Some words

Some interesting words found in Clark Ashton Smith's "The City of the Singing Flame":


scoriac--like rough fragments of lava, slag
tarn--a small mountain lake
boscage--a mass of trees or shrubs; thicket; underwood; grove
stridulation--a shrill grating or creaking sound; chirp
sidereal--of, pertaining to, or concerned with with stars or constellations; measured by the stars
fortalice--a minor defensive fort
divagate--to wander or drift about; ramble; digress

A pretty great story. A little long, but it's lingering in my head. I keep thinking about the singing flame and what it means and why events unfold as they do. It's one of those stories that can have lots of applications, lots of implications. If you want to relate it to your life, it's not hard to do so. It's not an old-fashioned, rip-roaring adventure yarn. It's slow, contemplative. I liked it.