LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 
 
 a^m& 
 
 
 yw 
 
 
 w. w. Tw^a 
 
 
 JACOBS \MiJm 
 
 
 
 
 ilium liiiinf nmii^BtijSEbgS 
 
 *==£££=* 
 

 COLLECTION 
 
 or 
 
 HELMUT LOTHARBIPPERG-EK 
 
 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT 
 FUND GIVEN IN 189I BY 
 
 HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 
 
DEca ^S4fi' 
 
 Date Due 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 PR 4821.J2L7 
 
 Light freights. 
 
 3 1924 013 487 511 
 
The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013487511 
 
LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 MANY CARGOES 
 
 THE SKIPPER'S WOOING 
 
 SEA URCHINS 
 
 a J*ASTER OF CRAFT 
 
LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 BV 
 
 w! 1 W. JACOBS 
 
 WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 METHUEN & 
 
 CO. 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET, 
 
 w.c. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 
 
 1901 
 
 
 
 £•> 
 
 
 1 . ■ i : 1 •' 1 ! i 
 
 l H 
 
 
 

 Sb 
 
 • -* 
 
 /\i$i<j/^ 
 
 Edinburgh : T. and A. Constable, (late) Printers to Her Majesty 
 
 -i-. 
 
TO 
 
 MY SISTER AMY 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 AN ODD FREAK 
 
 A QUESTION OF HABIT 
 
 HARD LABOUR 
 
 A GARDEN PLOT 
 
 PRIVATE CLOTHES . 
 
 THE BULLY OF THE "CAVENDISH" 
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 
 
 A MARKED MAN 
 
 TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 
 
 BREVET RANK 
 
 TWIN SPIRITS . 
 
 SAM'S BOY 
 
 A WILL AND A WAY 
 
 JERRY BUNDLER 
 
 THE PEACEMAKER . 
 
 FALSE COLOURS 
 
 22 
 
 38 
 
 56 
 
 76 
 
 96 
 
 114 
 
 134 
 
 151 
 
 166 
 
 184 
 
 207 
 
 228 
 
 245 
 
 259 
 
 279 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 "now you look more like the gal your 
 
 father used TO know" .... Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 IT WAS PRETTY TO SEE THE WAY WILLIAM 'ANDLED 'iM 15 
 
 HE KEPT BEHIND C49, AND CONTENTED HIMSELF WITH 
 INSULTING REMARKS 
 
 "NOT BAD NEWS, I 'OPE?" SES BILL . 
 
 "YOU TOUCH THAT MAN," HE SES, POINTING TO TOM, 
 "AND I'LL GIVE YOU SUCH A DRESSING-DOWN 
 AS YOU'VE NEVER 'AD BEFORE". 
 
 HE WIPED HIS EYES TO THE MEMORY OF THE FAITHFUL 
 BLACK ... . 
 
 "WOT?" SCREAMS GINGER. "TATTOO ME!" 
 THERE WAS UNPLEASANTNESS ALL ROUND THEN 
 STUDYING THE SIGN-POST 
 
 "DON'T TALK NONSENSE," SAID THE SKIPPER 
 THEN IN A LOW, 'USKY VOICE HE SES, " I WILL" 
 HE BURIED HIS FACE IN IT . 
 
 39 
 6l 
 
 129 
 139 
 
 iS3 
 199 
 216 
 
 244 
 288 
 
LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 AN ODD FREAK 
 
 ' Q PEAKING o' money," said the night-watch- 
 *-J man, thoughtfully, as he selected an empty 
 soap-box on the wharf for a seat, "the whole 
 world would be different if we all 'ad more of it. 
 It would be a brighter and a 'appier place for 
 everybody." 
 
 He broke off to open a small brass tobacco- 
 box and place a little quid of tobacco tenderly 
 into a pouch in his left cheek, critically observing 
 at the same time the efforts of a somewhat large 
 steamer to get alongside the next wharf without 
 blocking up more than three-parts of the river. 
 He watched it as though the entire operation 
 depended upon his attention, and, the steamer 
 fast, he turned his eyes back again and resumed 
 his theme. 
 
 <' Of course it 's the being short that sharpens 
 people," he admitted, thoughtfully ; " the sharpest 
 man I ever knew never 'ad a ha'penny in 'is 
 A 
 
2 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 pocket, and the ways 'e had o' getting other 
 chaps to pay for 'is beer would ha' made 'is 
 fortin at the law if 'e 'd only 'ad the eddication. 
 Playful little chap 'e was. I 've seen men wot 
 didn't know 'im stand 'im a pot o' beer and then 
 foller 'im up the road to see 'im knock down 
 a policeman as 'e 'd promised. They 'd foller 'im 
 to the fust policeman 'e met, an' then 'e 'd point 
 them out and say they were goin' to half kill 
 'im, an' the policeman 'ud just stroll up an' ask 
 'em wot they were 'anging about for, but I never 
 'eard of a chap telling 'im. They used to go away 
 struck all of a 'eap. He died in the accident 
 ward of the London Horsepittle, poor chap." 
 
 He shook his head thoughtfully, and ignoring 
 the statement of the watchman at the next wharf 
 that it was a fine evening, shifted his quid and 
 laughed rumblingly. 
 
 " The funniest way o' raising the wind I ever 
 'eard of," he said, in explanation, " was one that 
 'appened about fifteen years ago. I 'd just taken 
 my discharge as A.B. from the North Star, trad- 
 ing between here and the Australian ports, and 
 the men wot the thing 'appened to was shipmates 
 o' mine, although on'y firemen. 
 
 " I know it 's a true story, becos I was in it a 
 little bit myself, and the other part I 'ad from 
 all of 'em, and besides, they didn't see anything 
 
AN ODD FREAK 3 
 
 funny in it at all, or anything out of the way. 
 It seemed to them quite a easy way o' making 
 money, and I dessay if it 'ad come off all right 
 I should have thought so too. 
 
 " In about a week arter we was paid off at the 
 Albert Docks these chaps was all cleaned out, 
 and they was all in despair, with a thirst wot 
 wasn't half quenched and a spree wot was on'y 
 in a manner o' speaking just begun, and at the 
 end of that time they came round to a room wot 
 I 'ad, to see wot could be done. There was four 
 of 'em in all : old Sam Small, Ginger Dick, Peter 
 Russet, and a orphan nevy of Sam's whose father 
 and mother was dead. The mother 'ad been 'alf 
 nigger an' 'alf Malay when she was living, and 
 Sam was always pertickler careful to point out 
 that his nevy took arter 'er. It was enough to 
 make the pore woman turn in 'er grave to say 
 so, but Sam used to say that 'e owed it to 'is 
 brother to explain. 
 
 " ' Wot 's to be done ? ' ses Peter Russet, arter 
 they'd all said wot miserable chaps they was, 
 an' 'ow badly sailor-men was paid. 'We're all 
 going to sign on in the Lands End, but she 
 doesn't sail for a fortnight ; wot 's to be done in 
 the meantime for to live ? ' 
 
 '"There's your watch, Peter,' ses old Sam, 
 dreamy-like, ' and there's Ginger's ring. It's a 
 
4 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 good job you kep' that ring, Ginger. We 're all 
 in the same boat, mates, an' I on'y wish as I 'd 
 got something for the general good. It 's 'aving 
 an orphan nevy wot 's kep' me pore.' 
 
 " ' Stow it,' ses the nevy, short-like. 
 
 " ' Everything 's agin us/ ses old Sam. ' There 's 
 them four green parrots I brought from Brazil, 
 all dead.' 
 
 " ' So are my two monkeys,' ses Peter Russet, 
 shaking 'is 'ead ; ' they used to sleep with me, too.' 
 
 " They all shook their 'eads then, and Russet 
 took Sam up very sharp for saying that p'r'aps 
 if he 'adn't slep' with the monkeys they wouldn't 
 ha' died. He said if Sam knew more about 
 monkeys than wot 'e did, why didn't 'e put 'is 
 money in them instead o' green parrots wot pulled 
 their feathers out and died of cold. 
 
 '"Talking about monkeys,' ses Ginger Dick, 
 interrupting old Sam suddenly, ' wot about young 
 Beauty here ? ' 
 
 " ' Well, wot about him ? ' ses the nevy, in a 
 nasty sort o' way. 
 
 " ' W'y, 'e 's worth forty monkeys an' millions 
 o' green parrots,' ses Ginger, starting up; 'an' 
 here 'e is a-wasting of 'is opportunities, going 
 about dressed like a Christian. Open your 
 mouth, Beauty, and stick your tongue out and 
 roll your eyes a bit.' 
 
AN ODD FREAK 5 
 
 "'W'y not leave well alone, Ginger?' ses 
 Russet ; and I thought so too. Young Beauty 
 was quite enough for me without that. 
 
 '"Ter 'blige me,' ses Ginger, anxiously, 'just 
 make yourself as ugly as wot you can, Beauty.' 
 
 "'Leave 'im alone,' ses old Sam, as his nevy 
 snarled at 'em. 'You ain't everybody's money 
 yourself, Ginger.' 
 
 " ' I tell you, mates,' ses Ginger, speaking very 
 slow and solemn, ' there 's a fortin in 'im. I was 
 lookin' at 'im just now, trying to think who 'e 
 reminded me of. At fust I thought it was that 
 big stuffed monkey we saw at Melbourne, then 
 I suddenly remembered it was a wild man of 
 Borneo I see when I was a kid up in Sunder- 
 land. When I say 'e was a 'andsome, good-'arted 
 looking gentleman alongside o' you, Beauty, do 
 you begin to get my meaning ? ' 
 
 " ' Wot 's the idea, Ginger ? ' ses Sam, getting 
 up to lend me and Russet a 'and with 'is nevy. 
 
 " ' My idea is this,' ses Ginger : ' take 'is does 
 off 'im and dress 'im up in that there winder- 
 blind, or something o' the kind ; tie 'im up with 
 a bit o' line, and take 'im round to Ted Reddish 
 in the 'Ighway and sell 'im for a 'undered quid as 
 a wild man of Borneo.' 
 
 '" Wot?'- screams Beauty, in an awful voice. 
 ' Let go, Peter ; let go, d' ye hear ? ' 
 
6 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 ""Old your noise, Beauty, while your elders 
 is speaking/ ses 'is uncle, and I could see 'e was 
 struck with the idea. 
 
 '"You jest try dressing me up in a winder- 
 blind,' ses his nevy, half-crying with rage. 
 
 " ' Listen to reason, Beauty,' ses Ginger ; ' you '11 
 'ave your share of the tin ; it '11 only be for a day 
 or two, and then when we've cleared out you 
 can make your escape, and there '11 be twenty- 
 five pounds for each of us.' 
 
 " ' 'Ow do you make that out, Ginger? ' ses 
 Sam, in a cold voice. 
 
 " ' Fours into a 'undered,' ses Ginger. 
 
 " ' Ho,' ses Sam. ' Ho, indeed. I wasn't aweer 
 that 'e was your nevy, Ginger.' 
 
 " ' Share and share alike,' ses Russet. ' It 's a 
 very good plan o' yours, Ginger.' 
 
 " Ginger holds 'is 'ead up and looks at 'im 
 'ard. 
 
 " ' I thought o' the plan,' 'e ses, speaking very 
 slow and deliberate. 'Sam's 'is uncle, and 'e's 
 the wild man. Threes into a 'undered go ' 
 
 " ' You needn't bother your fat 'ead adding up 
 sums, Ginger,' ses Russet, very polite. ' I 'm 
 going to 'ave my share; else I'll split to Ted 
 Reddish.' 
 
 " None of 'em said a word about me : two of 
 'em was sitting on my bed ; Ginger was using a 
 
AN ODD FREAK 7 
 
 'ankerchief o' mine wot 'e found in the fireplace, 
 and Peter Russet 'ad 'ad a drink out o' the jug 
 on my washstand, and yet they never even 
 mentioned me. That's firemen all over, and 
 that's 'ow it is they get themselves so disliked. 
 
 " It took 'em best part of an 'our to talk round 
 young Beauty, an' the langwidge they see fit to 
 use made me thankful to think that the parrots 
 didn't live to larn it. 
 
 "You never saw anything like Beauty when 
 they 'ad finished with 'im. If 'e was bad in 'is 
 does, 'e was a perfeck horror without 'em. Ginger 
 Dick faked 'im up beautiful, but there was no 
 pleasing 'im. Fust he found fault with the 
 winder-blind, which 'e said didn't fit ; then 'e 
 grumbled about going bare-foot, then 'e wanted 
 somethink to 'ide 'is legs, which was natural con- 
 sidering the shape of 'em. Ginger Dick nearly 
 lost 'is temper with 'im, and it was all old Sam 
 could do to stop himself from casting 'im off for 
 ever. He was finished at last, and arter Peter 
 Russet 'ad slipped downstairs and found a bit 
 o' broken clothes-prop in the yard, and 'e 'd been 
 shown 'ow to lean on it and make a noise, Ginger 
 said as 'ow if Ted Reddish got 'im for a 'undered 
 pounds 'e 'd get 'im a bargain. 
 
 " ' We must 'ave a cab,' ses old Sam. 
 
 " ' Cab ? ' ses Ginger. ' What for ? ' 
 
8 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' We should 'ave half Wapping following us,' 
 ses Sam. ' Go out and put your ring up, Ginger, 
 and fetch a cab.' 
 
 " Ginger started grumbling, but he went, and 
 presently came back with the cab and the money, 
 and they all went downstairs leading the wild 
 man by a bit o' line. They only met one party 
 coming up, and 'e seemed to remember somethink 
 'e 'd forgotten wot ought to be fetched at once. 
 
 "Ginger went out fust and opened the cab- 
 door, and then stood there waiting becos at the 
 last moment the wild man said the winder-blind 
 was slipping down. They got 'im out at last, 
 but before 'e could get in the cab was going up 
 the road at ten miles an hour, with Ginger 'anging 
 on to the door calling to it to stop. 
 
 " It came back at about a mile an' a 'alf an 
 hour, an' the remarks of the cabman was eggs- 
 trordinary. Even when he got back 'e wouldn't 
 start till 'e'd got double fare paid in advance; 
 but they got in at last and drove off. 
 
 " There was a fine scene at Ted Reddish's door. 
 Ginger said that if there was a bit of a struggle 
 it would be a good advertisement for Ted Red- 
 dish, and they might p'r'aps get more than a 
 'undered, and all the three of 'em could do, they 
 couldn't get the wild man out o' that cab, and 
 the cabman was hopping about 'arf crazy. Every 
 
AN ODD FREAK 9 
 
 now and then they 'd get the wild man 'arf out, 
 and then he 'd get in agin and snarl. 'E didn't 
 seem to know when to leave off, and Ginger and 
 the others got almost as sick of it as the cabman. 
 It must ha' taken two years' wear out o' that cab, 
 but they got 'im out at last, and Reddish's door 
 being open to see what the row was about, they 
 went straight in. 
 
 " ' Wot 's all this ? ' ses Reddish, who was a tall, 
 thin man, with a dark moustache. 
 
 "'It's a wild man o' Borneo,' ses Ginger, 
 panting; 'we caught 'im in a forest in Brazil, 
 an' we 've come 'ere to give you the fust offer.' 
 
 " Ted Reddish was so surprised 'e couldn't 
 speak at fust. The wild man seemed to take 
 'is breath away, and 'e looked in a 'elpless kind 
 o' way at 'is wife, who 'd just come down. She 
 was a nice-lookin' woman, fat, with a lot o' yaller 
 hair, and she smiled at 'em as though she'd 
 known 'em all their lives. 
 
 " ' Come into the parlour,' she ses, kindly, just 
 as Ted was beginning to get 'is breath. 
 
 " They followed 'em in, and the wild man was 
 just going to make hisself comfortable in a easy- 
 chair, when Ginger give 'im a look, an' 'e curled 
 up on the 'earthrug instead. 
 
 " ' 'E ain't a very fine specimen,' ses Ted Red- 
 dish, at last. 
 
io LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 "'It's the red side-whiskers I don't like,' ses 
 his wife. ' Besides, who ever 'eard of a wild man 
 in a collar an' necktie ? ' 
 
 " * You 've got hold o' the wrong one,' ses Ted 
 Reddish, afore Ginger Dick could speak up for 
 hisself. 
 
 " ' Oh, I beg your pardin,' ses Mrs. Reddish 
 to Ginger, very polite. ' I thought it was funny 
 a wild man should be wearing a collar. It 's my 
 mistake. That 's the wild man, I s'pose, on the 
 'earthrug ? ' y 
 
 " ' That 's 'im, mum,' ses old Sam, very short. 
 
 '"He don't look wild enough,' ses Reddish. 
 
 "' No ; 'e 's much too tame,' ses 'is wife, shak- 
 ing her yaller curls. 
 
 " The chaps all looked at each other then, and 
 the wild man began to think it was time he did 
 somethink ; and the nearest thing 'andy being. 
 Ginger's leg, 'e put 'is teeth into it. Anybody 
 might ha' thought Ginger was the wild man 
 then, the way 'e went on, and Mrs. Reddish said 
 that even if he so far forgot hisself as to use 
 sich langwidge afore 'er, 'e oughtn't to before a 
 poor 'eathen animal. 
 
 " ' How much do you want for 'im ? ' ses Ted 
 Reddish, arter Ginger 'ad got 'is leg away, and 
 taken it to the winder to look at it. 
 
 " ' One 'undered pounds,' ses old Sam. 
 
AN ODD FREAK n 
 
 " Ted Reddish looked at 'is wife, and they both 
 larfed as though they 'd never leave orf. 
 
 " ' Why, the market price o' the best wild men 
 is only thirty shillings,' ses Reddish, wiping 'is 
 eyes. ' I '11 give you a pound for 'im.' 
 
 " Old Sam looked at Russet, and Russet looked 
 at Ginger, and then they all larfed. 
 
 " ' Well, there J s no getting over you, I can see 
 that,' ses Reddish, at last. ' Is he strong? ' 
 
 " ' Strong ? Strong ain't the word for it,' ses Sam. 
 
 "'Bring 'im to the back and let 'im 'ave a 
 wrestle with one o' the brown bears, Ted,' ses 
 'is wife. 
 
 " ' 'E 'd kill it,* ses old Sam, hastily. 
 
 " ' Never mind,' ses Reddish, getting up ; 
 ' brown bears is cheap enough.' 
 
 "They all got up then, none of 'em knowing 
 wot to do, except the wild man, that is, and he 
 got 'is arms tight round the leg o' the table. 
 
 " ' Well,' ses Ginger, ' we '11 be pleased for 'im 
 to wrestle with the bear, but we must 'ave the 
 'undered quid fust, in case 'e injures 'isself a 
 little.' 
 
 " Ted Reddish looked 'ard at 'im, and then he 
 looked at 'is wife agin. 
 
 " ' I '11 just go outside and talk it over with the 
 missus,' he ses, at last, and they both got up and 
 went out. 
 
12 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 "'It's all right,' ses old Sam, winking at 
 Ginger. 
 
 " ' Fair cop,' ses Ginger, who was still rubbing 
 his leg. ' I told you it would be, but there 's no 
 need for Beauty to overdo it. He nearly 'ad a 
 bit out o' my leg.' 
 
 " ' A'right,' ses the wild man, shifting along the 
 'earthrug to where Peter was sitting ; ' but it 
 don't do for me to be too tame. You 'eard wot 
 she said.' 
 
 " ' How are you feeling, old man ? ' ses Peter, 
 in a kind voice, as 'e tucked 'is legs away under 
 'is chair. 
 
 " ' Gurr,' ses the wild man, going on all fours to 
 the back of the chair, ' gur — wug — wug ' 
 
 " ' Don't play the fool, Beauty,' ses Peter, with 
 a uneasy smile, as he twisted 'is 'ead round. ' Call 
 'im off, Sam.' 
 
 " ' Gurr,' ses the wild man, sniffing at 'is legs ; 
 ' gurr.' 
 
 " ' Easy on, Beauty, it 's no good biting 'im till 
 they come back,' ses old Sam. 
 
 " ' I won't be bit at all,' ses Russet, very sharp, 
 ' mind that, Sam. It 's my belief Beauty 's gone 
 mad.' 
 
 " ' Hush,' ses Ginger, and they 'eard Ted 
 Reddish and 'is wife coming back. They came 
 in and sat down agin, and after Ted 'ad 'ad 
 
AN ODD FREAK 13 
 
 another good look at the wild man and prodded 
 'im all over an' looked at 'is teeth, he spoke up 
 and said they 'd decided to give a 'undered pun 
 for 'im at the end o' three days if 'e suited. 
 
 " ' I s'pose,' ses Sam, looking at the others, 
 ' that we could 'ave a bit of it now to go on with?' 
 
 " ' It 's agin our way of doing business,' ses Ted 
 Reddish. ' If it 'ud been a lion or a tiger we 
 could, but wild men we never do.' 
 
 " ' The thing is,' ses Mrs. Reddish, as the wild 
 man started on Russet's leg and was pulled off 
 by Sam and Ginger, ' where to put 'im.' 
 
 " ' Why not put 'im in with the black leopard ?' 
 ses her 'usband. 
 
 " ' There 's plenty o' room in his cage,' says 'is 
 wife, thoughtfully, ' and it 'ud be company for 'im 
 too.' 
 
 " ' I don't think the wild man 'ud like that,' ses 
 Ginger. 
 
 " ' I 'm sartain sure 'e wouldn't,' says old Sam, 
 shaking 'is 'ead. 
 
 " ' Well, we must put 'im in a cage by hisself, 
 I s'pose,' ses Reddish, ' but we can't be put to 
 much expense. I 'm sure the money we spent 
 in cat's meat for the last wild man we 'ad was 
 awful.' 
 
 " ' Don't you spend too much money on cat's 
 meat for 'im,' ses Sam, ' 'e 'd very likely leave it. 
 
14 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Bringing 'im 'ome, we used to give 'im the same 
 as we 'ad ourselves, and he got on all right.' 
 
 " ' It 's a wonder you didn't kill 'im,' ses Reddish, 
 severely. ' He '11 be fed very different 'ere, I can tell 
 you. You won't know 'im at the end o' three days.' 
 
 " ' Don't change 'im too sudden,' ses Ginger, 
 keeping 'is 'ead turned away from the wild man, 
 wot wos trying to catch 'is eye. ' Cook 'is food 
 at fust, 'cos 'e 's been used to it' 
 
 " ' I know wot to give 'im,' ses Reddish, off- 
 handedly. ' I ain't been in the line twenty-seven 
 years for nothink. Bring 'im out to the back, an' 
 I '11 put 'im in 'is new 'ome.' 
 
 " They all got up and, taking no notice of the 
 wild man's whispers, follered Ted Reddish and 'is 
 wife out to the back, where all the wild beasts in 
 the world seemed to 'ave collected to roar out to 
 each other what a beastly place it was. 
 
 " ' I 'm going to put 'im in " 'Appy Cottage " for 
 a time,' says Reddish ; ' lend a hand 'ere, William,' 
 he says, beckoning to one of 'is men. 
 
 "'Is that "'Appy Cottage"?' ses old Sam, 
 sniffing, as they got up to a nasty, empty cage 
 with a chain and staple in the wall. 
 
 " Ted Reddish said it was. 
 
 " ' Wot makes you call it that ? ' ses Sam. 
 
 " Reddish didn't seem to 'ear 'im, and it took 
 all Ginger's coaxing to get Beauty to go in. 
 
AN ODD FREAK 15 
 
 " ' It 's on'y for a day or two,' he whispers. 
 
 " ' But 'ow am I to escape when you 've got the 
 brass ? ' ses the wild man. 
 
 " ' We '11 look arter that,' ses Ginger, who 'adn't 
 got the least idea. 
 
 " The wild man 'ad a little show for the last 
 time, jist to impress Ted Reddish, an' it was 
 pretty to see the way William 'andled 'im. The 
 look on the wild man's face showed as 'ow it was 
 a revelashun to 'im. Then 'is three mates took 
 a last look at 'im and went off. 
 
 " For the fust day Sam felt uneasy about 'im, 
 and used to tell us tales about 'is dead brother 
 which made us think Beauty was lucky to take 
 arter 'is mother ; but it wore off, and the next 
 night, in the ' Admiral Cochrane,' 'e put 'is 'ead 
 on Ginger's shoulder, and wep' for 'appiness as 'e 
 spoke of 'is nevy's home at ' 'Appy Cottage.' 
 
 " On the third day Sam was for going round 
 in the morning for the money, but Ginger said it 
 wasn't advisable to show any 'aste ; so they left 
 it to the evening, and Peter Russet wrote Sam a 
 letter signed ' Barnum,' offering 'im two 'undered 
 for the wild man, in case Ted Reddish should 
 want to beat 'em down. They all 'ad a drink 
 before they went in, and was smiling with good 
 temper to sich an extent that they 'ad to wait a 
 minute to get their faces straight afore going in. 
 
16 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' Come in,' ses Reddish, and they follered 'im 
 into the parler, where Mrs. Reddish was sitting 
 in a armchair shaking 'er 'ead and looking at the 
 carpet very sorrowful. 
 
 " ' I was afraid you 'd come,' she ses, in a low 
 voice. 
 
 " ' So was I,' ses Reddish. 
 
 "'What for?' ses old Sam. It didn't look 
 much like money, and 'e felt cross. 
 
 " ' We 've 'ad a loss,' ses Mrs. Reddish. She 
 touched 'erself, and then they see she was all in 
 black, and that Ted Reddish was wearing a black 
 tie and a bit o' crape round 'is arm. 
 
 " ' Sorry to 'ear it, mum,' ses old Sam. 
 
 " ' It was very sudden, too,' ses Mrs. Reddish, 
 wiping 'er eyes. 
 
 '"That's better than laying long,' ses Peter 
 Russet, comforting like. 
 
 " Ginger Dick gives a cough. ' Twenty-five 
 pounds was wot 'e 'd come for ; not to 'ear this 
 sort o' talk.' 
 
 " ' We 've been in the wild-beast line seven-an'- 
 twenty years,' ses Mrs. Reddish, ' and it 's the fust 
 time anythink of this sort 'as 'appened.' 
 
 " ' 'Ealthy family, I s'pose,' ses Sam, staring. 
 
 " ' Tell 'im, Ted,' ses Mrs. Reddish, in a 'usky 
 whisper. 
 
 " ' No, you/ ses Ted. 
 
AN ODD FREAK 17 
 
 " ' It 's your place,' ses Mrs. Reddish. 
 
 " ' A woman can break it better,' ses 'er 'usband. 
 
 " ' Tell us wot ? ' ses Ginger, very snappish. 
 
 " Ted Reddish cleared 'is throat. 
 
 " ' It wasn't our fault,' he ses, slowly, while Mrs. 
 Reddish began to cry agin ; ' gin'rally speakin', 
 animals is afraid o' wild men, and night before 
 last, as the wild man wot you left on approval 
 didn't seem to like " 'Appy Cottage," we took 'im 
 out an' put 'im in with the tiger.' 
 
 " ' Put him in with the WOT ? ' ses the un- 
 fort'nit man's uncle, jumping off 'is chair. 
 
 " ' The tiger,' ses Reddish. ' We 'eard some- 
 thing in the night, but we thought they was only 
 'aving a little bit of a tiff, like. In the morning 
 I went down with a bit o' cold meat for the wild 
 man, and I thought at first he'd escaped; but 
 looking a little bit closer ' 
 
 " ' Don't, Ted,' ses 'is wife. ' I can't bear it' 
 
 " ' Do you mean to tell me that the tiger 'as 
 eat 'im ? ' screams old Sam. 
 
 '"Most of 'im,' ses Ted Reddish; 'but 'e 
 couldn't ha' been much of a wild man to let a 
 tiger get the better of 'im. I must say I was 
 surprised.' 
 
 " ' We both was,' ses Mrs. Reddish, wiping 'er 
 eyes. 
 
 " You might ha' 'eard a pin drop ; old Sam's 
 B 
 
18 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 eyes was large and staring, Peter Russet was 
 sucking 'is teeth, an' Ginger was wondering wot 
 the law would say to it — if it 'eard of it. 
 
 "'It's an unfortunit thing for all parties/ ses 
 Ted Reddish, at last, getting up and standing on 
 the 'earthrug. 
 
 " ' 'Orrible,' ses Sam, 'uskily. ' You ought to 
 ha' known better than to put 'im in with a tiger. 
 Wot could you expect ? W'y, it was a mad thing 
 to do.' 
 
 " ' Crool thing,' ses Peter Russet. 
 
 " ' You don't know the bisness properly,' ses 
 Ginger, ' that 's about wot it is. W'y, / should 
 ha' known better than that.' 
 
 " ' Well, it 's no good making a fuss about it,' ses 
 Reddish. ' It was only a wild man arter all, and 
 he'd ha' died anyway, cos 'e wouldn't eat the 
 raw meat we gave 'im, and 'is pan o' water was 
 scarcely touched. He 'd ha' starved himself any- 
 how. I 'm sorry, as I said before, but I must be 
 off; I 've got an appointment down at the docks.' 
 
 " He moved towards the door ; Ginger Dick 
 gave Russet a nudge and whispered something, 
 and Russet passed it on to Sam. 
 
 " ' What about the 'undered quid ? ' ses pore 
 Beauty's uncle, catching 'old o' Reddish as 'e 
 passed 'im. 
 
 " ' Eh ? ' ses Reddish, surprised — ' Oh, that 's off.' 
 
ANODDFREAK 19 
 
 " ' Ho ! ' says Sam. ' Ho ! is it ? We want a 
 'undered quid off of you ; an' wot 's more, we 
 mean to 'ave it.' 
 
 " ' But the tiger 's ate 'im,' says Mrs. Reddish, 
 explaining. 
 
 " ' I know that,' ses Sam, sharply. ' But 'e was 
 our wild man, and we want to be paid for 'im. 
 You should ha' been more careful. We'll give 
 you five minutes; and if the money ain't paid 
 by that time, we '11 go straight off to the police- 
 station.' 
 
 " ' Well, go,' ses Ted Reddish. 
 
 " Sam got up, very stern, and looked at Ginger. 
 
 " ' You '11 be ruined if we do,' ses Ginger. 
 
 " ' All right,' ses Ted Reddish, comfortably. 
 
 " ' I 'm not sure they can't 'ang you/ ses Russet. 
 
 " ' I ain't sure either,' says Reddish ; ' and I 'd 
 like to know 'ow the law stands, in case it 'appens 
 agin.' 
 
 " ' Come on, Sam,' ses Ginger ; ' come straight 
 to the police-station.' 
 
 " He got up, and moved towards the door. 
 Ted Reddish didn't move a muscle, but Mrs. 
 Reddish flopped on her knees and caught old 
 Sam round the legs, and 'eld him so 's 'e couldn't 
 move. 
 
 " ' Spare 'im,' she ses, crying. 
 
 " ' Lea' go o' my legs, mum,' ses Sam. 
 
20 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' Come on, Sam,' ses Ginger ; ' come to the 
 police.' 
 
 "Old Sam made a desperit effort, and Mrs. 
 Reddish called 'im a crool monster, and let go 
 and 'id 'er face on 'er husband's shoulder as they 
 all moved out of the parlour, larfing like a mad 
 thing with hysterics. 
 
 " They moved off slowly, not knowing wot to 
 do, as, of course, they knew they daren't go to 
 the police about it. Ginger Dick's temper was 
 awful ; but Peter Russet said they mustn't give 
 up all 'ope — he 'd write to Ted Reddish and tell 
 'im as a friend wot a danger 'e was in. Old Sam 
 didn't say anything, the loss of his nevy and 
 twenty- five pounds at the same time being 
 almost more than 'is 'art could bear, and in a 
 slow, melancholy fashion they walked back to 
 old Sam's lpdgings. 
 
 " ' Well, what the blazes is up now?' ses Ginger 
 Dick, as they turned the corner. 
 
 " There was three or four 'undered people 
 standing in front of the 'ouse, and women's 'eads 
 out of all the winders screaming their 'ardest 
 for the police, and as they got closer they 'eard 
 a incessant knocking. It took 'em nearly five 
 minutes to force their way through the crowd, 
 and then they nearly went crazy as they saw the 
 wild man with 'alf the winder-blind missing, but 
 
AN ODD FREAK 21 
 
 otherwise well and 'arty, standing on the step 
 and giving rat-a-tat-tats at the door for all 'e 
 was worth. 
 
 " They never got to know the rights of it, 
 Beauty getting so excited every time they asked 
 'im 'ow he got on that they 'ad to give it up. 
 But they began to 'ave a sort of idea at last 
 that Ted Reddish 'ad been 'aving a game with 
 'em, and that Mrs. Reddish was worse than wot 
 'e was." 
 
A QUESTION OF HABIT 
 
 " \ T riMMIN aboard ship I don't 'old with," 
 * V said the night-watchman, severely. 
 "They'll arsk you all sorts o' silly questions, 
 an' complain to the skipper if you don't treat 
 'em civil in answering 'em. If you do treat 'em 
 civil, what 's the result ? Is it a bit o' bacca, or 
 a shilling, or anything like that ? Not a bit of 
 it; just a 'thank you,' an' said in a way as 
 though they 've been giving you a perfect treat 
 by talking to you. 
 
 " They 're a contrary sects too. Ask a girl civil- 
 like to stand off a line you want to coil up, and 
 she '11 get off an' look at you as though you ought 
 to have waited until she 'ad offered to shift. Pull 
 on it without asking her to step off fust, an' the 
 ship won't 'old her 'ardly. A man I knew once — 
 he 's dead now, poor chap, and left three widders 
 mourning their unrepairable loss — said that with 
 all 'is experience wimmin was as much a riddle to 
 'im as when he fust married. 
 
 " O' course, sometimes you get a gal down the 
 
 22 
 
A QUESTION OF HABIT 23 
 
 fo'c's'le pretending to be a man, shipping as 
 ordinary seaman or boy, and nobody not a penny 
 the wiser. It 's happened before, an' I 've no doubt 
 it will again. 
 
 " We 'ad a queer case once on a barque I was on 
 as steward, called the Tower of London, bound 
 from the Albert Docks to Melbourne with a 
 general cargo. We shipped a new boy just after 
 we started as was entered in the ship's books as 
 'Enery Mallow, an' the fust thing we noticed 
 about 'Enery was as 'e had a great dislike to 
 work and was terrible sea-sick. Every time 
 there was a job as wanted to be done, that lad 
 'ud go and be took bad quite independent of 
 the weather. 
 
 " Then Bill Dowsett adopted 'im, and said he 'd 
 make a sailor of 'im. I believe if 'Enery could 
 'ave chose 'is father, he'd sooner 'ad any man 
 than Bill, and I would sooner have been a orphan 
 than a son to any of 'em. Bill relied on his 
 langwidge mostly, but when that failed he 'd just 
 fetch 'im a cuff. Nothing more than was good 
 for a boy wot 'ad got 'is living to earn, but 'Enery 
 used to cry until we was all ashamed of 'im. 
 
 " Bill got almost to be afraid of 'itting 'im at 
 last, and used to try wot being sarcastic would 
 do. Then we found as 'Enery was ten times as 
 sarcastic as Bill — 'e'd talk all round 'im so to 
 
24 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 speak, an' even take the words out of Bill's 
 mouth to use agin 'im. Then Bill would turn to 
 'is great natural gifts, and the end of it was when 
 we was about a fortnight out that the boy ran 
 up on deck and went aft to the skipper and 
 complained of Bill's langwidge. 
 
 " ' Langwidge,' ses the old man, glaring at 'im 
 as if 'e 'd eat 'im — ' what sort o' langwidge ? ' 
 
 " ' Bad langwidge, sir,' ses 'Enery. 
 
 " ' Repeat it,' ses the skipper. 
 
 " 'Enery gives a little shiver. ' I couldn't do it, 
 sir,' he ses, very solemn ; ' it 's like — like you was 
 talking to the bo'sen yesterday.' 
 
 " ' Go to your duties,' roars the skipper ; ' go to 
 your duties at once, and don't let me 'ear any 
 more of it. Why, you ought to be at a young 
 ladies' school.' 
 
 " ' I know I ought, sir,' 'Enery ses, with a 
 w'imper, ' but I never thought it 'd be like this.' 
 
 " The old man stares at him, and then he rubs 
 his eyes and stares agin. 'Enery wiped his eyes 
 and stood looking down at the deck. 
 
 " ' 'Eavens above,' ses the old man, in a dazed 
 voice, ' don't tell me you 're a gal ! ' 
 
 " ' I won't if you don't want me to,' ses 'Enery, 
 wiping his eyes agin. 
 
 " ' What 's-your name ? ' ses the old man, at last. 
 
 " ' Mary Mallow, sir,' ses 'Enery, very soft. 
 
A QUESTION OF HABIT 25 
 
 " ' What made you do it ? ' ses the skipper, at 
 last. 
 
 "'My father wanted me to marry a man I 
 didn't want to,' ses Miss Mallow. ' He used to 
 admire my hair very much, so I cut it off. Then 
 I got frightened at what I 'd done, and as I 
 looked like a boy I thought I 'd go to sea.' 
 
 " ' Well, it 's a nice responsibility for me,' ses 
 the skipper, and he called the mate, who 'ad just 
 come on deck, and asked his advice. The mate 
 was a very straitlaced man — for a mate — and at 
 fust he was so shocked 'e couldn't speak. 
 
 " ' She '11 have to come aft,' he ses, at last. 
 
 " ' O' course she will,' ses the skipper, and he 
 called me up and told me to clear a spare cabin 
 out for her — we carried a passenger or two some- 
 times — and to fetch her chest up. 
 
 '"I s'pose you've got some clothes in it?' he 
 ses, anxious-like. 
 
 " ' Only these sort o' things,' ses Miss Mallow, 
 bashfully. 
 
 " ' And send Dowsett to me,' ses the skipper, 
 turning to me agin. 
 
 " We 'ad to shove pore Bill up on deck a'most, 
 and the way the skipper went on at 'im, you 'd 
 thought J e was the greatest rascal unhung. He 
 begged the young lady's pardon over and over 
 agin, and when 'e come back to us 'e was that 
 
26 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 upset that 'e didn't know what 'e was saying, and 
 begged an ordinary seaman's pardon for treading 
 on 'is toe. 
 
 " Then the skipper took Miss Mallow below to 
 her new quarters, and to 'is great surprise caught 
 the third officer, who was fond of female society, 
 doing a step-dance in the saloon all on 'is own. 
 
 " That evening the skipper and the mate formed 
 themselves into a committee to decide what was 
 to be done. Everything the mate suggested the 
 skipper wouldn't have, and when the skipper 
 thought of anythink, the mate said it was im- 
 possible. After the committee 'ad been sitting 
 for three hours it began to abuse each other; 
 leastaways, the skipper abused the mate, and the 
 mate kep' on saying if it wasn't for discipline he 
 knew somebody as would tell the skipper a thing 
 or two it would do 'im good to hear. 
 
 " ' She must have a dress, I tell you, or a frock 
 at any rate,' ses the skipper, very mad. 
 
 " ' What 's the difference between a dress and a 
 frock ? ' ses the mate. 
 
 " ' There is a difference,' ses the skipper. 
 
 " ' Well, what is it ? ' ses the mate. 
 
 " ' It wouldn't be any good if I was to explain 
 to you,' ses the skipper ; 'some people's heads are 
 too thick.' 
 
 " ' I know they are,' ses the mate. 
 
A QUESTION OF HABIT 27 
 
 " The committee broke up after that, but it got 
 amiable agin over breakfast next morning, and 
 made quite a fuss over Miss Mallow. It was 
 wonderful what a difference a night aft had made 
 in that gal. She 'd washed herself beautiful, and 
 had just frizzed 'er 'air, which was rather long, 
 over 'er forehead, and the committee kept 
 pursing its lips up and looking at each other 
 as Mr. Fisher talked to 'er and kep' on piling 
 'er plate up. 
 
 " She went up on deck after breakfast and stood 
 leaning against the side talking to Mr. Fisher. 
 Pretty laugh she'd got, too, though I never 
 noticed it when she was in the fo'c's'le. Per- 
 haps she hadn't got much to laugh about then ; 
 and while she was up there enjoying 'erself 
 watching us chaps work, the committee was down 
 below laying its 'eads together agin. 
 
 "When I went down to the cabin agin it was 
 like a dressmaker's shop. There was silk hand- 
 kerchiefs and all sorts o' things on the table, 
 an' the skipper was hovering about with a big 
 pair of scissors in his hands, wondering how to 
 begin. 
 
 " ' I shan't attempt anything very grand,' he 
 ses, at last ; ' just something to slip over them 
 boy's clothes she 's wearing.' 
 
 "The mate didn't say anything. He was busy 
 
28 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 drawing frocks on a little piece of paper, and 
 looking at 'em with his 'ead on one side to see 
 whether they looked better that way. 
 
 " ' By Jove ! I 've got it,' ses the old man, 
 suddenly. ' Where 's that dressing-gown your 
 wife gave you ? ' 
 
 " The mate looked up. ' I don't know,' he ses, 
 slowly. ' I 've mislaid it.' 
 
 " 'Well, it can't be far,' ses the skipper. ' It's 
 just the thing to make a frock of.' 
 
 " ' I don't think so,' ses the mate. ' It wouldn't 
 hang properly. Do you know what I was think- 
 ing of?' 
 
 " ' Well/ ses the skipper. 
 
 "'Three o' them new flannel shirts o' yours,' 
 ses the mate. ' They 're very dark, an' they 'd 
 hang beautiful.' 
 
 '"Let's try the dressing-gown fust,' ses the 
 skipper, hearty-like. ' That 's easier. I '11 help 
 you look for it.' 
 
 " ' I can't think what I 've done with it,' ses the 
 mate. 
 
 " ' Well, let 's try your cabin,' ses the old man. 
 
 " They went to the mate's cabin and, to his 
 great surprise, there it was hanging just behind 
 the door. It was a beautiful dressing-gown — 
 soft, warm cloth trimmed with braid — and the 
 skipper took up his scissors agin, and fairly 
 
A QUESTION OF HABIT 29 
 
 gloated over it. Then he slowly cut off the top 
 part with the two arms 'anging to it, and passed 
 it over to the mate. 
 
 " ' I shan't want that, Mr. Jackson,' he ses, 
 slowly. ' I dare say you '11 find it come in useful.' 
 
 " ' While you 're doing that, s'pose I get on with 
 them three shirts,' ses Mr. Jackson. 
 
 " ' What three shirts ? ' ses the skipper, who was 
 busy cutting buttons off. 
 
 "'Why, yours,' ses Mr. Jackson. 'Let's see 
 who can make the best frock.' 
 
 "'No, Mr. Jackson,' ses the old man. 'I'm 
 sure you couldn't make anything o' them shirts. 
 You're not at all gifted that way. Besides, I 
 want 'em.' 
 
 "'Well, I wanted my dressing-gown, if you 
 come to that,' ses the mate, in a sulky voice. 
 
 " ' Well, what on earth did you give it to me 
 for ? ' ses the skipper. ' I do wish you 'd know 
 your own mind, Mr. Jackson.' 
 
 " The mate didn't say any more. He sat and 
 watched the old man, as he threaded his needle 
 and stitched the dressing-gown together down 
 the front. It really didn't look half bad when 
 he'd finished it, and it was easy to see how 
 pleased Miss Mallow was. She really looked 
 quite fine in it, and with the blue guernsey she 
 was wearing and a band made o' silk handker- 
 
30 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 chiefs round her waist, I saw at once it was a 
 case with the third officer. 
 
 " ' Now you look a bit more like the gal your 
 father used to know,' ses the skipper. ' My 
 finger's a bit sore just at present, but by and by 
 I '11 make you a bonnet.' 
 
 " ' I'd like to see it,' ses the mate. 
 
 " ' It's quite easy,' ses the skipper. ' I 've seen 
 my wife do 'em. She calls 'em tokes. You 
 make the hull out o' cardboard and spread your 
 canvas on that' 
 
 "That dress made a wonderful difference in the 
 gal. Wonderful ! She seemed to change all at 
 once and become the lady altogether. She just 
 'ad that cabin at her beck and call ; and as for 
 me, she seemed to think I was there a puppose 
 to wait on 'er. 
 
 " I must say she 'ad a good time of it. We was 
 having splendid weather, and there wasn't much 
 work for anybody; consequently, when she wasn't 
 receiving good advice from the skipper and the 
 mate, she was receiving attention from both the 
 second and third officers. Mr. Scott, the second, 
 didn't seem to take much notice of her for a day 
 or two, and the first I saw of his being in love 
 was 'is being very rude to Mr. Fisher and giving 
 up bad langwidge, so sudden it's a wonder it 
 didn't do 'im a injury. 
 
A QUESTION OF HABIT 31 
 
 "I think the gal rather enjoyed their attentions 
 at first, but arter a time she got fairly tired of it. 
 She never 'ad no rest, pore thing. If she was up 
 on deck looking over the side the third officer 
 would come up and talk romantic to 'er about 
 the sea and the lonely lives of sailor-men, and I 
 acturally 'eard Mr. Scott repeating poetry to her. 
 The skipper 'eard it too, and being suspicious o' 
 poetry, and not having heard clearly, called him 
 up to 'im and made 'im say it all over agin to 'im. 
 'E didn't seem quite to know wot to make of it, 
 so 'e calls up the mate for 'im to hear it. The 
 mate said it was rubbish, and the skipper told 
 Mr. Scott that if ever he was taken that way 
 agin 'e 'd 'ear more of it. 
 
 "There was no doubt about them two young 
 fellers being genuine. She 'appened to say one 
 day that she could never, never care for a man 
 who drank and smoked, and I 'm blest if both 
 of 'em didn't give 'er their pipes to chuck over- 
 board, and the agony those two chaps used to 
 suffer when they saw other people smoking was 
 pitiful to witness. 
 
 " It got to such a pitch at last that the mate, 
 who, as I said afore, was a very particular man, 
 called another committee meeting. It was a very 
 solemn affair, and 'e made a long speech in which 
 he said he was the father of a family, and that the 
 
32 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 second and third officers was far too attentive to 
 Miss Mallow, and 'e asked the skipper to stop it. 
 
 " ' How ? ' ses the skipper. 
 
 " ' Stop the draught-playing and the card- 
 playing and the poetry,' ses the mate ; ' the gal 's 
 getting too much attention ; she '11 have 'er 'ead 
 turned. Put your foot down, sir, and stop it.' 
 
