[To . the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
Sin.—It is worth while considering the detailed account which Dr. J. H. Dewey of New York gives of his experience of the Rope Trick, on p. 298 of New Testament Occultism, published in 1895. He had gone to Ceylon and spent two years in studying Buddhism, learning at the same time Tamil. In 1881 he went to Kashmir for instruction in occult wisdom, and spent 23 weeks with his instructor. On one occasion he saw the trick, and it is thus described : " The Yoghi (i.e., saint) preached a sermon and then took a rope about 15 ft. long and one inch thick. One end of the rope he held in his left hand while with the right he threw the other end up into the air. The rope instead of coming down again remained suspended even .after the Yoghi had removed the other hand, and it seemed to have become as rigid as a pillar. Then the Yoghi seized it with both hands and to my utter amazement climbed up this rope suspended all the time in defiance of gravity, with the lower end at least five feet front the ground. And in proportion as he climbed up it seemed as if the rope was lengthening out indefinitely above him and disappearing beneath him, for he kept on climbing till he was fairly out of sight, and the last I could distinguish was his white turban and a piece of this never-ending rope. Then my eyes could endure the glare of the sky no longer, and when I looked again he was gone." Two other equally remarkable experiences are recorded, but as you read them you feel that it would be utterly impossible for any offer of money or reward to induce a real adept or initiate to repeat them.
Whether Dr. Dewey. is .still alive I do not know, but his book was published at 151. West .23rd Street, New York.—
Previous page
