Louis and Claire Themanlys


themanlys.jpg 


Louis M. Themanlys was a college friend of Matteo Alfassa, Mirra’s brother, and so it was from Louis that Mirra first heard about Théon and the Cosmic Philosophy. To quote Sujata:
«Themanlys was a writer, with several books to his credit. His wife, Claire, was also at home with a pen. Claire’s brother, Jacques Blot, was an artist. Both the families lived in Courseulles, in Normandy. Situated about eighteen kilometres from Caen, where fierce fighting took place in 1944 between the Allied armies and the German forces of occupation, Courseulles is a resort town on the shores of the English Channel where the Seulles flows into it. It was on D-Day, 6 June 1944, that the Canadian Army landed in Normandy - Courseulles-sur-mer being the spot.
To the great rejoicing of the two families, the Théons often spent a part of the year at the residence of the Themanlys.
It seems it was in a Parisian bookstore, Librairie Chacornac, Quai St. Michel, in the Quartier Latin — well-known for its students, and its old bookshops much frequented by those who take a keen interest in the science of the occult — that Louis first came across an issue of The Cosmic Review. Whereupon he sent a letter to Théon enclosing a nominal subscription to the Cosmic publications. Then he met the Théons on one of their visits to France. It was only in 1907 that Louis and Claire visited Tlemcen, in Algeria, where the Théons lived. The young couple stayed there for three months, from April to June. It was then that Madame Théon told them one day how, as soon as she first held Louis’ letter in her hands, she had informed Théon about the role Louis was to assume.
Her eyes had penetrated the future, because Themanlys really devoted his pen and speech to the furtherance of the Cosmic Philosophy. Thrice a week, and for a number of years, he spoke extempore on this Philosophy. The gatherings were held at Passy, n° 54 Rue Nicolo, where the family lived. Passy of the 16th arrondissement is a posh locality of Paris. It is studded with parks» [Mother’s Chronicles].