The record-union., 1891-04-19

| pervious hood gains al The information
| he needs; the rest is easy.
All this is the work of the trickster.
Muscle-reading is another matter. In that
! the operator receives his knowledge by
an involuntary and very slight action of
! the muscles of one with whom he is in
contact. This is so delicate that it may
be perceptible. though copper wire is
held and there is no actual contact be-
| tween the hands Of the operator and the
subj ect. Among young people one in
| five possess the qualification of subject;
that is, one out of every five has muscles
that involuntarily indicate. Among
adults one in ten or twenty is thus con-
ditioned.
The operator with good subject re-
ceives in a moment, after taking the sub
ject's hand, information in what direction
to move. After that the task is easy.
Reading the number on bank note, or
| of any arbitrary set of figures, is modl-
fication of the feat. AS the operator
names over the nine digits, he receives a
thrill from the hand of the subject when
the correct figures are spoken. This tre-
NOR is so delicate as to be detected by the
operator only,
Again, a so-called mind-reader who is
very expert, will reproduce on the black
board geometrical figure, or rude pict-
ure thought of, either blindfolded or with
open eyes. The subject first traces the
! figure upon the board where the "mind-
reader' cannot see it. He then erases it,
and the operator, clasping the wrist or
hand of the other, traces with his right
hand, slowly, but with comparative ac-
curacy, the figure made by the subject.
This is the most difficult of all such feats.
| Professor Gatchell declares that people
capable of becoming muscle readers are
amazed when they find that they have
the delicacy of muscular perception to
enable them to Operate" The secret of
this perception is the ability to detect by
the tremor, or thrill of the subject, when
the operator is going wrong. When he
moves in right direction, there is per-
feet passivenesS on the part of the sub
ject-that is, the operator follows the line
OF least resistance offered by the subject.
In reading bank note number, the SUBJ
ject's mind as he thinks of the number,
is put at a tension; the instant proper
! figure is named there is relaxation, be-
cause of fulfillment of the expectation.
This causes muscular action, and by his
delicate sensibility the operator detects it.
The same rule applies in drawing the geo.
metrical figure, only greater expertness
is demanded, greater delicacy in reading
the muscular action.
In all tests the subject must be capable
of mental concentration, and the operator
must have acute perception of the slight
est action Of the muscles of the subject.
But why do the muscles indicate? The
Professor replies, because the ideational
centers correspond to the motor centers.
| Sudden release from the mental tension
on the part of the subject excites action
tin the cells of the cerebral cortex, and
nervous action causes q motor impulse to
be transmitted TO the muscles. The one
thing no ''mind-reader'' has ever done,
says Gatchell, is to read word kept in
| mind by another person, for no man can
be robbed Of his unuttered thought
Professor Gatchel's explanations are
clear, except that he does not, because he
cannot, describe the delicate sensibility
that is essential to success in the muscle
reader. His theories are certainly strong,
and his reasoning impresses us as quite
conclusive of their soundness.