<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN>
<h1>IS HE POPENJOY?</h1>
<h3>BY</h3>
<h2>ANTHONY TROLLOPE,</h2>
<hr style="width: 65%;" class="newpg">
<!-- Page ii -->
<p class="center">LONDON:<br/>
BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS</p>
<!-- Page iii -->
<hr style="width: 65%;" class="newpg">
<h2><SPAN name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></SPAN>CONTENTS.</h2>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="Contents" align="center">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER I.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="bottom">
<td align="right" valign="bottom" colspan="2"><span class="smaller">PAGE</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>INTRODUCTORY.—NUMBER ONE 1</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_I">1</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER II.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>INTRODUCTORY.—NUMBER TWO</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_II">7</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER III.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>LIFE AT MANOR CROSS</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_III">13</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER IV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>AT THE DEANERY</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_IV">20</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER V.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>MISS TALLOWAX IS SHOWN THE HOUSE</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_V">26</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER VI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>BAD TIDINGS</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_VI">34</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER VII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>CROSS HALL GATE</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_VII">41</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER VIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>PUGSBY BROOK</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_VIII">47</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER IX.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>MRS. HOUGHTON</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_IX">52</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter"><!-- Page iv -->CHAPTER X.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE DEAN AS A SPORTING MAN</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_X">61</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter"><!-- Page iv -->CHAPTER XI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>LORD AND LADY GEORGE GO UP TO TOWN</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XI">66</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>MISS MILDMAY AND JACK DE BARON</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XII">72</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>MORE NEWS FROM ITALY</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XIII">79</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XIV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>"ARE WE TO CALL HIM POPENJOY?"</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XIV">85</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>"DROP IT"</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XV">93</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XVI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>ALL IS FISH THAT COMES TO HIS NET</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XVI">100</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="bottom"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XVII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE DISABILITIES</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XVII">106</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XVIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>LORD GEORGE UP IN LONDON</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">112</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XIX.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>RATHER "BOISTEROUS"</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XIX">119</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XX.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>BETWEEN TWO STOOLS</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XX">126</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE MARQUIS COMES HOME</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXI">132</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter"><!-- Page v -->CHAPTER XXII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE MARQUIS AMONG HIS FRIENDS</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXII">139</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE MARQUIS SEES HIS BROTHER</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">146</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXIV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE MARQUIS GOES INTO BROTHERTON</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">153</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>LADY SUSANNA IN LONDON</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXV">159</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXVI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE DEAN RETURNS TO TOWN</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">166</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXVII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE BARONESS BANMANN AGAIN</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">173</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXVIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>"WHAT MATTER IF SHE DOES?" </span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">180</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXIX.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>MR. HOUGHTON WANTS A GLASS OF SHERRY</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">186</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXX.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE DEAN IS VERY BUSY</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXX">193</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXXI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE MARQUIS MIGRATES TO LONDON</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">198</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXXII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>LORD GEORGE IS TROUBLED</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">205</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXXIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>CAPTAIN DE BARON</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII">213</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter"><!-- Page vi -->CHAPTER XXXIV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>A DREADFUL COMMUNICATION</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXXIV">220</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXXV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>"I DENY IT"</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXXV">226</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXXVI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>POPENJOY IS POPENJOY</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXXVI">235</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXXVII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>PREPARATIONS FOR THE BALL</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXXVII">241</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXXVIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE KAPPA-KAPPA</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXXVIII">248</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XXXIX.