The Weird Adventures of Professor Delapine of the Sorbonne

Title: The Weird Adventures of Professor Delapine of the Sorbonne

Author: G. Lindsay Johnson

Release date: March 10, 2018 [eBook #56713]

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56713

Credits: Produced by Suzanne Shell, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

THE WEIRD ADVENTURES OF PROFESSOR DELAPINE OF THE SORBONNE....

BY

GEORGE LINDSAY JOHNSON,

M.A., M.D. B.S. F.R.C.S.

LONDON

GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, Limited

CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY, Limited, SOUTH AFRICA

NEW YORK: E.P. DUTTON AND CO.

1916

To

My Dear Master

Edmund Landolt, M.D.

HOMMAGE D'AMITIÉ

PREFACE

When travelling in France a few years ago during the summer vacation, I made the acquaintance of a professor of world-wide fame, which acquaintance soon ripened into a lasting friendship. Among the various subjects which we dealt with in our conversation, I happened to mention spiritualism. I told him how bitterly disappointed I had been at the various séances I had attended. Either the séance had passed off without any phenomena at all, or if anything did occur, it had turned out invariably to be a palpable fraud, and had left me more sceptical than ever—besides, I added, the oracular utterances delivered by the medium when in an hysterical condition, which is palmed off to the audience as a trance, were so nonsensical and meaningless as to leave me in doubt whether to be amused at the gullibility of the public, or disgusted at the time I had thrown away in listening to such nonsense.

"Yes," replied the Professor thoughtfully, "that always used to be my view of spiritualism, but since I have seriously examined the subject for myself I have entirely changed my views on the subject. So far from scoffing at it, as I confess I used to, I am now convinced that the real phenomena are far and away more astonishing than are these which these charlatans profess to exhibit or actually produce by conjuring and fraud. Now, if you wish to be convinced that there are genuine phenomena, come with me to Paris and we will investigate the subject together at the great S.... Hospital. Here we found indeed a rich field for our studies. We witnessed there all the phenomena of suggestion, second-sight, clair-audience, hypnotism, dual-consciousness, telepathy, the movement of objects without contact, and many other occurrences of such a surprising nature that in our present state of ignorance they appeared to be altogether outside the laws of Nature as we understand them; and I went away entirely convinced that certain people possess

powers such as we ordinary mortals have never even dreamt of."

While I was staying at his hotel, the Professor narrated to me the extraordinary history of Professor Delapine, which he assured me was true, and which with his permission I committed to writing, and worked up into a novel. Observing the intense interest which I exhibited in his narrative, he was kind enough to introduce me to the Professor himself as well as to several of the other characters, and thereby enabled me to fill up the gaps. What I heard certainly bore out the adage that "truth is stranger than fiction." For obvious reasons I have not given the real names to the characters referred to in the novel, since Delapine, Madame Delapine, (Renée), Marcel, and Dr. Riche are still hale and hearty, and very distinguished and popular members of society.

It is needless to say that the coup at the tables related as taking place at Monte Carlo, as well as other events mentioned in these chapters, have been disguised so as to prevent identification of the parties concerned by the general public, although the actors themselves will doubtless recognise and appreciate the details of the narrative.

Should any of our readers be sceptical as to the ability of a person to move objects without contact, and to stop a ball at will on a roulette table, I can only refer them to the experiments of Dr. Ochorowicz[1] which will be found in the June Number of the Annals of Psychical Research for the year 1905, wherein will be found an exhausted series of experiments made with a Polish medium named "Julie." In this paper the doctor demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that "Julie" could cause the ball to fall into any of the compartments of the roulette table which the doctor selected in a large percentage of the trials, and, when it failed to tumble into the right compartment, it usually fell into one or other on either side of it.

As regards the trance, I have purposely prolonged its duration to fit in with the plot of the novel, and I have also introduced certain alterations and additions in order to make the story more complete.

I may remark further that the phantom scene of Renée's mother may possibly have been an hallucination on the girl's part, as I have no direct proof of its occurrence, and have only the testimony of a highly emotional girl wearied out with vigils to rely upon. Of course there is the evidence of the lock of hair, which may be seen even to-day, but to my mind that is not sufficiently convincing, and would certainly not be allowed as evidence in a court of law.

