In this issue: Re: "The Music Essence" Re: "The Music Essence" More on Ludlow College ties that bind (Ludlow) Re: "The Music Essence" Today in History - Jan. 26 [MSG Error sending mail] Mata Hari (fwd) Re: Mata Hari (fwd) Chat: Happy Birthday, Charles Re: Chat: Happy Birthday, Charles Today in History - Jan. 27 [MSG Error sending mail] _The Bells_ again Re: Arno Press Today in History - Jan. 28 Fox sisters' "spook" Re: Fox sisters' "spook" Re: Today in History - Jan. 28 Re: Today in History - Jan. 28 Re: Colette -----------------------------THE POSTS----------------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 16:39:34 -0700 (MST) From: John Woolley <jwoolley(at)dna420.mcit.com> Subject: Re: "The Music Essence" Richard L. King writes: > Bob wrote: > > What impressed me as well about this story is that neither Margaret > > nor the other students at the school are presented as pathetic. Indeed, > > Can you imagine how Dickens would treat a deaf asylum? When I read "The Music-Essence", I was reminded of chapter 3 of _American Notes_, much of which is about the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, and is remarkably sober in tone, at least for Dickens. It's well worth reading. Of course, if Dickens had set a *novel* in such an Institute, he would have pulled out all the stops. Little Nell, Tiny Tim, move over. - -- Fr. John
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Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 22:49:47 -0500 From: "S.T. Karnick" <skarnick(at)INDY.NET> Subject: Re: "The Music Essence" Richard's and Robert's comments on "The Music Essence" are interesting and have much merit. I haven't much to say about the story myself, pressed for time as I happen to be at the moment, but I recommend it highly. Ludlow's descriptive powers are immense, especially his ability to convey characters' physical sensations and their sense of the presence of divinity. As Richard noted, there is a sensual and emotional immediacy to the story that reminds one of Woolrich, although the author's intent and philosophy are far different. And as Robert notes, the evocation of the 19th century mentality is gratifying both on its own terms and as an antidote to the deficiences of that prevalent today. I agree strongly with Richard's observation that the tendency to ignore religion in today's fiction exemplifies the latter's utter failure to to present life as it is really lived. "The Music Essence" succeeds at that and thereby succeeds at very much more. Read it. Best w's, S.T. Karnick - -----Original Message----- From: Richard L. King <rking(at)INDIAN.VINU.EDU> To: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Cc: gaslight(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA <gaslight(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA> Date: Friday, January 22, 1999 9:21 AM Subject: Re: "The Music Essence" >Bob wrote: > >> the reason you mention, Richard: Ludlow, for all his wondrous tales, >> was, to a great extent, a realist. This realism might extend even to > >I suppose this is why I see this story as a 19th century noir work, or >certainly fiction with an edge. > >> >> the fanciful part of the tale, the construction of the _kaleidophone_. >> What we have hear, it seems to me, is a mechanical representation >> of the synesthetic experience, which Ludlow might well have known from >> his hashish experiments. > >Not to mention the hashish as adding to noirish attitudes. > >> What impressed me as well about this story is that neither Margaret >> nor the other students at the school are presented as pathetic. Indeed, > >Can you imagine how Dickens would treat a deaf asylum? > >> >> As for the religious element in "The Music Essence," the perspective >> that the narrator and Margaret bring to it would not have been at all >> uncommon in America at this period--and yet in much of the literature >> from the time we read nowadays it seems missing. Here is another aspect > >This is very true. Modern fiction often doesn't have people doing things people >do: attend church, have families, drive their son/daughter to choir practice at >7 a.m., check out books at the library, generally being happy. I suppose it is >because these aspects of life are considered boring and don't make good copy. >Modern fiction is a fiction of unhappiness and the Creating Writing Lab, >perhaps? Who would want to read a novel about...me? > >> >> of Ludlow's story that I appreciate: I find that I'm in the presence >> of real 19th century Americans, or at least ones that I can identify >> and have empathy for. > >Richard King >rking(at)indian.vinu.edu > >
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Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 01:39:20 -0500 (EST) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: More on Ludlow Fitz Hugh Ludlow was himself a music critic who established a reputation not only among readers of his columns on music but among some first-rate musicians as well. Among his friends he counted the composer and pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Here is a brief excerpt from Don Dulchinos's biography about their meeting that is apropos to our story: << Fitz Hugh's reviews were the beginning of friendship with Gottschalk himself. The pianist was moved to write to Fitz Hugh, and the February 14 column of "Masks and Music" [which Ludlow wrote for a New York newspaper called the _Home Journal_] includes a letter from Gottschalk to "my dear L.", agreeing with Fitz Hugh that while Beethoven was great, not everything he wrote was of the same caliber. Gottschalk had spent time compiling Voodoun music in and around New Orleans, and he and Fitz Hugh may have compared notes about African American spirituality. After one show, Fitz Hugh and Rosa were invited backstage, and Rosa later