Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise on the Art of Conjuring

THE HANDKERCHIEF THAT CANNOT BE TIED IN A KNOT.--The performer, having borrowed a handkerchief, pulls it this way and that, as if to ascertain its fitness for the purpose of the trick. Finally twisting the handkerchief into a sort of loose rope, he throws the two ends one over the other, as in the ordinary mode of tying, and pulls smartly; but instead of a knot appearing, as would naturally be expected, in the middle of the handkerchief, it is pulled out quite straight. “This is a very curious handkerchief,” he remarks; “I can’t make a knot in it.” The process is again and again repeated, but always with the same result. The secret is as follows:--The performer, before pulling the knot tight, slips his left thumb, as shown in Fig. 107, beneath such portion of the “tie” as is a continuation of the end held in the same hand. The necessary arrangement of the hands and handkerchief, though difficult to explain in writing, will be found quite clear upon a careful examination of the figure. THE HANDKERCHIEF THAT WILL NOT BURN.--This may be used either separately or in conjunction with the foregoing. The performer, taking the handkerchief, asks if it will burn. The owner naturally answers that she has no doubt it will. “Suppose we try,” says the performer; and taking the handkerchief by two of its corners, he draws it three or four times obliquely upwards across the flame of a lighted candle, without its receiving the slightest injury.