THE EQUINOX Vol. I. No. IV 2nd part
June 7, 1990 e.v. key entry by
Bill Heidrick, T.G. of O.T.O. --- needs further proof reading
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CLASSIFICATION OF DREAMS
A. "Depth of Impression."
1. Vivid. 2. Ordinary. 3. Slight. 4. Doubtful.
B. "Degree of Memory."
1. Detailed. 2. Outlined. 3. Partially outlined. 4. Central
idea
only. 5. Incident only. 6. Nothing save fact of dream.
C. "Cause."
1. Traceable to thoughts of previous day. 2. Traceable to local
circumstances ("e.g." Dream of river from rain falling on face). 3.
Not
so traceable.
D. "Character."
1. Surprising. 2. Ordinary.
E. "Character."
1. Rational. 2. Irrational.
F. "Character General."
1. Lascivious, ("a") Finished, ("b" Baffled. 2. Of travel. 3. Of
litera-
ture. 4. Of art. 5. Of magic. 6. Of beauty. 7. Of religion. 8.
Of
social affairs. 9. Of disgust. 10. Of old friends (or foes). 11.
Various.
12. Humorous. 13. Of very definite men not known to P. 14. Of
combat. 15. Of money.
G. "Character Special."
1. Of losing a tooth. 2. Of beard being shaved off. 3. Of
climbing
a mountain. 4. Of being taken in adultery. 5. Of Poem or Magical
book I have written (in dream). 6. Of being embarrassed. 7. of
flying, especially of escaping.
{170}
______________ﾂ_______ﾂ___ﾂ____________ﾂ___ﾂ___ﾂ_________________ﾂ___
ｳ A ｳ B ｳ C ｳ D ｳ E ｳ F ｳ G
______________ﾅ_______ﾅ___ﾅ____________ﾅ___ﾅ___ﾅ_________________ﾅ___
February 8th ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ --- ｳ 1 ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---
" 9th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ Probably 2 ｳ---ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ 1
" 12th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ---ｳ---ｳ 1(b) ｳ---
" 13th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ---ｳ 6.12 ｳ---
" 14th ｳ ｳ ｳ ｳ ｳ ｳ ｳ
" 15th ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1
" " ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1
" 16th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 4.2.8 ｳ 1
" 17th ｳ 3 ｳ 6 ｳ --- ｳ---ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---
" 18th ｳ 2 ｳ 2 ｳ Probably 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 11 ｳ---
" 20th ｳ 1 ｳ ? ｳ ? ｳ 1 ｳ ? ｳ ? ｳ---
" 21th ｳ 4 ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---
" 22th ｳ 4 ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---
" 23th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1(a).2.10.9.11 ｳ---
" 24th ｳ 1 ｳ 4 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ---ｳ 1? ｳ---
" 25th ｳ 2(?1) ｳ 3 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ---
" 28th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 3 ｳ 1.10.11 ｳ4(?)
" " ｳ 2 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 3.7 ｳ---
March 1st ｳ 3 ｳ 6 ｳ --- ｳ---ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---
" 2nd ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1(?) ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 8 ｳ 6
" " ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1(?) ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 5 ｳ---
" 3rd ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2.8 ｳ---
" 4th ｳ 1 ｳ4.5ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ---ｳ 8.10.13 ｳ---
" 5th ｳ(?)all ｳ ｳ ｳ ｳ ｳ ｳ
" " ｳ 2 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ---
" 7th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1.2 ｳ 2 ｳ 2 ｳ 1(b).2.9 ｳ 6
" 8th ｳ 1 ｳ 6 ｳ --- ｳ---ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---
" 9th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ1(b).2.5.8.10.13 ｳ4.6
" 10th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 3 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 8.10.13.14.15 ｳ---
" 11th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 3.5.7.12 ｳ5.7
" " ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1(b) ｳ 4
" 12th ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 6
" 13th ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 3 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1(b) ｳ 4
" 14th ｳ 4 ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---ｳ---ｳ --- ｳ---
" 15th ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 3 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 1.2.8.10.13 ｳ---
" " ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 2 ｳ 2 ｳ 2 ｳ---
" 16th ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 2 ｳ 3.10 ｳ---
" 17th ｳ 2 ｳ 2 ｳ 3 ｳ 2 ｳ 1 ｳ 7.8 ｳ---
" 18th ｳ 1 ｳ 5 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 1 ｳ 5.6.11 ｳ---
" 19th ｳ 2 ｳ 5 ｳ --- ｳ---ｳ 1 ｳ 11 ｳ---
______________ﾁ_______ﾁ___ﾁ____________ﾁ___ﾁ___ﾁ_________________ﾁ____
{171}
On the 7th of March P. left Calcutta for Benares, arriving there on the
following day, and lodging at the H鍍el de Paris he continued his
concentration practices., In his diary on this date he writes: "The fear of
the future seems practically destroyed, and during the last six months I have
worked well. This removes all possible selfishness of incentive (after 4 3/4
years) Maitri-Bhプana is left, and that alone. Aum!
At Benares he visited the temples, and had a long conversation with Sri
Swami Swayam Prakashハanda Maithila; and then after three days' sojourn there
journeyed to Agra.
"I saw the Taj. A dream of beauty," he writes, "with appallingly evil
things dwelling therein. I actually had to use H.P.K. formula! the building
soon palls; the aura is apparent, and disgust succeeds. But the central hall
is of strained aura, like a magic circle after banishing."
At Agra P. met Astrologer and Geomancer Munshi Elihu Bux; who told him that
by looking hard at a point on the wall constantly and without winking for many
days he would be able to obtain an hypnotic power even to Deadly and Hostile
Current of Will.
On the 16th P. left Agra and went to Delhi, and there on the 23rd he was
joined by D. A., and these two with their companions on the following day
journeyed to Rawal Pindi and from this city they set out together to travel
for five months in the northern and little frequented districts of Baltistan,
and to seek that great solemnity and solitude which is only to be found
amongst the greatest mountains of earth.
With the Dhyハa Visions and Trance we arrive at another turning point in
Frater P.'s magical ascent. For several years he had worked by the aid of
Western methods, and with them he had laid a mighty and unshakable foundation
upon which {172} he now had succeeded in building the great temple of Self-
Control. Working upon Eastern lines he had laid stone upon stone, and yet
when the work was completed, magnificent though it was, there was no God yet
found to indwell it. It was indeed but an empty house.
Though we have now arrived at this turning point, it will be necessary
before we review the contents of this chapter to narrate the events from the
present date --- March 1902, down to the 11th of August 1903; when, by the
chance (destined) meeting with Ouarda the Seer, he was eventually enabled to
set in motion the great power he had gained, and by wrestling with the deity,
as Jacob wrestled with the Angel by the ford of Jabbok, see God face to face
and LIVE.
For a space of nearly six months P. and D. A. journeyed amongst the vast
mountains beyond Cashmir, and through during this period no record of his
meditations has been preserved, time was not idled away and exercises in
meditation of a more exalted kind, on the vastness of Nature and the
ungraspable might of God, were his daily joy and consolation.
In September he returned to Srinnagar, and thence journeyed to Bombay where
he remained for but a few days before his return journey to Europe.
Arriving in Egypt he remained in that ancient land for some three weeks,
somehow feeling that it was here that he should find what he had so long now
been seeking for in vain. But realizing the hopelessness of waiting in any
definite country or city, without some clue to guide him to his goal, he left
Egypt at the beginning of November and continued his journey back to England
only to break it again at Paris.
In this city he remained until April the following year {173} (1903). In
the month of January he met his old College friend H. L.
From the very first moment of this meeting H. L. showed considerable
perturbation of mind, and on being asked by Frater P. what was exercising him,
H. L. replied "Come and free Miss Q. from the wiles of Mrs. M. Being asked
who Mrs. M. was, H. L. answered that she was a vampire and a sorceress who was
modelling a sphinx with the intention of one day endowing it with life so that
it might carry out her evil wishes; and that her victim was Miss Q. P.
wishing to ease his friend's mind asked H. L. to take him to Miss Q.'s address
at which Mrs. M. was then living. This H. L. did.
The following story is certainly one of the least remarkable of the many
strange events which happened to Frater P. during his five months' residence
in Paris, but we give it in place of others because it re-introduces several
characters who have already figured in this history.
Miss Q. after an interview asked P. to tea to meet Mrs. M. After
introductions she left the room to make tea --- the White Magic and the Black
were left face to face.
On the mantelpiece stood a bronze of the head of Balzac, and P., taking it
down, seated himself in a chair by the fire and looked at it.
Presently a strange dreamy feeling seemed to come over him, and something
velvet soft and soothing and withal lecherous moved across his hand. Suddenly
looking up he saw the Mrs. M. had noiselessly quitted her seat and was bending
over him; her hair was scattered in a mass of curls over her shoulders, and
the tips of her fingers were touching the back of his hand {174}
No longer was she the middle aged woman, worn with strange lusts; but a
young woman of bewitching beauty.
At once recognizing the power of her sorcery, and knowing that if he even
so much as contemplated her Gorgon head all the power of his magic would be
petrified, and that he would become but a puppet in her hands, but a top to be
played with and when broken cast aside, he quietly rose as if nothing unusual
had occurred; and replacing the bust on the mantelpiece turned towards her and
commenced with her a magical conversation; that is to say a conversation which
outwardly had but the appearance of the politest small talk but which inwardly
lacerated her evil heart, and burnt into her black bowels as if each word had
been a drop of some corrosive acid.
She writhed back from him; and then again approached him even more
beautiful than she had been before. She was battling for her life now, and no
longer for the blood of another victim. If she lost, hell yawned before her,
the hell that every once beautiful woman who is approaching middle age, sees
before her the hell of lost beauty, of decrepitude, of wrinkles and fat. The
odour of man seemed to fill her whole subtle form with a feline agility, with
a beauty irresistible. One step nearer and then she sprang at Frater P. and
with an obscene word sought to press her scarlet lips to his.
As she did so Frater P. caught her and holding her at arm's length smote
the sorceress with her own current of evil, just as a would-be murderer is
sometimes killed with the very weapon with which he has attacked his victim.
A blue-greenish light seemed to play round the head of the vampire, and
then the flaxen hair turned the colour of muddy {175} snow, and the fir skin
wrinkled, and those eyes, that had turned so many happy lives to stone,
dulled, and became as pewter dappled with the dregs of wine. The girl of
twenty had gone, before him stood a hag of sixty, bent, decrepit, debauched.
With dribbling curses she hobbled from the room.
As Frater P. left the house, for some time he turned over in his mind these
strange happenings, and was not long in coming to the opinion that Mrs. M. was
not working alone, and that behind her probably were forces far greater than
she. She was but the puppet of others, the slave that would catch the kids
and the lambs that were to be served upon her master's table. Could P. prove
this? could he discover who the masters were? The task was a difficult one;
it either meant months of work, which P. could not afford to give, or the mere
chance of a lucky stroke, which P. set aside as unworthy the attempt.
That evening whilst relating the story to his friend H. L. he asked him if
he knew of any reliable clairvoyant. H. L. replied that he did, and that
there was such a person at that very time in Paris known as The Sibyl, his own
"belle amie." That night they called on her; and from her P. discovered, for
he led her in the spirit, the following remarkable facts.
The vision at first was of little importance, then by degrees the seer was
let to a house which P. at once recognized as that in which D.D.C.F. lived.
He entered one of the rooms, which he also at once recognized but curious to
say, instead of finding D.D.C.F. and V.N.R. there he found Theo and Mrs.
Horos. Mr. Horos (M.S.R.) incarnated in the body of V.N.R. and Mrs. Horos
(S.V.A.) in that of D.D.C.F. Their {176} bodies were in prison; but their
spirits were in the house of the fallen chief of the Golden Dawn.
At first Frater P. was seized with horror at the sight, he knew not whether
to direct a hostile current of will against D.D.C.F. and V.N.R., supposing
them to be guilty of cherishing within their bodies the spirits of two
disincarnated vampires, or perhaps Abramelin demons under the assumed forms of
S.V.A. and M.S.R., or to warn D.D.C.F.; supposing him to be innocent, as he
perhaps was, of so black and evil an offence. But as he hesitated a voice
entered the body of the Sibyl and bade him leave matters alone, which he did.
