by the
Speaker 2: people who had not been invited to be present. Some
Speaker 2: of the gossip on the subject had reached Loring, who
Speaker 2: did not hesitate to say that he could not talk
Speaker 2: to a crowd, and that he did not care to
Speaker 2: show the curious things he had collected to people who
Speaker 2: would not thoroughly appreciate them. He had been very particular
Speaker 2: in regard to his invitations. At three o'clock on the
Speaker 2: appointed afternoon, nearly all the people who had been invited
Speaker 2: to the Unicorn Theater were in their seats. No one
Speaker 2: had stayed away except for some very good reason, For
Speaker 2: it was well known that if Herbert Loring offered to
Speaker 2: show anything, it was worth seeing. About forty people were present,
Speaker 2: who sat talk looking to one another, or admiring the
Speaker 2: decoration of the theater. As Loring stood upon the stage,
Speaker 2: where he was entirely alone, his exhibition requiring no assistance,
Speaker 2: he gazed through a loophole in the curtain upon a
Speaker 2: very interesting array of faces. There were the faces of
Speaker 2: many men and women of society, of students, of workers
Speaker 2: in various fields of thought, and even of idlers in
Speaker 2: all fields of thought. But there was not one which
Speaker 2: indicated a frivolous or listless disposition. The owners of those
Speaker 2: faces had come to see something, and they wished to
Speaker 2: see it. For a quarter of an hour after the
Speaker 2: time announced for the opening of the exhibition, Loring peered
Speaker 2: through the hole in the curtain, and then, although all
Speaker 2: the people he had expected had not arrived, he felt
Speaker 2: it would not do for him to wait any longer.
Speaker 2: The audience was composed of well bred and courteous men
Speaker 2: and women, but despite their polite self restraint, Loring could
Speaker 2: see that some of them were getting tired of waiting
Speaker 2: so very reluctantly, and feeling that further delay was impossible,
Speaker 2: he raised the curtain and came forward on the stage. Briefly,
Speaker 2: he announced that the exhibition would open with some fireworks
Speaker 2: he had brought from Korea. It was plain to see
Speaker 2: that the statement that fireworks were about to be set
Speaker 2: off on a theater stage by an amateur had rather
Speaker 2: startled some of the audience, and Loring hastened to explain
Speaker 2: that these were not real fireworks, but that they were
Speaker 2: contrivances made of colored glass, which were illuminated by the
Speaker 2: powerful lens of a lantern which was placed out of sight.
Speaker 2: And while the apparent pyrotechnic display would resemble fireworks of
Speaker 2: strange and grotesque design. It would be absolutely without danger.
Speaker 2: He brought out some little bunches of bits of colored glass,
Speaker 2: hung them at some distance apart on a wire which
Speaker 2: was stretched across the stage, just high enough for him
Speaker 2: to reach it, and then lighted his lantern, which he
Speaker 2: placed in one of the wings, lowered all the lights
Speaker 2: in the theater, and began his exhibition. As Luring turned
Speaker 2: his lantern on one of the clusters of glass lenses,
Speaker 2: strips and points, and Unseen himself, caused them to move
Speaker 2: by means of long cords attached. The effects were beautiful
Speaker 2: and marvelous. Little wheels of colored fire rapidly revolved, miniature
Speaker 2: rockets appeared to rise a few feet and to explode
Speaker 2: in the air. And while all the ordinary forms of
Speaker 2: fireworks were produced on a diminutive scale, there were some
Speaker 2: effects that were entirely novel to the audience. As the
Speaker 2: light was turned successively upon one and another of the
Speaker 2: clusters of glass, sometimes it would flash along the whole
Speaker 2: line so rapidly that all the various combinations of color
Speaker 2: and motion seemed to be combined in one and then
Speaker 2: for a time, each particular set of fireworks would blaze, sparkle,
Speaker 2: and chorus gait by itself, scattering particles of colored light
Speaker 2: as if they had been real sparks of fire. This
Speaker 2: curious and beautiful exhibition of miniature pyrotechnics was extremely interesting
Speaker 2: to the audience, who gazed upward with rapt and eager
Speaker 2: attention at the line of wheels, stars, and revolving spheres.
