Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber's note:

Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully
as possible; please see detailed list of printing issues at the
end of the text.

A BLACK ADONIS.

by

ALBERT ROSS.

* * * * *

THE
ALBATROSS NOVELS

By ALBERT ROSS

23 Volumes

May be had wherever books are sold at the price you paid for this volume

Black Adonis, A
Garston Bigamy, The
Her Husband's Friend
His Foster Sister
His Private Character
In Stella's Shadow
Love at Seventy
Love Gone Astray
Moulding a Maiden
Naked Truth, The
New Sensation, A
Original Sinner, An
Out of Wedlock
Speaking of Ellen
Stranger Than Fiction
Sugar Princess, A
That Gay Deceiver
Their Marriage Bond
Thou Shalt Not
Thy Neighbor's Wife
Why I'm Single
Young Fawcett's Mabel
Young Miss Giddy

G. W. DILLINGHAM CO.
Publishers :: :: New York

* * * * *

A BLACK ADONIS.

by

ALBERT ROSS.

Author of "Out of Wedlock," "Speaking of Ellen," "Thou Shalt Not," "Why I'm Single," "Love at Seventy," Etc., Etc.

"You see!" he answered, bitterly. "Because I am black I
cannot touch the hand of a woman that is white. And yet you
say the Almighty made of one blood all nations of the
earth!"--Page 212.

New York: Copyright, 1896, by G. W. Dillingham. G. W. Dillingham Co., Publishers. [All rights reserved.]

CONTENTS.

Chapter Page

I. A Rejected Manuscript 9

II. "Was my story too bold?" 23

III. "Her feet were pink" 35

IV. With Titian Tresses 49

V. Studying Miss Millicent 65

VI. "How the women stare!" 79

VII. A Dinner at Midlands 93

VIII. Holding Her Hand 99

IX. "Daisy, my darling!" 110

X. "Oh, so many, many maids!" 121

XI. Archie Pays Attention 136

XII. Dining at Isaac's 143

XIII. A Question of Color 155

XIV. "Let us have a betrayal" 166

XV. The Green-Eyed Monster 177

XVI. "I've had such luck!" 190

XVII. A Burglar in the House 198

XVIII. Black and White 204

XIX. "Play out your farce" 215

XX. Like a Stuck Pig 226

XXI. "We want Millie to understand" 238

XXII. Where Was Daisy? 246

XXIII. An Awful Night 254

XXIV. "This ends it, then?" 263

XXV. An Undiscoverable Secret 273

XXVI. "I played, and I lost" 282

XXVII. Absolutely Blameless 292

XXVIII. Trapping a Wolf 301

XXIX. "The Greatest Novel" 309

TO MY READERS.

I do not know how better to use the space that the printer always leaves me in this part of the book than to redeem the promise I made at the end of my last novel, and tell you in a few words what became of Blanche Brixton Fantelli and her husband.

But, do you really need to be told?

Could they have done anything else than live in connubial felicity, after the man had proved himself so noble and the woman had learned to appreciate him at his true worth?

Well, whether they could or not, they didn't. Blanche is the happiest of wedded wives. She still holds to her theory that marriage is based on wrong principles, and that the contract as ordinarily made is frightfully immoral; but she says if all men were like "her Jules" there would be no trouble.

In this she proves herself essentially feminine. She is learning, albeit a little late, that man was not made to live alone, and that the love a mother feels for her child is not the only one that brings joy to a woman's breast.

Fantelli does not claim that Blanche is his property. He is her lover still, even though he has gained the law's permission to be her master. He recognizes that she has rights in herself that are inviolable. This is why they live together so contentedly. She would not be his mate on any other terms.

If it is not the ideal existence, it is very near it. As near as a man and woman who care for the world's opinion can live it in these days.

And now, with heartfelt thanks for the continued favor of the reading public, which I am conscious is far beyond my desert, I bid a temporary farewell to American shores. By the time this book is on the shelves of the dealers I shall be on European soil, there to remain, I trust, for the better part of a year. Wherever I am, my thoughts will always turn to you who have made these journeys possible, and there as here my pen will continue devoted to your service.

ALBERT ROSS.

Cambridge, Mass.,
_June 1, 1895._

A BLACK ADONIS.