| II. 11. | Blind worms—pious swine. — The poor servants of God! Ah, well! we have our comfort in Him; like Our Blessed Lord, we can forgive. It is for our loving Lord to set His foot upon the necks of our enemies, and to cast them out into the blackness of darkness for ever. | |
| V. 12. 13. | This is quite unintelligible to me. | |
| XI. | I think this is what is called Echolalia, a sure sign of 'degeneracy'; or, as I prefer to think, a wickedness which has gone, dreadful as it sounds to write, beyond the Infinite Mercy of God. "I will send them strong delusion." | |
| XIII. 9. | Oriflamme. — How obscene is all this symbolism! | |
| THE HERMIT | ||
| IV. 7. | Myrrh—musk. — The perfumes of Sorrow and of Lust. Many prostitutes scent themselves strongly with musk, the better to allure their unhappy victims. | |
| VI. 8. | Maid. — Proserpine, or Hecate. I think the latter, as Proserpine became wife of Hades. | |
| VII. | This disgusting sonnet seems to refer to the wicked magical practice of travelling by the astral double. | |
| IX. | Cannabis. — Indian hemp, a drug producing maniacal intoxication. | |
— 134 —
