Show S f 1 t y T pi n FACTS FADS JL A FALLACIES dealing with personal magnetism telepathy psychology suggestion Sa estion hypnotism and spiritualism by EDWARD IL WARMAN A M K eminent emment and D u MUSCLE READING muscle reading la Is not reading the muscle but reading the mind by means crt of unconscious muscular action when this Is called mind reading in the ense sense tn in which it Is generally understood the term mind Imin reading dreading Is a misnomer and is in consequence mis leading its history story so called I 1 mind reading had its 1 in chicago in 1873 and was first demonstrated by one J randall a newspaper reporter in 1877 while brown was giving ex in chickering hall new york city a loung man whose tame fame afterward eclipsed that of brown and every other so called mind reader made himself known to brown and desired to be bis his assistant claiming he had like powers this was none other than the great washington irving bishop who saw the opportunity of gathering in the from a gullible public in conversation with mr bishop to fa chicago 1887 after he had made an international reputation he be admitted to me the trickery whereby all mind readers performed their various feats and strongly indorsed endorsed Indor sed the memorable words of P T barnum tle american people like to be hum bugged I 1 especially remember his remark in regard to the use of the wire which he touched to his forehead in order to read the mind ot of the one at the othor other end ot of the wire lie ile said the more mysterious you make the affair the less likely are they the public to un ravel it it when in england bishop secured the services of one charles garner as an assistant As bishop left brown so gamer garner left bishop as soon as the trick was discovered As bishop had invaded british territory garner sallied forth to do the americans but unlike bishop he did not care to put bla his label upon his work he ile came to this country as stuart cumberland the great mind reader of london eng land I 1 was an invited guest at a private his initial performance held in the parlors of the russell house detroit mich I 1 give herewith as briefly as possible not only what was done in a general way but the HOW A dozen or more prominent citizens including ministers lawyers reporters actors etc were present by special request when cumberland arrived he announced that his tests of mind min read dread frig ng would consist of finding hidden objects giving names dates ot of birth places ol 01 birth etc etc of those present he did all that he agreed to do and did it well under the guise ot of mind reading he ile failed in one instance only ot of this I 1 will hereinafter speak and that fallu uldenia me ble proof that results depend more largely upon the subject than upon the mind reader and wholly in n this case upon the physical contact before leaving the room and being blindfolded he took tool each ot of us by the band hand for an instant only why the more export expert the mind reader muscle reader the more sensitive to the touch even to so fine and delicate a sense as may be rightly termed supersensitive he eald said 1 I do this to as certain the best subject for the se verest or most difficult test tests viz the finding of three objects in quick sue cession not only his touch but his sight guided him in his choice he would not choose one of a phlegmatic temper ament or one of a sluggish circulation 1 I being of a nervous sanguine te temperament in pe sensitive to a marked degree was chosen tor the test teal how it was done first the blindfold this Is an as el si stance rather than a hindrance inasmuch as it shuts out all exterior dis tr actions from the operators mind it makes him more passive to the indol unitary muscular action of bis his subject besides it appears to render the work of the I 1 mind reader more difficult in nearly every case the operator produces a black kerchief to add to the deception which he places over the eyes and asks you to draw it tightly yes the tighter the better because he contracts the brows and even it if you put on an additional ker ter chief and told fold kid gloves over the eyes as did paul alexander johnstone the strain of the kerchief falls upon the part ot of the gloves resting against the contracted brows when he desires to see be raises his brows a ery sery simple thing indeed 4 this Is a very great aid and Is especially deceptive when describing a young lady in the audience to whom a book or bouquet Is to bo be given she was vms plainly visible to the operator from underneath the fold when he muscular action ot of the subject this blindfold Is also used to prove 7 that his experiments are not due to physical contact when be he does not tea s v H y touch the subject but instead extents his bands hands one above the other about b toot foot or more apart and direct is the subject to put one of his handa hands be neen ean and equidistant from his own were they placed on the level of his acs be he could not do the trick why because he could not bee see the action or movement of the subjects hand this Is essential to success because when the operator moves his