CHAPTER LIII

A POSTSCRIPT. MR. AND MRS. ATHELSTAN TAYLOR. MR. AND MRS. BROWNRIGG. ODDS AND ENDS OF SEQUELS. THE DREAM VANISHES, READABLE BITS AND ALL!

"It's a magnificent match, and she'll make a perfect Duchess," said the Reverend Athelstan Taylor a twelvemonth later--only six months ago at this present time of writing. "And Thyringia will make a perfect dowager. But the old Duke may live to see a grandchild or two. Doesn't do to count one's coronets before they're hatched--eh, Addie?"

"I do wish, Yorick dearest, you would be a little less secretive, and tell me what she really said that time."

"I _have_ told you, sweetheart, all there was to tell. I haven't been keeping anything back."

"Never mind! Tell it again."

"Well--it was just like this." He dropped his voice to sadness, as in deference to something sad outside the matter of his speech. "I had just come from reading the service over poor Jim and...."

"Darling little Lizarann! Oh, Yorick, I don't believe I shall ever love my own child as...." The speaker could not utter another word; and, indeed, her tears were not the only ones that had to be got clear of before the Rector could proceed. In time he got on with his twice-told tale; but their subjugation overlapped his words that followed:

"Well--it was _then_! I dare say the young woman didn't mean to be supercilious and provoking, but she _was_. Why couldn't she leave the funeral alone? She hadn't come to it, and no one had asked her to do so...."

"I don't believe there were half-a-dozen people in the village that didn't."

"Very likely not. But I wasn't going to take her to task for it. _She_ began. Talked of it as if it had been a public meeting! Had heard there was quite a large gathering at Blind Jim's funeral. 'You were not there,' said I, simply as a matter of fact. But I suppose she felt there was a cap that fitted, for she said: 'I thought you would think the family quite sufficiently represented by my father and mother.' I answered--and I dare say my manner was rather irritable--'I wasn't counting heads, Judith.' She said, with a disagreeable shrewdness: 'But you noticed my absence?' 'If you ask me,' said I, 'I did notice it; and of all your family, I think, under the circumstances, your presence was the one most called for.' She replied, with that exasperating placidity she is such a mistress of: 'Possibly some persons acquainted with the whole story might have thought a parade of emotion uncalled for on my part.' I said, rather angrily: 'No one expects a parade of emotion from you, but only the common debt all are ready to pay to the memory of a fellow-creature tragically killed--especially those who have had any share, however indirect, in his death! She replied: 'I don't think we need make any pretences. You know as well as I do what share this man had in frustrating an object I had at heart; and at least you cannot expect me to be grateful to him?'"

"You were alone, then?"

"Yes--her mother had gone on in front. My answer to her was substantially that, if she knew what I knew, she would think poor Jim a benefactor, instead of bearing a grudge against him. 'What do you mean?' said she. 'Please don't be enigmatical.' I then told her bluntly what her position would have been had her proposed marriage with Challis been put into practice--been acted on. I told her of the legalism under which the validity of Challis's marriage with Marianne would stand or fall, according as his previous marriage was void or otherwise; and that it _was_ void, as his first wife's husband was living when he married her. I must say I admired her self-possession when she heard what a precipice she had been on the edge of...."

"What did she say?"

"She paused in her walk with a sort of 'what-next-I-wonder?' look on her face, and a slight 'oh--_really_!' movement of the head. Then she walked on again, as before; merely saying, as coolly as if she were talking of a new dress--more coolly--'The marriage laws are too funny for words.'"

"What did you say?"

"I said they were; feeling free to do so with dear Gus at Tunis. But I saw that she was perfectly well aware what a narrow escape she had had. However, she'll forget all about it when she's a Duchess. It's a pity he's so much younger than she is."

"Will the Challises ever know Marianne was his wife all along?"

"I hope not. It would break Marianne's heart. Her belief in her sister would be shaken. Now they're so happy together again it would be a grievous pity she should know anything about it. She's quite content with the retrospective working of the new Statute. Enough is as good as a feast...."

* * * * *

This was not the end of the conversation. But the story sees that it was to blame for not telling some more of the antecedent circumstances that had made it possible, and now hastens to make good the deficit. The Rector can wait.

Bishop Barham had been as good as his word. He allowed a reasonable time to elapse after the passing of the Act legalizing marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister, and then towards Christmas addressed a letter of paternal remonstrance to the Rector of Royd, "pointing out" some contingent effects of the Act which it was his duty, as that reverend gentleman's Diocesan, to lay stress upon in the interests of public decorum, as the slightest laxity in such a matter might have an injurious influence on the morality of clergy and laity alike. He was not suggesting for one moment that any infraction of moral law whatever was contemplated, or was even conceivable, in the present case. But a well-defined rule of life had to be observed by persons on whose part the slightest deviation from the strict observance of an enjoined conformity may act injuriously on the community. Here the prelude ended, and the Bishop came to the scratch. He could not shut his eyes to the fact that the Rev. Athelstan's household consisted only--children apart--of himself and a lady, the sister of his deceased wife. Since the recent lamentable decision of the Legislature to remove all legal restriction on marriages of persons so related, thus placing the Canon Law of the Church at variance with the Law of the Land, there would be no doubt that Mr. Taylor's domestic arrangements laid him open to censure, and might easily give rise to a serious public scandal. There was no doubt they transgressed the general rule which decides that persons marriageable but not married shall not be domiciled alone together, however circumspect their conduct may be. The Bishop contrived to hint that it was impossible to say where youth and susceptibility ended, and a grouty and untempting elderliness began, and that on this account especially his remarks applied in this case. Aunt Bessy was palpably neither Lalage nor Doris, but the principle held good all the same. He therefore, _et cetera_.

The Rev. Athelstan bit his lip and flushed angrily as he read the gratuitous insult to Aunt Bessy, who, although prim and intensely conservative, was not yet thirty-eight--for the two things _are_ compatible--and immediately wrote as follows in answer to the Bishop:

"MY LORD,

"I can only interpret your letter as enjoining upon me one of two courses. Either my sister-in-law must reside elsewhere or become my wife. But I understand that the Canon Law of the Church still discountenances marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister; and, further, that by a special clause of the recent Act nothing therein relieves a clergyman from any ecclesiastical censure to which he would have been liable previously for contracting such a marriage.

"If your Lordship will guarantee me against ecclesiastical censure for so doing, I will (having first ascertained Miss Caldecott's views on the subject) make arrangements for our marriage at an early date, with a view to removing the scandal you complain of.

"If your Lordship can be prevailed on to officiate at the wedding, I shall regard your doing so as the best security I can have against ecclesiastical censure hereafter."

To which the Bishop's reply was:

"DEAR MR. TAYLOR,

"It is my Episcopal duty to point out to you that such a marriage as you indicate, though legal, would be now, as always, contrary to the Canon Law of the Church, and in my opinion repugnant to every feeling of Christian morality. I refrain from using the adjective I am tempted to apply to it.

"But as I hold it to be consistent with my conscience as a Churchman to defer to public opinion when it coincides with my own, I am inclined to accept as well-grounded the view that households such as your present one may become the subjects of unfavourable comment, as a consequence (although the least pernicious one) of the recent Act of Parliament. I trust I have expressed clearly what I conceive to be your obvious duty alike as a Christian pastor and a member of Society.

"With regard to the concluding paragraph of your letter, I make no reply, except that in my opinion it calls for an apology.

"I am, etc., "Faithfully yours, "IGNATIUS NOX."

The Rev. Athelstan showed both these letters of the Bishop to Adeline Fossett, his adviser in difficulties from boyhood, when that lady came to pay a visit to the Rectory a week before Christmas, when she could not come, because of leaving her mother alone. Families cohere at Christmas, as long as they are plural, and can. The cohesion of a unit is involuntary and continuous.

