Belasco and "Peter Grimm."—That the creator of Hamlet and Macbeth believed in spirits, and made plentiful use of them as part of his "celestial machinery," is evident from the works of the master dramatist; and that his talented disciple, David Belasco, likewise favors such usage, is plainly shown in that intensely interesting book and play, "The Return of Peter Grimm." Let me briefly review the story.
Peter Grimm, an honest, elderly Dutch-American, carrying on the business of florist at Grimm Manor, a suburb of New York City, has a friend and family physician in Alexander McPherson, who, I need not say, is a Scotchman. He is also a spiritualist, deeply interested in the laws of psychic phenomena, and exceedingly tenacious of his occult views.
Grim is bluntly skeptical upon the subject, and he and his Scotch friend have many a warm debate thereon. Finally McPherson proposes a compact to this effect: Whichever one of the twain shall pass away first, his spirit will return, if possible, and communicate with the other, making known the secrets of the after life. Grimm laughs at the idea, even ridicules it, but at last consents, and with a flash of humor suggestive of his name, says: "If I find I am wrong, when I come back I will apologize."
A little later the florist dies suddenly of heart failure. He passes into the spirit world, and there obtains leave to "revisit the glimpses of the moon," as Hamlet puts it; in other words, to return to Grimm Manor and rectify a mistake made by him while in the flesh—a mistake affecting the happiness of his adopted daughter Kathrien, who, yielding to his insistence, has given up the man she loved, and has agreed to marry Grimm's nephew, Frederic. This young man is a villain, whose unworthiness his uncle discovers after his arrival in "the undiscovered country," from which he now proposes to "return" and prevent the marriage previously planned.
The wrong is to be righted by the delivery of a message. But how "get the message across?" That is the problem of the play. "Not every one can receive a communication from the spirit world." So McPherson has said in one of his conversations with Grimm, adding that "the receiver must be a sensitive, a medium."
Strange to say, the old Scotch physician is of no help whatever in the predicament now facing his departed friend. He knows all about spirits—is saturated with the lore of the subject; but he is not a "sensitive," and cannot therefore "receive."
The spirit of Grimm, re-entering his old home, makes persistent efforts to be seen or heard by some member of the household; but all in vain. None of his family, none of his friends, can behold him or hear his pathetic pleadings. Yes—there is one who can; a little invalid boy, Frederick's illegitimate child, who is wasting away with a fever. The veil is thin between him and the spirit land, to which he will accompany Peter Grimm, after the latter's earthly errand is accomplished. This little lad is a "sensitive." He sees the spirit, receives the message, and the threatened misalliance is averted, Kathrien and her worthy lover being happily reunited.
Fiction and Fact.—Such is the story of Peter Grimm and his return from the world of spirits. It is pure fiction, of course; but fiction often supports fact, and is even less strange, as a well-worn proverb affirms. Nevertheless, it will be seen from what follows that I am not in absolute harmony with Belasco's ingenious presentation of the spiritualistic theme. My views upon the subject are not based upon the theories of men; they are founded upon the revelations of God.
Spirits in Prison.—That the inhabitants of the spirit world, or some of them, return at times and communicate with mortals, I am perfectly well assured. But I am not convinced that any and every spirit is at liberty to return, whatever the "compacts" that may have been entered into beforehand. Some spirits are "in prison."[[2]] Of what avail would a compact be in their case, unless their jailor or some higher power were a party to it? Evidently the spirits that communicate with mortals are not of that class, unless it be in exceptional cases, where leave of absence has been granted for some special reason.
A House of Order.—God's house is a house of order, and the spirit world is a room in that house. This being the case, it is only reasonable to conclude that before anything important or unusual can take place there, the Master of the Mansion must first give consent. Otherwise confusion would prevail, and the divine purpose for which the veil was dropped between the two worlds might be thwarted.