“Ties” have always been one of the great standbys of mediums, second only to slate writing. The following is a simple test with a rope or piece of string: A long piece of rope is given for inspection, and, on its return to the medium, he coils it up and lays it on the table; the two ends are tied together and sealed fast to the table. The coils of the rope are now allowed to drop on the floor. Lights are lowered, and, in a few minutes, when the lights are relighted, the coil of rope is found with numerous knots tied in it that could not naturally have been accomplished without the ends being untied and unsealed. This mystery is accomplished by simple means. When the medium receives the rope back he does not coil it up as a person would, in the ordinary fashion, but makes the coils so they really form half hitches, and, as he lays them on the table, he runs one of the free ends through all the coils, then ties the two ends together. Each coil will now form an overhand knot. An easy manner of manipulating the rope is as follows: The rope is held in the hands, with palms upward; now, to form the coil, or half hitch, the right hand is given a half twist; this brings the palm facing the person’s breast and back of hand outward, and leaves the rope as seen in Fig. 33; this loop is transferred to the left hand (Fig. 34), and the operation repeated until the supply of the rope is exhausted. Now, to make the knots, one end of the rope has simply to be passed through all the loops. [Illustration: Fig. 33.--First Position.] [Illustration: Fig. 34.--Second Position.] I have seen the above test worked also as follows: Two skeptics were used. One end of the rope was fastened to one of the skeptic’s wrists and the other end to the wrist of the second skeptic. The knots were sealed. The rope in this case was quite long, about twenty feet. The medium now makes the rope up into a few coils; out go the lights, and, in a few minutes, on the lights being turned up, the rope is found with knots. This is what happens: When the lights went out, the medium went up to one of the skeptics, and, while talking to him and moving him two or three feet further away from the other skeptic, he has passed the coils over this one man’s head, and allowed the coils to drop to the floor. As soon as the skeptic steps out of these, the job is done.