recounted that Gottschalk "averred that he perceived music through every sense." This recalls _The Hasheesh Eater_ and the story "The Music Essence." << Much of Ludlow's criticism, as readers of the story might be able to guess, dealt with opera, which he considered to be the ultimate artistic experience. Ludlow died at age thirty-six, but managed to crowd a great deal of living into that period. For instance, he was deeply involved in developing a cure for opium-addiction, which afflicted many ex-soldiers of the Civil War. (Wounded soldiers were often given opium as as anaesthetic, their doctors apparently having little notion of its addicting power.) His essay for _Harper's Monthly_, "What Shall They Do to Be Saved," was the first to draw attention to this problem. Ludlow also "went West" with his wife Rosalie and the painter Alfred Bierstadt, and produced a book on his experiences there, _The Heart of the Continent_. Ludlow, in fact, travelled a great deal, and wrote copiously about his travels. He knew a number of the great and the merely famous of his time, including Mark Twain, the actor Edwin Booth (a particular friend), and the actress Adah Menken. He alsi went through a divorce and a second marriage, and battled not only his own drug problem (hashish) but the ravages of tuberculosis. (By the time of his death, I should add, Ludlow finally made peace with the God of his fathers; he was much pursued, as you might guess from "The Music Essence," by "the hound of Heaven.") Btw, it's difficult to tell from "The Phial of Dread" and "The Music Essence" but a great number of Ludlow's stories are lighthearted and comical. In fact, most of his contemporary readers would probably have recognized him as this kind of writer, a man with a satirical bent. (I may well send along some of Don Dulchinos's synopses of these tales at some later point). I'm glad that "The Music Essence" has struck a chord with Richard, Sam, and Father John--and, I hope, many other Gaslighters. It is quite an original story. Bob C. _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Robert L. Champ rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity Those who are alive receive a mandate from those who are silent forever. They can fulfill their duties only by trying to reconstruct precisely things as they were and by wresting the past from fictions and legends. --Czeslaw Milosz rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 01:58:45 -0500 (EST) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: College ties that bind (Ludlow) Ludlow went to Union College in Schenectedy <sp?> New York. This was in the 1850s. He is remembered there to this day, as the following item from Union's webpage attests: Fitz Hugh Ludlow Day: This once-a-year celebration is dedicated to the memory of Fitzhugh Ludlow, an 1856 graduate of Union College who is noted for composing our alma mater, Song to old Union. Bob C. _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Robert L. Champ rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity Those who are alive receive a mandate from those who are silent forever. They can fulfill their duties only by trying to reconstruct precisely things as they were and by wresting the past from fictions and legends. --Czeslaw Milosz rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 07:41:22 -0500 From: "Richard L. King" <rking(at)INDIAN.VINU.EDU> Subject: Re: "The Music Essence" "S.T. Karnick" wrote: > that prevalent today. I agree strongly with Richard's observation that the > tendency to ignore religion in today's fiction exemplifies the latter's > utter failure to to present life as it is really lived. "The Music Essence" > succeeds at that and thereby succeeds at very much more. Read it. The discussion of the absence of religion or religious beliefs in modern fiction (Graham Greene not withstanding--I recently read BRIGHTON ROCK, for instance, which was written over 50 years ago!) brings to mind John Updike's IN THE BEAUTY OF THE LILIES (one of his latest novels), which is relevant to Gaslight because he begins the book in our period with a minister who suddenly loses his faith at the same time Mary Pickford faints while making a film not far away. Updike continues with a fictionalized history of 20th C. America, in which he shows that film/entertainment/television has replaced religion as a major force in our society/culture, the mainstream religions dying out (such as Presbyterianism) and being replaced by fringe cults. There is an *assumption* in Ludlow's story that his readers' would share (or at least understand or at least view as important) his religious mindset (such as music being God or God-inspired) that I can't recall seeing today much in literature (though I expect people are as religious in an inner way as they ever have been). Richard rking(at)indian.vinu.edu
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Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 09:37:19 -0700 From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org> Subject: Today in History - Jan. 26 1861 Louisiana secedes from the Union. 1863 President Lincoln names General Joseph Hooker to replace Burnside as commander of the Army of the Potomac. 1875 Pinkerton agents, hunting Jesse James, kill his 18-year-old half-brother and seriously injure his mother with a bomb. 1885 General *Chinese* Gordon is killed on the palace steps in Khartoum by Sudanese Mahdists in Africa. Born on January 26 1826 Julia Dent Grant, First Lady and wife of Ulysses Grant. 1880 Douglas MacArthur, U.S. general in World War I, where he was the youngest general in the U.S. Army; World War II, where he was the commander of all U.S. Army forces in the South Pacific; and Korea, where he commanded all United Nations forces. 1893 Bessie Coleman, first black airplane pilot.
