THE MAGNETIC LADY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3046, 23 January 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE MAGNETIC LADY.

A Mahatjja of the highest order, or else a remai kablo clever lady conjuror, entitled "The Little Georgia Magnet," gave a private manifestation on the stage of the Alhambra Theatre on Saturday afternoon. With her on the stage was a committee of some dozen gentlemen, stated to have been suggested by the management, umonget whom one, Mr JohnHollingshed, bore a familiar name. Mr Hollingehed,

however, contented himself with sitting and watching the performance and did not take so active a part in the subsequent proceeding's as other members of the committee. A medical man having taken the magnetic 'aly's temuerature.-waicb. was 95deg., and considerably above her normal temperature, the exhibition began. A committee man embraced a «hair ; Mi*s Abbott touched it with her fingers,and the gentleman staggered to and fro like a drunken man. Miss Abbott held a chair with her open palms and no one or two of the committeemen appeared to be able to thrust it to the ground. These performances wore done with ordinary chairs selected at haphazard, and iu thiscaso, as in the subsequent cases, committeemen were invited to place their hands between the palms of Miss Abbott's hands and the chair operated upon, so as to see that there was no muscular pressure used. Other chair exhibitions were given with plain but massive oaken chairs belonging to Miss Abbott. Still using her open bands, she lifted, eventually, a confused mass of (lommitteemen, who piled themselves up on two chairs, to the nnmber of six, at least. There were also performances with a billiard cue. The lady poised it breast high in front of her ; six panting- coramitteemen apparently failed to push her off her balance or—and this was rathor moro mystsrious—to bend the billiard cue. Then the cue was rested with its point upon the floor, while half a dozen committ emon hung on to it, aud iin agile gentleman of considerable age positively sat upon the butt and upon "the hands of hie friends. The cue bent, but did not break" ; Miss Abbott lifted the whole pyramid of men and wood from tho floor, or caused it to rise by touching it. Finally, nobody could lift Miss Abbott by her bare arms, but anybody could lift her upon placing a handkerchief between his hands and her flesb. It appeared, then, that a handkerchief was a non-conductor of Miss Abbott's "force"; nevertheless, by holding one end of a handkerchief while u boy held the other, she appeared to be able to transmit her force of irremovability to him. The tests applied -were not sufficiently severe to justify a description of the whole affair as being certainly anything more than a clever performance, and there weie certain respects in which it was weak. The committee being assu ned to have been genuine, it still remains to bo explained where billiard cues of this phenomenel strength are to be obtained, why a handkerchief should be at once a conductor and a non-conductor, why r.o pressure should have been folt eved if the force exerted in lifting was maenetic, why the mass of the lifting performanaes aud of the exhibitions of immovability took place at one part of the etag-e, and why tho chairs, wbinh were properties, were not subjected to olose examination.