THE
SEVEN AGES
OF WOMAN
By COMPTON MACKENZIE
Author of "Carnival," "Sinister Street," etc.
TORONTO
McCLELLAND and STEWART, Limited
PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1923, by
Martin Seckar
All Rights Reserved
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | The Infant | 3 |
| II. | The Girl | 61 |
| III. | The Maiden | 117 |
| IV. | The Wife | 165 |
| V. | The Mother | 213 |
| VI. | The Widow | 257 |
| VII. | The Grandmother | 293 |
THE INFANT
THE SEVEN AGES OF WOMAN
Chapter One: The Infant
On a June morning in the year 1859 Sir Richard Flower of BartonFlowers in the county of Southampton decided that the weather waspropitious for his annual progress on horseback round the confinesof his demesne. The order was given to saddle his gray gelding; LadyFlower was informed that her husband would dine two hours later thanusual, and upon her expressing alarm at the prospect of so long a fastfor him, she was reassured by a farther announcement that he wouldfortify himself against the strain of waiting until six o'clock forhis dinner with light refreshment at one of the outlying farms. LadyFlower sent back word to say how much she regretted not having known ofSir Richard's expedition earlier in order that she might have made aneffort to overcome her headache and bid him farewell in person. To thisthe baronet replied with a solemn admonition to her ladyship's maidthat her ladyship must on no account do anything to make her headacheworse. The exchange[Pg 4] of courtesies being thus complete, Sir Richardmounted his gray gelding and set out, pausing for a moment at the topof the drive to look back at the Hall and respond with his crop to ahandkerchief that fluttered fr