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Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:38:34 -0600 (CST) From: MISTI Gateway at dsbs32 <postmaster(at)dsbs32.itg.ti.com> Subject: [MSG Error sending mail] The MSG system returned the following response when attempting to send the attached message: MSGD537 - TAG=BLQMBNBL ID=MFTM MSGD213 - MSG Id - MFTM IS NOT REGISTERED WITH MSG. - -******** Original Message ********- MSG SMLW & FROM=MFTM ID=A0000000 TAG=BLQMBNBL NONTI=Y To: gaslight(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA <gaslight(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA> From: Jerry Carlson <owner-gaslight(at)mtroyal.ab.ca> Subj: Today in History - Jan. 26 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | This message has an attached file that was sent via FTM. If | | the file is not attached to this message, you may use the FTM | | software to download it by browsing received FTM mail and | | looking for the following description: | | Attachment-ID: 99026.MFTM202 | +---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 01:06:32 -0500 (EST) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: Mata Hari (fwd) One of my recurring Gaslight interests is the case of Mata Hari, the exotic dancer who passed herself off as an Asian woman performing the traditional dances of her native Java (the name Mata Hari means "eye of dawn" in Javanese). Recently, some M15 papers have been released that touch on Mata Hari's execution as a spy. In the following brief article from the _Times_ of London, the theoy is put forward that she was a "fantasist" who had no real status as a spy and thus died for naught. In the article a military expert at Cambridge hypothesizes that she might simply have been struck by the glamour of being a spy. But there is at least one other explanation for this career change. First, Mata Hari was no longer the beautiful young woman who had bedazzled Europe with her dancing. She had also fallen victim to a host of imitators, and her dancing jobs over time had become fewer and fewer. At the same time, she was a spendthrift who seldom spared herself any luxury; and she had taken a lover, a young Russian officer named, rather grandly, Vadim de Masloff, on whom she lavished money. Thus, she turned to spying, partly at least, to earn the money to keep her in the style to which she (and Masloff) had become accustomed. To the very morning of her execution, Mata Hari did not believe that the French would be ungallant enough to shoot a woman. But she had underestimated her value as propaganda. Things were going badly for the French in the war, and a good deal of these troubles were placed at the door of double-agent Mata Hari. It was all nonsense, which Mata Hari probably knew (and which may have been the source of her confidence); but when someone is looking for a scapegoat no one is safe. I once wrote a long poem about the death of Mata Hari, who lived a most theatrical life--and died a most theatrical death. Bob C. January 27 1999 MI5 PAPERS ? Mata Hari about to face a firing squad in Paris in 1917. The spy had carried gentleman's boots and spurs in her luggage on the only occasion she attempted to visit England [Bob note: the above is the caption for a photograph that appears in the _Times_; it is presented as a photo of the actual event, but actually comes from a early film made about her.} Mata Hari 'was just a fantasist' BY MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR MATA HARI, the exotic dancer who became a spy, may have lost her life needlessly, according to the evidence of MI5 files released yesterday. The dazzling beauty, real name Margarete Zelle, never fell into the hands of MI5 but was covertly monitored. A Paris-based officer, Lieutenant Colonel H.A. Packenham, was given access to her French dossier. He described her as a femme forte, and reported that she told French interrogators that she had passed on information "of every kind procurable" to Germany. Despite her pretensions to be a romantic spy, however, there is no evidence in the files that she was ever a genuine secret agent capable of damaging national security or the operational effectiveness of the Allies. Christopher Andrew, a Cambridge University authority on wartime intelligence, yesterday said that Mata Hari may have been a fantasist who was seduced by the imaginary glamour of being a spy. She made only one visit to England, in December 1915. Files reported that her luggage included a pair of gentleman's boots, a pair of spurs, two brass shells and 30 pairs of stockings. She was described as a "handsome, bold type of woman" who called herself "an international character". She was denied entry, and returned to the Continent, where she was executed by firing squad two years later. _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Robert L. Champ rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity Those who are alive receive a mandate from those who are silent forever. They can fulfill their duties only by trying to reconstruct precisely things as they were and by wresting the past from fictions and legends. --Czeslaw Milosz rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Next page: Spy sent to lure RAF officers Arts (Mon - Fri) | Books (Sat) (Thu) | British News | Business | Court page | Features (Mon - Fri) | Go (Sat) | Metro (Sat) | Obituaries | Opinion | Sport | Travel (Sat) (Thu) | Vision (Sat) | Interface (Wed) | Weather | Weekend (Sat) | Weekend Money (Sat) | World News Next page: Spy sent to lure RAF officers Copyright 1999 Times Newspapers Ltd. This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard terms and conditions. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from The Times, visit the Syndication website.