Speaker 2: So far as interest gave evidence of satisfaction, there was
Speaker 2: never a better satisfied audience. At first, there had been
Speaker 2: some hushed murmurs of pleasure, but very soon the attention
Speaker 2: of everyone seemed so completely engrossed by the dazzling display
Speaker 2: that they simply gazed in silence. For twenty minutes or longer.
Speaker 2: The glittering show went on, and not a sign of
Speaker 2: weariness or inattention was made by any one of the
Speaker 2: assembled company. Then, gradually the colors of the little fireworks faded,
Speaker 2: the stars and wheels revolved more slowly, the lights in
Speaker 2: the body of the theater were gradually raised, and the
Speaker 2: stage curtain went softly down anxiously, and a little pale
Speaker 2: Herbert Loring peered through the loophole in the curtain. It
Speaker 2: was not easy to judge of the effects of his exhibition,
Speaker 2: and he did not know whether or not it had
Speaker 2: been a success. There was no applause, but on the
Speaker 2: other hand, there was no signs that any one resented
Speaker 2: the exhibition as a childish display of colored lights. It
Speaker 2: was impossible to look upon that audience without believing that
Speaker 2: they had been thoroughly interested in what they had seen,
Speaker 2: and that they expected to see more. For two or
Speaker 2: three minutes, Loring gazed through his loophole, and then, still
Speaker 2: with some doubt in his heart, but with a little
Speaker 2: more color in his checks, he prepared for the second
Speaker 2: part of his performance. At this moment, there entered the
Speaker 2: theater at the very back of the house a young lady.
Speaker 2: She was handsome and well dressed, and as she opened
Speaker 2: the door Loring had employed no ushers or other assistance
Speaker 2: in this little social performance. She paused for a moment
Speaker 2: and looked into the theater, and then noiselessly stepped to
Speaker 2: a chair in the back row and sat down. This
Speaker 2: was Edith's Starr, who a month before had been betrothed
Speaker 2: to Herbert Loring. Edith and her mother had been invited
Speaker 2: to this performance, and front seats had been reserved for them.
Speaker 2: For each guest had reached received a numbered card. But
Speaker 2: missus Starr had a headache and could not go out
Speaker 2: that afternoon, and for a time her daughter had thought
Speaker 2: that she too must give up the pleasure Loring had
Speaker 2: promised her and stay with her mother. But when the
Speaker 2: elder lady dropped into a quiet sleep, Edith thought that
Speaker 2: late as it was, she would go by herself and
Speaker 2: see what she could of the performance. She was quite
Speaker 2: certain that if her presence were known to Loring, he
Speaker 2: would stop whatever he was doing until she had been
Speaker 2: provided with a seat which he thought suitable for her,
Speaker 2: for he had made a point of her being properly
Speaker 2: seated when he gave the invitations. Therefore, being equally desirous
Speaker 2: of not disturbing the performance and of not being herself conspicuous,
Speaker 2: she sat behind two rather large men, where she could
Speaker 2: see the stage perfectly well, but where she herself would
Speaker 2: not be likely to be seen. In a few moments,
Speaker 2: the curtain rose and Loring came forward carrying a small
Speaker 2: light table, which he placed near the front of the stage,
Speaker 2: and for a moment stood quietly by it, Edith noticed
Speaker 2: upon his face the expression of uncertainty and anxiety which
Speaker 2: had not yet left it. Standing by the side of
Speaker 2: the table and speaking very slowly but so clearly that
Speaker 2: his words could be heard distinctly in all parts of
Speaker 2: the room, he began some introductory remarks regarding the second
Speaker 2: part of his performance. The extraordinary and I may say
Speaker 2: marvelous thing which I am about to show you, he said,
Speaker 2: is known among East Indian magicians as the magic egg.