 " The skipper was so struck by what he said, 
 that he not only did that, but he went and forbid 
 them two young men to speak to the gal except 
 at meal times, or when the conversation was 
 general. None of 'em liked it, though the gal 
 pretended to, and for the matter of a week 
 things was very quiet in the cabin, not to say 
 sulky. 
 
 " Things got back to their old style agin in a 
 very curious way. I 'd just set the tea in the 
 cabin one afternoon, and 'ad stopped at the foot 
 of the companion-ladder to let the skipper and 
 Mr. Fisher come down, when we suddenly 'eard 
 a loud box on the ear. We all rushed into the 
 cabin at once, and there was the mate looking 
 fairly thunderstruck, with his hand to his face, 
 and Miss Mallow glaring at 'im. 
 
 " ' Mr. Jackson,' ses the skipper, in a awful 
 voice, ' what 's this ? ' 
 
 " * Ask her,' shouts, the mate. ' I think she 's 
 gone mad or something.' 
 
A QUESTION OF HABIT 33 
 
 '"What does this mean, Miss Mallow?' ses the 
 skipper. 
 
 " ' Ask him,' ses Miss Mallow, breathing very 
 'ard. 
 
 " ' Mr. Jackson,' ses the skipper, very severe, 
 ' what have you been doing ? ' 
 
 " ' Nothing,' roars the mate. 
 
 " ' Was that a box on the ear I 'eard ? ' ses the 
 skipper. 
 
 " ' It was,' ses the mate, grinding his teeth. 
 
 " ' Your ear ? ' ses the skipper. 
 
 " ' Yes. She 's mad, I tell you,' ses the mate. ' I 
 was sitting here quite quiet and peaceable, when 
 she came alongside me and slapped my face.' 
 
 " ' Why did you box his ear ? ' ses the skipper 
 to the girl again. 
 
 " ' Because he deserved it,' ses Miss Mallow. 
 
 " The skipper shook his 'ead and looked at the 
 mate so sorrowful that he began to stamp up and 
 down the cabin and bang the table with his fist. 
 
 " ' If I hadn't heard it myself, I couldn't have 
 believed it,' ses the skipper ; ' and you the father 
 of a family, too. Nice example for the young 
 men, I must say.' 
 
 " ' Please don't say anything more about it,' ses 
 Miss Mallow ; ' I 'm sure he 's very sorry.' 
 
 " ' Very good,' ses the skipper ; ' but you under- 
 stand, Mr. Jackson, that if I overlook your 
 C 
 
34 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 conduct, you're not to speak to this young 
 lady agin. Also, you must consider yourself 
 as removed from the committee.' 
 
 "'Curse the committee,' screamed the mate. 
 ' Curse ' 
 
 "He looked all round, with his eyes starting 
 out of 'is 'ead, and then suddenly shut his mouth 
 with a snap and went up on deck. He never 
 allooded to the affair again, and in fact for the 
 rest of the voyage 'e hardly spoke to a soul. 
 The young people got their cards and draughts 
 agin, but he took no notice, and 'e never spoke 
 to the skipper unless he spoke to 'im fust. 
 
 "We got to Melbourne at last, and the fust 
 thing the skipper did was to give our young 
 lady some money to go ashore and buy clothes 
 with. He did it in a very delikit way by giving 
 her the pay as boy, and I don't think I ever see 
 anybody look so pleased and surprised as she 
 did. The skipper went ashore with her, as she 
 looked rather a odd figure to be going about alone, 
 and comes back about a hour later without 'er. 
 
 " ' I thought perhaps she 'd have come aboard, 1 
 he ses to Mr. Fisher. ' I managed to miss her 
 somehow while I was waiting outside a shop.' 
 
 "They fidgeted about a bit, and then went 
 ashore to look for 'er, turning up again at eight 
 o'clock quite worried. Nine o'clock came, and 
 
A QUESTION OF HABIT 35 
 
 there was no signs of 'er. Mr. Fisher and Mr. 
 Scott was in a dreadful state, and the skipper 
 sent almost every man aboard ashore to search 
 for 'er. They 'unted for 'er high and low, up 
 and down and round about, and turned up at 
 midnight so done up that they could 'ardly 
 stand without holding on to somethink, and so 
 upset that they couldn't speak. None of the 
 officers got any sleep that night except Mr. 
 Jackson, and the fust thing in the morning they 
 was ashore agin looking for her. 
 
 " She 'd disappeared as completely as if she 'd 
 gone overboard, and more than one of the chaps 
 looked over the side half expecting to see 'er 
 come floating by. By twelve o'clock most of us 
 was convinced that she 'd been made away with, 
 and Mr. Fisher made some remarks about the 
 police of Melbourne as would ha' done them 
 good to hear. 
 
 " I was just going to see about dinner when we 
 got the first news of her. Three of the most 
 miserable and solemn-looking captains I 've ever 
 seen came alongside and asked for a few words 
 with our skipper. They all stood in a row 
 looking as if they was going to cry. 
 
 " ' Good morning, Captain Hart,' ses one of 'em, 
 as our old man came up with the mate. 
 " ' Good morning,' ses he. 
 
36 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' Do you know this ? ' ses one of 'em, suddenly, 
 holding out Miss Mallow's dressing-gown on a 
 walking-stick. 
 
 " ' Good 'eavens,' ses the skipper, ' I hope 
 nothing 's happened to that pore gal.' 
 
 "The three captains shook their heads all 
 together. 
 
 " ' She is no more,' ses another of 'em. 
 
 '"How did it happen?' ses the skipper, in a 
 low voice. 
 
 '"She took this off,' ses the fust captain, 
 shaking his head and pointing to the dressing- 
 gown. 
 
 " ' And took a chill ? ' ses the skipper, staring 
 very 'ard. 
 
 "The three captains shook their 'eads agin, and 
 I noticed that they seemed to watch each other 
 and do it all together. 
 
 " ' I don't understand,' ses the skipper. 
 
 " ' I was afraid you wouldn't,' ses the first 
 captain ; ' she took this off.' 
 
 " ' So you said before,' ses the skipper, rather 
 short. 
 
 " And became a boy agin,' ses the other ; 
 the wickedest and most artful young rascal 
 that ever signed on with me.' 
 
 " He looked round at the others, and they all 
 broke out into a perfect roar of laughter, and 
 
A QUESTION OF HABIT 37 
 
 jumped up and down and slapped each other 
 on the back, as if they was all mad. Then they 
 asked which was the one wot had 'is ears boxed, 
 and which was Mr. Fisher and which was Mr. 
 Scott, and told our skipper what a nice fatherly 
 man he was. Quite a crowd got round, an' 
 wouldn't go away for all we could do to 'em in 
 the shape o' buckets o' water and lumps o' coal. 
 We was the laughing-stock o' the place, and the 
 way they carried on when the steamer passed us 
 two days later with the fust captain on the 
 bridge, pretending not to see that imp of a 
 boy standing in the bows blowing us kisses 
 and dropping curtsies, nearly put the skipper 
 out of 'is mind." 
 
HARD LABOUR 
 
 POLICE-CONSTABLE C 49 paced slowly 
 up Wapping High Street in the cool of the 
 evening. The warehouses were closed, and the 
 street almost denuded of traffic. He addressed 
 a short and stern warning to a couple of youths 
 struggling on the narrow pavement, and pointed 
 out — with the toe of his boot — the undesirability 
 of the curbstone as a seat to a small maiden of 
 five. With his white gloves in his hand he swung 
 slowly along, monarch of all he surveyed. 
 
 His complacency and the air with which he 
 stroked his red moustache and side-whiskers 
 were insufferable. Mr. Charles Pinner, ship's 
 fireman, whose bosom friend C 49 had pinched — 
 to use Mr. Pinner's own expressive phrase — a 
 week before for causing a crowd to collect, 
 eyed the exhibition with sneering wrath. The 
 injustice of locking up Mr. Johnson, because a 
 crowd of people whom he didn't know from 
 Adam persisted in obstructing the pathway, had 
 reduced Mr. Pinner to the verge of madness. 
 
HE KF.i'T BEHIND C 49, AND CONTENTED HIMSELF WITH INSULTING REMARKS 
 
HARD LABOUR 39 
 
 For a time he kept behind C 49, and contented 
 himself with insulting but inaudible remarks 
 bearing upon the colour of his whiskers. 
 
 The constable turned up a little alley-way 
 between two small pieces of waste ground, 
 concerning the desirability and value of which 
 as building sites a notice-board was lurid with 
 adjectives. Mr. Pinner was still behind ; he was 
 a man who believed in taking what life could 
 offer him at the moment, and something 
 whispered to him that if he lived a hundred 
 years he would never have such another chance 
 of bonneting that red-whiskered policeman. 
 There were two or three small houses at the end 
 of the alley, but the only other living person in 
 it was a boy of ten. He looked to be the sort 
 of boy who might be trusted to smile approval 
 on Mr. Pinner's contemplated performance. 
 
 C 49's first thought was that a chimney had 
 fallen, and his one idea was to catch it in the 
 act. He made a desperate grab even before 
 pushing his helmet up, and caught Mr. Pinner 
 by the arm. 
 
 " Leggo," said that gentleman, struggling. 
 
 " Ho," said C 49, crimson with wrath, as he 
 pushed his helmet up. "Now you come along 
 o' me, my lad." 
 
 Mr. Pinner, regretting the natural impulse 
 
40 . LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 which had led to his undoing, wrenched himself 
 free and staggered against the fence which 
 surrounded the waste ground. Then he ducked 
 sideways, and as C 49 renewed his invitation 
 coupled with a warning concerning the futility 
 of resistance, struck him full and square on the 
 temple. 
 
 The constable went down as though he had 
 been shot. His helmet rolled off as he fell, and 
 his head struck the pavement. Mr. Pinner, his 
 taste for bonneting policemen all gone, passed 
 the admiring small boy at the double, and then, 
 turning the corner rapidly, slackened his pace to 
 something less conspicuous. 
 
 He reached his home, a small house in a 
 narrow turning off Cable Street, safely, and, 
 throwing himself into a chair, breathed heavily, 
 while his wife, whose curiosity at seeing him 
 home at that early hour would not be denied, 
 plied him with questions. 
 
 " Spend a 'alf-hour with me ? " she repeated, in 
 a dazed voice. " Ain't you well, Charlie? " 
 
 " Well ? " said the fireman, frowning, " o' course 
 I 'm well. But it struck me you ought to see 
 a little of me sometimes when I 'm ashore." 
 
 "That's generally what I do see," said Mrs. 
 Pinner; "it's been a long time striking you, 
 Charlie." 
 
HARD LABOUR 41 
 
 " Better late than never," murmured her hus- 
 band, absently, as he listened in shuddering 
 suspense to every footfall outside. 
 
 " Well, I 'm glad you 've turned over a new leaf," 
 said Mrs. Pinner. " It ain't afore it was time, I 'm 
 sure. I '11 go up and fetch the baby down." 
 
 " What for ? " demanded her husband, shortly. 
 
 " So as it can see a little of you too," said his 
 wife. " Up to the present it calls every man it 
 sees ' farver.' It ain't its fault, pore little dear." 
 
 Mr. Pinner, still intent on footsteps, grumbled 
 something beneath his breath, and the baby 
 being awakened out of its first sleep and brought 
 downstairs, they contemplated each other for 
 some time with offensive curiosity. 
 
 Until next morning Mr. Pinner's odd reasons 
 for his presence sufficed, but when he sat still 
 after breakfast and showed clearly his intention 
 to remain, his wife insisted upon others less 
 insulting to her intelligence. Mr. Pinner, pre- 
 facing his remarks with an allusion to a life-long 
 abhorrence of red whiskers, made a clean breast 
 of it. 
 
 " It served him right," said his wife, judicially, 
 
 ' but it '11 be six months for you if they nab you, 
 
 Charlie. You '11 'ave to make up your mind to 
 
 a quiet spell indoors with me and baby till the 
 
 ship sails." 
 
42 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Mr. Pinner looked at his son and heir dis- 
 paragingly, and emitted a groan. 
 
 " He 'ad no witnesses," he remarked, " except 
 a boy, that is, and 'e didn't look the sort to be 
 fond o' policemen." 
 
 " You can't tell by looks," replied his wife, in 
 whose brain a little plan to turn this escapade 
 to good account was slowly maturing. "You 
 mustn't get nabbed for my sake." 
 
 " I won't get nabbed for my own sake," 
 rejoined Mr. Pinner, explicitly. " I wonder 
 whether it 's got into the papers ? " 
 
 " Sure to," said his wife, shaking her head. 
 
 " Go and buy one and see," said the fireman, 
 glancing at the baby. " I '11 look after it, but 
 don't be long." 
 
 His wife went out and got a paper, and Mr. 
 Pinner, who was unable to read, watched her 
 anxiously as she looked through it. It was 
 evident, at length, that his prowess of the 
 previous evening had escaped being immor- 
 talised in print, and his spirits rose. 
 
 " I don't s'pose he was much 'urt," he said. 
 " I dare say he wouldn't like to tell 'em at the 
 station he 'd been knocked down. Some of 'em 
 don't. I '11 just keep my eyes open when I 'm out." 
 
 " I don't think you ought to go out," said his 
 wife. 
 
HARD LABOUR 43 
 
 She picked up the paper again, and regarded 
 him furtively. Then she bent over it, and slowly 
 scanned the pages, until a sudden horrified gasp 
 drove the roses from Mr. Pinner's cheek and 
 prepared him for the worst. 
 
 " Wot is it ? " he stammered. 
 
 Mrs. Pinner folded the paper back and, motion- 
 ing him to silence, read as follows : — 
 
 "A violent assault was committed last night 
 on a policeman down at Wapping, who was 
 knocked down by a seafaring man until he got 
 concussion of the brain. The injured constable 
 states that he can identify the man what attacked 
 him, and has given a full description of him at 
 the police-station, where search is now being 
 made for 'im. The public-houses are being 
 watched." 
 
 " Ho, are they ? " commented Mr. Pinner, much 
 annoyed. " Ho, indeed." 
 
 " That 's all," said his wife, putting down the 
 paper. 
 
 " All ! " echoed the indignant fireman. " 'Ow 
 much more do you want ? I'm in a nice 'ole, 
 I don't think. Seems to me I might as well 
 be in quod as 'ere." 
 
 " You don't know when you 're well off," re- 
 torted his wife. 
 
 Mr. Pinner sighed, and moved aimlessly about 
 
44 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 the room ; then he resumed his chair, and, 
 shaking his head slowly, lit his pipe. 
 
 " You '11 be quite safe indoors," said his wife, 
 whose plan was now perfected. " The only thing 
 is, people '11 wonder what you 're staying indoors 
 all day for." 
 
 Mr. Pinner took his pipe out of his mouth 
 and stared at her blankly. 
 
 " Seems to me you want a reason for staying 
 indoors," she pursued. 
 
 "Well.I'vegot one.ain't I?" said the injured man. 
 
 " Yes, but you can't tell them that," said his 
 wife. " You want a reason everybody can under- 
 stand and keep 'em from talking." 
 
 " Yes, all very fine for you to talk," said Mr. 
 Pinner ; " if you could think of a reason it 'ud 
 be more sensible." 
 
 Mrs. Pinner, who had got several ready, 
 assumed an air of deep thoughtfulness, and 
 softly scratched her cheek with her needle. 
 
 "Whitewash the kitchen ceiling," she said, 
 suddenly. 
 
 " 'Ow long would that take ? '" demanded her 
 lord, who was not fond of whitewashing. 
 
 " Then you could put a bit of paper in this 
 room," continued Mrs. Pinner, "and put them 
 shelves in the corner what you said you 'd do. 
 That would take some time." 
 
HARD LABOUR 45 
 
 "It would," agreed Mr. Pinner, eyeing her 
 disagreeably. 
 
 " And I was thinking," said his wife, " if I got 
 a sugar-box from the grocer's and two pairs o' 
 wheels you could make the baby a nice little 
 perambulator." 
 
 " Seems to me " began the astonished Mr. 
 
 Pinner. 
 
 " While you 're doing those things I '11 try and 
 think of some more," interrupted his wife. 
 
 Mr. Pinner stared at her for some time in 
 silence ; finally he said " Thank'ee," in a voice 
 slightly tinged with emotion, and fell into a 
 sullen reverie. 
 
 " It's the safest plan," urged his wife, seriously ; 
 "there's so many things want doing that it's 
 the most natural thing in the world for you to 
 stay indoors doing them. Nobody '11 think it 
 strange." 
 
 She stitched on briskly and watched her hus- 
 band from the corner of her eye. He smoked 
 on for some time, and rising at last with a sigh, 
 sent her out for the materials, and spent the day 
 whitewashing. 
 
 He was so fatigued with the unwonted exer- 
 tion that he was almost content to stay in that 
 evening and smoke ; but the following morning 
 was so bright and inviting that his confine- 
 
4.6 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 merit appeared more galling than ever. Hoping 
 for some miracle that should rescue him from 
 these sordid tasks, he sent out for another 
 paper. 
 
 " It don't say much about it," said his wife. 
 
 The baby was crying, the breakfast things 
 were not washed, and there were several other 
 hindrances to journalistic work. 
 
 " Read it," said the fireman, sternly. 
 
 "The injured constable," read Mrs. Pinner, 
 glibly, "is still going on satisfactory, and the 
 public-houses are still being watched." 
 
 "They do seem fond o' them public-houses," 
 remarked Mr. Pinner, impatiently. " I 'm glad 
 the chap 's getting on all right, but I 'ope 'e 
 won't be about afore I get to sea again." 
 
 "I shouldn't think he would," said his wife. 
 " I 'd better go out and get the wall-paper, 'adn't 
 I ? What colour would you like ? " 
 
 Mr. Pinner said that all wall-papers were alike 
 to him, and indulged in dreary speculations as 
 to where the money was to come from. Mrs. 
 Pinner, who knew that they were saving fast 
 owing to his enforced seclusion, smiled at his 
 misgivings. 
 
 He papered the room that day, after a few 
 choice observations on the price of wall-paper, 
 and expressed his opinion that in a properly 
 
HARD LABOUR 47 
 
 governed country the birth of red-whiskered 
 policemen would be rendered an impossibility. 
 To the compliments on his workmanship be- 
 stowed by the gratified Mrs. Pinner he turned 
 a deaf ear. 
 
 There was nothing in the paper next morning, 
 Mrs. Pinner's invention being somewhat fatigued, 
 but she promptly quelled her husband's joy 
 by suggesting that the police authorities were 
 lying low in the hope of lulling him into a 
 sense of false security. She drew such an amus- 
 ing picture of the police searching streets and 
 public-houses, while Mr. Pinner was blithely 
 making a perambulator indoors, that she was 
 fain to wipe the tears of merriment from her 
 eyes, while Mr. Pinner sat regarding her in 
 indignant astonishment. 
 
 It was no source of gratification to Mr. Pinner 
 to find that the other ladies in the house were 
 holding him up as a pattern to their husbands, 
 and trying to incite those reluctant gentlemen 
 to follow in his footsteps. Mrs. Smith, of the 
 first floor, praised him in terms which made him 
 blush with shame, and Mrs. Hawk, of the second, 
 was so complimentary that Mr. Hawk, who had 
 not long been married, came downstairs and 
 gave him a pressing invitation to step out into 
 the back yard. 
 
48 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 By the time the perambulator was finished 
 his patience was at an end, and he determined 
 at all hazards to regain his liberty. Never had 
 the street as surveyed from the small window 
 appeared so inviting. He filled his pipe and 
 communicated to the affrighted Mrs. Pinner his 
 intention of going for a stroll. 
 
 " Wait till I 've seen the paper," she protested. 
 
 " Wot 's the good of seeing the paper ? " replied 
 Mr. Pinner. " We know as 'e 's in bed, and it 
 seems to me while 'e 's in bed is my time to be 
 out. I shall keep a look-out. Besides, I 've just 
 'ad an idea ; I 'm going to shave my moustache 
 off. I ought to ha' thought of it before." 
 
 He went upstairs, leaving his wife wringing 
 her hands below. So far from the red policeman 
 being in bed, she was only too well aware that 
 he was on duty in the district, with every faculty 
 strained to the utmost to avenge the outrage of 
 which he had been the victim. It became neces- 
 sary to save her husband at all costs, and while 
 he was busy upstairs with the razor she slipped 
 out and bought a paper. 
 
 He had just come down by the time she 
 returned, and turned to confront her with a con- 
 scious grin ; but at the sight of her face the 
 smile vanished from his own, and he stood 
 waiting nervously for ill news. 
 
HARD LABOUR 
 
 49 
 
 " Oh, dear," moaned his wife. 
 
 "What's the matter?" said Mr. Pinner, 
 anxiously. 
 
 Mrs. Pinner supported herself by the table 
 and shook her head despondently. 
 
 "'Ave they found me out?" demanded Mr. 
 Pinner. 
 
 " Worse than that," said his wife. 
 
 " Worse than that ! " said her husband, whose 
 imagination was not of a soaring description. 
 "How can it be?" 
 
 " He 's dead," said Mrs. Pinner, solemnly. 
 
 "Dead!" repeated her husband, starting 
 violently. 
 
 Mrs. Pinner, with a little sniff, took up the 
 paper and read slowly, interrupted only by the 
 broken ejaculations of her husband. 
 
 " The unfortunate policeman who was assaulted 
 the other day down at Wapping passed away 
 peacefully yesterday evening. Lady Verax is 
 prostrate with grief and refuses to leave the 
 death-chamber. Several members of the Royal 
 family have telegraphed their " 
 
 " Wot?" interrupted the astounded listener. 
 
 " I was reading the wrong bit," said Mrs. 
 Pinner, who was too engrossed in her reading 
 of the death of a well-known nobleman to re- 
 member to make all the corrections necessary 
 D 
 
SO LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 to render them suitable for a policeman. Here 
 it is : — 
 
 " The unfortunate policeman who was assaulted 
 the other day down at Wapping passed away 
 peacefully yesterday evening in the arms of his 
 wife and family. The ruffian is believed to be 
 at sea." 
 
 " I wish 'e was," said Mr. Pinner, mournfully. 
 " I wish 'e was anywhere but 'ere. The idea o' 
 making a delikit man like that a policeman. 
 Why, I 'ardly touched 'im." 
 
 " Promise me you won't go out," said his wife, 
 tearfully. 
 
 " Out?" said Mr. Pinner, energetically ; "out? 
 D' ye think I 'm mad, or wot ? I 'm going to 
 stay 'ere till the ship sails, then I 'm going down 
 in a cab. Wot d'ye think I want to go out 
 for?" 
 
 He sat in a frightened condition in the darkest 
 corner of the room, and spoke only to his wife 
 in terms of great bitterness concerning the 
 extraordinary brittleness of members of the 
 police force. " I '11 never touch one on 'em agin 
 as long as I live," he protested. " If you brought 
 one to me asleep on a chair I wouldn't touch 
 'im." 
 
 " It 's the drink as made you do it," said his 
 wife. 
 
HARD LABOUR 51 
 
 " I '11 never touch a drop agin," affirmed Mr. 
 Pinner, shivering. 
 
 His pipe had lost its flavour, and he sat pon- 
 dering in silence until the absolute necessity of 
 finding more reasons for his continued presence 
 in the house occurred to him. Mrs. Pinner agreed 
 with the idea, and together they drew up a list 
 of improvements which would occupy every 
 minute of his spare time. 
 
 He worked so feverishly that he became a 
 by-word in the mouths of the other lodgers, 
 and the only moments of security and happi- 
 ness he knew were when he was working in the 
 bedroom with the door locked. Mr. Smith attri- 
 buted it to disease, and for one panic-stricken 
 hour discussed with Mr. Hawk the possibility of 
 its being infectious. 
 
 Slowly the days passed until at length there 
 were only two left, and he was in such a nervous 
 and overwrought state that Mrs. Pinner was 
 almost as anxious as he was for the day of 
 departure. To comfort him she read a para- 
 graph from the paper to the effect that the 
 police had given up the search in despair. Mr. 
 Pinner shook his head at this, and said it was 
 a trap to get him out. He also, with a view of 
 defeating the ends of justice, set to work upon 
 a hood for the perambulator. 
 
52 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 He was employed on this when his wife went 
 out to do a little shopping. The house when 
 she returned was quiet, and there were no signs 
 of anything unusual having occurred ; but when 
 she entered the room she started back with 
 a cry at the sight which met her eyes. Mr. 
 Pinner was in a crouching attitude on the sofa, 
 his face buried in the cushion, while one leg 
 waved spasmodically in the air. 
 
 " Charlie," she cried ; " Charlie." 
 
 There was a hollow groan from the cushion in 
 reply. 
 
 "What's the matter?" she cried, in alarm. 
 " What 's the matter ? " 
 
 " I 've seen it," said Mr. Pinner, in trembling 
 tones. " I 've seen a ghost. I was just peeping 
 out of the winder behind the blind when it 
 went by." 
 
 "Nonsense," said his wife. 
 
 " His ghost," said Mr. Pinner, regaining a more 
 natural • attitude and shivering violently, " red 
 whiskers, white gloves and all. It's doing a 
 beat up and down this street. I shall go mad. 
 It 's been by twice." 
 
 '"Magination," said his wife, aghast at this 
 state of affairs. 
 
 " I 'm afraid of its coming for me," said Mr. 
 Pinner, staring wildly. " Every minnit I expect 
 
HARD LAB OUR 
 
 53 
 
 to see it come to the door and beckon me to 
 foller it to the station. Every minnit I expect 
 to see it with its white face stuck up agin the 
 winder-pane staring in at me." 
 
 "You mustn't 'ave such fancies," said his 
 wife. 
 
 " I see it as plain as I see you," persisted the 
 trembling fireman. " It was prancing up and 
 down in just the same stuck-up way as it did 
 when it was alive." 
 
 " I '11 draw the blind down," said his wife. 
 
 She crossed over to the window, and was 
 about to lower the blind when she suddenly 
 drew back with an involuntary exclamation. 
 
 " Can you see it ? " cried her husband. 
 
 "No," said Mrs. Pinner, recovering herself. 
 " Shut your eyes." 
 
 The fireman sprang to his feet. " Keep back,'' 
 said his wife, " don't look." 
 
 " I must," said her husband. 
 
 His wife threw herself upon him, but he pushed 
 her out of the way and rushed to the window. 
 Then his jaw dropped and he murmured inco- 
 herently, for the ghost of the red policeman was 
 plainly visible. Its lofty carriage of the head 
 and pendulum-like swing of the arms were gone, 
 and it was struggling in a most fleshly manner 
 to lead a recalcitrant costermonger to the station. 
 
54 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 In the intervals of the wrestling bout it blew 
 loudly upon a whistle. 
 
 "Wonderful," said Mrs. Pinner, nervously. 
 "Lifelike, I call it." 
 
 The fireman watched the crowd pass up the 
 road, and then he turned and regarded her. 
 
 " Would you like to hear what I call it ? " he 
 thundered. 
 
 " Not before the baby, Charlie," quavered Mrs. 
 Pinner, drawing back. 
 
 The fireman regarded her silently, and his 
 demeanour was so alarming that she grabbed 
 Charles Augustus Pinner suddenly from his 
 cradle and held him in front of her. 
 
 "You've kep' me here," said Mr. Pinner, in 
 a voice which trembled with self-pity, " for near 
 three weeks. For three weeks I 've wasted my 
 time, my little spare time, and my money in 
 making perambulators, and whitewashing and 
 papering, and all sorts of things. I 've been 
 the larfing-stock o' this house, and I've been 
 worked like a convict. Wot 'ave you got to 
 say for yourself?" 
 
 "Wot do you mean?" inquired Mrs. Pinner, 
 recovering herself. " I ain't to blame for what 's 
 in the paper, am I ? How was I to know that 
 the policeman as died wasn't your policeman ? " 
 
 Mr. Pinner eyed her closely, but she met his 
 
HARD LABOUR 55 
 
 gaze with eyes honest and clear as those of a 
 child. Then, realising that he was wasting 
 precious time, he picked up his cap, and as C 49 
 turned the corner with his prize, set off in the 
 opposite direction to spend in the usual manner 
 the brief remnant of the leave which remained 
 to him. 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 
 
 THE able-bodied men of the village were at 
 work, the children were at school singing 
 the multiplication-table lullaby, while the wives 
 and mothers at home nursed the baby with one 
 hand and did the housework with the other. At 
 the end of the village an old man past work sat 
 at a rough deal table under the creaking sign- 
 board of the " Cauliflower," gratefully drinking 
 from a mug of ale supplied by a chance traveller 
 who sat opposite him. 
 
 The shade of the elms was pleasant and the ale 
 good. The traveller filled his pipe and, glancing 
 at the dusty hedges and the white road baking 
 in the sun, called for the mugs to be refilled, and 
 pushed his pouch towards his companion. After 
 which he paid a compliment to the appearance 
 of the village. 
 
 "It ain't what it was when I was a boy," 
 quavered the old man, filling his pipe with trem- 
 bling fingers. " I mind when the grindstone 
 was stuck just outside the winder o' the forge 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 57 
 
 instead o' being one side as it now is ; and as for 
 the shop winder — it 's twice the size it was when 
 I was a young 'un." 
 
 He lit his pipe with the scientific accuracy of 
 a smoker of sixty years' standing, and shook his 
 head solemnly as he regarded his altered birth- 
 place. Then his colour heightened and his dim 
 eye flashed. 
 
 " It 's the people about 'ere 'as changed more 
 than the place 'as," he said, with sudden fierce- 
 ness ; " there 's a set o' men about here nowadays 
 as are no good to anybody ; reg'lar raskels. And 
 if you 've the mind to listen I can tell you of one 
 or two as couldn't be beat in London itself. 
 
 "There's Tom Adams for one. He went and 
 started wot 'e called a Benevolent Club. Three- 
 pence a week each we paid agin sickness or 
 accident, and Tom was secretary. Three weeks 
 arter the club was started he caught a chill and 
 was laid up for a month. He got back to work 
 a week, and then 'e sprained something in 'is leg ; 
 and arter that was well 'is inside went wrong. 
 We didn't think much of it at first, not under- 
 standing figures ; but at the end o' six months 
 the club hadn't got a farthing, and they was in 
 Tom's debt one pound seventeen-and-six. 
 
 " He isn't the only one o' that sort in the place, 
 either. There was Herbert Richardson. He 
 
58 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 went to town, and came back with the Idea of 
 a Goose Club for Christmas. We paid twopence 
 a week into that for pretty near ten months, and 
 then Herbert went back to town agin, and all we 
 'ear of 'im, through his sister, is that he's still 
 there and doing well, and don't know when he'll 
 be back. 
 
 " But the artfullest and worst man in this place 
 — and that's saying a good deal, mind you — is 
 Bob Pretty. Deep is no word for 'im. There 's 
 no way of being up to 'im. It 's through 'im 
 that we lost our Flower Show ; and, if you 'd like 
 to 'ear the rights o' that, I don't suppose there's 
 anybody in this place as knows as much about 
 it as I do — barring Bob hisself that is, but 'e 
 wouldn't tell it to you as plain as I can. 
 
 " We 'd only 'ad the Flower Show one year, 
 and little anybody thought that the next one 
 was to be the last. The first year you might 
 smell the place a mile off in the summer, and on 
 the day of the show people came from a long way 
 round, and brought money to spend at the 'Cauli- 
 flower' and other places. 
 
 " It was started just after we got our new 
 parson, and Mrs. Pawlett, the parson's wife, 'is 
 name being Pawlett, thought as she 'd encourage 
 men to love their 'omes and be better 'usbands 
 by giving a prize every year for the best cottage 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 59 
 
 garden. Three pounds was the prize, and a 
 metal teapot with writing on it. 
 
 "As I said, we only 'ad it two years. The fust 
 year the garden as got it was a picter, and Bill 
 Chambers, 'im as won the prize, used to say as 
 'e was out o' pocket by it, taking 'is time and the 
 money 'e spent on flowers. Not as we believed 
 that, you understand, 'specially as Bill did 'is very 
 best to get it the next year, too. 'E didn't get it, 
 and though p'r'aps most of us was glad 'e didn't, 
 we was all very surprised at the way it turned out 
 in the end. 
 
 " The Flower Show was to be 'eld on the 5th 
 o' July, just as a'most everything about here was 
 at its best. On the 15 th of June Bill Chambers's 
 garden seemed to be leading, but Peter Smith 
 and Joe Gubbins and Sam Jones and Henery 
 Walker was almost as good, and it was under- 
 stood that more than one of 'em had got a surprise 
 which they 'd produce at the last moment, too late 
 for the others to copy. We used to sit up here 
 of an evening at this ' Cauliflower ' public-house 
 and put money on it. I put mine on Henery 
 Walker, and the time I spent in 'is garden 'elping 
 'im is a sin and a shame to think of. 
 
 " Of course some of 'em used to make fun of it, 
 and Bob Pretty was the worst of 'em all. He 
 was always a lazy, good-for-nothing man, and 'is 
 
60 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 garden was a disgrace. He 'd chuck down any 
 rubbish in it : old bones, old tins, bits of an old 
 bucket, anything to make it untidy. He used to 
 larf at 'em awful about their gardens and about 
 being took up by the parson's wife. Nobody 
 ever see 'im do any work, real 'ard work, but the 
 smell from 'is place at dinner-time was always 
 nice, and I believe that he knew more about 
 game than the parson hisself did. 
 
 " It was the day arter this one I 'm speaking 
 about, the 16th o' June, that the trouble all began, 
 and it came about in a very eggstrordinary way. 
 George English, a quiet man getting into years, 
 who used when 'e was younger to foller the sea, 
 and whose only misfortin was that 'e was a 
 brother-in-law o' Bob Pretty's, his sister marrying 
 Bob while 'e was at sea and knowing nothing 
 about it, 'ad a letter come from a mate of his who 
 'ad gone, to Australia to live. He 'd 'ad letters 
 from Australia before, as we all knew from Miss 
 Wicks at the post-office, but this one upset him 
 altogether. He didn't seem like to know what 
 to do about it. 
 
 "While he was wondering Bill Chambers passed. 
 He always did pass George's 'ouse about that 
 time in the evening, it being on 'is way 'ome, and 
 he saw George standing at 'is gate with a letter 
 in 'is 'and looking very puzzled. 
 
NOT HAD NEWS, I Ol'E ! SKS BILL 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 61 
 
 " ' Evenin', George,' ses Bill. 
 
 " ' Evenin',' ses George. 
 
 "'Not bad news, I 'ope? 'ses Bill, noticing 'is 
 manner, and thinking it was strange. 
 
 " ' No,' ses George. ' I 've just 'ad a very eggs- 
 trordinary letter from Australia,' he ses, * that 's all.' 
 
 " Bill Chambers was always a very inquisitive 
 sort o' man, and he stayed and talked to George 
 until George, arter fust making him swear oaths 
 that 'e wouldn't tell a soul, took 'im inside and 
 showed 'im the letter. 
 
 " It was more like a story-book than a letter. 
 George's mate, John Biggs by name, wrote to say 
 that an uncle of his who had just died, on 'is 
 deathbed told him that thirty years ago he 'ad 
 been in this very village, staying at this 'ere very 
 ' Cauliflower,' whose beer we 're drinking now. In 
 the night, when everybody was asleep, he got up 
 and went quiet-like and buried a bag of five 
 hundred and seventeen sovereigns and one half- 
 sovereign in one of the cottage gardens till 'e 
 could come for it agin. He didn't say 'ow he 
 come by the money, and, when Bill spoke about 
 that, George English said that, knowing the man, 
 he was afraid 'e 'adn't come by it honest, but any- 
 way his friend John Biggs wanted it, and, wot 
 .was more, 'ad asked 'im in the letter to get it for 
 'im. 
 
62 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' And wot I 'm to do about it, Bill/ he ses, ' I 
 don't know. All the directions he gives is, that 
 'e thinks it was the tenth cottage on the right-'and 
 side of the road, coming down from the " Cauli- 
 flower." He thinks it's the tenth, but 'e's not 
 quite sure. Do you think I'd better make it 
 known and offer a reward of ten shillings, say, 
 to any one who finds it ? ' 
 
 " ' No,' ses Bill, shaking 'is 'ead. ' I should 
 hold on a bit if I was you, and think it over. 
 I shouldn't tell another single soul, if I was you.' 
 
 '"I b'lieve you're right,' ses George. 'John 
 Biggs would never forgive me if I lost that money 
 for 'im. You '11 remember about keeping it secret, 
 Bill?' 
 
 " Bill swore he wouldn't tell a soul, and 'e went 
 off 'ome and 'ad his supper, and then 'e walked up 
 the road to the ' Cauliflower ' and back, and then 
 up and back again, thinking over what George 
 'ad been telling 'im, and noticing, what 'e 'd never 
 taken the trouble to notice before, that 'is very 
 house was the tenth one from the ' Cauliflower.' 
 
 " Mrs. Chambers woke up at two o'clock next 
 morning and told Bill to get up further, and then 
 found 'e wasn't there. She was rather surprised 
 at first, but she didn't think much of it, and 
 thought, what happened to be true, that 'e was 
 busy in the garden, it being a light night. She 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 63 
 
 turned over and went to sleep again, and at five 
 when she woke up she could distinctly 'ear Bill 
 working 'is 'ardest. Then she went to the winder 
 and nearly dropped as she saw Bill in his shirt 
 and trousers digging away like mad. A quarter 
 of -the garden was all dug up, and she shoved 
 open the winder and screamed out to know what 
 'e was doing. 
 
 " Bill stood up straight and wiped 'is face with 
 his shirt-sleeve and started digging again, and 
 then his wife just put something on and rushed 
 downstairs as fast as she could go. 
 
 " ' What on earth are you a-doing of, Bill ? ' she 
 screams. 
 
 " ' Go indoors,' ses Bill, still digging. 
 
 " ' Have you gone mad ? ' she ses, half crying. 
 
 " Bill just stopped to throw a lump of mould at 
 her, and then went on digging till Henery Walker 
 who also thought 'e 'ad gone mad, and didn't 
 want to stop 'im too soon, put 'is 'ead over the 
 'edge and asked 'im the same thing. 
 
 " ' Ask no questions and you '11 'ear no lies, and 
 keep your ugly face your own side of the 'edge,' 
 ses Bill. ' Take it indoors and frighten the chil- 
 dren with,' he ses. ' I don't want it staring at me.' 
 
 " Henery walked off offended, and Bill went on 
 with his digging. He wouldn't go to work, and 
 'e 'ad his breakfast in the garden, and his wife 
 
64 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 spent all the morning in the front answering the 
 neighbours' questions and begging of 'em to go in 
 and say something to Bill. One of 'em did go, 
 and came back a'most directly and stood there 
 for hours telling diff rent people wot Bill 'ad said 
 to 'er, and asking whether 'e couldn't be locked 
 up for it. 
 
 " By tea-time Bill was dead-beat, and that stiff 
 he could 'ardly raise 'is bread and butter to his 
 mouth. Several o' the chaps looked in in the 
 evening, but all they could get out of 'im was, 
 that it was a new way o' cultivating 'is garden 'e 
 'ad just 'eard of, and that those who lived the 
 longest would see the most. By night-time 'e'd 
 nearly finished the job, and 'is garden was just 
 .ruined. 
 
 " Afore people 'ad done talking about Bill, I'm 
 blest if Peter Smith didn't go and cultivate 'is 
 garden in exactly the same way. The parson 
 and 'is wife was away on their 'oliday, and nobody 
 could say a word. The curate who 'ad come over 
 to take 'is place for a time, and who took the 
 names of people for the Flower Show, did point 
 out to 'im that he was spoiling 'is chances, but 
 Peter was so rude to 'im that he didn't stay long 
 enough to say much. 
 
 " When Joe Gubbins started digging up 'is 
 garden people began to think they were all 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 65 
 
 bewitched, and I went round to see Henery 
 Walker to tell 'im wot a fine chance 'e 'd got, and 
 to remind 'im that I 'd put another ninepence on 
 'im the night before. All 'e said was, ' More fool 
 you,' and went on digging a 'ole in his garden 
 big enough to put a 'ouse in. 
 
 "In a fortnight's time there wasn't a garden 
 worth looking at in the place, and it was quite 
 clear there 'd be no Flower Show that year, and 
 of all the silly, bad-tempered men in the place 
 them as 'ad dug up their pretty gardens was the 
 wust. 
 
 " It was just a few days before the day fixed 
 for the Flower Show, and I was walking up the 
 road when I see Joe and Henery Walker and one 
 or two more leaning over Bob Pretty's fence and 
 talking to 'im. I stopped, too, to see what they 
 were looking at, and found they was watching 
 Bob's two boys a-weeding of 'is garden. It was 
 a disgraceful, untidy sort of place, as I said 
 before, with a few marigolds and nasturtiums, 
 and sich-like put in anywhere, and Bob was 
 walking up and down smoking of 'is pipe and 
 watching 'is wife hoe atween the plants and cut 
 off dead marigold blooms. 
 
 "'That's a pretty garden you've got there, 
 Bob,' ses Joe, grinning. 
 
 " ' I 've seen wuss/ ses Bob. 
 E 
 
66 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 "'Going in for the Flower Show, Bob?' ses 
 Henery, with a wink at us. 
 
 " ' O' course I am,' ses Bob, 'olding 'is 'ead up ; 
 ' my marigolds ought to pull me through,' he ses. 
 
 " Henery wouldn't believe it at fust, but when 
 he saw Bob show 'is missus 'ow to pat the path 
 down with the back o' the spade and hold the 
 nails for 'er while she nailed a climbing nasturtium 
 to the fence, he went off and fetched Bill Cham- 
 bers and one or two others, and they all leaned 
 over the fence breathing their 'ardest and a- 
 saying of all the nasty things to Bob they could 
 think of. 
 
 " ' It 's the best-kep' garden in the place,' ses 
 Bob. ' I ain't afraid o' your new way o' cultivat- 
 ing flowers, Bill Chambers. Old-fashioned ways 
 suit me best ; I learnt 'ow to grow flowers from 
 my father.' 
 
 " ' You ain't 'ad the cheek to give your name 
 in, Bob ? ' ses Sam Jones, staring. 
 
 " Bob didn't answer 'im. ' Pick those bits o' 
 grass out o' the path, old gal,' he ses to 'is wife ; 
 ' they look untidy, and untidiness I can't abear.' 
 
 " He walked up and down smoking 'is pipe and 
 pretending not to notice Henery Walker, wot 'ad 
 moved farther along the fence, and was staring 
 at some drabble-tailed-looking geraniums as if 
 'e'd seen 'em afore but wasn't quite sure where. 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 67 
 
 " ' Admiring my geraniums, Henery ? ' ses Bob, 
 at last. 
 
 " ' Where 'd you get 'em ? ' ses Henery, 'ardly 
 able to speak. 
 
 " ' My florist's,' ses Bob, in a off-hand manner. 
 
 " ' Your wot ? ' asks Henery. 
 
 " ' My florist,' ses Bob. 
 
 " ' And who might 'e be when 'e 's at home ? ' 
 asked Henery. 
 
 " ' 'Tain't so likely I 'm going to tell you that,' 
 ses Bob. ' Be reasonable, Henery, and ask 
 yourself whether it's likely I should tell you 'is 
 name. Why, I 've never seen sich fine geraniums 
 afore. I 've been nursing 'em inside all the 
 summer, and just planted 'em out.' 
 
 " ' About two days arter I threw mine over my 
 back fence,' ses Henery Walker, speaking very 
 slowly. 
 
 " ' Ho,' ses Bob, surprised. ' I didn't know 
 you 'ad any geraniums, Henery. I thought you 
 was digging for gravel this year.' 
 
 " Henery didn't answer 'im. Not because 'e 
 didn't want to, mind you, but because he 
 couldn't. 
 
 " ' That one,' ses Bob, pointing at a broken 
 geranium with the stem of 'is pipe, 'is a " Dook 
 o' Wellington," and that white one there is wot 
 I'm going to call "Pretty's Pride." That fine 
 
68 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 marigold over there, wot looks like a sunflower, 
 is called " Golden Dreams." ' 
 
 " ' Come along, Henery,' ses Bill Chambers, 
 bursting, 'come and get something to take the 
 taste out of your mouth.' 
 
 " ' I 'm sorry I can't offer you a flower for your 
 button-'ole,' ses Bob, perlitely, 'but it's getting 
 so near the Flower Show now I can't afford it. 
 If you chaps only knew wot pleasure was to be 
 'ad sitting among your innercent flowers, you 
 wouldn't want to go to the public-house so often.' 
 
 " He shook 'is 'ead at 'em, and telling his wife 
 to give the 'Dook o' Wellington' a mug of 
 water, sat down in the chair agin and wiped 
 the sweat off 'is brow. 
 
 "Bill Chambers did a bit o' thinking as they 
 walked up the road, and by and by 'e turns to 
 Joe Gubbins and 'e ses — 
 
 " ' Seen anything o' George English lately, 
 Joe ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes,' ses Joe. 
 
 " ' Seems to me we all 'ave,' ses Sam Jones. 
 
 " None of 'em liked to say wot was in their 
 minds, 'aving all seen George English and swore 
 pretty strong not to tell his secret, and none of 
 'em liking to own up that they'd been digging 
 up their gardens to get money as 'e 'd told 'em 
 about. But presently Bill Chambers ses — 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 69 
 
 " ' Without telling no secrets or breaking no 
 promises, Joe, supposing a certain 'ouse was 
 mentioned in a certain letter from forrin parts, 
 wot 'ouse was it ? ' 
 
 " ' Supposing it was so,' ses Joe, careful too ; 
 ' the second 'ouse counting from the " Cauli- 
 flower." ' 
 
 " ' The ninth 'ouse, you mean,' ses Henery 
 Walker, sharply. 
 
 " ' Second 'ouse in Mill Lane, you mean,' ses 
 Sam Jones, wot lived there. 
 
 " Then they all see 'ow they 'd been done, and 
 that they wasn't, in a manner o' speaking, re- 
 ferring to the same letter. They came up and 
 sat 'ere where we're sitting now, all dazed-like. 
 It wasn't only the chance o' losing the prize that 
 upset 'em, but they'd wasted their time and 
 ruined their gardens and got called mad by the 
 other folks. Henery Walker's state o' mind was 
 dreadful for to see, and he kep' thinking of 
 'orrible things to say to George English, and 
 then being afraid they wasn't strong enough. 
 
 "While they was talking who should come 
 along but George English hisself! He came 
 right up to the table, and they all sat back on 
 the bench and stared at 'im fierce, and Henery 
 Walker crinkled 'is nose at him. 
 
