diff options
Diffstat (limited to '39567-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 39567-8.txt | 7647 |
1 files changed, 7647 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/39567-8.txt b/39567-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b3ec143 --- /dev/null +++ b/39567-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7647 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Two Little Waifs, by Mrs. Molesworth + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Two Little Waifs + +Author: Mrs. Molesworth + +Illustrator: Walter Crane + +Release Date: April 29, 2012 [EBook #39567] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO LITTLE WAIFS *** + + + + +Produced by Annie McGuire.This book was produced from +scanned images of public domain material from the Google +Print archive. + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's note: + + Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + + Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). + + + + +[Illustration: Book Cover] + + + + +TWO LITTLE WAIFS + + + + +[Illustration: "Well, dears," she said, "and what are you playing +at?"--Page 4.] + + + + +TWO LITTLE WAIFS + + +BY +MRS. MOLESWORTH + +AUTHOR OF 'CARROTS,' 'CUCKOO CLOCK,' 'TELL ME A STORY' + + +[Illustration: Two small figures, hurrying along hand-in-hand, caught +the attention of several people.--Page 166.] + + +ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER CRANE + + +London +MACMILLAN AND CO. +1883 + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. PAPA HAS SENT FOR US 1 + CHAPTER II. POOR MRS. LACY 17 + CHAPTER III. A PRETTY KETTLE OF FISH 33 + CHAPTER IV. "WHAT IS TO BE DONE?" 52 + CHAPTER V. IN THE RUE VERTE 72 + CHAPTER VI. AMONG THE SOFAS AND CHAIRS 90 + CHAPTER VII. THE KIND-LOOKING GENTLEMAN 109 + CHAPTER VIII. A FALL DOWNSTAIRS 128 + CHAPTER IX. FROM BAD TO WORSE 148 + CHAPTER X. "AVENUE GÉRARD, NO. 9" 165 + CHAPTER XI. WALTER'S TEA-PARTY 183 + CHAPTER XII. PAPA AT LAST 200 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + "WELL, DEARS," SHE SAID, "AND WHAT ARE YOU + PLAYING AT?" _Frontispiece_ + IN ANOTHER MOMENT THE LITTLE PARTY WAS + MAKING ITS WAY THROUGH THE STATION _To face page_ 48 + SHE PLACED THE WHOLE ON A LITTLE TABLE WHICH SHE + DREW CLOSE TO THE BED 82 + "OH DON'T, DON'T CROSS THAT DREADFUL STREET," GLADYS EXCLAIMED 112 + ANNA OPENED THE DOOR SHARPLY, AS SHE DID EVERYTHING, AND IN SO + DOING OVERTHREW THE SMALL PERSON OF ROGER 156 + "GO ALONG THERE," SHE SAID, "AND THEN TURN TO THE LEFT, AND + YOU WILL SEE THE NAME 'AVENUE GÉRARD' AT THE CORNER" 170 + WALTER WAS HAVING A TEA-PARTY! 185 + + + + + "It would both have excited your pity, and have done your heart + good, to have seen how these two little ones were so fond of each + other, and how hand-in-hand they trotted along." + + _The Renowned History of Goody Two-Shoes._ + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +PAPA HAS SENT FOR US. + + "It's what comes in our heads when we + Play at 'Let's-make-believe,' + And when we play at 'Guessing.'" + + CHARLES LAMB. + + +It was their favourite play. Gladys had invented it, as she invented +most of their plays, and Roger was even more ready to play at it than at +any other, ready though he always was to do anything Gladys liked or +wanted. Many children would have made it different--instead of "going +over the sea to Papa," they would have played at what they would do when +Papa should come over the sea to them. But that was not what they had +learnt to look forward to, somehow--they were like two little swallows, +always dreaming of a sunny fairyland they knew not where, only "over the +sea," and in these dreams and plays they found the brightness and +happiness which they were still too young to feel should have been in +their everyday baby life. + +For "Mamma" was a word that had no real meaning to them. They thought of +_her_ as of a far-away beautiful angel--beautiful, but a little +frightening too; cold and white like the marble angels in church, whose +wings looked so soft, till one day Roger touched them, and found them, +to his strange surprise, hard and icy, which made him tell Gladys that +he thought hens much prettier than angels. Gladys looked a little +shocked at this, and whispered to remind him that he should not say +that: had he forgotten that the angels lived up in heaven, and were +always good, and that Mamma was an angel? No, Roger had not forgotten, +and that was what made him think about angels; but they _weren't_ pretty +and soft like Snowball, the little white hen, and he was sure he would +never like them as much. Gladys said no more to him, for she knew by the +tone of his voice that it would not take very much to make him cry, and +when Roger got "that way," as she called it, she used to try to make him +forget what had troubled him. + +"Let's play at going to Papa," she said; "I've thought of such a good +way of making a ship with the chairs, half of them upside down and half +long-ways--like that, see, Roger; and with our hoop-sticks tied on to +the top of Miss Susan's umbrella--I found it in the passage--we can make +such a great high pole in the middle. What is it they call a pole in the +middle of a ship? I can't remember the name?" + +Nor could Roger; but he was greatly delighted with the new kind of ship, +and forgot all about the disappointment of the angels in helping Gladys +to make it, and when it was made, sailing away, away to Papa, "over the +sea, over the sea," as Gladys sang in her little soft thin voice, as she +rocked Roger gently up and down, making believe it was the waves. + +Some slight misgiving as to what Miss Susan would say to the borrowing +of her umbrella was the only thing that interfered with their enjoyment, +and made them jump up hastily with a "Oh, Miss Susan," as the beginning +of an apology, ready on Gladys's lips when the door opened rather +suddenly. + +But it was not Miss Susan who came in. A little to their relief and a +good deal to their surprise it was Susan's aunt, old Mrs. Lacy, who +seldom--for she was lame and rheumatic--managed to get as far as the +nursery. She was kind and gentle, though rather deaf, so that the +children were in no way afraid of her. + +"Well, dears," she said, "and what are you playing at?" + +"Over the sea, Mrs. Lacy," said Gladys. "Over the sea," repeated Roger, +who spoke very plainly for his age. "Going over the sea to Papa; that's +what we're playing at, and we like it the best of all our games. This is +the ship, you see, and that's the big stick in the middle that all ships +have--what is it they call it? I can't remember?" + +"The mast," suggested Mrs. Lacy. + +"Oh yes, the mast," said Gladys in a satisfied tone; "well, you see, +we've made the mast with our hoop-sticks and Miss Susan's umbrella--you +don't think Miss Susan will mind, do you?" with an anxious glance of her +bright brown eyes; "_isn't_ it high, the--the mart?" + +"Mast," corrected Mrs. Lacy; "yes, it's taller than you, little Gladys, +though you are beginning to grow very fast! What a little body you were +when you came here first," and the old lady gave a sigh, which made +Roger look up at her. + +"Has you got a sore troat?" he inquired. + +"No, my dear; what makes you think so?" + +"'Cos, when my troat was sore I was always breaving out loud like that," +said Roger sympathisingly. + +"No, my throat's not sore, dear, thank you," said the old lady. +"Sometimes people 'breathe' like that when they're feeling a little +sad." + +"And are you feeling a little sad, poor Mrs. Lacy?" said Gladys. "It's +not 'cos Miss Susan's going to be married, is it? _I_ think we shall be +very happy when Miss Susan's married, only p'raps it wouldn't be very +polite to say so to her, would it?" + +"No, it wouldn't be kind, certainly," said the old lady, with a little +glance of alarm. Evidently Miss Susan kept her as well as the children +in good order. "You must be careful never to say anything like that, for +you know Susan has been very good to you and taken great care of you." + +"I know," said Gladys; "but still I like you best, Mrs. Lacy." + +"And you would be sorry to leave me, just a little sorry; I should not +want you to be _very_ sorry," said the gentle old lady. + +Gladys glanced up with a curious expression in her eyes. + +"Do you mean--is it that you are sad about?--_has_ it come at last? Has +Papa sent for us, Mrs. Lacy? Oh Roger, listen! Of course we should be +sorry to leave you and--and Miss Susan. But is it true, can it be true +that Papa has sent for us?" + +"Yes, dears, it is true; though I never thought you would have guessed +it so quickly, Gladys. You are to go to him in a very few weeks. I will +tell you all about it as soon as it is settled. There will be a great +deal to do with Susan's marriage, too, so soon, and I wouldn't like you +to go away without your things being in perfect order." + +"I think they are in very nice order already," said Gladys. "I don't +think there'll be much to do. I can tell you over all my frocks and +Roger's coats if you like, and then you can think what new ones we'll +need. Our stockings are getting _rather_ bad, but Miss Susan thought +they'd do till we got our new winter ones, and Roger's second-best house +shoes are----" + +"Yes, dear," said Mrs. Lacy, smiling, though a little sadly, at the +child's business-like tone; "I must go over them all with Susan. But not +to-day. I am tired and rather upset by this news." + +"Poor Mrs. Lacy," said Gladys again. "But can't you tell us just a +_very_ little? What does Papa say? Where are we to go to? Not all the +way to where he is?" + +"No, dear. He is coming home, sooner than he expected, for he has not +been well, and you are to meet him somewhere--he has not quite fixed +where--in Italy perhaps, and to stay there through the winter. It is a +good thing, as it had to be, that he can have you before Susan leaves +me, for I am getting too old, dears, to take care of you as I should +like--as I took care of _him_ long ago." + +For Mrs. Lacy was a very, very old friend of the children's father. She +had taken care of him as a boy, and years after, when his children came +to be left much as he had been, without a mother, and their father +obliged to be far away from them, she had, for love of her adopted son, +as she sometimes called him, taken his children and done her best to +make them happy. But she was old and feeble, sometimes for days together +too ill to see Gladys and Roger, and her niece Susan, who kept house for +her, though a very active and clever young lady, did not like children. +So, though the children were well taken care of as far as regarded their +health, and were always neatly dressed, and had a nice nursery and a +pleasant garden to play in, they were, though they were not old enough +to understand it, rather lonely and solitary little creatures. Poor old +Mrs. Lacy saw that it was so, but felt that she could do no more; and +just when the unexpected letter from their father came, she was on the +point of writing to tell him that she thought, especially as her niece +was going to be married, some new home must be found for his two little +waifs, as he sometimes called them. + +Before Mrs. Lacy had time to tell them any more about the great news +Miss Susan came in. She looked surprised to see her aunt in the nursery. + +"You will knock yourself up if you don't take care," she said rather +sharply, though not unkindly. "And my umbrella--my best umbrella! I +declare it's too bad--the moment one's back is turned." + +"It's the mast, Miss Susan," said Gladys eagerly. "We thought you +wouldn't mind. It's the mast of the ship that's going to take us over +the sea to Papa." + +Some softer feeling came over Susan as she glanced at Gladys's flushed, +half-frightened face. + +"Poor little things!" she said to herself gently. "Well, be sure to put +it back in its place when you've done with it. And now, aunt, come +downstairs with me, I have ever so many things to say to you." + +Mrs. Lacy obeyed meekly. + +"You haven't told them yet, have you, aunt?" said Susan, as soon as they +were alone. + +"Yes, I told them a little," said the old lady. "Somehow I could not +help it. I went upstairs and found them playing at the very thing--it +seemed to come so naturally. I know you will think it foolish of me, +Susan, but I can't help feeling their going, even though it is better +for them." + +"It's quite natural you should feel it," said Susan in a not unkindly +tone. "But still it is a very good thing it has happened just now. For +you know, aunt, we have quite decided that you must live with us----" + +"You are very good, I know," said Mrs. Lacy, who was really very +dependent on her niece's care. + +"And yet I could not have asked Mr. Rexford to have taken the children, +who, after all, are no _relations_, you know." + +"No," said Mrs. Lacy. + +"And then to give them up to their own father is quite different from +sending them away to strangers." + +"Yes, of course," said the old lady, more briskly this time. + +"On the whole," Miss Susan proceeded to sum up, "it could not have +happened better, and the sooner the good-byings and all the bustle of +the going are over, the better for you and for me, and for all +concerned, indeed. And this leads me to what I wanted to tell you. +Things happen so strangely sometimes. This very morning I have heard of +such a capital escort for them." + +Mrs. Lacy looked up with startled eyes. + +"An escort," she repeated. "But not yet, Susan. They are not going yet. +Wilfred speaks of 'some weeks hence' in his letter." + +"Yes; but his letter was written three weeks ago, and, of course, I am +not proposing to send them away to-day or to-morrow. The opportunity I +have heard of will be about a fortnight hence. Plenty of time to +telegraph, even to write, to Captain Bertram to ensure there being no +mistake. But anyway we need not decide just yet. He says he will write +again by the next mail, so we shall have another letter by Saturday." + +"And what is the escort you have heard of?" asked Mrs. Lacy. + +"It is a married niece of the Murrays, who is going to India in about a +fortnight. They start from here, as they are coming here on a visit the +last thing. They go straight to Marseilles." + +"But would they like to be troubled with children?" + +"They know Captain Bertram, that is how we came to speak of it. And Mrs. +Murray is sure they would be glad to do anything to oblige him." + +"Ah, well," said Mrs. Lacy. "It sounds very nice. And it is certainly +not every day that we should find any one going to France from a little +place like this." For Mrs. Lacy's home was in a rather remote and +out-of-the-way part of the country. "It would save expense too, for, as +they have no longer a regular nurse, I have no one to send even as far +as London with them." + +"And young Mrs. ----, I forget her name--her maid would look after them +on the journey. I asked about that," said Susan, who was certainly not +thoughtless. + +"Well, well, we must just wait for Saturday's letter," said Mrs. Lacy. + +"And in the meantime the less said about it the better, _I_ think," said +Susan. + +"Perhaps so; I daresay you are right," agreed Mrs. Lacy. + +She hardly saw the children again that day. Susan, who seemed to be in +an unusually gracious mood, took them out herself in the afternoon, and +was very kind. But they were so little used to talk to her, for she had +never tried to gain their confidence, that it did not occur to either +Gladys or Roger to chatter about what nevertheless their little heads +and hearts were full of. They had also, I think, a vague childish notion +of loyalty to their old friend in not mentioning the subject, even +though she had not told them not to do so. So they trotted along +demurely, pleased at having their best things on, and proud of the +honour of a walk with Miss Susan, even while not a little afraid of +doing anything to displease her. + +"They are good little things after all," thought Susan, when she had +brought them home without any misfortune of any kind having marred the +harmony of the afternoon. And the colour rushed into Gladys's face when +Miss Susan sent them up to the nursery with the promise of strawberry +jam for tea, as they had been very good. + +"I don't mind so much about the strawberry jam," Gladys confided to +Roger, "though it _is_ very nice. But I do like when any one says we've +been very good, don't you?" + +"Yes," said Roger; adding, however, with his usual honesty: "I like +_bofe_, being praised _and_ jam, you know, Gladdie." + +"'Cos," Gladys continued, "if we _are_ good, you see, Roger, and I +really think we must be so if _she_ says so, it will be very nice for +Papa, won't it? It matters more now, you see, what we are, 'cos of going +to him. When people have people of their own they should be gooder even +than when they haven't any one that cares much." + +"Should they?" said Roger, a little bewildered. "But Mrs. Lacy cares," +he added. Roger was great at second thoughts. + +"Ye--s," said Gladys, "she cares, but not dreadfully much. She's getting +old, you know. And sometimes--don't say so to anybody, Roger--sometimes +I think p'raps she'll soon have to be going to heaven. I think _she_ +thinks so. That's another reason, you see," reverting to the central +idea round which her busy brain had done nothing but revolve all day, +"why it's _such_ a good thing Papa's sent for us now." + +"I don't like about people going to heaven," said Roger, with a little +shiver. "Why can't God let them stay here, or go over the sea to where +it's so pretty. _I_ don't want ever to go to heaven." + +"Oh, Roger!" said Gladys, shocked. "Papa wouldn't like you to say that." + +"Wouldn't he?" said Roger; "then I won't. It's because of the angels, +you know, Gladdie. Oh, do you think," he went on, his ideas following +the next link in the chain, "_do_ you think we can take Snowball with us +when we go?" + +"I don't know," said Gladys; and just then Mrs. Lacy's housemaid, who +had taken care of them since their nurse had had to leave them some +months before, happening to bring in their tea, the little girl turned +to her with some vague idea of taking her into their confidence. To have +no one but Roger to talk to about so absorbing a matter was almost too +much. But Ellen was either quite ignorant of the great news, or too +discreet to allow that she had heard it. In answer to Gladys's "feeler" +as to how hens travelled, and if one might take them in the carriage +with one, she replied matter-of-factly that she believed there were +places on purpose for all sorts of live things on the railway, but that +Miss Gladys had better ask Miss Susan, who had travelled a great deal +more than she, Ellen. + +"Yes," replied Gladys disappointedly, "perhaps she has; but most likely +not with hens. But have you stayed at home all your life, Ellen? Have +you never left your father and mother till you came here?" + +Whereupon Ellen, who was a kindly good girl, only a little too much in +awe of Miss Susan to yield to her natural love of children, feeling +herself on safe ground, launched out into a somewhat rose-coloured +description of her home and belongings, and of her visits as a child to +the neighbouring market-town, which much amused and interested her +little hearers, besides serving for the time to distract their thoughts +from the one idea, which was, I daresay, a good thing. For in this life +it is not well to think too much or feel too sure of _any_ hoped-for +happiness. The doing so of itself leads to disappointment, for we +unconsciously paint our pictures with colours impossibly bright, so that +the _real_ cannot but fall short of the imaginary. + +But baby Gladys--poor little girl!--at seven it is early days to learn +these useful but hard lessons. + +She and Roger made up for their silence when they went to bed, and you, +children, can better imagine than I can tell the whispered chatter that +went on between the two little cots that stood close together side by +side. And still more the lovely confusion of happy dreams that flitted +that night through the two curly heads on the two little pillows. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +POOR MRS. LACY. + + "For the last time--words of too sad a tone." + + AN OLD STORY AND OTHER POEMS. + + +Saturday brought the expected letter, which both Mrs. Lacy and Susan +anxiously expected, though with different feelings. Susan hoped that +nothing would interfere with the plan she had made for the children's +leaving; Mrs. Lacy, even though she owned that it seemed a good plan, +could not help wishing that something would happen to defer the parting +with the two little creatures whom she had learnt to love as much as if +they had been her own grandchildren. + +But the letter was all in favour of Susan's ideas. Captain Bertram wrote +much more decidedly than he had done before. He named the date at which +he was leaving, a very few days after his letter, the date at which he +expected to be at Marseilles, and went on to say that if Mrs. Lacy +could possibly arrange to have the children taken over to Paris within a +certain time, he would undertake to meet them there at any hour of any +day of the week she named. The sooner the better for him, he said, as he +would be anxious to get back to the south and settle himself there for +the winter, the doctor having warned him to run no risks in exposing +himself to cold, though with care he quite hoped to be all right again +by the spring. As to a maid for the children--Mrs. Lacy having told him +that they had had no regular nurse for some time--he thought it would be +a good plan to have a French one, and as he had friends in Paris who +understood very well about such things he would look out for one +immediately he got there, if Mrs. Lacy could find one to take them over +and stay a few days, or if she, perhaps, could spare one of her servants +for the time. And he begged her, when she had made her plans, to +telegraph, or write if there were time, to him at a certain hotel at +Marseilles, "to wait his arrival." + +Susan's face had brightened considerably while reading the letter; for +Mrs. Lacy, after trying to do so, had given it up, and begged her niece +to read it aloud. + +"My sight is very bad this morning," she said, and her voice trembled +as she spoke, "and Wilfred's writing was never very clear." + +Susan looked at her rather anxiously--for some time past it had seemed +to her that her aunt was much less well than usual--but she took the +letter and read it aloud in her firm distinct voice, only stopping now +and then to exclaim: "_Could_ anything have happened better? It is +really most fortunate." Only at the part where Captain Bertram spoke of +engaging a maid for the journey, or lending one of theirs, her face +darkened a little. "Quite unnecessary--foolish expense. Hope aunt won't +speak of it to Ellen," she said to herself in too low a voice for Mrs. +Lacy to hear. + +"Well, aunt?" she said aloud, when she had finished the letter, but +rather to her surprise Mrs. Lacy did not at once reply. She was lying on +her couch, and her soft old face looked very white against the cushions. +She had closed her eyes, but her lips seemed to be gently moving. What +were the unheard words they were saying? A prayer perhaps for the two +little fledglings about to be taken from her wing for ever. She knew it +was for ever. + +"I shall never see them again," she said, loud enough for Susan to +hear, but Susan thought it better not to hear. + +"Well, aunt," she repeated, rather impatiently, but the impatience was +partly caused by real anxiety; "won't you say what you think of it? +_could_ anything have happened better than the Murrays' escort? Just the +right time and all." + +"Yes, my dear. It seems to have happened wonderfully well. I am sure you +will arrange it all perfectly. Can you write to Wilfred at once? And +perhaps you had better see Mrs. Murray again. I don't feel able to do +anything, but I trust it all to you, Susan. You are so practical and +sensible." + +"Certainly," replied Susan, agreeably surprised to find her aunt of the +same opinion as herself; "I will arrange it all. Don't trouble about it +in the least. I will see the Murrays again this afternoon or to-morrow. +But in the meantime I think it is better to say nothing more to the +children." + +"Perhaps so," said Mrs. Lacy. Something in her voice made Susan look +round. She was leaving the room at the moment. "Aunt, what is the +matter?" she said. + +Mrs. Lacy tried to smile, but there were tears in her eyes. + +"It is nothing, my dear," she said. "I am a foolish old woman, I know. I +was only thinking"--and here her voice broke again--"it would have been +a great pleasure to me," she went on, "if he could have managed it. If +Wilfred could have come all the way himself, and I could have given the +children up into his own hands. It would not have seemed quite so--so +sad a parting, and I should have liked to see him again." + +"But you will see him again, dear aunt," said Susan; "in the spring he +is sure to come to England, to settle probably, perhaps not far from us. +He has spoken of it in his letters." + +"Yes, I know," said Mrs. Lacy, "but----" + +"But what?" + +"I don't want to be foolish; but you know, my dear, by the spring I may +not be here." + +"Oh, aunt!" said Susan reproachfully. + +"It is true, my dear; but do not think any more of what I said." + +But Susan, who was well-principled, though not of a very tender or +sympathising nature, turned again, still with her hand on the +door-handle. + +"Aunt," she said, "you have a right to be consulted--even to be fanciful +if you choose. You have been very good to me, very good to Gladys and +Roger, and I have no doubt you were very good to their father long ago. +If it would be a comfort to you, let me do it--let me write to Wilfred +Bertram and ask him to come here, as you say, to fetch the children +himself." + +Mrs. Lacy reflected a moment. Then, as had been her habit all her life, +she decided on self-denial. + +"No, my dear Susan," she said firmly. "Thank you for proposing it, but +it is better not. Wilfred has not thought of it, or perhaps he has +thought of it and decided against it. It would be additional expense for +him, and he has to think of that--then it would give _you_ much more to +do, and you have enough." + +"I don't mind about that," said Susan. + +"And then, too," went on Mrs. Lacy, "there is his health. Evidently it +will be better for him not to come so far north so late in the year." + +"Yes," said Susan, "that is true." + +"So think no more about it, my dear, and thank you for your patience +with a silly old woman." + +Susan stooped and kissed her aunt, which from her meant a good deal. +Then, her conscience quite at rest, she got ready to go to see Mrs. +Murray at once. + +"There is no use losing the chance through any foolish delay," she said +to herself. + +Two days later she was able to tell her aunt that all was settled. Mrs. +Murray had written to her niece, Mrs. Marton, and had already got her +answer. She and her husband would gladly take charge of the children as +far as Paris, and her maid, a very nice French girl, who adored little +people, would look after them in every way--not the slightest need to +engage a nurse for them for the journey, as they would be met by their +father on their arrival. The Martons were to spend two days, the last +two days of their stay in England, with Mrs. Murray, and meant to leave +on the Thursday of the week during which Captain Bertram had said he +could meet the children at any day and any hour. Everything seemed to +suit capitally. + +"They will cross on Friday," said Susan; "that is the Indian mail day, +of course. And it is better than earlier in the week, as it gives +Captain Bertram two or three days' grace _in case_ of any possible +delay." + +"And will you write, or telegraph--which is it?" asked Mrs. Lacy +timidly, for these sudden arrangements had confused her--"at once, +then?" + +"Telegraph, aunt? No, of course not," said Susan a little sharply, "he +will have left ----pore several days ago, you know, and there is no use +_telegraphing_ to Marseilles. I will write to-morrow--there is _plenty_ +of time--a letter to wait his arrival, as he himself proposed. Then +_when_ he arrives he will telegraph to us to say he has got the letter, +and that it is all right. You quite understand, aunt?" + +"Oh yes, quite. I am very stupid, I know, my dear," said the old lady +meekly. + +A few days passed. Gladys had got accustomed by this time to the idea of +leaving, and no longer felt bewildered and almost oppressed by the rush +of questions and wonderings in her mind. But her busy little brain +nevertheless was constantly at work. She had talked it all over with +Roger so often that he, poor little boy, no longer knew what he thought +or did not think about it. He had vague visions of a ship about the size +of Mrs. Lacy's drawing-room, with a person whom he fancied his father--a +tall man with very black whiskers, something like Mrs. Murray's butler, +whom Miss Susan had one day spoken of as quite "soldier-like"--and +Roger's Papa was of course a soldier--standing in the middle to hold the +mast steady, and Gladys and he with new ulsters on--Gladys had talked a +great deal about new ulsters for the journey--waving flags at each side. +Flags were hopelessly confused with ships in Roger's mind; he thought +they had something to do with making boats go quicker. But he did not +quite like to say so to Gladys, as she sometimes told him he was really +too silly for a big boy of nearly five. + +So the two had become rather silent on the subject. Roger had almost +left off thinking about it. His little everyday life of getting up and +going to bed, saying his prayers and learning his small lessons for the +daily governess who came for an hour every morning, eating his breakfast +and dinner and tea, and playing with his toy-horses, was enough for him. +He could not for long together have kept his thoughts on the strain of +far-away and unfamiliar things, and so long as he knew that he had +Gladys at hand, and that nobody (which meant Miss Susan in particular) +was vexed with him, he asked no more of fate! And when Gladys saw that +he was much more interested in trying to catch sight of an imaginary +little mouse which was supposed to have been nibbling at the tail of his +favourite horse in the toy-cupboard, than in listening to her wonderings +whether Papa had written again, and _when_ Miss Susan was going to see +about their new ulsters, she gave up talking to him in despair. + +If she could have given up _thinking_ so much about what was to come, it +would have been better, I daresay. But still it was not to be wondered +at that she found it difficult to give her mind to anything else. The +governess could not make out why Gladys had become so absent and +inattentive all of a sudden, for though the little girl's head was so +full of the absorbing thought, she never dreamt of speaking of it to any +one but Roger. Mrs. Lacy had not told her she must _not_ do so, but +somehow Gladys, with a child's quick delicate instinct of honour, often +so little understood, had taken for granted that she was not to do so. + +"Everything comes to him that has patience to wait," says the Eastern +proverb, and in her own way Gladys had been patient, when one morning, +about a week after the day on which Susan had told her aunt that +everything was settled, Miss Fern, the daily governess, at the close of +lessons, told her to go down to the drawing-room, as Mrs. Lacy wanted +her. + +"And Roger too?" asked Gladys, her heart beating fast, though she spoke +quietly. + +"Yes, I suppose so," said Miss Fern, as she tied her bonnet-strings. + +The children had noticed that she had come into the schoolroom a little +later than usual that morning, and that her eyes were red. But in +answer to Roger's tender though very frank inquiries, she had murmured +something about a cold. + +"That was a story, then, what she said about her eyes," thought +sharp-witted Gladys. "She's been crying; I'm sure she has." But then a +feeling of pity came into her mind. "Poor Miss Fern; I suppose she's +sorry to go away, and I daresay Mrs. Lacy said she wasn't to say +anything about it to us." So she kissed Miss Fern very nicely, and +stopped the rest of the remarks which she saw Roger was preparing. + +"Go and wash your hands quick, Roger," she said, "for we must go +downstairs. _Mine_ are quite clean, but your middle fingers are all over +ink." + +"Washing doesn't take it away," said Roger reluctantly. There were not +many excuses he would have hesitated to use to avoid washing his hands! + +"Never mind. It makes them _clean_ anyway," said Gladys decidedly, and +five minutes later two very spruce little pinafored figures stood +tapping at the drawing-room door. + +"Come in, dears," said Mrs. Lacy's faint gentle voice. She was lying on +her sofa, and the children went up and kissed her. + +"_You_ has got a cold too--like Miss Fern," said Roger, whose grammar +was sometimes at fault, though he pronounced his words so clearly. + +"_Roger_," whispered Gladys, tugging at her little brother under his +holland blouse. But Mrs. Lacy caught the word. + +"Never mind, dear," she said, with a little smile, which showed that she +saw that Gladys understood. "Let him say whatever comes into his head, +dear little man." + +Something in the words, simple as they were, or more perhaps in the +tone, made little Gladys suddenly turn away. A lump came into her +throat, and she felt as if she were going to cry. + +"I wonder why I feel so strange," she thought, "just when we're going to +hear about going to Papa? I think it is that Mrs. Lacy's eyes look so +sad, 'cos she's been crying. It's much worse than Miss Fern's. I don't +care so much for her as for Mrs. Lacy," and all these feelings surging +up in her heart made her not hear when their old friend began to speak. +She had already said some words when Gladys's thoughts wandered back +again. + +"It came this morning," the old lady was saying. "See, dears, can you +read what your Papa says?" And she held out a pinky-coloured little +sheet of paper, not at all like a letter. Gladys knew what it was, but +Roger did not; he had never seen a telegram before. + +"Is that Papa's writing?" he said. "It's very messy-looking. _I_ +couldn't read it, I don't think." + +"But I can," said Gladys, spelling out the words. "'Ar--arrived safe. +Will meet children as you prop--' What is the last word, please, Mrs. +Lacy?" + +"Propose," said the old lady, "as you propose." And then she went on to +explain that this telegram was in answer to a letter from Miss Susan to +their father, telling him all she had settled about the journey. "This +telegram is from Marseilles," she said; "that is the town by the sea in +France, where your dear Papa has arrived. It is quite in the south, but +he will come up by the railway to meet you at Paris, where Mr. and Mrs. +Marton--Mrs. Marton is Mrs. Murray's niece, Gladys--will take you to." + +It was a little confusing to understand, but Mrs. Lacy went over it all +again most patiently, for she felt it right that the children, Gladys +especially, should understand all the plans before starting away with +Mr. and Mrs. Marton, who, however kind, were still quite strangers to +them. + +Gladys listened attentively. + +"Yes," she said; "I understand now. But how will Papa know us, Mrs. +Lacy? We have grown so, and----" she went on, rather reluctantly, "I am +not _quite_ sure that I should know him, not just at the very first +minute." + +Mrs. Lacy smiled. + +"No, dear, of course you could not, after more than four years! But Mr. +Marton knows your Papa." + +Gladys's face cleared. + +"Oh, that is all right," she said. "That is a very good thing. But"--and +Gladys looked round hesitatingly--"isn't anybody else going with us? I +wish--I wish nurse wasn't married; don't you, Mrs. Lacy?" + +The sort of appeal in the child's voice went to the old lady's heart. + +"Yes, dear," she said. "But Susan thinks it will be quite nice for you +with Léonie, young Mrs. Marton's maid, for your Papa will have a new +nurse all ready. She wrote to tell him that we would not send any nurse +with you." + +Gladys gave a little sigh. It took some of the bloom off the delight of +"going to Papa" to have to begin the journey alone among strangers, and +she saw that Mrs. Lacy sympathised with her. + +"It will save a good deal of expense too," the old lady added, more as +if thinking aloud, and half forgetting to whom she was speaking. + +"Will it?" said Gladys quickly. "Oh, then, I won't mind. We won't mind, +will we, Roger?" she repeated, turning to her little brother. + +"No, we won't," answered Roger solemnly, though without a very clear +idea of what he was talking about, for he was quite bewildered by all he +had heard, and knew and understood nothing but that he and Gladys were +going somewhere with somebody to see Papa. + +"That's right," said Mrs. Lacy cheerfully. "You are a sensible little +body, my Gladys." + +"I know Papa isn't very rich," said Gladys, encouraged by this approval, +"and he'll have a great lot more to pay now that Roger and I are going +to be with him, won't he?" + +"You have such very big appetites, do you think?" + +"I don't know," said Gladys. "But there are such lots of things to buy, +aren't there? All our frocks and hats and boots. But oh!" she suddenly +broke off, "won't we have to be getting our things ready? and _do_ you +think we should have new ulsters?" + +"They are ordered," said Mrs. Lacy. "Indeed, everything you will need +is ordered. Susan has been very busy, but everything will be ready." + +"When are we to go?" asked Gladys, suddenly remembering this important +question. + +The sad look came into Mrs. Lacy's eyes again, and her voice trembled as +she replied: "Next Thursday, my darling." + +"Next Thursday," repeated Gladys; and then catching sight of the tears +which were slowly welling up into Mrs. Lacy's kind eyes--it is so sad to +see an aged person cry!