{"id":6063,"date":"2019-10-10T10:25:15","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T10:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/?p=6063"},"modified":"2019-10-10T10:30:50","modified_gmt":"2019-10-10T10:30:50","slug":"he-rides-his-loud-october-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/he-rides-his-loud-october-sky\/","title":{"rendered":"He Rides His Loud October Sky"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matilda told such Dreadful Lies, <\/em><\/span>
\nIt made one Gasp and Stretch one\u2019s Eyes;<\/em><\/span>
\nHer Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,<\/em><\/span>
\nHad kept a Strict Regard for Truth,<\/em><\/span>
\nAttempted to Believe Matilda:<\/em><\/span>
\nThe effort very nearly killed her…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Hilaire Belloc, ‘Matilda, Who told Lies, and was Burned to Death’
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is Autumn, dear listener, and we are mindful of mellow days, of copper and iron-red foliage, and lingering warmth in the evenings. We welcome the light bluster of October storms, the sly ripening of the last Summer fruits and the coming of the medlars – medlar jelly is a great favourite here; we stare in awe at the changing seasons in the garden, and we wonder why we have twenty three thousand green tomatoes, none of them big enough to be worth frying.<\/p>\n

We also note that Americans call this period Fall, which is what we do constantly when we are out with the dogs and dragged in haste across slippery leaves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And then we remembered that we were supposed to do something for the annual October Frights Blog Hop, in which an unruly gang of horror and supernatural writers join together to promote each other\u2019s web-sites and works. As we did so, we recalled an odd piece of verse drawn on in Robert Westall<\/strong>\u2019s novel The Scarecrows<\/em> (1981):<\/p>\n

He rides his loud October sky:<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

He does not die. He does not die.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Scarecrows<\/em> is a fine and disturbing book, ostensibly a young adult novel, but surely evocative for all ages. A teenager broods on his mother\u2019s new relationship, and his dead father, whilst dark spirits feed on his emotions and the scarecrows gather around his home. If you haven\u2019t read it, you should, either as a Jamesian tale of subtle scares, or as a psychological exploration of need.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SIDENOTE: As we don’t have a copy of <\/em>The Scarecrows to hand, it’s also possible that this specific quote is from another young adult supernatural book we read in the seventies or eighties altogether, so no point in sueing us. How’s that for honesty? We think<\/strong> it was in this one by Westall.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

From what we remember, the verse can be read as referring to the young man’s father, who was killed in Aden – and ‘He shall not die’<\/em> is the boy’s earnest grip on the memory of his father.\u00a0 But where do these lines come from?<\/p>\n

They are, in fact, the words of Hilaire Belloc<\/strong> (1870-1953), who is well known as the author of the collection Cautionary Tales (1907)<\/em>. More people will probably have read \u2018Matilda, Who told Lies, and was Burned to Death,’ than any of Belloc\u2019s other works. Although various artists produced later illustrations for Cautionary Tales<\/em>, the original was illustrated by Belloc’s friend B.T.B. – Basil Templeton Blackwood. The collection is in the public domain in the States, but under copyright in the UK (and possibly a few other places).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

However, keeping to our October theme, the lines quoted by Westall come from an interesting book entitled The Four Men: A Farrago<\/em> (1911), issued seventy years before the publication of The Scarecrows<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"hilaire<\/a>
courtesy of boydbooks.com – rare and used books<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Four Men<\/em> is a hymn to the county of Sussex and its old ways \u2013 Belloc lived in a house called King’s Land at Shipley, West Sussex from 1906 until shortly before he died. The entire book takes place over a five day journey, one rather appropriate to our October whims and the Halloween which is coming, as the journey through Sussex lasts from 29 October to 2 November (All Souls’ Day).<\/p>\n

It contains musings on the countryside, pieces of lore, and philosophical reflections, including verse and the odd tale, such as the fate of men who are drawn into Fairy Mounds (curiously, in Sussex dialect, the fairies are known as ‘pharisees’).<\/p>\n

\u201cThey bring him a sack, and he stuffs it full of the gold pieces, full to the neck, and he shoulders it and makes to thank them, when, quite suddenly, he finds he is no longer in that hall, but on the open heath at early morning with no one about, and in an air quite miserably cold. Then that man, shivering and wondering whether ever he saw the Little People or no, says to himself, \u2018At least I have my gold.\u2019<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut when he goes to take the sack up again he finds it very light, and pouring out from it upon the ground he gets, instead of the gold they gave him, nothing but dead leaves; the round dead leaves and brown of the beech, and of the hornbeam, for it is of this sort that they mint the fairy gold.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The novel is, in effect, a conversation between Belloc (\u2018Myself\u2019) and three other characters with whom he travels \u2013 the Grizzlebeard, the Sailor and the Poet, each contributing their own viewpoint. These may be part of his own psyche \u2013 though Belloc also said that the three parts may also be seen as supernatural beings.<\/p>\n

