itself to be exploited till there is no external wonder left. Retroactively the demand for mystery, which is the very soul of interest, must find new expression. Thus we turn inward for fresh thrills to the human comedy, and outward to the realm of the supernatural.

The riddle story is the most naïve form of the mystery story. It may contain a certain element of the supernatural—be tinged with mysticism—but its motive and the revelation thereof must be frankly materialistic—of the earth, earthy. In this respect it is very closely allied to the detective story. The model riddle story should be utterly mundane in motive—told in direct terms. Here again the genius of that great modern master asserts itself, and in "The Oblong Box" we have an early model of its kind. The stories of this collection cover a wide range and are the choice of reading in several literatures.

Joseph Lewis French.

Joseph Lewis French.

CONTENTS

 

 NOTE FOREWORD The Mysterious Card Cleveland Moffett I II The Great Valdez Sapphire Anonymous The Oblong Box Edgar Allan Poe The Birth Mark Nathaniel Hawthorne A Terribly Strange Bed Wilkie Collins The Torture by Hope Villiers de l'Isle Adam The Box with the Iron Clamps Florence Marryat I II My Fascinating Friend William Archer I II III IV The Lost Room Fitz-James O'Brien 

The Mysterious Card

The Great Valdez Sapphire

The Oblong Box

The Birth Mark

A Terribly Strange Bed

The Torture by Hope

The Box with the Iron Clamps

My Fascinating Friend

The Lost Room

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