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Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 08:32:47 -0500 (EST) From: Zozie(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Mata Hari (fwd) Good morning Bob... One of my grad student advisees did her thesis production (developed a musical theatre piece for presentation) on Mata Hari. Student did a lot of research, and she thought -- as you indicate -- Mata Hari was a scapegoat. A&E also did a biography on her. Did you see that one? Interesting critter. best phoebe
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Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 08:54:33 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Chat: Happy Birthday, Charles Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson). January 27, 1832 In February one of the major tv stations is doing a new version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, same director as the MERLIN. So many "live" versions of these have been done but they all seem to dwell on the novelty of the actors they got to star as characters than the story itself. Oh look, Carol Burnett or W. C. Fields--but it's not the character they're playing, it's themself. Even though I personally love Disney's version, Disney himself wasn't pleased with the result. ALICE IN WONDERLAND was one of his favorite stories and for 10 years he had had the writers rework it till the last version was finally acceptable--he still didn't think it had captured the magic. (But the diversions the writers had taken at the beginning had only stunned him--that they could take what he considered a masterpiece and then REWRITE IT?). One of the few versions that I've seen that really captures the eerier qualities was done by Czech stop-action director Jan Svankmajer. His Alice is very bizarre and probably only suitable for stranger children (I would have loved it as a kid). The story is done with stop action figures but the white rabbit is a stuffed real rabbit that leaks sawdust, many of the animals are skeletal composites and the caterpillar is a real surprise, not to mention the toad footman's tongue!! But it's wonderful. If you want to see clips, here is a Svankmajer site that offers several real-time clips of the movie. http://www.awn.com/heaven_and_hell/SVANK/svank2.htm But if you want your own copy the best deal going is from Amazon--yes, they actually have it. Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 13:34:52 -0500 (EST) From: Zozie(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Chat: Happy Birthday, Charles In a message dated 1/27/99 4:03:10 PM, deborah wrote: << So many "live" versions of these have been done but they all seem to dwell on the novelty of the actors they got to star as characters than the story itself. Oh look, Carol Burnett or W. C. Fields--but it's not the character they're playing, it's themself. >> As the American theatre critic George Jean Nathan wrote (Mr George Jean Nathan Presents, 1917): A good actor is one who is successful in completely immersing his own personality in the role he is playing. A star actor is one who is successful in completely immersing the role he is playing in his own personality. best phoebe
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Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 13:35:17 -0700 From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org> Subject: Today in History - Jan. 27 1825 Congress approves Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears." 1862 President Abraham Lincoln issues General War Order No. 1, setting in motion the Union armies.Lincoln's War Order was aimed mainly at McClellan who commanded the army of the Potomac. 1900 Foreign diplomats in Peking fear revolt and demand that the Imperial Government discipline the Boxer Rebels. 1905 Russian General Kuropatkin takes the offensive in Manchuria. The Japanese under General Oyama suffer heavy casualties. 1916 President Woodrow Wilson opens preparedness program. 1918 Communists attempt to seize power in Finland. Born on January 27 1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian musical genius and composer whose works included The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute. 1850 Samuel Gompers, first President of American Federation of Labor. 1859 Kaiser Wilhelm II, emperor who ruled Germany during World War I but was forced to abdicate in 1918. 1900 Hyman Rickover, American admiral who is considered the "Father of the Atomic Submarine."