Not yet was the cup full.
In April he journeyed to London, and the month of May 1903 once again found
him amongst the fastnesses of the north in the house he had bought in which to
carry out the Sacred Operation of Abramelin.
At this point of our history, in a prefatory note to one of Frater P.'s
note-books, we hind him recapitulating, in the following words, the events of
the last four years:
In the year 1899 I came to C ... House, and put everything in order with
the object of carrying out the Operation of Abramelin the Mage.
I had studied Ceremonial Magic, and had obtained very remarkable success.
My Gods were those of Egypt, interpreted on lines closely akin to those of
Greece.
In Philosophy I was a Realist of the Qabalistic School.
In 1900 I left England for Mexico, and later the Far East, Ceylon, India,
Burma, Baltistan, Egypt and France. It is idle here to detail the
corresponding progress of my thought; and passing through a stage of Hinduism,
I had discarded all Deities as unimportant, and in Philosophy was an
uncompromising Nominalist, arrived at what I may describe as an orthodox
Buddhist; but however with the following reservations.
(1) I cannot deny that certain phenomena "do" accompany the use of certain
rituals; I only deny the usefulness of such methods to the White Adept. {177}
(2) that I consider Hindu methods of meditation as possibly useful to the
beginner, and should not therefore recommend them to be discarded at once.
With regard to my advancement, the redemption of the Cosmos, etc., etc., I
leave for ever the "Blossom and Fruit" Theory and appear in the character of
an Inquirer on strictly scientific lines.274
This is unhappily calculated to damp enthusiasm; but as I so carefully of
old, for the magical path, excluded from my life all other interests, that
life has now no particular meaning, and the Path of Research, on the only
lines I can now approve of, remains the one Path possible for me to tread.
On the 11th of June P. records that he moved his bed into the temple that
he had constructed at C ... House, for convenience of more absolute
retirement. In this temple he was afflicted by dreams and visions of the most
appalling Abramelin devils, which had evidently clung to the spot ever since
the operations of February 1900.
On the night of the 16th of June he began to practise Mahasatipatthana,275
274 Till 1906. The theory of the Great White Brotherhood, as set
forth in the story called "The Blossom and the Fruit," by Miss
Mabel Collins.
275 The practice of Mahasipatthana is explained by Mr. A. Crowley
in his "Science and Buddhism" very fully. Briefly:
In this mediation the mind is not restrained to the
contemplation of a single object, and there is no interference
with the natural functions of the body. It is essentially an
observation-practice, which later assumes an analytic aspect in
regard to the question: "What is it that is really observed?"
The Ego-idea is excluded; all bodily motions are observed and
recorded; for instance, one may sit down quietly and say: There
is a raising of the right foot." "There is an expiration,"
etc.;, etc., just as it happens. When once this habit of
excluding the Ego become intuitive, the next step is to explain
the above thus: "There is a sensation (Vedana) of a raising,
etc." The next stage is that of perception (Sa､､a) "There is a
perception of a (pleasant and unpleasant) sensation of a raising,
etc." The two further stages Sankhara and Vi､､anam pursue the
analysis to its ultimation. "There is a consciousness of a
tendency to perceive the (pleasant and unpleasant) sensation of a
and found it easy to get into the way of it as a mantra which does not
interfere much with sense-impressions, {178} but remains as an undercurrent.
After several days of this desultory Mahasatipatthana, he turned his mind once
again to the Great Work and decided upon a fortnight's strict magical
retirement. Though his retirement culminated in no definite state of
illumination, it is most interesting from a scientific point of view, as it
has been carefully kept and the "breaks" that occurred in the meditations have
been most minutely classified.
June.
22nd. 10.20 p.m. Mahasatipatthana for half an hour.
(1) Breathing gets deeper, rather sleepier. (I am
tired.)
(2) Notable throbbing in Ajna and front of brain
generally,
especially with inspiring.
(3) Tendency to forget what I am doing. (I am tired.)
(4) Very bad concentration, but better than expected.
23rd. 10.11 a.m. Walk with Mahasatipatthana. I obtained a very clear
intuition that "I breathe" was a lie. With effort
regained
delusion.
11.30 a.m. Entered Temple.
11.33 a.m. Prハペノa. 10. 20. 30. Resulting in a good deal of
pain.
11.40 a.m. Mahasatipatthana.
11.57 a.m. Prハペノa. 10. 20. 30. I do seem bad! My left
nostril is
not all it should be.
11.57 a.m. Left Temple.
12.30 p.m. Began Mahasatipatthana desultorily.
1.15 p.m. In Mahasatipatthana. Doing it very badly. Seem
sleepy.
1.35 p.m. Went out for a walk feeling ill. Ill all the week.
28th During the night began again meditation upon Ajna,
and
"Mantra Aum Tat Sat Aum."
30th. Decide to do tests on old principle to see how I
really
stand. {179}
BEGIN. END. OBJECT. TIME. NO. OF BREAKS.
10.21 a.m. 10.23 a.m. Red Cross 2 m. 10 s. Several breaks of
the kind, "Oh,
how well I'm
doing it."
Seem quite to have forgotten what very long times I used to do.
White tri- 10 m. 20 breaks.
angle
[This about harmonic of good; 20 m. 10 breaks is a good per-
formance.]
Apas-Akピa
[Very difficult: slightest noise is utterly disturbing.]
10.55 a.m. 11.1 a.m. Red Cross 6 m. 7 breaks.
[But it is to be observed that a break may be of varying length. I
doubt if this was as good as White Triangle "supra."]
11.44 a.m. 11.56 a.m. White tri- 12 m. 10 breaks.
angle
raising of the right foot" being the final form.
The Buddha himself said that if a man practises Mahasatipatthana
honestly and intelligently a result is certain.
[Above observation perhaps unimportant, as limit of variability is more
or less constant (presumably) between 1901 and now.
It will be useless to attempt to devise any means of measuring the
length of a break. The only possible suggestion is to count the links in
thought back to to object. But I do not think it is worth the trouble.]
Note in White Triangle above:
I get considerably toward identification of self and object. This is
probably a good result of my philosophy-work.
It will perhaps be more scientific if in these tests (and perhaps even in
work) to stick to one or two objects and always go on to a special
number of breaks --- say 10,. Then success will vary as time.276]
July 3.14 p.m. 3.20 p.m. White tri- 6 m. 30 s. 6 breaks. Dis-
2nd. angle turbed by car-
penter.
10.40 p.m. 11.9 p.m. White tri- 29 m. 23 breaks.
angle
[A "break" shall be defined as: "a consciousness of the cessation of
the object consciousness."
A simple outside thought arising shall not constitute a "break," since
it may exist simultaneously with the object-consciousness. {180}
It shall be meritorious to perform a rosary upon the Rudrakasha-beads
at lest once (at one time) daily; for why? Because 108 is is a convenient
number of breaks, and the large number will aid determinations of rate
progress.
If it be true, as I suppose, that fatigue to a great extent determines
frequency, it will then be perhaps possible to "predict" a Geometrical Pro-
gression (or Mixed Progression.)]
BEGIN. END. OBJECT. TIME. NO. OF BREAKS.
July 10.58 a.m. 11.1 a.m. White tri- 3 m. 5 breaks.
3rd. angle
[I am in very bad state --- nearly "all" breaks! --- do a little
Prハペノa to
steady me.]
11.10 a.m. 11.15 1/2 a.m. White tri- 5 m. 30 s. 4 breaks.
angle
[Sneezed: totally forgot what I was doing. When I reflected, time as
above.]
4th. 9.45 a.m. 9.58 1/2 a.m. White tri- 13 m. 30 s. 20 breaks.
angle
10.25 a.m. 10.57 1/2 a.m. Ajna 32 m. 30 s. 20 breaks.
[With Mantra. Throbbing at once. "Invaders" nearly all irrational.
Strong sub-current of swift thought noted. Quite the old times! Excel-
lent: I require less food and less literary work. I wonder if it would
be worth while to try irritation of skin over Ajna with tincture of
Iodine.]
5th. 11.30 a.m. 11.55 a.m. Ajna 25 m. 20 breaks.
9.36 p.m. 9.51 1/2 p.m. Ajna 15 m. 30 s. 20 breaks.
6th.ｿ
ﾃ Ill.277
8th.ﾙ
9th. 10.57 a.m. 11.4 a.m. Prハペノa 7 m. Nose not clear.
11.16 a.m. 11.18 a.m. Ajna 2 m. 6 breaks.
[Hyperaesthesia of sense. Various sounds disturbed me much.]
10th. Again ill.
11th. 3.38 p.m. 3.46 p.m. Prハペノa 8 m. Going easier.
3.48 p.m. 3.51 p.m. White tri- 3 m. 5 breaks.
276 This, though a good system is a very difficult one to carry
out.
277 N.B. Frater P. did not practise when physically unfit.
angle
5.51 p.m. 6.10 1/2 p.m. Ajna 19 m. 30 s. 20 breaks. {181}
BEGIN. END. OBJECT. TIME. NO. OF BREAKS.
July [Difficult to set the sound Hyperaesthesia. Began to forget
Mantra.]278
11th. 10.12 1/2 p.m. 10.19 p.m. Prハペノa 6 m. 30 s. Very hard.
[The smallest quantity of food injures one's power immensely.]
10.21 p.m. 10.44 p.m. Ajna 23 m. 20 breaks.
[Used cotton wool in ears.]
Thoughts of Ajna go obliquely up (from opening of pharynx about) and
direct horizontally forward. This gives an idea to "chase" consciousness,
"i.e.", find by the obvious series of experiments the spot in which the
thoughts dwell. Probably however this moves about. If so, it is a
clear
piece of evidence for the idealistic position. If not, "thinking of it"
equals "it thinking of itself," and its falsity will become rapidly
evident.
July
12th. 12.8 p.m. 12.19 p.m. Prハペノa 11 m.
[The best so far: the incense troubled me somewhat.]
12.26 p.m. 12.57 p.m. 31 m. 30 breaks.
[Mantra evolved into "tartsano."279 I was not in good form and
suspect
many breaks of long duration.]
I keep Mantra going all day.
4.58 p.m. 5.9 p.m. Prハペノa 11 m. Perspiration.
5.14 p.m. 5.25 p.m. Prハペノa 11 m. Wound up with a
Grand Prハ-
yノa.280
5.28 p.m. 6.6 p.m. 38 m. 30 breaks.
[Very tired towards end and difficult to get settled. to me it seems
evident that the first ten breaks or so are rapid.]
6.10 p.m. 6.26 p.m. Prハペノa 16 m.
8.15 p.m. 8.47 p.m. Ajna with 32 m. 22 breaks.
Mantra
[Light coming a little, one very long break, and some sound.]
10.5 p.m. 10.17 1/2 p.m. Ajna 12 m. 30 s. 11 breaks.
13th. Casual Mutterings of Mantra.
10.44 a.m. Prハペノa Quite bopeless.
10.48 a.m. 11.20 a.m. 32 m. 30 breaks.
[Went to Edinburgh to meet H. L.]281 {182}
The following analysis of breaks which Frater P. deduced from his practices
during this retirement is both of great interest and importance. It is the
only analytical table of this character we know of, and must prove of very
great use to investigator and aspirant alike.
THE CHARACTER OF BREAKS
1. Primary centres.
278 Not understood.
279 Om Tat Sat Aum.
280 30. 15. 60.
281 This meeting with H. L., though of no importance in itself, led
to cone of the most important happenings in P.'s life; for it was
through him that he again met Ouarda the seer, as we shall see at
a later date.
The senses.
2. Secondary.
These seem to assume a morbid activity as soon as the primaries are
stilled. Their character is that of the shorter kind of memory. Events of
the day, etc.
3. Tertiary.
Partake of the character of "reverie." Very tempting and insidious.
4. Quaternary.
Are closely connected with the control centre itself. Their nature is "How
well I'm doing it," or "wouldn't it be a good idea to ...?" These are
probably emanations from the control, not messages to it. We might call them:
"Aberrations of control."
Of a similar depth are the reflections which discover a break, but these
are healthy warnings, and assist.
