CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
THE ARM-CHAIR AT THE INN
THE ARM-CHAIR AT THE INN I THE MARMOUSET
II THE WOOD FIRE AND ITS FRIENDS
III WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO A CERTAIN COLONY OF PENGUINS
IV THE ARRIVAL OF A LADY OF QUALITY
V IN WHICH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CANNIBAL AND A FREE-BOOTER IS CLEARLY SET FORTH
VI PROVING THAT THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH
VII IN WHICH OUR LANDLORD BECOMES BOTH ENTERTAINING AND INSTRUCTIVE
VIII CONTAINING SEVERAL EXPERIENCES AND ADVENTURES SHOWING THE WIDE CONTRASTS IN LIFE
IX IN WHICH MADAME LA MARQUISE BINDS UP BROKEN HEADS AND BLEEDING HEARTS
X IN WHICH WE ENTERTAIN A JAIL-BIRD
XI IN WHICH THE HABITS OF CERTAIN GHOSTS, GOBLINS, BANDITS, AND
XII WHY MIGNON WENT TO MARKET
XIII WITH A DISSERTATION ON ROUND PEGS AND SQUARE HOLES
XIV A WOMAN'S WAY
XV APPLE-BLOSSOMS AND WHITE MUSLIN
THE ARM-CHAIR AT THE INN
THE ARM-CHAIR
AT THE INN
BY
F. HOPKINSON SMITH
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
A. I. KELLER, HERBERT WARD
AND THE AUTHOR
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
1912
Copyright, 1912, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
Published August, 1912
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
If I have dared to veil under a thin disguise some of the men whose talk and adventures fill these pages it is because of my profound belief that truth is infinitely more strange and infinitely more interesting than fiction. The characters around the table are all my personal friends; the incidents, each and every one, absolutely true, and the setting of the Marmouset, as well as the Inn itself, has been known to many hundreds of my readers, who have enjoyed for years the rare hospitality of its quaint and accomplished landlord.
F. H. S.
November, 1911