The Abbot's Ghost

or Maurice Treherne's Temptation: A Christmas Story

Louisa May Alcott

• Publisher: Read & Co. Classics
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781528714259
• eBook ISBN: 9781528788564
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Classics
• Index: Literature

"The Abbot's Ghost" is an 1867 novel by American author Louisa May Alcott. Maurice Treherne becomes crippled as a result of saving his cousin's life during a misadventure involving on the water. Despite being grateful for this fateful deed, his cousin Jasper isn't very good at showing his appreciation. When Treherne realises he is in love with his other cousin Octavia, her mother attempts to keep them apart until a ghostly intervention paves the way for their happiness. A charming Christmas tale with noticeably gothic elements, "The Abbot's Ghost" would make for a perfect festive read and is not to be missed by those who have read and enjoyed other works by this author. Louisa May Alcott (1832 – 1888) was an American short story writer, novelist, and poet most famous for writing the novel "Little Women", as well as its sequels "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys". She grew up in New England and became associated with numerous notable intellectuals of her time, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Henry David Thoreau. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with the original text and artwork.

THE ABBOT'S GHOST

OR, MAURICE TREHERNE'S TEMPTATION

A Christmas Story

By

LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

First published in 1866
under the pseudonym

A.M. BARNARD

This edition published by Read Books Ltd.
Copyright © 2019 Read Books Ltd.
This book is copyright and may not be

reproduced or copied in any way without

the express permission of the publisher in writing

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library

Contents

Louisa May Alcott

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

BYPLAY

WHO WAS IT?

FEEDING THE PEACOCKS

UNDER THE MISTLETOE

MIRACLES

A GHOSTLY REVEL

JASPER

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was an American Novelist, best known for the classic Little Women (1868) and its sequels Little Men and Jo’s Boys. Alcott was born on 29 November, 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, USA, and was raised by her transcendentalist parents. The family, despite their connections with the American intellectual elite, suffered severe financial hardship and Alcott frequently helped to support the household. In 1840, after several financial setbacks, most notably following the experimental school set up by Louisa May’s father, the family moved to a cottage along the Sudbury River in Massachusetts. In 1843, the family moved again to the Utopian Fruitlands Community, an agrarian commune, dedicated to natural living. They finally settled in a house they named Hillside in 1845. As a result of this peripatetic childhood, Alcott’s schooling was mainly received from her father, who was an incredibly strict disciplinarian, high thinker and advocate of plain living. This instilled a determination and strong work ethic in Alcott, who worked as a teacher, governess, seamstress and writer in her early years. As an adult, Alcott was a strong abolitionist and a feminist advocate, becoming the first woman to register to vote in Concord, in a school board election. During the civil war, Alcott worked as a nurse in the Union Hospital at Georgetown, D.C. She collected all her letters, often dryly humorous, in book entitled Hospital Sketches (1863); a work which brought Alcott critical acclaim. Following on from this success, Alcott wrote several novels under the pen name A. L. Barnard, most notably A Long Fatal Love Chase (1866) and A Modern Mephistopheles (1875). However, Little Women and its sequels were Alcott’s major successes; the first book dealt with the childhood of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy; characters strongly based on Alcott’s childhood accompanied by her own three sisters. The sequel, Good Wives (1869) dealt with their progression into adulthood, whilst Little Men (1871) detailed Jo’s life at the school she founded alongside her husband. Jo’s Boys (1886) completed the ‘Family Saga’. The Character Jo was loosely based on Alcott’s own life, however unlike the heroine, Alcott never married, commenting that ‘I am more than half-persuaded that I am a man's soul put by some freak of nature into a woman's body ... because I have fallen in love with so many pretty girls and never once the least bit with any man.’ Alcott was firmly part of the Gilded Age, along with authors such as Elizabeth Stoddard and Rebecca Harding Davis, she addressed women’s issues in a modern and candid manner. Alcott continued to write until her death on 6 March, 1888. The cause of death is uncertain; she suffered chronic health problems, including vertigo and typhoid, the latter of which was treated with mercury. However recent analysis of her illnesses has suggested an autoimmune disease such as Lupus. She is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts, on a hillside known as Author’s Ridge.

