An Old Man's Love by Anthony Trollope

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AN OLD MAN'S LOVE

ANTHONY TROLLOPE

In Two Volumes

William Blackwood and Sons Edinburgh and London MDCCCLXXXIV

NOTE.

This story, "An Old Man's Love," is the last of my father's novels. As I have stated in the preface to his Autobiography, "The Landleaguers" was written after this book, but was never fully completed.

HENRY M. TROLLOPE.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME I

I. MRS BAGGETT II. MR WHITTLESTAFF III. MARY LAWRIE IV. MARY LAWRIE ACCEPTS MR WHITTLESTAFF V. "I SUPPOSE IT WAS A DREAM" VI. JOHN GORDON VII. JOHN GORDON AND MR WHITTLESTAFF VIII. JOHN GORDON AND MARY LAWRIE IX. THE REV MONTAGU BLAKE X. JOHN GORDON AGAIN GOES TO CROKER'S HALL XI. MRS BAGGETT TRUSTS ONLY IN THE FUNDS XII. MR BLAKE'S GOOD NEWS

CONTENTS OF VOLUME II

XIII. AT LITTLE ALRESFORD XIV. MR WHITTLESTAFF IS GOING OUT TO DINNER XV. MR WHITTLESTAFF GOES OUT TO DINNER XVI. MRS BAGGETT'S PHILOSOPHY XVII. MR WHITTLESTAFF MEDITATES A JOURNEY XVIII. MR AND MRS TOOKEY XIX. MR WHITTLESTAFF'S JOURNEY DISCUSSED XX. MR WHITTLESTAFF TAKES HIS JOURNEY XXI. THE GREEN PARK XXII. JOHN GORDON WRITES A LETTER XXIII. AGAIN AT CROKER'S HALL XXIV. CONCLUSION

VOLUME I.

CHAPTER I.

MRS BAGGETT.

Mr William Whittlestaff was strolling very slowly up and down the long walk at his country seat in Hampshire, thinking of the contents of a letter which he held crushed up within his trousers' pocket. He always breakfasted exactly at nine, and the letters were supposed to be brought to him at a quarter past. The postman was really due at his hall-door at a quarter before nine; but though he had lived in the same house for above fifteen years, and though he was a man very anxious to get his letters, he had never yet learned the truth about them. He was satisfied in his ignorance with 9.15 A.M., but on this occasion the post-boy, as usual, was ten minutes after that time. Mr Whittlestaff had got through his second cup of tea, and was stranded in his chair, having nothing to do, with the empty cup and plates before him for the space of two minutes; and, consequently, when he had sent some terrible message out to the post-boy, and then had read the one epistle which had arrived on this morning, he thus liberated his mind: "I'll be whipped if I will have anything to do with her." But this must not be taken as indicating the actual state of his mind; but simply the condition of anger to which he had been reduced by the post-boy. If any one were to explain to him afterwards that he had so expressed himself on a subject of such importance, he would have declared of himself that he certainly deserved to be whipped himself. In order that he might in truth make up his mind on the subject, he went out with his hat and stick into the long walk, and there thought out the matter to its conclusion. The letter which he held in his pocket ran as follows:--

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