Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-12-23
nIsnor.s n.oRr . urEroArEp.
a Boston Editor saerEersns Ipis Fents
Easily.

A Boston Editor PerGex ma HlhN Fents
Easily.
A special 10 The Philadelphia Press
from Boston dated yesterday says:
One OF the most attentive spectators at
the recent remarkable miDd-readinF per-
formancea of Washington Irving Bishop,
in this city, was Charles n. Montague,
city editor Of the Glp5e. Mr.. Montague
is gentleman of fine nervous organiza.
ton, and be made up his mind that he
could duplicate Mr., Bishops perform
apces. He at once began practiciug MIR.
Bishops feats and with such marked
success that on Friday evening be invited
some 20 Of his acquaintances to his rooms
in Hotel Middlesex to test his powers.
Here MIR. Montague placed himself in the
power OF his friends and under conditions
which rendered collusion impossible. He
successfully performed svery one Of the
mastery achievements with which Mr..
Bishop electrified Boston. A scarf pin
was taken from gentleman and ,,laeed
in match safe suspended from the chan
delier. Mr., Montague WAS then brought
in from an adjoining room blindt,lded.
BY taking the hand of u gentleman who
kept his mind inteptly fixed on the object
Mr.. Montague easily found the pin
Various agents were selected from the
assembly, and with every one Mr.. Mon
tague had no difficulty in finding the con-
cealed objects. When the s'unatt ached
process" was tried, articles were secreted
about the room by various persons. and
by having the agent hold his hand about
four inches over Mr.. Montagues hand the
latter easily found all the hidden articles
Mr.. Montague then enacted the mock
murder scene exactly as Mr.. Bishop does
it. While Montague was blindfoliled in
another room, knife was produ ed, n
pretence made of stabbing lady, aud the
knife was then concenled In the sleeve of
a gentleman. Mr.. Montague wan then
led in, still blindfolded, and by simply
claBping the hand of an agent WHOSE mind
was fixed intently on the act, he found
the knife and repeated the feint of stab
bling. This operation was followed by
the finding of spool hidden In the attic,
Mr.. Montague being connected with his
agent only by piece Of wire.
Then the mind reader asked lady Sc
lected at random to think intently ON the
first note of some piece of music. He
then went to the piano, and, after mo.
ment's lingering, played the ancient song
$50 Tell Rhody," which the laily said
was correct. While blindfolded Mr.. Mon
tague succeeded in four and half min
utes in reproducing geometrical figure
drawn by member Of the party while
he was absent from the room. Many
other far more complicated feats were
successfully performed.
Mr.. Montague says he performs these
acts through no occult power, but purely
by natural agency. He blindfolds him
self in order to secure the most perfect
abstraction of mind. He wants the
entire outside world, except his subject
or agent, shut out. The subject must fix
his mind intently on the object to be dis
covered, and must give no muscularsfn-
dication whatever. The secret consists In
this. A person healthy in body and
mind will 60 towards an object of which
he is thinking great deal easier than he
will go away from it. He has been accus-
toned ever since birth to do this. IL he
fixes his mind intently on some object he
is bound by the very nature of his mental
and physical organization to go that way
more easily than the opposite.
The province of the mind-reader Is
simply to discover in which direction the
subject wishes to go and TO lead him
there. Being blindfolded and having his
mind intently fixed on his subject the
mind-reader observes the slightest indioa
tions Of volition and by quickness of mo-
ton he soon throws his subject off his
guard, and the rest is easy. Various sly
tricks connected with the above described
principle enables the reader to perform
feats without physical connection almost
as readily as with.