5. Quinary.
Never rise into consciousness at all, being held down by the most perfect
control. Hence the blank of thought, the forgetfulness of all things,
including the object.
Not partaking of any character at all, are the "meteor" thoughts which seem
to be quite independent of anything the brain could think, or had ever
thought. Probably this kind of thought is the root of irrational
hallucinations, "e.g.", "And if you're passing, won't you?"282 {183}
6.
Perhaps as a result of the intense control, a nervous storm breaks. This
we call Dhyハa. Its character is probably not determined by the antecedents
in consciousness. Its essential characteristic being the unity of Subject and
Object, a new world is revealed. Samヅhi is but an expansion of this, so far
as I can see.
The slaying of any of these thoughts often leaves their echoes gradually
dying away.
Now that we have come to the end of this long chapter, let us turn back on
the upward slope and survey the road which winds beneath us, and lose not
heart when but little of it can be seen, for the mountain's side is steep, and
the distance from our last halting-place seems so short, not on account of our
idleness, but because of the many twists and turnings that the road has taken
since we left our last camp below, when the sun was rising and all was golden
with the joy of great expectations. For, in truth, we have progressed many a
weary league, and from this high spot are apt to misjudge our journey, and
belittle our labours, as we gaze down the precipitous slope which sweeps away
at out feet.
In the last two years and a half P. had journeyed far, further than he at
this time was aware of; and yet the goal of his journey seemed still so
distant that only with difficulty could he bring himself to believe that he
had progressed at all. Indeed, ti must have been discouraging to him to think
that on the 6th of May 1901 he, in a meditation of thirty-two minutes had only
experienced ten breaks, whilst during a meditation of similar length, on the
13th of July 1903, the number of breaks had been three times as many. But
282 These interrupting voice suggestions have been named by P.
Telephone-cross-voices on account of their close resemblance to
disjointed conversations so often heard whilst using a telephone.
A similar phenomenon occurs in wireless telegraphy; chance
currents make words, and are so read by the operator. They are
called "atmospherics." I propose the retention of this useful
word in place of the clumsy "Telephone-cross-voices."
like most statistics, such a comparison is misleading: for the beginner,
almost invariably, so clumsy is his will, catches {184} quickly enough the
gross breaks, but lets the minor ones dart away from his grasp, like the small
fry which with ease swim in and out of the fisherman's net. Further, though
in twelve meditations the number of breaks may be identical, yet the class of
the breaks, much more so than the actual number, will tell the meditator, more
certainly than anything else, whether he has progressed or has retrograded.
Thus at first, should the meditator practise with his eyes open, the number
of breaks will in their swift succession form almost one unbroken
interruption. Again, should the eyes be closed, then the ears detecting the
slightest sound, the flow of the will will be broken, just as the faintest
zephyr, on a still evening, will throw out of the perpendicular an ascending
column of smoke. But presently, as the will gains power, the sense of
hearing, little by little, as it comes under control, is held back from
hearing the lesser sounds, then the greater, and at length all sounds. The
vibrations of the will having repelled the sound vibrations of the air, and
brought the sense of hearing into Equilibrium. Now the upward mounting
filament of smoke has become the ascending columns of a great volcano, there
is a titanic blast behind it, --- a will to ascend. And as the smoke and
flame is belched forth, so terrific is its strength, that even a hurricane
cannot shake it or drive it from its course.
As the five senses become subdued, fresh hosts of difficulties spring up
irrationally from the brain itself. And, whichever way we turn, a mob of
subconscious thoughts pull us this way and that, and our plight in this
truculent multitude is a hundred times worse than when we commenced to wrestle
with the five senses. Like wandering comets and {185} meteorites they
seemingly come from nowhere, splash like falling stars through the firmament
of our meditation, sparkle and are gone; but ever coming as a distraction to
hamper and harass our onward march.
Once the mind has conquered these, a fresh difficulty arises, the danger of
not being strong enough to overcome the occult powers which, though the reward
of our toils, are liable, like the Queen in her bedchamber, to seduce the
Conqueror in spite of his having conquered the King her husband, and secretly
slay him as he sleeps in her arms. These are the powers known in the West as
the Miraculous Powers, in the East as Siddhis.
The mind is now a blank, the senses have been subdued, the subconscious
thoughts slain; it stretches before us like some unspotted canvas upon which
we may write or paint whatever we will. We can produce entrancing sounds at
will, beautiful sights at will, subtle tastes and delicious perfumes; and
after a time actual forms, living creatures, men and women and elementals. We
smite the rock, and the waters flow at our blow; we cry unto the heavens, and
fire rushes down and consumes our sacrifice; we become Magicians, begetters of
illusion, and then, if we allow ourselves to become obsessed by them, a time
comes when these illusions will master us, when the children we have begotten
will rise up and dethrone us, and we shall be drowned in the waters that now
we can no longer control and be burnt up by the flames that mock obedience,
and scorn our word.
Directly we perform a miracle we produce a change: a change is Mara the
Devil, and not God the Changeless One. And though we may have scraped clean
the palimpsest of our {186} mind, our labours are in vain, if, when once it is
stretched out spotless before us, we start scribbling over it our silly
riddles, our little thoughts, our foolish "yeas" and "nays." The finger of
God alone may write upon it, cleanly and beautifully, and the words that are
written cannot be read by the eye or in the heart of man, for alone can they
be understood by him who is worthy to understand them.
Now, though Frater P. had not as yet proved this, had not as yet
accomplished the cleansing of the book of his mind, he had, however, built up
on his own empirical observation so invulnerable a theory, that it now only
remained for him to obtain that fine proportion, that perfect adjustment, that
balancing of the Forces of the Will, which now lay before him like he
chemicals in the crucible of a Chemist, before applying that certain heat
which would dissolve all into one. He did not wish to rule by the Scptre he
had won, but to transcend it; to rule the forces of this world, not by the
authority that had been given him, but by his own essential greatness. And
just as long before Mendeljeff had propounded the law of Periodicity, and by
it had foreshadowed the existence of several undiscovered elements, so now did
Frater P., by his law of the Correspondences of the Ruach, prove, not only
historically, philosophically, theologically and mythologically the existence
of the everywhere proclaimed Jechidah as being one, but in a lesser degree:
that when an Egyptian thought of Ptah, a Greek of Iacchus, a Hindu of
Parabrahman and a Christian of the Trinity as a Unity, they were not thinking
of four Gods, but of one God, not of four conditions but of one condition, not
of four results but of one result; and, that should they set out to attain
unity with their ideal, the stages {187} they would progress through would be
in all cases essentially the same, the differences, if any, being due to the
mental limitations of the experimenter, his education and prejudices, and not
because the roads were dissimilar. Thus by this law could he with certainty
predict that if a certain exercise were undertaken certain stages would be
passed through, and what these stages meant relative to the final result,
irrespective of the creed, caste, or sect of the practicer.
Further, he had proved beyond doubt or quibble, that the terrific strain
caused by the Eastern breathing exercises was no whit greater or less than
that resulting from The Acts of Worship in an operation of Ceremonial Magic,
that Dhビan and the Mantra yoga were in effect none other than a paraphrase
of the Sacred Magic and the Acts of Invocation; and ultimately that the while
system of Eastern yoga was but a synonym of Western Mysticism. Starting from
the root, he had by now crept sufficiently far through the darkness of the
black earth to predict a great tree above, and to prophecy concerning a
Kingdom of Light and Loveliness; and, as a worm will detect its approach to
the earth surface by the warmth of the mould, so did he detect by a sense, new
and unknown to him, a world as different from the world he lived in as the
world of awakenment differs from the world of dreams. Further, did he grow to
understand, that, though as a sustenance to the tree itself one root might not
be as important as another, yet that they all drew their strength from the
self-same soil, and ultimately united in the one trunk above. Some were
rotten with age, some dying, some again but feeders of useless shoots, but
more sympathetically, more scientifically, they were all of one kind, the
roots of one actual {188} living tree,dissimilar in shape but similar in
substance, and all working for one definite end.
Thus did Frater P. by two years close and unabandoned experiment show, to
his own satisfaction, that Yoga was nut the Art of uniting the mind to a
single idea; and that Gnana-Yoga, Raja-Yoga, Bhakta-Yoga and Hatha-Yoga283
were but one class of methods leading to the same Result as attained to by The
Holy Qabalah, The Sacred Magic, The Acts of Worship and The Ordeals of Western
Ceremonial Magic; which again are but subsections of that One Art, the Art of
uniting the mind to a Single Idea. And, that all these, The Union by
Knowledge, The Union by Will, The Union by Love, The Union by Courage found
their vanishing point in the Supreme Union through Silence; that Union in
which understanding fails us, and beyond which we can no more progress than we
can beyond the Equilibrium set forth as the Ultimate End by Gustave le Bon.
There all knowledge ceases, and we like Bドva, when he was questioned by
Vピhkali, can only expound the nature of this Silence, as he expounded the
nature of Brahman, by remaining silent, as the story relates:
And he said, "Teach me, most reverend Sir, the nature of Brahman." The
other however remained silent. But when the question was put for a second or
283 To which may be added Mantra Yoga and Karma Yoga, which
correspond with The Invocation and The Acts of Service and
represent Union through Speech and Union through Work.
third time he answered, "I teach you indeed, but you do not understand; this
Atman is silent."
P. had not yet attained to this Silence; indeed it was the goal he had set
out to accomplish, and though from the ridge {189} of the great mountain upon
which he was standing the summit seemed but a furlong above him, it was in
truth many a year's weary march away, and ridge upon ridge lay concealed, and
each as it was gained presented an increasing difficulty.
This Silence or Equilibrium is described in the "Shiva Sanhita"284 as
Samヅhi:
"When the mind of the Yogi is absorbed in the Great God,285 then the
fulness of Samヅhi286 is attained, then the Yogi gets steadfastness.287
Though Frater P. had not attained to this Steadfastness, he had won a
decisive victory over the lower states of Dhyan as far back as October 1901,
which shows that though he was still distant he was by degrees nearing a state
in which he would find no more Worlds to Conquer.
However, up to this point, there are several results to record, which are
of extreme importance to the beginner, in so much that some of them are
arrived at by methods diametrically opposed to those held by the dogmatic
Yogins.
At the very commencement of his Yoga exercises Frater P. discovered, that
in so lecherous a race as the Hindus it is absolutely necessary before a Chela
can be accepted by a Guru to castrate him spiritually and mentally.288 This
being so, we {190} therefore find almost every master of note, from
Sankaracharya down to Agamya Paramahamsa, insisting on the maintenance to the
letter of the rules of Yama and Niyama, that is absolute Chastity in body and
mind amongst their pupils.289
Now P. proved that the strict letter of the law of Chastity had no more to
do with the ultimate success of attainment than refusing to work on a Sabbath
had to do with a free pass to the Celestial regions, unless every act of
chastity was computed and performed in a magical manner, each act becoming as
it were a link in one great chain, a formula in one great operation, an
operation not leading to Chastity, the symbol, but beyond Chastity to the
essence itself --- namely the Atman, --- Adonai. Further he proved to his own
satisfaction that, though absolute Chastity might mean salvation to one man,
inducing in the lecherous a speedy concentration, it might be the greatest
284 "Shiva Sanhita," chap. v, 155.
285 Atman, Pan, Harpocrates, whose sign is silence, etc., etc. See
" "777".
286 The Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel --- Adonai.
287 Equilibrium, Silence, Supreme Attainment, Zero.
288 As for women they are considered beyond the possibility of
redemption, for in order of re-incarnation they are placed seven
stages below a man, three below a camel, and one below a pig.
Manu speaks of "the gliding of the soul through ten thousand
millions of wombs." And if a man steal grain in the husk, he
shall be born a rat; if honey, a great stinging gnat; if milk, a
crow; if woven flax, a frog; if a cow, a lizard; if a horse, a
tiger; if roots or fruit, an ape; if a woman, a bear.
"Institutes of Manu," xii, 55-67.
289 We find Christ insisting on this absolute chastity of body and
mind, in a similar manner, and for similar reasons; for the
Eastern Jew if he is not actually doing something dirty, is sure
to be thinking about it.
hindrance to another, who was by nature chaste.290 {191} He realized that
there were in this world she-mules as well as she-asses, and that though the
former would never foal in spite of all the stallions of moultan, the latter
seldom failed to do so after having been for a few minutes in the presence of
a Margate jackass.