--she suddenly threw her arms around her old +friend's neck, and, bursting out sobbing, exclaimed again: "Next +Thursday. Oh, dear Mrs. Lacy, next Thursday!" + +And Roger stood by, fumbling to get out his pocket-handkerchief, not +quite sure if he should also cry or not. It seemed to him strange that +Gladys should cry just when what she had wanted so much had come--just +when it was all settled about going to Papa! + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A PRETTY KETTLE OF FISH. + + "The cab-wheels made a dreamy thunder + In their half-awakened ears; + And then they felt a dreamy wonder + Amid their dream-like fears." + + LAVENDER LADY. + + +Gladys said something of the same kind to herself when, looking round +her in the railway carriage on that same Thursday morning, she realised +that the long, long looked-forward-to day had come. She and Roger had +actually started on their journey to Papa! Yet her eyes were red and her +face was pale. Little Roger, too, looked subdued and sober. It had never +been so in their plays; in their pretence goings to Papa they were +always full of fun and high spirits. It was always a beautiful sunny day +to begin with, and to-day, the real day, was sadly dull and dreary, and +cold too; the children, even though the new ulsters were in all their +glory, shivered a little and drew closer together. The rain was falling +so fast that there was no use trying to look out of the window, when +fields and trees and farmhouses all seem to fly past in a misty +confusion. Mr. Marton was deep in his _Times_; Mrs. Marton, after +settling the children in the most comfortable places and doing all she +could think of, had drawn a book out of her travelling-bag and was also +busy reading. Roger, after a while, grew sleepy, and nodded his head, +and then Mrs. Marton made a pillow for him on the arm of the seat, and +covered him up with her rug. But Gladys, who was not at all sleepy, sat +staring before her with wide open eyes, and thinking it was all very +strange, and, above all, not the very least bit like what she had +thought it would be. The tears came back into her eyes again when she +thought of the parting with Mrs. Lacy. She and Roger had hardly seen +their kind old friend the last few days, for she was ill, much more ill +than usual, and Susan had looked grave and troubled. But the evening +before, she had sent for them to say good-bye, and this was the +recollection that made the tears rush back to the little girl's eyes. +Dear Mrs. Lacy, how very white and ill she looked, propped up by pillows +on the old-fashioned sofa in her room--every article in which was +old-fashioned too, and could have told many a long-ago tender little +story of the days when their owner was a merry blooming girl; or, +farther back still, a tiny child like Gladys herself! For much of Mrs. +Lacy's life had been spent in the same house and among the same things. +She had gone from there when she was married, and she had come back +there a widow and childless, and there she had brought up these +children's father, Wilfred, as she often called him even in speaking to +them, the son of her dearest friend. All this Gladys knew, for sometimes +when they were alone together, Mrs. Lacy would tell her little stories +of the past, which left their memory with the child, even though at the +time hardly understood; and now that she and Roger were quite gone from +the old house and the old life, the thought of them hung about Gladys +with a strange solemn kind of mystery. + +"I never thought about leaving Mrs. Lacy when we used to play at going," +she said to herself. "I never even thought of leaving the house and our +own little beds and everything, and even Miss Susan. And Ellen was very +kind. I wish she could have come with us, just till we get to Papa," and +then, at the thought of this unknown Papa, a little tremor came over +the child, though she would not have owned it to any one. "I wonder if +it would have cost a very great deal for Ellen to come with us just for +a few days. I would have given my money-box money, and so would Roger, I +am sure. I have fifteen and sixpence, and he has seven shillings and +fourpence. It _could_ not have cost more than all that," and then she +set to work to count up how much her money and Roger's added together +would be. It would not come twice together to the same sum somehow, and +Gladys went on counting it up over and over again confusedly till at +last it all got into a confusion together, for she too, tired out with +excitement and the awakening of so many strange feelings, had fallen +asleep like poor little Roger. + +They both slept a good while, and Mr. and Mrs. Marton congratulated +themselves on having such very quiet and peaceable small +fellow-travellers. + +"They are no trouble at all," said young Mrs. Marton. "But on the boat +we must of course have Léonie with us, in case of a bad passage." + +"Yes, certainly," said her husband; "indeed I think she had better be +with us from London. They will be getting tired by then." + +"They are tired already, poor pets," said Mrs. Marton, who was little +more than a girl herself. "They don't look very strong, do they, +Phillip?" + +Mr. Marton took the cigarette he had just been preparing to enjoy out of +his mouth, and turned towards the children, examining them critically. + +"The boy looks sturdy enough, though he's small. He's like Bertram. The +girl seems delicate; she's so thin too." + +"Yes," agreed Mrs. Marton. "_I_ don't mind, and no more does Léonie; but +I think it was rather hard-hearted of Susan Lacy to have sent them off +like that without a nurse of their own. If she had not been so worried +about Mrs. Lacy's illness, I think I would have said something about it +to her, even at the last. Somehow, till I saw the children, I did not +think they were so tiny." + +"It'll be all right once we get to Paris and we give them over to their +father," said Mr. Marton, who was of a philosophical turn of mind, +puffing away again at his cigarette. "It will have saved some expense, +and that's a consideration too." + +The children slept for some time. When they awoke they were not so very +far from London. They felt less tired and better able to look about them +and ask a few modest little questions. And when they got to London they +enjoyed the nice hot cup of tea they had in the refreshment room, and by +degrees they began to make friends with Léonie, who was very bright and +merry, so that they were pleased to hear she was to be in the same +carriage with them for the rest of the journey. + +"Till you see your dear Papa," said Léonie, who had heard all the +particulars from her young mistress. + +"Yes," said Gladys quietly--by this time they were settled again in +another railway carriage--"our Papa's to be at the station to meet us." + +"And we're to have a new nurse," added Roger, who was in a communicative +humour. "Do you think she'll be kind to us?" + +"I'm sure she will," said Léonie, whose heart was already won. + +"She's to teach us French," said Gladys. + +"That will be very nice," said Léonie. "It is a very good thing to know +many languages." + +"Can you speak French?" asked Roger. + +Léonie laughed, "Of course I can," she replied, "French is my tongue." + +Roger sat straight up, with an appearance of great interest. + +"Your tongue," he repeated. "Please let me see it," and he stared hard +at Léonie's half-opened mouth. "Is it not like our tongues then?" + +Léonie stared too, then she burst out laughing. + +"Oh, I don't mean tongue like that," she said, "I mean +talking--language. When I was little like you I could talk nothing but +French, just like you now, who can talk only English." + +"And can't everybody in France talk English too?" asked Gladys, opening +her eyes. + +"Oh dear no!" said Léonie. + +Gladys and Roger looked at each other. This was quite a new and rather +an alarming idea. + +"It is a _very_ good thing," Gladys remarked at last, "that Papa is to +be at the station. If we got lost over there," she went on, nodding her +head in the direction of an imaginary France, "it would be even worse +than in London." + +"But you're not going to get lost anywhere," said Léonie, smiling. +"We'll take better care of you than that." + +And then she went on to tell them a little story of how once, when she +was a very little girl, she had got lost--not in Paris, but in a much +smaller town--and how frightened she was, and how at last an old peasant +woman on her way home from market had found her crying under a hedge, +and had brought her home again to her mother. This thrilling adventure +was listened to with the greatest interest. + +"How pleased your mother must have been to see you again!" said Gladys. +"Does she still live in that queer old town? Doesn't she mind you going +away from her?" + +"Alas!" said Léonie, and the tears twinkled in her bright eyes, "my +mother is no longer of this world. She went away from me several years +ago. I shall not see her again till in heaven." + +"That's like us," said Gladys. "We've no Mamma. Did you know?" + +"But you've a good Papa," said Léonie. + +"Yes," said Gladys, rather doubtfully, for somehow the idea of a real +flesh-and-blood Papa seemed to be getting more instead of less +indistinct now that they were soon to see him. "But he's been away such +a very long time." + +"Poor darlings," said Léonie. + +"And have you no Papa, no little brothers, not any one like that?" +inquired Gladys. + +"I have some cousins--very good people," said Léonie. "They live in +Paris, where we are now going. If there had been time I should have +liked to go to see them. But we shall stay no time in Paris--just run +from one station to the other." + +"But the luggage?" said Gladys. "Mrs. Marton has a lot of boxes. I don't +see how you can _run_ if you have them to carry. I think it would be +better to take a cab, even if it does cost a little more. But perhaps +there are no cabs in Paris. Is that why you talk of running to the +station?" + +Léonie had burst out laughing half-way through this speech, and though +she knew it was not very polite, she really could not help it. The more +she tried to stop, the more she laughed. + +"What is the matter?" said Gladys at last, a little offended. + +"I beg your pardon," said Léonie; "I know it is rude. But, Mademoiselle, +the idea"--and here she began to laugh again--"of Monsieur and Madame +and me all running with the boxes! It was too amusing!" + +Gladys laughed herself now, and so did Roger. + +"Then there are cabs in Paris," she said in a tone of relief. "I am glad +of that. Papa will have one all ready for us, I suppose. What time do we +get there, Léonie?" + +Léonie shook her head. + +"A very disagreeable time," she said, "quite, quite early in the +morning, before anybody seems quite awake. And the mornings are already +so cold. I am afraid you will not like Paris very much at first." + +"Oh yes, they will," said Mrs. Marton, who had overheard the last part +of the conversation. "Think how nice it will be to see their Papa +waiting for them, and to go to a nice warm house and have breakfast; +chocolate, most likely. Do you like chocolate?" + +"Yes, very much," said Gladys and Roger. + +"I think it is not you to be pitied, anyway," Mrs. Marton went on, for +the half-appealing, half-frightened look of the little things touched +her. "It's much worse for us three, poor things, travelling on all the +way to Marseilles." + +"That's where Papa's been. Mrs. Lacy showed it me on the map. What a +long way! Poor Mrs. Marton. Wouldn't Mr. Marton let you stay at Paris +with us till you'd had a rest?" + +"We'd give you some of our chocolate," said Roger hospitably. + +"And let poor Phillip, that's Mr. Marton," replied the young lady, "go +all the way to India alone?" + +The children looked doubtful. + +"You could go after him," suggested Roger. + +"But Léonie and I wouldn't like to go so far alone. It's nicer to have a +man to take care of you when you travel. You're getting to be a man, you +see, Roger, already--learning to take care of your sister." + +"I _have_ growed a good big piece on the nursery door since my +birthday," agreed Roger complacently. "But when Papa's there he'll take +care of us both till I'm quite big." + +"Ah, yes, that will be best of all," said Mrs. Marton, smiling. "I do +hope Papa will be there all right, poor little souls," she added to +herself. For, though young, Mrs. Marton was not thoughtless, and she +belonged to a happy and prosperous family where since infancy every care +had been lavished on the children, and somehow since she had seen and +talked to Gladys and Roger their innocence and loneliness had struck her +sharply, and once or twice a misgiving had come over her that in her +anxiety to get rid of the children, and to waste no money, Susan Lacy +had acted rather hastily. "Captain Bertram should have telegraphed +again," she reflected. "It is nearly a week since he did so. I wish I +had made Phillip telegraph yesterday to be sure all was right. The +Lacys need not have known anything about it." + +But they were at Dover now, and all these fears and reflections were put +out of her head by the bustle of embarking and settling themselves +comfortably, and devoutly hoping they would have a good passage. The +words meant nothing to Gladys and Roger. They had never been on the sea +since they were little babies, and had no fears. And, fortunately, +nothing disturbed their happy ignorance, for, though cold, the sea was +very smooth. They were disappointed at the voyage being made in the +dark, as they had counted on all sorts of investigations into the +machinery of the "ship," and Roger had quite expected that his services +would be required to help to make it go faster, whereas it seemed to +them only as if they were taken into a queer sort of drawing-room and +made to lie down on red sofas, and covered up with shawls, and that then +there came a booming noise something like the threshing machine at the +farm where they sometimes went to fetch butter and eggs, and then--and +then--they fell asleep, and when they woke they were being bundled into +another railway carriage! Léonie was carrying Roger, and Gladys, as she +found to her great disgust--she thought herself far too big for anything +of the kind--was in Mr. Marton's arms, where she struggled so that the +poor man thought she was having an attack of nightmare, and began to +soothe her as if she were about two, which did not improve matters. + +"Hush, hush, my dear. You shall go to sleep again in a moment," he said. +"But what a little vixen she is!" he added, when he had at last got +Gladys, red and indignant, deposited in a corner. + +"I'm too big to be carried," she burst out, half sobbing. "I wouldn't +even let _Papa_ carry me." + +But kind Mrs. Marton, though she could hardly help laughing, soon put +matters right by assuring Gladys that lots of people, even quite big +grown-up ladies, were often lifted in and out of ships. When it was +rough only the sailors could keep their footing. So Gladys, who was +beginning to calm down and to feel a little ashamed, took it for granted +that it had been very rough, and told Mr. Marton she was very sorry--she +had not understood. The railway carriage was warm and comfortable, so +after a while the children again did the best thing they could under the +circumstances--they went to sleep. And so, I think, did their three +grown-up friends. + +Gladys was the first to wake. She looked round her in the dim morning +light--all the others were still asleep. It felt chilly, and her poor +little legs were stiff and numb. She drew them up on to the seat to try +to warm them, and looked out of the window. Nothing to be seen but damp +flat fields, and trees with a few late leaves still clinging to them, +and here and there a little cottage or farmhouse looking, like +everything else, desolate and dreary. Gladys withdrew her eyes from the +prospect. + +"I don't like travelling," she decided. "I wonder if the sun never +shines in this country." + +A little voice beside her made her look round. + +"Gladdie," it said, "are we near that place? Are you _sure_ Papa will be +there? I'm so tired of these railways, Gladdie." + +"So am I," said Gladys sympathisingly. "I should think we'll soon be +there. But I'm sure I shan't like Paris, Roger. I'll ask Papa to take us +back to Mrs. Lacy's again." + +Roger gave a little shiver. + +"It's such a long way to go," he said. "I wouldn't mind if only Ellen +had come with us, and if we had chocolate for breakfast." + +But their voices, low as they were, awakened Léonie, who was beside +them. And then Mrs. Marton awoke, and at last Mr. Marton, who looked at +his watch, and finding they were within ten minutes of Paris, jumped up +and began fussing away at the rugs and shawls and bags, strapping them +together, and generally unsettling everybody. + +"We must get everything ready," he said. "I shall want to be free to see +Bertram at once." + +"But there's never a crowd inside the station here," said his wife. +"They won't let people in without special leave. We shall easily catch +sight of Captain Bertram if he has managed to get inside." + +"He's sure to have done so," said Mr. Marton, and in his anxiety to +catch the first glimpse of his friend, Mr. Marton spent the next ten +minutes with his head and half his body stretched out of the window long +before the train entered the station, though even when it arrived there +the dim light would have made it difficult to recognise any one. + +Had there been any one to recognise! But there was not. The train came +to a stand at last. Mr. Marton had eagerly examined the faces of the two +or three men, _not_ railway officials, standing on the platform, but +there was no one whom by any possibility he could for a second have +taken for Captain Bertram. Mrs. Marton sat patiently in her place, +hoping every instant that "Phillip" would turn round with a cheery "all +right, here he is. Here, children!" and oh, what a weight--a weight that +all through the long night journey had been mysteriously +increasing--would have been lifted off the kind young lady's heart had +he done so! But no; when Mr. Marton at last drew in his head there was a +disappointed and perplexed look on his good-natured face. + +"He's not here--not on the platform, I mean," he said, hastily +correcting himself. "He must be waiting outside; we'll find him where we +give up the tickets. It's a pity he didn't manage to get inside. +However, we must jump out. Here, Léonie, you take Mrs. Marton's bag, +I'll shoulder the rugs. Hallo there," to a porter, "that's all right. +You give him the things, Léonie. Omnibus, does he say? Bless me, how can +I tell? Bertram's got a cab engaged most likely, and we don't want an +omnibus for us three. You explain to him, Léonie." + +[Illustration: In another moment the little party was making its way +through the station.] + +Which Léonie did, and in another moment the little party was making its +way through the station, among the crowd of their fellow-passengers. Mr. +Marton first, with the rugs, then his wife holding Gladys by the hand, +then Léonie and Roger, followed by the porter bringing up the rear. Mrs. +Marton's heart was not beating fast by this time; it was almost standing +still with apprehension. But she said nothing. On they went through the +little gate where the tickets were given up, on the other side of which +stood with eager faces the few expectant friends who had been devoted +enough to get up at five o'clock to meet their belongings who were +crossing by the night mail. Mr. Marton's eyes ran round them, then +glanced behind, first to one side and then to the other as if Captain +Bertram could jump up from some corner like a jack-in-the-box. His face +grew graver and graver, but he did not speak. He led his wife and the +children and Léonie to the most comfortable corner of the dreary +waiting-room, and saying shortly, "I'm going to look after the luggage +and to hunt up Bertram. He must have overslept himself if he's not here +yet. You all wait here quietly till I come back," disappeared in the +direction of the luggage-room. + +Mrs. Marton did not speak either. She drew Gladys nearer her, and put +her arm round the little girl as if to protect her against the +disappointment which she _felt_ was coming. Gladys sat perfectly silent. +What she was expecting, or fearing, or even thinking, I don't believe +she could have told. She had only one feeling that she could have put +into words, "Everything is _quite_ different from what I thought. It +isn't at all like going to Papa." + +But poor little Roger tugged at Léonie, who was next him. + +"What are we waiting here in this ugly house for?" he said. "Can't we go +to Papa and have our chocolate?" + +Léonie stooped down and said something to soothe him, and after a while +he grew drowsy again, and his little head dropped on to her shoulder. +And so they sat for what seemed a terribly long time. It was more than +half an hour, till at last Mr. Marton appeared again. + +"I've only just got out that luggage," he said. "What a detestable plan +that registering it is! And now I've got it I don't know what to do with +it, for----" + +"Has he not come?" interrupted his wife. + +Mr. Marton glanced at Gladys. She did not seem to be listening. + +"Not a bit of him," he replied. "I've hunted right through the station +half a dozen times, and it's an hour and a half since the train was due. +It cannot be some little delay. It's a pretty kettle of fish and no +mistake." + +Mrs. Marton's blue eyes gazed up in her husband's face with a look of +the deepest anxiety. + +"What _is_ to be done?" she said. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +"WHAT IS TO BE DONE?" + + "That is the question." + + HAMLET. + + +Yes, "what was to be done?" That was certainly the question. Mr. Marton +looked at his wife for a moment or two without replying. Then he seemed +to take a sudden resolution. + +"We can't stay here all the morning, that's about all I can say at +present," he said. "Come along, we'd better go to the nearest hotel and +think over matters." + +So off they all set again--Mr. Marton and the rugs, Mrs. Marton and +Gladys, Léonie and Roger--another porter being got hold of to bring such +of the bags, etc., as were not left at the station with the big luggage. +Gladys walked along as if in a dream; she did not even wake up to notice +the great wide street and all the carriages, and omnibuses, and carts, +and people as they crossed to the hotel in front of the station. She +hardly even noticed that all the voices about her were talking in a +language she did not understand--she was completely dazed--the only +words which remained clearly in her brain were the strange ones which +Mr. Marton had made use of--"a pretty kettle of fish and no mistake." +"No mistake," that must mean that Papa's not coming to the station was +not a mistake, but that there was some reason for it. But "a kettle of +fish," what _could_ that have to do with it all? She completely lost +herself in puzzling about it. Why she did not simply ask Mrs. Marton to +explain it I cannot tell. Perhaps the distressed anxious expression on +that young lady's own face had something to do with her not doing so. + +Arrived at the hotel, and before a good fire in a large dining-room at +that early hour quite empty, a slight look of relief came over all the +faces. It was something to get warmed at least! And Mr. Marton ordered +the hot chocolate for which Roger had been pining, before he said +anything else. It came almost at once, and Léonie established the +children at one of the little tables, drinking her own coffee standing, +that she might attend to them and join in the talking of her master and +mistress if they wished it. + +Roger began to feel pretty comfortable. He had not the least idea where +he was--he had never before in his life been at a hotel, and would not +have known what it meant--but to find himself warmed and fed and Gladys +beside him was enough for the moment; and even Gladys herself began to +feel a very little less stupefied and confused. Mr. and Mrs. Marton, at +another table, talked gravely and in a low voice. At last Mr. Marton +called Léonie. + +"Come here a minute," he said, "and see if you can throw any light on +the matter. You are more at home in Paris than we are. Mrs. Marton and I +are at our wits' end. If we had a few days to spare it would not be so +bad, but we have not. Our berths are taken, and we cannot afford to lose +three passages." + +"Mine too, sir," said Léonie. "Is mine taken too?" + +"Of course it is. You didn't suppose you were going as cabin-boy, did +you?" said Mr. Marton rather crossly, though I don't think his being a +little cross was to be wondered at. Poor Léonie looked very snubbed. + +"I was only wondering," she said meekly, "if I could have stayed behind +with the poor children till----" + +"Impossible," said Mr. Marton; "lose your passage for a day or two's +delay in their father's fetching them. If I thought it was more than +that I would send them back to England," he added, turning to his wife. + +"And poor Mrs. Lacy so ill! Oh no, that would never do," she said. + +"And there's much more involved than our passages," he went on. "It's as +much as my appointment is worth to miss this mail. It's just +this--Captain Bertram is either here, or has been detained at +Marseilles. If he's still there, we can look him up when we get there +to-morrow; if he's in Paris, and has made some stupid mistake, we must +get his address at Marseilles, he's sure to have left it at the hotel +there for letters following him, and telegraph back to him here. I never +did know anything so senseless as Susan Lacy's not making him give a +Paris address," he added. + +"He was only to arrive here yesterday or the day before," said Mrs. +Marton. + +"But the friends who were to have a nurse ready for the children? We +should have had _some_ address." + +"Yes," said Mrs. Marton self-reproachfully. "I wish I had thought of +it. But Susan was so _sure_ all would be right. And certainly, in case +of anything preventing Captain Bertram's coming, it was only natural to +suppose he would have telegraphed, or sent some one else, or done +_something_." + +"Well--all things considered," said Mr. Marton, "it seems to me the best +thing to do is to leave the children here, _even_ if we had a choice, +which I must say I don't see! For I don't know how I could send them +back to England, nor what their friends there might find to say if I +did--nor can we----" + +"Take them on to Marseilles with us?" interrupted Mrs. Marton. "Oh, +Phillip, would not that be better?" + +"And find that their father had just started for Paris?" replied her +husband. "And then think of the expense. Here, they are much nearer at +hand if they have to be fetched back to England." + +Mrs. Marton was silent. Suddenly another idea struck her. She started +up. + +"Supposing Captain Bertram has come to the station since we left," she +exclaimed. "He may be there now." + +Mr. Marton gave a little laugh. + +"No fear," he said "Every official in the place knows the whole story. +I managed to explain it, and told them to send him over here." + +"And what are you thinking of doing, then? _Where_ can we leave them?" + +Mr. Marton looked at his watch. + +"That's just the point," he said. "We've only three hours unless we put +off till the night express, and that is running it too fine. Any little +detention and we might miss the boat." + +"We've run it too fine already, I fear," said Mrs. Marton dolefully. +"It's been my fault, Phillip--the wanting to stay in England till the +last minute." + +"It's Susan Lacy's fault, or Bertram's fault, or both our faults for +being too good-natured," said Mr. Marton gloomily. "But that's not the +question now. I don't think we _should_ put off going, for--another +reason--it would leave us no time to look up Bertram at Marseilles. Only +if we had had a few hours, I could have found some decent people to +leave the children with here, some good 'pension,' or----" + +"But such places are all so dear, and we have to consider the money +too." + +"Yes," said Mr. Marton, "we have _literally_ to do so. I've only just in +cash what we need for ourselves, and I couldn't cash a cheque here all +in a minute, for my name is not known. But something must be fixed, and +at once. I wonder if it would be any good if I were to consult the +manager of this hotel? I----" + +"Pardon," said Léonie, suddenly interrupting. "I have an idea. My +aunt--she is really my cousin, but I call her aunt--you know her by +name, Madame?" she went on, turning to Mrs. Marton. "My mother often +spoke of her"--for Mrs. Marton's family had known Léonie's mother long +ago when she had been a nurse in England--"Madame Nestor. They are +upholsterers in the Rue Verte, not very far from here, quite in the +centre of Paris. They are very good people--of course, quite in a little +way; but honest and good. They would do their best, just for a few days! +It would be better than leaving the dear babies with those we knew +nothing of. I think I could persuade them, if I start at once!" She +began drawing her gloves on while she was speaking. And she had spoken +so fast and confusedly that for a moment or two both Mr. and Mrs. Marton +stared at her, not clearly taking in what she meant. + +"Shall I go, Madame?" she said, with a little impatience. "There is no +time to lose. Of course if you do not like the idea--I would not have +thought of it except that all is so difficult, so unexpected." + +"Not like it?" said Mr. Marton; "on the contrary I think it's a capital +idea. The children would be in safe hands, and at worst it can't be for +more than a couple of days. If Captain Bertram has been detained at +Marseilles by illness or anything----" + +"That's not likely," interrupted Mrs. Marton, "he would have written or +telegraphed." + +"Well, then, if it's some stupid mistake about the day, he'll come off +at once when we tell him where they are. I was only going to say that, +at worst, if he _is_ ill, or anything wrong, we'll telegraph to Susan +Lacy from Marseilles and she'll send over for them somehow." + +"Should we not telegraph to her at once from here?" + +Mr. Marton considered. + +"I don't see the use," he said at last. "We can tell her nothing +certain, nothing that she should act on yet. And it would only worry the +old lady for nothing." + +"I'm afraid she's too ill to be told anything about it," said Mrs. +Marton. + +"Then the more reason for waiting. But here we are losing the precious +minutes, and Léonie all ready to start. Off with you, Léonie, as fast as +ever you can, and see what you can do. Take a cab and make him drive +fast," he called after her, for she had started off almost with his +first words. "She's a very good sort of a girl," he added, turning to +his wife. + +"Yes, she always has her wits about her in an emergency," agreed Mrs. +Marton. "I do hope," she went on, "that what we are doing will turn out +for the best. I really never did know anything so unfortunate, and----" + +"Is it all because of the kettle of fish? Did Papa tumble over it? Oh, I +_wish_ you'd tell me!" said a pathetic little voice at her side, and +turning round Mrs. Marton caught sight of Gladys, her hands clasped, her +small white face and dark eyes gazing up beseechingly. It had grown too +much for her at last, the bewilderment and the strangeness, and the not +understanding. And the change from the cramped-up railway carriage and +the warm breakfast had refreshed her a little, so that gradually her +ideas were growing less confused. She had sat on patiently at the table +long after she had finished her chocolate, though Roger was still +occupied in feeding himself by tiny spoonfuls. He had never had anything +in the way of food more interesting than this chocolate, for it was +still hot, and whenever he left it for a moment a skin grew over the +top, which it was quite a business to clear away--catching now and then +snatches of the eager anxious talk that was going on among the big +people. And at last when Léonie hurried out of the room, evidently sent +on a message, Gladys felt that she must find out what was the matter and +what it all meant. But the topmost idea in her poor little brain was +still the kettle of fish. + +"If Papa has hurt himself," Gladys went on, "I think it would be better +to tell me. I'd so much rather know. I'm not so very little, Mrs. +Marton, Mrs. Lacy used to tell me things." + +Mrs. Marton stooped down and put her arms round the pathetic little +figure. + +"Oh, I wish I could take you with me all the way. Oh! I'm so sorry for +you, my poor little pet," she exclaimed girlishly. "But indeed we are +not keeping anything from you. I only wish we had anything to tell. We +don't know ourselves; we have no idea why your father has not come." + +"But the kettle of fish?" repeated Gladys. + +Mrs. Marton stared at her a moment, and then looked up at her husband. +He grew a little red. + +"It must have been I that said it," he explained. "It is only an +expression; a way of speaking, little Gladys. It means when--when +people are rather bothered, you know--and can't tell what to do. I +suppose it comes from somebody once upon a time having had more fish +than there was room for in their kettle, and not knowing what to do with +them." + +"Then we're the fish--Roger and I--I suppose, that you don't know what +to do with?" said Gladys, her countenance clearing a little. "I'm very +sorry. But I think Papa'll come soon; don't you?" + +"Yes, I do," replied Mr. Marton. "Something must have kept him at +Marseilles, or else he's mistaken the day after all." + +"I thought you said it was 'no mistake!'" said Gladys. + +Mr. Marton gave a little groan. + +"Oh, you're a dreadful little person and no--there, I was just going to +say it again! That's only an expression too, Gladys. It means, 'to be +sure,' or 'no doubt about it,' though I suppose it is a little what one +calls 'slang.' But you don't know anything about that, do you?" + +"No," said Gladys simply, "I don't know what it means." + +"And I haven't time to tell you, for we must explain to you what we're +thinking of doing. You tell her, Lilly. I'm going about the luggage," +he added, turning to his wife, for he was dreadfully tender-hearted, +though he was such a big strong young man, and he was afraid of poor +Gladys beginning to cry or clinging to them and begging them not to +leave her and Roger alone in Paris, when she understood what was +intended. + +But Gladys was not the kind of child to do so. She listened attentively, +and seemed proud of being treated like a big girl, and almost before +Mrs. Marton had done speaking she had her sensible little answer ready. + +"Yes, I see," she said. "It is much better for us to stay here, for Papa +might come _very_ soon, mightn't he? Only, supposing he came this +afternoon he wouldn't know where we were?" + +"Mr. Marton will give the address at the station, in case your Papa +inquires there, as he very likely would, if a lady and gentleman and two +children arrived there from England this morning. And he will also leave +the address _here_, for so many people come here from the station. And +when we get to Marseilles, we will at once go to the hotel where he +was--where he is still, perhaps; if he has left, he is pretty sure to +have given an address." + +"And if he's not there--if you can't find him--what will you do then?" +said Gladys, opening wide her eyes and gazing up in her friend's face. + +Mrs. Marton hesitated. + +"I suppose if we really could not find your father at once, we should +have to write or telegraph to Miss Susan." + +Gladys looked more distressed than she had yet done. + +"Don't do that, please," she said, clasping her hands together in the +way she sometimes did. "I'd much rather stay here a little longer till +Papa comes. It would be such a trouble to Miss Susan--I know she did +think we were a great trouble sometimes--and it would make Mrs. Lacy cry +perhaps to have to say good-bye again, and she's so ill." + +"Yes, I know she is," said Mrs. Marton, surprised at the little girl's +thoughtfulness. "But you know, dear, we'd have to let them know, and +then most likely they'd send over for you." + +"But Papa's _sure_ to come," said Gladys. "It would only be waiting a +little, and I don't mind much, and I don't think Roger will, not if I'm +with him. Will they be kind to us, do you think, those friends of +Léonie's?" + +"I'm sure they will; otherwise you know, dear, we wouldn't leave you +with them. Of course it will only be for a day or two, for they are +quite plain people, with quite a little house." + +"I don't mind, not if they're kind to us," said Gladys. "But, oh! I do +wish you weren't going away." + +"So do I," said Mrs. Marton, who felt really very nearly breaking down +herself. The sort of quiet resignation about Gladys was very touching, +much more so than if she had burst out into sobs and tears. It was +perhaps as well that just at that moment Mr. Marton came back, and +saying something in a low voice to his wife, drew her out of the room, +where in the passage stood Léonie. + +"Back already," exclaimed Mrs. Marton in surprise. + +"Oh yes," Léonie replied, "it was not far, and the coachman drove fast. +But I thought it better not to speak before the children. It is a very +little place, Madame. I wonder if it will do." She seemed anxious and a +little afraid of what she had proposed. + +"But can they take them? That is the principal question," said Mr. +Marton. + +"Oh yes," said Léonie. "My aunt is goodness itself. She understands it +all quite well, and would do her best; and it would certainly be better +than to leave them with strangers, and would cost much less; only--the +poor children!--all is so small and so cramped. Just two or three little +rooms behind the shop; and they have been used to an English nursery, +and all so nice." + +"I don't think they have been spoilt in some ways," said Mrs. Marton. +"Poor little Gladys seems to mind nothing if she is sure of kindness. +Besides, what else _can_ we do? And it is very kind of your aunt to +consent, Léonie." + +"Yes, Madame. It is not for gain that she does it. Indeed it will not be +gain, for she must find a room for her son, and arrange his room for the +dear children. They have little beds among the furniture, so that will +be easy; and all is very clean--my aunt is a good manager--but only----" + +Léonie looked very anxious. + +"Oh I'm sure it will be all right," said Mr. Marton. "I think we had +better take them at once--I've got the luggage out--and then we can see +for ourselves." + +The children were soon ready. Gladys had been employing the time in +trying to explain to poor little Roger the new change that was before +them. He did not find it easy to understand, but, as Gladys had said, he +did not seem to mind anything so long as he was sure he was not to be +separated from his sister. + +A few minutes' drive brought them to the Rue Verte. It was a narrow +street--narrow, at least in comparison with the wide new ones of the +present day, for it was in an old-fashioned part of Paris, in the very +centre of one of the busiest quarters of the town; but it was quite +respectable, and the people one saw were all well-dressed and well-to-do +looking. Still Mr. Marton looked about him uneasily. + +"Dreadfully crowded place," he said; "must be very stuffy in warm +weather. I'm glad it isn't summer; we _couldn't_ have left them here in +that case." + +And when the cab stopped before a low door leading into a long narrow +shop, filled with sofas and chairs, and great rolls of stuffs for making +curtains and beds and mattresses in the background, Mr. Marton's face +did not grow any brighter. But it did brighten up, and so did his +wife's, when from the farther end of the shop, a glass door, evidently +leading into a little sitting-room, opened, and an elderly woman, with a +white frilled cap and a bright healthy face, with the kindliest +expression in the world, came forward eagerly. + +"Pardon," she said in French, "I had not thought the ladies would be +here so soon. But all will be ready directly. And are these the dear +children?" she went on, her pleasant face growing still pleasanter. + +"Yes," said Mrs. Marton, who held Gladys by one hand and Roger by the +other, "these are the two little strangers you are going to be so kind +as to take care of for a day or two. It is very kind of you, Madame +Nestor, and I hope it will not give you much trouble. Léonie has +explained all to you?" + +"Oh yes," replied Madame Nestor, "poor darlings! What a disappointment +to them not to have been met by their dear Papa! But he will come soon, +and they will not be too unhappy with us." + +Mrs. Marton turned to the children. + +"What does she say? Is she the new nurse?" whispered Roger, whose ideas, +notwithstanding Gladys's explanations, were still very confused. It was +not a very bad guess, for Madame Nestor's good-humoured face and clean +cap gave her very much the look of a nurse of the old-fashioned kind. +Mrs. Marton stooped down and kissed the little puzzled face. + +"No, dear," she said, "she's not your nurse. She is Léonie's aunt, and +she's going to take care of you for a few days till your Papa comes. And +she says she will be very, very kind to you." + +But Roger looked doubtful. + +"Why doesn't she talk p'operly?" he said, drawing back. + +Mrs. Marton looked rather distressed. In the hurry and confusion she had +not thought of this other difficulty--that the children would not +understand what their new friends said to them! Gladys seemed to feel by +instinct what Mrs. Marton was thinking. + +"I'll try to learn French," she said softly, "and then I can tell +Roger." + +Léonie pressed forward. + +"Is she not a dear child?" she said, and then she quickly explained to +her aunt what Gladys had whispered. The old lady seemed greatly pleased. + +"My son speaks a little English," she said, with evident pride. "He is +not at home now, but in the evening, when he is not busy, he must talk +with our little demoiselle." + +"That's a good thing," exclaimed Mr. Marton, who felt the greatest +sympathy with Roger, for his own French would have been sadly at fault +had he had to say more than two or three words in it. + +Then Madame Nestor took Mrs. Marton to see the little room she was +preparing for her little guests. It was already undergoing a good +cleaning, so its appearance was not very tempting, but it would not have +done to seem anything but pleased. + +"Anyway it will be _clean_," thought Mrs. Marton, "but it is very dark +and small." For though it was the best bedroom, the window looked out on +to a narrow sort of court between the houses, whence but little light +could find its way in, and Mrs. Marton could not help sighing a little +as she made her way back to the shop, where Mr. Marton was explaining to +Léonie about the money he was leaving with Madame Nestor. + +"It's all I can possibly spare," he said, "and it is English money. But +tell your aunt she is _sure_ to hear in a day or two, and she will be +fully repaid for any other expense she may have." + +"Oh dear, yes," said Léonie, "my aunt is not at all afraid about that. +She has heard too much of the goodness of Madame's family to have any +fears about anything Madame wishes. Her only trouble is whether the poor +children will be happy." + +"I feel sure it will not be Madame Nestor's fault if they are not," said +Mrs. Marton, turning to the kind old woman. It was all she could say, +for she felt by no means sure that the poor little things would be able +to be happy in such strange circumstances. The tears filled her eyes as +she kissed them again for the last time, and it was with a heavy heart +she got back into the cab which was to take her husband and herself and +Léonie to the Marseilles station. Mr. Marton was very little happier +than his wife. + +"I wish to goodness Susan Lacy had managed her affairs herself," he +grumbled. "Poor little souls! I shall be thankful to know that they are +safe with their father." + +Léonie was sobbing audibly in her pocket-handkerchief. + +"My aunt will be very kind to them, so far as she understands. That is +the only consolation," she said, amidst her tears. