THE BALDWINS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2005, 2 June 1885, Page 2

THE BALDWINS.

Professor and Mrs Baldwin made their first appearance at the Theatre Royal before a crowded house last night, the dress circle and chairs being occupied by members of tho most prominent residents in the town and its neighborhood. The Professor has a knack of making his audience follow him closely, or rather, as closely as they can, in everything, for they can see through veiy little of what he docs even after he has explained it. He is very witty, and persons in the audience who try to baulk him are quickly extinguished. He talks with a sliglit Yankee accent, which probably lends a flavor to his witticisms. Ho opened the performance with a hand which he said consisted of solid lead or zinc, by plaoing it on a pane of glass, and then obtaining from it answers, by means of taps, to any question that he chooses to put to it. How this was worked he did not, of course, explain. The cabinet trick is not a new one, but in it the Professor excels all others who have attempted it, and he also gives a good explanation of how it is done, This portion of the programme was superintended by a number of gentlemen who were invited to come on the stage. One of them was induced to enter the Cabinet with the Professor, and when the door was opened he was found to have a big iron bucket on his head ; but not a single knot in the rope which bound his companion was found disturbed, nor had he noticed him move. The gentlemen composing the committee were treated to what appeared to be a variety of drinks, all being obtained from an ordinary jug, into which only pure water had been poured. Two of them tookthe precaution to wipe their tumblers, but the result was just the same. This was repeated two or three times, pure water being always obtained when the various mixtures had been poured back into the jug, The explanation that was given was probably believed by only a portion of the audience, The thought reading was undoubtedly the best and mostextraordinaryperformanceofthekind that we have witnessed. Mrs Baldwin was seatedblindfoldonthestage.andapparently put in a trance, and told some thirty or forty of the audience the thought that was uppermost in their minds, As invitations had been previously issued to write down the questions, without showing them to anyone, noarly all of them were verified by being handed in, though one or two refused, while others who had asked personal questions did not respond openly. Amongst others, Mrs Baldwin gave the history of the manHanseu, whodisppeared f rom'Mauricoville. She said that he had travelled on foot to Napier, and thence' by steamer to Auckland and San Francisco, where he had got married again, To this was added that he had two children there—a statement which caused considerable amusement among the audience, One of the questioners was told that he would get rich by speculations, but that he would be murdered on a certain date in South Australia. Perhaps the police will derive some satisfaction from the information that the Waipoua breweiy was set on fire, that the person who did it is still in Masterton, and that the police were on the right track. In conclusion Mis Baldwin entered the cabinet, where she was firmly tied by means of a cord round the neck. She, however, not only walked out on the stage, but also appeared in several characters, There will be another performance to-night,