Memories of the future : $b Being memoirs of the years 1915‒1972, written in the year of grace 1988Knox, Ronald Arbuthnott
History
Memories of the future : $b Being memoirs of the years 1915‒1972, written in the year of grace 1988
Knox, Ronald Arbuthnott
English fiction -- 20th century; Satire, English; Twentieth century -- Forecasts
I cannot feel that I was ever meant for the Berthellot Institute; it was
too breezy for me altogether. I discontinued my attendance at the
lectures before my proper time was up, and consequently was never
recorded as a failure. Meanwhile a friend, Mrs. Sholto,[3] had
recommended me to yet another variety of mind-doctors, the Mental
Homœopathists, who were the sworn rivals of the Berthellot system.
Theirs was a home treatment, and all you had to do was to murmur to
yourself at frequent intervals, “Every day in every way I grow worse and
worse and worse!” You were also recommended to study a little pamphlet
on the human body, entitled, “Our Disastrous Inheritance,” which showed
you pictures of various parts of the human body suffering under the
influence of virulent diseases, and gave you a long index of all
possible morbid conditions of the human frame—Juliet said it was exactly
like a manual she had called “Helicopter Troubles, and how to Trace
them.” I think I ought to have been an apt pupil for this system—the
idea of which was that the conscious mind is in continual revolt from
the impressions of the subconscious mind, and the more depressed your
subconsciousness was the better your chance of recovery—for Mr. Druce
had been an admirable preparation for it. But, though I stuck to it for
some time, and seemed to have been gaining strength, an unexpected
afternoon call from S—— immediately threw me back into a serious
relapse.
Finally, I was induced to go down to Winchcombe, in the Cotswolds, to
try the “colour-cure” which had recently been attracting a good deal of
attention. After a long examination, I was relegated to the “orange
suite,” where I was expected to pass a complete fortnight. There were
numerous other “orange” patients, but I was not allowed to speak to any
of them: a saturnine old woman sat in one corner of the room, with the
detached air of a bath attendant, to see that the rules were kept. I was
given an orange dress, which matched the wall-paper, the furniture, even
the flowerbeds outside the window. Reading was allowed, but not
encouraged; the great point, I was told, was to become saturated with
orange as early as possible. I certainly became fed up with orange long
before the fortnight was over, and by breaking a window (for which I
afterwards paid) contrived to get away into the grounds, and so, with
the help of an errand-boy, into the outside world. To this day I cannot
bear so much as an orange ribbon in my boudoir. I suppose Dr. Tryer
would have called that an inhibition.
I cannot describe what a comfort it was to get home, and to find that my
maid Antoinette had lit a fire in my bedroom, and got a mustard bath
ready (she always stuck to it that I had only a cold), and had put a
hot-water bottle in my bed and a Lourdes medal under the pillow. And so
I found peace after all my rest-cures.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account