Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1874 — Mind-Reading. [ARTICLE]

Mind-Reading.

Many curious experiments have been made in regi.d to the influence of the mind over se body, and the question whether the mind of one person can interpret the \ nights of another, under certain eirt ustances, has been much discussed recently by physicians in this city. J. R. Brown, who calls himself a mind-reader, and who claims to be able j to determine the train of thought ip another. when brought especially in con- ! tact, performed some experiments in this city, and, his methods were investigated by many distinguished physicians and scientists. Mr. Brown afterward went j to Sew Haven and exhibited his powers j there, before a large audience. The committee who there investigated Mr. Brown's methods reported that they “were not ready to assert that the claim •of mind reading had been clearly maintained. Dr. William A. Hammond and several other scientists attended several of Mr. Brown's seances, as he called them, while lie was in the city. Mr. Brown said that lie could not operate through Dr. Hammond, but could not give any j reason for such a statement. With other j gentlemen Mr. Brown performed various i experiments. One of the gentlemen hid his door-key under a mat in the hall. ; Mr. Brown, blindfolded, took one of the i gentleman’s hands in his, and touched ' the other, which was held against his j forehead. Mr. Brown then charged the gentleman to think of nothing but the place where the object was hidden. Mr. Brown then led the gentleman about the room and out into the hail. It hen tliey re&cheff the mat Mr. Brown stoppe'd ana said: “Here it is.” Mr. Brown had also a string of large letters of the alphabet hung across the room, and upon this he spelled out a word thought of by some gentleman. This was often done correctly, though Mr. Brown was securely blindfolded all the time. Dr. Hammond explains the process by the theory that the person operated upon, thinking intensely upon the subject, gives some sign, involuntarily, perhaps, when the place is reached, or the subjectsattained that is being sought. Mr. Brown, by long practice, probably perceives an indication that another might not notice Dr. Hammond said that after a little practice he had been able to perform some of Mr. Brown’s experiments with complete success. In the experiment Dr. Hammond wrote down a list of names,and told a person to think of one of them. He then placed his fingert upon the person’s wrist and said: u Now I will tell you the name of the ■person you are thinking of. Read o ver the list and when you reach the right name I shall know by your pulse which it is.” The person then began and read down the list, and each tune, when the n»me thought of was reached, by some means it would be plainly indicated, to the great astonishment of the person experimented upon, “The whole is explained to me,” added Dr. Hammond, ** by the influence of the mind oyer the

body. The majority of persons thinking steadily upon ohe subject do not fail to give evidence when that subject is reached which that person has been expecting. The reason why Mr. Brow n could not operate upon me w as, I would not allow myself to give the slightest lbdieation that would enable him tiT -detect mv thoughts. I found this a very difficult tiling to do, and, alter I had tried it, 1 did not wonder that many were unable to exercise this control. 1 fhtnk that,when this theorv of external indication of a thought suddenly touched upon is follow ed up further, it w ill explain the whole of Mr. Brown’s mind-reading. ’’ — N. Y. Tribune.