Have ready a good supply of plumes of feathers. They may be obtained from a fur or fancy store, or purchased there loose, and tied up so as to lie thin and flexible where you wish to place them. You may have at least four batches of them. The common hackle feather will do, stitched round a thin piece of whalebone. Feathers that are a little injured for sale as ornaments may be picked up at little cost.
Take off your coat. You may then have one or more batches of feathers placed round each arm; the lower point of the stem on which the feathers are fixed being near your wrist, and the top of each batch of feathers confined near your elbow by a slight worsted string, so that they do not stick out the coat sleeve too much, or slip down together if two batches are concealed in the same sleeve. You can have one or more batches placed just within each side of your waistcoat, with the lower point of the stem within easy reach of your hand—about four inches below your chin. Then put your coat on.
Fig. 8.
Position 1.Position 2.
Commence the trick by borrowing a large silk handkerchief or cloth of the same size. Show it to be empty by holding out the two top corners in front of your breast, and shake the handkerchief while it falls loosely down over your vest. Then moving the handkerchief toward your left, catch hold (with your right thumb and finger) of the end of the stem of the plume, No. 1, and draw it from under the left side of your vest. It will remain concealed behind the handkerchief while you move your two hands to the right, which will draw out the plume from under your vest, then over the centre of your chest. Then toss the handkerchief about, enveloping the first batch of feathers; say, “Handkerchief, you must supply me with some feathers.” In a minute or so, take off the handkerchief, and display the plume to the spectators.
Show the spectators again that the handkerchief is quite empty. Move your arms toward your right till your left hand comes just over the edge of the right side of your vest. With your left thumb and forefinger catch hold of the stem of the feathers there concealed, and by moving your arms back towards the left, you can draw out without its being observed the plume that had been concealed under the right side of your vest. Toss about and display as before this second batch of feathers, and then place them aside.
Then show to the company again that your handkerchief has nothing in it, and lay the handkerchief over both your hands. While waving it mysteriously about, exclaim that the handkerchief must furnish you with some more feathers. Draw out of the left sleeve one of the plumes, shake the feathers out while taking off the handkerchief from this, which will be plume the third.
Then, throwing your handkerchief over the hand, and clapping your hands together, (with the left over the right hand,) manage to catch hold of another point of a plume, and pull it out from your right sleeve while waving about your two hands with the handkerchief over them. You have now produced four plumes.
The exhibition may be continued to an increased number of plumes, if you have more concealed in your sleeves, or elsewhere; but four will probably be sufficient to manage at the commencement of your career as an amateur conjuror.