MR KENNEDY.

Evening Star, Issue 9915, 29 January 1896, Page 2

MR KENNEDY.

Last night at the Princess's Theatre Mr T. A. Kennedy, a mesmerist who comes to us with a reputation gained in London and other large cities, appeared for the first time before a Duncdiu audience. In this entertainment there was no pretence of a lecture. He stated at the outset that scientists had no explanation to give of the phenomena of mesmerism ; that the causes underlying the manifestations which he hoped to produce that evening were a mystery, and presented by him as such ; that he was tot prepared to enter into nor to allow any argument on the subject; that he would simply go ahead with the demonstration of his ability to absolutely control for immediate purposes the actions and also the sensations of those who volunteered for the purpose and came up on the stage free from preconceived bias. Boys would not be accepted, nor would he welcome any persons who had made wagers that they could not be mesmerised. With these exceptions he extended an invitation to his hearers to occupy the dozen chairs placed in position on the stage. Firstly, however, he would be obliged if any medical men present would come forward and act as a surveilling committee, to watch, on behalf of the audience, that he made no misrepresentations. Failing these, lie would be glad if a couple of well-known citizens—he did not appeal to mere "fly-by-nights"—would perform this duty. That was about all there was in the professor's introductory remarks. As no one volunteered to act on the committee, Mr Kennedy asked for " subjects," and they uprose one by one till eleven seats were taken. Most of the men who went up were strangers to the audience. The only one generally recognised was a popular " half-back " footballer, whose advance to the stage caused a round of applause. He, however, did not seem to be a suitable subject, and very early in the proceedings he retired, in company with another of the party who apparently did not easily surrender to the influence. Four or five of the remainder succumbed in the space of a couple of minutes to the strokiugs and general hand-applications of Mr Kcnuedy, and then the fun began. Iu the first place two of the subjects were asked to place their hands firmly on the entertainer's shoulders, and, taking up the position indicated, he defied them to break loose without permission. He then in similar fashion fastened their hands to his own without grips. One of the men suggested that Mr Kennedy had a magnet on his handß. In answer to this the mesmerist placed together the inquirer's own hands, and they adhered as though stuck by glue. Then came the experiment of placing a man in a cataleptic condition. The "victim" selected had been lying, apparently unconscious, on the carpet. He was picked up, placed horizontally over two ohairs, one supporting his feet and another his neck, and Mr Kennedy, who is a heavy man, laid his weight on the subject's middle without causing the least sign of "giving" in the extended body. After that the audience saw the subjects brushing away imaginary flies from their noses, " making faces" at fancied forms, drinking what were alleged to be nauseous mixtures without the least frign of repuguance, enduring the sticking into them of long darning needle?, singing songs, and making horse play in the guise of pantomimic characters. Besides all this, one of the party solemnly ate and apparently enjoyed what he was told was a stick of candy, this being, in fact, as stated by Mr Kennedy, the cheapest tallow candle he could buy; and an act which was watched with particular interest was the mock balloon ascent. Two men sat in chairs on a table, and were told that they were in the lower basket of a balloon, to the car of which the professor would ascend while they took a journey (o the clouds. The comedy evolved out of this supposition was carried out very well, causing screams of laughter, especially when, one of the twain being awakened and allowed to retire, the other imagined he had seen a suicide by jumping from the balloon. Experiments of this sort were conducted I with all but one of the men who kept on the ! stage. He seemed to be impervious to Mr Kennedy's influence until, a walking stick having been borrowed from a person in the stalls, Mr Kennedy grasped one end and gave his non-sensitive friend tho other, whereupon a sort of electric shock ran through the hardened one and was felt with severity by others who had joineel hands in a line. As to the question of the genuineness of the manifestations, the only tests that the audience were invited to apply were—first in regard to the drinking act, the glasses in which kerosene and colza oil, etc., had been supplied in place of the whisky asked for being passed round, and secondly with respect to the candle-eating, the unconsumed portion of the candle being "submitted for inspection. It is a pity that Mr Kennedy's invitation to the audience to send an examining committee on to the stage was not made use of. In that case convincing evidence might have been forthcoming. As it is, all we can say is that the entertainment was amusing. The question as to how far mesmerism had to do with the results achieved must remain open until Mr Kennedy produces phenomena under conditions' such as exclude all suggestions of confederacy. Perhaps our visitor will be able to do this before he leaves Dunedin. We hope he will. He comes to us in the capacity of a hypnotist, recommended on authority as a leading man in his profession ; and that he has performed wonders is publicly recorded on what appears to be sound evidence. It is on these lines that he will succeed in New Zealand, and if at all possible he should make arrangements at once with that object in view, so as to silence uu- j believing Thomases and secure crammed houses. It may in fairness be added that Mr Kennedy was at a disadvantage last night, having but just landed from a Bea voyage. We should therefore, perhaps, take j the initial entertainment as merely of an ! introductory character. Another performance will be given this evening. j