hands in the wrong direction the subject a hand fol lows los tardily thereby indicating ancon and unintentionally to the operator that he Is moving in the wrong direction but when tho the opera tor Is on the right track the hand ot of the subject responds readily and re bains its relative position this blindfold trick Is also resorted to in the driving test through tbt th crowded thoroughfares of a city how ever in the case of johnstone a hood was worn the out cover being mohair the inner part ot of heavy broadcloth surely he could not see below this no he bad had no need to do so he could see through it by means of a neat little contrivance the strings that fastened the hood about the neck had a sort ot of double back action I 1 e they opened a seam in the front of the broadcloth hood that was not distinguishable through the mohair not distinguish able to the casual observer but en abbed the mind reader to distinguish objects very clearly so much for the blindfold and the part it plays in read ing minds once more to mr cumberland when he entered reentered re the room after having been blindfolded he took the band hand of one of the group who bad had hid bid den an object and be he found the object quickly he did this many times arid add accurately he ile failed but once there was a reason one of the reporters desired a test unfortunately tor for mr I 1 cumberland the reporter had been imbibing rather freely too freely to concentrate bis his mind on the hidden object the reporters reporter a hand was as limp so to speak as was his wind mind therefore as the operator depended en upon muscular action to indicate direction he was wholly at sea a ship without a rudder and be ile was obliged to give it up in the triple test with myself an as guide he admirably I 1 held my thought intently on each separate article individually not collectively held each one for the time being at the exclusion exclusio i of the two others mind reading or muscle reading which 4 undoubtedly and undeniably muscle reading in order todo justice to the operator my mind was fixed on the hidden object each in its turn so intent was I 1 that I 1 was not aware of a muscular movement on my part that was directing him to the object mind Is indivisible it Is impossible tor for the mind to be in two places at the same time the hand of the operator Is guided unmistakably guided by jae hand ot of the subject as soon as the physical contact is established as he fully surrenders himself to the indol unitary muscular leading of his subject true the operator Is usually in advance hence it may bo be said that the subject cannot lead but the subject cah caa push as well as pull the better word however Is direct 1 when the operator in his rush which is done tor for effect passes the point or place in the subjects mind he Is very quickly made aware of it by an involuntary movement on the part of the subject that arrests his at and directs bis his action in the giving of names dates etc mr cumberland had all the letters of the alphabet and the numerals up to ten arranged in regular order again he was as blindfolded and seated at a table he ile took the band of the subject and told him to think intently on the first letter of hla his name he then passed the subject subjects B hand slowly over the letters when the right letter was reached the supersensitive mind reader felt a slight involuntary movement on the part of the subject in scantly the opera operators toes hand darted down on the correct letter like a hawk on a chicken in this slow and tedious way he gave names dates etc and called it mind reading it you want additional and dent proof ot of involuntary muscular ac tion you may find it in your own per bonal experience it if you are a bicyclist recall the time you learned to rid aldo do you recollect that deathlike grip with which you clung to the handlebars 9 you saw an object in the street there was ample room on either side of it but you steered straight for it and then wondered why you hit it it why did you because mind Is andl visible and cannot be in two places a at the same time your mind was on the object in the street hence you wholly unconscious of 0 the muscular ac tion that guided the wheel you may remember the experience of the man who was learning to ride a wheel and had much difficulty in con sequence of a telegraph pole in front of bis his house the pole was on the side of the road not in the road but it al ways seemed to be in evidence no matter where he started that pole seemed to be bis his objective point he ile aimed straight for it un intention ally and his aim was good one day he started with his back to the pole although he was a novice he discor ered be ile was a trick rider his wheel made a complete circuit and struck the pole chyl because he be could not have bis his mind on the polo pole and on the wheel at the same time besides bo be feared the pole and what one fears he gets 1 the muscle reader and hla his subject hold exactly tho the same relation to each other as do the novice wheela wheelman ian and his wheel directed by unconscious muscular action Copy rii wn 10 47 by joseph B |