u/Important_Pick3371

Pix:

A. Circe - Making Swine Out of Men!

B. Sirens' Song...

C. Scylla & Charybdis 'team up'!!

D. Calypso - cause i had to!

E. Scheria - Last Harbor B4 Home.

F. Killing the Suitors!!

G. Reunion.

Intro: Part 2 of Lovecraft's first known poem.

Text:

He now remains in fair domains

In Circe's¹ palace grand.

His men do change in fashion strange

To beasts at her command.

But Mercury² did set him free

From witcheries like this

Unhappy he his men to see

Engaged in swinish bliss.

He drew his sword and spake harsh words

To Circe standing there

"My men set free", he said in anger

"Thy damage quick repair"!!!

Then all the herd at her brief word

Become like men once more

Her magic beat, she gives all treats³

Within her palace door.

And now Ulysses starts in bliss

The Syrens⁴ are about to pass

No sound his crew's sharp ears imbues

For they are stopped fast.

Now Scylla's⁵ necks menace his decks

Charybdis⁶ threatens his ships

Six men are lost - O! Terrible cost

But he slips through danger.

At last from waves no ships he saves

But on Calypso's⁷ island

He drifts ashore & more & more

He tarries for a while.

At Jove's⁸ command he's sent to land

To seek his patient wife,

But his raft breaks & now he takes

His life from Neptune's strife.

He quickly lands on Scheria's⁹ beaches

And goes to the king.

He tells his tale, all hold wassail;¹⁰

An ancient bard doth sing.

Now does he roam to his home

Where suitors woo his spouse

In beggar's rags himself he drags

Unknown into his house

His arrows flew at that vile crew

Who sought to win his bride

Now all are killed & he is filled

With great & happy pride.

His swineherd first, then his old nurse

Do recognize him well

Then does he see Penelope?¹¹

With whom in peace he'll dwell.

Until black death stops his breath

And take him from the Earth;

He'll never roam far from Ithaca,¹²

The island of his birth...

(Ads:)

Notice!!!

Providence Classics

This Odyssey is the latest & best ever published for young readers.

Be sure to order a copy.

The Providence Press

Catalogue of the Providence Press Company

Mythology¹³ for the Young - 25¢

Ulysses for Young Folks in verse - 5¢

An Old Egyptian Myth¹⁴ Prepared Specially for Small Children - 5¢

The Young Folks' Iliad¹⁵ in verse - 5¢

The Aeneid¹⁶ - 5¢

Ovid's Metaphorphosis¹⁷ - 25¢

All by H. Lovecraft

PS

The latter works may be much better than this because the author will have more practice.

Nov. 8, 1897

(Footnotes will appear in the Replies - when i can get to them...)

Pix:

A. Webtoon Series!

B. Reprint Cover.

C. One of the many Maps trying to trace this epic Voyage Home.

D. Neptune's Wrath!!

E. Lotus Addiction!

F. Man-Eating Cyclops.

G. Aeolia, home of the Wind God.

Intro:

This is Lovecraft's earliest surviving poem, retelling Homer's epic - in a mere 88 lines!

Since Howard wrote it when he was 7 years old, we shouldn't be surprised that he's into glorifying warriors, long quests & some God awful mythical beings.¹

Funnily enough, in 1926, HPL looked back on this particular effort & thought that he had done a horrible job of it!

Importantly, Lovecraft's preface to this poem states that it's intended for young readers...

Amazingly, Howard "published" this work - himself(!) - under the name of Providence Publishing.²

Even this young, HPL already felt a close connection to his hometown.³

Titles:

Also known as "The Poem of Ulysses" & "The Odyssey" in plain Old English Verse, an Epick Poem writ by H. Lovecraft, Gent.⁴

Preface:

If thou likest this humble poem, thou canst buy others writ by me very similar to it, for we are contemplating a great series of classic poetry by H.P. Lovecraft.

Price 5 cents per copy.

Acknowledgements are due to Pope's "Odyssey" & Bullfinch's "Mythology" & Harper's "Half Hour" Series.⁵

Homer⁶ first wrote the poem.

Text:

The night was dark! O readers, Hark!

And see Ulysses'⁷ fleet!

From trumpets sound back homeward bound

He hopes his spouse will greet him.

