ABSTRACT
The novel which mentioned in this chapter is upon a plan different from any other that the Author has ever written, although it is perhaps the most legitimate which relates to this kind of light literature. It was therefore with a sense of temerity that the Author intruded upon a species of composition which had been of late practised with such distinguished success. The scene chosen for the Author's little drama of modern life was a mineral spring, such as are to be found in both divisions of Britain, and which are supplied with the usual materials for redeeming health or driving away care. The society of such places is regulated, by their very nature, upon a scheme much more indulgent than that which rules the world of fashion and the narrow circles of rank in the metropolis. The Author takes a great advantage for the management of his story, particularly in its darker and more melancholy passages.