Speaker 2: The exhibition is a very uncommon one and has seldom
Speaker 2: been seen by Americans or Europeans. And it was by
Speaker 2: a piece of rare good fortune that I became possessed
Speaker 2: of the appliances necessary for this exhibition. They are indeed
Speaker 2: very few and simple, but never before, to the best
Speaker 2: of my knowledge and belief, have they been seen outside
Speaker 2: of India. I will now get the little box which
Speaker 2: contains the articles necessary for this magical performance. And I
Speaker 2: will say that if I had time to tell you
Speaker 2: of this strange and amazing adventure which resulted in my
Speaker 2: possession of this box, I am sure you would be
Speaker 2: as much interested in that as I expect you to
Speaker 2: be in the contents of the box. But in order
Speaker 2: that none of you may think this is an ordinary
Speaker 2: trick executed by means of concealed traps or doors. I
Speaker 2: wish you to take particular notice of this table, which is,
Speaker 2: as you see, a plain, unpainted pine table, with nothing
Speaker 2: but a flat top and four straight legs at the corners.
Speaker 2: You can see under and around it, and it gives
Speaker 2: no opportunity to conceal anything. Then, standing for a few moments,
Speaker 2: as if he had something else to say, he turned
Speaker 2: and stepped toward one of the wings. Edith was troubled
Speaker 2: as she looked at her lover during these remarks. Her
Speaker 2: interest was great, greater indeed than that of the people
Speaker 2: about her, but it was not a pleasant interest. As
Speaker 2: Loring stopped speaking and looked about him, there was a
Speaker 2: momentary flush on his face. She knew this was caused
Speaker 2: by excitement, and she was pale from the same cause.
Speaker 2: Very soon Loring came forward and stood by the table.
Speaker 2: Here is the box, he said, of which I spoke,
Speaker 2: and as I hold it up, I think you all
Speaker 2: can see it. It is not large, being certainly not
Speaker 2: more than twelve inches in length and too deep, but
Speaker 2: it can take pains some very wonderful things. The outside
Speaker 2: of this box is covered with delicate engraving and carving
Speaker 2: which you cannot see. And these marks and lines have
Speaker 2: I think some magical meaning, but I do not know
Speaker 2: what it is. I will now open the box and
Speaker 2: show you what is inside. The first thing I take
Speaker 2: out is this little stick, not thicker than a lead pill,
Speaker 2: but somewhat longer. As you see, this is a magical wand,
Speaker 2: and is covered with inscriptions of the same character as
Speaker 2: those on the outside of the box. The next thing
Speaker 2: is this little red bag, well filled as you see,
Speaker 2: which I shall put on the table, for I shall
Speaker 2: not yet need it. Now I take out a piece
Speaker 2: of cloth which is folded into a very small compass.
Speaker 2: But as I unfold it you will proceed that it
Speaker 2: is more than a foot square, and is covered with embroidery.
Speaker 2: All those strange lines and figures in gold and red,
Speaker 2: which you can plainly see on the cloth as I
Speaker 2: hold it up, are also characters in the same magic
Speaker 2: language as those on the box and wand. I will
Speaker 2: now spread the cloth on the table and then take
Speaker 2: out the only remaining thing in the box. And this
Speaker 2: is nothing in the world but an egg, a simple
Speaker 2: ordinary hen's egg. As you all see as I hold
Speaker 2: it up, it may be a trifle larger than an
Speaker 2: ordinary egg, But then, after all it is nothing but
Speaker 2: a common egg that is in appearance. In reality it
Speaker 2: is a good deal more. Now I will begin the performance.
