Produced by David Clarke, Martin Pettit and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Thisfile was produced from images generously made availableby The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY LOWE AND BRYDONE (PRINTERS) LIMITED, LONDON,N.W.10
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE 1
1. BLACK MONDAY 3
2. A GRAND TRANSFORMATION SCENE 15
3. IN THE TOILS 31
4. A MINNOW AMONGST TRITONS 48
5. DISGRACE 69
6. LEARNING AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 87
7. CUTTING THE KNOT 104
8. UNBENDING THE BOW 120
9. A LETTER FROM HOME 133
10. THE COMPLETE LETTER-WRITER 146
11. A DAY OF REST 155
12. AGAINST TIME 169
13. A RESPITE 185
14. AN ERROR OF JUDGMENT 195
15. THE RUBICON 207
16. HARD PRESSED 221
17. A PERFIDIOUS ALLY 240
18. RUN TO EARTH 258
19. THE RECKONING 269
_PREFACE_
There is an old story of a punctiliously polite Greek, who, whileperforming the funeral of an infant daughter, felt bound to make hisexcuses to the spectators for "bringing out such a ridiculously smallcorpse to so large a crowd."
The Author, although he trusts that the present production has morevitality than the Greek gentleman's child, still feels that in thesedays of philosophical fiction, metaphysical romance, and novels with apurpose, some apology may perhaps be needed for a tale which has theunambitious and frivolous aim of mere amusement.
However, he ventures to leave the tale to be its own apology, merelycontenting himself with the entreaty that his little fish may be sparedthe rebuke that it is not a whale.
In submitting it with all possible respect to the Public, he conceivesthat no form of words he could devise would appeal so simply andpowerfully to their feelings as that which he has ventured to adopt froma certain Anglo-Portuguese Phrase-Book of deserved popularity.
Like the compilers of that work, he--"expects then who the little book,for the care what he wrote him and her typographical corrections, willcommend itself to the--_British Paterfamilias_--at which he dedicateshim particularly."