Now, Miss Fossett's opinions had been much modified when the debate in the Peers enlightened her about the views of the Roman Church, which--she inferred--is quite willing to marry all the sisters of the largest families successively to any _bona fide_ widower. Possibly the Sacrament of Marriage might be refused to a man who had murdered his last wife in connection with his suit for her sister's hand. But _Amor omnia vincit_. Could the solemn rite be refused to him if he brought the ring in his pocket to the scaffold, and the Registrar was in attendance?

However, that has nothing to do with Adeline Fossett. She, to be brief, laughed at the Bishop's letters. The story has told how delighted she would have been to unite in marriage her two friends, whom she had long ago destined for one another, only the well-laid scheme ganged agee. And here she had the Pope and the Duke of Norfolk to back her, if consanguinity cropped up again! Clearly Yorick's destiny was to marry Aunt Bessy, and be happy. Unless he hated her, of course!

The Rector laughed his big laugh. "Oh no, I don't hate Bess!" said he. "I'm very fond of Bess--I _am_." And then he laughed again, and seemed immensely amused.

"Look here, Yorick! Don't be a goose. She's in the next room. Just you go in and tell her your idea, and see what _she_ thinks. Do, dear boy! Only you mustn't be as cold as Charity, you know!"

"All right. I'll do justice to the position."

"You will?--promise!... Very good. Now, Yorick--Yorick--_dear_ old Yorick! See what I'll do! I'll give you my blessing and God-speed!" And then she took him by both hands and kissed his face. He would have liked to return the kiss; but, then, you see, it would have impaired the elder-sister tone.

Was Adeline Fossett aware how she had put the last nail in the coffin of that little scheme, when she presumed on their mock-fraternity in that dangerous way? Why--she wasn't even his Deceased Wife's half-Sister, Marianne's relation to Challis!

She sat and listened for what she expected to go on in the next room. But it came not. As she waited there--a fair distance from the door, not to be eavesdropping--she looked more than ever as if she might have married. Her colour went and came as Hope rose and fell; and every little chance that Yorick's voice was going to be less good-humoured and genial, and come from his heart with a proper sound of love in it, made her own heart pause on a beat. But, alas!--the voices only went on as before. Oh dear!--would nothing come of it, after all?

It went on for a long time, that talk. And till half-way through that time there was hope on the face of the listener, following its sounds without distinguishing a syllable. Then the irritating _bonhomie_, the equable fluency of the masculine tones, the vexatious household dryness of the feminine ones, became maddening to ears that expected at least cordial warmth. Oh, if she could only enter unseen, and prompt the apathy of the speaker! She bit her lip with vexation, and found it difficult to resist the temptation to listen outright. Surely Yorick must have reached the crucial point by now! Or were they, after all, talking of something else all the while?...

There, _that_ was emphasis, anyhow! And any evidence that the topic had been fairly broached was welcome. Only, the warmth was on the wrong side; it was Aunt Bessy's voice for one thing; and, for another, was a good deal more like indignation than affection. Now, very likely you know that, when something you cannot hear is repeated several times, it becomes audible however honourably determined you may be not to listen to it. At about the third repetition Miss Fossett, though she sincerely believed she hadn't been listening, had become aware that the phrase was, "Why can't you make her marry you herself?" and, moreover, that her own self was the one referred to. Her heart went with a bound, and her breath got caught in a gasp; and then, somehow without sense or reason, her hair had got loose and come down, and she was getting it arranged at the mirror over the chimney-piece, with the bevelled edges and the ebony frame, and trying to make out she had never begun to cry, when Yorick came back into the room, saying: "What do you think Bess says, Addie? She says if I were to ask you, you would marry me yourself." She didn't know precisely what reply she made. But she certainly had no grounds for complaining of the coldness of the Rector's reception of it.

When, five minutes later, Miss Caldecott followed her brother-in-law into the room, the lady and gentleman were still before the looking-glass, apparently very much pleased. And the latter, without taking his arm from the waist of the former, said: "I say, Bess, what a ghastly couple of fools we have been!" and broke into one of his big laughs.

"Speak for yourself, Athel!" said Aunt Bessy, rather stiffly.

"I didn't mean you. I meant Addie."

"Speak for yourself, Yorick!" said Addie; and made believe to detach herself, but did not insist. Then Aunt Bessy kissed her twice on each side, and the two children, coming into the room from the garden, off an excursion, said, "What's this faw?" and seemed to think some new movement was afoot, which would probably be beneficial in the main ultimately. They accepted partial explanation, however, fuller particulars being promised in due course, and went away to have their things off.

A day or two later Aunt Bessy, being alone with the bride-elect, cleared her throat in an ominous way, as one does when one has something of importance to communicate. Miss Fossett, who in the previous twenty-four hours had twice said to the Rector, "What _is_ the matter with Bess? I'm sure there's something brewing," became aware that she was going to be enlightened about this mystery, and waited, open-eyed. Revelation followed, conscious of importance, but sometimes at a loss for phraseology.

"I think, my dear Adeline, I may speak freely to you on a subject which nearly concerns my own happiness." Adeline pricked up her ears, and the speaker, feeling she had made a good beginning, cleared her throat again less poignantly, and continued: "When dear Athel talked that silly nonsense to me the other day ... you know what I am referring to, dear Addie?" Yes--Addie knew. "Well ... I did not then know with any certainty the sentiments entertained towards myself by...."

"By?..." said Addie, and waited.

"By a gentleman who is very slightly known to you--so slightly that, though no doubt you know him by name, you will hardly...."

Addie, suddenly apprehensive, thought in a hurry, clapping her hands to help recollection. The moment she lighted on the name that was eluding her, she pointed straight, as at a convicted delinquent. "Mr. Brownrigg," said she firmly.

Miss Caldecott excused what no accusation had been brought against. "I know," said she, "that the name is not a showy one; but the family is old, and his scientific attainments indisputable. He has recently been appointed to the Chair of Logic and Mental Philosophy in...."

"But, my dear Bess, his opinions! And why didn't you tell us?"

"His opinions, my dear, are generally misunderstood. And as to why I did not tell you, how could I, when I did not know myself? I only wish that when dear Athel...."

"Took my advice and made a goose of himself--I know. I plead guilty. Yes...."

"Well--I wish I had then been able to speak with ... a ... certainty of this ... a ... possible arrangement. But it was only when I referred to the change in Athel's plans that Mr. Brownrigg...."

"But you haven't seen him since I ... since our engagement.... Oh, Bess!--you wrote off to him at once."

"I did nothing of the sort." Dignity was manifest. "I was writing to Mr. Brownrigg on _quite_ another subject, and referred to it incidentally. It was only last night that I got his answer in reply, and I think it need be no secret that it contained an offer of marriage, very beautifully and clearly expressed. He pointed out that, however painful it might be to me to relinquish the charge of my sister's children, even to a step-mother who is already almost as much a mother to them as myself...."

"Oh, Bess dear, I _will_ molly-cosset over Phoebe and Joan. I will, indeed!"

"You'll spoil them, Addie. But that's neither here nor there. Mr. Brownrigg went on to point out that I could now consult my own welfare and his, without any detriment to the interests of the two children." At this point Miss Caldecott became quite natural, saying: "He would never have asked me, Addie, as long as he thought I was wanted here." In which few words Miss Fossett saw more of the little drama that had been going on in the last six months than in all the rest put together.

"But his opinions, my dear, his opinions!" said she. "However will you get on with his opinions? I thought he was an Atheist, and all sorts of things."

Miss Caldecott replied that whoever had said such a thing of Mr. Brownrigg had libelled him grossly. The exact contrary was the case. No one ever approached sacred subjects in a more reverential spirit than Mr. Brownrigg. She was not qualified to repeat his elucidations of the great German Philosopher he had such an admiration for. But he had been able to point out even to her humble understanding that the question whether there was or was not a supreme Being turned entirely on the meaning of the verb to Be, which was at best a finite Human expression. Miss Caldecott scarcely did justice to all her suitor's exponency of the Identity of the Highest Atheism with the Highest Theism.

