TELEPATHY OR WHAT?

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 136, 10 June 1924, Page 8

TELEPATHY OR WHAT?

! (To the Editor.) Sir, —Turning things over in my mind by the fireside, my thoughts dwell on the "old bird charmer" of the Tuilleriee Gardens in Paris. The old man is remembered by tourists from all parts of the world. He was mentioned in the tourist guide books as a subject of interest not to be missed. During several years I saw him daily as I passed through the gardens on my way to business; so what I have to siy of hini is not any fairy story. On arriving in the Tuilleries (a" park about four times the i size of Albert Park) the old man walked f down the avenues calling to the gparrowe to flonie to him. It was only a Inatter of minutes when he was completely surrounded by sparrows crushing themselves to get close up to him. They perched on his head, his shoulders and about his feet in such numbers tliat j he was unable to walk. By this time the usual crowd of spectators gather within a few yards of the old man" to watch the performance. "Le Charmeur d'oiseaux," as he was called, commenced by telling the people amusiiig stories of the various ways and doings of certain sparrows before him. "Now," said he, "I will call each one by his or her name and in order that you may be sure that the right one answers mc, I will guide your attention as best I can to each one before I call' him. For instance, you see the centre one in the group of five over there, his name is John. Now, I will call him." When called, John Jlew on to the old man's finger. "Now, that one is Henry, that one Mary, that one Kitty, that one Peter, and so on." Each sparrow was called upon to fly to a certain part of him and the particular sparrow immediately answered, its reward being a small pellet of bread which the sparrow took from the old man's fingers. He made his living by selling picture post cards of himself showing the sparrows perched all over him. The postcards could also be bought in all the stationers' shops in Paris. Onlookers used to call it telepathy, thought reading, and the rest of it. Whether or not the old "Charmeur d'oiseaux," like St. Francis of Assiei, had some power we folks haven't got, is an open question. To mc, it always appeared when I paeeed by, that the old man was giving a very beautiful nature lesson, i.e., by patience and kindness 6ne enri do a lot of things. I was truly very sorry to read in the "Star" about two years ago that the old bird charmer of Paris Was found dead. No sir, not telepathy; my test for such in the human being whenever I meet him will be: What have I written on this .piece of paper I put in my pocket? If he ig right and says that I have written door knobs, clothes lines and wooden horses, he will be a good man all right.—l ani, etc., VICTOR R. MILLARD.