THE STONE DRAGON AND OTHER TRAGIC ROMANCES THE STONE DRAGON AND OTHER TRAGIC ROMANCES: BY MURRAY GILCHRIST AUTHOR OF ‘PASSION THE PLAYTHING’ ‘FRANGIPANNI,’ ETC. [Illustration] METHUEN AND CO. 18 BURY STREET, W.C. LONDON 1894 Edinburgh: T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to Her Majesty Dedicated to George Alfred Garfitt CONTENTS PAGE THE STONE DRAGON, 1 THE MANUSCRIPT OF FRANCIS SHACKERLEY, 38 MIDSUMMER MADNESS, 63 THE LOST MISTRESS, 85 WITCH IN-GRAIN, 100 THE NOBLE COURTESAN, 106 THE WRITINGS OF ALTHEA SWARTHMOOR, 117 THE RETURN, 131 THE BASILISK, 142 DAME INOWSLAD, 154 EXCERPTS FROM PLINY WITHERTON’S JOURNAL: ALSO A LETTER OF CRYSTALLA’S, 163 MY FRIEND, 175 ROXANA RUNS LUNATICK, 197 THE PAGEANT OF GHOSTS, 202 Certain among the Stories in this volume--‘Witch In-grain,’ ‘The Writings of Althea Swarthmoor,’ ‘The Return,’ ‘The Basilisk,’ and others--have appeared in _The National Observer_, by permission of whose proprietors they are here reprinted. THE STONE DRAGON CHAPTER I My father’s account of his last visit to Furnivaux Castle, which I found in his journal some years after his death, enlightened me concerning the cause of his disagreement with my great-aunt Barbara. In response to an imperious summons he had travelled hurriedly from the south of France to the remote corner of Westmoreland where her estate lay; no sooner had he reached the portico than the old woman confronted him, and began to discuss a new plan for restoring his shrunken fortunes, by a marriage compact between myself and one of her great nieces, either Rachel or Mary, both of whom were children in the house. I was fifteen years old then, Rachel thirteen, and Mary ten. The ceremony was to take place at once; and I was to travel for some years before claiming my child-wife. My father refused indignantly: scarce had his decisive words been spoken ere Lady Barbara turned away angrily. ‘Fool, is there no changing you?’ she cried. He understood her peculiarities, and despite his acknowledgment that she was a gross and materialistic woman, who held no views beyond this world, and whose chief enjoyment was to interfere mischievously with the affairs of other folk, his kinship made him treat her with respect. ‘None,’ he replied. ‘My boy shall not be forced into bondage before he knows what love means. I would rather he begged for his bread than wronged body and soul.’