As it will be necessary for my readers first to master this important element of conjuring, I shall try to teach it before explaining the other details of the trick. To palm a coin, hold it lightly between the tips of the second and third fingers and the thumb of either hand, as shown in Fig. 1. Balancing it on the finger-tips, let the thumb resume its normal position, and at the same moment let the two fingers press the coin into the hollow of the palm. See Fig. 2. Now contract the thumb so that the coin will be held by the ball on one side, and on the other by the opposite fleshy part of the hand, as in Fig. 3. Though at first it may be difficult to press the coin into the exact position, practice will soon make it easy. The beginner is apt to try to have his hand appear perfectly flat when seen from the back; but let him notice the open hand of a friend as it hangs in a normal condition, and he will find that it is slightly arched. Supposing that my reader is now an adept at palming, let us proceed with "The Miser" as Herrmann did it. When he came on the stage he held twenty-five or thirty coins in his left hand and one coin in his right. As an excuse for keeping the left hand closed it grasped the lower part of the lapel of his coat. In the right hand he carried his wand, or badge of office, a round ebony stick about eighteen inches long, fitted at the ends with ivory ferrules. Approaching some man in the audience, he asked for a high hat, and as it was handed to him he thrust the left hand inside of it, the thumb only remaining outside to grasp the rim. Extending his arms, he struck the left arm with his wand and the closed right hand, asking the nearest person to feel his arms and body so as to assure himself that nothing was concealed there. This examination over, he turned to go back to the stage, throwing his wand ahead of him, and letting the coin in the right hand slip into his sleeve. Now began his search for the money. As he moved about the stage the audience was allowed to see that the right hand was empty. Suddenly he grasped at the air, and then peering into his hand, he struck his forehead as if in despair at finding nothing. Then as the right hand fell to his side the sleeved half-dollar slipped into it. Now began the money hunt in earnest. With his right side toward the audience, he again clutched at the air, and this time, letting the coin drop to his finger-tips, showed it. Then he tossed it visibly, so that all might see it, into the hat, where it was heard to fall. The next moment, as if with the instinct of the miser, he took it out again and pressed it to his lips, and once more threw it into the hat. This time, however, he only apparently did so, for as the hand went inside the hat he palmed the coin, and let drop one of the coins from the left hand instead.