She had, however, been specially impressed with a chapter from Graubosch's "Divagationes Indagatoris," of which he had read her his translation. In this the following passage occurs: "The Thinker of the Future will do well to turn his attention to the construction of a language expressly adapted to deal with the Unknown and Infinite. At present our vocabulary is based entirely, so far as we understand it, on things within our comprehension, and even its meanings are not invariably a subject of unanimity. Until we possess such a language our efforts to grapple with the Essentially Incomprehensible must be futile, of necessity. It would be a step in the right direction if all schools of Thought could agree as to the nature of the Agency to which the Known and the Unknown, the Finite and the Infinite, are alike to be imputed. The selection of a name for this Agency has been the subject of a good deal of crude and unphilosophical discussion in ages less enlightened than the one the New School of Thought proposes to inaugurate. So much so that many nomenclatures have used more than one name for the same Person or Entity; one of the number being occasionally kept secret, as being Unpronounceable; although in this case difficulties must have arisen about divulging it. Pending agreement among the various branches and affiliated Societies of the New School as to the Nature and Extent of the Unknown; the original promoter of Causation; and the terms on which his Instigator, if any, had himself qualified for Existence, we should not discountenance, but rather sanction, the use of the vulgar terminology, such as Gott, God, Dieu, Deus, Zeus, and so on. No doubt within the near future a Lexicon or Dictionary of words and phrases applicable to things beyond our cognizance will be put in hand, and until the publication of this Thesaurus Novus we may safely discourage heated argument on subjects with which our present resources in language do not qualify us to deal. Possibly an absolute silence, and a consciousness of our own insignificance, may be the safest attitude to assume towards the Infinite, pending the issue of the volume. And during this interim, it would appear to be the safest policy to fall in with the apparent scheme of the Visible Creation; and to comply, so far as our information goes, with the Will of its Creator."

Had Miss Caldecott been able to repeat all that Mr. Brownrigg had pointed out to her, Miss Fossett would no doubt have perceived that no danger to religion or morality could possibly accrue from reasonings that had such a happy faculty of landing in the _status quo_.

Towards the conservation of which Miss Caldecott, as she explained to her friend, had been able to contribute. "I am sure, dear Addie," she said, "that I may rely on your rejoicing with me that I have prevailed upon Mr. Brownrigg to abstain, in the publication of this translation, from the intention he had of spelling Him and He with a little H. I mean, when reverence for established usage prohibits what he speaks of as 'lower-case type.' He at once assented to my wishes, saying that in view of the issues involved, to persist in his intention would be to pursue a--what did he call it?--'a policy of pin-pricks.' That was it."

In the sequel Mrs. Brownrigg eventuated, in the place of Miss Caldecott. And she and her husband are a happy couple at this date of writing. They have discovered a _modus vivendi_, and are highly satisfied with it.

* * * * *

That is how it was that the conversation with which this chapter opened became possible. Let it proceed:

"Do _you_ think Sir Alfred's last book is so much worse than his others, Yorick?"

"I can't say it struck me so. If it is, it's not because of his knock on the head; because it was all written three years ago, and has been lying in a drawer. But the reviewers--he was talking about it himself yesterday evening--always take for granted that every book is the work of the last twelvemonth. He read me some of what he has just written, and it seemed all right to me. That Bob of his is a delightful boy, only too sweeping in his views. It is not true that all reviewers are asses, or that they never read the books they criticise. Bob came with him to see me off."

"How do they like Sussex Terrace?"

"Very much. At least, they will when they are settled. It's a splendid big house. I think he was glad to leave the Hermitage, for more reasons than one...."

"I know one. What were the others?"

"Which is the one you know?"

"Mrs. Eldridge."

"Yes--she was one. But I suppose the chief one was _the_ one. Anything to get rid of what brought the story back. He has never spoken of it again to me."

"Not since that one time?"

"Yes--long ago now! When was it?--over a twelvemonth. He described how it all came back to him." The Rector extemporized a sympathetic shudder, and made an excruciated noise; both very expressive. "You see, in his oblivion, he was simply hungering for the coming of this wife he had quarrelled with, and remembering her as in her early days...."

"Oh, it was hideous! Just fancy the memory of Judith Arkroyd coming back to him!"

"Yes--as he told me himself--with the arms of his wife round him whom he had been longing for! He told me all about it--how he had said to her: 'What for, Polly Anne? What am I to forgive you for?' Because, don't you see, sweetheart?..."

"Oh yes--I see."

"... Don't you see, she was crying over him, and all contrition for her own share of the business. She said to him--so he told me--'It was all my fault, love. If only I had never posted that letter!' He said, 'What letter?' and she said, 'The letter with the postscript.' And then all on a sudden he remembered everything, from the beginning. He could hardly bear to speak of it.... I've told you all this."

"Little bits come out that you haven't told. Go on!"

"He said he was afraid he should go mad, and had an idea that clinging to his wife would save him. 'I was simply,' said he, 'on fire with shame and intense terror of what I might remember next. I felt defenceless against what might be sprung on me out of the past.'"

"Did he say anything about Judith?"

"Neither of them mentioned her. That I understand. When they spoke of the motor-car, they seem by common consent to have left it a blank who was in it. He said to her: 'But the man in the road--Blind Jim--was he hurt?' And then she had to tell him of Jim's death, and the dear little thing, and he was so horror-struck that she was afraid he would slip back, and went for help. He had a very bad time--a sort of attack of delirium--and the doctor had to give him morphine."

"Did she tell him anything of Judith at the inquest--and all--and all the share she had in it, you know?"

"The inquest was next day."

"So it was. Of course! But was he ever told about her? Did you tell him?"

"Why--n-no! I rather shirked talking about it, that's the truth."

"But you told him that odd thing ... you know?"

The Rector's voice dropped. "I know what you mean. The child's voice, and 'Pi-lot.' Yes, I told him."

"Was he impressed?"

"Ye-es--well!--perhaps not exactly in that way. But he thought it very curious, and wanted me to send it to the Psychical Society."

"Shall you?"

"Hm!..."

"Shan't you?"

"I think perhaps not. I don't feel quite like having it publicly discussed. I dislike being cross-examined. However, we might think about that." He said this with the manner of one who adjourns his subject, and then, as though to confirm the adjournment, went back on a previous question--the last one easily to hand. "No--she's an odd character, Judith. You know I shall always say there was something magnificent about it."

"Something detestable," said his wife. A side comment, half _sotto voce_.

"Well--not lovable, I admit. But fancy the girl saying what she did in the face of all that crowded room full of people--in the face of their indignation, mind you!--for no secret was made of it."

"She ought to have been ashamed of herself. What was it she said to the coroner?"

"When he had stuttered through his remonstrance or reprimand, or whatever he meant it for? Oh, she let him finish, and then said with the most absolute tranquillity--not a ruffle!--'Possibly. But I should do the same thing, under the same circumstances, I have no doubt, another time.' The poor coroner hadn't a chance. It was just like a respectable greengrocer trying to reprove Zenobia or Cleopatra."

"_I_ shouldn't have thought so."

"I suppose that means that I'm a man?"

"That was the idea."

"It proves what I say, then--that there should always be women on juries. However, she and Rossier had a narrow escape. They might have found themselves in a very unpleasant position."

"He wept, didn't he, and sheltered himself behind mademoiselle?"

"Well, he said, 'Qu'ai-je pu faire, moi, contre mademoiselle? Que pouvez-vous faire, messieurs, vous-mêmes?' They didn't understand him, of course, and Felixthorpe softened him down in the translating."

"Didn't the dear old Bart. try to apologize her away?"

