Other magicians, notably Kellar, have worked up the “second-sight” trick in an ingenious way, by the use of apparatus. The clairvoyante sits on a chair placed upon a raised platform, and, after her eyes have been carefully bandaged, she tells the names of playing cards, the numbers on bank notes, and adds columns of figures written on a blackboard by people in the audience. The explanation is as follows: A rubber tube runs from behind the scenes, underneath the stage, and up through a hollow foot of the platform and the leg of the chair, terminating at the back of the chair. In the back of the lady’s dress is a small tube which reaches her ear, being cleverly concealed by the curly wig which she wears. When she has taken her seat, the magician pretends to mesmerize her, and, under cover of the passes, connects the tubing in the chair with the tubing in her dress. An assistant behind the scenes reads the numbers on the bank notes with a strong spyglass, and conveys the information to the lady through the speaking-tube. To facilitate the assistant’s work, the magician holds the bank note against the blackboard, which is turned slightly to one side. The clairvoyante calls out the numbers in a loud voice, whereupon the magician proceeds to chalk them upon the board. The squaring and the cubing of numbers are performed by the assistant behind the scenes, with the aid of logarithmic tables. When the “second-sight” séance is concluded, the magician removes the bandage from the lady’s eyes, and pretends to awaken her from the hypnotic state, taking advantage of the little comedy to disconnect the speaking tube. She rises, bows herself off the stage, taking particular care not to show her back to the audience.
A very clever exhibition of “second sight” is given by Professor and Mrs. Baldwin. Professor Baldwin calls himself the “White Mahatma,” and his entertainment is a curious hodge-podge of pretended mediumship, clairvoyance, and vaudeville. Slips of paper and pencils, and small pads of millboard to serve as writing desks, are distributed among the audience by assistants; the recipients of the writing materials are requested to write questions on the slips, fold them up, and secrete them in their pockets. The “White Mahatma” disclaims any preparation about the millboards, remarking that they are given to the spectators to obviate the inconvenience of writing on the knee, and may be discarded if desired. When the questions have been prepared, the assistants collect the pads and place them on the stage, near the footlights, in full view of the audience. After this there is some dancing and singing by the vaudeville artists connected with the company, and then Mrs. Baldwin, the clairvoyante, makes her appearance; she is carefully blindfolded and “mesmerized” by the Professor. Her communications to the audience are made after the following manner: “I see a lady in the orchestra, to the right. She wants to know something about a ring that was lost.” Professor Baldwin, who stands in the center aisle of the theater, near the stage, exclaims: “Will the lady who wrote that question kindly hold up the slip of paper and acknowledge the correctness of Mrs. Baldwin’s statement?” The lady complies, and a thrill of astonishment pervades the audience. An assistant goes to the lady, takes the slip, and hands it to Professor Baldwin, who reads it, exclaiming: “Mrs. Baldwin is correct; but let us see if she cannot give us more detailed information concerning the ring which is lost.” He mounts the stage, and, standing behind the clairvoyante, makes violent mesmeric passes over her head, the piano in the orchestra accompanying the operation with several loud chords and cadenzas. Then the “White Mahatma” advances to the footlights and commands his wife to speak. “The ring is of gold with a pearl setting,” she says, “and has the initials ‘M. B.’ engraved within. It was lost about January 1, 18—,” etc. The lady in the audience had only written: “I have lost my ring; can you describe it?” Consequently, when she hears this accurate description by Mrs. Baldwin, she is very much impressed.
The trick is an ingenious one. It is worked up with great dramatic effect by the Baldwins. The secret lies in the pads of millboard, some of which contain carbon sheets under two layers of brown paper. The writing of the spectators is thereby transferred by means of the carbon paper to sheets of writing paper placed under the carbon sheets. The genuine millboard pads which are distributed among the audience are laid on the stage, while the prepared pads are carried off behind the scenes to Mrs. Baldwin, who has ample time to post herself with the desired information before coming on the stage.
Of course, the spectators who get the genuine pads do not receive any clairvoyant communications, nor do those who discard the genuine pads. The surprising part of the feat is the extraneous information imparted by Mrs. Baldwin, which seems to preclude any possibility of trickery. This information is obtained from the spectators by the assistants when they go to collect the slips of paper, and is whispered by them to Professor Baldwin. Under cover of the pretended magnetizing, Professor Baldwin gives his wife this information, the chords from the piano preventing any one from hearing what he says. It is all done very rapidly, the spectators being completely deluded. The people who have been pumped by the assistants seem to forget the fact in their interest in the main part of the trick, viz., the reading of the slips by Mrs. Baldwin. One reason of this self-deception is, perhaps, the fact that they do not suspect the integrity of the innocent-looking ushers, or regard them as a part of the experiment.
