
E-text prepared by Robert Cicconetti, Martin Pettit, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/) from page images generously made available by Early Canadiana Online (http://www.canadiana.org/cihm/)
THE MERMAID
A LOVE TALE - BY - L. DOUGALL - AUTHOR OF BEGGARS ALL, WHAT NECESSITY KNOWS, ETC.
THE MERMAID. - BOOK I.
CHAPTER I. - THE BENT TWIG.
CHAPTER II. - THE SAD-EYED CHILD.
CHAPTER III. - LOST IN THE SEA.
CHAPTER IV. - A QUIET LIFE.
CHAPTER V. - SEEN THROUGH BLEAR EYES.
CHAPTER VI. - "FROM HOUR TO HOUR WE RIPE——"
Caius Simpson is the only son of a prosperous farmer on the rugged north‑west coast of Prince Edward Island. Raised under a stern, Puritan‑inspired code, he excels in book learning and philosophical reflection, yet his sheltered upbringing leaves him untested by the harsher currents of life. The narrative follows his quiet confidence as he wrestles with the gap between lofty ideals and the practical world beyond his family’s fields.
In early summer, seeking a respite from his studies, Caius walks to a remote inlet to fish, traversing red‑clay roads and wind‑swept cliffs. The lonely farm he passes, its sorrowful children swinging on a weathered gate, hints at a deeper melancholy that draws his attention. It is there, amid the sea’s whisper, that he first senses an uncanny presence—a figure from legend whose song may challenge everything he believes about love and destiny.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (450K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2006-12-07
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1858–1923
A sharp, thoughtful novelist and religious essayist, this Canadian writer built a career in Britain while pushing against the limits of her evangelical upbringing. Her fiction is often remembered for its intelligence, moral seriousness, and interest in women’s inner lives.
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