 " ' Evening,' he ses, but none of 'em answered 
 
70 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 'im ; they all looked at Henery to see wot 'e was 
 going to say. 
 
 " ' Wot 's up ? ' ses George, in surprise. 
 
 " ' Gardens] ses Henery. 
 
 " ' So I 've 'eard,' ses George. 
 
 " He shook 'is 'ead and looked at them sorrow- 
 ful and severe at the same time. 
 
 " ' So I 'eard, and I couldn't believe my ears 
 till I went and looked for myself,' he ses, 'and 
 wot I want to say is this : you know wot I 'm 
 referring to. If any man 'as found wot don't 
 belong to him 'e knows who to give it to. It 
 ain't wot I should 'ave expected of men wot's 
 lived in the same place as me for years. Talk 
 about honesty,' 'e ses, shaking 'is 'ead agin, ' I 
 should like to see a little of it.' 
 
 " Peter Smith opened his mouth to speak, and 
 'ardly knowing wot 'e was doing took a pull at 'is 
 beer at the same time, and if Sam Jones 'adn't 
 been by to thump 'im on the back I b'lieve he'd 
 ha' died there and then. 
 
 " ' Mark my words,' ses George English, speak- 
 ing very slow and solemn, ' there '11 be no bless- 
 ing on it. Whoever 's made 'is fortune by getting 
 up and digging 'is garden over won't get no 
 real benefit from it. He may wear a black 
 coat and new trousers on Sunday, but 'e won't 
 be 'appy. I '11 go and get my little taste o' 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 71 
 
 beer somewhere else,' 'e ses. 'I can't breathe 
 here.' 
 
 " He walked off before any one could say 
 a word ; Bill Chambers dropped 'is pipe and 
 smashed it, Henery Walker sat staring after 'im 
 with 'is mouth wide open, and Sam Jones, who 
 was always one to take advantage, drank 'is own 
 beer under the firm belief that it was Joe's. 
 
 " ' I shall take care that Mrs. Pawlett 'ears o' 
 this,' ses Henery, at last. 
 
 " ' And be asked wot you dug your garden up 
 for,' ses Joe, ' and 'ave to explain that you broke 
 your promise to George. Why, she 'd talk at us 
 for years and years.' 
 
 " ' And parson 'ud preach a sermon about it,' 
 ses Sam ; ' where 's your sense, Henery ? ' 
 
 " ' We should be the larfing-stock for miles 
 round,' ses Bill Chambers. ' If anybody wants 
 to know, I dug my garden up to enrich the soil 
 for next year, and also to give some other chap a 
 chance of the prize.' 
 
 "Peter Smith 'as always been a unfortunit 
 man ; he 's got the name for it. He was just 
 'aving another drink as Bill said that, and this 
 time we all thought 'e 'd gorn. He did hisself. 
 
 " Mrs. Pawlett and the parson came 'ome next 
 day, an' 'er voice got that squeaky with surprise 
 it was painful to listen to her. All the chaps 
 
72 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 stuck to the tale that they 'd dug their garden up 
 to give the others a chance, and Henery Walker, 
 'e went further and said it was owing to a sermon 
 on unselfishness wot the curate 'ad preached 
 three weeks afore. He 'ad a nice little red- 
 covered 'ymn-book the next day with 'From a 
 friend ' wrote in it. 
 
 "All things considered, Mrs. Pawlett was for 
 doing away with the Flower Show that year and 
 giving two prizes next year instead, but one or 
 two other chaps, encouraged by Bob's example, 
 'ad given in their names too, and they said it 
 wouldn't be fair to their wives. All the gardens 
 but one was worse than Bob's, the men not having 
 started till later than wot 'e did, and not being 
 able to get their geraniums from 'is florist. The 
 • only better garden was Ralph Thomson's, who 
 lived next door to 'im, but two nights afore the 
 Flower Show 'is pig got walking in its sleep. 
 Ralph said it was a mystery to 'im 'ow the pig 
 could ha' got out ; it must ha' put its foot 
 through a hole too small for it, and turned the 
 button of its door, and then climbed over a four- 
 foot fence. He told Bob 'e wished the pig could 
 speak, but Bob said that that was sinful and 
 unchristian of 'im, and that most likely if it 
 could, it would only call 'im a lot o' bad names, 
 and ask 'im why he didn't feed it properly. 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 73 
 
 "There was quite a crowd on Flower Show 
 day following the judges. First of all, to Bill 
 Chambers's astonishment and surprise, they went 
 to 'is place and stood on the 'eaps in 'is garden 
 judging 'em, while Bill peeped at 'em through the 
 kitchen winder 'arf crazy. They went to every 
 garden in the place, until one of the young ladies 
 got tired of it, and asked Mrs. Pawlett whether 
 they was there to judge cottage-gardens or 
 earthquakes. 
 
 " Everybody 'eld their breaths that evening in 
 the schoolroom when Mrs. Pawlett got up on 
 the platform and took a slip of paper from one of 
 the judges. She stood a moment waiting for 
 silence, and then 'eld up her 'and to stop what 
 she thought was clapping at the back, but which 
 was two or three wimmen who 'ad 'ad to take 
 their crying babies, out trying to quiet 'em in the 
 porch. Then Mrs. Pawlett put 'er glasses on her 
 nose and just read out, short and sweet, that the 
 prize of three sovereigns and a metal teapot for 
 the best-kept cottage garden 'ad been won by 
 Mr. Robert Pretty. 
 
 " One or two people patted Bob on the back as 
 'e walked up the middle to take the prize ; then 
 one or two more did, and Bill Chambers's pat was 
 the 'eartiest of 'em all. Bob stopped and spoke 
 to 'im about it. 
 
74. LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 "You would 'ardly think that Bob 'ud have the 
 cheek to stand up there and make a speech, but 
 'e did. He said it gave 'im great pleasure to 
 take the teapot and the money, and the more 
 pleasure because 'e felt that 'e had earned 'em. 
 He said that if 'e told 'em all 'e 'd done to make 
 sure o' the prize they'd be surprised. He said 
 that 'e 'd been like Ralph Thomson's pig, up early 
 and late. 
 
 " He stood up there talking as though 'e was 
 never going to leave off, and said that 'e hoped 
 as 'is example would be of benefit to 'is neigh- 
 bours. Some of 'em seemed to think that 
 digging was everything, but 'e could say with 
 pride that 'e 'adn't put a spade to 'is garden for 
 three years until a week ago, and then not much. 
 
 " He finished 'is remarks by saying that 'e was 
 going to give a tea-party up at the 'Cauliflower' 
 to christen the teapot, where 'e 'd be pleased to 
 welcome all friends. Quite a crowd got up and 
 followed 'im out then, instead o' waiting for the 
 dissolving views, and came back 'arf an hour 
 arterwards, saying that until they 'd got as far as 
 the ' Cauliflower ' they 'd no idea as Bob was so 
 pertickler who 'e mixed with. 
 
 " That was the last Flower Show we ever 'ad in 
 Claybury, Mrs. Pawlett and the judges meeting 
 the tea-party coming 'ome, and 'aving to get over 
 
A GARDEN PLOT 75 
 
 a gate into a field to let it pass. What with that 
 and Mrs. Pawlett tumbling over something 
 further up the road, which turned out to be the 
 teapot, smelling strong of beer, the Flower Show 
 was given up, and the parson preached three 
 Sundays running on the sin of beer-drinking to 
 children who 'd never 'ad any and wimmen who 
 couldn't get it." 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 
 
 AT half-past nine the crew of the Merman 
 were buried in slumber, at nine thirty-two 
 three of the members were awake with heads 
 protruding out of their bunks, trying to peer 
 through the gloom, while the fourth dreamt that 
 a tea-tray was falling down a never-ending stair- 
 case. On the floor of the forecastle something 
 was cursing prettily and rubbing itself. 
 
 "Did you 'ear anything, Ted?" inquired a 
 voice in an interval of silence. 
 
 "Who is it?" demanded Ted, ignoring the 
 question. " Wot d' yer want ? " 
 
 " I '11 let you know who I am," said a thick 
 and angry voice. " I 've broke my blarsted back." 
 
 " Light the lamp, Bill," said Ted. 
 
 Bill struck a tandsticker match, and carefully 
 nursing the tiny sulphurous flame with his hand, 
 saw dimly some high-coloured object on the 
 floor. He got out of his bunk and lit the lamp, 
 and an angry and very drunken member of His 
 Majesty's foot forces became visible. 
 
 78 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 77 
 
 "Wot are you doin' 'ere?" inquired Ted, 
 sharply, " this ain't the guard-room." 
 
 " Who knocked me over ? " demanded the 
 soldier, sternly; "take your co — coat off lik' a 
 man." 
 
 He rose to his feet and swayed unsteadily to 
 and fro. 
 
 " If you keep your li'F 'eads, still," he said 
 gravely, to Bill, " I '11 punch 'em." 
 
 By a stroke of good fortune he selected the 
 real head, and gave it a blow which sent it 
 crashing against the woodwork. For a moment 
 the seaman stood gathering his scattered senses, 
 then with an oath he sprang forward, and in 
 the lightest of fighting trim waited until his 
 adversary, who was by this time on the floor 
 again, should have regained his feet. 
 
 "He's drunk, Bill," said another voice, "don't 
 'urt 'im. He's a chap wot said 'e was coming 
 aboard to see me — I met 'im in the ' Green Man ' 
 this evening. You was coming to see me, mate, 
 wasn't you ? " 
 
 The soldier looked up stupidly, and gripping 
 hold of the injured Bill by the shirt, staggered 
 to his feet again, and advancing towards the last 
 speaker let fly suddenly in his face. 
 
 " Sort man I am," he said, autobiographically 
 " Feel my arm." 
 
78 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 The indignant Bill took him by both, and 
 throwing himself upon him suddenly fell with 
 him to the floor. The intruder's head met the 
 boards with a loud crash, and then there was 
 silence. 
 
 "You ain't killed 'im, Bill?" said an old 
 seaman, stooping over him anxiously. 
 
 " Course not," was the reply ; " give us some 
 water." 
 
 He threw some in the soldier's face, and 
 then poured some down his neck, but with no 
 result. Then he stood upright, and exchanged 
 glances of consternation with his friends. 
 
 " I don't like the way he 's breathing," he said, 
 in a trembling voice. 
 
 " You always was pertickler, Bill," said the 
 cook, who had thankfully got to the bottom of 
 his staircase. " If I was you " 
 
 He was not allowed to proceed any further; 
 footsteps and a voice were heard above, and as 
 old Thomas hastily extinguished the lamp, the 
 mate's head was thrust down the scuttle, and the 
 mate's voice sounded a profane reveille. 
 
 "Wot are we goin' to do with it?" inquired 
 Ted, as the mate walked away. 
 
 " 'Im, Ted," said Bill, nervously. " He 's alive 
 all right." 
 
 "If we put 'im ashore an' 'e's dead," said old 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 79 
 
 Thomas, "there'll be trouble for somebody. 
 Better let 'im be, and if 'e 's dead, why we don't 
 none of us know nothing about it." 
 
 The men ran up on deck, and Bill, being the 
 last to leave, put a boot under the soldier's head 
 before he left. Ten minutes later they were 
 under way, and standing about the deck, dis- 
 cussed the situation in thrilling whispers as 
 opportunity offered. 
 
 At breakfast, by which time they were in a 
 dirty tumbling sea, with the Nore lightship, a 
 brown forlorn-looking object, on their beam, the 
 soldier, who had been breathing stertorously, 
 raised his heavy head from the boot, and with 
 glassy eyes and tightly compressed lips gazed 
 wonderingly about him. 
 
 "Wot cheer, mate?" said the delighted Bill. 
 "'Ow goes it?" 
 
 " Where am I ? " inquired Private Harry Bliss, 
 in a weak voice. 
 
 " Brig Merman" said Bill ; " bound for Byster- 
 mouth." 
 
 "Well, I'm damned," said Private Bliss; "it's 
 a blooming miracle. Open the winder, it 's a bit 
 stuffy down here. Who — who brought me here ? " 
 
 "You come to see me last night," said Bob, 
 " an' fell down, I s'pose ; then you punched Bill 
 'ere in the eye and me in the jor." 
 
80 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Mr. Bliss, still feeling very sick and faint, 
 turned to Bill, and after critically glancing at 
 the eye turned on him for inspection, transferred 
 his regards to the other man's jaw. 
 
 " I 'm a devil when I 'm boozed," he said, in a 
 satisfied voice. "Well, I must get ashore; I 
 shall get cells for this, I expect." 
 
 He staggered to the ladder, and with unsteady 
 haste gained the deck and made for the side. 
 The heaving waters made him giddy to look at, 
 and he gazed for preference at a thin line of 
 coast stretching away in the distance. 
 
 The startled mate, who was steering, gave him 
 a hail, but he made no reply. A little fishing- 
 boat was jumping about in a way to make a 
 sea-sick man crazy, and he closed his eyes with 
 a groan. Then the skipper, aroused by the 
 mate's hail, came up from below, and walking 
 up to him put a heavy hand on his shoulder. 
 
 "What are you doing aboard this ship?" he 
 demanded, austerely. 
 
 " Go away," said Private Bliss, faintly ; " take 
 your paw off my tunic ; you '11 spoil it." 
 
 He clung miserably to the side, leaving the 
 incensed skipper to demand explanations from 
 the crew. The crew knew nothing about him, 
 and said that he must have stowed himself away 
 in an empty bunk ; the skipper pointed out 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 81 
 
 coarsely that there were no empty bunks, where- 
 upon Bill said that he had not occupied his the 
 previous evening, but had fallen asleep sitting 
 on the locker, and had injured his eye against 
 the corner of a bunk in consequence. In proof 
 whereof he produced the eye. 
 
 "Look here, old man," said Private Bliss, who 
 suddenly felt better. He turned and patted the 
 skipper on the back. " You just turn to the left 
 a bit and put me ashore, will you ? " 
 
 " I '11 put you ashore at Bystermouth," said the 
 skipper, with a grin. " You 're a deserter, that 's 
 what you are, and I '11 take care you're took care of." 
 
 "You put me ashore now!" roared Private 
 Bliss, with a very fine imitation of the sergeant- 
 major's parade voice. 
 
 "Get out and walk," said the skipper con- 
 temptuously, over his shoulder, as he walked off. 
 
 "Here," said Mr. Bliss, unbuckling his belt, 
 "•hold my tunic one of you. I '11 learn 'im." 
 
 Before the paralysed crew could prevent him 
 he had flung his coat into Bill's arms and 
 followed the master of the Merman aft. As 
 a light-weight he was rather fancied at the 
 gymnasium, and in the all too brief exhibition 
 which followed he displayed fine form and a 
 knowledge of anatomy which even the skipper's 
 tailor was powerless to frustrate. 
 F 
 
82 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 The frenzy of the skipper as Ted assisted him 
 to his feet and he saw his antagonist struggling 
 in the arms of the crew was terrible to behold. 
 Strong men shivered at his words, but Mr. Bliss, 
 addressing him as " Whiskers," told him to call 
 his crew off and to come on, and shaping as well 
 as two pairs of brawny arms round his middle 
 would permit, endeavoured in vain to reach 
 him. 
 
 " This," said the skipper, bitterly, as he turned 
 to the mate, " is what you an' me have to pay to 
 keep up. I wouldn't let you go now, my lad, 
 not for a fi'pun' note. Deserter, that's what 
 you are ! " 
 
 He turned and went below, and Private Bliss, 
 after an insulting address to the mate, was hauled 
 forward, struggling fiercely, and seated on the 
 deck to recover. The excitement passed, he lost 
 his colour again, and struggling into his tunic, 
 went and brooded over the side. 
 
 By dinner-time his faintness had passed, and 
 he sniffed with relish at the smell from the 
 galley. The cook emerged bearing dinner to 
 the cabin, then he returned and took a fine 
 smoking piece of boiled beef flanked with carrots 
 down to the forecastle. Private Bliss eyed him 
 wistfully and his mouth watered. 
 
 For a time pride struggled with hunger, then 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 83 
 
 pride won a partial victory and he descended 
 carelessly to the forecastle. 
 
 " Can any o' you chaps lend me a pipe o' 
 baccy?" he asked, cheerfully. 
 
 Bill rummaged in his pocket and found a little 
 tobacco in a twist of paper. 
 
 "Bad thing to smoke on a empty stomach," 
 he said, with his mouth full. 
 
 '"Tain't my fault it's empty," said Private 
 Bliss, pathetically. 
 
 '"Tain't mine," said Bill. 
 
 " I 've 'eard," said the cook, who was a tender- 
 hearted man, " as 'ow it 's a good thing to go for 
 a day or so without food sometimes." 
 
 " Who said so ? " inquired Private Bliss, hotly. 
 
 " DifFrent people," replied the cook. 
 
 " You can tell 'em from me they 're blamed 
 fools," said Mr. Bliss. 
 
 There was an uncomfortable silence ; Mr. Bliss 
 lit his pipe, but it did not seem to draw well. 
 
 "Did you like that pot o' six-half I stood you 
 last night ? " he inquired somewhat pointedly of 
 Bob. 
 
 Bob hesitated, and looked at his plate. 
 
 " No, it was a bit flat," he said, at length. 
 
 "Well, I won't stop you chaps at your grub," 
 said Private Bliss, bitterly, as he turned to de- 
 part. 
 
84 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " You 're not stopping us," said Ted, cheerfully. 
 " I 'd offer you a bit, only " 
 
 " Only what ? " demanded the other. 
 
 " Skipper's orders," said Ted. " He ses we 're 
 not to. He ses if we do it 's helping a deserter, 
 and we '11 all get six months." 
 
 "But you're helping me by having me on 
 board," said Private Bliss ; " besides, I don't want 
 to desert." 
 
 "We couldn't 'elp you coming aboard," said 
 Bill, " that 's wot the old man said, but 'e ses we 
 can 'elp giving of him vittles, he ses." 
 
 " Well, have I got to starve ? " demanded the 
 horror-stricken Mr. Bliss. 
 
 " Look 'ere," said Bill, frankly, " go and speak 
 to the old man. It's no good talking to us. 
 Go and have it out with him." 
 
 Private Bliss thanked him and went on deck. 
 Old Thomas was at the wheel, and a pleasant 
 clatter of knives and forks came up through the 
 open skylight of the cabin. Ignoring the old 
 man, who waved him away, he raised the open 
 skylight still higher, and thrust his head in. 
 
 " Go away," bawled the skipper, pausing with 
 his knife in his fist, as he caught sight of him. 
 
 " I want to know where I 'm to have my 
 dinner," bawled back the thoroughly roused Mr. 
 Bliss. 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 85 
 
 " Your dinner ! " said the skipper, with an air 
 of surprise ; " why, I didn't know you 'ad any." 
 
 Private Bliss took his head away, and holding 
 it very erect, took in his belt a little and walked 
 slowly up and down the deck. Then he went to 
 the water-cask and took a long drink, and an 
 hour later a generous message was received from 
 the skipper that he might have as many biscuits 
 as he liked. 
 
 On this plain fare Private Bliss lived the 
 whole of that day and the next, snatching a few 
 hours' troubled sleep on the locker at nights. 
 His peace of mind was by no means increased 
 by the information of Ted that Bystermouth was 
 a garrison town, and feeling that in spite of any 
 explanation he would be treated as a deserter, 
 he resolved to desert in good earnest at the first 
 opportunity that offered. 
 
 By the third day nobody took any notice of 
 him, and his presence on board was almost for- 
 gotten, until Bob, going down to the forecastle, 
 created a stir by asking somewhat excitedly what 
 had become of him. 
 
 " He 's on deck, I s'pose," said the cook, who 
 was having a pipe. 
 
 " He 's not," said Bob, solemnly. 
 
 " He 's not gone overboard, I s'pose ? " said 
 Bill, starting up. 
 
86 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Touched by this morbid suggestion they went 
 up on deck and looked round ; Private Bliss was 
 nowhere to be seen, and Ted, who was steering, 
 had heard no splash. He seemed to have dis- 
 appeared by magic, and the cook, after a hurried 
 search, ventured aft, and, descending to the cabin, 
 mentioned his fears to the skipper. 
 
 " Nonsense ! " said that gentleman, sharply. 
 " I '11 lay I '11 find him." 
 
 He came on deck and looked round, followed at 
 a respectful distance by the crew, but there was 
 no sign of Mr. Bliss. Then an idea, a horrid 
 idea, occurred to the cook. The colour left his 
 cheeks and he gazed helplessly at the skipper. 
 
 " What is it ? " bawled the latter. 
 
 The cook, incapable of speech, raised a trem- 
 bling hand and pointed to the galley. The skipper 
 started, and, rushing to the door, drew it hastily 
 back. 
 
 Mr. Bliss had apparently finished, though he 
 still toyed languidly with his knife and fork as 
 though loth to put them down. A half-emptied 
 saucepan of potatoes stood on the floor by his 
 side, and a bone, with a small fragment of meat 
 adhering, was between his legs on a saucepan lid 
 which served as a dish. 
 
 " Rather underdone, cook," he said, severely, as 
 he met that worthy's horror-stricken gaze. 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 87 
 
 " Is that the cabin's or the men's he 's eaten ? " 
 vociferated the skipper. 
 
 "Cabin's," replied Mr. Bliss, before the cook 
 could speak ; " it looked the best. Now has 
 anybody got a nice see-gar ? " 
 
 He drew back the door the other side of the 
 galley as he spoke, and went out that way. A 
 move was made towards him, but he backed, and 
 picking up a handspike swung it round his 
 head. 
 
 " Let him be," said the skipper in a choking 
 voice, " let him be. He '11 have to answer for 
 stealing my dinner when "I get 'im ashore. Cook, 
 take the men's dinner down into the cabin. I '11 
 talk to you by and by." 
 
 He walked aft and disappeared below, while 
 Private Bliss, still fondling the handspike, 
 listened unmoved to a lengthy vituperation 
 which Bill called a plain and honest opinion of 
 his behaviour. 
 
 "It's the last dinner you'll 'ave for some 
 time," he concluded, spitefully; "it'll be skilly 
 for you when you get ashore." 
 
 Mr. Bliss smiled, and, fidgeting with his tongue, 
 asked him for the loan of his toothpick. 
 
 "You won't be using it yourself," he urged. 
 " Now you go below all of you and start on the 
 biscuits, there 's good men. It 's no use standing 
 
88 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 there saying a lot o' bad words what I left off 
 when I was four years old." 
 
 He rilled his pipe with some tobacco he had 
 thoughtfully borrowed from the cook before 
 dinner, and dropping into a negligent attitude 
 on the deck, smoked placidly with his eyes half 
 closed. The brig was fairly steady and the air 
 hot and slumberous, and with an easy assurance 
 that nobody would hit him while in that position, 
 he allowed his head to fall on his chest and 
 dropped off into a light sleep. 
 
 It became evident to him the following after- 
 noon that they were ne'aring Bystermouth. The 
 skipper contented himself with eyeing him with 
 an air of malicious satisfaction, but the crew 
 gratified themselves by painting the horrors of 
 his position in strong colours. Private Bliss 
 affected indifference, but listened eagerly to all 
 they had to say, with the air of a general con- 
 sidering his enemy's plans. 
 
 It was a source of disappointment to the crew 
 that they did not arrive until after nightfall, and 
 the tide was already too low for them to enter the 
 harbour. They anchored outside, and Private 
 Bliss, despite his position, felt glad as he smelt 
 the land again, and saw the twinkling lights and 
 houses ashore. He could even hear the clatter 
 of a belated vehicle driving along the seafront. 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 89 
 
 Lights on the summits of the heights in the 
 background indicated, so Bill said, the position 
 of the fort. 
 
 To the joy of the men he partly broke down 
 in the forecastle that night ; and, in tropical 
 language, severally blamed his parents, the 
 School Board, and the Army for not having 
 taught him to swim. The last thing that Bill 
 heard, ere sleep closed his lids, was a pious 
 resolution on the part of Mr. Bliss to the effect 
 that all his children should be taught the art of 
 natation as soon as they were born. 
 
 Bill woke up just before six ; and, hearing a 
 complaining voice, thought at first that his 
 military friend was still speaking. The voice 
 got more and more querulous with occasional 
 excursions into the profane, and the seaman, 
 rubbing his eyes, turned his head, and saw old 
 Thomas groping about the forecastle. 
 
 "Wot's the matter with you, old 'un?" he 
 demanded. 
 
 " I can't find my trousis," grumbled the old man. 
 
 " Did you 'ave 'em on larst night ? " inquired 
 Bill, who was still half asleep. 
 
 "Course I did, you fool," said the other, 
 snappishly. 
 
 "Be civil," said Bill, calmly, "be civil. Are 
 you sure you haven't got 'em on now ? " 
 
go LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 The old man greeted this helpful suggestion 
 with such a volley of abuse that Bill lost his 
 temper. 
 
 " P'r'aps somebody 's got 'em on their bed, think- 
 ing they was a patchwork quilt," he said, coldly ; 
 " it 's a mistake anybody might make. Have 
 you got the jacket ? ' 
 
 " I ain't got nothing," replied the bewildered 
 old man, " 'cept wot I stand up in." 
 
 " That ain't much," said Bill, frankly. "Where 's 
 that blooming sojer ? " he demanded, suddenly. 
 
 " I don't know where 'e is, and I don't care," 
 replied the old man. " On deck, I s'pose." 
 
 " P'r'aps 'e 's got 'em on," said the unforgiving 
 Bill ; " 'e didn't seem a very pertickler sort of 
 chap." 
 
 The old man started, and hurriedly ascended 
 to the deck. He was absent two or three minutes, 
 and, when he returned, consternation was writ 
 large upon his face. 
 
 "He's gone," he spluttered;, "there ain't a 
 sign of 'im about, and the life-belt wot hangs on 
 the galley 'as gone too. Wot am I to do ? " 
 
 " Well, they was very old does," said Bill, 
 soothingly, " an' you ain't a bad figger, not for 
 your time o' life, Thomas." 
 
 " There 's many a wooden-legged man 'ud be 
 glad to change with you," affirmed Ted, who had 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 91 
 
 been roused by the noise. " You '11 soon get over 
 the feeling o' shyness, Thomas." 
 
 The forecastle laughed encouragingly, until 
 Thomas, who had begun to realise the position, 
 joined in. He laughed till the tears ran down 
 his cheeks, and his excitement began to alarm 
 his friends. 
 
 " Don't be a fool, Thomas," said Bob, anxiously. 
 
 " I can't help it," said the old man, struggling 
 hysterically ; " it 's the best joke I 've heard." 
 
 " He 's gone dotty," said Ted, solemnly. " I 
 never 'eard of a man larfing like that a 'cos he 'd 
 lorst 'is does." 
 
 " I 'm not larfing at that," said Thomas, regain- 
 ing his composure by a great effort. " I 'm larfing 
 at a joke wot you don't know of yet." 
 
 A deadly chill struck at the hearts of the 
 listeners at these words, then Bill, after a glance 
 at the foot of his bunk, where he usually kept 
 his clothes, sprang out and began a hopeless 
 search. The other men followed suit, and the 
 air rang with lamentations and profanity. Even 
 the spare suits in the men's chests had gone; 
 and Bill, a prey to acute despair, sat down, and 
 in a striking passage consigned the entire British 
 Army to perdition. 
 
 " 'E 's taken one suit and chucked the rest over- 
 board, I expect, so as we shan't be able to go 
 
92 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 arter 'im," said Thomas. " I expect he could 
 swim arter all, Bill." 
 
 Bill, still busy with the British Army, paid no 
 heed. 
 
 " We must go an' tell the old man," said 
 Ted. 
 
 " Better be careful," cautioned the cook. '"Im 
 an' the mate 'ad a go at the whisky last night, 
 an' you know wot 'e is next morning." 
 
 The men went up slowly on deck. The morn- 
 ing was fine, but the air, chill with a breeze from 
 the land, had them at a disadvantage. Ashore, 
 a few people were early astir. 
 
 " You go down, Thomas, you 're the oldest," 
 said Bill. 
 
 " I was thinking o' Ted going," said Thomas, 
 " 'e 's the youngest." 
 
 Ted snorted derisively. " Oh, was you ? " he 
 remarked, helpfully. 
 
 "Or Bob," said the old man, "don't matter 
 which." 
 
 " Toss up for it," said the cook. 
 
 Bill, who was keeping his money in his hand 
 as the only safe place left to him, produced a 
 penny and spun it in the air. 
 
 " Wait a bit," said Ted, earnestly. " Wot time 
 was you to call the old man ? " he asked, turning 
 to the cook. 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 93 
 
 " Toss up for it," repeated that worthy, 
 hurriedly. 
 
 " Six o'clock," said Bob, speaking for him ; 
 " it 's that now, cookie. Better go an' call 'im 
 at once." 
 
 " I dassent go like this," said the trembling cook. 
 
 " Well, you'll 'ave to," said Bill. " If the old 
 man misses the tide, you know wot you 've got 
 to expect." 
 
 " Let 's follow 'im down," said Ted. " Come 
 along, cookie, we '11 see you righted." 
 
 The cook thanked him, and, followed by the 
 others, led the way down to interview the skipper. 
 The clock ticked on the mantelpiece, and heavy 
 snoring proceeded both from the mate's bunk 
 and the state-room. On the door of the latter 
 the cook knocked gently ; then he turned the 
 handle and peeped in. 
 
 The skipper, raising a heavy head, set in 
 matted hair and disordered whiskers, glared at 
 him fiercely. 
 
 " What d' ye want ? " he roared. 
 
 " If you please, sir " began the cook. 
 
 He opened the door as he spoke, and disclosed 
 the lightly-clad crowd behind. The skipper's 
 eyes grew large and his jaw dropped, while in- 
 articulate words came from his parched and 
 astonished throat; and the mate, who was by 
 
94 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 this time awake, sat up in his bunk and cursed 
 them roundly for their indelicacy. 
 
 " Get out," roared the skipper, recovering his 
 voice. 
 
 " We came to tell you," interposed Bill, " as 
 'ow " 
 
 " Get out," roared the skipper again. " How dare 
 you come to my state-room, and like this, too." 
 
 "All our clothes 'ave gone and so 'as the 
 sojer chap," said Bill. 
 
 " Serve you damned well right for letting him 
 go," cried the skipper, angrily. " Hurry up, 
 George, and get alongside," he called to the 
 mate, "we'll catch him yet. Clear out, you — 
 you — ballet girls." 
 
 The indignant seamen withdrew slowly, and, 
 reaching the foot of the companion, stood there 
 in mutinous indecision. Then, as the cook placed 
 his foot on the step, the skipper was heard calling 
 to the mate again. 
 
 " George ? " he said, in an odd voice. 
 
 " Well ? " was the reply. 
 
 " I hope you 're not forgetting yourself and 
 playing larks," said the skipper, with severity. 
 
 " Larks ? " repeated the mate, as the alarmed 
 crew fled silently on deck and stood listening 
 open-mouthed at the companion. " Of course I 
 ain't. You don't mean to tell me " 
 
PRIVATE CLOTHES 95 
 
 "All my clothes have gone, every stitch I've 
 got," replied the skipper, desperately, as the mate 
 sprang out. " I shall have to borrow some of 
 yours. If I catch that infernal " 
 
 " You 're quite welcome," said the mate, bitterly, 
 " only somebody has borrowed 'em already. 
 
 That 's what comes of sleeping too heavy." 
 
 ***** 
 
 The Merman sailed bashfully into harbour half 
 an hour later, the uniforms of its crew evoking 
 severe comment from the people on the quay. 
 At the same time, Mr. Harry Bliss, walking along 
 the road some ten miles distant, was trying to 
 decide upon his future career, his present calling 
 of " shipwrecked sailor " being somewhat too 
 hazardous even for his bold spirit. 
 
THE BULLY OF THE 
 "CAVENDISH" 
 
 "npALKING of prize-fighters, sir," said the 
 J- night-watchman, who had nearly danced 
 himself over the edge of the wharf in illustrating 
 one of Mr. Corbett's most trusted blows, and was 
 now sitting down taking in sufficient air for three, 
 "they ain't wot they used to be when I was a 
 boy. They advertise in the papers for months 
 and months about their fights, and when it does 
 come off, they do it with gloves, and they 're all 
 right agin a day or two arter. 
 
 " I saw a picter the other day o' one punching 
 a bag wot couldn't punch back, for practice. 
 Why, I remember as a young man Sinker Pitt, 
 as used to 'ave the ' King's Arms ' 'ere in 'is old 
 age ; when 'e wanted practice 'is plan was to dress 
 up in a soft 'at and black coat like a chapel 
 minister or something, and go in a pub and 
 contradict people ; sailor-men for choice. He 'd 
 ha' no more thought o' hitting a pore 'armless bag 
 than I should ha' thought of hitting 'im. 
 
 96 
 
THE BULLY OF THE "CAVENDISH" 97 
 
 " The strangest prize-fighter I ever come acrost 
 was one wot shipped with me on the Cavendish. 
 He was the most eggstrordinry fighter I 've ever 
 seen or 'eard of, and 'e got to be such a nuisance 
 afore 'e 'd done with us that we could 'ardly call 
 our souls our own. He shipped as an ordinary 
 seaman — a unfair thing to do, as 'e was anything 
 but ordinary, and 'ad no right to be there at all. 
 
 " We 'd got one terror on board afore he come, 
 and that was Bill Bone, one o' the biggest and 
 strongest men I 've ever seen down a ship's 
 fo'c's'le, and that's saying a good deal. Built 
 more like a bull than a man, 'e was, and when he 
 was in his tantrums the best thing to do was to 
 get out of 'is way or else get into your bunk and 
 keep quiet. Oppersition used to send 'im crazy 
 a'most, an' if 'e said a red shirt was a blue one, 
 you 'ad to keep quiet. It didn't do to agree with 
 'im and call it blue even, cos if you did he'd call 
 you a liar and punch you for telling lies. 
 
 " He was the only drawback to that ship. We 
 'ad a nice old man, good mates, and good grub. 
 You may know it was Ai when I tell you that 
 most of us 'ad been in 'er for several v'y'ges. 
 
 " But Bill was a drawback, and no mistake. 
 
 In the main he was a 'earty, good-tempered sort 
 
 o' shipmate as you'd wish to see, only, as I 
 
 said afore, oppersition was a thing he could not 
 
 G 
 
98 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 and would not stand. It used to fly to his 'ead 
 direckly. 
 
 " The v'y'ge I 'm speaking of — we used to 
 trade between Australia and London — Bill came 
 aboard about an hour afore the ship sailed. The 
 rest of us was already aboard and down below, 
 some of us stowing our things away and the rest 
 sitting down and telling each other lies about 
 wot we 'd been doing. Bill came lurching down 
 the ladder, and Tom Baker put 'is 'and to 'im to 
 steady 'im as he got to the bottom. 
 
 " ' Who are you putting your 'ands on ? ' ses 
 Bill, glaring at 'im. 
 
 " ' Only 'olding you up, Bill,' ses Tom, smiling. 
 
 " ' Oh,' ses Bill. 
 
 " He put 'is back up agin a bunk and pulled 
 hisself together. 
 
 ""Olding of me — up — was you?' he ses; 
 ' whaffor, if I might be so bold as to arsk ? ' 
 
 " ' I thought your foot 'ad slipped, Bill, old 
 man,' ses Tom ; ' but I 'm sorry if it 'adn't' 
 
 " Bill looks at 'im agin, 'ard. 
 
 " ' Sorry if my foot didn't slip ? ' he ses. 
 
 " ' You know wot I mean, Bill,' ses Tom, smiling 
 a uneasy smile. 
 
 " * Don't laugh at me,' roars Bill. 
 
 " ' I wasn't laughing, Bill, old pal,' ses Tom. 
 
 " ' 'E 's called me a liar,' ses Bill, looking round 
 
THE BULLY OF THE "CAVENDISH" 99 
 
 at us ; * called me a liar. 'Old my coat, Charlie, 
 and I '11 split 'im in halves.' 
 
 " Charlie took the coat like a lamb, though he 
 was Tom's pal, and Tom looked round to see 
 whether he couldn't nip up the ladder and get 
 away, but Bill was just in front of it. Then Tom 
 found out that one of 'is bootlaces was undone 
 and he knelt down to do it up, and this young 
 ordinary seaman, Joe Simms by name, put his 
 'ead out of his bunk and he ses, quiet-like — 
 
 " ' You ain't afraid of that thing, mate, are 
 you?' 
 
 "' Wot?' screams Bill, starting. 
 
 " ' Don't make such a noise when I 'm speak- 
 ing,' ses Joe ; ' where 's your manners, you great 
 'ulking rascal ? ' 
 
 " I thought Bill would ha' dropped with sur- 
 prise at being spoke to like that. His face was 
 purple all over and 'e stood staring at Joe as 
 though 'e didn't know wot to make of 'im. And 
 we stared too, Joe being a smallish sort o' chap 
 and not looking at all strong. 
 
 " ' Go easy, mate,' whispers Tom ; ' you don't 
 know who you 're talking to.' 
 
 " ' Bosh,' ses Joe, ' he 's no good. He 's too fat 
 and too silly to do any 'arm. He shan't 'urt you 
 while I 'm 'ere.' 
 
 " He just rolled out of 'is bunk and, standing 
 
ioo LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 in front of Bill, put 'is fists up at 'im and stared 
 'im straight in the eye. 
 
 " ' You touch that man,' he ses, quietly, point- 
 ing to Tom, ' and I '11 give you such a dressing- 
 down as you've never 'ad afore. Mark my 
 words, now.' 
 
 " ' I wasn't going to 'it him,' ses Bill, in a 
 strange, mild voice. 
 
 " ' You 'd better not,' ses the young 'un, shaking 
 his .fist at 'im ; ' you 'd better not, my lad. If 
 there's any fighting to be done in this fo'c's'le 
 I '11 do it. Mind that.' 
 
 " It 's no good me saying we was staggered ; 
 becos staggered ain't no word for it. To see Bill 
 put 'is hands in 'is pockets and try and whistle, 
 and then sit down on a locker and scratch 'is 
 'ead, was the most amazing thing I 've ever seen. 
 Presently 'e begins to sing under his breath. 
 
 " ' Stop that 'umming,' ses Joe ; ' when I want 
 you to 'urn I '11 tell you.' 
 
 " Bill left off 'umming, and then he gives a 
 little cough behind the back of 'is 'and, and, arter 
 fidgeting about a bit with 'is feet, went up on 
 deck again. 
 
 " ' 'Strewth,' ses Tom, looking round at us, 
 ' 'ave we shipped a bloomin' prize-fighter ? ' 
 
 " ' Wot did you call me ? ' ses Joe, looking at 'im. 
 
 " ' Nothing, mate,' ses Tom, drawing back. 
 
THE BULLY OF THE " CAVENDISH " 101 
 
 " ' You keep a quiet tongue in your 'ead,' ses 
 Joe, ' and speak when you 're spoken to, my lad.' 
 
 " He was a ordinary seaman, mind, talking to 
 A.B.'s like that. Men who 'd been up aloft and 
 doing their little bit when 'e was going about 
 catching cold in 'is little petticuts. Still, if Bill 
 could stand it, we supposed as we 'd better. 
 
 " Bill stayed up on deck till we was under 
 way, and 'is spirit seemed to be broke. He went 
 about 'is work like a man wot was walking in 'is 
 sleep, and when breakfast come 'e 'ardly tasted it. 
 
 "Joe made a splendid breakfast, and when 
 he 'd finished 'e went to Bill's bunk and chucked 
 the things out all over the place and said 'e 
 was going to 'ave it instead of his own. And 
 Bill sat there and took it all quiet, and by and 
 by he took 'is things up and put them in Joe's 
 bunk without a word. 
 
 " It was the most peaceful- fust day we 'ad ever 
 'ad down that fo'c's'le, Bill usually being in 'is 
 tantrums the fust day or two at sea, and wanting 
 to know why 'fe 'd been born. If you talked you 
 was noisy and worriting, and if you didn't talk 
 you was sulky; but this time 'e sat quite still 
 and didn't interfere a bit. It was such a pleasant 
 change that we all felt a bit grateful, and at tea- 
 time Tom Baker patted Joe on the back and said 
 he was one o' the right old sort. 
 
102 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' You 've been in a scrap or two in your time, 
 I know,' he ses, admiring like. ' I knew you was 
 a bit of a one with your fists direckly I see you.' 
 
 " ' Oh, Ws that ? ' asks Joe. 
 
 " ' I could see by your nose,' ses Tom. 
 
 " You never know how to take people like that. 
 The words 'ad 'ardly left Tom's lips afore the 
 other ups with a basin of 'ot tea and heaves it 
 all over 'im. 
 
 " ' Take that, you insulting rascal,' he ses, as 
 Tom jumped up spluttering and wiping 'is face 
 with his coat. ' How dare you insult me ? ' 
 
 " ' Get up,' ses Tom, dancing with rage. ' Get 
 up ; prize-fighter or no prize-fighter, I '11 mark 
 you.' 
 
 " ' Sit down,' ses Bill, turning round. 
 
 " ' I 'm going to 'ave a go at 'im, Bill,' ses Tom; 
 'if you're afraid of 'im, I ain't.' 
 
 " ' Sit down,' ses Bill, starting up. ' 'Ow dare 
 you insult me like that ? ' 
 
 " ' Like wot ? ' ses Tom, staring. 
 
 " * If I can't lick 'im you can't,' ses Bill ; ' that's 
 'ow it is, mate.' 
 
 " ' But I can try,' ses Tom. 
 
 " ' All right,' ses Bill. ' Me fust, then if you 
 lick me, you can 'ave a go at 'im. If you can't 
 lick me, 'ow can you lick 'im ? ' 
 
 " ' Sit down both of you,' ses young Joe, drink- 
 
THE BULLY OF THE " CAVENDISH " 103 
 
 ing Bill's tea to make up for 'is own. 'And mind 
 you, I'm cock o' this fo'c's'le, and don't you 
 forget it. Sit down, both of you, afore I start 
 on you.' 
 
 " They both sat down, but Tom wasn't quick 
 enough to please Bill, and he got a wipe o' the 
 side o' the 'ead that made it ring for an hour 
 afterwards. 
 
 " That was the beginning of it, and instead of 
 'aving one master we found we 'd got two, owing 
 to the eggstrordinry way Bill had o' looking at 
 things. He gave Joe best without even 'aving a try 
 at him, and if anybody else wanted to 'ave a try, 
 it was a insult to Bill. We couldn't make 'ead or 
 tail of it, and all we could get out of Bill was that 
 'e had one time 'ad a turn-up with Joe Simms 
 ashore, which he 'd remember all 'is life. It must 
 ha' been something of a turn, too, the way Bill 
 used to try and curry favour with 'im. 
 
 " In about three days our life wasn't worth 
 living, and the fo'c's'le was more like a Sunday- 
 school class than anything else. In the fust 
 place Joe put down swearing. He wouldn't 'ave 
 no bad langwidge, he said, and he didn't neither. 
 If a man used a bad word Joe would pull 'im up 
 the fust time, and the second he 'd order Bill to 
 'it 'im, being afraid of 'urting 'im too much 'imself. 
 'Arf the men 'ad to leave off talking altogether 
 
104 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 when Joe was by, but the way they used to swear 
 when he wasn't was something shocking. Harry 
 Moore got clergyman's sore throat one arternoon 
 through it. 
 
 "Then Joe objected to us playing cards for 
 money, and we 'ad to arrange on the quiet that 
 brace buttons was ha'-pennies and coat buttons 
 pennies, and that lasted until one evening Tom 
 Baker got up and danced and nearly went off 'is 
 'ead with joy through havin' won a few dozen. 
 That was enough for Joe, and Bill by his orders 
 took the cards and pitched 'em over the side. 
 
 " Sweet-'earting and that sort o' thing Joe 
 couldn't abear, and Ned Davis put his foot into 
 it finely one arternoon through not knowing. 
 He was lying in 'is bunk smoking and thinking, 
 and by and by he looked across at Bill, who was 
 'arf asleep, and 'e ses : — 
 
 " ' I wonder whether you '11 see that little gal 
 at Melbourne agin this trip, Bill.' 
 
 " Bill's eyes opened wide and he shook 'is fist 
 at Ned, as Ned thought, playful-like. 
 
 " * All right, I 'm a-looking at you, Bill,' 'e ses. 
 ' I can see you.' 
 
 " ' What gal is that, Ned ? ' ses Joe, who was in 
 the next bunk to him, and I saw Bill's eyes screw 
 up tight, and e' suddenly fell fast asleep. • 
 
 " ' I don't know 'er name,' ses Ned, ' but she 
 
THE BULLY OF THE " CAVENDISH " 105 
 
 was very much struck on Bill ; they used to go 
 to the theayter together.' 
 
 " ' Pretty gal ? ' ses Joe, leading 'im on. 
 
 "'Rather', ses Ned. 'Trust Bill for that, 'e 
 always gets the prettiest gal in the place — I've 
 known as many as six and seven to ' 
 
 ' WOT ! ' screams Bill, waking up out of 'is 
 sleep, and jumping out of 'is bunk. 
 
 " ' Keep still, Bill, and don't interfere when I 'm 
 talking,' ses Joe, very sharp. 
 
 " ' 'E 's insulted me,' ses Bill ; ' talking about gals 
 when everybody knows I 'ate 'em worse than pison.' 
 
 " ' Hold your tongue,' ses Joe. ' Now, Ned 
 what's this about this little gal? What's 'er 
 name?' 
 
 "'It was only a little joke o' mine,' ses Ned, 
 who saw 'e'd put 'is foot in it. 'Bill 'ates 'em 
 worse than — worse than — pison.' 
 
 " ' You 're telling me a lie,' ses Joe, sternly. 
 'Who wash?' 
 
 '" It was only my fun, Joe,' ses Ned. 
 
 " ' Oh, very well then, I 'm going to 'ave a bit 
 of fun now,' ses Joe. ' Bill ! ' 
 
 " ' Yes,' ses Bill. 
 
 " ' I won't 'it Ned myself for fear I shall do 'im 
 a lasting injury,' ses Joe, ' so you just start on 'im 
 and keep on till 'e tells all about your goings on 
 with that gal.' 
 
106 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' Hit 'im to make 'im tell about me ? ' ses Bill, 
 staring 'is 'ardest. 
 
 " ' You 'eard wot I said,' ses Joe ; ' don't repeat 
 my words. You a married man, too ; I 've got 
 sisters of my own, and I 'm going to put this sort 
 o' thing down. If you don't down 'im, I will.' 
 
