Belle and the dragon. An elfin comedy

its low ceilings, and the air of careful neglect that characterized its surroundings. It was a place permanently founded in the peace of picturesque decay and, above all, its glorious sunset. It would be difficult to understand the reality and closeness of Fairyland until the western windows of that favored house revealed it in the cool of the evening. Through a thin strip of woods, the sun went down in a way that few travelers have ever seen from a mountaintop, or over a prairie, pampas, or sea.

It is impossible to write of Ravendale except with a golden pen; therefore, this labor of love shall be written in amaranthineUnfading or eternal; also a deep purple-red color. ink on the spotless skin of a gazelle. It is impossible to speak of Ravendale except with the highest praise; so this romance shall be decorated with all the resources of language. The flow of its words, like the song of King Arthur, shall "roll translucent over the sands of gold." It is impossible to think of Ravendale except from a spiritual and elevated perspective, defined by the behavior of the "New Life." Therefore, may only the wings of white doves and the soft eyes of virgins watch over these pages! May each leaf as it turns fall gently, as if from trees in autumn onto a soft lawn in the distant land of the fairies!

The front of Ravendale faced southward and stayed in the sunshine all day. It was covered with ivy and clematis, with climbing roses and wide-spreading—