Mousey

THE funeral was over, and the mourners had returned to the small villa which had been the abode of Mrs. Abbot and her little daughter to discuss what was to be done with the few...

MR. DAWSON, Mousey's Uncle Dick, was a market gardener. His house was about half a mile from the town where Mousey had spent her short life. It had been the little girl's greate...

ONE rainy spring afternoon found Mousey seated opposite to her Cousin Robert in a third-class railway compartment on her way to Haughton, which was the name of the town where Mr...

MOUSEY'S tears did not last long, for she reflected that if she made her eyes red Mr. Harding would, in all probability, want to know what was amiss; so she soon ceased crying,...

Jumping out of bed she proceeded to dress; then, after pulling up the blind, and opening the window to admit the fresh spring air, she said her prayers and read a few verses fro...

MOUSEY never forgot the first Sunday she spent at Haughton. It was Easter Day, and whilst the churches were ringing out their invitation to all to come and worship the risen Lor...

Mousey found that she was to breakfast alone with John Monday, as Mr. Harding, who had risen early, had left home on private business, with the intention of remaining away till...

MR. HARDING supplied Mousey with a postage stamp for her letter; and in the course of a few days she had an answer from Aunt Eliza, enclosing sixpence—in stamps—from Uncle Dick....

THE house where Mrs. Downing lived was in one of the busiest thoroughfares of Haughton. It had been a good position for a doctor's house, but the late master had not lived long...

MOUSEY quickly grew accustomed to school life, and made friends with the other pupils, who soon found out the little there was to know about the quiet, dark-eyed child who lived...

EVERY Sunday morning Mr. Harding took Mousey for a walk in the park, as he had done on that first Sunday she had spent at Haughton. It pleased the little girl to mark the differ...

MOUSEY had been perfectly correct in her surmise that Nellie Thomas would make fun of Mr. Harding. This she did on the following day, when all the girls were assembled in the pl...

IT was a hot afternoon at the beginning of July. The air was sultry, as though a thunderstorm was not far off; and the sky was enveloped in a haze of grey mist, which, though it...

THERE was a jealous feeling in Mr. Harding's heart as he watched Mousey and her uncle; still, he could but acknowledge that Mr. Dawson had a way with him which was certainly ver...

MR. HARDING made no remark when told of Mr. Dawson's presents to Mousey and John Monday beyond advising them, in a few curt words, to take care of their money.

THE following morning was beautifully fine and bright. The feeling of oppression which had been in the air for several days had cleared away, and the heat of the sun was tempere...

WHEN Mr. Harding joined Mousey and John Monday at the supper-table that same Sunday night his countenance was so expressive of displeasure that the young folks wondered what cou...

JOHN MONDAY soon found that his resolution to turn over a new leaf was not an easy one to keep; but he persevered against difficulties which he had never for one moment anticipa...

MOUSEY could not help feeling a little low-spirited when the end of the term arrived, and she said good-bye to her school-fellows. They were full of plans for spending the holid...

"IT is Wednesday now; suppose we write and tell your I aunt to expect you next Monday?" suggested Mr. Harding to Mousey the following morning as he rose from the breakfast-table...

THE short journey seemed quite a long one to the little girl, so impatient was she to reach the end of it. As the train slowed into the familiar station she scanned the figures...

THE first letter Mousey wrote to Mr. Harding caused her a great deal of trouble. She was anxious that there should be no mistakes in the spelling, and that the writing should be...

THE thought of John Monday was the one unhappiness which clouded Mousey's otherwise happy visit. The day after she had received her cousin's letter, she wrote and tried to expla...

MUCH was Mr. Harding's surprise when, on going to the railway station to meet Mousey, he found her in company with her Uncle Dick. The little girl's face was wreathed with smile...

THE day following Mousey's return to her cousin's home was the first of the winter term, and she went back to school with a light heart to compare her experiences of the holiday...

IT was dull November weather. For days Haughton had been enveloped in a thick fog, so that when one afternoon, on returning from school, Mousey nearly ran against Maria, who was...

WINTER was giving place to early spring. It was a mild day towards the end of February, and the sun shone with genial warmth into the pleasant sitting-room window of Homeleigh,...