Produced by David Jones, Al Haines, L. Harrison & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── BOOKS BY MAURICE HEWLETT PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── =Halfway House= =$1.50= =The Queen’s Quair= =$1.50= =New Canterbury Tales= =$1.50= =The Life and Death of Richard Yea and Nay= =$1.50= =The Forest Lovers= =$1.50= =Little Novels of Italy= =$1.50= =Earthwork Out of Tuscany= =$2.00= =The Road in Tuscany.= Two Volumes _net_ =$6.00= =The Fool Errant= =$1.50= ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── HALFWAY HOUSE A COMEDY OF DEGREES HALFWAY HOUSE A COMEDY OF DEGREES BY MAURICE HEWLETT CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS NEW YORK : : : : 1908 COPYRIGHT, 1908, BY CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS * * * * * Published June, 1908 CONTENTS BOOK I CHAPTER PAGE I. MR. GERMAIN TAKES NOTICE 3 II. MR. GERMAIN REVELS SEDATELY 17 III. MR. DUPLESSIS PREVARICATES 23 IV. A MISS AND A CATCH 34 V. HOW TO BREAK A HEDGE 45 VI. MISS MIDDLEHAM IS INVITED TO CONFIRM A VISION 55 VII. MISS MIDDLEHAM HAS VISIONS OF HER OWN 65 VIII. FRIENDSHIP’S GARLAND 74 IX. THE WELDING OF THE BOLT 91 X. CRATYLUS WITH MARINA: THE INCREDIBLE WORD 103 XI. COOL COMFORT 113 XII. ALARUMS 123 XIII. WHAT THEY SAID AT HOME 140 XIV. THE NEWS REACHES THE PYRENEES 153 XV. A PHILOSOPHER EMBALES 171 XVI. THE WEDDING DAY 181 XVII. THE WEDDING NIGHT 192 BOOK II