SOMETHING ABOUT EVE A Comedy of Fig-leaves BY JAMES BRANCH CABELL “I WAS AFRAID, BECAUSE I WAS NAKED: AND I HID MYSELF” LONDON JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD LIMITED First Published in 1927 Made and Printed in Great Britain by Tonbridge Printers Peach Hall Works Tonbridge To ELLEN GLASGOW —very naturally—this book which commemorates the intelligence of women CONTENTS PART ONE: THE BOOK OF OUTSET 1 How the Tempter Came 3 2 Evelyn of Lichfield 6 3 Two Geralds 15 4 That Devil in the Library 21 PART TWO: THE BOOK OF TWILIGHT 5 Christening of the Stallion 33 6 Evadne of the Dusk 38 PART THREE: THE BOOK OF DOONHAM 7 Evasherah of the First Water-Gap 51 8 The Mother of Every Princess 65 9 How One Butterfly Fared 72 PART FOUR: THE BOOK OF DERSAM 10 Wives at Caer Omn 77 11 The Glass People 83 12 Confusions of the Golden Travel 86 13 Colophon of a God 99 14 Evarvan of the Mirror 102 PART FIVE: THE BOOK OF LYTREIA 15 At Tenjo’s Court 113 16 The Holy Nose of Lytreia 120 17 Evaine of Peter’s Tomb 126 18 End of a Vixen 142 19 Beyond the Veil 146 PART SIX: THE BOOK OF TUROINE 20 Thaumaturgists in Labor 155 21 They That Wore Blankets 159 22 The Paragraph of the Sphinx 164 23 Odd Transformation of a Towel 176 PART SEVEN: THE BOOK OF POETS 24 On Mispec Moor 183 25 The God Conforms 190 26 “Qualis Artifex!” 195 27 Regarding the Stars 206