St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-07
TOPICAL TALK.

| week has seemed to recall some reminis-
cences of my own experience in psychology
cal research. 1t is a common trait in human
nature to be prying into things of which we
| can have no possible knowledge, and to be
| continually trying to lift the veil from OBJ.
| jects which the divine hand has purposely
| obscured from human view. In women We
| speak of this trait as mere exhibition of
| feminine curiosity. But in men we dignity
1t with Understanding appellation, and
| call 1t scientific investigation. And my OBJ
| servation leads me to remark that the better
| educated the man the bigger fool he is apt
| to make of himself when he gets to med
| ding with things that are beyond human
| knowledge. But to return to my reminis-
| cences
| 1t was several years ago in Southern
| town that I became interested in the public
exhibitions of a so.called mind reader. 1
went every night. and each succeeding night
| came away more and more mystified. 1t so
happened that year or two afterwards
| met this same man in Washington. He was
then out of the show business and employed
| IN government work. and I yentured to ask
him i'll confidence the explanation of his
| mlnd-readlng power. Il think better term
| would be pulse reading, or nerve interpreta-
| ton" he began; for after al it is only the
| operation of a nervous sympathy between
| 1ndiyi duals. There is nothing marvellous
| about 1t, because it is power common to the
| human race. Any person possessed of quick
| intelligence who will give the same time and
study to the subject can develop into as ex-
pert mind reader as 1 am. To illustrate,
you and another person will be engaged in
conversation on a subject in which both are
| lnterested-your brains are working in SYM
pathy, your thoughts are directed in the
| same direction and concentrated upon the
same object; and consequently, as the CONVEX
| satlon progresses, you find yourself readily
| anticipating what the other person is about
to say. There is mind reading for you, and
it is simply the operation of the nervous
sympathy that has been created between
YOU"
"How about those mental pictures YOU
used to speak of during your exhibitions?'' 1
asked. "Oh, that is all fol-de-rol,', he re-
| piled; ''the pictures only exist in magma
ton. When. / started out TO find a hidden
OBJECT, or to identify some unknown person,
always took my subject along with me and
held onto his hand or wrist Practice makes
| perfect, you know. and thus learned to tell
from the pulse beat, or from the nervous
tremor of his hand, when / was in the
nelghborhood of the article or person for
| winch L was searching. That is why say
| pulse reading or nerve Interpretation is a
| better term for this so-called science. IF
| mind reading is a science it is the simplest
science in the world, for the little tot at the
| mothor's knee knows from the touch of her
hand whether love or anger predominates in
the mothers mind. If could get hold of
subject that was easily mesmerIzed, 1 never
tailed to give successful entertainment"
TIT
Having got all the light wanted on mind
reading, 1neXt turned my steps in pursuit of
| psychological truth i'll the direction of spir-
ltualism. There was a noted spiritualist
| in the city, an old man whose home was in
Philadelphia, but who had come over to
Washington on the invitation of a senator.
| and was astonishing the statesmen of the
nation with his clairvoya1t powers ! sought
| him out, and, like NICoDEMUs, I went by
| night, beause 1 was ashamed to go in day-
| light BY appointment 1 visited him at his
room, where. after a two hours talk, he pro-
| posed to give me test of his ability to COM
| municate with the dead. I protested that il
would be mocSery on my part, as did not
believe one word he had been telling me.
He said he respected my feelings, but would
like to give me an exemplification of his
powers; SO, finally, yielded, and the test
! NoS Al'uC. IHSIC we were, alone III q univ
lighted room, about that hour of the night
| when ghosts are supposed to stalk forth The
hushed silence was oppressive We had
been talking of spirits until could almost
| imagine l heard the flutter of wings in the
| air, and when the old man stepped forward
| and took my hand in his. experienced a
| ghostly impression that had never felt be-
| fore. He kept his eyes closed during his talk
and he startled me by his very first uttera
| ances. He commenced to tell me of near
| and dear relatives long ago dead, who,
| according to- his statement, were present and
wished to communicate with me. He gave
me the Il lumber Of years each one had been
| dead and what particular disease they
had died from, and correctly. He then pro-
| ceeded to relate instances and circumstances
concerning them which 1 felt confident he
| could have no possible means of knowing.
l had gone there to seek the natural explana-
| nation of the so-called phenomenou-spir-
itualism. l was now farther in the realm of
| mystery than had proposed to go, and was
| getting in deeper water right along l could
| see no way of extricating myself so called
| sudden halt and broke up the seance. l
| felt that | was rude, but had to be in self
| defense, and / left the house wondering
whether or not would ever solve the mys-
| teries of that night 1t was year or more
| afterwards that learned from a friend, to
| whom had confdentially communicated nv
| purpose OF visiting the medium that he had
| gone to the old man before got there and
! given him few tips on my family history
rTT
The new opera house is to be called the
Arcade. Its seating capacity will be 1900,
but the seats will be three inches wider than
| IN the old Grand, the rows six inches further
| apart so as to give more leg room ond thew
will be elegantly upholstered The syndicate
concluded their negotiations with Mr.. SCOTT
yesterday, by which heis to assume manage
ment of the new theater. He will leave to-
| night for New York to book engagements for
next season, and the opening will be fixed
| for Oct. 1. The theater will be ready for
| occupancy by that time, although the whole
Arcade building will not be completed.
TrT
The managers of-the Corning Home are in
| hunt of a man, but they want to be sure that
| they get the right sort sort OF a one They
| find that there are in this city over 300 boys
! between four and sixteen years of age who
| come under the denomination of street bows
| and it is the object of the association to look
| after all of them; to take the homeless to the
| Corning home, and to help the worthy to
| obtain employment. To accomplish this they
| must have the services of man adapted to
! this work, and one who will be fond of it.
| The two ladies now in charge of the work,
! Miss JOHNSTON and Miss RANKIN, are giving
| entire satisfaction and performing heroic
| service, but the WORK is beyond their physical
| strength, and for that reason the managers
have decided to give them the assistance of a
| gentleman, if one who is qualified can be
| found to undertake the work on a liberal
| salary.