a pilgrim's journey to the east by h. spencer lewis

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60 ibe La.' te

I H. SPENCER LEWIS.'PH.D. V.K.C.

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First Imptrator of

R O S l C R J J C m ORDER AM. O. R. C.

— A m e r i c a . - - -

r TfTrrTi iiftVli



The Rosi cr uci an Or der Amor25, Gar r i ck St reet ,

London. W. I .December 195

A PI LGRI M' S J OURNEY TO THE HAST

NOTE

On the mater i al pl ane much i s known of Dr . Lewi s, thef i r st I mper at or of the Rosi cr uci an Or der i n Amer i ca: onanother pl ane one can st i l l be i n at t unement wi t h hi m by meof hi s wr i t i ngs. The i nf or mat i on cont ai ned i n thi s bookl etgi ven out as a- pr i vi l ege to members. The pr esent I mperat orFra. Ral ph M. Lewi s, wi shes i t to be underst ood that noquest i ons can be answered i n connect i on wi t h the cont ent s, t hat t here wi l l be no cor r espondence about i t . I t i s apubl i cat i on of the hi st or y as wr i t t en by Dr. Lewi s, and,t heref ore, si nce he has passed t hr ough t ransi t i on, no one i

f ur t her qual i f i ed to car ry on cor r espondence wi t h respect thi s per sonal exper i ences.* * * * * * * * * *

I NTRODUCTI ON

Whi l e put t i ng some f i ni shi ng t ouches to a wor k ofpubl i shi ng si x bi ogr aphi es of wel l known charact er s of amyst i cal t ype f or our Gr and Mast er, Fra. Raymund Andrea, asudden ur ge came to me. The desi r e to publ i sh the st ory byDr. Lewi s of hi s j our ney i n Fr ance when he was seeki ng meanto st ar t the Or der i n the Uni t ed St at es of Amer i ca. Thi saut obi ogr aphy was publ i shed f or the f i r st t i me i n 1916 and l ong been out of pr i nt . I t was concei ved t hat i t s republ i cat i on woul d be a gr eat servi ce t o the members i n t hi s counwho had j oi ned t he Or der i n r ecent years. Dur i ng theRosi cr uci an Ral l y i n London i n 1957, per mi ssi on to car ry outhi s wor k was sought f r om t he pr esent I mperat or , Fra. Ral phM. Lewi s: t hi s was readi l y grant ed. ,

Dr . Lewi s, the f i r st I mper at or of the Or der i n Amer i ca,was one of the out st andi ng men of hi s generat i on. Thi s i s an over st at ement . I f he had not chosen to devot e hi s l i f e the servi ce of the Order , he coul d have been a gr eat f i gur

i n t he wor l d of f i nance. Hi s i nt er est s wer e wi de and ver yvar i ed. He was no st r anger t o thi s count ry, so l et a Sororwho knew hi m i n the ear l y days i n San J ose and who met hi magai n here gi ve a shor t word pi ct ur e of pr ophet i c words heut t ered when he spoke at a Rosi cr uci an Di nner hel d i n hi shonour i n London



He i mpressed, on the . members i n t hi s count r y the i mpor t anceof uphol di ng our own anci ent t radi t i ons that have st oodthe test of t i me, the t est of nat i onal cal ami t y andnat i onal exper i ence. He st at ed that ot her nat i ons woul dbe the f i r st to regret t hi s and condemn us f or doi ng soi f we f ai l ed i n thi s

- - + o Sor. Rect i f i er o + - -* •**

I n the decade bef or e t hi s "vi si t to France, whi ch tookpl ace i n 1909, Dr. Lewi s had devoted hi msel f to occul t andmyst i cal r esearch and because he was a descendant of a memberof the f i r st Rosi cruci an! body i n Amer i ca, he was gi ven- . accessto many' of t hei r ol d. paper s, . secret manuscr i pt s and teachi ngs.Many pr omi nent peopl e were associ at ed wi t h hi m i n thi s work,but r eal i zi ng t hat t hey were not yet aut h6r i zed to use thewor d Rosi cruci an, t hei r soci et y oper at ed publ i cl y under- the'name of MThe New York I nst i t ute f or Psychi cal Research. ” Wow-

l et Dr. Lewi s, tel l , i n hi s own words, of the per i od i mmedi at el ypr i or to hi s goi ng' t o France. I t i s t aken f rom: "Rosi cr uci anQuest i ons and/ Answers, wi t h Compl et e Hi st or y. ” Onl y suf f i ci enti s gi ven to' suppl ement the Aut obi ogr aphy.

"J ust befor e 1909 there appl i ed f or member shi p i n oursoci ety one who presented papers- . provi ng appoi ntment as t he"Legat e" of the Rosi cr uci an Or der i n I ndi a. Many weeks ofcl ose associ at i on wi t h thi s member r eveal ed the f act t hat ..Imi ght be successf ul i n the sear ch f or some f or m of aut hor i t yto i nt r oduce the true Rosi cr uci an work i n Amer i ca at the ri ghtt i me. Ever y means of communi cat i on wi t h any of f i ci al . of theOr der i n f or ei gn l ands was deni ed' t o mo unt i l ear l y; i n the ,year 1909 when I was i nf ormed that the year f or t he publ i c- c *appearance of the Or der :i n Amer i ca was at hand and that indef i ni t e ar r angement s f or the new cycl e had been compl eted.

The "Legate" f r om I ndi a encour aged me to f ol l ow t he ur ge that,had act uat ed me:.‘f or si x or more year s, r egardl ess of anyobst acl e or t r i al s, t hat mi ght t end to di scour age my unsel f i sh-ai ms. " • .v‘:. -• .4

"Theref ore I went to Fr ance i n the summer of 1909 and ' af tera br i ef i nt er vi ew wi t h one who r ef used to commi t hi msel f . ver y

def i ni t el y, I. was1di r ected to var i ous ci t i es, and i n each caser edi r ected unt i l I f i nal l y appr oached a def i ni t e cont act -i n Toul ouse .V; There I eventual l y f ound t hat ' my pl ans and desi res-had,rbeen- ant i ci pated and!, known f or some t i me, and I was per - , .mi t- ted to meet not j ust one of the of f i cers of t he Fr ench v .Rosi cr uci an Order, but a ' number, as wel l as some who were



member s of the I nt er nat i onal Counci l of the Rosi cr uci an bodiof var i ous Eur opean nat i ons* At a r egul ar counci l meet i ng,and at sever al speci al sessi ons of the Or der i n ot her ci t i eshel d i n t he mont hs f ol l owi ng* I was dul y i ni t i at ed and gi venpr el i mi nar y paper s of i nst r uct i on to pr esent to ot hers whosenames had been gi ven me. I was al so i nst r uct ed to arr ange t

hol d pr el i mi nar y f oundat i on meet i ngs f or the pur pose of or gai zi ng a secret gr oup of workers, who woul d r ecei ve f ur t heri nst r uct i ons f r om the Legat es of the Or der i n I ndi a andSwi t zer l and. These i nst r uct i ons wer e si gned by Count Bel l -cast l e- Li gne, the secret ar y of t he I nt er nat i onal Counci l , anthe Vener abl e Lasal l e, the wel l known aut hor of many hi st or iRosi cr uci an document s, and the Gr and Kast er of the Or der RosCruci s or Rose Cr oi x of France. Bef or e l eavi ng France I hadthe pl easur e of meet i ng sever al of the hi ghest of f i cer s, andmet i n Amer i ca on my return, the Legat e f r om I ndi a, whopresented to me t he J ewel s and Papers whi ch had been preser ve

f r om the ear l 3 Amer i can f oundat i on.When di scussi ng ”A Pi l gr i m’s J our ney to the East ” wi t h

Fra* ’’Pcnsat or” , he sai d he coul d suppl y some addi t i onali nf ormat i on whi ch coul d be conveni ent l y added as an ’’Epi l oguso we are i ndebt ed to hi m f or hi s pai nst aki ng resear ch i n olnumber s of the ’’Amer i can Rosae Cr uci s” , ’’The Myst i c Tr i angl eand the ’’Rosi cr uci an Di gest ” . Fra. ’’Pmsat or ” i s a pastmast er i n bot h the Rosi cr uci an and Mart i ni st Or ders and hasmade a speci al st udy of t hi s i nspi r i ng backgr ound of theGreat Whi t e Br ot her hood work.

When ”A Pi l gr i m’s J our ney to the East ” and the ’’Epi l ogueare pl aced i n cont rast , two t hi ngs are i mmedi at el y evi dent .I n the f ormer we cannot but bo aware of Dr. Lewi s’ hopes andf ears f or the f uture, whi l e i n t he l i t t er even the mostevol ved amongst us are l ef t f ai nt but pur sui ng, but wi t h thef eel i ng that we are achi evi ng somet hi ng by onl y f ol l owi ng i nhi s f oot st eps. Thi re i s al so a pr of ound t hankf ul ness t hat tpat h he t ravel l ed i s so cl ear l y mar ked— i n our l esson mat er i a—f or our emul at i on.

As a t eacher Dr. Lewi s st r ove hard to rai se ot hers to hi sl evel and vi ewed the f act t hat ot hers mi ght sur pass hi mv; i th

equani mi t y. There i s no shor t cut , onl y a dedi cated pur posewi l l car ry us to the hei ght s he achi eved.

- - 4* o Benef act or o + - -* *

*



by

Ho SPENCER LEWIS, Ph. D- s P. R, C.

First Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order in America,

* * * *-k * *

* *

*

A PIJ&EHl'S JGURNEY TO THE EAST

’’And I Journeyed *bo the Eastern Gate”

11 I f you erne t ) Par i s and four, l i t conveni enat the st udi o of Konsi ear . ??X” * the pr of cp?or of Languages at***** B’ l ’v' d St . Ger mai n, he mi gl rb be abl e to t el l yousomet hi ng of the ci rcl e of t hi ; h you .‘nqui re. I t ni ght beadvi sabl e t o hand hi m nVco. ~e?mai nl y a l et t er to hi mannounci ng your coni r g (by and name of boat) woul d becour t eous

Such was, i n subst ance, the l et t er I r ecei ved f r om t

edi t or of a Par i si an paper cf whom I had asked the si mpl equest i on: ’’Hcj ; can I l ear n c:? the method to pur sue whi ch wisecure gui dance be the Rosae Cruci s ?;?

True, I had pl aced beneat h my name a pecul i ar markwhi ch had been i mpressed upon my mi nd i n a ser i es of dreams,al t hough I di d nob know or appr eci at e i t s s i gni f i cance»

When the hear t t r ul y year ns f or a gr eat pr i vi l ege orbl essi ng, when the mi nd i s dai l y, hour l y, r ever t i ng to onegr eat det er mi nat i on, one i s ver y apt to f i nd the hour s ofdr eams f r aught wi t h si gns and symbol s, or perchance,si gni f i cant messages whose sour ce and pur pose are general l y

•vei l ed.

Af t er many year s’ st udy of the exot er i c work ofRosaecr uci ani sm and an i ncreasi ng, obsessi onal desi re to j oiwi t h the Br ot her hood, unsel f i sh i n i t s great under t aki ngs f othe bet t erment and uni t y of man, I wr ot e—af t er a deep i nner



A PI LGnni c' S J OURNEY TO THE EAST

at hi s hear t as i t was at mi ne*

3

I f ound hi mpl easant company. He was goi ng to Francand t hen to J er usal em, he sai d, on a mi ss i on of secr ecy f orone of the promi nent Amer i can hei r esses wel l kno’vn f or her

char i t abl e work.

