Part 11 (1/2)
”Only a few times,” he said; ”once, I believe, by Jam-b.u.m, the famous Yogi of the Carnatic; once, perhaps twice, by Boohoo, the founder of the sect. But it is looked upon as extremely rare. Mr. Yahi tells me that the great danger is that, if the slightest part of the formula is incorrectly observed, the person attempting the astralization is swallowed up into nothingness. However, he declares himself willing to try.”
The seance was to take place at Mrs. Ra.s.selyer-Brown's residence, and was to be at midnight.
”At midnight!” said each member in surprise. And the answer was, ”Yes, at midnight. You see, midnight here is exactly midday in Allahabad in India.”
This explanation was, of course, ample. ”Midnight,” repeated everybody to everybody else, ”is exactly midday in Allahabad.” That made things perfectly clear. Whereas if midnight had been midday in Timbuctoo the whole situation would have been different.
Each of the ladies was requested to bring to the seance some ornament of gold; but it must be plain gold, without any setting of stones.
It was known already that, according to the cult of Boohooism, gold, plain gold, is the seat of the three virtues-beauty, wisdom and grace. Therefore, according to the creed of Boohooism, anyone who has enough gold, plain gold, is endowed with these virtues and is all right. All that is needed is to have enough of it; the virtues follow as a consequence.
But for the great experiment the gold used must not be set with stones, with the one exception of rubies, which are known to be endowed with the three attributes of Hindu wors.h.i.+p, modesty, loquacity, and pomposity.
In the present case it was found that as a number of ladies had nothing but gold ornaments set with diamonds, a second exception was made; especially as Mr. Yahi-Bahi, on appeal, decided that diamonds, though less pleasing to Buddha than rubies, possessed the secondary Hindu virtues of divisibility, movability, and disposability.
On the evening in question the residence of Mrs. Ra.s.selyer-Brown might have been observed at midnight wrapped in utter darkness. No lights were shown. A single taper, brought by Ram Spudd from the Taj Mohal, and resembling in its outer texture those sold at the five-and-ten store near Mr. Spudd's residence, burned on a small table in the vast dining-room. The servants had been sent upstairs and expressly enjoined to retire at half past ten. Moreover, Mr. Ra.s.selyer-Brown had had to attend that evening, at the Mausoleum Club, a meeting of the trustees of the Church of St. Asaph, and he had come home at eleven o'clock, as he always did after diocesan work of this sort, quite used up; in fact, so fatigued that he had gone upstairs to his own suite of rooms sideways, his knees bending under him. So utterly used up was he with his church work that, as far as any interest in what might be going on in his own residence, he had attained to a state of Bahee, or Higher Indifference, that even Buddha might have envied.
The guests, as had been arranged, arrived noiselessly and on foot. All motors were left at least a block away. They made their way up the steps of the darkened house, and were admitted without ringing, the door opening silently in front of them. Mr. Yahi-Bahi and Mr. Ram Spudd, who had arrived on foot carrying a large parcel, were already there, and were behind a screen in the darkened room, reported to be in meditation.
At a whispered word from Mr. Snoop, who did duty at the door, all furs and wraps were discarded in the hall and laid in a pile. Then the guests pa.s.sed silently into the great dining room. There was no light in it except the dim taper which stood on a little table. On this table each guest, as instructed, laid an ornament of gold, and at the same time was uttered in a low voice the word Ksvoo. This means, ”O Buddha, I herewith lay my unworthy offering at thy feet; take it and keep it for ever.” It was explained that this was only a form.
”What is he doing?” whispered the a.s.sembled guests as they saw Mr. Yahi-Bahi pa.s.s across the darkened room and stand in front of the sideboard.
”Hus.h.!.+” said Mr. Snoop; ”he's laying the propitiatory offering for Buddha.”
”It's an Indian rite,” whispered Mrs. Ra.s.selyer-Brown.
Mr. Yahi-Bahi could be seen dimly moving to and fro in front of the sideboard. There was a faint clinking of gla.s.s.
”He has to set out a gla.s.s of Burmese brandy, powdered over with nutmeg and aromatics,” whispered Mrs. Ra.s.selyer-Brown. ”I had the greatest hunt to get it all for him. He said that nothing but Burmese brandy would do, because in the Hindu religion the G.o.d can only be invoked with Burmese brandy, or, failing that, Hennessy's with three stars, which is not entirely displeasing to Buddha.”
”The aromatics,” whispered Mr. Snoop, ”are supposed to waft a perfume or incense to reach the nostrils of the G.o.d. The gla.s.s of propitiatory wine and the aromatic spices are mentioned in the Vishnu-Buddayat.”
Mr. Yahi-Bahi, his preparations completed, was now seen to stand in front of the sideboard bowing deeply four times in an Oriental salaam. The light of the single taper had by this time burned so dim that his movements were vague and uncertain. His body cast great flickering shadows on the half-seen wall. From his throat there issued a low wail in which the word wah! wah! could be distinguished.
The excitement was intense.
”What does wah mean?” whispered Mr. Spillikins.
”Hus.h.!.+” said Mr. Snoop; ”it means, 'O Buddha, wherever thou art in thy lofty Nirvana, descend yet once in astral form before our eyes!'”
Mr. Yahi-Bahi rose. He was seen to place one finger on his lips and then, silently moving across the room, he disappeared behind the screen. Of what Mr. Ram Spudd was doing during this period there is no record. It was presumed that he was still praying.
The stillness was now absolute.
”We must wait in perfect silence,” whispered Mr. Snoop from the extreme tips of his lips.
Everybody sat in strained intensity, silent, looking towards the vague outline of the sideboard.
The minutes pa.s.sed. No one moved. All were spellbound in expectancy.