Volume I Part 26 (2/2)

A s without knowing it riting to a professor; so you ood will to you I have just destroyed two pages which I thought ht be waste of time to read

TO HE KREHBIEL

NEW ORLEANS, June, 1884

DEAR K,--I want you to letreasons:--

1 I have discovered that a biography of him--the only one in existence probably--may be found in Wustenfeld's ”Nai,” for which I have written If the text is German I can utilize it with the aid of a _bouquiniste_ here

2 I have been lucky enough to engage a copy of Ibn Khallikan in 24 voluends The book is dear but invaluable to an Oriental student,--especially to me in the creation of my new volume, which will be all Arabesques

And here is another bit of news for you My _Senegal_ books have thrown a torrent of light on the whole history of As and superstitions and folk-lore I was utterly astounded at the revelation

All that had previously seemed obscure is now lucid as day Of course, you know the slaves were chiefly drawn froy of the West Coast races is absolutely essential to a knowledge of Africanisested my new meal

Siempre a V, LAFCADIO HEARN

NEW ORLEANS, June, 1884

DEAR K,--Your letter has giventhe acquaintance of Howells, you have met the subtlest and noblest literarythat prince of critics, Sted Parnassus, not for selfish motives, but for pure art's sake

Cultivate hiot a nice letter froates for me And a curious coincidence is that the book is published on my birthday, next Friday

I rite you before I start for New York in a feeekss

Yours sincerely, LAFCADIO HEARN

TO H E KREHBIEL

NEW ORLEANS, October, 1884

DEAR KREHBIEL,--I sit down to write you the first time I have had leisure to do justice to the subject for aI have been away a good deal, in the Creole archipelagoes of the Gulf, and will soon be off again, to make more studies for my little book of sketches I sent you the No 2, as a saazine work, and the plan is philosophical and pantheistic Did you see ”Torn Letters,”--(No 1) about the _Biscayena_ The facts are not wholly true; I was very nearly in love--not quite sure whether I am not a little in love still,--but I never told her so It is so strange to find one's self face to face with a beauty that existed in the Tertiary epoch,--300,000 years ago,--the beauty of the most ancient branch of humanity,--the oldest of the world's races! But the coasts here are just as I described theeration,--and I am so enamoured of those islands and tepid seas that I would like to live there forever, and realize Tennyson's wish:--

”I ed soe woman; she shall rear my dusky race: Iron-jointed, supple-sinewed, they shall dive and they shall run,-- Catch the wild goat by the hair, and hurl their lances in the sun, Whistle back the parrot's call,--leap the rainbows of the brooks,-- Not with blinded eyesight poring over miserable books”

The islanders found I had one claim to physical superiority anyhow,--I could outswireatest ease And I have disciplined er the puny little fellow you used to know

All this is sufficiently egotistical I just wanted, however, to tell you of ely inspired by the new style of Pierre Loti--that youngFrench novelists

All this suet away; so you will not have the pleasure of seeing le-faced fellow, priive the results to the _T-D_, which is giving s

I was glad to receive Creole books, as I a on Creole subjects