Speaker 2: And as he stood by the back of the table
Speaker 2: over which he had been slightly bending, and threw his
Speaker 2: eyes over the audience, his voice was stronger, and his
Speaker 2: face had lost all its pallor. He was evidently warming
Speaker 2: up with his subject. I now take up this wand
Speaker 2: he said, which while I hold it, gives me power
Speaker 2: to produce the phenomena which you are about to behold.
Speaker 2: You may not all believe that there is any magic
Speaker 2: whatever about this little performance, and that it is all
Speaker 2: a bit of machinery. But whatever you may think about it,
Speaker 2: you shall see what you shall see now with this
Speaker 2: wand I gently touched this egg, which is lying on
Speaker 2: the square of cloth. I do not believe you can
Speaker 2: see what has happened to this egg, but I will
Speaker 2: tell you. There is a little line like a hair
Speaker 2: entirely around it. Now that line has become a crack.
Speaker 2: Now you can see it. I know it grows wider
Speaker 2: and wider. Look, the shell of the egg is separating
Speaker 2: in the middle. The whole egg slightly moves. Do you
Speaker 2: notice that now you can see something yellow showing itself
Speaker 2: between the two parts of the shell. See, it is
Speaker 2: moving a good deal, and the two halves of the
Speaker 2: shell are separating more and more. And now out tumbles
Speaker 2: this queer little object. Do you see what it is?
Speaker 2: It is a poor, weak little chick, not able to stand,
Speaker 2: but alive, alive. You can all perceive that it is alive.
Speaker 2: Now you can see that it is standing on its feet,
Speaker 2: feebly enough, but still standing. Behold it takes a few steps.
Speaker 2: You cannot doubt that it is alive and came out
Speaker 2: of that egg. It is beginning to walk about over
Speaker 2: the cloth. Do you notice that it is picking the embroidery. Now,
Speaker 2: little chick, I will give you something to eat. This
Speaker 2: little red bag contains grain, a magical grain with which
Speaker 2: I shall feed the chicken. You must excuse my awkwardness
Speaker 2: in opening the bag, as I still hold the wand
Speaker 2: but this little stick I must not drop. See, little chick,
Speaker 2: there are some grains. They look like rice, but in
Speaker 2: fact I have no idea what they are. But he knows,
Speaker 2: he knows. Look at him, See how he picks it up.
Speaker 2: There he has swallowed one, two, three. That will do
Speaker 2: little chick for a first meal. The grain seems to
Speaker 2: have strengthened him already. For see how lively he is,
Speaker 2: and how his yellow down stands out on him, so
Speaker 2: puffy and warm. You are looking for some more grain,
Speaker 2: are you well? You cannot have it just yet, And
Speaker 2: keep away from those pieces of egg shell, which, by
Speaker 2: the way, I will put back into the box. Now, sir,
Speaker 2: try to avoid the edge of the table, and to
Speaker 2: quiet you, I will give you a little tap on
Speaker 2: the back with my Wand now then please observe closely.
Speaker 2: The down which just now covered him has almost gone.
Speaker 2: He is really a good deal bigger and ever so
Speaker 2: much uglier. See the little pin feathers sticking out over him.
Speaker 2: Some spots here and there are almost bare, But he
Speaker 2: is ever so much more active. Ah, listen to that.
Speaker 2: He is so strong that you can hear his beak
Speaker 2: as he pecks at the table. He is actually growing
Speaker 2: bigger and bigger before our very eyes. See that funny
Speaker 2: little tail, how it begins to stick up, and quills
Speaker 2: are showing at the end of his wing. Another tap
Speaker 2: and a few more grains. Careful, sir, don't tear the cloth.
Speaker 2: See how rapidly he grows. He is fairly covered with
Speaker 2: feathers red and black, with a tip of yellow in front.
Speaker 2: You could hardly get that fellow into an ostrich egg. Now, then,
Speaker 2: what do you think of him? He's big enough for
Speaker 2: a broiler, though I don't think anyone would want to
Speaker 2: take him for that purpose. Some more grain and another
Speaker 2: tap from my wand see he does not mind the
Speaker 2: little stick, for he has been used to it from
Speaker 2: his very berth. Now then he is what you would
Speaker 2: call a good half grown chick, rather more than half grown,
Speaker 2: I should say. Do you notice his tail? There is
Speaker 2: no mistaking him for a pullet. The long feathers are
Speaker 2: beginning to curl over already. He must have a little
Speaker 2: more grain. Look out, sir, or you will be off
Speaker 2: the table. Come back here. This table is too small
Speaker 2: for him. But if he were on the floor you
Speaker 2: could not see him so well. Other tap. Now see
Speaker 2: that comb on the top of his head. You scarcely
Speaker 2: noticed it before, and now it is bright red. And
Speaker 2: see his spurs beginning to show on good thick legs too.
Speaker 2: There is a fine young fellow for you. Look how
Speaker 2: he jerks his head from side to side, like the
Speaker 2: young prince of a poultry yard, as he well deserves
Speaker 2: to be. The attentive interest which had at first characterized
Speaker 2: the audience now changed to excited admiration and amazement. Some
Speaker 2: leaned forward with mouths wide open. Others stood up so
Speaker 2: that they could see better. Ejaculations of astonishment and wonder
Speaker 2: were heard on every side, and a more thoroughly fascinated
Speaker 2: and absorbed audience was never seen. Now, my friends, Lauren continued,
Speaker 2: I will give this handsome fowl another tap. Behold the result,
Speaker 2: a noble, full grown cock. Behold his spurs they are
Speaker 2: nearly an inch long. See there is a comb for you.
Speaker 2: And what a magnificent tail of green and black, contrasting
Speaker 2: so finely with the deep red of the rest of
Speaker 2: his body. Well, sir, you are truly too big for
Speaker 2: this table. As I cannot give you more room, I
Speaker 2: will set you up higher. Move over a little, and
Speaker 2: I will set this chair on the table. There upon
Speaker 2: the seat that's right. But don't stop. There's the back
Speaker 2: which is higher yet up with you there he nearly
Speaker 2: upset the chair, but I will hold it. See he
Speaker 2: has turned around. Now then look at him. See his
Speaker 2: wings as he flaps them. He could fly with such wings.
Speaker 2: Look at him, See that swelling breast. Ha ha. Listen,
Speaker 2: did you ever hear a crow like that? It fairly
Speaker 2: rings through the house? Yes, I knew it. There is another.
Speaker 2: At this point the people in the house were in
Speaker 2: a state of wild excitement. Nearly all of them were
Speaker 2: on their feet, and they were in such a condition
Speaker 2: of frantic enthusiasm that Loring was afraid some of them
Speaker 2: might make a run for the stage. Come, sir, cried Loring,
Speaker 2: now almost shouting, that will do you have shown us
Speaker 2: the strength of your lungs. Jump down on the seat
Speaker 2: of the chair. Now on the table there. I will
Speaker 2: take away the chair and you can stand for a
Speaker 2: moment on the table and let our friends look at you,
Speaker 2: but only for a moment. Take that tap on your back.
Speaker 2: Now do you see any difference? Perhaps you may not,
Speaker 2: but I do. Yes, I believe you all do. He
Speaker 2: is not the big fellow he was a minute ago.
Speaker 2: He is really smaller. Only a fine cockrell, a nice
Speaker 2: tail that, but with none of the noble sweep that
Speaker 2: it had a minute ago. No, don't try to get
Speaker 2: off the table. You can't escape my Wand another tap.
Speaker 2: A half grown chicken, good to eat, but with not
Speaker 2: a crow in him. Hungry are you? But you need
Speaker 2: not pick at the table that way you get no
Speaker 2: more grain, but only this little tap. Ha ha, What
Speaker 2: are you coming to? There is a chicken barely feathered
Speaker 2: enough for us to tell what color he is going
Speaker 2: to be. Another tap will take still more of the
Speaker 2: conceit out of him. Look at him. There are his
Speaker 2: pin feathers and his bare spots. Don't try to get away.