Long he hath fought, put Troy⁸ to naught

And leveled down its walls.

But, Neptune's⁹ wrath obstructs his path

And into snares he falls.

After a storm that did much harm

He comes upon an island

Where men do roam, forgetting home

And lotus¹⁰ doth beguile.

From these mean snares his men he tears

And puts them on the ships.

No leave he grants & lotus plants

Must no more touch their lips.

And now he comes to Cyclops¹¹ homes

Foul giants they all are.

Each has 1 eye & hard they ply

Great Vulcan¹² to obey.

Cyclop's cave the wanderers brave

And find much milk & cheese

But as they eat, foul death they meet

For them doth Cyclops seize.

Each live long day the Cyclops prey

Are two most noble Greeks

Ulysses brave he plans to save

And he seeks a quick escape.

By crafty ruse he can confuse

The stupid giant's mind

Puts out his eye with a terrible cry

And leaves the wretch behind.

Now next he finds the king of winds

Great Aeolus's¹³ home

The windy king to him doth bring

Wind bags to help him roam.

(To Be Continued...)

Footnotes will be found (sometime today - i hope) in the Replies.

Pix:

A. Whipple Van Buren Phillips.

B. Humorous Gothic Graphic Novel series!

C. HPL's Subterranean Tales collection.

D. Whisperers in Darkness?

E. Rather "Nosy" Little Brat...

F. Thin Crust, Hollow Earth!!

G. "Sistine Chapel of Crystals."¹

Title: "The Noble Eavesdropper" - 1897.

Intro:

Sadly, this is one of Lovecraft's many short stories that he threw out when he was 18.

What did survive was mostly due to "Suzie" (his mom) & we really need to thank her for that!

Luckily for us, Howard did mention these lost tales in later comments - so, we have some idea of what we're missing.

But, this being HPL's first "horror" tale, many scholars would love to use it, in figuring out Lovecraft's full evolution as a writer.

So, keep your peepers open...

Plot:

In a 1931 letter to J. V. Shea: "A boy overhears some horrible conclave of subterranean beings in a cave."

Then, in HPL's Notes on a Nonentity (1933):

"A tale of a hideous cave."

Finally, in a 1934 letter to F. L. Baldwin: "Something about a cave of robbers."

Inspiration:

The best possibility here is a variation of Ali Baba's cave - but, mixed in with the nightly Gothic tales that Whipple liked to tell his grandson.

Lovecraft wrote that, during this period, the art of Auguste Dore's, in Dante, Milton & the Ancient Mariner, inspired him powerfully & he first started to write his own stories.

Importantly, this is Howard's only horror tale - written B4 he read Poe's works. So, it's a real literary loss.

Background:

Most readers know that Lovecraft's stories are more than just some tentacled kaijus going out on a rampage.

The true core of Yogsothery is that we live in a universe far beyond our abilities to conquer & so vast, we might never truly understand it.

This seems to drive some people mad...

Mythos stories mostly deal with deities so far beyond us that they're usually indifferent to our existence.

Homework:

Your mission, should you accept it, is to set out some essential salts & resurrect HPL's Noble Eavesdropper - in your own image...

You've got: a horrid cave, robbers, a nosy royal kid & underground creatures - It just writes itself!

Note:

1. This is the stunning Cave of Crystals in Chihuahua, Mexico - with the largest known gypsum & selenite crystals in the world!

It was accidentally found, at a Naica Mine, by miners cutting out a new tunnel - 980 feet below the surface.

This is a lethal place, with temps reaching 136°F & 100% humidity!

Unprotected humans are limited to visits that last a few minutes - as fluid buildup in one's lungs & heatstroke are ever-present dangers.

Strangely enough, microbes in water drops - stuck inside the crystals - were trapped there for some 60,000 years!!

90% of them had never been seen B4!

In 2017, scientists tapped some of these "pockets" & woke the tiny critters up!!

And, found out that they survive by eating toxic heavy metals...

This cavern is also connected to the smaller Cave of Swords that was discovered in 1910 - when Lovecraft was around 20 years old!

Sources:

< A Dreamer & a Visionary by ST Joshi - 2017.

