Foreword

In presenting this volume to the public it is not the intention of the author to offer it as a literary masterpiece, but, in his adopted language—conscious of his limitation—merely to give expression to his thoughts on certain problems of life that have always seemed to him of particular significance.

At present there appears to be a general bombastic clamor among certain nations who, decrying others as barbarous, claim to have reached the highest pinnacle of civilization. Yet a glance at the existing conditions in those self-lauded governments will reveal rampant corruption among their leaders who, for their own selfish ends, retard legislations which are absolutely imperative for the general welfare. It is not necessary to mention other ways in which the people are being daily betrayed, for this is sufficient to render any thinking person despondent and pessimistic.

The causes of the decadence of nations are not the laws which have been enacted, but the flagrant violation of these very laws, actuated by greed, avarice and commercialism which are generated in the individual in power. The only remedy for this state is either a leader of intrepid courage or the awakening [viii]of the people themselves and their demanding reforms by public mandate.

The true meaning of civilization is Universal Brotherhood, and in this sense, the leading lights in every stratum of life, whether in Government or in Commerce, in Religion or in Science, stand arraigned and indicted before the tribunal of conscience for retarding this laudable spirit of Brotherhood.

Why do not Captains of Industry and Commerce, instead of throttling each other, by a unanimous effort, promulgate laws on a reciprocal basis among themselves?

Why do not Scientists, instead of confining their efforts to individual endeavors, combine their forces so as to enhance the chance of accomplishing greater results in research and exploration?

Why do not Spiritual Shepherds, instead of preaching intolerance and fanaticism, bring their flocks together in harmony? An Oriental scholar in the Congress of Religions, at the Columbian Fair, declared that “the flocks are willing to pasture together, but it is the shepherds who are keeping them apart.”

And in fine, why do not the Nations, each claiming the highest forms of civilization, instead of disseminating national, sectional and race hatred, form an alliance, which will advance the cause of Universal Brotherhood, and brighten the hope of bringing enduring peace to the world at large?

In this golden era, with its vast numbers of diplomats, statesmen, theologians, scientists, and its countless fraternal organizations,—each preaching, fraternity, love and charity,—what evil spirit or genii prevents them from forming a union between two of [ix]the foremost and best forms of Governments,—America and Britain—perfect types in their entity, having similar laws, language and aspirations?

Who will be the Savior, through whose agency this happy cross fertilization, inoculation or union shall be achieved? It was the above thoughts, and the idea of an alliance between COLUMBIA and BRITANNIA, that suggested in all seriousness the following frivolously allegorical narrative,—a potpourri of weird fancy, satire and imagination, a mosaic of the sublime and the ridiculous, on themes worthy of a master.

Yet if some reader should find, even in this fantastic guise, an occasional thought worthy of arousing him to nobler efforts, the author will consider himself well rewarded.

In regard to his prophecies for the future, he is willing to be called a consummate prevaricator should his desire for the betterment of mankind or the unity of nations take place much sooner than he has predicted, or the calamities fail to materialize or prove to be much lighter than he has foreseen.

G. C.

Floral Park, N. Y. [11]

The Young Ladies’ Seminary

It is 1960, Anno Domini. The Earth, notwithstanding many dire predictions of charlatans and religious fanatics, and in spite of numerous cataclysms, conflagrations and political upheavals, was rotating serenely on its axis.

The Diana Young Ladies’ Seminary, situated upon the picturesque hills of Cornwall on the Hudson, is a few miles north of the West Point Military Academy. The seminary buildings, having formerly been the palatial homestead of a multi-millionaire, about half a century previously had been bequeathed to the State of New York, with ample endowments for its maintenance and development. It had long since become one of the finest institutions of learning of its kind, not only of America, but of the whole civilized world.