Where numbers are to be conveyed, the Baldwins use a verbal code of signals. This obviates the necessity of Mr. Baldwin going upon the stage to remagnetize his wife.
Silent Thought Transference, No. 1.
In this ingenious trick the clairvoyante, while blindfolded, tells “the suit and value of any number of selected cards, solves arithmetical problems, gives numbers on borrowed bank notes, indicates time by any watch, describes borrowed coins, and many other tests.” All this is accomplished in silence, the medium being surrounded by a committee from the audience, if desired. The trick can be given in a private parlor, and requires no electrical apparatus, speaking tubes, etc. I am indebted for an explanation of “silent thought transference” to Mr. H. J. Burlingame. In his little brochure, “Tricks in Magic, Illusions, and Mental Phenomena,” he writes as follows: “By means of the silent code all the usual effects generally exhibited at thought-reading séances can be reproduced. It consists in both medium and performer counting mentally and together. It is a known fact that the beats for ‘common time’ are always the same in music; therefore, with little practice, it is easy for two persons, starting on a given signal, to count at the same time and rate, and when another signal is given, to stop. Of course both will have arrived at the same number. This then is the actual method employed in this code, and from it you will see that any number from 0 to 9 can be transmitted by the performer to the medium. It is best to experiment and find out what rate of counting best suits the two persons employing this code, but the following suggestions are offered: It may, perhaps, be best to begin counting at a slow rate, gradually increasing until you find it advisable to go no faster. Say you have in the room, when first practicing, a loud-ticking clock, with a fairly slow beat. On the given beat or signal you both start counting at the same rate as the clock. Of course the clock must be removed when the rate has been well learned. If preferred, count at the rate of ‘common time,’ viz.: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, and so on, or practice with a ‘metronome,’ such as is used during piano practice for the purpose of setting time. A very good rate to finally adopt is about 70 to 75 per minute. Whatever rate is found to suit best must be adhered to. You will find at the rate mentioned that any number up to 9 can be transmitted with absolute certainty, after an hour or so of practice.
“Now that the principle has been explained, the next items are the signals to give the medium the cue when to start and when to stop counting mentally.
“Say the performer has borrowed a coin, the date of which is 1862. The first figure of the coin 1 and 8 are generally understood, as most coins in use are 18 something or other; if of date 18, in the hundreds. The performer must advise the medium of this by his manner of thanking the person who lent the coin, which can easily be arranged to suit one’s fancy. The 6 and 2 have therefore to be transmitted. The performer stands away from the medium or among the audience. The medium being on the stage, securely blindfolded, the performer takes his position, with chalk in right hand, in front of a blackboard, holding coin in his left hand. He does not speak a word, but simply looks at the coin. After a pause the medium calls out: ‘The first figure I picture is a one,’ or words to that effect. Immediately the lady stops speaking, they both begin to count mentally at the rate agreed upon by practice. In this case the number to be transmitted is 6. As the last word of the sentence is spoken they commence mentally 1-2-3-4-5-6; during this short period the performer glances down at the coin as if to verify what the lady has called out. As soon as they reach the figure 6 the signal ‘stop’ has to be transmitted. This is done by the performer putting down on the blackboard sharply the figure called out by the lady, viz.: ‘One’ (1). It will be seen by this method that the signal is quite easy to transmit, and it is perfectly natural to put down the figure on the board quickly and sharply. The third figure of the coin is now known to the medium. The last figure, 2, is transmitted in the same manner as the previous figure. The lady says, ‘The second figure I see is 8.’ As soon as she ceases speaking, they begin the counting again, 1-2; on the arrival at the figure 2 the performer puts down the 8, previously called out, sharply on the board, which is the signal for ‘stop.’ The lady now knows the full date of the coin. The metal of the coin must be indicated to the medium previously by the wording of the reply to the owner of the coin after it has been handed to the performer. This can easily be arranged. The value of the coin or its equivalent number is indicated in the same way as the previous figure; and between the 6 and the 2, that is, after the lady has called out the 6, they commence to count for the value. When an 0 occurs in the date, no pause is made. The performer puts down the figure on the board for the ‘stop’ signal immediately the lady stops speaking. This if followed carefully will be found quite easy and natural in practice.