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +IN THE RUE VERTE. + + "The city looked sad. The heaven was gray." + + SONGS IN MINOR KEYS. + + +"Gladdie, are you awake?" + +These were the first words that fell on Gladys's ears the next morning. +I cannot say the first _sounds_, for all sorts of strange and puzzling +noises had been going on above and below and on all sides since _ever_ +so early, as it seemed to her--in reality it had been half-past six--she +had opened her eyes in the dark, and wondered and wondered where she +was! Still in the railway carriage was her first idea, or on the +steamer--once she had awakened enough to remember that she was _not_ in +her own little bed at Mrs. Lacy's. But no--people weren't undressed in +the railway, even though they did sometimes lie down, and then--though +the sounds she heard were very queer--she soon felt she was not moving. +And bit by bit it all came back to her--about the long tiring journey, +and no Papa at the station, and Mr. and Mrs. Marton and Léonie all +talking together, and the drive in the cab to the crowded narrow street, +and the funny old woman with the frilled cap, and the shop full of +chairs and sofas, and the queer unnatural long afternoon after their +friends went away, and how glad at last she and Roger were to go to bed +even in the little stuffy dark room. _How_ dark it was! It must still be +the middle of the night, Gladys thought for some time, only that +everybody except herself and Roger seemed to be awake and bustling +about. For the workroom, as Gladys found out afterwards, was overhead, +and the workpeople came early and were not particular about making a +noise. It was very dull, and in spite of all the little girl's courage, +a few tears _would_ make their way up to her eyes, though she tried her +best to force them back, and she lay there perfectly quiet, afraid of +waking Roger, for she was glad to hear by his soft breathing that he was +still fast asleep. But she could not help being glad when through the +darkness came the sound of his voice. + +"Gladdie, are you awake?" + +"Yes, dear," she replied, "I've been awake a long time." + +"So have I," said Roger in all sincerity--he had been awake about three +minutes. "It's very dark; is it the middle of the night?" + +"No, I don't think so," Gladys replied. "I hear people making a lot of +noise." + +"Gladdie," resumed Roger half timidly--Gladys knew what was coming--"may +I get into your bed?" + +"It's _very_ small," said Gladys, which was true, though even if it had +not been so, she would probably have tried to get out of Roger's +proposal, for she was not half so fond of his early morning visits as he +was. In the days of old "nurse" such doings were not allowed, but after +she left, Gladys had not the heart to be very strict with Roger, and now +in spite of her faint objection, she knew quite well she would have to +give in, in the end. + +"So's mine," observed Roger, though Gladys could not see what that had +to do with it. But she said nothing, and for about half a minute there +was silence in the dark little room. Then again. + +"Gladdie," came from the corner, "mayn't I come? If we squeezed +ourselves?" + +"Very well," said Gladys, with a little sigh made up of many different +feelings. "You can come and try." + +But a new difficulty arose. + +"I can't find my way in the dark. I don't 'amember how the room is in +the light," said Roger dolefully. "When I first waked I _couldn't_ think +where we were. Can't you come for me, Gladdie?" + +"How can I find my way if you can't," Gladys was on the point of +replying, but she checked herself! She felt as if she could not speak +the least sharply to her little brother, for he had nobody but her to +take care of him, and try to make him happy. So she clambered out of her +bed, starting with the surprise of the cold floor, which had no carpet, +and trying to remember the chairs and things that stood in the way, +managed to get across the room to the opposite corner where stood +Roger's bed, without any very bad knocks or bumps. + +"I'm here," cried Roger, as if that was a piece of news, "I'm standing +up in my bed jigging up and down. Can you find me, Gladdie?" + +"I'm feeling for you," Gladys replied. "Yes, here's the edge of your +cot. I would have found you quicker if you had kept lying down." + +"Oh, then, I'll lie down again," said Roger, but a cry from Gladys +stopped him. + +"No, no, don't," she said. "I've found you now. Yes, here's your hand. +Now hold mine tight, and see if you can get over the edge. That's right. +Now come very slowly, round by the wall is best. Here's my bed. Climb +in and make yourself as little as ever you can. I'm coming. Oh, Roger, +what a squeeze it is!" + +"I think it's littler than my bed," said Roger consolingly. + +"It's not any bigger anyway," replied Gladys, "we might just as well +have stayed in yours." + +"Is it because they're poor that the beds is so _very_ little?" asked +Roger in a low voice. + +"Oh, no, I don't think so," said Gladys gravely. "They've very nice +beds; I think they're almost quite new." + +"Mine was very comfitable," said Roger. "Do you think all poor childrens +have as nice beds?" + +"I'm afraid not," said Gladys solemnly. "I'm _afraid_ that some haven't +any beds at all. But why do you keep talking about poor children, +Roger?" + +"I wanted to know about them 'cos, you see, Gladys, if Papa wasn't never +finded and we had to stay here, _we'd_ be poor." + +"Nonsense," said Gladys rather sharply, in spite of her resolutions, "it +_couldn't_ be like that; of course Papa will come in a few days, +and--and, even if he didn't, though that's quite nonsense, you know, +I'm only saying it to make you see, _even_ if he didn't, we'd not stay +here." + +"Where would we go?" said Roger practically. + +"Oh, back to Mrs. Lacy perhaps. I wouldn't mind if Miss Susan was +married." + +"_I_ would rather go to India with _them_," said Roger. Gladys knew whom +he meant. + +"But we can't, they've gone," she replied. + +"Are they _gone_, and Léonie, that nice nurse--are they _gone_?" said +Roger, appalled. + +"Yes, of course. They'll be nearly at India by now, I daresay." + +Roger began to cry. + +"Why, you _knew_ they were gone. Why do you cry about it now--you didn't +cry yesterday?" said Gladys, a little sharply it must be confessed. + +"I thought," sobbed Roger, "I thought they'd gone to look for Papa, and +that they'd come to take us a nice walk every day, and--and----" He did +not very well know _what_ he had thought, but he had certainly not taken +in that it was good-bye for good to the new friends he had already +become fond of. "I'm _sure_ you said they were gone to look for Papa," +he repeated, rather crossly in his turn. + +"Well, dear," Gladys explained, her heart smiting her, "they _have_ +gone to look for Papa. They thought they'd find him at the big town at +the side of the sea where the ships go to India from, and then they'd +tell him where we were in Paris, and he'd come quick for us." + +"Is this Paris?" asked Roger. + +"Yes, of course," replied Gladys. + +"I don't like it," continued the little boy. "Do you, Gladys?" + +"It isn't like what I thought," said Gladys; "nothing's like what I +thought. I don't think when we go home again, Roger, that I'll ever play +at pretend games any more." + +"How do you mean when we go home?" said Roger. "Where's home?" + +"Oh, I don't know; I said it without thinking. Roger----" + +"What?" said Roger. + +"Are you hungry?" asked Gladys. + +"A little; are you?" + +"Yes, I think I am, a little," replied Gladys. "I couldn't eat all that +meat and stuff they gave us last night. I wanted our tea." + +"And bread and butter," suggested Roger. + +"Yes; at home I didn't like bread and butter much, but I think I would +now. I daresay they'd give it us if I knew what it was called in their +talking," said Gladys. + +"It wouldn't be so bad if we knew their talking," sighed Roger. + +"It wouldn't be so bad if it would get light," said his sister. "I don't +know what to do, Roger. It's _hours_ since they've all been up, and +nobody's come to us. I wonder if they've forgotten we're here." + +"There's a little tiny, weeny _inch_ of light beginning to come over +there. Is that the window?" said Roger. + +"I suppose so. As soon as it gets more light I'll get up and look if +there's a bell," decided Gladys. + +"And if there is?" + +"I'll ring it, of course." + +"But what would Miss---- Oh, Gladys," he burst out with a merry laugh, +the first Gladys had heard from him since the journey. "Isn't I silly? I +was just going to say, 'What would Miss Susan say?' I quite forgot. I'm +not sorry _she's_ not here. Are you, Gladdie?" + +"I don't know," the little girl answered. Truth to tell, there were +times when she would have been very thankful to see Miss Susan, even +though she was determined not to ask to go back to England till all +hope was gone. "I'm not----" but what she was going to say remained +unfinished. The door opened at last, and the frilled cap, looking so +exactly the same as yesterday that Gladys wondered if Madame Nestor +slept in it, only if so, how did she keep it from getting crushed, +appeared by the light of a candle surrounding the kindly face. + +"_Bon jour_, my children," she said. + +"_That_ means 'good-morning,'" whispered Gladys, "I know that. Say it, +Roger." + +Why Roger was to "say it" and not herself I cannot tell. Some +unintelligible sound came from Roger's lips, for which Gladys hastened +to apologise. + +"He's trying to say 'good-morning' in French," she explained, completely +forgetting that poor Madame Nestor could not understand her. + +"Ah, my little dears," said the old woman--in her own language of +course--"I wish I could know what you say. Ah, how sweet they are! Both +together in one bed, like two little birds in a nest. And have you slept +well, my darlings? and are you hungry?" + +The children stared at each other, and at their old hostess. + +"Alas," she repeated, "they do not understand. But they will soon know +what I mean when they see the nice bowls of hot chocolate." + +"Chocolate!" exclaimed both children. At last there was a word they +could understand. Madame Nestor was quite overcome with delight. + +"Yes, my angels, chocolate," she repeated, nodding her head. "The little +servant is bringing it. But it was not she that made it. Oh, no! It was +myself who took care it should be good. But you must have some light," +and she went to the window, which had a curtain drawn before it, and +outside heavy old-fashioned wooden shutters. No wonder in November that +but little light came through. It was rather a marvel that at eight +o'clock in the morning even a "tiny weeny _inch_" had begun to make its +way. + +With some difficulty the old woman removed all the obstructions, and +then such poor light as there was came creeping in. But first she +covered the two children up warmly, so that the cold air when the window +was opened should not get to them. + +[Illustration: She placed the whole on a little table which she drew +close to the bed.] + +"Would not do for them to catch cold, that would be a pretty story," she +muttered to herself, for she had a funny habit of talking away about +everything she did. Then, when all was air-tight again, there came a +knock at the door. Madame Nestor opened it, and took from the hands of +an invisible person a little tray with two steaming bowls of the famous +chocolate and two sturdy hunches of very "hole-y" looking bread. No +butter; that did not come within Madame Nestor's ideas. She placed the +whole on a little table which she drew close to the bed, and then +wrapping a shawl round the children, she told them to take their +breakfast. They did not, of course, understand her words, but when she +gave Roger his bowl and a preliminary hunch of bread into his hands, +they could not but see that they were expected to take their breakfast +in bed. + +"But we're not ill," exclaimed Gladys; "we never stay in bed to +breakfast except when we're ill." + +Madame Nestor smiled and nodded. She had not a notion what Gladys meant, +and on her side she quite forgot that the children could not understand +her any better than she understood them. + +"We never stay in bed to breakfast unless we're _ill_," repeated Gladys +more loudly, as if that would help Madame Nestor to know what she meant. + +"Never mind, Gladdie--the chocolate's very good," said Roger. + +As before, "chocolate" was the only word Madame Nestor caught. + +"Yes, take your chocolate," she repeated; "don't let it get cold," and +she lifted Gladys's bowl to give it to her. + +"Stupid old thing," murmured Gladys, "why doesn't she understand? I +should like to throw the chocolate in her face." + +"Oh, Gladdie," said Roger reproachfully, "_think_ what a mess it would +make on the clean sheets!" + +"I was only in fun--you might know that," said Gladys, all the same a +little ashamed of herself. + +Madame Nestor had by this time left the room with a great many +incomprehensible words, but very comprehensible smiles and nods. + +"I think breakfast in bed's very good," said Roger. Then came a sadder +exclamation. "They've given me a pudding spoon 'stead of a teaspoon. +It's _so_ big--it won't hardly go into my mouth." + +"And me too," said Gladys. "How stupid French people are! We'll have to +drink it out of the bowls, Roger. How funny it is not to have tea-cups!" + +"_I_ think it's best to take it like soup," said Roger; "you don't need +to put the spoon so much in your mouth if you think it's soup." + +"I don't see what difference that makes," returned Gladys. But anyhow +the chocolate and the bread disappeared, and then the children began to +wonder how soon they might get up. Breakfast in bed wasn't so bad as +long as there was the breakfast to eat, but when it was finished and +there was no other amusement at hand they began to find it very +tiresome. They had not so very long to wait, however, before Madame +Nestor again made her appearance. + +"Mayn't we get up?" cried both children, springing up in bed and jumping +about, to show how ready they were. The old lady seemed to understand +this time, but first she stood still for a moment or two with her head +on one side admiring them. + +"The little angels!" she said to herself. "How charming they are. Come +now, my darlings, and get quickly dressed. It is cold this morning," and +she took Roger in her arms to lift him down, while Gladys clambered out +by herself. Their clothes were neatly placed in two little heaps on the +top of the chest of drawers, which, besides the two beds and two or +three chairs, was the only furniture in the room. Madame Nestor sat down +on one of the chairs with Roger on her knee and began drawing on his +stockings. + +"Well done," she said, when one was safely in its place; "who would have +thought I was still so clever a nurse!" and she surveyed the stockinged +leg with much satisfaction. Roger seemed quite of her opinion, and +stuck out the other set of pink toes with much amiability. He greatly +approved of this mode of being dressed. Miss Susan had told Ellen he was +big enough, at five years old, to put on his stockings himself, and she +had also been very strict about sundry other nursery regulations, to +which the young gentleman, in cold weather especially, was by no means +partial. But he was not to get off as easily as he hoped. His silence, +which with him always meant content, caught Gladys's attention, which +till now had been taken up with her own stockings, as she had a +particular way of her own of arranging them before putting them on. + +"Roger," she exclaimed when she turned round and saw him established on +Madame Nestor's motherly lap; "what are you thinking of? You haven't had +your bath." + +Roger's face grew red, and the expression of satisfaction fled. + +"Need I----?" he was beginning meekly, but Gladys interrupted him +indignantly: + +"You dirty little boy," she said. "What would Miss Susan say?" at which +Roger began to cry, and poor Madame Nestor looked completely puzzled. + +"We didn't have a bath last night, you know, because in winter Miss +Susan thinks once a day is enough. But I did think we should have had +one, after the journey too. And anyway this morning we _must_ have one." + +But Madame Nestor only continued to stare. + +"What shall I say? How _can_ I make her understand?" said Gladys in +despair. "Where's the little basin we washed our faces and hands in +yesterday, Roger?" she went on, looking round the room. "Oh, I +forgot--it was downstairs. There's _no_ basin in this room! What dirty +people!" then noticing the puzzled look on Madame Nestor's face, she +grew frightened that perhaps she was vexed. "Perhaps she knows what +'dirty' means," she half whispered to herself. "Oh dear, I don't mean to +be rude, ma'am," she went on, "but I suppose you don't know about +children. How _can_ I explain?" + +A brilliant idea struck her. In a corner of the room lay the carpet-bag +in which Miss Susan had packed their nightgowns and slippers, and such +things as they would require at once. There were, too, their sponges; +and, as Miss Susan had been careful to point out, a piece of _soap_, +"which you never find in French hotels," she had explained to Gladys. +The little girl dived into the bag and drew out the sponges and soap in +triumph. + +"See, see," she exclaimed, darting back again to the old lady, and +flourishing her treasure-trove, "that's what I mean! We must have a +_bath_," raising her voice as she went on; "we must be washed and +_sponged_;" and suiting the action to the word she proceeded to pat and +rub Roger with the dry sponge, glancing up at Madame Nestor to see if +the pantomime was understood. + +"Ah, yes, to be sure," Madame Nestor exclaimed, her face lighting up, "I +understand now, my little lady. All in good time--you shall have water +to wash your face and hands as soon as you are dressed. But let me get +this poor little man's things on quickly. It is cold this morning." + +She began to take off Roger's nightgown and to draw on his little +flannel vest, to which _he_ would have made no objection, but Gladys got +scarlet with vexation. + +"No, no," she cried, "he must be washed _first_. If you haven't got a +bath, you might anyway let us have a basin and some water. Roger, you +_are_ a dirty boy. You might join me, and then perhaps she'd do it." + +Thus adjured, Roger rose to the occasion. He slipped off Madame Nestor's +knee, and stepping out of his nightgown began an imaginary sponging of +his small person. But it was cold work, and Madame Nestor seeing him +begin to shiver grew really uneasy, and again tried to get him into his +flannels. + +"No, no," said Roger, in his turn--he had left off crying now--even the +cold wasn't so bad as Gladdie calling him a dirty boy. Besides who could +tell whether, somehow or other, Miss Susan might not come to hear of it? +Gladys might write her a letter. "No, no," repeated Roger valorously, +"we must be washed _first_." + +"You too," said Madame Nestor in despair; "ah, what children!" But her +good-humour did not desert her. Vaguely understanding what they +meant--for recollections began to come back to her mind of what Léonie's +mother used to tell her of the manners and customs of _her_ +nurseries--she got up, and smiling still, though with some reproach, at +her queer little guests, she drew a blanket from the bed and wrapped it +round them, and then opening the door she called downstairs to the +little servant to bring a basin and towel and hot water. But the little +servant did not understand, so after all the poor old lady had to trot +downstairs again herself. + +"My old legs will have exercise enough," she said to herself, "if the +Papa does not come soon. However!" + +"I'm sure she's angry," whispered Roger to Gladys inside the blanket, +"we needn't have a bath _every_ day, Gladdie." + +"Hush," said Gladys sternly. "I'm _not_ going to let you learn to be a +dirty boy. If we can't have a bath we may at least be _washed_." + +"But if Papa's coming for us to-day or to-morrow," Roger said, "the new +nurse could wash us. I don't believe Papa's coming for us," he went on +as if he were going to cry again. "I believe we're going to stay here in +this nugly little house _always_--and it's all a trick. I don't believe +we've got any Papa." + +Poor Gladys did not know what to say. Her own spirits were going down +again, for she too was afraid that perhaps Madame Nestor was vexed, and +she began to wonder if perhaps it would have been better to let things +alone for a day or two--"If I was sure that Papa would come in a day or +two," she thought! But she felt sure of nothing now--everything had +turned out so altogether differently from what she had expected that her +courage was flagging, and she too, for the first time since their +troubles had begun, followed Roger's example and burst into tears. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +AMONG THE SOFAS AND CHAIRS. + + "They wake to feel + That the world is a changeful place to live in, + And almost wonder if all is real." + + LAVENDER LADY. + + +So it was rather a woe-begone looking little couple, crouching together +in the blanket, that met old Madame Nestor's eyes when, followed by the +little servant with the biggest basin the establishment boasted of, and +carrying herself a queer-shaped tin jug full of hot water and with a +good supply of nice white towels over her arm, she entered the room +again. + +"How now, my little dears?" she exclaimed; "not crying, surely? Why, +there's nothing to cry for!" + +Gladys wiped her eyes with the skirt of her little nightgown, and looked +up. She did not know what the old woman was saying, but her tone was as +kind as ever. It was very satisfactory, too, to see the basin, small as +it was, and still more, the plentiful hot water. + +"Thank you, ma'am," said Gladys gravely, and nudging Roger to do the +same. Everybody, she had noticed the day before, had called the old lady +"madame," but that was the French for "ma'am" Léonie had told her, so +she stuck to her native colours. + +"Thank you," repeated Roger, but without the "ma'am." "It sounds so +silly, nobody says it but servants," he maintained to Gladys, and no +doubt it mattered very little whether he said it or not, as Madame +Nestor didn't understand, though she was quick enough to see that her +little guests meant to say something civil and kind. And the washing was +accomplished--I cannot say without difficulty, for Roger tried to stand +in the basin and very nearly split it in two, and there was a great +splashing of water over the wooden floor--on the whole with success. + +Poor Madame Nestor! When she had at last got her charges safely into +their various garments, she sat down on a chair by the bed and fairly +panted! + +"It's much harder than cooking a dinner," she said to herself. "I can't +think how my cousin Marie could stand it, if they have this sort of +business every morning with English children. And five, six of them as +there are sometimes! The English are a curious nation." + +But she turned as smilingly as ever to Gladys and Roger; and Gladys, +seeing that she was tired, and being sensible enough to understand that +the kind old woman was really giving herself a great deal of trouble for +their sake, went and stood close beside her, and gently stroked her, as +she sometimes used to do--when Miss Susan was not there, be it +remarked--to Mrs. Lacy. + +"I wish I knew how to say 'thank you' in French," said Gladys to Roger. +But Madame Nestor had understood her. + +"Little dear," she said in her own language, "she thinks I am tired." +The word caught Gladys's ear--"fatigued," she interrupted, "I know what +that means. Poor Mrs. Nest," she explained to her little brother, "she +says she's fatigued. I think we should kiss her, Roger," and both +children lifted up their soft fresh rosy lips to the old woman, which +was a language that needed no translation. + +"Little dears," she repeated again, "but, all the same, I hope we shall +soon have some news from the Papa. Ah!" she interrupted herself; "but +there is the clock striking nine, and my breakfast not seen to. I must +hasten, but what to do with these angels while I am in the kitchen?" + +"Take them with you; children are very fond of being in a kitchen when +they may," would have seemed a natural reply. But not to those who know +what a Paris kitchen is. Even those of large grand houses would astonish +many English children and big people, too, who have never happened to +see them, and Madame Nestor's kitchen was really no better than a +cupboard, and a cupboard more than half filled up with the stove, in and +on which everything was cooked. There could be no question of taking the +children into the kitchen, and the tiny room behind the shop was very +dark and dull. Still it was the only place, and thither their old friend +led them, telling them she must now go to cook the breakfast and they +must try to amuse themselves; in the afternoon she would perhaps send +them out a walk. + +Two words in this were intelligible to Gladys. + +"We are to be amused, Roger," she said, "and we are to promenade, that +means a walk where the band plays like at Whitebeach last summer. I +wonder where it can be?" + +The glass door which led into the shop had a little curtain across it, +but one corner was loose. This Gladys soon discovered. + +"See here, Roger," she said, "we can peep into the shop and see if any +one comes in. Won't that be fun?" + +Roger took his turn of peeping. + +"It aren't a pretty shop," he said, "it's all chairs and tables. I'd +like a toy-shop, Gladdie, wouldn't you?" + +"It wouldn't be much good if we mightn't play with the toys," Gladys +replied. "But I'll tell you what, Roger, we might play at beautiful +games of houses in there. We could have that corner where there are the +pretty blue chairs for our drawing-room, and we might pay visits. Or I +might climb in there behind that big sofa and be a princess in a giant's +castle, and you might come and fight with the giant and get me out." + +"And who'd be the giant?" asked Roger. + +"Oh, we can _pretend_ him. I can make a dreadful _booing_ when I see you +coming, and you can pretend you see him. But you must have a sword. +What would do for a sword?" she went on, looking round. "They haven't +even a poker! I wish we had Miss Susan's umbrella." + +"Here's one!" exclaimed Roger, spying the umbrella of Monsieur Adolphe, +Madame Nestor's son, in a corner of the room. It was still rather damp, +for poor Adolphe had had to come over in the heavy rain early that +morning from the neighbouring inn where he had slept, having, as you +know, given up his room to the two little strangers, and his mother +would have scolded him had she noticed that he had put it down all +dripping, though as the floor was a stone one it did not much matter. +And the children were not particular. They screwed up the wet folds and +buttoned the elastic, and then shouldering it, Roger felt quite ready to +fight the imaginary giant. + +There was a little difficulty about opening the door into the shop, and +rather _too_ little about shutting it, for it closed with a spring, and +nearly snapped Roger and his umbrella in two. But he was none the worse +save a little bump on his head, which Gladys persuaded him not to cry +about. It would never do to cry about a knock when he was going to fight +the giant, she assured him, and then she set to work, planning the +castle and the way Roger was to come creeping through the forest, +represented by chairs and stools of every shape, so that he grew quite +interested and forgot all his troubles. + +It really turned out a very amusing game, and when it was over they +tried hide-and-seek, which would have been famous fun--there were so +many hiding-holes among the bales of stuffs and pillows and uncovered +cushions lying about--if they had had one or two more to play at it with +them! But to playfellows they were little accustomed, so they did not +much miss them, and they played away contentedly enough, though quietly, +as was their habit. And so it came about that Madame Nestor never +doubted that they were in the little back-room where she had left them, +when a ring at the front door of the shop announced a customer. + +This door was also half of glass, and when it was opened a bell rang. +Gladys and Roger were busy looking for new hiding-places when the sudden +sound of the bell startled them. + +"Somebody's coming in," whispered Gladys; "Roger, let's hide. Don't let +them see us; we don't know who they are," and quick as thought she +stooped down in a corner, drawing her little brother in beside her. + +From where they were they could peep out. Two ladies entered the shop, +one young and one much older. The face of the older one Gladys did not +distinctly see, or perhaps she did not much care to look at it, so +immediately did the younger one seize her fancy. She was very pretty and +pleasant-looking, with bright brown hair and sweet yet merry eyes, and +as she threw herself down on a seat which stood near the door, Gladys +was able to see that she was neatly and prettily dressed. + +"Aren't you tired, Auntie?" she said to the other lady. + +"A little. It is farther than I thought, and we have not much time. I +wonder what colour will be prettiest for the curtains, Rosamond?" + +"The shade of blue on that sofa over in the corner is pretty," said the +young lady. + +Gladys pinched Roger. It was precisely behind the blue-covered sofa that +they were hiding. + +"I wish they would be quick," said the elder lady. "Perhaps they did not +hear the bell." + +"Shall I go to the door and ring it again?" asked the one called +Rosamond. + +"I don't know; perhaps it would be better to tap at the glass door +leading into the house. Madame Nestor sits in there, I fancy. She +generally comes out at that door." + +"I don't fancy she is there now," said the young lady. "You see we have +come so early. It has generally been in the afternoon that we have come. +Madame Nestor is probably busy about her 'household avocations' at this +hour," she added, with a smile. + +"I wonder what that means," whispered Gladys. "I suppose it means the +dinner." + +Just at that moment the door opened, and Madame Nestor appeared, rather +in a flutter. She was so sorry to have kept the ladies waiting, and how +unfortunate! Her son had just gone to their house with the patterns for +the curtains. He would have sent yesterday to ask at what hour the +ladies would be at home, but they had all been so busy--an unexpected +arrival--and Madame Nestor would have gone on to give all the story of +Léonie's sudden visit to beg a shelter for the two little waifs, had not +the ladies, who knew of old the good dame's long stories, cut her short +as politely as they could. + +"We are very hurried," said the one whom the young lady called "auntie." +"I think the best thing to be done is to get home as quickly as we can, +and perhaps we shall still find your son there; if not, he will no +doubt have left the patterns, so please tell him to try to come this +evening or to-morrow morning before twelve, for we must have the +curtains this week." + +Of course--of course--Madame Nestor agreed to everything as amiably as +possible, and the ladies turned to go. + +"Are you much troubled with mice?" said the younger lady as they were +leaving. "I have heard queer little noises two or three times over in +that corner near the blue sofa while we were speaking." + +Old Madame Nestor started. + +"Mice!" she exclaimed. "I hope not. It would be very serious for +us--with so many beautiful stuffs about. I must make them examine, and +if necessary get a cat. We have not had a cat lately--the last was +stolen, she was such a beauty, and----" + +And on the old body would have chattered for another half-hour, I +daresay, had not the ladies again repeated that they were very hurried +and must hasten home. + +The idea of mice had taken hold of Madame Nestor's mind; it made her for +the moment forget the children, though in passing through the little +room where she had left them she had wondered where they were. She +hurried into the workroom to relate her fears, and Gladys and Roger, as +soon as she had left the shop, jumped up, not sorry to stretch their +legs after having kept them still for nearly a quarter of an hour. + +"I wonder if she'd be angry at our playing here," said Gladys. "What fun +it was hiding and those ladies not knowing we were there! I think they +were nice ladies, but I wish they had kept on talking properly. I liked +to hear what they said." + +"Why doesn't everybody talk properly here if some does?" asked Roger. + +"I suppose," said Gladys, though she had not thought of it before, it +had seemed so natural to hear people talking as she had always heard +people talk--"I suppose those ladies are English. I wish they had talked +to _us_, Roger. Perhaps they know Papa." + +"They couldn't talk to us when they didn't know us was there," said +Roger, with which Gladys could not disagree. But it made her feel rather +sorry not to have spoken to the ladies--it would have been very nice to +have found some one who could understand what they said. + +"I wish we hadn't been hiding," she was going to say, but she was +stopped by a great bustle which began to make itself heard in the +sitting-room, and suddenly the door into the shop opened, and in rushed +Madame Nestor, followed by the servant and two or three of the +workpeople. + +"Where are they, then? Where can they have gone, the poor little +angels?" exclaimed the old lady, while the servant and the others ran +after her repeating: + +"Calm yourself, Madame, calm yourself. They cannot have strayed +far--they will be found." + +Though the children could not understand the words, they could not +_mis_understand the looks and the tones, and, above all, the distress in +their kind old friend's face. They were still half hidden, though they +were no longer crouching down on the floor. Out ran Gladys, followed by +Roger. + +"Are you looking for us, Mrs. Nest?" she said. "Here we are! We've only +been playing at hiding among the chairs and sofas." + +Madame Nestor sank down exhausted on the nearest arm-chair. + +"Oh, but you have given me a fright," she panted out. "I could not +imagine where they had gone," she went on, turning to the others. "I +left them as quiet as two little mice in there," pointing to the +sitting-room, "and the moment my back was turned off they set." + +"It is always like that with children," said Mademoiselle Anna, the +forewoman. She was a young woman with very black hair and very black +eyes and a very haughty expression. No one liked her much in the +workroom--she was so sharp and so unamiable. But she was very clever at +making curtains and covering chairs and sofas, and she had very good +taste, so Madame Nestor, who was, besides, the kindest woman in the +world, kept her, though she disliked her temper and pride. + +"Poor little things--we have all been children in our day," said Madame +Nestor. + +"That is possible," replied Mademoiselle Anna, "but all the same, there +are children and children. I told you, Madame, and you will see I was +right; you do not know the trouble you will have with these two little +foreigners--brought up who knows how--and a queer story altogether it +seems to me," she added, with a toss of her head. + +Gladys and Roger had drawn near Madame Nestor. Gladys was truly sorry to +see how frightened their old friend had been, and she wished she knew +how to say so to her. But when Mademoiselle Anna went on talking, +throwing disdainful glances in their direction, the children shrank +back. They could not understand what she was saying, but they _felt_ she +was talking of them, and they had already noticed her sharp unkindly +glances the evening before. + +"Why is she angry with us?" whispered Roger. + +But Gladys shook her head. "I don't know," she replied. "She isn't as +kind as Mrs. Nest and her son. Oh I do wish Papa would come for us, +Roger!" + +"So do I," said the little fellow. + +But five minutes after, he had forgotten their troubles, for Madame +Nestor took them into the long narrow room where she and her son and +some of their workpeople had their meals, and established them at one +end of the table, to have what _she_ called their "breakfast," but what +to the children seemed their dinner. She was very kind to them, and gave +them what she thought they would like best to eat, and some things, +especially an omelette, they found very good. But the meat they did not +care about. + +"It's so greasy, I can't eat it," said Gladys, after doing her best for +fear Madame Nestor should think her rude. And Roger, who did not so much +mind the greasiness of the gravy, could not eat it either because it +was cooked with carrots, to which he had a particular dislike. They were +not dainty children generally, but the stuffy room, and the different +kind of cooking, and above all, perhaps, the want of their usual morning +walk, seemed to take away their appetite. And the sight of Mademoiselle +Anna's sharp contemptuous face across the table did not mend matters. + +"I wish we had some plain cold meat and potatoes," said Gladys, "like +what we had at home. I could even like some nice plain bread and +butter." + +"Not _this_ bread," said Roger, who was beginning to look doleful again. +"I don't like the taste of this bread." + +So they both sat, watching all that was going on, but eating nothing +themselves, till Madame Nestor, who had been busy carving, caught sight +of them. + +"They do not eat, those poor dears," she said to her son; "I fear the +food is not what they are accustomed to--but I cannot understand them +nor they me. It is too sad! Can you not try to find out what they would +like, Adolphe? You who speak English?" + +Monsieur Adolphe got very red; he was not generally shy, but his +English, which he was rather given to boasting of when there was no need +for using it, seemed less ready than his mother had expected. However, +like her, he was very kind-hearted, and the sight of the two grave pale +little faces troubled him. He went round to their side of the table. + +"You not eat?" he said. "Miss and Sir not eat nothing. Find not good?" + +Gladys's face brightened. It was something to have some one who +understood a little, however little. + +"Oh yes," she said, timidly afraid of appearing uncivil, "it is very +good; but we are not hungry. We are not accustomed to rich things. Might +we--" she went on timidly, "do you think we might have a little bread +and butter?" + +Monsieur Adolphe hesitated. He found it much more difficult than he had +had any idea of to understand what Gladys said, though she spoke very +plainly and clearly. + +"Leetle--leetle?" he repeated. + +"A little bread and butter," said Gladys again. This time he understood. + +"Bread and butter; I will go see," he answered, and then he hurried back +to his mother, still busy at the side-table. + +"They do not seem accustomed to eat meat," he said, "they ask for bread +and butter." + +"The greedy little things!" exclaimed Mademoiselle Anna, who had got up +from her seat on pretence of handing a plate to Madame Nestor, but in +reality to hear all that was going on. "How can they be so bold?" + +"It is the custom in England," said the old lady. "My cousin has often +told me how the children there eat so much bread and butter. But I have +no fresh butter in the house. Would not preserves please them? Here, +Françoise," she went on, calling to the little servant. "Fetch some +preserves from the cupboard, and give some with some bread to the poor +little angels." + +"What a to-do to be sure!" muttered Anna to Adolphe. "I only hope your +mother will be paid for the trouble she is giving herself, but I much +doubt it. I believe it is all a trick to get rid of the two little +plagues. English of the good classes do not leave their children to +anybody's tender mercies in that way!" + +"That is true," said Adolphe, who, though he had a good deal of his +mother's kind-heartedness, was easily impressed by what Anna said. "And +they have certainly a curious accent. I had difficulty in understanding +them. I never heard an accent like it in English." + +"Exactly," said Anna, tossing her head, "they are little cheats--no one +will come for them, and no money will be sent. You will see--and so will +your mother. But it will be too late. She should have thought twice +before taking on herself such a charge." + +"I am quite of your opinion," said Adolphe. "Something must be done; my +mother must be made to hear reason. If no one comes to fetch them in a +day or two we must do something--even if I have to take them myself to +the English Embassy." + +"Quite right, quite right, Monsieur Adolphe," said Anna spitefully. + +But Madame Nestor heard nothing of what they were saying. She was seated +quite contentedly beside the children, happy to see them enjoying the +bread and jam which they much preferred to the greasy meat, even though +the bread tasted a little sour, though she could not persuade them to +take any wine. + +"It isn't good for children," said Gladys gravely, looking up into her +face. But poor Madame Nestor shook her head. + +"It is no use, my dears," she said in her own language. "I cannot +understand! Dear me--I do wish the Papa would come. Poor dear angels--I +fear I cannot make them happy! But at least I can wash up the dishes for +Françoise and let her take them out a walk. You will like that--a nice +promenade, will you not?" + +Gladys jumped up joyfully. + +"The promenade, Roger--we're going to hear the band play. Won't that be +nice? Come let us go quick and get ready." + +Madame Nestor was enchanted. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE KIND-LOOKING GENTLEMAN. + + "A friendly pleasant face he had, + They really thought him very nice, + And when adown the street he'd gone + They nodded to him twice." + + CHANCE ACQUAINTANCES. + + +They were soon ready, for though Gladys had had vague thoughts of trying +to explain that she would like the big trunk unfastened to get out their +"best" things, she gave up the idea when Madame Nestor got down the new +ulsters which she evidently thought quite good enough, and proceeded to +wrap them both up warmly. It was cold, she said, and thanks to the way +she glanced out-of-doors when she made this remark, at the same time +carefully covering up their throats with the white silk handkerchiefs +they had had for the journey, Gladys understood her. + +"We don't look very nice, do we, Roger?" said the little girl, as with +her brother's hand in hers, and Françoise, who was short and stout, and +wore a big frilled cap, following close behind. "If there are a lot of +children where the band plays we shall seem very plain. But I daresay it +doesn't matter, and these ulsters are very warm." + +For it was very cold. It was one of those gray sunless days, less +uncommon in Paris than some people imagine, and the Rue Verte was narrow +and the houses composing it very high, so that _stray_ gleams of +sunshine did not very easily get into it. The children shivered a little +as they stood for a moment hesitating as to which way Françoise meant +them to go, and one or two foot-passengers passing hurriedly, as most +people do in that busy part of the town, jostled the two little people +so that they shrank back frightened. + +"Give me your hands, little Sir and little Miss," said the sturdy +peasant girl, catching hold of them, placing one on each side of her as +she spoke. It went rather against Gladys's dignity, but still in her +heart she was glad of Françoise's protection, though even with that they +were a good deal bumped and pushed as they made their way along the +narrow pavement. + +"It will be nicer when we get to the Boulevards," said Françoise; "there +the pavement is so much wider." + +But Gladys did not understand. She thought the girl said something about +_bulls_ and _large_, and she looked up half frightened, expecting to see +a troop of cattle coming along the street. There was, however, nothing +of the kind to be seen. + +"It's not like Whitebeach," said Gladys, trying to make Roger hear +across Françoise's substantial person. But it was no use. Narrow as the +street was, great heavy waggons and lurries came constantly following +each other over the stones, so that the noise was really deafening, and +it was impossible to hear what was said. By peeping sometimes in front +of Françoise and sometimes behind her, Gladys could catch sight of +Roger's little figure. He was looking solemn and grave; she could tell +that by the way he was walking, even when she did not see his face. + +"I'm afraid he's very cold, poor little boy," thought Gladys to herself, +quite forgetting her own little red nose and nipped fingers in concern +for her brother. + +It was a little better after a while when they got out of the narrow +street into a much wider one. _Too_ wide Gladys thought it, for the rush +of carts and carriages and omnibuses and cabs was really frightening. +She saw some people venturing to cross over to the other side in the +midst of it all--one lady with a little boy, not much bigger than Roger, +especially caught her attention. But she shut her eyes rather than watch +them get across--which they did quite safely after all--so terrified was +she of seeing them crushed beneath some of the monsters on wheels which +seemed to the child's excited imagination to be pounding down one after +the other on purpose to knock everything out of their way, like some +great engines of war. And she squeezed Françoise's hand so tight that +the girl turned round in a fright to see if any one was hurting Gladys, +when a slight movement to one side made her fancy the little servant was +intending to try to cross. + +[Illustration: 'Oh don't, don't cross that dreadful street,' Gladys +exclaimed.] + +"Oh don't, don't cross that dreadful street," Gladys exclaimed. And +Françoise understood what she meant, thanks to her tugs the other way, +and set to work assuring her she had no such intention. + +"Are you frightened of crossing?" said a voice close beside her--an +English voice belonging to a gentleman who had heard her piteous +entreaty. + +"Yes, dreadfully. I'm sure we'll be killed if she takes us over," +replied Gladys, lifting her little white face and troubled eyes to the +stranger. + +He turned to Françoise and explained to her that it was hardly safe to +attempt to cross, especially as the little girl was so frightened. He +spoke, of course, in French, which seemed to him as easy as his own +language, and Françoise replied eagerly. Then again the stranger turned +to Gladys: + +"You need not be afraid, my dear little girl," he said, and his kind +voice somehow made the tears come to her eyes, "your nurse does not wish +to cross. You have not been long here, I suppose--you don't understand +French?" + +"No," said Gladys, gulping down a sob, "we've--we've only just come." + +"Ah well, you'll soon feel more at home, and be able to explain all you +mean for yourself. Good-bye," and raising his hat as perhaps an +altogether Englishman would not have done to so little a girl, he smiled +again, and in another moment had disappeared in the crowd. + +"The nurse seems kind enough, but she's rather stupid--just a peasant. +And those children look so refined. But they don't seem happy, poor +little souls. I wonder who they can be," said the young man to himself +as he walked away. + +"I wish he was our Papa," said Roger. + +"So do I," said Gladys. And then a queer sort of regret came over her +that she had not said more to him. "Perhaps he knows Papa, and could +have helped us to find him," was the vague thought in her childish +brain. It seemed to her that any English-speaking person in this great +town of Paris must know "Papa," or something about him. + +Françoise walked on; _she_ wished for nothing better than a stroll along +the Boulevards, even though this was by no means the best part of them, +or containing the prettiest shops. But Gladys kept wishing for the +"promenade" and the band. At the corner of a side-street she caught +sight of a church at a little distance with some trees and green not far +from it. It looked quieter and less crowded, and Gladys was seized with +a wish to explore in that direction. + +She tugged at Françoise. + +"Mayn't we go up there?" she said, pointing in the direction of the +trees. Françoise understood her. She was a good-natured girl, and turned +with the children as Gladys wished, though it was against her liking to +leave the noisy crowded Boulevards for the quieter side-streets. + +When they got close to the trees they turned out to be in a little +enclosure with railings, a very small attempt at a "square garden," for +there were houses round it on all sides, and, cold as it was, a few +nurses and children were walking about it and looking cheerful enough, +though no doubt they wished they were not so far away from the prettier +parts of Paris where the parks and walks for children are so lively and +amusing. Gladys looked round with a mixture of approval and +disappointment. + +"It must be here that the band plays," she said to Roger; "but it isn't +here to-day. And it's a very small place for a promenade; not nearly so +pretty as it was at Whitebeach. But we might play here if it wasn't so +cold. And there are nice benches for sitting on, you see." + +"I don't like being here," said Roger, shaking his head. "I'd like to go +home." + +"Home"--again the word fell sadly on the little mother-sister's ear. But +she said nothing to remind Roger of how homeless they were, though she +could not help sighing when she thought of the only "going home" there +was for them; the little dark bare cheerless bedroom, and the shop +filled with sofas and chairs. Poor Madame Nestor doing her best, but +understanding so little what a nice bright cosy nursery was like, and +still worse, Mademoiselle Anna's sharp eyes flashing angrily at them +across the table at meat times! + +"Wouldn't you like to have a run, Roger?" said Gladys suddenly. "It +would make us feel warmer, and there's a nice straight bit of path +here." + +Roger made no objection. He let go of Françoise's hand and took his +sister's, and by signs Gladys managed to explain to the girl what they +meant to do. + +"One, two, three, and away," she called out with an attempt at +merriment, and off they set. Roger's stumpy little legs could not go as +fast as Gladys's longer and thinner ones, but she took care not to let +him find that out, and she was rewarded by the colour in his cheeks, and +the brighter look in his eyes when they got back to Françoise again. + +"That's right," said she good-naturedly, and in her heart I think she +too would have enjoyed a run, had it not been beneath her dignity to +behave in so childish a manner within sight of the dignified nurses in +their big cloaks and caps with streaming ribbons, who were strutting up +and down the little enclosure. + +But it grew colder and grayer. + +"One could almost think it was going to snow," said Françoise, looking +up at the sky. Gladys saw her looking up, but did not, of course, +understand her words. + +"I wonder if she thinks it's going to rain," she said to Roger. "Anyway +it's dreadfully cold," and she gave a little shiver. + +"We had better go home," said Françoise, for she was so accustomed to +talking about everything she did that even the knowledge that she was +not understood did not make her silent. And taking a hand of each child, +she turned to go. Gladys and Roger did not mind; they felt tired, though +they had not walked nearly so far as they often did at home, and cold, +and there had been nothing in their walk to raise their poor little +spirits, except perhaps the momentary glance of the bright-faced young +Englishman. + +"That gentleman we met looked very kind, didn't he?" said Gladys to +Roger, when they had got back to the Rue Verte, and Françoise was +helping them to take off their boots. + +"Yes," said Roger, in his sober little voice, "I wish----" + +"What?" said Gladys. + +"I wish he was our Papa!" said Roger again, with a sigh. + +"He couldn't be," said Gladys, "he's too young." + +"He was _much_ bigger than you; he was bigger than _her_," persisted +Roger, pointing to Françoise, for like many little children he could not +separate the idea of age from size, and Gladys knew it was no use trying +to explain to him his mistake. + +"Anyway, he _isn't_ our Papa," she said sadly. "I wonder what we shall +do now," she went on. + +"Isn't it tea time?" asked Roger. + +"I'm afraid they don't have tea here," said Gladys. "There's some wine +and water and some bread on the table in the little room behind the +shop. I'm afraid that's meant for our tea." + +She was right; for when Françoise took them downstairs Madame Nestor +immediately offered them wine and water, and when Gladys did her best to +make the old lady understand that they did not like wine, she persisted +in putting two or three lumps of sugar into the water in the glasses, +which Roger did not object to, as he fished them out before they were +more than half melted, and ate instead of drinking them, but which +Gladys thought very nasty indeed, though she did not like not to take it +as she had already refused the wine. + +"I wish I could get out my doll," said she, "I don't know what to play +with, Roger." + +"I wish I could get my donkey," said Roger. And Madame Nestor saw that +they looked dull and dreary, though she did not know what they said. A +brilliant idea struck her. "I will get them some of the packets of +patterns to look at," she said, "that will amuse them," and off she +trotted to the workroom. + +"Find me the books of patterns, the prettiest ones, of the silky stuffs +for curtains, and some of the cretonnes," she said to one of the young +girls sewing there. + +Mademoiselle Anna looked up suspiciously. + +"Is there some one in the shop?" she said. "Shall I call Monsieur +Adolphe? He has just gone to the other workroom." + +"No, no, do not trouble yourself," said Madame Nestor. "I only want the +patterns to amuse my two little birds in there," and she nodded her head +towards the room where the children were. + +Anna gave her head a little toss. + +"There is no letter about them yet, I suppose," she said. + +"Of course not. How could there be?" replied the old lady. "The poor +things have been here but one night. I do not see why you should +trouble yourself to be so cross about them. You are not _yet_ mistress +of this house," upon which Anna murmured something about being sorry to +see Madame Nestor troubled about the children, that was her only reason, +she knew Madame to be so good, etc. + +Madame Nestor said no more, for it was seldom she spoke sharply to any +one, and, to tell the truth, she was a little afraid of Anna, who some +time or other was to be married to Adolphe, and take the place of the +old lady, who looked forward then to having some rest in a little home +of her own. She did not wish to quarrel with Anna, for she knew she +would make a clever and useful wife to her son, but still unkindness to +any one, above all to these little helpless strangers, made her really +angry. + +She made the young workwoman help her to carry the big books of patterns +to the little sitting-room, and at sight of them Gladys and Roger +started up. They were pleased at the prospect of anything to do, poor +little things, even lessons would have been welcome, and they were +greatly delighted when, as well as the books, Madame Nestor produced a +lot of scraps of cretonne with gay flowers and birds in all colour, and +made them understand they might do as they liked with them. + +"Let's cut them out," exclaimed Gladys, "we can cut out lovely things +and then afterwards we can paste them on white paper and make all sorts +of things with them." + +But there were no scissors! Gladys opened and shut the middle and +forefingers of her right hand repeating "scissors," till Madame Nestor +understood and not only lent her a pair of her own, but sent a little +way down the street to buy a little pair with blunt ends for Roger, so +afraid was she of his cutting himself. + +"Oh, how nice," exclaimed both children, jumping up to kiss the kind old +woman. "Now we can cut out beautifully, and when we are tired of cutting +out we can look at these lovely patterns," said Gladys, as she settled +herself and Roger comfortably at the table, and Madame Nestor went off +to the workroom again, quite satisfied about them for the time. + +"You see there are _some_ things to be got really very nice in Paris, +Roger," said Gladys in her prim old-fashioned way. "These scissors are +really very nice, and I don't think they were dear. Madame Nestor gave +the boy a piece like a small sixpence, and he brought her a halfpenny +back. That isn't dear." + +"What did he bring her a halfpenny for? Do they sell halfpennies in the +shops here?" asked Roger, looking very puzzled. + +"No, of course not. You're too little to understand. That's what they +call 'giving change,'" replied Gladys, wisely. "Ellen told me that once +when I went to a shop with her to buy something for Miss Susan. Now, +Roger, will you cut out that blue bird, and I'll do these pinky flowers? +Then afterwards we can paste them as if the bird was flying out of the +flowers; won't that be pretty?" + +"I'd rather do the flowers," said Roger. "The bird's nose is so +twisty--I can't do it." + +"Very well," said Gladys good-naturedly. "Then I'll do it, and you take +the flowers. See they go in nice big rounds--you can easily do them." + +And for an hour or two the children were as really happy as they had +been for a good while, and when the thought of their father and what had +become of him pressed itself forward on Gladys, she pushed it back with +the happy trust and hopefulness of children that "to-morrow" would bring +good news. + + * * * * * + +In a part of Paris, at some distance from the Rue Verte, that very +afternoon three people were sitting together in a pretty drawing-room +at "afternoon tea." They were two ladies--a young, quite young one, and +an older. And the third person was a gentleman, who had just come in. + +"It's so nice to find you at home, and above all at tea, Auntie," he +said to the elder lady. "It is such a horrid day--as bad as London, +except that there's no fog. You haven't been out, I suppose?" + +"Oh yes, indeed we have," replied the young lady. "We went a long way +this morning--walking--to auntie's upholsterer, quite in the centre of +the town. It looks very grim and uninviting there, the streets are so +narrow and the houses so high." + +"I've walked a good way too to-day," said the young man. + +"I am glad to hear it, my boy," said his aunt. "I have been a little +afraid of your studying too hard this winter, at least not taking +exercise enough, and you being so accustomed to a country life too!" + +"I don't look very bad, do I?" said the young man, laughing. He stood up +as he spoke, and his aunt and sister glanced at him with pride, though +they tried to hide it. He was tall and handsome, and the expression of +his face was particularly bright and pleasant. + +"You are very conceited," said his sister. "I am not going to pay you +any compliments." + +He sat down again, and a more serious look came into his face; for some +moments he did not speak. + +"What are you thinking about, Walter?" asked his sister. + +Walter looked up. + +"I was thinking about two little children I met to-day," he said. "Away +over on the Boulevard X---- ever so far." + +"That is not so very far from where we were this morning," interrupted +the aunt. + +"They were such tiny things, and they looked so forlorn and so unhappy; +I can't get them out of my head," said Walter. + +"Did you give them anything? Did they seem quite alone?" asked Rosamond. + +Walter laughed. + +"You don't understand," he said; "they were not beggars. Bless me! I +shouldn't like to encounter that very imperious little lady if she +thought I had made you think they were beggars." + +"'Imperious little lady,' and 'poor forlorn little things;' what do you +mean, Walter?" said Rosamond. + +"I mean what I say. They did look forlorn little creatures, and yet the +small girl was as imperious as a princess. They were two little English +children, newly arrived evidently, for they didn't understand a word of +French. And they were being taken care of by a stupid sort of peasant +girl turned into a 'bonne.' And the little girl thought the nurse was +going to cross the street, and that she and the small boy would be +killed, and she couldn't make the stupid owl understand, and I heard +them talking English, and so I came to the rescue--that was all." + +"It isn't anything so very terrible," said the aunt. "No doubt they and +their bonne will learn to understand each other in a little." + +"It wasn't that only," said Walter reflectively; "there was something +out of gear, I am sure. The children looked so superior to the servant, +and so--so out of their element dragging up and down that rough crowded +place, while she gaped at the shop windows. And there was something so +pathetic in the little girl's eyes." + +"In spite of her imperiousness," said Rosamond teasingly. + +"Yes," said Walter, without smiling. "It was queer altogether--the +sending them out in that part of the town with that common sort of +servant--and their not knowing any French. I suppose the days are gone +by for stealing children or that sort of thing; but I could really have +fancied there was something of the kind in this case." + +Rosamond and her aunt grew grave. + +"Poor little things!" they said. "Why did you not ask them who they were +or where they came from, or something?" added Rosamond. + +"I don't know. I wish I had," said Walter. "But I'm not sure that I +would have ventured on such a freedom with the little girl. I'm not +indeed." + +"Then they didn't look _frightened_--the maid did not seem cross to +them?" + +"Oh no, she was good-natured enough. Just a great stupid. No, they +didn't look exactly frightened, except of the horses and carriages; but +bewildered and unhappy, and out of their element. And yet so plucky! I'm +certain they were well-bred children. I can't make it out." + +"Nor can I," said Rosamond. "I wonder if we shall ever hear any more +about them." + +Curiously enough she dreamt that night that she was again in the +furniture shop in the Rue Verte, and that she heard again a noise which +she thought to be mice, but that pulling back a chair to see, she came +upon two little children, who at once started to their feet, crying: +"We're the boy and girl he met. Take us home, do. We're not mice, and we +are _so_ unhappy." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A FALL DOWNSTAIRS. + + "Oh! what's the matter? what's the matter?" + + GOODY BLAKE. + + +Some days passed; they were much the same as the first, except that the +children--children-like--grew used to a certain extent to the things and +people and manners and ways of the life in which they found themselves. +Roger now and then seemed pretty contented, almost as if he were +forgetting the strange changes that had come over them; so long as every +one was kind to him, and he had Gladys at hand ready, so far as was +possible for her, to attend to his slightest wish, he did not seem +unhappy. But on the other hand, the least cross word, or one of +Mademoiselle Anna's sharp looks, or even the want of things that he +liked to eat, would set him off crying in a way he had never done +before, and which nearly broke Gladys's heart. For she, though she +seemed quiet and contented enough, was in reality very anxious and +distressed. She was of an age to understand that something really +serious must be the matter for her and Roger to be left with strangers +in this way--no letters coming, no inquiries of any kind being made, +just as if she and her little brother were forgotten by all the world! +She could write a little, and once or twice she said to herself that if +it went on very long she would try to send a letter to Miss Susan; but +then again, when she remembered how glad that young lady had been to get +rid of them, how she had disliked the idea of their staying with Mrs. +Lacy after her marriage--for all this by scraps of conversation, remarks +of servants, and so on, Gladys had been quick enough to find out--she +felt as if she would rather do anything, stay anywhere, rather than ask +Miss Susan to take them back. And then from time to time hope would rise +strong in her, and she would wake in the morning firmly convinced that +"Papa would come to-day"--hopes, alas, only to be disappointed! She was +beginning to understand a little of what was said by those about them. +Madame Nestor was as kind as ever, and her son, who had taken a great +fancy to Roger, was decidedly kinder than he had been at first. With +them alone Gladys felt she would not have minded anything so much; but +she could see that Anna's dislike to them increased, and the child +dreaded the hours of the meals, from the feeling of the hard scornful +looks that Anna was then sure to cast on her. + +One day she overheard some talking between her and Madame Nestor. The +young woman seemed angry, and the old one was remonstrating with her. +Gladys heard that they were speaking about money, and also about some +one going away, but that was all she could make out, though they were +talking quite loud, and did not seem to mind her being there. + +"If only Anna was going away," thought Gladys, "I wouldn't mind +anything. I wouldn't mind the not having baths, or tea, or bread and +butter, or--or all the things we had at home, if only there was nobody +to look so fierce at us. I'd almost rather be Madame Nestor's little +servant, like Françoise, if only Anna would go away." + +It almost seemed as if her wishes had been overheard by some fairy, for +the next morning, when they were called to the second breakfast--which +the children counted their dinner--Anna's place was empty! Gladys +squeezed Roger's hand under the table, and whispered to him: "She's +gone, I do believe she's gone." Then looking up at Madame Nestor she saw +her kind old face looking decidedly jollier than usual. + +"Yes," she said, nodding her head; "Anna is away. She has gone away for +a few days." + +Gladys understood her partly but not altogether, but she did not mind. +She was only too pleased to find it true, and that was the happiest day +they had since they came to the Rue Verte. Madame Nestor sent out to the +pastry-cook's near by for some nice little cakes of a kind the children +had never tasted before, and which they found delicious, and Monsieur +Adolphe said he would get them some roasted chestnuts to eat if they +liked them. He found the words in a dictionary which he showed Gladys +with great pride, and pointed them out to her, and was quite delighted +when she told him how to pronounce them, and added: "I like roast +chestnuts _very_ much." + +"Mademoiselle shall give me some lessons of English," he said to his +mother, his round face beaming with pleasure. "You are quite right, they +are little gentlepeople, there is no doubt of it; and I feel sure the +Papa will come to fetch them in a few days. He will be very grateful to +us for having taken such care of them--it may be a good thing in the end +even from a business point of view, for I should have no objection to +extend our English connection." + +No thought of gain to themselves in any way had entered Madame Nestor's +head; but she was too pleased to see her son in such a good humour about +the children to say anything to disagree with him. + +"He has a good heart, my Adolphe," she said to herself. "It is only Anna +that makes him seem what he is not; if she would but stay away +altogether! And yet, it would be difficult to find her equal in other +ways." + +"Speaking of English," she said aloud, "reminds me that those English +ladies will be getting impatient for their curtains. And the trimming +has not yet come; how slow those makers are! It is a fortnight since +they promised it for the end of the week." + +"It does not matter much," said Adolphe, "for no one can make them up +properly except Anna. She should not have gone away just now; she knows +there are several things that require her." + +"That is true," said Madame Nestor, and so it was. Mademoiselle Anna +seemed purposely to have chosen a most inconvenient time for going off +on a visit to her family, and when Madame Nestor reproached her for this +she had replied that with all the money the Nestors had received for the +two little strangers, they could well afford to engage for the time a +first-rate workwoman to replace her. This was the conversation Gladys +had heard and a little understood. Poor Madame Nestor, wishing to keep +up the children's dignity, had told every one that Mr. Marton had left +her plenty of money for them, making the most of the two or three pounds +which was all he had been able to spare, and of which she had not as yet +touched a farthing. + +But whether Anna's absence was inconvenient or not, it was very pleasant +to most people concerned. Adolphe himself took the children out a walk, +and though Gladys was at first not quite sure that it was not a little +beneath her dignity to let the young man be her "chaperon," she ended by +enjoying it very much. Thanks to his broken English and the few French +words she was now beginning to understand, they got on very well; and +when he had taken them some way out of Paris--or out of the centre of +the town rather--in an omnibus, she was obliged to own that it was by no +means the gray, grim, crowded, noisy, stuffy place it had seemed to her +those first days in the Rue Verte. Poor little Roger was delighted! The +carriages and horses were to him the most beautiful sight the world +could show; and as they walked home down the Champs Elysées it was quite +difficult to get him along, he wanted so constantly to stand still and +stare about him. + +"How glad I am we had on our best things!" said Gladys, as she hung up +her dark-blue braided serge jacket and dress--for long ago Madame Nestor +had been obliged to open the big trunk to get out a change of attire for +the children--"aren't you, Roger?" She smoothed dawn the scarlet breast +on her little black felt hat as she spoke. "This hat is very neat, and +so is my dress; but still they are very plain compared to the things all +the children that we saw had on. Did you see that little girl in green +velvet with a sort of very soft fur, like shaded gray fluff, all round +it? And another one in a red silky dress, all trimmed with lace, and a +white feather as long--as long as----" + +"Was it in that pretty big wide street?" asked Roger. "I saw a little +boy like me with a 'plendid coat all over gold buttons." + +"That was a little page, not a gentleman," said Gladys, rather +contemptuously. "Don't you remember Mrs. Ffolliot's page? Only perhaps +he hadn't so many buttons. I'd like to go a walk there every day, +wouldn't you?" + +But their conversation was interrupted by Madame Nestor's calling them +down to have a little roll and a glass of milk, which she had discovered +they liked much better than wine and water. + +"If only there would come a letter, or if Papa would come--oh, if Papa +would but come before that Anna comes back again, everything would get +all right! I do hope when he does come that Papa will let me give a nice +present to Mrs. Nest," thought Gladys to herself as she was falling +asleep that night. + +The next day was so bright and fine, that when the children saw Monsieur +Adolphe putting on his coat to go out early in the morning they both +wished they might go with him, and they told him so. He smiled, but told +them in his funny English that it could not be. He was going out in a +hurry, and only about business--some orders he was going to get from the +English ladies. + +"English ladies," repeated Gladys. + +"Yes; have you not seen them? They were here one day." + +"We saw them," said Gladys, smiling, "but they did not see _us_. They +thought we were mice," but the dictionary had to be fetched before +Adolphe could make out what "mice" meant, even though Roger turned it +into "mouses" to make it plainer. And then he had to hurry off--it was a +long way, he said, in the Avenue Gérard, close to the Champs Elysées, +that these ladies lived. + +"Avenue Gérard," repeated Gladys, in the idle way children sometimes +catch up a name; "that's not hard to say. We say _avenue_ in English +too. It means a road with lots of trees. Are there lots of trees where +those ladies live, Mr. 'Dolph?" + +But "Mr. 'Dolph" had departed. + +After these bright days came again some dreary autumn weather. The +children "wearied," as Scotch people say, a good deal. They were even +glad on the fourth day to be sent out a short walk with Françoise. + +"I wonder if we shall see that nice gentleman again if we go up that big +street?" said Roger. + +"I don't think we shall," said Gladys. "Most likely he doesn't live +there. And it's a great many days ago. Perhaps he's gone back to +England." + +It was indeed by this time nearly a fortnight that the little waifs had +found refuge in the Rue Verte. + +The walk turned out less disagreeable than their first one with +Françoise. They did go up the Boulevard, where the servant had some +commissions, but they did not meet the "nice gentleman." They came home, +however, in very good spirits; for at the big grocer's shop, where +Françoise had bought several things, one of the head men had given them +each an orange. And chattering together about how they should eat +them--whether it was nicest to suck them, or to cut them with a knife, +or to peel them and divide them into what are familiarly called +"pigs"--the two children, with Françoise just behind them, reached the +shop in the Rue Verte. + +The door stood open--that was a little unusual, but they did not stay to +wonder at it, but ran in quickly, eager to show their oranges to their +kind old friend. The door leading to the room behind the shop stood open +also, and the children stopped short, for the room was full of people, +all talking eagerly and seemingly much excited. There were all the +workpeople and one or two neighbours, but neither Madame Nestor nor her +son. Françoise, who had caught sight of the crowd and already overheard +something of what they were saying, hurried forward, telling the +children as she passed them to stay where they were, and frightened of +they knew not what, the two little creatures took refuge in their old +corner behind the blue sofa. + +"What can it be?" said Gladys. + +"P'raps Papa's come," suggested Roger. + +Gladys's heart gave a great leap, and she sprang up, glancing in the +direction of the little crowd of people. But she quickly crouched down +again. + +"Oh no," she said. "It can't be that. Françoise would not have told us +to stay here. I'm afraid somebody's ill. It seems more like that." + +Her instinct was right. By degrees the talking subsided, and one or two +of the workpeople went off to their business, and a moment or two after, +when Adolphe Nestor suddenly made his appearance, there was a general +hush, broken only by one or two voices inquiring "how she was." + +"Do you hear that, Roger?" whispered Gladys, nudging her brother; +"they're asking how she is. That means Mrs. Nest, I'm sure. She must be +ill." + +Roger said nothing, but listened solemnly. + +"Her was quite well when us went out," he observed, after a considerable +pause. + +"Yes, but sometimes people get ill all of a sudden," said Gladys. Then, +after a moment, "Roger," she said, "I think I'll go and ask. I shall be +_so_ unhappy if poor Mrs. Nest is ill." + +"So will I," said Roger. + +They got up from the floor, and hand in hand crept timidly towards the +door. Françoise was still standing there, listening to Adolphe, who was +talking to the two or three still standing there. Françoise turned at +the sound of the children's footsteps, and raised a warning finger. But +Gladys put her aside, with what "Walter" would have called her imperious +air. + +"Let us pass," she said. "I want to speak to Mr. 'Dolph." + +The young man heard the sound of his own name. + +"What is it?" he said quickly, in French. + +"I want to know what's the matter. Is Mrs. Nest ill?" asked Gladys. But +she had to repeat her question two or three times before Adolphe +understood it He was flurried and distressed--indeed, his eyes looked as +if he had been crying--and that made it more difficult for him to catch +the meaning of the child's words. But at last he did so. + +"Ah!" he exclaimed. "Yes, there is much the matter. My poor mother--she +has fallen downstairs and broken her leg." + +Gladys clasped her two hands together. + +"Broken her leg," she repeated. "Oh, poor Mrs. Nest! Oh, it must hurt +her dreadfully." + +At this Roger burst out crying. Adolphe turned round, and picked him up +in his arms. + +"Poor little fellow," he said, "yes, he, too, is very sorry. What we are +to do I know not. Anna away, too. I hope you will be very good and quiet +children. Françoise, too, will be so busy--you will do all you can to +give no trouble, will you not? I wish we had news of the Papa!" he +added, as he turned away. + +He did not speak at all unkindly, but he seemed very much troubled, and +with his broken English it was very difficult for Gladys to follow all +he said. + +"May I go and see poor Mrs. Nest?" she said timidly. + +"No, no; you cannot see her for a long time," replied Adolphe hastily, +as he left the room. + +"I must send a telegram to Mademoiselle Anna," he added to Françoise, +and unfortunately for her peace of mind, Gladys understood him. She +turned away, her lips quivering. + +"Come upstairs, dear," she said to her little brother. "Come to our room +and I will take off your things." + +Roger followed her obediently. Françoise had disappeared into the +kitchen, where more than ever she was needed, as there was no one else +to see about the dinner--so the two little things climbed upstairs by +themselves. It was already growing dusk--the dull little room looked +cheerless, and felt chilly. Roger looked up into Gladys's eyes as she +was unfastening his coat. + +"Are you crying, Gladdie?" he said, in his little soft sad tone. + +Gladys turned away a moment to wipe her eyes. If she had not done so she +would probably have burst into a terrible fit of tears, for never had +she felt so miserable and desolate. Her pride, too, was aroused, for she +saw most plainly that she and Roger were more than ever a sad burden and +trouble. But what could she do? What could any little girl of seven +years old have done in such a case? + +The sight of Roger's meek sad face gave her a kind of strength. For his +sake she must keep up anyway the appearance of cheerfulness. So she +kissed him, and answered quietly: + +"I am very sorry for poor Mrs. Nest. She has been so kind to us." + +"Yes," said Roger. Then a bright idea struck him. "I'll say my prayers +for her to be made better to-night. Will you, Gladdie?" + +"Yes," said Gladys, and there was comfort in the thought to her, for it +brought with it another. "I'll ask God to help _us_," she thought to +herself, "and when I go to bed I'll think and think, and perhaps He'll +put something in my head. _Perhaps_ I must try to write to Miss Susan." + +The loss of Madame Nestor's constant kindness was quickly felt. No one +came near the children, and when Gladys crept downstairs there was no +light in the little sitting-room--no glasses of milk and plate of rolls +waiting for them on the table, as had become a habit. And Roger was cold +and hungry! He had asked Gladys to go down and look if there was any +"goűter," as they had learnt to call this afternoon luncheon, and when +she came up again and told him "no," the poor little fellow, frightened, +and cold, and hungry, burst into loud sobbing. Gladys was so afraid it +would be heard, and that they would be scolded for disturbing Madame +Nestor, that she persuaded Roger to get into bed, where she covered him +up warmly, and promised to tell him a story if he would leave off +crying. + +It was not easy to keep her promise--she felt so on the point of +bursting into tears herself that she had to stop every now and then to +clear her throat, and she was not sorry when, on one of these occasions, +instead of Roger's shrill little voice urging her to "go on. What do you +stop for, Gladdie?" she heard by his regular breathing that he had +fallen asleep. She had no light, but she felt about to be sure he was +well covered, and then, leaning her head on the side of his bed, she +tried to "think." + +"I would not mind anything so much if Anna was not coming back," she +said to herself. "But if she is here, and poor Mrs. Nest shut up in her +room, she can do anything she likes to us, for Mr. 