Openers: Scarcely had the Abbey Bell tolled for five minutes, and alrady was the Church of the Capuchins thronged with Auditors. Do not encourage the idea that the Crowd was assembled either from motives of piety or thirst of information. But very few were influenced by those reasons; and in a city where superstition reigns with such despotic sway as in Madrid, to seek for true devotion would be a fruitless attempt. The Audience now assembled in the Capuchin Church was collected by various causes, but all of them were foreign to the obstensible motive. The Women came to show themselves, the Men to see the Women: Some were attracted by curiosity to hear an Orator so celebrated; Some came because they had no better means of employing their time until the play began; Some, from being assured that it would be impossible to find places in the Church; and one half of Madrid was brought thither by expecting to meet the other half. Then only persons truly anxious to hear the Preacher were a few antiquated devotees, and half a dozen rival Orators, deteermined to find fault with and ridicule the discourse. As to the remainder of the Audience, the Sermon might have been omitted altogether, certainly without their being disappointed, and very probably without their perceiving the omission.
-- The Monk: A Romance by M. G. Lewis, Esq. M.P. (1796)
This classic Gothic novel, first published anonymously when the author was 20,was arguably the most controversial Gothic novel of the 18th century. The story of a Cathlic monk who gives in to his most sensual urges and setting off events that leaves him damned, scandalized readers of the time with its themes of rape, incest, and cprruption ionthe Chuirch. The heavy interest on the supernatural and magic, as well as the appearance of Satan himself, have made the book a touchstone of the Gothic genre and a foundation on which the modern horror genre rests.
Lewis (1775-1818) began to feel that the book was in poor taste, especially after there was an injucntion against its sale a year after it appeared. He edited what he felt were offending passages for the second edition, but did a poor job of it. This edition was criticized for "plagiarism, immorality and wild extravagance." For the fourth edition of The Monk, Lewis went over the text word by word and substituted what he felt were more appropriate and less sensational words, "expunging every syllable on which could be grounded the slightest construxtion of immorality" -- now the monk Antonio was no longer a ravisher, but a betrayer and an intruder; lust became desire, and desires became emotions; incontinence became weakness; and so on. But it was too little, too late. The public "had been told that the book was horrible, blasphemous, and lewd, and they rushed to put their morality to the test." Lewis's sisters had also criticized his woeks suggesting edits to make them more acceptable to the public, to the point of composing their own drafts of his plays; these suggrstions he rejected outright.
In addition to being a novelist, Lewis was a dramatist, translator, and poet (one of his poems, which eventually was adapted to a common childhood rhyme, is printed at the end of this post). He was a minor diplomat, a member of Parliament, and owned two estates in Jamaica.
Incoming:
- 'Catherine Aird" (Kinn Hamilton McIntosh), Last Respects. Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan mystery. " 'Found drowned, my foot,' said the pathologist two minutes after looking at the body. the unidentified young man pulled from the salt water near the little fishing village of Edsway hadn't drowned after all. and he hadn't been a bather either, observed Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan. One simply didn't go swimming in a shirt and trousers. Not voluntarily, that is. And then there was the matter of the mysterious copper weight stuffed in the dead man's pocket...and the sunken ship discovered offshore. It all added up to murder as Inspector Sloan set out in a dinghy to net the killer before he got the chance to send another victim to a watery grave." also, Slight Mourning. 'Twelve people sat down for dinner at Strontfield Park, William Fent's ancient home. Thirteen would have been most unlucky. For the host, however, the evening could have been unluckier. By midnight he was dead -- killed instantly when his motorcar smashed into another on a bad bit of road. The problem for Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan was the autopsy. The victim, it seemed, was about to die in any event. Along with the cold cucumber soup, crown of lamb, raspberry cremets, and a fine aged port, someone served the lord of the manor a dose of deadly poison. But which of the surviving eleven had the opportunity...And who had the motive to want him dead?"
