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Acolyte, v. 2, issue 2, whole no. 6, Spring 1944
31858063101376_014
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behind the other door, and all he will say even now is that "it was like the other room". He did not look long, and I know that Emil and I had no desire to explore further after Henry had turned around to face us again. The three of us gathered once more around the fire. I noticed that the chimney--about eight inches in diameter--passed through a yard in the darkness above. Thus we know that there was an attic above us, but as we saw no way of ascent, we do not know what strange Things it might have harbored. Presently Paul and CAS returned, bringing with them some burgundy and the boot-clad seaman. Sailor Frank Partridge appeared to be an uneducated man in his fifties, but Smith and the wine spoon opened the seaman's mouth in almost endless intelligent conversation. Once again we assembled around the fire. The conversation soon led to Partridge's remarkable theory about Atlantis and the origin of man. It is much too lengthy to set forth here. And he related an atavistic experience in which he was told that he had while drunk conversed with someone in Gaelic, though to his knowledge he cannot speak this language. Although the seaman was interesting, we were more interested in CAS, and so sometimes Partridge's audience dwindled to just one or two. Whenever I could evade the sailor, I was able to talk with Smith. I asked him what he thought of C. L. Moore. "A remarkable writer," he said, "with a strange gift for suggesting the atmospheres of cosmic alienage." He showed us numerous illustrations of his various stories by several artists, including at least half-a-dozen original Finlays. He also had his own original illustrations to some of his stories which had appeared in Weird Tales. He expressed high admiration for both Bok and Finlay, commending the stark simplicity of the former's black-and-whites, and the rare combination of imaginative power and technical richness in the earlier work of the latter. He also spoke very highly of Roy Hunt. When asked if he were interested in having his stories appear in Unknown Worlds, he said that he was, and mentioned also that he likes the work of Fritz Leiber in that magazine. He showed us his five-hundred line poem, "The Hashish Eater", which has been published only in Ebony and Crystal, and mentioned that he would like to see it, and a number of his other works, reprinted in Weird Tales. Someone asked Klarkash Ton if there were any special rules as to the pronunciation of the names of his various entities. He replied that usually the accent is on the penultimate syllable. The sky's clearing shortly before sunset gave us opportunity to take several pictures, in which Smith dutifully posed with his different paintings and sculptures. I asked him if he liked music (we had not noticed a radio or phonograph in his house). "Oh yes," he said interestedly, "--Gustav Holst's 'The Planets'. And Debussy." "And Wagner?" my devotion forced me to inquire. "Oh yes," he replied, "--very much." I was satisfied. ----------- We took Smith and Partridge back to town with us when we left, letting them off at an ancient post office. As we drove out of the old village, we saw the two delvers into Atlantean lore disappear mysteriously around the corner of one of the steep and narrow sidestreets. The sun was setting. We hastened from this archaic town, for it is said that strangers must not linger after darkness has come to the streets of Auburn. II. (Note. Of the four, Hoffman was the only one whose vibrations were enough in tune with certain vague cosmic necessities and appetites to be allowed to return to Arkham-Auburn. Smith would of course have welcomed the other three, but even the great Klarkash Ton is not as yet all powerful and his position is not such that he cares yet to match his strength against that of Him Who is not to be Named and his dread messenger of a thousand shapes, Nyarlathotep. The remainder of this article covers three or four visits to Auburn during the summer of 1943, and the marked change in style and viewpoint shows conclusively that the Hoffmaniac has been marked by the Great Old Ones, and has been subtly altered as he progresses through his discipleship. -- 10 --
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behind the other door, and all he will say even now is that "it was like the other room". He did not look long, and I know that Emil and I had no desire to explore further after Henry had turned around to face us again. The three of us gathered once more around the fire. I noticed that the chimney--about eight inches in diameter--passed through a yard in the darkness above. Thus we know that there was an attic above us, but as we saw no way of ascent, we do not know what strange Things it might have harbored. Presently Paul and CAS returned, bringing with them some burgundy and the boot-clad seaman. Sailor Frank Partridge appeared to be an uneducated man in his fifties, but Smith and the wine spoon opened the seaman's mouth in almost endless intelligent conversation. Once again we assembled around the fire. The conversation soon led to Partridge's remarkable theory about Atlantis and the origin of man. It is much too lengthy to set forth here. And he related an atavistic experience in which he was told that he had while drunk conversed with someone in Gaelic, though to his knowledge he cannot speak this language. Although the seaman was interesting, we were more interested in CAS, and so sometimes Partridge's audience dwindled to just one or two. Whenever I could evade the sailor, I was able to talk with Smith. I asked him what he thought of C. L. Moore. "A remarkable writer," he said, "with a strange gift for suggesting the atmospheres of cosmic alienage." He showed us numerous illustrations of his various stories by several artists, including at least half-a-dozen original Finlays. He also had his own original illustrations to some of his stories which had appeared in Weird Tales. He expressed high admiration for both Bok and Finlay, commending the stark simplicity of the former's black-and-whites, and the rare combination of imaginative power and technical richness in the earlier work of the latter. He also spoke very highly of Roy Hunt. When asked if he were interested in having his stories appear in Unknown Worlds, he said that he was, and mentioned also that he likes the work of Fritz Leiber in that magazine. He showed us his five-hundred line poem, "The Hashish Eater", which has been published only in Ebony and Crystal, and mentioned that he would like to see it, and a number of his other works, reprinted in Weird Tales. Someone asked Klarkash Ton if there were any special rules as to the pronunciation of the names of his various entities. He replied that usually the accent is on the penultimate syllable. The sky's clearing shortly before sunset gave us opportunity to take several pictures, in which Smith dutifully posed with his different paintings and sculptures. I asked him if he liked music (we had not noticed a radio or phonograph in his house). "Oh yes," he said interestedly, "--Gustav Holst's 'The Planets'. And Debussy." "And Wagner?" my devotion forced me to inquire. "Oh yes," he replied, "--very much." I was satisfied. ----------- We took Smith and Partridge back to town with us when we left, letting them off at an ancient post office. As we drove out of the old village, we saw the two delvers into Atlantean lore disappear mysteriously around the corner of one of the steep and narrow sidestreets. The sun was setting. We hastened from this archaic town, for it is said that strangers must not linger after darkness has come to the streets of Auburn. II. (Note. Of the four, Hoffman was the only one whose vibrations were enough in tune with certain vague cosmic necessities and appetites to be allowed to return to Arkham-Auburn. Smith would of course have welcomed the other three, but even the great Klarkash Ton is not as yet all powerful and his position is not such that he cares yet to match his strength against that of Him Who is not to be Named and his dread messenger of a thousand shapes, Nyarlathotep. The remainder of this article covers three or four visits to Auburn during the summer of 1943, and the marked change in style and viewpoint shows conclusively that the Hoffmaniac has been marked by the Great Old Ones, and has been subtly altered as he progresses through his discipleship. -- 10 --
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