"Yes--he tried to suggest that she saw me coming, and knew I should attend to poor Jim. But when the jury went over the ground, they saw that was utterly impossible.... Well!--she'll be a fizzing Duchess, as Bob Challis would say."

A pause followed, and then the Rector showed signs of sleepiness after a tiring day, asking whether it wasn't getting on for bedtime. And he had a right to be tired, because he had risen suddenly from dinner to go over to see old Mrs. Fox, at a summons conveyed by Jarge, the bee-tender, who had made shower the old dame was doyin'. She wasn't, and is still living, we believe. But the Rector had not got back till near ten, when he was glad of his comfortable day's-end chat with his wife. The news of Judith's engagement to the Duke's heir had come that morning, and had met him on his return from a visit to London, which he had left by an early train, after spending the previous evening at Challis's, where he stayed the night.

He paused a moment over knocking the ashes from his meerschaum, and began saying something. But he didn't get as far as a consonant. Then his wife said: "What were you going to say?"

"Don't know whether I ought to tell you this!..." said he.

"You must, _now_!"

"Well--you must be very, _very_ careful not to repeat it. Challis didn't bind me over, certainly; but I know he meant confidence, all the same."

"I'll be very, very careful. Go on!"

"That old woman--the religious old horror...."

"Yorick--_dar_ling!"

"That devout old lady, then!... What about her? Why, there's some reason to suppose, apparently, that she never was respectably married at all to the first wife's father. I am speaking of the Deceased Wife's Sister's sister--Marianne's sister...."

"What a horrid old hypocrite! And she making all that rumpus about Marianne 'living in sin'!"

"Yes--but I wasn't thinking about that.... Don't you see?..."

"Don't I see what?"

"Don't you see that, if it's true, the Deceased Wife's Sister's sister wasn't born in wedlock. So--legally, at any rate--she wasn't her sister at all. Not so much as a half-sister. And she wasn't a Deceased Wife, by hypothesis. Q. E. D. So what was Kate?" Mrs. Athelstan Taylor looked perplexed--evidently thought Kate must have been hard put to it to be there at all.

"Wouldn't Dr. Barham?..." she began.

The Rector filled out the question. "What my young friend Bob calls 'make a great ass of himself'?"

"Really, Yorick, he _is_ your Bishop! But I suppose that's the sort of thing I meant."

"My dear, he can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because his Creator has anticipated him." The Rector seemed happy over this. His wife did not feel quite certain she understood it. But she was sure it was time to light her candle, and that, broadly speaking, the curtain might fall.

"It _has_ been a strange story," said she, in a sort of generally forgiving, conclusive way.

"It _has_!" repeated Athelstan Taylor. "And not a pleasant one! Anyhow, it's one consolation, that it never can happen again."

FINIS

THE AUTHOR TO HIS READERS ONLY

_When, to my great surprise, I published four years since a novel called "Joseph Vance" a statement was repeated more than once in some journals that were kind enough to notice it, that its author was seventy years of age. Why this made me feel like a centenarian I do not know, especially as it was five years ahead of the facts. But that was its moral effect. Its practical one was to make me endeavour to set it right. I then learned for the first time how hopeless is the pursuit of an error through the columns of the press, and soon gave up the chase._

_But in the course of my attempts to procure the reduction to which I was entitled, I expressed a hope that the said author would live to be seventy, and, further, that he would write four or five volumes as long as his first in the interim. To my thinking, he has been as good (or as bad) as his word, for this present volume is Vol. II.[A] of the fourth story published since then, and the day of its publication will be the author's seventieth birthday; or, if you consider the day of his birth as a birthday, his seventy-first. I see nothing to be ashamed of in the way this author has come to time, and can (so far) look with complacency on the fact that we are each other._

[Footnote A: The English edition of this book is published in two volumes.]

_At the risk of more Early Victorianism--I have a heavy score against me!--may I use the rest of this fly-leaf, otherwise blank, to touch on another point? I know that gossiping with one's readers is a disreputable Early Victorian practice, and far from Modern, which everything ought to be. But I will not detain mine long._

_I wish to protest against a misinterpretation that readers of fiction will probably continue to make to the end of time, however strongly authors may appeal against it._

_I refer to the practice of ascribing views--political, religious, or otherwise--expressed by characters in a book to its author. It is as unreasonable to do so as to impute every opinion spoken in a dream to the dreamer himself. In this foregoing book, as in others, the author has merely put on record what the characters he was dreaming of seemed to him to say._

_I repudiate responsibility on his behalf. Hold a writer of pure fiction answerable for the opinions of every one of his_ dramatis personæ, _and he will be limited in the choice of them to folk who are on all fours with everyone else--conformists of a venomous type--good to be read about in bed by persons who suffer from insomnia, but good for nothing else. Take the words of each character for what they are worth, and if a character alleged by the tale to be sane says something you don't agree with, condemn it as ill-drawn, if you like, but don't call the author to account as if he had ventured to question the validity of your own persuasions. Leave him a free hand, and he will_ verser comme si c'était pour soi, _and his books will be infinitely more readable, even if some of his favourite characters utter incorrect opinions_.

_I may add that if the readers of this novel want anything altered in it, it shall be done in the second edition, provided that they are unanimous and that it will leave the text consecutive._

W. DE MORGAN.

NOVELS OF EVA LATHBURY

"_Those weary of the banalities of current fiction will greatly enjoy it._"--_The Providence Journal on "The Long Gallery."_

THE LONG GALLERY

A romance dominated by the influence of dead ancestors whose pictures hang in the Long Gallery of Southern court in England, with which mingles the glamour of the days spent in the old playroom at the Court. $1.50.

"It holds a distinct place among recent fiction. There is material enough for several plots ... well told, it shows creative power, imagination, sincerity."--_Outlook._

"Remarkably fascinating."--_Philadelphia Ledger._

"A story of unusual quality, written with uncommon distinction of style ... striking characters ... Griselda, a gypsy-like creature with a strange mixture of innocence and sophistication ... Alva, strangely alluring and scarcely seeming to belong to those practical days.... Back of the characters stands the old Court, with its long gallery filled with portraits of the dead Southerns. Alva, Griselda and Anthony feel their influence; it is symbolism of an unusual sort ... there is a soupcon of high comedy in the story; ... the dialogue is keen and vivid.... The book will hold the discriminating reader as much by its finesse of style as its interesting play and interplay of characters."--_New York Times Review._

"Singularly enjoyable. A spontaneous wit, a fascinating play of idea upon idea make excellent reading."--_Chicago Tribune._

"There are really three stories in 'The Long Gallery,' of which each maintain its separate interest while coherently connected with the other two. If Griselda proves the most captivating, she scores a distinct victory over her rivals for favor, for they in widely differing fashion are worthy of her steel.... Griselda fought a good fight and the manner of it is worth the reading."--_Boston Transcript._

"Both girls have been educated by good teachers who have so trained their minds and hearts that they are able to break the meshes entangling them, and to save their souls alive.... 'The Long Gallery' is equally remarkable in its English and in its personages."--_The Living Age._

THE SINKING SHIP

A notable new novel of theatrical life. "The Sinking Ship" is the title of a play with which Vanda Conquest, a popular actress, endeavors to buoy up her waning fortunes. She is a fascinating figure, standing midway between her scandalous old mother and her noble daughter, both of them also actresses. Vanda's placid actor-husband and the aggressive young dramatist are other vital characters in vivid scenes of the players' lives on and off the stage. $1.50.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY. PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

THE BUILDERS OF SPAIN

BY CLARA CRAWFORD PERKINS.

With photogravure frontispieces and 62 half-tone plates. 2 vols. 8vo. $5.00 net, boxed, carriage extra.

A sumptuous and popular work similar to the author's "_French Cathedrals and Chateaux_." Its elaborate illustrations and historical and architectural comment make this work an admirable guide to intelligent sight-seeing.

