I wish they’d kept up a little longer. ....possibly there was just one. We do have them, according to a sheriff ‘s deputy I talked to many months ago. But enough North Dakota wildlife notes from me here.

someone findingDale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wish they’d kept up a little longer.
> ....possibly there was just one. We do have them,
> according to a sheriff ‘s deputy I talked to
> many months ago. But enough North Dakota wildlife
> notes from me here.


Gosh, Dale. It sounds so idyllic in your town,

Not only coyotes, but you had a chatty conversation with a sheriff's deputy.

We have coyotes too, here in close-in PDX. They eat peoples's cats. You see forlorn posters attached to telephone poles, with a picture of Fluffy, or Mr. Tom. Every now and then you read about someone finding an empty cat skin in the neighborhood.

Really, very similar to the homeless population here, now that I come to think of it, the main difference being that the coyotes have the good sense to lie low.

...and the only contact I've ever had with the police or sheriff is report my car as stolen...

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The Isle of Voices” with its extravagant marvels and perils reminded me of Amos Tutuola’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, though the Tutuola is more bizarre, and is told in a peculiar English. Has anyone seeing this read it?

I thought the Stevenson was entertaining and showed the author taking up a new literary task, wanting to sound non-European and probably succeeding.

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> “The Isle of Voices” with its extravagant
> marvels and perils reminded me of Amos Tutuola’s
> My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, though the Tutuola
> is more bizarre, and is told in a peculiar
> English. Has anyone seeing this read it?
>
> I thought the Stevenson was entertaining and
> showed the author taking up a new literary task,
> wanting to sound non-European and probably
> succeeding.

I'm not familiar with Tutuola, though now I'm curious.

I enjoyed "The Isle of Voices". And after the other stories we've been discussing, I enjoyed its extravagance. No rational explanations here.

The thought crossed my mind that perhaps this story had some influence on Clark Ashton Smith, though I'm not sure I can justify that impression analytically. But CAS did have some weird island tales and weird wizard tales of his own.

Platypus Wrote:

> The thought crossed my mind that perhaps this
> story had some influence on Clark Ashton Smith,
> though I'm not sure I can justify that impression
> analytically. But CAS did have some weird island
> tales and weird wizard tales of his own.


I could see that!

Dale Nelson Wrote:
> I could see that!

Flipping through CAS's stories, the story "Symposium of the Gorgon" strikes me as most similar in tone, and has an analogous episode. Of course, it could be that both stories are independently influenced by The Arabian Nights Entertainments, including the 4th voyage of Sindbad.

Aha! "The Isle of Voices" was published in book form in Island Nights' Entertainments, so RLS consciously alludes to the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. Incidentally we shall have to see if there is interest here at ED in reading RLS's New Arabian Nights, none of the stories in which, I believe, are supernatural, though they influenced some of Arthur Machen's early stories.

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Incidentally we shall have to see
> if there is interest here at ED in reading RLS's
> New Arabian Nights, none of the stories in which,
> I believe, are supernatural, though they
> influenced some of Arthur Machen's early stories.

I'm peeking at it now. For the first story "Tbe Suicide Club", it seems the central idea is that of the undercover adventures of a ruler and his deputy, in the style of the various undercover adventures of Haroun al Raschid and his vizier. I have vague recollections of a Machen story about a weird club, but I don't know if that's the point of reference.

“Markheim” is a weird story, as I recall. Shall we read it?

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> “Markheim” is a weird story, as I recall.
> Shall we read it?

Sure. It is basically about a murderer. As in some other of his weird stories, the weird element may be in some sense a manifestation of his own guilty conscience. The weird element is a sort of Shroedinger's devil/angel who, in the aftermath of Markheim's first murder, tempts Markheim into doing the wrong/right thing.

OK. Anyone can post on it right away, naturally, and I'll probably reread the story (after 40 years or so??) soon and post here.

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OK. Anyone can post on it right away, naturally,
> and I'll probably reread the story (after 40 years
> or so??) soon and post here.

Sorry if I jumped the gun. But I have reread it. And I don't really have much to say. Calling it a "Shroedinger's angel/devil" is just, if you like, one way of saying that I can't make much sense of it. Maybe someone else can.

My idea that he is tormented by his own conscience seems foreshadowed by his reaction to the mirror.

“Markheim” reminded me of Poe till the mysterious visitor appeared. Then I was reminded of Hawthorne, and after a bit, a little of Dickens. The Dickensian feeling came across around the paragraph beginning with Markheim saying “‘I will lay my heart open to you’” — I found myself around this point thinking of A Christmas Carol, and I suppose it’s no accident that RLS sets the story on Christmas Day and has Markheim remembering more innocent times. The visitor has more in common with the Dickens Ghosts of Christmas, perhaps, than with devil, good angel, embodiment of conscience — but I might be making the story too schematic. Anyway I liked it.

Dale Nelson Wrote:
> The
> visitor has more in common with the Dickens Ghosts
> of Christmas, perhaps, than with devil, good
> angel, embodiment of conscience — but I might be
> making the story too schematic.

At the very least, Markheim thinks he is talking to the Devil. The text does not exactly say that, in so many words, but I'd say that the implication is unmistakeable. But it is also fair to guess that the truth (whatever it is) is at the very least, not quite so simple.

Yes, that makes sense.