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529 pages

English

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This novel, the fifth in Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire series, tells the tale of the Dale family, which is trying to make ends meet in the aftermath of the death of the family patriarch. A nearly impenetrable knot of romantic entanglements ensues shortly after the family moves into the small house of the book's title. Long admired by fans of Trollope's writing, The Small House at Allington gained more widespread attention after it was named as a personal favorite by then-sitting Prime Minister John Major.

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 octobre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781775419761
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0134€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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THE SMALL HOUSE AT ALLINGTON
* * *
ANTHONY TROLLOPE

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The Small House at Allington First published in 1864 ISBN 978-1-775419-76-1 © 2010 The Floating Press
While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike.
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Contents
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Chapter I - The Squire of Allington Chapter II - The Two Pearls of Allington Chapter III - The Widow Dale of Allington Chapter IV - Mrs Roper's Boarding-House Chapter V - About L. D. Chapter VI - Beautiful Days Chapter VII - The Beginning of Troubles Chapter VIII - It Cannot Be Chapter IX - Mrs Dale's Little Party Chapter X - Mrs Lupex and Amelia Roper Chapter XI - Social Life Chapter XII - Lilian Dale Becomes a Butterfly Chapter XIII - A Visit to Guestwick Chapter XIV - John Eames Takes a Walk Chapter XV - The Last Day Chapter XVI - Mr Crosbie Meets an Old Clergyman on His Way to Courcy Castle Chapter XVII - Courcy Castle Chapter XVIII - Lily Dale's First Love-Letter Chapter XIX - The Squire Makes a Visit to the Small House Chapter XX - Dr Crofts Chapter XXI - John Eames Encounters Two Adventures, and Displays Great Courage inBoth Chapter XXII - Lord De Guest at Home Chapter XXIII - Mr Plantagenet Palliser Chapter XXIV - A Mother-in-Law and a Father-in-Law Chapter XXV - Adolphus Crosbie Spends an Evening at His Club Chapter XXVI - Lord de Courcy in the Bosom of His Family Chapter XXVII - "On My Honour, I Do Not Understand It" Chapter XXVIII - The Board Chapter XXIX - John Eames Returns to Burton Crescent Chapter XXX - "Is It from Him?" Chapter XXXI - The Wounded Fawn Chapter XXXII - Pawkins's in Jermyn Street Chapter XXXIII - "The Time Will Come" Chapter XXXIV - The Combat Chapter XXXV - Væ Victis Chapter XXXVI - "See, the Conquering Hero Comes" Chapter XXXVII - An Old Man's Complaint Chapter XXXVIII - Doctor Crofts Is Called In Chapter XXXIX - Doctor Crofts Is Turned Out Chapter XL - Preparations for the Wedding Chapter XLI - Domestic Troubles Chapter XLII - Lily's Bedside Chapter XLIII - Fie, Fie! Chapter XLIV - Valentine's Day at Allington Chapter XLV - Valentine's Day in London Chapter XLVI - John Eames at His Office Chapter XLVII - The New Private Secretary Chapter XLVIII - Nemesis Chapter XLIX - Preparations for Going Chapter L - Mrs Dale Is Thankful for a Good Thing Chapter LI - John Eames Does Things Which He Ought Not to Have Done Chapter LII - The First Visit to the Guestwick Bridge Chapter LIII - Loquitur Hopkins Chapter LIV - The Second Visit to the Guestwick Bridge Chapter LV - Not Very Fie Fie after All Chapter LVI - Showing How Mr Crosbie Became Again a Happy Man Chapter LVII - Lilian Dale Vanquishes Her Mother Chapter LVIII - The Fate of the Small House Chapter LIX - John Eames Becomes a Man Chapter LX - Conclusion
Chapter I - The Squire of Allington
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Of course there was a Great House at Allington. How otherwise shouldthere have been a Small House? Our story will, as its name imports,have its closest relations with those who lived in the less dignifieddomicile of the two; but it will have close relations also withthe more dignified, and it may be well that I should, in the firstinstance, say a few words as to the Great House and its owner.
The squires of Allington had been squires of Allington since squires,such as squires are now, were first known in England. From fatherto son, and from uncle to nephew, and, in one instance, from secondcousin to second cousin, the sceptre had descended in the family ofthe Dales; and the acres had remained intact, growing in value andnot decreasing in number, though guarded by no entail and protectedby no wonderful amount of prudence or wisdom. The estate of Dale ofAllington had been coterminous with the parish of Allington for somehundreds of years; and though, as I have said, the race of squireshad possessed nothing of superhuman discretion, and had perhaps beenguided in their walks through life by no very distinct principles,still there had been with them so much of adherence to a sacred law,that no acre of the property had ever been parted from the hands ofthe existing squire. Some futile attempts had been made to increasethe territory, as indeed had been done by Kit Dale, the father ofChristopher Dale, who