The Argosy, Vol. 50

This issue contains Chapter XXIX, "Old Faces," from "The House of Halliwell" by Mrs. Henry Wood, author of "East Lynne," serialized from November 1890. The narrative concerns a drawing-room gathering at Halliwell House on a Sunday afternoon during the Christmas holidays, where the assembled family—including Miss Halliwell, her niece Mary Goring, and pupils spending the holidays—receives an unexpected visitor: Lady Elliot, wife of the renowned physician Sir Thomas Elliot. Lady Elliot seeks admission of her sixteen-year-old daughter Clara, described as intellectually weak but not insane, hoping peer companionship at the school will strengthen her mind. The chapter then traces Dr. Elliot's rise from obscure country physician to fashionable London practitioner and Queen's honors, facilitated by inheritance from his wife's family. Miss Graves, now employed as companion to Clara, provides extensive exposition on the Elliot family's composition and temperament, noting their apparent unhappiness despite material success, and their particular devotion to their son William, a promising law student. Clara's arrival at the school reveals behavioral peculiarities, including an eating fit consuming fourteen thick slices of bread.