The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-02-28
PEPPER PRESTIDIGIIATION.
DAVID LDBERGER SHOWS HOW
DIR. FUNK has FOOLED.
Clever Sleight Of Hand and Thin space
Uclow the Bilndf0ld to Peep Through
Downward, Reasons for Mrs. Peppers
hurcess IN Reading Scaled Letters.

l'lNll A0iDlHlEfIs lli' All'llAiAi NiAi"H'a'N'i .
who challenged Mrs. May Pepper in her
own church on sunday night, took notes
all through the services. Except when he
was on his feet demanding that she read
a sealed letter written 10y the reporters
Goldherger was sitting quietly, Observing
her every motion. His seat was In the
gallery. directly to the loft of the medium,
an excellent point for observation. He
and his friend. W. s. Davis the ex-mcdinm,
held meeting In Davis's printing shop
% Spruce street yesterday and repro
duccd for Sun reporter the alleged
methods OF Mrs Pepper in reading the first
and third sealed letters Sunday night
Il will he remembered that she per-
formed this feat bllndfoded, and that
the sealed letters which she read were
selected from the pile on her pulpit by Dr.
Funk who st God at her left hand all through
the test. She revealed tho contents OF
these letters with great success.
Now, follow Mrs. Peppers movements
from the time she entered the pulpit said
Mr. Goldberger IN omit at this point
some Juggling she did with her big Oxford
Bible, because that clouds the main issue.
There was about twenty minutes of singing
ly tie congregation and choir and Of Script
ure reading and IN address 10y Mrs. Pep
per before tie tests commenced. All that
time the pile Of letters lay on the pulpit
before her She Kept paving them over
feeling them. shutting them. and every
now and then she would lay one aside on
tie left hand corner Of the pulpit the corner
nearest Dr. funk's regular seat on the
platform.
cdr Funk llindfolded her with silk
handkerchief The lower edge of the
blindfod cawa about to the bridge Of Der
nose. -, ms hlihdfold you that way
and Mr. Goldbcrger bli1dfolded THE sun
reporter
Nov notice that you can't see in front of
you. tut you can see anything you hold
Level 1,th your breast That was true
IL short, it isn't a complete blindfoId DR..
Funk SELECTED the first letter, but he was
foxy Ho took it from tho main pile. not
the pile which she had prepared at the
c rner Of the desk. She began to talk
il hay, highfalutin language about that
letter began " manipulate 1t and wave
It in the AIR
IAN II a sudden she made an awkward
motion and scraped a dozen letters of
tho Pile. They lel to the platform. There |
was a little confusion and DR.. Funk stopped |
like gentleman TO PICK them up. His |
eyes were of the letter. Mrs Pepper !
st oped and asked him what had happened. /
In that position the high pulpit and her !
flowing black robes concealed her from the |
" hole congregation
see tie point?7 broke in Mr. Davis |
-She bad time right there To make a dozen !
changes She probably had the substitute
letter M her sleeve. She slipped in the
otter pr Funk had selected and brought
out the substitute.
And the rest was e0sy, said Mr.. Gold
berger. IL was a marvellous reading, and
when Dr. Funk opened that letter with per
mission of the writer, I've no doubt he
found that it agreed perfectly with Mrs.
Peppers readings.
Now we'l pass to No. q That time
Dr.. Funk bit. lie picked a letter from !
the pile which Nlrs. Pepper bad made on |
the corner Of tho table You probably |
told the man wEo aoknOwled dyed it that he |
he'd asked II Question about his business /
and that i was the extract and essence /
bpHness. fle acknowledged TINT she |
was right
@Of course, don't know quite how she
got AT the contents Of that letter The
sitter had most probably been worked |
by an accomplish, anyway. that letter
"a me from the pile which she had made for
Dr. Iunk's benefit.
when il came to the third letter DR..
Funk was getting incautious- Mrs. Pepper
sweft arr hand over her pile Here
= elect a letter she said shu Ming them care
le-sly with her left hand, and she forced
n letter ON him. just ~ an expert card sharp /
forces q card lie picket up the letter
she wanted him to select, all right. II was
a very successful reading
IN this system of marked letters she
only had 70 catch the mark on the Outside
To- know what 70 do. She was continually
thom biting their corners,
waving them ~ the air Twenty times
ehe had them VIE She could have seen n
mnTk below her bnnGfold. Then Of came
Tho hunatold and the rest was the same old
story.
Let me call your attention TO some other
thing- which happened When she started
the hymn -he stood up, holding one Of the
church : big hymn cards before her. She
dropped n Tor a moment on tho pile Of
letter, and when she lifted it she lifted
letter with it. An instant later that letter
was ont Of sight As in any sleight Of hand
trick the eye couldn't follow it
That may have been the point where she
got letter No. up her sleeve ready 10 sub
stitute on Dr. Funk. 1t wasn't really
necessary. bacau she could have brought
the phony letter into the pulpit with her
SIN, there was some funny bushes, there
Perhaps she wa? preparing for an emer-
gency which didn't arrive. I'm really
sorry that Dr Funk made his second and
third selections from the prepared pilc
II would have been interesting 70 zee how
che would Ravo varied the trick Of tipping
over the pile.
Vow ~, me call your attention to an
other lit II Juggling When Mrs Pepper
read from tho Scriptures she slirped a letter
into her Bih,o There followed q solo from
the choir during which Mr. PEPPER AT
and turned this loaves Of her Bible She
stopped turning and seemed TO he reading.
Ia reality she had turned 10 tho leaves
which enclosed tia. letterand was inspect
ing II. J didn't see II go back 70 the milo
after she laid down hnr Bible on tho pulpit
That easy put in Davis. That was
either her dope card memoranda on tho
evening" poforuaucel or IL was note
from a cnf Tolerate In really high class
work confederate often has to PASS m a
tip and he viii send IL on an Envelope which
is dropped into the bunch
The crowd Of medium smAshcrs assen
hled in Mr. Days's shop recalled another
little incident Of Mrs. Peppers Sunday
evening performance Along late in the
game, when she was no lon ger working
bludiodcd. n letter which she held un
was Identified by man in the SIDE seats
His answers 10 Mrs Peppers marvellous
revelations were delivered in 4 clear tone
which showed some training in public
speaking, and his admiration Of her work
was plain
Your work ia marvellous. Mrs Pepper
he said You hit the nail on the head
that time.
You don't know me do you7- asked
Mrs. pepucr. I'm a stranger 10 vol,