It has been known for some time that Mr. Lang has added ghosts to his hobbies. In the volume before us, “ The Book of Dreams and Ghosts,'' Mr. Lang offers a large collection of ghost stories old and new, and his opinions on “appearances.” As far as we can gather Mr. Lang's attitude from these pages, which have much of the vagueness of expression that goes with memoirs of the supernatural, he disbelieves in traditional ghosts, the ghosts that do things-but wishes it were otherwise. Like all persons of poetical or romantic temperament, he would prefer to believe in them. They would make life so much more interesting and exciting.
This book is annotated with a rare extensive biographical sketch of the author, Andrew Lang, written by Sir Edmund Gosse, CB, a contemporary poet and writer.
From the contents:
The Dog Fanti
Mark Twain's Story
The Pig In The Dining-Room
The Mignonette
The Lost Cheque
The Ducks' Eggs
The Lost Key The Lost Securities
The Arrears Of Teind
The Two Curmas
The Assyrian Priest
The Knot In The Shutter
Queen Mary's Jewels
The Deathbed
Dream Of Mr. Perceval's Murder
The Rattlesnake
The Red Lamp
The Scar In The Moustache
The Coral Sprigs
The Satin Slippers
The Dead Shopman
Story Of The Diplomatist
Under The Lamp
The Cow With The Bell
The Deathbed Of Louis Xiv.
The Old Family Coach
Riding Home From Mess
The Bright Scar
The Vision And The Portrait
The Restraining Hand
The Benedictine's Voices
The Man At The Lift
The Wraith Of The Czarina
An “Astral Body”
In Tavistock Place
The Wynyard Wraith
Lord Brougham's Story
The Dying Mother
The Vision Of The Bride
… and much more …