The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-07-01

pressure to move you. Do you sec? 70
demonstrate how simple tho thing is let
me give you an additional point. When
you feel that the pressure. is about to
sway You, relax your muscles. When
the pressure propels you backward let
your arms give in the direction of the
movement. When tho pressure is for
ward avail yourself of the same precau-
ton. In other words, instead of bmcing
yourself firmly, remain perfectly limp,
and then think it will require IL super
natural force to move you.''
Again we essaycd the feat, | closely
following the young womans instruc-
tions. This time victory was on my
side, and / stood abashed at the simple
explanation of II feat which some time
ago had seemed sufficiently extraordina-
ry to call forth letters of inquiry from
some OF the most scientific minds in
America. "Let me show you some
thing" said my fair entertainer, taking
n batch of letters from an open trunk
and soliciting one incloscd in blue en-
velope. "Here is letter from an Ok
ford professor who happened to witness
one Of my performances If you will
glance over it you will sec that he was
particularly struck with the cane test,
which he considered marvellous. He
asked about the date Of my birth, my
general health and wished to learn
whether any of my ancestors, SO far as
known, possessed any of my peculiar
characteristics. He also requested, as n
particular favor, that 1 would give u
private seancc for the benefit of himself
and several wcll-known scientists. The
performance was not given. Now, that
man, like thousands of Others learned
as he was, instead of trying to clucidate
my feats through the medium of natural
agencies, dipped into abstruse science
and got lost, for of course there was
nothing abstruse in the means / used"
''In regard to some of your other
feats, may L ask how it is possible to
hold a chair raised few feet in the air
SO the united efforts of half dozen men
cannot force it to the ground?"
''lt can be done very easily" was the
reply, elf you possess Il certain amount
OF physical strength, and it is much more
difficult to control chair held by one
strong individual than it would he if it
were held by six. [ will make it clear to
you. We will suppose you to be the
performer. You are q man of strength
and will and you are determined to sue
ceed before your audience. Failure
means ruin to you SO far as financial s,lc-
cess is concerned. Therefore you forget
your audience and everything else but
the end in view. You take possession of
the chair with n resolution not to be
shaken by surrounding circumstances.
The SIX men, on the contrary, are think
ing principally of the dcrision likely to
follow an exhibition of muscular supcri-
ority. There being half a dozen of my
n 10, g
anything like firm hold on the disputed
article, and each one, as rule, tugged
in an opposite direction to his neighbor.
One does not try to hold the chair up.
Simply by pushing it with all my
strength force it against my foes and
shove them from one side Of the stage
to the other. The dcrsion of the audi
cnce quickly relaXcs their muscles, while
l. never fOrGRn instant lose my sclf-con-
trol. While L keep on pushing persist
entity, my opponents grow more unsteady
ON their limbs, and finally, wearied out,
they retire in disgust"
Can you tell me how, by simply
placing your open palms against the
sides of chair, you can lift it when it is
occupied by man weighing 200 pounds
and Ovcr?"
"Some persons could accomplish it
readily" was the answer, "aided by GER
tain favorable conditions. Most men in
sitting down throw themselves back in
such way that the front legs of the
chair arc nearly all the time clear of the
ground Almost the entire weight falls
on the hind legs. BY pressing the open
palms closely to the sides Of chair such
as is generally used in the performances
you cannot help gripping to certain
extent. If you possess n goodly allow
ancc Of strength this grip will enable you
to raise the chair Il few inches from the
ground. OF course it is only few
inches, and you drop it again rather
suddenly, but the audience hears the
legs strike the floor and you are victori-
Gus. Scc?"
"Well, how about the story that you
could not possibly carry a raised umbrcl-
Ia for more than three consecutive mo-
ments without its flying to pieces, [ in
qulrcd, eyeing meanwhile the discarded
and unharmcd pamsol rcposing by the
young womans sido.
con" she replied, displaying embar-
rassment for the first time, 'I was order
ed not to carry pnrasol in the streets
and simply obeyed instructions. It
was unpleasant, of course, to walk about
tnlplolccICu from Ine sun, Dut by tiit.tt
little sacrifice of personal comfort in
summer I was enabled to enjoy n fine
sealslin sacque in winter"
GLOW did you first discover your abili-
| ty to perform these feats?"
81 first discovered it," was the guile
less rGjoinder, "by going two or three
times to Wailack's Theatre md carefully
watching Lulu Hursts exhibition. The
spectators really furnished the greater
part of the performance. It was really
amusing to notice how the audience used
to watch my every move and construc it
into something mysterious. TO illus
trate-I had and still have habit of
passing my hand before my eyes and
also of running it through my bangs.
Well, young man would trip upon the
stage to try the cane test. He would
brace himself rigidly, grip the stick and
look me square in the face, dctermina-
ton pcrsonifcd The audience were
the alert, and he knew it, | woulu
quickly raise my hand from the stick
and pass it before my eyes. Half the
spectators would immediately whisper