



Produced by Anna Hall and the Online Distributed
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  _NEW SIX SHILLING NOVELS._


  THE BLUE LAGOON. By H. DE VERE STACPOOLE.
  EVE'S APPLE. By ALPHONSE COURLANDER.
  PARADISE COURT. By J. S. FLETCHER.
  THE TRAITOR'S WIFE. By W. H. WILLIAMSON.
  MAROZIA. By A. G. HALES.

  LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN.




  THE WOMAN WHO VOWED
  (THE DEMETRIAN)

  BY
  ELLISON HARDING

  [Illustration]

  LONDON
  T. FISHER UNWIN
  ADELPHI TERRACE
  MCMVIII




CONTENTS


  CHAPTER                                   PAGE
  I. A Goddess and a Comic Song                7
  II. Harvesting and Harmony                  21
  III. The Cult of Demeter                    37
  IV. Anna of Ann                             53
  V. Irene                                    63
  VI. Neaera                                  77
  VII. A Tragic Denouement                    94
  VIII. How the Cult was Founded             101
  IX. How It Might be Undermined             119
  X. An Unexpected Solution                  127
  XI. The Plot Thickens                      135
  XII. Neaera's Idea of Diplomacy            144
  XIII. Neaera Makes New Arrangements        150
  XIV. "I Consented"                         162
  XV. The High Priest of Demeter             171
  XVI. Anna's Secret                         183
  XVII. Designs on Anna of Ann               190
  XVIII. A Dream                             200
  XIX. The Legislature Meets                 207
  XX. On Flavors and Finance                 219
  XXI. The Investigating Committee           226
  XXII. "Treasons, Stratagems, and Spoils"   238
  XXIII. A Libel                             249
  XXIV. Neaera Again                         259
  XXV. The Libel Investigated                266
  XXVI. The Election                         285
  XXVII. The Joint Session                   293
  XXVIII. Lydia to the Rescue                302
  Conclusion                                 315




THE DEMETRIAN




CHAPTER I

A GODDESS AND A COMIC SONG


I remember awakening with a start, conscious of a face bending over me
that was beautiful and strange.

I was quite unable to account for myself, and my surprise was heightened
by the singular dress of the woman I saw. It was Greek--not of modern
but of ancient Greece.

What had happened? Had I been acting in a Greek play and been stunned by
an accident to the scenery? No; the grass upon which I was lying was
damp, and a sharp twinge between the shoulders told me I had been there
already too long. What, then, was the meaning of this classic dress?

I raised myself on one arm; and the young woman who had been kneeling
beside me arose also. I was dazed, and shaded my eyes from the sun on
the horizon--whether setting or rising I could not tell. I fixed my eyes
upon the feet of my companion; they were curiously shod in soft
leather, for cleanliness rather than for protection; tightly laced from
the toe to the ankle and half way up the leg--half-moccasin and
half-cothurnus. I fixed my eyes upon them and slowly became quite sure
that I was alive and awake, but seemed still dazed and unwilling to look
up. Presently she spoke.

"Are you ill?" she asked.

"I don't think so," answered I, as I lifted my eyes to