Wander Lord

Interesting on art, nature, people, history

Category Archive: Mystery

The Double Life of Florimond Hervé

Florimond Herve

Florimond Hervé

Florimond Hervé (1825-1892) was a legendary French composer, father of operetta. He wrote more than 120 operettas, he also wrote masses, motets and other spiritual compositions. The best of his operettas were prompted by stories that he got in… a madhouse.
Very sad seventeen-year-old young man was walking through the streets of Paris. He learned to play the organ, but a professional organist came to the church, which sheltered him. He didn’t have a musical instrument anymore.
Suddenly he heard a voice: “Here’s your future!” And the boy heard the sound of the organ. He saw the old church and decided to enter. The church was silent. Florimond saw the organ and began to play. The priest heard his musical improvisation and came to him: “Providence has led you into, my young friend! We really need an organist!”
Florimond was surprised: “But I heard that someone was playing the organ!”
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On Witches and Witchcraft

On Witches and Witchcraft

On Witches and Witchcraft

A witch… has magic in her fingers and devilry dancing in her blood. She can make stones jump about like frogs and she can make tongues of flame go flickering across the surface of the water. These magic powers are very frightening.
I do not wish to speak badly about women. Most women are lovely.
But the fact remains that all witches are women.
Roald Dahl (1916-90), a popular British writer, especially of children’s books

From earliest times, people in all parts of the world have believed in witches. Originally, a witch was either a man or a woman who had magic powers. Through the years, however, only women came to be considered witches.
People once blamed witches for any unexplained misfortune, such as a sudden death or illness, or a crop loss.
They also thought that witches could raise storms and turn people into beasts. The legendary Circe, for example, turned Odysseus’s friends into pigs.
Witches, it was believed, worked with the devil and did everything they could to please him. Their job was to do harm and to bring bad luck. But they could help people too. For example, a person in love could ask a witch for a love potion.
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Number 13

Number 13

Number 13

Number 13 is also called “devil’s dozen”. In many countries around the world, people are afraid of this number. In the US, for example, 80% of buildings do not have a 13th floor, and many hotels do not have a room number 13.
In many European countries, no one invites 13 guests. And if this “misfortune” suddenly happened, you immediately have to invite one more guest. Groucho Marx, American actor, successfully joked: “13 people at the table may be an unlucky number, if you have cooked only 12 meatballs.”
The thirteenth Tarot card represents death.
In many countries people believe that Friday 13 is the worst day and brings misfortune.
In the Spanish-speaking countries, people are afraid of Tuesday 13.
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Vasily Surikov – Something terrible happened to me…

Vasily Surikov. Self Portrait. 1879

Vasily Surikov – Something terrible happened to me… Self Portrait. 1879

Historical paintings by Vasily Surikov (1848-1916) are very impressive. Everyone understands how powerful, passionate, and tragic they are. But few people know that the idea of these paintings came to the artist in a completely mysterious and mystical way.
Surikov came from an old Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk. A descendant of the freedom-loving Cossacks became interested in history in his childhood. The artist said: “There is nothing more interesting than history. Reading about the historical time, you can understand present.” “In Siberia, you know, people are different from the Russian: they are free and courageous.”
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