It was arranged that after settling various
matters in Bath he should go down to stay with his sister for a
time, joining me in Montague Street later on. While he was away in
Birmingham, however, an extraordinary change came into my humdrum
life, and when he rejoined me a few weeks later, I--selfish brute--
was so overwhelmed with the trouble that had befallen me that I
thought very little indeed of his affairs. He took this quite as a
matter of course, and what I should have done without him I can't
conceive. However, this story concerns him and has nothing to do
with my extraordinary dilemma; I merely mention it as a fact which
brought additional cares into his life. All the time he was doing
what could be done to help me he was also going through a most
baffling and miserable time among the publishers; for 'At Strife,'
unlike its predecessor, was rejected by Davison and by five other
houses. Think of this, you comfortable readers, as you lie back in
your easy chairs and leisurely turn the pages of that popular story.
The book which represented years of study and long hours of hard
work was first burnt to a cinder.
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