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Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 14:35:14 -0600 (CST) From: MISTI Gateway at dsbs32 <postmaster(at)dsbs32.itg.ti.com> Subject: [MSG Error sending mail] The MSG system returned the following response when attempting to send the attached message: MSGD537 - TAG=ILUJBFCS ID=MFTM MSGD213 - MSG Id - MFTM IS NOT REGISTERED WITH MSG. - -******** Original Message ********- MSG SMLW & FROM=MFTM ID=A0000000 TAG=ILUJBFCS NONTI=Y To: gaslight(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA <gaslight(at)MtRoyal.AB.CA> From: Jerry Carlson <owner-gaslight(at)mtroyal.ab.ca> Subj: Today in History - Jan. 27 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | This message has an attached file that was sent via FTM. If | | the file is not attached to this message, you may use the FTM | | software to download it by browsing received FTM mail and | | looking for the following description: | | Attachment-ID: 99027.MFTM358 | +---------------------------------------------------------------+
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Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 18:19:58 -0500 (EST) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: _The Bells_ again A couple of Christmases ago, Gaslighters will remember, we read _The Bells_, the magnficent play that launched the career of Sir Henry Irving (it remained in his repertoire for years after) and that concerns a haunted burgomeister who has killed a Jewish merchant for his money. In the current issue of _Classic Images_ there is a description of a 1926 film of _The Bells_ that I thought Gaslighters might find interesting, if only for the changes that were made in the play and the actors who appeared in the film. The major changes, IMO, are the omission of any reference to the merchant as a Jew and of the ghostly trial scene. There is also no mention here of Mathias disposing of the merchant's body in a lime-kiln, an act which for a modern audience gives the play an eerily prophetic tone. Bob C. <<"_The Bells_" (1926) Cast: Lionel Barrymore as Mathias; Boris Karloff as the mesmerist; Gustav von Seyfertitz; James Frank: John George; Lola Todd. Directed by James Young. Lionel Barrymore and Boris Karloff, two big guns of the early sound screen, star in this traditional ghost story of the silent era. Mathia (Barrymore) owns the local inn. He wants to be appointed Burgomeister and spend money and gives everyone credit to gain popularity. He is in debt to Gustav von Seyfertitz who is willing to cancel the debt if he can marry Mathias' daughter Annette. It is Fair day. Annette spurns old Gustav in favor of a hand young lieutenant. Mathias must now pay Gustav and must find a way to raise the money. Karloff enters the scene. He is a mesmerist, a hypnotist-magician. He offers to hypnotize Mathias who refuses. A gypsy fortune teller read Mathias' hand; she is terrorized by what she sees, refuses his money, and runs away. In the midst of the festivities a merchant friend comes to the tavern; he has gold in a money belt. Mathias kills him with an axe and takes the gold to repay Gustav. The victim had been with a horse and a carriage with sleigh bells. After the crime the sound of those bells is engraved in Mathias' mind and begins to haunt him. Annett's young officer asks for her hand. Mathias offers his daughter a dowry of 30,000 francs in gold from the murdered man's money. His hands turn black as he handles the gold, and then the merchant's ghost appears. Mathias promises to return the money but changes his mind when he sees Annette together with her future husband. Mathias becomes Burgomeister. Karloff arrives with the brother of the murdered merchant who offers a 30,000 franc reward for the identification of the murderer. Karloff is to mesmerize the truth from any suspect. As Burgomeister Mathias presides over the court as the investigation proceeds. Karloff claims he can make the criminal confess. Mathias, claiming witchcraft, throws the case out of court. The bells keep haunting Mathias, and the merchant's ghost appears again. All this is starting to get to Mathias who is losing control. He even plays cards with the ghost. Wedding bells ring as the big day arrives. However, sleigh bells continue to prey on the mind of Mathias. The ghost reappears at the post nuptial celebration. Mathias is slowing losing his mind as the merchant's brother also reappears with the mysterious mesmerist, leading to an unforgettable climax. _The Bells_ is an absorbing tale, and the talented cast throws an aura of horror throughout this fascinating production. Movie buffs are given an unusual glimpse of the early screen careers of these veteran actors. The video is Kino excellent. It's digitally remastered, color tinted, and toned. The picture and titles are sharp; the move is accompanied by a top-grade orchestra score. Rene Clair's short, _The Crazy Ray_, is addded as a bonus. _The Bells can be