"A series of nine fin de siecle stories of great power and picturesqueness . . . A more appalling tale than "A Ghost of the Sea" has not been recounted for many years past, nor have the tragical potentialities of modern life . . . been more graphically illustrated than in "Grass upon the Housetops," "The Skirts of Chance," and "False Equivalents." As word-pictures they are simply masterpieces." - Daily Telegraph The very title of this collection of decadent stories - Rust of Gold - suggests its themes: beauty and decay. In "Grass Upon the Housetops," a chivalrous man, attempting to hem his lover"s dress, swallows the needle, with beautiful and terrible consequences. In "The Skirts of Chance," a famous poet renowned for his chastity must choose between his artistic integrity and his newfound love. And, in the gem of this collection, "A Ghost of the Sea," a well-known London lawyer flees to the remote countryside, seeking to escape horrific visions of the ghost of his drowned...