POSTSCRIPT

WHAT THE PIMPLE THINKS OF IT ALL—THREE LETTERS

I have been asked to add what has become of our three converts to spiritualism—the Pimple, the Cook and Kiazim Bey. All I know is contained in three letters from Moïse—so far unanswered. Their chief interest lies, not so much in the news they contain, as the attitude of mind they reveal. It is an attitude common to many Spiritualists—a refusal to look facts in the face. Until I read them I never could understand how Sir Oliver Lodge and others like him could go on believing in mediums, such as Eusapia Palladino, who had already been detected in fraud. But now I see that faith—even a faith induced by fraud—is the most gloriously irrational and invincible phenomenon in all experience, and that, as Hill said, “True Believers remain True Believers through everything.”

Here are the letters:

No. 1.

Constantinople,

8th February, 1919.

Dear Jones,

I wanted to write to you since a long time but it has been impossible. Happily the British Authorities have allowed us this week to send letters to the Entente countries and the first one I send abroad is for you. I am most anxious to hear of your health and that of Hill. I have not heard of you for six months (September) and it seems such a long while! The last time I saw you you were in such a bad state, and I hope, and very sincerely wish that the strain which you were subjected to, has loosed a little and that your health has improved. I have a lot of news to give, still more to ask. You know that all the officers interned at Yozgad came to Constantinople on their way home. They are the only prisoners who came here. I don’t know why. I had a chat with many 337of them, especially with Captain Miller and Major Peel. Miller told me that Hill had made a camera with which you took many photographs of Yozgad. I congratulate Hill for his industry! My talk with Major Peel was more interesting. He looked stiff, and I dare say a little furious with me. He said that the Commt. the Cook, I and two other gentlemen were looking up for a treasure amounting to £18,000, the arrest of these two officers, the letter, the enquiry, all that was a fraud. The Commandant was acting. He had rehearsed it the day before with the officers. One of the officers told him everything, that Hill has taken a photograph of the Comt. I, the Cook, the gentlemen (!) sitting round a big fire lighted on great stones at the top of a hill near the camp. I could not understand that. How could they have got such a photograph? I very strongly protested against this, it was false and that some officer with a wide fancy has started this rumour in the camp. The gentleman could not have given him the photo since the gentlemen had stopped to see them when the thing is supposed to have occurred. I could not change his mind; the photo is there and he sticks to it. I waited until the Commandant’s arrival to have more explanations.

I am giving you all these details because Peel might put it in a paper. I may not know it and make it clear. I had lived in a very friendly footing with all the officers and I don’t wish to get into trouble for a misunderstanding. I reckon on your friendship to settle the matter clear, if necessary.

The facts are these. While you were in the hospital, here, about sixteen^[81] officers escaped from the Camp (among which Cochrane, Sweet (dead), Stoker, Matthews, etc.). Many of them were caught again (it was a pity) but some got home without any difficulty.^[82] The Turkish War Office, on hearing it, sent the Commanding Officer of the Army Corps in Angora to enquire. The relations between the two Commandants were far from being good. The latter tried to make as many charges against our Commandant as possible. As he knew 338some French Captain Shakeshaft was used as interpreter. Many complaints were put forward by Col. Maule who spoke with him about the treasure digging and gave him the photo.^[83] I have long wondered how he got it. I cannot make it out. It is not HUMAN: How could they get a photo when there was nobody to take it! It is mysterious. None of my Best Friends did know it. If they had done they would certainly have informed me. Among the other complaints there are about his ill-treatment, his making money out of them, his robbing them and so on. Now, the reports were sent to the War Office and the Commandant is going to be court-martialled here. He said that the escapes are in the background now, according to him the money business comes in first and he can answer for everything but the photo. Very cleverly he wanted to put my name forward in the trial! I did not want to get mixed up in such business, I threw away my uniform,^[84] and never went again to see him, notwithstanding many wires he sent to me. He does not know where I am lodging and I am not afraid of him.

