The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-03-24
MIND READING.
How it Can be Accomplished Any by One---The Secret Of the So-Caiied
 Mystery Revealed
lExehange..

A Boston correspondent writing to the H<ss says: Mir. Stuart Cumberland, the English thought-reader, has been trying his power on the folks of Boston. Twas among the persons who beheid the exhi- bitions. His method was very simple. Alter inviting any one present to think upon particular object in the room, he took that persons left hand between the thumb and finger tips of both his own hands and held it to his forehead. He was blindfolded with handkerchief, ap- parently an extra precaution against sue cess, hut really most useful to him in aid- ing the concentration of his mind on that ot the subject"
 He really succeeded ia leading his sub ject to the exact place of every object thought of by the latter. Then he pro cecded to more difficult feats, such as thinking out the date of coin, all at once in some instances, and figure by figure in others, according as he directed his subject to concentrate his thoughts. More than once he had to ask his subject to give place to another man, to whom the thought was con6ded by the first, who apparently was not of transparent brain. IL was very interesting. if not particularly new or useful. Now will tell you some thing which is new, viz that the mind reading feAts of Mir. Cumberland or Mir. bishop can be performed by almost any body. They look very remarkable, but they are amazingly simple.
 A party of some eight or ten of us were sitting Tn a room the other evening when the subject of Cumberlands feats came up, and a lady present assured us that any one could do all that he did. Of course we were politely incredulous, until one of the number consented to become a " subject in the interests of science. She was taken into another room from whence she presently came back bInd- folded. In the meantime another one of us had fixed his mind upon a minia- ture on the mantlepiece, which he de- sired the '' medium" as shall call her, should take up and kiss. Then he placed his hand on the mediums forehead, and the latter after little hesitation walded straight over to the mantlepiece, and groping little, found the immature, and laughingly asked: What am 1 to do with this. ieel like kissing It" which she immediately did. The lady had never before essAyed ght-reading or any kind of black art. Similar experi- menis were tried wiih other members 0! the company and SIX of the lot proved more or less capable readers D.d believe Tn the genuineness of the moni- testation,. Not any more than expect you, reader, to believe what am teiling you. But did what ask you to do, tired 1t myself and found il was genuine Of course there were some much more susceptible than others, and the power m each varied at different tunes. Sull out of any dozen ordinary intelligent peo- ! pie think there Can be found some ca pablo of dolng all that the professional mind-reader can do. But the reader must make up his mind 10 think of noth- ing after his eyes are biindfolded, but re- man ~s much as possible in state of reccptlsity, awaiting the thought which will surely come 10 him. He must also be prepared to accept whatever sugges- ton comes to him, without stopping to analvze 1t. or think whether or not II Is the right one. My friends complimen, me by saying have, normally, just the vacant kind of brain pan whlcn can be loaded up promptly from the outside. However this may be, my experience has been interesting.
 After waiting a few minutes with my eyes closed, icit a strong inclination to walk toward the right. l always do for that matter, morally speaking Alter taking few steps followed an impulse to change my direction. Then stopped, sal down on the floor and finally began unouttonins my lett shoe, which was ex- actly what they had privately ~iiled me to do. In this there might possibly have been some triekery. you will say. The company may really have wished me to do something else, and only pretended 10 wlil that which did. But was among the company when other subjects did pre- cisely what we agreed to will. Moreover there was no possibility of collision Tn these cases. because vas with the sub Jeot all the tune, and saw that he could have received no private information of wha, was wanted ot him.
 These. however. were trihing things Subsequently we under ook more difficult feAts with astonishing success. A young lady, closely bhndfolded, was handed card after card from pack, and holding
 
 nation at once. correctl, sometimes with the back, but oftener with the face held to her forehead. Usually showed the card 10 all present except, of course. the subject. the theory being that the combined knowledge of the company aided the reading by the subject found. however. tha, good subject could read even better when nobody but the one who held the card to her forehead knew what II was. \ few times l tried the experi- ment of picking up the card at random. without looking at Il. and held It to her forehead. both of us trying to think i, to- ge,her. The hrst tune made out the n.ne of diamonds, but the sublec, said sine saw the ten of the suit. and she was right. This experiment. failed as often as It succeeded glve our experience for what II is worth.
 tried the same subJec, with business card and she read II slowly but correctly throughout. With another card she failed only in the street number, guessing wildly away from the correct hgures. A folded paper with a name written upon 1t