Discarding Chastity (Brahmachビya) --- a good purgative for the prurient
--- he wrote in its place the word "Health." do not worry about this code and
that law, about the jibber of this crank or the jabber of that faddist. to
hell with ethical pigs and prigs alike. "Do what you like"; but in the name of
your own Higher Self wilfully "do no injury to your own body or mind" by over
indulgence or under indulgence. Discover your normal appetite; satisfy it.
Do not become a glutton, and do not become a nut-cracking skindlewig.
Soon after his arrival in Ceylon, and at the time that he was working with
Frater I. A. the greatness of the Buddha, as we have already see, attracted
him, and he turned his attention to the dogmatic literature of Buddhism only
to find that behind its unsworded Cromwellian colossus,291 with all his rigid
virtues, his stern reasoning, his uncharitableness, judicialism and
impartiality, slunk a pack of pig-headed dolts, stubborn, asinine and mulish;
slavish, menial and {192} gutless; puritanic, pharisaical and "suburban" as
any seventeenth century presbyter, as biliously narrow-minded as any of the
present day Bethelites, Baptists, and Bible-beer brewers.292
290 The reason for this is very simple. Take for example a glutton
who lives for his palate and his stomach; he is always longing
for tasty foods and spends his whole life seeking them. Let us
now substitute the symbol of the Augoeides or Atman for that of
food and drink, let him every time he thinks of food and drink
push the thought aside and in its place contemplate his Higher
Self, and the result is a natural invocation of the Atman,
Augoeides, or Higher Self. If the aspirant be an artist let him
do the same with his art; if a musician, with his music; if a
poet, with his verses and rhymes. For the best foundation to
build upon is always to be found upon that which a man "loves"
"best." It is no good asking a glutton who does not care a row of
brass pins for music, to turn music into a magical formula,
neither is it of the slightest use to impress upon a clean-minded
individual the necessity of living a chaste life. It is like
tapping Samson on the shoulder, just after he has carried the
pates of Gaza on to the top of the hill before Hebron, and
saying: "My good boy, if you ever intend becoming strong, the
first thing you must do is to buy a pair of my four pound dumb-
bells and my sixpenny book on physical culture."
291 The Buddha (it is true) did not encourage bloodshed, in spite
of his having died from an overfeed of pork, but as Mr. A.
Crowley has said, many of his present-day followers are quite
capable of killing their own brothers for five rupees. The
Western theory that Buddhists are lambs and models of virtue is
due to the fact that certain Western vices are not so congenial
to the Asiatic as they are to the European; and not because
Buddhists are incapable of enjoying themselves.
292 Buddhism as a schism from the Brahminical religion may in many
respects be compared with Lutheranism as a schism from the
Catholic Church. Both Buddha and Luther set aside the authority
of miracles, and appealed to the reason of the middle classes of
their day. The Vedas were the outcome of aristocratic thought;
and so in truth was the Christianity of Constantine and the
Popes, that full-blooded Christianity which so soon swallowed the
mystical Christ and the anaemic communism of the "canaille" which
followed him. Conventional Buddhism is pre-eminently the "nice"
religion of the bourgeoisie; it neither panders to the
superstition of the masses nor palliates the gallantries of the
The dogmatism of literal Buddhism appalled him. The Five Precepts, which
are the Yama and Niyama of Buddhism, he at once saw, in spite of Nagasena and
prig Milinda, must be broken by every Arahat each time he inhaled a breath of
air. They were as absurd as they were valueless. But behind all this
tantalizing "frou-frou," this "lingerie de cocotte," beautifully designed to cover
the narded limbs of foolish virgins, sits the Buddha in silent meditation; so
that P. soon discovered that by stripping his body of all these tawdry
trappings, this feminine under-wear, and by utterly discarding the copy-book
precepts of Baptistical Buddhists, the Four Noble Truths were none other than
the complete Yoga, and that in The Three Characteristics293 the summit of
philosophy (The Ruach) had been reached.
The terrific strain of Asana and Prハペノa, the two chief exercises of
Hathavidya, P., by months of trial proved to be {193} not only methods of
great use as a sedative before commencing a Magical Operation, but methods of
inordinate importance to such aspirants, who, having discarded the Shibboleths
of sect, have adopted the fatuities of reason. For it is more difficult for
one who has no natural magical aptitude, and one who perhaps has only just
broken away from faith and corrupted ritual, to carry out an operation of
Western Magic, than it is for him to sit down and perform a rational exercise,
such as the Prハペノa exercises of Yoga, which carry with them their own
result, in spite of the mental attitude of the chela towards them, so long as
the instructions of the Guru are properly carried out.294
As already pointed out, the mere fact of sitting for a time in a certain
position, of inhaling, exhaling and of holding the breath, brings with it,
even in the case of the most obdurate sceptic, a natural concentration, an
inevitable PPratyドビa, which develops in the aspirant the Siddhis, those
seemingly miraculous powers which distinguish an Adeptus Major from an Adeptus
Minor, and entitle the possessor to the rank of 6 = 5.
From this discovery295 Frater P. made yet another, and this time one of
still greater importance. And this was, that if the {194} Adept, when once
the Siddhis were attained, by a self-control (a still higher concentration)
refused to expend these occult powers,296 by degrees he accumulated within
himself a terrific force; charged like a Leyden jar, instantaneously could he
transmute this power into whatever he willed; but the act brought with it a
recoil, and caused an exhaustion and a void which nullified the powers gained.
aristocracy; it is essentially middle-class; and this no doubt is
the chief reason why it has met with a kindly reception by this
nation of shop-walkers.
293 Anikka, Change; Dukka, Sorrow; Anatta, Absence of an Ego.
294 Prハペノa acts on the mind just as Calomel acts on the bowels.
It does not matter if a patient believes in Calomel or not. The
physician administers it, and even if the patient be a most
hostile Christian Scientist, the result is certain. Similarly
with Prハペノa, the Guru gives his chela a certain exercise, and
as surely as the Calomel voided the noxious matter from the
intestines of the sufferer, so will the Prハペノa void the
capricious thoughts from the mind of the disciple.
295 By discovery here we mean individual experiment resulting in
personal discovery; another person's discovery only begets
illusion and comment. Individual discovery is the only true
discovery worth consideration.
296 Nearly all the Masters have been cautious how they handled this
power; generally refusing to expend it at the mere caprice of
their followers or opponents. The Siddhis are like the Gold of
the Alchemist. Once discovered it is kept secret, and the more
secretly it is kept the more it is hoarded the richer becomes the
discoverer, and then one day will come wherein he will be able to
pay his own ransom, and this is the only ransom that is
acceptable unto God.
Ultimately he proved that it was rather by the restraint of these occult
(mental) powers than that of the bodily ones that Ojas is produced.297
By now he was beginning to learn that there was more than one way of
opening the Lion's jaws; and that gentleness and humility would often succeed
where brutality and much boasting were sure to fail. The higher he ascended
into the realms of the Ruach the more he realized the irrational folly of
performing wonders before a mob of gargoyle-headed apes, of pulling the
strings of mystical marionettes and reducing himself to the level of an occult
Punch and Judy showman. He had attained to powers that were beyond the
normal, and now he carried them secretly like some precious blade of Damascus
steel, hidden in a velvet sheath, concealed from view, but ever ready to hand.
He did not display his weapon to the wanton, neither did he brandish it before
the {195} eyes of the gilded courtezan --- Babylon, thou harlot of the seven
mansions of God's Glory! But he kept it free from rust, sharp and glittering
bright, so that when the time came wherein he should be called upon to use it,
it might leap forth from its sheath like a flash of lightning from betwixt the
lips of God, and slay him who had ventured to cross his path, silently,
without even so much as grating against his bones.
{196}
297 Possibly the restraint of Brahmachビya produced the Siddhis,
and that further restraint in its turn produced an accumulation
of these occult powers, the benefit accruing from which is again
placed to the credit of the bodily powers.
PAN TO ARTEMIS
UNCHARMABLE charmer
Of Bacchus and Mars
In the sounding rebounding
Abyss of the stars!
O virgin in armour,
Thine arrows unsling
In the brilliant resilient
First rays of the spring!
By the force of the fashion
Of love, when I broke
Through the shroud, through the cloud,
Through the storm, through the smoke,
To the mountain of passion
Volcanic that woke ---
By the rage of the mage
I invoke, I invoke!
By the midnight of madness: ---
The lone-lying sea,
The swoon of the moon,
Your swoon into me,
The sentinel sadness
Of cliff-clinging pine,
That night of delight
You were mine, you were mine!
{197}
You were mine, O my saint,
My maiden, my mate,
By the might of the right
Of the night of our fate.
Though I fall, though I faint,
Though I char, though I choke,
By the hour of our power
I invoke, I invoke!
By the mystical union
Of fairy and faun,
Unspoken, unbroken ---
The dust to the dawn! ---
A secret communion
Unmeasured, unsung,
The listless, resistless,
Tumultuous tongue! ---
O virgin in armour,
Thine arrows unsling,
In the brilliant resilient
First rays of the spring!
No Godhead could charm her,
But manhood awoke ---
O fiery Valkyrie,
I invoke, I invoke!
ALEISTER CROWLEY.
{198}
{Illustration opposite page 199 described:
"The Interpreter." (script lettering at base, credited at lower right "Carl
Hentschel Ph. Lc.")
This is a monochrome color tinted photo of a female violinist. She stands
on a white draped block, the background is white, except for the floor which
seems to be wooden and is interrupted by the block. She is garbed in a black
robe, rose-cross on chest, hood turned back and over hair with eye-in-triangle
seen only as three or four points of the glory. Her head is turned in profile
to the right until the shoulders and torso --- 3/4 profile. All five toes of
her right foot are bare and to be seen jutting out of the robe directly toward
the front. She cradles the violin between chin and left shoulder, left
fingers holding a chord on the frets and back of left hand toward the viewer
and to the side. She holds the bow vertically and tilted away over the
strings slightly toward the back. Her right hand lightly grasps the end of
the bow about waist high.}
THE INTERPRETER
MOTHER of Light, and the Gods! Mother of Music, awake!
Silence and speech are at odds; Heaven and Hell are at
stake.
By the Rose and the Cross I conjure; I constrain by the
Snake and the Sword;
I am he that is sworn to endure --- Bring us the word of the
Lord!
By the brood of the Bysses of Brightening, whose God was
my sire;
By the Lord of the Flame and Lightning, the King of
the Spirits of Fire;
By the Lord of the Waves and the Waters, the King of the
Hosts of the Sea,
The fairest of all of whose daughters was mother to me;
By the Lord of the Winds and the Breezes, the king of the
Spirits of Air,
In whose bosom the infinite ease is that cradled me there;
By the Lord of the Fields and the Mountains, the King of
the Spirits of Earth
That nurtured my life at his fountains from the hour of my
birth;
{199}
By the Wand and the Cup I conjure; by the Dagger and
Disk I constrain;
I am he that is sworn to endure; make thy music again!
I am Lord of the Star and the Seal; I am Lord of the Snake
and the Sword;
Reveal us the riddle, reveal! Bring us the word of the Lord!
As the flame of the sun, as the roar of the sea, as the storm
of the air,
As the quake of the earth --- let it soar for a boon, for a bane,
for a snare,
For a lure, for a light, for a kiss, for a rod, for a scourge, for
a sword ---
Bring us thy burden of bliss --- Bring us the word of the
Lord!
PERDURABO.
{200}
THE DAUGHTER OF THE
HORSELEECH
A FABLE
Tria sunt insaturabilia, et quartum, quod nunquam dicit: Sufficit.
Infernus, et os vulvae. ... --- Prov. xxx. 16.
THE Great White Spirit stretched Himself and yawned. He had done an honest
six day's work if ever a man did; yet in such physical training was He from
His lengthy "cure in that fashionable Spa Pralaya that he was not in the least
fatigued. It was the Loi du RＱos Hebdomadaire that had made Him throw down
His tools.
"Anyway, the job's finished!" He said, looking round Him complacently.
