The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-01-31
From the Louisville Courier. 24th.I.
Wonderful Exhibition In Mind Rcad.
Ing by VAR. J. II. Brown ri Masonic
Temple Last Nsshf

I from the Louisville Courier 23th.I'
Wonderful Exhibition in Mind Read.
Ing by VAR. J. II. Brown ri Masonic
Temple Last Night.
| Last evening was IA bad choice in every
respect for an exhibition Of the sort that
Mr.. Brown gave. II was Sunday, and
rainy, but he had quite respectable audi.
encc. as a good deal OF interest had been
excited by the preliminary private per-
| (ormauce Saturday night at the Gait House.
il may be well 10 state here Tint this enter.
tainmcnt impressed ev8xy one as entirely
| free from pretence or bumhug Of any kind.
Mr.. Browns manner, voice, and actious, and
| also what he claimed and what he proved,
were convincing that he was eoiiraly sincere
hone the less 80 because he found himself
and his methods entirely ineXplicahic TO
| himself.
SOMETHING OF HIMSELF.
Mr.. Brown began by giving some account
Of his life. He stated that he was born in
=. Louis, Mo-, and removed thence to Coun-
| Gil Bluffs, Iowa, where he pursued the occu.
patton Of machnist and manufacturer Of
wood. work His father is dead. The survi-
! vers Of his family are his mother, two bro
thcIs. and one sister; none Of whom pos
sess sympathetic gift like his. He does not
remember when his power came directly
| into his notice. As far back as his recolec-
ton extends he was able, by taking hold Of
| ones left hand, or even by shaking hands, TO
! be IN some communication with them, feel
Ing g sensation similar TO the effect of an
| electric battery. lie began gradually 10 ey-
pertinent, and found that under reas enable
and favorable conditions be could tell what
vas passing in the mind Of the person who
subjected himself to the test. His unusual
gift awakened great deal Of curiosity, and
he had often TO crafty it by proving what
fame asserted of him. This became burden
some, and he u! length resolved 10 eater upon
his pubic career.
BEFORE THE PUBLIC.
He made his first appearance in Chicago.
IL The Union Park Congregational church.
He atlrins that be is not Spiritualist, clair
yoy4nt. or iortune-lcller, and that he is i@no-
rant Of any lcgcrdcmain by which TO do
what NJ does, aud that lcgeld"main would
not accomplish il. But, further than that,
Mg possesses the quality or power Of follow
IN the mental concentrated action Of certain
r.r>OLS. These persons must have the
power Of concentration. If they have not. the
exp r;mcnt will fail il they have, it will
sure : succeed.
lie remarked that before an audience one
is ~, 10 become confused, and lack concen.
itrt;i0u upon such persons, and upon those
uo>.csscd OF no mind whatever he could not
prc,cad 10 operate, but upon fixed and firm
minds hc did not often faii.
GETTING TO WORK,
After this little address he proceeded TO
ask the audience 10 select q committee who
should sit upon the stage and see that all
/ t,.;r Ger
nominate d and chosen Captain Blgh, Cap
rain r. ". Gibson, Mr.. leu Brock, Mr.. 0.
". Thomas. and iir. Truman.
Mr.. Brown explained that it was his prac.
ticc 10 take with bis left hand the left hand
of the person whose mind he desired to
read, and TO carry the hand TO his own fore
head. S,rokipg with his right hand the fore.
head OF the subject. Then he was imme-
digtely able TO read. For an opening test,
. at his request, the committee chose some
gentleman from the audience-Maj0 or w. H..
rGcmaS. While Mr.. Brown was out of the
. bail back Of the scenes, under the surveillance
Of two OF the committee, Major Thomas hid a
little papcr.hOX ia the right side Of the
house MIR. Brown was conducted back TO
the Platform, where he blndfoldcd himself,
aud taking the left hand of Major Thomas in
his left, held it to his forehead. Almost i'm.
mcdia.ely after bending his, head over the
hand and pressing it TO the forehead be
: walked down = carpe,cd pair OF stairs TO the
floor, leading Maior Thomas right 10 the
spot where the box was concealed.
FINDING HIS MAN.
The next Experiment was as follows: The
committee was TO select some one from the
audience. who Was 10 come on the stage and
in his mind mark out some person sitting in
the auditorium, and without writing it down
or communicating the maine to any one he
was TO yield himself to have his mind read,
aud the person of whom he thought would
be designated by the mind-rcader." The
|. committee chose j. Spead Pcay, Esq, who
selected his man; and Mr. Brown, after
going through the usual prelimnaries, found
him. In going to the person thought Of by
Mr.. pcay, Mr.. Brown made great many
I devious Wanderings about the room, which
he explained wclC the corresponding deyia-
lions in Mr.. Pcay's mind, which the gentle
man acknowledged. This was proven by his
, following track mentally selected BY Mr..
: Tom johnson.
Mr.. Brown, while unable to explain what
enables bis mind to exercise this power, has
yet been able to note The stages Of the power.
He finds that he is improving, and quite re.
: Gently has been able to retain, the mental pic.
turc from the mind of another after the ban.
dagC has been icmoVed and he has come TO
his normal condition, so that, after reading
in the subjects mind the image Of q certain
person, he can afterwards recognize him,
THi> he proved. At first he was not success
full, but the gentleman with whom the test
\ va. tried explained that it was largely his
fault. Mr.. Q. w. Thomas was read more
satisfactorily, and Dir. Brown picked out Mr.,
Marble-thc right man. The next test vas
5 reading the initials from tue mind Of bis
e subject when his mind had been concentra
ted upon each letter separately.
READING INITIALS.
An alphabet was placed in full view upon
the stage, and Colonel Albert w. johnson
thought Of the initials Of name. He thought
first Of J. Z. j.. but remembering that such
{ were not the Initials Of the gentleman in his
, mind, he changed them to Z. 7. j. Mr.
| Brown was for a long time at fault. but when
Colonel job nSon'>mind was fixed, he point
ed out the initials, and, coming down into
the audience blindfolded, taking Coonc
Johnson with him, went right up to f. Polk
johnson, city editor OF the Courier Journal
VII was the person whom Colonel johnson
had in mind.
Mr.. Brown then proceeded to designate
the location OF pain in whatever part Of the
body it existed, or the subject imagined it eX
isted. He was successful in the case of Cap
tain BIigh, and those with whom he did moi
succecd mostly acknowledged that their