MR. PLEASANT (THAT'S ME)

I was a young man at the time, and intimately acquainted with some of the actors in this strange tale; the impression which its incidents made on me, therefore, were deep, and lasting. I shall now endeavour, with precision, to relate them all, combining, of course, in the narrative, whatever I have learned from various sources, tending, however imperfectly, to illuminate the darkness which involves its progress and termination.

Text:  J. Sheridan Le Fanu, The Familiar (1872)

Itals: In A Dis Ya Time (Link)

Velvet Underground: That's The Story Of My Life (Link)  

INFINITE RELIEF (A PEEP AT THE MOON)

The chief disciples and an intimidating array of senior Lamas were gathered around the Rimpoché to receive me.  Just as I was about to pass through the doorway of the room and prostate myself, I had to stop and search agitatedly beneath the flap of my borrowed gown, delving into the loose fold above my hurriedly wound sash.  To my infinite relief, my fingers soon encountered the Kharda, the ceremonial scarf which must accompany the gift I was about to make, though I had no clear recollection of having put it there a few moments before.  Even if these eminent recluses and professors should discover my ignorance, at least they would have no cause to consider me boorish.

Then, taking a deep breath, as for a plunge, I strode forward, fell to my knees and placed my forehead on the ground.  Just as I was about to rise for the third time, I felt the touch of gnarled old fingers on my scalp and immediately my agitation left me.  The expression in the many pairs of eyes regarding me was friendly, and I knew then that I had no cause for embarrassment or fear.

John Blofeld, The Wheel of Life, Berkeley, Shambala, 1972

The Kinks: The World Keeps Going Round (Link)

Kate Sanborn, Old Time Wall Papers, Greenwich, The Literary Collector Press, 1905.