St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-13
!. HANDKERCHIEF TRICKS.
How They Are Performed by the
Professional Wizard.


Golden Days.
1t would be interesting. from a phre-
biological point of view, to ascertain
whether cOnjurers are abnormally gifted
with the organ of destructlyeness. Ger
tain it is that they-and, j may add,
their audienceS-never seem to enjoy
themselves more than when property
other peoples, by the Way-iS being
burned or otherwise injured beyond all
apparent possibility of restoration.
Next to the high hat as the chosen
victim of the cOnjurer's malevOlence,
come pocket handkerchiefs. One would
have thought that if there was one
article of attire which more than another
might, by its innocence of guile and its
usefulness to suffering humanity have
escaped persecution, it was the harm
less, necessary handkerchief.
A pretty little feat, which may be in
trOduced as sort of preliminary flour
iSh or introduction to a handkerchief
trick, may be described as the instanta-
neOuS knot. The performer having
borrowed handkerchief, takes it by
two diagonally opposite corners and
twists it into loose roll or wisp. He
blows upon it midway; there is a quick
motion of the hands, a wave of move
ment along the handkerchief and forth
with large knot is seen to appear on
its center. 1t seems impossible that the
performer could have actually tied
knot in such mere moment of time
and without the process being seen,
and yet as a matter of fact he has
done so.
The secret lies mainly in the way in
which the handkerchief is held. Even
vx,hn fhiC IL, hn f,.;o
quire good deal of practice before it
can be performed neatly, but without
this knowledge you might practice fora
twelve-mOnth and be no nearer the de-
sired rustic.
The handkerchief is held by the two
hands. The end held in the right hand
passes outward between the first and
second fingers, and that held in the left
inward between the same fingers.
This is the key to the position. When
the performer blows upon the handker-
chief he at the same time brings his
hands rapidly together, and with the
thumb and second finger of the right
hand seizes the left hand end, and with
the thumb and second finger of the left
hand the right hand end of the handker-
chief, then moves the hands rapidly
apart.
The ends of the handkerchief are
drawn out from their original positions
between the fingers, and knot is
formed.
THE BEWITCHED HANDKERCHIEF.
You ask the owner of borrowed
handkerchief whether you may make a
knot in it, so as to know it again Tor
upon any other pretext which NAV sug-
gest itself to YOU. Having obtained
permission, you cross the two ends and
begin to tie them, but the moment you
proceed to pull on the handkerchief, in
stead of knot appearing, the handker-
chief is pulled out straight.
You repeat the experiment two or
three times, but with the same result,
and finally, remarking that the hand
kerchief is bewitched, you either return
it and borrow another instead or give up
the attempt in despair, and proceed with
the more important trick, for which the
handkerchief was in reality borrowed.
The effect in question may be produced
in two or three ways. The simplest is
in making the tie to slip the thumb of
the left hand under the right hand end
at the point. On pulling it will be found
that the handkerchief will be drawn out
straight.
Another method is holding one end of
the twisted handkerchief between the
first finger and thumb of the left hand,
to throw the blight of the remainder with
an outward turn over the wrist of the
same hand before proceeding to tic the
knot. In this case, also, the handker-
chief, when pulled, will be drawn out
straight.
The examples already given must, of
course, be regarded merely as preludes
or fourishes, preliminary to the actual
business of the trick, which we will sup
pose to be that of the handkerchief
burned and returned. The performer,