Produced by David Edwards, Diane Monico, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain material produced by Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.) A LIKELY STORY BY W. D. HOWELLS. HARPER'S BLACK & WHITE SERIES A LIKELY STORY [Illustration: "THE MOST EXCITING PART."] A LIKELY STORY Farce BY W. D. HOWELLS ILLUSTRATED [Illustration] NEW YORK HARPER AND BROTHERS 1894 Harper's "Black and White" Series. Illustrated. 32mo, Cloth, 50 cents each. _LATEST ISSUES:_ FIVE O'CLOCK TEA. Farce. By W. D. Howells. THE MOUSE-TRAP. Farce. By W. D. Howells. A LIKELY STORY. Farce. By W. D. Howells. THIS PICTURE AND THAT. A Comedy. By Brander Matthews. TRAVELS IN AMERICA 100 YEARS AGO. By Thomas Twining. MY YEAR IN A LOG CABIN. By William Dean Howells. EVENING DRESS. A Farce. By William Dean Howells. THE WORK OF WASHINGTON IRVING. By Charles Dudley Warner. EDWIN BOOTH. By Laurence Hutton. PHILLIPS BROOKS. By Rev. Arthur Brooks, D.D. THE DECISION OF THE COURT. A Comedy. By Brander Matthews. GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS. By John White Chadwick. THE UNEXPECTED GUESTS. A Farce. By William Dean Howells. SLAVERY AND THE SLAVE TRADE IN AFRICA. By Henry M. Stanley. THE RIVALS. By Francois Coppee. WHITTIER: NOTES OF HIS LIFE AND OF HIS FRIENDSHIPS. By Annie Fields. THE JAPANESE BRIDE. By Naomi Tamura. GILES COREY, YEOMAN. By Mary E. Wilkins. COFFEE AND REPARTEE. By John Kendrick Bangs. PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. _For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent by the publishers, postage prepaid, on receipt of price._ Copyright, 1894, by HARPER & BROTHERS. Copyright, 1885, by HARPER & BROTHERS. Copyright, 1885, by W. D. HOWELLS. _All rights reserved._ CONTENTS Chapter Page I MR. AND MRS. WILLIS CAMPBELL 7 II MR. WELLING; MR. CAMPBELL 29 III MRS. CAMPBELL; MR. WELLING; MR. CAMPBELL 34 IV JANE; MRS. CAMPBELL; WELLING; CAMPBELL 39 V MRS. CAMPBELL; WELLING; CAMPBELL 41 VI JANE; MRS. CAMPBELL; WELLING; CAMPBELL 43 VII MRS. CAMPBELL; WELLING; CAMPBELL 44 VIII MISS RICE, MISS GREENWAY, and the OTHERS 48 IX MISS GREENWAY; MR. WELLING 50 X MISS RICE; then MR. and MRS. CAMPBELL, and the OTHERS 53 ILLUSTRATIONS "THE MOST EXCITING PART OF IT" _Frontispiece_ MR. WELLING EXPLAINS _Facing page 52_ A LIKELY STORY I _MR. AND MRS. WILLIS CAMPBELL_