Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-06-22

peatlnS the manner and act of the murder
After moment or two he turned to hi
subject and simulated the stabbing him il
the breast. This experiment was eoaslts
cred a perfect success, considering that til,
subject violated the condition by first COM
hitting suicide and then living lons
enough and having presence of mine
enough to conceal the weapon in his owl
pocket.
While in Havana, Bishop was applied
to by young man of tender wears for in
struction in the art, the youth represent
Ing that ne had been offered quite liberia
sum to go to some small town in the int
rior Of the island and repeat Mr., Bishops
experiments there.
In Mexico, many offers were made OF al
equal division of lost property in case h,
would tell where it was 10 be found. but
Mr.. Bishop did not see why he should di
vide with any one if he could discover the
locality of any lost treasure. PEOPLE
could not understand that he only under
took to read in other peoples minds what
they wished him to know.
Many people also called to ask him To
visit the sick, thinking he could clairvoy.
antly diagnose the disease. The rules
which apply to hypnotism apply in his
case. By being blindlolded lie fairly hvp,
Noticed himself and taus secured inpres
sions Of other peoples minds, allowing the
subject to be for the time being the hypno,
tlzer. There Is also good deal Of invol-
untary muscle reading, which is perhaps as
wonderful as mind reading in its way, and
undoubtedly good deal Of clairvoyance.
which Is not as rare gift His expert
ence for fifteen years in public had made
him wonderfully clever in his line of bust,
ness, and he rarely failed to produce the
desired results If he failed with one
person, he took one more unreasonable
or tractable, and the audience was usually
satisfied with the result, while it was mvs-
titled by the manner in which it was ac-
complished. His was clever combination
of several powers. He advertised in San
Francisco that he would give an explana.
tion of his cabinet performance. But the
explanation-viz that while his hands
were tied firmly behind him he dislocated
/ his shoulder, so as 10 allow him to work
with his right hand at his left side-was
always unsatisfactory TO everybody in the
audience, as it Is to me, his accused con-
/ tederate. He had these powers and fac
ulties even when i boy at school. He was
at the Jesuit College, at Eordham, near
I New York, and he related that he never
even looked at or studied his lessons, but
with one of his teachers he could ALWAYS
recite them perfectly, answering all ques-
| lions, while with another teacher he was
as ignorant Of the lesson during recitation
as he was Before
His mother was the witness on whose
evidence the will of the late Commodore
Vanderbilt depended. Some Of the heirs
who wanted 4 more equal distribution of
the millions left behind, brought suit
against the executors and opposed the
probating Of the will on the ground that
the Commodore was of unsound mind, as
! he was in the habit Of consulting so-called
spirit mediums"
Mrs Bishop told me ne often had com
munications through her, and as Irving
! her SON was then posing before the public
as a denouncer of all mediums as frauds,
he was in an awkward position, and was
| compelled either to leave the country or
! to appear on the witness stand and de-
| nounce his mothers testimony. In this
! dilemma he thought it best to leave for
/ England, where he remained uutil the suit
was compromised and settled by the pay
ment of several million dollars to the orig
| inally sighted heirs.
While in Honolulu ne was passing the
evening with small but gay party, of
which the well-known Miss A. c. of San
| Francisco, was the leading spirit One of
the ladies expressed her disbelief in the
power of any hypnotizer to influence her.
Mr.. Bishop told her to hold in her hand a
silver coin (which he borrowed for the
! purpose from some one present. and to fix
her eyes intently on it. In ten or fifteen
minutes she was in delightfully."- hypnotic
state, and a perfectly tractable subject.
Mr.. Bishop experimental on her in the
usual way and when he ordered her to re-
main rigid with her arms extended, no
force could bend her limbs.
As the hour was late and his horse was
at the door waiting to carry him home,
about six miles away, he jumped on the
saddle entirely forgetting to say good
night to Lis subject inside. On his ar
rival home he found the telephone bell
ringing as if possessed of several evil
spirits. Civilization is so rampant in the
Hawaiian islands since they have re-
nounced cannibalism that nearly every
house las one or two telephones.
Mr.. Bishop answered the call at once
He was told that every means had been
exhausted by the parties left behind in the
house to get the limb back to its normal
position. They urged him to ride back as
fast as possible to relieve the subject from
her peculiar though perhaps artistic pose
He telephoned them to send for doctor
who by injecting little morphine could
accomplish the desired result. Next time
he met the young lady she made him
promise, on his word of honor, never again
to in any way exercise his hypnotic power
over her, and only on this condition was
he pardoned for the cruel, practical Joke
played upon her.
Once with me he was anxious to learn
the real name of mutual acquaintance.
| told him | knew it, and if he wanted to
know it also he could easily find it out by
reading it in my mind. He paced up and
down the room, clutching convulsively at
his luxuriaut hair, and at last acknowl-
edged his inability to read it when he
was not blindfolded and in an abnormal
condition, do not believe he could ever
have discovered it unless / gave it to him
unconsciously through muscle reading, he
being before blackboard, as he read other
names at times.
Bishop has often been accused of being
addicted to the use Of alcoholic stimulants,
but such accusations are unjust, though
perhaps rot unfounded. In fact, | don't
believe it was possible for any man to make
him drunk. He sometimes at his enter
tainmeEts drank an entire bottle of wine
of cocoa, one wineglass of which is usually
considered sufficiently strong dose, and
it was remarkable how his delicate organi-
zation could resist such terrible strains as
he subjected it to. He appeared on the
stage like delicate boy 20 years of age,
although AZ years had rolled past him.
His hands were so small that he could slip
off any hanseuff ever made for criminals.
His muscular strength, as shown by the
powerful biceps of his arm, was quite sur
nriSipp