The Baldwins.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5278, 7 April 1885, Page 4

The Baldwins.

♦ The Oddfellows' Hall was crowded h\3t evening, when Professor and Mrs Baldwin gave another of their marvellous and clever entertainments of thought-reading and cabinet manifestations. The programme of the previous evening was, to a ; large extent, repeated. A committee of gentlemen from the audience (Mr M. W. Green and othor gentlemen) took their seats on the stago, and took cognisance of all that went on. They expressed themselves utterly unablo to account for tho perform au ees of Mr aud Mra Baldwin by any physical means. As an illustration of what ho termed "Thought transference without contact," the Professor distributed a number of slips of paper amongst tho audience, upon which each recipient wrote five figures, the namo of an animal, and his own name. The papors wero collected, and Mr Baldwin wroto the_ contents of each, except tho writer's name, on a sh'.-et of cardboard, supported ou an easel near the footlights. Ho called aloud the figures and words as ho wroto them, so that they could be heard by Mra Baldwin, who was "in a tranco " a short distance away. After tho sheet of cardboard had been filled, Mr Baldwin handed a small book to a member of the audience and requested him to state what pago he selected, and what Hue counting from the top. Mr 3 Baldwin then stated the number of words in the line, and read several words in it, her face being cover,*! with a handkerchief the while. This little incident of the programme took about ten minutes, and it was only fair to suppose that whatever knowledge ofthe writing on the cardboard Mrs Baldwin had acquired by liearing her husband read the figurea, kc. (she could not sec the board) had gone from her. Nevertheless, when Mr Baldwin asked what was written in the first, third, kc. lines, taking one at random, sho alwuj's answered correctly. Sho also called over tlio figures in the vertical columns, an order in which they had not been read liy Mr Baldwin, and when he touched any particular figure she afc onco said what it was. Tlie entertainment concluded with the " Katie King " mystery, in which Mr M. W. Green acted as " scrutineer " but ho did not seem ablo to fathom it. This evening there will bea change of programme.