Still others who were present assured me that they saw the same phantom (or materialized form) at the séance, and the evidence of such materialization has the great support of one of our most eminent scientists who has a well-deserved reputation for extreme accuracy of statement and cautiousness, and who has assured me personally that he has both seen, handled, and conversed with such an apparition, which was just as real and clothed with the same flesh and blood as any other human being, and he is as certain of its genuineness as he is of his own existence. Moreover, he has repeatedly photographed both the medium and the spirit-form singly and together, which photographs I have seen. Personally I have never witnessed a materialized form, and can only reserve my judgment as to the reality of the phenomenon.

But I feel sure all interpolations and additions will be pardoned by the reader; since the object aimed at was to clothe the real facts with a halo of romance, and thus, without detracting too much from the truth, to render the story much more interesting to the reader.

GEO. LINDSAY JOHNSON, Castle Mansions, Johannesburg.

It is a vulgar mistake, for which science certainly gives no warrant, to assert that things are impossible because they contradict our experience.

P. Chalmers Mitchell, M.A., DSc., F.R.S.

Thomas Henry Huxley: A Sketch of his Life and Work, p. 245.

Whatever is intelligible and can be distinctly conceived implies no contradiction, and can never be proved false by any demonstration, argument, or reasoning, a priori.

Hume, On Miracles.

The boundary between the two states—the known and the unknown—is still substantial, but it is wearing thin in places; and like excavators engaged in boring a tunnel from opposite ends, amid the roar of water and other noises we are beginning to hear now and again the strokes of the pick-axes of our comrades on the other side.

Sir Oliver Lodge, The Survival of Man, p. 337.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Dr. Ochorowicz is professor of Psychology at the University of Lemberg (Lvoff). I am a little uncertain as to the year, as I cannot get access to the Annals, but I believe it is the correct date.

CONTENTS

[Pg 1]

The Weird Adventures of Professor Delapine

CHAPTER I

THE CAFE AT THE CORNER OF THE "BOULE MICHE"

The man who cannot wonder, who does not habitually wonder ... is but a pair of spectacles, behind which there is no eye.

Carlyle (Sartor Resartus, Bk. I. ch. x.)

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. Longfellow—The Dinner at the Villebois' House, pt. iv.

"Comment ça va, monsieur le docteur? Pardon that I interrupt your reverie."

The greeting was addressed to a gentleman below middle age who was seated before one of the little round tables at the corner of one of the side streets leading into the Boulevard Michel. He was idly toying with a small glass of eau sucrée between four and five o'clock on a glorious afternoon in the autumn of 19—.

Somewhat short in stature, and slightly built, he was favoured by nature with a pleasing expression, and bright auburn curly locks which matched his bronzed and weather-beaten face. Although his features bore traces of hardship and toil, there was nothing in his appearance to attract any very special remarks from the passers-by. And yet many of them would have turned and looked again at that gentlemanly little figure, had they but known who it was who sat there practically unnoticed by, and unnoticing, the endless[Pg 2] stream of afternoon strollers. He had ordered an eau sucrée, and it certainly was that simple beverage which stood in that glass before him, but it might as well have been tincture of myrrh, or weak tea, or even vinegar, for all the great Dr. Riche knew or cared.

About five feet four inches of his slim neatly-dressed body was sitting there without a doubt, but his mind was far away debating the intricacies of a very delicate operation on the base of the brain, at which he had assisted that morning at the Hotel Dieu. An opening had been made through the nose into the skull of a patient, and the offending tumour had been removed—to all appearances successfully. All the same, the doctor was pondering deeply over the probabilities of the patient's ultimate recovery, and was mentally arguing the pros and cons of this very interesting case, when a gentle tapping of a gold-mounted cane on the marble surface of the little round table in front of him, accompanied by a jovial laugh and a hearty greeting, brought him suddenly down from the regions of the Sella Turcica.

"Well, monsieur le docteur, you have not forgotten me then?"