Speaker 2: I can easily tap you again. Now, then here's a
Speaker 2: lovely little chick, fluffy with yellow down. He is active enough,
Speaker 2: but I shall quiet him one tap. And now what
Speaker 2: do you see? A poor feeble chicken, scarcely able to stand,
Speaker 2: with his down all packed close to him as if
Speaker 2: he had been out in the.
Speaker 1: Ah.
Speaker 2: Little chick, I will take the two halves of the
Speaker 2: eggshell from which you came and put them on each
Speaker 2: side of you. Come. Now, get in I close them up.
Speaker 2: You are lost to view. There is nothing to be
Speaker 2: seen but a crack around the shell. Now it has gone.
Speaker 2: There my friends, as I hold it on high, Behold
Speaker 2: the magic egg, exactly as it was when I first
Speaker 2: took it out of the box into which I will
Speaker 2: place it again with the cloth and the wand and
Speaker 2: the little red bag, and shut it up with a snap.
Speaker 2: I will let you take one more look at this
Speaker 2: box before I put it away behind the scenes. Are
Speaker 2: you satisfied with what I have shown you? Do you
Speaker 2: think it is really as wonderful as you supposed it
Speaker 2: would be. At these words, the whole audience burst into
Speaker 2: riotous applause, during which Loring disappeared, but he was back
Speaker 2: in a moment. Thank you, he cried, bowing low and
Speaker 2: waving his arms before him in the manner of an
Speaker 2: Eastern magician, making a salaam from side to side. He turned,
Speaker 2: bowing and thanking, and then with a hearty goodbye to you,
Speaker 2: goodbye to you all, he stepped back and let down
Speaker 2: the curtain. For some moments, the audience remained in their seats,
Speaker 2: as if they were expecting something more, and then they
Speaker 2: rose quietly and began to disperse. Most of them were
Speaker 2: acquainted with one another, and there was a good deal
Speaker 2: of greeting and talking as they went out of the theater.
Speaker 2: When Loring was sure the last person had departed, he
Speaker 2: turned down the lights, locked the door, and gave the
Speaker 2: key to the steward of the club. He walked to
Speaker 2: his home a happy man. His exhibition had been a
Speaker 2: perfect success, with not a break or a flaw in
Speaker 2: it from beginning to end. I feel, thought the young
Speaker 2: man as he strode along, as if I could fly
Speaker 2: to the top of that steeple and flap and crow
Speaker 2: until all the world heard me. That evening, as was
Speaker 2: his daily custom, Herbert Loring called upon miss Starr. He
Speaker 2: found the young lady in the library. I came in here,
Speaker 2: she said, because I have a good deal to talk
Speaker 2: to you about, and I do not want interruption with
Speaker 2: this arrangement. The young man expressed his entire satisfaction and
Speaker 2: immediately began to inquire the cause of her absence from
Speaker 2: his exhibition in the afternoon. But I was there, said Edith.
Speaker 2: You did not see me, but I was there. Mother
Speaker 2: had a headache, and I went by myself. You were there,
Speaker 2: exclaimed Loring, almost starting from his chair. I don't understand
Speaker 2: you were not in your seat, no, answered Edith. I
Speaker 2: was on the very back row. Of seats. You could
Speaker 2: not see me, and I did not wish you to
Speaker 2: see me, Edith exclaimed Loring, rising to his feet and
Speaker 2: leaning over the library table, which was between them. When
Speaker 2: did you come? How much of the performance did you see?
Speaker 2: I was late, she said, I did not arrive until
Speaker 2: after the fireworks or whatever they were. For a moment,
Speaker 2: Loring was silent, as if he did not understand the situation. Fireworks,
Speaker 2: he said, How did you know there had been fireworks?