- James Anderson, The Affair of the Mutilated Mink Coat. Mystery. "Outside Alderly, the Earl of Bunford's 17th century estate, the weather was decidedly parky; inside the atmosphere is definitely nervous-making. The loopy lord has thrown an impromptu house party for his favorite film star and a Hollywood producer who wants the family manor for the set of his next movie. Lady Geraldine, the Earl's daughter, has brought home two suitors of questionable pedigree, and Countess Lavina, the Earl's wife is looking aghast at the growing list of guests that includes a long-lost cousin, a hot tempered femme fatale, a bespectacled librarian, and an eccentric screenwriter in this zany cast of characters into the milieu of 1930's upper-class England; add a secret passage, a famous gun collection, and a butler named Merryweather and you have the stuff mysteries are made of."
- Russell Atwood, Losers Live Longer, Crime novel. :"Investigating the suspicious death of a legendary private investigator, down-and-out East Village detective Payton Sherwood finds herself on the trsil of a runaway investment scam artist, a drug-addicted reality television star, and a mysterious beauty." In an unusual twist, the cover art on this one is printed horizontally rather than vertically.
- "Marion Babson" (Ruth Sensteem), Murder at the Cat Show. A Perkins and Tate mystery. "Doug Perkins doesn't dislike cats -- he isn't especially interested in them. But the struggling young London public relations firm of Perkins and Tate can't afford to be choosy about the jobs they take. So when Doug is asked to do the PR for a glorified feline extravaganza called 'Cats Through the Ages,' he doesn't hesitate. But it isn't long before he wishes he had hesitated. There are some very valuable cats on exhibit -- even a few feline celebrities. The the robbery of a gold statue of Dick Whittington's cat sets nerves on edge. The theft is not exactly a PR man's dream but this disaster pales in comparison to the gruesome murder that follows. Someone has knocked unconscious the show's organizer, the universally despised Rose Cheyne-Malvern, and pushed her into a cage with a pair of Bengal tigers fancifully named Pymmus and Thesbe -- with predictably fatal results. Now, it's up to Doug to find an elusive killer who appear to have nine lives of his own."
- Desmond Bagley, The Mackintosh Man. Spy thriller, originally published as The Freedom Trap, the basis of the 1973 John Huston movie featuring Paul Newman, Dominique Sanda, and James Mason. "Only Mackintosh could save them now...and Mackintosh was dead. Here is an elaborate and elegant murder-spy caper about a man hunted by Interpol and betrayed by the woman he loves. Set against the exotic backdrop of Malta, the jewel of the Mediterranean, The Mackintosh Man unfolds a gripping tale of suspense, intrigue, and violence."
- Ben Bova, The Green Trap. Science fiction thriller. "Microbiologist Michael Cochrane has been murdered. His brother, Paul, wants to find out who did it...and why. Accompanied by a beautiful industrial spy, Elena Sandoval, Paul follows the trail from California to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Along the way, a lot of people seem to be interested in getting in their way or discovering what they know. It's clear that Michael was working with cyanobacteria, the bacteria that crack water molecules and releases free oxygen. It's less clear why this would get anybody killed. Or why oil billionaire Lionel Gould wants to pay Paul and Elena big money for the details of Michael's work. Then the truth emerges: Michael had found a way to derive free fuel from water. no wonder everyone, from Middle Eastern heavies to hired domestic muscle, suddenly seems to be trying to get in Paul and Elena's way. As the world's secrets -- and their own -- teeter in the balance, Paul and Elena must decide what to do before it's too late." Bova was one of the best science fiction writers of our time; his work is always interesting.
- Peter Brandvold, .45-Caliber Firebrand. Western from Mean Pete, one of a series featuring Cuno Massey. "Cuno Massey had always stayed on the good side of the law. But he's never found himself stuck in the middle of a feud between a weary old rancher and a band of Indians hungry for revenge. with warring braves surrounding the ranch and a doomed man begging for help, Cuno's the only rider left who stands a chance to save the rancher's daughter from a savage massacre. Fighting arrows with bullets and tussling with grizzly bears, Cuno's rescue ride is no pleasure trip. And when his wagon party comes up against a squad of territorial marshals looking to break some rules of their own, Cuno's got to do what it takes to defend the girl -- and himself. Even if it means defying the law and becoming a wanted man..." For pure western action it's hard to beat Brandvold.
- George C. Chesbro, The Cold Smell of Sacred Stone. A Mongo mystery. "He's an ex-circus performer turned hard-boiled New York private eye -- with a PhD in criminology and a black belt to boot. He's also a dwarf -- which creates some curious problems even as it gives him special insight into the slings and arrows that pierce the human heart. Mongo has created a monster...or a Messiah. His brother Garth lies in a coma. Only Mongo knows the genetic secret that put Garth beyond ordinary medical help. Mongo initiates his own high-risk therapy, and the gamble pays off. But Garth awakens sprouting parables and performing miracles. The world is ready to hail a new Messiah" even as the KGB and a ninja assassin stand ready to turn a saint into an angel of death and a cult of love into a snake pit of evil." There is absolutely no substitute for a Mongo novel; luckily, he wrote fifteen of them, all but one appearing in English.
- Glen Cook, Gilded Latten Bones. A Garrett P.I. fantasy noir novel, the 13th in the series. Garrett is a freelance P.I. in a world where magic works all too well, and where humans co-exist (kind of) with other many other intelligent species and half-breeds. "Garrett is taking a stab at domestic bliss with the fiery Tinnie Tate, who tells him just how high to jump. He's even sworn off his investigations, causing the criminal element no end of of joy. Then he waylays a pair of home intruders in the middle of the night and learned they have been paid to kidnap Tinnie. But even they are not quite sure who has hired them. Not many in TunFaire have the brawn -- or lack of brains -- to tangle with the Tate clan. But as Garrett rushes to find out who is suffering from a deadly attack of hubris, he learns he's not the only one with unwanted callers. His best friend, Morley Dotes, has been attacked and left for dead. Now Garrett has to track down both malefactors. Unless they're really one and the same -- in which case Garrett might be next..."
- George Harmon Coxe, Mission of Fear. Mystery. "Sam Ad77ler had appeared one afternoon at Marion Hayden's door trying for the big pay-off -- Blackmail. The next day he was dead -- paid-off with a knife in the back -- and for the Haydens the nightmare had just begun. Adler's story had been stunning enough before -- now, with State Police Lieutenant Garvey pushing hard it could mean a murder indictment for both of them. And Garvey kept the questions coming fast -- questions that all reduced to one: Was Ted Corbin alive? Ted Corbin -- Marion HaAnne Rice, Amy Tan, Richard Ford, and yden's ex-husband, and by every evidence dead these two years in an airplane accident...For if Corbin were alive he might know all the answers -- might very well be the answer.. This was John Hayden's last chance: he had to find Corbin...he had to find him." Coxe, who had a long career in the pulps, published 63 novels over a period of 41 years and was the 1964 recipient of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award.
- Lee Goldberg, Fallen Star. Eve Ronin mystery #6. "A fifty-gall0on drum washes up in the Malibu Lagoon stuffed with the corpse of Gene Dent, the key player in a bribery scandal that ensnared several local politicians. LASD detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone lnow the case -- and all the likely suspects -- well. Just as they begin their investigation, the sheriff puboicly reveals evidence linking the crime to LA's mayor. But Eve and Duncan realize the bonmbshell allegation, true or not, arises from corruption within the sheriff's own office...because they helped cover it up years ago. If the sheriff goes down, so will they. Eve is agonizing over her moral dilemma when a helicopter crashes in the hillside below her Calabasas home. It's not a coincidence. Eve soon discovers among the twisted wreckage and dead passengers shocking connections to her own past...and they lead straight to a fight for her life." A new book by Goldberg is a cause for rejoicing.
- Oakley Hall, So Many Doors. Criome novel. "Ir begins on Death Row, with a condemned man refusing the services of a lawyer assigned to defend him. It begins with a beautifuol woman dead, murdered -- Vassilia Caroline Baird, known to all simply as V. That's where this extraordinary novel begins. But the story it tells begins years earlier, on a strugling farm in the shadow of the Great Depression and among the brawling 'cat skinners' of Southern California, driving graders and bulldozers to tame the American West. And the story that unfolds, in the masteerful hands of acclaimed author Oakley Hall, is a luyrical outpouring of hunger and grief, of jealosy and corruption, of raw sexual yearning and the tragedy of destroyed lives it leaves in its wake." Hall was a Pu;liotzer Prize finalist, author of Warlock and Downhill Racera writing instructor for Anne Rice, Amy Tan, Richard Ford, and Michael Chabin.