I am leaving (sic) by teaching French and English. It is very difficult to get on with and the mere commodities being at an awful price and there being no prospect of peace signed soon. I applied for a situation at the British H.Q. and as they wanted to send me to Anatolia as interpreter I declined. The pay was good, food free, but I remembered that “a crust of bread where there are people to see you eating it is better than rich meats in the wilderness.”^[85] I remained and the situation was lost. What do you advise me? Was I wrong in doing so? What is the opinion of the Control? You liked Turkey and know Turkish quite good. Could you not manage to be sent here with Hill? How happy I will be to see you again! But you prefer of course to go back to India, to Burma, don’t you. Are you discharged? Hill is he in the R.F.C.? Could you send me your and his home address? You can write as many letters as you like and so can give all news you think interesting to me. 339Besides letters will you try to send me a message^[86] every 1st and 15th of each month? I’ll try to do the same. I hope that everything is all right and that nothing has been spoilt. I am working hard to learn English better for our next meeting.^[87]

Very sincerely yours,

(Signed) Moïse.

Address:

Moïse Eskenazi,

Poste Restante,

British Post Office,

Galata, Constantinople.

(To be labelled so by order).

No. 2.

Constantinople.

22nd February, 1919.

Dear Jones,

I wrote a long letter to you about two weeks ago. As I am not certain you will get it I do it once again.

I am very anxious about your health and Hill’s and it will be for me a great relief when I hear of your perfect health. You will not believe me if I tell you I am thinking of you both the whole day.

I cannot forget our experiment. Instead of thinking of the future, my thoughts are going to the happy past elapsed since March, 1918. Goodness! When you get this letter a whole year will have passed and we were going to be so happy long ago but for the double-faced Superior.^[88] Notwithstanding the promises of help lavished on me by our teacher^[4] nothing seems to come out of it. Ill luck is going after me. I do not complain because the end will be good. I trust him^[89] so much and all’s good that ends good! Is it not so?

I have applied a great many times to your offices here, but as I told you I am not favoured by chance. People who have applied after myself who have not so good 340knowledge of your language have got splendid and well paid jobs. Could you give me some letter to any of the officers here, if you are aware of acquaintance of you being here?

Before any of your letters of introduction what I wish most is that you don’t forget me and that you honour me of your friendship. Our experiments have bound me to you and Hill. Be assured that it is not only by interest. It is an admiration, a great love for all that you have undergone, with the only object of scientific knowledge.^[90] It may be true that you have not lost in the bargain; the knowledge and the power you got came as a reward. You did not expect so much on the beginning. When do you think we are most likely to give an end to our story?^[91] Is everything all right or has anything gone wrong? Do you intend to come back to Turkey or to go back to India? Would you not like to come here as a Red Cross officer?^[92]

I am working hard at the English,^[92] but what would make me improve would be to be all day long with English speaking people, that is, to get an employment in an office. But it won’t come. I told you. Luck is shunning me.

Dear Jones. Do send me a letter. Let me know all about you since I saw you last. Could you not send me a message every 1st or 15th (on the evening) every month as you used to send home.^[93] He^[94] could find the way of how to do it.

I just heard today that the British Government has asked the punishment of many camp Commandants but ours is not included in the list. (Anyhow the interpreter who succeeded 341me is.) As I told you he is going to be court-martialled,^[95] and I think will be forgiven.

Send me your home address as this letter will take such a long time to reach you, as I am sending it c/o the Indian Civil Service. Give me the address of Hill too. Hoping to get very soon some news from you.

I remain your most faithful friend,

(Signed) Moïse.

No. 3.

Provost Marshal’s Office,

Constantinople. G.H.Q.

13th June, 1919.

Dear Jones,

I wrote to you many letters but I have not had any from you yet. As I did not know your address I sent a line to your father asking for your whereabouts.

As I told you before, I am now in the employ of the British here and attached to the P.M. as interpreter. The other day I attended a court-martial, in order to give evidence about the Sup.^[96] Most of the questions ran about the two officers sent sick to the hospital at Haidar Pasha. They showed to me a photo^[97]: it represents a hill somewhere near the camp; the Sup.^[96] is on the left side; a tall officer is holding his hands up as if he were praying.^[98] I am near him and the old Cook near me. Those four are the only persons in the picture. It puzzles me a lot as I cannot understand who took the photo and admitting it was taken by OOO^[99] how the dickens did he manage to pass it to the camp?

