The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-06-23
MIND READING TOO EASY


woman who mystifed and amused them
Since going away from Lincoln, her
manager has publicly announced that
there is nothing supernatural about her
work and that "anybody can do it if he
only knows how" That will be a distinct
disappointment to hundreds of people
here who really believed that they wit
messed exhibitions Of genuine clairyoy-
ance.
This admission that all Of her-resuHs
are secured by perfectly natural means
has stimulated a good deal of inquiry
among people who were thoroughly puz-
zled over some Of the things they saw.
Conversation with men who have had
some experience in such matters brings
out the fact that while the work con-
POUNDS some of the shrewdest folks who
look into it, from the outside it is all
amazingly simple awheps viewed from the
vantage point Of an inside explanation.
The methods used,,b by 'riental wonders
and "Mahatmas" to mystfy an audience
are more numerous :thanathe fingers on
your two hands. Sometimes all of the
schemes will be in use in a single evening,
and again circumstances will make 1t
necessary for the ''seeress' to contne her
self to a single means of establishing
relations with her patrons. One success
full "White Mahatma" who made a for
tune in the business used as many as
five or six principal means of getting
possession of the questions asked by peo-
pie in the audience. 1t is futile to at
tempt to "expose" any of these perform
ers, for when one method of work is de-
scribed they immediately resort to an
other, and have a stronger hold than
ever upon the people who like to indulge
in these exhibitions of mystery. More
over, they are all so clever and so enter
tanning that their "show" is worth the
price of admission even if the people
know that the mental work. is only a
pretense to cover up some Of the cleverest
Juggling seen on the stage.
The "Mahatma" goes to a city and
remains at one of the theaters for one
or two weeks. The company, so far as
1t IS seen on the stage, is exceedingly
small, comprising not more than three
or four people, AS matter of fact
about a dozen belong to the company,
and all are needed to carry out the work
OF entertaining and amazing theAaudi-
ences The performance in the theaters
varies, some companies putting on a num-
. Der Of entertaining acts while others de-
vote themselves mainly to mind read
ing" When this part Of the programme
comes the chief performer sits on the
stage with a sheet thrown over her head,
and While in that condition deciphers and
answers questions written on paper bv
the people in the audience. No connec-
ton whatever can be seen between the
people In the audience and the performer
on the stage. Often the "Mahatma" will
very the proceedings by calling out the
name of a person and saying that he
wants to ask a certain question, which
has not been written down at all, and
which the person confesses that he did
want to ask. Again the most intimate
facts will be told about persons in the
audience to their intense surprise. Now
and then prophecies will be made of
things that are about to happen. Some
of these turn out to be true, and then
the whole town will hear Of them. 9th
ers will fail to come out as expected
and of these the public will hear moth
ing.
The great problem is to carry knowl-
edge Of the questions back to the per-
former without detection. This is done
according to explanations secured from
various sources by simple methods. the
two leading being by the of
carbon boards and by passing notes back
to the stage through the stage steps, or
some convenient piece of furniture
against which the men working in the
audience carelessly lean while they are
resting"
When the time comes to get the ques-
lions several men go into the audience
and distribute pieces of heavy cardboard
about an eighth of an inch in thickness
and six by eight inches in size. These
are used as desks by the people who wish
to write A few Of these boards have
concealed inside of them a piece of car
bon paper and some white paper. They
are put together so carefully that they
look just as solid as the boards that are
not supplied with carbon. After the ques-
tons are written on these boards they
are taken back of the stage and ripped
open and the questions are deciphered
written in little book and put in the
pocket of the performer under the sheet.
Large numbers of people in every audi
ence are wary CT the boards circulated
by the assistants. They write on the
backs Of the seats or on business cards
or envelopes taken from their pockets.
pockets without showing them to any
body. they are not answered for the rea-
son that they cannot be. The assistant
will manage to get the slip of paper if
possible, and then will do one Of two
things. He will take the paper in his
hand, apparently in plain sight all the
time, and walk down toward the stage
and lean In a careless way upon the run
way" that has been put in to let the in
vestigating committee Of prominent citi-
zens walk upon the stage. BY the time
the assistant gets to this place he has
managed to palm the original question,
holding up dummy piece of paper just
like it. He then leans as if tired upon
the runway, managing to have his palm
just over a little crack that has been left
there for the purpose. A boy concealed
below grabs the paper, puts it into box
which another boy pulls through to a
room under the stage where a woman sits
at a speaking tube reaching up through
the stage floor to Che ear Of the woman
under the sheet. The question Is read
into the tube, the name Is given and in
stantly the paper is whisked back up
through the crack and into the palm OF
the assistant again. Then the "Mahatma"
says. here COMES u nc tLS tAAeIAiAS ~
{ John Jilkson. He wants to know about
his mine in Montana. It will turn out to
be very rich, or something like that.
The assistant deity slips the original
paper from mis- palm into his other hand,
opens it, and the man who wrote it is
ready to testify on his oath that nobody
saw him write the question and it has not
been out of his sight since he wrote It,
Another way of dealing with these
questions is ], st as simple. The assist.
4 ant comes along to q man who has W,s'4-