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>REBELLION</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XXXIX">254</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XL.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>AS TO BLUEBEARD</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XL">260</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XLI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>SCUMBERG'S</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XLI">268</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XLII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>"NOT GO!" </span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XLII">276</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XLIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>REAL LOVE</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XLIII">284</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XLIV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>WHAT THE BROTHERTON CLERGYMEN SAID ABOUT IT</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XLIV">288</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XLV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>LADY GEORGE AT THE DEANERY</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XLV">293</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter"><!-- Page vii -->CHAPTER XLVI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>LADY SARAH'S MISSION</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XLVI">298</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XLVII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THAT YOUNG FELLOW IN THERE</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XLVII">307</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XLVIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE MARQUIS MAKES A PROPOSITION</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XLVIII">312</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER XLIX.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>"WOULDN'T YOU COME HERE;—FOR A WEEK?"</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_XLIX">320</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER L.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>RUDHAM PARK</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_L">325</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>GUSS MILDMAY'S SUCCESS</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LI">333</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>ANOTHER LOVER</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LII">341</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>POOR POPENJOY! </span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LIII">346</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LIV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>JACK DE BARON'S VIRTUE</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LIV">352</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>HOW COULD HE HELP IT? </span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LV">357</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LVI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>SIR HENRY SAID IT WAS THE ONLY THING</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LVI">365</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LVII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>MR. KNOX HEARS AGAIN FROM THE MARQUIS</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LVII">372</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter"><!-- Page viii -->CHAPTER LVIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>MRS. JONES' LETTER</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LVIII">378</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LIX.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>BACK IN LONDON</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LIX">384</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LX.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE LAST OF THE BARONESS</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LX">391</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LXI.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE NEWS COMES HOME</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LXI">397</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LXII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>THE WILL</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LXII">405</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LXIII.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>POPENJOY IS BORN AND CHRISTENED</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LXIII">410</SPAN></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" valign="top"><span class="tiny"> </span><br/><span class="tocchapter">CHAPTER LXIV.</span></td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td align="left" style="width: 75%; padding-bottom: 0!important;">
<span>CONCLUSION</span></td>
<td align="right" style="width: 16.67%; padding-bottom: 0!important;"><SPAN href="#CHAPTER_LXIV">418</SPAN></td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr style="width: 65%;" class="newpg"><!-- Page 1 -->
<h1>IS HE POPENJOY?</h1>
<h2><SPAN name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></SPAN>CHAPTER I.</h2>
<p class="chapterhead">INTRODUCTORY.—NUMBER ONE.</p>
<p><span class="firstwords">I would</span> that it were possible so to tell a story that a reader should
beforehand know every detail of it up to a certain point, or be so
circumstanced that he might be supposed to know. In telling the little
novelettes of our life, we commence our narrations with the presumption
that these details are borne in mind, and though they be all
forgotten, the stories come out intelligible at last. "You remember
Mary Walker. Oh yes, you do;—that pretty girl, but such a queer
temper! And how she was engaged to marry Harry Jones, and said
she wouldn't at the church-door, till her father threatened her with
bread and water; and how they have been living ever since as happy
as two turtle-doves down in Devonshire,—till that scoundrel, Lieutenant
Smith, went to Bideford! Smith has been found dead at the bottom
of a saw-pit. Nobody's sorry for him. She's in a madhouse at Exeter;
and Jones has disappeared, and couldn't have had more than thirty
shillings in his pocket." This is quite as much as anybody ought to
want to know previous to the unravelling of the tragedy of the Jones's.
But such stories as those I have to tell cannot be written after that
fashion. We novelists are constantly twitted with being long; and
to the gentlemen who condescend to review us, and who take up our
volumes with a view to business rather than pleasure, we must be
infinite in length and tedium. But the story must be made intelligible
from the beginning, or the real novel readers will not like it. The
plan of jumping at once into the middle has been often tried, and
sometimes seductively enough for a chapter or two; but the writer
still has to hark back, and to begin again from the beginning,—not
always very comfortably after the abnormal brightness of his few