Miller^[100] before going to England on his way here, told me that Hill gave it to them with many others. Of course, it is all rubbish^[101] but cannot you give an explanation of the riddle?

342That affair has formed the subject of many articles published in papers by officers of our camp. I have seen one of them by Captain Forbes in a Glasgow newspaper. I agree that he has a wonderful imagination.^[102] But I suppose that the whole camp thought like him. If you could send any copies available referring to our camp and this business, I shall be glad indeed.

How is Hill? Is he in England or is he gone to Australia? What are your ideas? Shall we meet again? I hope you have not forgotten what you promised in the train^[103] and that nothing wrong has happened since that could irritate the Controller and that we shall be able to resume our studies.”

[Then follow remarks about the weather in Constantinople. He ends]:

“I want, now that I have plenty of time, to study those questions^[104] further. Could you send me a few important standard books dealing with this subject? I should be greatly obliged to you and do not forget please to drop a line to your

Very affectionate

(Signed) Moïse Eskenazi.

Let me end this postscript with a quotation from a letter of Hill’s acknowledging the receipt of a copy of the Pimple’s last note:

“No, Bones, I am not altogether sorry for the Pimple. I can’t quite forget about the thefts from our parcels at Yozgad and the other things he did. Besides, the Spook ‘did him nothing but good,’ as Doc. used to say. The military training nearly made a man of him, and he has been honest now for over a year. So he’s getting on. As to the ‘standard works on spiritualism,’ I think you had better send him your own book. That should help him to the right point of view—unless he thinks it was written by OOO.”

343

APPENDIX I

List of Officers of the British and Indian Forces

Interned at Yozgad, 1917.

NAVAL

Lieut.-Commanders: A.D. Cochrane, R.N.

H.G.D. Stoker, R.N.

Lieutenants: R.D. Merriman, R.I.M.

A.J. Nightingale, R.N.A.S.

E.J. Price, R.N.

L.C.P. Tudway, R.N.

P. Woodland, R.N.A.S.

MILITARY

Colonels: W.W. Chitty, 119th Infantry.

A.J.N. Harward, 48th Pioneers.

Lieut.-Colonels: Hon. C.J. Coventry, Worcester Yeomanry.

W.C.R. Farmar, R.G.A.

E.H.E. Lethbridge, 1st Oxford and Bucks.

F.C. Lodge, 2nd Norfolks.

N.S. Maule, R.F.A.

F.A. Wilson, R.E.

Majors: F.E. Baines, I.M.S.

E.J.L. Baylay, R.F.A.

H. Broke-Smith, R.F.A.

T.R.M. Carlisle, R.F.A

344 E. Corbould-Warren, R.F.A.

J.H.M. Davie, Poona Horse.

E.G. Dunn, 1st R.I.R.

E.E. Forbes, S. and T. Corps.

W.F.C. Gilchrist, 81st Infantry.

A.F.W. Harvey, R.F.A.

C.F. Henley, 1st Oxford and Bucks.

G.M. Herbert, 2nd Dorsets.

S. Julius, Royal Sussex.

O.S. Lloyd, R.F.A.

J.W. Nelson, 2nd Royal West Kents.

B.G. Peel, 81st Infantry.

F.S. Williams-Thomas, Worcester Yeomanry.

Captains: A. Brown, 2nd Dorsets.

E.W. Burdett, 48th Pioneers.

H.S. Cardew, 34th Div. Signal Company.

C.E. Colbeck, R.E.

M.J. Dinwiddy, 2nd Royal West Kents.

K.F. Freeland, R.G.A.

A. Gatherer, 34th Div. Signal Company.

C.B. Mundey, 1st Oxford and Bucks.

W.R. O’Farrell, R.A.M.C.