< Cambridge U Press & Assessment: "Chapter 3: Black Woods & Unfathomable Caves" - ?

< Coopernundrums: "Noble Eavesdropper" by J Cooper - 2015.

< Factinate: "Terrifying Facts About HPL, Crafter of Nightmares" by Kyle Climans? - 2025.

< HPL: Letters to JV Shea, CF Strauch & LM White by ST Joshi & DE Schultz - 2016.

< HPL: Letters to FL Baldwin, DW Rimel & Nils Frome by ST Joshi & DE Shultz - 2016.

< HP Lovecraft Wiki: "Lost Works of E'ch-Pi-El" - ?

< SFF Chronicles Forum: "The Non-Extant Works" by Pablo, etc... - 2008.

< Some Notes on a Nonentity by HPL - Written 1933, Published 1943.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie/And with strange eons even death may die."

Never the End, Folks!

Pix:

A. Little Glass Bottle cover.

B. Lovecraft's Original Manuscript!

C. The "Unhelpful Map."

D. Real Map of Australia.

E. A "cat boat."

F. Classic Schooner.

Intro:

Howard originally prepared this story as a special booklet that he presented to Suzie, his mom.

He finished writing it in 1897, just before his 7th birthday.

It wouldn't be published until 1959.

Text:

"Heave to, there's something floating to the leeward¹." The speaker was a short stockily built man whose name was William Jones. He was the captain of a small cat boat², in which he & a party of men (were) sailing at the time (this) story opens.

"Aye, aye, sir," answered John Towers & the boat was brought to a stand-still. Captain Jones reached out his hand, for the object which he now discerned to be a glass bottle. "Nothing but a rum flask³ that the men on a passing boat threw over (board)", he said.

But, from an impulse of curiosity, he reached out for it. It was a rum flask & he was about to throw it away, when he noticed a piece of paper in it. He pulled it out & read the following on it,

Jan 1 1864⁴

I am John Jones who writes this letter. My ship is sinking fast, with a treasure on board. I am where it is marked ✳️ on the enclosed chart⁵.

Captain Jones turned the sheet over & (on) the other side was a chart. On (its) edge were written these words,

Dotted lines represent (the) course we took.

"Towers", said Capt. Jones excitedly, "read this." Towers did as he was directed, "I think it would pay to go." Said Capt. Jones, "Do you?" "Just as you say", replied Towers.

"We'll charter a schooner⁶ this very day", said the excited captain. "All right, said Towers. So, they hired a boat and started off, (going) by the dotted lines on the chart.

In 4 weeks⁷, they reached the place directed & divers went down. And, came up with an iron bottle they found. In it, the following lines (were) scribbled on a piece of brown paper,

Dec 3 1880⁸

Dear Searcher, excuse me for the practical joke i have played on you. But, it serves you right to find nothing for your foolish act -

"Well, it does", said Capt. Jones, "go on."⁹

However, i will defray your expenses to & from the place you found your bottle. I think it will be $250.¹⁰ So, that amount you will find in an iron box. I know where you found the bottle, because i put this bottle here & the iron box. And then, (i) found a good place to put the second bottle. (I am) hoping the enclosed money will defray your expenses some (what).

I close - Anonymous.

"I'd like to kick his head off", said Capt. Jones, "Here diver, go & get the $250." In a minute, the diver came up bearing an iron box. Inside (of) it, was found (the) $250.

It defrayed their expenses but, i hardly think that they will ever go to a mysterious place as directed by a mysterious bottle...

Footnotes:

1. Leeward is the side of a boat that is protected from the full force of the wind.

2. Traditional sailboat having one mast placed forward in the bow & carrying one large sail. Their wide hulls & shallow drafts make them ideal for coastal waters.

3. A compact bottle with a screw-on cap that holds hard liquor. It's usually curved to fit in pockets & bags.

4. The American Civil War was still raging but, battles were smaller - with armies in their winter quarters, preparing themselves for Spring. Throughout the US, folk's personal journals spoke of the bitter winter cold.

5. Australian charts of this time, already had precise ocean depths along the coasts. So, this is not a nautical chart but, a treasure map & is not meant to not reveal everything...

6. A sailing ship with, at least, two masts. Its sails run throughout the boat's length, which allows these ships to sail closer into the wind. They need much smaller crews to steer them.