"It is a pleasure to take up a beautiful book and find that the subject matter is quite as satisfactory as the artistic illustrations, the rich covers and the clear print.... The author handles with much skill a subject with which she is familiar and one which is much neglected by the average reader."--_Springfield Republican._

"Written from ample knowledge and with much enthusiasm. They describe what is charming and interesting in a manner that is usually interesting and often charming."--_Chicago Post._

"Her work on Spain is especially to be commended. Everyone knows that the history of the peninsula is a tangle of racial elements. Few writers are skilful enough to make that tangle clear, or, if they have the skill, they are disposed to leave it in abeyance while they indulge in large generalisations. The very modesty with which Miss Perkins has undertaken her task has contributed to its more effective fulfilment. She does not try to tell too much, but in brief chapters surveys the broad phases of her subject, glancing at the Romans, the Vizigoths, Arabs and Moors, and finally the Christian kings.... The different forces that have helped to build up the Spanish people are justly and interestingly characterized."--_New York Tribune._

*** Uniform in style and price with the above the author's FRENCH CATHEDRALS AND CHATEAUX.

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

By R. M. Johnston, Assistant Professor in Harvard University 12mo. 278 pp., with special bibliographies following each chapter, and index. $1.25 net, by mail, $1.37.

The narrative merges into that of the author's "Napoleon."

Contents: The Perspective of the French Revolution, Versailles, Economic Crisis, Convocation of the States General, France Comes to Versailles, From Versailles to Paris, The Assembly Demolishes Privilege, The Flight to Varennes, War Breaks Out, The Massacre, Ending the Monarchy, The Fall of the Gironde, The Reign of Terror, Thermidor. The Last Days of the Convention, the Directoire, Art and Literature.

"An almost ideal book of its kind and within its scope ... a clear idea of the development and of the really significant men of events of that cardinal epoch in the history of France and of Europe is conveyed to reader, many of whom will have been bewildered by the anecdotal fulness or the rhetorical romancing of Professor Johnston's most conspicuous predecessors."--_Churchman._

*** By the same author "NAPOLEON: A Short Biography" $1.25 net; by mail, $1.37. LEADING AMERICAN SOLDIERS, $1.75 net; by mail, $1.88.

*** If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY. PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

MRS. R. S. GARNETT'S THE INFAMOUS JOHN FRIEND

$1.50.

"The book has many fine qualities. As an historic picture it is not merely conscientious and painstaking, but vivid and full of the stir of life. As the study of the awakening of a timid, gentle, pious woman ... the book shows unusual analytical powers; as a tragedy ... it shows that fine sense of the narrow boundary line which separates the truly dramatic from the melodrama."--_Bookman._

"Exceedingly vivid and interesting, ... strongly told ... great directness and full of sharp effects.... The reader ... will read it all ... a dramatic and a remarkably good story."--_New York Sun._

"A telling and dramatic novel. Unusual, well constructed, well characterized, and replete with keen interest. The plot, which deals with Napoleon's proposed invasion of England, shows strength and simplicity and in John Friend, at once rascal and hero is presented a portrait equally convincing and unique."--_Chicago Record-Herald._

"A very able book. Extremely powerful and interesting."--_The Spectator (London)_.

"A historical novel of the first quality and which is not only the best of the year but of many years ... the keenest interest is aroused."--_San Francisco Call._

W. P. EATON AND ELISE M. UNDERHILL'S THE RUNAWAY PLACE

A May Idyl of Manhattan. Mr. Eaton is ex-dramatic critic of the _N. Y. Sun_. $1.25.

"A sweetly whimsical tale.... A flavor that spells inevitable fascination for all whose heart freshness has not been left too far behind.... It's by no means easy to suggest the half humorous, half wistful, wholly tender and delightful charm of this lovable 'idyl of Manhattan.'"--_Chicago Record-Herald._

"One of the most charming little idyls. Should be strong in its appeal to many readers."--_Springfield Republican._

*** If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY. PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

THE AMERICAN NATURE SERIES

The primary object of this series is to answer questions which the contemplation of Nature is constantly arousing in the mind of the unscientific intelligent person. But a collateral object will be to give some intelligent notion of the "causes of things." The books will be under the guarantee of American experts, and generally from the American point of view. The series will be in six divisions. (Prospectus on request). The following volumes are ready:

FISHES, by DAVID STARR JORDAN, President of the Leland Stanford Junior University. 8vo. 789 pp. With 18 colored plates and 673 illustrations; $6.00 net; carriage extra.

AMERICAN INSECTS, by VERNON L. KELLOGG, Professor in the Leland Stanford Junior University. 8vo. 694 pp. With 13 colored plates and many illustrations; $5.00 net; carriage extra.

BIRDS OF THE WORLD. A popular account by FRANK H. KNOWLTON, M.S., Ph.D., Member American Ornithologists Union, President Biological Society of Washington, etc., with Chapter on Anatomy of Birds by FREDERIC A. LUCAS, Chief Curator Brooklyn Museum of Arts and Sciences, and edited by ROBERT RIDGWAY, Curator of Birds, U. S. National Museum. 8vo. 872 pp. With 16 colored plates and 236 illustrations; $7.00 net; carriage extra.

NORTH AMERICAN TREES, by N. L. BRITTON, Director of the New York Botanical Garden. 8vo. 894 pp. With 781 illustrations; $7.00 net; carriage extra.

FERNS, by CAMPBELL E. WATERS, of Johns Hopkins University. 8vo. 362 pp. Many illustrations; $3.00 net; by mail, $3.30.

THE BIRD: ITS FORM AND FUNCTION, by C. W. BEEBE, Curator of Birds in the New York Zoological Park. 8vo. 496 pp. With frontispiece in color and 370 illustrations from photographs. $3.50 net; by mail, $3.80.

NATURE AND HEALTH, by EDWARD CURTIS, Professor Emeritus in the College of Physicians and Surgeons. 12mo. 313 pp. $1.25 net; by mail, $1.37.

THE FRESHWATER AQUARIUM AND ITS INHABITANTS. A Guide for the Amateur Aquarist, by OTTO EGGELING and FREDERICK EHRENBERG. Large 12mo. 352 pp. Illustrated. $2.00 net; by mail, $2.19.

THE LIFE OF A FOSSIL HUNTER, by CHARLES H. STERNBERG. large 12mo. 286 pp. Illustrated, $1.60 net; by mail, $1.72.

INSECT STORIES, by VERNON L. KELLOGG. Large 12mo. 298 pp. $1.50 net; by mail, $1.62.

FISH STORIES, by CHARLES F. HOLDER and DAVID STARR JORDAN. Large 12mo. 336 pp. Illustrated. $1.75 net; by mail, $1.87.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY, New York

MELCHISEDEC

BY RAMSEY BENSON. $1.50.

A deeply felt story of a quarter blood Indian in the Northwest, who felt he had a mission.

"Rich in interest alike of religious psychological and 'pure human' order. The narrative spell is keen and tensely absorbing, nor could the lightest nature peruse the unassuming but vital pages unthinking, unmoved."--_Chicago Record-Herald._

"May it not be that this wandering shepherd of the sheep, solely because of his unselfish sincerity in seeking after righteousness, has much to say to every normally comfortable Christian?... worth a score of those stories in which an author sets up his conception of a modern incarnation of Our Lord, and modestly asks readers to regard its superior artistic merit to the picture given by the evangelists."--_Living Age._

"A theme well out of the ordinary ... in many respects a noteworthy piece of fiction ... as a whole the tale is picturesque, unusual, and has the always gratifying quality of suggestiveness."--_New York Times Review._

A LORD OF LANDS

BY RAMSEY BENSON. $1.50.

The unusual and convincing narrative of the experiences of a man of good sense, with wages of $50 a month and five children, following his determination to leave the city and farm it in the Northwest.

