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Tales of Fantasy and Fact

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First published: 1896
Pages: 96

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About this book

A puzzled passenger wakes aboard a ship whose captain knows the coasts of literary imagination as if they were ordinary ports. Brander Matthews begins this collection with a voyage under Captain Vanderdecken, the Flying Dutchman, who talks of Rip Van Winkle, Lilliput and other familiar figures and places. Ancient legend shares the conversation with modern technology: even Charon has acquired an electric launch.

Elsewhere, a story told among companions turns a haunting into a dispute between two troublesome ghosts. One belongs to a house and the other follows Baron Duncan, leaving Eliphalet to endure their noisy rivalry. Bells, a tambourine and a flaming banjo give the scene its comic energy. These short tales offer readers playful encounters with literary references and supernatural ideas, presented through lively conversation and the practical problems that impossible events create.