Towards Madness 217
began to go through the ritual. A lot of it seems silly,
but the climax 1s fine.
You keep on saying, over and over :—
‘To Pan Pan! Io Pan Pan! Ai Pan Pan! -
Io Pan Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan Pan Pan!
Aegipan, Aegipan, Aegipan, Aegipan, Aegipan,
Aegipan, Io Pan Pan!”
You go on till something comes. We used two black
robes that we found hanging up there. —
They were lovely silk robes with hoods.
You take candlesin both hands and dance while you
make the incantations.
We got frightfully excited. It was as if a strange
force had got hold of us. It seemed to lead us all
round the house and then into the grounds.
We were shouting at the top of our voices.
Once or twice we saw a servant putting out a nose
through a chink of a door. It would always be shut
with a little squeal, and we could hear keys turing
and bolts being pushed.
We wanted to roar with laughter, but we had to
keep on with the invocation. The book said you mustn’t
stop it while you were outside the magic room, or the
Devil could get you.
The. strange thing is that I don’t remember at all
what happened. Did the Devil come or not ?
I don’t even remember getting back to the magic
room. I must have gone to sleep, for I’ve woken up
frightfully hungry.
Cockie’s awake too. He’s kneeling at the window
with a shot gun. He aimed it two or three times, but
didn’t fire. He came back to me after putting the gun
in a corner.
He said, ‘ It’s no good. They’ re too spry. The only
chance to get them is at night.”
He was hungry too. We rang for some food. Nobody
answered the bell..