Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-04-12

before. The middle name is William.
but the first name is-is-is-IIaines
Am 1 right?'
A murmur of assent passed through
the members of the party and all sat
watching the clear-eyed man. "The
last name puzzles me-yet 1t Is COM
mon," said Mr.. Benzon. 1T i'm
pressed me that 1t is something which
grows from the ground-not stalk; no,
that Is not the name; but it is some-
thing green-green-yes; yes, Reed
that is the name. Haines w. Reed! Is
that correct?"
The envelope was then opened and
the card found in the same position 1t
had been placed in the envelope. Dur
ing the experiment Mr.. BenZon had not
been more than two yards away from
the spectators and the envelope had
been in plain sight every instant.
Performs Great Gard Trick
Then came test which proved more
remarkable than Benzon himself will
know until he reads this account of 1t.
A card which had been handed to the
editor of The Herald by casual caller
four months previously was placed in
an envelope which was sealed before
Mr. Benzon entered the room. Holding
the envelope in his hand. standing a
few feet from the newspaper man, Mr..
Benzon said:
IT am carried to the scene of the
birth of this person. I see room lux
uriously furnished, and on the walls L
see many pictures, some of them are
of people famous in that day. l see
bric-a-brac and valuable curios gath
cred from different parts of the world.
On or over the mantlepiece I see pic
ture of George Washington. This man
was not named for washington, at
least not his second name. His first
name is George, second initial is HI. for
Herbert (the name Herbert was not
printed on the card and was not con-
firmed until the next day.. For the
last name 1 am attracted toward this
wall"
Mr.. Benzon stepped toward the wall.
which was covered with dozens of lith-
ographs, such as are sometimes given
out with Sunday newspapers. He
paused before a picture of the balcony
scene from Romeo and Juliet"
Uses Strange Methods
"One of these characteristic, not
that-one of the persons portraying
character in this scene. 1t is not Mar
lowe, though it begins with an M
All, have It; 1t is MI" exclaimed
6enZOIl, HleltiOHluS tll0 ii1AiO u GA
actress famous a generation ago and
one who won renown by her wonderful
portrayal of the part Of Juliet.
"Your mans name is George Herbert
M" declared Mr.. Benzon.
The envelope was town open and the
card shown to those present. The in
scription read:
George H. M" The word Her
bert" did not appear.
M Axyf n IIcy~s
Mr.. M at his office. To the question
as to his middle name he promptly
replied: "It's Herbert. My grandfather
was George Washington Herbert. He
was a great admirer of the father of
his country and was named for him.
My mother wished to preserve the fam
lily name and caught the Herbert in
stead of Washington"
Asked about the room where he was
born he said he remembered 1t perfect
ly, as the family had lived there some
years. He described the room and told
of a much priced painting of George
Washington over the mantel.
Mr.. NJ was then told the story of
the business card. When the narrator
reached that part of his story that per-
tanned to the picture and the declara-
ton regarding the famous actress his
face was study. Finally he inter-
rupted:
pardon me- Perhaps you didn't
know that the famous actress you men,
ton was my mother"
This proved to be the truth, and 1t
rounded out a most remarkable series
of developments in the psychics test.
All Cards Can Be Read
"There is no pack of cards on this
green earth that cannot be read" said
Benzon after this wonderful demon
stration.
"I never play cards. / know what
can be done with them. I would lose
my reputation If I trified with such
things.
Suppose we we're playing poker"
he said. But people do not play that
game blindfolded with black silk
handkerchiefs. However, to make his
test more real, M. Benzon did so. He
took the pack, which one of the party
had shuffled, and "cut," dealt out
then told the man opposite him the
names of the five cards in his hand.
'eWhat if there had been $1,000 bet
on that hand?" the writer inquired of
this wonderful student of vital mag
netism.
That's why I never play cards." re-
piled the other, who might go into
any gambling den and clean out the
entire establishment in an hour.
Young men should never try to
beat the cards." calmly remarked the
keen-eyed Frenchman of the Van
dyke beard and restless, darling
hands.
And all the young men who watched