The Wanderer's Necklace
Works by H. Rider Haggard
Parliamentary Blue-Book.
| Report to H.M.'s Government on the Salvation Army Colonies in the United States, with Scheme of National Land Settlement. [Cd. 2562] |
Political History.
Works on Sociology, Agriculture, and Country Life.
| Rural England (2 vols.) |
| Rural Denmark and Its Lessons. |
| The Poor and the Land. |
| Regeneration. |
| A Farmer's Year. |
| A Gardener's Year. |
"Mr. Rider Haggard is probably most widely known as a novelist, but, as a matter of fact, there are few men now writing English whose books on vital sociological questions are of such value as his, and hardly one among this small number who has grasped as he has grasped the dangers that beset the future of the English-speaking people, and the way these dangers can best be met."—Mr. Theodore Roosevelt in "The Outlook," New York, July 1, 1911.
Book of Travel.
Novels.
| Dawn. |
| The Witch's Head. |
| Jess. |
| Colonel Quaritch, V.C. |
| The Way of the Spirit. |
| Beatrice. |
| Joan Haste. |
| Doctor Therne. |
| Stella Fregelius. |
Romances.
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The Wanderer's Necklace
With Four Illustrations by
A. C. Michael
Longmans, Green, and Co.
Fourth Avenue & 30th Street, New York
1914
In memory of Oodnadatta and many wanderings oversea I offer these pictures from the past, my dear Vincent, to you, a lover of the present if an aspirant who can look upon the future with more of hope than fear.
Your colleague,
To Sir Edgar Vincent, K.C.M.G.
Ditchingham,
- November, 1913.
It chances that I, the Editor of these pages—for, in truth, that is my humble function—have recovered a considerable knowledge of a bygone life of mine. This life ended in times that are comparatively recent, namely, early in the ninth century, as is fixed by the fact that the Byzantine Empress, Irene, plays a part in the story.
The narrative, it will be observed, is not absolutely consecutive; that is to say, all the details are not filled in. Indeed, it has returned to me in a series of scenes or pictures, and although each scene or picture has to do with every other, there are sometimes gaps between them. To take one example among several—the journey of Olaf (in those days my name was Olaf, or Michael after I was baptised) from the North to Constantinople is not recorded. The curtain drops at Aar in Jutland and rises again in Byzantium. Only those events which were of the most importance seem to have burned themselves into my subconscious memory; many minor details have vanished, or, at least, I cannot find them. This, however, does not appear to me to be a matter for regret. If every episode of a full and eventful life were painted in, the canvas would be overloaded and the eye that studied it bewildered.
I do not think that I have anything more to say. My tale must speak for itself. So I will but add that I hold it unnecessary to set out the exact method by which I have been able to dig it and others from the quarry of my past. It is a gift which, although small at first, I have been able gradually to develop. Therefore, as I wish to hide my present identity, I will only sign myself
The Editor.
Contents
| Chapter | Page | |
| I. | The Betrothal of Olaf | 3 |
| II. | The Slaying of the Bear | 16 |
| III. | The Wanderer's Necklace | 33 |
| IV. | Iduna Wears the Necklace | 49 |
| V. | The Battle on the Sea | 62 |
| VI. | How Olaf Fought with Odin | 78 |
| I. | Irene, Empress of the Earth | 97 |
| II. | The Blind Cæsar | 112 |
| III. | Mother and Son | 128 |
| IV. | Olaf Offers His Sword | 144 |
| V. | Ave Post Secula | 158 |
| VI. | Heliodore | 173 |
| VII. | Victory or Valhalla! | 189 |
| VIII | The Trial of Olaf | 209 |
| IX. | The Hall of the Pit | 226 |
| X. | Olaf Gives Judgment | 241 |
| ||
| Book III.—Egypt | ||
| I. | Tidings from Egypt | 255 |
| II. | The Statues by the Nile | 267 |
| III. | The Valley of the Dead Kings | 282 |
| IV. | The Caliph Harun | 296 |
| V. | Irene's Prayer | 318 |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1925, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 98 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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