The Washington times., 1906-04-22
4 8 s


To Indicate I 10 her he looks up
ward and toward the left; TO show that
IS is the number she must say be
looks straight ahead; g is shown by
downward glance in the rightkald di-
rection- See how easy il is
Yet. even now that I have exposed
this trick, the very people who Rad
the explanation will go 10 see other
persons perform It again and again ard
still be mystined by it. Almost every
trick of the same kind has been shown
up time and again. but people forget
or they are put in such a frame Of
mind by watching the man and woman
perform that they are ready subjects
for being bambOOzled-
My work in this line has been con-
fined almost entiT1Iy TO private enter
tainments. I like them better, for they
bring you clos4 TO your audience. and
IL is much more fun to move about n
small drawing room among intelligent
people who are all on the lookout 70
catch you and TO fool them than II IN
TO be at such a distance as a man Is in
= theater from his audience. In the
latter case he has such an advantage
over his audience that the odds are not
SpprLSrll5nllhe ana 1 EOOO zeal or
a sportsman when ii comes 10 that
'One OF my most successful tricks
is 70 have some one in a small room
ful Of people take a piece OF paper
and draw something on it with a pencil
Then 1 will have somebody else, equal
" unknown 10 me. duplicate this draw
ing az the other side of the room. with
out by any possibility having seen the
what II is. While I admit that this is
a trick. I do not care to tell how il is
done and will tell you why
Whenever two people work together,
as is usually the case in such exhibi-
tions, the audience is prepared TO be-
lieve, and should believe. that there is
trickery. The presence Of a confeder-
ate makes this possible But when on
" one man works the deceptiOns-if
they are deceptons-and must do IL all
himself-it is naturally much mora
wonderful when he succeeds. and he
should be permitted 10 keep the secret
Of whatever trick he may invent. I
do not admit that everything I do is
a trick-on the contrary, I claim an
ability 10 do certain things that cannot
readily be explained by natural means
There is no spiritualism about. as some
mediums have claimed when they have
seen my exhibitions. 1 don't believe in
spiritualism and know that every mani
festation made by any medium IN the
past twenty years in this country is a
fake pure and simple How such per
sons as DR. Funk, Prof. Hyslop. and
their associates can be bamboozIed by
the Mrs Pipers. Peppers, ct al, sur
passes my understanding
II would be willing 10 wager almost
anything that so far as the ability 10
read another persons mind goes Mrs.
Pepper. who has recently claimed 20 re
ceive a communication from DR.. Hodg-
sons spirit, is absolutely incapable.
know, as do the public, how many Of her
letter-reading tricks are done But even
those who no longer believe that she hss
spiritualistic powers give her credit for
being a telepathist or mindresder. Take
my word for it. Mrs Pepper is no mind
reader. but the veriest trickster, and the
things she does can be and are dupli-
Gated every day by people on the vaude-
Vile stage.
About the only supernatural element
ever introduced in public exhibitions Is
what is really muscle reading. Wash
jngton Irving Bishop used this and made
il very. successful under the disguise OF
mind reading He would allow some one
10 hide an object AT a great distance and
then holding the persons arm or touch
ing his elbow. go directly TO the place
and find the object while blindfolded.
This seems wonderful. and I have no
doubt il is rather remarkable Few
neopIe today can do il. but / learned the
method very easily and employ IL very
generally
''I can do it under any circumstances
and it is a source of great delight TO me-
to work a roomful Of friends into almost
a frenzy Of wonder by finding one OBJ
ject after another that they may hide
, about the house"