The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1917-04-26
I reflect. upon my friend
"A L DI,ilnoc IrlYlla lIAI

wv the Greek physician, whose
theory tilat reincarnatiOn could
Mt once account for and solve many OF
the more battling phases OF nervous
diseases would, but for his untlmeiy
death, have conquered the medlcai
world-when I remember the man, his
goodness, his unforgettable personal
ity. his shrewd common sense when
raised him even in the opinion OF MS
enemies above the ranks Of charlatans,
+ always think of the text: HE saved
others; himself he could not save"
That the man who had solved 80
many mysteries of personality should
fall victim to his own ignorance, IN
the face Of his own warning, was In
deed an irony. Yet, with the larger
hope that he instilled into my heart
and the hearts of all his friends,
cannot believe that his death was an
unmixed evil, or that the cosmic dust
will never again restore to some fu-
ture civilization the little gnome-like
doctor, with his small body and huge
head and big heart, to bring light out
of darkness and joy out of suffering.
l have made mention in an earlier
account of Noureddin Bey, the schol'
arly Turkish ambassador to Great
Britain. Scholar he was, trained at
European universities, a freethinker
and yet not so wholly touched by
modern scepticism but that he was to
be found among the Doctors circle,
patiently listening to Immanueps ex.
positions upon the soul. Noureddin
Bey had been a colonel in the Otto
man army, he had distinguished him
self in half a dozen campaigns before
he was given his post at London; he
was a fine type Of Turkish gentleman,
and his wife was very popular in
London society.
It was Noureddin Bey who told us
the story of what he called his
spiritual awakening. He told it to us
in the Doctors house in London, and
| will reproduce his own language in
so far as l remember it.
"You say, Doctor, that some can
remember their past Births" he said
W WELL SoA.
"You?" exclaimed the Doctor in
surprise. why, Monsieur, only last
year you were holding forth upon
Herbert Spencer and the 'Unknowa-
ble,' as you were pleased to term the
Almighty"
"That is true," answered Noureddin
Bey imperturbably. "And yet / have
always remembered. But I always
looked upon it as phantasy, trick
of the brain. l have even written
down the history of my last incarna-
ton as 1t was revealed to me in my
dreams. Little by little, since my
childhood, this earlier personality of
mine has been placed before me, gen
orally in sleep, but sometimes in my
waking hours. But it was only after
l heard you talk upon rebirth that
came to realize that this was no
Imaginative play Of q superactive
brain, but my very own history. 1t
came to me in a flash: this figure
was I, not the hero of a partly writ.
ten romance. I had been dreaming;
now I awoke.
ct is WE'LL" he went on bitterly,
that it is not given to the majority
of men to remember, for my last life
went out in the agonies of remorse."
"Who were you, Monsieur" asked
the Doctor curiously, and we all lis
tened with rapt attention.
my name | do not know" began
Noureddin Bey. "But l was very
much what am now: a man of some
birth and holding high rank in the
Turkish nation in the early days OF
it's history, when we were still a
nomad people in Asia-long before
the conquest of Constantinople. Per.
haps it was about the tenth century. y
"That might be-" the Doctor an.
swered. "But unless your life was
cut short or racked by great sor-
row you would not have been reborn
for nearly two thousand years"
my life was torn asunder by sor.
row." answered Noureddin Bey
There was no woman in the case.
though. We Turks did not, and do
not, interpret life In the exaggerated
terms of sentimentality which we con.
slider the chief weakness of you West
ern peoples. But our friendships are
/ think, all the stronger by reason OF
this.
my friend was an Occidental. He
may have been Roman or Greek-a
Frank. even, or perhaps some Cru.
sader. I have no remembrance OF
names or nations, except that know
my own. l met him when on an en-
bassy to the West from my sovereign
and, savage soldier that I was, fell
in love with the handsome boy whom
| met at the kings court. He was,
think, priest, or destined for the
| priesthood. Opposites attract, they
say, and so intense was our friendship
that when / was summoned back tc
Asia we vowed that we would meet
again. We exchanged letters. After
some years the tidings came that he
was to lead a band of Christian mis-
sionaries into my country. They would
preach the Gospel there and invite
| martyrdom. In vain l wrote begging
him not to come. He had started be
fore the letter reached him. and. en-
| tering Asia Minor with his band, bold
| " preached Christ there.
| Eve Moslems, too, accept Christ
as you know; but he went further
He cursed Mahomet as the Anti
Christ The people fell upon him
stoned him and his band, and finally