{"product_id":"2940012912268","title":"THE MISSING CHORD - A Novel","description":"Contents:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the Havel\u003cbr\u003eBerlin—First Impressions\u003cbr\u003eNew Friends\u003cbr\u003eAt Work\u003cbr\u003ePerplexities\u003cbr\u003eA New Arrival\u003cbr\u003eTroubles Without and Within\u003cbr\u003eBayreuth\u003cbr\u003eHome Again\u003cbr\u003eThe Missing Chord\u003cbr\u003eConclusion\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e****\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn excerpt from:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER I.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eON THE HAVEL.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA story must have a beginning, but in writing the history of a life it is hard to know just where to pick up the thread. Some people, it is true, have more difficulty in knowing when to stop, but after all, the beginning must be considered first. Should one commence with childhood and tell of all the various influences and circumstances which helped to form the characters of one's heroes and heroines? Should one enumerate all the parental and ancestral traits? But that would take such a long time, and in these hurrying days, when there is not half enough time for anything, the best advice to the writer of a new story would seem to be: \"Don't write it at all; but if you must, make it as short as possible.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJuliet Lea's childhood and girlhood had been spent in or near New York, but her mother although passionately fond of society herself, had been wise enough to keep her daughter from mixing in her own gaieties, feeling that while the girl was studying and growing, a quiet, simple life was the best thing for her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese prudent ideas she had, no doubt, received from her husband, a man of science and of the highest culture, whom she had adored, and whom, to her great delight, Juliet resembled both in appearance and character. He had died suddenly after two years of married life, and while Mrs. Lea could not long deny the demands of her own nature, which would not be satisfied except among a gay circle of friends, she respected her husband's memory in that she did all she could to have his child brought up as she thought he would have wished.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe relations between mother and daughter had always been tender, although there was never much sympathy or confidence between them, and Juliet's ideas were formed by good teachers, good books and music, and a few companions among the families of her father's friends.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You will be much more charming, and will enjoy society much more, if you do not get tired of it before you are twenty,\" Mrs. Lea sometimes said to her, and Juliet was satisfied. \"Learn as much as you can, and be good and true, as your dear father would have you, but at the same time don't let those people who take life so dreadfully in earnest, make you too serious. When you are out I shall have my turn in making you have a good time;\" and Mrs. Lea would kiss her daughter's soft cheek and hurry off to some tea or reception, impatient for the time to come when Juliet might accompany her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen had followed a few years of boarding-school, and when these were over Mrs. Lea wanted to launch her daughter on the full tide of fashionable life. But she found her far from willing to give up her studies, and particularly her music. \"Just give me one more year, mother!\" she begged, and it was finally decided that she should have a winter in Germany before she came out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSuch in the fewest words possible, had been the first twenty years of our heroine's life. I know it is old-fashioned to talk about heroines—but this is an old-fashioned story ;•—for what is older than love, and was it not to music that God made the world and the harmonies of nature?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA fierce storm was raging over the Atlantic when Juliet, our heroine, left New York on the Havel on her way to Germany. Few people were to be seen on deck that voyage, even after the sea had somewhat calmed, and when, after three unhappy days in her stateroom, Juliet ventured up, she found that she had the promenade deck almost to herself. The ocean was still grey and sombre and tossed its white foaming spray high into the air; the wind still murmured threateningly through the rigging, and the sky had not yet changed its severe and frowning aspect; but as long as she could be on deck it did not matter much to Juliet whether it was pleasant or not; the three days which she had spent below, by the captain's orders, had been very monotonous and disagreeable, and it was with a sense of renewed life and energy that she began to pace the deck with a quick, light step, enjoying the fresh salt air and the great desolate expanse of ocean and sky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe was a tall girl with a dignified, self-possessed and graceful carriage; her hair and lashes were very dark brown, her fresh smooth skin almost too pale, and her features regular, but full of character. But it was her eyes shining between the long, heavy lashes that gave animation and beauty to her face.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter a short promenade she began to examine her fellow-passengers, and soon discovered a familiar face, that of the young Englishman who had sat beside her the first time she had been at the ship table d'hôte...","brand":"Leila's Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47157612511472,"sku":"2940012912268","price":1.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012912268_p0.jpg?v=1763574409","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012912268","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}