The donor of this magnificent seat of knowledge [12]for young ladies was a man of “polarity,” of positive and negative action and reaction. He was in fact a typical incarnation and embodiment of a dualism, immortalized by the fertile fancy of Robert Louis Stevenson, in his story of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” While on the one hand he had an apparently irresistible and monomaniacal cunning in robbing his fellow men by monopolizing all the necessities of life, crushing with hellish unscrupulousness all competition in every channel of industry, and strewing his wake with industrial wrecks,—on the other hand he busied himself with the erection of hospitals and churches, and in endowing colleges with a princely liberality, commensurate to his other nature.

Emerson, the philosopher, says “The whole universe is so, and so every one of its parts,” that “an inevitable dualism bisects nature,” each thing being a half and suggesting its complement. As the mammoth Californian redwood tree, which with its towering height looks overpoweringly stupendous when compared with the tiny otaheite orange or dwarf Japanese plant, so was the difference in power of acquisitiveness and possibilities of dispensation [13]between this colossus compared with ordinary mortals.

The real motive of his charity could not be divined; whether it was because, pricked by a guilty conscience, he used this means as a palliative for his sins, or whether he was entirely oblivious of wrong-doing and was prompted only by a frank desire for doing good, was never determined. But at any rate after his death it was found that he had donated his palaces, with munificent endowment funds, to establish this educational institution for females. Moreover, it is not my intention to write a biography of this dual monster of money-maniac and philanthropist, for his deeds are written on the graves and sorrowing hearts of his victims, as well as in the grateful remembrance and esteem of his beneficiaries.

Besides, we are told that God works good even through the agency of the devil, and if he really had been a satellite of Satan, the great usefulness and wide influence for good of the Seminary demonstrated the veracity of the above statement.

The Diana Seminary had proven its right to its high place in the public esteem. Its fame [14]had reached every corner of the earth. Young women, not only from America but from every clime and nation, flocked thither seeking to perfect themselves in such branches of education as are the necessary requirements of the fair sex to fit them to reign supreme in any capacity, from teaching in a country school to presiding on regal thrones and guiding the destinies of Nations.

The Diana Seminary had become particularly famous for the especial branches of a curriculum which rendered the young ladies magnificently lovely in form, chic in habilaments, brilliant and vivacious in conversation, serene and dignified in carriage, sweet and optimistic in nature, pure in sentiments, and in addition conferred upon them all the necessary qualifications of accomplished housewives, virtues all of which are inherent in American women and susceptible of highest development.

The graduates of this Seminary were always eagerly sought in marriage, not only by the deserving young men living near the college, but also by the nobility and even the royalty of Europe. The demands of the latter class were indeed so great as to alarm the fond parents [15]across the ocean for the future happiness of their daughters, and they were thus compelled to send their beloved ones to this Institution in order to acquire that polish which their American sisters had proven so desirable.

Amongst the many English maidens who were there matriculated was beautiful Aurora Cunningham, the only daughter of the Secretary of Foreign affairs of Great Britain.

It is unnecessary to dwell upon the beauty and charms of Aurora. It is true that she could not be compared with the Goddesses of ancient Greece, nor did she resemble the bewitching sylvan nymphs depicted by the brush and pen of masters of art. She was a mortal; suffice it to say, that she was a graceful girl of exquisitely moulded form, of medium height, with luxuriant golden tresses, which, shimmering in the sunlight, justified her baptismal name. Her large, dreamy blue eyes mirrored the purity of her soul, and the dimples on her cheeks were so deep and alluring that all who looked upon them felt their compelling charm.

She was, in a word, a typical English maiden. Highly accomplished, and though dainty in demeanor, nevertheless she was not one of [16]those frail, ailing butterflies who exist and thrive only in artificial atmosphere. Having been reared with greatest care, by means of a complete course of calisthenics and out-of-door sports, with all her refined mien she was a hardy and healthy specimen of feminine beauty as well as a leader in all the strenuous pastimes of the Diana Seminary.

She was called the “sunshine” of the Seminary, and none other merited the appellation so well. Consequently she was idolized by the rest of the students and was much sought after by the gallant young men in the vicinity. After the manner of girl students who are given to violent friendships, Aurora was devoted to her room-mate in the person of a charming American girl named Margaret MacDonald, the daughter of a Western Senator.

