Produced by David Clarke, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) VICE VERSÂ OR A LESSON TO FATHERS BY F. ANSTEY LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. FIRST EDITION (_Smith, Elder & Co._) _June 1882_ FIFTIETH IMPRESSION _May 1915_ _Reprinted_ (_F'cap 8vo_) (_John Murray_) _October 1917_ _Reprinted_ _March 1918_ _Reprinted_ _January 1920_ _Reprinted_ _August 1924_ _Reprinted_ _June 1926_ _Reprinted_ _August 1928_ _Reprinted_ (_Cr. 8vo_) _September 1929_ _Reprinted_ (_F'cap 8vo_) _December 1931_ _Reprinted_ _November 1937_ _Reprinted_ (_Cr. 8vo_) _June 1949_ _Reprinted_ _October 1954_ _Reprinted_ _March 1962_ PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY LOWE AND BRYDONE (PRINTERS) LIMITED, LONDON, N.W.10 CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE 1 1. BLACK MONDAY 3 2. A GRAND TRANSFORMATION SCENE 15 3. IN THE TOILS 31 4. A MINNOW AMONGST TRITONS 48 5. DISGRACE 69 6. LEARNING AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS 87 7. CUTTING THE KNOT 104 8. UNBENDING THE BOW 120 9. A LETTER FROM HOME 133 10. THE COMPLETE LETTER-WRITER 146 11. A DAY OF REST 155 12. AGAINST TIME 169 13. A RESPITE 185 14. AN ERROR OF JUDGMENT 195 15. THE RUBICON 207 16. HARD PRESSED 221 17. A PERFIDIOUS ALLY 240 18. RUN TO EARTH 258 19. THE RECKONING 269 _PREFACE_ There is an old story of a punctiliously polite Greek, who, while performing the funeral of an infant daughter, felt bound to make his excuses to the spectators for "bringing out such a ridiculously small corpse to so large a crowd." The Author, although he trusts that the present production has more vitality than the Greek gentleman's child, still feels that in these days of philosophical fiction, metaphysical romance, and novels with a purpose, some apology may perhaps be needed for a tale which has the unambitious and frivolous aim of mere amusement.