The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-09-08
AN INTERESTING
PARLOR PASTIME
How 10 Practice One Form Of Alleged
CIairvoyauce.
1T is SIMPLE WHEN YOU KNOW HOW
All You Have to DO Is to Employ
Confederate in the Audience and
Then Humbug the Other Spectators
by a Little Pretense of Occult
Powers.

Writing in Popular Science News Of
alleged occult feats, Judge Bartlett
says: A trick somewhat similar to
that called mind reading is clairvoy-
ance. 1t may be performed as follows,
although in published explanations of
1t the modus operandi is much more
difficult and complicated.
The spectators seat themselves In
one part of the room, and racing them,
at some distance, the performers; slips
of paper are distributed, upon which
each of the party writes q sentence.
The sentences when written are COL
lected by an assistant, who is, in fact,
a confederate of the performer. TAX
ing one of the slips and standing be-
hind the latter and pressing 1t against
the performers forehead the assistant
asks to have it read.
After hesitating a little. to give due
effect to the situation, the person sit
ting in the chair reads what Is written,
for instance, rs this clairvoyance?
another slip is then selected, but be-
fore this is done, that already read Is
given to the performer, who, looking
at 1t. again reads 1t aloud, repeating
what has just before been read, and
tosses the paper aside. The same thing
Is done with a second and third slip
and with all others; in fact, through
the whole series. The truth of the
matter is that this sentence, which Is
not at all the one that Is really writ
ten on the slip the performer has pre-
tended to read, was written by the
assistant and was agreed upon before
hand. The real sentence, let us say, 1t
is, II write so badly you cannot, in
any case, read this" is read by the
performer when professedly reading
the former sentence the second time.
So this latter sentence, being noted
and remembered, is given as the con-
tents of the second slip, and so on
throughout.
In the published instructions for this
trick the performer is blindfolded in
such a manner that she" can get a
sly downward peep" at the slips on q
table before her. but this is entirely
unnecessary and greatly increases the
chances of failure.
EASILY FOOLED.
The spectators never seem to think
it at all odd or a suspicious circum-
stance, that the slips having been read
clairvoyantlyN, the performer should
verify the correctness Of his second
sight by reading them again with his
natural eyesight.
The performer, in deciphering the
slips held in contact with his fore
head, should not read them too glibly.
If some words are slowly and with
great appearance of effort, spelled out,
letter by letter. it aids the illusion.
The handwriting may, in cases where
it is a little hurriedly or carelessly
written, be laughingly criticised,
though care should be used to hurt
no ones feelings. At times, too, the
assistant can make passes over the
forehead of the operator to renew
the magnetic current" Indeed it is
a very good plan for the assistant to
begin by pretending to mesmerize the
| performer. The trick may be varied
! by using a pack of cards, which any
one or number of the audience are
| the cards in their correct order as they
| are pressed against his forehead. In
| this, as in the previous case, however,
due care must be exercised to keep
| the audience in their places at a con-
siderable distance from the performer
| There are few tricks so simple as this
which are so absolutely deceptive to
| persons unaccustomed to such perfor-
manceS