There was somethi ng, however , about hi s per sonal i t y—hi s i nner self —whi ch made a very deep and wei r d i mpress i onupon me o

I r ecal l comi ng f r om the sal oon deck one day to anupper deck and di scover i ng hi m st andi ng i n the sunl i ghtgazi ng f ar out to sea. Hi s f i gure was st rai ght , hi s f or mdr awn up to i t s f ul l maj est i c hei ght and hi s bear i ng one ofdomi nant power, , I st ood and st udi ed hi m. Hi s at t i t ude wasone of i nt ense i nt er est — i n what ? The r i si ng sun ?' And as

I wat ched hi m, unsuspect i ngl y, f i xed l i ke a br onze st atue, asense of awe, of respect, came over me and I coul d not hel pf eel i ng t hat I was l ooki ng at a myst i c of the Or i ent .

But hi s j ovi al pl easant r i es and posi t i ve avoi dance oany subj ect per t ai ni ng -jo the occul t , gave rre 110 r eason -gobel i eve ot herwi se •han t hat he was an East I ndi an. But myat t empt s tc draw 'r.\m out al ong occul t , and especi al l y EastI ndi an phi l osophi cal l i nes, gava hi m a ver y i nt i mat eacquai nt ance wi t h my own phi l osophi cal i deal s and bel i ef s.Nat ur al l y they r ef l eot ed? when t hey di d not act ual l y expressmy per sonal moral eni rel i gi ous t enet s and pr act i ces.

We arr i ve- 1 a-, Cher bourg on the coast of Fr ance onSunday mor ni ng Ar gus t; 1st and f ound the bay i n gal a dressbecause of the pr. eser. ee of the Csar ’s personal yacht escor t eby a number of Russian warshi ps. The Czar was payi ng anof f i ci al vi si t to the Pr esi dent of Fr ance.

A si x hour t r i p br ought my compani on and mysel f i nt oPar i s and at the ent r ance of my hot el we par t ed, f ul l ybel i evi ng that we wj u I J not meet agai n.

Bef ore we reached Par i s, however, I had request ed anumber of deck acquai nt ances to subscr i be t hei r names to api ct ur e of the st eamer . My f orei gn compani on suggest ed that ,i n addi t i on to thi s I mi ght desi re hi s name and addr ess on asepar ate card* Agreei ng t hat i t woul d be more than wel come,he tore a squar e sheet of heavy, f orei gn paper f r om a notebook and wr ot e what seemed to be hi s address and a f ew ot herwords under hi s name. Thi s I aut omat i cal l y pl aced i n my



wal l et and not among my mi scel l aneous papers. I never t houghtto st udy i t s i nt ent or meani ng. One coul d do l i t t l e butt hi nk aut omat i cal l y—dr eami l y—when he spoke or di rected.

* * * * * * * * * *

A week passed before I vent ur ed to see Pr of essor ”X” .I had ment i oned the words Bosae Cruci s i n the pr esence ofdi f f erent Fr ench men and women wi t h var yi ng resul t s. I f oundt hat the wor ds acted l i ke a char m i n most cases—br i ngi ng al ook of wonderment , surpr i se, respect and awe to many f aces—but ne’er a v ord or act of recogni t i on. There was oneexcept i on. I n the hot el I f ound a young worrrn—possi bl y 16year s of age—scr ubbi ng the f l oors of the l obby ear l y onemorni ng. Pur sui ng my usual method of t est i ng and searchi ng,I st ood where I coul d wat ch her f ace, and sai d sl owl y,”Ros- a- e Cr uci s. ” She hast i l y rose to her f eet , st ood erect

and f aced me wi t h t hat serene, but awe- i nspi r ed expr essi onthat I have si nce t hen seen upon the f aces of sever al Vest alVi r gi ns. She sai d not a wor d but wai t ed f or ei t her a si gnor word f r omme. I knew of nothi ng el se to do and she sl owl ydropped down to her wor k and pai d no more at t ent i on to me.

But of one t hi ng I was sure. The hot el pr opr i et or ,a weal t hy guest (a Fr enchman) , a vi si t or f r om a convent i nPar i s, two t axi cab dr i vers, one t r am- way conductor , twogendarmes, one f rui t - sel l er , one newsboy, one scr ub- gi r l anda number of others of al l cl asses and ranks knew of RosaeCruci s and ei t her f eared or honour ed the words.

Rosae Cruci s was not DEAD i n Par i s!

I vi si t ed the Pr of essor ear l y one mor ni ng and f oundt hat he was the pr opr i etor of a st ore whose sol e merchandi sewas r are and beaut i f ul et chi ngs and photogr aphs of the’’monument s of P r a n c e I wi l l gi ve, to the best of myabi l i t y, a f ai r record of our conver sat i on on August 7th.1909:

’’Are you Pr of essor WX”?” I spoke i n Engl i sh wi t houtr eal i si ng t hat I was speaki ng to a Frenchman. I n f act Inatur al l y f ear ed to vent ur e i nto Fr ench wi t h my ext r emel y

l i mi t ed knowl edge of i t , and dur i ng my stay i n Par i s hadf ound many who spoke Engl i sh very wel l .

”1 am, si r , ” he repl i ed wi t h a ver y pr of use cour tesy.”And I presume that you are an—an Ameri can: I speak Engl i shwel l — i t bei ng one of my del i ght s— and I am happy to addressyou i n your own tongue. What i s your pl easure ?”

4 A PI LGRI M' S J OURNEY TO THE EAST



A PI LGRI MS J OURNEY TO THE EAST 5

ffI have been di r ected to you, " I answered, ffand wr oyou a l et t er that I woul d cal l somet i me thi s vieek. I am at otal st r anger to you, my home bei ng i n New Yor k Ci t y. I not know j ust how you can assi st me, but I have come wi t h quest i on to ask whi ch may l ead to ot her s. ”

”1 underst and your er rand, si r , and was i nf ormed of your desi res by Monsi eur , l f di t eur of t he - - - - - - - - , someweeks ago. I awai t your quest i ons. r'

He usher ed me i nt o a smal l of f i ce part i t i oned at thr ear of hi s store. As I wal ked the l engt h of the st ore Inot i ced that the wal l s wer e banked f r om f l oor to cei l i ngwi t h beaut i f ul mahogany and gl ass cases wi t hi n whi ch hungver y beaut i f ul et chi ngs, f i ne phot ogr aphs and an occasi onawat er - col our . There wer e ot her cabi net s too, wi t h drawers,i n whi ch, I af t er war d l earned, were hundr eds of si mi l arpr i nt s cl assi f i ed as to sect i ons of t he count ry. I r ecal lhavi ng ever seen but one ot her store devot ed excl usi vel y tone l i ne of ar t as was t hi s.

Prof essor "X" i s a man of f i ne bui l d and f ai r hei ghtt ypi cal l y Fr ench i n hi s appear ance and demeanour . Theextreme cour t esy, the pol i shed manner i sms, the expressi vegestures, the sof t voi ce and tho t wi nkl i ng eye make one l oand respect the Fr ench gent l eman. I j udged hi m to be abou45 years of age. * Hi s wel l t r i mmed bear d ( t r i mmed i n theusual French styl e) , hi s ruddy cheeks and the dark hai r miwel l hi de hi s t rue age. Hi s l anguage was wel l chosen at

t i mes, but I recal l wi t h what del i ght he vent ur ed a f ewphr ases of Amer i can i di oms borderi ng on the ver nacul ar . There was onl y a sl i ght i ndi cat i on of Fr ench accent when hspoke Engl i sh, but when he ment i oned Fr ench names he wascapt i vat i ng wi t h hi s pecul i ar vocei l t ones.

"And why do you seek t o know a Br ot her of the RoseCr oi x ?" he asked as we seat ed our sel ves i n hi s ver y ol d-f ashi oned of f i ce.

"Because I want ed to know i f the ol d Or der i s st i l li n exi stence and i f i t i s- - - - ". I was l ost f or wor ds. Icoul d not say that I wanted to become a member . One coul d

not bl unt l y ask such a pr i vi l ege i n t he pr esence of a manl i ke Pr of essor " X" .

"i md t hat i s your onl y excuse f or comi ng to Par i s,f or comi ng here ? I s i t what you ce. l l a cur i osi t y ?"



6 A PI LGRI M’S J OURNEY TO THE E*ST

”Ah, no, Prol essor , ” I began, f eel i ng that I hadwr ongl y expressed mysel f and had done an i nj ust i ce to my realmot i ves. ”1 am not act i ng out of i dl e cur i osi t y at l east.I want to know because I want , some day, to be one of them,i f I may. ” There, t he secret was out , I t hought . Sur el y Iwas bei ng f rank.

’’But why, my f r i end ? You want to be one of t hem ?One of whom ? Of the Br ot hers ? You WANT to be ? You askas a demand ? You nei t her pr ay nor beg, but demand ! Youare not acquai nt ed wi t h the Order , wi t h any Brot her , yet youdemand to be one of them, of the Or der !”

There was no at t empt to make me f eel that I was i n anawkwar d posi t i on, or that I was i mper t i nent . Hi s remarkswere made ki ndl y, but poi nt edl y.

’’But , Prof essor , ” I began agai n, ”1 onl y want —desi re —to l earn how I may proceed i f I am ever to have my f ond hopesreal i sed. I make no demand now f or admi ssi on i nt o the Order ;I ask f or no rare pr i vi l ege or honour at thi s t i me. I cometo you onl y as a seeker f or knowl edge— f or l i ght . ”

As I went on wi t h my speech a more ki ndl y expressi oncame to hi s f ace and i t was onl y as the l ast two words werel i t eral l y f or ced out of my consci ousness by some st rangepower , that I saw the bar r i er bet ween us drop. These twowor ds— FOR LI GHT, v/ere l i ke the magi c v-ords of ol d. I toccur red to me as I sai d them that I was merel y usi ng words

whi ch ot hers had used as a symbol i cal way of expressi ng adesi re f or East ern knowl edge. But the year s whi ch havepassed si nce t hen have shown me that I coul d not have used abet t er symbol nor more appr opr i ate words. Li ght ! The ke.yto Eosaecr uci ani sm— the pass—word to the secr et real ms.

’’Then, my good f r i end, i f you seek l i ght , ” he went on,’’you must f i r st show that you deserve l i ght . We were borni n darkness and some of us must ever l i ve i n darkness on thi spl ane and i n thi s exi st ence. The l i ght cannot come to al l . The br i l l i ancy, the f i re, the heat , t he i l l usi on of Li ghtmay bl i nd some and l ead others t o dest ruct i on. You must be

sure t hat you deserve Li ght and you can deserve onl y i npr opor t i on to your r eason f or desi r i ng. ”

” I t i s my great desi re, Si r , to l ear n the l aws, thesecret s, the gr eat pr i nci pl es of Rosaecr uci ani sm t hat I mayassi st i n gi vi ng t hem to t hose who may deserve, and to hel pmanki nd. I have no sel f i sh mot i ve what ever . I seek not f or



mysel f —but f or ot her s t hrough me. For year s I have read ast udi ed on si mi l ar l i nes of t hought * I have edi t ed severalphi l osophi cal magazi nes, I have wr i t t en f or many ot hers* Ihave t aught i n a phi l osophi cal school # I have r ecei vedr ecogni t i on f r om one of your French Academi es f or myphi l osophi cal wr i t i ngs* I l ove the work. I t i s my rel i gi oAnd I have gai ned some r eput at i on i n Amer i ca as a st udent othe occul t and a l ect ur er and wr i t er . That i s why I am soanxi ous to go f ur t her and do more. ”

”And you have come to me, Si r / he rej oi ned veryqui ckl y, "wi t hout ot her credent i al s t han your wor l dl yr eputat i on and accompl i shment s. You have had wor l dl y honoubest owed upon you. You have a col l ege degree. You have berecogni sed by a Fr ench Academy. Your namel i.v. ¥- i l nown; - I nAmer i can occul t j our nal i sm and on Amer i can l ecture pl at f ormsAl l wor l dl y honours. T,yhat of your sel f —your r eal sel f , youi nner sel f . How has t hat spoken ? How has t hat devel oped Speak of your soul , your - - - , wel l I cannot say to you whatI mi ght say to anot her. ”

"I have some ot her papers, here, ff I sai d as I openemy wal l et . ’’They concern my wor l dl y af f ai r s I suppose, butt hrow some l i t t l e l i ght on my l i f e wor k whi ch f ai r l yrepresent s my ai ms and i deal s i n l i f e. But of my soul , of i nner sel f , I know not how to speak. I , - - - ”

"And you have there your busi ness card, ” he sai d, aI dr ew one f r om my wal l et . ’’That i s t ypi cal l y Amer i can, or

r at her of the Uni t ed St at es ci t i zen. Hi s card he consi der sas hi s passpor t , hi s l et t er of i nt roduct i on, hi s l et t er ofcredi t , hi s pass- wor d i nto soci et y, hi s admi ssi on i nt o heavand hi s key to al l t hat he desi res. Yet I bel i eve t hey canpr i nt ed f or a f ew f r ancs per hundr ed. ”

He di d not of f er t o l ook at my card, and, abashed ahi s remarks, I r et ur ned i t to my wal l et . There wer e ot herpapers there of consi derabl e i nt er est to me. They—wi t h mycard—had served me wel l i n wor l dl y mat t er s, but I f el ti nst i nct i vel y, t hat t hey were of no val ue now. Cer t ai nl ynot to the Prof essor . So I cl osed my wal l et and made to

pl ace i t i n my pocket . He detai ned my arm i n i t s movement ,and l ooki ng si gni f i cant l y at me sai d:

’’And have you not a paper there whi ch does notresembl e the ot hers ?”

