SOURCE: "Monare" (Arabaesques 1871-1872) by Mrs. Richard S. Greenough

DESCRIPTION: "...The ruby was sending forth fiery darts, below the heavy curtain of the entrance, the head and shoulders of an enormous wolf, with green eyes, and pointed, glistening teeth. Walter of Ilzerly sprang towards the animal, and smote upon its hairy, bristling neck with his good sword. A human shriek rent the air, the monster changed before his horror-stricken sight; and there at his feet, the blood pouring from a ghastly wound in his throat, lay the knight who had bidden him welcome, -- a werewolf."

PLOT: A young knight vows to save  beautiful maiden he sees in a vision. using a magical ruby ring he ventures forth and finds a hovel to dwell in. The hut is inhabited by a werewolf which he kills. The knight knows that werewolf's blood can revive the victims of the blood so he gathers the liquid. He travels to a castle where the lady of the manor is bereft of joy because her husband was killed by the werewolf. Using only one drop of blood the knight revives the lord and finds out that the lord and lady's daughter was taken away by Saracen pirates many years ago. he travels to the foreign lands and rescues the maiden with the help of Monare, the Egyptian dwarf who sent him the ring.

WEREWOLF FACTS: This late Gothic tale offers one new idea, that o the werewolf's blood reviving the dead, no matter how long they have lain dead. This idea never caught on. The werewolf is said to be terrible and and unbeatable but the knight kills him with his sword with the aid of his magic ring.

INTERESTING FACTS: The Gothic movement started by Horace Walpole contains few true werewolves. Like "Hugues the Wer-wolf", most are not actual supernatural creatures. This "arabesque" takes its inspiration more from Vathek by William Beckford than The Castle of Otranto by Walpole. Because of this the story has a fairy-tale quality with real monsters rather than the Scooby-Doo quality of Ann Radcliffe.