"Villebois! mon cher, I am delighted to see you. You seem surprised to see me here, eh! Well, as a matter of fact, I may tell you I have only quite recently returned to Paris for a holiday after five years practising in Algiers, and have not yet had time to renew my old acquaintances."

"All the more reason why you should begin at once not only to renew the old, but to make some new ones," said Villebois. "That reminds me, do you remember our discussions in the little room on the third floor at the corner of the Rue Saint André des Arts?"

"What, when we nearly came to blows over our differences of opinion about what you were pleased to call mysterious psychic forces? Yes, I remember, but surely you have outgrown all that?"

"Certainly not. I have had reason lately to be more convinced than ever that I was right. You, my dear Riche, have missed some wonderful phenomena which have recently startled our circle. Levitations, apparitions—"

"Oh, my dear Villebois, remember we are in the[Pg 3] twentieth century; and it is rather out of date to commence believing too implicitly in that sort of thing."

"Out of date? Why, I have seen it with my own eyes. Hardly has the séance begun, when the table begins to rise slowly inch by inch, until it reaches a height of half a metre from the floor, and then more wonderful still——"

"Yes, I know all about it, Palladino, Slade, Home, the Daniels, and the rest, with their cabinets and masks, and rubber hands daubed all over with luminous paint. Besides they perform all their tricks in the dark, lest people should see through their frauds. What I want to know is why they cannot do their supernatural performances in a private house which is unprovided with trap doors, and other nicknacks and apparatus."

"Still the same unbeliever I see: your five years stay abroad has not altered you much in that respect. But if you will allow me to introduce you to my friend the professor I think you will alter your opinion."

"But where is this prodigy to be found?"

"When you cease that mocking tone, I'll tell you."

"Proceed, mon cher Villebois: I will be as serious as a clown at the pantomime."

"Well, you remember Delapine?"

"What, that youthful professor who gave such a wonderful course of lectures on physics in the laboratory at the Sorbonne?"

"The same," answered Villebois. "He is staying for some time with us at Passy, and is giving us the most wonderful exhibitions of his powers. Talk about a genius, the recitals of his experiences, his inventions, and his discoveries fairly dazzles one; and, in addition, he declares that he possesses such extraordinary mediumistic powers that he can call up spirits at will."

"But I thought that you did not believe in these extraordinary psychic forces, that you were too well grounded in natural science to believe in any phenomena which are incapable of being treated mathematically, or which could not be subjected to the rigid tests of the laboratory."

"That is so," answered Villebois. "If I had not witnessed these phenomena with my own eyes, and subjected them to my own tests I should have felt disposed to[Pg 4] put them down to charlatanism. At first, I was inclined to think that he was 'off his head,' but when you hear him talk with such brilliancy and logic, and when you see him with your own eyes perform the things which I have seen him do, you will agree that there is not a saner man to-day in the whole of our beloved Paris. At times again, his brain appears to be too big for him, and he is apt to go off into fainting fits—or trances, as he calls them—and on occasions he remains for hours in that state: you could almost swear that he was dead, and yet he wakes up as fresh as the proverbial daisy, to amaze us all with the recital of experiences during the trance."

"How extraordinary; forgive my previous mockery, my dear Villebois. I assure you I am as anxious now as I was indifferent before about meeting your friend. Perhaps he may have some recollection of me."

"Ah, I thought you would want to meet him, and I can assure you that you will not regret it. Pack up and come and stay with us at Passy. There are several charming people staying with us including Renée, the daughter of old Payot. You know whom I mean. Then there is Monsieur Marcel, a philosopher and poet, a cynic in a way, but a first-rate fellow notwithstanding, and lastly a most inquisitive and argumentative young lawyer—Monsieur Duval. With you, my dear colleague, the party will be complete, especially as you are an exponent and past master of agnosticism combined with a mind open to conviction, and possess an aptitude for strictly scientific investigation. I have no doubt that between us we ought to be capable of sifting these mysteries to the bottom. If there is any trickery about it, I can rely on your finding it out and exposing it, but I am fully convinced beforehand that you will not find any."

