Project Gutenberg's The Moon Endureth--Tales and Fancies, by John Buchan

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Title: The Moon Endureth--Tales and Fancies

Author: John Buchan

Release Date: February 3, 2008 [EBook #715]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOON ENDURETH--TALES AND FANCIES ***

The Moon Endureth

Tales and Fancies

by

John Buchan

Contents

From the Pentlands looking North and South

I The Company of the Marjolaine
Avignon 1759

II A Lucid Interval
The Shorter Catechism (revised version)

III The Lemnian
Atta's song

IV Space
Stocks and stones

V Streams of water in the South
The Gipsy's song to the lady Cassilis

VI The grove of Ashtaroth
Wood magic

VII The riding of Ninemileburn
Plain Folk

VIII The Kings of Orion
Babylon

IX The green glen
The wise years
[Updater's note: Chapter 9 missing from etext]

X The rime of True Thomas

FROM THE PENTLANDS LOOKING NORTH AND SOUTH

Around my feet the clouds are drawn
In the cold mystery of the dawn;
No breezes cheer, no guests intrude
My mossy, mist-clad solitude;
When sudden down the steeps of sky
Flames a long, lightening wind. On high
The steel-blue arch shines clear, and far,
In the low lands where cattle are,
Towns smoke. And swift, a haze, a gleam,--
The Firth lies like a frozen stream,
Reddening with morn. Tall spires of ships,
Like thorns about the harbour's lips,
Now shake faint canvas, now, asleep,
Their salt, uneasy slumbers keep;
While golden-grey, o'er kirk and wall,
Day wakes in the ancient capital.

Before me lie the lists of strife,
The caravanserai of life,
Whence from the gates the merchants go
On the world's highways; to and fro
Sail laiden ships; and in the street
The lone foot-traveller shakes his feet,
And in some corner by the fire
Tells the old tale of heart's desire.
Thither from alien seas and skies
Comes the far-questioned merchandise:--
Wrought silks of Broussa, Mocha's ware
Brown-tinted, fragrant, and the rare
Thin perfumes that the r