Produced by Annie R. McGuire. This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print archive.
THE HOUSE OF MERRILEES EXTON MANOR THE ELDEST SON THE SQUIRE'S DAUGHTER THE HONOUR OF THE CLINTONS THE GREATEST OF THESE THE OLD ORDER CHANGETH WATERMEADS UPSIDONIA ABINGTON ABBEY THE GRAFTONS
COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC.
CHAPTER PAGE I SURLEY RECTORY 1 II A QUESTION OF PATRONAGE 13 III IN THE GARDEN 27 IV A PRESENTATION 45 V THE SYSTEM 63 VI THE VICAR'S DECISION 80 VII A MORNING RIDE 93 VIII THE BISHOP FINDS A MAN 107 IX THE NEW VICAR 121 X YOUNG GEORGE TAKES ADVICE 136 XI THE SECOND LOVE 151 XII CAROLINE AND BEATRIX 164 XIII PARIS 178 XIV A WEDDING 192 XV AN ACCIDENT 207 XVI MAURICE 218 XVII HOW THEY TOOK IT 235 XVIII MORE OPINIONS 246 XIX AFTER THE WEDDING 261 XX CAROLINE'S HOME-COMING 277 XXI A VISIT 291 XXII THE FAMILY VIEW 307 XXIII AN ENGAGEMENT 318 XXIV BARBARA 327
This novel, though it is complete in itself, deals with the same characters as "Abington Abbey." Its publication gives me the opportunity of replying to some criticisms of that novel, which would apply equally to this one.
The criticisms to which I refer have to do, not with faults of authorship, to which it would not be becoming to reply, but with matters for which an apology, or at least an explanation, may be offered.
The first has been that in such times as these a novel dealing with minor currents of life as they existed before the war is something of an anachronism. Perhaps it is. In the fourth year of the war, life as it is depicted in these two novels seems already far away. But what is a novelist of manners to do, granted the assumption--admittedly debateable--that he is to go on writing novels at all? He must either write _about_ the war, in one or other of its far-reaching effects upon life, or else he must leave it alone altogether. At least, those are the only alternatives that I have felt to be open to me; and, after having written one novel with the war as its deliberate climax, I have chosen the latter. When the war is over, it will be possible to take its adjustments into account as affecting everyday life, but while it is going on I do not think it is possible. It looms too big. Minor affairs would have their values in contrast with it, and truth would suffer.