Of inward being dwell;

And joyful at Her perfect feet
Whom most of all I long to greet,
My soul shall lie in meadow sweet
All white with asphodel.

--August 31, 1887.





Part II. Dream-Stories




I. A Village of Seers--
A Christmas Story




A day or two before Christmas, a few years since, I found myself
compelled by business to leave England for the Continent.

I am an American, junior partner in a London mercantile house having
a large Swiss connection; and a transaction--needless to specify
her--required immediate and personal supervision abroad, at a season