Bound Together Tales Author:Hugh Conway General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1884 Original Publisher: H. Holt Subjects: Fiction / Anthologies Fiction / Classics Fiction / Science Fiction / Short Stories Fiction / Short Stories Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing ... more »text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: FLEURETTE. CHAPTER I. I HAD spent some years in the colonies, doctoring diggers and the like rough-and-ready folks. The novelty of the strange scenes and free-and-easy life had at last worn off, and I found myself sighing for the respectability of broadcloth and a settled position in my profession. Aided somewhat by thrift, and more by a fortunate land speculation, I had made money enough to supply my wants for a few years to come ; so I returned to England, resolved to beat out a practice somewhere. Of course, the first person I went to see was John. He was my brother -- my only brother -- indeed, the one tie I had to England. We were a couple of orphans, but pretty sturdy ones withal, and well able to wrestle with the world. Fortunately, our father lived until his eldest son was of an age to carry on his snug country practice ; so John still occupied the old redbrick house in the main street of the little town of Dalebury, the same brass plate on the door doing duty for him as for his father before him. I found old John -- so his closest friends ever called him -- little changed : rather graver in mien, perhaps, but with the same honest eyes and kindly smile, winning at once the confidence, and soon the love of men and women. As we clasped hands and looked in each other's faces, we knew that the years which had made men of us had only deepened our boyish love. It was pleasant, very pleasant, for a wanderer like myself to find such a welcome awaiting ...« less