opening pages; and the reader who is then involved in some ancient
family history, or long local explanation, feels himself to have been
defrauded. It is as though one were asked to eat boiled mutton after
woodcocks, caviare, or maccaroni cheese. I hold that it is better to
have the boiled mutton first, if boiled mutton there must be.<!-- Page 2 --></p>
<p>The story which I have to tell is something in its nature akin to that
of poor Mrs. Jones, who was happy enough down in Devonshire till
that wicked Lieutenant Smith came and persecuted her; not quite so
tragic, perhaps, as it is stained neither by murder nor madness. But
before I can hope to interest readers in the perplexed details of the
life of a not unworthy lady, I must do more than remind them that
they do know, or might have known, or should have known the
antecedents of my personages. I must let them understand how it
came to pass that so pretty, so pert, so gay, so good a girl as Mary
Lovelace, without any great fault on her part, married a man so grim,
so gaunt, so sombre, and so old as Lord George Germain. It will not
suffice to say that she had done so. A hundred and twenty little
incidents must be dribbled into the reader's intelligence, many of
them, let me hope, in such manner that he shall himself be insensible
to the process. But unless I make each one of them understood and
appreciated by my ingenious, open-hearted, rapid reader,—by my
reader who will always have his fingers impatiently ready to turn the
page,—he will, I know, begin to masticate the real kernel of my story
with infinite prejudices against Mary Lovelace.</p>
<p>Mary Lovelace was born in a country parsonage; but at the age of
fourteen, when her life was in truth beginning, was transferred by her
father to the deanery of Brotherton. Dean Lovelace had been a fortunate
man in life. When a poor curate, a man of very humble origin,
with none of what we commonly call Church interest, with nothing to
recommend him but a handsome person, moderate education, and a
quick intellect, he had married a lady with a considerable fortune,
whose family had bought for him a living. Here he preached himself
into fame. It is not at all to be implied from this that he had not
deserved the fame he acquired. He had been active and resolute in
his work, holding opinions which, if not peculiar, were at any rate
advanced, and never being afraid of the opinions which he held. His
bishop had not loved him, nor had he made himself dear to the bench
of bishops generally. He had the reputation of having been in early
life a sporting parson. He had written a book which had been characterised
as tending to infidelity, and had more than once been invited
to state dogmatically what was his own belief. He had never quite
done so, and had then been made a dean. Brotherton, as all the
world knows, is a most interesting little city, neither a Manchester
nor a Salisbury; full of architectural excellencies, given to literature,
and fond of hospitality. The Bishop of Brotherton,—who did not love
the dean,—was not a general favourite, being strict, ascetic, and utterly
hostile to all compromises. At first there were certain hostile passages
between him and the new dean. But the Dean, who was and
is urbanity itself, won the day, and soon became certainly the
most popular man in Brotherton. His wife's fortune doubled his
clerical income, and he lived in all respects as a dean ought to live.<!-- Page 3 -->
His wife had died very shortly after his promotion, and he had been
left with one only daughter on whom to lavish his cares and his
affection.</p>
<p>Now we must turn for a few lines to the family of Lord George
Germain. Lord George was the brother of the Marquis of Brotherton,
whose family residence was at Manor Cross, about nine miles from the
city. The wealth of the family of the Germains was not equal to
their rank, and the circumstances of the family were not made more
comfortable by the peculiarities of the present marquis. He was an
idle, self-indulgent, ill-conditioned man, who found that it suited his
tastes better to live in Italy, where his means were ample, than on his
own property, where he would have been comparatively a poor man.
And he had a mother and four sisters, and a brother with whom he
would hardly have known how to deal had he remained at Manor
Cross. As it was, he allowed them to keep the house, while he simply
took the revenue of the estate. With the marquis I do not know that
it will be necessary to trouble the reader much at present. The old
marchioness and her daughters lived always at Manor Cross in possession
of a fine old house in which they could have entertained half the
county, and a magnificent park,—which, however, was let for grazing
up to the garden-gates,—and a modest income unequal to the splendour
which should have been displayed by the inhabitants of Manor Cross.</p>
<p>And here also lived Lord George Germain, to whom at a very early
period of his life had been entrusted the difficult task of living as the
head of his family with little or no means for the purpose. When
the old Marquis died,—very suddenly, and soon after the Dean's coming
to Brotherton,—the widow had her jointure, some two thousand a year,
out of the property, and the younger children had each a small
settled sum. That the four ladies,—Sarah, Alice, Susanna, and Amelia,—should
have sixteen thousand pounds among them, did not seem to
be so very much amiss to those who knew how poor was the Germain
family; but what was Lord George to do with four thousand pounds,
and no means of earning a shilling? He had been at Eton, and had
taken a degree at Oxford with credit, but had gone into no profession.
There was a living in the family, and both father and mother had hoped
that he would consent to take orders; but he had declined to do so,
and there had seemed to be nothing for him but to come and live at
Manor Cross. Then the old Marquis had died, and the elder brother,
who had long been abroad, remained abroad. Lord George, who was
the youngest of the family, and at that time about five-and-twenty,
remained at Manor Cross, and became not only ostensibly but in very
truth the managing head of the family.</p>
<p>He was a man whom no one could despise, and in whom few could
find much to blame. In the first place he looked his poverty in the
face, and told himself that he was a very poor man. His bread he
might earn by looking after his mother and sisters, and he knew no<!-- Page 4 -->
other way in which he could do so. He was a just steward, spending
nothing to gratify his own whims, acknowledging on all sides that he
had nothing of his own, till some began to think that he was almost
proud of his poverty. Among the ladies of the family, his mother and
sisters, it was of course said that George must marry money. In such
a position there is nothing else that the younger son of a marquis can
do. But Lord George was a person somewhat difficult of instruction
in such a matter. His mother was greatly afraid of him. Among his
sisters Lady Sarah alone dared to say much to him; and even to her
teaching on this subject he turned a very deaf ear. "Quite so,
George," she said; "quite so. No man with a spark of spirit would
marry a woman for her money,"—and she laid a great stress on the
word "for,"—"but I do not see why a lady who has money should
be less fit to be loved than one who has none. Miss Barm is a most
charming young woman, of excellent manners, admirably educated, if
not absolutely handsome, quite of distinguished appearance, and she
has forty thousand pounds. We all liked her when she was here."
