The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-01-03
Don Marquis
Column =
IMAGINARY CHARACTERS.
The swami Bhandranath.

herm1one has spoken so often during
the past two or three years. does not
give so much time to her and her little
group as formerly. His influence has
spread; his fame has waxed: he IL .
vogue. He has. in short, become one
OF the Sanskrit Fathers who are labor
ing to save the Citadel of the Occk
dental Soul from Materialism. -
Winch is paying him.
The Swami is not only q Teacher,
but he has set UP as a Poet. too. A
free verse Poet, OF course.
Perhaps 1t is not quite proper 10 say
that he has "set up as Poet. Rather.
he has allowed 1t to be discovered that
ne has been Poet al the time
II was our privilege, not long ago,
TO see and hear the Swami recite one
OF his poems The event was pulled
on in Hermione's Studio.
Hermione has made her father buy
one Of the good old houses on lower
Fifth avenue. 1t Is near washington
Square; 1t Is not far from Greenwich
Village proper. or Greenwich Village
will forgive us for calling 1t propef.)
There was an excellent stable on the
place. Hermionoe's father wished TO
ehC oNaOlC AnlO . BdEdkC. DQk
Hermione had IL turned into a Studio
instead. 1t is in this Studio that all
the Soul Fights are put on nowadays.
Fothergil Finch led US to II, an
swered for the present state OF our
soul at the gate, no doubt, and we
shilled through. Besides Fothergil
and ourself and Woke Easeley. the
bony nut with the big ears who paints
sound portraits with his educated
larynx, there were no males at khe
ring side Hermione's father yJShad
been invited, but he remarked
coarsely that rather than follow q
lemon-colored ayatar into any foreign
type Of heaven he would go to hell in
his own hand-basket. Hermione's fath-
er is not only unspiritual, he is strong
ly antfspiritual. He does not dare
to say much to Hermione about Il
openly. But he often retfres to the
basement and sits down beside the
heating apparatus and smokes 50-cent
cigars and curses Hermione's gods. II
he should die while doing this Her
mione would inherit a great deal OF
money. Two or three times FotAsr-
gil Finch has sat and smoked with
him, perhaps in the hope. - : He
has a tobacco heart" -.
-
But TO return to the party.
With the male exceptions noted,
they were all women. Among others
present was Aurelia Dart, the harp
list: she is accompanied everywhere
by a pair of big bare, beautiful arms:
and she rattles under a burden OF "art
jewelry' so great that II she were
horse the S. p. A. would pinch some
one for overlooking her. But the most
OF the women were more nearly Her
mione's own type. They were gath
cred around the Swami seven deep:
they piled him with refreshments;
they clothed him with worship: they
hung breathless upon his words; they
questions; they cooed eS
statically in chorus. And the Swami
sat in the midst of them like q piece
Of citrus fruit entirely surrounded by
fudge, or golden baby with twenty
eight maiden aunts-
And here is one Of the seven poems
ne recited:
Nv soul is a little child.
A little child that wanders through
the Indian jungle seeking
The long grasses do not trip the little
child.
For the grasses are full Of Love.
And the child Is full Of Love
The thorns do not scratch the little
child. for they are filed with,
The parrots do not peck. for they are
full Of Love,
The swords Of the robbers turn blunted
from the throat of the little child,
For the swords are full Of Love -.
The tiger fawns caressing the feet of
the little child.
For the tiger Is full Of Love
The cobra, the great hooded cobra.
looks into the eyes of the little
child.
And the eyes Of the cobra I'LL with
Ny soul is a little child,
through the jungle Of the world.
Every time the Swami said Love"
he twenty-eight female hearts present
md voting beat. so that they shook the
studio; they furnished all the rhythm
he poem needed; the twenty-eight
,airs Of female lips cooed in unison Ike
Hindu doves.
Twenty-eight. Please note the TWEEN
weight. 1t Is a multiple Of seven.
Iermione explained to me that the
swami would not recite his poems ex-
,ept to seven. or fourteen. or twenty
me, or twenty-eight. or thirty-five, or
orty-nine persons. -. Never. under
my consideration to more than forty
line, which is seven times seven. and
he ideal audience. Seven. Seven,
he mystic seven, Hermione'S father.
he coarse old. Philistine. remarked to
ne later that II reminded him somehow
4 a well-known game played with dice
but he is crude. materiaHstic
I'D codger. However. it is through
lis Grass materialism that Hermione In
nabled to slip the Swami a cheque for
1S9 (seven times twenty-seven dollars)
N these occasions. The Swami since his
'ogue has grown charges for this sort
4 thing.
But, Hermione." I said, ait is true
hat there were four times seven girls
here. The men present, however,
brought the audience up to thirty"
THE men don't count" said Her
nione. "If anythings the Swami
would rather there were only women
present. or course. he doesn't mind
Finch one way or the
,ther."
ASH left, Hermione's father saw me
md beckoned me- He Is a Grass old
,rune. l went into the house and he
ed me to the basement.
I'll betcha," he said. giving me a
igar, and propping the furnace door
men 80 he could spit into the fire.