A Play and an Invitation

October 19th, 1928

Last night Dermot and I waited in the awful Winter cold outside the Scala Theater for a chance to see a wonderful play! The London press is nothing like what we have back home. They completely ignored me in favor of interviewing, of all people, a skeptic! Dr. Kirkwall and his nephew, oh what was his name? Algernon, I believe, but everyone called him Algae [sic].

The beginning of the play was quite dull. The usual "oh woe is our kingdom" nonsense so typical of today's playwrights. But by the end I found myself captivated by the idea of this kingdom passing from one form to another! There was something about that sign, and the lighting, that had an undeniable impact on myself and the crowd.

Ha! But the final scene was the most powerful. It got everyone's blood boiling, and it felt like old times for me indeed. It recalled memories of attending low-class pubs and clubs and watching the blue-collars seethe with envy! Oh how fun it was to engage in fisticuffs again. Luckily for me Dermot was on his game as usual.

But what is this? Through the cloudy sky I can see only one star. It is so bright. [Three whole pages are written in an illegible scrawl].


October 29th, 1928

After receiving a letter from Dr. Highsmith [the letter was enclosed in these pages of the journal], Dermot and I were unpleasantly surprised to find "Doctor" Kirkwall and his nephew in attendance at the interview yesterday. Perhaps Dr. Highsmith's praise of my work was merely a fanciful use of his pen. We shall see who will solve this mystery first!

It became clear to me, though, that Dr. Highsmith has contacted this skeptic as an insurance policy. Perhaps to assuage the fear of the patient or his family that nothing beyond the realm of science is at work.

[Dr. Hampton continues with an academic discussion of the file on the patient - Mr. Alexander Robey, which is not transcribed here due to the tedious nature of the writing, the frequent rewrites, and additional notes included in margins. A summary: the patient experiences attacks of anxiety during the winter, exhibits severe fear of the dark, but otherwise seems competent enough to be released. Dr. Hampton indicates a desire to research biographical information on Mr. Robey, but no such information is recorded in his journal.]

Arrival and a Meeting

[Excerpts from the journal of Dr. Percival Hampton]

October 8th, 1928

It's colder here than back home! Dermot [Frobish - Dr. Hampton's valet] seems to be handling it well.


October 13th, 1928

I met Jérome's contact [Langdon Jensen] today. He really is quite odd. Despite, or perhaps because of, his oddities his glasswork is quite impressive. His use of color in his work is unique and ... [Dr. Hampton goes on to describe the work in great detail]

... the greatest potential application of his slides lies in the application of mixed slides. Yes! Why didn't I think of it before? One glass slide with a mixture of color, imperfectly swirled together, could have untold ramifications on the science of photo-therapy. [Dr. Hampton spends two pages theorizing on ways to apply these "mixed slides"].

... I have commissioned three such mixed slides and have arranged to pick them up in one week. In the meantime, Mr. Jensen has offered us tickets to see a play on the 18th. It seems Dermot and I will have an opportunity to go "slumming" after all!

Preparations

[excerpts from the journal of Dr. Percival Hampton]

September 5th, 1928

Jérome [Pineault] has been insisting in his letters that I travel to London. A friend of his there, another artist, works with glass as his preferred medium. Jérome thinks perhaps this man can create a new type of lens for my apparatus. We shall see. I've arranged to travel by steamer at the end of the month. We should arrive in London before the 5th of October.