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Israel Regardie Diary Entry Sunday, 10 March 1929
Shortly after 7 a.m. the following morning [10 March 1929], the immigration officers at Tilbury [England] refused us admittance, principally on the ground of our being unable to show sufficient proof that we would not become public charges during our stay. Mr. Gerald Yorke, who had met us at the quay, volunteered to guarantee this, and also in case of emergency my return passage to the United States. But no attention was paid to this.
We were sent back to the ship. When going to my room in the course of the afternoon, I took my key and locked the door on the inside, as I wished to lie down for a short while. A few moments later, the captain or the commissaire—I am not sure what his office was—knocked at the door and remarked that it was unnecessary to lock the door on the inside, but that if I wanted anything to ring the bell, With this last remark, he locked the door on the outside, and removed the key. In short, I was virtually a prisoner on the boat all afternoon. For what offense?
The cabin was very small. The air was humid and stiflingly hot. At about 6 p.m., I rang the bell to be let out on deck to get some fresh air, and found Mme. de Miramar [Maria de Miramar] pacing the deck like myself. We were not alone, but found ourselves followed all the time either by the commissaire or one of the stewards.
A few minutes after 8 p.m., a detective from Scotland Yard, accompanied by an Immigration Officer came on board and requested permission to search my trunk. It so happened that I had a set of old Tarot cards in my possession, and this called forth a remark from one of the two men "Is that black magic?" Furthermore, my own personal and private property, my diary, and a set of the typescripts of "The Confessions of Aleister Crowley" came in for some very close scrutiny and examination.
The boat sailed at 11:30 p.m. for Dunkerque [France]. Once more the cabin door was locked on me, despite the fact that the boat was in motion.
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