I t hought a moment —and I seemed to di scer n hi smeani ng; f or the st range l i ght i n hi s eyes v;as unmi st akabl e.

A PI LGRI M*S J OURNEY TO THE EAST




I t meant that I di d have—t hat I coul d t ake f r om my wal l etthat whi ch he f ul l y expect ed to recei ve. What was i t ? It hought r api dl y— i t seemed l i ke a resume of my whol e l i f e andal l t hat had ever been gi ven to me. But , i n a f l ash, onet hi ng st ood out bef ore me— the square pi ece of paper whi ch the

f orei gner had gi ven me on the st eamer.ftI have t hi s, ” I repl i ed, as I dr ew i t f r om my wal l et .”I t i s onl y an address, and a f ew l i nes of ot her wr i t i ng, ” Iadded as I not i ced f or t he f i r st t i me that the wr i t i ng bel owthe name and address was i n the f orm of a sent ence. Per hapst hi s i s what YOU mean. ” I coul d not hel p i mpr essi ng hi mwi t hthe l act that I had not i ced hi s evi dent r ef erence to somepar t i cul ar paper .

”Yes, t hi s i s what I sought * I t means l i t t l e to you—per haps l i t t l e to me. I t wi l l mean a great deal to ot hers atsome t i me. I merel y suggest that you pr eserve i t , keep i t

al ways at hand and show i t onl y when you are I NDI RECTLY askedto do so. I f you wi l l cal l to see me agai n on Monday morni ng—about noon— I wi l l be ver y gl ad to answer the one quest i onf or you. I t . i s a beaut i f ul day. I t rust you. had a ver ypl easant t r i p across the sea. Do you l i ke our Par i s. ?"

Merel y quest i ons to l et me know t hat my i nt ervi ew wasat an end. I arose, shook hands wi t h hi m cordi al l y, v?as l edto the door and on i nt o the street . As I wal ked away f r om hi sst ore and came to the wal l surr oundi ng the Sei ne I saw that j ust bel ow, a bl ock away, t here was a br i dge; and bef ore mecame the pi ct ur e t hat I had not i ced on the wal l of thePr of essor ' s st ore. I t was of an ol d monk i n bl ackest robes,l eadi ng a chi l d across a si mi l ar br i dge. The wat er s of t heSei ne, now qui et and gl i st eni ng wi t h the br i ght sunl i ght ,seemed to accent uate the f act that i n the pi ct ur e the waterwas turbul ent , t hreat eni ng. Was I bei ng l ed across a br i dget hat woul d t ake me over t he tur bul ent waters ? I wondered !Or woul d i t pr ove to be a "Br i dge of Si ghs”? Li t t l e di d Iknow7 t hen t hat si ghs there woul d be, and tears and hear t aches.But oh, so gl or i ous!

* * * - , * * * * * *

Monday morni ng I pr epared f or my second vi si t . Travel l i ng around Par i s wi t hout a gui de, and wi t hout a goodknowl edge of French, i s ver y much l i ke maki ng one’s way out ofa cryst al maze. The f unny l i t t l e t axi - cabs awai t you at everycor ner— ready to t ake you anywher e* But when you cannot makethe dr i ver underst and where you want to go, i t i s ver y



10 A PI LGRI M’S J OURNEY TO THE EAST

”Formal i t y! Form! Convent i onal i t y! — that ' sAmer i cani sm! I t ' s not Rosaecruci ani sm. You say "Thank you’1because i t i s the cust om to say i t . I n your hear t you f eeldi f f er ent l y. Unl ess you speak as you f eel , unl ess you br eakdown the barr i ers of f orm and cust om and become nat ural , you

can never make the j ourney. You must become a humbl e soulgr opi ng f or Li ght . Your credent i al s count f or naught . I t i snot what you have been i n t he past i n your wor l dl y af f ai r sthat wi l l assi st you, but what you become now, f r om thi smoment on. Let your pr i de, your sel f - est eem, your spi r i t r i se,and the dar kness wi l l engul f you. Cast away your pr eci ousr eput at i on— i t i s char act er al one that makes the true seekerf or Li ght ! Away wi t h your wor l dl y sel f —be a man as God madeyou—j ust one of Hi s humbl e soul s prayi ng f or gui dance, cr yi ngal oud f or hel p, and ever consci ous of your i gnorance, yourweakness and your oneness wi t h al l men!”

"What i s your bi r t h day ? your bi r t h year ? andyour bi r t h hour ?

’’And what i s your cor r ect name ? your Amer i canaddr ess ? and your f ami l y connect i ons ?”

To t hese I gave r esponse i n a most cr ushed andhumi l i at ed spi r i t . I began to f eel t hat , af t er al l , I was amost humbl e, weak, i gnorant soul i n the presence of one whocoul d pl ai nl y see the real sel f i n me. He di d not i mpress mewi t h super i or i t y, as t he col d wor ds on thi s paper v/oul d seemto i ndi cat e. I f el t t hat he meant t hat I shoul d under st and

that he too was j ust what he sai d I shoul d know I was .”And now, i f you f i nd i t conveni ent , ” he began agai n,

usi ng those same words t hat I had seen bef ore my eyes so manyt i mes i n Amer i ca, ” to vi si t the Sout h of France, and can takethe 7: 10 t r ai n f or Avi gnon on Tuesday eveni ng, you wi l l f i ndf ur t her i nst r ucti ons at your dest i nat i on. Thi s i s al l theadvi ce I may gi ve you no?/. May Peace be wi t h you. I shal lbe gl ad to see you somet i me agai n— i f you r et ur n to Par i s. ”

He ext ended hi s hand. There was a si gni f i cant pause .bef ore he spoke t hose words so sl owl y—” i f you ret ur n to Par i s”.

Was t here any doubt of i t ? Coul d somethi ng det ai n me so that 'I mi ght not come back to Par i s ? V/as he t r yi ng to f r i ght en me,or t est me, to see i f I woul d be di scour aged i n t aki ng thetr i p ?

’’Bef ore you go, I woul d l i ke to show you j ust one ofmy pi ct ur es, ” he sai d, as he sl i d back one of the gl ass door s



A PI LGRI M*S J OURNEY TO THE EAST

of a cabi net .

Ar t had al ways i nt er est ed me and I wondered why i twas t hat I had not shown some i nt erest i n the et chi ngs t hathung around me on al l si des. I was surel y obsessed wi t h myer rand not to have become i nt erest ed i n ar t so rare as t hi s

’’Among the m: ny beaut i f ul si ght s you may see whi l ethi s count r y i s thi s one. You see here onl y a mat er i alr epr esent at i on of a spi r i t ual pl ace. Thi s ol d t ower —a verol d bui l di ng— i s one of the t rul y gr eat French monument s.Some day you may see thi s t ower, t hen r emember t hat I havecal l ed your at t ent i on to i t. I bel i eve t hat you wi l l ' - al wayscher i sh a vi ew of i t- rand thi s i s a ver y excel l ent pi ece of

And so I passed out agai n i nt o the st r eet and overto the ol d wal l ar ound the Sei ne where booksel l ers wer ecl osi ng up thei r st ands and peddl er s of st udent s1- ar t - wor kwere of f er i ng crude sket ches of var i ous ki nds. I mi ght hav

spent hour s t her e— i n the r eal m of bl i ss t hat I of t en soughi n Amer i ca. Ol d hooks and ol d pr i nt s, ent i ci ng i ndeed atother t i mes, but now as passabl e as the si gnboar d whi channounced that a f ew days hence t here woul d be a wat ercarni val and f eat ure event s at St . Cl oud. I coul d onl y t hiof Avi gnon—and the ol d tower .

I made my t rai n. Maki ng the t r ai n i n t he great P. M. R. R. st at i on i s a di f f i cul t f eat . You buy t i cket s—af ol der or book cont ai ni ng many pages, some of whi ch aret i cket s and ot hers havi ng pr i nt ed t her eon i mpor t anti nst r uct i ons. Not bei ng abl e to cor r ect l y read t he

i nst r uct i ons you f i nd t hat about every ot her move you make get t i ng to your t r ai n i s an er r or or a vi ol at i on of some l a

You buy f i r st cl ass t i ckets and t hen have the pr i vi l ege ofr i di ng any cl ass you l i ke— or bei ng l ef t behi nd i n the mazeof t rai ns, pl at f or ms and doorways. Your t i cket s are exami nas you ent er the st at i on and never on the t rai n. You are nqui t e sure whether you are on the r i ght t r ai n or not and yosi mpl y gi ve up to the l aw of averages and trust t hat you wir each where you expect ed to go. Of course, t hi s i s onl y anAmer i can vi ewpoi nt . Per haps the French are qui t e sat i sf i edwi t h thei r r ai l way system.

Seat i ng mysel f i n ono of the compart ment s of thet r ai n I awai t ed i t s depar t ur e. I t was to be an al l - ni ghtr i de and sl eeper s were not avai l abl e. For i l i t t l e ext racharge one secured a cl eanl y cover ed pi l l ow and wi t h thi s Ocoul d rest by l oungi ng i n the l ace- bedecked seat s. The



12 A PI LGRI M' S J OURNEY TO THE EaSTmovement of the t r ai n was pr eceded by the r i ngi ng of a bel land the bl owi ng of one of t hose f unny shr i l l whi st l es wi t hwhi ch the Fr ench t rai ns are equi pped.

There were several other passenger s i n the samecompar t ment — desi gned to comf ort abl y seat ei ght per sons. On

one si de was a door l eadi ng to the st ep whi ch runs on theout si de of the t rai n, and on the opposi t e si de was a si mi l ardoor l eadi ng to a nar r ow hal l way whi ch ran the ful l l engt h ofthe t rai n. Thi s hal l way was r eal l y a sor t of obser vat i onpl ace, f or i t s out er si de was l i ned wi t h gl ass.

The count ry t hrough whi ch the t r ai n woul d pass (I hadsecured a map of my j ourney) v/as new to me and pr omi sed t o berepl et e wi t h i nt er est i ng si ght s. As soon as we l ef t theenvi rons of Par i s I st r ol l ed up and down the narr ow hal l waywatchi ng the sun set t i ng i n the West beyond the beaut i f ulhi l l s and pl ai ns. The t rai ns i n France r un on l ef t si de

t racks goi ng sout h i nst ead of on the r i ght si de as i n Amer i ca,and occasi onal l y my vi ew was bl ocked by tr ai ns st andi ng onthe ot her t rack.

