The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-07-22
THE BOY M|ND-READER.
A Youth Who Is Doing Some Gu
rious Things in the Blue
Grass State.
The Discovery of His Power Was
Accidentally Made and
Tested.
Blindfolded, He Finds Articles Hidden,
and Reports Correctly Figures and
Words Thought of by Others.

new mind reader has been discovered
at Glasgow, KY. or rather discovered him
self accidentally, not long since. He IS
Flavius Taylor. the son of DIR. f. j. Taylor,
Glasgow ply siciap. His ago is 10 years
and some account Of his doings has been
sent to the Courier-Journal by DR.. p. G.
Sutphin, another Of GlasGow's physicions,
who is familiar with the young mans case.
and has made a study Of mind reading. as
we'll as what is termed muscle reading"
by performers who claim to be guided by
the thrills of the muscles of the subject.
DIR. Sutphin gives some speculations at
length on the alleged distinction between
mind reading and muscle reading, and
arrives ut the conclusion that, though
there may be trickery and impostufo
used by some people, there is such a
thing RS mind reading and no such thing
as muscle reading. He quotes from Stuart
Cumberland, an English mind reader, who
claimed that he was guided by the muscles,
and who, in a performance before the khe-
dive Of Egypt, wrote a word
thought of (the name of the khedive's son,
Abbas) on a piece of paper, in Arabic, a
language of which he knew nothing, and
this without a moments hesitation. Cum
berland said this was muscle reading, but
DIR. Sutphin details a similar test with
young Taylor. which, he claims, shows the
mind must bear its part in such a test as
we'll AS the muscles. HIS is willing to say
that some things may be done by muscle
reading, but that Others cannot. DR.. SUIT
phin, in his description OF young Taylor's
performance, SAYS:
1--WE may concede all that Mr.. Cumber-
land says of muscle reading, may agree
that all his feats we're performed by it, yet
when it is attempted to include all min
reading in this. then it will be found that
this cannot be done. There is much of
mind reading. indeed, that could not be
explained; nor. in fact, be accomplished by
muscle reading. This is fully proved by a
lately developed mind reader hers in the
place in which | live-a young man, Fla
vius Taylor. 10 years of age, son of DR.. 7. j.
Taylor. u prominent physician and pension
medical examiner. 1t is not improbable
that in nearly every instance the gift of
mind reading has been of accidental dis
covery on the part of the one possessing it,
and thus it was accidentally made known to
young Taylor. Several months ago an itin-
Grant mind reader exhibited in this place and
young Taylor ATTENDED HIS performance.
Returning home he playfully remarked to a
young man who had accompanied him that
he thought he would make a good mind
reader, and that If the ether would blind
fold him and hid something he would find
it for him. To have q little amusement he
was duly blindfolded and told to find p
boo that had been hidden in sn s%lincent
room. He graspsd the hand of that young
man who had hidden the book, but Was ut
terly surprised to find that not only the
book, but also its place of eoncaalnent,
were impressed on his mind. He readily
took the young man to the place whers tho
book was and handed 1t to him. After this
there were more or less frequent tests of his
powers in finding things thus, while all
hidden articles were always promptly
located by him. Intermingled with
these tests were ethers, such as
to take a particular fower of a number of
flowers in a vase in the room, and to hand
1t to a certain young lady present; to re-
move the watch from the pocket of a Ger
tain gentleman and to put it into that of
another certain gentleman: to go to a Ii
brary and to take out some particular vol
ume in it, and to turn to a certain page and
paragraph or sentence in it, and so on of
other requests of this sort.
"All these were readily and accurately
done by him, down to the minutest partic-
ular of the wish. III. Cumberland, how
wv CoC ~ h~No I'IliO UlAllGS iul .
equal to this by muscle reading, being di-
rected in them by the muscular tremors of
the hand kept inclosed in his. In this way,
hesays, he only followed direction, and knew
nothing really of the mind. and only did as
the tremors directed, He did. in other
words, precisely what the hand he was
holding would have done. di! ectel by the
individual. In this, of course, there was no
mind reading, but a guidance only by mus
Gle signaling. Suppose, howevee, it was
required to take hold of the hand and
next tell any particular thought of the
mind-not find anything or to do anything
that the hand of the individual might do,
but simply to take the hand and say. not
act out, what the thought was-then this
could only be gotten direct from the mind.
and in no other way, as mere muscle read
ing. in this case, would simply ba impossi-
BILE. In this case it would be necessary to
see thought itself, to tell what it was,
which the thrill of the muscles would not
admit of. And yst young Taylor can do
this. He has been mentally requested.
air On the organ, one of a num-
Der PLAYED by him. When catching
hold of the hand to kno what it was, he
would go to the organ and play it, using
both hands for the uurposa Had ha heen