"Que diable, but I have seen enough of Delapine to know that he is incapable of humbug or trickery. All the same, my dear confrère, you have infected me with your enthusiasm, and the programme that you offer me is as tempting as a première at the opera."

"Including the renewal of your acquaintance with the charming Mademoiselle Payot," added Villebois with a smile.

[Pg 5]

"Just so. Is there not some poet who says, 'Beauty lends enchantment to the view'?"

Villebois rose slowly and surveyed himself in one of the massive mirrors near the window, and smiled complacently at his old friend's levity, while carefully smoothing down the large "wings" of his professional black cravat.

"Say rather with Goethe 'Das Ewig Weibliche zieht uns hinan,'" said Villebois, who knew his German remarkably well for a Frenchman.

"However," he continued, "I must leave you now. Let me assure you once more what a pleasure it has been to meet you again after such a long absence. We will expect you, then, in two days' time at Passy."

"Very good, I will come with pleasure," replied Dr. Riche, "and please pay my respects to Madame Villebois and the others."

"Thanks, thanks, au revoir until the day after to-morrow," called out Villebois as he hailed a fiacre, and vanished down the boulevard towards the Louvre.

Left to himself, and now fully awakened from the deep reverie which had overshadowed him previous to the arrival of his old friend, Dr. Riche gently drew from his pocket a large and most un-Gallic looking pipe and pouch well supplied with a famous mixture of his own composition, and proceeded to enjoy in open daylight that most delightful but, under the circumstances, most unprofessional luxury, a good smoke.

"Delapine? Delapine?" he said musingly to himself. "Of course I remember Delapine at the Sorbonne. What a genius that fellow was. A perfect marvel in making experiments in physics! Developed into an exponent of psychic forces has he? Well, well, I must say though, that I am not surprised. He certainly gave promise of a great future in the world of science. Has he become a Medium I wonder? Perhaps he goes off into trances like Swedenborg was said to do. Some one, I cannot just remember who it was, told me that Delapine could foretell the future, and know what is happening in other parts of the world, or even in the Beyond. Well, well, there must be something in it, if Delapine says so. He is genuine, there can[Pg 6] be no doubt about that. It is certainly remarkably interesting, and it would be worth going there if only to see him and be present at his séance. Besides, there is Mademoiselle Villebois, who is growing up into such a charming girl. I really must have a look at her as well. Ah! yes, I well remember how Villebois used

to twit me about being too susceptible to the charms of the fair sex. It will be quite refreshing to find Villebois, Delapine and Payot under the same roof again after that long separation. Well, who knows? It is quite on the cards——"

At this stage in his meditations something caused Dr. Riche to gaze slowly round the adjoining tables, and to take a casual glance for the first time that afternoon, at some of those of his fellow-mortals who were in his immediate neighbourhood. For a moment, no one in particular appeared to cause him any special interest. Then, turning slightly, he became aware that two ladies had seated themselves close to him at one of the small tables in a little recess.

"Mother and daughter, evidently," he muttered to himself.

That the doctor's surmise was correct was evinced a few seconds later when he heard a clear and penetrating voice—

"Mais non, petite mère, ne vous en fâchez-vous. Although it is true that I have obtained some very startling results, you must remember that there are times when my 'power,' as you call it, seems to vanish, and I do not appear to be able to read anything of either the past or the future."

"But why do you do it at all, Violette? Why have you not given it up as I have so often implored you? You know that it is altogether against my wishes, and really I often feel quite afraid that some day some misfortune—quelque chose d'un grand malheur—will come of it all."

"Not a bit, you are much too anxious, petite mère."

"Ah, if I could be sure, but I cannot help my anxiety when I see you so abstracted, so—what do you say?—so distraite and so enfeebled, after you have had one of those long séances; and I notice lately that you appear to be suffering from nervous exhaustion especially after you have[Pg 7] foretold something more than usually startling. Please be guided by me, dear, and let me take away that mysterious ring, and lock it away from you for a month—for six months. Perhaps if you did not have it so much en évidence, you might gradually forget its fascination."