"A book of real adventure--an adventure in living. More thrilling than an African jungle story, and not lacking in humor and pathos. Nothing is more wonderful than the way the commonest details contribute to the homely interest, just as long ago we were fascinated by the 'Swiss Family Robinson.'"--_The Independent._

"Does for the humble workingman what 'The Fat of the Land' did for the well-to-do. Will appeal instantly and throughout its entire length to the lover of the outdoor life."--_Boston Transcript._

"Unique in literature ... holds many fascinations ... told with the utmost art."--_San Francisco Chronicle._

OVER AGAINST GREEN PEAK

BY ZEPHINE HUMPHREY. $1.25 net, by mail $1.33.

The homely experiences of a bright young woman and her Aunt Susan, not to mention the "hired girl," in making a New England home.

"Verily it is a delicious piece of work and that last chapter is a genuine poem. Best of all is the charming sincerity of the book."--_George Cary Eggleston._

"A record of country life far above the average of its class in the qualities which go to make such a book enjoyable.... The author sees the things that are worth seeing, and she has a rather unusual command of simple, dignified and effective English."--_The Nation._

*** If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY. PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

WILSON VANCE'S BIG JOHN BALDWIN

The Romance of a Cromwellian soldier, big of heart and body, in England and in Virginia ($1.50).

"The love story is charming with its intimate analysis of the big fellow's emotions and honest awkwardness, never folly.... His wit is clumsy ... but it is wit, and, slowly perhaps, it gets there."--_Hartford Courant._

"A book to read leisurely as one sips and enjoys good wine."--_Detroit Free Press._

MRS. ALICE DUER MILLER'S LESS THAN KIN

The story of a likable youth, who returning to New York from South America, is welcomed as a son by a family of strangers ($1.25).

"One of the best of the lighter novels of the season.... The situations are developed with humor and cleverness, and the reader's interest is held to the dénouement. Mrs. Miller has a pleasant gift of story telling and a knack of mixing cleverness, humor, and sentiment in just the proper proportions."--_N. Y. Times Review._

"If you can absent yourself from this before it is ended, your bump of curiosity must be insignificant.... The story is witty, terse, and swift. The characterization is surprisingly sharp and vivacious.... In fact the young woman in the case comes pretty near being a very memorable creature.... Whenever she appears the sparks fly. So crisp is the dialogue, so unconventional the action."--_Nation._

"It keeps the reader quietly chuckling even when matters of love and life and death hang in the balance ... all done so delicately and in such good taste that the reader's sense of propriety is never shocked."--_Putnam's Magazine._

"Admirably written and full of interest.... The story is ingenious. It has quick turns and surprises. It is very well done."--_New York Sun._

"A delightful story ... romantic and capital reading."--_Baltimore Sun._

If the reader will send his name and address the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

RICHARD BURTON'S MASTERS OF THE ENGLISH NOVEL

A study of principles and personalities by the Professor of English Literature, University of Minnesota, author of "Literary Likings," "Forces in Fiction," "Rahab" (a Poetic Drama), etc. 12mo, 331 pp. and index. $1.25 net.

_Contents_: Fiction and the Novel,--Eighteenth Century Beginnings: Richardson,--Eighteenth Century Beginnings: Fielding,--Developments: Smollett, Sterne and Others,--Realism: Jane Austen.--Modern Romanticism: Scott,--French Influence, Dickens,--Thackeray,--George Eliot,--Trollope and Others,--Hardy and Meredith,--Stevenson,--The American Contribution,--Index.

RICHARD BURTON'S RAHAB, A DRAMA OF THE FALL OF JERICHO

119 pp., 12mo. $1.25 net; by mail, $1.33. With cast of characters for the first performance and pictures of the scenes.

"A poetic drama of high quality. Plenty of dramatic action."--_New York Times Review._

WILLIAM MORTON PAYNE'S THE GREATER ENGLISH POETS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

383 pp., large 12mo. $2.00 net; by mail, $2.15. Studies of Keats, Shelley, Byron, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Landor, Browning, Tennyson, Arnold, Rossetti, Morris, and Swinburne. Their outlook upon life rather than their strictly literary achievement is kept mainly in view.

"The sound and mellow fruits of his long career as a critic.... There is not a rash, trivial, or dull line in the whole book.... Its charming sanity has seduced me into reading it to the end, and anyone who does the same will feel that he has had an inspiring taste of everything that is finest in nineteenth-century poetry. Ought to be read and reread by every student of literature, and most of all by those who have neglected English poetry, for here one finds its essence in brief compass."--_Chicago Record-Herald._

If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

THE LADY OF THE DYNAMOS

By ADELE MARIE SHAW and CARMELITA BECKWITH

310 pp. 12mo. $1.50.

A very appealing love story dominates this tale of the heroic struggle of a young American electrical engineer and an English girl, against treachery, superstition and open opposition, to harness a great water power and reclaim a wilderness in Ceylon. There is plenty of humor as well as of peril and suspense, and it works up to a climax, the most exciting chapter being the last. The characters, principally American and English, are so well defined that the effect is almost that of a play acted before the reader's eyes.

"Striking and fascinating ... a charming young woman ... the devil dances and the outbreaks of the natives are described with vivid detail ... stands out as a bit of real life."--_Boston Transcript._

"A good story ... a fine likeable American man and a charming English girl ... personages standing out clearly ... the stirring action and picturesque setting will help many a pleased reader to compass a verdict of praise."--_Chicago Record Herald._

"A vivid romance, combining marked virility with the most delicate play of fancy and of sentiment ... holds the interest from beginning to end. The surprise of the narrative is the consummate ease with which two women writers handle the details of the great electrical power plant and mammoth business enterprise."--_San Francisco Chronicle._

THE PILGRIM'S MARCH

By H. H. BASHFORD

320 pp. 12mo. Third Printing, $1.50.

A happily written English story with a theme of wide appeal. A likable youth with artistic tendencies is converted, for a time at least, to the ways, and works, and daughter of a puritan family. The situation is worked out with humor and in an atmosphere of good breeding.

"Extremely clever and charming."--_Prof. Wm. Lyon Phelps of Yale._

"A sureness of touch, a sympathetic understanding that deserve high praise."--_The Bookman._

"Really charming. They're all very real, these good people--altogether too nice and wholesomely lovable to shut away with the memory of their story's single reading."--_Chicago Record-Herald._

"Those critics who have asserted that all possible plots have been used will be compelled to retreat. A remarkable first novel."--_The Living Age, Boston._

*** If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

"The most complete and authoritative ... pre-eminently the man to write the book ... full of the spirit of discerning criticism.... Delightfully engaging manner, with humor, allusiveness and an abundance of the personal note."--_Richard Aldrich in New York Times Review._ (Complete notice on application.)

CHAPTERS OF OPERA

Being historical and critical observations and records concerning the Lyric Drama in New York from its earliest days down to the present time.

By HENRY EDWARD KREHBIEL

Musical critic of the New York Tribune, Author of "Music and Manners in the Classical Period," "Studies in the Wagnerian Drama," "How to Listen to Music," etc. With over 70 portraits and pictures of Opera Houses. Second edition, revised.

$3.50 net; by mail $3.72. Illustrated circular on application.

This is perhaps Mr. Krehbiel's most important book. The first seven chapters deal with the earliest operatic performances in New York. Then follows a brilliant account of the first quarter-century of the Metropolitan, 1883-1908. He tells how Abbey's first disastrous Italian season was followed by seven seasons of German Opera under Leopold Damrosch and Stanton, how this was temporarily eclipsed by French and Italian, and then returned to dwell with them in harmony, thanks to Walter Damrosch's brilliant crusade,--also of the burning of the opera house, the vicissitudes of the American Opera Company, the coming and passing of Grau and Conried, and finally the opening of Oscar Hammerstein's Manhattan Opera House and the first two seasons therein, 1906-08.

