The Project Gutenberg EBook of HE, by Andrew Lang

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Title: HE

Author: Andrew Lang

Release Date: May 24, 2008 [EBook #25589]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HE ***

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HE

BY THE AUTHOR OF

'IT' 'KING SOLOMON'S WIVES' 'BESS'
'MUCH DARKER DAYS' 'MR MORTON'S SUBTLER'

AND OTHER ROMANCES

LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
1887

All rights reserved

PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON

'SHE.'

_TO H. RIDER HAGGARD._

_Not in the waste beyond the swamp and sand,
The fever-haunted forest and lagoon,
Mysterious Kor, thy fanes forsaken stand,
With lonely towers beneath the lonely Moon!
Not there doth Ayesha linger,--rune by rune
Spelling the scriptures of a people banned,--
The world is disenchanted! oversoon
Shall Europe send her spies through all the land!_

_Nay, not in Kor, but in whatever spot,
In fields, or towns, or by the insatiate sea,
Hearts brood o'er buried Loves and unforgot,
Or wreck themselves on some Divine decree,
Or would o'er-leap the limits of our lot,
There in the Tombs and deathless, dwelleth SHE!_

DEDICATION.

_KOR_, _Jan._ 30, 1887.

_DEAR ALLAN QUATERMAIN,

You, who, with others, have aided so manfully in the Restoration of
King Romance, know that His Majesty is a Merry Monarch.

You will not think, therefore, that the respectful Liberty we have
taken with your Wondrous Tale (as Pamela did with the 137th Psalm)
indicates any lack of Loyalty to our Lady Ayesha.

Her beauties are beyond the reach of danger from Burlesque, nor
does_ her _form flit across our humble pages.

May you restore to us yet the prize of her perfections, for we, at
least, can never believe that she wholly perished in the place of the
Pillar of Fire!

Yours ever,

TWO OF THE AMA LO-GROLLA._

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I. EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 1