Margaret was entirely the opposite of Aurora,—her very antithesis. She was somewhat taller, with sparkling black eyes and raven hair, of imposing dignity and carriage, but withal the equal of Aurora in the matter of natural gifts and accomplishments. She had, moreover, a captivating frivolity and aggressiveness which almost bordered on masculinity. [17]

Perhaps it was this complete diversity of temperament and of type that engendered an intense affinity between the girls. For although diametrically differing even in their exposition of ideas, they were drawn to each other with a mysterious sympathy which attracted the attention of outsiders and furnished ample excuse for comment. Directly after their first meeting they had become inseparable companions and confidants.

As the time passed this strange attachment grew so marked and its manifestations so alarmingly flagrant that they themselves became aware of its dangerous consequences. They realized that if they gave free license to indiscreet emotional demonstrations in the class room or in public, not only would their actions not be tolerated by the College faculty and cause their expulsion from the Seminary, but they would also be subjected to unendurable ostracism by the rest of the students. But still worse was the confronting fact that they would undoubtedly become the topic of unpleasant notoriety through the publicity given by the sensational press. They had therefore the good judgment to pledge themselves to [18]control their emotions in the presence of the class, and to exercise wide-awake circumspection in their behavior in public and towards the opposite sex.

It is needless to say that by the happy faculty of diplomacy, inherent in them, they succeeded with consummate delicacy and skill in maintaining their natural poise and normal attitude throughout the seminary course.

Like the magnetic pole the Diana Seminary had become the center of attraction for the adjacent youths, especially the Academy boys, who on all gala occasions were welcome guests at the Seminary.

The experiment of co-education had long since been proven a failure. By the well known law of electricity, that bodies similarly electrified repel each other, and bodies oppositely electrified attract, it seems that the constant familiarity and co-mingling of the two sexes in co-educational institutions at the romantic age of puberty had a somewhat similar effect and breeded contempt, blunting that keen fondness for each other which seems natural, and so was not surprising that in such institutions both sexes, when leaving college, separated [19]more like enemies than friends and lovers.

The isolation of the sexes naturally created an intensity of affection and a desire for association, and when the two periodically came in contact caused that rapturous thrill of hearts and nascent unification of souls. This undoubtedly was the plausible explanation, at least one of the reasons, why the Seminary girls were always in demand and were participants of so many happy unions.

The only exception to the rule were Aurora and Margaret who, although in every way agreeable to the aspirants for their hearts and hands, refrained from making an alliance throughout their college course. It was piteously amusing, however, to see those gallant swains from the Academy heading for the Seminary whenever opportunity presented. Their hearts were filled with intense ardor and their lips and pubescent moustaches were pregnant with the microbes of Eros,—in a high state of fermentation—blurting out with tense anxiety the momentous query, “Wilt thou be mine?” to Aurora or Margaret, only to return vanquished by the cold decisive negative. [20]

The Initiation

There was no cause for ennui at the Diana Seminary. Notwithstanding the serious course of study, there was ample jollity. The tedium of their leisure hours was beguiled with all kinds of recreations according to the seasons of the year.

A “Full-Back” in 1960

There were the various Seminary teams in basket ball, fencing, golfing, calisthenics and amateur theatricals. The girls also indulged in excursions to the exhibitions of the Academy boys, on their gala days of mimic warfare in the campus, as well as to their contests on the diamond or gridiron at foot ball. This latter sport having reached in those days the top notch of perfection, it furnished the fair spectators thrills of excitement when the contestants in their improved steel helmets and cuirass, with pronged leggings and spiked shoes looked like veritable knights of the chivalric ages. It [21]gave an additional source of lingering pleasure and admiration at such contests when half a dozen ambulances were required to cart away the gladiators in hors du combat.

Besides all the above recreations, the Seminary girls had also their various secret organizations which furnished ample work for winter months. One of the most notable of these fraternities was called the D. N. A., signifying “Daughters of the New Alliance.”

