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JANET OF THE DUNES BY HARRIET T. COMSTOCK AUTHOR OF JOYCE OF THE NORTH WOODS, A SON OF THE HILLS, ETC.  GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS :: :: NEW YORK |
Copyright, 1907,
By Little, Brown, and Company.
All rights reserved
LOVINGLY
I Dedicate this Book
TO
CARRIE LOUISE SMITH.
HER FRIENDSHIP WAS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, A LIGHT TO
ME UPON MY WAY. THE CHART SHE SAILED BY
WILL GUIDE MY COURSE AND BRING ME, I
HOPE, AT LAST, TO THE HARBOR
WHERE SHE HAS GONE.
HARRIET T. COMSTOCK.
Flatbush, Brooklyn, N.Y.
June 15, 1907.
[Pg vii]PREFACE
In this story of the dunes, the Hills and the Light, I have notattempted any character drawing, although on the easterly shore of LongIsland there are many people who have retained, together with the plainold English names which they brought with them by way of Connecticut andRhode Island, a simplicity and sturdiness of character not to be foundelsewhere, I believe, so near the great cosmopolis, and which is worthya place in song and story.
It has been my good fortune to mingle for many summers with these kindlyfolk, and particularly with a little group of gentle, rather bashful andsilent men forming a crew, with their captain, of one of the UnitedStates Life Saving Stations.
It is my hope that this story, if it does nothing else, will in somesmall measure enhance[Pg viii] the not-too-strong interest in which the poorlypaid, obscurely enacted heroism of the men in this service is held bythe general public.
They have not the advantages, like our soldiers and firemen, of dressyuniforms and frequent parade before us. They would be greatlyembarrassed by anything like public homage; yet how beneficent is theirservice! The lonely isolation of the Government Houses; the long,ofttimes dangerous patrols every night from sunset to sunrise; theirdetachment from home and social ties,—all speak for the digni