Even His critical eye assured Him that it was very good.
And indeed ti must be admitted that He had every right to crow. With no
better basis than the Metaphysical Absolute of the Qabalists he had
unthinkably but efficiently formulated Infinite Space, filled the said Space
with Infinite Light, concentrated the Light into a Smooth-pointed Whitehead
(not the torpedo) and emanated Himself as four hundred successive
intelligences all the way from Risha Qadisha in Atziluth down to where
intelligence ends, and England begins. {201}
He took a final survey and again faintly murmured: "Very good! Beautifully
arranged, too!" He added, "not a hole anywhere!"
It somewhat surprised Him, therefore, when a tiny, tiny silvery little
laugh came bell-like in His ear. It was so tiny that he could hardly credit
the audacity of the idea, but for all its music, the laugh certainly sounded
as if some one were mocking Him.
He turned sharply round (and this was one of His own special attributes, as
transcending the plane where activity and rotundity are incompatibles) but saw
nothing; and putting His legs up, lighted His long pipe and settled down to a
quiet perusal of a fascinating "cosmic romance" called Berashith by two
pseudonymous authors, G. O. Varr and L. O. Heem --- of ingenious fancy,
exalted imaginative faculty, and a tendency, which would later be deemed
undesirable, to slop over into the filthiest details whenever the love-
interest became dominant. Oh, but it was a most enthralling narrative!
Beginning with a comic account of the creation, possibly intended as a satire
on our men of science or our men of religion --- 'twould serve equally well in
either case --- it went on to a thrilling hospital scene. The love-interest
comes in chapter ii.; chapter iii. has an eviction scene, since when there
have been no snakes in Ireland; chapter iv. gives us a first-rate murder, and
from that moment the authors never look back.
But the Great White Spirit was destined to have his day of repose
disturbed.
He had just got to the real masterpiece of literature "And Adam knew Hevah
his woman," which contains all that ever has been said or ever can be said
upon the sex-problem in its {202} one simple, sane, clean truth, when glancing
up, he saw that after all He had overlooked something. In the Infinite
Universe which he had constructed there was a tiny crack.
A tiny, tiny crack.
Barely an inch of it.
Well, the matter was easily remedied. As it chanced, there was a dainty
little Spirit (with gossamer wings like a web of steel, and scarlet tissue of
silk for his robes) flitting about, brandishing his tiny sword and spear in a
thoroughly warlike manner.
"Shun!" said the Great White Spirit.
"By the right, dress!
"Snappers, one pace forward, march!
"Prepare to stop leak!
"Stop leak!"
But the matter was not thus easily settled. After five hours' strenuous
work, the little spirit was exhausted,and the hole apparently no nearer being
filled than before.
He returned to the Great White Spirit.
"Beg pardon, sir!" he said; "but I can't fill that there 'ole nohow."
"No matter," answered the Great White Spirit, with a metaphysical double
entendre. "You may go!"
If anything, the crack was bigger than before, it seemed to Him. "This,"
He said, "is clearly the job for Bartzabel." And he despatched a "speed"
message for that worthy spirit.
Bartzabel lost no time in answering the summons. Of flaming, radiant, far-
darting gold was his crown; flashing hither and thither more swiftly than the
lightning were its rays. His head was like the Sun in its strength, even at
{203} high noon. His cloak was of pure amethyst, flowing behind him like a
mighty river; his armour was of living gold, burnished with lightning even to
the greaves and the armed feet of him; he radiated an intolerable splendour of
gold and he bore the Sword and balance of Justice. Mighty and golden were his
wide-flashing wings!
Terrible in his might, he bowed low before the Great White Spirit, and
proceeded to carry out the order.
For five and twenty years he toiled at the so easy task; then, flinging
down his weapons in a rage, he returned before the face of his Master and,
trembling with passion, cast himself down in wrath and despair.
"Pah!" said the Great White Spirit with a smile; "I might have known better
than to employ a low material creature like yourself. Send Graphiel to Me!"
The angry Bartzabel, foaming with horrid rage, went off, and Graphiel
appeared.
All glorious was the moon-like crown of the great Intelligence Graphiel.
His face was like the Sun as it appears beyond the veil of this earthly
firmament. His warrior body was like a tower of steel, virginal strong.
Scarlet were his kingly robes, and his limbs were swathed in young leaves
of lotus; for those limbs were stronger than any armour ever forged in heaven
or hell. Winged was he with wings of gold that are the Wind itself; his sword
of green fire flamed in his right hand, and in his left he held the blue
feather of Justice, unstirred by the wind of his flight, or the upheaval of
the universe.
But after five and sixty centuries of toil, though illumined with
intelligence almost divine, he had to confess himself defeated. {204}
"Sir," he cried strongly, "this is a task for Kamael the mighty and all his
host of Seraphim!"
"I will employ them on it," said the Great White Spirit.
Then the skies flamed with wrath; for Kamael the mighty and his legions
flew from the South, and saluted their Creator. Behold the mighty one, behold
Kamael the strong! His crownless head was like a whirling wheel of amethyst,
and all the forces of the earth and heaven revolved therein. His body was the
mighty Sea itself, and it bore the scars of crucifixion that had made it two
score times stronger than it was before. He too bore the wings and weapons of
Space and of Justice; and in himself he was that great Amen that is the
beginning and the end of all.
Behind him were the Seraphim, the fiery Serpents. On their heads the
triple tongue of fire; their glory like unto the Sun, their scales like
burning plates of steel; they danced like virgins before their lord, and upon
the storm and roar of the sea did they ride in their glory.
"Sir," cried the Archangel, "sir," cried Kamael the mighty one, and his
legions echoed the roar of his voice, "hast Thou called us forth to perform so
trivial a task? Well, let it be so!"
"Your scorn," the Great White Spirit replied mildly, "is perhaps not
altogether justified. Though the hole be indeed but a bare inch --- yet
Graphiel owns himself beaten."
"I never thought much of Graphiel!" sneered the archangel, and his serpents
echoed him till the world was filled with mocking laughter.
But when he had left, he charged them straitly that the work must be
regarded seriously. It would never do to fail! {205}
So for aeons three hundred and twenty and five did they labour with all
their might.
But the crack was not diminished by an hair's breadth; nay, it seemed
bigger than before --- a very gape in the womb of the universe.
Crestfallen, Kamael the mighty returned before the Great White Spirit, his
serpents drooping behind him; and they grovelled before the throne of that
All-powerful One.
He dismissed them with a short laugh, and a wave of His right hand. If He
was disturbed, He was too proud to show it. "This," he said to himself, "is
clearly a matter for Elohim Gibor."
Therefore He summoned that divine power before Him.
The crown of Elohim Gibor was Space itself; the two halves of his brain
were the Yea and Nay of the Universe; his breath was the breath of very Life;
his being was the Mahalingam of the First, beyond Life and Death the generator
from Nothingness. His armour was the Primal Water of Chaos. The infinite
moon-like curve of his body; the flashing swiftness of his Word, that was the
Word that formulated that which was beyond Chaos and Cosmos; the might of him,
greater than that of the Elephant and of the Lion and of the Tortoise and of
the Bull fabled in Indian legend as the supports of the four letters of the
Name; the glory of him, that was even as that of the Sun which is before all
and beyond all Suns, of which the stars are little sparks struck off as he
battled in the Infinite against the Infinite --- all these points the Great
White Spirit noted and appreciated. This is certainly the person, thought He,
to do my business for me.
But alas! for five, and for twenty-five, and for sixty-five, {206} and for
three hundred and twenty-five myriads of myriads of myriads of kotis of crores
of lakhs of asankhayas of mahakalpas did he work with his divine power --- and
yet that little crack was in nowise filled, but rather widened!
The god returned. "O Great White Spirit!" he whispered --- and the
Universe shook with fear at the voice of him --- "Thou, and Thou alone, art
worthy to fill this little crack that Thou hast left."
Then the Great White Spirit arose and formulated Himself as the Pillar of
Infinitude, even as the Mahalingam of Great Shiva the Destroyer, who openeth
his eye, and All is Not. And behold! He was balanced in the crack, and the
void was filled, and Nature was content. And Elohim Gibor, and Kamael the
mighty and his Seraphim, and Graphiel, and Bartzabel, and all the inhabitants
of Madim shouted for joy and gave glory and honour and praise to the Great
White Spirit; and the sound of their rejoicing filled the Worlds.
Now for one thousand myriad eternities the Great White Spirit maintained
Himself as the Pillar of Infinitude in the midst of the little crack that he
had overlooked; and lo! He was very weary.
"I cannot stay like this for ever," He exclaimed; and returned into His
human shape, and filled the bowl of His pipe, and lit it, and meditated. ...
And I awoke, and behold it was a dream.
Then I too lit my pipe, and meditated.
"I cannot see," thought I, "that the situation will be in any way amended,
even if we agree to give them votes."
ETHEL RAMSAY.
{207}
THE DREAMER
IN the grey dim Dawn where the Souls Unborn
May look on the Things to Be;
A tremulous Shade, a Thing Unmade,
Stood Lost by the silent Sea;
And shuddering fought the o'erwhelming thought
Of Its own Identity.
Is the frenzied form that derides the storm
A ghost of the days to Be?
And the restless wave but the troubled grave
Of Its own dread Imagery?
Or merely a wraith cast up without faith
From the jaws of a Phantom Sea?
To his Love Unborn in that grey dim Dawn
Did the Shade of the Dreamer flee;
Nor marked he the Flood where the Vision had stood
Which mocks for Eternity.
For the Soul he would wed was the Hope that had fled
In the battle with Destiny.
ETHEL ARCHER.
{208}
MR. TODD
A MORALITY
BY
THE AUTHOR OF "ROSA MUNDI"
" ""In Memoriam"
LILITH
" "Obiit Kal. Mai." 1906
MR. TODD
PERSONS OF THE PLAY
GRANDFATHER OSSORY ("eighty-one")
ALFRED OSSORY ("fifty"), "his son, a shipowner"
EMILY OSSORY ("forty-five"), "his wife"
EUPHEMIA OSSORY ("eighteen"), "his daughter"
CHARLEY OSSORY ("ten"), "his son"
GEORGE DELHOMME ("twenty-four"), "of the ministry of Foreign Affairs"
DIONYSUS CARR ("thirty-four"), "Professor of Experimental Eugenics in the"
" University of T｜ingen"; and
MR. TODD
THOMAS, "a footman"
A HOSPITAL NURSE
SCENE: "The sitting-room in" OSSORY'S "house in Grosvenor Square."
TIME: "Midday."
"The persons are in correct morning dress, except the invalid "GRANDFATHER, "who"
"is in a scarlet dressing-gown, with gold embroidery, and "CARR, "who affects"
"a pseudo-Bohemian extravagance. He wears a low collar, a very big bow-tie"
"of gorgeous colours, a pale yellow waistcoat, a rich violet lounge suit"
"with braid, patent leather boots, pale blue socks. But the refinement and"
"breeding of the man are never in question. His hair is reddish, curly,"
"luxuriant. He is clean-shaved, and wears an eye-glass with a"
"tortoiseshell rim."
TODD "has a face of keen pallor; he is dressed in black, with a flowing black"
"cape, black motor-cap. He gives the impression of great age combined with"
"great activity."
ACT I
GRANDFATHER "sunk in melancholy in his arm-chair;" MRS. OSSORY "red and weeping;"
OSSORY "(a British heavy father) grief-stricken;" EUPHEMIA "sobbing at the"
"table;" CARR "and "DELHOMME "cold and hot respectively in their expression of"
"sympathy." MR. TODD "is at the door, his cloak on, his hat in his hand."
OSSORY. It is kind of you to have so far to break the sad news, my dear
sir. I hope that we shall see you again soon under --- under --- under
happier circumstances.
[TODD "bows very low to the company as if deeply sympathising; but turning"
"his face to the audience, smiles as if at some secret jest. The actor"
"should study hard to make this smile significant of the whole"
"character, as revealed in the complete play; for" TODD "does not develop"
"through, but is explained by, the plot." TODD "goes out;" OSSORY
" "follows, and returns in a minute. There is no sound in the room but"
"that of "EUPHEMIA'S "sobs."
