Preface

This somewhat frivolous narrative was produced as an interlude between stories of a more sober design, and it was given the sub- title of a comedy to indicate--though not quite accurately--the aim of the performance. A high degree of probability was not attempted in the arrangement of the incidents, and there was expected of the reader a certain lightness of mood, which should inform him with a good-natured willingness to accept the production in the spirit in which it was offered. The characters themselves, however, were meant to be consistent and human.

On its first appearance the novel suffered, perhaps deservedly, for what was involved in these intentions--for its quality of unexpectedness in particular--that unforgivable sin in the critic‘s sight--the immediate precursor of ‘Ethelberta‘ having been a purely rural tale. Moreover, in its choice of medium, and line of perspective, it undertook a delicate task: to excite interest in a drama--if such a

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