Title:  The Tragic Comedians, v3

Author:  George Meredith

Edition:  10

Language:  English

Character set encoding:  ASCII

Release Date:  September, 2003 [Etext #4463] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on February 12, 2002]

The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Tragic Comedians, v3, by Meredith ********This file should be named gm69v10.txt or gm69v10.zip********

Corrected editions of our etexts get a new number, gm69v11.txt versions based on separate sources get new letter, gm69v10a.txt

This etext was produced by David Widger widger@cecomet.net

Project Gutenberg Etexts are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the us unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we usually do not keep etexts in compliance with any particular paper edition.

The “legal small print” and other information about this book may now be found at the end of this file.  Please read this important information, as it gives you specific rights and tells you about restrictions in how the file may be used.

[Note:  There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of the file for those who may wish to sample the author’s ideas before making an entire meal of them.  D.W.]

THE TRAGIC COMEDIANS

A STUDY IN A WELL-KNOWN STORY

By George Meredith

1892

BOOK 3.

CHAPTER XII

She ran out to the shade of the garden walls to be by herself and in the air, and she read; and instantly her own letter to the baroness crashed sentence upon sentence, in retort, springing up with the combative instinct of a beast, to make discord of the stuff she read, and deride it.  Twice she went over the lines with this defensive accompaniment; then they laid octopus-limbs on her.  The writing struck chill as a glacier cave.  Oh, what an answer to that letter of fervid respectfulness, of innocent supplication for maternal affection, for some degree of benignant friendship!

The baroness coldly stated, that she had arrived in the city to do her best in assisting to arrange matters which had come to a most unfortunate and impracticable pass.  She alluded to her established friendship for Alvan, but it was chiefly in the interests of Clotilde that the latter was requested to perceive the necessity for bringing her relations with Dr. Alvan to an end in the discreetest manner now possible to the circumstances.  This, the baroness pursued, could only be done by her intervention, and her friendship for Dr. Alvan had caused her to undertake the little agreeable office.  For which purpose, promising her an exemption from anything in the nature of tragedy scenes, the baroness desired Clotilde to call on her the following day between certain specified hours of the afternoon.