For the Cause

A student hurries through moonlit Paris in November 1589, where quiet streets conceal the fear left by a day of unrest. Felix Portail reaches the scene of his father's death and encounters a stranger whose blunt confidence unsettles him. Their conversation and cautious entry into the family house begin a story shaped by religious divisions and the struggle over Henry IV's authority. The city's public troubles enter directly into a household already overwhelmed by grief.

Stanley John Weyman's collection contains five stories, with subjects ranging from political conflict in Paris to English clerical society. In another story, the theft of a dean's silver disrupts a social gathering, and Mrs. Vrater takes satisfaction in a rival's embarrassment. The contrast gives readers both tense historical scenes and pointed observations of manners. Loyalties, pride and reputation emerge through conversations in which private feelings and public appearances pull against each other.