7. Four weeks west of Australia, at that time, means they started out somewhere along eastern Madagascar (modernizing with British help), Reunion Island (Great Britain importing "coolies" from India) or from Mauritius (British colony testing the change from slaves to contracted workers).

8. The First Boer War would begin on the 16th of this month & Boer farmers would actually defeat British troops on the 20th!! This date is when everything is set up - but, not the date of the story, which is set some time later...

9. Strangely enough, the captain here, speaks as if someone else is reading the note!

10. The correct amount is a mystery, as HPL wrote it down as "$25.0.00"! Most analysts say $25.00 but, that's not going to "defray" the cost of renting a schooner, paying the crew nor even for the supplies needed!! That's why i prefer it to be $250.00. It's still not enough but, it's more "realistic". And yes, i know it's all make-believe but, i like fussing over the details.

Until Next Time, Love & Respect...

Quick Bio: Childhood -

Until he was 6, Suzie dressed Lovecraft in frocks & curled his long blond hair.

This was a normal Victorian custom that was slowly becoming obsolete.

But, Howard was becoming tired of being treated like a daughter & threw a major tantrum!!

Suzie was forced to get his hair cut & HPL could finally dress in breechers/trousers.

It's also at 6, that Lovecraft wrote his 1st known story - "The Little Glass Bottle."

These (& other) tales are called Howard's "Juvenilia" &, sadly, few of them survive.

When he was 18, HPL reevaluated all of his earliest works - & found them to be terrible.

So, not wanting to be ridiculed, he ripped up many & threw them away...

At 7, Lovecraft was inspired by Alexander Pope's "Odyssey" translation to write his 1st bit of poesy, "The Poem of Ulysses."

This is also the year that he 1st read the works of Edgar Allan Poe...

Location -

200 University Avenue - the Slater Primary & Grammar School was actually an older & smaller wooden building.

Howard 1st went there during 1898-1899, when he was 8.

He found the lessons repetitive - as he had already learned most of the material from his grandma's library.

But, HPL did make 2 friends there: Chester & Harold Munroe!

However, sickness soon had him leaving school.

Also, Lovecraft didn't get along with his teacher...

Yet, he returned (at 12 years old) to the same school during 1902-1903.

Sickness soon had him returning to private tutors & his own voracious reading.

This school was abandoned in 1917 & soon demolished.

The site was later used by other schools, like the St. Dunstan's Preparatory School that's pictured above, in the 2nd pic.

Quick Bios -

Robie, Lovecraft's grandma, had a passion for collecting books & ended up with 2,000+ volumes kept up in her attic - some of them being centuries old!

Her death, when he was 5 years old, set off a year's vigil that affected Howard emotionally.

Yet, Lovecraft ended up educating himself - mostly by reading thru her private library.

At around 8 years old, Howard found his grandma's out-of-date astronomy & became enamored with the subject.

Lovecraft's mom bought him a telescope - but, it wasn't enough!

So, an astronomer & family friend allowed Howard to visit Ladd Observatory during late evenings.

HPL got his mom to buy him a bicycle to travel there & back...

He then wrote about astronomy for some newspapers & claimed that he wanted to become an astronomer.

Sadly(?), Lovecraft would find out - in high school - that there were limits to his learning skills...

Unfortunately, i've not been able to find any pix of Robie.

Whipple, Howard's grandad, was a busy & successful businessman who owned real estate, had industrial & mining investments - even a dam project out in Idaho!

After Winfield's death, the grandad stepped up as a father figure - encouraging HPL to read Classical Literature, English Poetry & Ancient Mythology.

Whipple also entertained young Lovecraft with Gothic Horror tales that are thought to have been influenced by writers like Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis & Charles Maturin.

Further, while out on long business trips, the grandad would write letters to Howard - that later became a sort of an artform for HPL.

This is where Lovecraft's long letters came from! As he's guessed to have written some 100,000 of them - a lot of them being 10 or more pages long!!

Location - The large home on 194 Angell Street, was built in the mid-1870s by grandpa Whipple.

Howard was born here in 1890 (his dad's real home being in Dorchester, Massachusetts) & would live here (with his mom & aunties) from 1893-1904, when Whipple passed.