- "Brett Halliday" (Davis Dresser), Murder Is My Business. Mike Shayne mysstery. "Murder on the Rio Grande. Ten years ago, private eye Mike Shayne did a job for on the richest men in El Paso, digging up dirt on a boy courting the tycoon's daughter. Now, the daughter's back, all grown up and dangerous. And so's Shayne -- but this time it's to investigate murder..." Not to be confused with the Mike Shayne novel that inspired the 1946 Hugh Beaumont-led Mike shayne movie Murder Is My Business; that flick was based on Halliday's 1940 novel The Uncomplaining Corpses.
- Donald Hamilton, Mad River. Western. "Boyd Cohoon -- cowman, jailbird, knife fighter, came home to Mad River. Waiting for him was a girl. As his father paid him to stay away, Cohoon saw the relief in her eyes. There was her brother, who had done the crime for which Cohoon had gone to prison. Cohoon saw the hatred in his eyes. The mine owner who had gotten rich off Cohoon's land gave him a smile and slapped him on the back. Cohoon saw the deceit in his eyes. There was the sheriff. They had been boys together. Cohoon saw the suspicion in his eyes. There was also the Mad River country. Boyd Cohoon knew it like he knew the blade of his knife."
- Dean Ing, The Skins of Dead Men. Thriller. "Teresa Contraras came to Mexico to forget her tragic past. But when she witnessed Middle Eastern operatives kidnapping a young boy, she turned to the only person she could trust -- Ross Downing, a burn-scarred ex-agent tormented by haunting visions, who was responsible for her own son's death. together they set out on a desperate quest to rescue the child, and to rebuild their shattered lives." Ing (1931-2020) was best known for his science fiction and techno-thrillers; he was an expert in survivalism.
- Terry Jones, Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic. Gaming tie-in science fiction space adventure. ""Bestselling author Douglas Adams wrote the storyline based on his CD-ROM game of the same name (as this novel, not as him, obviously). Terry Jones of Monty Python wrote the book. in the nude! Parents be warned! Most of the words in this book were written by a naked man! So. you want to argue with that? All right, we give in. Starship Titanic is the greatest, most fabulous, most technologically advanced interstellar cruise line ever built. It is like a cross between the Queen Mary, the Chrysler Building, Tutankhamen's tomb, and Venice. Furthermore, it cannot possibly go wrong... Sadly, however, seconds after its launch it undergoes SMEF, or Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure. And disappears. Except. everything's got to be somewhere. Coming home that night, on a little-known planet called Earth, Don and Lucy Gibson find something very large and very, very shiny sticking into their house..."
- Lene Kaaberbol & Agnetw Friis, The Boy in the Suitcase. A nina Borg Nordic thriller, translated from the Danish by Kaaberbol. "Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is a compulsive do-gooder who can't say no when someone asks for help -- even when she knows better. When her estranged friend Karin leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous project yet. inside the locker is a suitcase, and inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy, naked and drugged, but alive. Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to the authorities, or will they return him to whoever sold him? When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy's are in jeopardy, too. In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is trying to hunt them down." This one, the first of four books in the Nina Borg series, won the Harald Morgensen Prize by the Danish Criminal Academy in 2009. Kaaberbol has also written a number of popular children's books.
- Richard Laymon, Midnight's Lair. Horror novel, originally published as by "Richard Kelley." "Mordock's Cave is one of the spectacular wonders of the world...a place where sightseers can take a rise deep beneath the earth's surface to marvel at Nature's handiwork. But the darkness is also the home of things Nature never intended --things violent, bestial, and horrific... Now a sudden power failure has trapped a group of tourists in the underground depths. Their only escape route is through a sealed-off wall. But what lurks on the other side is something terrifying beyond belief -- an obscene, living evil that has been waiting all these years to be set free..." Laymon's well-regarded horror and suspense novels often veered into splatterpubk territory. He died much too young at age 54 in 2011; later that year his posthumous novel The Traveling Vampire Show won the Bram stoker Award.
