Prepared by Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders THE VISION OF DESIRE BY MARGARET PEDLER AUTHOR OF THE HERMIT OF FAR END, THE MOON OUT OF REACH, ETC. _"Heaven but the Vision of fulfill'd Desire And Hell the Shadow from a Soul on Fire."_ --THE RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM TO BUNTY (F. MABEL WARHURST) WITH MY LOVE CONTENTS PROLOGUE CHAPTER I ANN'S LEGACY II THE BRABAZONS OF LORNE III ON THE TOP OF THE WORLD IV RATS IN A TRAP V THE VISITORS' BOOK VI THE MAN WITH THE SCAR VII A QUESTION OF ILLUSIONS VIII A LETTER FROM ENGLAND IX OLDSTONE COTTAGE X A DISCOVERY XI THE LADY FROM THE PRIORY XII A NEW ACQUAINTANCE XIII "FRIENDSHIP IMPLIES TRUST" XIV THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE XV ANCIENT HISTORY XVI DREAM-FLOWERS XVII A SPRIG OF HELIOTROPE XVIII A BATTLE OF WILLS XIX ACCOUNT RENDERED XX REFUSAL XXI THE RETURN XXII WILD OATS XXIII THE TEETH OF THE WOLF XXIV AFTERMATH XXV THE HALF-TRUTH XXVI ENLIGHTENMENT XXVII THE TRUTH XXVIII THE GREY SHADOW XXIX A PATCH OF SUNLIGHT XXX THE KEEPING OF A PROMISE XXXI A BARGAIN XXXII ON BOARD THE "SPHINX" XXXIII THE VISION FULFILLED DREAM-FLOWERS "Beyond the hill there's a garden, Fashioned of sweetest flowers, Calling to you with its voice of gold, Telling you all that your heart may hold. Beyond the hill there's a garden fair-- My garden of happy hours. "Dream-flowers grow in that garden, Blossom of sun and showers, There, withered hopes may bloom anew, Dreams long forgotten shall come true. Beyond the hill there's a garden fair-- My garden of happy hours!" MARGARET PEDLER. NOTE:--Musical setting by Margaret Pedler. Published by Edward Schuberth & Co., 11 East 22nd Street, New York. THE VISION OF DESIRE PROLOGUE _"... It's no use pretending any longer. I can't marry you, I don't suppose you will ever understand or forgive me. No man would. But try to believe that I haven't come to this decision hurriedly or without thinking. I seem to have done nothing but think, lately!_ _"I want you to forget last night, Eliot. We were both a little mad, and there was moonlight and the scent of roses.... But it's good-bye, all the same--it must be. Please don't try to see, me again. It could do no good and would only hurt us both."_ Very deliberately the man read this letter through a second time. At first reading it had seemed to him incredible, a hallucination. It gave him a queer feeling of unreality--it was all so impossible, so wildly improbable!