 " Ned wasn't much of a fighter, and I 'alf 
 expected to see 'im do a bolt up on deck and 
 complain to the skipper. He did look like it for 
 a moment, then he stood up, looking a bit white 
 as Bill walked over to 'im, and the next moment 
 'is fist flew out, and afore we could turn round I 'm 
 blest if Bill wasn't on the floor. 'E got up as if 
 'e was dazed like, struck out wild at Ned and 
 missed 'im, and the next moment was knocked 
 down agin. We could 'ardly believe our eyes, 
 and as for Ned, 'e looked as though 'e'd been 
 doing miracles by mistake. 
 
 " When Bill got up the second time 'e was that 
 shaky 'e could 'ardly stand, and Ned 'ad it all 'is 
 own way, until at last 'e got Bill's 'ead under 'is 
 arm and punched at it till they was both tired. 
 
 " ' All right,' ses Bill ; ' I've 'ad enough. I 've 
 met my master.' 
 
 " ' Wot?' ses Joe, staring. 
 
 " ' I 've met my master,' ses Bill, going and sit- 
 ting down. ' Ned 'as knocked me about crool.' 
 
 "Joe looked at 'im, speechless, and then without 
 
THE BULLY OF THE " CAVENDISH " 107 
 
 saying another word, or 'aving a go at Ned him- 
 self, as we expected, 'ewent up on deck, and Ned 
 crossed over and sat down by Bill. 
 
 " ' I 'ope I didn't hurt you, mate,' he ses, kindly. 
 
 " ' Hurt me ? ' roars Bill. ' You ! You 'urt me ? 
 You, you little bag o' bones. Wait till I get you 
 ashore by yourself for five minits, Ned Davis, and 
 then you '11 know what 'urting means.' 
 
 "' I don't understand you, Bill,' ses Ned ; ' you 're 
 a mystery, that 's what you are ; but I tell you 
 plain when you go ashore you don't have me for 
 a companion.' 
 
 " It was a mystery to all of us, and it got worse 
 and worse as time went on. Bill didn't dare to 
 call 'is soul 'is own, although Joe only hit 'im 
 once the whole time, and then not very hard, and 
 he excused 'is cowardice by telling us of a man 
 Joe 'ad killed in a fight down in one o' them West- 
 end clubs. 
 
 " Wot with Joe's Sunday-school ways and Bill 
 backing 'em up, we was all pretty glad by the 
 time we got to Melbourne. It was like getting 
 out o' pris'n to get away from Joe for a little 
 while. All but Bill, that is, and Joe took 'im to 
 hear a dissolving views on John Bunyan. Bill said 
 'e 'd be delighted to go, but the language-he used 
 about 'im on the quiet when he came back showed 
 what 'e thought of it. I don't know who John 
 
io8 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Bunyan is, or wot he 's done, but the things Bill 
 said about 'im I wouldn't soil my tongue by 
 repeating. 
 
 " Arter we 'd been there two or three days we 
 began to feel a'most sorry for Bill. Night arter 
 night, when we was ashore, Joe would take 'im off 
 and look arter 'im, and at last, partly for 'is sake, 
 but more to see the fun, Tom Baker managed to 
 think o' something to put things straight. 
 
 " ' You stay aboard to-night, Bill,' he ses one 
 morning, ' and you '11 see something that '11 startle 
 you.' 
 
 " ' Worse than you ? ' ses Bill, whose temper was 
 getting worse and worse. 
 
 " ' There '11 be an end o' that bullying Joe,' ses 
 Tom, taking 'im by the arm. ' We 've arranged 
 to give 'im a lesson as '11 lay 'im up for a time.' 
 
 " ' Oh,' ses Bill, looking 'ard at a boat wot was 
 passing. 
 
 " ' We 've got Dodgy Pete coming to see us 
 to-night,' ses Tom, in a whisper ; ' there '11 only 
 be the second officer aboard, and he'll likely be 
 asleep. Dodgy 's one o' the best light-weights in 
 Australia, and if 'e don't fix up Mister Joe, it '11 be 
 a pity.' 
 
 '"You're a fair treat, Tom,' ses Bill, turning 
 round ; ' that 's what you are. A fair treat.' 
 
 " ' I thought you 'd be pleased, Bill,' ses Tom. 
 
THE BULLY OF THE "CAVENDISH" 109 
 
 " ' Pleased ain't no name for it, Tom,' answers 
 Bill. ' You 've took a load off my mind.' 
 
 "The fo'c's'le was pretty full that evening, 
 everybody giving each other a little grin on the 
 quiet, and looking over to where Joe was sitting 
 in 'is bunk putting a button or two on his coat. 
 At about ha'-past six Dodgy comes aboard, and 
 the fun begins to commence. 
 
 "He was a nasty, low-looking little chap, was 
 Dodgy, very fly-looking and very conceited. I 
 didn't like the look of 'im at all, and unbearable 
 as Joe was, it didn't seem to be quite the sort o' 
 thing to get a chap aboard to 'ammcr a shipmate 
 you couldn't 'ammer yourself. 
 
 " ' Nasty stuffy place you 've got down 'ere,' ses 
 Dodgy, who was smoking a big cigar ; ' I can't 
 think 'ow you can stick it.' 
 
 " ' It ain't bad for a fo'c's'le,' ses Charlie. 
 
 " ' An' what 's that in that bunk over there ? ' 
 ses Dodgy, pointing with 'is cigar at Joe. 
 
 " ' Hush, be careful,' ses Tom, with a wink ; 
 ' that 's a prize-fighter.' 
 
 " ' Oh,' ses Dodgy, grinning, ' I thought it was 
 a monkey.' 
 
 " You might 'ave heard a pin drop, and there 
 was a pleasant feeling went all over us at the 
 thought of the little fight we was going to see all 
 to ourselves, as Joe lays down the jacket he was 
 
no LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 stitching at and just puts 'is little 'ead over the 
 side o' the bunk. 
 
 " ' Bill,' he ses, yawning. 
 
 " ' Well,' ses Bill, all on the grin like the rest of us. 
 
 " ' Who is that 'andsome, gentlemanly-looking 
 young feller over there smoking a half-crown 
 cigar ? ' ses Joe. 
 
 " ' That 's a young gent wot 's come down to 
 'ave a look round,' ses Tom, as Dodgy takes 'is 
 cigar out of 'is mouth and looks round, puzzled. 
 
 '"Wot a terror 'e must be to the gals, with 
 them lovely little peepers of 'is,' ses Joe, shaking 
 'is 'ead. Bill I * 
 
 " ' Well,' ses Bill, agin, as Dodgy got up. 
 
 " ' Take that lovely little gentleman and kick 'im 
 up the fo'c's'le ladder,' ses Joe, taking up 'is jacket 
 agin ; ' and don't make too much noise over it, cos 
 I 've got a bit of a 'eadache, else I 'd do it myself.' 
 
 " There was a laugh went all round then, and 
 Tom Baker was near killing himself, and then 
 I 'm blessed if Bill didn't get up and begin taking 
 off 'is coat. 
 
 " ' Wot 's the game ? ' ses Dodgy, staring. 
 
 " ' I 'm obeying orders,' ses Bill. ' Last time I 
 was in London, Joe 'ere half killed me one time, 
 and 'e made me promise to do as 'e told me for 
 six months. I 'm very sorry, mate, but I 've got 
 to kick you up that ladder.' 
 
THE BULLY OF THE "CAVENDISH" in 
 
 u ' You kick me up ? ' ses Dodgy, with a nasty 
 little laugh. 
 
 " ' I can try, mate, can't I ? ' ses Bill, folding 'is 
 things up very neat and putting 'em on a locker. 
 
 ""Old my cigar,' ses Dodgy, taking it out of 'is 
 mouth and sticking it in Charlie's. ' I don't need 
 to take my coat off to 'im.' 
 
 " 'E altered 'is mind, though, when he saw Bill's 
 chest and arms, and not only took off his coat, 
 but his waistcoat too. Then, with a nasty look 
 at Bill, 'e put up 'is fists and just pranced up to 'im. 
 
 " The fust blow Bill missed, and the next 
 moment 'e got a tap on the jaw that nearly broke 
 it, and that was followed up by one in the eye that 
 sent 'im staggering up agin the side, and when 'e 
 was there Dodgy's fists were rattling all round 'im. 
 
 " I believe it was that that brought Bill round, 
 and the next moment Dodgy was on 'is back with 
 a blow that nearly knocked his 'ead off. Charlie 
 grabbed at Tom's watch and began to count, and 
 after a little bit called out 'Time.' It was a 
 silly thing to do, as it would 'ave stopped the 
 fight then and there if it 'adn't been for Tom's 
 presence of mind, saying it was two minutes slow. 
 That gave Dodgy a chance, and he got up again 
 and walked round Bill very careful, swearing 'ard 
 at the small size of the fo'c's'le. 
 
 " He got in three or four at Bill afore you could 
 
U2 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 wink a'most, and when Bill 'it back 'e wasn't 
 there. That seemed to annoy Bill more than 
 anything, and he suddenly flung out 'is arms, and 
 grabbing 'old of 'im flung 'im right across the 
 fo'c's'le to where, fortunately for 'im — Dodgy, I 
 mean — Tom Baker was sitting. 
 
 " Charlie called ' Time ' again, and we let 'em 
 'ave five minutes while we 'elped Tom to bed, 
 and then wot 'e called the ' disgusting exhibishun ' 
 was resoomed. Bill 'ad dipped 'is face in a bucket 
 and 'ad rubbed 'is great arms all over and was as 
 fresh as a daisy. Dodgy looked a bit tottery, 
 but 'e was game all through and very careful, 
 and, try as Bill might, he didn't seem to be able 
 to get 'old of 'im agin. 
 
 " In five minutes more, though, it was all over, 
 Dodgy not being able to see plain — except to get 
 out o' Bill's way — and hitting wild. He seemed 
 to think the whole fo'c's'le was full o' Bills sitting 
 on a locker and waiting to be punched, and the 
 end of it was a knock-out blow from the real Bill 
 which left 'im on the floor without a soul offering 
 to pick 'im up. 
 
 ' Bill 'elped 'im up at last and shook hands with 
 'im, and they rinsed their faces in the same bucket, 
 and began to praise each other up. They sat there 
 purring like a couple o' cats, until at last we 'eard a 
 smothered voice coming from Joe Simms's bunk. 
 
THE BULLY OF THE " CAVENDISH " i 1.3 
 
 " ' Is it all over ? ' he asks. 
 
 " ' Yes,' ses somebody. 
 
 " ' How is Bill ? ' ses Joe's voice again. 
 
 " ' Look for yourself,' ses Tom. 
 
 "Joe sat up in 'is bunk then and looked out,, 
 and he no sooner saw Bill's face than he gave a 
 loud cry and fell back agin, and, as true as I 'm 
 sitting here, fainted clean away. We was struck 
 all of a 'eap, and then Bill picked up the bucket 
 and threw some water over 'im, and by and by he 
 comes round agin and in a dazed sort o' way puts 
 his arm round Bill's neck and begins to cry. 
 
 " ' Mighty Moses ! ' ses Dodgy Pete, jumping up, 
 'it's a woman !' 
 " ' It 's my wife ! ' ses Bill. 
 
 "We understood it all then.leastways the married 
 ones among us did. She 'd shipped aboard partly 
 to be with Bill and partly to keep an eye on 'im, 
 and Tom Baker's mistake about a prize-fighter 
 had just suited 'er book better than anything. 
 How Bill was to get 'er home 'e couldn't think, 
 but it 'appened the second officer had been peep- 
 ing down the fo'c's'le, waiting for ever so long for 
 a suitable opportunity to stop the fight, and the 
 old man was so tickled about the way we 'd all 
 been done 'e gave 'er a passage back as stewardess 
 to look arter the ship's cat." 
 
 H 
 
THE RESURRECTION OF 
 MR. WIGGETT 
 
 MR. SOL KETCHMAID, landlord of the 
 " Ship," sat in his snug bar, rising occa- 
 sionally from his seat by the taps to minister 
 to the wants of the customers who shared this 
 pleasant retreat with him. 
 
 Forty years at sea before the mast had made 
 Mr. Ketchmaid an authority on affairs maritime ; 
 five years in command of the Ship Inn, with the 
 nearest other licensed house five miles off, had 
 made him an autocrat, 
 
 From his cushioned Windsor-chair he listened 
 pompously to the conversation. Sometimes he 
 joined in and took sides, and on these occasions 
 it was a foregone conclusion that the side he 
 espoused would win. No matter how reasonable 
 the opponent's argument or how gross his per- 
 sonalities, Mr. Ketchmaid, in his capacity of 
 host, had one unfailing rejoinder — the man was 
 drunk. When Mr. Ketchmaid had pronounced 
 that opinion the argument was at an end. 
 
 114 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 115 
 
 A nervousness about his licence — conspicuous 
 at other times by its absence — would suddenly 
 possess him, and, opening the little wicket which 
 gave admission to the bar, he would order the 
 offender in scathing terms to withdraw. 
 
 Twice recently had he found occasion to warn 
 Mr. Ned Clark, the village shoemaker, the 
 strength of whose head had been a boast in 
 the village for many years. On the third occa- 
 sion the indignant shoemaker was interrupted 
 in the middle of an impassioned harangue on 
 free speech and bundled into the road by the 
 ostler. After this nobody was safe. 
 
 To-night Mr. Ketchmaid, meeting his eye as 
 he entered the bar, nodded curtly. The shoe- 
 maker had stayed away three days as a protest, 
 and the landlord was naturally indignant at such 
 contumacy. 
 
 " Good evening, Mr. Ketchmaid," said the shoe- 
 maker, screwing up his little black eyes ; " just give 
 me a small bottle o' lemonade, if you please." 
 
 Mr. Clark's cronies laughed, and Mr. Ketch- 
 maid, after glancing at him to make sure that he 
 was in earnest, served him in silence. 
 
 " There 's one thing about lemonade," said the 
 shoemaker, as he sipped it gingerly; "nobody 
 could say you was drunk, not if you drank 
 bucketsful of it." 
 
n6 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 There was an awkward silence, broken at last 
 by Mr. Clark smacking his lips. 
 
 " Any news since I 've been away, chaps?" he 
 inquired; "or 'ave you just been sitting round 
 as usual listening to the extra-ordinary adven- 
 tures what happened to Mr. Ketchmaid whilst 
 a-follering of the sea ? " 
 
 "Truth is stranger than fiction, Ned," said 
 Mr. Peter Smith, the tailor, reprovingly. 
 
 The shoemaker assented. "But I never thought 
 so till I heard some o' the things Mr. Ketchmaid 
 'as been through," he remarked. 
 
 "Well, you know now," said the landlord, 
 shortly. 
 
 "And the truthfullest of your yarns are the 
 most wonderful of the lot, to my mind," said 
 Mr. Clark. 
 
 "What do you mean by the truthfullest?" 
 demanded the landlord, gripping the arms of his 
 chair. 
 
 " Why, the strangest," grinned the shoemaker. 
 
 " Ah, he 's been through a lot, Mr. Ketchmaid 
 has," said the tailor. 
 
 "The truthfullest one to my mind," said the 
 shoemaker, regarding the landlord with spiteful 
 interest, "is that one where Henry Wiggett, 
 the boatswain's mate, 'ad his leg bit off saving 
 Mr. Ketchmaid from the shark, and 'is shipmate 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 117 
 
 Sam Jones, the nigger cook, was wounded saving 
 'im from the South Sea Highlanders." 
 
 " I never get tired o' hearing that yarn," said 
 the affable Mr. Smith. 
 
 " I do," said Mr. Clark. 
 
 Mr. Ketchmaid looked up from his pipe and 
 eyed him darkly; the shoemaker smiled serenely. 
 
 " Another small bottle o' lemonade, landlord," 
 he said, slowly. 
 
 " Go and get your lemonade somewhere else," 
 said the bursting Mr. Ketchmaid. 
 
 " I prefer to 'ave it here," rejoined the shoe- 
 maker, " and you 've got to serve me, Ketchmaid. 
 A licensed publican is compelled to serve people 
 whether he likes to or not, else he loses of 'is 
 licence." 
 
 "Not when they're the worse for licker he 
 ain't," said the landlord. 
 
 " Certainly not," said the shoemaker ; " that 's 
 why I 'm sticking to lemonade, Ketchmaid." 
 
 The indignant Mr. Ketchmaid removing the 
 wire from the cork discharged the missile at the 
 ceiling. The shoemaker took the glass from him 
 and looked round with offensive slyness. 
 
 "Here's the 'ealth of Henry Wiggett what 
 lost 'is leg to save Mr. Ketchmaid's life," he said, 
 unctuously. " Also the 'ealth of Sam Jones, who 
 let hisself be speared through the chest for the 
 
n8 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 same noble purpose. Likewise the 'ealth of 
 Captain Peters, who nursed Mr. Ketchmaid like 
 'is own son when he got knocked up doing the 
 work of five men as was drownded ; likewise the 
 'ealth o' Dick Lee, who helped Mr. Ketchmaid 
 capture a Chinese junk full of pirates and killed 
 
 the whole seventeen of 'em by 'Ow did you 
 
 say you killed 'em, Ketchmaid ? " 
 
 The landlord, who was busy with the taps, 
 affected not to hear. 
 
 "Killed the whole seventeen of 'em by first 
 telling 'em yarns till they fell asleep and then 
 choking 'em with Henry Wiggett's wooden leg," 
 resumed the shoemaker. 
 
 "Kee — hee," said a hapless listerter, explosively. 
 " Kee— hee— kee— " 
 
 He checked himself suddenly, and assumed 
 an air of great solemnity as the landlord looked 
 his way. 
 
 "You'd better go 'ome, Jem Summers," said 
 the fuming Mr. Ketchmaid. " You 're the worse 
 for licker." 
 
 " I 'm not," said Mr. Summers, stoutly. 
 
 "Out you go," said Mr.Ketchmaid.briefly. "You 
 know my rules. I keep a respectable house, and 
 them as can't drink in moderation are best outside." 
 
 "You should stick to lemonade, Jem," said 
 Mr. Clark. " You can say what you like then." 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 119 
 
 Mr. Summers looked round for support, and 
 then, seeing no pity in the landlord's eye, 
 departed, wondering inwardly how he was to 
 spend the remainder of the evening. The com- 
 pany in the bar gazed at each other soberly 
 and exchanged whispers. 
 
 "Understand, Ned Clark," said the indignant 
 Mr. Ketchmaid, " I don't want your money in 
 this public-house. Take it somewhere else." 
 
 " Thank'ee, but I prefer to come here," said the 
 shoemaker, ostentatiously sipping his lemonade. 
 " I like to listen to your tales of the sea. In 
 a quiet way I get a lot of amusement out 
 of 'em." 
 
 " Do you disbelieve my word ? " demanded Mr. 
 Ketchmaid, hotly. 
 
 " Why o' course I do," replied the shoemaker ; 
 "we all do. You'd see how silly they are 
 yourself if you only stopped to think. You and 
 your sharks ! — no shark would want to eat you 
 unless it was blind." 
 
 Mr. Ketchmaid allowed this gross reflection 
 on his personal appearance to pass unnoticed, 
 and for the first time of many evenings sat 
 listening in torment as the shoemaker began 
 the narration of a series of events which he 
 claimed had happened to a seafaring nephew. 
 Many of these bore a striking resemblance to 
 
120 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Mr. Ketchmaid's own experiences, the only 
 difference being that the nephew had no eye at 
 all for the probabilities. 
 
 In this fell work Mr. Clark was ably assisted 
 by the offended Mr. Summers. Side by side 
 they sat and quaffed lemonade, and burlesqued 
 the landlord's autobiography, the only consola- 
 tion afforded to Mr. Ketchmaid consisting in the 
 reflection that they were losing a harmless 
 pleasure in good liquor. Once, and once only, 
 they succumbed to the superior attractions of 
 alcohol, and Mr. Ketchmaid, returning from a visit 
 to his brewer at the large seaport of Burnsea, 
 heard from the ostler the details of a carouse 
 with which he had been utterly unable to cope. 
 
 The couple returned to lemonade the following 
 night, and remained faithful to that beverage 
 until an event transpired which rendered further 
 self-denial a mere foolishness. 
 
 It was about a week later ; Mr. Ketchmaid had 
 just resumed his seat after serving a customer, 
 when the attention of all present was attracted 
 by an odd and regular tapping on the brick- 
 paved passage outside. It stopped at the tap- 
 room, and a murmur of voices escaped at the 
 open door. Then the door was closed, and a 
 loud penetrating voice called on the name of Sol 
 Ketchmaid. 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 121 
 
 " Good heavens ! " said the amazed landlord, 
 half rising from his seat and falling back again, 
 " I ought to know that voice." 
 
 "Sol Ketchmaid," bellowed the voice again; 
 " where are you, shipmate ? " 
 
 " Hennery Wig-gett!" gasped the landlord, as a 
 small man with ragged whiskers appeared at the 
 wicket, " it can't be ! " 
 
 The new-comer regarded him tenderly for a 
 moment without a word, and then, kicking open 
 the door with an unmistakable wooden leg, 
 stumped into the bar, and grasping his out- 
 stretched hand shook it fervently. 
 
 " I met Cap'n Peters in Melbourne," said the 
 stranger, as his friend pushed him into his own 
 chair, and questioned him breathlessly. " He 
 told me where you was." 
 
 " The sight o' you, Hennery Wiggett, is better 
 to me than diamonds," said Mr. Ketchmaid, 
 ecstatically. " How did you get here? " 
 
 " A friend of his, Cap'n Jones, of the barque 
 Venus, gave me a passage to London," said Mr. 
 Wiggett, " and I 've tramped down from there 
 without a penny in my pocket." 
 
 "And Sol Ketchmaid 's glad to see you, sir," 
 said Mr. Smith, who, with the rest of the com- 
 pany, had been looking on in a state of great 
 admiration. " He 's never tired of telling us 'ow 
 
122 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 you saved him from the shark and 'ad your leg 
 bit off in so doing." 
 
 " I 'd 'ave my other bit off for 'im, too," said 
 Mr. Wiggett, as the landlord patted him affec- 
 tionately on the shoulder and thrust a glass 
 of spirits into his hands. " Cheerful, I would. 
 The kindest-'earted and the bravest man that 
 ever breathed, is old Sol Ketchmaid." 
 
 He took the landlord's hand again, and, 
 squeezing it affectionately, looked round the 
 comfortable bar with much approval. They 
 began to converse in the low tones of con- 
 fidence, and names which had figured in many 
 of the landlord's stories fell continuously on the 
 listeners' ears. 
 
 " You never 'eard anything more o' pore Sam 
 Jones, I s'pose ? " said Mr. Ketchmaid. 
 
 Mr. Wiggett put down his glass. 
 
 "I ran up agin a man in Rio Janeiro two 
 years ago," he said, mournfully. " Pore old Sam 
 died in 'is arms with your name upon 'is honest 
 black lips." 
 
 " Enough to kill any man," muttered the dis- 
 comfited Mr. Clark, looking round defiantly upon 
 his murmuring friends. 
 
 "Who is this putty-faced swab, Sol?" demanded 
 Mr. Wiggett, turning a fierce glance in the shoe- 
 maker's direction. 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 123 
 
 " He 's our cobbler," said the landlord, " but 
 you don't want to take no notice of 'im. Nobody 
 else does. He 's a man who as good as told me 
 I 'm a liar." 
 
 " Wot ! " said Mr. Wiggett, rising and stumping 
 across the bar ; " take it back, mate. I 've only 
 got one leg, but nobody shall run down Sol while 
 I can draw breath. The finest sailor-man that 
 ever trod a deck is Sol, and the best-'earted." 
 
 " Hear, hear," said Mr. Smith ; " own up as 
 you 're in the wrong, Ned." 
 
 " When I was laying in my bunk in the fo'c's'le 
 being nursed back to life," continued Mr. Wiggett, 
 enthusiastically, " who was it that set by my side 
 'olding my 'and and telling me to live for his 
 sake? — why, Sol Ketchmaid. Who was it that 
 said that he'd stick to me for life? — why, Sol 
 Ketchmaid. Who was it said that so long as 'e 
 'ad a crust I should have first bite at it, and so 
 long as 'e 'ad a bed I should 'ave first half of it ? — 
 why, Sol Ketchmaid ! " 
 
 He paused to take breath, and a flattering 
 murmur arose from his listeners, while the subject 
 of his discourse looked at him as though his 
 eloquence was in something of the nature of a 
 surprise even to him. 
 
 " In my old age and on my beam-ends," con- 
 tinued Mr. Wiggett, " I remembered them words 
 
124 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 of old Sol, and I knew if I could only find 'im 
 my troubles were over. I knew that I could 
 creep into 'is little harbour and lay snug. I 
 knew that what Sol said he meant. I lost my 
 leg saving 'is life, and he is grateful." 
 
 " So he ought to be," said Mr. Clark, " and I 'm 
 proud to shake 'ands with a hero." 
 
 He gripped Mr, Wiggett's hand, and the others 
 followed suit. The wooden-legged man wound 
 up with Mr. Ketchmaid, and, disdaining to notice 
 that that veracious mariner's grasp was somewhat 
 limp, sank into his chair again, and asked for a 
 cigar. 
 
 " Lend me the box, Sol," he said, jovially, as 
 he took it from him, " I 'm going to 'and 'em 
 round. This is my treat, mates. Pore old Henry 
 Wiggett's treat." 
 
 He passed the box round, Mr. Ketchmaid 
 watching in helpless indignation as the customers, 
 discarding their pipes, thanked Mr. Wiggett 
 warmly, and helped themselves to a threepenny 
 cigar apiece. Mr. Clark was so particular that 
 he spoilt at least two by undue pinching before 
 he could find one to his satisfaction. 
 
 Closing time came all too soon, Mr. Wiggett, 
 whose popularity was never for a moment in 
 doubt, developing gifts to which his friend had 
 never even alluded. He sang comic songs in 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 125 
 
 a voice which made the glasses rattle on the 
 shelves, asked some really clever riddles, and 
 wound up with a conjuring trick which consisted 
 in borrowing half a crown from Mr. Ketchmaid 
 and making it pass into the pocket of Mr. Peter 
 Smith. This last was perhaps not quite so satis- 
 factory, as the utmost efforts of the tailor failed 
 to discover the coin, and he went home under a 
 cloud of suspicion which nearly drove him frantic. 
 
 " I 'ope you 're satisfied," said Mr. Wiggett, as 
 the landlord, having shot the bolts of the front 
 door, returned to the bar. 
 
 " You went a bit too far," said Mr. Ketchmaid, 
 shortly ; " you should ha' been content with doing 
 what I told you to do. And who asked you to 
 'and my cigars round ? " 
 
 " I got a bit excited," pleaded the other. 
 
 " And you forgot to tell 'em you 're going to 
 start to-morrow to live with that niece of yours 
 in New Zealand," added the landlord. 
 
 " So I did," said Mr. Wiggett, smiting his fore- 
 head ; " so I did. I 'm very sorry ; I '11 tell 'em 
 to-morrow night." 
 
 " Mention it casual like, to-morrow morning," 
 commanded Mr. Ketchmaid, " and get off in the 
 arternoon, then I '11 give you some dinner besides 
 the five shillings as arranged." 
 
 Mr. Wiggett thanked him warmly, and, taking 
 
126 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 a candle, withdrew to the unwonted luxury of 
 clean sheets and a soft bed. For some time he 
 lay awake in deep thought and then, smothering 
 a laugh with the bed-clothes, he gave a sigh of 
 content and fell asleep. 
 
 To the landlord's great annoyance his guest 
 went for a walk next morning and did not return 
 until the evening, when he explained that he 
 had walked too far for his crippled condition 
 and was unable to get back. Much sympathy 
 was manifested for him in the bar, but in all the 
 conversation that ensued Mr. Ketchmaid listened 
 in vain for any hint of his departure. Signals 
 were of no use, Mr. Wiggett merely nodding 
 amiably and raising his glass in response; and 
 when, by considerable strategy, he brought the 
 conversation from pig - killing to nieces, Mr. 
 Wiggett deftly transferred it to uncles and 
 discoursed on pawnbroking. 
 
 The helpless Mr. Ketchmaid suffered in silence, 
 with his eye on the clock, and almost danced 
 with impatience at the tardiness of his departing 
 guests. He accompanied the last man to the 
 door, and then, crimson with rage, returned to 
 the bar to talk to Mr. Wiggett. 
 
 " Wot d' y'r mean by it ? " he thundered. 
 
 "Mean by what, Sol?" inquired Mr. Wiggett, 
 looking up in surprise. 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 127 
 
 " Don't you call me Sol, 'cos I won't have it," 
 vociferated the landlord, standing over him 
 with his fist clenched. " First thing to-morrow 
 morning off you go." 
 
 " Off?" repeated the other in amazement. "Off? 
 Whereto?" 
 
 " Anywhere," said the overwrought landlord ; 
 "so long as you get out of here, I don't care 
 where you go." 
 
 Mr. Wiggett, who was smoking a cigar, the 
 third that evening, laid it carefully on the table 
 by his side, and regarded him with tender re- 
 proach. 
 
 "You ain't yourself, Sol," he said, with con- 
 viction ; " don't say another word else you might 
 say things you '11 be sorry for." 
 
 His forebodings were more than justified, Mr. 
 Ketchmaid indulging in a few remarks about 
 his birth, parentage, and character which would 
 have shocked an East-end policeman. 
 
 " First thing to-morrow morning you go," he 
 concluded, fiercely. " I 've a good mind to turn 
 you out now. You know the arrangement I 
 made with you." 
 
 " Arrangement ! " said the mystified Mr. Wig- 
 gett ; " what arrangement ? Why, I ain't seen 
 you for ten years and more. If it 'adn't been 
 for meeting Cap'n Peters " 
 
128 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 He was interrupted by frenzied and incoherent 
 exclamations from Mr. Ketchmaid. 
 
 "Sol Ketchmaid," he said, with dignity, "I 
 'ope you're drunk. I 'ope it's the drink and 
 not Sol Ketchmaid, wot I saved from the shark 
 by aving my leg bit off, talking. I saved your 
 life, Sol, an' I 'ave come into your little harbour 
 and let go my little anchor to stay there till I 
 go aloft to join poor Sam Jones wot died with 
 your name on 'is lips." 
 
 He sprang suddenly erect as Mr. Ketchmaid, 
 with a loud cry, snatched up a bottle and made 
 as though to brain him with it. 
 
 "You rascal," said the landlord, in a stifled 
 voice. "You infernal rascal. I never set eyes 
 on you till I saw you the other day on the quay 
 at Burnsea, and, just for an innercent little joke 
 like with Ned Clark, asked you to come in and 
 pretend." 
 
 " Pretend ! " repeated Mr. Wiggett, in a horror- 
 stricken voice. " Pretend ! Have you forgotten 
 me pushing you out of the way and saying, ' Save 
 yourself, Sol,' as the shark's jaw clashed together 
 over my leg ? Have you forgotten 'ow ? " 
 
 " Look 'ere," said Mr. Ketchmaid, thrusting an 
 infuriated face close to his, "there never was a 
 Henery Wiggett ; there never was a shark ; there 
 never was a Sam Jones ! " 
 
HE Wll'ED HIS EYES TO THE MEMOKY OF THE FAITHFUL BLACK 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 129 
 
 " Never — was — a — Sam Jones ! " said the dazed 
 Mr. Wiggett, sinking into his chair. " Ain't you 
 got a spark o' proper feeling left, Sol ? " 
 
 He fumbled in his pocket, and. producing the 
 remains of a dirty handkerchief wiped his eyes 
 to the memory of the faithful black. 
 
 "Look here,'' said Mr. Ketchmaid, putting 
 down the bottle and regarding him intently, 
 "you've got me fair. Now, will you go for a 
 pound ? " 
 
 " Got you ? " said Mr. Wiggett, severely ; " I 'm 
 ashamed of you, Sol. Go to bed and sleep off 
 the drink, and in the morning you can take 
 Henry Wiggett's 'and, but not before." 
 
 He took a box of matches from the bar and, 
 relighting the stump of his cigar, contemplated 
 Mr. Ketchmaid for some time in silence, and 
 then, with a serious shake of his head, stumped 
 off to bed. Mr. Ketchmaid remained below, and 
 for at least an hour sat thinking of ways and 
 means out of the dilemma into which his 
 ingenuity had led him. 
 
 He went to bed with the puzzle still unsolved, 
 and the morning yielded no solution. Mr. Wig- 
 gett appeared to have forgotten the previous 
 night's proceedings altogether, and steadfastly 
 declined to take umbrage at a manner which 
 would have chilled a rhinoceros. He told 
 I 
 
130 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 several fresh anecdotes of himself and Sam Jones 
 that evening ; anecdotes which, at the imminent 
 risk of choking, Mr. Ketchmaid was obliged to 
 indorse. 
 
 A week passed, and Mr. Wiggett still graced 
 with his presence the bar of the " Ship." The 
 landlord lost flesh, and began seriously to con- 
 sider the advisability of making a clean breast 
 of the whole affair. Mr. Wiggett watched him 
 anxiously, and with a skill born of a life-long 
 study of humanity, realised that his visit was 
 drawing to an end. At last, one day, Mr. Ketch- 
 maid put the matter bluntly. 
 
 " I shall tell the chaps to-night that it was a 
 little joke on my part," he announced, with grim 
 decision ; " then I shall take you by the collar 
 and kick you into the road." 
 
 Mr. Wiggett sighed and shook his head. 
 
 "It'll be a terrible show- up for you," he said, 
 softly. " You 'd better make it worth my while, 
 and I '11 tell 'em this evening that I 'm going to 
 New Zealand to live with a niece of mine there, 
 and that you've paid my passage for me. I 
 don't like telling any more lies, but, seeing it's 
 for you, I '11 do it for a couple of pounds." 
 
 " Five shillings," snarled Mr. Ketchmaid. 
 
 Mr. Wiggett smiled comfortably and shook 
 his head. Mr. Ketchmaid raised his offer to 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 131 
 
 ten shillings, to a pound, and finally, after a few 
 remarks which prompted Mr. Wiggett to state 
 that hard words broke no bones, flung into the 
 bar and fetched the money. 
 
 The news of Mr. Wiggett's departure went 
 round the village at once, the landlord himself 
 breaking the news to the next customer, and an 
 overflow meeting assembled that evening to bid 
 the emigrant farewell. 
 
 The landlord noted with pleasure that busi- 
 ness was brisk. Several gentlemen stood drink 
 to Mr. Wiggett, and in return he put his hand 
 in his own pocket and ordered glasses round. 
 Mr. Ketchmaid, in a state of some uneasiness, 
 took the order, and then Mr. Wiggett, with the 
 air of one conferring inestimable benefits, pro- 
 duced a lucky halfpenny, which had once be- 
 longed to Sam Jones, and insisted upon his 
 keeping it. 
 
 " This is my last night, mates," he said, mourn- 
 fully, as he acknowledged the drinking of his 
 health. " In many ports I 've been, and many 
 snug pubs I 'ave visited, but I never in all my 
 days come across a nicer, kinder-'earted lot o' 
 men than wot you are." 
 
 " Hear, hear," said Mr. Clark. 
 
 Mr. Wiggett paused, and, taking a sip from 
 his glass to hide his emotion, resumed. 
 
132 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 "In my lonely pilgrimage through life, crippled, 
 and 'aving to beg my bread," he said, tearfully, 
 " I shall think o' this 'appy bar and these friendly 
 faces. When I am wrestlin' with the pangs of 
 'unger and being moved on by the 'eartless 
 police, I shall think of you as I last saw you." 
 
 "But," said Mr. Smith, voicing the general 
 consternation, "you're going to your niece in 
 New Zealand ? " 
 
 Mr. Wiggett shook his head and smiled a sad, 
 sweet smile. 
 
 " I 'ave no niece," he said, simply ; " I 'm alone 
 in the world." 
 
 At these touching words his audience put 
 their glasses down and stared in amaze at Mr. 
 Ketchmaid, while that gentleman in his turn 
 gazed at Mr. Wiggett as though he had suddenly 
 developed horns and a tail. 
 
 " Ketchmaid told me hisself as he 'd paid your 
 passage to New Zealand," said the shoemaker ; 
 " he said as 'e 'd pressed you to stay, but that you 
 said as blood was thicker even than friendship." 
 
 " All lies," said Mr. Wiggett, sadly. " I '11 stay 
 with pleasure if he '11 give the word. I '11 stay 
 even now if 'e wishes it." 
 
 He paused a moment as though to give his 
 bewildered victim time to accept this offer, and 
 then addressed the scandalised Mr. Clark again. 
 
RESURRECTION OF MR. WIGGETT 133 
 
 " He don't like my being 'ere," he said, in a 
 low voice. " He grudges the little bit I eat, I 
 s'pose. He told me I 'd got to go, and that for 
 the look o' things 'e was going to pretend I was 
 going to New Zealand. I was too broken-'earted 
 at the time to care wot he said — I 'ave no wish 
 to sponge on no man — but, seeing your 'onest 
 faces round me, I couldn't go with a lie on my 
 lips — Sol Ketchmaid, old shipmate — good-bye." 
 
 He turned to the speechless landlord, made 
 as though to shake hands with him, thought 
 better of it, and then, with a wave of his hand 
 full of chastened dignity, withdrew. His stump 
 rang with pathetic insistence upon the brick- 
 paved passage, paused at the door, and then, 
 tapping on the hard road, died slowly away in 
 the distance. Inside the " Ship " the shoemaker 
 gave an ominous order for lemonade. 
 
A MARKED MAN 
 
 "^pATTOOING is a gift," said the night- 
 -*- watchman, firmly. " It 'as to be a gift, as 
 you can well see. A man 'as to know wot 'e is 
 going to tattoo an' 'ow to do it; there's no 
 rubbing out or altering. It 's a gift, an' it can't 
 be learnt. I knew a man once as used to tattoo 
 a cabin-boy all over every v'y'ge trying to learn. 
 'E was a slow, painstaking sort o' man, and the 
 langwidge those boys used to use while 'e was at 
 work would 'ardly be believed, but 'e 'ad to give 
 up trying arter about fifteen years and take to 
 crochet-work instead. 
 
 " Some men won't be tattooed at all, being 
 proud o' their skins or sich-like, and for a good 
 many years Ginger Dick, a man I've spoke to 
 you of before, was one o' that sort. Like many 
 red-'aired men 'e 'ad a very white skin, which 'e 
 was very proud of, but at last, owing to a 
 unfortnit idea o' making 'is fortin, 'e let hisself be 
 done. 
 
 " It come about in this way : Him and old Sam 
 
A MARKED MAN 135 
 
 Small and Peter Russet 'ad been paid off from 
 their ship and was 'aving a very 'appy, pleasant 
 time ashore. They was careful men in a way, 
 and they 'ad taken a room down East India 
 Road way, and paid up the rent for a month. It 
 came cheaper than a lodging-'ouse, besides being 
 a bit more private and respectable, a thing old 
 Sam was always very pertickler about. 
 
 " They 'ad been ashore about three weeks when 
 one day old Sam and Peter went off alone becos 
 Ginger said 'e wasn't going with 'em. He said a 
 lot more things, too : 'ow 'e was going to see wot 
 it felt like to be in bed without 'aving a fat old 
 man groaning 'is 'eart out, and another one 
 knocking on the mantelpiece all night with 
 twopence and wanting to know why he wasn't 
 being served. 
 
 "Ginger Dick fell into a quiet sleep arter 
 they 'd gone ; then 'e woke up and 'ad a sip from 
 the water-jug — he 'd 'a had more, only somebody 
 'ad dropped the soap in it — and then dozed off 
 agin. It was late in the afternoon when 'e woke, 
 and then 'e see Sam and Peter Russet standing 
 by the side o' the bed looking at 'im. 
 
 " ' Where 've you been ? ' ses Ginger, stretching 
 hisself and yawning. 
 
 " ' Bisness,' ses Sam, sitting down an' looking 
 very important. ' While you 've been laying on 
 
136 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 your back all day me an' Peter Russet 'as been 
 doing a little 'ead-work.' 
 
 " ' Oh ! ' ses Ginger. ' Wot with ? ' 
 
 Sam coughed and Peter began to whistle, an' 
 Ginger he laid still and smiled up at the ceiling, 
 and began to feel good-tempered agin. 
 
 " ' Well, wot 's the bisness ? ' he ses, at last. 
 
 Sam looked at Peter, but Peter shook 'is 'ead 
 at him. 
 
 " ' It's just a little bit o' bisness we 'appened to 
 drop on,' ses Sam, at last, ' me an' Peter, and I 
 think that, with luck and management, we 're in 
 a fair way to make our fortunes. Peter, 'ere, 
 ain't given to looking on the cheerful side o' 
 •things, but 'e thinks so, too.' 
 
 " ' I do,' ses Peter, ' but it won't be managed 
 right if you go blabbing it to everybody.' 
 
 " ' We must 'ave another man in it, Peter,' ses 
 Sam ; ' and, wot 's more, 'e must 'ave ginger- 
 coloured 'air. That being so, it 's only right and 
 proper that our dear old pal Ginger should 'ave 
 the fust offer.' 
 
 " It wasn't often that Sam was so affeckshunate, 
 and Ginger couldn't make it out at all. Ever 
 since 'e'd known 'im the old man 'ad been full 
 o' plans o' making money without earning it. 
 Stupid plans they was, too, but the stupider 
 they was the more old Sam liked 'em. 
 
AMARKEDMAN 137 
 
 " ' Well, wot is it ? ' asks Ginger, agin. 
 
 " Old Sam walked over to the door and shut 
 it ; then 'e sat down on the bed and spoke low so 
 that Ginger could hardly 'ear 'im. 
 
 " ' A little public-'ouse,' he ses, 'to say nothing 
 of'ouse property, and a red-'aired old landlady 
 wot 's a widder. As nice a old lady as any one 
 could wish for, for a mother.' 
 
 " ' For a mother ! ' ses Ginger, staring. 
 
 "'And a lovely barmaid with blue eyes and 
 yellow 'air, wot ud be the red-'edded man's 
 cousin,' ses Peter Russet. 
 
 " ' Look 'ere,' ses Ginger, ' are you going to tell 
 me in plain English wot it 's all about, or are you 
 not?' 
 
 " ' We 've been in a little pub down Bow way, 
 me an' Peter,' ses Sam, 'and we'll tell you more 
 about it if you promise to join us an' go shares. 
 It's kep' by a widder woman whose on'y son — 
 red-aired son — went to sea twenty-three years 
 ago, at the age o' fourteen, an' was never 'eard of 
 arterwards. Seeing we was sailor-men, she told 
 us all about it, an' 'ow she still 'opes for him to 
 walk into 'er arms afore she dies.' 
 
 " ' She dreamt a fortnit ago that 'e turned up 
 safe and sound, with red whiskers,' ses Peter. 
 
 " Ginger Dick sat up and looked at 'em 
 without a word ; then 'e got up out o' bed, an' 
 
13S. LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 pushing old Sam out of the way began to dress, 
 and at last 'e turned round and asked Sam 
 whether he was drunk or only mad. 
 
 " ' All right,' ses Sam ; ' if you won't take it on 
 we'll find somebody as will, that's all; there's 
 no call to get huffy about it. You ain't the on'y 
 red-'edded man in the world.' 
 
 " Ginger didn't answer 'im ; he went on dress- 
 ing, but every now and then 'e 'd look at Sam and 
 give a little larf wot made Sam's blood boil. 
 
 " ' You 've got nothin' to larf at, Ginger,' he ses, 
 at last ; ' the landlady's boy 'ud be about the 
 same age as wot you are now ; 'e 'ad a scar over 
 the left eyebrow same as wot you 've got, though 
 I don't suppose he got it by fighting a chap three 
 times 'is size. 'E 'ad bright blue eyes, a small, 
 well-shaped nose, and a nice mouth.' 
 
 " ' Same as you, Ginger,' ses Peter, looking out 
 of the winder. 
 
 " Ginger coughed and looked thoughtful. 
 
 " ' It sounds all right, mates,' 'e ses, at last, ' but 
 I don't see 'ow we're to go to work. I don't 
 want to get locked up for deceiving.' 
 
 " ' You can't get locked up,' ses Sam ; ' if you 
 let 'er discover you and claim you, 'ow can you 
 get locked up for it ? We shall go in an' see her 
 agin, and lam all there is to larn, especially 
 about the tattoo marks, and then ' 
 
' WOT?' SCKliA.Ms, ginger, 'tattoo me 
 
A MARKED MAN 139 
 
 " ' Tattoo marks ! ' ses Ginger. 
 
 "'That's the strong p'int,' ses Sam. "Er boy 
 'ad a sailor dancing a 'ornpipe on 'is left wrist, an' 
 a couple o' dolphins on his right. On 'is chest 'e 
 'ad a full-rigged ship, and on 'is back between 'is 
 shoulder-blades was the letters of 'is name — 
 C. R. S. : Charles Robert Smith.' 
 
 "'Well, you silly old fool,' ses Ginger, starting 
 up in a temper, ' that spiles it all. I ain't got a 
 mark on me.' 
 
 " Old Sam smiles at 'im and pats him on the 
 shoulder. ' That 's where you show your want of 
 intelleck, Ginger,' he ses, kindly. 'Why don't 
 you think afore you speak ? Wot 's easier than 
 to 'ave 'em put on ? ' 
 
 "'Wot?' screams Ginger. ' Tattoo me\ Spile 
 my skin with a lot o' beastly blue marks ! Not 
 me, not if I know it. I 'd like to see anybody 
 try it, that 's all.' 
 
 " He was that mad 'e wouldn't listen to reason, 
 and, as old Sam said, 'e couldn't have made more 
 fuss if they 'd offered to skin 'im alive, an' Peter 
 Russet tried to prove that a man's skin was made 
 to be tattooed on, or else there wouldn't be 
 tattooers ; same as a man 'ad been given two 
 legs so as 'e could wear trousers. But reason 
 was chucked away on Ginger, an' 'e wouldn't 
 listen to 'em. 
 
MO LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " They started on 'im agin next day, but all 
 Sam and Peter could say didn't move 'im, 
 although Sam spoke so feeling about the joy of 
 a pore widder woman getting 'er son back agin 
 arter all these years that 'e nearly cried. 
 