Lovecraft hoped to make enough money to buy it back - but, unfortunately, never could.

The place was torn down in 1961, long after HPL had died...

Location - Butler Hospital, on 345 Blackstone Boulevard, opened in 1847.

Strangely enough, both of Howard's parents died here - at different times.

Winfield passed from neurosyphilis.

And, Suzie from a botched gall-bladder operation...

The hospital still exists, as Butler Behavioral Health & still provides mental health services - while facing cuts & labor problems.

Quick Bios: Lovecraft's Father & Mother -

Winfield was a womanizer & philanderer. He was pompous & considered to be tyrannical!

He worked for Gorham & Co. (a renowned silversmith & silverware manufacturer) as a traveling salesman - so, he hardly spent time with his only son nor with his wife...

Yet, things seemed to be fine.

Then, on a sales trip to Chicago - he suffered a major, psychotic meltdown! Among his rantings were aggressive outbursts & mad delusions that "strange men" were harming his wife - back home, at that moment, in Providence, R.I.!!

Supposedly, his medical records say that Winfield had actually been "doing & saying strange things at times" - for a whole year B4 his institutionization!

His diagnosis was neurological damage from his untreated syphilis, which is still a sexually transmitted disease.

Lovecraft was supposedly told that his dad was paralyzed due to overwork!!

Might this be the source of Howard never working a real job in his life?

There's also the question of how much young Lovecraft (then 3 years old) actually knew about his father's true condition...

By the time he was 8, HPL had read thru anatomical books that explained human sexuality - & it "killed my interest in the subject."

Howard was a smart kid & he could have figured out what truly happened to his dad.

This early scrape with madness might mean that Lovecraft feared falling prey to the same fate.

Add in his psychosomatic(?) illnesses plus, HPL's all too vivid dreams &, as a reaction, it could help explain why he became an atheist & a materialist.

"Suzie" was attractive, Puritanical, neurotic, possessive, ill-equipped for real life & full of prejudices due to ancestors who sailed to the colonies on the Mayflower.

Due to her father, Whipple, she enjoyed some wealth & certain connections - which she didn't mind leaning on for her own sake...

Originally, she was overprotective - needing to know where her Howard was - at all times. But, this is understandable as kidnappings of rich kids did occur.

But, she doted on him constantly - buying him anything that he wanted: like a train set, Arabian doodads, magic set, bicycle, garden tools, a telescope, a Jellygram printing set & etc...

It seems that she's to blame for downloading her class concerns, dissatisfactions, even her mistrust of others onto Lovecraft's shoulders.

As when Howard brought home a kid from school, intending to teach him some lessons &, afterwards, she roundly told him that such outsiders couldn't ever be trusted...

But, Lovecraft could be a handful.

As he soon returned with the only 2 kids who were his friends & she was forced to display her best behavior.

Sadly, Winfield's hospitalization & death only made things worse - as she transferred her feelings about her husband's womanizing to her son - becoming bitter & verbally abusive.

To Be Continued, sometime in the future...

Lovecraft's Childhood

Howard was a precocious¹ but sickly child, coddled by his mom (Suzie) & his aunts, who allowed him to set his own sleep schedule & to eat whatever he liked.²

But, his happy youth was rendered tragic by his grandma Robie's sudden death³ & his dad Winfield's 5 year hospitalization⁴...

The events of his father's decline might have led Lovecraft to fear the same thing would happen to him.⁵

His mom, who was already overprotective⁶ - now began her own, slower decline...

Luckily, his grandad Whipple, stepped into a more fatherly role, focusing HPL on reading classic literature⁷, mythology⁸ & English poems.⁹

And, though he would have help from tutors, Howard basically taught himself.

Among the authors/books that he read were: Jules Verne, the Brothers Grimm, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Metamorphoses, Age of Fable, Edgar Allan Poe, etc...

Sadly, though Lovecraft was usually happy, things were not well with him either.

At home, he went thru intense nightmares about "nightgaunts"...¹⁰

And, when he finally went to school, he would suffer psychosomatic(?) illnesses, nervous anxieties & clashes with his teacher!¹¹

Around 6 or 7 years old, he began to write his first stories...¹²

Footnotes/Sources to follow.