THE ARBROATH HERALD

Arbroath, Angus, Scotland

20 October 1904

(page 2)

LITERARY NOTES.

"THE STAR AND THE GARTER." By Aleister Crowley. Inverness: The Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth. (1s.)

This is a most excellent book—as a book. It is so beautifully printed on such good paper that we were confident of finding the poetry excellent. Some of it is and some of it is not. All of it is (we suppose) clever; so clever, indeed, that one finds some of it utterly unintelligible. Now, much of (say) Browning is unintelligible at a first reading, but somehow it is charming, and you are tempted to wrestle with it. But you would never think of going back on Aleister Crowley's nonsense. You feel that if it has a meaning, it will prove a very poor one if you could find it; and that is a pity. At the same time there is much that is charming in these love songs, and they might be hailed as excellent if only someone could go over them with a ruthless blue pencil. If any reader wishes to know how to secure a prize of £100 he or she should approach the Society named above: address—Boleskine, Foyers, Inverness.