The Portland daily press., 1881-12-21
[Chicago Times.l
Mind Reading.
An Exposed Impostor stnl Plying his
Vocation.

Spiritualist papers throughout the country
are publishing the advertisement which, omit
ting the address of Mr.. Watkins, is copied
below:
All persons desiring to hear from their spirit
friends by independent slate writing and cannot
visit me- will, receiveug sealed letter and 50,
send an answer written slate independently.
Slate securely packed so as to keep the writing un-
etfaced. Will send to any part of United states;
also rules developing ones self for the ndepend-
ent slate writing phase-ffty cents.
1t may be worth while to recall one of Mr..
Watkins experiences in this city. The reader
will remember that several years ago young
man named Bishop was giving exposes of Spir-
itualism in this city, and that one Watkins
the same who advertiseS above-was assisting
him. The Times succeeded at that same time
in exposing the fraudulent character of the so
called spiritual manifestations of a man named
Huntson, and it happened that on the same
day that Huntson was caught, Watkins was
captured in an attempt to play trick, and the
account of the double exposure appeared in the
same issue of the Times. The experience with
Watkins was as follows: He claimed that atWhile
Bishop was doing good work in betraying the
shams of spiritualism, mind reading was q real
fact which even Bishop did not pretend TO
deny, and which would mystify the most acute
student; and Watkins claimed to possess the
unique power. In fact, he had been travelling
over the country giving exhibitions OF his skill
in that line, and had received the endOrse-
the late Epes Sargent. Those persons who
have read Mr.. Sargent's last Spiritualistic work
will recall the fact that he devotes page after
page to description of Mr.. Watkins exhib-
tions of mind reading given at Mr.. Sargent's
residence in Boston. in the presence OF ReA.
Joseph Cook and others. He recites with the
greatest minuteness the steps of the exhibition,
but passes over unnoticed the very thing which
should have caught his attention, and which
would have exposed the fraud. When Mr..
Watkins WA here hn rafnrrn0 raOnatedlV to the
power Of mind reading which he possessed, and
at the solicitation OF a representative OF the
Times consented to give manifestation. The
two repaired to the rooms OF the Owl Club, and
had an apartment alone. The plan OF the
manifestation is very simple, and the only won
der is that it should ever have received the at
tention of grown up men at ALL 1t Is better
adapted to the entertainment OF what Mark
Twain called ''young people OF all ages" Five
pellets of paper are rolled up, and placed in
row on toble: On one of them is some writ
ing. The medium does not know on which
one it is. he proceeds to his work. He fumD-
les one pellet after the other, picking them up
and laying them down again without their
leaving the sight Of the spectator; the medium
grasps his hair in dramatic way, strides about
the room, mumbles to himself and at last star
ties the unsophisticated investigator by announc
ing which of the pellets on the table contains
the writing, and what it Is.
Now, the whole thing is trick. The me-
dunn has surreptiIiously in his hand a pellet
like those on the table, and by palming it while
he is fumblng the others, substitutes 1t In place
of one of them. His gyrations, and groans, and
antics are merely to divert attention, and while
he has one of the original pellets in his hand
he walks about the room and awaits an oppor-
tunity to get his back to the spectator, and un-
fold and examine it. If it is the one written
on, he replaces it by the palming process, and
then announces what it is. If noth he continues
the method till he finds the right one. That
is all there is of the perfect mind reading.
the trick in the presence of the representative
Of the Times he was caught at it, and so COM
pletely that he had to acknowledge it.. The
expose so staggered him that he confessed then
and there that that was the way it had always
been done by him, and that it was the onlyiway
it could be done at all. Mr.. Epes Sargent and
Rev. Joseph Cook and the other distinguished
investigators were simply taken in by clever
trickster