"'What a fool I was not to go where she beckoned!' mused Caius. 'Where? Anywhere into the heart of the ocean, out of this dull, sordid life into the land of dreams.' For it must all have been a dream—a sweet, fantastic dream, imposed upon his senses by some influence, outward or inward; but it seemed to him that at the hour when he seemed to see the maid it might have been given him to enter the world of dreams, and go on in some existence which was a truer reality than the one in which he now was...

This is a collection of (each in their own way) romantic short stories by Lily Dougall.

"When travelling in Canada, in the region north of Lake Ontario, I came upon traces of the somewhat remarkable life which is the subject of the following sketch. Having applied to the school-master in the town where Bartholomew Toyner lived, I received an account the graphic detail and imaginative insight of which attest the writer's personal affection. This account, with only such condensation as is necessary, I now give to the world. I do not believe that it belongs to the novel to teach theology;...

"I have been asked why I have opposed Christianity. I have several reasons, which shall appear in due course. At present I offer one. I oppose Christianity because it is not true. No honest man will ask for any other reason. But it may be asked why I say that Christianity is not true; and that is a very proper question, which I shall do my best to answer." Thus states the author in one of the first chapters of this book, and subsequently he lays down his apology, drawing his conclusions from numerous books published by believers and unbelievers alike, and, of course, from the bible itself.