The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-10
BISHOP WAS A MYSTERY.
NO OTHER ~sO-CALLED MIND READ
BR DID FEATS LIKE RIS

have given exhibitions In New York during
the last half dozen years of what they alleged
to be mind reading" said n physician az tho
Lambs Club one night last week. "Bcing in.
terested In the subject 1 have seen them all.
They were simply more or less clever exhi-
billions of muscle reading. There are several
men In this club, and Harry Dixon Is one OF
them, who can duplicate every net Of these so
called mind readers. Not one of them. how
ever, has over duplicated the trick that WASH
ington Irving Bishop performed in this club
half a dozen years aRo. / knew Bishop we'll,
and. I was present on that occasion. Ills
death n few hours later in q cataleptic ft which
was apparently tho climax Of the intense
nervous excitement incident TO the successful
performance of the feat, was accepted by many
OF his friends as n proof of his claim that he did
his so-called mind reading while In n semi.
hypnotic condition. | don't know enough about
hypnotism TO affirm or deny that assertion.
Bishops last feat has never been explained
to my satisfaction. Previous to that fatal even
ing l have frequently seen Bishops exhibitions.
and I had always heen skcpticnl Of his claim
that he possessed any other power than that of
expert muscle reading. l said after his death,
and | say IL now, that. in my opinion, the
feat that Bishop did in this club on the even
ing before his death cannot be accounted for
upon any theory of known science or medi-
cine. II was and is a mystery"
Did you ever make n physical examination of
Bishop" asked one of the little group that
had been discussing muscle reading.
"Yes. several times replied the Doctor.
HE was n remarkable man physically. lie
was a man OF medium size and rather slender
build. but despite the fact that lie took no caro-
of his health he had "A wonderful muscular de
vclopment. His arms and back were strongly
developed. lie was Of an excessively nervous
temperament. and his mother said that he had
been subject to catale ptic fits from the age of q.
On several occasions after these fits ths doc
tors who were summoned to attend him said
that lie was dead. The fits usually followed
some mental e%xertion. At the time when Bishop
drove blindfolded through the streets from'thc
Hoffman House to the Gramercy Park Hotel
and found n min which u committee of well.
known men, had hidden in the latter house. |
found that his pulse. was lj2. Bishop himself
told mo that III" highly nervous condition, in
which he was thrown by performances of this
sort was a proof to him that there was an
abnormal. state "t, mind developed in his work.
''Do | believe that | can simply say that |
but | followed him clc scly the night before he
died and he my,tified me. Twp or three of
that you watched Bishop rs ! did. and | know
that none Of YOU sought an explanation of his
Harry Dixey brought Bishop as his guest
to that 'gamhol.' ana about midnight he went
WAY. lDlSllbU seemed W It III RDDl nttl1n
and spirits. / talked with him for II few min.
utss; and then he said:
Fee my arm
1T was a. firm as iron and he was very
proud OF 1t. Later in the evening | asked him
% give an exhibition of his powers. He was in
The detective trick. This little Rus~ian who
has cen giving exhibitions, here thi- winter
reading. Bishop left the room aud II member
of the club took a small DAGGER. and mode the
ger was concealed kIsinp was brpuylt In
blindfolded, with the hnnd of the nan who
had concealed the dagger on his own hand:
lis erformnnceS Without !" nome ImoImSn iGs'i hes,
itnr on he walked to where the DAG ger was
Aldrich ,was seated went through, the
motion of stahbing him. There was applause.
but Bishop tore of the bandage from his eyes
and snid:,
That's an easy one. Wait and III show
you one inst you never saw before and I'll
guarantee that no one else can doiy'
his death. Il 1t did not really cause it. He
asked clay Green to think of some word in the
clubs book of accounts or records. MIR. Green
Pr j. a. irwin, an acqn9irtapce of
performing his last trick, went down stairs
where these books are kept and found in the
club, minute book II name, Margaret Towns
end as til" name that Bislinp should find. There
was No. question OF collusion in this feat. |
than ! had ever seen him before. Mr.. Green
aud Or. Irwin hid the minute book and came
up -lNlTS. BISHOP WIS biilltlIDlt'l as Wlbfc, !
led the party down stairs. found the minute
and, turning over the pages %rapidly.
nj last to the page on which this name
He stopped Tor n second. and then.
Swimming hi~ finger over the page, settled on
lis that, III. he asked in q nervous way.
t5on;%% that IT. Sa-; he he led &c the wHy hack mp
the word was in 4 manner that would demon,
II1rnte abs"i liz that muscle readins had moth.
IN stand hnrL Nifhfnf tniirlinfr Mr.
Green. no asked him TO think %lnt"ntly Of the
word that had been selected. Bishop STOOD ap
The bandaGc covered his eyes and n part of his
:ace. Their" was perfect silence in the room
for nearly q minute. and then Bishop, speak
- think il is a name. Think it is a mans
ma aan f ion IN snIs '@t Hiyc statement ms Enma,I h in wH :, WTrHs
Some one gave him a piece of paper and a
,p wrote the word ''Townsrni,' but he wrote
Il reversed, As il would appear in n mirror were
he pape7 on which the word was written re
There, it is he said, and as the spectators
he 5Sc y ifTrGHa t dnt m nnd sn mnH b S"rs, un nmt% aEITisn7"
',SSeveral, physicians present guir,el thu fears
1f the club men by telling them INT bishop
and w"hc" ho was y" able to sit. he "a asked that
backward fashion IN which the name had
been written, might he accounted for by the
Thrt tIhI me OflRinhl ItTtttlOn OF every
hing seen by the eve II inverted. ms In a mir.
and Il reversed by the optic lens on the
way, to the brain. Bishop alleged that. what
nc had written was the exact COPY Of whnt
appeared In his eye, and Was written by him
any conscious intervention. lie was
n n highly excited state, and we took him to II
private room up stairs. He seemed greatly
slated over the success of his feat. and in
listed on repeating II, although Dir. Irwin for
Dade his doing so. Opposition seemed only to
him. and in the hone of q%uieting him.
h. was permitted ~ reueat the feat. This
line no had great difficulty in accomplishing
I, and when II was over he was completely
Frustrated. lie had frequent spasms, and at
o'clock he went into n coma which lasted
until his death. which occurred about noon.
There .wasa good deal printed about
Bishops death, and many different stories
we're told about his feRts here Just before II.
Ny statement Of them is correct, Bishops
of writing out the name Townsend that
lad been selected was not muscle reading evil
lently. some Of the so-CRlled mind readers
Who have followed him can find n certain word
m n printed PAGE 10y muscle reading, and then
hey write II ont 10y going through III" letters
Il the alphabet and putting them down one
~ ono ms the muscles NJ the guide are honud
% Indicate. There was no one touching Bishop.
have seen too many evidences OF telepathy to