'Dolph wouldn't know; +and if I told him he'd think I was very naughty to bother him when his +mother was ill. I think I must write to Miss Susan--at least, if Anna is +_very_ unkind, I will--unless--unless--oh, if it _would_ but happen for +Papa to come to-morrow, or a letter! I'll wait till to-morrow and +see--and _perhaps_ Anna won't come back, not--not if Papa's in the +train--she'd run away if she saw him, if he had Mrs. Nest's cap on, +she'd"--and that was all, for before Gladys had settled what she would +do, she too, as you see, had fallen asleep. + +She slept some time--an hour or two--and she awoke, feeling cold and +stiff, though what had awakened her she did not at first know, till +again, bringing with it the remembrance of having heard it before, the +sound of a voice calling her reached her ears. + +"Mademoiselle--Mademoiselle Gladees," it said, "why do you not come? The +dinner is all ready, and I have called you so many times." It was +Françoise, tumbling up the narrow stair in the dark. Gladys heard her +fumbling at the door, and called out "Françoise!" Then Roger woke and +started up, trembling. "What is it--what is the matter, Gladdie?" he +cried, and Gladys had to soothe and pet him, and say it was only +Françoise; and Françoise in the meantime had got into the room, +exclaiming at their having no light, and pulling a box of matches from +her pocket, struck one, and hunted about till she found a bit of candle. + +It was a rather melancholy scene that the end of candle lighted up. + +"So--you have been asleep!" exclaimed the servant; "well, perhaps it was +the best thing. Well, come down now, Monsieur Adolphe is asking for +you," and she would scarcely let them wait to dip their hands in water +and smooth their tumbled hair. + +"What will become of them when _she_ comes back and poor Madame ill in +bed, who can say?" the peasant girl muttered to herself as she led them +downstairs. "I wish their friends would come to fetch them--I do. It's +certainly very strange for rich people to leave their children like +that," and Françoise shook her head. + +Monsieur Adolphe received the children kindly. He had been a little +alarmed when Françoise had told him she could not find them in the +sitting-room, for he knew it would trouble his poor mother greatly if +she found her little favourites were neglected, for the thought of them +was one of the things most troubling the poor woman in the middle of her +suffering. + +"If but the Papa would come for them," she had already said to her son. +"I know not what to do. I think we must ask some advice. Anna dislikes +them so; and if she comes back to-morrow----" + +"She may not come till the day after," said Adolphe. "Do not trouble +yourself about anything just now. The children are all right for the +moment." + +"And you will be kind to them at dinner, and give them nice pieces. They +do not eat much, but they are used to more delicate cooking than ours." + +"Reassure yourself. I will do all as you would yourself. And if you keep +quiet, my good Mamma, perhaps in a day or two you can see them for +yourself. The great thing is to keep quiet, and that will keep down the +fever, the doctor says," repeated poor Adolphe, who was really a good +and affectionate son. + +"Ah, yes," thought poor Madame Nestor, "that is all very well, but at my +age," for she was really old--old to be the mother of Adolphe, having +married late in life, "at my age one does not break one's leg for +nothing. But the good God knows best. If my time has come, so be it. I +have no great anxiety to leave behind me, like some poor women, thank +Heaven! Only these poor children!" + +And thanks to what Madame Nestor had said, and thanks in part, too, to +his kind feelings, Adolphe was very friendly to the children at dinner; +and in reply to their timid inquiries about his mother, told them that +the doctor thought she was going on well, and in a day or two they +might see her, if they were very good and quiet. So the meal passed off +peacefully. + +"After all," thought Adolphe, "they do not cost one much. They eat like +sparrows. Still it is a great responsibility--poor little things!" + +He took Roger in his arms and kissed him when he said good-night, and +Gladys would have gone to bed feeling rather less unhappy, for Françoise +put in her head to say she would come in half an hour to help to undress +"Monsieur Roger," but for some words she overheard among some of the +young workwomen, which she understood only too well--that Mademoiselle +Anna was returning the next morning! + +"I _must_ write to Miss Susan," thought the little girl, as she at last +fell asleep. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +FROM BAD TO WORSE. + + "Their hearts were laden + With sorrow, surprise, and fear." + + PRINCESS BOPEEP. + + +Nobody came to wake the children the next morning. They slept later than +usual, and when Gladys woke it was already as light as ever it was in +the dull little room. But it was very cold--the weather had turned to +frost in the night, which made the air clearer and brighter, and in +their own warm rooms at Mrs. Lacy's the children would have rejoiced at +the change. Here it was very different. + +Gladys lay waiting some time, wondering if no one was coming with their +chocolate and bread, forgetting at first all that had happened the day +before. By degrees it came back to her mind, and then she was no longer +surprised at their being left alone. + +"Anna has come back," she thought to herself, "and she won't let them +bring us our breakfast." + +She got out of bed, glad to see that Roger was still sleeping, and +crossed the room, the cold wooden floor striking chill to her bare feet. +She reached the door and opened it, peering down the narrow dark +staircase. + +"Françoise," she called softly, for the kitchen was nearer than the +workroom, and she hoped perhaps Françoise would come to her without Anna +knowing. But no one answered. She heard voices in the distance--in the +kitchen they seemed to be--and soon she fancied that she distinguished +the sharp tones of Mademoiselle Anna, ordering about the poor little +cook. Gladys quickly but softly shut the door and crossed the room again +on tiptoes. She stood for a moment or two hesitating what to do. It was +so cold that she felt half inclined to curl herself up in bed again and +try to go to sleep! But if Roger woke, as he was sure to do soon--no, +the best thing was for her to get dressed as quickly as possible. She +bravely sponged herself as well as she could with the cold water, which +was now always left in the room in a little jug; "no chance of any _hot_ +water to-day!" she thought to herself as she remembered how unhappy she +had been that first morning at not having a bath, and then went on to +dress, though not without a good deal of difficulty, as several of her +little under-garments fastened behind. Not till the last button was +secured did Roger wake. + +"Gladdie," he said in a sleepy tone, "are you dressed. We haven't had +our chocolate, Gladdie." + +"Never mind, Roger dear," said Gladys. "They're all very busy to-day, +you know, so I've got up and dressed quickly, and now I'll go down and +bring up your breakfast. Unless you'd rather get up first?" + +Roger considered. He was in rather a lazy mood, which was perhaps just +as well. + +"No," he decided. "I'll have my breakfast first. And you can eat yours +beside me, can't you, Gladdie?" + +"Yes," said Gladys, "that will be very nice." + +She spoke with a cheerfulness she was far from feeling, for in her heart +she felt by no means sure of getting any breakfast at all. But just as +she was turning to go a slight knocking was heard at the door. It was +more like a scratching indeed, as if the person were afraid of being +heard outside as well as by those in the room. + +"Mademoiselle," came in a loud whisper after the queer rapping had gone +on for some time, "are you awake? Open--I have the hands full." + +It was Françoise. Gladys opened. The little servant, her round red face +rounder and redder than usual, for she had been all the morning at the +kitchen fire, and had besides been passing through unusual excitement, +stumped into the room, a bowl, from which the steam of some hot liquid +was rising, in one hand, and a plate with a large hunch of bread in the +other. + +She put them down on the little table and wiped her hot face with her +apron. + +"Ah, Mademoiselle," she said, "no one would believe it--the trouble I +have had to get some breakfast for you! _She_ would not have it--lazy +little creatures, she called you--you might come down and get it for +yourselves--a piece of dry bread and some dripping soup--that was all +she would have given you, and I know you are not used to that. So what +did I do but wait till her back was turned--the cross cat--and then in +with the milk and a tiny bit of chocolate--all I could find, and here it +is! Hot, at any rate; but not very good, I fear." + +Gladys did not, of course, understand a quarter of the words which +Françoise rattled off in her queer Norman-French; but her wits were +sharpened by anxiety, and she gathered quite enough of the sense of the +little servant's long speech to feel very grateful to her. In her hurry +Françoise had poured all the chocolate--or hot milk rather, for there +was very little chocolate in the composition--into one bowl; but the +children were too hungry to be particular. They drank turn-about, and +finished by crumbling up the remains of the bread in the remains of the +milk and eating it with the spoon, turn-about also, Françoise standing +by, watching them with satisfaction! Suddenly she started. + +"I must run down," she said, "or she will be after me again. I wish I +could stay to help you to dress Monsieur Roger, but I dare not," and +gathering up the dishes in her apron so that they could not be seen, she +turned to go. + +"Dress him as quickly as you can," she said to Gladys, "and then she +cannot say you have given any trouble. But stay--I will see if I cannot +get you a little hot water for the poor bébé." + +And off she set, to appear again in a minute with a tin jug of hot water +which she poured out into the basin at once for fear the absence of the +tin jug should be discovered. + +"She has eyes on every side of her head," she whispered as she went off +again. + +Roger's toilet was accomplished more luxuriously than poor Gladys's own, +and he was quite bright and happy with no fear of Mademoiselle Anna or +any one else, chirping like a little bird, as his sister took him down +the narrow staircase to the room behind the shop where they spent the +mornings. + +"Hush, Roger dear, we must be very quiet because poor Mrs. Nest is ill, +you know," she said, when his shrill little voice rose higher and +higher, for he had had an exceedingly good night and felt in excellent +spirits. + +"She can't hear us down here," replied Roger. But Gladys still repeated +her "hush," for, in reality, it was Anna who she feared might overhear +Roger's chatter. She looked about for something to keep him quiet, but +could see nothing. It was warm in the sitting-room--though if Anna could +have done so, she would have ordered Françoise not to light the fire for +the little plagues, as she called them--but except for that they would +have been happier up in their bedroom, where Gladys had discovered a +few of Roger's toys in a corner of the big trunk, which, however, Madame +Nest had not allowed them to bring down. + +"When the Papa comes, I wish him to find all your things in good order," +she had said. "The toys might get broken, so while you are here I will +find you things to amuse you." + +But this morning the bundle of cretonne and cut-out birds and flowers +was not to be seen! + +"I must tell Roger stories all the morning, I suppose," thought Gladys, +and she was just going to propose doing so, when Roger, who had been +standing peeping through the glass door which led into the shop, +suddenly gave a cry of pleasure. + +"Oh, Gladdie," he said, "see what a pretty carriage and two prancey +horses at the door!" + +Gladys ran to look--the shop door was wide open, for one of the +apprentice boys was sweeping it out, and they could see right into the +street. The carriage had stopped, as Roger said, and out of it stepped +one of two people seated in it. It was the younger of the two ladies +that the children had seen that first day in the Rue Verte when they +were hidden behind the blue sofa in the corner. + +She came forward into the shop. + +"Is there no one here?" she said in French. + +The apprentice, very dusty and looking rather ashamed, came out of a +corner. It was not often that ladies in grand carriages came themselves +to the little shop, for though the Nestors had some very good customers, +Monsieur Adolphe usually went himself to their houses for orders. + +"I will call some one," said the boy, "if Mademoiselle will have the +goodness to wait a moment," and he disappeared through a little door in +the corner of the shop which led into the workroom another way. + +The young lady shivered a little--it was very cold--and then walked +about, glancing at the furniture now and then. She seemed to think it +too cold to sit down. There was certainly no dearth of chairs! + +"I wonder if we should ask her to come in here," said Gladys. But before +she had time to decide, the door by which the boy had gone out opened +again and Mademoiselle Anna appeared. She came forward with the most +gracious manner and sweetest smiles imaginable. Gladys, who had never +seen her like that, felt quite amazed. + +The young lady received Anna's civilities very calmly. She had never +seen her before, and thought her rather a vulgar young woman. But when +Anna begged her to come for a moment into the sitting-room while she +went to fetch the patterns the young lady had come for she did not +refuse. + +"It is certainly bitterly cold this morning," she said. + +"And we are all so upset--by the sad accident to our poor dear +Madame--Mademoiselle must excuse us," said Anna, leading the way to the +sitting-room as she spoke. + +Rosamond stopped short. + +"An accident to that good Madame Nestor. I am very sorry," she +exclaimed. + +[Illustration: Anna opened the door sharply, as she did everything, and +in so doing overthrew the small person of Roger.] + +"Ah, yes," Anna went on in her honeyed tones, "it is really too sad. It +was--but will not Mademoiselle come out of the cold, and I will tell her +about it," she went on, backing towards the glass door. It opened +inwards; the children, very much interested in watching the little scene +in the shop, and not quite understanding Anna's intention, had not +thought of getting out of the way. Anna opened the door sharply, as she +did everything, and in so doing overthrew the small person of Roger, +whose short fat legs were less agile than the longer and thinner ones +of his sister. Gladys sprang away like a kitten, but only to spring back +again the next moment, as a doleful cry rose from poor Roger. + +"You're not hurt, darling, are you?" she said, as she knelt down to pick +him up. + +Roger went on crying softly. He preferred to take his time about +deciding that he wasn't hurt. And in the meantime the stranger young +lady had come into the room and was looking round her in some surprise. + +"Has the little boy fallen down?" she asked in French. "Poor little +fellow! Are they Madame Nestor's grandchildren?" + +"Oh dear, no," replied Anna, casting a contemptuous glance at Gladys and +Roger, who, crouching on the floor in a corner of the always dusky +little room, could not be very clearly distinguished. "Get up," +continued she, turning to them, "get up at once and go to your own +room." + +Frightened by her tone and by Roger's continued sobbing, Gladys dragged +him up from the floor as well as she could, and escaped with him by the +door leading upstairs, near to which they happened to be. Something in +the sudden change of Anna's tone roused the young lady's suspicions. + +"Who are they, then?" she asked again. "And are you sure the little boy +is not hurt?" + +"He cries for nothing, Mademoiselle--he is always crying. They are +children our good Madame has taken in out of charity; it is very +difficult to manage with them just now, poor little things. They have +been so neglected and are so troublesome; but we must do our best till +our dear Madame gets better," and then she went on into a long +description of the accident, how she herself had just gone to spend two +days with her sister, whom she had not seen for years, when she had been +recalled, etc., etc., all told so cleverly that Rosamond went away, +thinking that after all she must be a very good sort of young woman, and +that it was not right to yield to prejudice. Yet still she could not +quite forget the glimpse she had had of the two little creatures taken +in "out of charity," and the sound of Roger's stifled sobs. + +Gladys and he stayed upstairs till they were called down to "déjeűner." +It was cold, but they minded the cold less than sharp words and unkind +looks. Gladys wrapped Roger up in a shawl and pulled a blanket off the +bed for herself, and then they both cuddled down together in a corner, +and she told him all the stories she could think of. By twelve o'clock +they were very hungry, for in spite of Françoise's endeavours they had +had much less breakfast than usual, but they had no idea what time it +was, and were too frightened to go down, and there they would have +stayed, all day perhaps, if Adolphe, reminded of them by his poor +mother's constant questions, had not sent one of the apprentice boys to +fetch them down, and meek and trembling the two poor little things +entered the long narrow room where all the members of the household were +seated round the table. + +But there was no kindly welcome for them as at dinner the day before. +Monsieur Adolphe's usually good-humoured face looked worried and vexed. + +"Sit down and take your food," he said coldly. "I am very sorry to hear +from Mademoiselle Anna how troublesome you have been this morning. I +thought you, Mademoiselle, as so much older than your brother, who is +really only a baby, would have tried to keep him quiet for the sake of +my poor mother." + +Gladys's face turned scarlet; at first she could scarcely believe that +she had heard aright, for it was very difficult to understand the young +man's bad English, but a glance at his face showed her she was not +mistaken. She clasped her hands in a sort of despair. + +"Oh, Mr. 'Dolph," she said, "how can you think we would be so naughty? +It was only that Roger fell down, and that made him cry." + +"Do not listen to her," said Anna in a hard indifferent tone, "naughty +children always make excuses." + +But the sight of the real misery in Gladys's face was too much for +kind-hearted Adolphe. He noticed, too, that both she and Roger were +looking pale and pinched with cold, and he had his own doubts as to +Anna's truthfulness, though he was too much under her to venture to +contradict her. + +"Don't cry, my child," he said kindly. "Try to be very good and quiet +the rest of the day, and eat your déjeűner now." + +Gladys made a valiant effort to choke down her tears. + +"Is Mrs. Nest better to-day," she asked. + +The son shook his head. + +"I fear not," he replied sadly; "she has a great deal of fever. And I +am, unfortunately, obliged to go into the country for a day or two about +some important business." + +"You are going away! oh, Mr. 'Dolph, there will be no one to take care +of us," cried Gladys, the tears rushing to her eyes again. + +The young man was touched by her distress. + +"Oh yes, yes," he said; "they will all be very kind to you. I will speak +to them, and I shall be soon back again, and you and my little Roger +will be very good, I am sure." + +There was nothing more to be said. Gladys tried to go on eating, though +her hunger had quite left her, and it was difficult to swallow anything +without crying again. Only one thought grew clearer in her mind--"I must +write to Miss Susan." + +During the rest of the meal Adolphe kept talking to Anna about the work +and other things to be seen to while he was away. + +"You must be sure to send to-morrow early to put up those curtains at +the English ladies'--9 Avenue Gérard." + +"9 Avenue Gérard--that is their new house," said Anna, and the address, +which she had already heard twice repeated, caught Gladys's ear. + +"And tell the one who goes to ask for the patterns back--those the young +lady took away to-day. Oh, by the bye, did she see the children?" asked +Adolphe. + +"No, you may be sure. That is to say, I hurried them out of the way, +forward little things. It was just the moment she was here, that he, the +bébé there, chose for bursting out crying," replied Anna. + +"I hope she did not go away with the idea they were not kindly treated," +said Adolphe, looking displeased. + +"She thought nothing about them--she hardly caught sight of them." + +"She did not see that they were English--her country-people?" + +"Certainly not," replied Anna. "Do you think I have no more sense than +to bother all your customers with the history of any little beggars your +mother chooses to take in?" + +"I was not speaking of all the customers--I was speaking of those +English ladies who might have taken an interest in these children, +because they too are English--or at least have given us some advice what +to do. I have already been thinking of asking them. But now it may be +too late if they saw the children crying and you scolding them; no +doubt, they will either think they are naughty disagreeable children or +that we are unkind to them. Either will do harm. You have made a great +mistake." + +He got up and left the room, afraid perhaps of saying more, for at this +moment he could not afford to quarrel with Anna. Poor man, his troubles +seemed to be coming on him all at once! Gladys understood very little of +what they were saying, but she saw that Adolphe was not pleased with +Mademoiselle Anna, and it made her fear that Anna would be still crosser +to Roger or her. But she took no notice of them, and when they had +finished she called Françoise, and told her to take them into the +sitting-room and make up the fire. + +"P'raps she's going to be kind now, Gladdie," said Roger, with the happy +hopefulness of his age. But Gladys shook her head. + +Monsieur Adolphe set off that afternoon. + +For the first day or two things went on rather better than Gladys had +expected. Anna had had a fright, and did not dare actually to neglect or +ill-treat the children. So Gladys put off writing to Miss Susan, which, +as you know, she had the greatest dislike to doing till she saw how +things went on. Besides this same writing was no such easy matter for +her. She had neither pen, ink, nor paper--she was not sure how to spell +the address, and she had not a halfpenny of money! Very likely if she +had spoken of her idea to Adolphe he would have been only too glad for +her to write, but Anna was a very different person to deal with. + +"If I asked her for paper and a pen she would very likely scold me--very +likely she wouldn't like me to write while Mr. 'Dolph is away, for fear +he should think she had been unkind and that that had made me do it," +reflected Gladys, whose wits were much sharpened by trouble. "And I +_daren't_ make her angry while we're alone with her." + +Thus the letter was deferred. Things might possibly have gone smoothly +till Adolphe's return, for Anna _wished_ to avoid any upset now she saw +how strongly the Nestors felt on the subject. But unfortunately +bad-tempered people cannot always control themselves to act as their +common sense tells them would be best even for themselves. And +Mademoiselle Anna had a very bad and violent temper, which often got +quite the mastery of her. + +So the calm did not last long. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +"AVENUE GÉRARD, No. 9." + + "One foot up and the other foot down, + For that is the way to London town. + And just the same, over dale and hill, + 'Tis also the way to wherever you will." + + OLD RHYME. + + +It was a very cold day, colder than is usual in Paris in November, where +the winter, though intense while it lasts, seldom sets in before the New +Year. But though cold, there had been sufficient brightness and +sunshine, though of a pale and feeble kind, to encourage the Mammas of +Paris either to take out their darlings themselves or to entrust them to +the nurses and maids, and nursery governesses of all nations who, on +every fairly fine day, may be seen with their little charges walking up +and down what Roger called "the pretty wide street," which had so taken +his fancy the day of the expedition with Monsieur Adolphe. + +Among all the little groups walking up and down pretty steadily, for it +was too cold for loitering, or whipping tops, or skipping-ropes, as in +finer weather, two small figures hurrying along hand-in-hand, caught the +attention of several people. Had they been distinctly of the humbler +classes nobody would have noticed them much, for even in this +aristocratic part of the town one sometimes sees quite poor children +threading their way among or standing to admire the little +richly-dressed pets who, after all, are but children like themselves. +And sometimes a burst of innocent laughter, or bright smiles of +pleasure, will spread from the rich to the poor, at the sight of Henri's +top having triumphed over Xavier's, or at the solemn dignity of the +walking doll of five-year-old Yvonne. + +But these two little people were evidently not of the lower classes. Not +only were they warmly and neatly dressed--though that, indeed, would +hardly have settled the question, as it is but very seldom in Paris that +one sees the children of even quite humble parents ill or insufficiently +clad--but even though their coats and hats were plain and +unfashionable, there was about them a decided look of refinement and +good-breeding. And yet they were alone! + +"Who can they be?" said one lady to another. "Just see how +half-frightened and yet determined the little girl looks." + +"And how the boy clings to her. They are English, I suppose--English +people are so eccentric, and let their children do all sorts of things +_we_ would never dream of." + +"Not the English of the upper classes," replied the first lady, with a +slight shade of annoyance. "You forget I am half English myself by my +mother's side, so I should know. You take your ideas of the English from +anything but the upper classes. I am always impressing that on my +friends. How would you like if the English judged _us_ by the French +they see in Leicester Square, or by the dressmakers and ladies' maids +who go over and call themselves governesses?" + +"I wouldn't _like_ it, but I daresay it is often done, nevertheless," +said the other lady good-naturedly. "But very likely those children do +_not_ belong to the upper classes." + +"I don't know," said the first lady. She stopped as she spoke and looked +after the children, who had now passed them, thoughtfully. "No," she +went on, "I don't think they are common children. I fancy there must be +something peculiar about them. Can they have lost their way? +Antoinette," she added suddenly, turning round. "You may think me very +foolish and eccentric--'English,' if you like, but I am going to run +after them and see if there is anything the matter. Look after Lili for +a moment for me, please." + +Antoinette laughed. + +"Do as you please, my dear," she said. + +So off hastened, in her rich velvet and furs, the other lady. It was not +difficult to overtake the children, for the two pairs of legs had +trotted a long way and were growing weary. But when close behind them +their new friend slackened her pace. How was she to speak to them? She +did not know that they were English, or even strangers, and if they were +the former that did not much mend matters, for, alas! notwithstanding +the half British origin she was rather fond of talking about, the pretty +young mother had been an idle little girl in her time, and had +consistently declined to learn any language but her own. _Now_, she +wished for her Lili's sake to make up for lost time, and was looking +out for an English governess, but as yet she dared not venture on any +rash attempts. She summoned up her courage, however, and gently touched +the little girl on the shoulder, and all her suspicions that something +unusual was in question were awakened again by the start of terror the +child gave, and the pallid look of misery, quickly followed by an +expression of relief, with which she looked up in her face. + +"I thought it was Anna," she half whispered, clutching her little +brother's hand more tightly than before. + +"Mademoiselle--my child," said the lady, for the dignity on the little +face, white and frightened as it was, made her not sure how to address +her. "Can I do anything to help you? You are alone--have you perhaps +lost your way?" + +The last few words Gladys, for she of course it was, did not follow. But +the offer of help, thanks to the kind eyes looking down on her, she +understood. She gazed for a moment into these same eyes, and then +seeming to gather confidence she carefully drew out from the pocket of +her ulster--the same new ulster she had so proudly put on for the first +time the day of the journey which was to have ended with "Papa" and +happiness--a little piece of paper, rather smudgy-looking, it must be +owned, which she unfolded and held up to the lady. On it were written +the words-- + +"9 Avenue Gérard." + +"Avenue Gérard," repeated the lady; "is that where you want to go? It is +not far from here." + +But seeing that the child did not take in the meaning of her words, she +changed her tactics. Taking Gladys by the hand she led her to one side +of the broad walk where they were standing, and pointing to a street at +right angles from the rows of houses bordering the Champs Elysées. + +[Illustration: "Go along there," she said, "and then turn to the left +and you will see the name, 'Avenue Gérard,' at the corner."] + +"Go along there," she said, "and then turn to the left and you will see +the name, 'Avenue Gérard,' at the corner." + +She pointed as she spoke; then she stooped, and with the sharp point of +the tiny umbrella she carried, traced in lines the directions she had +given, in the gravel on which they were standing. Gladys considered for +a moment in silence, then she lifted her head and nodded brightly. + +"I understand," she said, "and thank you _very_ much." + +Then taking Roger's hand, which, while speaking to the lady she had +let go, she smiled again, and whispering something to her brother which +made him pluck off his little cap, the two small pilgrims set off again +on their journey. The lady stood for a moment looking after them, and I +think there were tears in her eyes. + +"I wonder if I could have done more for them," she said to herself, +"Fancy Lili and Jean by themselves like that! But they know where they +have to go to--they are not lost." + +"How kind she was," said Gladys, as she led her little brother in the +direction the lady had pointed out. "It is not far now, Roger, dear--are +you _very_ tired?" + +Roger made a manful effort to step out more briskly. + +"Not so _very_, Gladdie. But oh, Gladdie, I was so frightened when I +felt you stop and when I saw your face. Oh, Gladdie, I thought it was +_her_." + +"So did I," said Gladys with a shiver. + +"Would she have put us in prison?" he asked. + +"I don't know," said Gladys. "I heard her say something to Françoise +about the police. I don't know if that means prison. But these ladies +won't let her, 'cos you know, Roger, they're _English_, like us." + +"Is all French peoples naughty?" inquired Roger meekly. + +"No, you silly little boy," giving him a small shake, "of course not. +Think of Mrs. Nest, and Françoise, and even that lady--oh, I didn't mean +to make you cry. You're not silly--I didn't mean it, dear." + +But Roger could not at once stop his tears, for they were as much the +result of tiredness and excitement as of Gladys's words. + +"Gladdie," he went on plaintively, "what will you do if those ladies +aren't kind to us?" + +"They'll help me to send a tele--you know what I mean--a letter in that +quick way, to Miss Susan," replied Gladys confidently. "That's all I'm +going to ask them. They'd never refuse that." + +"And could Miss Susan get here to-day, do you think?" + +Gladys hesitated. + +"I don't quite know. I don't know how long it takes _people_ to come +that way. But I'm afraid it costs a good deal. We must ask the ladies. +Perhaps they'll get us a little room somewhere, where Anna can't find +us, till Miss Susan sends for us." + +"But," continued Roger, "what will you do if they're _out_, Gladdie?" + +Gladys did not answer. Strange to say, practical as she was, this +possibility had never occurred to her. Her one idea had been to make her +way to the Avenue Gérard at once, then it had seemed to her that all +difficulties would be at an end. + +"What's the good of saying that, Roger," she said at last. "If they're +out we'll----" + +"What?" + +"Wait till they come in, I suppose." + +"It'll be very cold waiting in the street--like beggars," grumbled +Roger. But he said it in a low tone, not particularly wishing Gladys to +hear. Only he was so tired that he had to grumble a little. + +Suddenly Gladys pulled up. + +"There it is," she said. "Look up there, Roger; that's the name, +'Av-e-nue Gér-ard.' It's just a street. I thought an avenue would have +been all trees, like in the country. Nine--I wonder which is nine?" + +Opposite to where they stood was No. 34. Gladys led Roger on a little +bit and looked at the number on the other side. It was 31, and the next +beyond that was 29. + +"It's this way. They get littler this way," she exclaimed. "Come on, +Roger, darling--it's not far." + +"But if we've to wait in the street," repeated Roger faintly, for he +was now possessed by this new idea. + +Gladys said nothing--perhaps she did not hear. + +"Twenty-seven, twenty-five, twenty-three," she said, as they passed each +house, so intent on reaching No. 9 that she did not even feel +frightened. Between seventeen and fifteen there was a long space of +hoardings shutting off unbuilt-upon ground--nine seemed a very long time +of coming. But at last--at last! + +It was a large, very handsome house, and Gladys, young as she was, said +at once to herself that the English ladies, as she had got into the way +of calling them, must be _very_ very rich. For she did not understand +that in Paris one enormous house, such as the one she was standing +before, contains the dwellings of several families, each of which is +often as large as a good-sized English house, only without stairs once +you have entered, as all the rooms are on one floor. + +"I wonder which is the front door," said Gladys. "There seem so many in +there." For the great doors of the entrance-court stood open, and, +peeping in, it seemed to her that there was nothing but doors on every +side to be seen. + +"We must ask," she at last said resolutely, and foraging in her pocket +she again drew forth the crumpled piece of paper with "No. 9 Avenue +Gérard," and armed with this marched in. + +A man started up from somewhere--indeed he had been already watching +them, though they had not seen him. He was the porter for the whole +house. + +"What do you want--whom are you looking for?" he said. At first, +thinking they _were_ little beggars or something of the kind, for the +courtyard was not very light, he had come out meaning to drive them +away. But when he came nearer them he saw they were not what he had +thought, and he spoke therefore rather more civilly. Still, he never +thought of saying "Mademoiselle" to Gladys--no children of the upper +classes would be wandering about alone! Gladys's only answer was to hold +out the bit of paper. + +"Avenue Gérard, No. 9," read the man. "Yes, it is quite right--it is +here. But there is no name. Who is it you want?" + +"The English ladies," replied Gladys in her own tongue, which she still +seemed to think everybody should understand. She had gathered the +meaning of the man's words, helped thereto by his gesticulations. + +"The English ladies--I don't know their name." + +Only one word was comprehensible by the porter. + +"English," he repeated, using of course the French word for "English." +"It must be the English ladies on the second floor they want. No doubt +they are some of the poor English those ladies are so kind to. And +yet--" he looked at them dubiously. They didn't quite suit his +description. Anyway, there was but one answer to give. "The ladies were +out; the children must come again another day." + +Gladys and Roger, too, understood the first four words. Their worst +fears had come true! + +If Gladys could have spoken French she would perhaps have found courage +to ask the man to let them come in and wait a little; for as, +speechless, still holding poor Roger by the hand, she slowly moved to +go, she caught sight of a cheerful little room where a bright fire was +burning, the glass door standing half open, and towards which the porter +turned. + +"That must be his house," thought Gladys in a sort of half-stupid dreamy +way. It was no use trying to ask him to let them go in and wait there. +There was nowhere for them--he seemed to think they were beggars, and +would perhaps call the police if they didn't go away at once. So she +drew Roger out into the street again, out of the shelter of the court, +where the wind felt rather less piercing, and, without speaking, +wandered a few steps down the street they had two minutes ago toiled +along so hopefully. + +"Where are you going, Gladdie? What are you going to do? I knew they'd +be out," said Roger, breaking into one of his piteous fits of crying. + +Gladys's heart seemed as if it was going to stop. What _was_ she going +to do? + +Wait in the street a little, she had said to Roger. But how could they? +The wind seemed to be getting colder and colder; the daylight even was +beginning to fade a little; they were not only cold, they were +desperately hungry, for they had had nothing to eat except the little +bowl of milk and crust of bread--that was all Françoise had been able to +give them early that morning. She had been out at the market when the +children ran away from Anna in one of her terrible tempers, so Gladys +had not even been able to ask her for a few sous with which to get +something to eat. Indeed, had Françoise been there, I daresay they would +have been persuaded by her to wait till Adolphe came home, for he was +expected that evening, though they did not know it! + +"Roger, _darling_, try not to cry so," said Gladys, at last finding her +voice. "Wait a moment and I'll try to think. If only there was a shop +near, perhaps they'd let us go in; but there are no shops in this +street." + +No shops and very few passers-by, at this time of day anyway. A step +sounded along the pavement just as Gladys had drawn Roger back to the +wall of the house they were passing, meaning to wipe his eyes and turn +up the collar of his coat to keep the wind from his throat. Gladys +looked up in hopes that possibly, in some wonderful way, the new-comer +might prove a friend in need. But no--it was only a man in a sort of +uniform, and with a black bag strapped in front. Gladys had seen one +like him at the Rue Verte; it was only the postman. He glanced at them +as he passed; he was a kind-hearted little man, and would have been +quite capable of taking the two forlorn "bébés" home to his good wife to +be clothed and fed--for there are many kind Samaritans even in careless, +selfish big towns like Paris--but how were they to guess that, or how +was he to know their trouble? So he passed on; but a house or two +farther on he stopped again, being accosted by a gentleman coming +quickly up the street in the other direction, just as he was turning in +to the courtyard of No. 9. + +"There is only a paper for you, sir," he said to the young man, whom he +evidently knew, in answer to his inquiry. "Will you take it?" + +"Certainly," was the reply; and both, after a civil good-evening, were +going on their way when a sound made them stop. It was Roger--all +Gladys's efforts had been useless, and his temper as well as his courage +giving way he burst into a loud roar. He was too worn out to have kept +it up for long at such a pitch, but while it lasted it was very +effective, for both the gentleman and the postman turned back. + +"I noticed these children a moment ago," said the latter. "I wondered if +they had lost their way, but I dared not wait." + +"I'll see what it is," said the young man good-naturedly. But the +postman lingered a moment. + +"What's the matter?" asked the young man in French. "What's the little +boy crying for?" he went on, turning to Gladys. + +But her answer astonished him not a little. She stared blankly up in his +face without speaking for a moment. Then with a sort of stifled scream +she rushed forward and caught his hands. + +"Oh you're the nice gentleman we met--you are--_don't_ say you're not. +You're the English gentleman, aren't you? Oh, will you take care of +us--we're all alone--we've run away." + +Walter kept her poor little hands in his, but for half a moment he did +not speak. I think there were tears in his eyes. He had so often thought +of the little pair he had met on the Boulevards, that somehow he did not +seem to feel surprised at this strange meeting. + +"My little girl," he said kindly, "who are you? Where have you run away +from? Not from your home? I remember meeting you; but you must tell me +more--you must tell me everything before I can help you or take you +where you want to go." + +"No. 9 Avenue Gérard; that's where we were going," replied Gladys +confusedly. "But they're out--the ladies are out." + +"And we have to wait in the stre-eet," sobbed Roger. + +Walter started. + +"9 Avenue Gérard," he said; "how can that be? Whom do you know there?" + +"Some ladies who'll be kind to us, and know what we say, for they're +English. I don't know their name," answered Gladys. + +Walter saw there was but one thing to be done. He turned to the postman. + +"I know who they are," he said rapidly in French, with the instinctive +wish to save this little lady, small as she was, from being made the +subject of a sensational paragraph in some penny paper. "I have seen +them before. They had come to see my aunt, who is very kind to her +country-people, and were crying because she was out. It will be all +right. Don't let yourself be late. I'll look after them." + +And relieved in his mind the postman trotted off. + +Walter turned to Gladys again. + +"_I_ live at No. 9," he said. "Those ladies are my aunt and my sister. +So the best thing you can do is to come in with me and get warm. And +when my aunt comes home you shall tell us all your troubles, and we will +see what to do." + +"And you won't give us to the police?" asked Gladys, with a sudden +misgiving. "We've _not_ done anything naughty. Will the ladies come +soon?" + +For though on the first impulse she had flown to Walter with full +confidence, she now somehow felt a little frightened of him. Perhaps his +being on such good terms with the postman, whose uniform vaguely +recalled a policeman to her excited imagination, or his speaking French +so easily and quickly, had made her feel rather less sure of him. "_You_ +won't give us to the police?" she repeated. + +Walter could hardly help smiling. + +"Of _course_ not," he answered. "Come now, you must trust me and not be +afraid. Give me your hand, my little man; or stay, he's very tired, I'll +carry him in." + +And he lifted Roger in his arms, while Gladys, greatly to her +satisfaction, walked quietly beside them, her confidence completely +restored. + +"He's very polite, and he sees I'm _big_," she said to herself as she +followed him into the court, past the porter's bright little room, from +whence that person put out his head to wish Walter a respectful +"good-evening," keeping to himself the reflection which explains so many +mysteries to our friends across the water, that "the English are really +very eccentric. One never knows what they will be doing next." