The Argosy, Vol. 68

About this issue

This serialized novel by an unnamed author appears in The Argosy, June 1899, Chapter XIX-XX. Arnold Birkett, a returning colonial businessman now lodging near London, becomes obsessed with a mysterious past. After glimpsing a woman's face at an old City churchyard gate, he spends an evening with the Tildesleys in suburban Lambrooke. There, moved by sentimental songs, he identifies the face as Jessie Bayliss—apparently connected to a dead wife. The following day, distracted by nostalgia and melancholy after hearing of a girl beneath an old portal, Birkett conducts City business with unusual sentiment, then tours unfurnished rooms in his office building. Walking through Tower Hill at day's end, he encounters a crossing sweeper who mentions three ladies—including two young women—now living at nearby Mr. Harbuckle's residence. The narrative remains ambiguous regarding his domestic tragedy and current romantic preoccupations.