J. Phillips, S. and T. Corps.

E.W.C. Sandes, R.E.

A.J. Shakeshaft, 2nd Norfolks.

R.E. Stace, R.E.

J. Startin, R.A.M.C.

H.W. Tomlinson, R.E.

A.J. Wilcox, Chaplain.

S.C. Winfield-Smith, R.F.C.

Lieutenants: W. Barton, 2nd Dorsets.

J.L. Batty, I.A.R.O.

W. Bell, Worcester Yeomanry.

S.W. Biden, I.A R.O.

G.W.R. Bishop, 2/8 Somerset L.I.

W.R. Boyes, I.A.R.O.

E.B. Burns, 2nd Royal West Kents.

T. Campbell, 2nd Norfolks.

B. Chamberlain, Worcester Yeomanry.

345 C.P. Crawley, 2nd Dorsets.

F.B. Davern, R.F.A.

J.H.T. Dawson, Worcester Yeomanry.

W. Devereux, R.F.A.

L.H.G. Dorling, R.F.A.

P.N. Edmonds, R.F.A.

R. Flux, R.F.A.

H.C. Gallup, R.F.A.

C.C. Herbert, Worcester Yeomanry.

A.M. Hickman, Worcester Yeomanry.

C.F. Highett, 2nd Dorsets.

A.V. Holyoake, Worcester Yeomanry.

C. W. Hill, R.F.C.

B.A. Jervis, Worcester Yeomanry.

E. H. Jones, I.A.R.O.

J. Killin, R.E.

O.H. Little, Topographical Survey.

J. Marsh, Worcester Yeomanry.

A.E. Mason, 1st Oxford and Bucks.

L.W.H. Mathias, 128th Pioneers.

A.B. Matthews, R.E.

J. McCombie, 34th Div. Signal Company.

J. McConville, 34th Div. Signal Company.

D.S. McGhie, R.E.

S.W. Miller, 2nd Dorsets.

J. Mills, 2nd Royal West Kents.

F.W. Osborne, Worcester Yeomanry.

H.L. Peacocke, 2nd Norfolks.

J.F.W. Read, 2nd Norfolks.

D.A. Simmonds, 2nd Dorsets.

W. Snell, 1/6th Devons.

R.A. Spence, R.F.A.

H.W.M. Spink, I.A.R.O.

T. Strickland, Gloucester Yeomanry.

L.S. Sutor, I.A.R.O.

F.N.G. Taylor, R.E.

W.E. Trafford, R.F.A.

J.S. Twinberrow, Worcester Yeomanry.

H.G. Waldram, 1/6th Devons.

E.S. Ward, Worcester Yeomanry.

E.J. Williams, R.G.A.

346 F.P. Williams, R.G.A.

F.W.B. Wilson, R.F.A.

G.B. Wright, Worcester Yeomanry.

(Note.—The rank given above is that held by the officer at the time of his capture by the Turks.

The list does not include the officers from Kastamouni camp who arrived in Yozgad the day before the departure of Lieut. Hill and myself for Constantinople.—E.H.J.)

347

APPENDIX II

The Matthews-Little Code-Test.

What happened in this test is a little difficult to follow without an illustration.

Consider the Ouija illustrated on p. 5 as the one with which I was familiar up to the time of the test. Matthews made his secret rearrangement of the letters by interchanging T and W, B and M, D and V. The order of the letters on his “original,” “duplicate” and “triplicate” therefore was as follows:

APTEHYKXQNIFSVDOJLZWGMCURB.

Owing to my not having noticed that D and V had been interchanged, the order of the letters as I saw them in my mind’s eye was:

APTEHYKXQNIFSDVOJLZWGMCURB.

The “triplicate,” revolving inside the “duplicate,” stopped with its B opposite the V, the code formed being as follows:

Code I.

APTEHYKXQNIFSVDOJLZWGMCURB (dup.)

SVDOJLZWGMCURBAPTEHYKXQNIF (trip.)