The t r ai n I was on was one of t he very rapi dexpresses. I t covered a gr eat di st ance i n t hat shor t r i de—f r om eveni ng unt i l morni ng. I compar ed i t t o our Amer i canexpr esses and coul d not hel p smi l i ng at the thought thatt hough the speed was t he same—per haps even gr eat er — the carswer e so l i ght l y bui l t , so shor t and so oddl y shaped that t heyt r ai l ed behi nd the smal l , but power f ul engi ne much l i ke achi l d' s t r ai n of cars t r ai l s behi nd the l i t t l e engi ne on at i n t r ack on t he f l oor . As we sped on our cars r ocked f r omsi de to si de, t r embl ed and j erked, t hr eat eni ng to l eave thet racks at any moment . But t hey di d not . I underst and t heysel dom do. St andi ng i n the hal l ways was di f f i cul t —but t hescenes wer e so i nt er est i ng that one f or got about the di f f i cul t y.

I sav; hi l l s t opped wi t h beaut i f ul cast l es andoccasi onal l y a rui n. I sav/ pl ai ns v/ i th ver dur e so gr een i tseemed more vi vi d— even i n tht set t i ng sun— t hat I r eal i sedwhy pi ct ur es of the Or i ent are al ways so vi vi dl y col oured.The nearer the Medi t er r anean v/e t r avel l ed the more beaut i f ul

t he col our i ng of the sky, wat er , rocks, grass, bui l di ng andtrees.

We were appr oachi ng Lyons. I t was somewher e af t erI I o' cl ock and I v/as f at i gued when I v/as suddenl y br ought f aceto f ace wi t h my er rand. I had been l ooki ng at my map by theweak l i ght . I was exami ni ng the envi r ons of Lyons. Beaut i f ul



A PI LBRI M' S J OURI TEY 0 THE EAST

Lyons! I knew that Rosi eruci ani sm had at one t i me f l our i shthere. I knew al so that the ear l y Protest ant churches wereorgani zed there. I al so knew that i t was an ol d, ol d ci ty.As I l ooked at my map the l i nes and wor ds f aded away and Isaw devel opi ng t here a st range pi ct ur e of anci ent Templ eswi t h a processi on of whi t e gar bed men and women ent er i ngt hr ough the gat es of one of the l ar gest Templ es. I coul dal most hear t he chant s and chi mes. I was l ost i n the sceneenr apt ur ed by i t . And t hen i n a deep, sonorous voi ce I heathe wordss "The Annual Concl ave at Lyons, —are YOU goi ngt here ?”

I 1 eared to l ook around; I f eared to take my eyesf r om the paper . I had l ear ned f r ompast exper i ences thatwhen the mi nd sees and hears, di st r act i on of t en wi pes i t alaway. Why l ook away f r om the poi nt of concent rat i on, whi chwas yi el di ng so much, f or an obj ect i ve gl i mpse of t hat whi ccoul d yi el d not hi ng, now t hat the sun had set? But I seemeto f eel the pr esence of some one—a st range presence— anal most r ecogni zabl e presence, and I di d l ook up f r ommy mapto gaze r i ght i nt o the smi l i ng count enance of —my f orei gnf r i end f r om the steamer .

"Oh, you, why, I was j ust st udyi ng the map. I see wr each Lyons, " I sai d, cer t ai nl y wi t h no deni al of my surpr i”J nm not goi ng to Lyons, now, but I may st op t here someti mI am goi ng to Avi gnon and there I wi l l meet —11 . . I st oppMeet whom ? Where was I r eal l y goi ng ? I had l ef t Pari swi t h so much cert ai nt y t hat I woul d meet someone and al l

woul d be wel l , t hat I had f orgot t en t hat I di d not even knot hat someone.

"No, you wi l l not meet any one at Avi gnon. You wi lnot even l eave the t r ai n at Avi gnon. I n f act , I wi l l meetyou agai n f or br eakf ast at Tar ascon and t hen I shal l t el l ywhen and where you wi l l l eave thi s t rai n. I n the meant i me, j oi n me i n one of these Per si an ci garet t es; I know i t wi l lbe a t reat , f or t hey are not sol d i n Amer i ca. ”

And so we spent par t of the ni ght t al ki ng as we hadon the st eamer . He was absol ut el y non- commi t t al . Idi scover ed—but sur el y he was j ust cl ever i n per mi t t i ng meto di scover — thv.i t he was a Per si an, and not an East I ndi an.I al so di scover ed that he l i ved i n Egypt most of the t i meand made year l y vi si t s to hi s Madame on the Banks of t heHudson where she mai nt ai ned her Amer i can vi l l a and di r ect edher Ameri can char i t abl e work. He was her conf i dent i al agen



14 A PI LGRI M' S -JOUI ttnSY TO THE EAST

—and, was he al so a conf i dent i al agent of ot hers ?"You know, hr, P. , t hat square pa per you gave me wi t h

your name and address upon i t has served me wel l * I gave i tto a man i n Par i s- *- ”

’’You gave i t to a man i n Par i s ?” Hi s t one, hi sexpressi on, hi s words, i ndi cat ed ext r eme sur pr i se—possi bl yf ear.

’’Why, yes, he asked to see some paper s and I showed i tto hi m casual l y. Ho seemed to be ver y pl eased and advi sed meto pr eser ve i t f or —”

’’Then you st i l l have i t ?'*

”Yes, most cert ai nl y. ” I assur ed mysel f and hi m byexhi bi t i ng i t . He was del i ght ed.

" I f ear ed f or the moment , ’5 he sai d, hal f apol oget i cal l y’’You see, my f r i end, your words were not wel l chosen. Yousai d ‘ I gave i t to a man i n Par i s. ’ You shoul d have sai d’ I showed i t to a man. 1 J ust a l i t t l e t hi ng, I gr ant you.But , may I be permi t t ed to suggest t hat whi l e i n t hi s count ryand when speaki ng to a f orei gner t hr ough an i nt erpr eter orot herwi se, you use extreme caut i on and care i n the sel ect i onof your words ? Engl i sh at best does not al ways convey thet rue and exact shades of meani ng you desi re. When carel essl yused, or when the vernacul ar or Amer i can i di oms are used,you may do a ver y great i nj ust i ce to your sel f and yourt hought s. I n f act —you may br i ng def eat to your pl ans.

Words create t hought s, you know. And—t hought s mean act i on.* * * * * * *

At about 6 o’ cl ock Wednesday morni ng I aroused mysel ff r ommy uncomf ort abl e posi t i on i n t he compart ment andpr oceeded to vi ew agai n the beaut i f ul scenes. The bl i nds onthe wi ndows of the compart ment had been dr awn down by t hosewho desi r ed to sl eep and the l i t t l e hal f - spher e l amp i n thecei l i ng had been covered by i t s cur ved shade so t hat thecompart ment was dark and none coul d see t hat the sun hadr i sen.

I f ound the t r ai n was sl owi ng down to make a st op. Ial so f ound my f r i end appr oachi ng me f r om the ot her end oft he hal l way.

"Thi s i s Tar ascon, ” he sai d. +We wi l l br eakf ast here.I hope you r ested wel l l ast ni ght , f or af t er a l i t t l e sl eep



A PI L GRM’S J OURNEY '10 THE EAST 1

thi s day, you must pr epare f or a ver y act i ve mor row. Let ust ep out on the pl at f orm and make hast e. On other t r ai nsexcept thi s one you woul d have to ' change car s’ , as t hey sai n Amer i ca. Eut thi s t r ai n goes on i n your di r ect i on. I t

i s I who must change. I am goi ng to Marsei l l es and theretake the st eamer f or Al exandr i a, Egypt . You shal l cont i nueon—unt i l you r each—J l ontpel l i er . ”

I n t hi s wi se was I made acquai nted wi t h a number ofi mport ant f act s. He was goi ng to Egypt . I was goi ng toMont pel l i er — that dear ol d ci t y of — but , no, I shal l not t ethose thi ngs whi ch are bet t er l ef t out of a publ i c paper l it hi s.

We wal ked al ong the unshel t ered pl at f ormwhi chextended beyond the covered st at i on. The pl at f or mwas bet w

many t racks. I n the cent re of i t was a l ong t abl e to whi chmany were maki ng hast e. I t had upon i t cups and saucers,l arge basket s f i l l ed wi t h rol l s, and a t ank of cof f ee.

’’j rou see we have not t i me . to eat i n t he st at i onrest aur ant . Th : t r ai n wi l l l eave any mi nut e. Usual l y wehave f i f t een mi nut es' wai t here, but whenever a t r ai n i s af ew mi nut es l ate i n i t s r unni ng t i me, i t makes i t up byshor t eni ng i t s stop at t hose j unct i ons. "

We act ual l y pushed our way to the t abl e and grabbedat the cups and had them f i l l ed and then gr abbed agai n f or

a rol l , much l i ke we sec women engaged i n secur i ng what t hewant at a t ypi cal New Yor k bar gai n count er . The cups werecover ed wi t h ci nder s f r om the sof t coal of t he engi nes— oneof the ver y annoyi ng f eat ur es of French r ai l way t ravel l i ng.We had t i me to t-ako a f ew mout hf ul s of cof f ee and a bi t e ortwo of the rol l s, when the whi st l e of the engi ne bl ew. Hedropped hi s cup and saucer and war ned me t o make hast e t o mcompart ment - As I st art ed to l ave hi m— f orget t i ng oursepar at i on at t hi s poi nt —he sai d:

’’Adi eu, my f r i end. At I l ontpel l i er pr oceed to thehot el Ket r opol e and r et i r e to your r oom. Someone wi l l cal l

to see you. Watch f or hi m to make thi s si gn. Then f ol l owhi s i nst r uct i ons. Be sure to t ake a good sl eep between 9and 12 t hi s morni ng. I may see you agai n- somet i me. Peace wi t h you and i f ever you wi sh to send me a t hought , or cal lme t o mi nd, hol d bei ore you t hat square paper and pronouncesl owl y the l ast word. "

And —he was of f ! I saw hi m pi ss t hr ough the crowds



1 6 A PI LGRI M' S J OURNEY TO THE r AST

i nto the st at i on and out of si ght . I have never seen hi sactual mat er i al f or m si nce then. But — I do see hi m of t en—and t al k to hi m. My good ol d f r i end. He has grown to be adear er f r i end, f or day by day I di scover the val ue of what

he di d f or me i n t hose days. I t rust he reads t hi s— and f i ndsi n i t evi dence of my si ncere appr eci at i on.

as my train moved on and passed by the coffee-table,

I sav/ t he pr opr i et or pour i ng back i nto the cof f ee- t ank theundr ai ned por t i ons of cof f ee l ef t i n the cups by t hose whohad to ret r eat hast i l y. The cof f ee was unsweet ened andwi t hout mi l k—and I under st and i t i s sol d over and over agai ndur i ng a morni ng. All pay bef ore bei ng served, and t hen takechances on even dr i nki ng more t han a mout hf ul of the bl ackf l ui d. The r ol l £5 t oo were bei ng sel ect ed—-the whol e onesf i ndi ng t hei r pl aces agai n i n the basket .

