The first seven stories in this volume have either locale or characters
in common. The village called Fraternity is an actual one; and the
surrounding countryside has a beauty which grows with long acquaintance.
It is perhaps unnecessary to say that the characters are--with one
exception--fictitious. The exception is Mr. A. L. McCorrison, better
known as Bert McCorrison, who introduced me to the trout brooks and the
woodcock covers thereabouts. To him I here make affectionate
acknowledgment for all that introduction has meant to me. He appears in
some of the stories, under the name of Chet McAusland.
The third story in the book, “Old Tantrybogus,” is--so far as the dog is
concerned--a true story. I never saw old Job, but Bert has told me many
things about him, and his exploits are well attested. For the excessive
length of this story, an ancient fondness for dogs is my only apology.
The last two stories in the Fraternity group, “Jeshurun Waxed Fat” and
“Epitome,” together with the succeeding seven, are each less than four
thousand words in length. These stories represent successive attempts to
combine brevity with other and more elusive attributes.
It is, perhaps, unnecessary to say that “The Field of Honor” and “The
Unconquered” were written during the summer of 1918.
Two of the stories in this book have not been published in any magazine.
The two are “Epitome” and the allegory, “A Dream.” In each case, the
story has been rejected by numerous editors; the fact that the author
has still a stubborn faith in them is his only excuse for including them
in this volume.