ROMANCE.

Northland Age, Volume VI, Issue 34, 18 April 1910, Page 8

ROMANCE.

Sometimes Romance rises and goes all round the house, and I go with him into empty, sounding rooms* I said unto Romance, “Show.me old ghosts, and bring the old songs back.” But he has a way of touching quite common things. He touched a billiard ball as he passed by. And then I knew that in its ivory core it cares not much for its little skilful journeys round and round the table, the slave of men at play, bnt in indolent hours dreams, in the quiet house, of terrible journeys through warm African forests, when it was moist with rains and glittered with stars and moon and with the fearful sagacity of two little eyes. It is not a joy to it to hear men laugh at. their play ; they never laughed near it in the days gone by. And then it turns over in its ivory core horrible old memories of the days of its strength.

As we went round the house, Romance and 1, we heard a clock ticking loudly. And a look of anger came over the face of Romance, for he hates and despises Time. There is the blood of old ghosts on the hands ot the clock, ghosts that Romance has loved. One by one it has hammered their days away. And these bloody hands Romance could not bear to see. But he turned from me slowly, and faded as he turned, and, gathering about him a retinue of dreams, passed through the window over night-haunted fields, and so went back to his lair in Ninevali. And there in the corner stands the tall old clock, swinging his long pendulum to and fro, even as a headsman that has grown old at his trade swings up and down his axe—and not in idleness, but to strike the deadlier blow.—Lord Dunsany, in the "Saturday Review.”