------------------------------------------------------------------------ Transcriber’s Note: This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_. Footnotes have been moved to follow the paragraphs in which they are referenced. Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation. PECULIAR _A Tale of the Great Transition_ BY EPES SARGENT [Illustration] NEW YORK CARLETON, PUBLISHER, 413 BROADWAY M DCCC LXIV Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by EPES SARGENT, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. UNIVERSITY PRESS: WELCH, BIGELOW, AND COMPANY, CAMBRIDGE. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. A GLANCE IN THE MIRROR 1 II. A MATRIMONIAL BLANK 6 III. THE WOLF AND THE LAMB 12 IV. A FUGITIVE CHATTEL 19 V. A RETROSPECT 28 VI. PIN-HOLES IN THE CURTAIN 34 VII. AN UNCONSCIOUS HEIRESS 46 VIII. A DESCENDANT OF THE CAVALIERS 57 IX. THE UPPER AND THE LOWER LAW 69 X. GROUPS ON THE DECK 81 XI. MR. ONSLOW SPEAKS HIS MIND 97 XII. THE STORY OF ESTELLE 105 XIII. FIRE UP! 148 XIV. WAITING FOR THE SUMMONER 151 XV. WHO SHALL BE HEIR? 158 XVI. THE VENDUE 165 XVII. SHALL THERE BE A WEDDING? 178 XVIII. THE UNITIES DISREGARDED 183 XIX. THE WHITE SLAVE 187 XX. ENCOUNTERS AT THE ST. CHARLES 200 XXI. A MONSTER OF INGRATITUDE 219 XXII. THE YOUNG LADY WITH A CARPET-BAG 224 XXIII. WILL YOU WALK INTO MY PARLOR? 233 XXIV.