“ | Videte ne quis sciat. | ” |
— The club's motto.
|
When Anthony Beechworth was a student at St. Gall boarding school, he formed a student club that was devoted to science and philosophy. He invited three other students to join: Alexandre Du Pré, Hugo Ashdown, and Jeremiah Devitt.
When Devitt first arrived at St. Gall, it is implied that he was moody and withdrawn, most likely as a result of his mother dying and his father abandoning him. Alexandre and Hugo both avoided him, thinking him odd. When Anthony arrived at St. Gall, he befriended Devitt. When the four boys joined the science and philosophy club, they apparently became friends. Anthony's interest was science. He considered Devitt to be the group's expert on philosophy. It is not known whether Alexandre and Hugo specialized in a topic, though in later life Alexandre excelled in chemistry and Hugo became a painter. The club's motto was "Videte ne quis sciat," which is Latin for "See that no one knows."
Anthony developed serum and invited the members of the club to take it. He noticed that an instructor at the school, Father Ernest Glynn, was curious about the club's activities. He invited Ernest to join as well. They met secretly in the school basement, injected themselves with serum, and entered the Veil. While in the Veil, they met a strange creature that terrified them. Perhaps because of this encounter, in later years Ernest referred to the group as "The Four Witnesses."[1]
Soon after the event, in early 1876, Ernest's behavior grew increasingly unstable. After a few weeks, he became ill and was incapable of teaching. At the same time, at least one other instructor also became unwell. After another month, it was announced that the school would close.
After leaving school, Jeremiah founded another secret society called The Playwright. He invited Anthony, Alexandre, and Hugo to join. It is unclear whether Ernest was invited to join.[2] The society had the same motto as the science and philosophy club, "See that no one knows."
When Devitt returned to St. Gall in 1891, he recovered many of his memories of the science and philosophy club.
Footnotes[]
- ↑ It's a little unclear which of the five people was not counted as a "witness." Ernest explicitly referred to himself and Devitt as being witnesses.
- ↑ Ernest did not mention The Playwright, nor did members of The Playwright mention him. On the other hand, he had access to large quantities of serum, as well as a note that suggested knowledge of Wright's experiments (i.e., Hugo's name was crossed out). Also, Ernest's mental symptoms were somewhat similar to those of Miss Konhe, who was probably a member of The Playwright.