Chapter I.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

“How goes it, Frank? Down first, as usual.”

“The early bird gets the worm, Major.”

“Deuced ungallant speech, considering that the lovely Octavia is the worm,” and with a significant laugh the major assumed an Englishman's favorite attitude before the fire.

His companion shot a quick glance at him, and an expression of anxiety passed over his face as he replied, with a well-feigned air of indifference, “You are altogether too sharp, Major. I must be on my guard while you are in the house. Any new arrivals? I thought I heard a carriage drive up not long ago.”

“It was General Snowdon and his charming wife. Maurice Treherne came while we were out, and I've not seen him yet, poor fellow!”

“Aye, you may well say that; his is a hard case, if what I heard is true. I'm not booked up in the matter, and I should be, lest I make some blunder here, so tell me how things stand, Major. We've a good half hour before dinner. Sir Jasper is never punctual.”

“Yes, you've a right to know, if you are going to try your fortune with Octavia.”

The major marched through the three drawing rooms to see that no inquisitive servant was eavesdropping, and, finding all deserted, he resumed his place, while young Annon lounged on a couch as he listened with intense interest to the major's story.

“You know it was supposed that old Sir Jasper, being a bachelor, would leave his fortune to his two nephews. But he was an oddity, and as the title must go to young Jasper by right, the old man said Maurice should have the money. He was poor, young Jasper rich, and it seemed but just, though Madame Mère was very angry when she learned how the will was made.”

“But Maurice didn't get the fortune. How was that?”

“There was some mystery there which I shall discover in time. All went smoothly till that unlucky yachting trip, when the cousins were wrecked. Maurice saved Jasper's life, and almost lost his own in so doing. I fancy he wishes he had, rather than remain the poor cripple he is. Exposure, exertion, and neglect afterward brought on paralysis of the lower limbs, and there he is—a fine, talented, spirited fellow tied to that cursed chair like a decrepit old man.”

“How does he bear it?” asked Annon, as the major shook his gray head, with a traitorous huskiness in his last words.

“Like a philosopher or a hero. He is too proud to show his despair at such a sudden end to all his hopes, too generous to complain, for Jasper is desperately cut up about it, and too brave to be daunted by a misfortune which would drive many a man mad.”

“Is it true that Sir Jasper, knowing all this, made a new will and left every cent to his namesake?”

“Yes, and there lies the mystery. Not only did he leave it away from poor Maurice, but so tied it up that Jasper cannot transfer it, and at his death it goes to Octavia.”

“The old man must have been demented. What in heaven's name did he mean by leaving Maurice helpless and penniless after all his devotion to Jasper? Had he done anything to offend the old party?”

“No one knows; Maurice hasn't the least idea of the cause of this sudden whim, and the old man would give no reason for it. He died soon after, and the instant Jasper came to the title and estate he brought his cousin home, and treats him like a brother. Jasper is a noble fellow, with all his faults, and this act of justice increases my respect for him,” said the major heartily.

“What will Maurice do, now that he can't enter the army as he intended?” asked Annon, who now sat erect, so full of interest was he.

“Marry Octavia, and come to his own, I hope.”

“An excellent little arrangement, but Miss Treherne may object,” said Annon, rising with sudden kindling of the eye.

“I think not, if no one interferes. Pity, with women, is akin to love, and she pities her cousin in the tenderest fashion. No sister could be more devoted, and as Maurice is a handsome, talented fellow, one can easily foresee the end, if, as I said before, no one interferes to disappoint the poor lad again.”

“You espouse his cause, I see, and tell me this that I may stand aside. Thanks for the warning, Major; but as Maurice Treherne is a man of unusual power in many ways, I think we are equally matched, in spite of his misfortune. Nay, if anything, he has the advantage of me, for Miss Treherne pities him, and that is a strong ally for my rival. I'll be as generous as I can, but I'll not stand aside and relinquish the woman I love without a trial first.”

With an air of determination...

Table of contents

• Louisa May Alcott
• DRAMATIS PERSONAE
• BYPLAY
• WHO WAS IT?
• FEEDING THE PEACOCKS
• UNDER THE MISTLETOE
• MIRACLES
• A GHOSTLY REVEL
• JASPER