A Book o’ Nine Tales A Book o’ Nine Tales ARLO BATES BOSTON ROBERTS BROTHERS 1891 BOSTON CONTENTS. PAGE [7] [7] Tale the First. A STRANGE IDYL. Tale the First. [8][9] [8][9] A BOOK O’ NINE TALES. A STRANGE IDYL. I. He lay upon an old-fashioned bedstead whose carved quaintness would once have pleased him, but to which he was now indifferent. He rested upon his back, staring at the ceiling, on whose white surface were twinkling golden dots and lines in a network which even his broken mind knew must be the sunlight reflected from off the water somewhere. The windows of the chamber were open, and the sweet summer air came in laden with the perfume of flowers piquantly mingled with pungent sea odors. Now and then a bee buzzed by the casement, or a butterfly seemed tempted to enter the
Back
Top