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