MIND READING.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2169, 16 December 1875, Page 3

MIND READING.

A new parlour game, suitable (says the Daily News) for Christmas and other evening parties, is now making its way in certain circles of American society, and •will doubtless in course of time become naturalised in this country. It is called "Mind Reading," and is understood to be based upon a theory of unconscious muscular action. It is played in this manner: — A member of the party goes out of the roonij and during his absence an object is hidden. On his return two others of the party stand up beside him in the middle of the room, placing both their hands upon his body, one hand upon his chest and the other on his back, in the meantime keeping their minds intensely concentrated on the locality where the object is hidden. In a few moments the party operated on will move in the direction of the hidden object, and in nine cases out of ten find it. Of course it will be said that there is nothing new in this, and that it stands in much the same relation to hide-and-seek as base ball does to rounders. But as a matter of fact, its introduction has created quite a thrill in -New York, where a gentleman named Brown has been drawing large audiences by his manifestation of power in this direction. Mr Brown, being an expert, is able to do more than find hidden thimbles scissors, for by means of placing the back of the hand of the person operated on against the back of his own head, " holding it there permanently," the other hand of the operator being touched lightly against the tips of the finger 3of the hand of the; person operated on, he has been known to tell what the ; latter was thinking about. In this position we are assured, the slightest tremor.or agitation of the xaind may be communicated through the tips of the fingers.from one person to another. It has been objected to Spiritualism that", even conceeding" the unaccountable motion: of tables and hats,: "no practical good has been known to come of it. " Mind Eeading" is an offshoot of Spiritualism, but it obviously has the advantage in the matter of usefulness. 'The position, described as an essential preliminary is not a very .convenient one, and in eases where the person operated upon thought slowly it would become physically. tedious. But the advantage occasionally to be derived from obtaining authentic information touching what is passing through the minds of persons with whom we converse is so great that- a little stiffness in the arms and a tenderness about the fingertips would weigh as nothing in the balance.