The j our ney f r omTar ascon i s repl ete wi t h beaut i f ulscenes. The t r ai n t r avel s to the sout hwest and crossest hrough that par t of Prance whi ch was at on t i me the st ageof gr eat r el i gi ous wars, of Tr oubador s’ songs and the <.arl yadvancement i n al l the ar t s. Looking out of the ca r wi ndowone sees at t i mes great st r et ches of gr een f i el ds f r omwhi chthe gr apes are t aken f or t he many wi nes, bi ndi ng t hr ought hese pl ai ns of gr een are t he publ i c roads so whi t e that t heyl ook l i ke a map drawn wi t h whi t e chal k on a gr een dai s. I nthe di st ance are hi l l s, usual l y sur mount ed wi t h whi t e orgray cast l cs or wal l ed ci t i es. Then scene wi l l change

and show a smal l r i ver across whi ch ext ends an ol d Romanbr i dge, or t owers and wal l s i n rui ns l i ni ng i t s shares. Asthe t r ai n approaches a ci t y or t own one wi l l not i ce on i t sout ski r t s many ver y ol d bur l di ngs, whi ch the gui de- bookcorr ect l y poi nt s out as havi ng at one t i me pl ayed ani mpor t ant par t i n t he af f ai r s of the nat i on. The col our i ngi n ever y di r ect i on i s superb. The f eel i ng i s one of peaceand cont ent ment . The at mosphere i s sof t , mi l d, i nvi gorat i ngand ent i ci ng. Those you meet are cordi al , pl ai n, whol esomeand si ncere. The Sout h of Fr ance i s a char mi ng pl ace to l i ve— that i s, to l i ve spi r i t ual l y and honestl y.

Then—Mont pel l i er . I have not the t i me to speak of my wanderi ngs t here. Sl eep ? I recal l the words of myki nd advi ser and I r ecal l ed t hem then. But who can sl eep i nMont pel l i er t he f i r st d \y you s* e i t ? The sun was ver ywarm, so warm i ndeed th' t al l the bui l di ngs— even the st or es-had t hei r shut t er s cl osel y drawn. The ci t y seemed l i f el ess.



A PI LGRI M1S J OI TRKEY TO THE EAST

The "bui l di ngs as wel l as the si dewal ks were made of thatbeaut i f ul , sof t , whi t e st one whi ch i s so abundant i n t hatpar t of the count ry. TrThen the sun shi nes upon i t i t i s aswhi t e as snow. They have a dry- spel l f or many mont hs i n t

par t of t he count ry, and t hi s was i t s t i me. The f i el ds wewel l i r r i gat ed, but the ci t y st reet s wer e so dry t hat •car r i ages and aut omobi l es t hr ew i nt o the ai r the whi t e powand i t had decor ated the green t rees, f ences and ot herwooden st ructures wi t h a spr i nkl i ng of whi t e.

The hotel to whi ch I r as di r ected was the most modi n t hat par t of t he count ry; and I f ound t hat the pr opr i et ocoul d speak Engl i sh—a rare tal ent i n t hat par t of France.I r et i r ed to my r oom and wai t ed. A not e was del i ver ed to to cal l at the f ount ai n—KThe Chat eau of Wat er . 1* I f i t werpossi bl e I shoul d l i ke to r epr oduce i n t hese pages a phot o

gr aph of t hat spot . A hi gh t ower set upon a broad base,approached by st one stai r s, much l i ke Gr ant ' s Tomb i n New York. I t over l ooked a smal l l ake and i n every' r espect i thad the resembl ance of an anci ent work of art , whi ch i t was

I seat ed mysel f at i t s si de and wai t ed—f or what ?Have you ever wai t ed and knew not what you were wai t i ng f oI r emember wel l t hat as I sat t here I t r i ed to l ook atmysel f as a passer by mi ght do. There I was , a young manf r om New Yor k Ci t y wi t h no more act ual busi ness t here t hanmere wander er on the f ace of the ear th. I l ooked at my bl usui t , my t an shoes, my Few Yor k st r aw hat , my camera at my

si de, my watch and chai n; al l wer e thi ngs f r omAmer i ca and seemed to be si t t i ng on one of the benches at Ri ver si de Dr ii l on-3 the. Hudson vi ewi ng the pr i vate yachts at anchor. T’rhy

was I t here ? My f ami l y at home—my busi ness i nt er est s f araway, my f r i ends busy at t hei r dai l y t asks— I began to f eell onesome. I f I coul d onl y hear f r om home— but none kne ’ myaddress. I Tone knew exact l y when I woul d r eturn—or i f eveI woul d. And what was m.y quest ? A mere f antasy ? I waseeki ng t hat of whi ch I knew so l i t t l e. Men had t r avel l edf ar f or gol d. Many had _,one gr _at di st ances f or t hat whi chwas known to exi st . But I — I onl y bel i eved t here was some

t hi ng somewhere that I want ed. I was a st cker f or Li ght .For Li ght ! Agai n t hose vords came to me. How my f r i ends—many of t hemperhaps—woul d smi l e at m.y answer i f t hey coulsee me t here at the Chateau of Wat er, r epl yi ng that I hadl ef t al l behi nd, l ei t f ami l y and home, f r i ends and busi nessal l t hat was dear , and had come to France, to i t s Sout h, toan unknown pl ace to Sue unknown persons— f or Li ght ! J was



18 A PI LGRI I . ' b J OURI I LY TO THE EAST

gi vi ng a gr eat pr i ce—and al l f or f ai th.

I v/as l ost i n r et r ospect i on f or per haps t hi r t ymi nutes when a young man passed by wi t h a basket . He T*as adel i ver y cl er k i t seemed, but I . j udged hi m to be of bet t er

posi t i on i n l i f e l or hi s f ace showed r ef i nement . Hi s cl ot hes,made to l ook l i i ce t hose of a peasant, i mpressed me as bei ngpart of a st age cost ume* And he approach-: . d me by turni ngabout i n hi s wal k. He came di r ect l y i n f r ont of me and,maki ng a si gn that I r ecogni zed, I arose. He wai t ed unt i l Igave ever y evi dence of havi ng seen hi s ver y unconsci ous si gn. Then he handed me a paper Upon whi ch was wr i t t en i n Engl i sh(wi t h Fr ench penmanshi p) : "When you have an opport uni t y todr i nk a gl ass of f r esh mi l k, permi t the woman to serve you. "

I real i se how oddl y thi s r eads now— especi al l y to theaverage mi nd. But associ at e i t wi t h al l t hat had occur red,

put your sel f i n my pl ace, and you wi l l bel i eve as I di d,that i t was meant symbol i cal l y. The young man wal ked awaywi t hout sayi ng a word. I wal ked t oward ray hot el . Was thi sto be al l f or the day, or what ?

Wal ki ng al ong the st reet or boul evard whi ch was overhung wi t h beaut i f ul t rees, I st opped agai n to rest i n theshade. I seemed to be t r anspl ant ed to the Kal i i n Cent ralPark.

Soon I was consci ous of a mopt wei r d f orm of cal l i ng.I cannot (and i f I coul d, I woul d not ) gi ve you the odd

vowel sounds t hat someone was chant i ng. I t seemed to be af emi ni ne voi ce i n the di st ance. Soon there came wi t hi n myol d woman dr i vi ng a cow. The cow was pul l i ng asomethi ng upon whi ch r est ed a smal l can of wat er

ti e shel f . There was on the shel f a number ofAs sh cnme toward me si ngi ng the odd vowel s she

)ward me and hel d up a gl ass. I sat so st i l l ,tht si ght of the poor ol d cow who had to not onl y

le mi l k but car ry the gl asses and water as wel l ,' roman was about to pass on wi t hout gi vi ng me anyi ti on.

al i zi ng, suddenl y, t hat I was to have a dr i nk ofi t was of f ered me, I cal l ed to the woman, who drove

) my seat . She mi l ked the cow bef ore me and of f ered?mmi l k i n the gl ass she had cl eaned i n tht can of)t one word passed bet ween us. Then I of f ered tomded hir a f ranc. She passed the change to me—

j out to pa. ss on wi t hout a si gn or word of r ecogni t i on.



A PI LGRI M' S J OURTBY TO THE EAST

What di d i t mean ? Then I spoke.

"Pardon, " I sai d wi t h a sl i ght Fr ench accent . Shet urned about so qui ckl y and al armed, t hat I saw she wassurpr i sed. She had r ecogni zed a f orei gn accent —an Amer i caccent — i n that one word. She l ooked at me cr i t i cal l y f r o

head to foot , sl owl y wi t hdr ew f r om the f ol ds of her dress wal l et f r omwhi ch she took a f ol ded paper , passed i t to meand went on her way.

Sur el y t here was consi der abl e myst i ci sm about thiaf f ai r . I t hought of the mel odr amas I had seen as a boy, some det ect i ve st or i es, of wei r d t sl es. When woul d thesurpr i si ng f eat ures of the advent ur e end ? And, i f you,my reader , t hi nk t hat I am i nj ect i ng too many quest i ons i nthi s l i t t l e hi st or i cal story, pr ay t hi nk of the t housandand one quest i ons whi ch ere const ant l y comi ng to my mi nd.As I l ook back on i t now, my advent ur e was one of quest i onAnd al l t hese myst er i ous el ement s were desi gned to tax mypat i ence, to di scourage me, to tempt me to be rash i n someway. My si ncer i t y was bei ng t r i ed.

The f ol ded paper bore thi s message i n Engl i sh:" J our ney t o- ni ght to Toul ouse. Regi st er at t he ' Grand Hot Ti vol i er 1. Vi si t the Gal l ery of the- I l l ust r i ous at 10 A. M Thursday morni ng and meet Monsi eur . . . . . . . ., the emi nentPhotogr apher . Prepare to r emai n at t he hotel one week.Communi cat e wi t h no one but your r el at i ves and say not hi ngyour pl ans. Communi cat e wi t h Mr . . . . . . . f r om Chi cago, who

i s edi t or now of t he Toul ouse. . . . . . . . (a newspaper ) . Peac"My, " I t hought , "but whoever i ssues t hese i nst r uct i

knows many peopl e that I may know i s absol utel y unconcer neas to the cost s whi ch are i nvol ved i n movi ng about . I t i sver y ki nd to di r ect me here and there, wi t h no pr omi se ofmeet i ng or seei ng anyt hi ng or anyone but an ' emi nent phot ographer ' and a newspaper edi t or . "

Woul d you not have sol i l oqui zed i n the same manner I was about to compl ete a j our ney hal f - way around the counof Fr ance— and f or what ? Hope! That was al l .

Wednesday af t ernoon f ound me agai n i n the tr°. i n enrout e to Toul ouse. The count r y thr ough whi ch I passed wasbeaut i f ul . At some other t i me I hope to be abl e to descr ito my r eader s— my Br others and Si st ers— the many wonder f ulsi ght s I saw. But j ust now I wi l l t ry to keep pace wi t h tr api dl y movi ng t r ai n and t ake you to Toul ouse wi t hout a st



20 A PI LGHI i 1S J OURNEY TO THE EAST

Toul ouse, you know, i s one of the very ol d ci t i cs ofFrance. I t i s on the banks of t he Garonne—the r i ver upwhi ch the Norsemen sai l ed to make t hei r at t acks on Toul ouseand the Sout h of France.

I di d as I was i nst r uct ed and f ound that the Gr andHot el Ti vol i er was a ver y l arge and excl usi ve pl ace— r eal l ygr and and el aborat e i n i t s appoi nt ment s. Appr oachi ng i t If ound that many of the st reet s of the ci t y wer e very ol ddespi t e t he many changes. The or i gi nal wal l whi ch surr oundedthe ci t y has been l evel l ed to i t s f oundat i on and the ci t yhas spread beyond t hese l i mi t s. I n passi ng t hr ough some ofthe st r eet s the f oundat i on of t he ol d wal l i s pl ai nl y seenbet ween the cobbl est ones of t he st reet , and one wal ks overthi s wal l on the way to the Gr and Hot el Ti vol i er .

I f ound that at t hi s hot el ar r i ved, ear l y ever yeveni ng, a gr eat many Engl i sh and Amer i can aut omobi l e part i est our i ng t hr ough France to Spai n. They stop here over ni ght .