But there came a very black frown upon Lord George's brow, and
then even Lady Sarah did not dare to speak again in favour of Miss
Barm.</p>
<p>Then there came a terrible blow. Lord George Germain was in love
with his cousin, Miss De Baron! It would be long to tell, and perhaps
unnecessary, how that young lady had made herself feared by the
ladies of Manor Cross. Her father, a man of birth and fortune, but
not perhaps with the best reputation in the world, had married a
Germain of the last generation, and lived, when in the country, about
twenty miles from Brotherton. He was a good deal on the turf, spent
much of his time at card-playing clubs, and was generally known as
a fast man. But he paid his way, had never put himself beyond the
pale of society, and was, of course, a gentleman. As to Adelaide de
Baron, no one doubted her dash, her wit, her grace, or her toilet.
Some also gave her credit for beauty; but there were those who said
that, though she would behave herself decently at Manor Cross and
houses of that class, she could be loud elsewhere. Such was the lady
whom Lord George loved, and it may be conceived that this passion
was distressing to the ladies of Manor Cross. In the first place, Miss
De Baron's fortune was doubtful and could not be large; and then—she
certainly was not such a wife as Lady Brotherton and her daughters
desired for the one male hope of the family.</p>
<p>But Lord George was very resolute, and for a time it seemed to them
all that Miss de Baron,—of whom the reader will see much if he go through
with our story,—was not unwilling to share the poverty of her noble
lover. Of Lord George personally something must be said. He was
a tall, handsome, dark-browed man, silent generally and almost gloomy,
looking, as such men do, as though he were always revolving deep
things in his mind, but revolving in truth things not very deep,—how<!-- Page 5 -->
far the money would go, and whether it would be possible to get a
new pair of carriage-horses for his mother. Birth and culture had
given to him a look of intellect greater than he possessed; but I would
not have it thought that he traded on this or endeavoured to seem
other than he was. He was simple, conscientious, absolutely truthful,
full of prejudices, and weak-minded. Early in life he had been taught
to entertain certain ideas as to religion by those with whom he had
lived at college, and had therefore refused to become a clergyman.
The bishop of the diocese had attacked him; but, though weak, he was
obstinate. The Dean and he had become friends, and so he had learned
to think himself in advance of the world. But yet he knew himself
to be a backward, slow, unappreciative man. He was one who could
bear reproach from no one else, but who never praised himself even
to himself.</p>
<p>But we must return to his love, which is that which now concerns us.
His mother and sisters altogether failed to persuade him. Week after
week he went over to Baronscourt, and at last threw himself at
Adelaide's feet. This was five years after his father's death, when he
was already thirty years old. Miss De Baron, though never a favourite
at Manor Cross, knew intimately the history of the family. The
present marquis was over forty, and as yet unmarried;—but then Lord
George was absolutely a pauper. In that way she might probably
become a marchioness; but then of what use would life be to her,
should she be doomed for the next twenty years to live simply as one
of the ladies of Manor Cross? She consulted her father, but he seemed
to be quite indifferent, merely reminding her that though he would be
ready to do everything handsomely for her wedding, she would have
no fortune till after his death. She consulted her glass, and told
herself that, without self-praise, she must regard herself as the most
beautiful woman of her own acquaintance. She consulted her heart,
and found that in that direction she need not trouble herself. It
would be very nice to be a marchioness, but she certainly was not in
love with Lord George. He was handsome, no doubt—very handsome;
but she was not sure that she cared much for men being handsome.
She liked men that "had some go in them," who were perhaps a little
fast, and who sympathised with her own desire for amusement. She
could not bring herself to fall in love with Lord George. But then,
the rank of a marquis is very high! She told Lord George that she
must take time to consider.</p>
<p>When a young lady takes time to consider she has, as a rule, given way,
Lord George felt it to be so, and was triumphant. The ladies at Manor
Cross thought that they saw what was coming, and were despondent.