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +WALTER'S TEA-PARTY. + + "They felt very happy and content and went indoors and sat to the + table and had their dinner."--_The Almond Tree._ + + BROTHERS GRIMM. + + +Rosamond and her aunt had a good many commissions to do that afternoon. +They had not long before this changed their house, and there were still +a great many pretty things to choose and to buy for the new rooms. But +though it was pleasant work it was tiring, and it was, too, so +exceedingly cold that even in the comfortable carriage with its +hot-water bottles and fur rugs, the young girl shivered and said to her +aunt she would be glad to be at home again, and to get a nice hot cup of +tea. + +"Yes," said her aunt, "and it is getting late. At this time of year the +days seem to close in so suddenly." + +"I'm afraid it is going to be a severe winter. I do so dislike severe +winters, Auntie," said Rosamond, who had spent some part of her life in +a warm climate. + +"So do I," said her aunt, with a sigh, "it makes everything so much +harder for the poor. I really think it is true that cold is worse to +endure than hunger." + +"You are so kind, Auntie dear," said Rosamond. "You really seem as if +you felt other people's sufferings your own self. I think it is the +little children I am most sorry for. Perhaps because I have been such a +spoilt child myself! I cannot imagine how it would be possible to live +through what some children have to live through. Above all, unkindness +and neglect. That reminds me----" + +She was going to tell her aunt of the children she had seen at Madame +Nestor's, and of the sharp way the young woman in the shop had spoken to +them, but just at that moment the carriage turned into the courtyard of +their house, and the footman sprung down and opened the door. + +"I wonder what put those children in my head just now?" thought +Rosamond, as she followed her aunt slowly up the wide thickly-carpeted +staircase. "I suppose it was talking of the poor people, though they +were not exactly poor." + +But a moment or two later she really felt as if her thoughts had taken +shape, or that she was dreaming, when she caught sight of the most +unexpected picture that presented itself to herself and her aunt on +opening the door of their pretty "little drawing-room." + +[Illustration: Walter was having a tea-party!] + +The room was brightly lighted, the fire was burning cheerily--not far +from it stood the low afternoon tea-table covered with a white cloth and +heaped up with plates of bread-and-butter and cakes--while the tea-urn +sang its pleasant murmur. And the group round the table? That was the +astonishing part of it. Walter was having a tea-party! + +For an instant--they had opened the door softly and he was very much +taken up with his guests--the aunt and niece stood looking on without +any one's hearing them. Walter was seated in a big arm-chair, and +perched on his knee was a very tiny little boy in an English sailor +dress. He was a pretty fair child, with a bright pink flush on his face, +and he seemed exceedingly happy and to be thoroughly enjoying the cup of +hot but mild tea and slice of cake which his host was pressing on him. +And on a small chair just opposite sat a pale-faced dark-eyed little +girl with an anxious look on her face, yet at the same time an +expression of great content. No wonder; she was only seven years old! +Fancy the relief it must have been to delicate little Gladys to find +herself again in a room like this--to have the comfort of the delicious +fire and the food even, to which she was accustomed--above all, to see +Roger safe and happy; if only it would last! + +"_This_ tea isn't too strong for him, is it, Gladys?" Walter said. + +And Gladys leaning forward examined it with a motherly air, that was +both pathetic and amusing. + +"No, that's quite right. That's just like what he had it at home." + +The aunt and niece looked at each other. + +"Who _can_ they be?" whispered the aunt; but Rosamond, though she had +scarcely seen the faces of the children in the Rue Verte, seemed to know +by instinct. But before she had time to speak, Walter started up; the +whisper, low as it was, had caught his ear and Gladys's too. She too got +up from her seat and stood facing the ladies, while her cheeks grew +still paler, and the anxious look quite chased away the peaceful +satisfaction from her poor little face. + +"Auntie!" said Walter, and in his voice too there was a little anxiety, +not lost on Gladys. For though he knew his aunt to be as kind as any one +could be, still it _was_ a rather "cool" thing, he felt, to have brought +in two small people he had found in the street without knowing anything +whatever about them, and to be giving them tea in her drawing-room. +"Auntie," he repeated, "this young lady, Miss Gladys Bertram, and her +little brother had come to see you, to ask your help. I found them +waiting in the street, the concierge had told them you were out; it was +bitterly cold, and they had come a very long way. I brought them in and +gave them tea, as you see." + +His face had flushed as he spoke, and there was a tone of appeal in his +voice; he could not _before_ Gladys add what was on his lips: "You are +not vexed with me?" + +"You did quite right, my dear boy," said his aunt heartily. "Rosamond +and I are cold and tired too. We should like a cup of tea also, and then +these little friends of ours will tell us all they have to tell." + +"I have seen them before," added Walter in a lower tone, going nearer +his aunt under pretext of getting her a chair. "You remember the +children on the Boulevards I told you about the other day? It is they." + +But Gladys, who till then had stood still, gazing at the ladies without +speaking, suddenly sprang forward and almost threw herself into +"Auntie's" arms. + +"Oh, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, bursting into tears. "I was +just thinking perhaps you'd be vexed with _him_," she pointed to Walter, +"and he's been so kind, and it _is_ so nice here. Oh, we couldn't, we +_couldn't_ go back there!" and clasping her new friend still more +closely she sobbed as if her overcharged heart would break. + +Auntie and Rosamond soothed her with the kindest words they could find, +and then Auntie, who always had her wits about her, reminded Gladys that +they too were very anxious to have a cup of tea, would she help to pour +it out? She evidently knew all about it, whereupon Gladys's sobs and +tears stopped as if by magic, and she was again the motherly capable +little girl they had seen her on entering the room. + +Tea over--before thinking of taking off their bonnets--Auntie and +Rosamond, and Walter too, made Gladys tell them all she had to tell. It +was a little difficult to follow at first, for, like a child she mixed +up names and events in rather a kaleidoscope fashion. But at last by +dint of patience and encouragement and several "beginnings again at the +beginning," they got a clear idea of the whole strange and yet simple +story, all of which that was known to Gladys herself, you, my little +readers, already know, except the history of the last miserable day in +the Rue Verte, when Anna's temper had got the better of her prudence to +such an extent as to make Gladys feel they could bear it no longer. She +had struck them both in her passion that very morning when Françoise was +at the market, and wild with fear, more for Roger than herself, Gladys +had set off to ask help and advice from the only people she knew of in +all great Paris who could understand her story. + +"Except _him_," added Gladys, nodding at Walter, "but we didn't know +where he lived. I couldn't write to Miss Susan, for I hadn't any paper +or envelopes. I thought I'd wait till Mr. 'Dolph came home and that he'd +let me write, but I don't know when he's coming, and I hadn't any money, +and if _she_--oh! if she had struck Roger again it might have killed +him. He's so little, you know," and Gladys shuddered. + +There was silence for a few moments. Then Auntie turned to Walter. + +"The first thing to be done, it seems to me, is for you to go to the Rue +Verte to tell the Nestors--Madame Nestor, that is to say--where these +little people are. She will be very uneasy, I fear, poor woman." + +"Anna won't tell her, I don't think," said Gladys. "Poor Mrs. Nest--she +is so kind. I shouldn't like her to be unhappy." + +"And," continued the lady, "you must ask for the children's clothes." + +Gladys's eyes glistened. + +"Do you mean, are you going to let us stay here?" she said; "I mean till +to-morrow, perhaps, till Miss Susan can come?" + +"Where else could you go, my dears?" said Auntie kindly. + +"I don't know; I--I thought perhaps you'd get us a little room +somewhere, and Miss Susan would pay it when she comes. I thought perhaps +you'd send her a tele--, you know what I mean, and perhaps she could +come for us that way. It's so quick, only it costs a great deal, doesn't +it?" + +Auntie and Rosamond had hard work to prevent themselves laughing at this +queer idea of Gladys's, but when her mistake was explained to her, she +took it very philosophically. + +"Then do you think I should write to Miss Susan to-day?" said Gladys. +"_You'll_ help me, won't you?" she added, turning to Rosamond. "I don't +know very well how to write the address." + +"Of course I will help you, dear," said Rosamond, but her aunt +interrupted. + +"I do not think little Gladys need write to-night," she said. "Indeed, +perhaps it may be as well for me to write for her to the lady she speaks +of. But now, Walter, you had better go off at once, and bring back the +children's belongings with you. What were you going to say, dear?" for +Gladys seemed as if she were going to speak. + +Gladys's face grew red. + +"Anna said once that she would sell our big trunk and all our best +clothes--I mean she said Mrs. Nest would--to get money for all we had +cost them. But I'm sure Mrs. Nest wouldn't. And when Papa comes he'll +pay everything." + +The elder lady looked at Walter. + +"Try and bring away everything with you," she said. "Take Louis, so that +he may help to carry out the boxes. Do your best anyway." + +It turned out easier than Auntie had feared, for Walter found Adolphe +Nestor already returned, and in a state of frantic anxiety about the +children. Knowing that they could not be in better hands than those in +which they had placed themselves, he was only too thankful to let them +remain there, and gave Walter all the information he could about Mr. and +Mrs. Marton, who had confided the children to his mother's care. + +"She can tell you all about the family better than I," he said. "I think +even she has the address of Madame Marton's mother, where her cousin was +so long nurse. Oh, they are in every way most respectable, and indeed +one can see by the children themselves that they are little +gentlepeople. There must be something sadly amiss for the father not to +have come for them. I fear even that he is perhaps dead." + +Then he went on to tell Walter that he had told Anna he could no longer +keep her in his employment, and that all was at an end with her. + +"And indeed," he said, his round face getting very red, "I think no man +would be happy with a wife with such a temper," in which Walter, who at +eighteen considered himself very wise, cordially agreed. + +Adolphe had not told his mother of the children's flight, for she was +still very feverish and excitable; but he said she would be relieved to +know where they had found refuge. And then he gave Walter the English +money which Mr. Marton had left for their use, and which his mother had +kept unbroken. + +Walter took it, though reluctantly, but he saw that it would have hurt +Adolphe to refuse it; and he also reflected that there were other ways +in which the Nestors could be rewarded for their kindness. And so he +left the Rue Verte with all the children's belongings safely piled on +the top of the cab, and with a much more friendly feeling to the +upholsterer than he had expected to have, promising to let him know the +result of the inquiries his aunt intended immediately to set on foot; +and also assuring him that they should not leave Paris without coming to +say good-bye to him and his kind old mother. + +When the two tired but happy little people were safely in bed that +night, their three new friends sat round the fire to have a good talk +about them. + +"It is a very strange affair, really," said Walter. "I'm more than half +inclined to agree with Nestor that the father must be dead." + +"But even then," said Auntie, "the friends in England who had charge of +them would have known it, and would have sent to inquire about them." + +"That 'Miss Susan,' as they call her, seems to me to have thought of +nothing but the easiest way to get rid of them," said Rosamond +indignantly. "She should never have let them start without a letter or a +telegram of Captain Bertram's being actually in Paris, and, as far as I +can make out from little Gladys, she had not got that--only of his +arrival at Marseilles and his _intention_ of coming." + +"Did Gladys mention Marseilles? Does she know where it is?" asked +Walter. + +"Yes, she said the old lady whom they were very fond of showed it to her +on the map, and explained that it was the town in France 'at which the +big ships from India stopped,' Gladys is quite clear about all that. She +is a very clever child in some ways, though in others she seems almost a +baby." + +"Nothing about her would surprise me after her managing to find her way +here," said Auntie. "Just fancy her leading that baby, Roger, all the +way here from the Rue Verte!" + +"Do you know how she did?" said Rosamond. "She tore a little piece of +paper off the edge of a newspaper and wrote the address, 'Avenue Gérard +9,' on it with an end of pencil she found lying about; and she showed +this bit of paper to anybody 'kind-looking' whom they met, and thus she +got directed. Was it not a good idea? She said if she had _asked_ the +way the French people would not have understood her speaking." + +"Then what do you decide to do, Auntie?" said Walter. "Shall I telegraph +in the morning to this Miss Susan, or will you write?" + +Auntie hesitated. + +"_I_ don't see how you can do either with much chance of it reaching +her," said Rosamond. "Gladys, you know, said she was going to be +married." + +"Well, supposing in the first place," said Auntie, "we were to telegraph +to the principal hotels at Marseilles and ask if Captain Bertram is +there--it would do no harm--it is just possible that by some mistake he +is all this time under the belief that the children are still in +England." + +"That's not likely," said Walter; "no one would stay on at a hotel in +Marseilles all this time for no reason--three weeks, it must be. But +it's not a bad idea to telegraph there first." + +"Gladys would be so pleased if it proved not to be necessary to send to +'Miss Susan' at all," said Rosamond, who seemed to have obtained the +little girl's full confidence. + +"Well, we shall see," said Auntie. "In the meantime the children are +safe, and I hope happy." + +"Mr. and Mrs. Marton must be in India by this time," said Walter. +"_They_ don't seem to have been to blame in the least--they did the best +they could. It might be as well to write to them if we had their +address." + +"Perhaps old Madame Nestor may have it," said Rosamond. "The maid--her +niece or cousin, whichever it is--may have left it with her." + +"We can ask," said Auntie. "But it would take a good while to hear from +India, and very likely they would have very little to tell, for there is +one thing that strikes me," she went on thoughtfully, "which is, the +_Martons_ cannot have thought there was anything wrong when they got to +Marseilles, otherwise they would have written or telegraphed to the Rue +Verte, and certainly to the friends in England." + +She looked up as if to read in the faces of her two young companions how +this struck them. + +"That's true," said Walter. + +"But it only adds to the mystery," said Rosamond. + +"Supposing," said Walter, "that the address has been lost--that of the +Nestors, I mean--and that all this time Captain Bertram is hunting up +and down Paris for his children?" + +"That does not seem to me likely," said Auntie. "He would have +telegraphed back to England." + +"Where it wouldn't have been known, Rosamond," said Walter. "Rather to +Mr. Marton in India." + +"If he had _his_ address," said Walter again. + +"Well, anyway _that_ could be got in England," said Auntie, a little +impatiently. "No, no, Walter, it can't be that. Why, supposing Captain +Bertram were here looking for his children, the _police_ could have +found them for him in a couple of days. No; I very much fear there is +more wrong than a mere mistake. Poor little dears--they still seem to +have such unbounded faith in 'Papa's coming.' I only trust no harm has +come over him, poor man." + +Walter telegraphed the next morning in his aunt's name to the two +principal hotels at Marseilles, to inquire if Captain Bertram was or had +been there. From one came back the answer, "No such name known." From +the other the information that Captain Bertram had not yet returned from +Nice, and that letters and his luggage were waiting for him at the +hotel. + +"Just read this, aunt," he said, hurrying into the drawing-room, and +Auntie did so. Then she looked up. + +"It is as I feared, I feel sure," she said. "Walter, you must go to Nice +yourself, and make inquiries." + +"I shall start to-night," said the young fellow readily. + +"Stay a moment," said Auntie again. "We have the _Times_ advertisements +for the last few days; it may be as well to look over them." + +"And the Saturday papers, with all the births, marriages, and deaths of +the week put in at once," said Rosamond. "You take the _Times_," she +added to her brother, going to a side-table where all the papers were +lying in a pile, "and I'll look through the others." + +For a few moments there was silence in the room. Gladys and Roger were +very happy with some of their toys, which they had been allowed to +unpack in the dining-room. "Bertram, Bertram, no, I see nothing. And +there's no advertisement for two lost cherubs in the agony columns +either," said Walter. + +Suddenly Rosamond gave a little exclamation. + +"Have you found anything?" asked Auntie. + +"Nothing about Captain Bertram," she replied. "But I think this must be +the old lady they lived with. 'Alicia, widow of the late Major-General +Lacy,' etc., etc., 'at Market-Lilford on the 16th November, aged 69.' I +am sure it is she, for Gladys's second name is 'Alicia,' and she told me +it was 'after Mrs. Lacy.'" + +"Poor old lady--she must have been very kind and good. That may explain +'Miss Susan's' apparent indifference. It was fully a fortnight ago, you +see." + +"Must I tell Gladys?" said Rosamond. + +"Not yet, I think," said Auntie. "We may have worse to tell her, poor +child." + +"I don't know that it _would_ be worse," said the young girl. "They +can't remember their father." + +"Still, they have always been looking forward to his coming. If it ends +in _good_ news, it will make them--Gladys especially--very happy." + +"As for Roger, perfect happiness is already his," said Rosamond. "He +asks no more than weak tea and bread-and-butter, Gladys always at hand, +a good fire, and nobody to scold him." + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +PAPA AT LAST. + + "And now, indeed, there lacked nothing to their happiness as long + as they lived."--_The Golden Bird._ + + BROTHERS GRIMM. + + +Walter went off to Nice that night. The children were not told +distinctly the object of his journey. They were allowed to know that he +might be passing near "the big town by the sea," which poor Mrs. Lacy, +in her kind anxiety to make all clear, had pointed out to Gladys on the +map; but that was all, for Auntie wished to save them any more of the +nervous suspense and waiting of which they had had so much. She wished, +too, to save them any suffering that could be avoided, from the fear of +the sorrow, really worse than any they had yet known, which she often +dreaded might be in store for them. + +"Let us make them as happy as ever we can for these few days," she said +to Rosamond. "Nothing like happiness for making children strong and +well, and they will soon forget all their past troubles." + +And Rosamond was only too ready to give her assistance to the kind plan, +so that in all their lives Gladys and Roger had never been so much made +of. The ladies were too wise to overdo it; they found too that it was +very easy to amuse these simple little creatures, who had never known +since they were born the slightest approach to "spoiling" or indulgence. +Everything pleased them. The mere living in the pretty luxurious +house--the waking up in the morning to the sight of the bright dainty +room, where already a cheerful little fire would be blazing, for the +weather continued exceedingly cold. The tempting "little breakfast" of +real bread-and-butter and tea--for both Gladys and Roger found they had +got very tired of chocolate--the capacious bath and abundance of hot +water--above all, the kind and loving and gentle looks and words which +surrounded them--all these would have been enough to make them happy. +And a drive in Auntie's beautiful carriage, either into the centre of +the town "to see the shops," or now and then to visit one of the +wonderful old churches with their mysterious height of roof and softly +brilliant windows, and _sometimes_, still better, the beautiful +swelling organ music which seemed to them to come from nowhere, yet to +be everywhere. Ah! those expeditions were a delight Gladys had never +even dreamt of, and which little Roger could scarcely take in. They very +much changed their opinion of Paris in those days, and no longer called +it "an ugly dirty town," as it had seemed to them in their first +experience at the Rue Verte. + +"And when Papa comes, we'll take him to see all these beautiful places, +won't we?" said Gladys, for with rest and peace of mind had come back +all her pretty childish hope and trust in that "coming." + +"Yes, dear," said Rosamond. But then she began quickly to speak to the +little girl of the pretty colours of the still remaining beech leaves in +the Bois de Boulogne, through which for a change they were that day +driving. For she could not reply with any confidence in her tone, and +she did not want the child to find out her misgiving. Walter had been +gone three days and had written twice--once a hurried word to tell of +his arrival, once the following day to tell of failure. He had been to +two or three of the hotels but had found no traces of Captain Bertram, +but there still remained several others, and he hoped to send by his +next letter if not good yet anyway more certain news. + +So Auntie still put off writing to "Miss Susan," for though since seeing +the announcement of Mrs. Lacy's death she did not blame her as much as +at first, she yet could not feel it probable that the young lady was +suffering great anxiety. + +"In any case I had better wait till Walter tells us _something_," she +said to Rosamond. "And when I do write I do not know how to address the +letter. Gladdie is sure she was to be married a very few days after they +left, but she cannot remember the name of the gentleman, whom she has +only seen once or twice, as he lived at a distance, and had made Miss +Susan's acquaintance away from her home." + +"Address to her maiden name--it would be sent after her," suggested +Rosamond. + +"But Gladdie is not sure what that is," replied Auntie, half laughing. +"She doesn't know if it is 'Lacy,' or if she had a different name from +her aunt. She is such a baby in some ways. I am sure she has not the +slightest idea what _our_ surnames are. You are 'Rosamond' and I am +'Auntie.'" + +"Or 'Madame' when she speaks of you to the servants. She is getting on +so nicely with her French, Auntie. That reminds me Louis has been to +the Rue Verte, and has brought back word that Madame Nestor is much +better, and would be so delighted to see the children any day we can +send them." + +"Or take them," said Auntie. "I would not like them to go without us the +first time, for fear they should feel at all frightened. And yet it is +right for them to go. They must always be grateful to Madame Nestor, who +did her very best for them." + +"Gladys confided to me she would be a little afraid of going back, +though she knows that Anna is no longer there. But she says she will +feel as if they were going back to _stay_ there, and as if _this_ would +turn out to be only a beautiful dream." + +"Poor little dear," said Auntie. + +"And she's going to take her new doll--both to show her off, and that +she may feel _she_ isn't a dream! She has such funny ideas sometimes. +Auntie----" + +"What, dear?" + +"If Walter can't find the father--I suppose I should say if he is +dead--what is to be done?" + +"We must find out all we can--through that Miss Susan, I suppose--as to +who are the children's guardians, and what money they have, and all +about it." + +"I wish we could adopt them," said Rosamond. "We're rich enough." + +"Yes; but that is not the only question. You are almost sure to marry." + +"I don't know that," said Rosamond, but her face flushed a little. + +"And Walter, too, some day." + +"Oh, Auntie! Walter! Why he's only eighteen." + +"Well, all the same, time goes on, and adopting children often causes +complications. Besides, it is not likely that they have _no_ relations." + +"Well, we shall see what the next letter says," said Rosamond. + +It was not a letter after all, but a telegram, and this was what it +said:-- + +"Found Bertram. Will explain all. Returning to-morrow." + +The aunt and niece looked at each other. + +"He might have said a little more," said the latter. "This is only +enough to rouse our curiosity." + +"We must say nothing to the children yet," decided Auntie. + +"I do hope, as he is alive," said Rosamond, "that he's a nice good sort +of man. If he weren't, that would be worse than anything--having to give +up the children to him," and she looked quite unhappy. + +"Don't let your imagination run away with you so, my dear child," said +Auntie. "It's very unlikely that he's not nice in every way. Remember +what Gladys says of his kind letters, and how fond Mrs. Lacy was of him, +and how she always taught them to look forward to his return. No; _my_ +fears are about his health, poor fellow." + +The children went the next morning with Rosamond and her maid to see +Madame Nestor, and Rosamond brought back with her to show her aunt a +letter Madame Nestor had just received, which threw a little light on +one part of the subject. It was from Léonie telling of Mr. and Mrs. +Marton's arrival at their destination, and alluding to the children as +if she had no doubt that they had only been left two or three days at +the Rue Verte. "Monsieur," meaning Mr. Marton, "was so glad," she wrote, +"to find at Marseilles that the children's Papa was going on to Paris +almost at once. He had left a letter for Captain Bertram at the hotel, +as he had gone to Nice for a day or two; and Madame had only just had +time to write to the ladies in England to tell how it had all been. And +she was writing by this mail to ask for news of the "dear little +things," as she called Gladys and Roger. They had thought of them all +the way, and Madame thanked Madame Nestor so much for her kindness. +She--Léonie--hoped very much she would see them again some day. Then she +presented her compliments to her cousin Adolphe, and promised to write +again soon--and that was all." + +"It is still mysterious enough," said Auntie; "but it shows the Martons +were not to blame. As Mr. Marton has written to England again, we shall +probably be hearing something from 'Miss Susan' before long. It _is_ +strange she has not written before, as she has had the Rue Verte address +all this time, I suppose." + +And here, perhaps, as 'Miss Susan' is not, to my mind nor to yours +either, children, I feel sure, by any means the most interesting person +in this little story, though, on the other hand, she was far from +without good qualities, it may be as well to explain how it had come to +pass that nothing had been heard of her. + +Mrs. Lacy grew rapidly worse after the children left, but with her +gentle unselfishness she would not allow her niece's marriage to be put +off, but begged her on the contrary to hasten it, which was done. Two +days after it had taken place, Susan, who had gone away for a very short +honeymoon, was recalled. She never left Mrs. Lacy again till she died. I +think the saddest part of dying for the dear old lady was over when she +had said good-bye to her little favourites. For some time Susan felt no +anxiety about the children, for, from Marseilles, she had heard from +young Mrs. Marton of Captain Bertram's not having met them in Paris, and +of the arrangement they had been obliged to make. But, that arrived at +Marseilles, they had found he had gone two days before to Nice, to look +for a house for his children, the landlord said, whom he was going to +Paris to fetch. He had left all his luggage there, and had intended to +be back this day or the day before, the landlord was not sure which, and +to go on to Paris. No doubt he would be returning that same evening, +only, unfortunately, his newly-arrived friends Mr. and Mrs. Marton would +have gone, but he faithfully promised to deliver to him at once the +letter Mr. Marton wrote and left for him. + +"It seems the only thing to do," added young Mrs. Marton, "and I do +hope it will be all right. Captain Bertram must have mistaken a day. +Anyway he will know where to find the children, I enclose their address +to you too--at least I will get it from Léonie before I shut this +letter, for I do not remember it, so that in case you do not hear soon +from Captain Bertram you can write there." + +But in her hurry--for just as she was finishing the letter, her husband +called to her that they must be off--the young lady forgot to enclose +the address! So there was nowhere for Susan to write to, when, as the +days went on and no letter came from Captain Bertram, she did begin to +grow uneasy, not exactly about the children's safety, but about their +father having gone for them. + +"Still," she said to her husband, "if he had _not_ got them with him, he +would have written to ask where they were. He was never a very good +correspondent. But I wonder he hasn't written to ask how my aunt is. I +hope there is nothing the matter. I _hope_ I did not do wrong in letting +them go without actually knowing of his being in Paris." + +Of course her husband assured her she had not. But her conscience was +not at rest, for Susan had grown gentler now that she was happily +married, and she was softened too by the thought of her kind aunt's +state. All through the last sad days the children kept coming into her +mind, and though Mrs. Lacy was too weak even to ask about them, Susan +felt almost guilty when she finally tried to thank her for her goodness. + +"I don't deserve it," she thought, "I was not kind to the two human +beings she loved best," and she wrote over and over again to Captain +Bertram at the Marseilles hotel, begging him to send her news of the +children, and when Mrs. Marton's letter came from India repeating what +she had before written from Marseilles, but with of course no further +news, and no mention of the Paris address, poor Susan became so unhappy +that her husband promised to take her over to make inquiries in person +if no answer came to another letter he sent to Marseilles to the +landlord of the hotel, begging him to tell all he knew of Captain +Bertram's movements. This letter brought a reply, as you will hear, from +Captain Bertram himself. + +It was evening before Walter arrived. Gladys and Roger were in bed and +asleep. Auntie and Rosamond were waiting for him with the greatest +anxiety to hear his news. He looked bright and cheery as he came into +the room, still enveloped in his wraps, which he began to pull off. + +"It's nice and warm in here," he said; "but, oh, it's so cold outside. +And it was so mild and sunny down there; I would have liked to stay a +day or two longer. It was to please _him_ I hurried back so +quickly--poor man, he is in _such_ a state about the children!" + +"But, Walter, what is the meaning of it all? Why has he not come +himself?" + +"Do you like him?" put in Rosamond. + +"Awfully," said Walter boyishly. "He's just what you would expect their +father to be. But I'm forgetting--I haven't told you. He's been +dreadfully ill--he can only just crawl a step or two. And all this +time he's not had the slightest misgiving about the children, except +the fear of not living to see them again of course. He's not had the +least doubt of their being safe in England; and only just lately, as +he began to get well enough to think consecutively, he has wondered +why he got no letters. He was just going to try to write to that +place--Market-Lilford--when I got there. So he was mystified too! But we +got to the bottom of it. This was how it was. He was feeling ill at +Marseilles--he had put off too long in India--and he thought it was the +air of the place, and as he had some days to pass before he was due in +Paris, he went on to Nice, thinking he'd get all right there and be able +to look about for a house if he liked it. But instead of getting all +right he broke down completely. He wrote out a telegram to tell Miss +Susan that he was ill, and that she must not start the children. It +would have been in plenty of time to stop them, had she got it, but she +never did." + +"Never got it," repeated both ladies. + +"No; the waiter told him it was all right, but it wasn't. His writing +was so bad that at the office they couldn't read the address, and the +message was returned from London the next day; and by that time he was +so ill that the doctor wouldn't allow them to ask him a thing, and he +probably wouldn't have understood them if they had. This, you see, he's +only found out since I got there. The doctor was meaning to tell him, +but he took his time about it, and he did not know how important it was. +So, in a way, nobody was to blame except that Miss Susan. That's what +Bertram says himself; but while I was there he telegraphed to Marseilles +for his letters. There were several from her, and the last so frantic +that he's writing to say it's all right; especially as she's been very +cut up about the poor old lady's death. But she shouldn't have started +the children till he telegraphed _from Paris_. Besides, he had told her +to send a maid with them for the journey. It wasn't the Martons' fault; +they did their best." + +"Was he distressed at hearing of Mrs. Lacy's death?" asked Auntie. + +"_Very_," said Walter; "it put him back, the doctor said; but he'll be +all right when he sees the children. If you had seen him when I told him +about their finding their way to us, not even knowing our names, all +over Paris! He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He's weak still, you +know. And then he's so _dreadfully_ grateful to us! I was glad to get +away." + +"And when does he want them?" said Rosamond dolefully. + +"As soon as possible. He can't come north this winter. And he's not +rich, I can see. So I was thinking----" + +"What, my boy?" + +"It _is_ so cold here," repeated Walter; "it really feels terrible to +come back to. Supposing we all go down there for a couple of months or +so, to escape the cold? We could keep the children till Bertram is +strong again and able to make his plans. I think we'd feel quite queer +without them now. Besides, I promised him to bring them back to him." + +"What do you say, Rosamond?" said Auntie. + +"I should like it very much. It would be so nice not to part with them +just yet." + +So it was decided. You can imagine how much had to be told to the +children the next day. Mingled sadness and happiness--warp and woof of +the web of life! + +But when they found themselves once more on the railway, with the kind +friends they had learnt to know so well, really on the way to "Papa," I +think the happiness was uppermost. + +He proved to be the dearest of Papas; not the very least like what they +had imagined him. "Of course not," Gladys said; "people and things are +never like what one fancies they will be." But though he was older and +grayer, and perhaps at first sight a little _sadder_ than she had +expected, he grew merry enough in the great happiness of having them +with him, and as he gradually got strong and well again he seemed, too, +to become younger. + +"Anyway," said Gladys, a few weeks after their arrival at Nice, "he +_couldn't_ be nicer, could he, Roger?" in which opinion Roger solemnly +agreed. + +"And now he's getting better," she added; "it's not a bad thing he's +been ill, for it's made the doctor say he must never go back to India +again." + + * * * * * + +Is that all there is to tell about the "two little waifs?" I think I +must lift the curtain for an instant "ten years later," to show you +little Roger a tall strong schoolboy, rather solemn still, but bidding +fair to be all his father could wish him, and very devoted to a tiny +girl of about the age at which we first saw Gladys, and who, as her +mother is pretty Rosamond, he persists in calling his "niece," and with +some show of reason, for her _real_ uncle, "Walter," is now the husband +of his sister Gladys! + +And long before this, by the bye, another marriage had come to pass +which it may amuse you to hear of. There is a new Madame Nestor in the +Rue Verte, as well as the cheery old lady who still hobbles about +briskly, though with a crutch. And the second Madame Nestor's first name +is "Léonie." She is, I think, quite as clever as Mademoiselle Anna, and +certainly _very_ much better tempered. + +And whenever any of the people you have heard of in this little book +come to Paris, you may be sure they pay a visit to the little old shop, +which is as full as ever of sofas and chairs, and where they always +receive the heartiest welcome from the Nestor family. + +I wish, for my part, the histories of all "little waifs" ended as +happily! + + +THE END. + + + + + BEDFORD STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON. + _October_, 1883. + +_Macmillan & Co.'s Catalogue of Works in_ + +_Belles Lettres, including Poetry, Fiction, etc._ + + * * * * * + + +=ADDISON,= SELECTIONS FROM. By JOHN RICHARD GREEN, M.A., LL.D. (Golden +Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=ADVENTURES OF A BROWNIE, THE.