Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-23
MRS. BURNETT ON
LIFE AFTER DEATH
She Tells of the "Vision" That
Led to the Writing of Her New
Book, "The White People"
By KATHERINE WOODS

|
Burnett consented to talk-just once--"for
publication" Her conversation began on
the plane which is perhaps furthest re-
moved Of all things in the world, from per-
sonaities. She began to talk about modern
| science
I'VE live" said Mrs. Burnett, "in an age
| of miracles Yet the most interesting thing
about 1t is that they are not miracles at all,
but development of natural law. We all
| know that We do not guess what further
developments may be made. And the
greatest discovery of the present age is
mans recognition of his inability to say
the last word.
Years ago." she went on, IMAM said:
This is final this is discovered; this is as
far as we can go. Science spoke what it
| thought was the last word on one thing
and another, Then there were more dis
coveries. and more and more wonderful
things were brought to light. Now. with
| the wonderful discoveries Of the past years
before us, no one can any longer say of any.
thing 1t is not possible One says: Well,
why not? 1t Is always the question, now,
never the fat final statement And that
| itself is the greatest discovery Of modern
times
Well and Mrs. Burnett smiled, what
we are ready to recognize in science, why
shouldn't we be ready to recognize in
man? We look upon the wonder Of new
invention and discovery and realize that
| our knowledge is always developing. Yet
we take human beings for perfected things
| We seem to believe that human powers
have developed as far as ever they can;
that human Senses for instance. are per-
feet, But are they? Just as it is said
that there are tones in music which are so
attenuated that the human ear cannot re-
cord them, why should there not be in hu-
| man sight possibilities of further seeing and
a wider outlook-things that are here in
| the world that we cannot see? And why
| shouldn't 1t be possible that we may some
| day be able to see them?'
| Mrs. Burnett smiled again. "Yes," she
| said in answer TO a question which the
| interviewer did not have to ask II am
thinking about life after death and of the
| possibility of our seeing
Was 1t Dream?
Mrs. Burnetts latest book 1.-The White
| People" deals with the question Of human
| immortality. 1t is the story of a young
| girl who was able to see few of the men
| and women who were. as Mrs. Burnett calls
| 1t, outside" and who, at a crucial moment
| In her life, was able to meet difficult
| human situation because of the sense that
| had come to her of what life outside
must De, ana dDOut tnat DOOk ana the
knowledge that lay behind IL Mrs Burnett
| has had more letters than she ever had
about any book in her life. And almost all
of the letters have been about the question,
Have you seen the white people'?'
Mrs. Burnett confessed that those letters
were in her mind she talked to the inter
viewer
Il have never seen the white people,"
she said, but I will try to tell you the
experience that have had and that led to
my writing that book: / had, one night, a
sort of vision. I do not know what to call
it, I was not dreaming-of that l am sure,
But when try to talk about it find it al
most impossible to explain, because it was
like nothing that l had ever known in all
my life, and do not know how to put it in
the familiar words. l have thought that
perhaps the trouble people have who are
endeavoring TO obtain satisfactory COM
munication with those outside may be due
| to that same thing-the absolute impos-
sibility of expressing in known terms and
| images that which has no parallel to any
| thing that has been known.
1T seemed to me in my vision that was
| out on hillside-not a high hill, but a low
| hill. with grass on 1t, and it was moonlight.
There was no great scene spread out before
| me. There was no especial beauty in 1t.
I did not do anything but stand there in the
| moonlight that melted into shadow and
| darkness-for, as said, there was no great
| vista. But / flooded through with &C.
| stasy Oh, l know, that is not the word;
| il means something quite different we
| use it but it is the nearest word | can
find to what I felt at that moment-that
moment when felt myself to be outside
| felt"
Mrs. Burnett broke off suddenly.
| II am speechless." she said. There are
| no words"
Oh, how beautiful" And here is how 1t was
| different from any other beauty in the
| world always ! have looked at beautiful
things--the beauty has been something out
side me. to which l direct my attention.
| Here the beauty was not outside me.
| was a part of it, 1t was through me- 1t
| was / myself. / did not it, felt 1t.
And then found myself saying: 4 can
| rest. I can sleep here And that seemed
| so wonderful and so beautiful in itself. And
just as l was laying my head against the
grass of the hillside the vision passed.
After that was dreaming. seemed to
| feel myself creeping into my bed-not get
| ting into bed in the usual way, but creep
| ing under the covers. And then there was
simply the oblivion of sleep But when |
woke l remembered 1t is like that outside
| II was not a dream"
Mrs Burnett had been talking with an
| obvious forgetfuness of that disagreeable
| business of being interviewed" Now she
turned TO her visitor suddenly, with quick
| remembrance in voice and eyes:
| The Heroine in Real Life
1T is very hard to say all this for publi-
cation" she said; Il am a little afraid of
its being misunderstood 1t was all so
| simple. There was nothing confused or
| strange about It., and there is nothing OF
that kind in my thought of 1t. Yet perhaps
when II is set down in print 1t win lool;
| like some petty bit of affectation--some
pose Don't let it look like that II is such
a simple thing And it has made all the
world different since"
The White People" is story. but In II
both the record of the vision on the hill
side and the portrait of the young Scotch
girl who is its heroine are true things.
II know a young bit of thing in Scot
| land" Mrs. Burnett said, who seemed
somehow to fit In with my thought of what
wanted to put into that book. She is a
very great lady, of very ancient lineage
indeed. the mistress of several wonderful
old feudal castles. But SHE is young and
tiny, and she looks like child and she
loves the Highlands, And she seems to
have curious kind OF second sight She