Thei r aut omobi l es are wel l t aken care of , t hei r t runksaut omat i cal l y del i ver ed f r om the garage to the guest s’ rooms,and al l of t he par t i es ’cl ean up' f or the l ong course di nnerwhi ch begi ns at 8 and ends at I I . The pr i nci pal amusementi n Toul ouse f or t hese tour i st s i s t o di ne wel l and sl eepwel l . Consequent l y the di ni ng- r oom—a beaut i f ul ’’Hal l ” ast hey cal l i t —was wel l crowdc-d at ni ght , and. absol ut el y empt yi n the morni ng when I , Amer i can f ashi on, woul d go there to

br eakf ast . The Tour i st s were al ways up and of f and on t hei rway Sout h at sunr i se.

I t was not st r ange— and i t was cer t ai nl y a pl easur eto meet so many Engl i sh speaki ng peopl e, and a f ew Ameri cans,i n Toul ouse. But to none of t hem di d I t el l my busi ness.I t was t empt i ng, at t i mes, to speak of some of the st ranget hi ngs whi ch occur red, but I r esi st ed al l such t empt at i ons,- - f or FAI TH.

I vi si t ed the "Hal l of the I l l ust r i ous” as i nst r uctedI t i s a publ i c bui l di ng, but admi ssi on i s by speci al t i cket .I t was bui l t by ar chi t ect s and bui l der s who donat ed thei rwork. I nsi de the decorat i ons, the rare mur al work, thecarvi ngs, the st at uar y and the wonder f ul pai nt i ngs are l i kewi se donat ed. I t i s t he one ai m of ever y gr eat ar t i st ofthe Sout h of France to some day be wor t hy—i n hi s l i ne— ofdonat i ng a mast er pi ece to thi s ’’Hal l of t he I l l ust r i ous. ”And some there are who have spent the great er par t of t hei rl i f e- t i me i n pr oduci ng j ust one panel i n oi l s on one of the



A PI LGRI M' S J OURNEY TO THE EAST 2

wal l s of that Hal l . Such i s the pr i de t hey take i n t hei r a

The ar t i n the South of France i s di st i nct l ydi f f er ent f r om the wor k i n Par i s. Par i si an art i s usual l yvul gar . I saw l i t t l e nudi t y, but rat her spi r i t ual i t y, i n

the work i n the South. They i nf ormed me that the art i st e ithe Sout h never have a f i gure undr aped unl ess i t i s necessato tel l the stor y bei ng depi cted. How di f f er ent f r omPar i sand the Nor th. There, i t seems, the undr aped f i gure i spai nt ed—and some sor t of t i t l e or st or y i s concocted to f ithe pi cture. I t ' s mer el y a di f f er ence of vi ewpoi nt ; adi f f erence of the whol esomeness of t he mi nd. .

The art wor k i n the "Hal l of t he I l l ust r i ous" hasnever been photogr aphed f or publ i c reproduct i on, has neverbeen copi ed on Post - car ds and sol d, and a camera i s al waysf orbi dden. But , because two of the mast erpi eces i n t hat Ha

i nt er est ed me ( bei ng st r i ct l y Rosdech?uei an- and i6f l i ntereSttrfal l Rosaecr uci ans who may never vi si t t hat gal l ery) I wasabl e to secure per mi ssi on f r om the ver y hi ghest of f i ci al s,even the Mayor of Toul ouse, to have a phot ographer copy thetwo pi eces of wor k f or me. Some day t he onl y copi es i n thewor l d, perhaps, wi l l adorn the Kosae Cruci s Supr eme GrandLodge Li brary.

But I must not f orget my er rand. Ah, yes, Monsi eurthe photogr apher ! He v/as t here. He wat ched me, probabl yknowi ng who I was by the di f f erence i n cl othi ng and generalappearance. But I di d not know hi m unt i l I sav; t hat same

st r ange si gn whi ch the young man had gi ven me i n Mont pel l i e Then I appr oached hi m.

"Par don Monsi eur , " I sai d, "but I bel i eve I amaddressi ng a gent l eman who has some i nf or mat i on f or one whoi s seeki ng Li ght . " That seemed to be a very proper way ofaddressi ng hi m.

Hi s r epl y was i n Fr ench—and I coul d underst and butone wor d, —"yes. " Seei ng my embarr assment he t ook f r omhi spocket a paper and wi t h a penci l he wr ot e some words andhanded i t to me to read. I can read more French t han I canspeak. I n f act t hat i s not t he pr oper compar i son. I can

read about one hundred Fr ench wor ds—and can speak onl ythree or four. Fhat he wr ot e, however , sai d:

"Why di d you so st udy t hat one pai nt i ng i n theal cove ?" I was di sappoi nt ed at what I read. At f i r st It hought i t v/as a st at ement . I t was onl y the quest i on mark



22 A PI LGRI M’S J OURNEY TO THE FAST

t hat enabl ed me to r eal i ze—wi t h my l i mi t ed knowl edge ofFr ench— t hat i t was a quest i on. And such a quest i on af t eral l the expectat i ons.

’’Because, Monsi eur , ” I sai d, ” i t seems so beaut i f ul ,so wonderf ul and expr esses what I bel i eve. I see i n i t avery myst er i ous meani ng, a symbol of —17

He was smi l i ng. He coul d not under st and what I wassayi ng, and I was goi ng al ong rapi dl y, ent husi ast i cal l y, asI r ecal l ed the i deep i mpr essi on the pai nt i ng had made.

Then he wrote agai n on t he paper : ”1 underst and,I appreci ate. " Put t i ng the paper away he gave me a pi ece ofpaper bear i ng an address. He mot i oned wi t h hi s hands that Iwas to go t here—and wal k. That was al l I coul d underst and

f r om hi s gest ur es. I l ooked at t he address; i t was onl y thename of a boul evard. I was t o wal k al ong t hat boul evard. Then he bowed hi msel f away and I was al one agai n.

Ret ur ni ng to my hotel I sent a messenger wi t h a not eto the edi t or f r om Chi cago. I saw a copy of hi s paper on ther eadi ng- r oom t abl e and anal ysed i t keenl y. He was t r yi ng toi nt roduce Ameri can j our nal i sm i n the Sout h of France. Onthe f i r st page was the st atement t hat the t r ai n on whi ch myf or ei gn f r i end had j our neyed f r om Tar ascon to Mar sei l l eshad been wr ecked and compl etel y burned. I t sai d nothi ng ofthe l oss of l i f e, and I was great l y concerned f or my f r i end.

I t ol d. Mr . . . . . . t hat I was i n Toul ouse, and that Iwoul d appr eci at e an i nt er vi ew wi t h hi m and woul d awai t hi sadvi ce. That ras al l . I was at l east di screet .

Then I went to the boul evard. I woul d l i ke to sayi t s name- - but that woul d be sayi ng qui t e too much si nce I amsubmi t t i ng wi t h thi s st ory some sket ches. Toget her , thename of the boul evard and the sket ch woul d t el l a st or y Icannot tel l so publ i cl y.

I r ode i n a car r i age. They have t r ol l ey- car s i n

Toul ouse f ar super i or to any i n Par i s or even Ameri ca; butnone woul d take me al ong the boul evard. I rode per haps ami l e bef ore I r eal i zed t hat I mus t watch f or somet hi ng.So I kept a caref ul sear ch of al l per sons, pl aces and t hi ngs.I rode anot her mi l e. I was out of the hear t of the ci ty,and was goi ng i n a di f f er ent di r ect i on. I was, i n fact. ,pr act i cal l y ski r t i ng the ci t y. I saw ol d churches, ol dbui l di ngs, some ol d Roman Br i dges across the Garonne, some



A FI LGKI i . fS J OURNEY TO THE EAST

rui ned pl aces— and then-—ah, at l ast , t he Ol d Tower .

There, bef ore me, was the act ual t ower i t sel f , theone I had seen i n the pi ct ur e at the Pr of essor ’s store i nPar i s. I not i f i ed the dr i ver to stop, I pai d and di smi ssed

hi m. And, i n r apt ure and doubt , I st ood bef ore that Ol d Tower ( known to Rosaecruci ans as ’’ The Dongeon”—Fr. Don. j on,f or many mi nut es wi t h a f eel i ng i n my hear t that , somehow,thi s was the goal . Ky sear ch was ended. So, I have t akenthe pr i vi l ege of r epr oduci ng wi t h t hi s story the f i r stpi ct ur e of t hat sacred ol d pl ace t hat has ever come toAmeri ca.

"I wi l l be more br i ef now. I do not want to t i reyou wi t h det ai l s. You, l i ke mysel f , are anxi ous to see theend, to know the out come of thi s sear ch f or Li ght .

So I appr oached the Ol d Tower , — not wi t hout somemi sgi vi ngs, but cer t ai nl y as br avel y and bol dl y as I haveappr oached many l ess wei r d l ooki ng pl aces.

At the Ol d Tower door I knocked. Then I di scover eda bel l - cor d and pul l ed i t . I heard i t r i ngi ng somewher e ithe dept hs of t hat ol d st ruct ure, whi ch seemed to have beebui l t a t housand year s ago. I n f act i t was .

As the r i ngi ng di ed away a quest i on came t o my mi ndWhat shoul d I say i f I r ecei ved any response ? I t rustthat my reader wi l l pi ct ur e me—or pi ct ur e your sel f — st andbef ore the heavy wooden, i r on- bound, rust y, vorm- eat en doorthe st ones i n f r ont of whi ch wer e st ai ned wi t h green andbetween whi ch moss and grass were growi ng. Whose pl ace thiwas, what i t was , pr i son, j ai l , home of a madman, or vrhat,I di d not know. Yet I was aski ng f or admi t t ance.

Fi nal l y I heard a cr eaki ng sound and not i ced the doopen a l i t t l e way. I wai t ed. I t was ver y dar k wi t hi n andt here was no si gn of l i f e. Then I pushed the door wi de opand f ound an ol d—but not dust y—st ai r way i n f r ont of me. st epped i n and act ual l y cl osed the heavy door behi nd met i ght l y, and hear d the l ock t umbl e i nt o pl ace. I was real l

l ocki ng mysel f i n—and f ear l essl y doi ng i t .Fr omup- st ai r s came a sound of somethi ng bei ng

moved. Al l sounds seemed to acho i n the bui l di ng. Therewas a gr eat openi ng above t he f i r st f l i ght and f r om t here upwar d the st ai r way was ci r cul ar and each f l oor consi st edof a gal l er y sur r oundi ng the st ai rway. The gal l er i es wer enot more t han 8 f eet wi de— and very dark.



24 A PI K?PI I , »£> J OURNTY TO THE EAST

I gazed upward t hrough the openi ng and shout ed’’Hel l o’1. Not ver y appropr i at e, T gr ant you. Tt was the’’ t el ephone habi t ” mani f est i ng i t sel f on i mpul se, I suppose.But i t brought f or t h a sof t but di st i nct ”ent re, ent r e” f r om

an upper f l oor .I i mmedi atel y began my ascent . I saw t hen that the

st ai r s were made of st one, as v/ere the f l oors. The edges ofthe st eps were deepl y wor n— I shoul d j udge that wear had cuti nt o each st ep to the dept h of t hree i nches at the deepestpar t of t he curve. The wal l s too, wer e of gray st one, thepl ast er or cement bet ween the st ones bei ng gone i n manypl aces, and a moul dy odour pervaded the atmosphere. As Iasccnded I f ound that the upper gal l er i es wer e l i ght er andI coul d di st i ngui sh shel ves agai nst the wal l s, f i l l ed wi t hol d books. ,

At l ast I r t achqd the upper f l oor to f i nd t hot i twas a square r oomwi t h a gl ass roof and a number of smal lwi ndows. There were some bookcases about the ’- al l s st ackedwi t h very ol d and very rare books. Th- re v/ere two t abl es—cr udel y made and very ol d. There v.rere al so about t went y ol dchai r s— each bei ng a rare pi ece of ant i que f ur ni t ur e— and anol d desk l i t t er ed wi t h manuscr i pt s, sever al seal i ng out f i t s,candl e, seal i ng wax, mat ches, some chemi cal s, a qui l l pen,i nk and—some horoscopi cal maps.

