The Snake's Pass

“... This particularly is a book which all clever and imaginative children should read.... The stories all paint a grand moral, are deeply pathetic, and of absorbing interest.”—The World.

“....A charming book....”—Punch.

“....This collection of delicate and forcible allegories.”—Daily Telegraph.

“....The style of the book is characterized throughout by remarkable purity and grace.”—The Daily News.

“....A really beautiful book, which may be enjoyed, not only by children, but by their elders.”—Morning Post.

“....The tales are in the best style of imaginative narrative, with charming little touches of nature and reference to every-day things.”—The Spectator.

“....The book is pervaded by a dreamy beauty of style, which cannot fail to be fascinating.”—The Echo.

“....A mystical, supernatural tale, told as it should be told, hovering airily and luminously in a medium half imaginative, half ethical....”—Liverpool Daily Post.

“....It ought to be in the book-case of every pastor, Christian, teacher, and scholar in the kingdom....”—Elgin Courant.

“....The tales one and all captivate the young intellect by the charm of innocence and freshness they possess....”—Dublin Freeman’s Journal.

“....We have rarely met a more delightful or more thoroughly wholesome book to place in the hands of children....”—Cork Constitution.

“....The thoughts of the book are high and pure, and the scenery of it is finely coloured and attractive....”—New York Tribune.

“A charming book, full of ingenious, refined, and poetical fancy.”—The Australasian.

THE SNAKE’S PASS

BY

BRAM STOKER, M.A.

[Colophon]

LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE & RIVINGTON, LTD. St. Dunstan’s House, FETTER LANE, FLEET STREET. 1891.

All rights reserved.

CHISWICK PRESS:—C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.

CONTENTS.

PAGE CHAPTER I. A SUDDEN STORM 1

II. THE LOST CROWN OF GOLD 15

III. THE GOMBEEN MAN 36

IV. THE SECRETS OF THE BOG 58

V. ON KNOCKNACAR 83

VI. CONFIDENCES 106

VII. VANISHED 126

VIII. A VISIT TO JOYCE 147

IX. MY NEW PROPERTY 160

X. IN THE CLIFF FIELDS 176

XI. UN MAUVAIS QUART D’HEURE 195

XII. BOG-FISHING AND SCHOOLING 213

XIII. MURDOCK’S WOOING 235

XIV. A TRIP TO PARIS 254

XV. A MIDNIGHT TREASURE HUNT 278

XVI. A GRIM WARNING 297

XVII. THE CATASTROPHE 320

XVIII. THE FULFILMENT 344

THE SNAKE’S PASS.

CHAPTER I.

A SUDDEN STORM.