The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-24
HERMANN AND HIS TRICKS.
jokes THAT WENT OFF WITH RE-
COILS UPON THE WIZARD.
BEING n Magician-How TO BE shot
mt Without Being Shot.
From the New York Tribune.

Ter Will never hear or any magician Oh the
present time as bearing comparison with
him. He was so deft in his art, they say,
so accomplished in other directions, such
good musician and such a clever talker.
that-his entertainments were constant
delight, quite unequalled by anything else
of the sort that has been presented to the
public since. Some who read this column
will recall what they saw Heller do and
what they heard him say and will indorse
these judgments.
But for the younger generation OF
amusement-seekers in America the best of
necromantic art is represented by some
two names, or at the most three, whereof
that of Alexander Hermann is the best
known. Whether this mans name was
Hermann or Alexander, whether his
father was a great magician or not and
whether he was born in Paris or some
where else are questions that do not SO
much matter to those who care to consider
his worth purely by itself. That he was
a good magician, for the qualification oil
the unfortunates who never saw Heller
there is no doubt, and he may be accepted
as such, without any problems OF nomen-
clature and prlmogenlture.
Hermann was a Shrewd man at know
ing what was for his own advantage. one
of the clever things that he did was 70 cuI.
tivate the likeness of Mephlstopheles. II
was not deep enough to alarm anybody
His aspect was not forbidding but ne nau
the thin face and the sharp eyes naturally
and he added to these deliberately the hit
tie pointed beard, the heavy mustache,
turned up at the points, and the snort mar,
with respect TO which nature aided MN
again by making it curly. Then he wore
close-fitting dress of black satin, and
the moment anybody saw him he expected
him to do magical things as matter OF
Tn lie fol nOf 10 CT I'll +
ter, as it is technically called-he was
again fortunate What If his jokes did
have familiar ring to them after one had
gone to his exhibitions for a few years?
To those who heard them for the first time
they had the air of being made on the spot,
ana they served to carry the entertainment
along merr1ly at many point where 1t
would otherwise have tagged. Those whose
understanding of magicians Is derived only
| from having seen one or another of them
| on TWO or three occasions do not realize
| what an important part of the business
| this patter is Many magician who could
| 90 capital tricks has failed altogether be-
| fore an audience either because he could
| bish.
Hermann was thoroughly fond of his
| work, and he did not by any means con-
nne the exercise of his skill to the stage.
lie tried his experiments everywhere.
IL nr,ct one has has a.. little taste for
| lily imagined that skill in magic car
| ries with it almost infinite possibilities.
sometimes Hermann, who really did love
| practical jokes, carried them Ear enough
| to reach the point where they reacted and
| ne became the victim, well as the pro-
Jector of the joke This was the case
| when he was arrested for removing the
| watch of fellow-paSsenger in a street
| car from his pocket. 1t was something
| or an undertaking for him to explain to
| the ofncer in charge at the police station
| that he was merely exercising his legiti-
| mate calling as a necromancer, that he
| was going 10 restore the watch to the
I owner and enjoy his surprise at finding
| that he had lost it, that the experiment
| had merely gone wrong because the loss
| or the watch was discovered a little too
| soon, and that he was guilty of nothing
more than somewhat unusual liberty in
| performing the experiment on a total
stranger. He was even obliged TO put off
all other engagements till somebody who
knew him could be sent for to corroborate
his story and convince the ignorant officer
and owner of the watch that the whole
performance was quite regular and should
be punished for nothing more sever than
the surrender of a few tickets for the
| entertainment in the evening. Happily for
| him there were not many spots in the
United States where somebody who knew
him could not be found within an hour at
| the outside.
Sometimes the turning point of the Joke
was reached and passed more quickly
| Such was the case when he paused one day
| to watch some men digging beside the
| road, and after moment took hat from
the head of one of them and shook three
or four silver dollars out of it. The lab
| orer was astoundsd for an instant and
| Hermann put the dollars into his hand
| to convince him that they were real ones
| Then he recovered his senses, and said:
That pretty clever, mister; don't mind
| giving you one of these" and handed back
! one OF the dollars accordingly, putting the
| rest into his pocket.
Tricks Will go wrong sometimes. One
| of the attaches of a theater where Herr
| mann was to exhibit his powers was told
to put a little rabbit into his pocket and sit
In a certain seat on the aisle till the ma
| gician came to take the rabbit out and
then to make a little show of resistance
| He took his place early, with the rabbit
| in his pocket, and waiting for the trick
| to be disclosed to the wondering audience.
but Hermann forgot to do the trick that
| night and the poor man sat there all he
| evening, with the rabbit squirmng and
| clawing about under his coat, getting more
nervous all the time and making its keep
er more uncomfortable. till the perform
ance was over and the audience went out,
| the weary attache with the rest in a con-
dition bordering on that of a March hare.
to say nothing of a poor little rabbit
| 1t may not be out of place to remark
| just here that pretty nearly all magicians
| employ confederates for some of their
tricks This statement does not quite
come under the head of a state secret,
! though the confederates are not much
talked about among laymen. They are
necessary for some tricks, and if the ma
gician is so morbidly high-minded as to
object to employing them he VIII have to
omit a good deal that other magicians do.
| The sad admission has to be made to a
disappointed public that the rabbit trick
is no trick at all, and has no element OF
magic or sleight-of-hand about it. 1t just
consists in the confederates sitting in his
seat and holding the rabbit under his coat
till the magician is ready to take il out
But there are other cases in which the
confederate IS employed in a more legiti-
mate way. He may be required for moth
ing more than to lend a hat and to retain
his composure when he sees it crushed out
of recognition
One of the most effective uses that Herr
mann ever made of a confederate was In
connection with his trunk mystery" only
a short time ago. In this trick girl is
put into a trunk, and the trunk is closed
and then opened again, and the girl is
found to be gone. There is more to IL, but
that Is enough for the present purpose.
When the trick had been DONE a man
stood up at the back of the house and
asek Hermann If he had to have a trunk
especially prepared for the trick. Herr
mann answered that he did not The man
then asked him If he could do II with his
valise. Hermann said he could The va
lise was brought to the stage and the trick
was done over again, to the great delight
of the audience. The confederate carried
out his part OF the programme so well that
the policeman in charge Of the back OF
the house wanted TO arrest him for making
1 nd ~ paaniCiau had hard