He Andrew Lang As I sat, one evening, idly musing on memories of roers and Boers, and contemplating the horns of a weendigo I had shot in Labrador and the head of a Moo Cow1 from Canada, I was roused by a ring at the door bell. A literary friend to whom I have shown your MS. says a weendigo is Ojibbeway for a cannibal. And why do you shoot poor Moo Cows?-Publisher. Mere slip of the pen. Meant a Cow Moose. Literary gent no sportsman.-Ed. All right.-Publisher. The hall-porter presently entered, bearing a huge parcel, which ...
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He Andrew Lang As I sat, one evening, idly musing on memories of roers and Boers, and contemplating the horns of a weendigo I had shot in Labrador and the head of a Moo Cow1 from Canada, I was roused by a ring at the door bell. A literary friend to whom I have shown your MS. says a weendigo is Ojibbeway for a cannibal. And why do you shoot poor Moo Cows?-Publisher. Mere slip of the pen. Meant a Cow Moose. Literary gent no sportsman.-Ed. All right.-Publisher. The hall-porter presently entered, bearing a huge parcel, which had just arrived by post. I opened it with all the excitement that an unexpected parcel can cause, and murmured, like Thackeray's sailor-man, 'Claret, perhaps, Mumm, I hope--' It was a Mummy Case, by Jingo! This was no common, or museum mummy case. The lid, with the gilded mask, was absent, and the under half or lower segment, painted all over with hieroglyphics of an unusual type, and green in colour-had obviously been used as a cradle for unconscious infancy. A baby had slept in the last sleeping-place of the dead! What an opportunity for the moralist! But I am not a collector of cradles. Who had sent it, and why? The question was settled by an envelope in a feminine hand, which, with a cylindrical packet, fell out of the Mummy Case, and contained a letter running as follows: - 'Lady Betty's, Oxford. 'My dear Sir, -You have not forgotten me and my friend Leonora O'Dolite? 'The Mummy Case which encloses this document is the Cradle of her ancient Race. 'We are, for reasons you will discover in the accompanying manuscript, about to start for Treasure Island, where, if anywhere in this earth, ready money is to be found on easy terms of personal insecurity.' 'Oh, confound it, ' I cried, 'here's another fiend of a woman sending me another manuscript! They are always at it! Wants to get it into a high-class magazine, as usual.' And my guess was correct. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience
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Seller's Description:
None. Good Only. The uncommon first edition of this humorous contemporary parody of H. Rider Haggard's 'She', co-authored by Haggard's friend, Andrew Lang. The uncommon first edition of this work. Likely the second issue, with 'Author' rather than 'Authors' to the title page, and the correct 'Allan' to the dedication leaf. In the scarce publisher's original paper wraps, held in a cloth covered case. Scott, 625, notes that this is the first time that Lang's sonnet 'She' appeared in print. Anonymously authored by English writer, poet, lecturer and journalist Walter Herries Pollock, best known as editor of the Saturday Review, and Andrew Lang, the collector of folk and fairy tales best known for his beloved Fairy Books. Lang and Haggard were personal friends, co-authoring the fantast novel 'The World's Desire' in 1890. Lang has also helped Haggard plan and revise She, Allan's Wife, Beatrice, Eric Brighteyes, Nada the Lily and also added poems to Cleopatra. With advertisements to the verso of the front wrap, and to the rear wrap. Bleiler conjectures that Haggard may have aided in the writing of this work. 'The Guide to Supernatural Fiction', p. 299. Bleiler describes the plot as 'adventures around London paralleling those of Holly and Vincey, culminating in a swindle'. In the publisher's original paper wraps, held in a fine cloth covered case. Loss of paper to back strip head and tail. Rear wrap detached, but present. Wraps bright, with small loss of paper to front wrap tail. Rear wrap lightly age toned to perimeters, with spot to tail of rear wrap. Internally, binding strained between pages 48 and 49, otherwise firmly bound. Pages bright and clean. Good Only.