 "They went down agin to the pub that 
 evening, and Ginger, who said 'e was curious to 
 see, wanted to go too. Sam, who still 'ad 'opes 
 of 'im, wouldn't 'ear of it, but at last it was 
 arranged that 'e wasn't to go inside, but should 
 take a peep through the door. They got on a 
 tram at Aldgate, and Ginger didn't like it becos 
 Sam and Peter talked it over between theirselves 
 in whispers and pointed out likely red-'aired men 
 in the road. 
 
 " And 'e didn't like it when they got to the 
 ' Blue Lion,' and Sam and Peter went in and left 
 'im outside, peeping through the door. The 
 landlady shook 'ands with them quite friendly, 
 and the barmaid, a fine-looking girl, seemed to 
 take a lot o' notice of Peter. Ginger waited 
 about outside for nearly a couple of hours, and at 
 last they came out, talking and larfing, with 
 Peter wearing a white rose wot the barmaid 'ad 
 given 'im. 
 
 " Ginger Dick 'ad a good bit to say about 
 keeping 'im waiting all that time, but Sam said 
 that they'd been getting valuable information, 
 
A MARKED MAN 141 
 
 an' the more 'e could see of it the easier the job 
 appeared to be, an' then him an' Peter wished for 
 to bid Ginger good-bye, while they went and 
 'unted up a red-'aired friend o' Peter's named 
 Charlie Bates. 
 
 "They all went in somewhere and 'ad a few 
 drinks fust, though, and arter a time Ginger 
 began to see things in a different light to wot 'e 
 'ad before, an' to be arf ashamed of 'is selfishness, 
 and 'e called Sam's pot a loving-cup, an' kep' on 
 drinking out of it to show there was no ill- 
 feeling, although Sam kep' telling him there 
 wasn't. Then Sam spoke up about tattooing 
 agin, and Ginger said that every man in the 
 country ought to be tattooed to prevent the 
 smallpox. He got so excited about it that old 
 Sam 'ad to promise 'im that he should be tattooed 
 that very night, before he could pacify 'im. 
 
 " They all went off 'ome with their arms round 
 each other's necks, but arter a time Ginger found 
 that Sam's neck wasn't there, an' 'e stopped and 
 spoke serious to Peter about it. Peter said 'e 
 couldn't account for it, an' 'e had such a job to 
 get Ginger 'ome that 'e thought they would never 
 ha' got there. He got 'im to bed at last an' then 
 'e sat down and fell asleep waiting for Sam. 
 
 "Ginger was the last one to wake up in the 
 morning, an' before 'e woke he kept making a 
 
i 4 2 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 moaning noise. His 'ead felt as though it was 
 going to bust, 'is tongue felt like a brick, and 'is 
 chest was so sore 'e could 'ardly breathe. Then 
 at last 'e opened 'is eyes and looked up and saw 
 Sam an' Peter and a little man with a black 
 moustache. 
 
 " ' Cheer up, Ginger,' ses Sam, in a kind voice, 
 ' it 's going on beautiful' 
 
 " ' My 'ead 's splittin',' ses Ginger, with a groan, 
 ' an' I 've got pins an' needles all over my chest.' 
 
 " ' Needles,' ses the man with the black mous- 
 tache. ' I never use pins ; they 'd pison the flesh.' 
 
 " Ginger sat up in bed and stared at 'im ; then 
 'e bent 'is 'ead down and squinted at 'is chest, 
 and next moment 'e was out of bed and all three 
 of 'em was holding 'im down on the floor to 
 prevent 'im breaking the tattooer's neck which 
 'e'd set 'is 'eart upon doing, and explaining to'im 
 that the tattooer was at the top of 'is profession, 
 and that it was only by a stroke of luck 'e had 
 got 'im. And Sam reminded 'im of wot 'e 'ad 
 said the night before, and said he 'd live to thank 
 'im for it. 
 
 ""Ow much is there done?' ses Ginger, at 
 last, in a desprit voice. 
 
 " Sam told 'im, and Ginger lay still and called 
 the tattooer all the names he could think of; 
 which took 'im some time. 
 
A MARKED MAN 143 
 
 "' It's no good going on like that, Ginger,' ses 
 Sam. ' Your chest is quite spiled at present, but 
 if you on'y let 'im finish it'll be a perfect picter.' 
 
 " ' I take pride in it,' ses the tattooer ; ' working 
 on your skin, mate, is like painting on a bit o' 
 silk.' 
 
 " Ginger gave in at last, and told the man to 
 go on with the job and finish it, and 'e even went 
 so far as to do a little bit o' tattooing 'imself on 
 Sam when he wasn't looking. 'E only made one 
 mark, becos the needle broke off, and Sam made 
 such a fuss that Ginger said any one would ha' 
 thought 'e 'd hurt 'im. 
 
 " It took three days to do Ginger altogether, 
 and he was that sore 'e could 'ardly move or 
 breathe, and all the time 'e was laying on 'is bed 
 of pain Sam and Peter Russet was round at the 
 ' Blue Lion ' enjoying theirselves and pickin gup 
 information. The second day was the worst, 
 owing to the tattooer being the worse for licker. 
 Drink affects different people in different ways, 
 and Ginger said the way. it affected that chap 
 was to make 'im think 'e was sewing buttons on 
 instead o' tattooing. 
 
 " 'Owever 'e was done at last ; his chest and 'is 
 arms and 'is shoulders, and he nearly broke down 
 when Sam borrowed a bit o' looking-glass and 
 let 'im see hisself. Then the tattooer rubbed in 
 
144 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 some stuff to make 'is skin soft agin, and some 
 more stuff to make the marks look a bit old. 
 
 "Sam wanted to draw up an agreement, bul 
 Ginger Dick and Peter Russet wouldn't 'ear of it 
 They both said that that sort o' thing wouldn't 
 look well in writing, not if anybody else happened 
 to see it, that is ; besides which Ginger said il 
 was impossible for 'im to say 'ow much money he 
 would 'ave the handling of. Once the tattooing 
 was done 'e began to take a'most kindly to the 
 plan, an' being an orfin, so far as 'e knew, he 
 almost began to persuade hisself that the red- 
 'aired landlady was 'is mother. 
 
 " They 'ad a little call over in their room to see 
 'ow Ginger was to do it, and to discover the weali 
 p'ints. Sam worked up a squeaky voice, and 
 pretended to be the landlady, and Peter pretended 
 to be the good-looking barmaid. 
 
 " They went all through it over and over agin 
 the only unpleasantness being caused by Petei 
 Russet letting off a screech every time Gingei 
 alluded to 'is chest wot set 'is teeth on edge, and 
 old Sam as the landlady offering Ginger pots o 
 beer which made 'is mouth water. 
 
 « < We shall go round to-morrow for the lasl 
 time,' ses Sam, ' as we told 'er we 're sailing the 
 day arter. Of course me an' Peter, 'aving made 
 your fortin, drop out altogether, but I dessay we 
 
A MARKED MAN 145 
 
 shall look in agin in about six months' time, and 
 then perhaps the landlady will interduce us to you.' 
 
 " ' Meantime,' ses Peter Russet, ' you mustn't 
 forget that you've got to send us Post Office 
 money-orders every week.' 
 
 " Ginger said 'e wouldn't forget, and they shook 
 'ands all round and 'ad a drink together, and the 
 next arternoon Sam and Peter went to the ' Blue 
 Lion ' for a last visit. 
 
 "It was quite early when they came back. 
 Ginger was surprised to see 'em, and he said so, 
 but 'e was more surprised when 'e heard their 
 reasons. 
 
 "'It come over us all at once as we'd bin 
 doing wrong,' Sam ses, setting down with a sigh. 
 
 " ' Come over us like a chill, it did,' ses Peter. 
 
 "' Doing, wrong?' ses Ginger Dick, staring. 
 ' Wot are you talking about ? ' 
 
 " ' Something the landlady said showed us as 
 we was doin' wrong,' ses old Sam, very solemn ; 
 ' it come over us in a flash.' 
 
 " ' Like lightning,' ses Peter. 
 
 " ' All of a sudden we see wot a cruel, 'ard thing 
 it was to go and try and deceive a poor widder 
 woman,' ses Sam, in a 'usky. voice ; ' we both see 
 it at once.' 
 
 " Ginger Dick looks at 'em 'ard, 'e did, and then, 
 'e ses, jeering like : — 
 K 
 
146 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' I s'pose you don't want any Post Office 
 money-orders sent you, then ? ' he ses. 
 
 " ' No,' says Sam and Peter, both together. 
 
 " ' You may have 'em all,' ses Sam ; ' but if 
 you '11 be ruled by us, Ginger, you '11 give it up, 
 same as wot we 'ave — you'll sleep the sweeter 
 for it.' 
 
 " ' Give it up ! ' shouts Ginger, dancing up an' 
 down the room, ' arter being tattooed all over ? 
 Why, you must be crazy, Sam — wot 's the matter 
 with you ? ' 
 
 " ' It ain't fair play agin a woman,' says old 
 Sam, 'three strong men agin one poor old 
 woman ; that 's wot we feel, Ginger.' 
 
 " ' Well, / don't feel like it,' ses Ginger ; ' you 
 please yourself, and I '11 please myself.' 
 
 " 'E went off in a huff, an' next morning 'e was 
 so disagreeable that Sam an' Peter went and 
 signed on board a steamer called the Penguin, 
 which was to sail the day arter. They parted 
 bad friends all round, and Ginger Dick gave 
 Peter a nasty black eye, and Sam said that when 
 Ginger came to see things in a proper way agin 
 he'd be sorry for wot 'e'd said. And 'e said 
 that 'im and Peter never wanted to look on 'is 
 face agin. 
 
 " Ginger Dick was a bit lonesome arter they 'd 
 gone, but 'e thought it better to let a few days go 
 
A MARKED MAN 147 
 
 by afore 'e went and adopted the red-'aired land- 
 lady. He waited a week, and at last, unable to 
 wait any longer, 'e went out and 'ad a shave and 
 smartened hisself up, and went off to the ' Blue 
 Lion.' 
 
 " It was about three o'clock when J e got there, 
 and the little public-'ouse was empty except for 
 two old men in the jug-and-bottle entrance. 
 Ginger stopped outside a minute or two to try 
 and stop 'is trembling, and then 'e walks into the 
 private bar and raps on the counter. 
 
 " ' Glass o' bitter, ma'am, please,' he ses to the 
 old lady as she came out o' the little parlour at 
 the back o' the bar. 
 
 " The old lady drew the beer, and then stood 
 with one 'and holding the beer-pull and the other 
 on the counter, looking at Ginger Dick in 'is new 
 blue jersey and cloth cap. 
 
 " ' Lovely weather, ma'am,' ses Ginger, putting 
 his left arm on the counter and showing the 
 sailor-boy dancing the hornpipe. 
 
 " ' Very nice,' ses the landlady, catching sight 
 of 'is wrist an' staring at it. ' I suppose you 
 sailors like fine weather ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, ma'am,' ses Ginger, putting his elbows 
 on the counter so that the tattoo marks on both 
 wrists was showing. ' Fine weather 'an' a fair 
 wind suits us.' 
 
148 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' It 's a 'ard life, the sea,' ses the old lady. 
 
 " She kept wiping down the counter in front of 
 'im over an' over agin, an' 'e could see 'er staring 
 at 'is wrists as though she could 'ardly believe her 
 eyes. Then she went back into the parlour, and 
 Ginger 'eard her whispering, and by and by she 
 came out agin with the blue-eyed barmaid. 
 
 " ' Have you been at sea long ?' ses the old lady. 
 
 " ' Over twenty-three years, ma'am,' ses Ginger, 
 avoiding the barmaid's eye wot was fixed on 
 'is wrists, ' and I 've been shipwrecked four 
 times; the fust time when I was a little nipper 
 o' fourteen.' 
 
 " ' Pore thing,' ses the landlady, shaking 'er 
 'ead. ' I can feel for you ; my boy went to sea 
 at that age, and I 've never seen 'im since.' 
 
 " ' I 'm sorry to 'ear it, ma'am,' ses Ginger, very 
 respectful-like. • I suppose I 've lost my mother, 
 so I can feel for you.' 
 
 " ' Suppose you 've lost your mother ! ' ses the 
 barmaid ; ' don't you know whether you have ? ' 
 
 " ' No,' ses Ginger Dick, very sad. ' When I 
 was wrecked the fust time I was in a open boat 
 for three weeks, and, wot with the exposure and 
 'ardly any food, I got brain-fever and lost my 
 memory.' 
 
 " ' Pore thing,' ses the landlady agin. 
 
 " ' I might as well be a orfin,' ses Ginger, look- 
 
A MARKED MAN 149 
 
 ing down ; ' sometimes I seem to see a kind, 
 'andsome face bending over me, and fancy it's 
 my mother's, but I can't remember 'er name, or 
 my name, or anythink about 'er.' 
 
 " ' You remind me o' my boy very much,' ses 
 the landlady, shaking 'er 'ead ; ' you 've got the 
 same coloured 'air, and, wot's extraordinary, 
 you 've got the same tattoo marks on your wrists. 
 Sailor-boy dancing on one and a couple of dol- 
 phins on the other. And 'e 'ad a little scar on 
 'is eyebrow, much the same as yours.' 
 
 " ' Good 'evins,' ses Ginger Dick, starting back 
 and looking as though 'e was trying to remember 
 something. 
 
 " ' I s'pose they 're common among seafaring 
 men?' ses the landlady, going off to attend to 
 a customer. 
 
 " Ginger Dick would ha' liked to ha' seen 'er 
 a bit more excited, but 'e ordered another glass 
 o' bitter from the barmaid, and tried to think 'ow 
 he was to bring out about the ship on his chest 
 and the letters on 'is back. The landlady served 
 a couple o' men, and by and by she came back 
 and began talking agin. 
 
 " ' I like sailors,' she ses ; ' one thing is, my boy 
 was a sailor; and another thing is, they've got 
 such feelin' 'earts. There was two of 'em in 'ere 
 the other day, who 'd been in 'ere once or twice, 
 
ISO LIGHT FREIGHTS , 
 
 and one of 'em was that kind 'earted I thought 
 he would ha' 'ad a fit at something I told him.' 
 
 " ' Ho,' ses Ginger, pricking up his ears, ' wot 
 for?' 
 
 " ' I was just talking to 'im about my boy, 
 same as I might be to you,' ses the old lady, ' and 
 I was just telling 'im about the poor child losing 
 'is finger ' 
 
 "'Losing 'is wot?' ses Ginger, turning pale 
 and staggering back. 
 
 " ' Finger,' ses the landlady. ' 'E was only ten 
 
 years old at the time, and I 'd sent 'im out to 
 
 Wot 's the matter ? Ain't you well ? ' 
 
 " Ginger didn't answer 'er a word ; he couldn't. 
 'E went on going backwards until 'e got to the 
 door, and then 'e suddenly fell through it into the 
 street, and tried to think. 
 
 " Then 'e remembered Sam and Peter, and 
 when 'e thought of them safe and sound aboard 
 the Penguin he nearly broke down altogether, as 
 'e thought how lonesome he was. 
 
 " All 'e wanted was 'is arms round both their 
 necks same as they was the night afore they 'ad 
 'im tattooed." 
 
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 
 
 *" 1 A HE old man sat outside the Cauliflower Inn. 
 -1- looking crossly up the road. He was fond 
 of conversation, but the pedestrian who had 
 stopped to drink a mug of ale beneath the shade 
 of the doors was not happy in his choice of sub- 
 jects. He would only talk of the pernicious 
 effects of beer on the constitutions of the aged, 
 and he listened with ill-concealed impatience to 
 various points which the baffled ancient opposite 
 urged in its favour. 
 
 Conversation languished ; the traveller rapped 
 on the table and had his mug refilled. He nodded 
 courteously to his companion and drank. 
 
 " Seems to me," said the latter, sharply, " you 
 like it for all your talk." 
 
 The other shook his head gently, and, leaning 
 back, bestowed a covert wink upon the signboard. 
 He then explained that it was the dream of his 
 life to give up beer. 
 
 "You're another Job Brown," said the old 
 man, irritably, " that 's wot you are ; another Job 
 Brown. I 've seen your kind afore." 
 
 161 
 
152 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 He shifted farther along the seat, and, taking 
 up his long clay pipe from the table, struck a 
 match and smoked the few whiffs which remained. 
 Then he heard the traveller order a pint of ale 
 with gin in it and a paper of tobacco. His dull 
 eyes glistened, but he made a feeble attempt to 
 express surprise when these luxuries were placed 
 before him. 
 
 " Wot I. said just now about you being like Job 
 Brown was only in joke like," he said, anxiously, 
 as he tasted the brew. " If Job 'ad been like you 
 he 'd ha' been a better man." 
 
 The philanthropist bowed. He also manifested 
 a little curiosity concerning one to whom he had, 
 for however short a time, suggested a resemblance. 
 
 " He was one o' the 'ardest drinkers in these 
 parts," began the old man, slowly, filling his pipe. 
 
 The traveller thanked him. 
 
 " Wot I meant was " — said the old man, hastily 
 — " that all the time 'e was drinking 'e was talking 
 agin beer same as you was just now, and he used 
 to try all sorts o' ways and plans of becoming a 
 teetotaller. He used to sit up 'ere of a night 
 drinking 'is 'ardest and talking all the time of 
 ways and means by which 'e could give it up. 
 He used to talk about hisself as if 'e was some- 
 body else 'e was trying to do good to. 
 
 " The chaps about 'ere got sick of 'is talk. 
 
THERE WAS UNPLEASANTNESS ALL ROUND THEN 
 
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 153 
 
 They was poor men mostly, same as they are 
 now, and they could only drink a little ale now 
 and then ; an' while they was doing of it they 'ad 
 to sit and listen to Job Brown, who made lots o' 
 money dealing, drinking pint arter pint o' gin 
 and beer and calling it pison, an' saying they was 
 killing theirselves. 
 
 " Sometimes 'e used to get pitiful over it, and 
 sit shaking 'is 'ead at 'em for drowning theirselves 
 in beer, as he called it, when they ought to be 
 giving the money to their wives and families. 
 He sat down and cried one night over Bill 
 Chambers's wife's toes being out of 'er boots. 
 Bill sat struck all of a 'eap, and it might 'ave 
 passed off, only Henery Walker spoke up for 
 'im, and said that he scarcely ever 'ad a pint 
 but wot somebody else paid for it. There was 
 unpleasantness all round then, and in the row 
 somebody knocked one o' Henery's teeth out. 
 
 "And that wasn't the only unpleasantness, 
 and at last some of the chaps put their 'eads 
 together and agreed among theirselves to try 
 and help Job Brown to give up the drink. They 
 kep' it secret from Job, but the next time 'e 
 came in and ordered a pint, Joe Gubbins — 'aving 
 won the toss — drank it by mistake, and went 
 straight off 'ome as 'ard as 'e could, smacking 
 'is lips. 
 
154 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " He 'ad the best of it, the other chaps 'aving 
 to 'old Job down in 'is chair, and trying their 
 'ardest to explain that Joe Gubbins was only 
 doing him a kindness. He seemed to understand 
 at last, and arter a long time 'e said as 'e could 
 see Joe meant to do 'im a kindness, but 'e 'd better 
 not do any more. 
 
 " He kept a very tight 'old o' the next pint, 
 and as 'e set down at the table he looked round 
 nasty like and asked 'em whether there was any 
 more as would like to do 'im a kindness, and 
 Henery Walker said there was, and he went 
 straight off 'ome arter fust dropping a handful 
 o' sawdust into Job's mug. 
 
 " I 'm an old man, an' I 've seen a good many 
 rows in my time, but I 've never seen anything 
 like the one that 'appened then. It was no good 
 talking to Job, not a bit, he being that unreason- 
 able that even when 'is own words was repeated 
 to 'im he wouldn't listen. He behaved like a 
 madman, an' the langwidge 'e used was that fear- 
 ful and that wicked that Smith the landlord said 
 'e wouldn't 'ave it in 'is house. 
 
 " Arter that you 'd ha' thought that Job Brown 
 would 'ave left off 'is talk about being a teetotaller, 
 but he didn't. He said they was quite right in 
 trying to do 'im a kindness, but he didn't like the 
 way they did it He said there was a right way 
 
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 155 
 
 and a wrong way of doing everything, and they 'd 
 chose the wrong. 
 
 " It was all very well for 'im to talk, but the 
 chaps said 'e might drink hisself to death for all 
 they cared. And instead of seeing 'im safe 'ome 
 as they used to when 'e was worse than usual he 
 'ad to look arter hisself and get 'ome as best he 
 could. 
 
 " It was through that at last 'e came to offer 
 five pounds reward to anybody as could 'elp 'im to 
 become a teetotaller. He went off 'ome one night 
 as usual, and arter stopping a few seconds in the 
 parlour to pull hisself together, crept quietly 
 upstairs for fear of waking 'is wife. He saw by 
 the crack under the door that she 'd left a candle 
 burning, so he pulled hisself together agin and 
 then turned the 'andle and went in and began to 
 try an' take off 'is coat. 
 
 " He 'appened to give a 'alf-look towards the 
 bed as 'e did so, and then 'e started back and 
 rubbed 'is eyes and told 'imself he'd be better 
 in a minute. Then 'e looked agin, for 'is wife was 
 nowhere to be seen, and in the bed all fast and 
 sound asleep and snoring their 'ardest was little 
 Dick Weed the tailor and Mrs. Weed and the baby. 
 
 "Job Brown rubbed 'is eyes agin, and then 'e 
 drew hisself up to 'is full height, and putting one 
 'and on the chest o' drawers to steady hisself, 
 
156 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 stood there staring at 'em and getting madder 
 and madder every second. Then 'e gave a nasty 
 cough, and Dick and Mrs. Weed an' the baby all 
 woke up and stared at 'im as though they could 
 'ardly believe their eyesight. 
 
 " ' Wot do you want ? ' ses Dick Weed.starting up. 
 
 " ' Get up,' ses Job, 'ardly able to speak. ' I 'm 
 surprised at you. Get up out o' my bed direckly.' 
 
 " ' Your bed ? ' screams little Dick ; ' you 're the 
 worse for licker, Job Brown. Can't you see you 've 
 come into the wrong house ? ' 
 
 " ' Eh ? ' ses Job, staring. ' Wrong 'ouse ? Well, 
 where 's mine, then ? ' 
 
 '"Next door but one, same as it always was,' 
 ses Dick. ' Will you go ? ' 
 
 " ' A' right,' ses Job, staring. ' Well, goo'-night, 
 Dick. Goo'-night, Mrs. Weed. Goo'-night, baby.' 
 
 " ' Good-night,' ses Mrs. Weed from under the 
 bedclothes. 
 
 " ' Goo'-night, baby,' ses Job, agin. 
 
 " ' It can't talk yet,' ses Dick. ' Will you go ? ' 
 
 " ' Can't talk— why not ? ' ses Job. 
 
 " Dick didn't answer 'im. 
 
 " ' Well, goo'-night, Dick,' he ses agin. 
 
 " ' Good-night,' ses Dick from between 'is teeth. 
 
 " ' Goo'-night, Mrs. Weed,' ses Job. 
 
 " Mrs. Weed forced herself to say ' Good-night 
 agin. 
 
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 157 
 
 " ' Goo'-night, baby,' ses Job. 
 
 " ' Look 'ere,' ses Dick, raving, ' are you goin' 
 to stay 'ere all night, Job Brown ? ' 
 
 " Job didn't answer 'im, but began to go down- 
 stairs, saying 'goo'-night' as 'e went, and he'd 
 got pretty near to the bottom when he suddenly 
 wondered wot 'e was going downstairs for instead 
 of up, and larfing gently at 'is foolishness for 
 making sich a mistake 'e went upstairs agin. His 
 surprise when 'e see Dick Weed and Mrs. Weed 
 and the baby all in 'is bed pretty near took 'is 
 breath away. 
 
 " ' Wot are you doing in my bed ? ' he ses. 
 
 "'It's our bed,' ses Dick, trembling all over 
 with rage. ' I 've told you afore you 've come into 
 the wrong 'ouse.' 
 
 " ' Wrong 'ouse,' ses Job, staring round the room. 
 ' I b'leeve you 're right. Goo'-night, Dick ; goo'- 
 night, Mrs. Weed ; goo'-night, baby.' 
 
 " Dick jumped out of bed then and tried to push 
 'im out of the room, but 'e was a very small man, 
 and Job just stood there and wondered wot he was 
 doing. Mrs. Weed and the baby both started 
 screaming one against the other, and at last 
 Dick pushed the window open and called out 
 for help. 
 
 "They 'ad the neighbours in then, and the 
 trouble they 'ad to get Job downstairs wouldn't 
 
158 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 be believed. Mrs. Pottle went for 'is wife at last, 
 and then Job went 'ome with 'er like a lamb, ask- 
 ing 'er where she'd been all the evening, and say- 
 ing 'e 'd been looking for 'er everywhere. 
 
 " There was such a to-do about it in the village 
 next morning that Job Brown was fairly scared. 
 All the wimmen was out at their doors talking 
 about it, and saying wot a shame it was and 'ow 
 silly Mrs. Weed was to put up with it. Then old 
 Mrs. Gumm, 'er grandmother, who was eighty- 
 eight years old, stood outside Job's 'ouse nearly 
 all day, shaking 'er stick at 'im and daring of 'im 
 to come out. Wot with Mrs. Gumm and the little 
 crowd watching 'er all day and giving 'er good 
 advice, which she wouldn't take, Job was afraid 
 to show 'is nose outside the door. 
 
 " He wasn't like hisself that night up at the 
 ' Cauliflower.' 'E sat up in the corner and wouldn't 
 take any notice of anybody, and it was easy to 
 see as he was thoroughly ashamed of hisself. 
 
 " ' Cheer up, Job,' says Bill Chambers, at last ; 
 'you ain't the fust man as has made a fool of 
 hisself.' 
 
 " ' Mind your own business,' ses Job Brown, 
 ' and I '11 mind mine.' 
 
 " ' Why don't you leave 'im alone, Bill ? ' ses 
 Henery Walker ; ' you can see the man is worried 
 because the baby can't talk.' 
 
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 159 
 
 " ' Oh,' ses Bill, ' I thought 'e was worried 
 because 'is wife could.' 
 
 " All the chaps, except Job, that is, laughed at 
 that ; but Job 'e got up and punched the table, 
 and asked whether there was anybody as would 
 like to go outside with him for five minutes. Then 
 'e sat down agin, and said 'ard things agin the 
 drink, which 'ad made 'im the larfing-stock of all 
 the fools in Claybury. 
 
 " ' I 'm going to give it up, Smith,' he ses. 
 
 " ' Yes, I know you are,' ses Smith. 
 
 "'If I could on'y lose the taste of it for a time 
 I could give it up,' ses Job, wiping 'is mouth, ' and 
 to prove I 'm in earnest I '11 give five pounds to 
 anybody as '11 prevent me tasting intoxicating 
 licker for a month.' 
 
 "'You may as well save your breath to bid 
 people "good-night" with, Job,' ses Bill Chambers; 
 ' you wouldn't pay up if anybody did keep you 
 off it.' 
 
 " Job swore honour bright he would, but nobody 
 believed 'im, and at last he called for pen and ink 
 and wrote it all down on a sheet o' paper and 
 signed it, and then he got two other chaps to sign 
 it as witnesses. 
 
 "Bill Chambers wasn't satisfied then. He 
 pointed out that earning the five pounds, and 
 then getting it out o' Job Brown arterwards, was 
 
160 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 two such entirely different things, that there was 
 no likeness between 'em at all. Then Job Brown 
 got so mad 'e didn't know wot 'e was doing, and 
 'e 'anded over five pounds to Smith the landlord 
 and wrote on the paper that he was to give it to 
 anybody who should earn it, without consulting 
 'im at all. Even Bill couldn't think of anything 
 to say agin that, but he made a point of biting all 
 the sovereigns. 
 
 " There was quite a excitement for a few days. 
 Henery Walker 'e got a 'eadache with thinking, 
 and Joe Gubbins, 'e got a 'eadache for drinking 
 Job Brown's beer agin. There was all sorts o' 
 wild ways mentioned to earn that five pounds, 
 but they didn't come to anything. 
 
 " Arter a week had gone by Job Brown began 
 to get restless like, and once or twice 'e said in 
 Smith's hearing 'ow useful five pounds would be. 
 Smith didn't take any notice, and at last Job told 
 'im there didn't seem any likelihood of the five 
 pounds being earned, and he wanted it to buy 
 pigs with. The way 'e went on when Smith said 
 'e 'adn't got the power to give it back, and 'e 'd 
 got to keep it in trust for anybody as might earn 
 it, was disgraceful. 
 
 " He used to ask Smith for it every night, and 
 Smith used to give 'im the same answer, until at 
 last Job Brown said as he 'd go an' see a lawyer 
 
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 161 
 
 about it. That frightened Smith a bit, and I 
 b'lieve he 'd ha' 'anded it over, but two days arter- 
 wards Job was going upstairs so careful that he 
 fell down to the bottom and broke 'is leg. 
 
 " It was broken in two places, and the doctor 
 said it would be a long job, owing to 'is drinking 
 habits, and 'e gave Mrs. Brown strict orders that 
 Job wasn't to 'ave a drop of anything, even if 'e 
 asked for it. 
 
 "There was a lot o' talk about it up at the 
 'Cauliflower' 'ere, and Henery Walker, arter a bad 
 'eadache, thought of a plan by which 'e and Bill 
 Chambers could 'ave that five pounds atween 'em. 
 The idea was that Bill Chambers was to go with 
 Henery to see Job, and take 'im a bottle of beer, 
 and jist as Job was going to drink it Henery 
 should knock it out of 'is 'ands, at the same time 
 telling Bill Chambers 'e ought to be ashamed o' 
 hisself. 
 
 " It was a good idea, and, as Henery Walker 
 said, if Mrs. Brown was in the room so much the 
 better, as she 'd be a witness. He made Bill swear 
 to keep it secret for fear of other chaps doing it 
 arterwards, and then they bought a bottle o' beer 
 and set off up the road to Job's. The annoying 
 part of it was, arter all their trouble and Henery 
 Walker's 'eadache, Mrs. Brown wouldn't let 'em 
 in. They begged and prayed of 'er to let 'em go 
 L 
 
162 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 up and just 'ave a peep at 'im, but she wouldn't. 
 She said she 'd go upstairs and peep for 'em, and 
 she came down agin and said that 'e was a little 
 bit flushed, but sleeping like a lamb. 
 
 " They went round the corner and drank the 
 ale up, and Bill Chambers said it was a good job 
 Henery thought 'e was clever, because nobody 
 else did. As for 'is 'eadaches, he put 'em down 
 to over-eating. 
 
 " Several other chaps called to see Job, but none 
 of them was allowed to go up, and for seven 
 weeks that unfortunit man never touched a drop 
 of anything. The doctor tried to persuade 'im 
 now that 'e 'ad got the start to keep it, and 'e like- 
 wise pointed out that as 'e had been without 
 liquor for over a month, he could go and get that 
 five pounds back out o' Smith. 
 
 " Job promised that 'e would give it up ; but 
 the fust day 'e felt able to crawl on 'is crutches 
 he made up 'is mind to go up to the ' Cauliflower ' 
 and see whether gin and beer tasted as good as it 
 used to. The only thing was 'is wife might stop 'im. 
 
 " ' You 're done up with nursing me, old gal,' he 
 ses to 'is wife. 
 
 '" I am a bit tired,' ses she. 
 
 " ' I could see it by your eyes,' ses Job. ' What 
 you want is a change, Polly. Why not go and 
 see your sister at Wickham ? ' 
 
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 163 
 
 " ' I don't like leaving you alone,' ses Mrs. 
 Brown, ' else I 'd like to go. I want to do a little 
 shopping.' 
 
 " ' You go, my dear,' ses Job. ' I shall be quite 
 'appy sitting at the gate in the sun with a glass 
 o' milk an' a pipe.' 
 
 "He persuaded 'er at last, and, in a fit o' 
 generosity, gave 'er three shillings to go shopping 
 with, and as soon as she was out o' sight he went 
 off with a crutch and a stick, smiling all over 'is 
 face. He met Dick Weed in the road and they 
 shook 'ands quite friendly, and Job asked 'im to 
 'ave a drink. Then Henery Walker and some 
 more chaps came along, and by the time they got 
 to the ' Cauliflower ' they was as merry a party 
 as you 'd wish to see. 
 
 " Every man 'ad a pint o' beer, which Job paid 
 for, not forgetting Smith 'isself, and Job closed 'is 
 eyes with pleasure as 'e took his. Then they 
 began to talk about 'is accident, and Job showed 
 'em 'is leg and described wot it felt like to be a 
 teetotaller for seven weeks. 
 
 " ' And I '11 trouble you for that five pounds, 
 Smith,' 'e ses, smiling. ' I 've been without any- 
 thing stronger than milk for seven weeks. I 
 never thought when I wrote that paper I was 
 going to earn my own money.' 
 
 " ' None of us did, Job,' ses Smith. ' D' ye think 
 
164 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 that leg '11 be all right agin? As good as the 
 other, I mean ? ' 
 
 " ' Doctor ses so,' ses Job. 
 
 " ' It 's wonderful wot they can do nowadays,' 
 ses Smith, shaking 'is 'ead. 
 
 " ' 'Strordinary,' ses Job ; ' where 's that five 
 pounds, Smith ? ' 
 
 " ' You don't want to put any sudden weight or 
 anything like that on it for a time, Job,' ses Smith ; 
 ' don't get struggling or fighting, whatever you do, 
 Job.' 
 
 " ' 'Tain't so likely,' ses Job ; ' d' ye think I'ma 
 fool ? Where 's that five pounds, Smith ? ' 
 
 "'Ah, yes,' ses Smith, looking as though 'e'd 
 just remembered something. ' I wanted to tell 
 you about that, to see if I 've done right. I 'm 
 glad you 've come in.' 
 
 " ' Eh ? ' ses Job Brown, staring at 'im. 
 
 " ' Has your wife gone shopping to-day ? ' ses 
 Smith, looking at 'im very solemn. 
 
 " Job Brown put 'is mug down on the table and 
 turned as pale as ashes. Then 'e got up and 
 limped over to the bar. 
 
 " ' Wot d' yer mean ? ' he ses, choking. 
 
 " ' She said she thought o' doing so,' ses Smith, 
 wiping a glass ; ' she came in yesterday and asked 
 for that five pounds she 'd won. The doctor came 
 in with 'er and said she 'd kept you from licker 
 
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD 165 
 
 for seven weeks, let alone a month ; so, according 
 to the paper, I 'ad to give it to 'er. I 'ope I done 
 right, Job ? ' 
 
 " Job didn't answer 'im a word, good or bad. 
 He just turned 'is back on him, and, picking up 'is 
 crutch and 'is stick, hobbled off 'ome. Henery 
 Walker tried to make 'im stop and 'ave another 
 pint, but he wouldn't. He said he didn't want 'is 
 wife to find 'im out when she returned." 
 
BREVET RANK 
 
 THE crew of the Elizabeth Hopkins sat on 
 deck in the gloaming, gazing idly at the 
 dusky shapes of the barges as they dropped 
 silently down on the tide, or violently discussing 
 the identity of various steamers as they came 
 swiftly past. Even with these amusements the 
 time hung heavily, and they thought longingly of 
 certain cosy bars by the riverside to which they 
 were wont to betake themselves in their spare 
 time. 
 
 To-night, in deference to the wishes of the 
 skipper, wishes which approximated closely to 
 those of Royalty in their effects, they remained 
 on board. A new acquaintance of his, a brother 
 captain, who dabbled in mesmerism, was coming 
 to give them a taste of his quality, and the skipper, 
 sitting on the side of the schooner in the faint 
 light which streamed from the galley, was con- 
 descendingly explaining to them the marvels of 
 hypnotism. 
 
 " I never 'eard the likes of it," said one, with a 
 
 166 
 
BREVET RANK 167 
 
 deep breath, as the skipper concluded a marvellous 
 example. 
 
 " There 's a lot you ain't 'eard of, Bill," said 
 another, whose temper was suffering from lack 
 of beer. " But 'ave you seen all this, sir ? " 
 
 " Everything," said the skipper, impressively. 
 " He wanted to mesmerise me, an' I said, ' All 
 right,' I ses, ' do it an' welcome — if you can, but 
 I expect my head 's a bit too strong for you.' " 
 
 " And it was, sir, I '11 bet," said the man who 
 had been so candid with Bill. 
 
 " He tried everything," said the skipper, " then 
 he give it up ; but he 's coming aboard to-night, 
 so any of you that likes can come down the cabin 
 and be mesmerised free." 
 
 " Why can't he do it on deck ? " said the mate, 
 rising from the hatches and stretching his gigantic 
 form. 
 
 " 'Cos he must have artificial light, George,'' 
 said the skipper. " He lets me a little bit into 
 the secret, you know, an' he told me he likes to 
 have the men a bit dazed-like first." 
 
 Voices sounded from the wharf, and the night- 
 watchman appeared piloting Captain Zingall to 
 the schooner. The crew noticed that he came 
 aboard quite like any other man, descending the 
 ladder with even more care than usual. He was 
 a small man, of much dignity, with light grey 
 
168 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 eyes which had been so strained by the exercise 
 of his favourite hobby that they appeared to be 
 starting from his head. He chatted agreeably 
 about freights for some time, and then, at his 
 brother skipper's urgent entreaty, consented to go 
 below and give them a taste of his awful powers. 
 
 At first he was not very successful. The men 
 stared at the discs he put into their hands until 
 their eyes ached, but for some time without effect. 
 Bill was the first to yield, and to the astonish- 
 ment of his friends passed into a soft magnetic 
 slumber, from which he emerged to perform 
 the usual idiotic tricks peculiar to mesmerised 
 subjects. 
 
 " It 's wonderful what power you 'ave over 'em," 
 said Captain Bradd, respectfully. 
 
 Captain Zingall smiled affably. "At the present 
 moment," he said, "that man is my unthinkin' 
 slave, an' whatever I wish him to do he does. 
 Would any of you like him to do anything ? " 
 
 " Well, sir," said ode of the men, " 'e owes me 
 'arf a dollar, an' I think it would be a 'ighly in- 
 terestin' experiment if you could get 'im to pay 
 me. If anything 'ud make me believe in mes- 
 merism, that would." 
 
 " An' he owes me eighteenpence, sir," said 
 another seaman, eagerly. 
 
 " One at a time," said the first speaker, sharply. 
 
BREVET RANK 169 
 
 "An' 'e's owed me five shillin's since I don't 
 know when," said the cook, with dishonest 
 truthfulness. 
 
 Captain Zingall turned to his subject. " You 
 owe that man half a crown," he said, pointing, 
 "that one eighteenpence, and that one five 
 shillings. Pay them." 
 
 In the most matter-of-fact way in the world, 
 Bill groped in his pockets, and, producing some 
 greasy coins, paid the sums mentioned, to the 
 intense delight of everybody concerned. 
 
 " Well, I 'm blest," said the mate, staring. " I 
 thought mesmerism was all rubbish. Now bring 
 him to again." 
 
 " But don't tell 'im wot 'e 's been doin'," said 
 the cook. 
 
 Zingall with a few passes brought his subject 
 round, and with a subdued air he took his place 
 with the others. 
 
 " What 'd it feel like, Bill ? " asked Joe. " Can 
 you remember what you did ? " 
 
 Bill shook his head. 
 
 " Don't try to," said the cook, feelingly. 
 
 " I should like to put you under the influence," 
 said Zingall, eyeing the mate. 
 
 " You couldn't," said that gentleman, promptly. 
 
 " Let me try," said Zingall, persuasively. 
 
 " Do," said the skipper, " to oblige me, George." 
 
170 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 "Well, I don't mind much," said the mate, 
 hesitating ; " but no making me give those chaps 
 money, you know." 
 
 " No, no," said Zingall. 
 
 " Wot does 'e mean ? Give the chaps money?" 
 said Bill, turning with a startled air to the cook. 
 
 " I dunno," said the cook, airily. " Just watch 
 'im, Bill," he added, anxiously. 
 
 But Bill had something better to do, and feel- 
 ing in his pockets hurriedly strove to balance his 
 cash account. It was impossible to do anything 
 else while he was doing it, and the situation became 
 so strained and his language so weird that the 
 skipper was compelled in the interests of law and 
 morality to order him from the cabin. 
 
 " Look at me," said Zingall to the mate after 
 quiet had been restored. 
 
 The mate complied, and everybody gazed spell- 
 bound at the tussle for supremacy between brute 
 force and occult science. Slowly, very slowly, 
 science triumphed, being interrupted several times 
 by the blood-curdling threats of Bill, as they 
 floated down the companion-way. Then the 
 mate suddenly lurched forward, and would have 
 fallen but that strong hands caught him and 
 restored him to his seat. 
 
 " I 'm going to show you something now, if I 
 can," said Zingall, wiping his brow ; " but I don't 
 
BREVET RANK 171 
 
 know how it '11 come off, because I 'm only a be- 
 ginner at this sort of thing, and I 've never tried 
 this before. If you don't mind, cap'n, I 'm going 
 to tell him he is Cap'n Bradd, and that you are 
 the mate." 
 
 " Go ahead," said the delighted Bradd. 
 
 Captain Zingall went ahead full speed. With 
 a few rapid passes he roused the mate from his 
 torpor and fixed him with his glittering eye. 
 
 " You are Cap'n Bradd, master o' this ship," he 
 said, slowly. 
 
 " Ay, ay," said the mate, earnestly. 
 
 " And that 's your mate, George," said Zingall, 
 pointing to the deeply interested Bradd. 
 
 " Ay, ay," said the mate again, with a sigh. 
 
 " Take command, then," said Zingall, leaving 
 him with a satisfied air and seating himself on 
 the locker. 
 
 The mate sat up and looked about him with 
 an air of quiet authority. 
 
 " George," he said, turning suddenly to the 
 skipper with a very passable imitation of his voice. 
 
 " Sir," said the skipper, with a playful glance 
 at Zingall. 
 
 " A friend o' mine named Cap'n Zingall is 
 coming aboard to-night," said the mate, slowly. 
 " Get a little whisky for him out o' my state- 
 room." 
 
172 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," said the amused Bradd. 
 
 "Just a little in the bottom of the bottle '11 
 do," continued the mate ; " don't put more in, for 
 he drinks like a fish." 
 
 " I never said such a thing, cap'n," said Bradd, 
 in an agitated whisper. " I never thought o' such 
 a thing." 
 
 " No, I know you wouldn't," said Zingall, who 
 was staring hard at a nearly empty whisky 
 bottle on the table. 
 
 "And don't leave your baccy pouch lying 
 about, George," continued the mate, in a thrilling 
 whisper. 
 
 The skipper gave a faint, mirthless little laugh, 
 and looked at him uneasily. 
 
 "If ever there was a sponger for baccy, George, 
 it 's him," said the mate, in a confidential whisper. 
 
 Captain Zingall, who was at that very moment 
 filling his pipe from the pouch which the skipper 
 had himself pushed towards him, laid it carefully 
 on the table again, and gazing steadily at his 
 friend, took out the tobacco already in his pipe 
 and replaced it. In the silence which ensued the 
 mate took up the whisky bottle, and pouring the 
 contents into a tumbler, added a little water, and 
 drank it with relish. 
 
 He leaned back on the locker and smacked his 
 lips. There was a faint laugh from one of the 
 
BREVET RANK 173 
 
 crew, and looking up smartly he seemed to be 
 aware for the first time of their presence. " What 
 are you doin' down here ? " he roared. " What 
 do you want ? " 
 
 " Nothin', sir," said the cook. " Only we 
 thought " 
 
 " Get out at once," vociferated the mate, rising. 
 
 " Stay where you are," said the skipper, sharply. 
 
 " George ! " said the mate, in the squeaky voice 
 in which he chose to personate the skipper. 
 
 " Bring him round, Zingall," said the skipper, 
 irritably. " I 've had enough o' this. I '11 let 
 'im know who 's who." 
 
 With a confident smile Zingall got up quietly 
 from the locker, and fixed his terrible gaze on 
 the mate. The mate fell back and gazed at him 
 open-mouthed. 
 
 " Who the devil are you staring at ? " he de- 
 manded, rudely. 
 
 Still holding him with his gaze, Zingall clapped 
 his hands together, and stepping up to him blew 
 strongly in his face. The mate, with a perfect 
 scream of rage, picked him up by the middle, 
 and dumping him heavily on the floor, held him 
 there and worried him. 
 
 " Help ! " cried Zingall, in a smothered voice ; 
 "take him off!" 
 
 " Why don't you bring him round ? " yelled the 
 
174 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 skipper, excitably. " What 's the good of playing 
 with him ? " 
 
 Zingall's reply, which was quite irrelevant, 
 consisted almost entirely of impious reflections 
 upon his friend's understanding. 
 
 " Blow in 'is face agin, sir," said the cook, bend- 
 ing down kindly. 
 
 " Take him off! " yelled Zingall ; " he's killing 
 me!" 
 
 The skipper flew to the assistance of his friend, 
 but the mate, who was of gigantic strength and 
 stature, simply backed, and crushed him against 
 a bulkhead. Then, as if satisfied, he released the 
 crestfallen Zingall, and stood looking at him. 
 
 " Why — don't — you — bring — him — round ? " 
 panted the skipper. 
 
 " He 's out of my control," said Zingall, rising 
 nimbly to his feet. " I 've heard of such cases 
 before. I 'm only new at the work, you know, 
 but I dare say, in a couple of years' time " 
 
 The skipper howled at him, and the mate 
 suddenly alive again to the obnoxious presence 
 of the crew, drove them up the companion ladder, 
 and pursued them to the forecastle. 
 
 " This is a pretty kettle o' fish," said Bradd, in- 
 dignantly. " Why don't you bring him round ? " 
 
 " Because I can't," said Zingall, shortly. " It'll 
 have to wear off." 
 
BREVET RANK 175 
 
 " Wear off! " repeated the skipper. 
 
 " He 's under a delusion now," said Zingall, 
 "an' o' course I can't say how long it'll last, 
 but whatever you do don't cross him in any 
 way." 
 
 " Oh, don't cross him," repeated Bradd, with 
 sarcastic inflection, " and you call yourself a 
 mesmerist." 
 
 Zingall drew himself up with a little pride. 
 " Well, see what I 've done," he said. " The fact 
 is, I was charged full with electricity when I 
 came aboard, and he 's got it all now. It 's left 
 me weak, and until my will wears off him he's 
 captain o' this ship." 
 
 " And what about me?" said Bradd. 
 
