Thee

the mindlab 
Behold I am become Quirt Evans!

Casually imperious in the saddle,
Swinging mighty staves to batter down my foes,
Fists clenched, quaking in rightous Quaker rage,
Run amok in bar and bordello,
Hurling cornsilk-haired hussies wrecklessly through the air.

What smart tounged sneak-foot sheriff
Would loan this outlaw new rope?

Or

What forward doe-eyed Friend dare slack
His bad man's thirst for violence
And divine spark enkindle?

About Peter

This guy lives in Boston MA with his beloved wife and two kids. You can get some idea of his likes and dislikes from posts on this website or elsewhere.

7 thoughts on “Thee”

  2. Think Soloman Kane, but without the double predestination. William Penn with six guns and a bowie knife.

    … which is about a quarter exaggeration and fabrication. Really, I just like the idea of a guy in a Quaker hat who’s trembling with barely controlled berzerker fury rather than inner light:

    “Eat thee my oatmeal mush, Friend!!

    Really I probably should’ve provided more context. Melodramatic, fraught with it’s fair share of wild west cliches, and maybe not the pinacle of fine acting but I thought it was a darn good movie none the less.

  3. Haha, okay – I get it. I like it. I’m quite taken with the idea of adventuring Puritans (like Kane) and Quakers. Though, adventuring, violent Quakers are probably a bit more contradictory than adventuring, violent Puritans.

    Actually, they just reprinted the Kane stories. I’d like to pick them up (I’m reading some of the Conan stories at the moment – in addition to the Red Sonja comic. The first Red Sonja run is pretty good I think. The 80’s ones, which I think none other than Jim Shooter had something to do with, are pretty abysmal.). I don’t think there has ever been a tale of an adventuring Quaker though.

    This guy really isn’t a Quaker, or even a priest, but he does use a church congregation so…

    Click here to read about Dr. Syn.

    I’ve never read any of the Dr. Syn stories, but he sounds pretty cool. He even dresses up like a scarecrow. I really dig that alot.

  4. Indeed, the stories do sound cool. Maybe yet another thing to add to the my endless reading list.

    But in the article you mention I was particularly impressed by this:

    “The second, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, was produced as a television miniseries by Walt Disney in 1962 and starred Patrick McGoohan of The Prisoner fame”

    Particularly since McGoohan is one of the top guys in my allstar fantasy cast (though they’re slated for no particular movies at the moment).

  5. Yes, there was a TV series that was attached to Disney. It also seems to have had a Robin Hood flavor to it. I’m not sure how much this is in keeping with the books however. I’ve done a little research, and the Syn of the books is actually Captain Clegg, a pirate. Clegg retires from pirating, and takes up as a vicar known as Dr. Syn. I haven’t a clue what he’s a doctor of. Nor do I know how Clegg/Syn becomes a scarecrow romping about the marsh.

    There is a sight on the internet devoted to Dr. Syn, and you can actually download a couple of e-books from there for free. The books look fairly short, the first one is only 80 pages in Microsoft Word format.

    I read a bit of the “A Smuggler Tale of the Romney Marsh” e-text on lunch today. This is from Chapter 4. It’s a pretty good quote.

    “But Denis replied: “Possibly, sir, you have not heard of the old saying, that ‘The world is divided into five parts—Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Romney Marsh’. We are independent on the Marshes.”

    “The Act of Parliament,” retorted the captain largely, “brought in by the late King William against all smugglers will cook that goose, young sir.”

    “Ah, well,” said Denis finally, “it’s no odds to me; but let me tell you this: Your King George may rule Whitehall, but my father rules Romney Marsh,” and humming an old royalist tune, much to the annoyance of the captain, the young man sauntered out of the inn.

    Click here to go to the Dr. Syn site.

  6. More Quotes from Dr. Syn: A Smuggler Tale of the Romney Marsh

    From Chapter 7

    “The more I hear about that rascally pirate the more it make me wonder”.

    From Chapter 8

    “Jerry was troubled a good deal by dreams; but upon this particular night they were more than usually violent; whether owing to the great excitement caused by the coming of the King’s men, or due to the extra doses of rum that the youngster had indulged in, who can say. He dreamt that he was out on the Marsh chasing the schoolmaster: that was all very well, quite a pleasant dream to young Jerk and not at all a nightmare, but unfortunately there were things chasing Jerry as well, and the nearer he seemed to get to the flying schoolmaster the nearer got the things behind him.”

    Chapter 12

    “These were nutty problems for Jerry’s young teeth to crack, and though somewhat nervous in consequence, he was on the whole highly delighted at seeing the fun.”

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