FATHER STAFFORD BY ANTHONY HOPE AUTHOR OF "A MAN OF MARK," "THE PRISONER OF ZENDA." F. TENNYSON NEELY PUBLISHER CHICAGO NEW YORK 1895 CONTENTS. I. Eugene Lane and his Guests II. New Faces and Old Feuds III. Father Stafford Changes his Habits, and Mr. Haddington his Views IV. Sir Roderick Ayre Inspects Mr. Morewood's Masterpiece V. How Three Gentlemen Acted for the Best VI. Father Stafford Keeps Vigil VII. An Early Train and a Morning's Amusement VIII. Stafford in Retreat, and Sir Roderick in Action IX. The Battle of Baden X. Mr. Morewood is Moved to Indignation XI. Waiting Lady Claudia's Pleasure XII. Lady Claudia is Vexed with Mankind XIII. A Lover's Fate and a Friend's Counsel XIV. Some People are as Fortunate as they Deserve to Be XV. An End and a Beginning FATHER STAFFORD. CHAPTER I. Eugene Lane and his Guests. The world considered Eugene Lane a very fortunate young man; and if youth, health, social reputation, a seat in Parliament, a large income, and finally the promised hand of an acknowledged beauty can make a man happy, the world was right. It is true that Sir Roderick Ayre had been heard to pity the poor chap on the ground that his father had begun life in the workhouse; but everybody knew that Sir Roderick was bound to exalt the claims of birth, inasmuch as he had to rely solely upon them for a reputation, and discounted the value of his opinion accordingly. After all, it was not as if the late Mr. Lane had ended life in the undesirable shelter in question. On the contrary, his latter days had been spent in the handsome mansion of Millstead Manor; and, as he lay on his deathbed, listening to the Rector's gentle homily on the vanity of riches, his eyes would wander to the window and survey a wide tract of land that he called his own, and left, together with immense sums of money, to his son, subject only to a jointure for his wife. It is hard to blame the tired old man if he felt, even with the homily ringing in his ears, that he had not played his part in the world badly.