Category: Miscellaneous

The Beginning of the “Age of Masks”

On: By: Romeyn

The coming age of masks marks a definite period in that delightful process known as the decline and fall of a civilization – a period when a race that has lost its pioneering freshness has still some faint lingering regard for the appearance of things. It is the time of delicate pretense; it is the beginning of wisdom and the end of faith. Upon the crumbling remains of the dying civilization, the tired survivors begin to erect their rococo delicacies; the voice of decadent beauty their ears are becoming sensitively attuned; and their faces they wear the simulations of their former virtues.

Here in America – and especially in the eastern part of America – this period of gentle decadence has gradually crept upon us until we are now in somewhat the same condition as was Rome under the Emperor Commodus. The evidences of this fact are altogether indisputable; one need name only the vogue of prize-fighting, musical comedies and “The Sheik.”

Let us, then, not fail to enjoy to the utmost this “Age of Masks” – “though much is take, much remains” – and perhaps to some of us, as we don our symbols of decadence, we come to the delightful fate of Lord George Hell, Max Beerbohm’s “Happy Hypocrite”, who eventually came to resemble his pure and innocent mask.

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The Trip to Mars, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox 

On: By: Romeyn

THE TRIP TO MARS

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (November 5, 1850 – October 30, 1919)

 

Oh! by and by we shall hear the cry.
“This is the way to Mars.”
Come take a trip, on the morning Ship;
It sails by the Isle of Stars.

“A glorious view of planets new
We promise by night and day.
Past dying suns our good ship runs,
And we pause at the Milky Way.”

I am almost sure we will take that tour
Together, my dear, my dear.
For, ever have we, by land and sea,
Gone journeying far and near.

Out over the deep–o’er mountain steep,
We have traveled mile on mile;
And to sail away to the Martian Bay,
Oh! that were a trip worth while.

Our ship will race through seas of space
Up into the Realms of Light,
Till the whirling ball of the earth grows small,
And is utterly lost to sight.

Through the nebulous spawn where planets are born
We shall pass with sails well furled,
And with eager eyes we will scan the skies,
For the sights of a new-made world.

From the derelict barque of a sun gone dark,
Adrift on our fair ship’s path,
A beacon star shall guide us afar,
And far from the comet’s wrath.

Oh! many a start of pulse and heart
We have felt at the sights of land.
But what would we do if the dream came true,
And we sighted the Martian strand?

So, if some day you come and say,
“They are sailing to Mars, I hear.”
I want you to know, I am ready to go,–
All ready, my dear, my dear.

World Voices by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
New York : Hearst’s International Library Company, 1916.

Semana Santa, 1941

On: By: Romeyn


Semana Santa is the Spanish celebration for Holy Week leading up to Easter, which dates back to the 16th century when the Catholic Church decided to present the story of the Passion of Christ in a way that the layperson could understand. From that point on, scenes from the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ were told through a series of processions through the streets each year. (tripsavvy.com)

Arial Houseboats of Mars

On: By: Romeyn


THE planet Mars which is now attracting worldwide attention, may well be termed the planet of romance, since it is enveloped in a mysterious charm, giving the imagination full sway. Some romanticists like Flammarion have pictured the inhabitants of Mars as winged creatures, though whether they arc of the nature of bird, bat or butterfly the French scientist has not at tempted to decide.

It is a strange coincidence, however, that the outlines of the darker portions of the surface of the planet, as delineated by Prof. Percival Lowell of the Flagstaff observatory, Arizona, show a remarkable resemblance to huge batlike creatures apparently floating in the Martian atmosphere. Once the attention is drawn to the strange outlines the wonder is that these seeming aeroplanes of batlike appearance have so far escaped detection. Since flights of imagination regarding Mars seem to be in the ascendant at present owing to the fact that the planet will be at its nearest, and consequently well .placed for observation, during the month of September of this year, may one be permitted to weave the following fanciful theory around the planet of romance?

[…]

May not these huge batlike outlines be airships constructed by the Martians for use in the hour of direst need, in which they ascend above the surface of their planet when they know the springtime floods are due? Just as the Egyptians of old fled from certain regions on the banks of the Nile when they observed Sirius, the dogstar, rising in the morning sky before dawn, warning them of the approaching flood, so the gradual melting of the icecap must be in the nature of a signal to the Martians to embark on their aeroplanes and airships.

excerpt from the The San Francisco Call, October 03, 1909

 

Martians View a Football Game

On: By: Romeyn

The Martian astronomer stepped forward with an expectant thrill. He was about to take his first peep through the newly perfected telescope at the earth. For many years the work on this wonderful instrument had been prosecuted. It was, at last, to enable the people of the red planet to learn just what kind of beings inhabited the interesting sphere which they had so long been studying. Telescopes which had served to bring the earth to within an apparent distance of 200 miles of
their own globe had long been in use by the Martian astronomers, but now they were to be able to see their neighbor at an advantage which they had never previously enjoyed. The new Instrument was so powerful that the observer gazing through it would see the earth as plainly as if it had had actually been within hailing distance. Continue reading “Martians View a Football Game” →