- George R. R. Martin, The Ice Dragon. Fantasy short story set in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire universe, lavishly illustrated by Luis Royo. This one has been anthologized at least five times and has appeared in at least two of Martin's short story collections. "The ice dragon was a creature of legend and fear. When it flew overhead, it left in its wake desolate cold and frozen land. But Adara was not afraid. For Adara was a winter child, born during the worst freeze that anyone, even the Old Ones, could remember. Adara coold not remember the first time she had seen the ice dragon. It seemed that it had always been in her life, glimpsed from afar as she played in the frigid snow long after the other children had fled the cold. In her fourth year she touched it, and in her fifth year she rode upon its broad, chilled back for the first time. Then,. in her seventh year, on a calm summer day, fiery dragons from the North swooped down upon the peaceful farm that was Adara's home. And only a winter child -- and the dragon who loved her -- could save the world from utter destruction."
- "Ed McBain" (Evan Hunter), McBain Duet: Two Novellas of Suspense. "Driving Lessons," in which a student drive hits and kills a woman while practicing, but the woman turns out to be the wife of the driving instructor. ""Petals," in which an American agent on a mission in /germany falls for a tourist, then realizes that her description matches that of the terrorist he is hunting.
- Peter Pavia, Dutch Uncle. Crime novel. "Despite his determination to stay straight, ex-con Harry Healy is desperate for money and agrees to make one simple delivery for drug dealer Manfred Pfiser, only to find himself caught in the middle, of a deadly robbery scheme involving a former cellmate, an aging high school basketball star, a murderous sociopath, and a beautiful beach bunny,"
- Otto Penzler, editor, Murder for Love. Original mystery anthology with 16 stories. "At a mountain resort, a football coach and a pregnant young woman make love again and again, while the men who have been hunting them come closer and closer to their door...In a posh New York City apartment, a cop sniffs the sheets of an unmade bed, and knows exactly who murdered the woman in the next room...In South Florida, true love blooms: she's a fed, he's a bank robber. And one of them will end up shooting the other. From Mary Higgins Clark's crackling tale of an ex-U.S. president turned sleuth to Jonathan Kellerman's wicked spin on nineties relationships, from Elmore Leonard to Ed McBain to Joyce Carol Oates, here are 16 all-new mysteries that reveal the very darkest side of love -- the side that hurts, the side that sacrifices, the side that kills...'
- S. J. Perelman, Most of the Most of S. J. Perelman. Collection of articles from 1930 to 1958 by one of America's most popular humorists. Perelman was also active in Hollywood and co-wrote the Marx Brothers comedies Monkey Business and Horse Feathers; he won an Academy Award for scripting Around the World in 80 Days.
- Bill Pronzini, Tales of the Impossible. Collection of 19 mystery stories, including some about the Nameless Detective and some about Sabrina Carpenter & John Quincannon. If you follow Pronzini (and you should!), most of these tales will be familiar, but to have them gathered together is a special treat.
- Anne Rice, Blood Communion. A Vampire Chronicles novel featuring Prince Lestat. "Rebel outlaw Lestat tells the mesmerizing story of how he became prince of the vampire world, of the formation of the Blood Communion, and how his vision for the Children of the universe to thrive as one came to be." I am not Anne Rice's biggest fan; I find her works to be boring and overblown, although once in a while -- as with The Witching Hour -- she strikes a chord within me.. Still, I keep hoping the magic will strike again...
- "J. D. Robb" (Nora Roberts), Leverage in Death. Romantic suspense novel featuring future cop Eve Dallas, the 47th full-length novel in the series. I've read the first book in the series and found it interesting, so I'll keep plugging away at the series every now and then.