 " You 're the mate," said Zingall, " and mind, 
 for your own sake, you act up to it. If you don't 
 cross him I haven't any doubt it '11 be all right, 
 but if you do he '11 very likely murder you in a 
 fit of frenzy, and— he wouldn't be responsible. 
 Good-night." 
 
 " You 're not going ? " said Bradd, clutching 
 him by the sleeve. 
 
 " I am," said the other. " He seems to have 
 took a violent dislike to me, and if I stay here 
 it '11 only make him worse." 
 
 He ran lightly up on deck, and avoiding an 
 ugly rush on the part of the mate, who had been 
 
176 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 listening, sprang on to the ladder and hastily 
 clambered ashore. 
 
 The skipper, worn and scared, looked up as the 
 bogus skipper came below. 
 
 " I 'm going to bed, George," said the mate, 
 staring at him. " I feel a bit heavy. Give me a 
 call just afore high water." 
 
 "Where are you goin' to sleep?" demanded 
 the skipper. 
 
 " Goin' to sleep ? " said the mate, " why, in my 
 state-room, to be sure." 
 
 He took the empty bottle from the table, and 
 opening the door of the state-room, closed it in 
 the face of its frenzied owner, and turned the key 
 in the lock. Then he leaned over the berth, and, 
 cramming the pillow against his mouth, gave way 
 to his feelings until he was nearly suffocated. 
 
 Any idea that the skipper might have had of 
 the healing effects of sleep were rudely dispelled 
 when the mate came on deck next morning, and 
 found that they had taken the schooner out with- 
 out arousing him. His delusion seemed to be 
 stronger than ever, and pushing the skipper from 
 the wheel he took it himself, and read him a short 
 and sharp lecture on the virtues of obedience. 
 
 " I know you 're a good sort, George Smith," 
 he said, leniently, " nobody could wish for a better, 
 but while I 'm master of this here ship it don't 
 
BREVET RANK 177 
 
 become you to take things upon yourself in the 
 way you do." 
 
 " But you don't understand," said the skipper, 
 trying to conquer his temper. " Now look me in 
 the eye, George." 
 
 " Who are you calling George ? " said the mate, 
 sharply. 
 
 " Well, look me in the eye, then," said the 
 skipper, waiving the point. 
 
 " I '11 look at you in a way you won't like in a 
 minute," said the mate, ferociously. 
 
 " I want to explain the position of affairs to 
 you," said the skipper. " Do you remember 
 Cap'n Zingall what was aboard last night ? " 
 
 " Little dirty-looking man what kept staring at 
 me ? " demanded the mate. 
 
 " Well, I don't know about 'is being dirty," said 
 the skipper, " but that 's the man. Do you know 
 what he did to you, Geo " 
 
 " Eh ! " said the mate, sharply. 
 
 " He mesmerised you," said the skipper, hastily. 
 " Now keep quite calm. You say you 're Benjamin 
 Bradd, master o' this vessel, don't you ? " 
 
 " I do," said the mate. " Let me hear anybody 
 say as I ain't." 
 
 " Yesterday," said the skipper, plucking up 
 courage and speaking very slowly and impres- 
 sively, " you were George Smith, the mate, but 
 M 
 
178 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 my friend, Captain Zingall, mesmerised you and 
 made you think you were me." 
 
 " I see what it is," said the mate, severely. 
 " You 've been drinking ; you 've been up to my 
 whisky." 
 
 " Call the crew up and ask 'em, then," said 
 Bradd, desperately. 
 
 " Call 'em up yourself, you lunatic," said the 
 mate, loudly enough for the men to hear. " If 
 anybody dares to play the fool with me I won't 
 leave a whole bone in his body, that 's all." 
 
 In obedience to the summons of Captain Bradd 
 the crew came up, and being requested by him 
 to tell the mate that he was the mate, and that 
 he was at present labouring under a delusion, 
 stood silently nudging each other and eyeing 
 him uneasily. 
 
 " Well," said the latter at length, " why don't 
 you speak and tell George he 's gone off his 'ead 
 a bit?" 
 
 " It ain't nothing to do with us, sir," said Bill, 
 very respectfully. 
 
 " But, damn it all, man," said the mate, taking 
 a mighty grip of his collar, " you know I 'm the 
 cap'n, don't you ? " 
 
 " O' course I do, sir," said Bill. 
 
 " There you are, George," said the mate, releas- 
 ing him, and turning to the frantic Bradd : " you 
 
BREVET RANK 179 
 
 hear that? Now, look here, you listen to me. 
 Either you 've been drinking, or else your 'ead 's 
 gone a little bit off. You go down and turn in, 
 and if you don't give me any more of your 
 nonsense I '11 overlook it for this once." 
 
 He ordered the crew forward again, and being 
 desirous of leaving some permanent mark of his 
 command on the ship, had the galley fresh painted 
 in red and blue, and a lot of old stores, which he 
 had vainly condemned when mate, thrown over- 
 board. The skipper stood by helplessly while it 
 was done, and then went below of his own accord 
 and turned in, as being the only way to retain 
 his sanity, or, at any rate, the clearness of head 
 which he felt to be indispensable at this juncture. 
 
 Time, instead of restoring the mate to his 
 senses, only appeared to confirm him in his folly, 
 and the skipper, after another attempt to con- 
 vince him, let things drift, resolving to have him 
 put under restraint as soon as they got to port. 
 
 They reached Tidescroft in the early afternoon, 
 but before they entered the harbour the mate, as 
 though he had had some subtle intuition that this 
 would be his last command, called the crew to 
 him, and read them a touching little homily upon 
 their behaviour when they should land. He 
 warned them of public-houses and other dangers, 
 and reminded them affectingly of their duties as 
 
i8o LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 husbands and fathers. " Always go home to your 
 wife and children, my lads," he continued with 
 some emotion, " as I go home to mine." 
 
 " Why, he ain't got none," whispered Bill, staring. 
 
 " Don't be a fool, Bill," said the cook, " he means 
 the cap'n's. Don't you see he 's the cap'n now." 
 
 It was as clear as noonday, and the agitation 
 of the skipper — a perfect Othello in his way — was 
 awful. He paced the deck incessantly, casting 
 fretful glances ashore, and, as the schooner 
 touched the side of the quay, sprang on to the 
 bulwarks and jumped ashore. The mate watched 
 him with an ill-concealed grin, and then, having 
 made the vessel snug, went below to strengthen 
 himself with a drop of the skipper's whisky for 
 the crowning scene of his play. He came on 
 deck again, and, taking no heed of the whispers 
 of the crew, went ashore. 
 
 Meantime, Captain Bradd had reached his 
 house, and was discussing the situation with his 
 astonished spouse. She pooh-poohed the idea 
 of the police and the medical faculty as being 
 likely to cause complications with the owners, 
 and, despite the remonstrances of her husband, 
 insisted upon facing the mate alone. 
 
 " Now you go in the kitchen," she said, looking 
 from the window. " Here he comes. You see 
 how I '11 settle him." 
 
BREVET RANK 181 
 
 The skipper looked out of the window and saw 
 the unhappy victim of Captain Zingall slowly 
 approaching. His wife drew him away, and, 
 despite his remonstrances, pushed him into the 
 next room and closed the door. 
 
 She sat on the sofa calmly sewing, as the mate, 
 whose hardihood was rapidly failing him, entered. 
 Her manner gave him no assistance whatever, 
 and coming sheepishly in he took a chair. 
 
 " I 've come home," he said at last. 
 
 " So I see, Ben," said Mrs. Bradd, calmly. 
 
 " He 's told her," said the mate to himself. 
 
 " Children all right ? " he inquired, after another 
 pause. 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Bradd, simply. " Little Joe's 
 boots are almost off his feet, though." 
 
 " Ah," said the mate, blankly. 
 
 " I 've been waiting for you to come, Ben," said 
 Mrs. Bradd after a pause. " I want you to change 
 a five-pound note Uncle Dick gave me." 
 
 "Can't do it," said the mate, briefly. The 
 absence of Captain Bradd was disquieting to a 
 bashful man in such a position, and he had Ipoked 
 forward to a stormy scene which was to bring 
 him to his senses again. 
 
 " Show me what you Ve got," said Mrs. Bradd, 
 leaning forward. 
 
 The mate pulled out an old leather purse and 
 
182 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 counted the contents, two pounds and a little 
 silver. 
 
 " There isn't five pounds there," said Mrs. Bradd, 
 " but I may as well take last week's housekeeping 
 while you 've got it out." 
 
 Before the mate could prevent her she had 
 taken the two pounds and put it in her pocket. 
 He looked at her placid face in amazement, but 
 she met his gaze calmly and drummed on the 
 table with her thimble. 
 
 " No, no, I want the money myself," said the 
 mate at last. He put his hands to his head and 
 began to prepare for the grand transformation 
 scene. " My head 's gone," he said, in a gurgling 
 voice. " What am I doing here ? Where am I ? " 
 
 " Good gracious, what 's the matter with the 
 man?" said Mrs. Bradd, with a scream. She 
 snatched up a bowl of flowers and flung the 
 contents in his face as her husband burst into the 
 room. The mate sprang to his feet, spluttering. 
 
 "What am I doing here, Cap'n Bradd?" he 
 said in his usual voice. 
 
 " He 's come round ! " said Bradd, ecstatically. 
 " He 's come round. Oh, George, you have 
 been playing the fool. Don't you know what 
 you 've been doing ? " 
 
 The mate shook his head, and stared round the 
 room. " I thought we were in London," he said, 
 
BREVET RANK 183 
 
 putting his hand to his head. "You said Cap'n 
 Zingall was coming aboard. How did we get 
 here ? Where am I ? " 
 
 In a hurried, breathless fashion the skipper 
 told him, the mate regarding him the while with 
 a stare of fixed incredulity. 
 
 " I can't understand it," he said at length. " My 
 mind 's a perfect blank." 
 
 " A perfect blank," said Mrs. Bradd, cheerfully. 
 It might have been accident, but she tapped her 
 pocket as she spoke, and the outwitted mate bit 
 his lip as he realised his blunder, and turned to 
 the door. The couple watched him as he slowly 
 passed up the street. 
 
 " It 's most extraordinary," said the skipper ; 
 " the most extraordinary case I ever heard of." 
 
 " So it is," said his wife, " and what 's more 
 extraordinary still for you, Ben, you 're going to 
 church on Sunday, and what 's more extraordinary 
 even than that, you are going to put two golden 
 sovereigns in the plate." 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 
 
 THE "Terrace," consisting of eight gaunt 
 houses, faced the sea, while the back 
 rooms commanded a view of the ancient little 
 town some half-mile distant. The beach, a waste 
 of shingle, was desolate and bare except for a 
 ruined bathing-machine and a few pieces of linen 
 drying in the winter sunshine. In the offing tiny 
 steamers left a trail of smoke, while sailing-craft, 
 their canvas glistening in the sun, slowly melted 
 from the sight. On all these things the " Terrace " 
 turned a stolid eye, and, counting up its gains 
 of the previous season, wondered whether it 
 could hold on to the next. It was a discon- 
 tented " Terrace," and had become prematurely 
 soured by a Board which refused them a pier, 
 a bandstand, and illuminated gardens. 
 
 From the front windows of the third story of 
 No. I Mrs. Cox, gazing out to sea, sighed softly. 
 The season had been a bad one, and Mr. Cox 
 had been even more troublesome than usual 
 owing to tightness in the money market and the 
 
 181 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 185 
 
 avowed preference of local publicans for cash trans- 
 actions, to assets in chalk and slate. In Mr. Cox's 
 memory there never had been such a drought, and 
 his crop of patience was nearly exhausted. 
 
 He had in his earlier days attempted to do 
 a little work, but his health had suffered so much 
 that his wife had become alarmed for his safety. 
 Work invariably brought on a cough, and as he 
 came from a family whose lungs had formed 
 the staple conversation of their lives, he had 
 been compelled to abandon it, and at last it 
 came to be understood that if he would only 
 consent to amuse himself, and not get into 
 trouble, nothing more would be expected of him. 
 It was not much of a life for a man of spirit, 
 and at times it became so unbearable that Mr. 
 Cox would disappear for days together in search 
 of work, returning unsuccessful after many days 
 with nerves shattered in the pursuit. 
 
 Mrs. Cox's meditations were disturbed by a 
 knock at the front door, and, the servants having 
 been discharged for the season, she hurried down- 
 stairs to open it, not without a hope of belated 
 lodgers — invalids in search of an east wind. A 
 stout, middle-aged woman in widow's weeds 
 stood on the door-step. 
 
 "Glad to see you, my dear," said the visitor, 
 kissing her loudly. 
 
186 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Mrs. Cox gave her a subdued caress in return, 
 not from any lack of feeling, but because she did 
 everything in a quiet and spiritless fashion. 
 
 " I 've got my Uncle Joseph from London 
 staying with us," continued the visitor, following 
 her into the hall, " so I just got into the train and 
 brought him down for a blow at the sea." 
 
 A question on Mrs. Cox's lips died away as 
 a very small man who had been hidden by his 
 niece came into sight. 
 
 "My Uncle Joseph," said Mrs. Berry; "Mr. 
 Joseph Piper," she added. 
 
 Mr. Piper shook hands, and after a performance 
 on the door-mat, protracted by reason of a 
 festoon of hemp, followed his hostess into the 
 faded drawing-room. 
 
 " And Mr. Cox ? " inquired Mrs. Berry, in a 
 cold voice. 
 
 Mrs. Cox shook her head. " He 's been away 
 this last three days," she said, flushing slightly. 
 
 " Looking for work ? " suggested the visitor. 
 
 Mrs. Cox nodded, and, placing the tips of her 
 fingers together, fidgeted gently. 
 
 "Well, I hope he finds it," said Mrs. Berry, 
 with more venom than the remark seemed to 
 require. " Why, where 's your marble clock ? " 
 
 Mrs. Cox coughed. " It 's being mended," she 
 said, confusedly. 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 187 
 
 Mrs. Berry eyed her anxiously. " Don't mind 
 him, my dear," she said, with a jerk of her head 
 in the direction of Mr. Piper, "he's nobody. 
 Wouldn't you like to go out on the beach a 
 little while, uncle ? " 
 
 " No,' said Mr. Piper. 
 
 " I suppose Mr. Cox took the clock for com- 
 pany," remarked Mrs. Berry, after a hostile stare 
 at her relative. 
 
 Mrs. Cox sighed and shook her head. It was 
 no use pretending with Mrs. Berry. 
 
 " He '11 pawn the clock and anything else he 
 can lay his hands on, and when he 's drunk it up 
 come home to be made a fuss of," continued 
 Mrs. Berry, heatedly ; " that 's you men." 
 
 Her glance was so fiery that Mr. Joseph 
 Piper was unable to allow the remark to pass 
 unchallenged. 
 
 " / never pawned a clock," he said, stroking his 
 little grey head. 
 
 " That 's a lot to boast of, isn't it ? " demanded 
 his niece ; " if I hadn't got anything better than 
 that to boast of I wouldn't boast at all." 
 
 Mr. Piper said that he was not boasting. 
 
 "It'll go on like this, my dear, till you're 
 ruined," said the sympathetic Mrs. Berry, turning 
 to her friend again ; " what '11 you do then ? " 
 
 " Yes, I know," said Mrs. Cox. " I 've had a 
 
188 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 bad season, too, and I 'm so anxious about him 
 in spite of it all. I can't sleep at nights for 
 fearing that he's in some trouble. I'm sure I 
 laid awake half last night crying." 
 
 Mrs. Berry sniffed loudly, and Mr. Piper 
 making a remark in a low voice, turned on him 
 with ferocity. 
 
 " What did you say ? " she demanded. 
 
 " I said it does her credit," said Mr. Piper, 
 firmly. 
 
 " I might have known it was nonsense," retorted 
 his niece, hotly. " Can't you get him to take the 
 pledge, Mary ? " 
 
 " I couldn't insult him like that," said Mrs. Cox, 
 with a shiver ; " you don't know his pride. He 
 never admits that he drinks ; he says that he 
 only takes a little for his indigestion. He'd 
 never forgive me. When he pawns the things 
 he pretends that somebody has stolen them, 
 and the way he goes on at me for my care- 
 lessness is alarming. He gets worked up to 
 such a pitch that sometimes I almost think he 
 believes it himself." 
 
 "Rubbish," said Mrs. Berry, tartly, "you 're too 
 easy with him." 
 
 Mrs. Cox sighed, and, leaving the room, 
 returned with a bottle of wine which was port 
 to the look and red-currant to the taste, and 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 189 
 
 a seed-cake of formidable appearance. The 
 visitors attacked these refreshments mildly, Mr. 
 Piper sipping his wine with an obtrusive care- 
 fulness which his niece rightly regarded as a 
 reflection upon her friend's hospitality. 
 
 " What Cox wants is a shock," she said ; 
 "you've dropped some crumbs on the carpet, 
 uncle." 
 
 Mr. Piper apologised and said he had got his 
 eye on them, and would pick them up when he 
 had finished and pick up his niece's at the 
 same time to prevent her stooping. Mrs. Berry, 
 in an aside to Mrs. Cox, said that her Uncle 
 Joseph's tongue had got itself disliked on both 
 sides of the family. 
 
 " And I 'd give him one," said Mrs. Berry, 
 returning again to the subject of Mr. Cox and 
 shocks. " He has a gentleman's life of it here, 
 and he would look rather silly if you were sold 
 up and he had to do something for his living." 
 
 " It 's putting away the things that is so bad," 
 said Mrs. Cox, shaking her head ; " that clock 
 won't last him out, I know ; he '11 come back and 
 take some of the other things. Every spring 
 I have to go through his pockets for the tickets 
 and get the things out again, and I mustn't say 
 a word for fear of hurting his feelings. If I do 
 he goes off again." 
 
iqo LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " If I were you," said Mrs. Berry, emphatically, 
 " I 'd get behind with the rent or something 
 and have the brokers in. He'd look rather 
 astonished if he came home and saw a broker's 
 man sitting in a chair " 
 
 " He 'd look more astonished if he saw him 
 sitting in a flower-pot," suggested the caustic 
 Mr. Piper. 
 
 "I couldn't do that," said Mrs. Cox. "I 
 couldn't stand the disgrace, even though I knew 
 I could pay him out. As it is, Cox is always 
 setting his family above mine." 
 
 Mrs. Berry, without ceasing to stare Mr. 
 Piper out of countenance, shook her head, and, 
 folding her arms, again stated her opinion that 
 Mr. Cox wanted a shock, and expressed a great 
 yearning to be the humble means of giving him 
 one. 
 
 " If you can't have the brokers in, get some- 
 body to pretend to be one," she said, sharply ; 
 "that would prevent him pawning any more 
 things at any rate. Why wouldn't he do?" she 
 added, nodding at her uncle. 
 
 Anxiety on Mrs. Cox's face was exaggerated 
 on that of Mr. Piper. 
 
 "Let uncle pretend to be a broker's man in 
 for the rent," continued the excitable lady, 
 rapidly. "When Mr. Cox turns up after his 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 191 
 
 spree, tell him what his doings have brought you 
 to, and say you '11 have to go to the workhouse." 
 
 " I look like a broker's man, don't I ? " said 
 Mr. Piper, in a voice more than tinged with 
 sarcasm. 
 
 " Yes," said his niece, " that 's what put it into 
 my head." 
 
 " It 's very kind of you, dear, and very kind of 
 Mr. Piper," said Mrs. Cox, " but I couldn't think 
 of it, I really couldn't. 
 
 " Uncle would be delighted," said Mrs. Berry, 
 with a wilful blinking of plain facts. " He 's got 
 nothing better to do ; it 's a nice house and good 
 food, and he could sit at the open window and 
 sniff at the sea all day long." 
 
 Mr. Piper sniffed even as she spoke, but not at 
 the sea. 
 
 " And I '11 come for him the day after to- 
 morrow," said Mrs. Berry. 
 
 It was the old story of the stronger will : 
 Mrs. Cox after a feeble stand gave way alto- 
 gether, and Mr. Piper's objections were demo- 
 lished before he had given them full utterance. 
 Mrs. Berry went off alone after dinner, secretly 
 glad to have got rid of Mr. Piper, who was 
 making a self-invited stay at her house of 
 indefinite duration ; and Mr. Piper, in his new 
 role of broker's man, essayed the part with as 
 
192 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 much help as a clay pipe and a pint of beer 
 could afford him. 
 
 That day and the following he spent amid the 
 faded grandeurs of the drawing-room, gazing 
 longingly at the wide expanse of beach and the 
 tumbling sea beyond. The house was almost 
 uncannily quiet, an occasional tinkle of metal or 
 crash of china from the basement giving the 
 only indication of the industrious Mrs. Cox ; 
 but on the day after the quiet of the house was 
 broken by the return of its master, whose annoy- 
 ance, when he found the drawing-room clock 
 stolen and a man in possession, was alarming 
 in its vehemence. He lectured his wife severely 
 on her mismanagement, and after some hesitation 
 announced his intention of going through her 
 books. Mrs. Cox gave them to him, and, armed 
 with pen and ink and four square inches of pink 
 blotting-paper, he performed feats of balancing 
 which made him a very Blondin of finance. 
 
 " I shall have to get something to do," he said, 
 gloomily, laying down his pen. 
 
 " Yes, dear," said his wife. 
 
 Mr. Cox leaned back in his chair and, wiping 
 his pen on the blotting-paper, gazed in a specu- 
 lative fashion round the room. " Have you any 
 money ? " he inquired. 
 
 For reply his wife rummaged in her pocket and 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 193 
 
 after a lengthy search produced a bunch of keys, a 
 thimble, a needle-case, two pocket-handkerchiefs, 
 and a halfpenny. She put this last on the table, 
 and Mr. Cox, whose temper had been mounting 
 steadily, threw it to the other end of the room. 
 
 " I can't help it," said Mrs. Cox, wiping her eyes. 
 " I 'm sure I 've done all I could to keep a home 
 together. I can't even raise money on anything." 
 
 Mr. Cox, who had been glancing round the 
 room again, looked up sharply. 
 
 " Why not ? " he inquired. 
 
 " The broker's man," said Mrs. Cox, nervously ; 
 " he 's made an inventory of everything, and he 
 holds us responsible." 
 
 Mr. Cox leaned back in his chair. "This is 
 a pretty state of things," he blurted, wildly. 
 " Here have I been walking my legs off looking 
 for work, any work so long as it 's honest labour, 
 and I come back to find a broker's man sitting in 
 my own house and drinking up my beer." 
 
 He rose and walked up and down the room, and 
 Mrs. Cox, whose nerves were hardly equal to the 
 occasion, slipped on her bonnet and announced her 
 intention of trying to obtain a few necessaries on 
 credit. Her husband waited in indignant silence 
 until he heard the front-door close behind her, 
 and then stole softly upstairs to have a look at 
 the fell destroyer of his domestic happiness. 
 
 N 
 
194 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Mr. Piper, who was already very tired of his 
 imprisonment, looked up curiously as he heard 
 the door pushed open, and discovered an elderly 
 gentleman with an appearance of great stateliness 
 staring at him. In the ordinary way he was one 
 of the meekest of men, but the insolence of this 
 stare was outrageous. Mr. Piper, opening his 
 mild blue eyes wide, stared back. Whereupon Mr. 
 Cox, fumbling in his vest-pocket, found a pair of 
 folders, and putting them astride his nose, gazed 
 at the pseudo-broker's man with crushing effect. 
 
 "What do you want here?" he asked, at 
 length. " Are you the father of one of the 
 servants ? " 
 
 " I 'm the father of all the servants in the 
 house," said Mr. Piper, sweetly. 
 
 " Don't answer me, sir," said Mr. Cox, with 
 much pomposity ; " you 're an eyesore to an 
 honest man, a vulture, a harpy." 
 
 Mr. Piper pondered. 
 
 " How do you know what 's an eyesore to 
 an honest man ? " he asked, at length. 
 
 Mr. Cox smiled scornfully. 
 
 " Where is your warrant or order, or whatever 
 you call it ? " he demanded. 
 
 " I 've shown it to Mrs. Cox," said Mr. Piper. 
 
 " Show it to me/' said the other. 
 
 " I 've complied with the law by showing it 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 19s 
 
 once," said Mr. Piper, bluffing, " and I 'm not 
 going to show it again." 
 
 Mr. Cox stared at him disdainfully, beginning 
 at his little sleek grey head and travelling slowly 
 downwards to his untidy boots and then back 
 again. He repeated this several times, until 
 Mr. Piper, unable to bear it patiently, began to 
 eye him in the same fashion. 
 
 " What are you looking at, vulture ? " demanded 
 the incensed Mr. Cox. 
 
 "Three spots o' grease on a dirty weskit," 
 replied Mr. Piper, readily, " a pair o' bow legs in 
 a pair o' somebody else's trousers, and a shabby 
 coat wore under the right arm, with carrying 
 off" — he paused a moment as though to make 
 sure — " with carrying off of a drawing-room clock." 
 
 He regretted this retort almost before he had 
 finished it, and rose to his feet with a faint cry 
 of alarm as the heated Mr. Cox first locked the 
 door and put the key in his pocket and then 
 threw up the window. 
 
 " Vulture ! " he cried, in a terrible voice. 
 
 "Yes, sir," said the trembling Mr. Piper. 
 
 Mr. Cox waved his hand towards the window. 
 
 " Fly," he said, briefly. 
 
 Mr. Piper tried to form his white lips into a 
 smile, and his knees trembled beneath him. 
 
 " Did you hear what I said ? " demanded 
 
196 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Mr. Cox. "What are you waiting for? If you 
 don't fly out of the window I '11 throw you out." 
 
 " Don't touch me," screamed Mr. Piper, retreat- 
 ing behind a table, "it's all a mistake. All a 
 joke. I 'm not a broker's man. Ha ! ha ! " 
 
 "Eh? "said the other; "not a broker's man? 
 What are you, then ? " 
 
 In eager, trembling tones Mr. Piper told him, 
 and, gathering confidence as he proceeded, 
 related the conversation which had led up to 
 his imposture. Mr. Cox listened in a dazed 
 fashion, and as he concluded threw himself into 
 a chair, and gave way to a terrible outburst of 
 grief. 
 
 " The way I 've worked for that woman," he 
 said, brokenly, " to think it should come to this ! 
 The deceit of the thing ; the wickedness of it. 
 My heart is broken ; I shall never be the same 
 man again — never ! " 
 
 Mr. Piper made a sympathetic noise. 
 
 " It 's been very unpleasant for me," he said, 
 " but my niece is so masterful." 
 
 " I don't blame you," said Mr. Cox, kindly ; 
 " shake hands." 
 
 They shook hands solemnly, and Mr. Piper, 
 muttering something about a draught, closed 
 the window. 
 
 "You might have been killed in trying to 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 197 
 
 jump out of that window," said Mr. Cox; "fancy 
 the feelings of those two deceitful women then." 
 
 " Fancy my feelings ! " said Mr. Piper, with a 
 shudder. " Playing with fire, that 's what I 
 call it. My niece is coming this afternoon ; it 
 would serve her right if you gave her a fright 
 by telling her you had killed me. Perhaps it 
 would be a lesson to her not to be so officious." 
 
 " It would serve 'em both right," agreed Mr. Cox; 
 " only Mrs. Berry might send for the police." 
 
 " I never thought of that," said Mr. Piper 
 fondling his chin. 
 
 " I might frighten my wife," mused the amiable 
 Mr. Cox ; " it would be a lesson to her not to 
 be deceitful again. And, by Jove, I '11 get some 
 money from her to escape with ; I know she 's 
 got some, and if she hasn't she will have in a 
 day or two. There's a little pub at Newstead, 
 eight miles from here, where we could be as 
 happy as fighting-cocks with a fiver or two. 
 And while we're there enjoying ourselves my 
 wife '11 be half out of her mind trying to account 
 for your disappearance to Mrs. Berry." 
 
 "It sounds all right," said Mr. Piper, cautiously, 
 " but she won't believe you. You don't look wild 
 enough to have killed anybody." 
 
 " I '11 look wild enough when the time comes," 
 said the other, nodding. "You get on to the 
 
198 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 'White Horse' at Newstead and wait for me. 
 I 'Jl let you out at the back way. Come along.'' 
 
 " But you said it was eight miles," said Mr. Piper. 
 
 " Eight miles easy walking," rejoined Mr. Cox. 
 "Or there's a train at three o'clock.. There's 
 a sign-post at the corner there, and if you don't 
 hurry I shall be able to catch you up. Good-bye." 
 
 He patted the hesitating Mr. Piper on the 
 back, and letting him out through the gard.en, 
 indicated the road. Then he returned to the 
 drawing-room, and carefully rumpling his hair, 
 tore his collar from the stud, overturned a couple 
 of chairs and a small table, and sat down to wait 
 as patiently as he could for the return of his wife. 
 
 He waited about twenty minutes, and then 
 he heard a key turn in the door below and his 
 wife's footsteps slowly mounting the stairs. By 
 the time she reached the drawing-room his tableau 
 was complete, and she fell back with a faint 
 shriek at the frenzied figure which met her eyes. 
 
 " Hush," said the tragedian, putting his ringer 
 to his lips. 
 
 " Henry, what is it ? " cried Mrs. Cox. " What 
 is the matter ? " 
 
 "The broker's man," said her husband, in a 
 thrilling whisper. "We had words — he struck 
 me. In a fit of fury I — I — choked him." 
 
 " Much ? " inquired the bewildered woman. 
 
STUDYING THE SIGN POST 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 199 
 
 " Much ? " repeated Mr. Cox, frantically. " I 've 
 killed him and hidden the body. Now I must 
 escape and fly the country." 
 
 The bewilderment on Mrs. Cox's face increased ; 
 she was trying to reconcile her husband's state- 
 ment with a vision of a trim little figure which 
 she had seen ten minutes before with its head 
 tilted backwards studying the sign - post, and 
 which She was now quite certain was Mr. Piper. 
 
 " Are you sure he 's dead ? " she inquired. 
 
 "Dead as a door-hail," replied Mr. Cox, 
 promptly. " I 'd no idea he was such a delicate 
 little man. What am I to do ? Every moment 
 adds to my danger. I must fly. How much 
 money have you got ? " 
 
 The question explained everything. Mrs. Cox 
 closed her lips with a snap and shook her head. 
 
 " Don't play the fool," said her husband, wildly; 
 "my neck's in danger." 
 
 " I haven't got anything," asseverated Mrs. 
 Cox. "It's no good looking like that, Henry, 
 I can't make money." 
 
 Mr. Cox's reply was interrupted by a loud 
 knock at the hall-door, which he was pleased 
 to associate with the police. It gave him a fine 
 opportunity for melodrama, in the midst of which 
 his wife, rightly guessing that Mrs. Berry had 
 returned according to arrangement, went to the 
 
200 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 door to admit her. The visitor was only busy 
 two minutes on the door-mat, but in that time 
 Mrs. Cox was able in low whispers to apprise 
 her of the state of affairs. 
 
 "That's my uncle all over," said Mrs. Berry, 
 fiercely; "that's just the mean trick I should 
 have expected of him. You leave 'em to me, 
 my dear." 
 
 She followed her friend into the drawing-room, 
 and having shaken hands with Mr. Cox, drew 
 her handkerchief from her pocket and applied 
 it to her eyes. 
 
 " She's told me all about it," she said, nodding 
 at Mrs. Cox, " and it 's worse than you think, 
 much worse. It isn't a broker's man — it's my 
 poor uncle, Joseph Piper." 
 
 " Your uncle ! " repeated Mr. Cox, reeling back; 
 " the broker's man your uncle ? " 
 
 Mrs. Berry sniffed. " It was a little joke on 
 our part," she admitted, sinking into a chair and 
 holding her handkerchief to her face. "Poor 
 uncle ; but I dare say he 's happier where he is." 
 
 Mr. Cox wiped his brow, and then, leaning 
 his elbow on the mantelpiece, stared at her in 
 well-simulated amazement. 
 
 " See what your joking has led to," he said, at 
 last. " I have got to be a wanderer over the face 
 of the earth, all on account of your jokes." 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 201 
 
 " It was an accident," murmured Mrs. Berry, 
 " and nobody knows he was here, and I 'm 
 sure, poor dear, he hadn't got much to live 
 for." 
 
 " It 's very kind of you to look at it in that 
 way, Susan, I 'm sure," said Mrs. Cox. 
 
 " I was never one to make mischief," said Mrs. 
 Berry. " It 's no good crying over spilt milk. 
 If uncle's killed he's killed, and there's an 
 end of it. But I don't think it 's quite safe for 
 Mr. Cox to stay here." 
 
 "Just what I say," said that gentleman, eagerly; 
 " but I 've got no money." 
 
 " You get away," said Mrs. Berry, with a 
 warning glance at her friend, and nodding to 
 emphasise her words ; " leave us some address 
 to write to, and we must try and scrape twenty 
 or thirty pounds to send you." 
 
 " Thirty," said Mr. Cox, hardly able to believe 
 his ears. 
 
 Mrs. Berry nodded. "You'll have to make 
 that do to go on with," she said, pondering. 
 " And as soon as you get it you had better get 
 as far away as possible before poor uncle is dis- 
 covered. Where are we to send the money ? " 
 
 Mr. Cox affected to consider. 
 
 "The 'White Horse,' Newstead," he said at 
 length, in a whisper; "better write it down." 
 
202 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Mrs. Berry obeyed; and this business being 
 completed, Mr. Cox, after trying in vain to 
 obtain a shilling or two cash in hand, bade them 
 a pathetic farewell and went off down the path, 
 for some reason best known to himself, on tiptoe. 
 
 For the first two days Messrs. Cox and Piper 
 waited with exemplary patience for the remit- 
 tance, the demands of the landlord, a man of 
 coarse fibre, being met in the meantime by the 
 latter gentleman from his own slender resources. 
 They were both reasonable men, and knew from 
 experience the difficulty of raising money at 
 short notice ; but on the fourth day, their funds 
 being nearly exhausted, an urgent telegram was 
 dispatched to Mrs. Cox. 
 
 Mr. Cox was alone when the reply came, and 
 Mr. Piper, returning to the inn-parlour, was 
 amazed and distressed at his friend's appear- 
 ance. Twice he had to address him before he 
 seemed to be aware of his presence, and then 
 Mr. Cox, breathing hard and staring at him 
 strangely, handed him the message. 
 
 "Eh?" said Mr. Piper, in amaze, as he read 
 slowly : " ' No — need — send — money — Uncle — 
 Joseph — has — come — back. — BERRY.' What does 
 it mean ? Is she mad ? " 
 
 Mr. Cox shook his head, and taking the paper 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 203 
 
 from him, held it at arm's length and regarded 
 it at an angle. 
 
 " How can you be there when you 're supposed 
 to be dead ? " he said, at length. 
 
 " How can I be there when I 'm here ? " re- 
 joined Mr. Piper, no less reasonably. 
 
 Both gentlemen lapsed into a wondering silence, 
 devoted to the attempted solution of their own 
 riddles. Finally Mr. Cox, seized with a bright 
 idea that the telegram had got altered in trans- 
 mission, went off to the post-office and dispatched 
 another, which went straight to the heart of 
 things : — 
 
 " Don't — understand — is — Uncle — Joseph — 
 alive ? " 
 
 A reply was brought to the inn-parlour an 
 hour later on. Mr. Cox opened it, gave one 
 glance at it, and then with a suffocating cry 
 handed it to the other. Mr. Piper took it 
 gingerly, and his eyebrows almost disappeared 
 as he read : — 
 
 "Yes — smoking — in — drawing-room!' 
 
 His first strong impression was that it was a 
 case for the Psychical Research Society, but 
 this romantic view faded in favour of a simple 
 solution, propounded by Mr. Cox with much 
 crispness, that Mrs. Berry was leaving the 
 realms of fact for those of romance. His actual 
 
204 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 words were shorter, but the meaning was the 
 same. 
 
 "I'll go home and ask to see you," he said, 
 fiercely ; " that 'II bring things to a head, I should 
 think." 
 
 " And she '11 say I 've gone back to London, 
 perhaps," said Mr. Piper, gifted with sudden 
 clearness of vision. "You can't show her up 
 unless you take me with you, and that '11 show us 
 up. That 's her artfulness ; that 's Susan all over." 
 
 "She's a wicked, untruthful woman," gasped 
 Mr. Cox. 
 
 " I never did like Susan," said Mr. Piper, with 
 acerbity, " never." 
 
 Mr. Cox said he could easily understand it, 
 and then, as a forlorn hope, sat down and wrote 
 a long letter to his wife, in which, after dwelling 
 at great length on the lamentable circumstances 
 surrounding the sudden demise of Mr. Piper, he 
 bade her thank Mrs. Berry for her well-meant 
 efforts to ease his mind, and asked for the 
 immediate dispatch of the money promised. 
 
 A reply came the following evening from Mrs. 
 Berry herself. It was a long letter, and not only 
 long, but badly written and crossed. It began 
 with the weather, asked after Mr. Cox's health, 
 and referred to the writer's ; described with 
 much minuteness a strange headache which had 
 
TWIN SPIRITS 205 
 
 attacked Mrs. Cox, together with a long list 
 of the remedies prescribed and the effects of 
 each, and wound up in an out-of-the-way corner, 
 in a vein of cheery optimism which reduced 
 both readers to the verge of madness. 
 
 " Dear Uncle Joseph has quite recovered, and, 
 in spite of a little nervousness — he was always 
 rather timid — at meeting you again, has con- 
 sented to go to the ' White Horse ' to satisfy you 
 that he is alive. I dare say he will be with you 
 as soon as this letter — perhaps help you to 
 read it." 
 
 Mr. Cox laid the letter down with extreme 
 care, and, coughing gently, glanced in a sheepish 
 fashion at the goggle-eyed Mr. Piper. 
 
 For some time neither of them spoke. Mr. 
 Cox was the first to break the silence and — when 
 he had finished — Mr. Piper said " Hush." 
 
 " Besides, it does no good," he added. 
 
 "It does me good," said Mr. Cox, recommencing. 
 
 Mr. Piper held up his hand with a startled 
 gesture for silence. The words died away on 
 his friend's lips as a familiar voice was heard in 
 the passage, and the next moment Mrs. Berry 
 entered the room and stood regarding them. 
 
 " I ran down by the same train to make sure 
 you came, uncle," she remarked. " How long 
 have you been here ? " 
 
206 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Mr. Piper moistened his lips and gazed wildly 
 at Mr. Cox for guidance. 
 
 "'Bout — 'bout five minutes," he stammered. 
 
 "We were so glad dear uncle wasn't hurt 
 much," continued Mrs. Berry, smiling, and shak- 
 ing her head at Mr. Cox ; " but the idea of your 
 burying him in the geranium-bed ; we haven't 
 got him clean yet." 
 
 Mr. Piper, giving utterance to uncouth noises, 
 quitted the room hastily, but Mr. Cox sat still 
 and stared at her dumbly. 
 
 " Weren't you surprised to see him ? " inquired 
 his tormentor. 
 
 " Not after your letter," said Mr. Cox, finding 
 his voice at last, and speaking with an attempt 
 at chilly dignity. " Nothing could surprise me 
 much after that." 
 
 Mrs. Berry smiled again. 
 
 " Ah, I 've got another little surprise for you," 
 she said, briskly. " Mrs. Cox was so upset at 
 the idea of being alone while you were a wanderer 
 over the face of the earth, that she and I have 
 gone into partnership. We have had a proper 
 deed drawn up, so that now there are two of us 
 to look after things. Eh ? What did you say ? " 
 
 " I was just thinking," said Mr. Cox. 
 
SAM'S BOY 
 
 IT was getting late in the afternoon as Master 
 Jones, in a somewhat famished condition, 
 strolled up Aldgate, with a keen eye on the 
 gutter, in search of anything that would serve 
 him for his tea. Too late, he wished that he 
 had saved some of the stale bread and damaged 
 fruit which had constituted his dinner. 
 
 Aldgate proving barren, he turned up into 
 the quieter Minories, skilfully dodging the me- 
 chanical cuff of the constable at the corner as 
 he passed, and watching with some interest the 
 efforts of a stray mongrel to get itself adopted. 
 Its victim had sworn at it, cut at it with his 
 stick, and even made little runs at it — all to no 
 purpose. Finally, being a soft-hearted man, he 
 was weak enough to pat the cowering schemer 
 on the head, and, being frantically licked by the 
 homeless one, took it up in his arms and walked 
 off with it. 
 
 Billy Jones watched the proceedings with 
 interest, not untempered by envy. If he had 
 
 207 
 
208 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 only been a dog ! The dog passed in the man's 
 arms, and, with a whine of ecstasy, insisted upon 
 licking his ear. They went on their way, the 
 dog wondering between licks what sort of table 
 the man kept, and the man speculating idly as 
 to a descent which appeared to have included, 
 among other things, an ant-eater. 
 
 " 'E 's all right," said the orphan, wistfully ; 
 "no coppers to chivvy 'im about, and as much 
 grub as he wants. Wish I 'd been a dog." 
 
 He tied up his breeches with a piece of string 
 which was lying on the pavement, and, his hands 
 being now free, placed them in a couple of rents 
 which served as pockets, and began to whistle. 
 He was not a proud boy, and was quite willing 
 to take a lesson even from the humblest. Surely 
 he was as useful as a dog ! 
 
 The thought struck him just as a stout, kindly- 
 looking seaman passed with a couple of ship- 
 - mates. It was a good-natured face, and the 
 figure was that of a man who lived well. A 
 moment's hesitation, and Master Jones, with a 
 courage born of despair, ran after him and 
 tugged him by the sleeve. 
 
 " Halloa ! " said Mr. Samuel Brown, looking 
 round. " What do you want ? " 
 
 " Want you, father," said Master Jones. 
 
 The jolly seaman's face broke into a smile. 
 
SAM'S BOY 209 
 
 So also did the faces of the jolly seaman's 
 friends. 
 
 " I 'm not your father, matey," he said, good- 
 naturedly. 
 
 " Yes, you are," said the desperate Billy ; " you 
 know you are." 
 
 "You've made a mistake, my lad," said Mr. 
 Brown, still smiling. " Here, run away." 
 
 He felt in his trouser-pocket and produced a 
 penny. It was a gift, not a bribe, but it had by 
 no means the effect its donor intended. Master 
 Jones, now quite certain that he had made a 
 wise choice of a father, trotted along a yard or 
 two. in the rear. 
 
 " Look here, my lad," exclaimed Mr. Brown, 
 goaded into action by intercepting a smile with 
 which Mr. Charles Legge had favoured Mr. 
 Harry Green, " you run off home." 
 
 "Where do you live now?" inquired Billy, 
 anxiously. 
 
 Mr. Green, disdaining concealment, slapped Mr. 
 Legge on the back, and, laughing uproariously, 
 regarded Master Jones with much kindness. 
 
 " You mustn't follow me," said Sam, severely ; 
 "d'ye hear?" 
 
 " All right, father," said the boy, dutifully. 
 
 "And don't call me father," vociferated Mr. 
 Brown. 
 O 
 
210 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " Why not ? " inquired the youth, artlessly. 
 
 Mr. Legge stopped suddenly, and, putting his 
 hand on Mr. Green's shoulder, gaspingly ex- 
 pressed his inability to go any farther. Mr. 
 Green, patting his back, said he knew how he 
 felt, because he felt the same, and, turning to 
 Sam, told him he'd be the death of him if he 
 wasn't more careful. 
 
 " If you don't run away," said Mr. Brown, 
 harshly, as he turned to the boy, " I shall give 
 you a hiding." 
 
 " Where am I to run to ? " whimpered Master 
 Jones, dodging off and on. 
 
 " Run 'ome," said Sam. 
 
 " That 's where I 'm going," said Master Jones 
 following. 
 
 " Better try and give 'im the slip, Sam," said 
 Mr. Legge, in a confidential whisper; "though 
 it seems a unnatural thing to do." 
 
 "Unnatural? What d'ye mean?" demanded 
 his unfortunate friend. "Wot d'ye mean by 
 unnatural ? " 
 
 " Oh, if you 're going to talk like that, Sam," 
 said Mr. Legge, shortly, " it 's no good giving you 
 advice. As you 've made your bed, you must lay 
 on it." 
 
 " How long is it since you saw 'im last, 
 matey?" inquired Mr. Green. 
 
SAM'S BOY 211 
 
 "I dunno; not very long," replied the boy, 
 cautiously. 
 
 " Has he altered at all since you see 'im last ? " 
 inquired the counsel for the defence, motioning 
 the fermenting Mr. Brown to keep still. 
 
 " No," said Billy, firmly ; " not a bit." 
 
 " Wot 's your name ? " 
 
 " Billy," was the reply. 
 
 " Billy wot ? " 
 
 "Billy Jones." 
 
 Mr. Green's face cleared, and he turned to his 
 friends with a smile of joyous triumph. Sam's 
 face reflected his own, but Charlie Legge's was 
 still overcast. 
 
 "It ain't likely," he said, impressively; "it 
 ain't likely as Sam would go and get married 
 twice in the same name, is it? Put it to yourself, 
 'Any — would you ? " 
 
 "Look "ere," exclaimed the infuriated Mr. 
 Brown, "don't you interfere in my business. 
 You 're a crocodile, that 's wot you are. As for 
 you, you little varmint, you run off, d' ye hear ? " 
 
 He moved on swiftly, accompanied by the 
 other two, and set an example of looking straight 
 ahead of him, which was, however, lost upon his 
 friends. 
 
 "'E's still following of you, Sam," said the 
 crocodile, in by no means disappointed tones. 
 
212 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " Sticking like a leech," confirmed Mr. Green. 
 " 'E 's a pretty little chap, rather." 
 
 "Takes arter 'is mother," said the vengeful 
 Mr. Legge. 
 
 The unfortunate Sam said nothing, but strode 
 a haunted man down Nightingale Lane into 
 Wapping High Street, and so to the ketch 
 Nancy Bell, which was lying at Shrimpett's 
 Wharf. He stepped on board without a word, 
 and only when he turned to descend the fore- 
 castle-ladder did his gaze rest for a moment on 
 the small, forlorn piece of humanity standing on 
 the wharf. 
 
 " Halloa boy, what do you want ? " cried the 
 skipper, catching sight of him. 
 
 " Want my father, sir — Sam," replied the youth, 
 who had kept his ears open. 
 
 The skipper got up from his seat and eyed 
 him curiously ; Messrs. Legge and Green, draw- 
 ing near, explained the situation. Now the 
 skipper was a worldly man ; and Samuel 
 Brown, A.B., when at home, played a brass 
 instrument in the Salvation Army band. 
 He regarded the boy kindly and spoke him 
 fair. 
 
