LOVE AND THE LONER These I will give you, Astair: an armlet of frozen gold Gods cut from living rock, and carven gems in an amber crock, And a purple woven Tyrian smock, and wine from a pirate's hold. Galleys shall break the crimson seas seeking delights for you; With silks and silvery fountain gleams I will weave a world that glows and seems A shimmering mist of rainbow dreams, scarlet and white and blue.1 June 1932 brought Robert Howard one of the greatest disappointments of his life. His pen pal Lovecraft had become quite a traveler after the breakup of his marriage. He usually set out in the spring with a cheap suitcase and a satchel of black oilcloth, which contained among other things stationery, a diary, a small telescope, a can opener, and flatwear. He traveled with extreme economy, going by bus and buying return tickets before departure lest he be stranded by lack of funds. Where he had no friends to put him up, Lovecraft stayed at YMCAs.
