The Daltons; Or, Three Roads In Life. Volume I (of II)
To LORD METHUEN.
MY DEAR METHUEN, Some idle folk have pretended that certain living characters have been depicted under the fictitious names of these volumes. There is, I assure you, but one personality contained in it, and that is of a right true-hearted Englishman, hospitable, and manly in all his dealings; and to him I wish to dedicate my book, in testimony not only of the gratitude which, in common with all his countrymen here, I feel to be his due, but in recognition of many happy hours passed in his society, and the honor of his friendship. The personality begins and ends with this dedication, which I beg you to accept of, and am
Ever yours faithfully,
CHARLES LEVER.
PALAZZO CAPPONI, FLORENCE, Feb. 28, 1852.
IF the original conception of this tale was owing to the story of an old and valued schoolfellow who took service in Austria, and rose to rank and honors there, all the rest was purely fictitious. My friend had made a deep impression on my mind by his narratives of that strange life, wherein, in the very midst of our modern civilization, an old-world tradition still has its influence, making the army of to-day the veritable sons and descendants of those who grouped around the bivouac fires in Wallenstein's camp. Of that more than Oriental submission that graduated deference to military rank that chivalrous devotion to the “Kaiser” whicli enter into the soldier heart of Austria, I have been unable to reproduce any but the very faintest outlines, and yet these were the traits which, pervaded all my friend's stories and gave them character and distinctiveness.
Many of the other characters in this tale were drawn from the life, with such changes added and omitted features as might rescue them from any charge of personality. With all my care on this score, one or two have been believed to be recognizable; and if so I have only to hope that I have touched on peculiarities of disposition inoffensively, and only depicted such traits as may “point a moral,” without wounding the possessor.
Charles James Lever
THE DALTONS:
OR,
THREE ROADS IN LIFE
PREFACE.
CHAPTER I. BADEN OUT OF SEASON.
CHAPTER II. AN HUMBLE INTERIOR
CHAPTER III. THE FOREST ROAD.
CHAPTER IV. THE ONSLOWS
CHAPTER V. THE PATIENT
CHAPTER VI. A FIRST VISIT.
CHAPTER VII. A LESSON IN PISTOL-SHOOTING
CHAPTER VIII. THE NIGHT EXCURSION
CHAPTER IX. A FINE LADY'S BLANDISHMENTS.
CHAPTER X. A FAMILY DISCUSSION.
CHAPTER XI. A PEEP BETWEEN THE SHUTTERS AT A NEW CHARACTER.
CHAPTER XII. MR. ALBERT JEKYL
CHAPTER XIII. A SUSPICIOUS VISITOR
CHAPTER XIV. AN EMBARRASSING QUESTION.
CHAPTER XV. CONTRASTS
CHAPTER XVI. THE “SAAL” OF THE “RUSSIE.”
CHAPTER XVII. A FAMILY DISCUSSION.
CHAPTER XVIII. CARES AND CROSSES
CHAPTER XIX. PREPARATIONS FOR THE ROAD.
CHAPTER XX. A VERY SMALL “INTERIOR.”
CHAPTER XXI. A FAMILY PICTURE
CHAPTER XXII. KATE.
CHAPTER XXIII. A SMALL SUPPER PARTY.
CHAPTER XXIV. A MIDNIGHT RECEPTION
CHAPTER XXV. A “LEVANTER.”
CHAPTER XXVI. THE END OF THE FIRST ACT
CHAPTER XXVII. A SMALL DINNER AT THE VILLINO ZOE.
CHAPTER XXVIII. THE VISCOUNT'S VISION.
CHAPTER XXIX. FRANK'S JOURNEY.
CHAPTER XXX. THE THREAT OP “A SLIGHT EMBARRASSMENT.”
CHAPTER XXXI. A CONVIVIAL EVENING
CHAPTER XXXII. AN INVASION.
CHAPTER XXXIII. THE CONCLUSION OF A “GRAND DINNER.”
CHAPTER XXXIV. JEKYL'S COUNSELS
CHAPTER XXXV. RACCA MORLACHE.
CHAPTER XXXVI. A STREET RENCONTRE
CHAPTER XXXVII. PROPOSALS.
CHAPTER XXXVIII. AN ARRIVAL.
CHAPTER XXXIX. PRATOLINO.
