On the Heights of Himalay. By A. Van der Naillen.
(Gay and Bird, London ; John W. Lowell Company, New York.)—In the publisher's preface to the second edition of On the Heights of Himalay, we are told that this theosophic novel has already been received "with exceptional favor ;" this, we conclude, means in America, so that the English critic feels a little shy of offering any adverse opinion, especially as the author declares the story to be true in the main ; but, fortunately, the publishers add that "the work has appealed most strongly to seekers after light in theosophic thought, and that it has supplied a philosophy par- ticularly needed by those who have left beaten and unsatisfactory paths, but who have lacked the confidence to cross the threshold of the more advanced, and therefore more technical teachers." To such, doubtless, this wisdom from the Himalay will bring both light and comfort; but the common mortal, not seeking after light in theosophic thought, will find great calls made upon his faith in the miraculous, and will feel bewildered by the presence of persons whose thoughts, words, and deeds cannot be judged by any of the rules which guide his own life. Perhaps, too, that de- lightful" Mr. Isaacs " led us to expect that theosophy would be allied to literary finish, which conjunction made us accept miracles with a light heart; but in the book before us, though the theosophic thought is explained in good, clear English, the romance is expressed in high-flown language which verges on the ludicrous, and is accompanied by a great deal of swooning on the part of the ladies ; whilst the mixture of the enterprising American and the visionaries, the Aztec Queen, "one of the direct descendants of the Montezumas," and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Simla, who keeps a magic glass in his pocket, all jostle each other without, as far as the story is,. concerned, any real unity of composition. Mr. Van der Naillen should have contented himself with pure philosophy or theosophy, leaving romance- writing to unphilosophical authors. Apart from the story, which, whether true or imaginary, is not interesting, the author advances scientific explanations of the wonders of the East,—by this we mean, of course, explanations which satisfy him. Arthur Clement de Silvereau, "a prince by birth and of the highest nobility of France," had entered the Church because he had fallen in love with the daughter of a King of France. She was a "human magnet," so naturally she attracted him ; but she had to marry a licentious, profligate King, and in consequence her lover turned into a "Trappist Friar." We next find him as "Bishop in the city of Simla ;" but one day, after ten years in India, the Prince- Bishop witnessed the well-known Basket trick and the Mango trick. This so moved his spirit that he felt impelled to obey the order to visit the Masters of the Himalayas. The Brahman said : "Mount your saddle-horse, turn toward the mountains to the west, and thus you will be guided until your destination is reached. Have faith !" The Masters have recognised him as one of their own, and wish to instruct him. This part of the book is very interesting; the Bishop has faith, and becomes an ardent disciple of the Adepts, whose astral bodies float through the air and through the book in a fascinating manner, entirely subjuga- ting the new convert. Evidently he is ignorant of the sceptic who tried to photograph the quick-growing plant, with the result of obtaining only the pot on the negative. We do not wish to dispute the power of mind over matter, but we prefer keeping them a little more distinct than the Bishop was willing to do. We have lately been assured that mind can produce a blister on the skin without the aid of material fire; mind, therefore, can perhaps as easily produce a flowery plant. A person in the hyp- notic trance can see anything he is told to see without that thing being really present; so perhaps hypnotism can explain the Indian tricks without our having to believe that a seed can become a flowery plant in twenty minutes. "Oc- cultism," the Brahman says to the Bishop, "as you will see, disappears when understanding enters. I repeat that it is simply by means of a thorough knowledge of the higher laws of Nature, by a perfect comprehension of its most subtle forces, that all those so-called miracles or magical performances can take place." We wish to be quite fair to the "higher laws of Nature," but in this book they do strange if interesting things ; they manufacture magic glasses, they disintegrate solid matter very easily, they place invisible hinges on rocks which swing back to let the disciple of the Masters pass through, they tinkle melodious bells on every possible occasion, and altogether behave in a much more original manner than the ordinary laws of Nature. Alas ! we fear we belong to that section which can enjoy On the Heights of Himalay without being influenced by its philosophy, or, to quote the words of the author, we are the "one skeptic" who, "pro- jecting his destructive vibration upon the delicate auric structure, is often sufficient to prevent materialisation."
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