The weekly clarion., 1874-11-12
MaND.READING.
Explorations by sBr Wm- KEam-
HmOnd.
From the New York Tribune-l

From the New York Tribune.l
Many curious experiments have beel
made in regard to the influence of th'
mind over the body, and the question
whether the mind of one person can in
terpret the thoughts of another, under
certain circumstances. has been mucE
discussed recently by physicians in thi
city. j. Z. Brown, who calls himself {
mind-reader, and who claims to be able
to determain the train of thought in an
other, when brought especially in con
tact, performed some experiments in thi.
city, and his methods were investigated
| by many distinguished physicians and
scientists Mr. Brown afterward weni
TO New Haven, and exhibited his power:
there, before a large audience. The
committee who there investigated Mr..
Browns methods, reported that they
''were not ready to assert that the claim
of mind-reading had been clearly main.
tanned"
DIR. William A. Hammond and several
other scientists attended several Of Mr..
Browns seances. as he called them,
while he was IN this city. Mr.. Brown
said that he could not operate through
Dr. Hammond, but could not give any
reason for such a statement. With other
gentlemen Mr.. Brown performed various
experiments. One of the gentlemen hid
his door KEY under mat in the hall.
Mr. Brown, blindfolded, took one of the
gentlemen's hands in his, and touched
the other, which was held against his
forehead. Mr. Brown then charged the
gentleman to think of nothing but the
place where the object was hidden. Mr.
Brown then led the gentleman about the
room and out into the hail. When they
reached the mat, Mr.. Brown stopped and
said: "Here it j." Mr.. Brown had also
a string Of large letters of the alphabet,
hung across the room, and upon this he
spelled out a word thought of by some
gentleman. This was often done cor
rectiy, though Mr.. Brown was securely
blindfolded all the time.
DIR. Hammond explains the process by
the theory that the person operated upon,
thinking intensely upon the subject.
gives some sign, involuntary, perhaps,
when the place is reached, or the OBJ
ject attained that is being sought. Mr..
Brown, by long pratice, probably per-
ceives an indication that another might
not notice. Dr. Hammond said that af-
ter little practice he had been able to
perform some of Mr.. Browns expert
II ents with complete success. In one ex-
pertinent DR.. Hammond wrote down
list Of names, and told a person to think
of one Of them. He then placed his
fingers upon the persons wrist and said,
"n0w I will tell you the name of the per-
son you are thinking of. Read over the
list and when you reach the right name l
shall know by your pulse which it Is"
The person then began and read down
the list, and each time when the name
thought of was reached by some means it
would be plainly indicated, to the great
astonishment of the person experimental
upon. ''The whole is explained to me,
added Dr. Hammond, "by the influence
of the mind over the body. The ma
jority of persons thinking steadily upon
one subject do not fail to give evidence
when that subject is reached which that
person has been expecting. The reason
why Mr.. Brown could not operate upon
me was, | would not allow myself to give
the slightest indication that would ena-
BILE him to detect my thoughts. found
this a very difficult thing to do; and, af-
ter | had tried it, | did not wonder that
many were unable to exercise this control.
| think that, when this theory of exter-
nal Indication of thought suddenly
touched upon, is followed up further, it
will explain the whole Of Mr.. Browns
mind.