AN HOUR WITH PROFESSOR BALDWIN.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7195, 22 June 1885, Page 3

AN HOUR WITH PROFESSOR BALDWIN.

The idea of " private seances " usually conceived. by most persons is that of an interview with a lank and long-haired " medium," who exhales mystery as be walks and moves, and whose diablerie is performed in a dark or dimly-lighted room, with cabinets and other appurtenances in dark corners that may conceal confederates and complex paraphernalia. It is not so when one is favored with a private seance by Professor Baldwin, as will be seen by the following narration, for the absolute truth of whioh, the writer vouches. The interview resulted through the writer, a member of the staff of this journal, expressing a desire for a private seance in consequence of having heard much of the reputed wonderful powers of Professor Baldwin. The latter willingly consented to the request made, and gave permission for the writer to take a friend with him. This was taken advantage of, and we (writer and friend] were shown into the Professor's sittingroom at the Masonic Hotel. We found him a pleasant, well-informed, and I genial gentleman, one who had travelled much, and who in the course of hi: 1 travelling had picked Tip much know ledge of men and things and man] ' ouriosities. MaDy of these were shown 1 including many valuable jewels given I (aB papers' showed) to the Professo: by Indian Rajahs, ancient specimen: of talismans and objects of reverence ii c connection with the Phallic worship o the East, and a portrait of the Profea ? sor in his robes as High Priest of th Brahminical order of the Rosicrucians A pleasant half-hour was thus spent ' and more time might have been ooou pied in a similar manner, but we ha not visited the Professor for that pui g pose, and perhaps manifested by our d< meanor that we expected something els< Possibly guessing our thoughts, Profes sor Baldwin ceased displaying his trei sures, and announced that hs was read to attempt convincing us of his power; . It should here be' stated that the rooi *• in which the interview took place was small one, comfortably filled with a fe articles of furniture, but absolutely bai i} of the slightest attempt at apparatu n Professor Baldwin drew up the blind J> the top of the window, tied back tl 3 " lace curtains, letting in a flood of sui light, and directed us to be seated i the table. He sat at the opposite en close by the window. Then came tl ir instructions, as follows : — " Write t] 8. name of a dead relative or friend, wri '"■> underneath it a question that requires B . e specific 1 and. not a general. an s w er, ai if fold the paper up, edge to edge and ci i© to end, till it is too small to be aga W folded." This was done, until t 3k papers containing as many questio ill were lying on the table in a heap. T b- Professor ran them through his han *° to mix them, in full view, of both vi * " tors, and then challenged us " 8 pick out ' our own papers. Tl ie- o f course ,we could not do, a ise then the marvels commenced. It mi to *■ be understood, in order that the pnzzli sre nature of what 'followed may be co prehended, that the folded papers w k? treated to no: "hocus, poc.us," w n< * placed in no. 'box ' nor receptacle, i w " never left th^table nor the full arid i m " impeded view of both visitors. Tl '?5V came the most startling and circii -' -;'v- 'stantial answers/ to . the- . questi : , written- . These, cannot, well be ms "known here, as they concerned deti ost ; 9f?p"ersoh'al: history, \but they, were {!&'■: >v t]pue ahd'Circuipistantial ns though fey ; answers^; , Had "been ', written by*, c Saj^l leas^^ejgw^re^ so its ;^rii|er'|i ' cile;;|an^to/Ow|^ experie

, made him willing to implicitly believe r the statement of his friend to the same • effect. The writer's friend was favored ) with a manifestation accorded to himi self only — writing being in some way ) conjured on to the inner side of a paper ; folded across and across till it could be > folded no more, and while held in the ! visitors own hand. The writing con- [ sisted of an answer to a question, and was followed*by the initials of a dead 1 friend. The writer has no explanation i to offer. He went expecting to be i humbugged, and willing to be so if he 1 could but find a clue to the triek — morei over, he was completely sceptical as i to seeing or hearing anything out of the i common run of showman's efforts. Instead of that he got, to use a colloquiali ism, a "staggerer," and is just now in a frame of mind that would make Mm willing > to give a good deal for an explanation of what seemed, at the time and now, a marvellous infraction of the laws of nature as known to universal experience. The writer went to see Professor Baldwin expecting to " see through " his manifestations, and also, as a journalist, to gather matter for an interesting paragraph, but now freely confesses that he got more than he bargained for, and for which he cannot offer the remotest approach to an explanation. If the professor's public performances are onetwentieth part so startling as what the writer obtained at the interview here recorded, the intelligent public who take an interest in the occult, or professed occult, have a genuine treat in store for them.