A brief description of the sacred rites of this unique fraternity, on an interesting initiation, may not here be amiss. It took place during the incumbency of the two principal organizers and charter members—Aurora and Margaret,—the latter occupying at the time the most exalted position of Reverend High Priestess and the former that of Supreme Guide. The initiation in question was remarkable for the singular coincidence that the applicants for membership were discovered to be of half a dozen nationalities—French, German, Scotch, Irish, Italian and Hebrew,—and this unusual circumstance lent the occasion widespread sensation among the other members and made the session most memorable. [22]

A peep in the temple revealed a bewildering spectacle, an “Adamless Eden” of loveliness as it were. Margaret MacDonald, enveloped in gorgeously embroidered Grecian robes, enthroned on an elevated dais, a golden sceptre in hand, and a brilliant diadem on her shapely head, presented an imposing figure as High Priestess, while Aurora in a tight fitting cuirass of variegated spangles, holding a trident, performed her official duties. Other functionaries attired in chaste Grecian costumes occupied their respective positions.

In the proscenium the applicants, attired in their respective national costumes, followed the assistant guide to the gate of the temple when, on pressing a button, an extremely melodious chant surged through the atmosphere. This called the attention of the Supreme Guide to the fact that there were applicants for membership. The Supreme Guide in the same manner then made the announcement to the high priestess, and the latter commanded them to be admitted to the temple. At the clanking of the cymbals and the sounding of the fanfares as if by magic the gate was ajar, revealing to the eyes of the new disciples a dazzling scene of harmoniously [23]blended loveliness. They filed in and arranged themselves in the shape of a crescent at the lower end of the temple.

In the centre of the room, on an alabaster table, they could discern a glass receptacle in which, squirming and wriggling, were a quantity of angle worms; on another similar table close by they could see a golden cage, wherein half a dozen tiny rodents were playing tag. In one corner a fierce, pugnacious billy-goat was butting with vicious vigor against one of the Grecian columns of the temple.

When the sound of the fanfares subsided the High Priestess, rising suddenly and striking three times on the marble floor with her magic sceptre, commanded silence, and in a sweet voice spoke thus:

“Supreme Guide of the order of D. N. A. what bringest thou to this sanctuary?”

The guide answered in pathetic tones: “Thou High Priestess of the order of D. N. A., I bring thee greeting. I bring thee also jewels rare, for thy shrine; gems, not still life or crystals petrified, but forms divine, animate with heaving breasts, with radiant brows, and sparkling eyes that volumes speak, that even Cupid, [24]dazed, would soon forget his ancient Psyche fair, and yet unable be whom amongst these for himself to take.”

“Have they signified their willingness to be tested for courage and fortitude?”

“They have.”

“Are they ready to travel through the tortuous path of the inquisition?”

“They are.”

“Then prithee, take them to the ante-chamber that their eyes may be blindfolded and the robes of chastity may be thrown over them. Then bring them thither through the tortuous path of the inquisition to my presence.”

Accordingly they were taken to the ante-room and while being prepared for the journey they were given plain intimation that they were to make a repast of the angle worms and fondly handle the young rodents, while direct hints of riding the bellicose goat were thrown out, as though this were the least of the test to which they were to be subjected.

Preparation for their return to the Temple being completed, their readiness was again communicated as before and to the solemn but inspiring Andante of Faust they began to wind [25]through a path of serpentine evolutions. On their journey many strange and threatening voices came to their ears, some cursing their undertaking and advising them to return before too late, some whispering that they were about to step into an abyss or to encounter dire disaster. But by the guidance and occasional prod by the trident of timid and erratic disciples they proceeded onward with cautious steps. When almost at the end of their journey, however, there was a sharp cry from one of the applicants which caused the procession to halt.

Lady Rosa Redmont Davitt, the daughter of an Irish noble,—a comely girl, with laughing eyes, full of wit and humor and with a strong combative instinct, withal very popular at the seminary—gave vent to her distress in a piquant but pleasing accent: