The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-20

o11cer requested his superior to allow the
announcement of the youth on the
ground of being in league with the evil
powers.
When Hermann first appeared in Lon
don it was in rather obscure fashion,
says the New York Sun. But he had al
ready learned in this country the value
OF newspaper advertising, and resolved to
furnish the English press with a sensa-
ton. This is the way Hermann carried
out his resolution as told by himself to
some friends in this city some time ago:
Asking two friends to accompany me,
/ walked one morning into Regent street.
Getting into a crowd with two policemen
close behind us, 1 stepped up to a gentle
man in front Of me and picked a handker-
chief out of his pocket in most clumsy
fashion. AT the same time purloined the
watch of man who was standing near
by. The two policemen saw me take the
handkerchief, as I intended they should,
but the lifting of the watch was not OBJ
served. The policeman grabbed me, told
my victim of the loss of his handkerchief,
and asked him to make a complaint
against me. My two friends insisted that
l was innocent, but just at that moment
the second victim discovered the loss of
his watch, and insisted that must have
stolen that also. ! proclaimed my inno-
cence and announced that if the watch
had been taken it had been by other
hands than mine. They searched me from
head to foot, but of course did not find
the watch. They ridiculed the idea when
l suggested that the two policemen should
search themselves. The crowd insisted,
however, and while one of the policemen
pulled the handkerchief out of his inside
pocket the other, with a look of utter
amazement on his face, brought the miss
ing watch to light. When l tried to ex-
lot tI.a I,An 1,,Bk
friends tried in vain to make them look
upon the whole affair as a magicians
joke. They declared that they were not
to be fooled in that way, and marched
me off to the police station. There I was
recognized and set at liberty. AS the Lon
don papers took the matter up, l had of
course accomplished my object. They
made quite a sensation Of the incident,
and the whole town laughed at the prac-
teal joke had played on the bobbies."
Another remarkable performance attri-
buted to Hermann took place at Ostend.
There he caused a lady's bracelet to dis
appear from her wrist, and a moment la
ter he apparently picked 1t up from the
pier and threw it into the sea- While
those around looked on in amazement
Hermann took her husbands hat and ex-
tracted therefrom bouquet of roses, with
the missing bracelet neatly tied with rib
bon in the center.
1t was a favorite trick of Herrmann's
to go into market places and fool the stand
keepers. He would buy living chickens
and rabbits, cut their threats in the pres
ence of the vender, and then, reattaching
the neck, return the creatures to the sur
prised dealers without sign of their re-
cent amputation showing.s He would cut
oranges and apples in half and extract
coins from them, pretending to be very
much surprised and delighted over his
luck.
Some years ago Hermann was invited
to dine with the Marquis of Acapules. The
marquis had a taste for partridges,
weakness of which Hermann was aware,
so when the conversation drifted around
to edibles the old nobleman began to rave
about cartridges and express a wish that
he had provided some.
"Oh, We'll have some anyway" said
Hermann.
I'D like to know where We'll get them"
said the nobleman with laugh; there's
not such thing in the house"
Nothing EASIER said Hermann, ris-
ing and picking up hat Just this way"
and he dug his hand in the hat and
brought up a brace of fine birds.
A trick which has mystitied many peo-
pie has been performed twice in this city
by Hermann. A half dozen rifles in
spected and loaded by strangers, have
been fired at him by national guard men,
and each time he has managed to catch
the bullets and escape without harm to
himself Hermann has explained this
trick a number of times, but no one has
ever been able to make head or tail of his
explanation, and it is regarded as the most
remarkable in his repertoire
Much of Herrmann's success as
Straightforward man has been due to his
FEASIBILITY. He was ready, witty talk
err, and always had a good story with
70 aff xxybn
necessary. He was a great believer in life
insurance and is said to have carried poli-
cies aggregating 100000.
When in Washington, says the Washing
ton Post, he was always a welcome guest
at the Press Club, and was continually
working off sleight-of-hand games on his
! hosts On his last visit to Washington
while the Press Club was in existence he
was sitting before the fire one evening"
when a correspondent from the Row came
in and offered him a cigar.
Thanks, thanks" said the wizard alb
stractedly, very kind of you, I'm sure.
But if you'll pardon me, l don't care for
these big cigars" he continued, rolling the
Havana between his fingers as he spoke.
II much prefer these small cigars, like
| this. Have one with me-" And he hand
ed his would-be entertainer a cigar about
as big as his little finger and bit off the
end OF similar one Tor himself. Inc Dig
cigar was gone, but any one of three men
who watched the performance would have
sworn they had never taken their eyes off
| it while Hermann had it in his hand
His mastery of cards was a continual
surprise even to those who thought they
knew him. Every one who ever watched
him perform has seen how he could stand
behind the footlights and deal poker
hands to the back row in the gallery, and
none of his friends would ever sit in a
game of cards with him without a strict
injunction against magic for they were
as like as not to bet themselves to a stand
! still on a jackpot and show down cards,
only to find that every man at the table
| had four aces or some other impossible
combination as a result of HERMANN
| deal.
Out of the White Chapel Club in Chi
| cago, when that organization was in its
prime, one of the permanent wall deco
rations was an ace of diamonds stuck UNI
der the edge of the picture moulding
about ten feet from the floor. II got there
| one night when Hermann was a guest of
| the club. He had been playing with the
| cards, and finally told Charley Seymour,
of the Herald. to pick out a card and he
| (Herrmann) would find it for him after