\u201c(They), looking sadly at me, stood silent also for about the time in which a man can say good-bye with reverence. Then they all three turned about and went rapidly and with a purpose up the village street. I watched them, straining my sad eyes, but in a moment the mist received them and they had disappeared.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And as \u2018Myself\u2019 muses about his life, and Sussex, at the end of the book, he delivers lines on what endures if a person is truly rooted in the land and landscape:<\/p>\n

He rides his loud October sky:<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

He does not die. He does not die.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are various editions of The Four Men<\/em>, including an online facsimile (but again, remember copyright, as Belloc only died in 1953).\u00a0 If you do hunt around for a physical copy, be sure that you find a decent reproduction of the original. As with many other period books, not all reprints are faithful.<\/p>\n

We shall leave you there, and go back to being hauled through the sodden \u2013 if attractively coloured – leaves by over-eager lurchers…<\/p>\n

\n
\n

October Frights Blog Hop Link List<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Remember to hop on over to check out the other participants offerings as well.<\/p>\n

Are You Afraid of the Dark?<\/a><\/p>\n

The Word Whisperer<\/a><\/p>\n

Hawk’s Happenings<\/a><\/p>\n

Carmilla Voiez Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

M’habla’s!<\/a><\/p>\n

CURIOSITIES<\/a><\/p>\n

Frighten Me<\/a><\/p>\n

Winnie Jean Howard<\/a><\/p>\n

Always Another Chapter<\/a><\/p>\n

Balancing Act<\/a><\/p>\n

James P. McDonald<\/a><\/p>\n

greydogtales<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>And there are details of some neat books by these authors over at Story Origin \u2013 a wide range of dark fiction, horror, odd stuff and more. Why not click below and see if there\u2019s anything you fancy…<\/p>\n

october frights books at story origin<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matilda told such Dreadful Lies, It made one Gasp and Stretch one\u2019s Eyes; Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth, Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth, Attempted to Believe Matilda: The effort very nearly killed her… Hilaire Belloc, ‘Matilda, Who told Lies, and was Burned to Death’ It is Autumn, dear listener, and we … Continue reading He Rides His Loud October Sky<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":5,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHe Rides His Loud October Sky - greydogtales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/he-rides-his-loud-october-sky\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"He Rides His Loud October Sky - greydogtales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Matilda told such Dreadful Lies, It made one Gasp and Stretch one\u2019s Eyes; 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The story so far is that we took on lots of editing,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"edwardian\"","block_context":{"text":"edwardian","link":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/tag\/edwardian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"arcane1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/arcane1-300x223.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":311,"url":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/the-deck-of-seasons\/","url_meta":{"origin":6063,"position":1},"title":"The Deck of Seasons","author":"greydogtales","date":"October 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"So, it's day ninety three of the October Frights blog-hop, we're five months into the William Hope Hodgson celebration, and I have at least fifteen longdogs needing a walk. No, something's wrong there. Never mind. A bit of fiction and a bit of art in today's short post. 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I often call myself a character writer because these folk come to me in odd hours as fully-formed people, and they inspire stories in their own\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/20799043_10155266923423001_7330065073288087928_n-300x111.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":349,"url":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/lurcher-v-squirrel-the-battle-of-dorks-drift\/","url_meta":{"origin":6063,"position":3},"title":"Lurcher v Squirrel: The Battle of Dork’s Drift","author":"greydogtales","date":"October 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"For one day only, a lurcher post to break up the horror! Autumn, then. Yes, it's that wondrous mellow season when enough leaves fall off the trees to make every longdog and lurcher aware of their ancient foe. Camouflage lost, the plume-tailed rats from Hell descend to wreak havoc... The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"longdogs\"","block_context":{"text":"longdogs","link":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/tag\/longdogs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"squirrel-80575_1920","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/squirrel-80575_1920-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3024,"url":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/a-brutal-october\/","url_meta":{"origin":6063,"position":4},"title":"A Brutal October","author":"greydogtales","date":"October 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, win an ebook, question the Pope and catch up on some scary news. Writing stories and herding lurchers is a strange way to make a living, don't you think, dear listener? At this time of the year the lurchers must be gathered in from the hills and moved en\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 18 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 18 comments","link":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/a-brutal-october\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"djangosofa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/djangosofa-300x194.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5272,"url":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/the-assassins-coin-and-an-autumn-of-women\/","url_meta":{"origin":6063,"position":5},"title":"THE ASSASSIN’S COIN AND AN AUTUMN OF WOMEN","author":"greydogtales","date":"October 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Want some exciting thriller\/horror reads? Today sees the paperback of greydog\u2019s new novel The Assassin\u2019s Coin released, so we bring you exclusive extracts from this and its sister book, The Prostitute\u2019s Price by Alan M Clark. Conceived of as part of a joint project, both books feature female protagonists. And\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"assassin's coin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/43443946_10155595644976813_730496060702588928_o-300x226.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6063"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6076,"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6063\/revisions\/6076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greydogtales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}