The works of Edgar Allan Poe; newly collected and edited, with a memoir, critical introductions, and notes, by Edmund Clarence Stedman and George Edward Woodberry; the illustrations by Albert Edward Sterner.

THE ELK
I fancied the elk repining, not less than wondering, at
the manifest alterations for the worse, wrought upon
the brook and its vicinage, even within the last few
years, by the stern hand of the utilitarian. But a
slight movement of the animal's head at once dispelled
the dreaminess that invested me, and aroused me to a
full sense of the novelty of the adventure. I arose
upon one knee within the skiff, and, while I hesitated
whether to stop my career, or let myself float nearer
to the object of my wonder, I heard the words " Hist!
hist!" ejaculated quickly, but cautiously, from the
shrubbery overhead. In an instant afterwards, a
negro emerged from the thicket, putting aside the
bushes with care, and treading stealthily. He bore
in one hand a quantity of salt, and, holding it out
towards the elk, gently but steadily approached. The
noble animal, although a little fluttered, made no
attempt at escape. The negro advanced, offered the
salt, and spoke a few words of encouragement or
conciliation. Presently the elk bowed and stamped,
and then lay quietly down, and was secured with a
halter.
Thus ended my romance of the elk. It was a pet
of great age, and very domestic habits, and belonged
to an English family occupying a villa in the vicinity.

83