Produced by David Edwards, Larry B. Harrison, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) A STRANGE WORLD A Novel BY THE AUTHOR OF 'LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET' ETC. ETC. ETC. IN THREE VOLUMES VOL. I. LONDON JOHN MAXWELL AND CO. 4, SHOE LANE, FLEET STREET 1875. [_All rights reserved._] CONTENTS TO VOL. I. CHAP. PAGE I. POOR PLAYERS 1 II. BEHIND THE SCENES 32 III. EVEILLONS LE PLAISIR, SON AURORE EST LA NUIT 49 IV. 'LOVE'S A MIGHTY LORD' 64 V. 'IL NE FAUT PAS POUSSER AU BOUT LES MALHEUREUX' 80 VI. 'THERE IS NO LIFE ON EARTH BUT BEING IN LOVE' 93 VII. 'LET THE WORLD SLIP; WE SHALL NE'ER BE YOUNGER' 105 VIII. 'HAVE THE HIGH GODS ANYTHING LEFT TO GIVE?' 123 IX. 'OTHER SINS ONLY SPEAK; MURDER SHRIEKS OUT' 140 X. 'NOTHING COMES AMISS, SO MONEY COME WITHAL' 155 XI. 'WHAT, THEN, YOU KNEW NOT THIS RED WORK INDEED?' 179 XII. 'BRAVE SPIRITS ARE A BALSAM TO THEMSELVES' 186 XIII. 'MY LOVE, MY LOVE, AND NO LOVE FOR ME' 201 XIV. 'TRUTH IS TRUTH, TO THE END OF TIME' 217 XV. 'THEY SHALL PASS, AND THEIR PLACES BE TAKEN' 233 XVI. 'THERE IS A HISTORY IN ALL MEN'S LIVES' 244 XVII. 'DEATH COULD NOT SEVER MY SOUL AND YOU' 253 XVIII. 'WHAT GREAT ONES DO, THE LESS WILL PRATTLE OF' 271 A STRANGE WORLD CHAPTER I. POOR PLAYERS.