LORD ALISTAIR’S REBELLION LORD ALISTAIR’S REBELLION BY ALLEN UPWARD In the Pot it is called Scum In the Sea it is called Foam: In the Sky it is called Light. [Illustration] MITCHELL KENNERLEY NEW YORK MCMX _Copyright 1910 by Mitchell Kennerley_ CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I WESTMINSTER BRIDGE 9 II BIOGRAPHICAL 23 III THE PRODIGAL SON 45 IV A FAMILY COUNCIL 58 V BEERS COOPERAGE 70 VI THE WHOLE DUTY OF WOMAN 94 VII THE DECADENTS 109 VIII A LEGITIMIST DEMONSTRATION 132 IX MOLLY FINUCANE AT HOME 158 X A SCIENTIFIC OPINION 175 XI THE PRETENDER 197 XII THE POWERS THAT BE 217 XIII ROYAL PATRONAGE 237 XIV VIRTUE TRIUMPHANT 253 XV MAGIC CASEMENTS 264 XVI NEW LAMPS FOR OLD 274 XVII A SPOKE IN THE WHEEL 290 XVIII THE LAST WORD OF SCIENCE 304 XIX POET’S CORNER 316 XX LADY ALISTAIR 328 XXI THE HOUSE OF CATILINE 346 XXII HIGH TREASON 361 XXIII A PERSONAL EXPLANATION 374 AFTERWARDS 393 LORD ALISTAIR’S REBELLION CHAPTER I WESTMINSTER BRIDGE NIGHT clad the imperial city in a black robe stitched with fire. The misty river rolled in from the sea through its illuminated bridges with the subdued swish of some great snake writhing its way through hoops of gold. Out in the fog-haunted region between the bridges the movement of the red and green-eyed steam-tugs, clutching invisible barges and dragging them away into the darkness, seemed like a shadow-show in which grotesque demons were hunting the souls of men. The two banks of the river offered a contrast full of significance. Along the left bank white lamps that slit the dusk with the hard, bright glare of diamonds were strung like beads at measured spaces apart. A broad, smooth-paven road rattled with the wheels of traffic, and the long bend of the river revealed a sweep of stately buildings representing the power and splendour of a great civilization.