- Andrezej Sapkowsky, Blood of Elves and Sword of Destiny. Two fantasy books about Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher -- whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a magic elixir has made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Blood of Elves (originally 1994, here translated by Danusia Stok)is the first novel in the series, and was preceded by several collections; it was the second book. translated to English. A prophesied child is hunted for her extraordinary powers and Geralt's responsibility is to protect her. Sword of Destiny (originally 1992, here translated by David French) is a collection of six stories and was the fifth book to be translated to English. The Witcher series is a world-wide phenomenon and have spawned a film, two television series, a video game series (which has sold more than 75 million copies), and numerous comic books. the Witcher books have sold well over 15 million copies and have been translated into at lest 37 languages. Sapkowsky is the second-most translated Polish science fiction and fantasy writer after Stanislaw Lem.
- Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo, Nicole Galland, The Foreworld Sage, a massive E.D. deBirmingham, Erik Bear, Joseph Brassey, & Cooper Moo, The Mongoliad, Books One-Three. The Foreworld Saga, a massive (1527 pages!, fantasy trilogy, and "a sweeping historical interpretation of the 13th century battle for Europe against the invading Mongols and their ruthless khan." I promise to read the entire trilogy once I find a spare year or two.
- Evangeline Walton, The Mabinogion Tetralogy. Four fantasy novels that I remember from Lin Carter's Adult Fantasy series for Ballantine Books way back when. "The Mabinogion is to Welsh mythology what the tales of Zeus, Hera, and Apollo are to Greek myth. These tales constitute a powerful work of the imagination, ranking with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels and T. H. White's The Once and Future King. Evangeline Walton's compelling adaptation of these thrilling stories of magic, betrayal, love, and retribution include the encounter between Prince Pwyll and Arawn, the God of Death, which Pwyll survives by agreeing to kill the one man Death cannot fell, and the tale of Bran the Blesse and his epic struggle for the throne.. Walton's vivid retelling introduces an ancient world of gods and monsters, heroes, kings, and quests, making accessible one of the greatest fantasy sagas of all time." Includes The Prince of Annwn, The Children of Llyr, The Song of Rhiannon, and The Island of the Mighty.
- Django Wexler, How To Become a Dark Lord and Die Trying. Humorous fantasy novel, the first in the Dark Lord Davi series. "A young woman, who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides maybe the Dark Lord is onto something after all...Davi has done all this before. She's tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she's rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she's killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she's been defeated every time. This time? She's done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark lord always wins, then maybe that's who she needs to be. It's Davi's turn to play on the winning side." The second book in the series was published this year.
- Charles Williams, A Touch of Death, Crime novel. "When Lee Scarborugh came upon the brunette sunbathing topless in her back yard, getting involved in a heist was the last thingn on his mind. But somehow that's where he found himself -- sneaking through a strnger's house, on the hunt for $120,000 in embezzled bank funds. It looked like an easy score. But one thing stood between him and the money: the beautiful and deadly Madelon Butler." When you talk about the masters of the hardboiled genre in the Fifties -- Jim Thompson, Cornell Woolrich, David Goodis -- you have to include Charles Williams.
Magic Mummy: A 1933 Tom & Jerry cartoon -- not that Tom & Jerry. I believe the mummy is voiced by Mae Questel, perhaps best known as the voice of Betty Boop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwLr3lnc7RQ
Ghost Riders in the Sky: Frankie Laine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F1irdrNjWg
A Dad Joke for October: How do you fix a jack-o-lantern? With a pumpkin patch!
Grootslang: Cryptids, we've got cryptids -- so many of them you can't swing a cat without hitting one. Today I thought I'd focus on the Grootslang, a murderous elephant-snake beast reputed to live in a deep cave in Richtersveld in South Africa, and nothing to do with the cute tree from the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Grootslang is as old as the world itself. See, when the gods were creating things, they were prettty new at it and made a terrible mistake -- the Grootslang. When they realized their mistake, the gods rectified it by splitting the creature in twain, making an elephant and a snake, but in the process one Grootslang got away to sire all future Grootslangs. The creature is tremendously strong, cunning, and smart. It is depicted in various ways -- as a giant elephant with a giant snake for a tail, or as an elephant head in the body of a giant snake, or perhaps something even more hideous. It has been known to lure elephants into its cave and eat them. The Grootslang also likes to dine on humans.
It's cave is filled with diamonds, and the Grottslang covets all gems, but especially diamonds. You may be able to escape a Grootslang by bribing it with many precious gems.