= By the Author of "John Halifax, +Gentleman." With Illustrations by Mrs. ALLINGHAM. New Edition. Globe +8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=ĆSOP.=--SOME OF ĆSOP'S FABLES. With Modern Instances shown in Designs by +RANDOLPH CALDECOTT. From New Translations by ALFRED CALDECOTT, M.A. The +Engraving by J. D. COOPER. Demy 4to. 7_s_. 6_d_. + +=ALLINGHAM.=--THE BALLAD BOOK. Edited by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM. (Golden +Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=ALEXANDER (C. F.).=--THE SUNDAY BOOK OF POETRY FOR THE YOUNG. (Golden +Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=A LITTLE PILGRIM:= IN THE UNSEEN. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=A PASSION FLOWER.= A Novel. Two Vols. Crown 8vo. 12_s_. + +=AN ANCIENT CITY, AND OTHER POEMS.=--By A NATIVE OF SURREY. Extra fcap. +8vo. 6_s_. + +=ANDERSON.=--BALLADS AND SONNETS. By ALEXANDER ANDERSON (Surfaceman). +Extra fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + +=ARIOSTO.=--PALADIN AND SARACEN. Stories from Ariosto. By H. C. +HOLLWAY-CALTHROP. With Illustrations by Mrs. ARTHUR LEMON. Crown 8vo. +6_s_. + +=ARNOLD.=--THE POETICAL WORKS OF MATTHEW ARNOLD. Vol. I. EARLY POEMS, +NARRATIVE POEMS, AND SONNETS. Vol. II. LYRIC. DRAMATIC, AND ELEGIAC +POEMS. New and Complete Edition. Two Vols. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. each. + + SELECTED POEMS OF MATTHEW ARNOLD. With Vignette engraved, by C. H. + JEENS. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + MEROPE. A Tragedy. Extra fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + +=ART AT HOME SERIES.=--Edited by W. J. LOFTIE, B.A. + + A PLEA FOR ART IN THE HOUSE. With especial reference to the + Economy of Collecting Works of Art, and the importance of Taste in + Education and Morals. By W. J. LOFTIE, B.A. With Illustrations. + Fifth Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + SUGGESTIONS FOR HOUSE DECORATION IN PAINTING, WOODWORK, AND + FURNITURE. By RHODA and AGNES GARRETT. With Illustrations. Sixth + Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + MUSIC IN THE HOUSE. By JOHN HULLAH. With Illustrations. Fourth + Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + THE DRAWING-ROOM; ITS DECORATIONS AND FURNITURE. By Mrs. + ORRINSMITH. Illustrated. Fifth Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + THE DINING-ROOM. By MRS. LOFTIE. Illustrated. Fourth Thousand. + Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + THE BED-ROOM AND BOUDOIR. By LADY BARKER. Illustrated. Fourth + Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + DRESS. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + AMATEUR THEATRICALS. By WALTER H. POLLOCK and LADY POLLOCK. + Illustrated by KATE GREENAWAY. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + NEEDLEWORK. By ELIZABETH GLAISTER, Author of "Art Embroidery." + Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + THE MINOR ARTS-PORCELAIN PAINTING, WOOD CARVING, STENCILLING. + MODELLING, MOSAIC WORK, &c. By CHARLES G. LELAND. Illustrated. + Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + THE LIBRARY. By ANDREW LANG. With a Chapter on _English + Illustrated Books_, by AUSTIN DOBSON. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. + 3_s_. 6_d_. + + SKETCHING FROM NATURE. By TRISTRAM ELLIS. With Illustrations by H. + S. MARKS, R.A., and the Author. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=ARTEVELDE--JAMES AND PHILIP VON ARTEVELDE.= By W. J ASHLEY, B.A., late +Scholar of Palliol College, Oxford. Being the Lothian Prize Essay for +1882. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=ATKINSON.=--AN ART TOUR TO THE NORTHERN CAPITALS OF EUROPE. By J. +BEAVINGTON ATKINSON. 8vo. 12_s_. + +=AUSTIN.=--Works by ALFRED AUSTIN. + + SAVONAROLA. A Tragedy. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + + SOLILOQUIES IN SONG. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=AWDRY.=--THE STORY OF A FELLOW SOLDIER. By FRANCES AWDRY. (A Life of +Bishop Patteson for the Young.) With a Preface by CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. +Globe 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=BACON'S ESSAYS.= Edited by W. ALDIS WRIGHT. (Golden Treasury Series.) +18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=BAKER.=--Works by Sir SAMUEL BAKER, M.A., F.R.S., F.R.G.S., &c., &c.: + + CAST UP BY THE SEA; or, THE ADVENTURES OF NED GREY. With + Illustrations by HUARD. New Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt. 6_s_. + + TRUE TALES FOR MY GRANDSONS. With Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY. + Crown 8vo. [_Just ready._] + +=BALLAD BOOK.=--CHOICEST ANECDOTES AND SAYINGS. Edited by WILLIAM +ALLINGHAM. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=BARKER (LADY).=--Works by Lady BARKER: + + A YEAR'S HOUSEKEEPING IN SOUTH AFRICA. With Illustrations. Cheaper + Edition. Crown 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + + STATION LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND. With Illustrations. Cheaper Edition. + Crown 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + + THE WHITE RAT and other Stories. Illustrated by W. J. HENNESSY. + Globe 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=BEESLY.=--STORIES FROM THE HISTORY OF ROME. By Mrs. BEESLY. Fcap. 8vo. +2_s_. 6_d_. + +=BIKÉLAS.=--LOUKIS LARAS; or, THE REMINISCENCES OF A CHIOTE MERCHANT +DURING THE GREEK WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. From the Greek of D. Bikélas. +Translated, with Introduction on the Rise and Development of Modern +Greek Literature, by J. GENNADIUS, late Chargé d'Affaires at the Greek +Legation in London. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + +=BLACK (W.).=--Works by W. BLACK, Author of "A Daughter of Heth": + + THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A PHAETON. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 6_d_. + + A PRINCESS OF THULE. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + THE MAID OF KILLEENA, and other Stories. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + MADCAP VIOLET. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + GREEN PASTURES AND PICCADILLY. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + MACLEOD OF DARE. With Illustrations. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. + 6_s_. + + WHITE WINGS. A YACHTING ROMANCE. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH: THE FOUR MAC NICOLS: THE PUPIL OF AURELIUS. + Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + SHANDON BELLS. Crown 8vo. Cheaper Edition 6_s_. + + ADVENTURES IN THULE: and Other Stories. A Book for Children. Crown + 8vo. [_Just ready._] + + YOLANDE. THE STORY OF A DAUGHTER. Three Vols. Crown 8vo. 31_s_. + 6_d_. + +=BJÖRNSON.=--SYNNÖVË SOLBAKKEN. Translated from the Norwegian of +BJORNSTJERNE BJÖRNSON, by JULIE SUTTER. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=BLACKIE.=--Works by JOHN STUART BLACKIE, Emeritus Professor of Greek in +the University of Edinburgh:-- + + THE WISE MEN OF GREECE. In a Series of Dramatic Dialogues. Crown + 8vo. 9_s_. + + LAY SERMONS. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + GOETHE'S FAUST. Translated into English Verse, with Notes and + Preliminary Remarks. By J. STUART BLACKIE, F.R.S.E. Crown 8vo. + 9_s_. + +=BLAKISTON.=--MODERN SOCIETY IN ITS RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL ASPECTS. By +PEYTON BLAKISTON, M.D., F.R.S., Crown 8vo. 5_s_. + +=BRIGHT.=--Works by HENRY A. BRIGHT. + + A YEAR IN A LANCASHIRE GARDEN. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 3_s_. + 6_d_. + + THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. Crown 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=BRIMLEY.=--ESSAYS. By the late GEORGE BRIMLEY, M.A., Librarian of Trinity +College, Cambridge. Edited by W. G. CLARK, M.A., late Fellow and Tutor +of Trinity College, Cambridge. A new Edition. Globe 8vo. 5_s_. + + _Contents_: Tennyson's Poems; Wordsworth's Poems; Poetry and + Criticism; Carlyle's Life of Sterling; "Esmond": "Westward Ho!"; + Wilson's "Noctes Ambrosianć"; Comte's "Positive Philosophy," &c. + +=BROOKE.=--THE FOOL OF QUALITY, or, THE HISTORY OF HENRY, EARL OF +MORELAND. By HENRY BROOKE. Newly revised, with a Biographical Preface by +the Rev. CHARLES KINGSLEY, M.A., late Rector of Eversley. Crown 8vo. +6_s_. + +=BROOKE (S. A.).=--RIQUET OF THE TUFT: A LOVE DRAMA. By the Rev. STOFFORD +A. BROOKE, M.A. Extra crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=BROWNE (SIR THOMAS).=--RELIGIO MEDICI; Letter to a Friend, &c., and +Christian Morals. Edited by W. A. GREENHILL, M.D. 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. +(Golden Treasury Series.) + +=BUNCE.=--FAIRY TALES. THEIR ORIGIN AND MEANING. With some Account of the +Dwellers in Fairy Land. By J. THACKRAY BUNCE. Extra fcap. 8vo. 3_s_. +6_d_. + +=BUNYAN'S PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.= (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=BURKE.=--LETTERS, TRACTS, AND SPEECHES ON IRISH AFFAIRS. By EDMUND BURKE. +Arranged and Edited by MATTHEW ARNOLD, with a Preface. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=BURNETT.=--Works by FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT, Author of "That Lass o' +Lowrie's":-- + + HAWORTH'S. A Novel. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + LOUISIANA; and THAT LASS O' LOWRIE'S. Two Stories. Illustrated. + Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + LOUISIANA. _Popular Edition._ Sewed paper wrapper. Crown 8vo. + 1_s_. + +=BURNS.=--THE POETICAL WORKS OF ROBERT BURNS. Edited from the best printed +and manuscript Authorities, with Glossarial Index and a Biographical +Memoir, by ALEXANDER SMITH. With Portrait of Burns, and Vignette of the +Twa Dogs, engraved by SHAW. Two Vols. Fcap. 8vo. 10_s_. + + COMPLETE WORKS OF. Edited with Memoir by ALEXANDER SMITH. (Globe + Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=BUTLER'S HUDIBRAS.= Part I. Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by +ALFRED MILNES, M.A. Fcap. 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. Parts II. and III. 4_s_. +6_d_. + +=BYRON.=--POETRY OF BYRON. Chosen and arranged by MATTHEW ARNOLD. (Golden +Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. Large Paper Edition. Crown 8vo. +9_s_. + +=CARROLL.=--Works by LEWIS CARROLL:-- + + ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. With Forty two Illustrations by + TENNIEL. 71st Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth. 6_s_. + + =A GERMAN TRANSLATION OF THE SAME.= With TENNIEL's Illustrations. + Crown 8vo, gilt. 6_s_. + + A FRENCH TRANSLATION OF THE SAME. With TENNIEL's Illustrations. + Crown 8vo, gilt. 6_s_. + + AN ITALIAN TRANSLATION OF THE SAME. By T. P. ROSSETTE. With + TENNIEL's Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS, AND WHAT ALICE FOUND THERE. With Fifty + Illustrations by TENNIEL. Crown 8vo, gilt. 6_s_. 52nd Thousand. + + RHYME? AND REASON? With Sixty-five Illustrations by ARTHUR B. + FROST, and Nine by HENRY HOLIDAY. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. + + *** This book is a reprint, with a few additions, of the comic + portion of "Phantasmagoria and Other Poems," and of the "Hunting + of the Snark." Mr. FROST's Pictures are new. + +=CAUTLEY.=--A CENTURY OF EMBLEMS. By G. S. CAUTLEY, Vicar of Nettleden, +Author of "The After Glow," etc. With numerous Illustrations by LADY +MARION ALFORD, REAR-ADMIRAL LORD W. COMPTON, the Ven. LORD A. COMPTON, +R. BARNES, J. D. COOPER, and the Author. Pott 4to, cloth elegant, gilt +elegant. 10_s_. 6_d_. + +=CAVALIER AND HIS LADY.= Selections from the Works of the First Duke and +Duchess of Newcastle. With an Introductory Essay by E. JENKINS. (Golden +Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=CHILDREN'S POETRY.= By the author of "John Halifax, Gentleman." Extra +Fcap. 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=CHRISTMAS CAROL (A).= Printed in Colours from Original Designs by Mr. and +Mrs. TREVOR CRISPIN, with Illuminated Borders from MSS. of the 14th and +15th Centuries. Imp. 4to, cloth elegant. Cheaper Edition. 21_s_. + +=CHURCH (A. J.).=--HORĆ TENNYSONIANĆ, Sive Eclogć e Tennysono Latine +redditć. Cura A. J. CHURCH. A.M. Extra fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + +=CLIFFORD.=--ANYHOW STORIES--MORAL AND OTHERWISE. By Mrs. W. K. CLIFFORD. +With Illustrations by DOROTHY TENNANT. Crown 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=CLOUGH (ARTHUR HUGH).=--THE POEMS AND PROSE REMAINS OF ARTHUR HUGH +CLOUGH. With a Selection from his Letters, and a Memoir. Edited by his +Wife. With Portrait. Two Vols. Crown 8vo. 21_s_. + + THE POEMS OF ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH, sometime Fellow of Oriel + College, Oxford. Ninth Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + +=CLUNES.=--THE STORY OF PAULINE: An Autobiography. By G. C. CLUNES. Crown +8vo. 6_s_. + +=COLERIDGE.=--HUGH CRICHTON'S ROMANCE. A Novel. By CHRISTABEL R. +COLERIDGE. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=COLLECTS OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.= with a beautifully Coloured Floral +Design to each Collect, and Illuminated Cover. Crown 8vo. 12_s_. Also +kept in various styles of morocco. + +=COLLIER.=--A PRIMER OF ART. By JOHN COLLIER. 18mo. 1_s_. + +=COLQUHOUN.=--RHYMES AND CHIMES. By F. S. COLQUHOUN (née F. S. FULLER +MAITLAND). Extra fcap. 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=COWPER.=--POETICAL WORKS. Edited, with Biographical Introduction, by Rev. +W. BENHAM, B.D. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + + THE TASK: AN EPISTLE TO JOSEPH HILL, Esq.; TIROCINIUM; or, a + Review of the Schools: and the HISTORY OF JOHN GILPIN. Edited, + with Notes, by WILLIAM BENHAM, B.D. (Globe Readings Edition.) + Globe 8vo. _1_s. + + SELECTIONS FROM COWPER'S LETTERS. Edited by Rev. W. BENHAM, B.D. + 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. (Golden Treasury Series.) [_In the Press._] + + SELECTIONS FROM COWPER'S POEMS. With an Introduction by Mrs. + OLIPHANT. 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. (Golden Treasury Series.) + +=CRANE.=--GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES: A Selection from the Household Stories. +Translated from the German by LUCY CRANE, and done into Pictures by +WALTER CRANE. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=CRANE (LUCY).=--LECTURES ON ART AND THE FORMATION OF TASTE. By LUCY +CRANE. With Illustrations by THOMAS and WALTER CRANE. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=CRAWFORD.=--Works by F. MARION CRAWFORD. + + MR. ISAACS. A Tale of Modern India. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + DOCTOR CLAUDIUS. A True Story. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=DANTE:= AN ESSAY. By the Very Rev. R. W. CHURCH, D.C.L., Dean of St. +Paul's. With a Translation of the "De Monarchiâ." By F. J. CHURCH. Crown +8vo. 6_s_. + + THE "DE MONARCHIA." Separately. 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + THE PURGATORY. Edited, with Translation and Notes, by A. J. + BUTLER. Crown 8vo. 12_s_. 6_d_. + +=DAY.=--Works by the Rev. LAL BEHARI DAY. + + BENGAL PEASANT LIFE. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + FOLK-TALES OF BENGAL. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=DEMOCRACY.=--An American Novel. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + Also a POPULAR EDITION, in Paper Wrapper, Crown 8vo. 1_s_. + +=DE MORGAN (MARY).=--THE NECKLACE OF THE PRINCESS FIORIMONDE, and other +Stories. With 25 Illustrations by WALTER CRANE. Extra fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + + *** Also an Edition printed by Messrs. R. and R. Clark, on + hand-made paper, the plates initial letters, head and tail pieces + being printed on Indian paper and mounted in the text. Fcap. 4to. + THE EDITION IS LIMITED TO ONE HUNDRED COPIES. + +=DEUTSCHE LYRIK.= By Dr. BUCHHEIM. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. +6_d_. + +=DICKENS'S DICTIONARY OF PARIS, 1883.= An Unconventional Handbook. With +Maps, Plans, &c. 18mo Paper cover, 1_s_. Cloth, 1_s_. 6_d_. + +=DICKENS'S DICTIONARY OF LONDON, 1883.= (Fourth Year) An Unconventional +Handbook. With Maps, Plans, &c. 18mo. Paper cover. 1_s_. Cloth, 1_s_. +6_d_. + +=DICKENS'S DICTIONARY OF THE THAMES, 1883.= An Unconventional Handbook. +With Maps, Plans, &c. Paper cover, 1_s_. Cloth, 1_s_. 6_d_. + +=DICKENS'S CONTINENTAL A.B.C. RAILWAY GUIDE.= Published on the first of +each Month. 18mo. 1_s_. + +=DILLWYN (E. A.).=--THE REBECCA RIOTER. A Story of Killay Life. Two Vols. +Crown 8vo. 21s. + +=DOYLE.=--POEMS. Collected Edition. By Sir FRANCIS HASTINGS DOYLE. Crown +8vo. [_Just ready._] + +=DOTTY,= AND OTHER POEMS. By J. L. Extra fcap. 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=DRYDEN.=--POETICAL WORKS OF. Edited, with a Memoir, by W. D. CHRISTIE, +M.A. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=DUFF (GRANT).=--MISCELLANIES. POLITICAL and LITERARY By the Right Hon. M. +E. GRANT DUFF, M.P. 8vo. 10_s_. 6_d_. + +=DUNSMUIR (AMY).=--VIDA; Study of a Girl. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=EBERS.=--Works by DR. GEORG EBERS. + + THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE; a Tale of the Siege of Leyden. Translated + by CLARA BELL. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + ONLY A WORD. Translated by CLARA BELL. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=EMERSON.=--THE COLLECTED WORKS OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON. Uniform with the +EVERSLEY EDITION of Charles Kingsley's Novels. Globe 8vo., price 5_s_. +each volume. + + 1. MISCELLANIES. With an Introductory Essay by JOHN MORLEY. [_In + preparation._] + + 2. ESSAYS. [_Ready._] + + 3. POEMS. [_Ready._] + + 4. ENGLISH TRAITS: AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN. [_Ready._] + + 5. CONDUCT OF LIFE: AND SOCIETY and SOLITUDE. [_Ready._] + + 6. LETTERS: SOCIAL AIMS &c. [_Ready._] + +=ENGLISH MEN OF LETTERS.= Edited by JOHN MORLEY. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. +each. + + JOHNSON. By LESLIE STEPHEN. + + SCOTT. By R. H. HUTTON. + + GIBBON. By J. COTTER MORISON. + + SHELLEY. By J. A. SYMONDS. + + HUME. By Professor HUXLEY, P.R.S. + + GOLDSMITH. By WILLIAM BLACK. + + DEFOE. BY W. MINTO. + + BURNS. By Principal SHAIRP. + + SPENSER. By the Very Rev. R. W. CHURCH, Dean of St Paul's. + + THACKERAY. By ANTHONY TROLLOPE. + + BURKE. By JOHN MORLEY. + + MILTON. By MARK PATTISON. + + HAWTHORNE. By HENRY JAMES. + + SOUTHEY. By Professor DOWDEN. + + CHAUCER. By A. W. WARD. + + COWPER. By GOLDWIN SMITH. + + BUNYAN. By J. A. FROUDE. + + LOCKE. By Professor FOWLER. + + BYRON. By Professor NICHOL. + + WORDSWORTH. By F. W. H. MYERS. + + DRYDEN. By GEORGE SAINTSBURY. + + LANDOR. By Professor SIDNEY COLVIN. + + DE QUINCEY. By Professor MASSON. + + CHARLES LAMB. By Rev. ALFRED AINGER. + + BENTLEY. By Professor R. C. JEBB. + + CHARLES DICKENS. By A. W. WARD. + + GRAY. By E. W. GOSSE. + + SWIFT. By LESLIE STEPHEN. + + STERNE. By H. D. TRAILL. + + MACAULAY. By J. COTTER MORISON. + + FIELDING. By AUSTIN DOBSON. + + SHERIDAN. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. + + ADDISON. By W. J. COURTHOPE. [_In the press._] + + [Other Volumes to follow.] + +=EVANS.=--Works by SEBASTIAN EVANS. + + BROTHER FABIAN'S MANUSCRIPT, AND OTHER POEMS. Fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + + IN THE STUDIO; A DECADE OF POEMS. Extra fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + +=FAIRY BOOK.= By the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman." (Golden Treasury +Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=FAWCETT.=--TALES IN POLITICAL ECONOMY. By MILLICENT G. FAWCETT, Author of +"Political Economy for Beginners." Globe 8vo. 3_s_. + +=FLEMING.=--Works by GEORGE FLEMING. + + A NILE NOVEL. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. + + MIRAGE. A Novel. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. + + THE HEAD OF MEDUSA. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. + +=FO'C'S'LE YARNS.=-Including "BETSY LEE" AND OTHER POEMS. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. +6_d_. + +=FRASER-TYTLER.=--SONGS IN MINOR KEYS. By C. C. FRASER-TYTLER (Mrs. EDWARD +LIDDELL). 18mo. 6_s_. + +=FREEMAN.=--Works by E. A. FREEMAN, D.C.L., LL.D. + + HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL SKETCHES; CHIEFLY ITALIAN. With + Illustrations by the Author. Crown 8vo. 10_s_. 6_d_. + + SUBJECT AND NEIGHBOUR LANDS OF VENICE. Being a Companion Volume to + "Historical and Architectural Sketches." With Illustrations. Crown + 8vo. 10_s_. 6_d_. + +=GARNETT.=--IDYLLS AND EPIGRAMS. Chiefly from the Greek Anthology. By +RICHARD GARNETT. Fcap. 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=GEDDES.=--FLOSCULI GRAECI BOREALES SIVE ANTHOLOGIA GRAECA ABERDONENSIS. +Contexuit GULIELMUS D. GEDDES. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=GILMORE.=--STORM WARRIORS; or, LIFE-BOAT WORK ON THE GOODWIN SANDS. By +the Rev. JOHN GILMORE, M.A., Vicar of St. Luke's, Lower Norwood, Surrey, +Author of "The Ramsgate Life-Boat," in "Macmillan's Magazine." Second +Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +GLOBE LIBRARY.--Globe 8vo. Cloth. 3_s_. 6_d_. each. + + SHAKESPEARE'S COMPLETE WORKS. Edited by W. G. CLARK, M.A., and W. + ALDIS WRIGHT, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge. Editors of the + "Cambridge Shakespeare." With Glossary. + + SPENSER'S COMPLETE WORKS. Edited from the Original Editions and + Manuscripts, by R. MORRIS, with a Memoir by J. W. HALES, M.A. With + Glossary. + + SIR WALTER SCOTT'S POETICAL WORKS. Edited with a Biographical and + Critical Memoir by FRANCIS TURNER PALGRAVE, and copious Notes. + + COMPLETE WORKS OF ROBERT BURNS.--THE POEMS, SONGS, AND LETTERS, + edited from the best Printed and Manuscript Authorities, with + Glossarial Index, Notes, and a Biographical Memoir by ALEXANDER + SMITH. + + ROBINSON CRUSOE. Edited after the Original Editions, with a + Biographical Introduction by HENRY KINGSLEY. + + GOLDSMITH'S MISCELLANEOUS WORKS. Edited, with Biographical + Introduction by Professor MASSON. + + POPE'S POETICAL WORKS. Edited, with Notes and Introductory Memoir, + by ADOLPHUS WILLIAM WARD, M.A., Fellow of St. Peter's College, + Cambridge, and Professor of History in Owens College, Manchester. + + DRYDEN'S POETICAL WORKS. Edited, with a Memoir, Revised Text and + Notes, by W. D. CHRISTIE, M.A., of Trinity College, Cambridge. + + COWPER'S POETICAL WORKS. Edited, with Notes and Biographical + Introduction, by Rev. WILLIAM BENHAM, B.D. + + MORTE D'ARTHUR.--SIR THOMAS MALORY'S BOOK OF KING ARTHUR AND OF + HIS NOBLE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. The original Edition of + CAXTON, revised for Modern Use. With an Introduction by Sir EDWARD + STRACHEY, Bart. + + THE WORKS OF VIRGIL. Rendered into English Prose, with + Introductions, Notes, Running Analysis, and an Index. By JAMES + LONDSDALE, M.A., late Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, Oxford, + and Classical Professor in King's College, London; and SAMUEL LEE, + M.A., Latin Lecturer at University College, London. + + THE WORKS OF HORACE. Rendered into English Prose with + Introductions, Running Analysis, Notes and Index. By JOHN + LONSDALE, M.A., and SAMUEL LEE, M.A. + + MILTON'S POETICAL WORKS. Edited, with Introductions, by Professor + MASSON. + +=GOLDEN TREASURY SERIES.=--Uniformly printed in 18mo., with Vignette +Titles by J. E. MILLAIS, R.A., T. WOOLNER, W. HOLMAN HUNT, Sir NOEL +PATON, ARTHUR HUGHES, &c. Engraved on Steel by JEENS, &c. Bound in extra +cloth. 4_s_. 6_d_. each volume. + + THE GOLDEN TREASURY OF THE BEST SONGS AND LYRICAL POEMS IN THE + ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Selected and arranged, with Notes, by FRANCIS + TURNER PALGRAVE. + + THE CHILDREN'S GARLAND FROM THE BEST POETS. Selected and arranged + by COVENTRY PATMORE. + + THE BOOK OF PRAISE. From the best English Hymn Writers. Selected + and arranged by LORD SELBORNE. _A New and Enlarged Edition._ + + THE FAIRY BOOK; the Best Popular Fairy Stories. Selected and + rendered anew by the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman." + + THE BALLAD BOOK, A Selection of the Choicest British Ballads. + Edited by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM. + + THE JEST BOOK. The Choicest Anecdotes and Sayings. Selected and + arranged by MARK LEMON. + + BACON'S ESSAYS AND COLOURS OF GOOD AND EVIL. With Notes and + Glossarial Index. By W. ALDIS WRIGHT, M.A. + + THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS from this World to that which is to come. + By JOHN BUNYAN. + + THE SUNDAY BOOK OF POETRY FOR THE YOUNG. Selected and arranged by + C. F. ALEXANDER. + + A BOOK OF GOLDEN DEEDS of All Times and All Countries gathered and + narrated anew. By the Author of "The Heir of Redclyffe." + + THE ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE. Edited from the Original + Edition by J. W. CLARK, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, + Cambridge. + + THE REPUBLIC OF PLATO. Translated into English, with Notes, by J. + LL. DAVIES, M.A. and D. J. VAUGHAN, M.A. + + THE SONG BOOK. Words and Tunes from the best Poets and Musicians. + Selected and arranged by JOHN HULLAH, Professor of Vocal Music in + King's College, London. + + LA LYRE FRANÇAISE. Selected and arranged, with Notes, by GUSTAVE + MASSON, French Master in Harrow School. + + TOM BROWN'S SCHOOLDAYS. By AN OLD BOY. + + A BOOK OF WORTHIES. Gathered from the Old Histories and written + anew by the Author of "The Heir of Redclyffe." With Vignette. + + GUESSES AT TRUTH. By TWO BROTHERS. New Edition. + + THE CAVALIER AND HIS LADY. Selections from the Works of the First + Duke and Duchess of Newcastle. With an Introductory Essay by + EDWARD JENKINS, Author of "Ginx's Baby," &c. + + SCOTTISH SONG. A Selection of the Choicest Lyrics of Scotland. + Compiled and arranged, with brief Notes, by MARY CARLYLE AITKEN. + + DEUTSCHE LYRIK. The Golden Treasury of the best German Lyrical + Poems, selected and arranged with Notes and Literary Introduction. + By Dr. BUCHHEIM. + + ROBERT HERRICK.--SELECTIONS FROM THE LYRICAL POEMS OF. Arranged + with Notes by F. T. PALGRAVE. + + POEMS OF PLACES. Edited by H. W. LONGFELLOW. England and Wales. + Two Vols. + + MATTHEW ARNOLD'S SELECTED POEMS. + + THE STORY OF THE CHRISTIANS AND MOORS IN SPAIN. By CHARLOTTE M. + YONGE. With a Vignette by HOLMAN HUNT. + + LAMB'S TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE. Edited, with Preface, by the Rev. + ALFRED AINGER, Reader at the Temple. + + WORDSWORTH'S SELECT POEMS. Chosen and Edited, with Preface, by + MATTHEW ARNOLD. Also a Large Paper Edition. Crown 8vo. 9_s_. + + SHAKESPEARE'S SONGS AND SONNETS. Edited, with Notes, by FRANCIS + TURNER PALGRAVE. + + SELECTIONS FROM ADDISON. Edited by JOHN RICHARD GREEN. + + SELECTIONS FROM SHELLEY. Edited by STOPFORD A. BROOKE. Also Large + Paper Edition. Crown 8vo. 12s. 6d. + + POETRY OF BYRON. Chosen and arranged by Matthew Arnold. Also a + Large Paper Edition. Crown 8vo. 9_s_. + + SIR THOMAS BROWNE'S RELIGIO MEDICI; Letter to a Friend, &c., and + Christian Morals. Edited by W. A. GREENHILL, M.D., Oxon. + + MOHAMMAD, THE SPEECHES AND TABLE-TALK OF THE PROPHET. Chosen and + Translated by STANLEY LANE-POOLE. + + WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR, Selections from the Writings of. Arranged + and Edited by Professor SIDNEY COLVIN. + + COWPER--Selections from Cowper's Poems. With an Introduction by + Mrs. OLIPHANT. + + COWPER.--Selections from Cowper's Letters. By REV. W. BENHAM, B.D. + 18mo. [_In the press._] + +=GOLDSMITH.=--MISCELLANEOUS WORKS. Edited with Biographical Introduction, +by Professor MASSON. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=GOLDSMITH'S VICAR OF WAKEFIELD.= with a Memoir of Goldsmith by Professor +MASSON. Globe Readings Edition. Globe 8vo. 1_s_. + +=GOETHE'S FAUST.= Translated into English Verse, with Notes and +Preliminary Remarks, by JOHN STUART BLACKIE, F.R.S.E., Emeritus +Professor of Greek in the University of Edinburgh. Crown 8vo. 9_s_. + +=GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES.= A Selection from the Household Stories. Translated +from the German by LUCY CRANE, and done into Pictures by WALTER CRANE. +Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=GUESSES AT TRUTH.= By Two Brothers. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. +6_d_. + +=HAMERTON.=--Works by P. G. HAMERTON. + + ETCHING AND ETCHERS. Illustrated with Forty-eight new Etchings. + Third Edition, revised. Columbier 8vo. + + A PAINTER'S CAMP IN THE HIGHLANDS. Second and Cheaper Edition. One + Vol. Extra fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + + THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE. With Portrait of LEONARDO DA VINCI, etched + by LEOPOLD FLAMENG. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 10_s_. 6_d_. + + THOUGHTS ABOUT ART. New Edition, Revised, with Notes and + Introduction. Crown 8vo. 8_s_. 6_d_. + +=HARDY.=--BUT YET A WOMAN. A Novel. By ARTHUR SHERBURNE HARDY. Crown 8vo. +4_s_. 6_d_. Also a Popular Edition, paper covers, 1_s_. + +HARRY. A POEM. By the Author of "Mrs. Jerningham's Journal." Extra fcap. +8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=HAWTHORNE (JULIAN).=--THE LAUGHING MILL; and Other Stories. By JULIAN +HAWTHORNE. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=HEINE.=--SELECTIONS FROM THE POETICAL WORKS OF HEINRICH HEINE. Translated +into English. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + A TRIP TO THE BROCKEN. By Heinrich Heine. Translated by R. + MCLINTOCK. Crown 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=HERRICK (ROBERT).=--SELECTIONS FROM THE LYRICAL POEMS OF. Arranged with +Notes by F. T. PALGRAVE. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=HIGGINSON.=--MALBONE; An Oldport Romance. By T. W. HIGGINSON. Fcap. 8vo. +2_s_. 6_d_. + +=HILDA AMONG THE BROKEN GODS.= By the Author of "Olrig Grange." Extra +fcap. 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + +=HOLLWAY-CALTHROP.=--PALADIN AND SARACEN: Stories from Ariosto. By H. C. +HOLLWAY-CALTHROP. With Illustrations by Mrs. ARTHUR LEMON, engraved by +O. LACOUR. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=HOMER.=--THE ODYSSEY OF HOMER DONE INTO ENGLISH PROSE. By S. H. BUTCHER, +M.A., Professor of Greek in the University of Edinburgh: sometime Fellow +and Prćlector of University College, Oxford, late Fellow of Trinity +College, Cambridge; and A. LANG, M.A., late Fellow of Merton College, +Oxford. With Steel Vignette. Third Edition. Revised and Corrected. With +new Introduction and Additional Notes. Crown 8vo. 10_s_. 6_d_. + + THE ILIAD OF HOMER. Translated into English Prose. By ANDREW LANG, + M.A., WALTER LEAF, M.A., and ERNEST MYERS, M.A. Crown 8vo. 12_s_. + 6_d_. + +=HOOPER AND PHILLIPS.=--A MANUAL OF MARKS ON POTTERY AND PORCELAIN. A +Dictionary of Easy Reference. By W. H. HOOPER and W. C. PHILLIPS. With +numerous Illustrations. Second Edition, revised. 16mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=HOPE.=--NOTES AND THOUGHTS ON GARDENS AND WOODLANDS. Written chiefly for +Amateurs. By the late FRANCES JANE HOPE, Wardie Lodge, near Edinburgh. +Edited by ANNE J. HOPE JOHNSTONE. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=HOPKINS.=--Works by ELLICE HOPKINS. + + ROSE TURQUAND. A Novel. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + AUTUMN SWALLOWS: a Book of Lyrics. Extra fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + +=HOPPUS.=--A GREAT TREASON: A Story of the War of Independence. 2 vols. +Crown 8vo. 9_s_. + +=HORACE.=--WORD FOR WORD FROM HORACE. The Odes literally versified. By W. +T. THORNTON, C.B. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + + WORKS OF. Rendered into English Prose by JOHN LONSDALE, M.A. and + SAMUEL LEE, M.A. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=HUNT.=--TALKS ABOUT ART. By WILLIAM HUNT. With a Letter by J. E. MILLAIS, +R.A. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=IRVING.=--Works by WASHINGTON IRVING. + + OLD CHRISTMAS. From the Sketch Book. With upwards of 100 + Illustrations by RANDOLPH CALDECOTT, engraved by J. D. COOPER. New + Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth elegant. 6_s_. + + People's Sixpenny Edition. Illustrated. Medium 4to. 6_d_. + + BRACEBRIDGE HALL. With 120 Illustrations by R. CALDECOTT. New + Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt. 6_s_. + + People's Sixpenny Edition. Illustrated. Medium 4to. 6_d_. + +=JAMES.=--Works by HENRY JAMES. + + THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + WASHINGTON SQUARE; THE PENSION BEAUREPAS; A BUNDLE OF LETTERS. + Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + THE EUROPEANS: A Novel. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + THE AMERICAN. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + DAISY MILLER: AN INTERNATIONAL EPISODE: FOUR MEETINGS. Crown 8vo. + 6_s_. + + RODERICK HUDSON. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + THE MADONNA OF THE FUTURE; and other Tales. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + FRENCH POETS AND NOVELISTS. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + PORTRAITS OF PLACES. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. [_In the press._] + +=JAMES.=--NOVELS AND TALES. By HENRY JAMES. + +_In 18mo, Paper covers, 1s. each volume. Cloth binding, 1s. 6d. each +volume._ + + THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY. 3 vols. + + RODERICK HUDSON. 2 vols. + + THE AMERICAN. 2 vols. + + WASHINGTON SQUARE. 1 vol. + + THE EUROPEANS. 1 vol. + + CONFIDENCE. 1 vol. + + THE SIEGE OF LONDON: MADAME DE MAUVES. 1 vol. + + AN INTERNATIONAL EPISODE: THE PENSION BEAUREPAS: THE POINT OF + VIEW. 1 vol. + + DAISY MILLER, A STUDY: FOUR MEETINGS: LONGSTAFF'S MARRIAGE: + BENVOLIO. 1 vol. + + THE MADONNA OF THE FUTURE: A BUNDLE OF LETTERS; THE DIARY OF A MAN + OF FIFTY: EUGENE PICKERING. + +=JOUBERT.=--PENSÉES OF JOUBERT. Selected and Translated with the Original +French appended, by HENRY ATTWELL, Knight of the Order of the Oak Crown. +Crown 8vo. 5_s_. + +=KEARY.=-A MEMOIR OF ANNIE KEARY. By her Sister. With a Portrait. Third +Thousand. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=KEARY (A.).=--Works by ANNIE KEARY. + + CASTLE DALY; THE STORY OF AN IRISH HOME THIRTY YEARS AGO. New + Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + JANET'S HOME. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + CLEMENCY FRANKLYN. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + OLDBURY. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + A YORK AND A LANCASTER ROSE. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + A DOUBTING HEART. New Edition Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + THE HEROES OF ASGARD. Globe 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=KEARY (E.).=--Works by ELIZA KEARY. + + THE MAGIC VALLEY; or, PATIENT ANTOINE. With Illustrations by E. V. + B. Globe 8vo. gilt. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + MEMOIR OF ANNIE KEARY. With a Portrait. New Edition. Crown 8vo. + 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=KINGSLEY'S (CHARLES) NOVELS.=--EVERSLEY EDITION. + + WESTWARD HO! 2 Vols. Globe 8 vo. 10_s_. + + TWO YEARS AGO. 2 Vols. Globe 8vo. 10_s_. + + HYPATIA. 2 Vols. Globe 8vo. 10_s_. + + YEAST. 1 Vol. Globe 8vo. 5_s_. + + ALTON LOCKE. 2 Vols. Globe 8vo. 10_s_. + + HEREWARD THE WAKE. 2 Vols. Globe 8vo. 10_s_. + +=KINGSLEY.=--Works by the Rev. CHARLES KINGSLEY, M.A., late Rector of +Eversley, and Canon of Westminster. Collected Edition. 6_s_. each. + + POEMS; including the Saint's Tragedy, Andromeda, Songs, Ballads, + &c. Complete Collected Edition. + + YEAST; a Problem. + + ALTON LOCKE. New Edition. With a Prefatory Memoir by THOMAS + HUGHES, Q.C., and Portrait of the Author. + + HYPATIA; or, NEW FOES WITH AN OLD FACE. + + GLAUCUS; or, THE WONDERS OF THE SEA-SHORE. With Coloured + Illustrations. + + WESTWARD HO! or, THE VOYAGES AND ADVENTURES OF SIR AMYAS LEIGH. + + THE HEROES; or, GREEK FAIRY TALES FOR MY CHILDREN. With + Illustrations. + + TWO YEARS AGO. + + THE WATER BABIES. A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby. With Illustrations + by Sir NOEL PATON, R.S.A., and P. SKELTON. + + THE ROMAN AND THE TEUTON. A Series of Lectures delivered before + the University of Cambridge. With Preface by Professor MAX MÜLLER. + + HEREWARD THE WAKE--LAST OF THE ENGLISH. + + THE HERMITS. + + MADAM HOW AND LADY WHY; or, FIRST LESSONS IN EARTHLORE FOR + CHILDREN. + + AT LAST; A CHRISTMAS IN THE WEST INDIES. Illustrated. + + PROSE IDYLLS. NEW AND OLD. + + PLAYS AND PURITANS; and other HISTORICAL ESSAYS. With Portrait of + Sir WALTER RALEIGH. + + HISTORICAL LECTURES AND ESSAYS. + + SANITARY AND SOCIAL LECTURES AND ESSAYS. + + SCIENTIFIC LECTURES AND ESSAYS. + + LITERARY AND GENERAL LECTURES. + + HEALTH AND EDUCATION. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + SELECTIONS FROM SOME OF THE WRITINGS OF THE REV. CHARLES KINGSLEY. + Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + OUT OF THE DEEP. Words for the Sorrowful, from the writings of + CHARLES KINGSLEY. Extra fcap. 