I was greeted by an ol d man. I say ol d, because he

had a ver y l ong gray bear d and pure whi t e hai r hangi ng to hi sshoul der s and sl i ght l y cur l ed. He st ood erect, however , wi t hbroad shoul der s, a good f i gure, br i ght snappy brown eyes andf ul l rosy cheeks. Hi s voi ce was sof t , hi s act i ons spry andhi s dress a whi t e mant l e of good l i nen embr oi dered wi t h somesymbol s t hen unknown to me but not known to many who readthi s story.

I addr essed hi m i n Engl i sh: ” I have i nt ruded, si r ”I began, ”f i r st because I bel i eve thi s bui l di ng to be ofi nt erest to me, and secondl y because you bi d me enter . I amsear chi ng f or some rare i nf ormat i on anc1 per haps you can tel l

me somet hi ng of that whi ch I seek, — especi al l y si nce you arei nt er est ed i n ast r ol ogy. ” I sai d t hi s l ast poi nt to hi sdesk and the maps upon i t.

To my surpr i se he answered i n Engl i sh, but br okenl yand wi t h a deep, Fr ench accent .

’’You have come here, my young f r i end, not by



A PI LGRI M' S J OURNEY TO THE EAST

i n- trusi on. You knov/ ast r ol ogy; you know ' arcs of di r ect i o Your comi ng here was by di rect i on. See, I have there on mdesk, your hor oscope. I have expect ed you, — f or t here i s l et t er addr essed to you. I know your purpose, f or t hecont ent s of that l et t er i s an answer to your quest i on. Bube seated. I have many thi ngs to show you and expl ai n.

"You have ear nest l y sought t he Rose Cr oi x Order . wi sh to ent er the sacred brotherhood. Your wi sh may begr ant ed—but what t hen ? You wi l l hel p i n the great work

You wi l l spread the wor k to your l and ? You wi sh f or aHercul ean task! I admi r e your courage, your br avery andyour det er mi nat i on. "

"You have been wel l spoken of by those who have meyou. You are sur pr i sed. Di d not . . . . . . . . . . meet you on tst eamer and di r ect you ? Hi s report s are t here on my des

Li d not pr of essor . . . . . . . meet you i n Par i s and exami ne yoHe sent me hi s repor t and your bi r t hdat e whi ch ycu wi l l f iI have changed by tv/o mi nut es. You were wat ched by t hosewho observed your movement s i n Par i s by day and by ni ght .I have thei r r epor t s. You wer e wat ched i n Mont pel l i er , anagai n i n thi s ci ty. Four of our Br ot her s have seen you anhave had an opport uni t y to l ook i nto your eyes and report me. Monsi eur . . . . . . . . the phot ogr apher made hi s f i naldeci si on thi s ver y day. You shal l now meet our bel ovedGr and Mast er and I mperator i n hi s Hol y Templ e. "

"But bef or e you l eave here—and you wi l l not agai nr et ur n to thi s pl ace— I wi sh to show you the accur at e r ecowe pr eserve. I am the Gr and Archi vi st . Here you wi l l seethe records of our Br ot hers and Si st ers si nce the Or der waest abl i shed i n thi s count ry. I Tothi ng i s ever l ost to ourr ecords— not even the t humb pr i nt s of our members. Here yl et t er s wi l l be f i l ed, your repor t s, your grant s, yourdegrees and your work. The al l - seei ng eye, the al l knowi nmi nd, r ecei ves— and here i t shal l be r ecor ded f or al l t i me

I spent an hour exami ni ng some rare hand- I l l umi natbooks. I saw one book—made i n t he t i me of Chr i st , r ecor dHi s work f or the Order , cont ai ni ng a sket ch i n water col ouof the t rue Chr i st and ot her sket ches of i nci dent s of Hi sl i f e. The br ok was bound wi t h wood and i ron, had i r on hi nand an i r on l ock—al l gr eat l y rusted. I saw ar t i cl es f romEgyP+>> f r omvar i ous pyrami ds and Templ es. I saw rare rel if r om J er usal em and ot her count r i es. And— I saw the l astOath of the Or der made by Laf ayet t e bef ore he came to



26 A PI LGRI M' S J OUHI TCY TO THE EAST

Amer i ca, — the f i r st Rosaecr uci an f r om Prance to come here.May hi s name ever r emai n sacred to the Or der i n Ameri ca.

And t hen—I depar t ed wi t h more DI RECTI ONS.

I met the edi t or at hi s of f i ce. I t adj oi ned thever y ol d bui l di ng near the Post Of f i ce. He wel comed me andexpl ai ned that some day he woul d meet me i n Amer i ca and j oi nwi t h me i n the good work.

What el se he sai d I cannot repeat here.

I n the af t er noon—about 3 o’ cl ock—I engaged a t axi cab aut omobi l e, and, gi vi ng the dr i ver a wr i t t en address Iwas sur pr i sed to see hi m t urn hi s aut omobi l e and mysel f overto another dr i ver whose car was cl ose at hand. Thi s dr i verseemed ver y cour t eous, whi l e a nunber of the. other dr i ver s

st ood and gazed at me i n per pl exi t y. I seemed to be acur i osi t y. And thej r whi sper ed t oget her i n an annoyi ngmanner .

I was dr i ven f or a mi l e or more to the ci t y gat esand then t hrough t hem al ong the banks of a cr eek t oward theol d ci t y of J ?ol osa. Tol osa v;as the . or i gi nal Roman ci t y of Toul ouse and i s i n rui ns to- day. The r i de was exhi l erat i ngand i nt erest i ng. At l ast we reached the great est ate whi chwas wi t hi n ’a wal l . We approached the gateway. Beyond theffate there were f i el ds of f l owers and beaut i f ul l awns. Toothe l ef t .of the est at e was a hi l l t opped by a wal l ed chateau

Wi t hi n the est at e- wer e sever al ol d bui l di ngs, one of whi chwas square i n shape.

We appr oached thi s ol d bui l di ng and were met at i t sent r ance by a young man i n semi mi l i t ary uni f orm. He sal ut edthe dr i ver knowi ngl y—shook hands wi t h hi m i n a ver ybr ot her l y f ashi on. Then I was asked f or a card or l et t er —al l by gest ure. I handed t he l et t er addr essed by the ol dAr chi vi st to the young man and af t er r eadi ng i t he gr eet edme ver y cor di al l y and usher ed me i nt o a ver y l arge recept i onroom.

The bui l di ng was very odd as wel l as ol d. I t wasmade of st one i nsi de and out , —but the st ones were badl yworn. I t seemed as though t he bui l di ng mi ght f al l i n, orcol l apse, f r om age. Af t er a f ew mi nut es p: i use, I wasconf r ont ed by an el der l y v/ oman who bowed to me, of f eredher hand and l ed me t o an upper f l oor wher e I was agai nf or mal l y usher ed i nt o a smal l r ecept i on room. Then I was




handed some t ypewr i t t en i nst r uct i ons addr essed to me i nperson.

These i nst r uct i ons i nf ormed me that I was to meetthe Of f i cer s of the Gr and Lodge at sunset ( f ul l y three ho

l ater ) and t hat i n the meant i me I shoul d rest and st udy i nst r uct i ons cont ai ned therei n. I cannot gi ve t hesei nst r uct i ons, and t hey woul d be of l i t t l e hel p to theuni ni t i at ed and of no i nt er est to t he i ni t i at ed who haveal r eady gone t hrough the same pr eparat i on.

And so I r ead and—yawned f r om f at i gue. I read a—and rel axed. I read a l i t t l e l onger—and yawned once m- and f el l asl eep on t he ol d di van i n t hat upper st one rooof that ol d, col d, myst er i ous bui l di ng known t hr oughout aof Fr ance as the Gr and Templ e.

Lat er that ni ght I was i ni t i at ed i nt o the OrderRosae Cruci Se I cr ossed the Thr eshol d i n the Ol d Lodge ithat very ol d bui l di ng. I met the many Of f i cer s, I t ook sol emn pl edges, I r ecei ved the gr eat bl essi ng and was mada Br ot her of the Or der as tho wi t chi ng hour of mi dni ght v/st r uck by the ol d chi mes i n the t ower of the bui l di ng.

I had f ound the Li ght —- and i t had i l l umi ned me asfaced, the. Rosae Cruci s.

I r emai ned i n Toul ouse one week as di r ect ed. Lurt hat t i me I at t ended a gr eat number of l ect ures, demon*-'st r at i ons, exper i ment s and pr i vat e cl asses. I was shown

much, t ol d a great deal more and gi ven a very consi derablamount of mat t er i n the f or m of hi er ogl yphi c manuscr i pt ttake away wi t h me t o st udy f or a year or more.

I woul d l i ke to speak of the many beaut i f ul det aiof my st ay i n Toul ouse, of t he many cer emoni es andr i t ual i st i c convocat i ons, but , of course, I cannot .

I at t ended the - Monthl y Convocat i on of the I l l umi ni n another ol d bui l di ng al ong the banks of the Gar onne. bui l di ng proper , i l l ust r at ed i n thi s ar t i cl e, was const r uof st ones br ought f r om var i ous par t s of Egypt , Spai n and

I t al y f r om bui l di ngs, Templ es and Pyrami ds now i n rui ns. The i l l ust r at i on shows one corner of thi s bui l di ng and oncan pl ai nl y see t he odd manner i n whi ch t hese st ones ofvar i ous col ours, qual i t i es and si zes, have been.gr ouped. The corner st one, bear i ng appropr i ate l et t eri ng, vsras br ouf r om EL AMARNa where our Gr eat Mast er once had hi s home.




The upper par t of thi s bui l di ng, and i t s cour t s, areused as a Rosaecruci an Monast er y. I n the cel l ar i s the ol dRosaecr uci an Gr ot t o wher e t he I l l umi nat i hol d thei rConvocat i ons. I t has an arched cei l i ng and wal l s made of

very ol d gray st ones, some of t hem damp, and bet ween thest ones one can see moi st ur e and moss. I t i s heat ed wi t h al arge open f i r epl ace, and the onl y l i ght comes f r om- candl esand t orches. There i s an al t ar i n t hi s Gr ot t o wonder f ul l ycarved f rom, a rare Egypt i an wood. There i s a st ory that onet i me Mar t i n Lut her f ound ref uge i n a Templ e i n whi ch thi sal t ar st ood i n Ger many, and hi s i ni t i al s are marked on one oft he panel s. There are many ot her marks on the car vi ng whi chpl ai nl y show the ef f ects of the var i ous r el i gi ous war s i nthe Sout h of France when the several Templ es i n whi ch thi sal t ar st ood were bur ned, — one of t hem havi ng been used as a

st abl e f or hor ses by the sol di er s. *( f ew)On t he day I l ef t Toul ouse I was gi ven cer t ai n

paper s and documents to enabl e me to proceed wi t h thespr eadi ng of the Li ght i n ”Amer i ca. ” The f ol l owi ng i s thesubst ance of t he l ast words I hear d del i ver ed to me by heMost Worshi pf ul Gr and Mast er of France, Monsi eur L . . . . .

