The flowers have a kingdom in the dunes. From the secluded nooks and fertile crevices, from among the shadows of the trees, and along the margins of the marshes and little pools, their silent songs of color go out over the landscapes. In no form is beauty so completely expressed, and in no form is it so accessible to us.

The sketches in this volume are culled from the experiences and reflections of many happy days that were spent in this mystic land. In such a retreat we may find refuge from the town, from the nerve-racking noise and stifling smoke, and from the artificialities and the social illusions that becloud our daily lives.

E. H. R.


CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
I.[The Dream Jewel]17
II.[A Romance of Mt. Tom]25
III.[The Heron’s Pool]41
IV.[The Story of the Stream]51
V.[The Moon in the Marsh]67
VI.[Holy Zeke]75
VII.[The Love Affair of Happy Cal and Elvirey Smetters]107
VIII.[The Resurrection of Bill Saunders]135
IX.[The Winding River’s Treasure]165
X.[The Plutocrats]223

ILLUSTRATIONS

[The “Ancient”]Frontispiece
[Mt. Tom]Facing page24
[The Heron’s Pool]40
[“Omemee”]50
[The Moon in the Marsh]66
[“Holy Zeke”]74
[Mrs. Elvirey Smetters]106
[Bill Saunders]134
[The “Bogie House”]150
[“Na’cissus Jackson”]164
[The Requiem of the Leaves]204
[The Game Warden and his Deputy]222
[On the White Hills]236
[The Troopers of the Sky]270