The safest thing, however, while visiting South Africa, is to strictly avoid deep caves.
Gounod's The Funeral March of a Marionette: A little background music. Perhaps you can play it while reading Today's Poem (BELOW).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pOXhAF7L0I
Today's Poem:
Alonzo the Brave, and Fair Imogine
A Warrior so bold, and a Virgin so bright
Conversed, as They sat on the green:
They gazed on each other with tendet delight;
Alonzo the Brave was the name of the Knight;
The maid's was the Fair Imogine
"And oh!" said the Youth, "since to-morrow I go
To fight in a far distant land,
Your tears for my absence soon leaving to flow,
Some Other will court you, and you will bestow
On a wealthier Suitor your hand."
"Oh! hush these suspicions," Fair Imogine said,
"Offensice to Love and to me!
For if ye be living, or if ye be dead,
I swear by the Virgin, that none in your stead
Shall Husband of Imogine be."
"If e'er I by lust or by wealth led aside
Forget my Alonzo the Brave,
God grant, that to punish my falsehood and pride,
Your ghost at the Marriage shall sit by my side,
May tax me with perjury, claim me as Bride,
And bear me away to the Grave!"
To Palestine hastened the Hero so bold;
His love, she lamented him sore;
Bur scarce had a twelve-month elapsed, when behold,
A Baron all covered with jewels and gold
Arrived at Fair Imogine's door.
His treasure, his presents, his spacious domain
Soon made her untrue to her vows:
He dazzled her eyes; he bewildered her brain;
He caught her affections so light and so vain,
And carried her home as his Spouse.
And now had the marriage been blest by the Priest;
And the revelry now was begun:
The tables, they groaned with the weight of the Feast;
Nor yet had the laughter and the merriment ceased,
When the Bell of the Castle told, -- "One!"
Then first with amazement Fair Imogine found
That a stranger was placed by her side; His air was terrific:
He uttered no sound; He spoke not, he moved not,
He looked not around,
But earnestly gazed on the Bride.
His vizor was closed, and gigantic his height,
His armour was sable to view:
All pleasure and laughter were hushed at his sight;
The Dogs as They eyed him drew back in afright,
The Lights in the chamber burned blue!
His presence all bosoms appeared to dismay;
The guests sat in silence and fear.
At length spoke the Bride, while She trembled;
"I pray, Sir Knight, that your Helmet aside you would lay,
And deign to partake of our chear."
The Lady is silent. The Stranger complies.
His vizor lie slowly unclosed:
Oh! God! What a sight met Fair Imogine's eyes!
What words can express her dismay and surprize,
When a Skeleton's head was exposed!
All present then uttered a terrified shout;
All turned with disgust from the scene.
The worms, They crept in, and the worms, They crept out,
And sported his eyes and his temples about,
While the Spectre addressed Imogine.
"Behold me, Thou false one! Behold me!" he cried;
"Remember Alonzo the Brave!
God grants, that to punish thy falsehood and pride
My Ghost at thy marriage should sit by thy side,
Should tax thee with perjury, claim thee as Bride,
And bear thee away to the grsve!"
Thus saying, his arms round the Lady He wound,
While loudly She shrieked in dismay;
Then sank with his prey through the wide-yawning ground:
Nor ever again was Fair Imogine found,
Or the Spectre who bore her away.
Not long lived the Baron; and none since that time
To inhabit the castle presume:
For chronicles tell, that by order sublime
There Imogine suffers the pain of her crime,
And mourns her deplorable doom.
At midnight four times in each year does her Spright
When Mortals in slumber are bound,
Arrayed in her bridal apparel of white,
Appear in the Hall with her Skeleton-Knight,
And shreik, as He whirls her around.
While They drink out the skulls newly torn from the grave,
Dancing round them the Spectres are seen:
Their liquor is blood, and this humble Stave
Thye howl, -- "To the health of Alonzo the Brave,
And his Consort, the False Imogine!"
-- M. G. Lewis, taken from a German ballad of unknown origin
(later adapted, in part, as "The Hearse Song," most lately popularized by Harley Poe)