OSSORY "[returning, throws himself into a chair near the door]." Dear me!
dear me! Poor, poor Henry!
DELHOMME. In the very flower of his life. ...
CARR ["solemnly"]. Truly, my dear sir, in the midst of life we are in death.
{213}
[EUPHEMIA "looks up and darts a furious glance at him; for she knows that he"
"is mocking British solemnity and cant."
DELHOMME. Crushed --- crushed in a moment ----
MRS. OSSORY ["very piously"]. Without a warning. Ah well, we must hope that
--- ["Her voice becomes a mumble."
DELHOMME. I will bid you good morning; I am sure you will not wish
strangers to intrude upon your grief. If there is anything that I can do ----
MRS. OSSORY ["conbentionally"]. Pray do not leave us yet, Monsieur Delhomme.
Lunch is just ready.
DELHOMME. I really think that I should go.
["He shakes hands."
MRS. OSSORY. Good morning. We are so grateful for you sympathy and
kindness. ["He turns to the old man."] Grandfather is asleep.
[DELHOMME "shakes hands coldly with "CARR, "wondering why he does not offer to"
"come with him. He goes to "EUPHEMIA.
EUPHEMIA. ["Jumps up and gives her hand, hiding her tear-stained face. She"
"has a slight lisp."] Good morning, monsieur. ["He bends over her hand and"
"kisses it"
DELHOMME. Always my sympathy and devotion, mademoiselle.
EUPHEMIA. Thank you -- thank you.
["Her real attitude to him is listlessness bordering on aversion, but"
"constrained by politeness; he mistakes it for modesty striving with"
"young love."]
DELHOMME. Good morning, Mr. Ossory. Anything I can do, of course;
anything I can do. {214}
OSSORY. thank you, my dear lad. Anything you can do, of course --- I will
let you know at once. By the way, you haven't asked her yet, I suppose?
DELHOMME. NOt yet, sir. I am rather diffident: I do not care to
precipitate affairs.
OSSORY. Well, I am really very anxious to see her future assured. And you
know our proverb, "The early bird catches the worm." ["Points to him, and over"
"his shoulder to her."] There's our scientific friend, eh?
DELHOMME. Oh, I'm not afraid of him. A "farceur," no more, though sometimes
a pleasant one.
OSSORY. "Tu t'en f----, a, mon vieux chameau? Quoi?"
DELHOMME. ["very disgusted at "OSSORY'S "vulgarity, which mistakes "argot "for "
chic]. Well, sir, as soon as I can find a favourable opportunity ---
OSSORY. Grief is a good mood to catch them in, my boy. I know! I know!
I've been a bit of a dog in my time.
["Shakes hands as they go out."
DELHOMME. ["returning"]. One word in your ear, sir, if I may. It's purely
instinctive --- but --- but --- well, sir, I mistrust that man Todd!
OSSORY. Thanks: I believe you may be right.
DELHOMME. Good-bye, sir!
OSSORY. Good-bye.
MRS. OSSORY ["rising"]. Alfred, that man is a devil!
OSSORY. What, little Delhomme?
MRS. OSSORY. Of course not, Alfred. How can you be so silly? Todd!
OSSORY. Why, whatever do you mean?
MRS. OSSORY. I don't mean anything but what I say. {215} He's a devil;
I'm sure of it. I know it was his fault, somehow.
OSSORY. Nonsense, nonsense, my dear! He was not even in the car.
MRS. OSSORY. It was his car, Alfred.
OSSORY. You're a fool, Emily.
CARR. I think Mr. Ossory means that we could hardly hold him responsible
if one of his steamers ran down a poor polar bear on a drifting iceberg.
MRS. OSSORY. I know I'm quite unreasonable; it's an instinct, and
intuition. You know Saga of Bond Street said how psychic I was!
["During the next few speeches" CARR "and" EUPHEMIA "correspond by signs and"
"winks."
GRANDFATHER. When I was in Australia forty-four years ago there was a very
good fellow of the name of Brown in Ballarat. Brown of Buninyong we used to
call him. I remember ----
MRS. OSSORY. ["bursting into tears"]. How can you, grandpa? Can't you
realise that poor Henry is dead?
GRANDFATHER. Henry dead?
MRS. OSSORY. Didn't you hear? He was run over by Mr. Todd's motor-car
this afternoon in Piccadilly.
GRANDFATHER. There, what did I tell you? I always disliked that man Todd
from the first moment that I heard his name. Dear, dear! I always knew he
would bring us trouble.
OSSORY. Well, this doesn't seem to have been his fault, as far as we can
see at present. But I assure you that I share {216} your sentiments. I have
heard very ill things said of him, I can tell you.
MRS. OSSORY. Who is he? Does any one know? A man of family, I hope. How
dreadful for poor Henry if he had been run over by a plebeian!
OSSORY. Well, we hardly know --- I wonder if his credit is good. ["His"
"voice sinks to a whisper as the awful suspicion that he may be financially"
"unsound strikes him."]
CARR. ["sharply, as if pained"]. Oh, oh! Don't suggest such a thing
without the very best reason. It would be too terrible!
["This time "EUPHEMIA "laughs."
OSSORY. My dear boy, I deliberately say it. I have the very best of
reasons for supposing him to be very deeply dipped. Very deeply dipped.
CARR. ["Hides his head in his hands and groans, pretending to be"
"overwhelmed by the tragedy. Looks up."] Well, I was told he other day that he
held a lot of land in London and has more tenants than the Duke of
Westminster!
OSSORY. Well, we'll hope its is true. But in these days one never knows.
And he leaves a very unpleasant impression wherever he goes. If I were not an
Englishman I should say that the feeling I had for him was not very far
removed from actual fear!
CARR. well said, sir. Hearts of oak in the City, eh?
[OSSORY "glares at him suspiciously." EUPHEMIA "both enjoys the joke and is"
"angry that her father is the butt of it."
EUPHEMIA. Well, I'm not afraid of him --- I think I rather like him. I'm
sure he's a good man, when one knows him. {217}
CARR. Oh, Todd's a good sort! I think I must be going, sir.
EUPHEMIA. I wish you would stay and help me with the letters, Mr. Carr.
We shall have a great deal to do in the next day or two.
CARR. Well, if you really wish it, I will try and be of what service I
can.
[CARR, "with his back to audience, laughs with his hands, behind it."
MRS. OSSORY. That is indeed kind of you, Professor!
[CARR'S "hand-laugh grows riotous."
GRANDFATHER. Where is Nurse? I want my whisky and milk.
MRS. OSSORY. ["Rings."] I shall go down to lunch, Alfred. lunch when you
like, please, everybody. I fear the house will be much upset for a day or
two. You must go down to the mortuary at once. I am really too upset to do
anything more.
CARR. ["Over" L. "To " EUPHEMIA.] She hasn't done much yet!
EUPHEMIA. What a brute you are!
MRS. OSSORY. And we can't possibly go to the dear Duchess on Friday!
CARR. ["almost in tears"]. Forgive my seeming callousness! ON my honour, I
never thought of that. "Sunt lachrymae rerum.'
["A nurse and a footman appear. The latter wheels "GRANDFATHER "out of the"
"room, using the greatest care not to shake him." {218}
GRANDFATHER. Oh, my sciatica! You careless scoundrel, you're shaking me to
pieces! Emily, do get a gentler footman. Oh! Oh! Nobody cares for the poor
old man. I am thrown on the dust-heap. Oh, Emily, may you suffer one day as
I suffer! Oh! Oh! Oh!
["The Nurse comes forward and soothes him."
NURSE. You must really be more careful of my patient, Thomas.
THOMAS. I humbly beg pardon, miss. I think the balls is gritty, miss.
I'll ile 'em to-morrow.
GRANDFATHER. There, you see, Nurse is the only one that loves me. I should
like to marry you, Nurse, eh? And cut 'em all out?
MRS. OSSORY. ["Glares at Nurse in silence, not trusting herself to speak to"
"her."] Now, grandpa, don't be silly! You know how we all love you! ["She goes"
"to the chair and shakes it, unseen."] Thomas, there you are again! How can
you be so thoughtless?
GRANDFATHER. Oh! Oh! Oh!
["They get him out of the room."
MRS. OSSORY ["returning"]. Good-bye, Mr. Carr. It is so good of you to
help.
CARR. Not at all, Mrs. Ossory, not at all. I am only too glad. You
should try and get a nap after lunch.
MRS. OSSORY. I will --- I really think I will. ["Exit."
CARR. ["Closes the door, turns to " EUPHEMIA, "executes a quiet hornpipe,"
"goes to " EUPHEMIA, "holds out his arms."] Sweetheart!
EUPHEMIA. How dare you! How can you! With poor Uncle Henry lying dead!
{219}
CARR. Why have a long Latin name if you mean to play the English
hypocrite? Who was poor Uncle Henry? Did you love poor Uncle Henry so dearly
as all that? How old were you when your father quarrelled with poor Uncle
Henry? About two and a half! The only thing you know about poor Uncle Henry
is that poor Uncle Henry once tickled your toes. [EUPHEMIA "gives a little"
"scream of horror."] Enough humbug about poor Uncle Henry! ... Sweetheart!
EUPHEMIA. Mine own!
["They em brace and kiss with great intensity."
EUPHEMIA. Unhand me, villain! ...
But one has to be decent about one's relations. Even the humbug of it is
rather fun.
CARR. There speaks the daughter of Shakespeare's country. I am sure the
Bacon imbroglio was a consummate practical joke on somebody's part. As I see
the joke, I take no side in the controversy!
But we should look on the bright side of things!
["Pompously."]
Poor Uncle Henry, dead and turned to clay,
May feed the Beans that keep the Bile away.
Oh that whom all the world did once ignore
Should purge a peer or ease an emperor!
EUPHEMIA. But where is the bright side of our love?
CARR. Why, our love!
EUPHEMIA. Cannot you, cannot you understand?
CARR. Not unless you tell me!
EUPHEMIA. I can't tell you. {220}
CARR. --- Anything I don't know.
EUPHEMIA. Oh, you laugh even at me!
CARR. Because I love you. so I laugh at humanity: if I took men seriously
I sold have to cut my throat.
EUPHEMIA. So you don't take me seriously either?
CARR. If I did, I should have to cut ---
EUPHEMIA. What?
CARR. My lucky!
EUPHEMIA. What a dreadful expression! Where do you learn such things?
CARR. I notice you don't have to ask what it means.
EUPHEMIA. Stop teasing, darling!
CARR. I'm not teething! That's what I complain of; you always treat me as
a baby!
EUPHEMIA. Come to him mummy, then!
CARR. You're not my mummy! That's what I complain of; you always treat me
as a Cheops, ever since that night on the Great Pyramid!
EUPHEMIA. ["Hides her head in his bosom."] Oh shame, shame!
CARR. Not a bit of it! Think of the infinite clearness of the night ---
"The magical green of the sunset,
The magical blue of the Nile."
The rising of the great globed moon --- the stars starting from their
fastnesses like sentries on the alarm --- the isolation of our stance upon the
summit --- the faery distance of Cairo and its spear-sharp minarets --- and we
--- and we ---
EUPHEMIA. Oh me! Oh me!
CARR. Shall I remind you ---- {221}
EUPHEMIA. Must "I" remind "you?"
CARR. No; my memory is excellent.
EUPHEMIA. Of what you swore?
CARR. I swore at the granite for not being moss.
EUPHEMIA. You swore to love me always.
CARR. The champagne at the Mena House is not champagne; it is --- the cork
of it is labelled "Good intentions."
EUPHEMIA. Then you didn't mean it?
CARR. ["kissing her"]. Am I, or am I not --- a plain question as between
man and man --- loving you now?
EUPHEMIA. Oh, I know! But I am so worried that everything most sure seems
all shaken in the storm of it! I was glad --- glad, glad! --- when that Mr.
Todd came in with his news, so that I could have a real good cry. ["Very close"
"to him, in a tragic whisper."] Something has happened --- something is going
to happen.
CARR. And something has not happened --- I knew it was a long time since
we missed a week. By the way, have you heard the terrible news about Queen
Anne? Dead, poor soul! Never mind, silly, you told me most dramatically, and
it shall be counted unto you for righteousness.
