"THE ROMANCE OF SORCERY."

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2752, 22 April 1916, Page 9

"THE ROMANCE OF SORCERY."

Space limitations forbid , aught save a brief, and in view of the merit and, interest of the book, .a sadly inadequate reference to a recently published and important work, "'.'lie ltomanccof Sorcery," by Sax Jlohmer (Alethuen and Co.). Jlr Piolimer, vdio is ivell known as the author of several exceptionally original, and well-written stories in tbo "detective" school of fiction, now--'gives us a comprehensive and highly detailed study of sorcery, witchcraft, devil worship,' and' the occult and supernatural generally, from the earliest times to the pre. Bent day. Vhe book is 110 dry-as-dust record', the author having endeavoured, he tells us ; u> the red blood of the subject," and by treating his subject as ho would that of the episodes of an ordinary romance, to satisfy, not so much a curious or scientific investigator of "black magb," as the ordinary readerv/ho may open his book in quest of en. tertainment. 3!r. Rohmer naturally lias much to say ou the way. in which belief in evil spirits first 'came to Europe from ancient Egypt, (he home of the djinn or ginn, those deat beings; said to be invisible, but whirh the ancients firmly believed could assume ail sorts of intangible and vapoury forms, with the reJem blances of men, animals, and mongers. Apollonius of Tyana also figures prominently in the early chapters of the book. Later, on;; the yet more extraordinary figure-of- Michel do- Notre Dame, or as he was more generally (mown, the meat Nostradamus, is. introi

I—James Thomson.

duced, and his connection with the dark deeds of Henri II and Catherine da Mcdecis set forth U'ith much curiouß and interesting historical detail. Next follows a study of the famous Elizabethan alchemist, astrologor, and socalled sorcererj Dr. John Deo, as to, whose romantic career, as Warden of the College of Manchester, Chancellor of St. Paul's Cathedral, and a man who in hia palmy days was received, at the Austrian, Bohemian, and l Hungarian Courts with high honour, but who, alas, euded his days as a common fortuno'-teller, th? highly sceptical Jamc3 the First'refusing him a pension; Mr. Rohmer gives some now and most interesting particulars. In the later chapters wo meet ihe famous Count of St. Germain, and the yet more , famous or notorious Joseph Balsamo, otherwise the Count do Cagliostro, of whom Carlyle,. in his essays, drew such an unforgettable portrait, the record being brought well up to the nineteenth century by an interesting account of Madame Blavatsky and her; followers—or dupes. A special chapter is devoted to "Sorcery and tho 1.-aw." That belief in sorcery, black magic, "devil worship" and so forth have survived into ,quite modern times was made disagreeably evident; only a few years ago by the discovery and exposure of a "devil worshipping" society in Paris. The French novelist, Huysmans, to whose powerful, if somewhat revolting, story, "La Bns" (with its detailed study of that monaster in human form, the French Bluebeard, Gilles de Bais), I am somewhat surprised Mr. Rohmer makes no .reference, gave a full description of the horrible ceremony, "The Black Mass," as indulged in by a similar society. To-day of course, we havo the quite/ open ''devil worship" of the Huns, with the Kaiser as Chief Priest—but into such a purely latter day development of Satanism the author could hardly he expected to go. Mr. Rohmer's book, which contains some appropriately weird illustrations, contains a vast amount of curious .information conveyed in, an agreeably entertaining manner. (N.Z. price, 12s. 6d.)