



Transcribed from the 1890 Longmans, Green, and Co. edition by David
Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org





THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A SLANDER


BY
EDNA LYALL

AUTHOR OF 'DONOVAN' 'WE TWO' 'IN THE GOLDEN DAYS'
'KNIGHT ERRANT' ETC.

   _Trust not to each accusing tongue_,
      _As most week persons do_;
   _But still believe that story false_
     _Which ought not to be true_

   SHERIDAN

_NEW EDITION_
(THIRTY-NINTH TO FORTY-FIRST THOUSAND)

LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET
1890

_All rights reserved_

DEDICATED
TO ALL
WHO IT MAY CONCERN




MY FIRST STAGE


   At last the tea came up, and so
   With that our tongues began to go.
   Now in that house you're sure of knowing
   The smallest scrap of news that's going.
   We find it there the wisest way
   To take some care of what we say.

   _Recreation_.  JANE TAYLOR.

I was born on the 2nd September, 1886, in a small, dull, country town.
When I say the town was dull, I mean, of course, that the inhabitants