Transcriber's Note:
Obvious typographic errors have been corrected.
ALL SORTS
AND CONDITIONS OF MEN
ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS
OF MEN
AN IMPOSSIBLE STORY
BY
WALTER BESANT
AND
JAMES RICE
NEW YORK
LOVELL, CORYELL & COMPANY
43, 45 and 47 East 10th Street
TO
The Memory
OF
JAMES RICE
PREFACE.
The ten years' partnership of myself and my late friend Mr. James Ricehas been terminated by death. I am persuaded that nothing short of deathwould have put an end to a partnership which was conducted throughoutwith perfect accord, and without the least difference of opinion. Thelong illness which terminated fatally on April 25th of this year beganin January of last year. There were intervals during which he seemed tobe recovering and gaining strength; he was, indeed, well enough in theautumn to try change of air by a visit to Holland; but he broke downagain very shortly after his return: though he did not himself suspectit, he was under sentence of death, and for the last six months of hislife his downward course was steady and continuous.
Almost the last act of his in our partnership was the arrangement, withcertain country papers and elsewhere, for the serial publication of thisnovel, the subject and writing of which were necessarily left entirelyto myself.
The many wanderings, therefore, which I undertook last summer inStepney, Whitechapel, Poplar, St.[Pg 6] George's in the East, Limehouse, Bow,Stratford, Shadwell, and all that great and marvellous unknown countrywhich we call East London, were undertaken, for the first time for tenyears, alone. They would have been undertaken in great sadness had oneforeseen the end. In one of these wanderings I had the happiness todiscover Rotherhithe, which I afterward explored with carefulness; inanother, I lit upon a certain Haven of Rest for aged sea-captains, amongwhom I found Captain Sorensen; in others I found many wonderful things,and conversed with many wonderful people. The "single-handedness," so tospeak, of this book would have been a mere episode in the history of thefirm, a matter of no concern or interest to the general public, had myfriend recovered. But he is dead; and it therefore devolves upon me toassume the sole responsibility of the work, for good or bad. The sameresponsibility is, of course, assumed for the two short stories, "TheCaptain's Room," published at Christmas last, and "They Were Married,"published as the summer number of the Illustrated London News. Thelast story was, in fact, written after the death of my partner; but asit had already been announced, it was thought best, under thecircumstances, to make no change in the title.
I have been told by certain friendly advisers that this story isimpossible. I have, therefore, stated the fact on the title-page, sothat no one may complain of being taken in or deceived. But I have neverbeen able to understand why it is impossible.
Walter Besant....