will appear as our squire of Allington when thepersons of our drama are introduced. Old Kit Dale, who had marriedmoney, had bought outlying farms,—a bit of ground here and a bitthere,—talking, as he did so, much of political influence and ofthe good old Tory cause. But these farms and bits of ground had goneagain before our time. To them had been attached no religion. Whenold Kit had found himself pressed in that matter of the majorityof the Nineteenth Dragoons, in which crack regiment his second sonmade for himself quite a career, he found it easier to sell thanto save—seeing that that which he sold was his own and not thepatrimony of the Dales. At his death the remainder of these purchaseshad gone. Family arrangements required completion, and ChristopherDale required ready money. The outlying farms flew away, as suchnew purchases had flown before; but the old patrimony of the Dalesremained untouched, as it had ever remained.
It had been a religion among them; and seeing that the worship hadbeen carried on without fail, that the vestal fire had never gonedown upon the hearth, I should not have said that the Dales hadwalked their ways without high principle. To this religion they hadall adhered, and the new heir had ever entered in upon his domainwithout other encumbrances than those with which he himself was thenalready burdened. And yet there had been no entail. The idea of anentail was not in accordance with the peculiarities of the Dale mind.It was necessary to the Dale religion that each squire should havethe power of wasting the acres of Allington,—and that he shouldabstain from wasting them. I remember to have dined at a house, thewhole glory and fortune of which depended on the safety of a glassgoblet. We all know the story. If the luck of Edenhall should beshattered, the doom of the family would be sealed. Nevertheless I wasbidden to drink out of the fatal glass, as were all guests in thathouse. It would not have contented the chivalrous mind of the masterto protect his doom by lock and key and padded chest. And so it waswith the Dales of Allington. To them an entail would have been alock and key and a padded chest; but the old chivalry of their housedenied to them the use of such protection.
I have spoken something slightingly of the acquirements and doingsof the family; and indeed their acquirements had been few and theirdoings little. At Allington, Dale of Allington had always beenknown as a king. At Guestwick, the neighbouring market town, he wasa great man—to be seen frequently on Saturdays, standing in themarket-place, and laying down the law as to barley and oxen amongmen who knew usually more about barley and oxen than did he. AtHamersham, the assize town, he was generally in some repute, beinga constant grand juror for the county, and a man who paid his way.But even at Hamersham the glory of the Dales had, at most periods,begun to pale, for they had seldom been widely conspicuous in thecounty, and had earned no great reputation by their knowledge ofjurisprudence in the grand jury room. Beyond Hamersham their famehad not spread itself.
They had been men generally built in the same mould, inheriting eachfrom his father the same virtues and the same vices,—men who wouldhave lived, each, as his father had lived before him, had not the newways of the world gradually drawn away with them, by an invisiblemagnetism, the upcoming Dale of the day,—not indeed in any case somoving him as to bring him up to the spirit of the age in which helived, but dragging him forward to a line in advance of that onwhich his father had trodden. They had been obstinate men; believingmuch in themselves; just according to their ideas of justice; hardto their tenants but not known to be hard even by the tenantsthemselves, for the rules followed had ever been the rules onthe Allington estate; imperious to their wives and children, butimperious within bounds, so that no Mrs Dale had fled from her lord'sroof, and no loud scandals had existed between father and sons;exacting in their ideas as to money, expecting that they were toreceive much and to give little, and yet not thought to be mean,for they paid their way, and gave money in parish charity and incounty charity. They had ever been steady supporters of the Church,graciously receiving into their parish such new vicars as, from timeto time, were sent to them from King's College, Cambridge, to whichestablishment the gift of the living belonged,—but, nevertheless,the Dales had ever carried on some unpronounced warfare against theclergyman, so that the intercourse between the lay family and theclerical had seldom been in all respects pleasant.
Such had been the Dales of Allington, time out of mind, and such inall respects would have been the Christopher Dale of our time, had henot suffered two accidents in his youth. He had fallen in love witha lady who obstinately refused his hand, and on her account he hadremained single; that was his first accident. The second had fallenupon him with reference to his father's assumed wealth. He hadsupposed himself to be richer than other Dales of Allington whencoming in upon his property, and had consequently entertained anidea of sitting in Parliament for his county. In order that he mightattain this honour he had allowed himself to be talked by the menof Ha