The whole county declared that Lord George was about to marry Miss
De Baron. The county feared that they would be very poor; but the
recompence would come at last, as the present marquis was known not
to be a marrying man. Lady Sarah was mute with despair. Lady<!-- Page 6 -->
Alice had declared that there was nothing for them but to make the
best of it. Lady Susanna, who had high ideas of aristocratic duty,
thought that George was forgetting himself. Lady Amelia, who had
been snubbed by Miss De Baron, shut herself up and wept. The
Marchioness took to her bed. Then, exactly at the same time, two
things happened, both of which were felt to be of vital importance at
Manor Cross. Miss De Baron wrote a most determined refusal to
her lover, and old Mr. Tallowax died. Now old Mr. Tallowax had
been Dean Lovelace's father-in-law, and had never had a child but
she who had been the Dean's wife.</p>
<p>Lord George did in truth suffer dreadfully. There are men to whom
such a disappointment as this causes enduring physical pain,—as though
they had become suddenly affected with some acute and yet lasting
disease. And there are men, too, who suffer the more because they
cannot conceal the pain. Such a man was Lord George. He shut
himself up for months at Manor Cross, and would see no one. At
first it was his intention to try again, but very shortly after the letter
to himself came one from Miss De Baron to Lady Alice, declaring that
she was about to be married immediately to one Mr. Houghton; and
that closed the matter. Mr. Houghton's history was well known to
the Manor Cross family. He was a friend of Mr. De Baron, very
rich, almost old enough to be the girl's father, and a great gambler. But
he had a house in Berkeley Square, kept a stud of horses in Northamptonshire,
and was much thought of at Newmarket. Adelaide De Baron
explained to Lady Alice that the marriage had been made up by her
father, whose advice she had thought it her duty to take. The news
was told to Lord George, and then it was found expedient never to
mention further the name of Miss De Baron within the walls of Manor
Cross.</p>
<p>But the death of Mr. Tallowax was also very important. Of late
the Dean of Brotherton had become very intimate at Manor Cross.
For some years the ladies had been a little afraid of him, as they were
by no means given to free opinions. But he made his way. They
were decidedly high; the bishop was notoriously low; and thus, in a
mild manner, without malignity on either side, Manor Cross and the
Palace fell out. Their own excellent young clergyman was snubbed
in reference to his church postures, and Lady Sarah was offended.
But the Dean's manners were perfect. He never trod on any one's
toes. He was rich, and as far as birth went, nobody,—but he knew
how much was due to the rank of the Germains. In all matters he
obliged them, and had lately made the deanery very pleasant to Lady
Alice,—to whom a widowed canon at Brotherton was supposed to be
partial. The interest between the deanery and Manor Cross was quite
close; and now Mr. Tallowax had died leaving the greater part of his
money to the Dean's daughter.</p>
<p>When a man suffers from disappointed love he requires consolation.<!-- Page 7 -->
Lady Sarah boldly declared her opinion,—in female conclave of course,—that
one pretty girl is as good to a man as another, and might be a
great deal better if she were at the same time better mannered and
better dowered than the other. Mary Lovelace, when her grandfather
died, was only seventeen. Lord George was at that time over thirty.
But a man of thirty is still a young man, and a girl of seventeen may be
a young woman. If the man be not more than fifteen years older than
the woman the difference of age can hardly be regarded as an obstacle.
And then Mary was much loved at Manor Cross. She had been a
most engaging child, was clever, well-educated, very pretty, with a nice
sparkling way, fond of pleasure no doubt, but not as yet instructed to
be fast. And now she would have at once thirty thousand pounds,
and in course of time would be her father's heiress.</p>
<p>All the ladies at Manor Cross put their heads together,—as did also
Mr. Canon Holdenough, who, while these things had been going on,
had been accepted by Lady Alice. They fooled Lord George to the
top of his bent, smoothing him down softly amidst the pangs of his
love, not suggesting Mary Lovelace at first, but still in all things acting
in that direction. And they so far succeeded that within twelve months
of the marriage of Adelaide De Baron to Mr. Houghton, when Mary
Lovelace was not yet nineteen and Lord George was thirty-three, with
some few grey hairs on his handsome head, Lord George did go over
to the deanery and offer himself as a husband to Mary Lovelace.</p>
<hr style="width: 65%;" class="newpg">
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