BOOK I
BOOK II
BOOK III
BY
MARY MEARS
Author of "The Breath of The Runners"
TORONTO
WILLIAM BRIGGS
All rights reserved, including that of translation
into foreign languages including the Scandinavian
Copyright, 1910, by
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
October, 1910
To
THE MEMORY OF MY MOTHER
"NELLY WILDWOOD"
THIS BOOK IS DEVOTEDLY INSCRIBED
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
The soul of man at birth is immured in a prison. It is like a bird singing in a cage, heedless of the bars that confine it. But later the soul knows its bondage.
Panting with a desire for liberty, man tries in two ways to attain it, through his ability to labour, through his capacity to feel.
He has need of freedom, hence the poem, the ship, the engine, the thousand cunning and gigantic structures for annihilating space, for chaining the forces of nature.
He has need of freedom, hence the universal outpouring of his affections, the glory and the emancipation of his highest love.
June, 1910
CONTENTS
BOOK I
CHAPTER
I The Long Journey and the Longer One
II The Waiting of Women
III The Sun
IV Amid Bleak Surroundings
V The Barnacle
VI The Figure-head Gains an Admirer
VII Concerning Alexander Emil St. Ives
VIII In the Cause of Science
IX The Old Fascination
X In Which a Kiss Is Given and Regretted
XI At the Old Burying Point
XII The Migratory Instinct
BOOK II
I The Street of Masts
II Emily Short—Toy-Maker
III Simon Hart to the Rescue
IV The Unexpected Happens
V Showing that Sacrifices Are not Always Appreciated
VI Despair and Desolation
VII Stop—Look—Listen
VIII A Woman's Caprice; A Father's Repentance; A Lover's Self-Conquest; A Girl's Pity
IX Rachel—Simon
X The Bird in the Box
BOOK III
I The House in Washington Square
II Continuation of the History of a Genius
III The Confession
IV How is it Possible to Stop Loving
V Love by the Sea
VI The Insistent Past
VII In Which John Smith Unburdens His Conscience
VIII The Place of the Statues
IX The Energy of Being
X In the Garden
XI Flames
XII Love Confronts Despair
XIII The Escape