’’Br ot her , t hese papers appoi nt you as a Legat e oft hi s Or der f or your count ry. Your dut y and pr i vi l eges arewel l def i ned. The document s ycu have—and t he*j ewel s I nowhand to you, —wi l l enabl e you to pr oceed at the t i me and i nthe manner i ndi cat ed. When you have made some pr ogr ess youwi l l meet wi t h a r epr esent at i ve f r om' t he Or der i n Egypt whowi l l hand you, under cer t ai n condi t i ons, ot her paper s andseal s. Pr om t i me to t i me t here wi l l come to you t hose whomyou wi l l r ecogni ze by the si gns i ndi cat ed. They wi l l addto your paper s and devi ces unt i l your worki ng paper s andt ool s are compl et ed. Our Ar chi vi st wi l l send you under seal ,wi t h the pr ot ect i on of t he Fr ench Gover nment , ot her paper sas soon as you have made t he progr ess whi ch wi l l be r eport edto us by our Agent s. Your semi - annual r epor t s wi l l war r ant ,or deny, you pr ogr ess and assi st ance. The Mast ers of theworl d wi l l be gl ad to admi ni st er to your want s .and your

r equi r ement s f r om t i me to t i me; and Peace and Power shal lcome to Amer i ca i f the di ct at es of our Or der are f ai t hf ul l yf ul f i l l ed.”

These words, sai d so sacr edl y by the dear ol d soul ,subscr i bed to by the Fr ench Supreme Counci l and accompani edby a most wonder f ul ovat i on, st i l l r i ng i n ray ears. They



A PI LGRI M’S J CURI J EY TO THE EAST

were t he bl essi ng whi ch the Mast er s sent to Amer i ca, and Ii n turn, gi ve them to my Br ot hers and Si st er s of the Or derRosae Cr uci s i n the Uni t ed St ates* A l a Ve- r i te, — Fr. 12,I I I . R. F. , Pr of undi s.

epi l ogue

by

- - + o Pensat or o * - -* *

* ••

i i any who read our bel oved l ate I mper at or ’ s account of f i r st Rosi cr uci an pi l gr i mage to Eur ope dur i ng hi s r ecenti ncar nat i on wi l l f eel (as I di d) that t hey woul d l ove to k

mor e about the sacr ed pl aces he vi si t ed and the El derBr et hren whom he met dur i ng such a soul - st i r r i ng adventure-I t can be st at ed t hat the secret Templ es st i l l do exi st f othose who seek i n the r i ght spi r i t af t er due pr epar at i on.

That Dr. Lewi s was karmi cal l y ready i s i ndi cated by the vito hi m by the- Legat e of the Rosi cr uci an Or der i n I ndi a whoencour aged hi m to f ol l ow the ur ge that had act uat ed hi m f osi x or more years before 1909*

. Her e i s an ext ract f r om a l et t er wr i t t en by Dr. Lewi s hi s wi f e and post marked ’’Toul ouse, August I 3 th. 1909*”

. ’’Have ar r i ved saf el y i n Toul ouse - way down sout h France - and so f ar al l my hopes on thi s t r i p have beereal i zed, but not wi t hout many t est s and t r i al s. Atevery t ur n I meat t hose who scan me cl osel y, quest i onme cl osel y or ask me to do f ool i sh t hi ngs t o see i f Iwi l l obey or der s. ”

’’You remember my f i r st exper i ence about the R. & Cabout a year ago. You r ecal l my descr i bi ng so many t isi nce t hen the st range dar k- compl exi oned man who was tmeet me* You al ways l aughed and sai d i t was a vagar y my mi nd. Wel l , I met hi m i n l i f e on the boat and he

gave me a paper whi ch has hel ped me to meet the peopl ethe of f i ci al s I want ed to meet . And he has f ol l owed mpart way to Toul ouse and hi s t r ai n was wr ecked. I doni f he was hur t or not . So he came i nt o my l i f e and ouagai n. ” *( know)

’’Beaut i f ul pl ace here. I amri nki ng phot os of the




Epi l ogue

bui l di ng wher e I went t hr ough t he•st r angest ceremoni es Iever saw. ”

”At l ast I am i n the R, & C., t hank God - but the oathsand vows are severe. How many i n Amer i ca wi l l I f i nd tokeep t hemwi t h me. ”

” P «S. I wi l l never f orget j esterday - Thursday,August I 2th. 1909* Hope we wi l l l i ve to see i t s gr eatresul t s i n Amer i ca.

I n the of f i ci al hi st or y of the Or der we read that Dr.Lewi s’ i nst r uct i ons wer e si gned by Count Bel l cast l e- Li gne,Secr et ar y of the I nt er nat i onal Counci l , and by the Vener abl e

Lasal l e, Gr and Mast er of the Rose Cr oi x of Prance. The Gr andAr chi vi st may have been the f ast er Hel i os ( 1829- 1928) whoseear l i er known i ncar nat i ons i ncl uded one as J ohn the Bapt i st .

But Cosmi cal l y or dai ned as a Mast er of the Rost and Cross,may be f or r epr ocl ai mi ng the . Anci ent Wi sdom, he i s st i l lsubj ect to the cycl i c lav/s upon the Ear t h pl ane. Dur i ng hi saut hor i zed per i od of st udy and f oundat i on work between 1909and 1916, Dr, Lewi s mi si nterpret ed some of the st r angesymbol i cal l anguage of hi s i nst r uct i ons and t r i ed to f orm hi sf i r st Supr eme Counci l a year too soon! Here are hi s words:

” 1 r ecal l wel l the ver y rai ny ni ght when I wended myway home f r omI vl adi son Anenue wi t h my papers, char t er and”Bl ack Book” under my arm, dej ect ed and puzzl ed. Of thet wel ve who had assembl ed ( out of 20 i nvi t ed) , not evenone si gned the pr el i mi nar y or gani zat i on paper . ”

Havi ng r eal i zed hi s mi st ake, he f i nds f ur t her Li ght ayear l ater:

"Dur i ng the fal l of 1914 there came to me a grandol d l ady who had been a deep st udent of the occul t f oryears. . . . . . . Thus on anot her r ai ny ni ght i n t he mont h of November - on my bi r t hday i n f act - she uncer emoni ousl y

and reverent l y pl aced i n my hands a f ew paper s, a smal lpacket and - a beaut i f ul red r ose!”

”The. papers I f ound to be some of t hose whi ch theMast ers had expl ai ned to me i n Eur ope and whi ch werepr omi sed to come to me when I needed t hemmost , byspeci al messenger. The packet cont ai ned a seal and ani nsi gni a. ”




*year Epi l ogue.

I n the f i r st *of the new ( second) Rosi cr uci an cycl e i nAmer i ca Dr. Lewi s, now Gr and Mast er General and I mperator,perf ormed t he al most l egendary exper i ment •of t r ansmut i nga pi ece of Zi nc i nto gol d. But thi s and hi s l at er meet i ngswi t h the Mast ers i n Europe have been r ecounted el sewhere awi l l , we t rust , be r e- pr i nt ed i n due course. However , abr i ef excer pt f r om the r epor t of the Convent i on at Rosi cr uPar k i n I 93& wi l l be of i nterest .

” . . . . . The usual Thur sday ni ght myst i c sessi on wasopened by the I mperator. The I mper at or agai n made hi sannual demonst r at i ons of the hi ghest esoter i c and myst i cpr i nci pl es of t he Rosi cruci an t eachi ngs. The pr i nci pl eof t hought t ransf er ence, i ncreasi ng of aura, pr oj ect i oof consci ousness, the gi vi ng of di st ant t r eat ment s

t hr ough the extensi on of consci ous contact , the f or matof cl ouds f or obl i t er at i ng and maki ng i nvi si bl e cer t aiobj ect s, the methods of causi ng hi s own body to di sappef r om si ght , and f i nal l y a demonst r at i on of l evi t at i on,were among the many i nterest i ng t hi ngs mani f est ed by tI mper at or dur i ng thi s per i od. . . . The I mper ator per f orm

once more hi s st range demonst r at i on of ment al al chemywher eby t he handwr i t i ng and i nk on a- pi ece of papersel ect ed by the audi ence i t sel f was changed by thoughtwaves wi t hout the I mperator comi ng cl oser to the papert han f i f t y or more f eet . Thi s one demonst r at i on thathas been r epeat ed under the most severe t est condi t i onsdur i ng the l ast seven or ei ght convent i ons i s one thatal ways proves concl usi vel y the power that can be. exer t ethe human mi nd. ”

Of the except i onal t r i al s that such an advanced I ni t i amust f ace and overcome, ol der members know- a l i t t l e. Let ut heref ore concl ude thi s i nspi r i ng r esear ch wi t h quotat i ons'f r om the Wi l l made by Dr. Lewi s i n 1934 and publ i shed on hit r ansi t i on i n 1939*

”Bei ng of sound mi nd and excel l ent heal th, i n t hi smy f i f t y- second year , I never t hel ess r eal i ze i mmi nence

of t r ansi t i on and have ne f ears of so- cal l ed’death' f orI know wi t hout *doubt t hat I shal l l i ve agai n here on Eaand agai n f i nd j oy i n suf f er i ng and l abour i ng f or themagni f i cent t r i al s and accompl i shment s of our bel ovedRosi cr uci an pr i nci pl es. ”




Epi l ogue

” 1 shal l be pr esent to consol e and st r engt hen al l mybel oved ones dur i ng the t r yi ng hour s i mmedi at el y af t er

t r ansi t i on and even unt o the l ast mi nut e of deposi t i ng myashes i n the ear th* Then I shal l depar t f or a whi l e, butwi l l ever cont act my bel oved ones i n t hei r hour s ofsorrow, and my l oyal , advanced Prat r es and Sorores of theRosy Cross i n t hei r subl i mest moment s of Spi r i t ualat t unement •”

’’And, to al l the Prat res and Soror es of the I l l umi nat iand especi al l y the Hi er ar chy Grade, I l eav e my l ove andappr eci at i on f or t hei r l oyal t y and devot i on. May t heynever have to suf f er t he t est s I have had to bear to keepthe f ai t h and mai nt ai n the i nt egr i t y of the AMORC. Tot hem i n the f ut ure I shal l be known as ALDEN and inyHi erarchal name wi l l be SARALDEN somet i me on Eart h agai n’!

Then, i n a suppl ement to hi s Wi l l he wr i t es:

’’The Or der of AMORC wi l l not succumb to themachi nat i ons of i ts sel f i sh enemi es, but I am t i red, sot i red, of the l ong year s of f i ght i ng f or t he f ai th, andi n mai ntai ni ng the promi ses and pl edges I made t o mysuper i or s, the Venerabl es of the Or der i n Prance i n 1909»I f eel t hat the Cosmi c wi l l soon rel i eve me of thi s t i r edbody and f ree my soul to the Hi gher School of pr eparat i on

f or the next i ncar nat i on* As l ong as l i f e and consci ousness r emai n i n thi s body, I shal l serve, and f i ght f orthe i nt egr i t y of the Order , f or i t i s not mi ne, but Thi ne,Oh God of my He ~rt*”

” 1 shal l car ry i n my soul et er nal l y the i l l umi nat i on

and benedi ct i on gi ven to me on the occasi on of my

Hi erarchal I ni t i at i on, and those hundr ed or more who

have at t ai ned - and r ecei ved - t hi s under my regi me of

the Order , and now composi ng our I 2th Degree, know

whereof I speak, f or we share toget her thi s subl i me

Wi sdom and Underst andi ng and shal l come t ogether some




Epi l ogue

3

day under the names and si gns we know5 and unt i l t hen

- and al ways - we shal l be a par t of the I nvi si bl e

Empi re, the Gr eat Whi t e Hi er archy of the Or der of the

Rosy Cross.

God bl ess you al l , et er nal l y

Your Fat her - Husband, Br ot her

and f r i end

Harve Spencer Lewi s

F •R •C •

(Seal ) XI Io

95o

* *• * * *• * #• * * * *• *

a pilgrim's journey to the east by h. spencer lewis

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