præstige

A rich man had a ring of inæstimable price, and ordered by his will, that such one of his children, as possessed the ring, should inherit all his substance. And such was the rule of inheritance in that family for many generations; until at last it came to one who had three sons, all of whom he loved equally well. And they all paid court to their father in hopes of getting the ring. The old man, in order to satisfy them all, had two other rings made, so similar to the first, that he could not distinguish the true one himself. He gave one to each, and when he died there were no means of ascertaining which was the rightful heir, nor is it decided unto this day. Rings are the well known medium of illusion or præstige.

1828, Algernon Herbert, Nimrod: A Discourse on Certain Passages of History and Fable, volume 3, Thomas Davison, Whitefriars, page 547