Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-05
Every One Believed 1t

A few days after THE Bowmen" was
| published the editor of a magazine inter.
| ested in spiritualism wrote to Mr.. Machen
asking whether it had any foundation in
fact. He replied that it had none. A
short time after another magazine editor
wrote asking the same question and got
like reply. The story had appeared in
September. In February a parish maga-
zine had reprinted it and the issue was
sold out. The tale was reprinted as
pamphlet and all England began to read
II and to believe that it was a narration
OF fact. With pathetic eagerness the
materlalistic world of England turned to
the most outlandish story of spirtualism.
Those interested wrote to the author and
insisted, against his given word, that the
story must be true. And then the stories
began to come over from France. OF
course. st. George and the bowmen had
been seen. Some one had spoken to a
visitor at hospital who had it from an
attendant that a wounded soldier, now
dead, had seen the angelic shapes. Others
had seen the celestial army as a cloud
which hid the British. "The Bowmen"
furnished text for sermons, the church
papers were full Of 1t, the agnostic press
took 1t seriously, the neutral papers sug-
gested scientific explanations for the
hallucinatlon seen by every one on the
retreat" Thousands of letters were re-
ceived by the editor of the London Eve.
ming News in which the story first ap-
peared. "The Occult Review" did not
stop having special articles about it for
nearly year. 1t became more of a fixed
belief than the great hoax OF the Russians
passing through Scotland. Even In
France, where st, Michael took the place
Of st. George, the story was told and
believed.
The fact that 1.-THE Bowmen" was
made so important is far more interesting
than the slender tale itself. Julius
Caesar once wrote that people can al
ways bring themselves to believe what
1t is to their advantage to believe, and
from Caesar to William James the will 10
believe has been given its just due. The
odd thing is that England should have
been so ardent about it.
Mr.. Machen is himself a deeply reli.
gious man and believes in miracles. He
~Ns NAANN ~ ASAA5 et9 ne ueueNGS IIldI Lney
happened once in Judea he can believe
that they will happen in Flanders or in
France. But the Britishers who took up
his story and swore that it was true were
just the men who scoffed at miracles be.
fore. The fact is that the story came
at a peculiar moment in England's psy.
chology. She not only did not know
whether she was going to win the war;
she actually was not sure in her soul
that she was going to go into it for all she
was worth.
Since that time England has gone in.
and the things she reads of and believes
are not OF spiritual armies, but OF shran.
mel and high explosives. The story OF
The Bowmen" has gone into a little vol.
ume with other tales by the same author
many Of them far superior. II win re-
main document OF the great war
peculiar evidence OF how nation can ba
moved to its very depths when once the
natural boundaries OF its emotions ara
swept away by something greater thar
greed for getting and fury in spendine.
G. v