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=KINGSLEY (H.).=--TALES OF OLD TRAVEL. Re-narrated by HENRY KINGSLEY. With +Eight full-page Illustrations by HUARD. Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth, +extra gilt. 5_s_. + +=KNOX.=--SONGS OF CONSOLATION. By ISA CRAIG KNOX. Extra fcap. 8vo, cloth +extra, gilt edges. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=LAMB.=--Works by CHARLES LAMB. + + TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE. Edited, with Preface, by ALFRED AINGER, + M.A. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. Globe Readings + Edition for Schools. Globe 8vo, 2_s_. + + ESSAYS OF ELIA. Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by ALFRED + AINGER, M.A. Globe 8vo. 5_s_. + + POEMS, PLAYS, ESSAYS, &c. Edited by ALFRED AINGER, M.A. Globe 8vo. + [_In preparation._] + +=LANDOR (WALTER SAVAGE).=--SELECTIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF WALTER SAVAGE +LANDOR. Arranged and Edited by Professor SIDNEY COLVIN. With Portrait. +18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. (Golden Treasury Series.) + +=LECTURES ON ART.=--Delivered in Support of the Society for Protection of +Ancient Buildings. By REGD. STUART POOLE, Professor W. B. RICHMOND, E. +J. POYNTER, R.A., J. T. MICKLETHWAITE, and WILLIAM MORRIS. Crown 8vo. +4_s_. 6_d_. + +=LEMON (MARK).=--THE JEST BOOK. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. +6_d_. + +=LITTLE ESTELLA,= and other FAIRY TALES FOR THE YOUNG. 18mo, cloth extra. +2_s_. 6_d_. + +=LITTLE SUNSHINE'S HOLIDAY.=--By the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman." +With Illustrations. Globe 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=LORNE.=--GUIDO AND LITA: A TALE OF THE RIVIERA. A Poem. By the MARQUIS OF +LORNE. Third Edition. Small 4to, cloth elegant. With Illustrations. +7_s_. 6_d_. + +=LOWELL.=--COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS of JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. With Portrait, +engraved by JEENS. 18mo, cloth extra. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=LYTTELTON.=--Works by LORD LYTTELTON. + + THE "COMUS" OF MILTON, rendered into Greek Verse. Extra fcap. 8vo. + 5_s_. + + THE "SAMSON AGONISTES" OF MILTON, rendered into Greek Verse. Extra + fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. 6_d_. + +=MACLAREN.=--THE FAIRY FAMILY. A Series of Ballads and Metrical Tales +illustrating the Fairy Mythology of Europe. By ARCHIBALD MACLAREN. With +Frontispiece, Illustrated Title, and Vignette. Crown 8vo, gilt 5_s_. + +=MACMILLAN.=--MEMOIR OF DANIEL MACMILLAN. By THOMAS HUGHES, Q.C. With a +Portrait engraved on Steel by C. H. JEENS, from a Painting by LOWES +DICKINSON. Fifth Thousand. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. Popular Edition, Paper +Covers, 1s. + +=MACMILLAN'S BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG.=--In Glove 8vo, cloth elegant. +Illustrated, 2_s_. 6_d_. each:-- + + WANDERING WILLIE. By the Author of "Conrad the Squirrel." With a + Frontispiece by Sir NOEL PATON. + + THE WHITE RAT, AND OTHER STORIES. By LADY BARKER. With + Illustrations by W. J. HENNESSY. + + PANSIE'S FLOUR BIN. By the Author of "When I was a Little Girl." + With Illustrations by ADRIAN STOKES. + + MILLY AND OLLY; or, A Holiday among the Mountains. By Mrs. T. H. + WARD. With Illustrations by Mrs. ALMA TADEMA. + + THE HEROES OF ASGARD; Tales from Scandinavian Mythology. By A. and + E. KEARY. + + WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL. By the Author of "St. Olave's," "Nine + Years Old," &c. + + A STOREHOUSE OF STORIES. Edited by CHARLOTTE M. YONGE, Author of + "The Heir of Redclyffe." Two Vols. + + THE STORY OF A FELLOW SOLDIER. By FRANCES AWDRY. (A Life of Bishop + Patteson for the Young.) With Preface by CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. + + AGNES HOPETOUN'S SCHOOLS AND HOLIDAYS. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. + + RUTH AND HER FRIENDS. A Story for Girls. + + THE RUNAWAY. By the Author of "Mrs. Jerningham's Journal." + + OUR YEAR. A Child's Book in Prose and Verse. By the Author of + "John Halifax, Gentleman." + + LITTLE SUNSHINE'S HOLIDAY. By the Author of "John Halifax, + Gentleman." + + NINE YEARS OLD. By the Author of "When I was a Little Girl." + +=MACMILLAN'S MAGAZINE.=--Published Monthly. Price 1_s_. Vols. I. to +XLVIII. are now ready, 7_s_. 6_d_. each. + +=MACMILLAN'S POPULAR NOVELS.=--In Crown 8vo, cloth. Price 6_s_. each +Volume:-- + +By William Black. + + A PRINCESS OF THULE. + + MADCAP VIOLET. + + THE MAID OF KILLEENA; and other Tales. + + THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A PHAETON. Illustrated. + + GREEN PASTURES AND PICCADILLY. + + MACLEOD OF DARE. Illustrated. + + WHITE WINGS. A Yachting Romance. + + THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH: THE FOUR MAC NICOLS: THE PUPIL OF AURELIUS. + + SHANDON BELLS. + +By Charles Kingsley. + + TWO YEARS AGO. + + "WESTWARD HO!" + + ALTON LOCKE. With Portrait. + + HYPATIA. + + YEAST. + + HEREWARD THE WAKE. + +By the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman." + + THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY. Illustrated. + + THE OGILVIES, Illustrated. + + AGATHA'S HUSBAND. Illustrated. + + OLIVE. Illustrated. + + MY MOTHER AND I. Illustrated. + +By Charlotte M. Yonge. + + THE HEIR OF REDCLYFFE. With Illustrations. + + HEARTSEASE. With Illustrations. + + THE DAISY CHAIN. With Illustrations. + + THE TRIAL: More Links in the Daisy Chain. With Illustrations. + + HOPES AND FEARS. Illustrated. + + DYNEVOR TERRACE. With Illustrations. + + MY YOUNG ALCIDES. Illustrated. + + THE PILLARS OF THE HOUSE. Two Vols. Illustrated. + + CLEVER WOMAN OF THE FAMILY. Illustrated. + + THE YOUNG STEPMOTHER. Illustrated. + + THE DOVE IN THE EAGLE'S NEST. Illustrated. + + THE CAGED LION. Illustrated. + + THE CHAPLET OF PEARLS. Illustrated. + + LADY HESTER, and THE DANVERS PAPERS. Illustrated. + + THE THREE BRIDES. Illustrated. + + MAGNUM BONUM. Illustrated. + + LOVE AND LIFE. Illustrated. + + UV KNOWN TO HISTORY. Illustrated. [_In the press._] + +By Frances H. Burnett. + + HAWORTH'S + + "LOUISIANA" and "THAT LASS O' LOWRIE'S." Two Stories. Illustrated. + +By Annie Keary. + + CASTLE DALY. + + OLDBURY. + + JANET'S HOME. + + CLEMENCY FRANKLYN. + + A YORK AND A LANCASTER ROSE. + + A DOUBTING HEART. + +By Henry James. + + THE EUROPEANS. + + THE AMERICAN. + + DAISY MILLER: AN INTERNATIONAL EPISODE: FOUR MEETINGS. + + RODERICK HUDSON. + + THE MADONNA OF THE FUTURE, and other Tales. + + WASHINGTON SQUARE: THE PENSION BEAUREPAS: A BUNDLE OF LETTERS. + + THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY. + + * * * * * + + TOM BROWN'S SCHOOLDAYS. + + TOM BROWN AT OXFORD. + + THE FOOL OF QUALITY. By H. BROOKE. + + REALMAH. By the Author of "Friends in Council." + + HUGH CRICHTON'S ROMANCE. By C. R. COLERIDGE. + + ROSE TURQUAND. By ELLICE HOPKINS. + + OLD SIR DOUGLAS. By the Hon. Mrs. NORTON. + + A BELEAGUERED CITY. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. + + JOHN INGLESANT. A Romance. By J. H. SHORTHOUSE. + + THE LAUGHING MILL; and other Tales. By JULIAN HAWTHORNE. + + THE HARBOUR BAR. + + BENGAL PEASANT LIFE. By LAL BEHARI DAY. + + VIRGIN SOIL. By TOURGÉNIEF. + + VIDA. The Study of a Girl. By AMY DUNSMUIR. + +=MACMILLAN'S TWO SHILLING NOVELS:--= + +By the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman." + + THE OGILVIES. + + THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY. + + OLIVE. + + AGATHA'S HUSBAND. + + TWO MARRIAGES. + +By Mrs. Oliphant. + + THE CURATE IN CHARGE. + + A SON OF THE SOIL. + + YOUNG MUSGRAVE. + + HE THAT WILL NOT WHEN HE MAY. + +By Mrs. Macquoid. + + PATTY. + +By George Fleming. + + A NILE NOVEL. + + MIRAGE. + + THE HEAD OF MEDUSA. + +By the Author of "Hogan, M.P." + + HOGAN, M.P. + + THE HONOURABLE MISS FERRARD. + + FLITTERS, TATTERS, AND THE COUNSELLOR: WEEDS, AND OTHER SKETCHES. + + CHRISTY CAREW. + +MACMILLAN'S ONE SHILLING VOLUMES:-- + +Crown 8vo, sewed, 1_s_. each. + + DEMOCRACY. An American Novel. + + LOUISIANA. By FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT, Author of "That Lass o' + Lowrie s," &c. + + BUT YET A WOMAN. A Novel. By ARTHUR SHERBURNE HARDY. + + MEMOIR OF DANIEL MACMILLAN. By THOMAS HUGHES, Q.C. + + HINTS TO HOUSEWIVES on several Points, particularly on the + Preparation of Economical and Tasteful Dishes. By Mrs. FREDERICK. + +=MACQUOID.=--PATTY. New Edition. By KATHARINE S. MACQUOID. Crown 8vo. +2_s_. + +=MADOC.=--THE STORY OF MELICENT. By FAYR MADOC. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=MAGUIRE.=--YOUNG PRINCE MARIGOLD, AND OTHER FAIRY STORIES. By the late +JOHN FRANCIS MAGUIRE, M.P. Illustrated by S. E. WALLER. Globe 8vo, gilt. +4_s_. 6_d_. + +=MAHAFFY.=--Works by J. P. MAHAFFY, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, +Dublin:-- + + SOCIAL LIFE IN GREECE FROM HOMER TO MENANDER. Fourth Edition, + enlarged, with New Chapter on Greek Art. Crown 8vo. 9_s_. + + RAMBLES AND STUDIES IN GREECE. Illustrated. Second Edition, + revised and enlarged, with Map. Crown 8vo. 10_s_. 6_d_. + + THE DECAY OF MODERN PREACHING. An Essay. Crown 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=MALET.=--MRS. LORIMER. A Novel. By LUCAS MALET. Cheaper Edition. Crown +8vo. 6_s_. [_In the press._] + +=MASSON (GUSTAVE).=--LA LYRE FRANÇAISE. Selected and arranged with Notes. +(Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=MASSON (Mrs.).=--THREE CENTURIES OF ENGLISH POETRY: being selections from +Chaucer to Herrick, with Introductions and Notes by Mrs. MASSON and a +general Introduction by Professor MASSON. Extra fcap. 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=MASSON (Professor).=--Works by DAVID MASSON, M.A., Professor of Rhetoric +and English Literature in the University of Edinburgh. + + WORDSWORTH, SHELLEY, KEATS, AND OTHER ESSAYS. Crown 8vo. 5_s_. + + CHATTERTON: A Story of the Year 1770. Crown 8vo. 5_s_. + + THE THREE DEVILS: LUTHER'S, MILTON'S AND GOETHE'S; and other + Essays. Crown 8vo. 5_s_. + +=MAZINI.=--IN THE GOLDEN SHELL: A Story of Palermo. By LINDA MAZINI. With +Illustrations. Globe 8vo, cloth gilt. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=MEREDITH.=--POEMS AND LYRICS OF THE JOY OF EARTH. By GEORGE MEREDITH. +Extra Fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + +=MERIVALE.=--KEATS' HYPERION, rendered into Latin Verse. By C. MERIVALE, +B.D. Second Edition. Extra fcap. 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=MILNER.=--THE LILY OF LUMLEY. By EDITH MILNER. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + +=MILTON'S POETICAL WORKS.= Edited with Text collated from the best +Authorities, with Introductions and Notes, by DAVID MASSON. (Uniform +with the Cambridge Shakespeare.) With three Portraits engraved by JEENS. +Three Volumes. 8vo. 42_s_. Fcap. 8vo Edition. By the same Editor. With +Portraits. Three Vols. 15_s_. (Globe Edition.) By the same Editor. Globe +8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=MISTRAL (F.).=--MIRELLE, a Pastoral Epic of Provence. Translated by H. +CRICHTON. Extra fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + +=MITFORD (A. B.).=--TALES OF OLD JAPAN. By A. B. MITFORD, Second Secretary +to the British Legation in Japan. With Illustrations drawn and cut on +Wood by Japanese Artists. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=MOHAMMAD,= SPEECHES AND TABLE-TALK OF THE PROPHET. Chosen and Translated +by STANLEY LANE-POOLE. 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. (Golden Treasury Series.) + +=MOLESWORTH.=--Works by Mrs. MOLESWORTH (ENNIS GRAHAM). + + TWO LITTLE WAIFS. Illustrated by WALTER CRANE. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. + 6_d_. + + ROSY. Illustrated by WALTER CRANE. Globe 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + SUMMER STORIES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + THE ADVENTURES OF HERR BABY. With Twelve full-page Pictures by + WALTER CRANE. Globe 4to. 6_s_. + + GRANDMOTHER DEAR. Illustrated by WALTER CRANE. Globe 8vo. 4_s_. + 6_d_. + + TELL ME A STORY. Illustrated by WALTER CRANE. Globe 8vo. 4_s_. + 6_d_. + + "CARROTS"; JUST A LITTLE BOY. Illustrated by WALTER CRANE. Globe + 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + THE CUCKOO CLOCK. Illustrated by WALTER CRANE. Globe 8vo. 4_s_. + 6_d_. + + THE TAPESTRY ROOM. Illustrated by WALTER CRANE. Globe 8vo. 4_s_. + 6_d_. + + A CHRISTMAS CHILD. Illustrated by WALTER CRANE. Globe 8vo. 4_s_. + 6_d_. + +=MORE EXCELLENT WAY, THE.= A Poem. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=MORTE D'ARTHUR.=--SIR THOMAS MALORY'S BOOK OF KING ARTHUR AND OF HIS +NOBLE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. +6_d_. + +MOULTON.--SWALLOW FLIGHTS. Poems by LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON. Extra fcap. +8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=MOULTRIE.=--POEMS by JOHN MOULTRIE. Complete Edition. Two Vols. Crown +8vo. 7s. each. + + Vol. I. MY BROTHER'S GRAVE, DREAM OF LIFE, &c. With Memoir by the + Rev. Prebendary COLERIDGE. + + Vol. II. LAYS OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH, and other Poems. With notices + of the Rectors of Rugby, by M. H. BLOXHAM, F.R.A.S. + +=MRS. GANDER'S STORY.= By H. A. H. With Twenty-four Full-page +Illustrations by N. HUXLEY. Demy oblong. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=MUDIE.=--STRAY LEAVES. By C. E. MUDIE. New Edition. Extra Fcap. 8vo. +3_s_. 6_d_. Contents:--"His and Mine"--"Night and Day"--"One of Many," +&c. + +=MURRAY.=--ROUND ABOUT FRANCE. By E. C. GRENVILLE MURRAY. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. +6_d_. + +=MYERS (ERNEST).=--Works by ERNEST MYERS. + + THE PURITANS. Extra fcap. 8vo, cloth. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + POEMS. Extra fcap. 8vo. 4s. 6d. + +=MYERS (F. W. H.).=--Works by F. W. H. Myers. + + ST. PAUL. A Poem. New Edition. Extra fcap. 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + THE RENEWAL OF YOUTH, and other Poems. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + + ESSAYS. 2 Vols. I. Classical. II. Modern. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + each. + +=NADAL.=--ESSAYS AT HOME AND ELSEWHERE. By E. S. NADAL. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=NICHOL.=--Works by JOHN NICHOL, B.A., Oxon., Regius Professor of English +Language and Literature in the University of Glasgow. + + HANNIBAL, A HISTORICAL DRAMA. Extra fcap. 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + + THE DEATH OF THEMISTOCLES, AND OTHER POEMS. Extra fcap. 8vo. 7_s_. + 6_d_. + +=NINE YEARS OLD.=--By the Author of "St. Olave's," "When I was a Little +Girl," &c. Illustrated by FRÖLICH. New Edition. Globe 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=NOEL.=--BEATRICE AND OTHER POEMS, By the Hon. RODEN NOEL. Fcap. 8vo. +6_s_. + +=NORTON.=--Works by the Hon. Mrs. NORTON. + + THE LADY OF LA GARAYE. With Vignette and Frontispiece. Eighth + Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + OLD SIR DOUGLAS. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=OLIPHANT.=--Works by Mrs. OLIPHANT. + + THE LITERARY HISTORY OF ENGLAND in the end of the Eighteenth and + beginning of the Nineteenth Century. Cheaper Issue. With a New + Preface. 3 Vols. Demy 8vo. 21_s_. + + AGNES HOPETOUN'S SCHOOLS AND HOLIDAYS. New Edition, with + Illustrations. Globe 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + + THE SON OF THE SOIL. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. + + THE CURATE IN CHARGE. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. + + YOUNG MUSGRAVE. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. + + HE THAT WILL NOT WHEN HE MAY. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. + + THE MAKERS OF FLORENCE: Dante, Giotto, Savonarola, and their City. + With Illustrations from Drawings by Professor Delamotte, and a + Steel Portrait of Savonarola, engraved by C. H. JEENS. New and + Cheaper Edition with Preface. Crown 8vo. Cloth extra. 10_s_. 6_d_. + + THE BELEAGUERED CITY. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + DRESS. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. [_Art at Heme Series._] + +=OUR YEAR.= A Child's Book, in Prose and Verse. By the Author of "John +Halifax, Gentleman." Illustrated by CLARENCE DOBELL. Royal 16mo. 2_s_. +6_d_. + +=PAGE.=--THE LADY RESIDENT, by HAMILTON PAGE. Three Vols. Crown 8vo. +31_s_. 6_d_. + +=PALGRAVE.=--Works by FRANCIS TURNER PALGRAVE, M.A., late Fellow of Exeter +College, Oxford. + + THE FIVE DAYS' ENTERTAINMENTS AT WENTWORTH GRANGE. A Book for + Children. With Illustrations by ARTHUR HUGHES, and Engraved + Title-Page by JEENS. Small 4to, cloth extra. 6_s_. + + LYRICAL POEMS. Extra fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + + ORIGINAL HYMNS. Third Edition, enlarged 18mo. 1_s_. 6_d_. + + VISIONS OF ENGLAND; being a series of Lyrical Poems on Leading + Events and Persons in English History. With a Preface and Notes. + Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + + GOLDEN TREASURY OF THE BEST SONGS AND LYRICS. Edited by F. T. + PALGRAVE. 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS AND SONGS. Edited by F. T. PALGRAVE. With + Vignette Title by JEENS. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. + 6_d_. + + THE CHILDREN'S TREASURY OF LYRICAL POETRY. Selected and arranged + with Notes by F. T. PALGRAVE. 18mo. 2_s_. 6_d_. And in Two Parts, + 1_s_. each. + + HERRICK: SELECTIONS FROM THE LYRICAL POEMS. With Notes. (Golden + Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=PANSIE'S FLOUR BIN.= By the Author of "When I was a Little Girl," "St. +Olave's," &c. Illustrated by ADRIAN STOKES. Globe 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=PATER.=--THE RENAISSANCE. Studies in Art and Poetry. By WALTER PATER, +Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. Second Edition, Revised, with +Vignette engraved by C. H. JEENS. Crown 8vo. 10_s_. 6_d_. + +=PATMORE.=--THE CHILDREN'S GARLAND, from the Best Poets. Selected and +arranged by COVENTRY PATMORE. New Edition. With Illustrations by J. +LAWSON. (Golden Treasury Edition.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. Globe Readings +Edition for Schools, Globe 8vo, 2_s_. + +=PEEL.=--ECHOES FROM HOREB, AND OTHER POEMS. By EDMUND PEEL, Author of "An +Ancient City," &c. Crown 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=PEMBER.=--THE TRAGEDY OF LESBOS. A Dramatic Poem. By E. H. PEMBER. Fcap. +8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=PEOPLE'S EDITIONS.= Profusely illustrated, medium 4to, 6_d_. each; or +complete in One Vol., cloth, 3s. + + TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS. By an Old Boy. + + WATERTON'S WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. + + WASHINGTON IRVING'S OLD CHRISTMAS. + + WASHINGTON IRVING'S BRACEBRIDGE HALL. + +=PHILLIPS (S. K.).=--ON THE SEABOARD; and Other Poems. By SUSAN K. +PHILLIPS. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 5_s_. + +=PLATO.=--THE REPUBLIC OF. Translated into English with Notes by J. LL. +DAVIES, M.A., and D. J. VAUGHAN, M.A. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. +4_s_. 6_d_. + +=POEMS OF PLACES.=--(ENGLAND AND WALES). Edited by H. W. LONGFELLOW. +(Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=POETS (ENGLISH).=--SELECTIONS, with Critical Introduction by various +writers, and a general Introduction by MATTHEW ARNOLD. Edited by T. H. +WARD, M.A. Four Vols. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. each. + + Vol. I. CHAUCER TO DONNE. + + Vol II. BEN JONSON TO DRYDEN. + + VOL III. ADDISON TO BLAKE. + + Vol. IV. WORDSWORTH TO ROSSETTI. + +=POOLE.=--PICTURES OF COTTAGE LIFE IN THE WEST OF ENGLAND. By MARGARET E. +POOLE. New and Cheaper Edition. With Frontispiece by R. FARREN. Crown +8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=POPE.=--POETICAL WORKS OF. Edited with Notes and Introductory Memoir by +ADOLPHUS WILLIAM WARD, M.A. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=POPULATION OF AN OLD PEAR TREE.= From the French of E. VAN BRUYSSEL. +Edited by the Author of "The Heir of Redclyffe." With Illustrations by +BECKER. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo, gilt. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=POTTER.=--LANCASHIRE MEMORIES. By LOUISA POTTER. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=PRINCE FLORESTAN OF MONACO, THE FALL OF.= By HIMSELF. New Edition, with +Illustration and Map. 8vo. cloth extra, gilt edges. 5_s_. A French +Translation. 5_s_. Also an Edition for the People. Crown 8vo. 1_s_. + +=PUSHKIN.=--EUGČNE ONÉGUINE. A Romance of Russian Life in Verse. By +ALEXANDER PUSHKIN. Translated from the Russian by Lieut.-Col. SPALDING. +Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=RACHEL OLLIVER.=--A Novel. Three Vols. Crown 8vo. 31_s_. 6_d_. + +=REALMAH.=--By the Author of "Friends in Council." Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=REED.=--MEMOIR OF SIR CHARLES REED. By His Son, CHARLES E. B. REED, M.A. +With a Portrait. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=RHOADES.=--POEMS. By JAMES RHOADES. Fcap. 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=RICHARDSON.=--THE ILIAD OF THE EAST. A Selection of Legends drawn from +Valmiki's Sanskrit Poem, "The Ramayana." By FREDERIKA RICHARDSON. Crown +8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + +=ROBINSON CRUSOE.= Edited, with Biographical Introduction, by HENRY +KINGSLEY. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_.--Golden Treasury +Edition. Edited by J. W. CLARK, M.A. 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=ROSS.=--A MISGUIDIT LASSIE. By PERCY ROSS. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=ROSSETTI.=--Works by CHRISTINA ROSSETTI. + + POEMS. Complete Edition, containing "Goblin Market," "The Prince's + Progress," &c. With Four Illustrations by D. G. ROSSETTI. Extra + fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + + SPEAKING LIKENESSES. Illustrated by ARTHUR HUGHES. Crown 8vo, gilt + edges. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + A PAGEANT, AND OTHER POEMS. Extra fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + +=ROSSETTI (D. G.).=--DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI: a Record and a Study. By +WILLIAM SHARP. With an Illustration after Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Crown +8vo. 10_s_. 6_d_. + +=RUTH AND HER FRIENDS.= A Story for Girls. With a Frontispiece. New +Edition. Globe 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE;= OR, THE LONG VACATION RAMBLE OF A LONDON +CLERK. By the Author of "Tom Brown's School Days." Illustrated by DOYLE. +Imp. 16mo. Cloth gilt. 5_s_. + +=SCOTT (SIR WALTER).=--POETICAL WORKS OF. Edited with a Biographical and +Critical Memoir by FRANCIS TURNER PALGRAVE. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. +3_s_. 6_d_. + + THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL; and THE LADY OF THE LAKE. Edited, + with Introduction and Notes, by FRANCIS TURNER PALGRAVE. Globe + 8vo. 1_s_. (Globe Readings for Schools.) + + MARMION; and THE LORD OF THE ISLES. By the same Editor. Globe 8vo. + 1_s_. (Globe Readings for Schools.) + +=SCOTTISH SONG.=--A SELECTION OF THE CHOICEST LYRICS OF SCOTLAND. By MARY +CARLYLE AITKEN. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=SEELEY.=--THE EXPANSION OF ENGLAND. Two Courses of Lectures. By J. R. +SEELEY, M.A., Regius Professor of Modern History in the University of +Cambridge, Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, &c. Crown 8vo. 4_s_. +6_d_. + +=SELBORNE (LORD).=--THE BOOK OF PRAISE. From the best English Hymn +writers. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=SERMONS OUT OF CHURCH.= By the Author of "John Halifax, Gentleman." Crown +8vo. 6_s_. + +=SHAKESPEARE.=--The Works of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. Cambridge Edition. +Edited by W. GEORGE CLARK, M.A., and W. ALDIS WRIGHT, M.A. Nine Vols. +8vo, cloth. + +=SHAKESPEARE'S COMPLETE WORKS.= Edited, by W. G. CLARK, M.A., and W. ALDIS +WRIGHT, M.A. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=SHAKESPEARE'S SONGS AND SONNETS.= Edited, with Notes, by FRANCIS TURNER +PALGRAVE. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=SHAKESPEARE PHRASE BOOK, THE.= By JOHN BARTLETT, Author of "Familiar +Quotations." Globe 8vo. 12_s_. 6_d_. + +=SHAKESPEARE.=--CHARLES LAMB'S TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE. Edited, with +Preface, by Rev. A. AINGER. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. +Globe Readings Edition for Schools, Globe 8vo, 2_s_. + +=SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS.= An attempt to determine the Chronological Order. By +the Rev. H. PAINE STOKES, B.A. Extra fcap. 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=SHAKESPEARE'S TEMPEST.= Edited, with Glossarial and Explanatory Notes, by +the Rev. J. M. JEPHSON. New Edition. 18mo. 1_s_. + +=SHORTHOUSE.=--JOHN INGLESANT: A ROMANCE. By J. H. SHORTHOUSE. 2 Vols. New +and Cheaper Edition. Globe 8vo. 12_s_. + + _Popular Edition._ Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=SHELLEY.=--POEMS OF SHELLEY. Edited by STOPFORD A. BROOKE. (Golden +Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. Also a fine Edition printed on +hand-made paper. Crown 8vo. 12_s_. 6_d_. + +=SMEDLEY.=--TWO DRAMATIC POEMS. By MENELLA BUTE SMEDLEY. Author of "Lady +Grace," &c. Extra fcap. 8vo. 6_s_. + +=SMITH.=--POEMS. By CATHERINE BARNARD SMITH. Fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + +=SMITH.=--Works by Rev. WALTER C. SMITH. + + HILDA AMONG THE BROKEN GODS. New Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + + NORTH COUNTRY FOLK. Poems. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + +=SMITH.=--THREE ENGLISH STATESMAN. A Course of Lectures on the Political +History of England. By GOLDWIN SMITH. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 5_s_. + +=SONG BOOK.= WORDS AND TUNES FROM THE BEST POETS AND MUSICIANS. Selected +and arranged by JOHN HULLAH. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=SPENSER.=--COMPLETE WORKS OF. Edited by the Rev. R. MORRIS, M.A., LL.D., +with a Memoir by J. W. HALES, M.A. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. +6_d_. + +=STANLEY.=--Addresses and Sermons delivered during a Visit to the United +States and Canada in 1878. By ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY, D.D., late Dean of +Westminster. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=STEPHEN (C. E.).=--THE SERVICE OF THE POOR; being an Inquiry into the +Reasons for and against the Establishment of Religious Sisterhoods for +Charitable Purposes. By CAROLINE EMILIA STEPHEN. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. 6_d_. + +=TANNER.=--THE ABBOTT'S FARM: or, PRACTICE WITH SCIENCE. By HENRY TANNER, +M.R.A.C., F.C.S., late Professor of Principles of Agriculture in the +Royal Agricultural College; Examiner in the Principles of Agriculture +under the Government Department of Science. Author of "First Principles +of Agriculture," &c. Extra fcap. 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=TARNE (HANNAH.).=--A STORY FOR CHILDREN. Illustrated by W. J. HENNESSEY. +Crown 8vo. [_Just ready._] + +THE RUNAWAY. By the Author of "Mrs. Jerningham's Journal." With +Illustrations. Globe 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=THIRTY YEARS.=--BEING POEMS NEW AND OLD. By the Author of "John Halifax, +Gentleman." New Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=THOMPSON.=--A HANDBOOK TO THE PUBLIC PICTURE GALLERIES OF EUROPE. With a +brief sketch of the History of the various Schools of Painting from the +thirteenth century to the eighteenth, inclusive. By KATE THOMPSON. Third +Edition, Revised and Enlarged. With numerous Illustrations. Crown 8vo. +7_s_. 6_d_. + +=THROUGH THE RANKS TO A COMMISSION.=--_New and Cheaper Edition._ Crown +8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS.= By AN OLD BOY. With Seven Illustrations by A. +HUGHES and SYDNEY HALL. Crown 8vo. 6_s_.; Golden Treasury Edition. 4_s_. +6_d_.; People's Edition, 2_s_. People's Sixpenny Illustrated Edition. +Medium 4to. 6_d_. + +=TOM BROWN AT OXFORD.= New Edition. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 6s. + +=TOURGÉNIEF.=--VIRGIN SOIL. By I. TOURGÉNIEF. Translated by ASHTON W. +DILKE. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + +=TRENCH.=--Works by R. CHENEVIX TRENCH, D.D., Archbishop of Dublin. (For +other Works by this Author, see THEOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL, and +PHILOSOPHICAL CATALOGUES.) + + POEMS. Collected and arranged anew. Fcap. 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + + =HOUSEHOLD BOOK OF ENGLISH POETRY.= Selected and arranged, with + Notes, by Archbishop TRENCH. Third Edition, revised. Extra fcap. + 8vo. 5_s_. 6_d_. + + =SACRED LATIN POETRY,= Chiefly Lyrical. Selected and arranged for + Use. By Archbishop TRENCH. Third Edition, Corrected and Improved. + Fcap. 8vo. 7_s_. + +=TYRWHITT.=--OUR SKETCHING CLUB. Letters and Studies on Landscape Art. By +the Rev. R. ST. JOHN TYRWHITT, M.A. With an Authorised Reproduction of +the Lessons and Woodcuts in Professor Ruskin's "Elements of Drawing." +New Edition. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + +=VIRGIL.=--THE WORKS OF. Rendered into English Prose. By JOHN LONSDALE, +M.A., and SAMUEL LEE, M.A. (Globe Edition.) Globe 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=WARD.=--ENGLISH POETS. Selections, with Critical Introductions by various +writers, and a general Introduction by MATTHEW ARNOLD. Edited by T. H. +WARD, M.A. Four Vols. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. each. + + Vol. I. CHAUCER TO DONNE. + + Vol. II. BEN JONSON TO DRYDEN. + + Vol. III. ADDISON TO BLAKE. + + Vol. IV. WORDSWORTH TO ROSSETTI. + +=WARD (SAMUEL.).=--LYRICAL RECREATIONS. By SAMUEL WARD. Fcap. 8vo. [_Just +ready._] + +=WARD (MRS. T. H.).=--MILLY AND OLLY; or, a Holiday among the Mountains. +By Mrs. T. H. WARD. Illustrated by Mrs. ALMA TADEMA. Globe 8vo. 2_s_. +6_d_. + +=WEBSTER.=--Works by AUGUSTA WEBSTER. + + DRAMATIC STUDIES. Extra fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + + A WOMAN SOLD, AND OTHER POEMS. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + + PORTRAITS. Second Edition. Extra fcap. 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + + THE AUSPICIOUS DAY. A Dramatic Poem. Extra fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + + YU-PE-YA'S LUTE. A Chinese Tale in English Verse. Extra fcap. 8vo. + 3_s_. 6_d_. + + A HOUSEWIFE'S OPINIONS. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + + A BOOK OF RHYME. Crown 8vo. 3_s_. 6_d_. + +=WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL.= By the Author of "St. Olave's." Illustrated by +L. FRÖLICH. Globe 8vo. 2_s_. 6_d_. + +=WHEN PAPA COMES HOME:= The Story of Tip, Tap, Toe. By the Author of "Nine +Years Old," "Pansie's Flour Bin," &c. With Illustrations by W. J. +HENNESSY. Globe 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=WHITE.=--RHYMES BY WALTER WHITE. 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + +=WHITTIER.=--JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER'S POETICAL WORKS. Complete Edition, +with Portrait engraved by C. H. JEENS. 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + +=WILLOUGHBY.=--FAIRY GUARDIANS. A Book for the Young. By F. WILLOUGHBY. +Illustrated. Crown 8vo, gilt. 5_s_. + +=WOOLNER.=--Works by THOMAS WOOLNER, R.A. + + MY BEAUTIFUL LADY. With a Vignette by A. HUGHES. Third Edition. + Fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + + PYGMALION. A Poem. Crown 8vo. 7_s_. 6_d_. + +=WORDS FROM THE POETS.= Selected by the Editor of "Ray of Sunlight." With +a Vignette and Frontispiece. 18mo, limp. 1_s_. + +=WORDSWORTH.=--SELECT POEMS OF. Chosen and Edited, with Preface, by +MATTHEW ARNOLD. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. Fine +Edition. Crown 8vo, hand-made paper, with Portrait of Wordsworth, +engraved by C. H. JEENS, and Printed on India Paper. 9_s_. + +=YONGE (C. M.).=--New Illustrated Edition of Novels and Tales by CHARLOTTE +M. YONGE. + +In Nineteen Volumes. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. each:-- + + Vol. I. THE HEIR OF REDCLYFFE. With Illustrations by KATE + GREENAWAY. + + II. HEARTSEASE. With Illustrations by KATE GREENAWAY. + + III. HOPES AND FEARS. With Illustrations by HERBERT GANDY. + + IV. DYNEVOR TERRACE. With Illustrations by ADRIAN STOKES. + + V. THE DAISY CHAIN. Illustrated by J. P. ATKINSON. + + VI. THE TRIAL. Illustrated by J. P. ATKINSON. + + VII. & VIII. THE PILLARS OF THE HOUSE; or, UNDER WODE, UNDER RODE. + Illustrated by HERBERT GANDY. Two Vols. + + IX. THE YOUNG STEPMOTHER. New Edition. Illustrated by MARIAN + HUXLEY. + + X. CLEVER WOMAN OF THE FAMILY. New Edition. Illustrated by ADRIAN + STOKES. + + XI. THE THREE BRIDES. Illustrated by ADRIAN STOKES. + + XII. MY YOUNG ALCIDES: or, A FADED PHOTOGRAPH. Illustrated by + ADRIAN STOKES. + + XIII. THE CAGED LION. Illustrated by W. J. HENNESSY. + + XIV. THE DOVE IN THE EAGLE'S NEST. Illustrated by W. J. HENNESSY. + + XV. THE CHAPLET OF PEARLS; or, THE WHITE AND BLACK RIBAUMONT. + Illustrated by W. J. HENNESSY. + + XVI. LADY HESTER: AND THE DANVERS PAPERS. Illustrated by JANE E. + COOK. + + XVII. MAGNUM BONUM; or, MOTHER CAREY'S BROOD. Illustrated by W. J. + HENNESSY. + + XVIII. LOVE AND LIFE. Illustrated by W. J. HENNESSY. + + XIX. UNKNOWN TO HISTORY. A Novel. Illustrated by W. J. HENNESSY. + [_In the press._] + +=YONGE (C. M.).=--Works by CHARLOTTE M. YONGE:-- + + STRAY PEARLS: MEMOIRS OF MARGARET DE RIBAUMONT, VISCOUNTESS OF + BELLAISE. Two Vols. Crown 8vo. 9_s_. + + THE PRINCE AND THE PAGE. A Tale of the Last Crusade. Illustrated. + New Edition. Globe 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + THE LANCES OF LYNWOOD. New Edition. With Illustrations. 18mo. + 4_s_. 6_d_. + + THE LITTLE DUKE: RICHARD THE FEARLESS. New Edition. Illustrated. + Globe 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + A BOOK OF GOLDEN DEEDS OF ALL TIMES AND ALL COUNTRIES, Gathered + and Narrated Anew. (Golden Treasury Series.) 4_s_. 6_d_. Globe + Readings Edition for Schools, Globe 8vo, 2_s_. Cheap Edition, + 1_s_. + + LITTLE LUCY'S WONDERFUL GLOBE. Illustrated by L. FRÖLICH. Globe + 8vo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + A BOOK OF WORTHIES. (Golden Treasury Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + THE STORY OF THE CHRISTIANS AND MOORS IN SPAIN (Golden Treasury + Series.) 18mo. 4_s_. 6_d_. + + CAMEOS FROM ENGLISH HISTORY, From Rollo to Edward II. Third + Edition, enlarged. Extra fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + + SECOND SERIES. THE WARS IN FRANCE. New Edition. Extra fcap. 8vo. + 5_s_. + + THIRD SERIES. THE WARS OF THE ROSES. Extra fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + + FOURTH SERIES. REFORMATION TIMES. Extra fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + + FIFTH SERIES. ENGLAND AND SPAIN. Extra fcap. 8vo. 5_s_. + + P'S AND Q'S; or, THE QUESTION OF PUTTING UPON. With Illustrations + by C. O. MURRAY. New Edition. Globe 8vo, cloth gilt, 4_s_. 6_d_. + + BYEWORDS: A COLLECTION OF TALES NEW AND OLD. Crown 8vo. 6_s_. + + + + +MACMILLAN'S 4s. 6d. SERIES. + + * * * * * + +_Now Publishing in Crown 8vo, Price 4s. 6d. each Volume._ + +=MR. ISAACS. A Tale of Modern India.= By F. MARION CRAWFORD. + +=DOCTOR CLAUDIUS. A True Story.= By F. MARION CRAWFORD. + +=DEMOCRACY: An American Novel.= Popular Edition. Paper Covers. ONE +SHILLING. + +=ONLY A WORD.= By Dr. GEORG EBERS, Author of "The Egyptian Princess," &c. +Translated by CLARA BELL. + +=THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, A Tale of the Siege of Leyden.= By Dr. GEORG +EBERS. Translated by CLARA BELL. + +=STRAY PEARLS.= Memoirs of Margaret de Ribaumont, Viscountess of Bellaise. +By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 2 Vols. + +=UNKNOWN TO HISTORY.= By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. Author of "The Heir of +Redclyffe." 2 vols. + +=THE STORY OF MELICENT.= By FAYR MADOC. + +=BUT YET A WOMAN.= A Novel. By ARTHUR SHERBURNE HARDY. Popular Edition, +Paper Covers, ONE SHILLING. + +=A GREAT TREASON. A Story of the War of Independence.= By MARY HOPPUS. 2 +vols. + +=A MISGUIDIT LASSIE.= By PERCY ROSS. + +=THE MIZ MAZE;= or, The Winkworth Puzzle. A Story in Letters by Nine +Authors. Crown 8vo. [_In the press._] + +=MRS. LORIMER:= A Sketch in Black and White. By LUCAS MALET. New Edition. +[_In the press._] + +=CAMPING AMONG CANNIBALS.= By ALFRED ST. JOHNSTON. [_In the press._] + +=MEMOIR OF DANIEL MACMILLAN.= By THOMAS HUGHES, Q.C. With a Portrait +Engraved on Steel by C. H. JEENS, from a Painting by LOWES DICKINSON. +Fifth Thousand. Popular Edition. ONE SHILLING. + +=MEMOIR OF ANNIE KEARY.= By ELIZA KEARY. With a Portrait. Third Thousand. + +=MEMOIR OF SIR CHARLES REED.= By his Son, CHARLES E. B. REED, M.A. With a +Portrait. + +=LECTURES ON ART.= Delivered in support of the Society for Protection of +Ancient Buildings. By REGD. STUART POOLE, Professor W. B. RICHMOND, E. +J. POYNTER, R.A., J. T. MICKLETHWAITE, and WILLIAM MORRIS. + +=THE BURMAN; His Life and Notions.= By SHWAY YOE. 2 Vols. + +=FOLK TALKS OF BENGAL.= By the Rev. LAL BEHARI DAY, Author of "Bengal +Peasant Life." + +=ESSAYS.= By F. W. H. MYERS, M.A. 2 Vols. I.--Classical. II.--Modern. Each +4_s_. 6_d_. + +=THE EXPANSION OF ENGLAND.= By Prof. J. R. SEELEY. + +=PORTRAITS OF PLACES.= By HENRY JAMES, Author of "The American," "The +Europeans," &c. [_In the press._] + +=FRENCH POETS AND NOVELISTS.= By HENRY JAMES, Author of "The American," +"The Europeans," &c. New Edition. [_In the press._] + +MACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON. + + + + + "It is undoubtedly the best of the Sixpenny Illustrated + Magazines."--_The Athenćum._ + + "The new venture is a very excellent return for sixpence.... There + has never been anything seen like it for the money."--_The World._ + + "It is wonderfully cheap and it is good ... in all respects most + excellent."--_St. James's Gazette._ + + * * * * * + +NOW PUBLISHING, + +THE + +English Illustrated Magazine. + + * * * * * + +Single Numbers, price Sixpence, by Post, Eightpence. + +Yearly Subscription, post-free, 7s. 6d. + + * * * * * + +The price at which the ENGLISH ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE is issued justifies +the belief that it will appeal to a large and varied circle of readers, +and an endeavour will be made in the choice and arrangement of its +contents to satisfy the tastes of all who are interested in Literature +and Art. + +The ENGLISH ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE is designed for the entertainment of +the home, and for the instruction and amusement of young and old, and it +will be conducted in the belief that every section of its readers, in +whatever direction their tastes and interests may tend, are prepared to +demand and to appreciate the best that can be offered to them. + +The prominent place assigned to Illustration will demand the exercise of +special care in the preparation of the Engravings for the Magazine, and +in this department no pains will be spared to secure satisfactory +results. + + * * * * * + +The following, among others, are Contributors to the current Volume:-- + +_WRITERS._ + + GRANT ALLEN. + BERNARD H. BECKER. + WILLIAM BLACK. + J. COMYNS CARR. + AUSTIN DOBSON. + ARCHIBALD GEIKIE, F.R.S. + A. J. HIPKINS. + Professor HUXLEY, P.R.S. + RICHARD JEFFERIES. + F. W. MAITLAND. + FREDERICK POLLOCK. + J. H. SHORTHOUSE. + R. L. STEVENSON. + A. C. SWINBURNE. + THE AUTHOR OF "JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." + CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. + +_ARTISTS._ + + HARRY FURNISS. + C. NAPIER HEMY. + BURNE JONES. + ROBERT MACBETH. + A. MORROW. + J. W. NORTH. + L. R. O'BRIEN. + ALFRED PARSONS. + D. G. ROSSETTI. + L. ALMA TADEMA. + CHARLES WHYMPER. + +_ENGRAVERS._ + + J. D. COOPER. + W. & J. CHESHIRE. + THEODOR KNESING. + O. LACOUR. + R. PATERSON. + W. QUICK. + +MACMILLAN & CO., BEDFORD STREET, LONDON, W.C. + + * * * * * + +LONDON: R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Two Little Waifs, by Mrs. Molesworth + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO LITTLE WAIFS *** + +***** This file should be named 39567-8.txt or 39567-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/5/6/39567/ + +Produced by Annie McGuire.This book was produced from +scanned images of public domain material from the Google +Print archive. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + |