Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.) bookcover SINISTER STREET BY COMPTON MACKENZIE AUTHOR OF “CARNIVAL,” “YOUTH’S ENCOUNTER,” ETC. NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1919 COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY CONTENTS BOOK ONE DREAMING SPIRES CHAPTER PAGE I. THE FIRST DAY 3 II. THE FIRST WEEK 32 III. THE FIRST TERM 47 IV. CHEYNE WALK 63 V. YOUTH’S DOMINATION 84 VI. GRAY AND BLUE 110 VII. VENNER’S 143 VIII. THE OXFORD LOOKING-GLASS 165 IX. THE LESSON OF SPAIN 183 X. STELLA IN OXFORD 209 XI. SYMPATHY 225 XII. 202 HIGH 245 XIII. PLASHERS MEAD 269 XIV. 99 ST. GILES 288 XV. THE LAST TERM 308 XVI. THE LAST WEEK 319 XVII. THE LAST DAY 333 BOOK TWO ROMANTIC EDUCATION CHAPTER PAGE I. OSTIA DITIS 349 II. NEPTUNE CRESCENT 371 III. THE CAFÉ D’ORANGE 401 IV. LEPPARD STREET 427 V. THE INNERMOST CIRCLE 481 VI. TINDERBOX LANE 496 VII. THE GATE OF IVORY 552 VIII. SEEDS OF POMEGRANATE 583 IX. THE GATE OF HORN 602 X. THE OLD WORLD 652 EPILOGICAL LETTER TO JOHN NICOLAS MAVROGORADATO 655 BOOK ONE DREAMING SPIRES Bright memories of young poetic pleasure In free companionship, the loving stress Of all life-beauty, lull’d in studious leisure, When every Muse was jocund with excess Of fine delight and tremulous happiness; The breath of an indolent unbridled June, When delicate thought fell from the dreamy moon: But now strange care, sorrow, and grief oppress. Robert Bridges. CHAPTER I THE FIRST DAY Michael felt glad to think he would start the adventure of Oxford from Paddington. The simplicity of that railway station might faintly mitigate alarms which no amount of previous deliberation could entirely disperse. He remembered how once he had lightly seen off a Cambridge friend from Liverpool Street and, looking back at the suburban tumult of the Great Eastern Railway, he was grateful for the simplicity of Paddington. Michael had been careful that all his heavy luggage should be sent in advance; and he had shown himself gravely exacting toward Alan in this matter of luggage, writing several times to remind him of his promise not to appear on the platform with more than a portmanteau of moderate size and a normal kit-bag. Michael hoped this precaution would prevent at any rate the porters from commenting upon the freshness of him and his friend. “Oxford train?” inquired a porter, as the hansom pulled up. Michael nodded, and made up his mind to show his esteem when he tipped this promethean. “Third class?” the porter went on. Michael mentally doubled the tip, for he had neglected to assure himself beforehand about the etiquette of class, and nothing could have suited so well his self-consciousness as this information casually yielded. “Let me see, you didn’t have any golf-clubs, did you, sir?” asked the porter.