The Road to En-dor
Page 38
‘For me,’ I said gently, ‘our hardships have been worth while. I have found many Treasures.’
Hill understood.
‘We have indeed been blessed in our friends,’ he said.
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 of 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 sixteen102 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.103 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 some 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.104 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,105 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’.106 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.
Besides letters will you try to send me a message107 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.108
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.109 Notwithstanding the promises of help lavished on me by our teacher110 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 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 knowledge 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.111 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?112 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?
I am working hard at the English,113 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.114 He115 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 me is.) As I told you he is going to be court-martialled,116 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, 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.117 Most of the questions ran about the two officers sent sick to the hospital at Haidar Pasha. They showed to me a photo118: it represents a hill somewhere near the camp; the Sup. is on the left side; a tall officer is holding his hands up as if he were praying.119 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 OOO120 how the dickens did he manage to pass it to the camp?
Miller121 before going to England on his way here, told me that Hill gave it to them with many others. Of course, it is all rubbish122 but cannot you give an explanation of the riddle?
That 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.123 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 train124 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 questions125 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.’
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.
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.
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.
F.P. Williams, R.G.A.
F.W.B. Wilson, R.F.A.
G.B. Wright, Worcest
er 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.)
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:
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:
The ‘triplicate,’ revolving inside the ‘duplicate,’ stopped with its B opposite the V, the code formed being as follows:
Code I.
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, decoded 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 that the B had stopped opposite V, so that the code on which I was working was the following: