Bram Stoker: Bram Stoker: The Complete Novels

Chapter 17 — Doubts and Fears

Chapter 18 — The Lesson of the “Ka”

Chapter 19 — The Great Experiment

The Man

Fore-Glimpse

Chapter 1 — Stephen

Chapter 2 — The Heart of a Child

Chapter 3 — Harold

Chapter 4 — Harold at Normanstand

Chapter 5 — The Crypt

Chapter 6 — A Visit to Oxford

Chapter 7 — The Need of Knowing

Chapter 8 — The T-Cart

Chapter 9 — In the Spring

Chapter 10 — The Resolve

Chapter 11 — The Meeting

Chapter 12 — On the Road Home

Chapter 13 — Harold’s Resolve

Chapter 14 — The Beech Grove

Chapter 15 — The End of the Meeting

Chapter 16 — A Private Conversation

Chapter 17 — A Business Transaction

Chapter 18 — More Business

Chapter 19 — A Letter

Chapter 20 — Confidences

Chapter 21 — The Duty of Courtesy

Chapter 22 — Fixing the Bounds

Chapter 23 — The Man

Chapter 24 — From the Deeps

Chapter 25 — A Little Child Shall Lead

Chapter 26 — A Noble Offer

Chapter 27 — Age’s Wisdom

Chapter 28 — De Lannoy

Chapter 29 — The Silver Lady

Chapter 30 — The Lesson of the Wilderness

Chapter 31 — The Life-Line

Chapter 32 — ‘To Be God and Able to Do Things’

Chapter 33 — The Queen’s Room

Chapter 34 — Waiting

Chapter 35 — A Cry

Chapter 36 — Light

Chapter 37 — Golden Silence

Lady Athlyne

Chapter 1 — On the ‘Cryptic’

Chapter 2 — In Italy

Chapter 3 — De Hooge’s Spruit

Chapter 4 — The Bird-Cage

Chapter 5 — An Adventure

Chapter 6 — True Heart’s-Content

Chapter 7 — A Discussion

Chapter 8 — “Look at Me!”

Chapter 9 — The Car of Destiny

Chapter 10 — A Letter

Chapter 11 — The Beautiful Twilight

Chapter 12 — Echo of Tragedy

Chapter 13 — Instinctive Planning

Chapter 14 — A Banquet on Olympus

Chapter 15 — “Stop!”

Chapter 16 — A Painful Journey

Chapter 17 — The Sheriff

Chapter 18 — Pursuit

Chapter 19 — Declaration of War

Chapter 20 — Knowledge of Law

Chapter 21 — Application of Law

Chapter 22 — The Hatchet Buried

Chapter 23 — A Harmony in Gray

The Lady of the Shroud

From “The Journal of Occultism”

Book 1 — The Will of Roger Melton

Book 2 — Vissarion

Book 3 — The Coming of the Lady

Book 4 — Under the Flagstaff

Book 5 — A Ritual at Midnight

Book 6 — The Pursuit in the Forest

Book 7 — The Empire of the Air

Book 8 — The Flashing of the Handjar

Book 9 — Balka

The Lair of the White Worm

Chapter 1 — Adam Salton Arrives

Chapter 2 — The Caswalls of Castra Regis

Chapter 3 — Diana’s Grove

Chapter 4 — The Lady Arabella March

Chapter 5 — The White Worm

Chapter 6 — Hawk and Pigeon

Chapter 7 — Oolanga

Chapter 8 — Survivals

Chapter 9 — Smelling Death

Chapter 10 — The Kite

Chapter 11 — Mesmer’s Chest

Chapter 12 — The Chest Opened

Chapter 13 — Oolanga’s Hallucinations

Chapter 14 — Battle Renewed

Chapter 15 — On the Track

Chapter 16 — A Visit of Sympathy

Chapter 17 — The Mystery of “The Grove”

Chapter 18 — Exit Oolanga

Chapter 19 — An Enemy in the Dark

Chapter 20 — Metabolism

Chapter 21 — Green Light

Chapter 22 — At Close Quarters

Chapter 23 — In the Enemy’s House

Chapter 24 — A Startling Proposition

Chapter 25 — The Last Battle

Chapter 26 — Face to Face

Chapter 27 — On the Turret Roof

Chapter 28 — The Breaking of the Storm

First published: 1875

Chapter 1 — A Happy Home

Chapter 2 — To and Fro

Chapter 3 — An Opening

Chapter 4 — The New Life

Chapter 5 — How the New Life Began

Chapter 6 — A Summons

Chapter 7 — Katey’s Trials

Chapter 8 — Down the Hill

Chapter 9 — The Trail of the Serpent

Chapter 10 — The End of the Journey

“I wonder will any of them come, Jerry?”

The pretty little woman’s face got puckered all over with baby wrinkles, more suitable to the wee pink face that lay on her bosom than to her own somewhat pale one, as she made the remark.

Jerry looked up from his newspaper and gazed at her lovingly for a moment before he answered, his answer being a confident smile with a knowing shake of the head from side to side as who should say — “Oh, you little humbug, pretending to distress yourself with doubts. Of course, they’ll come — all of them.”

Katey seemed to lose her trouble in his smile — it is wonderful what comforters love and sympathy are. She drew close to her husband and held down the tiny bald pink head for him to kiss, and then, leaning her cheek against his, said in a soft cooing voice, half wifely, half motherly, “Oh, Jerry, isn’t he a little beauty.”

Children are quite as jealous as dogs and cats in their own way, and instinctively the urchin sprawling on the hearth-rug came over and pulled at his mother’s dress, saying plaintively “Me too, mammy — me too.”

Jerry took the child on his knee. “Eh, little Jerry, your nose is out of joint again; isn’t it?”

A mother is jealous as well as her child, and this mother answered — “Oh, no, Jerry, sure I don’t love him less because I have to take care of the little mite.”

Further conversation was stopped by a knock at the door.

“That’s some of them stayin’ away,” said Jerry, as he went out to open the door.

As may be seen, Jerry and his wife expected company, the doubts as to whose arrival was caused by the extreme inclemency of the weather, and as the occasion of the festivities was an important one, the doubts were strong.

Jerry O’Sullivan was a prosperous man in his line of life. His trade was that of a carpenter, and as he had, in addition to large practical skill and experience gained from unremitting toil, a considerable share of natural ability, was justly considered by his compeers to be the makings of a successful man.

Three years before he had been married to his pretty little wife, whose sweet nature, and care for his comfort, and whose desire to perfect the cheerfulness of home, had not a little aided his success, and kept him on the straight path.

If every wife understood the merits which a cheerful home has above all other places in the eyes of an ordinary man, there would be less brutality than there is amongst husbands, and less hardships and suffering amongst wives.

The third child has just been christened, and some friends and relatives were expected to do honour to the occasion, and now the knock announced the first arrival.

Whilst Jerry went to the door, Katey arranged the child’s garments so as to make him look as nice as possible, and also fixed her own dress, somewhat disturbed by maternal cares. In the meantime little Jerry flattened his nose against the window pane in a vain desire to see the appearance of the first arrival. Little Katey stood by him looking expectant as though her eyes were with her brother’s.

Mrs. Jerry’s best smile showed that the newcomer, Mr. Parnell, was a special friend. After shaking hands with him she stood close to him, and showed him the baby, looking up into his dark strong face with a smile of perfect trust. He was so tall that he had to stoop to kiss the baby, although the little mother raised it in her arms for him. He said very tenderly —

“Let me hold him a minute in my arms.”