Project Gutenberg's What a Man Wills, by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

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Title: What a Man Wills

Author: Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

Illustrator: A.C. Michael

Release Date: June 20, 2010 [EBook #32935]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

What a Man Wills, by Mrs George de Horne Vaizey.

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WHAT A MAN WILLS, BY MRS GEORGE DE HORNE VAIZEY.

CHAPTER ONE.

AT THE DYING OF THE YEAR.

The New Year festivities were over; in the hall of the old country Manor
the guests had danced and sung, had stood hand in hand in a widening
circle, listening to the clanging of bells in the church-tower near by.
Now, with much hooting and snorting of motors, the visitors from afar
had departed to their homes, and the members of the house-party had
settled themselves by the log fire for the enjoyment of a last chat.

There were eleven people left around the fire, counting the host and
hostess, four men, and five girls, all young, as youth is counted in
these days, the women averaging about twenty-four or five, the men a few
years older, and in the mellow light of the fire, and of the massed
candles in the old brass sconces on the walls, they looked a goodly
company. They belonged, it was easy to see, to the cultured classes;
whatever might be their means or present position, these people had been
born of gentlefolks, had been educated according to the traditions of
their kind, and were equipped with the weapons of courtesy and
self-control, which had descended to them as a heritage from those
passed and gone. Mentally, they might be guilty of anger and
impatience; mentally, they might rage and storm--that was their own
business, and concerned no one but themselves; in the presence of their
fellow-creatures they could be trusted to present a smiling front.

There are occasions, however, when the most reserved natures are tempted
to unclose, and of these the opening of the New Year is surely the most