On this code, to write the word “spook” I was expected to write the letters RVPPZ. What I did write however was USAAL. These letters, de-coded under the above code-system, give the letters FADDY, which are all one place to the left of the ones required—SPOOK. The reason for this was a double accident. First I had failed to notice that D and V had been interchanged by Matthews; second, the letter whose identity I succeeded in eliciting from Little happened to be V. Little’s inadvertent information had been 348that the B had stopped opposite V, so that the code on which I was working was the following:

Code II.

APTEHYKXQNIFSDVOJLZWGMCURB (dup.)

FSDVOJLZWGMCURBAPTEHYKXQNI (trip.)

If the alphabet be coded on Code II. (which is what I did) and the result decoded on Code I. (which is what Little had to do), it will be found that twenty-two of the twenty-six letters are represented by the letter immediately to their left in Matthews’s rearrangement; and of the remaining four letters two are two places to the left and two are in the correct position. The proportion of cases in which the letter appeared one to the left of where it should be was great enough to make the investigators believe that the Spook was purposely writing in this way. They either did not notice, or passed over as negligible, the four exceptions. Yet in these exceptions lay the clue to the trick.

349

APPENDIX III

I give below enough of the Telepathy Code used by Hill and myself to show the system on which we worked. The portion here given is about one-sixth of the whole code.

THIS (1) THING (2) WHAT I HAVE HERE (3) ARTICLE (4) ONE (5)

(0) A Yes Watch Chain Key Ring Strap

M I want you to tell me

(¼) B Thanks Pin Nail Screw Buckle Belt

N Will you say?

(½) C Thank you Button Badge Star Crown Medal

O Bones

(1) D Well Banknote Coin Purse Pocket-book Spectacles

P I want you to tell us

(2) E All right Handkerchief Tie Tie-clip Cap Scarf

Q Say

(3) F Quick Glass Cup Mug Bottle Saucer

R Come on

(4) G Quicker Cork Corkscrew File Tin-opener Adze

B Come along

(5) H Quickly Matchbox Match Bit of wood Stone Earth

T Come

(6) I Tell me Pipe Box Pipe-cleaner Tobacco Case

U Good

(7) J Tell us Cigarette Cig.-paper Cig.-roller Cig.-lighter Cig.-holder

V Very good

(8) K Can you tell me? Pencil Rubber Fountain-pen Nib Charcoal

W I want to know

(9) L Can you tell us? Letter Card Envelope Photo Stamp

X We want to know

(10) Will you tell me? Book Notebook Paper Ink Ruler

(11) Will you tell us? Knife Scissors String Wire Rope

(12)Y Do you know? Candle Lamp Oil Wick Candlestick

(20)Z Can you say? Fruit Flower Vegetable Grass Leaf

350In order to indicate any article to me Hill asked the question in the horizontal column in which the article appeared, and added the word or words at the head of the perpendicular column. Thus:—

“Tell me what this is,” meant a pipe.

“Can you tell us what this article is?” meant a photograph.

“Yes, what’s this one?” meant a strap. And so on. (The italics indicate the key words.)

The table given shows eighty articles. By prefixing the word “now” to his question, Hill let me know he was referring to a second series of eighty articles. “Now, tell me what this is,” did not mean a “pipe,” but it referred to the article in the corresponding position in the second series. Similarly a prefix of “now then” referred to a third series. And so on. The questions were very much alike and it required an acute observer to notice that no two were exactly the same.

The addition of the words “in my hand” indicated that only a portion of the article in the list had been shown. Thus when Slim Jim produced the stump of a candle Hill’s question was, “Do you know what this is in my hand?”

Each question in the horizontal columns also stood for a letter of the alphabet, so that it was possible (though slow) to spell out the name of an article.

Both the questions in the horizontal columns and the headings of the vertical columns were used to indicate numbers. Thus, “Tell me quickly if you can say what this number is? Come along! Don’t you know it?” is 6 5 2 0 1 4 1 2.

We had key words for decimals, fractions, subtraction, addition, and for repetition of the last-named figure. We also had key words to indicate any officer or man in the camp.

