A NOVEL GAME.

Evening Star, Issue 3871, 21 July 1875, Page 3

A NOVEL GAME.

A new parlor game, suitable for evening parties, is now making its way in certain circles of American society, and will doubtless, in course of time, become naturalised in other countries. It is called “ Mind Heading,” and is understood to be based upon a theory of unconscious muscular action, i t is played in this mariner : A member of the party goes out of the room, and during his absence an object is hidden. On his return two others of the party 7 stand up beside him in the middle of the room placing both their hands upon his body, one hand on his chest and the other on his back, in the meantime keeping their minds intensely concentrated on the locality whore the object is hidden. In a few moments the party operated upon will move in the direction of the hidden object, and in nine cases out of ten finds it. Its introduction has created quite a thrill in New York, where a gentleman named Brown had been drawing large audiences by his manifestations of power in this direction. Mr Brown, being an expert, is able to do mote than find hidden thimbles and 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 fingers of 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 mind may be communicated through the tips of the fingers from one person to another. It has been objected to Spiritualism, that, even conceding the unaccountable motion of tables and hats, no practical good Ims been known to come of it. Mind Heading ” is an offshoot of Spiritualism, but it obviously has the advantage in the matter of usefulness. The position described as an essential preliminary is n*t a very convenient one, and in cases 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 finger tips would weigh as nothing in the balance. True, it would be difficult to perform this operation upon an involuntary subject; and, in ordinary cases, the easier plan would be that the person about whose mental operations v, r e are curious should adhere to the old custom of saying what he is thinking of. In reference to these curious psychological facts the ‘Scientific Advertiser' ot November 7th say’s:—“The professors ot Yale College, New Haven, Conn., have lately been entertained by the performances of J. H. Brown, the mind reader. The learned professors indulged in hiding coins, pencils, cards, etc., in books, corners, and drawers. Brown was then placed eu with the hideCj that is, ho took the hand of

the person who hid the article, or took hold of the line held by that person. Brown, although blindfolded, would lead the individual to the exact spot, and find the article. Professor Thacher purposely imagined a pain located under his nose. Brown immediately placed his finger in the precise spot. Professor Marsh imagined a particular word, wrote it on paper, and gave to another person. Brown spelled it out at once by pointing to the .respective letters in an alphabet written on a blackboard. The venerable exPresident Woolsey concealed a coin under some books, but his mind was probably hazy, for Brown could not quite find it, though he came near the spot. But when put en rapyort with a younger man, Professor Whitney, Brown immediately found the coin. Professor Brewer placed a tape measure in a distant apartment; Brown promptly went, blind-folded to the place and found the article. Professor Fisher gave a pencil-case to Professor Johnson, who gave it to Professor Tbaoher, who concealed the article. Brown led the latter directlv to the spot, and found the pencil. Professor Lyman held a paper on which words were written by Professor Fisher, and blindfolded, Brown spelled the words without difhculty ! Having witnessed so many of these curious experiments, it is to be hoped that the learned professors of Yale will be able to explain how they arc done.”