purchased from Kino for $24.95. _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Robert L. Champ rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity Those who are alive receive a mandate from those who are silent forever. They can fulfill their duties only by trying to reconstruct precisely things as they were and by wresting the past from fictions and legends. --Czeslaw Milosz rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 19:44:40 -0500 From: JDS Books <jdsbooks(at)ameritech.net> Subject: Re: Arno Press Last November there was an off topic discussion of Arno Press, publisher of a series of reprints in mystery, SF & other fields of interest to gaslight members. I recently discovered a website for Ayer Company Publishers. This is the company which bought out the unsold stock of Arno, Books for Libraries Press, Irvington Publishers, & probably some others. All those books are still for sale, listed by categories & searchable by author or title at http://www.scry.com/ The prices are higher than they were on publication back in the 1970s, but they offer a 20% discount if you buy five or more books. Best in haste, John Squires
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Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 08:23:10 -0700 From: Jerry Carlson <gmc(at)libra.pvh.org> Subject: Today in History - Jan. 28 1871 Surrounded by Prussian troops and suffering from famine, the French army in Paris surrenders. During the siege, balloons were used to keep contact with the outside world. 1915 The U.S. Coast Guard is founded to fight contraband trade and aid distressed vessels at sea. 1915 The German navy attacks the U.S. freighter William P. Frye, loaded with wheat for Britain.
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Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 14:43:18 -0500 (EST) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: Fox sisters' "spook" Sir Arthur Conan Doyle must have read the following item (or at least something like it in the British press) with some interest. The Spiritualist movement, in its modern incarnation, starts with the Fox sisters. Bob C. from the Boston Journal November 22, 1904 ROCHESTER, N.Y., 1904: The skeleton of the man supposed to have caused the rappings first heard by the Fox sisters in 1848 has been found in the walls of the house occupied by the sisters, and clears them from the only shadow of doubt held concerning their sincerity in the discovery of spirit communication. The discovery was made by school children playing in the cellar of the building in Hydesville known as the "Spook House," where the Fox sisters heard the wonderful rappings. William H. Hyde, a reputable citizen of Clyde, who owns the house, made an investigation and found an almost entire human skeleton between the earth and crumbling cellar walls, undoubtably that of the wandering pedlar who it was claimed was murdered in the east room of the house, and whose body was hidden in the cellar. Mr. Hyde has notified relatives of the Fox sisters, and the notice of the discovery will be sent to the National Order of Spiritualists, many of whom remember having made pilgrimage to the "Spook House," as it is commonly called. The finding of the bones practically corroborates the sworn statement made by Margaret Fox, April 11, 1848. _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Robert L. Champ rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity Those who are alive receive a mandate from those who are silent forever. They can fulfill their duties only by trying to reconstruct precisely things as they were and by wresting the past from fictions and legends. --Czeslaw Milosz rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 13:08:14 -0700 From: Deborah McMillion Nering <deborah(at)gloaming.com> Subject: Re: Fox sisters' "spook" >remember having made pilgrimage to the "Spook House," as it is commonly >called. The finding of the bones practically corroborates the sworn statement >made by Margaret Fox, April 11, 1848. The "Spook House", or the Hydesville farmhouse that was owned by the Fox sisters was moved to Lily Dale in 1916 as part of the Lily Dale Assembly, New York, a retreat for Spiritualists founded in 1879. During the boomof Spiritualism in the 1880's the community prosepered and built new homes, library, school, post office, hotel and meeting halls. Although, sadly, the Fox sisters' home burned down in 1955, the community is still there with over 150 residents. In order to practice as a registered medium you must go through a rigorous screening by the town board. In the summer they are open to lectures and workshops. My gallery received an interesting "Spirit Photography" brochure from Lily Dale this last year, which was set aside for me (I can't imagine why) with a beautiful picture of Kate and Margaret Fox (Leah, the oldest sister, was not a medium, more their 'agent') from 1852. Though they are credited with starting the whole table-rapping movement their lives were very troubled (think of it, adolescent girls, lots of poltergeist activity--what does that tell you?) Their colloquial name of the "Rappers from Rochester" would certainly have a different connotation today. Deborah Deborah McMillion deborah(at)gloaming.com http://www.gloaming.com/deborah.html