EUPHEMIA. I think you're the greatest brute in the world --- and I love
you.
CARR. How reciprocal of you!
EUPHEMIA. Sweet!
CARR. On my honour, I haven't a single chocolate on me. Have a cigar?
["Business with case."
EUPHEMIA. Be serious! You must marry me at once.
CARR. then how can I be serious! I understand from a gentleman named Shaw
that marriage is only a joke --- no, not Shaw! Vaughan, or Gorell Barnes, or
some name like that!
EUPHEMIA. But you will, won't you?
CARR. No, I won't, will I?
["Sings."] "I have a wife and bairnies three,
And I'm no sure how ye'd agree, lassie!"
EUPHEMIA. What? ["She releases herself."
CARR. Well, the wife's dead, as a matter of fact. Her name was Hope-of-
ever-doing-something-in-the-Wide-Wide. But the bairns are alive: young
Chemistry, already apt at repartee --- I should say retort; ,little Biology,
who's rather a worm between you and me and the gate-post; and poor puny,
puling, sickly little Metaphysics, with only one tooth in his upper jaw!
Oh, don't cry! I love you as I always did and always shall. I'll see you
through it somehow!
But don't talk foolishness about marriage! We are happy because when I
come to see you I come to see you. If we were living together you would soon
get to know me as the brute who grumbles at the cooking and wants to shut
himself up and work --- ["mimicking her voice"] "And I wouldn't mind so much if
it were work, but all he does is to sit in a chair and smoke and stare at
nothing and swear if any one comes in to ask him if my darling news old rose
chiffon moir Directoire corsets match my eau-de-Nil suede tussore appliqu
garters." See?
EUPHEMIA. But --- hush!
["She flies away to the other end of the room. The door opens. Enter"
THOMAS. {223}
THOMAS. Mr. Delomm would like to see you for a moment on urgent business.
["the lovers exchange signals privately."
EUPHEMIA. Show him up.
THOMAS. Yes, miss. [THOMAS "goes out."
CARR. I will go and get a snack. Trust me --- love me ---
EUPHEMIA. I will --- I do.
["They embrace." CARR "goes to the door --- turns."
CARR. Love me --- trust me.
[EUPHEMIA "flies to him, kisses him again, nods."
EUPHEMIA. I will --- I do --- I love you --- I trust you.
CARR. Sweetheart! ["they kiss, furtively, as if hearing footsteps."] So
long!
["She retreats into the room, and blows him a kiss."
CARR. ["outside, loudly"]. Good morning, Miss Ossory!
EUPHEMIA. ["sinking into a chair, faintly"]. good-bye --- no. no! Till ---
when?
["She is almost crying, but sets her teeth and rises."
THOMAS. ["opening the door"]. Mr. Delomm.
["Enter" DELHOMME.
DELHOMME. I am a thousand times sorry to intrude upon your grief, Miss
Ossory, but ----
EUPHEMIA. Uncle Henry was nothing to me.
DELHOMME. In any case, I should not have spoken to you, but my Embassy has
suddenly called me. I am to go to Constantinople --- I may be a month away
--- and --- I want to see you first.
EUPHEMIA. Of course, to say good-bye. It is sweet of you to think of us,
Monsieur Delhomme. {224}
DELHOMME. Of you --- of thee. How difficult is the English language to
express subtle differences!
You must have seen, Miss Ossory ----
EUPHEMIA. ["dully"]. I have seen nothing.
DELHOMME. May I speak?
EUPHEMIA. What is this? Oh!
DELHOMME. I need not tell you, I see. My unspoken sympathy and devotion
----
EUPHEMIA. Spare me, I pray you.
DELHOMME. I must speak. Mademoiselle, I am blessed in loving you. I
offer you the sympathy and devotion of a lifetime.
EUPHEMIA. I beg you to spare me. It is impossible.
DELHOMME. It is the truth --- it is necessary --- I should kill myself if
you refused.
EUPHEMIA. My father ----
DELHOMME. Your respected father is my warmest advocate.
EUPHEMIA. You distress me, sir. It is impossible.
DELHOMME. Ah, fairest of maidens, well I know your English coyness and
modesty! ["Taking her hand."] Ah, give me this pure hand for good, for ever!
This hand which has been ever open to the misery of the poor, ever closed to
box the enemies of your country!
EUPHEMIA. It is not mine!
DELHOMME. I do not understand. I am too worn a slave in the world's
market for my fettered soul to grasp your innocence. Ah! you are vowed to OUr
Lady, perhaps? Yet, believe me ----
EUPHEMIA. Oh, sir, you distress me --- indeed you distress me! {225}
DELHOMME. I would not brush the bloom from off the lily --- and yet ----
EUPHEMIA. My god! --- Monsieur Delhomme, I am going to shock you. Oh!
Oh!
["She buries her face in her hands. He starts back, surprised at the turn"
"things are taking, and at the violence of her emotion and of its"
"expression."
DELHOMME. What is it! Are you ill! Have I ---
EUPHEMIA. ["Steady and straight before him."] I am another man's --- his
--- his mistress. There!
["He reels, catches a chair and saves himself. Her breast heaves;"
"swallowing a sob, she runs out of the room."
DELHOMME. ["Utterly dazed"]. I --- I --- oh, my god! My father! My God!
I thought her --- oh, I dare not say it --- I will not think it. ["On his"
"knees, clutching at the chair."] My god, what shall I do! She was my life, my
hope, my flower, my star, my sun! What shall I do! Help me! help me! Who
shall console me? {"He continues in silent prayer, sobbing"].
["The door opens;" MR. TODD "steals into the room on tiptoe, bends over him"
"and whispers in his ear. The expression of anguish fails from his"
"face; a calm steals over him; he smiles in beatitude wand his pips"
"move in rapture. He rises, shakes" TODD "by the hand; they go out"
"together."
[GRANDFATHER "wheeled into the room by" THOMAS, CHARLEY "walking by him. The"
"servant leaves them."
GRANDFATHER. bitter cold, Charley, for us old people! {226} Nothing right
nowadays! Oh, my poor leg! Bitter, bitter cold! I mind me, more than sixty
years ago now --- oh dear! oh dear! run and tell Nurse I want my liniment! Oh
dear! oh dear! what a wretched world. Sciatics --- like rats gnawing, gnawing
at you, Charley.
CHARLEY. You frighten me, grampa! Why doesn't Mr. Carr come and play with
me?
GRANDFATHER. He has gone out with your mother. He'll come by-and-by, no
doubt. Run and fetch Nurse, Charley! [CHARLEY "runs off."
Oh dear! I wish I could find a good doctor. Nobody seems to do me any
good. It's pain, pain all the time. Nurse! can't you tell me of a good
doctor? For oh! for oh! ["He looks about him fearfully; his voice sinks to a"
"thrilled whisper"] I am so afraid --- afraid to die! Is there nobody ----
["Enter "TODD, "and stands by his chair, laying his hand on the old man's"
"shoulder. He looks up."
I wish you were a doctor, Mr. Todd. You have such a soothing touch.
Perhaps you are a doctor? I can get nobody to do me any good.
[TODD "whispers in his ear. The old man brightens up at once."
Why, yes! I should think that would relieve me at once. Very good! Very
good!
[TODD "wheels him out of the room, the old man laughing and chuckling."
"Enter" OSSORY "and" EUPHEMIA, "talking."
OSSORY. I want to say a word, girlie, about young Delhomme. {227} Er ---
well, we all grow older, you know --- one day --- er --- ah! Nice young
fellow, Delhomme!
EUPHEMIA. I refused him twenty minutes ago, father.
OSSORY. What? How the deuce did you know what I was going to say? Bless
me, I believe there may be something in this psychic business after all!
EUPHEMIA. Yes, father, I feel I have strange powers!
OSSORY. But look here, girlie, why did you refuse him> "Reculer pour mieux"
"sauter" is all very well, don't you know, but he gives twice who gives quickly.
EUPHEMIA. That's the point, father. If you accept a man the first time he
asks you it's practically bigamy!
OSSORY. But --- little girl, you ought to accept him at once. He will
make you an excellent husband --- I wish it. ["Pompously".] It has ever been
the desire of my heart to see my Phemie happily mated before I lay my old
bones in the grave.
EUPHEMIA. But I don't love him. He's a quirk.
OSSORY. Tut! Nonsense! Appetite comes with eating.
EUPHEMIA. But I don't care for "Hors d'oeuvre."
OSSORY. Euphemia, this is a very serious matter for your poor old father.
EUPHEMIA. What have you got to do with it? Really, father ----
OSSORY. I have everything to do with it. The fact is, my child --- here!
I'll make a clean breast of it. I've been gambling, and things have gone
wrong. Only temporarily, of course, you understand. Only temporarily. But
--- oh, if I had only kept out of Fidos!
EUPHEMIA. Is it a dog? ["Whistles."] Here, Fido, Fido! Trust, doogie,
trust! {228}
OSSORY. that's it! they won't trust, those dogs! to put it short --- ["a"
"spasm of agony crosses his face"] --- Good Lord alive, "I'm" short! If I can't
find a couple of hundred thousand before the twelfth I'll be hammered.
EUPHEMIA. And so ----?
OSSORY. Very decent young fellow, little Delhomme. I can borrow half a
million from him if I want it; but I don't care to unless --- unless things
--- unless you ----
EUPHEMIA. I'm the goods, am I? You old bear!
OSSORY. I know, Phemie, I know. It's those damned bulls on Wall Street!
How could I foresee ----
EUPHEMIA. AT least you might have foreseen that I was not a bale of
cotton.
OSSORY. But I shall be hammered, my dear child. We shall all have to go
to the workhouse!
EUPHEMIA. ["coldly"]. I thought mamma had three thousand a year of her own.
OSSORY. That's just what I say. The workhouse!
EUPHEMIA. My dear father, I really can't pity you. I think you're a fool,
and you've insulted me. Good morning! ["She goes out."
OSSORY. Oh, the disgrace of it, the shame of it! She little knows ----
How will the Receiver look at that Galapagos turtle deal? Receivers are
damned fools. And juries are worse. Ah, Phemie, so little a sacrifice for
the father who has given all for you --- and she refuses! Cruel! Cruel!
Which way can I turn? Is there nobody whose credit---- Let's think.
Jenkins? No good. Maur? Too suspicious --- a nasty, sly, sneaking fellow!
Higginbotham, Ramspittle, Rosenbaum, Hoggenheimer, Flipp, Montgomery, MacAn
--- no, hang it! {229} no hope in a Mac --- Schpliechenspitzel, Togahening,
Adams, Blitzenstein, Cznechzaditzch --- no use. I wonder where I caught that
cold! who the devil is there that I could ask?
["Enter" THOMAS --- OSSORY'S "back toward door."
THOMAS. Mr. Todd. ["Enter" TODD --- OSSORY "doesn't turn."
OSSORY. I can't see him, Thomas. ["Turns."] I beg your pardon, Mr. Todd.
The fact is, I'm damnably worried over pay-day. I really don't know you well
enough to ask you, perhaps, but the fact is, I've a good sound business
proposition which I must put before some one, and I believe you're the very
man to help me. Now ----
[TODD "takes him by the shoulder and whispers in his ear."
Why, really, that is good of you --- damned good of you! Why, damme, sir!
you're a public benefactor. Come, let us arrange the preliminaries ----
["They go out," OSSORY "clinging tightly to" TODD'S "arm."
"Enter" MRS. OSSORY "and" CARR, "dressed for walking."
MRS. OSSORY. She cut me! You saw it! She cut me absolutely dead!
CARR. Possibly she didn't see you.
["As "MRS. OSSORY "is not looking, he employs a gesture which lessens the"
"likelihood of this, by calling attention to her bulk."
MRS. OSSORY. I know she saw me. My only Duchess!
CARR. There's better duchesses in Burke than ever came out of it, Mrs.
Ossory. By the way, unless rumour lies, the jade! you can fly much higher
than a paltry Duchess!
MRS. OSSORY. Why, why, what do you mean? Oh, dear Professor, how sweet of
you! Or are you joking? Somehow {230} one never knows whether you are
serious or not! But you wouldn't make fun of my embarrassments --- Society is
so serious, isn't it? But, oh do! do tell me what they say!
