Your overworked Editor, too, has been able to take the longest and happiest holiday of his life. River and forest have given him all that nature can; and this was the least part of his contentment. Moreover, he has been able to prepare, under sublime guidance, a dozen Official Instructions of A.'. A.'., to conclude the great Qabalistic Dictionary of Gematria, and to begin the almost equally important Greek Dictionary on similar lines. He has had leisure to produce more play, sketches, poems, and stories in this last year than he has done in any previous five years of his life.
For all this his gratitude is due, and must be expressed, to the self-sacrificing devotion of our sworn sub-editor, Mr. Victor J. I. Neuburg. Rarely in all history has so unpleasing an exterior concealed such sterling qualities of heart and brain, such indomitable courage, such inflexibility of will, such loyalty and truth. We are glad to hear that he is about to accept a highly paid post on the staff of our bright little contemporary "The Looking-Glass," and that he who himself sings so musically may be in his turn the means of making others sing.
As we observed above, we are causing several extracts from the EQUINOX to be translated into French. {1} We are further glad to hear such good reports from every branch. The North and the Midlands are already making London look to its laurels; the West has surpassed all hope; America, South Africa, Burma, India, the Malay Peninsula, West Africa, all thrive. Australia has received an important addition to its strength; we have excellent accounts from British Columbia, Paraguay, and Brazil. France is being specially nursed at present, but Holland, Switzerland, and Germany need no such aid. The work in Spain is still hampered by political conditions, and we are sorry to hear little from Italy. In Algeria and Egypt work has got somewhat into arrear, but we hope that the winter will see the fundamental task fairly accomplished.
As we go to press, we are overjoyed to receive the most excellent accounts from the Caucasus, where the good work done by Monsieur Nelidoff twenty years ago has come to marvellous fruition.
With regard to personal progress of Probationers, nothing can be more satisfactory. The process of sifting, subtle but severe, initiated by V.V.V.V.V., and carried out so thoroughly by the Praemonstrator of A.'. A.'., has been perfectly successful.
Every day brings a report illustrative of the fact that people who do not do the practices, but gossip about the A.'. A.'., find themselves mysteriously outside, without word spoken; and the correlative fact, that people who do the practices find that results do happen.
It is most astonishing, even to us; under the old empirical, dogmatic methods people could work really hard for years, and get absolutely nothing; in our three years' experience with the A.'. A.'., we have not found one man in whom three months' work has not produced at least one notable result.
What can we add but this: Blessing and worship to the Beast, the Prophet of the Lovely Star! {2}