If the same thing was handed up to Hill twice in succession the question could nearly always be varied in form. Thus a “pipe” is indicated either by “Tell me what this is” or “Good! What’s this?”

Finally we had a system for using the code without speaking at all, which we employed with success at a private séance in “Posh Castle,” but which is too intricate to describe here. An amusing result of our use of this alternative system was to bewilder completely those in the company who thought 351the message was conveyed by the form of Hill’s question to me. They argued (quite fallaciously), that because we could do it without speaking, therefore what Hill said to me when he did speak had nothing to do with my answers.

I ought, perhaps, to add that perfection in the use of the code involves a good deal of memory work and constant practice. Nothing but the blankness of our days in Yozgad and the necessity of keeping our minds from rusting could have excused the waste of time entailed by preparation for a thought-reading exhibition. It is hardly a fitting occupation for free men.

THE SILENCE OF

COLONEL BRAMBLE

By ANDRÉ MAUROIS. Second Edition. 5s. net.

“The Silence of Colonel Bramble is the best composite character sketch I have seen to show France what the English Gentleman at war is like ... much delightful humour.... It Is full of good stories.... The translator appears to have done his work wonderfully well.”—Westminster Gazette.

“This book has enjoyed a great success in France, and it will be an extraordinary thing if it is not equally successful here.... Those who do not already know the book in French, will lose nothing of its charm in English form. The humours of the mess room are inimitable.... The whole thing is real, alive, sympathetic; there is not a false touch in all its delicate glancing wit.... One need not be a Frenchman to appreciate its wisdom and its penetrating truth.”—Daily Telegraph.

“An excellent translation ... a gay and daring translation ... I laughed over its audacious humour.”—Star.

“This admirable French picture of English officers.”—Times.

“A triumph of sympathetic observation ... delightful book ... many moving passages.”—Daily Graphic.

“So good as to be no less amusing than the original.... This is one of the finest feats of modern translations that I know. The book gives one a better idea of the war than any other book I can recall.... Among many comical disputes the funniest is that about superstitions. That really is, in mess language, ‘A scream.’”—Daily Mail.

“The whole is of a piece charmingly harmonious in tone and closely woven together.... The book has a perfect ending.... Few living writers achieve so great a range of sentiment, with so uniformly light and unassuming a manner.”—New Statesman.

JOHN LANE, The Bodley Head, Vigo Street, W.

Transcriber’s Note

Errors in the text have been corrected where they can be reasonably attributed to the printer or editor, or where the same word appears as expected elsewhere.

The original text has unpaired double quotation marks which could not be corrected with any confidence.

There are multiple references to footnotes 4 (p. 36), 24 (p. 140), 92 (p. 341), and 96 (p. 342).

Corrections made to the text appear underlined as corrected text. The original text appears when the mouse hovers on the underlined word or phrase. The details of each correction are noted below.

p. 31 as if there’s nothing[’/”] Corrected.

p. 36 under one name or another, pumped[,] the sitter Removed.

was the [usuall ittle/usual little] throng of spectators Corrected.

p. 50 could spot your style,[’/”] Corrected.

p. 66 Any fresh mud or dampness on the revolver du[e] Restored.

p. 67 the banisters, with [e]very appearance of weakness. Restored.

p. 69 ground would hav[e] to be covered at night Restored.

p. 76 hands with their delicate [taper] fingers Sic.

p. 81 and I know it’s not that grub.[”] Added.

p. 160 —Lieut. Spink.[’]” Added.

p. 192 must be “[wropped] in mystery.” Sic.

p. 206 our main points simultaneously[.] Added.

p. 210 just read something about it.[”] Added.

p. 227 Please protect us[,/.] The Commandant is Corrected.

p. 228 [“]Your obedient servants, Added.

p. 231 and I noticed Captain Su[bh/hb]i Fahri Transposed.

p. 237 several British officers here know a little Turkish.[”] Added.

p. 265 clear recollections of [unnamable] tortures Sic.

p. 290 paratyp[l/h]oid, dysentery,” I said. Corrected.

p. 308 mor[d/n]ing following the Board Meeting Corrected.