CARR. Well, Mrs. Ossory --- you know our mysterious friend?
MRS. OSSORY. Mr. Todd?
CARR. Yes. Well, they say that --- he is a King in his own country.
MRS. OSSORY. And I've always disliked and distrusted him so! But perhaps
that was just the natural awe that I suppose one must always feel, even when
one doesn't know, you know. I wonder, now, if we could get him to a little
dinner. One could always pretend one didn't know who he was! Let me see,
now! Caviar de sterlet royale ----
CARR. Consomm royale, sole la royale, haunch of royal venison --- can't
insult him with mere baron of beef --- pouding royale, glace l'impＳatrice,
canap royale --- you'll be able to "feed" him all right!
MRS. OSSORY. How clever you are, Professor! Thank you so much. Now who
should we ask to meet him?
CARR. I rather expect you'll have to meet him "alone!"
MRS. OSSORY. "Tte--tte!" But would that be quite "proper," Professor?
CARR. How very English! --- all you English think that. But --- royalty
has its own etiquette.
["Enter" CHARLEY.
Come along, Charley boy, and show me how the new engine works! {231}
Never mind that old frump of a Duchess, Mrs. Ossory --- perhaps Mr. Todd
may call. ["Goes out with" CHARLEY.
MRS. OSSORY. I do hope he meant it. But he's such a terrible man for
pulling legs, as they call it. --- I can't think where Euphemia picks up all
her slang! -- If that plain, quiet man should really be a crowned King! Oh!
how I would frown at her! Ah! ah! Somebody coming.
["Enter" THOMAS.
THOMAS. Mr. Todd. ["Enter" TODD.
MRS. OSSORY. Oh, my dear Mr. Todd, I am so glad to see you! I'm in such
distress! You will help me, won't you?
[TODD "bows, smiles, and whispers in her ear. She smiles all over. "TODD
" "offers his arm. She goes out on it, giggling and wriggling with"
"pleasure. Enter" EUPHEMIA.
EUPHEMIA. I wonder where mother is! No, I don't want her. I'm too happy.
How I love him! How proud I am --- when another girl would be so shamed! I
love him! I love him! Oh, what a world of ecstasy is this! To be his, and
he mine! to be --- oh! oh! I cannot bear the joy of it. I want to sit down
and have a good cry. ["Sits, crying and laughing with the you of it."] Oh,
loving Father of all, what a world Thou hast made! What a gift is life! How
much it holds of love and laughter! Is there anything more, anything better?
I cannot believe it. Is there anything, anybody that could make me happier?
THOMAS. Mr. Todd. ["Enter" TODD.
EUPHEMIA. Good afternoon, Mr. Todd! So glad to see you! Why, how strange
you look! What have you to say to me? [TODD "whispers in her ear." {232}
EUPHEMIA. How splendid! You mean it? It is true? Better than all the
rest! Come, come!
["She throws her arm round his neck and runs laughing out of the room with"
"him."
["Enter" CARR "and" CHARLEY, "a toy steam-engine puffing in front of them; they"
"follow on hands and knees. The engine stops at the other end of the"
"room."
CHARLEY. Oh, my poor engine's stopped!
CARR. You must pour more spirit into it.
[CHARLEY "goes to the cupboard and gets it, busying himself until" CARR'S
" "exit. "CARR "signs heavily, and sits down thoughtfully."
Todd's been too frequently to this house. Well, Charley and I must get on
as best we can. Life is a hard thing, my god!
"Meantime there is our life here. Well?"
It seems sometimes to me as if all the world's wisdom were summed up in
that one Epicurus phrase. For if Todd has solved all their problems with a
word, at least he supplies no hint of the answer to mine. For I --- it seems
I hardly know what question to ask!
Oh, Charley boy, the future is with you, and with your children --- or, can
humanity every solve the great secret? Is progress a delusion? Are men mad?
Is the great secret truly transcendental? We are like madmen, beating out our
poor brains upon the walls of the Universe.
Is there no Power that might reveal itself?
["Kneels."] Who art Thou before whom all things are equal, {233} being as
dust? Who givest his fame to the poet, his bankruptcy to the rich man? Who
dost distinguish between the just and the unjust? Thou keeper of all secrets,
of this great secret which I seek, and have nowise found! This secret for
whose very shadowing-forth in parable I, who am young, strong, successful,
beloved, most enviable of men, would throw it all away! Oh Thou who givest
that which none other can give, who art Thou? How can I bargain with Thee?
what shall I give that I may possess Thy secret? O question unavailing! For
I know not yet Thy name! Who art Thou? Who art Thou?
THOMAS ["opening the door"]. Mr. Todd. ["Enter" TODD.
CARR. ["rising"]. How are you? I'm afraid you find me distracted! Listen:
all my life I have sought --- nor counted the cost --- for the secret of
things. Science is baffled, for Knowledge hath no wings! Religion is
baffled, for Faith hath no feet! Life itself --- of what value is all this
coil and tumult? Who shall give me the secret? What is the secret?
[TODD "whispers in his ear."
Why, thanks, thanks! What a fool I have been! I have always known who you
were, of course, but how could I guess you had the key of things? Simple as A
B C --- or, rather, as A! And nothing to pay after all! "For of all Gods you
only love not gifts." ["Ushers" TODD "to the door."] I follow you.
[TODD "smiles kindly on him. They go out."
["The child turns; and, finding himself alone, begins to cry."
CHARLEY. My nice man has gone away. Old Todd has taken him away. I think
I hate that old Todd!
["Enter" TODD. {234}
I hate you! I hate you! Where is my nice man?
[TODD "whispers in his ear."
Oh, I see. It is when people get to be grown-ups that they don't like you
any more. But I like you, Mr. Todd. Carry me pick-a-back!
[TODD "takes" CHARLEY "on his shoulder, and goes dancing from the room, the"
"boy crowing with delight."
CURTAIN.
{235}
THE GNOME
LANTERN-LIGHT is over the fells
When the sun has sunken low;
Lantern-light and the moorland smells,
The rain on the good brown soil.
Over the moorland we go, we go,
Through the wet earth we toil. ...
Sunken, sunken was the sun
Ere ever the moon uprose,
And the tall dark trees cast shadows dun
Over the lonely way;
Over the moorland the long path goes
We trod at the close of day.
We sped to reach the dark green hill.
The Hill of the Bloody Bowl,
And the shadows were watching, watching us still
As we crept in the shadowless path,
Over the moor to the Mother Troll
With the heart that was pierced in wrath. {236}
Stumbling over the fallen leaves,
sliding over the dew,
Staring up at the barley sheaves
That nod in the autumn wind,
We pushed and jostled the twilight thro',
Shrilling to those behind.
And ere the night had grown to noon
We were under the Bloody Bowl,
And then uprose a huge pale moon.
Behind the shivering trees;
And so we found the Mother Troll
Well-skilled in mysteries.
She heard our coming, and rose to the door,
And we hurried eagerly through;
We entered in with a breeze from the moor,
And stood by the fading pyre.
The air was smoky, the flame was blue,
And the face of the Troll like fire.
And so we gave her the heart of the slain,
That was slain for a dead man's sake;
She chuckled low at each blackened vein
Gory an brown and torn;
She wriggled her sides like a wounded snake
As she squeezed the blood into a horn. {237}
Far into the fire she cast the blood,
And the flames grew twisted and red;
Her breast heaved with her passion's flood
As a hollow-eyed ghost arose
Like a cloud of stench from the rotting dead.
When a wind from a pest-house blows.
She clasped the ghost to her skinny dugs, ---
No other love might she know, ---
The dead man squirmed at her panting hugs,
But she had her passionate will,
And a sobbing breeze began to blow
From the top of the lonely hill.
And then a dim grey streak of dawn
Came, and the sad ghost fled,
With staring sockets and jaw-bone drawn,
Back to the desolate place;
The morning breeze grew still and dead
As it played around his face.
So we fled from the Mother Troll
Under the dawning grey;
We left the Hill of the Bloody Bowl;
Ere ever the sun uprose,
But the dead man's heart till Judgment-day
Shall there with the Troll repose.
VICTOR B. NEUBURG.
{238}
REVIEWS
DARE TO BE WISE. By JOHN McTAGGART ELLIS McTAGGART Doctor in Letters Fellow
and Lecturer of Trinity College in Cambridge, Fellow of the British
Academy. Watts and Co., 17 Johnson's Court, Fleet Street, E. C. Price 3"d".
Only the Price Threepence saved my reason.
"Dare to be Wise" is startling enough; but when one saw Who it was that
advised it ...
"Our object," quoth he ("our" being the "Heretics"), "is to promote
discussion upon religion, philosophy, and art. ..."
These desperate conspirators! What is the Parry-lytic Liar about to allow
such things in Trinity?
"In seeking truth of all sorts many virtues are needed." This daring
thinker!
"Happiness and misery have much to do with welfare." These burning words
may rekindle the fires of Smithfield.
"Here we find the need of courage. For, if we are to think on these
matters at all, we must accept the belief for which we have evidence, and we
must reject the belief for which we have no evidence. ... And, sometimes, this
is not easy."
This unworthy right hand!
We should not think of calling this Martyr to His Convictions, this
Revolutionary Thinker, an ass in a lion's skin. For asses can kick. Shall we
say a sheep in wolf's clothing? For the Heretics are too clearly Sheep ---
probably descended from Mary's little lamb. If the Dean were to frown, they
would all take to their heels, and break the record for attending chapel.
In fact, this is what happened, when he did frown! Just like the
Rationalists themselves when they disowned and deserted Harry Boulter.
I am coming round to the belief that the best test of a religion is the
manhood of its adherents rather than its truth. Better believe a lie than act
like a coward!
And of all the pusillanimous puppies I have ever heard of, there are none
to beat the undergraduates who wagged their rudimentary tails round the
toothless old hound that yelped "Dare to be wise" on last 8th December.
I hate Christianity as Socialists hate soap; but I would rather be saved
{239} with Livingstone and Gordon, Havelock and Nicholson, than damned with
Charles Watts and
John McTaggart
Ellis McTaggart
Doctor in Letters
Fellow and Lecturer
Of Trinity College
In Cambridge, and Fellow
Of the Berritish
Ac-ad-em-y.
I wonder, by the way, whether "letters" isn't a misprint. If not, did he
really qualify at the Sorbonne?
ALEISTER CROWLEY.
THE ARCANE SCHOOLS. By JOHN YARKER. William Tait, 3 Wellington Park Avenue,
Belfast. 12s. net.
The reader of this treatise is at first overwhelmed by the immensity of
Brother Yarker's erudition. He seems to have examined and quoted every
document that ever existed. It is true that he occasionally refers to People
like Hargrave Jennings, A. E. Waite, and H. P. Blavatsky as if they were
authorities; but whoso fishes with a net of so wide a sweep as Brother
Yarker's must expect to pull in some worthless fish. This accounts for
Waite's contempt of him; imagine Walford Bodie reviewing a medical book which
referred to him as an authority on paralysis!
The size of the book, too, is calculated to effray; reading it has cost me
many pounds in gondolas! And it is the essential impossibility of all works
of this kind that artistic treatment is not to be attained.
But Brother Yarker has nobly suppressed a Spencerian tendency to ramble; he
has written with insight, avoided pedantry, and made the dreary fields of
archeology blossom with flowers of interest.
Accordingly, we must give him the highest praise, for he has made the best
possible out of that was nearly the worst possible.
He has abundantly proved his main point, the true antiquity of some Masonic
system. It is a parallel to Frazer's tracing of the history of the Slain God.
But why is there no life in any of our Slain God rituals! It is for us to
restore them by the Word and the Grip.
For us, who have the inner knowledge, inherited or won, it remains to
restore the true rites of Attis, Adonis, Osiris, of Set, Serapis, Mithras, and
Abel. ALEISTER CROWLEY.
{240}
THE HERB DANGEROUS
PART IV
A FEW EXTRACTS FROM H. G. LUDLOW,
THE HASHEESH EATER
WHICH BEAR UPON THE PECULIAR
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
DRUG'S ACTION
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