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NICANOR TELLER OF TALES
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"In a physical ecstasy he spoke out that which clamoredat his lips." (Page 44)]
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NICANORTELLER OF TALES
A StoryOf Roman Britain
ByC. BRYSON TAYLOR
Author Of"In The Dwellings Of The Wilderness"
Having Pictures and Designs byTroy and Margaret West Kinney
ChicagoA. C. Mcclurg & Co.1906
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CopyrightA. C. McCLURG & CO.1906Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, EnglandAll rights reserved
Published April 28, 1906
Typography by The University Press, Cambridge, U.S.A.Presswork by The Lakeside Press, Chicago, U.S.A.
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C. H. B.
To you, whose love did comeAnd oft did sing to me,When I was working in the furrows.
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CONTENTS
BOOK I PAGE
THE MANTLE OF MELCHIOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
BOOK II
THE GARDEN OF DREAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
BOOK III
PAWNS AND PLAYERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
BOOK IV
THE LORD'S DAUGHTER AND THE ONE WHO WENT IN CHAINS . . . . . . . 207
BOOK V
THE NIGHT AND THE DAWNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
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ILLUSTRATIONS Page
"In a physical ecstasy he spoke out that whichclamored on his lips" [Page 44] Frontispiece
"'Were I that woman, I should have wanted tolove him'" [Page 85] 72
"'You sent for me, Lady Varia?'" [Page 152] 176
"Half a dozen young beauties had taken possession,--girlsof the haughtiest blood in Britain" [Page 240] 254
"The sight burst upon him in all its hideousness--wherehad been the stately mansion of his lord" [Page 344] 364
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CHARACTERS
EUDEMIUS, a Roman lord living in Britain
VARIA, his daughter
LIVINIUS, a Roman citizen, a boyhood friend of Eudemius
MARIUS, his son, of the Roman legions in Gaul
MARCUS SILENUS POMPONIUS, Count of the Saxon Shore }AURELIUS MENOTUS, duumvir of Anderida } Guests ofFELIX, his son } EudemiusCAIUS JULIUS VALENS, a Roman citizen }
JULIA }NIGIDIA } Roman girls, daughters of thePAULA } guests of EudemiusGRATIA }
NERISSA, nurse to Varia
HITO, master of the household of Eudemius
CHLORIS, of all nations, living upon Thorney
SADA, a Saxon } inmates of her houseEUNICE, a Greek }
ELDRIS, a Briton, a convert to Christianity
WARDO, a Saxon, a slave in the house of Eudemius
VALERIUS, a Roman, a soldier of fortune
TOBIAS, a Hebrew, a worker in ivory
RATHUMUS, a British peasant, bound to the soil
SUSANNA, a Hebrew woman, his wife
NICANOR, a story-teller, their son
WULF, the Red, a Saxon free-lance
CEAWLIN, a Saxon chieftain
FATHER AMBROSE, of the Christian church
NICODEMUS, the One-Eyed, a British freedman
MYLEIA, his wife
MARCUS, a slave in the house of Eudemius
BALBUS, a convict
JUNCINA, a fish-wife on Thorney
SOSIA, her daughter
A flower-girl, a Saxon singer, slaves, trades-folk, soldiers of themilitary police; guards and overseers of the mines, and miners;Roman nobles and patrician women; Saxon men-at-arms, and men of theoutland nations
Scene: Britain in the last days of Roman powerTime: between A.D. 410 and 446
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LIST OF TOWNS AND RIVERS
WITH THEIR MODERN SITES AND NAMES
Abus Flumen Humber River.Ad Fines Broughing, Hertfordshire.Anderida Pevensey.Aquae Solis Bath.Bibracte _Unknown_.Caledonia Scotland.Calleva Silchester.Corinium Cirencester.Cunetio Folly Farm, near Marlborough.Deva Chester.Dubrae Dover.Eboracum York.Gobannium Abergavenny.Glevum Gloucester.Isca Silurum Carleon.Leucarum Llychwr, county of Glamorgan.Londinium London.Noviomagus Holwood Hill, parish of Bromley.Pontes StainesPortus Magnus Porchester.Ratae Leicester.Regnum Chichester.Rutupiae RichboroughSabrina Flumen Severn River.Serica China.Tamesis Flumen Thames River.Tripontium _Near_ Lilburne.Uriconium Wroxeter.Urus Flumen Ouse River.
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THE MANTLE OF MELCHIOR
BOOK I
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