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Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 21:14:11 -0500 (EST) From: Zozie(at)aol.com Subject: Re: Today in History - Jan. 28 And it is Collette's birthday. phoebe
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Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 22:40:36 -0500 (EST) From: Robert Champ <rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu> Subject: Re: Today in History - Jan. 28 Over the holiday I read _Claudine at School_, Colette's first novel, an autobiographical work that she produced at the insistence of the infamous Monsieur Willy (who published it under his own name). The book provides an interesting look at education in the French provinces at the end of the last century, as well as an engaging portrait of an average French town. (Not exactly holiday fare, I realize, but I had bought the book several months back and was determined to read it.) If the young Sidonie Colette was anything like her heroine Claudine, she was a handful! I became aware of Colette when I saw the film _Gigi_ some years ago; immediately thereafter I read _Cheri_ and _The Last of Cheri_, but _Claudine at School_ was my first experience of her since. I doubt if she would be to everyone's taste, but her enormous talent shines through even in translation. By the way, does anyone know where I might find a discussion of Cleo Merode? Bob C. (whose ancestors--some of them--came from Picardy and thus feels a more than common interest in French literature) On Thu, 28 Jan 1999 Zozie(at)aol.com wrote: > And it is Collette's birthday. > > phoebe > _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Robert L. Champ rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity Those who are alive receive a mandate from those who are silent forever. They can fulfill their duties only by trying to reconstruct precisely things as they were and by wresting the past from fictions and legends. --Czeslaw Milosz rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net _________________________________________________ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
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Date: Fri, 29 Jan 1999 08:22:54 -0600 From: athan chilton <ayc(at)UIUC.EDU> Subject: Re: Colette >If the young Sidonie Colette was anything like her heroine Claudine, >she was a handful! I bet she was. After all, she went off & became a touring performer in the music hall circuit, which probably shocked lots of people--but which gave her ample material for later books. I have read some of her other works. One of the most moving is one of the last ones she wrote, called 'Daybreak'. It's well worth reading, for the philosophical outlook in it as well as the quality of her writing. Many of her short stories are also enjoyable reading. Am I too late to discuss "The Music Essence" (have I got the title right?) I started reading it, finally, at the end of the work day yesterday, and it is enchanting. I have just reached the point where the narrator first meets the 'leader' of the dance in the school... a magical story so far. The atmosphere is haunting, pulling me in so gently I don't realize it is happening... hope to finish the story today! athan (who's always admired Colette and felt a secret kinship to her) ayc(at)uiuc.edu > >I became aware of Colette when I saw the film _Gigi_ some years ago; >immediately thereafter I read _Cheri_ and _The Last of Cheri_, but >_Claudine at School_ was my first experience of her since. I doubt >if she would be to everyone's taste, but her enormous talent shines >through even in translation. > >By the way, does anyone know where I might find a discussion of Cleo >Merode? > >Bob C. (whose ancestors--some of them--came from Picardy and thus >feels a more than common interest in French literature) > > >On Thu, 28 Jan 1999 Zozie(at)aol.com wrote: > >> And it is Collette's birthday. >> >> phoebe >> > > >_________________________________________________ >(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at) > >Robert L. Champ >rchamp(at)polaris.umuc.edu >Editor, teacher, anglophile, human curiosity > >Those who are alive receive a mandate from those >who are silent forever. They can fulfill their >duties only by trying to reconstruct precisely >things as they were and by wresting the past >from fictions and legends. > --Czeslaw Milosz > >rchamp7927(at)aol.com robertchamp(at)netscape.net >_________________________________________________ >(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at)(at) ------------------------------ End of Gaslight Digest V1 #37 *****************************