"Presented not only in a readable manner but without bias ... extremely interesting and valuable."--_Nation._

"The illustrations are a true embellishment.... Mr. Krehbiel's style was never more charming. It is a delight."--_Philip Hale in Boston Herald._

"A readable and valuable book, which no one who is interested in the subject can afford to leave out of his library ... written in entertaining manner, and it is comprehensive."--_Putnam._

"Invaluable for purpose of reference ... rich in critical passages ... all the great singers of the world have been heard here. Most of the great conductors have come to our shores.... Memories of them which serve to humanize, as it were, his analyses of their work."--_New York Tribune._

*** If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

"_The most important biographic contribution to musical literature since the beginning of the century, with the exception of Wagner's Letters to Frau Wesendonck."_ --H. T. FINCK, IN THE NEW YORK EVENING POST.

(Circular with complete review and sample pages on application.)

Personal Recollections of Wagner

BY ANGELO NEUMANN

Translated from the fourth German edition by EDITH LIVERMORE. Large 12mo. 318 pp., with portraits and one of Wagner's letters in facsimile. $2.50 net; by mail $2.65.

Probably no man ever did more to make Wagner's music dramas known than Angelo Neumann, who, with his famous "Wagner Travelling Theatre," carrying his artists, orchestra, scenery and elaborate mechanical devices, toured Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Austria and Russia, and with another organization gave "The Ring" in London. But the account of this tour, interesting as it is, is not the main feature of his book, which abounds in intimate glimpses of Wagner at rehearsals, at Wahnfried and elsewhere, and tells much of the great conductor, Anton Seidl, so beloved by Americans. Among other striking figures are Nikisch and Muck, both conductors of the Boston Symphony orchestra, Mottl, the Vogls, Von Bulow, Materna, Marianna Brandt, Klafsky, and Reicher-Kindermann.

It is doubtful if any book gives a more vivid and truthful picture of life and "politics" behind the scenes of various opera houses. Many of the episodes, such as those of a bearded Brynhild, the comedy writer and the horn player and the prince and the Rhinedaughter are decidedly humorous.

The earlier portions of the book tell of the Leipsic negotiations and performances, the great struggle with Von Hülsen, the royal intendant at Berlin, Bayreuth and "Parsifal." Many of Wagner's letters appear here for the first time.

_ILLUSTRATIONS._--RICHARD WAGNER: Bust by Anton zur Strassen in the foyer of the Leipsic Stadttheater.--ANGELO NEUMANN: From a picture in the Künstlerzimmer of the Leipsic Stadttheater.--ANTON SEIDL: Bas-relief by Winifred Holt of New York. Replica commissioned by Herr Direktor Neumann.--HEDWIG REICHER-KINDERMANN--Facsimile of letter from Wagner to Neumann, received after the news of Wagner's death.

If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

A POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK (1774-1882)

De Alva Stanwood Alexander, A.M.

_Vols. I. & II. (1774-1861). 840 pp., 8vo. $5.00 net_ (_carriage 40c. extra_)

_Vol. III. (1861-1882). 561 pp., 8vo. $2.50 net_ (_carriage 28c. extra_)

A history of the movements of political parties in New York State from 1774 to 1882, and embraces a series of brilliant character studies of the leaders, most of them of national importance, who, from the days of George Clinton, have drawn the attention of the nation to New York. The astute methods and sources of power by which George Clinton, Hamilton, Burr, DeWitt Clinton, Van Buren, Seymour and Thurlow Weed each successively controlled the political destiny of the State are clearly and picturesquely set forth. The third volume narrates, fully and entertainingly, the futile efforts of Weed and Dean Richmond to reorganize existing parties, the rise and fall of the Tweed Ring, Conkling's punishment of Greeley and defeat of Fenton, Tilden's defiance of Tammany and struggle with Kelly, and the overthrow of the Stalwart régime by the crushing victory of Grover Cleveland. Throughout it is characterized, too, with a fairness which must appeal to the strongest partisan. (Circular with sample pages on application.)

"It meets a want widely felt and repeatedly expressed during the past hundred years.... It would be impossible in a dozen notices to render any sort of justice to the extensive scope of this work and to the multiplicity of its interesting details."--From two leading articles, aggregating over ten columns, in the _New York Sun_.

"Will undoubtedly take its place as the authoritative work upon the subject."--_Boston Transcript._

"The most entertaining story of state politics in American history."--_Review of Reviews._

"Will be read with great interest and profit outside the Empire State."--_Cleveland Plain Dealer._

JOHN DAVIS' TRAVELS OF FOUR YEARS AND A HALF IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1798-1802)

Dedicated by permission to Thomas Jefferson. Esq. First Published, London, 1803. With Introduction and Notes by Alfred J. Morrison. 8vo, 429 pps. $2.50 net, by mail $2.65.

The only book of the period written by a traveller in the United States the object of which is not so much statistical narrative as narrative purely. It is a story of wanderings from New York to South Carolina, and as such affords a most interesting picture of the greater part of the United States at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The author was a novelist and shows it in his book. A necessary book for even an exclusive collection of Americana. Measured by any standard an unusual book of travel.

Trevelyan in his "American Revolution" says of this book: "Among accounts of such voyages, none are more life-like; an exquisitely absurd book, which the world, to the diminution of its gaiety, has forgotten."

If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

BOOKS THAT CHEER

By CHARLES BATTELL LOOMIS

Uniform 12mo. Each, $1.25.

A HOLIDAY TOUCH; and Other Tales of Undaunted Americans.

Illustrated by Thomas Fogarty, F. R. Gruger, Peter Newell, Charles B. Loomis, "Hy." Mayer, H. G. Williamson, and John Wolcott Adams.

Perhaps Mr. Loomis's greatest charm is his old combination of American buoyancy with an unobtrusive pathos. The "hard-up" one who does not whine or ask for help, but smiles and wins out, dominates these pages, which fairly sparkle with Yankee ingenuity and pluck. There are also some delightful burlesques.

"Mr. Loomis at his clever best. He succeeds in embodying the shrewdness and ingenuity of our national spirit in terms of great human kindliness--a combination of keen insight and deep sympathy which always makes for the best kind of humor."--_Chicago Evening Post._

POE'S RAVEN IN AN ELEVATOR

Being a later edition of "Moore Cheerful Americans." Illustrated by Mrs. Shinn and others.

Eighteen humorous tales in the vein of the author's popular "Cheerful Americans." To these is appended a delightfully satirical paper on "How to Write a Novel for the Masses."

"Really funny. You have to laugh--laugh suddenly and unexpectedly."--_N. Y. Times Review._

CHEERFUL AMERICANS

Illustrated by Mmes. Shinn, Cory, and others.

Seventeen humorous tales, including three quaint automobile stories, the "Americans Abroad" series, "The Man of Putty," etc.

"The mere name and the very cover are full of hope.... This small volume is a safe one to lend to a gambler, an invalid, a hypochondriac, or an old lady; more than safe for the normal man."--_Nation._

DAVY JONES' YARNS and other Salted Songs

By THOMAS R. YBARRA. With over 30 illustrations by HENRY MAYER of the _New York Times_. $1.25 net.

A wild book in which the imagination and humor of both versifier and artist are restrained by nothing but propriety. Davy Jones has mad adventures with the Swiss Admiral, Cannibals, the Czar, Mince Pirates, the Revolution Bug, etc.

"A volume of delightfully whimsical humor ... rollicking rhyme ... the pictures are as merrily grotesque as the verses."--_Chicago Record-Herald._

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS By W. A. Locy.

By the Professor of Biology in Northwestern University. 123 illustrations. 8vo. $2.75 net, by mail $2.88.

"Entertainingly written, and, better than any other existing single work in any language, gives the layman a clear idea of the scope and development of the broad science of biology."--_The Dial._

CANADIAN TYPES OF THE OLD RÉGIME By C. W. Colby.

