The Freres A Novel Author:Mrs. Alexander General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1882 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: CHAPTER III. RICHARD and Joscelyn Frere were the sons of a successful, hard-headed Westmoreland man, who had conquered fortune, and established a flourishing business. He had also married into a good squirearchal family, and given his sons the best education he could. The elder was a boy after his own heart, formed by nature for a business man. Joscelyn, the younger, closely resembled a " ne'er-do-well " uncle of his mother's, a handsome, fascinating scamp, and was consequently the mother's darling. Old Richard Frere, though hard-headed, was by no means hard-hearted -- at least to his pretty, well-bred wife, and yielded to her wish that her favorite -- the boy who in face and figure resembled her people -- should enter the army, which in due time he did. A cavalry regiment, distinguished in more ways than one, was selected by Mrs. Frere, because the colonel was a relative, and in it young Frere soon became a great favorite. After a few years' experience of various quarters, and sundry applications to his father to set him straight -- to which the long-suffering parent, with much growling, assented -- the Hussars were ordered to Ireland. About the same time Richard Frere senior died rather suddenly, and Richard his son reigned in his stead. The widowed mother did not long survive a husband whom she missed more than she expected to do; and Captain Joscelyn Frere, receiving the portion of property which fell to his share, rejoined his regiment, now quarte...« less