PROFESSOR AND MRS BALDWIN.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7196, 23 June 1885, Page 3

PROFESSOR AND MRS BALDWIN.

There was a very large attendance at the Theatre Boyai last evening, when Professor and Mrs Baldwin gave their remarkably clever exposition o£ thoughtreading and spiritualistic test manifestations. The performance was a most successful one throughout, the professor and his talented wife succeeding in completely mystifying and puzzling the audience. The entertainment opened with the " Spirit Hand," in which a model of a human hand, placed on a small plate of glass balanced on the backs of two chairs, rapped out various puzzling and amusing communications. This ended, the professor read out a list of names of prominent citizens present (supplied by the doorkeeper), and invitsd the following gentlemen to go upon the stage and act as a committee of investigation :— The Rev. De Berdt Hovell, and Messrs Logan, F. W. Williams, Wigginton, Humphries, Seavey, Webb, and Balfour. A.ll but the first-named gentleman accepted the invitation, and Professor Baldwin commenced his cabinet seance by tying himself securely to a chair, in a manner that would have done credit to a clever manipulator operating upon somebody else, in the space of 53 seconds. While tied in this •manner the rope was sealed by the committee, and the doors of the cabinet were closed, that act being the signal for a variety of the most startling manifestations, in which the cabinet seemed as though it must have half a dozen -people in it in addition to the tied-up professor. This part of the performance was afterwards explained and illustrated to the audience, who were shown how easily all the wonders were performed "when you know how." One part of the cabinet trick, however, and that the cleverest, was not explained. In this the professor, still tied up in the sealed rope, requested the loan of Mr Balfour's coat, which was folded up and placed on a chair in the cabinet, opposite Professor Baldwin. The cabinet was shut, and in a few seconds opened again, when it was found that the professor, still bound as before, had got the coat properly on. The coat was then sewn up at the sleeves and at the breast, and the cabinet was closed again, the coat being almost immediately thrown out at the top of the cabinet. This was opened again at once, and there sat the tied-up professor fixed as firmly to his seat as ever, and with all the seals on the rope intact. This feat brought down rounds of applause. Mr Humphries was then invited to sit in the cabinet, opposite the bound professor, and upon the doors being closed was subjected to a series of startling manifestations, the closing one being the placing over his head of a large bucket, the professor being tied up all the time, and his body grasped by Mr Humphries. Many other startling trioks followed, including " the ring test." In this Mr F. W. Williams held the Professor's hand tightly grasped, and in that position had a solid iron ring placed upon his arm. Some very successful examples of thought reading followed, in which the professor unhesitatingly discovered articles thought of, located imaginary pains, and found a pin hidden by Mi Logan. This latter feat fairly broughi down the house. Then followed Mrf Baldwin's clairvoyant manifestations, during which questions written by Messrs 0. F. Worth, Shugar, F. W. Williams, Wigginton, Belcher, Fryer, Logan, M'Vay, V. Brown, "Wilson, O. Williams, Drake, and many other persons, were not only read out, but circumstantially answered. Whatren- , dered this feat more puzzling, was the fact that those who wrote the questions did not part with the paper written on, which in many instances was the property of the experimenters themselves. A. rather startling incident in connection with this part of the peiformanee rather "fetched" the audience. Mrs Baldwin announced that she was in communication with someone who said his name was Jim, who had been drowned in the Thames 14 years before, and that he had answered in response to a question written by a gentleman in the audience. Mr Logan stated that he had written such a question, bat that although the manner and date of a brother's death were correctly given, the name " Jim " was wrong. Mrs Baldwin then said she bad two impressions of men drowned in the Thames 14 years before, one of whom was named Jim. A gentleman in the audience said - he had thought a question relative to a deceased brother Jim, who had been drowned as stated, but he wound up by i rather excitedly averring that . he believed the answer was all humbug, or else that" Mrs Baldwin had read it some-

•a where. " Let me," he continued, " as] 1- florae questions— how many othe ie brothers have 1 got?" "Three," can* k the answer from Mrs Baldwin, where 0 upon the questioner got still more ex it cited, and yelled out, "By — — she ha. 0 read it." He then called out, ."Ism] d father dead?" "No." said Mrs Bald $ win, "he is living in England, but 11 ), very weak and feeble." " Then yot c know when I heard from him last,' t shouted the questioner, "by yot a have had letters of mine to read." AI 3 this stage the audience got impatient, 3 and hissed the questioner, who turned 1 round excitedly and addressed the pil fc and circle — " It is humbug ; my box 1 has been tampered with, and I will gc p home and prove it. Somebody . has been at my letters." He then ■ hastily left the theatre. "When the ) excitement consequent upon this ) interruption had subsided, Mrs Baldwin ' introduced her "Katie King" seance, • in which various spirit (1) forms ap--1 peared at the aperture in the cabinet 1 while Mrs Baldwin was tied up within it by a rope which went round her neck and passed out through holes to the outside of the cabinet, where the knots were sealed. Space will not permit of an extended description of this part of the performance, but it was very cleverly done, and should be witnessed by all who take a delight in mysteries and puzzling legerdemain. The entertainment was rendered very attractive by the humorous remarks of Professor Baldwin, and was a most enjoyable one throughout. A change of programme is announced for this evening, with a public illustration of how the celebrated " ring test" is done.