Speaker 2: I heard the people talking of them as they left
Speaker 2: the theater, she answered, And what did they say, he
Speaker 2: inquired quickly. They seemed to like them very well, she replied,
Speaker 2: but I do not think they were quite satisfied from
Speaker 2: what I heard some person say. I inferred that they
Speaker 2: thought it was not very much of a show to
Speaker 2: which you had invited them. Again, Loring stood and thought,
Speaker 2: looking down at the table. But before he could speak again,
Speaker 2: Edith sprang to her feet. Herbert Loring, She cried, what
Speaker 2: does all this mean? I was there during the whole
Speaker 2: of the exhibition of what you called the Magic Egg.
Speaker 2: I saw all those people wild with excitement at the
Speaker 2: wonderful sight of the chicken that came out of the
Speaker 2: egg and grew to full size, and then dwindled down
Speaker 2: again and went back into the egg. And Herbert, there
Speaker 2: was no egg, and there was no little box, and
Speaker 2: there was no wand and no embroidered cloth, and there
Speaker 2: was no red bag, nor any little chick, and there
Speaker 2: was no full grown fowl. And there was no chair
Speaker 2: that you put on the table. There was nothing, absolutely
Speaker 2: nothing but you and that table. Even the table was
Speaker 2: not what you said it was. It was not an
Speaker 2: unpainted pine table with four straight legs. It was a
Speaker 2: table of dark polished wood, and it stood on a
Speaker 2: single post with feet. There was nothing there that you
Speaker 2: said was there. Everything was a sham and a delusion.
Speaker 2: Every word you spoke was untrue. And yet everybody in
Speaker 2: that theater, excepting you and me, saw all the things
Speaker 2: that you said were on the stage. I know they
Speaker 2: saw them all, for I was with the people and
Speaker 2: heard them and saw them, and at times I fairly
Speaker 2: felt the thrill of enthusiasm which possessed them as they
Speaker 2: glared at the miracles and wonders you said were happening.
Speaker 2: Boring smiled, Sit down, my dear Edith, He said, you
Speaker 2: are excited, and there is not the slightest cause for it.
Speaker 2: I will explain the whole affair to you. It is
Speaker 2: simple enough. You know that study is the great object
Speaker 2: of my life. I study all sorts of things, and
Speaker 2: just now I am greatly interested in hypnotism. The subject
Speaker 2: has become fascinating to me. I have made a great
Speaker 2: many successful trials of my power, and the affair of
Speaker 2: this afternoon was nothing but a trial of my powers
Speaker 2: on a more extensive scale than anything I have yet attempted.
Speaker 2: I wanted to see if it were possible for me
Speaker 2: to hypnotize a considerable number of people without anyone suspecting
Speaker 2: what I intended to do. The result was a success.
Speaker 2: I hypnotized all those people by means of the first
Speaker 2: part of my performance, which consisted of some combinations of
Speaker 2: colored glass with lights thrown upon them. They revolved and
Speaker 2: looked like fireworks, and were strung on a wire high
Speaker 2: up on the stage. Kept up the glittering and dazzling show,
Speaker 2: which was well worth seeing, I can assure you. Until
Speaker 2: the people had been straining their eyes upward for almost
Speaker 2: half an hour, and this sort of thing, I will
Speaker 2: tell you you do not know. It is one of
Speaker 2: the methods of producing hypnotic sleep. There was no one
Speaker 2: present who was not an impressionable subject. For I was
Speaker 2: very careful in sending out my invitations, and when I
Speaker 2: became almost certain that my audience was thoroughly hypnotized, I
Speaker 2: stopped the show and began the real exhibition, which was
Speaker 2: not really for their benefit but for mine. Of course,
Speaker 2: I was dreadfully anxious, for fear I had not succeeded entirely,
Speaker 2: and that there might be at least some one person
Speaker 2: who had not succumbed to the hypnotic influences. And so
Speaker 2: I tested the matter by bringing out that table and
Speaker 2: telling them it was something it was not. If I
Speaker 2: had had any reason for supposing that some of the
Speaker 2: audience saw the table as it really was, I had
Speaker 2: an explanation ready, and I could have retired from my
Speaker 2: position without anyone supposing that I had intended making hypnotic experiment.
