Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-07-01
FOSTER, THE MEDIUM.
An Alleged Exposure Of his TricS

From the San Francisco Chronicle.l
C. H. Foster, the soc called medium"
who left this city for Australia three
months ago, has returned. He metwlth
bad luck in the colonies. He was ex-
posed, and the Melbourne people threat
tened to prosecute him for obtaining
money under false pretenses. Two gen
tlemen, named Edward Fitzgerald and
St. Pierre Foley, constituted themselves
committee of detection, and together
they made several visits to Fosters
apartments. AT last they nailed him
at his tricks, and the Melbourne Tele-
graph of May 9th gives one of the gen.
tlemen account of il as follows:
The medium, whose every motion |
watched and weighed from the COM
mencement, now placed his hands on
his thighs in a very natural and unsus'
picious manner, at the same time leaning
greatly forward, speaking and delivering
messages of love from the unseen world
in rather promiscuous manner. The
distance between his elbows gradually
narrowed, and | noticed sufficient to
warrant my believing that his hands had
met, and that some preparation was
being made. What this was / have now
little doubt. After placing his hands on
the table in a careless manner, he sol
emnly observed, continuing conversa-
ton, and this spirit will, to prove her
identity, write her initials in letters OF
blood on my flesh, at the same time
raising his left hand over his head with
a Jerk, as If convulsed with an electric
shock. Lowering an arm, he rubbed
the back Of his hand slightly, whereupon
two initials appeared in red. This feat
was well received, but it is very easily
accounted for. Write the letters re-
quired with an ordinary lead pencil, or
almost any other similar point; hold
your arms for short time high, to allow
the blood in some degree to descend.
Then by friction you will bring out IN red
the marks drawn.
As to his reading the slips Of paper, !
also discovered that, but it is, like all
sleight of.hand tricks, most difficult to
explain on paper. 1t is, however, ac'
complished by him in the following man
ner: He sits facing the light, and the
sims are between him and it. | noticed
him patting and lingering them in an
unconcerned manner. He thus straight
ened them broadside on to him. There
didn't seem much in this, but find that
with a great deal of practice short.
sighted person may occasionally see suf-
fcient, in the way of shadow, to make a
good guess. But this is not what he re-
lies on. l saw him, as usual, lift the
bundle Of slips and hold them in front
with his two hands-that is, with his
thumbs between the slips and his chest;
and though he engaged my attention
with the alphabetical card to dot over
for another party, kept one eye for his
movements, and saw, by the motion Of
his thumb knuckle near me and his sud
den glance downward, that he had
opened what, from my position, | would
call one of the back slips, and read it.
He made good use Of this in very short
time, and pronounced, in very decided
tone, that that spirit was present at the
same time throwing the slip on the table.
| saw it all then. 1t was disgustingly
simple. He afterwards read one of my
Enclosures in the same manner, under
cover" of the envelope to which it be-
longed. -,