Chapter I: Front Matter

THE QUEEN’S QUAIR

OR

THE SIX YEARS’ TRAGEDY

THE
QUEEN’S QUAIR
OR
The Six Years’ Tragedy

BY
MAURICE HEWLETT

‘Improbus ille puer, crudelis tu quoque Mater’

New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., LTD.
1904

_All rights reserved_

COPYRIGHT, 1903,
BY MAURICE HEWLETT.

COPYRIGHT, 1903, 1904,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.

Set up, electrotyped, and published May, 1904.

Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

BY HIS PERMISSION AND WITH GOOD REASON THIS TRAGIC ESSAY IS INSCRIBED TO

ANDREW LANG

CONTENTS

PAGE

AUTHOR’S PROLOGUE 1

BOOK THE FIRST

MAIDS’ ADVENTURE

CHAP.

1. HERE YOU ARE IN THE ANTECHAMBER 7

2. HERE YOU STEP INTO THE FOG 25

3. SUPERFICIAL PROPERTIES OF THE HONEYPOT 36

4. ROUGH MUSIC HERE 47

5. HERE ARE FLIES AT THE HONEYPOT 67

6. THE FOOL’S WHIP 77

7. GORDON’S BANE 91

8. THE DIVORCE OF MARY LIVINGSTONE (_To an Italian Air_) 106

9. AIR OF ST. ANDREW: ADONIS AND THE SCAPEGOAT 121

10. THEY LOOK AND LIKE 135

11. PROTHALAMIUM: VENUS WINS FAIR ADONIS 146

12. EPITHALAMIUM: END OF ALL MAIDS’ ADVENTURE 169

BOOK THE SECOND

MEN’S BUSINESS

1. OPINIONS OF FRENCH PARIS UPON SOME LATE EVENTS 191

2. GRIEFS AND CONSOLATIONS OF ADONIS 201

3. DIVERS USES OF A HARDY MAN 214

4. MANY DOGS 229

5. MIDNIGHT EXPERIENCES OF JEAN-MARIE-BAPTISTE DES-ESSARS 236

6. VENUS IN THE TOILS 250

7. AFTERTASTE 270

8. KING’S EVIL 287

9. THE WASHING OF HANDS 306

10. EXTRACTS FROM THE DIURNALL OF THE MASTER OF SEMPILL 318

11. ARMIDA DOUBTFUL IN THE GARDEN 328

12. SCOTCHMEN’S BUSINESS 340

BOOK THE THIRD

MARKET OF WOMEN

1. STORMY OPENING 351

2. THE BRAINSICK SONATA 363

3. DESCANT UPON A THEME AS OLD AS JASON 381

4. SHE LOOKS BACK ONCE 394

5. MEDEA IN THE BEDCHAMBER 404

6. KIRK O’ FIELD 414

7. THE RED BRIDEGROOM 430

8. THE BRIDE’S PRELUDE 451

9. THE BRIDE’S TRAGEDY 474

10. THE KNOCKING AT BORTHWICK 484

11. APPASSIONATA 490

12. ADDOLORATA 502