Speaker 2: The rest of the exhibition would have been some things
Speaker 2: that anyone could see, and as soon as possible, I
Speaker 2: would have released from their spell those who were hypnotized.
Speaker 2: But when I became positively assured that everyone saw a
Speaker 2: light pine table with four straight legs, I confidently went
Speaker 2: on with the performances of the Magic egg. Edith's star
Speaker 2: was still standing by the library table. She had not
Speaker 2: heeded Loring's advice to sit down, and she was trembling
Speaker 2: with emotion. Herbert Loring, she said, you invited my mother
Speaker 2: and me to that exhibition. You gave us tickets for
Speaker 2: front seats where we would be certain to be hypnotized
Speaker 2: if you're expearment succeeded, and you would have made us
Speaker 2: see that false show, which faded from those people's minds
Speaker 2: as soon as they recovered from the spell. For as
Speaker 2: they went away, they were talking only of the fireworks,
Speaker 2: and not one of them mentioned a magic egg, or
Speaker 2: a chicken or anything of the kind. Answer me this,
Speaker 2: Did you not intend that I should come and be
Speaker 2: put under that spell? Loring smiled, Yes, he said, of
Speaker 2: course I did. But then your case would have been
Speaker 2: different from that of the other spectators. I should have
Speaker 2: explained the whole thing to you, and I am sure
Speaker 2: we would have had a great deal of pleasure and
Speaker 2: profit too in discussing your experiences. The subject is extremely
Speaker 2: explain to me, she cried, You would not have dared
Speaker 2: to do it. I do not know how brave you
Speaker 2: may be, but I know you would not have had
Speaker 2: the courage to come here and tell me that you
Speaker 2: had taken away my reason and my judgment as you
Speaker 2: took them away from all those people, and that you
Speaker 2: had made me a mere tool of your will, glaring
Speaker 2: and panting with excitement at the wonderful things you told
Speaker 2: me to see where nothing existed. I have nothing to
Speaker 2: say about the others. They can speak for themselves if
Speaker 2: they ever come to know what you did to them.
Speaker 2: I speak for myself. I stood up with the rest
Speaker 2: of the people. I gazed with all my power, and
Speaker 2: over and over again, I asked myself if it could
Speaker 2: be possible that anything was the matter with my eyes
Speaker 2: or my brain, and if I could be the only
Speaker 2: person there who could not see the marvelous spectacle that
Speaker 2: you were describing. But now I know that nothing was real,
Speaker 2: not even the little pine table, not even the man
Speaker 2: even me, exclaimed Loring. Surely I was real enough on
Speaker 2: that stage, yes, she said, But you there proved you
Speaker 2: were not the Herbert Loring to whom I promised myself
Speaker 2: he was an unreal being. If he had existed, he
Speaker 2: would not have been a man who would have brought
Speaker 2: me to that public place, all ignorant of his intentions
Speaker 2: to cloud my perceptions, to subject my intellect to his own,
Speaker 2: and make me believe a lie. If a man should
Speaker 2: treat me in that way once, he would treat me
Speaker 2: so at other times, and in other ways, if he
Speaker 2: had the chance. You have treated me in the past
Speaker 2: as today you treated those people who glared at the
Speaker 2: magic egg. In the days gone by, you made me
Speaker 2: see an unreal man. But you will never do it again. Goodbye, Edith,
Speaker 2: cried Loring. You don't, But she had disappeared through a
Speaker 2: side door, and he never spoke to her again. Walking
Speaker 2: home through the dimly lighted streets, Loring involuntarily spoke aloud,
Speaker 2: and this, he said, is what came out of the
Speaker 2: magic egg.