Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.Variations in hyphenation and accents remain.

The cover was prepared by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.

THE FLAME-GATHERERS

THE FLAME-GATHERERS

BY

MARGARET HORTON POTTER

New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd.
1904

All rights reserved

Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

TO
Gerhardt Hauptmann
WITH THE PROFOUND ADMIRATION
OF THE AUTHOR

PRELUDE

“UP FROM EARTH’S CENTRE THROUGH THE SEVENTH GATE

I ROSE, AND ON THE THRONE OF SATURN SATE;

AND MANY A KNOT UNRAVELLED BY THE ROAD,

BUT NOT THE MASTER KNOT OF HUMAN FATE.”[1]

GREAT OMAR, THIS VAGUE TALE RETOLD CONTAINS

PART ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE. ALLAH DEIGNS

A LITTLE WISDOM THROUGH THE MOST UNWISE:

THE SECRET OF THE UNIVERSE IN CHAINS.

BEHOLD IT, WRITTEN FOR THE OCCIDENT.

AH! WILL THEY SEE, ALTHOUGH THE VEIL IS RENT?

OR WILL NOT ONE BELIEVER PAUSE BEFORE

THE TATTERED GLORIES OF THE ORIENT?

M. H. P.

[1] “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam,” Ed. Fitzgerald, trans.

[Pg ix]

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