AtDTDA: (8) 226 Renfrew and Werner

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

More tarot through the looking glass here, and the site of a number of plot 
McGuffins to re-appaer all throughout the book. Very Sherlock Holmes/Hemlock 
Stones sort of a scene here, with Nookshaft standing in for Stones. 

Lew looks at the passing parade of Looking-Glass weirdos as "new and interesting 
people. . . ." who

        "started coming at his in twos." 226. 3. 5

Yet another Mauve fedora on 226.8:

         Lew had been in England less than a week 
         when one night a neophyte in the T.W.I.T. 
         had come running in, face white as plaster, 
         in his agitation forgetting to remove his hat, 
         a mauve fedora. 226. 6/8

Mauve, of course, is a color central to Proust, and Pynchon:

         "all right. Mauve: that's the pattern. The invention 
         of mauve, the coming to your level of the color 
         mauve. Are you listening, Generaldirektor?" 
         GR 166, 168 in my copy.

         "We passed over the coal-tars. A thousand 
         different molecules waited in the preterite 
         dung. [...] This is one meaning of mauve, 
         the first new color on Earth, leaping to Earth's 
         light from its grave miles and aeons below." 
         166 169 in my copy

A great passage fron GR, one worth taking off the shelf right now in the context 
of this section, as it's a seance for intellegence gathering at the "White Visitation". 
Mauve is said to represent the shadow in Proust's writing.

The Grand Cohen, snatching the missive the mauve-domed messenger brought in:

         "Madam Eskimoff's sitting tonight, wasn't it . . . 
         let us have a look, then. . . . Oh dear." 226. 11/12

Everyone in an excited state redresses for the outer world and catchs a 
"Growler":

         THE CABMAN'S STORY


         The Mysteries of a London "Growler"

         We had to take a "growler," for the day looked rather threatening and
         we agreed that it would be a very bad way of beginning our holiday by 
         getting wet, especially when Fanny was only just coming round from
         the whooping cough.  Holidays were rather scarce with us, and when we
         took one we generally arranged some little treat, and went in for
         enjoying ourselves.  On this occasion we were starting off from
         Hammersmith to the Alexandra Palace in all the dignity of a
         four-wheeler.  What with the wife and her sister, and Tommy and Fanny
         and Jack, the inside was pretty well filled up, so I had to look out
         for myself.  I didn't adopt the plan of John Gilpin under similar
         circumstances, but I took my waterproof and climbed up beside the
         driver. . . .

http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/7/3/9/17398/17398.htm

"En route" Nookshaft explains Renfrew & Werner, as sort of antagonistic 
Twiddledee and Twiddledum trapped in the Devil's (Atu 15) marriage.

         . . . .the earlier tradition these had been shown as a pair 
         of demons, genders unspecified,who could not separate
         even if they wanted to. 226. 24/25

Their involvement the "Great Game" is very much part of the Occult/Espionage
of AtD that has been running in the background of the novel thus far.