By the Professor of History in McGill University. 18 illustrations. 8vo. $2.75 net, by mail $2.90.

"A light and graceful style. Not only interesting reading, but gives as clear a notion of what the old régime was at its best as may be found anywhere in a single volume."--_Literary Digest._

THE BUILDERS OF UNITED ITALY By R. S. Holland.

With 8 portraits. Large 12mo. $2.00 net, by mail $2.13. Historical biographies of Alfieri, Manzoni, Gioberti, Manin, Mazzini, Cavour, Garibaldi, and Victor Emmanuel.

"Popular but not flimsy."--_The Nation._

THE ITALIANS OF TO-DAY By René Bazin.

By the author of "The Nun," etc. Translated by Wm. Marchant. $1.25 net, by mail $1.35.

"A most readable book. He touches upon everything."--_Boston Transcript._

DARWINISM TO-DAY By V. L. Kellogg.

By the author of "American Insects," etc. 8vo. $2.00 net, by mail $2.12.

"Can write in English as brightly and as clearly as the oldtime Frenchmen.... In his text he explains the controversy so that the plain man may understand it, while in the notes he adduces the evidence that the specialist requires.... A brilliant book that deserves general attention."--_New York Sun._

*** If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 34 WEST 33d STREET NEW YORK

R. M. JOHNSTON'S LEADING AMERICAN SOLDIERS

Biographies of Washington, Greene, Taylor, Scott, Andrew Jackson, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, McClellan, Meade, Lee, "Stonewall" Jackson, Joseph E. Johnson. With portraits. 1 vol. $1.75 net; by mail $1.88.

The first of a new series of biographies of leading Americans.

"Performs a real service in preserving the essentials."--_Review of Reviews._

"Very interesting.... Much sound originality of treatment, and the style is clear."--_Springfield Republican._

ELIZA R. SCIDMORE'S AS THE HAGUE ORDAINS

Journal of a Russian Prisoner's Wife in Japan. Illustrated from photographs. $1.50 net, by mail $1.62.

"Holds a tremendous human interest.... Author writes with wit and a delightfully feminine abandon."--_Outlook._

"This surprisingly outspoken volume ... could have been written only by an extraordinarily able woman who knew the inside of Russian politics and also had actual experience in Japanese war hospitals."--_Chicago Record-Herald._

W. F. JOHNSON'S FOUR CENTURIES OF THE PANAMA CANAL

With 16 illustrations and 6 colored maps. $3.00 net; by mail, $3.27.

"The most thorough and comprehensive book on the Panama Canal."--_Nation._

JOHN L. GIVENS' MAKING A NEWSPAPER

The author was recently with the _New York Evening Sun_. $1.50 net; by mail $1.62.

Some seventy-five leading newspapers praise this book as the best detailed account of the business, editorial, reportorial and manufacturing organization of a metropolitan journal. It should be invaluable to those entering upon newspaper work and a revelation to the general reader.

THE OPEN ROAD THE FRIENDLY TOWN

Compiled by E. V. Lucas. Full gilt, illustrated cover linings, each (cloth) $1.50; (leather) $2.50.

Pretty anthologies of prose and verse from British and American authors, respectively for wayfarers and the urbane.

*** If the reader will send his name and address the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

MRS. E. L. VOYNICH'S THE GADFLY

An intense romance of the Italian rising against the Austrians early in the nineteenth century. Twenty-first printing. $1.25.

"One of the most powerful novels of the decade."--_New York Tribune._

ANTHONY HOPE'S THE PRISONER OF ZENDA

Being the history of three months in the life of an English gentleman. Illustrated by C. D. Gibson. Fifty-first printing. $1.50.

ANTHONY HOPE'S RUPERT OF HENTZAU

A sequel to "The Prisoner of Zenda." Illustrated by C. D. Gibson. Twenty-first printing. $1.50.

These stirring romances established a new vogue in fiction and are among the most widely-read novels. Each has been successfully dramatized.

C. N. AND A. M. WILLIAMSON'S THE LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR

New illustrated edition. Twenty-first printing. $1.50.

A humorous love story of a beautiful American and a gallant Englishman who stoops to conquer. Two almost human automobiles play prominent parts. There are picturesque scenes in Provence, Spain and Italy.

"Altogether the best automobile story, of which we have knowledge, and might serve almost as a guide-book for highway travel from Paris to Sicily."--_Atlantic Monthly._

C. N. AND A. M. WILLIAMSON'S THE PRINCESS PASSES

Illustrated by Edward Penfield. Eighth printing. $1.50.

"The authors have duplicated their success with 'The Lightning Conductor.'... Unusually absorbing."--_Boston Transcript._

D. D. WELLS' HER LADYSHIP'S ELEPHANT

This humorous Anglo-American tale made an instantaneous hit. Eighteenth printing. $1.25.

"He is probably funny because he cannot help it.... Must consent to be regarded as a benefactor of his kind without responsibility."--_The Nation._

*** If the reader will send his name and address, the publishers will send, from time to time, information regarding their new books.

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

McPherson's Railroad Freight Rates

In Their Relation to the Industry and Commerce of the United States.

By LOGAN G. MCPHERSON, author of "The Working of the Railroads." 8vo. With maps, tables, and a full index. $2.25 net, by mail, $2.42.

This study of the freight rate structure is so comprehensive and thorough as not only to be exceedingly valuable to anyone having to do with railroad freight traffic either as a railroad official or as a shipper, but it is also a most fascinating exposition for the general reader of a subject which has not hitherto received a popularly intelligible presentation. It offers to younger men the only means of knowing how the present freight rate system has been evolved.

"An exceedingly important book.... Not only the best existing account, but it is easily the best book on American railway traffic.... We have little hesitation in expressing the opinion that it will stand as the standard reference work for a good many years, and from the standpoint of public policy we are exceedingly glad that the book has been written. The country would be better governed if the legislator, state and national, had to pass an examination upon it before taking His oath of office."--_Railroad Age Gazette._

"A book the nation has needed."--_New York Sun._

McPherson's The Working of the Railroads

By LOGAN G. MCPHERSON, Lecturer on Transportation at Johns Hopkins. 12mo. $1.50 net; By mail $1.63.

"Simply and lucidly tells what a railroad company is, what it does, and how it does it. Cannot fail to be of use to the voter. Of exceeding value to the young and ambitious in railroad service."--_The Travelers' Official Railway Guide._

"The most important contribution to its branch of the subject that has yet been made."--_The Dial._

"The author's connection with practical service gives this a value which no other book quite equals. Up-to-date, informing, ... an excellent piece of work."--_Wall Street Journal._

Carter's When Railroads Were New

By CHARLES FREDERICK CARTER, with an Introductory Note by Logan G. McPherson. 16 full-page illustrations, 8vo, 312 pp. $2.00 net, by mail $2.16.

A history of the every-day difficulties, discouragements and triumphs of the pioneers who built and ran the early railroads. With many anecdotes that add to the abundant human interest.

"Full of interest. Besides the general chapter on the beginnings, it gives the early history of the Erie, the Pennsylvania, and the Baltimore and Ohio, of the Vanderbuilt lines, the first Pacific railroad, and of the Canadian Pacific. Very readable.--_N. Y. Sun._

"Invaluable. It gathers the floating fragments of railroad history, weaving a human interest into a coherent record of every day trials and triumphs. A human and personal document, not a dry historical treatise or a batch of anecdotes."--_Baltimore Sun._

"No book of adventure contains more exciting episodes or more varied interest. Every page is of live interest. So replete with curious information, thoroughly entertaining and instructive."--_Brooklyn Eagle._

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

* * * * * *

Transcriber's note:

All instances of the oe-ligature were transcribed as 'oe'.

Mismatched single and double quotation marks were corrected without comment.

Typographical errors in the advertisements were corrected without comment.

Spelling and word usage have been retained as they apear in the original publication, except as follows:

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