The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1902-08-22

Hiss Alice Roosevelt's skill asa Pres.
tess of The BLACK Ara


From Childhood Miss Alice Roose.
welt has been fond Of sleight-of-aand
tricks. and has In a mild way INDUCED
in the delights Of legerdemain. IN
which she is now quite clever and pro.
hcient Although she laughingly dis
claims this distinction when question
cd uQon the subject those whom she
numbers as her intimate friends have
a delightfully."- different story TO tell
To these favored few alone Miss Roose.
velt delights nov and then to give li:.
tie impromptu exhibitions OF her skill
In lcgerdemain.
On entering Miss Roosevelts private
sanctum, where her sleight-ot-hand
skill is exhibited, the favored CUES,
sees a Rough Rider hat which seems
carelessly laid upon the table. used in
the exposition of the tricks Il Is the
hat worn by her father during the
Spanish-American war during all his
army experiences in Cuba.
First the hat Is carefully laid upon
the table, the folds of a small silk flag
shaken out and silver coin or a gold
ring LAID under it upon the opposite
table. Bending over the flag. slowly
muttering a shibboleth of magic words
suggestive Of the witches In Macbeth
tho girls bright face assumes a mock
solomnity. AS the incantation Is fin
ished she slightly taps tirst the suS
flag, then the Rough Rider hat LIT
ing the latter. in the very sight OF her
audience, Miss Roosevelt has perform
ed the magic OF having the silver piece,
or the gold ring. as the case may be-.
change places and appear iunoceutly
reposing. no longer under the flag but
peeplng from beneath the rim OF thu
Rough Rider hat
The next trick calls for silver quar.
ter. a dime and a conical-shaped wlnr
glass partly filled with cle' watel
Down into this water Miss Roosevelt
drops the silver dime until it lies fiat
across the space into which IL Just fits
Then the silver quarter is dropped into
the glass In the same manner until il
fits the rim bit higher up.
No sooner has the water settled into
quietude than with sudden quick
move Miss Roosevelt bends above It,
and, with a strong, dexterous blow Of
the breath down one of the inner sidcs
OF the glass. the dime leaps up edge
ways, passing the quarter to fall ator
of it or leap clear of the glass and fnll
upon the table without in anywise DIS.
turbing the other SILVER coin.
And now the gold ring comes in for
its second share of legerdemaiu honors
Crossing over to the window, Miss
Roosevelt, with apparent carelessness
picks up large spool of coarse thread
that has been hanging in the sunshias
Of the window, and after, in true artis-
tic style, displaying it to her audieDct
with the comment that Il Is. as ttsy
see, but a spool of common thread. shs
places II upon one of the tables aud,
unwindlng about half yard. ties The
end. with n bow TO the gold rms.
Holding this above a glass OF water
and lighting it from the candle which
she has previously ignited the pretty
and puzZling spectacle is seen of the
thread all ablaze., still tied about the
ring. and. most wonderful of all, lae
ring beneath the blazing thread bulI
suspended in air above the glass
The simple explanation which the
exhibitor is careful not TO give at the
time is that the thread for an houf
previous to the exhibition has hccG
carefully soaked I'm tho same glass oi
water into which teaspoOnful of tabs
salt has been first dissolved And IL
was for the purpose OF drying tho.-
oughly that it had been hung in th,
window
Then comes a diversion In which tbc
attention of the company Is concen'
trated upon the brightly burning frs
in the CRATE. The peraphorualia for
this trick are a common-stemmed clay
pipe a spoonful OF fine coal dust and O
pinch Of quickly mixed plaster Of paris
in a small platter with a few drops Of
water. All this attended TO IN the luli
gaze Of the guests gives added Interest
and piquancy as Ml1s Roosevelt acccr-
plishes IL.
First the pipe is carefully taken c1
and passed from hand 20 hand 70 D.
inspected in turn by each of the com
pany. That done, the hieh prieste st
again assumes possession OF II and
adroitly filing the BOWL with the coal
dust. quickly stirs together the plaster
OF paris and the water Ina the saucer
until it has the constituency of paste.
/ Then, before il has a cnance TO haruer
3 is adroitly placed over the coal dbs'
ntil the bowl OF the pipe is quite ar
prcoL Then thruBting it into the IRE
the CRATE, with the long, white clay
TEN resting outward toward the room
nnon the rim of the crate, the magi-
I cans wand is slowly passed back an
lorth above il az tiny column
smoke pours from the stem out l1tC
lhe room. knowing from long practice
70 a nicely just about tue length o.
,mo required TOR This column OF SMOKE
70 lorm and exhaust Itself, the incanta-
/ uons OF the high priestess come % an
nd AS the stem clears OF ihe
matches up the nearby candle iror'
Ae table. applies il 10 the stem and
/ ,ct of name darts forth and contiuu 3
90 burn viVdly as the priestess turn
cr attention 90 the next number on
I Vac programme followed In her move
ncnts by much hand-ciappius anH
/ .one-drawn "Ohs and Abs. irom
lg3se aOout her.