Grandmother Dear: A Book for Boys and Girls

u a story of

my story

nother of Jack

my story

rsery

nversation among the children. Sylvia an

ld have written it down beautifully while

wn you were waiting to write down every word as she said it," rem

erhaps I should say, would have done so, had the

tter now, my de

ith eagerness, "grandmother

about, my

ther dear, I said you would be perfect if you woul

randmother promised

my dea

you remember, grandmother-the day I called Prosper de Lastre

He had written it out so well-all I can find is the letter in which he first alluded to the incident, very shortly. However, I r

t then, grandmother dear?" sa

arkling, and then the indispensable bellows are a delightful invention for fidgety fingers like those of Ralph and Molly. How many new "nozzles" grandmother had to pay for her poor bellows that winter I should really be afraid to say! And once, to Molly's indescribable consternation, the bellows got on fire inside; there was no outward injury to be seen, but they smoked alarmingly, and internal crackings were to be heard of a fearful and mysterious description.

for hearthrug there was, seldom as such superfluities are to be seen at Chalet. Grandmother was too "English" to have been satisfied with her pretty drawing-room with

s to-night then, grandm

ow, the older one gets, the further back things are those that one remembers the most distinctly. The middle part of my life is hazy compared with the earlier part. I can rememb

ll we all be like that, grand

ting and looked at the childre

common lot.' I remember once asking my

e children-Molly adding, "Had you ev

be so silly?" said Ral

anybody might. Of course I mean can grandmother remember her-did she know her? Supposing anybody

back her hair out of her eyes, convi

ut anybody in the possessive case, which means, of course, that the grandmother

at's the good of muddling up what I say, and making my head feel so uncomfortable when you know quite well what I mean? Please, gr

o talk about?" a

hings long ago so nicely, you must remember story

ear child. Not just a

grandmother: what was sh

er shook

came to live in a curious old-fashioned house, in the little county town a few miles from where we lived. This old house had belonged to her own family for many, many years, and, as all her brothers were dead, it became hers. She was very proud of it, and even during my grandfather's life they used to come in from the country to spend the wors

the First, seventeen hundred and fourteen, George the Second, sevente

s morning I suppose?" observ

he always remembered the Norman Conquest, and King John, and so when we spoke about something to

e of 'very pleased,' my

wrig

, just when I thought we were going to have nice story-talking. Did you like l

ery tom-boy little girl, Molly. And lessons were not ne

ul," said Molly solemnly, pausin

little, grandmother?" said Sylvia

things. Haymaking was delicious, so were snow-balling and sliding; blindman's buff a

en drew a

aid. "Oh, what a happy litt

delight that never palled. When I look back upon myself in those d

other?" said the child

brooks, tearing my clothes, climbing up trees and finding I could not get down a

asked Molly-adding in a whisper to Ralph and Sylvia, "

mely afraid of her, till something happened which led to my knowing her true character, and after that we were fri

yes grew round with satisfaction at having aft

e first landing, if landing it could be called, it was so small, had several doors, and one of these led into a little ante-room, out of which opened again a larger and very pretty drawing-room. It was a long, rather narrow room, and what I admired in it most of all were wall cupboards with glass doors, within which my grandmother kept all her treasures. There were six of them at least-in two or three were books, of which, for those days, grandmother had a good many; another held Chinese and Indian curiosities, carved ivory and sandal-wood ornaments, cuscus grass fans, a pair or two of Chinese ladies' slippers-things very much the same as you may see some of now-a-days in almost every prettily furnished drawing-room. And one, or two perhaps, of the cupboards contained treasures which are rarer now than they were then-the loveliest old china! Even I, child as I was, appreciated its beauty-the tints

day-my birthday is on the fifteenth of November,-my mother told me that my father, having to

g lady-it is playing so much with your brothers, I suppose, and you know grandmother is very particular. The last time you were there

etimes, and my mother repeated her admonitions as to my behaviour; and as I really loved her dearly I promised to 'try to be very good;' and the next morning I set off with my father in excellent spirits. There was nothing I liked better than a drive wi

end from my perch, and I said to my father that I wished he wou

e's meeting to attend, and I don't know all what. Besides which he liked me to be with m

y that passed up and down was known by everybody else, and their business often known better by the everybody else than by themselves. We

y grandmother's

I cannot possibly come down. It is the th

do with her?' said my father. He seemed to unders

ed back. 'I shall soon have arranged all,

, all more or less loaded with garments,-and oh, what queer, quaint garments some of them were! The clothes my grandmother herself had on-even those I was wearing-would seem curious enough to you if you could see them now,-but when I tell you that of those she was hanging out, many had belonged to her grandmother, and mother, and aunts, and great-aunts, you can fancy what a wonderful array there was. Her own wedding-dress was among them, and all the coloured silks

one on, grandmot

er shook

tared about me in perfect amazement without speaking for a minute or two, till my

rcoming my shyness. 'Are these all your clothes? You will want a gre

here, Nelly, this is your great-grandmother's wedding dress-white Padusoy embroidered in gold-why, child, it would stand alone! And

such things were past. 'We don't want our clothes to last a century now, mother,' he said. 'Times are hurrying on faster, and we must make up

st of friends, though he liked to tease her sometimes. I wandered about the room, peeping in among the rows of quaint costumes, and thinking to myself what fun it would be to dress up in them. Bu

that I care so much about eating," she added, blushing a little, "

other," said Molly. "I'm so afraid it'll b

rned you my stories were sadly deficient in beginning and

may sit up till this one's done I don't mind your tel

as to what we had for dinner, I really can't say. Much the same as you have now,

of some disappointment; "go o

e cambric handkerchief which she kept, I strongly suspect, for the purpose, prepared for her after-dinner nap. It was really a regular institution with her-but I noticed she always made some little special excuse for it, as if it was something quite out of the common.

ishes to handle the moon or stars or any other un-get-at-able objects. But now, unfortunately, the idea was suggested, it had been put into my head, and there it stayed. I walked round the room gazing in at the cupboards in turn-the book ones did not particularly attract me-long ago I had read, over and over again, the few books in my grandmother's possession that I could feel interested in, and I

do for me to take the cup into my hand for a moment? I stretched up and took it. Yes, it was really most lovely, and the little shepherdess's dress seemed to me a perfect facsimile of the one I had most admired upstairs in my grandmother's wardrobe-a pea-green satin over a pale pink or rather salmon-coloured quilted slip. I determined that Lady Rosabella should have one the sam

and Molly-"oh, grandm

them-not perhaps above a dozen, and after all, grandmother was sleeping quietly, but to all appearance soundly. The sound

e if the absence of the cup was very conspicuous. I thought not; the saucer was still there, and by pulling one or two of the other pieces of china forward a little, I managed to make it look as if the cup was just accidentally hidden. To reach up to do this, I had to draw forward a chair; in getting down from it again I made some little noise, and I looked round in terror to see if grandmother was awake. No, she was still sleeping soundly. What a blessing! I got out of one of the book cupboards a book I had read twenty times at least, and sitting down on a stool by th

ry soon, so that as I was going downstairs with him, he said to me that he was glad to see how fond grandmother was getting of me, and that he would bring me again next week. I did not feel at all pleased at this-I felt more unhappy than ever I had done in my life, so that my father, noticing it, asked what was the matter. I replied that I was tired and that I did not care for going to grandmother's, and then, when I saw that this ungracious answer vexed my kind father, I felt more and more unhappy. Every moment as we walked along-we were to meet the carriage at the inn where i

d grandmother's maid appeared with the

mediately after tea it is always time for us to go to bed. It is

ose shakes and 'bothers?'" said grandmother. She spo

, then putting in the beautiful yellow cream, the sugar, and the nice rich brown tea, all in the particular way grandmother liked it done. And during the process, Molly did not once wriggle or twist with impatience, so that when she carrie

re of what you call 'my story,' to tell, but such