The Dolliver Romance and Other Pieces Section X - An Old Woman's Tale

The Marble Faun Chapter IV - The Spectre Of The Catacomb

In which a lost companion emerges from the depths of the ancient catacombs, accompanied by a mysterious figure whose enigmatic presence intertwines with the haunted shadows of Rome’s forgotten sanctuaries. The ensuing murmurs and fanciful tales mingle with the melancholy and unrest observed in the artist’s demeanour, as her devoted friends grapple with the uneasy truth behind this spectral attendance.

The Marble Faun Chapter III - Subterranean Reminiscences

In which the enigmatic Miriam, an artist of passionate impulse and guarded mystery, navigates the shadows of Roman society and forms a rare intimacy with a select few companions, while whispers of her obscure origins weave fanciful tales around her. Together with her friends, she ventures into the subterranean gloom of the catacombs, where ancient silence and spectral legends cast a somber veil over their fellowship.

The Marble Faun Chapter II - The Faun

In which three friends muse upon their companion Donatello’s uncanny likeness to the marble Faun, indulging in reveries that blend the playful with the profound as they wander through a gallery of ancient statues. Their light-hearted enchantment gives way to a more pensive and uneasy mood, culminating in the unsettling discovery of a figure from Miriam’s past, whose sudden presence stirs Donatello’s wrath.

The Marble Faun Chapter I - Miriam, Hilda, Kenyon, Donatello

In which four companions—three artists and an Italian youth named Donatello—stand amid the august relics of Rome's ancient sculptural glory, their light-hearted discourse drawn to the uncanny resemblance between Donatello and the marble Faun of Praxiteles. The statue itself, exquisitely wrought with a blend of human warmth and animal grace, serves as a symbol of nature’s simple, unblemished spirit and the delicate boundary where humanity touches the sylvan wild.

The Dolliver Romance and Other Pieces Section XI - Time's Portraiture - Address

In which Time, no longer a grave ancient with scythe and hour-glass, comes tripping through Salem in the brisk apparel and gossiping temper of the present hour. Yet beneath his airy manners there steals a darker admonition, that this familiar companion of our days is but a mutable old deceiver, to be endured wisely and trusted never too far.