A tireless worker, Mr. Judge, was always proposing new modes of
activity. One never knew what fresh idea would not emanate from his
indefatigable mind. One idea with which he occupied some of his lighter
moments, was that of an occult novel. It was his idea that a friend
of his should write this, from incidents and material to be furnished
by himself, and to this idea he adhered, even having the title
copyrighted, with the name of his author, despite the laughing protests
of this friend, to whose outcries and statements that she never could,
and never should, write a novel, Mr. Judge would smilingly reply: "Oh,
yes! You will do it when the time comes." From time to time he sent to
this friend suggestions, incidents and other material for this novel,
the same being on odds and ends of paper, often rough wrapping paper,
and being jotted down under a lamp-post at night while he waited for
his tram, or in court while he waited for the case in which he was
engaged to come up. On these scraps are also marginal notes, as he
accepted or rejected the ideas of his own prolific mind. These notes
are given here as such. It has been suggested that the recipient of
these materials should still write the novel as proposed, but setting
aside the fact that she could not be sure of properly rendering the
real ideas of Mr. Judge, it is also thought that readers will much
prefer to have the notes precisely as Mr. Judge set them down.
The printed title-page runs as follows:
IN A BORROWED BODY.
_The Journey of a Soul._
BY
J. CAMPBELL VER-PLANCK, F.T.S.
1891.
The name is filled in in the writing of Mr. Judge, and there is this
marginal note. "Copyright gone to Washngn."
(All "Notes" are to be understood as being marginal ones made by Mr.
Judge unless otherwise stated.)
MEMO. ABOUT _Borrowed Body_.
The point on which it should all turn is not so much reincarnation as
the use of a borrowed body, which is a different kind of reincarnation
from that of Arnold's _Phra the Phœnician_.
This will also give chance to show the other two sorts of
reincarnation, _e.g._:--
(_a_) Ordinary reincarnation in which there is no memory of the old
personality, as the astral body is new; and:
(_b_) Exception as to astral body; but similarity of conception to that
of ordinary cases, where the child retains the old astral body and
hence memory of old personality and acquaintance with old knowledge and
dexterity.