 " Don't run away," he said, anxiously. 
 
 "I'm not going to, sir," said Master Jones, 
 charmed with his manner, and he watched 
 
SAM'S BOY 213 
 
 breathlessly as the skipper stepped forward, and, 
 peering down the forecastle, called loudly for 
 Sam. 
 
 " Yes, sir," said a worried voice. 
 
 " Your boy 's asking after you," said the skipper, 
 grinning madly. 
 
 "He's not my boy, sir," replied Mr. Brown, 
 through his clenched teeth. 
 
 "Well, you'd better come up and see him," 
 said the other. " Are you sure he isn't, Sam ? " 
 
 Mr. Brown made no reply, but coming on deck 
 met Master Jones's smile of greeting with an icy 
 stare, and started convulsively as the skipper 
 beckoned the boy aboard. 
 
 " He 's been rather neglected, Sam," said the 
 skipper, shaking his head. 
 
 "Wot's it got to do with me?" said Sam, 
 violently. " I tell you I 've never seen 'im afore 
 this arternoon." 
 
 "You hear what your father says," said the 
 
 skipper (" Hold your tongue, Sam.) Where 's 
 
 your mother, boy ? " 
 
 " Dead, sir," whined Master Jones. " I 've on'y 
 got 'im now." 
 
 The skipper was a kind-hearted man, and 
 he looked pityingly at the forlorn little figure 
 by his side. And Sam was the good man of the 
 ship and a leading light at Dimport. 
 
214 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " How would you like to come to sea with your 
 father ? " he inquired. 
 
 The grin of delight with which Master Jones 
 received this proposal was sufficient reply. 
 
 " I wouldn't do it for everybody," pursued the 
 skipper, glancing severely at the mate, who was 
 behaving foolishly, "but I don't mind obliging 
 you, Sam. He can come." 
 
 "Obliging}" repeated Mr. Brown, hardly able 
 to get the words out. " Obliging me? I don't 
 want to be obliged." 
 
 "There, there," interrupted the skipper. "I 
 don't want any thanks. Take him forrard and 
 give him something to eat — he looks half starved, 
 poor little chap." 
 
 He turned away and went down to the cabin, 
 while the cook, whom Mr. Brown had publicly 
 rebuked for his sins the day before, led the boy 
 to the galley and gave him a good meal. After 
 that was done Charlie washed him, and Harry 
 going ashore, begged a much-worn suit of boy's 
 clothes from a foreman of his acquaintance. He 
 also brought back a message from the foreman 
 to Mr. Brown to the effect that he was surprised 
 at him. 
 
 The conversation that evening after Master 
 Jones was asleep turned upon bigamy, but Mr. 
 Brown snored through it all, though Mr. Legge's 
 
SAM'S BOY 215 
 
 remark that the revelations of that afternoon had 
 thrown a light upon many little things in his 
 behaviour which had hitherto baffled him, came 
 perilously near to awaking him. 
 
 At six in the morning they got under way, 
 the boy going nearly frantic with delight as sail 
 after sail was set, and the ketch, with a stiff 
 breeze, rapidly left London behind her. Mr. 
 Brown studiously ignored him, but the other 
 men pampered him to his heart's content, and 
 even the cabin was good enough to manifest a 
 little concern in his welfare, the skipper calling 
 Mr. Brown up no fewer than five times that day 
 to complain about his son's behaviour. 
 
 " I can't have somersaults on this 'ere ship, 
 Sam," he remarked, shaking his head ; " it ain't 
 the place for 'em." 
 
 " I wonder at you teaching 'im such things," 
 said the mate, in grave disapprobation. 
 
 " Me ? " said the hapless Sam, trembling with 
 passion. 
 
 " He must 'ave seen you do it," said the mate, 
 letting his eye rove casually over Sam's ample 
 proportions. "You must ha' been leading a 
 double life altogether, Sam." 
 
 "That's nothing to do with us," interrupted 
 the skipper, impatiently. " I don't mind Sam 
 turning cart-wheels all day if it amuses him, but 
 
216 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 they mustn't do it here, that's all. It's no good 
 standing there sulking, Sam ; I can't have it." 
 
 He turned away, and Mr. Brown, unable to 
 decide whether he was mad or drunk, or both, 
 walked back, and, squeezing himself up in the 
 bows, looked miserably over the sea. Behind 
 him the men disported themselves with Master 
 Jones, and once, looking over his shoulder, he 
 actually saw the skipper giving him. a lesson 
 in steering. , 
 
 By the following afternoon he was in such 
 a state of collapse that, when they put in at 
 the small port of Withersea to discharge a 
 portion of their cargo, he obtained permission 
 to stay below in his bunk. Work proceeded 
 without him, and at nine o'clock in the evening 
 they sailed again, and it was not until they were 
 a couple of miles on their way to Dimport that 
 Mr. Legge rushed aft with the announcement 
 that he was missing. 
 
 " Don't talk nonsense," said the skipper, as he 
 came up from below in response to a hail from 
 the mate. 
 
 "It's a fact, sir," said Mr. Legge, shaking his 
 head. 
 
 " What 's to be done with the boy ? " demanded 
 the mate, blankly. 
 
 "Sam's a unsteady, unreliable, tricky old man," 
 
SAM'S BOY 217 
 
 exclaimed the skipper, hotly ; " the idea of going 
 and leaving a boy on our hands like that. I 'm 
 surprised at him. I 'm disappointed in Sam — 
 deserting ! " 
 
 "I expect 'e's larfing like anything, sir," re- 
 marked Mr. Legge. 
 
 " Get forrard," said the skipper, sharply ; " get 
 forrard at once, d' ye hear ? " 
 
 " But what 's to be done with the boy ? — that 's 
 what I want to know," said the mate. 
 
 "What d'ye think 's to be done with him?" 
 bawled the skipper. " We can't chuck him over- 
 board, can we ? " 
 
 " I mean when we get to Dimport ? " growled 
 the mate. 
 
 "Well, the men '11 talk," said the skipper, 
 calming down a little, " and perhaps Sam's wife '11 
 come and take him. If not, I suppose he'll have 
 to go to the workhouse. Anyway, it 's got 
 nothing to do with me. I wash my hands of it 
 altogether." 
 
 He went below again, leaving the mate at 
 the wheel. A murmur of voices came from 
 the forecastle, where the crew were discussing 
 the behaviour of their late colleague. The 
 bereaved Master Jones, whose face was streaky 
 with the tears of disappointment, looked on from 
 his bunk. 
 
218 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " What are you going to do, Billy ? " inquired 
 the cook. 
 
 " I dunno," said the boy, miserably. 
 
 He sat up in his bunk in a brown study, 
 ever and anon turning his sharp little eyes from 
 one to another of the men. Then, with a final 
 sniff to the memory of his departed parent, he 
 composed himself to sleep. 
 
 With the buoyancy of childhood he had for- 
 gotten his trouble by the morning, and ran idly 
 about the ship as before, until in the afternoon 
 they came in sight of Dimport. Mr. Legge, 
 who had a considerable respect for the brain 
 hidden in that small head, pointed it out to 
 him, and with some curiosity waited for his 
 remarks. 
 
 " I can see it," said Master Jones, briefly. 
 
 " That 's where Sam lives," said his friend, 
 pointedly. 
 
 " Yes," said the boy, nodding, " all of you live 
 there, don't you ? " 
 
 It was an innocent enough remark in all con- 
 science, but there was that in Master Jones's eye 
 which caused Mr. Legge to move away hastily 
 and glance at him in some disquietude from the 
 other side of the deck. The boy, unconscious of 
 the interest excited by his movements, walked 
 restlessly up and down. 
 
SAM'S BOY 219 
 
 " Boy 's worried," said the skipper, aside, to the 
 mate ; ■' cheer up, sonny." 
 
 Billy looked up and smiled, and the cloud 
 which had sat on his brow when he thought of 
 the cold-blooded desertion of Mr. Brown gave 
 way to an expression of serene content. 
 
 " Well, what 's he going to do ? " inquired the 
 mate, in a low voice. 
 
 " That needn't worry us," said the skipper. 
 " Let things take their course ; that 's my motto." 
 
 He took the wheel from Harry ; the little town 
 came closer ; the houses separated and disclosed 
 roads, and the boy discovered to his disappoint- 
 ment that the church stood on ground of its own, 
 and not on the roof of a large red house as he 
 had supposed. He ran forward as they got closer, 
 and, perching up in the bows until they were fast 
 to the quay, looked round searchingly for any 
 signs of Sam. 
 
 The skipper locked up the cabin, and then 
 calling on one of the shore-hands to keep an eye 
 on the forecastle, left it open for the convenience 
 of the small passenger. Harry, Charlie, and the 
 cook stepped ashore. The skipper and mate 
 followed, and the latter, looking back from some 
 distance, called his attention to the desolate little 
 figure sitting on the hatch. 
 
 " I s'pose he '11 be all right," said the skipper, 
 
220 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 uneasily ; " there 's food and a bed down the 
 fo'c's'le. You might just look round to-night and 
 see he 's safe. I expect we '11 have to take him 
 back to London with us." 
 
 They turned up a small road in the direction 
 of home and walked on in silence, until the mate, 
 glancing behind at an acquaintance who had 
 just passed, uttered a sharp exclamation. The 
 skipper turned, and a small figure which had just 
 shot round the corner stopped in mid-career and 
 eyed them warily. The men exchanged uneasy 
 glances. 
 
 " Father," cried a small voice. 
 
 " He — he 's adopted you now," said the skipper, 
 huskily. 
 
 " Or you," said the mate. " I never took much 
 notice of him." 
 
 He looked round again. Master Jones was 
 following briskly, about ten yards in the rear, 
 and twenty yards behind him came the crew, 
 who, having seen him quit the ship, had followed 
 with the evident intention of being in at the death. 
 
 " Father," cried the boy again, " wait for me." 
 
 One or two passers-by stared in astonishment, 
 and the mate began to be uneasy as to the 
 company he was keeping. 
 
 " Let 's separate," he growled, " and see who 
 he 's calling after." 
 
SAM'S BOY 221 
 
 The skipper caught him by the arm. " Shout 
 out to him to go back," he cried. 
 
 " It's you he's after, I tell you," said the mate. 
 " Who do you want, Billy ? " 
 
 " I want my father," cried the youth, and, to 
 prevent any mistake, indicated the raging skipper 
 with his finger. 
 
 " Who do you want ? " bellowed the latter, in a 
 frightful voice. 
 
 " Want you, father," chirruped Master Jones. 
 
 Wrath and dismay struggled for supremacy 
 in the skipper's face, and he paused to decide 
 whether it would be better to wipe Master Jones 
 off the face of the earth or to pursue his way 
 in all the strength of conscious innocence. He 
 chose the latter course, and, a shade more erect 
 than usual, walked on until he came in sight of 
 his house and his wife, who was standing at the 
 door. 
 
 " You come along o' me, Jem, and explain," 
 he whispered to the mate. Then he turned about 
 and hailed the crew. The crew, flattered at being 
 offered front seats in the affair, came forward 
 eagerly. 
 
 "What's the matter?" inquired Mrs. Hunt, 
 eyeing the crowd in amazement as it grouped 
 itself in anticipation. 
 
 " Nothing," said her husband, off-handedly. 
 
222 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " Who's that boy?" cried the innocent woman. 
 
 " It's a poor little mad boy," began the skipper; 
 " he came aboard " 
 
 " I 'm not mad, father," interrupted Master 
 Jones. 
 
 " A poor little mad boy," continued the skipper, 
 hastily, " who came aboard in London and said 
 poor old Sam Brown was his father." 
 
 " No — you, father," cried the boy, shrilly. 
 
 " He calls everybody his father," said the 
 skipper, with a smile of anguish ; " that 's the 
 form his madness takes. He called Jem here 
 his father." 
 
 " No, he didn't," said the mate, bluntly. 
 
 " And then he thought Charlie was his father." 
 
 " No, sir," said Mr. Legge, with respectful 
 firmness. 
 
 " Well, he said Sam Brown was," said the 
 skipper. 
 
 " Yes, that 's right, sir," said the crew. 
 
 " Where is Sam ? " inquired Mrs. Hunt, looking 
 round expectantly. 
 
 " He deserted the ship at Withersea," said her 
 husband. 
 
 " I see," said Mrs. Hunt, with a bitter smile, 
 " and these men have all come up prepared to 
 swear that the boy said Sam was his father. 
 Haven't you?" 
 
SAM'S BOY 223 
 
 ' Yes, mum," chorused the crew, delighted at 
 being understood so easily. 
 
 Mrs. Hunt looked across the road to the fields 
 stretching beyond. Then she suddenly brought 
 her gaze back, and, looking full at her husband, 
 uttered just two words — 
 
 " Oh, Joe ! " 
 
 " Ask the mate," cried the frantic skipper. 
 
 " Yes, I know what the mate '11 say," said Mrs. 
 Hunt. " I 've no need to ask him." 
 
 " Charlie and Harry were with Sam when the 
 boy came up to them," protested the skipper. 
 
 " I 've no doubt," said his wife. " Oh, Joe ! 
 Joe! Joe!" 
 
 There was an uncomfortable silence, during 
 which the crew, standing for the most part 
 on one leg in sympathy with their chief's 
 embarrassment, nudged each other to say some- 
 thing to clear the character of a man whom all 
 esteemed. 
 
 " You ungrateful little devil," burst out Mr. 
 Legge, at length ; " arter the kind way the skipper 
 treated you, too." 
 
 "Did he treat him kindly?" inquired the 
 captain's wife, in conversational tones. 
 
 "Like a fa — like a uncle, mum," said the 
 thoughtless Mr. Legge. "Gave 'im a passage 
 on the ship and fairly spoilt 'im. We was all 
 
224 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 surprised at the fuss 'e made of 'im ; wasn't we, 
 Harry?" 
 
 He turned to his friend, but on Mr. Green's 
 face there was an expression of such utter scorn 
 and contempt that his own fell. He glanced at 
 the skipper, and was almost frightened at his 
 appearance. 
 
 The situation was ended by Mrs. Hunt entering 
 the house and closing the door with an ominous 
 bang. The men slunk off, headed by Mr. Legge; 
 and the mate, after a few murmured words of 
 encouragement to the skipper, also departed. 
 Captain Hunt looked first at the small cause of 
 his trouble, who had drawn off to some distance, 
 and then at the house. Then, with a determined 
 gesture, he turned the handle of the door and 
 walked in. His wife, who was sitting in an 
 armchair, with her eyes on the floor, remained 
 motionless. 
 
 " Look here, Polly ," he began. 
 
 " Don't talk to me," was the reply. " I wonder 
 you can look me in the face." 
 
 The skipper ground his teeth, and strove to 
 maintain an air of judicial calm. 
 
 " If you '11 only be reasonable ," he re- 
 marked, severely. 
 
 " I thought there was something secret going 
 on," said Mrs. Hunt. " I 've often looked at you 
 
SAM'S BOY 225 
 
 when you've been sitting in that chair, with a 
 worried look on your face, and wondered what it 
 was. But I never thought it was so bad as this. 
 I '11 do you the credit to say that I never thought 
 of such a thing as this. . . . What did you say? 
 . . . What?" 
 
 " I said 'damn !"' said the skipper, explosively. 
 
 " Yes, I 've no doubt," said his wife, fiercely. 
 " You think you 're going to carry it off with a 
 high hand and bluster ; but you won't bluster 
 me, my man. I'm not one of your meek and 
 mild women who '11 put up with anything. I 'm 
 not one of your " 
 
 " I tell you," said the skipper, " that the boy 
 calls everybody his father. I dare say he's 
 claimed another by this time." 
 
 Even as he spoke the handle turned, and the 
 door opening a few inches disclosed the anxious 
 face of Master Jones. Mrs. Hunt, catching the 
 skipper's eye, pointed to it in an ecstasy of silent 
 wrath. There was a breathless pause, broken at 
 last by the boy. 
 
 " Mother ! " he said, softly. 
 
 Mrs. Hunt stiffened in her chair and her arms 
 fell by her side as she gazed in speechless amaze- 
 ment. Master Jones, opening the door a little 
 wider, gently insinuated his small figure into the 
 room. The skipper gave one glance at his wife, 
 P 
 
226 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 and then, turning hastily away, put his hand over 
 his mouth, and, with protruding eyes, gazed out 
 of the window. 
 
 " Mother, can I come in ? " said the boy. 
 
 " Oh, Polly ! " sighed the skipper. Mrs. Hunt 
 strove to regain the utterance of which astonish- 
 ment had deprived her. 
 
 " I . . . what . . . Joe . . . don't be a fool!" 
 
 " Yes, I 've no doubt," said the skipper, theatri- 
 cally. " Oh, Polly ! Polly ! Polly ! " 
 
 He put his hand over his mouth again and 
 laughed silently, until his wife, coming behind 
 him, took him by the shoulders and shook him 
 violently. 
 
 " This," said the skipper, choking ; " this is 
 what . . . you've been worried about. . . . This 
 is the secret what 's " 
 
 He broke off suddenly as his wife thrust him 
 by main force into a chair, and standing over him 
 with a fiery face dared him to say another word. 
 Then she turned to the boy. 
 
 " What do you mean by calling me ' mother'?" 
 she demanded., " I 'm not your mother." 
 
 " Yes, you are," said Master Jones. 
 
 Mrs. Hunt eyed him in bewilderment, and 
 then, roused to a sense of her position by a 
 renewed gurgling from the skipper's chair, set 
 to work to try and thump that misguided man 
 
SAM'S BOY 227 
 
 into a more serious frame of mind. Failing in 
 this, she sat down, and, after a futile struggle, 
 began to laugh herself, and that so heartily that 
 Master Jones, smiling sympathetically, closed the 
 door, and came boldly into the room. 
 
 The statement, generally believed, that Captain 
 Hunt and his wife adopted him, is incorrect, the 
 skipper accounting for his continued presence 
 in the house by the simple explanation that he 
 had adopted them, — an explanation which Mr. 
 Samuel Brown, for one, finds quite easy of 
 acceptance. 
 
A WILL AND A WAY 
 
 THE old man sat over the tap-room fire at the 
 "Cauliflower," his gnarled, swollen hands 
 fondled the warm bowl of his long pipe, and an 
 ancient eye watched with almost youthful im- 
 patience the slow warming of a mug of beer on 
 the hob. 
 
 He had just given unasked-for statistics to the 
 visitor at the inn who was sitting the other side 
 of the hearth. His head was stored with the 
 births, marriages, and deaths of Claybury, and 
 with a view of being entertaining he had already 
 followed, from the cradle to the altar and the 
 altar to the grave, the careers of some of the most 
 uninteresting people that ever breathed. 
 
 " No, there ain't been a great sight o' single 
 men hereabouts," he said, in answer to a ques- 
 tion. "Claybury 'as always been a marrying 
 sort o' place — not because the women are more 
 good-looking than others, but because they are 
 sharper." 
 
 He reached forward, and, taking up his beer, 
 
A WILL AND A WAY 229 
 
 drank with relish. The generous liquor warmed 
 his blood, and his eye brightened. 
 
 " I 've buried two wives, but I 'ave to be care- 
 ful myself, old as I am," he said, thoughtfully. 
 " There 's more than one woman about 'ere as 
 would like to change 'er name for mine. Clay- 
 bury 's got the name for being a marrying place, 
 and they don't like to see even a widow-man. 
 
 " Now and agin we 've 'ad a young feller as 
 said as 'e wouldn't get married. There was Jem 
 Burn, for one, and it ain't a month ago since four 
 of 'is grandchildren carried him to the church- 
 yard ; and there was Walter Bree : 'e used to 
 prove as 'ow any man that got married wasn't in 
 'is right mind, and 'e got three years in prison for 
 wot they call bigamy. 
 
 " But there used to be one man in these parts 
 as the Claybury women couldn't marry, try as 
 they might. He was a ugly little man with red 
 'air and a foxy face. They used to call 'im Foxy 
 Green, and 'e kept 'appy and single for years and 
 years. 
 
 " He wasn't a man as disliked being in the 
 company o' women though, and that 's wot used 
 to aggeravate 'em. He 'd take 'em out for walks, 
 or give 'em a lift in 'is cart, but none of 'em could 
 get 'old of 'im, not even the widders. He used to 
 say 'e loved 'em all too much to tie hisself up to 
 
230 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 any one of 'em, and 'e would sit up 'ere of a night 
 at the " Cauliflower " and send men with large 
 families a'most crazy by calkerlating 'ow many 
 pints o' beer their children wore out every year 
 in the shape o' boots. 
 
 " Sometimes 'is uncle, old Ebenezer Green, used 
 to sit up 'ere with 'im. He was a strong, 'earty 
 old man, and 'e 'd sit and laugh at Foxy till 'is 
 chair shook under 'im. He was a lively sporting 
 sort o' man, and when Foxy talked like that 'e 
 seemed to be keeping some joke to hisself which 
 nearly choked 'im. 
 
 " ' You '11 marry when I 'm gone, Foxy,' he 'd 
 say. 
 
 " ' Not me,' ses Foxy. 
 
 "Then the old man 'ud laugh agin and talk 
 mysterious about fox-hunts and say "e wondered 
 who 'd get Foxy's brush. He said 'e 'd only got 
 to shut 'is eyes and 'e could see the pack in full 
 cry through Claybury village, and Foxy going 'is 
 'ardest with 'is tongue 'anging out. 
 
 " Foxy couldn't say anything to 'im, because it 
 was understood that when the old man died 'e 
 was to 'ave 'is farm and 'is money ; so 'e used to 
 sit there and smile as if 'e liked it. 
 
 "When Foxy was about forty-three 'is uncle 
 died. The old man's mind seemed to wander at 
 the last, and 'e said what a good man 'e 'd always 
 
A WILL AND A WAY 231 
 
 been, and wot a comfort it was to 'im now that 'e 
 was goin'. And 'e mentioned a lot o' little sums 
 o' money owed 'im in the village which nobody 
 could remember. 
 
 " ' I 've made my will, Foxy,' he ses, ' and school- 
 master 's takin' care of it ; I 've left it all to you.' 
 
 " ' All right,' ses Foxy. ' Thankee.' 
 
 "'He's goin' to read it arter the funeral,' ses 
 'is uncle, ' which is the proper way to do it. I 'd 
 give anything to be there, Foxy, and see your face.' 
 
 " Those were 'is last words, but 'e laughed once 
 or twice, and for a long time arter 'e 'd gone Foxy 
 Green sat there and wondered at 'is last words 
 and wot there was to laugh about. 
 
 " The old man was buried a few days after, and 
 Foxy stood by the grave 'olding a 'andkerchief to 
 'is eyes, and behaving as though 'e 'ad lost money 
 instead of coming in for it. Then they went back 
 to the farm, and the first thing the schoolmaster 
 did was to send all the women off before reading 
 the will. 
 
 " ' Wot 's that for ? ' ses Foxy, staring. 
 
 " ' You '11 see,' ses the schoolmaster ; 'them was 
 my instructions. It's for your sake, Mr. Green; 
 to give you a chance — at least, that 's wot your 
 uncle said.' 
 
 " He sat down and took out the will and put on 
 'is spectacles. Then 'e spread it out on the table 
 
232 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 and took a. glass o' gin and water and began to 
 read. 
 
 " It was all straightforward enough. The farm 
 and stock, and two cottages, and money in the 
 bank, was all left to Josiah Green, commonly 
 called Foxy Green, on condition 
 
 " There was such a noise o' clapping, and pat- 
 ting Foxy on the back, that the schoolmaster 'ad 
 to leave off and wait for quiet. 
 
 " ' On condition,' he ses, in a loud voice, ' that 
 he marries the first Claybury woman, single or 
 widow, that asks 'im to marry her in the presence 
 of three witnesses. If he refuses, the property is 
 to go to 'er instead.' 
 
 " Foxy turned round like mad then, and asked 
 Henery Walker wot 'e was patting 'im on the 
 back for. Then, in a choking voice, he asked to 
 'ave it read agin. 
 
 " ' Well, there 's one thing about it, Mr. Green,' 
 ses Henery Walker ; 'with all your property 
 you'll be able to 'ave the pick o' the prettiest 
 gals in Claybury.' 
 
 ""Ow's that?' ses Joe Chambers, very sharp ; 
 ' he 's got to take the first woman that asks 'im, 
 don't matter wot 'er age is.' 
 
 " He got up suddenly, and, without even saying 
 good-bye to Foxy, rushed out of the 'ouse and 
 off over the fields as 'ard as 'e could go. 
 
A WILL AND A WAY 233 
 
 " * Wot 's the matter with 'im ? ' ses Foxy. 
 
 " Nobody could give any answer, and they sat 
 there staring at each other, till all of a sudden 
 Henery Walker jumps up and goes off if anything 
 'arder than wot Joe Chambers had done. 
 
 " ' Anything wrong with the drink ? ' ses Foxy, 
 puzzled like. 
 
 " They shook their 'eads agin, and then Peter 
 Gubbins, who 'd been staring 'ard with 'is mouth 
 open, got up and gave the table a bang with 'is 
 fist. 
 
 " ' Joe Chambers 'as gone arter 'is sister,' he ses, 
 ' and Henery Walker arter 'is wife's sister, as 'e 's 
 been keeping for this last six months. That's 
 wot they 've gone for.' 
 
 "Everybody saw it then, and in two minutes 
 Foxy and the schoolmaster was left alone looking 
 at each other and the empty table. 
 
 " ' Well, I 'm in for a nice thing,' ses Foxy. 
 ' Fancy being proposed to by Henery Walker's 
 sister-in-law ! Ugh ! ' 
 
 " ' It '11 be the oldest ones that '11 be the most 
 determined/ said the schoolmaster, shaking 'is 
 'ead. ' Wot are you going to do ? ' 
 
 " ' I don't know,' ses Foxy, ' it 's so sudden. 
 But they 've got to 'ave three witnesses, that 's 
 one comfort. I 'd like to tell Joe Chambers wot 
 I think of 'im and 'is precious sister.' 
 
234 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " It was very curious the way the women took 
 it. One an' all of 'em pretended as it was an 
 insult to the sex, and they said if Foxy Green 
 waited till 'e was asked to marry he 'd wait long 
 enough. Little chits o' gals o' fourteen and fifteen 
 was walking about tossing their 'eads up and as 
 good as saying they might 'ave Green's farm for 
 the asking, but they wouldn't ask. Old women 
 of seventy and over said that if Foxy wanted to 
 marry them he 'd 'ave to ask, and ask a good 
 many times too. 
 
 " Of course, this was all very well in its way, 
 but at the same time three Claybury gals that 
 was away in service was took ill and 'ad to come 
 'ome, and several other women that was away 
 took their holidays before their relations knew 
 anything about it. Almost every 'ouse in Clay- 
 bury 'ad got some female relation staying in it, 
 and they was always explaining to everybody 
 why it was they 'ad come 'ome. None of 'em so 
 much as mentioned Foxy Green. 
 
 " Women are artful creatures and think a lot of 
 appearances. There wasn't one of 'em as would 
 ha' minded wot other folks said if they 'd caught 
 Foxy, but they 'd ha' gone half crazy with shame 
 if they'd tried and not managed it. And they 
 couldn't do things on the quiet because of the 
 three witnesses. That was the 'ardship of it 
 
A WILL AND A WAY 235 
 
 " It was the only thing talked about in Claybury, 
 and Foxy Green soon showed as he was very 
 wide-awake. First thing 'e did was to send the 
 gal that used to do the dairy-work and the 'ouse- 
 work off. Then 'e bought a couple o' large, fierce 
 dogs and chained 'em up, one near the front door 
 and one near the back. They was very good dogs, 
 and they bit Foxy hisself two or three times so as 
 to let 'im see that they knew wot they was there for. 
 
 " He took George Smith, a young feller that 
 used to work on the farm, into the 'ouse, and for 
 the fust week or two 'e rather enjoyed the excite- 
 ment. But when 'e found that 'e couldn't go into 
 the village, or even walk about 'is own farm in 
 safety, he turned into a reg'lar woman-hater. 
 
 " The artful tricks those women 'ad wouldn't be 
 believed. One day when Foxy was eating 'is 
 dinner William Hall drove up to the gate in a 
 cart, and when George came out to know wot 'e 
 wanted, 'e said that he 'ad just bought some pigs 
 at Rensham and would Foxy like to make fust 
 offer for 'em. 
 
 " George went in, and when 'e came out agin he 
 said William Hall was to go inside. He 'eld the 
 dog while William went by, and as soon as Foxy 
 'eard wot 'e wanted 'e asked 'im to wait till 'e 'd 
 finished 'is dinner, and then he 'd go out and 'ave 
 a look at 'em. 
 
236 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' I was wantin' some pigs bad,' he ses, ' and the 
 worst of it is I can't get out to buy any as things 
 are.' 
 
 "'That's wot I thought,' ses William Hall; 
 ' that 's why I brought 'em to you.' 
 
 " ' You deserve to get on, William,' ses Foxy. 
 ' George,' he ses, turning to 'im. 
 
 " ' Yes,' ses George. 
 
 " ' Do you know much about pigs ? ' 
 
 " ' I know a pig when I see one,' ses George. 
 
 " ' That 's all I want,' ses Foxy ; ' go and 'ave a 
 look at 'em.' 
 
 " William Hall gave a start as George walked 
 out, and a minute afterwards both of 'em 'eard an 
 awful noise, and George came back rubbing 'is 
 'ead and saying that when 'e lifted up the cloth 
 one o' the pigs was William Hall's sister and the 
 others was 'er nephews. William said it was a 
 joke, but Foxy said he didn't like jokes, and if 
 William thought that 'e or George was going to 
 walk with 'im past the dog 'e was mistook. 
 
 " Two days arter that, Foxy, 'appening to look 
 out of 'is bedroom window, saw one o' the Clay- 
 bury boys racing 'is cows all up and down the 
 meadow. He came down quietly and took up a 
 stick, and then 'e set out to race that boy up and 
 down. He 'd always been a good runner, and th« 
 boy was 'alf-blown like. 'E gave a yell as 'e saw 
 
AWILLANDAWAY 237 
 
 Foxy coming arter 'im, and left the cow 'e was 
 chasin' and ran straight for the 'edge, with Foxy 
 close behind 'im. 
 
 "Foxy was within two yards of 'im when 'e 
 suddenly caught sight of a blue bonnet waiting 
 behind the 'edge, and 'e turned round and went 
 back to the 'ouse as fast as 'e could go and locked 
 'imself in. And 'e 'ad to sit there, half-busting, 
 all the morning, and watch that boy chase 'is best 
 cows up and down the meadow without daring to 
 go out and stop 'im. 
 
 " He sent George down to tell the boy's father 
 that night, and the father sent b,ack word that if 
 Foxy 'ad got anything to say agin 'is boy why 
 didn't 'e come down like a man and say it 
 hisself? 
 
 " Arter about three weeks o' this sort o' thing 
 Foxy Green began to see that 'e would 'ave to 
 get married whether he liked it or not, and 'e 
 told George so. George's idea was for 'im to 
 get the oldest woman in Claybury to ask 'im 
 in marriage, because then he'd soon be single 
 agin. It was a good idea, on'y Foxy didn't 
 seem to fancy it. 
 
 '"Who do you think is the prettiest gal in 
 Claybury, George ? ' he ses. 
 
 " ' Flora Pottle,' ses George, at once. 
 
 " ' That 's exactly my idea,' ses Foxy ; ' if I 've 
 
238 LIGHT FREIGHTS . 
 
 got to marry, I '11 marry 'er. However, I '11 sleep 
 on it a night and see 'ow I feel in the morning.' 
 
 " ' I '11 marry Flora Pottle,' he ses, when 'e got 
 up. ' You can go round this arternoon, George, 
 and break the good news to 'er.' 
 
 " George tidied hisself up arter dinner and went. 
 Flora Pottle was a very fine-looking gal, and she 
 was very much surprised when George walked in, 
 but she was more surprised when 'e told 'er that 
 if she was to go over and ask Foxy to be 'er 
 'usband he wouldn't say ' No.' 
 
 "Mrs. Pottle jumped out of 'er skin for joy 
 a'most. She'd 'ad a 'ard time of it with Flora 
 and five young children since 'er 'usband died, 
 and she could 'ardly believe 'er ears when Flora 
 said she wouldn't. 
 
 " ' 'E 's old enough to be my father,' she ses. 
 
 " ' Old men make the best 'usbands,' ses George, 
 coaxing 'er ; ' and, besides, think o' the farm.' 
 
 " ' That 's wot you 've got to think of,' ses her 
 mother. 'Don't think o' Foxy Green at all; 
 think o' the farm.' 
 
 " Flora stood and leaned herself up agin a chest 
 o' drawers and twisted 'er hands, and at last she 
 sent back word to say that she wanted time to 
 think it over. 
 
 " Foxy Green was very much astonished when 
 George took back that answer. He'd thought 
 
A WILL AND AWAY 239 
 
 that any gal would ha' jumped at 'im without the 
 farm, and arter going upstairs and looking at 
 hisself in the glass 'e was more astonished than 
 ever. 
 
 " When George Smith went up to the Pottles 
 agin the next day Flora made a face at 'im, and 
 'e felt as orkard as if 'e 'd been courting 'er hisself 
 a'most. At first she wouldn't 'ave anything to 
 say to 'im at all, but went on sweeping out the 
 room, and nearly choking 'im. Then George 
 Smith, wot was a likely young feller, put 'is arm 
 round 'er waist, and, taking the broom away from 
 'er, made 'er sit down beside 'im while 'e gave 'er 
 Foxy's message. 
 
 " He did Foxy's courting for 'im for an hour, 
 although it on'y seemed about five minutes to 
 both of 'em. Then Mrs. Pottle came in, and 
 arter a lot of talk Flora was got to say that 
 George Smith might come agin for five minutes 
 next day. 
 
 "Foxy went on dreadful when 'e 'eard that 
 Flora 'adn't given an answer, but George Smith, 
 who liked the job much better than farming or 
 making beds, told 'im she was coming round, and 
 that it was on'y natural a young gal should like 
 to be courted a bit afore givin' in. 
 
 " ' Yes,' ses Foxy, biting 'is lip, ' but 'ow 's it to 
 be done ? ' 
 
240 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' You leave it to me/ ses George Smith, ' and 
 it '11 be all right. I sit there and talk about the 
 farm as well as wot you could.' 
 
 " ' And about me too, I s'pose ? ' ses Foxy, 
 catching 'im up. 
 
 " ' Yes,' ses George ; ' I tell 'er all sorts o' lies 
 about you.' 
 
 "Foxy looked at 'im a moment, and then 'e 
 went off grumbling. He was like a good many 
 more men, and because Flora Pottle didn't seem 
 to want 'im 'e on'y fancied 'er the more. Next 
 day 'e sent George Smith up with an old brooch 
 as a present, and when George came back 'e said 
 'e thought that if it 'ad been a new one it would 
 'ave done wot was wanted. 
 
 "You can't keep secrets in Claybury, and it 
 soon got round wot Foxy Green was arter. 
 That made the other women more determined 
 than ever, and at last Foxy sent up word that if 
 Flora wouldn't ask 'im to let 'im know, as 'e was 
 tired o' being a prisoner, and old Mrs. Ball 'ad 
 nearly 'ad 'im the day afore. 
 
 " It took George Smith two hours' 'ard courtin' 
 afore he could get Flora Pottle to say ' Yes,' but 
 at last she did, and then Mrs. Pottle came in, 
 and she shook 'ands with George, and gave 'im a 
 glass o' beer. Mrs. Pottle wanted to take 'er up 
 to Green's farm there and then, but Flora said 
 
A WILL AND A WAY 241 
 
 no. She said they'd go up at eight o'clock in 
 the evenin', and the sacrifice should be made 
 then. 
 
 " Foxy didn't like the word ' sacrifice ' at all, 
 but if 'e 'd got to be married 'e 'd sooner marry 
 Flora than anybody, and 'e 'ad to put up with it. 
 
 " ' There '11 be you for one witness,' he ses to 
 George, ' and Mrs. Pottle is two ; wot about the 
 third ? ' 
 
 " ' I should 'ave 'alf a dozen, so as to make 
 sure,' ses George. 
 
 " Foxy thought it was a good idea, and without 
 letting 'em know wot it was for, 'e asked Henery 
 Walker and Joe Chambers, and three or four more 
 'e 'ad a grudge against for trying to marry 'im to 
 their relations, to come up and see that 'e 'd been 
 able to pick and choose. 
 
 "They came at ha'-past seven, and at eight 
 o'clock there was a knock at the door, and 
 George, arter carefully looking round, let in Mrs. 
 Pottle and Flora. She was a fine-looking gal, 
 and as she stood there looking at all them 
 astonished men, 'er face all blushes and 'er eyes 
 large and shining, Foxy thought getting married 
 wasn't such a bad thing arter all. He gave 'er a 
 chair to sit on, and then 'e coughed and waited. 
 
 " ' It 's a fine night,' he ses, at last. 
 
 " ' Beautiful,' ses Mrs. Pottle. 
 Q 
 
242 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 "Flora didn't say anything. She sat there 
 shuffling 'er feet on the carpet, and Foxy Green 
 kept on looking at 'er and waiting for 'er to 
 speak, and 'oping that she wouldn't grow up like 
 'er mother. 
 
 " ' Go on, Flora,' ses Mrs. Pottle, nudging 'er. 
 
 " ' Go on, Flora,' ses Henery Walker, mimicking 
 'er. ' I s'pose you 've come to ask Foxy a question 
 by the look of it ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes,' ses Flora, looking up. ' Are you quite 
 well, Mr. Green ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, yes,' ses Foxy ; ' but you didn't come 
 up 'ere to ask me that.' 
 
 " ' It 's all I could do to get 'er 'ere at all, Mr. 
 Green,' says Mrs. Pottle; 'she's that shy you 
 can't think. She'd rather ha' 'ad you ask 'er 
 yourself.' 
 
 " ' That can't be done,' ses Foxy, shaking 'is 
 'ead. ' Leastways, I 'm not going to risk it.' 
 
 " ' Now, Flora,' ses 'er mother, nudging 'er agin. 
 
 " ' Come on, Flora Pottle,' ses Bob Hunt ; 
 ' we 're all a-waitin'.' 
 
 " ' Shut your eyes and open your mouth, as if 
 Foxy was a powder,' ses Henery Walker. 
 
 " ' I can't,' ses Flora, turning to her mother. 
 ' I can't and I won't.' 
 
 " ' Flora Pottle,' ses 'er mother, firing up. 
 
 " ' I won't,' ses Flora, firing up too ; ' you 've 
 
A WILL AND A WAY 243 
 
 been bothering me all day long for ever so long, 
 and I won't. I 'ate the sight of 'im. He 's the 
 ugliest man in Claybury.' 
 
 "Mrs. Pottle began to cry and say that she'd 
 disgraced 'er ; but Foxy Green looked at 'er and 
 'e ses, ' Very well, Flora Pottle, then we '11 say no 
 more about it. Good evening.' 
 
 " ' Good evening,' ses Mrs. Pottle, getting up 
 and giving Flora a shake. ' Come along, you 
 tantalising mawther, do. You'll die an old 
 maid, that 's what you '11 do.' 
 
 " ' That 's all you know,' ses Flora, smiling over 
 at George Smith ; ' but if you 're so fond o' Mr. 
 Green why don't you ask 'im yourself? He can't 
 say "No."' 
 
 " For half a minute the room was as quiet as a 
 grave, and the on'y thing that moved was Foxy 
 Green's eyes as he looked fust at the door at the 
 other end of the room and then at the window. 
 
 " ' Lor' bless my soul ! ' ses Mrs. Pottle, in a 
 surprised voice. ' I never thought of it.' 
 
 " She sat down agin and smiled at Foxy as if 
 she could eat 'im. 
 
 " ' I can't think why I didn't think of it,' she 
 ses, looking round. ' I was going out like a lamb. 
 Mr. Green ' 
 
 " ' One moment,' ses Foxy, 'olding up 'is 'and. 
 * I should be a terrible, bad, cruel, unkind husband 
 
244 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 to anybody I didn't like. Don't say words you '11 
 be sorry for arterwards, Mrs. Pottle.' 
 
 "'I'm not going to,' ses Mrs. Pottle ; ' the 
 words I 'm going to say will be good for both of 
 us ; I 'm far more suitable for you than a young 
 gal — Mr. Green, will you marry me ? ' 
 
 " Foxy Green looked at 'er for a moment, and 
 then 'e looked round at all them grinning men 
 wot he'd brought there by mistake to see 'im 
 made a fool of. Then in a low, 'usky voice he 
 ses, ' I will.' " 
 
JERRY BUNDLER 
 
 IT wanted a few nights to Christmas, a festival 
 for which the small market-town of Tor- 
 chester was making extensive preparations. The 
 narrow streets which had been thronged with 
 people were now almost deserted ; the cheap-jack 
 from London, with the remnant of breath left 
 him after his evening's exertions, was making 
 feeble attempts to blow out his naphtha lamp, 
 and the last shops open were rapidly closing for 
 the night. 
 
 In the comfortable coffee-room of the old 
 " Boar's Head," half a dozen guests, principally 
 commercial travellers; sat talking by the light of 
 the fire. The talk had drifted from trade to. 
 politics, from politics to religion, and so by easy 
 stages to the supernatural. Three ghost stories, 
 never known to fail before, had fallen flat ; there 
 was too much noise outside, too much light 
 within. The fourth story was told by an old 
 hand with more success ; the streets were quiet, 
 and he had turned the gas out. In the flickering 
 
 246 
 
246 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 light of the fire, as it shone on the glasses and 
 danced with shadows on the walls, the story proved 
 so enthralling that George, the waiter, whose pres- 
 ence had been forgotten, created a very disagree- 
 able sensation by suddenly starting up from a 
 dark corner and gliding silently from the room. 
 
 "That's what I call a good story," said one 
 of the men, sipping his hot whisky. " Of course 
 it 's an old idea that spirits like to get into the 
 company of human beings. A man told me once 
 that he travelled down the Great Western with 
 a ghost, and hadn't the slightest suspicion of it 
 until the inspector came for tickets. My friend 
 said the way that ghost tried to keep up appear- 
 ances by feeling for it in all its pockets and looking 
 on the floor was quite touching. Ultimately it 
 gave it up and with a faint groan vanished through 
 the ventilator." 
 
 " That '11 do, Hirst," said another man. 
 
 " It's not a subject for jesting," said a little old 
 gentleman who had been an attentive listener. 
 " I 've never seen an apparition myself, but I 
 know people who have, and I consider that they 
 form a very interesting link between us and the 
 after-life. There 's a ghost story connected with 
 this house, you know." 
 
 " Never heard of it," said another speaker, 
 " and I 've been here some years now." 
 
JERRY BUNDLER 247 
 
 " It dates back a long time now," said the old 
 gentleman. " You 've heard about Jerry Bundler, 
 George ? " 
 
 " Well, I 've just 'eard odds and ends, sir," said 
 the old waiter, " but I never put much count to 
 'em. There was one chap 'ere what said 'e saw it, 
 and the gov'ner sacked 'im prompt." 
 
 " My father was a native of this town," said the 
 old gentleman, "and knew the story well. He 
 was a truthful man and a steady churchgoer, but 
 I 've heard him declare that once in his life he saw 
 the appearance of Jerry Bundler in this house." 
 
 " And who was this Bundler ? " inquired a 
 voice. 
 
 "A London thief, pickpocket, highwayman — 
 anything he could turn his dishonest hand to," 
 replied the old gentleman ; " and he was run to 
 earth in this house one Christmas week some 
 eighty years ago. He took his last supper in 
 this very room, and after he had gone up to bed 
 a couple of Bow Street runners, who had followed 
 him from London but lost the scent a bit, went 
 upstairs with the landlord and tried the door. It 
 was stout oak, and fast, so one went into the 
 yard, and by means of a short ladder got on to 
 the window-sill, while the other stayed outside 
 the door. Those below in the yard saw the man 
 crouching on the sill, and then there was a 
 
248 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 sudden smash of glass, and with a cry he fell in 
 a heap on the stones at their feet. Then in the 
 moonlight they saw the white face of the pick- 
 pocket peeping over the sill, and while some 
 stayed in the yard, others ran into the house and 
 helped the other man to break the door in. It 
 was difficult to obtain an entrance even then, for 
 it was barred with heavy furniture, but they got 
 in at last, and the first thing that met their eyes 
 was the body of Jerry dangling from the top of 
 the bed by his own handkerchief." 
 
 " Which bedroom was it ? " asked two or three 
 voices together. 
 
 The narrator shook his head. "That I can't 
 tell you ; but the story goes that Jerry still 
 haunts this house, and my father used to declare 
 positively that the last time he slept here the 
 ghost of Jerry Bundler lowered itself from the 
 top of his bed and tried to strangle him." 
 
 " That '11 do," said an uneasy voice. " I wish 
 you 'd thought to ask your father which bedroom 
 it was." 
 
 " What for ? " inquired the old gentleman. 
 
 "Well, I should take care not to sleep in it, 
 that 's all," said the voice, shortly. 
 
 " There 's nothing to fear," said the other. " I 
 don't believe for a moment that ghosts could 
 really hurt one. In fact my father used to 
 
JERRY BUNDLER 249 
 
 confess that it was only the unpleasantness of the 
 thing that upset him, and that for all practical 
 purposes Jerry's fingers might have been made of 
 cotton-wool for all the harm they could do." 
 
 " That 's all very fine," said the last speaker 
 again ; " a ghost story is a ghost story, sir ; but 
 when a gentleman tells a tale of a ghost in the 
 house in which one is going to sleep, I call it 
 most ungentlemanly ! " 
 
 " Pooh ! nonsense ! " said the old gentleman, 
 rising ; " ghosts can't hurt you. For my own 
 part, I should rather like to see one. Good 
 night, gentlemen." 
 
 " Good night," said the others. " And I only 
 hope Jerry '11 pay you a visit," added the nervous 
 man as the door closed. 
 
 "Bring some more whisky, George," said a 
 stout commercial ; " I want keeping up when the 
 talk turns this way." 
 
 "Shall I light the gas, Mr. Malcolm?" said 
 George. 
 
 " No ; the fire 's very comfortable," said the 
 traveller. "Now, gentlemen, any of you know 
 any more ? " 
 
 " I think we Ve had enough," said another 
 man ; " we shall be thinking we see spirits next, 
 and we 're not all like the old gentleman who 's 
 just gone." 
 
2SO LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " Old humbug ! " said Hirst. " I should like to 
 put him to the test. Suppose I dress up as Jerry 
 Bundler and go and give him a chance of dis- 
 playing his courage ? " 
 
 " Bravo ! " said Malcolm, huskily, drowning one 
 or two faint " Noes." " Just for the joke, gentle- 
 men." 
 
 " No, no ! Drop it, Hirst," said another man. 
 
 " Only for the joke," said Hirst, somewhat 
 eagerly. " I 've got some things upstairs in 
 which I am going to play in the Rivals — knee- 
 breeches, buckles, and all that sort of thing. It 's 
 a rare chance. If you '11 wait a bit I '11 give you 
 a full-dress rehearsal, entitled, ' Jerry Bundler ; 
 or, The Nocturnal Strangles' " 
 
 " You won't frighten us," said the commercial, 
 with a husky laugh. 
 
 " I don't know that," said Hirst, sharply ; " it 's 
 a question of acting, that 's all. I 'm pretty good, 
 ain't I, Somers ? " 
 
 " Oh, you 're all right — for an amateur," said 
 his friend, with a laugh. 
 
 " I '11 bet you a level sov. you don't frighten 
 me," said the stout traveller. 
 
 " Done ! " said Hirst. " I '11 take the bet to 
 frighten you first and the old gentleman after- 
 wards. These gentlemen shall be the judges." 
 
 " You won't frighten us, sir," said another man, 
 
JERRY BUNDLER 251 
 
 " because we 're prepared for you ; but you 'd 
 better leave the old man alone. It's dangerous 
 play." 
 
 " Well, I '11 try you first," said Hirst, springing 
 up. " No gas, mind." 
 
 He ran lightly upstairs to his room, leaving 
 the others, most of whom had been drinking 
 somewhat freely, to wrangle about his proceed- 
 ings. It ended in two of them going to bed. 
 
 " He 's crazy on acting," said Somers, lighting 
 his pipe. " Thinks he 's the equal of anybody 
 almost. It doesn't matter with us, but I won't 
 let him go to the old man. And he won't mind 
 so long as he gets an opportunity of acting 
 to us.'' 
 
 " Well, I hope he '11 hurry up," said Malcolm, 
 yawning; "it's after twelve now." 
 
 Nearly half an hour passed. Malcolm drew 
 his watch from his pocket and was busy winding 
 it, when George, the waiter, who had been sent 
 on an errand to the bar, burst suddenly into the 
 room and rushed towards them. 
 
 " 'E 's comin', gentlemen," he said, breathlessly. 
 
 "Why, you're frightened, George," said the 
 stout commercial, with a chuckle. 
 
 " It was the suddenness of it," said George, 
 sheepishly ; " and besides, I didn't look for seein' 
 'im in the bar. There 's only a glimmer of light 
 
252 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 there, and 'e was sitting on the floor behind the 
 bar. I nearly trod on 'im." 
 
 " Oh, you '11 never make a man, George," said 
 Malcolm. 
 
 " Well, it took me unawares," said the waiter. 
 " Not that I 'd have gone to the bar by myself 
 if I 'd known 'e was there, and I don't believe 
 you would either, sir." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " said Malcolm. " I '11 go and 
 fetch him in." 
 
 "You don't know what it's like, sir," said 
 George, catching him by the sleeve. " It ain't 
 fit to look at by yourself, it ain't, indeed. It 's 
 got the What 's that ? " 
 
 They all started at the sound of a smothered 
 cry from the staircase and the sound of some- 
 body running hurriedly along the passage. Be- 
 fore anybody could speak, the door flew open 
 and a figure bursting into the room flung itself 
 gasping and shivering upon them. 
 
 " What is it ? What 's the matter ? " demanded 
 Malcolm. "Why, it's Mr. Hirst." He shook 
 him roughly and then held some spirit to his 
 lips. Hirst drank it greedily and with a sharp 
 intake of his breath gripped him by the arm. 
 
 " Light the gas, George," said Malcolm. 
 
 The waiter obeyed hastily. Hirst, a ludicrous 
 but pitiable figure in knee-breeches and coat, 
 
JERRY BUNDLER 253 
 
 a large wig all awry, and his face a mess of 
 grease paint, clung to him, trembling. 
 
 " Now, what 's the matter ? " asked Malcolm. 
 
 " I 've seen it," said Hirst, with a hysterical 
 sob. "O Lord, I'll never play the fool again, 
 never ! " 
 
 " Seen what ? " said the others. 
 
 " Him — it — the ghost — anything ! " said Hirst, 
 wildly. 
 
 " Rot ! " said Malcolm, uneasily. 
 
 " I was coming down the stairs," said Hirst. 
 "Just capering down — as I thought — it ought 
 to do. I felt a tap " 
 
 He broke off suddenly and peered nervously 
 through the open door into the passage. 
 
 " I thought I saw it again," he whispered. 
 "Look — at the foot of the stairs. Can you see 
 anything ? " 
 
 " No, there 's nothing there," said Malcolm, 
 whose own voice shook a little. " Go on. You 
 felt a tap on your shoulder " 
 
 " I turned round and saw it — a little wicked 
 head and a white dead face. Pah ! " 
 
 " That 's what I saw in the bar," said George. 
 " 'Orrid it was— devilish ! " 
 
 Hirst shuddered, and, still retaining his nervous 
 grip of Malcolm's sleeve, dropped into a chair. 
 
 " Well, it 's a most unaccountable thing," said 
 
254 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 the dumbfounded Malcolm, turning round to 
 the others. " It 's the last time I come to this 
 house.'' 
 
 " I leave to-morrow," said George. " I wouldn't 
 go down to that bar again by myself, no, not for 
 fifty pounds ! " 
 
 " It 's talking about the thing that 's caused it, 
 I expect," said one of the men ; " we 've all been 
 talking about this and having it in our minds. 
 Practically we've been forming a spiritualistic 
 circle without knowing it." 
 
 " Hang the old gentleman ! " said Malcolm, 
 heartily. " Upon my soul, I 'm half afraid to go 
 to bed. It's odd they should both think they 
 saw something." 
 
 " I saw it as plain as I see you, sir," said 
 George, solemnly. " P'raps if you keep your eyes 
 turned up the passage you '11 see it for yourself." 
 
 They followed the direction of his finger, but 
 saw nothing, although one of them fancied that 
 a head peeped round the corner of the wall. 
 
 "Who'll come down to the bar?" said Mal- 
 colm, looking round. 
 
 " You can go, if you like," said one of the others, 
 with a faint laugh ; " we '11 wait here for you." 
 
 The stout traveller walked towards the door 
 and took a few steps up the passage. Then he 
 stopped. All was quite silent, and he walked 
 
JERRY BUNDLER 255 
 
 slowly to the end and looked down fearfully 
 towards the glass partition which shut off the 
 bar. Three times he made as though to go to 
 it ; then he turned back, and, glancing over his 
 shoulder, came hurriedly back to the room. 
 
 "Did you see it, sir? " whispered George. 
 
 "Don't know," said Malcolm, shortly. "I 
 fancied I saw something, but it might have been 
 fancy. I 'm in the mood to see anything just 
 now. How are you feeling now, sir ? " 
 
 " Oh, I feel a bit better now," said Hirst, some- 
 what brusquely, as all eyes were turned upon 
 him. " I dare say you think I 'm easily scared, 
 but you didn't see it." 
 
 " Not at all," said Malcolm, smiling faintly 
 despite himself. 
 
 " I 'm going to bed," said Hirst, noticing the 
 smile and resenting it. "Will you share my 
 room with me, Somers ? " 
 
 " I will with pleasure," said his friend, " pro- 
 vided you don't mind sleeping with the gas on 
 full all night." 
 
 He rose from his seat, and bidding the com- 
 pany a friendly good-night, left the room with 
 his crestfallen friend. The others saw them to 
 the foot of the stairs, and having heard their 
 door close, returned to the coffee-room. 
 
 "Well, I suppose the bet's off?" said the 
 
256 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 stout commercial, poking the fire and then 
 standing with his legs apart on the hearthrug ; 
 " though, as far as I can see, I won it. I never 
 saw a man so scared in all my life. Sort of 
 poetic justice about it, isn't there?" 
 
 " Never mind about poetry or justice," said 
 one of his listeners ; " who 's going to sleep with 
 me?" 
 
 " I will," said Malcolm, affably. 
 
 " And I suppose we share a room together, 
 Mr. Leek ? " said the third man, turning to the 
 fourth. 
 
 " No, thank you," said the other, briskly ; " I 
 don't believe in ghosts. If anything comes into 
 my room I shall shoot it." 
 
 " That won't hurt a spirit, Leek," said Malcolm, 
 decisively. 
 
 " Well the noise '11 be like company to me," " 
 said Leek, " and it '11 wake the house too. But 
 if you 're nervous, sir," he added, with a grin, to 
 the man who had suggested sharing his room, 
 " George '11 be only too pleased to sleep on the 
 door-mat inside your room, I know." 
 
 " That I will, sir," said George, fervently ; " and 
 if you gentlemen would only come down with 
 me to the bar to put the gas out, I could never 
 be sufficiently grateful." 
 
 They went out in a body, with the exception 
 
JERRY BUNDLER 257 
 
 of Leek, peering carefully before them as they 
 went. George turned the light out in the bar 
 and they returned unmolested to the coffee- 
 room, and, avoiding the sardonic smile of Leek, 
 prepared to separate for the night. 
 
 " Give me the candle while you put the gas 
 out, George," said the traveller. 
 
 The waiter handed it to him and extinguished 
 the gas, and at the same moment all distinctly 
 heard a step in the passage outside. It stopped 
 at the door, and as they watched with bated 
 breath, the door creaked and slowly opened. 
 Malcolm fell back open - mouthed, as a white, 
 leering face, with sunken eyeballs and close- 
 cropped bullet head, appeared at the opening. 
 
 For a few seconds the creature stood regarding 
 them, blinking in a strange fashion at the candle. 
 Then, with a sidling movement, it came a little 
 way into the room and stood there as if bewildered. 
 
 Not a man spoke or moved, but all watched 
 with a horrible fascination as the creature re- 
 moved its dirty neckcloth and its head rolled on 
 its shoulder. For a minute it paused, and then, 
 holding the rag before it, moved towards Malcolm. 
 
 The candle went out suddenly with a flash and 
 a bang. There was a smell of powder, and some- 
 thing writhing in the darkness on the floor. A 
 faint, choking cough, and then silence. Malcolm 
 R 
 
258 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 was the first to speak. " Matches," he said, in 
 a strange voice. George struck one. Then 
 he leapt at the gas and a burner flamed from 
 the match. Malcolm touched the thing on the 
 floor with his foot and found it soft. He looked 
 at his companions. They mouthed inquiries at 
 him, but he shook his head. He lit the candle, 
 and, kneeling down, examined the silent thing 
 on the floor. Then he rose swiftly, and dipping 
 his handkerchief in the water-jug, bent down 
 again and grimly wiped the white face. Then 
 he sprang back with a cry of incredulous horror, 
 pointing at it. Leek's pistol fell to the floor and 
 he shut out the sight with his hands, but the 
 others, crowding forward, gazed spell-bound at 
 the dead face of Hirst. 
 
 Before a word was spoken the door opened 
 and Somers hastily entered the room. His eyes 
 fell on the floor. " Good God ! " he cried. " You 
 didn't " 
 
 Nobody spoke. 
 
 " I told him not to," he said, in a suffocating 
 voice. " I told him not to. I told him " 
 
 He leaned against the wall, deathly sick, put 
 his arms out feebly, and fell fainting into the 
 traveller's arms. 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 
 
 THE harbour was. crowded with fishing boats, 
 and fresh arrivals were coming in every few 
 minutes. Until the entrance was reached they 
 came scudding along with every appearance of 
 haste, but then their mainsails came tumbling 
 down to the deck, and the boats with sufficient 
 way left on them moved easily over the still 
 water, and felt their way to a berth. Small 
 boats conveyed the fish to the quay, where 
 embryo fishermen were appraising the catch 
 with a wisdom beyond their years. 
 
 There was a glut of whiting. So many whiting, 
 and going so cheaply that it was enough to make 
 them bite their tails from sheer vexation. Small 
 flat fish which slid away from their pile were 
 carefully looked after and coaxed back with the 
 toe of a sea-boot, but whiting slid away un- 
 noticed until they vanished from mortal ken in 
 the pockets of predatory urchins. 
 
 In the small market, a short, red-faced man 
 with a scrubby beard walked in a disparaging 
 
260 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 fashion from heap to heap, using a favourite 
 briar in lieu of a hammer to knock down such 
 fish as found bidders. The latter were few and 
 wary, and turning a deaf ear to eloquence ex- 
 pressed opinions distasteful to an auctioneer's 
 ear in crude English. 
 
 The sense of the meeting being against him, 
 the auctioneer truckled to it, and coming to 
 another heap consisting of a selection of the 
 most undesirable fish that swim Britannia's 
 realm, gazed at it indignantly. There was a 
 titter behind him, and he voiced his wrath 
 impetuously. 
 
 " That 's Joe Gubbs's catch," he bawled. " S'elp 
 me, I 'd know that man's luck anywhere.'' 
 
 He turned the fish over scornfully with his 
 foot, and, with a severe glance at the hapless 
 Gubbs, moved away to something more saleable. 
 
 " Where d' ye get 'em from, Gubbs ? " inquired 
 an aggravating voice. "We never get such 
 things in our nets. I 've never seen some o' 
 them things afore." 
 
 "There's a lot you ain't seen, Bob Tarbut," 
 said Gubbs, turning upon him, " and what you 
 do see don't do you much good." 
 
 " I 'd be ashamed to bring home such a queer- 
 looking lot," jeered the other. 
 
 " They mayn't be up to much, but there 's none 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 261 
 
 on 'em would care to change faces with you, I 
 expect," related Gubbs. 
 
 " You leave my face alone," said Tarbut, whose 
 physiognomy was much used in the village for 
 purposes of comparison. 
 
 "A skate's handsome to you," said Gubbs, 
 following up his advantage. 
 
 He jumped back suddenly as the fist of the 
 sensitive Tarbut shot suddenly out, and treading 
 on a small fish, whirled round wildly with his 
 hands in the air in the effort to retain his balance, 
 and sat down heavily. The bystanders instantly 
 separated into two groups, and two or three 
 anxious sympathisers helped the fallen man to 
 his feet, and indicated those parts of Tarbut's 
 frame which in their opinion were least adapted 
 to offer resistance to his fist. 
 
 " Stand up," said Gubbs, sternly, as he shook 
 himself free from these friends. 
 
 " I am a-standin' up ! " said Tarbut, breathing 
 hard. 
 
 The two combatants approached each other 
 stealthily, and manoeuvring round the heaps of 
 fish, struck safely at each other over these con- 
 venient barriers. 
 
 " Get 'em in the road," cried an excited voice, 
 " they can't 'urt each other here." 
 
 A dozen kindly hands helped them there, and 
 
262 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 finding too much strategy for sport in a large 
 ring, at the bidding of the resourceful individual 
 who had last spoken, gradually made it smaller 
 and smaller. Two or three small blows warmed 
 the combatants, and they set to work in earnest. 
 Then Gubbs, under a heavy blow from Tarbut, 
 went to the ground and stayed there. 
 
 It was three minutes before he came thoroughly 
 round, and then he sat up in a dazed fashion and 
 looked round for his opponent. 
 
 " Did I kill 'im ? " he inquired, in a whisper. 
 
 " No, not quite," said one of his friends, gently. 
 
 Gubbs rubbed his eyes. " What are they pat- 
 ting him on the back for ? " he inquired, eyeing 
 the group who were making a fuss over Tarbut. 
 
 " 'Cos he 's won," said his friend. 
 
 Gubbs staggered to his feet. 
 
 " It's no good," said the landlord of the " Three 
 Fishers," who had run over to the scene of the 
 fray ; " you wasn't properly trained, you know. 
 Now, look 'ere. If you put yourself in my hands, 
 in three weeks you can beat him holler." 
 
 " You do as Mr. Larkins ses, Joe," said his friend, 
 impressively. 
 
 " I lived among prizefighters afore I come 
 down 'ere," said Mr. Larkins, expanding his 
 small frame. "In three weeks' time, Gubbs, 
 you '11 be able to knock him silly." 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 263 
 
 "Well, what about Tarbut? He ought to 
 be trained too," said one of the men. " Fair 
 .play's fair play any day." 
 
 " I '11 train 'im," said an old ex-coastguardsman. 
 
 " I don't want no training," said Tarbut, surlily. 
 " I 've beat 'im, beat 'im easy." 
 
 " Well, beat 'im again, Tarbut," said one of his 
 friends. " I '11 put my five bob on you. Who '11 
 take me ? " 
 
 For the next five minutes, heedless of the 
 assertions of both men that they wouldn't fight 
 any more, bets were freely taken, Tarbut, in 
 view of his recent success, being a hot favourite. 
 
 A jarring element was introduced into the 
 proceedings by a small, elderly man wearing a 
 piece of blue ribbon, who, pushing his way in 
 eagerly, inquired what it was all about. Nobody 
 troubling to give him a correct answer, he tried 
 to solve it for himself, and was then caught, just 
 in the nick of time, trying to make the enemies 
 shake hands. 
 
 " You go off to your Mother's Meeting, Peter 
 Morgan," said an incensed voice. 
 
 " It 's a fight," said the little man, raising his 
 voice. " Oh, my friends " 
 
 " It 's nothing o' the kind," said Larkins, hotly. 
 " I 'm training 'em for a race, that 's all. They 're 
 just going to see who 's the best runner." 
 
264 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Morgan, disregarding the publican, looked to 
 others for information. 
 
 " It 's quite right," said a bystander. " You 
 can believe me, can't you ? " 
 
 " When 's it going to be ? " asked Morgan. 
 
 " I don't know," said the other, turning away. 
 
 " You ought to be ashamed of yourselves," said 
 Morgan, warmly. "It's bad enough to make a 
 couple of men fight what don't want to without 
 telling a lot of lies about it." 
 
 "It's none o' your business," said Larkins, 
 surlily. "Ask no questions and you'll hear no 
 lies. You'll get some idea into that 'ead of 
 yours and then go and split, and have it stopped." 
 
 " I never told of anything in my life," said 
 Morgan, sharply. " My mates here know that. 
 That ain't my way. My way's persuasion and 
 example, not forcing people to do what I want." 
 
 " There 's a purse o' fifteen and six made up 
 for the winner," said Larkins, turning away and 
 whispering the news to Gubbs. " The spot for 
 the picnic '11 be made known later on. Them 
 what 's in the know is respectfully asked to keep 
 their mouths shut to save trouble all round." 
 
 He went back to his bar, and the other men, 
 after standing about a bit, strolled off one by 
 one to their teas. Mr. Morgan was one of the 
 last to leave, and went as far as Tarbut's door 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 265 
 
 with him to tell him an anecdote of a man who 
 was struck behind the ear in a fight and killed 
 on the spot. 
 
 A comfortable meal and a good night's rest 
 restored Mr. Gubbs to his wonted serenity of 
 mind, and he awoke at six o'clock feeling deter- 
 mined to shake hands with Tarbut and let the 
 matter drop. A persistent hammering at the 
 door, which gradually got louder and louder, 
 interfering with his meditations, he roused Mrs. 
 Gubbs, who was sleeping peacefully, and with 
 some asperity bade her get up and stop it 
 
 "It's Mr. Larkins, Joe," said the lady, hastily 
 withdrawing her head from the window. 
 
 Mr. Gubbs sat up in bed, and then with a 
 mighty yawn rose, and, pushing open the case- 
 ment again, gazed indignantly at the small 
 publican, who was standing below keeping up 
 an incessant rapping on the door with a small 
 cane. 
 
 " Morning, Mr. Larkins, sir," said Gubbs, 
 sniffing at the cool morning air. 
 
 " Halloa ! " said Larkins, looking up. " This 
 won't do, you know. You 're wasting time. You 
 ought to be up and out by now." 
 
 " I 've changed my mind," said Gubbs, leaning 
 out and speaking in a low voice to defeat the 
 intentions of Mrs. Gubbs, who was listening. " I 
 
266 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 dreamt I killed Tarbut, an' it 's give me such a 
 fright that I 've resolved not to fight." 
 
 "That's all right," said Larkins, briskly; 
 " dreams always go by contraries." 
 
 " Well there ain't much comfort in that," said 
 Gubbs, who was anxious to get back to his 
 warm bed, sharply. 
 
 "You dress and come down," said the im- 
 perious Larkins. "You ought to be ashamed 
 of yourself after all the trouble I 'm taking on 
 your behalf." 
 
 Mr. Gubbs rubbed his eyes and pondered. 
 " What 's the towel for ? " he demanded, sus- 
 piciously. 
 
 " Rub you down with after you 've bathed," 
 said the other. 
 
 "Bathed!" said Mr. Gubbs, with emphasis. 
 11 Bathed ? What for ? " 
 
 " Training," replied Mr. Larkins. " Hurry up." 
 
 " I don't believe old Bullock 's going to make 
 Tarbut bathe," said Gubbs, shivering; "it's 
 weakening." 
 
 " You do as you 're told," said the autocratic 
 Larkins. " Bullock don't know nothing about it." 
 
 Mr. Gubbs sighed and withdrew his head, 
 and explaining to his astonished wife that he 
 was going for a little stroll, gloomily dressed 
 himself and joined his trainer below. 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 267 
 
 " Shoulders back," said the small publican. 
 " Head up." 
 
 He led the way down to the beach, and, 
 ignoring the looks of aversion which Mr. Gubbs 
 bestowed upon the silver sea, stood by while he 
 disrobed and picked his way painfully over the 
 shingle to the edge of the water. It was a 
 bright morning, but somewhat chill, and Mr. 
 Gubbs's breathless gaspings furnished an ex- 
 cellent clue to the temperature of the water. 
 
 "How do you feel?" inquired Mr. Larkins, 
 anxiously, as he rubbed him down. 
 
 " I feel ill," said the other, shivering. 
 
 " You '11 feel better when you 've had your 
 run," said Larkins, cheerily. 
 
 "'Ad my w — w — wot}" inquired Mr. Gubbs, 
 staring at him offensively, and rubbing himself 
 furiously with the towel. 
 
 " Your run," repeated Larkins, sternly. " You 
 don't want your coat. I '11 hold that. And mind, 
 I don't want you to go running like a steam- 
 engine, or a runaway horse.'' 
 
 " I wasn't goin' to," said Gubbs. 
 
 "Just trot easy," continued the other, "for 
 about half a mile. Go as far as that gate over 
 there, then rest two minutes and trot back again." 
 
 His manner was so dictatorial that Mr. Gubbs, 
 remembering in time his score at the " Three 
 
268 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Fishers," swallowed something he was going to 
 say — and it was nearly strong enough to choke 
 him — and set off at a strange, weird gait towards 
 the indicated goal. He reached it at last, and 
 after a long two minutes started back again in 
 response to the semaphore-like appeals of the 
 enthusiastic Larkins. 
 
 " I 've got my work cut out for me, I can see," 
 said the latter, as his victim, puffing and blowing, 
 sat down on the ground. " But I '11 soon get 
 you in trim, and mind you keep quiet about it. 
 I don't want Bullock to know." 
 
 "Why not?" demanded Mr. Gubbs. 
 
 " Because he 'd train Tarbut the same way," 
 said Larkins, with a cunning grin. 
 
 "Well, why shouldn't Tarbut 'ave a doing 
 same as me?" said Mr. Gubbs, vindictively. 
 "Why should 'e be a-laying in comfort in 'is 
 bed while I 'm catching cold bathing and killing 
 myself running ? " 
 
 " Don't you be a fool," said Larkins, affection- 
 ately patting him on the shoulder. " Come into 
 my place when you have time, and I '11 put the 
 gloves on with you a bit ; and be careful what 
 you eat, mind, else you '11 undo all the good I 've 
 done you." 
 
 If it is possible for a man to expectorate sar- 
 castically, Mr. Gubbs achieved that feat. 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 269 
 
 " Only two cups of tea with your breakfast," 
 continued Larkins, solemnly, "and no greens for 
 dinner, and I '11 send you in one pint of old ale 
 every day free gratis." 
 
 The tensity of Mr. Gubbs's features relaxed, and 
 he smiled faintly as he rose and accompanied his 
 friend back. Larkins saw him to his door, and 
 after explaining fluently to Mrs. Gubbs that her 
 husband was training for a race, gave her explicit 
 instructions as to his diet, and departed. 
 
 It was a source of much joy to Mr. Larkins, 
 though he was unable to persuade Gubbs to share 
 in his feelings, that Tarbut's trainer was satisfied 
 with a less vigorous system for his man. He let 
 Tarbut off with a cold sponging on rising, and as 
 Tarbut had his own ideas as to what constituted 
 a cold sponging, both parties were well pleased 
 with each other. 
 
 The business-like nature of these proceedings 
 was keenly appreciated by the inhabitants of the 
 fishing quarter. Fights had happened before and 
 doubtless would again, but they were mere rough- 
 and-tumble affairs, and over before any proper 
 excitement could be worked up. The purse had 
 steadily mounted up to thirty-five shillings, and 
 the betting varied from day to day. 
 
 Each man had his knot of supporters, and 
 enthusiasm had reached such a pitch that Gubbs, 
 
270 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 who was naturally of a retiring disposition, had 
 to take his matutinal tub before quite a circle of 
 admirers. Opposition on the part of the ladies 
 was balked by continuing to allude to the affair 
 as a race, though Mrs. Gubbs, who got up one 
 morning to see her man run, went home in a state 
 of mind bordering upon stupefaction. 
 
 An uneasy feeling was caused by the anxiety of 
 the excellent Mr. Morgan to discover the time and 
 place of meeting. No information was afforded 
 him, and as he had indignantly denied any inten- 
 tion of giving the alarm, the gentlemen interested 
 were much exercised as to the reasons for his 
 curiosity. 
 
 The battle was fixed for a Saturday evening, 
 the two trainers, after much wordy warfare, having 
 selected a site which Mr. Larkins insisted had 
 been made purposely by Nature with a view to 
 affairs of the kind. Lofty cliffs hid it from view, 
 and the ground itself consisted of turf so soft 
 and spongy that Larkins predicted that Tarbut 
 would bounce up from it like an indiarubber ball. 
 The principals expressed themselves as satisfied, 
 though their niggardliness in the matter of thanks 
 for the trouble which had been taken over the 
 arrangements formed food for conversation for 
 the trainers all the way home. 
 
 The boats got in early on Friday afternoon with 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 271 
 
 their fish. The catch was small and soon disposed 
 of, and then the attentive trainers, rescuing their 
 men from admirers, who were feeling their arms 
 and putting leading questions as to their wind 
 and state of mind, sent them indoors with concise 
 instructions as to how they were to spend the last 
 evening. Larkins officiously sent his man off for 
 a short, sharp walk after his tea, and later on, 
 going to the quay, found that Bullock had given 
 his man the same instructions. 
 
 " Don't you go worrying of 'em, mind," said 
 Larkins sternly to the group, " an' let 'em have an 
 easy time of it to-morrow in the boats. Both of 
 'em," he added, generously. 
 
 " Spoke like a Briton, Mr. Larkins," said an old 
 fisherman. 
 
 " What I want is fair play and no favour," said 
 Mr. Larkins ; " it 's to be a genuine sporting affair. 
 No bad blood or anything of that kind. After 
 the little affair, all what go to see it are welcome 
 to one drink at my expense." 
 
 " It 's time my man was back," said Bullock, 
 looking up the road which led over the cliffs. " I 
 told him to go just as far as the ground and back." 
 
 " Old Peter Morgan 's gone down to the place 
 too, I think," piped a small lad in huge boots. 
 " I saw 'im following of Tarbut." 
 
 The landlord of the " Three Fishers " started 
 
272 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 uneasily. " It 's on my mind," he said, in a melan- 
 choly voice, " that that blessed old teetotaller '11 
 have the thing stopped. He '11 tell the police or 
 something." 
 
 " No he won't," said the old fisherman who had 
 spoken before. " Me an' Peter was boys together, 
 an' he 's never done anything o' that sort in his 
 life. Before old Peter got religious there was 
 nothing he liked better than to see a fight, or to 
 take part in one either, an' it 's my opinion he 'd 
 like to see this one, only he don't like to say so." 
 
 " Well, he won't," said Larkins, grimly ; " it may 
 be as you say, but we 're not going to take any 
 risks." 
 
 Conversation became general, and in view of 
 the nearness of the event, animated, but still the 
 two gladiators failed to put in an appearance. 
 
 " He 's overdoing it, that 's what he is," said Mr. 
 Larkins, referring to the ardent Gubbs. "You 
 can 'ave a man too willing. He '11 go and knock 
 hisself up." 
 
 The small boy came up, his big boots clattering 
 over the stones, and, shading his eyes with his 
 hands, looked up the road. The other men, follow- 
 ing his gaze, saw three men advancing lovingly 
 arm-in-arm towards them. 
 
 " It — it can't be old Morgan with 'em?" said Mr. 
 Larkins. 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 273 
 
 " It is, though," said the old fisherman, peering 
 through screwed-up eyes. " They 've made it up 
 through old Peter, that 's wot they 've done. He 's 
 been talking at 'em and getting at 'em, and now 
 there won't be no fight." 
 
 His disappointed auditors groaned in chorus. 
 "Won't there," said Larkins, savagely. "Ho — 
 
 won't there You don't think me and my 
 
 friend Bullock here are going to slave three 
 weeks for nothing, do you ? " 
 
 "There won't be no fight," repeated the old 
 man. " Look how loving they are ! All three of 
 'em as close together as sweethearts." 
 
 The advancing trio certainly bore out the old 
 man's words to the letter. Mr. Peter Morgan was 
 in the centre, and appeared to be half-embracing 
 his companions. 
 
 "Why, they can hardly walk," said Bullock; 
 " they 've been too far." 
 
 " Yes, that 's what it is," said Larkins, in aiiollow 
 voice. 
 
 "Seems to me," said the boy, slowly, "that 
 they 've 'ad a bit of a scrap already." 
 
 The crowd, with bated breath, stepped out to 
 meet them, Larkins and Bullock leading. It was 
 evident that the two heroes were clinging to 
 Mr. Morgan more for support than from any 
 motives of affection, and it was no less evident 
 s 
 
274 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 that the lad's remark as to a bit of a scrap 
 was capable of wide interpretation. In a few 
 minutes both parties were face to face, and the 
 two trainers gazing at their charges speechless 
 with indignation. 
 
 " Which is Gubbs ? " demanded Larkins at last, 
 in an unnatural voice. 
 
 The figure on Morgan's right arm managed 
 to open an eye and to twist its swollen lips into 
 something intended for a smile. 
 
 " What 'ave you been doing ? " vociferated the 
 incensed landlord. 
 
 " Fightin'," said Gubbs, speaking with some 
 difficulty; "it's all over now. It was a draw, 
 and we're going to halve the money between 
 us." 
 
 " Oh, are you," said Larkins, bitterly. " Well, 
 you won't have a damned ha'penny of it. What 
 do you mean by it ? Eh ? " 
 
 " I '11 tell you all about it," said Morgan, 
 who was looking radiantly happy. " I saw 
 Tarbut going up the road and I followed him 
 and talked to him, and by and by up comes 
 Gubbs, and I talked to him. Then I found out 
 what, of course, I knew before, that all you men 
 were trying to induce these poor souls to knock 
 each other about for money." 
 
 Mr. Larkins, choking helplessly, looked sternly 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 275 
 
 at Mr. Morgan, and pointed an incriminating 
 finger at Tarbut's visage. 
 
 " I urged 'em not to make such a brutal show 
 of themselves for money," continued Mr. Morgan, 
 " but they said as 'ow they would. Gubbs said 
 it would be the easiest thirty-five shillings he'd 
 ever earned, and Tarbut said it was him as was 
 going to earn it. After a little talk o' this kind, 
 Gubbs here 'it Tarbut smack in the eye." 
 
 Tarbut gave a faint groan in confirmation. 
 
 " Then they both started to peel," continued 
 Mr. Morgan. 
 
 " Why didn't you stop 'em ? " inquired the ex- 
 coastguard ; " it was your duty as a Christian to 
 stop 'em." 
 
 " I thought it was better for 'em to fight like 
 that than to make a brutal exhibition of them- 
 selves," said Mr. Morgan, with dignity. " It was 
 a revolting spectacle, shocking, and I 'm glad and 
 thankful there was nobody there but me to see 
 'em make such brute beasts of themselves." 
 
 A threatening murmur broke from the crowd. 
 
 " There in that sweet secluded spot," said Mr. 
 Morgan, shaking his head, "these two men, stripped 
 to the waist, knocked one another about for fifteen 
 rounds. First blood fell to Tarbut, he got in with 
 his left on Gubbs's nose, then Gubbs up with a 
 fearful blow and knocked him flat. It was as 
 
276 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 clean a blow as ever I see. I took Tarbut on my 
 knee — poor fellow, he was doing wrong, but still 
 he was suffering, and Peter Morgan 's always got 
 a knee for the sufferer. Second round he was 
 more cautious, and watching 'is opportunity, he 
 clenched and fell with Gubbs underneath. It was 
 a disgusting spectacle." 
 
 Mr. Larkins bent savagely over to Mr. Bullock 
 and whispered in his ear. 
 
 " When time was called " — said Mr. Morgan. 
 
 "Who called it?" inquired a voice, with the 
 air of one making a point. 
 
 " I did," said Mr. Morgan ; " there was nobody 
 else ; — both of 'em walked round each other a bit, 
 sparring and looking for opportunities. I think 
 the third round was the longest of all. Both of 
 'em kept getting in a lot of little knocks and then 
 dodging away again. Then Tarbut caught Gubbs 
 one in the bread-ba — in the wind — and then 
 followed up on his jaw and knocked him down 
 again. It was a disgusting spectacle." 
 
 " Must ha' been," said a dejected voice. 
 
 "After that there was twelve more rounds," 
 continued the narrator ; " sometimes Tarbut had 
 the best of it, and sometimes Gubbs. Both men 
 was very determined and fought very fair. It 
 was good, solid hard hitting, and they were 
 marked all over before they'd finished. Once 
 
THE PEACEMAKER 277 
 
 Gubbs gave Tarbut a blow over the heart, and I 
 thought he wouldn't get up to time." 
 
 " I wouldn't if you hadn't blowed water into 
 my face out of that puddle," said Tarbut. 
 
 " It was a most disgusting spectacle," said Mr. 
 Peter Morgan, hurriedly. 
 
 " Seems to me " began Larkins, ferociously. 
 
 "Two fine strong men, stripped to the waist, 
 hard as nails, knocking each other about for 
 money," said Mr. Morgan. " They 're never going 
 to fight any more. I made 'em promise they 
 wouldn't. They 're good friends now ; ain't you, 
 lads ?" 
 
 With an utter disregard of the feelings of the 
 bystanders the two men shook hands. 
 
 "And though I regard fighting with horror," 
 concluded Mr. Morgan, beaming on them, " I 
 think that, as it was a bargain, you should divide 
 the purse between 'em." 
 
 "They won't get a farthing of it," said Mr. 
 Larkins, explosively, " unless you like to give it 
 to 'em out of your own pocket." 
 
 "Mel" said Mr. Morgan, opening his eyes. 
 "Why?" 
 
 "Ask yourself," said Mr. Larkins, pointedly. 
 " I should say if any man ever 'ad thirty-five 
 shillingsworth of sport all to hisself, you have ; 
 and, what 's more, you know it, Mr. Peter Morgan." 
 
278 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 The peacemaker sighed, and, turning, led his 
 charges gently away. The crowd watched them 
 as far as the " Three Fishers," and observing that 
 they detached themselves by force from their 
 guide and friend, crossed the road and followed 
 them in. 
 
FALSE COLOURS 
 
 " (~\F course, there is a deal of bullying done 
 
 ^-^ at sea at times," said the night-watchman, 
 thoughtfully. " The men call it bullying an' the 
 officers call it discipline, but it 's the same thing 
 under another name. Still, it 's fair in a way. It 
 gets passed on from one to another. Everybody 
 aboard a'most has g<5t somebody to bully, except, 
 perhaps, the boy ; he 'as the worst of it, unless 
 he can manage to get the ship's cat by itself 
 occasionally. 
 
 " I don't think sailor-men mind being bullied. 
 I never 'eard of its putting one off 'is feed yet, 
 and that 's the main thing, arter all 's said and 
 done. 
 
 " Fust officers are often worse than skippers. 
 In the fust place, they know they ain't skippers, 
 an' that alone is enough to put 'em in a bad 
 temper, especially if they 've 'ad their certifikit a 
 good many years and can't get a vacancy. 
 
 " I remember, a good many years ago now, I 
 was lying at Calcutta one time in the Peewit, as 
 
 279 
 
280 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 fine a barque as you 'd wish to see, an' we 'ad a 
 fust mate, there as was a disgrace to 'is sects. A 
 nasty, bullying, violent man, who used to call 
 the hands names as they didn't know the mean- 
 ings of and what was no use looking in the 
 dictionary for. 
 
 " There was one chap aboard, Bill Cousins, as 
 he used to make a partickler mark of. Bill 'ad 
 the misfortin to 'ave red 'air, and the way the 
 mate used to throw that in 'is face was disgrace- 
 ful. Fortunately for us all, the skipper was a 
 very decent sort of man, so that the mate was 
 only at 'is worst when he wasn't by. 
 
 " We was sitting in the fo'c's'le at tea one arter- 
 noon, when Bill Cousins came down, an' we see 
 at once 'e 'd 'ad a turn with the mate. He sat 
 all by hisself for some time simmering, an' then 
 he broke out. ' One o' these days I '11 swing for 
 'im ; mark my words.' 
 
 " ' Don't be a fool, Bill,' ses Joe Smith. 
 
 '"If I could on'y mark 'im,' ses Bill, catching 
 his breath. 'Just mark 'im fair an' square. If 
 I could on'y 'ave 'im alone for ten minutes, with 
 nobody standing by to see fair play. But, o' 
 course, if I 'it 'im it 's mutiny.' 
 
 " ' You couldn't do it if it wasn't, Bill,' ses Joe 
 Smith again. 
 
 " ' He walks about the town as though the place 
 
FALSE COLOURS 281 
 
 belongs to 'im,' said Ted Hill. ' Most of us is 
 satisfied to shove the niggers out o' the way, but 
 he ups fist and 'its 'em if they comes within a 
 yard of 'im.' 
 
 "'Why don't they 'it 'im back ?' ses Bill. ' I 
 would if I was them.' 
 
 " Joe Smith grunted. ' Well, why don't you ? ' 
 he asked. 
 
 " ' 'Cos I ain't a nigger,' ses Bill. 
 
 " ' Well, but you might be,' ses Joe, very earnest. 
 ' Black your face an' 'ands an' legs, and dress up 
 in them cotton things, and go ashore and get 
 in 'is way.' 
 
 " ' If you will, I will, Bill,' ses a chap called Bob 
 Pullin. 
 
 " Well, they talked it over and over, and at last 
 Joe, who seemed to take a great interest in it, 
 went ashore and got the duds for 'em. Th'ey was 
 a tight fit for Bill, Hindoos not being as wide as 
 they might be, but Joe said if 'e didn't bend about 
 he 'd be all right, and Pullin, who was a smaller 
 man, said his was fust class. 
 
 " After they were dressed, the next question 
 was wot to use to colour them with ; coal was 
 too scratchy, an' ink Bill didn't like. Then Ted 
 Hill burnt a cork and started on Bill's nose with 
 it afore it was cool, an' Bill didn't like that. 
 
 " ' Look 'ere,' ses the carpenter, ' nothin' seems 
 
282 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 to please you, Bill — it 's my opinion you 're back- 
 ing out of it.' 
 
 " ' You 're a liar,' ses Bill. 
 
 " ' Well, I 've got some stuff in a can as might 
 be boiled-down Hindoo for all you could tell to 
 the difference,' ses the carpenter; 'and if you'll 
 keep that ugly mouth of yours shut, I '11 paint 
 you myself.' 
 
 " Well, Bill was a bit flattered, the carpenter 
 being a very superior sort of a man, and quite an 
 artist in 'is way, an' Bill sat down an' let 'im do 
 'im with some stuff out of a can that made 'im 
 look like a Hindoo what 'ad been polished. Then 
 Bob Pullin was done too, an' when they'd got 
 their turbins on, the change in their appearance 
 was wonderful. 
 
 " ' Feels a bit stiff,' ses Bill, working 'is mouth. 
 
 " ' That '11 wear off,' ses the carpenter ; ' it 
 wouldn't be you if you didn't 'ave a grumble, Bill.' 
 
 " ' And mind and don't spare 'im, Bill,' ses Joe. 
 ' There 's two of you, an' if you only do wot 's 
 expected of you, the mate ought to 'ave a easy 
 time abed this v'y'ge.' 
 
 " ' Let the mate start fust,' ses Ted Hill. ' He 's 
 sure to start on you if you only get in 'is way. 
 Lord, I 'd like to see his face when you start 
 on 'im ! ' 
 
 " Well, the two of 'em went ashore arter dark 
 
FALSE COLOURS 283 
 
 with the best wishes o' all on board, an' the rest 
 of us sat down in the fo'c's'le spekerlating as to 
 what sort o' time the mate was goin' to 'ave. He 
 went ashore all right, because Ted Hill see 'im 
 go, an' he noticed with partickler pleasure as 'ow 
 he was dressed very careful. 
 
 " It must ha' been near eleven o'clock. I was 
 sitting with Smith on the port side o' the galley, 
 when we heard a 'ubbub approaching the ship. 
 It was the mate just coming aboard. He was 
 without 'is 'at ; 'is necktie was twisted round 'is 
 ear, and 'is shirt and 'is collar was all torn to 
 shreds. The second and third officers ran up to 
 him to see what was the matter, and while he 
 was telling them, up comes the skipper. 
 
 " ' You don't mean to tell me, Mr. Fingall,' ses 
 the skipper, in surprise, ' that you 've been knocked 
 about like that by them mild and meek Hindoos ? ' 
 
 " ' Hindoos, sir ? ' roared the mate. ' Cert'nly 
 not, sir. I 've been assaulted like this by five 
 German sailor- men. And I licked 'em all.' 
 
 " ' I 'm glad to hear that,' ses the skipper ; and 
 the second and third pats the mate on the back 
 — just like you pat a dog you don't know. 
 
 " ' Big fellows they was,' ses he, ' an' they give 
 me some trouble. Look at my eye ! ' 
 
 " The second officer struck a match and looked 
 at it, and it cert'n'y was a beauty. 
 
284 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' I hope you reported this at the police- 
 station ? ' ses the skipper. 
 
 " ' No, sir,' ses the mate, holding up 'is 'ead. 
 ' I don't want no p'lice to protect me. Five 's a 
 large number, but I drove 'em off, and I don't 
 think they '11 meddle with any British fust-officers 
 again.' 
 
 " ' You 'd better turn in,' ses the second, leading 
 him off by the arm. 
 
 " The mate limped off with him, and as soon 
 as the coast was clear we put our 'eads together 
 and tried to make out how it was that Bill 
 Cousins and Bob 'ad changed themselves into 
 five German sailor-men. 
 
 " ' It 's the mate's pride,' ses the carpenter. ' He 
 didn't like being knocked about by Hindoos.' 
 
 " We thought it was that, but we had to wait 
 nearly another hour afore the two came aboard, 
 to make sure. There was a difference in the way 
 they came aboard, too, from that of the mate. 
 They didn't make no noise, and the fust thing we 
 knew of their coming aboard was seeing a bare, 
 black foot waving feebly at the top of the fo'c's'le 
 ladder feelin' for the step below. 
 
 " That was Bob. He came down without a 
 word, and then we see 'e was holding another 
 black foot and guiding it to where it should go. 
 That was Bill, an' of all the 'orrid, limp-looking 
 
FALSE COLOURS 285 
 
 blacks that you ever see, Bill was the worst when 
 he got below. He just sat on a locker all of a 
 heap and held 'is 'ead, which was swollen up, in 'is 
 hands. Bob went and sat beside 'im, and there 
 they sat, for all the world like two wax figgers 
 instead o' human beings. 
 
 " ' Well, you done it, Bill,' ses Joe, after waiting 
 a long time for them to speak. ' Tell us all 
 about it.' 
 
 " ' Nothin' to tell,' ses Bill, very surly. ' We 
 knocked 'im about.' 
 
 " ' And he knocked us about,' ses Bob, with a 
 groan. ' I 'm sore all over, and as for my feet ' 
 
 " ' Wot 's the matter with them ? ' ses Joe. 
 
 "'Trod on,' ses Bob, very short. 'If my bare 
 feet was trod on once they was a dozen times. 
 I 've never 'ad such a doing in all my life. He 
 fought like a devil. I thought he 'd ha' murdered 
 Bill.' 
 
 " ' I wish 'e 'ad,' ses Bill, with a groan ; ' my 
 face is bruised and cut about cruel. I can't bear 
 to touch it.' 
 
 " ' Do you mean to say the two of you couldn't 
 settle 'im ? ' ses Joe, staring. 
 
 " ' I mean to say we got a hiding,' ses Bill. ' We 
 got close to him fust start off and got our feet 
 trod on. Artef that it was like fighting a wind- 
 mill, with sledge-hammers for sails.' 
 
286 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " He gave a groan and turned over in his bunk, 
 and when we asked him some more about it, he 
 swore at us. They both seemed quite done up, 
 and at last they dropped off to sleep just as they 
 was, without even stopping to wash the black off 
 or to undress themselves. 
 
 " I was awoke rather early in the morning by 
 the sounds of somebody talking to themselves, 
 and a little splashing of water. It seemed to go 
 on a long while, and at last I leaned out of my 
 bunk and see Bill bending over a bucket and 
 washing himself and using bad langwidge. 
 
 " ' Wot 's the matter, Bill ? ' ses Joe, yawning 
 and sitting up in bed. 
 
 " ' My skin 's that tender, I can hardly touch 
 it,' ses Bill, bending down and rinsing 'is face. 
 'Is it all orf?' 
 
 "' Orf ? ' ses Joe ; ' no, o' course it ain't. Why 
 don't you use some soap ? ' 
 
 " ' Soap', answers Bill, mad-like ; ' why, I 've 
 used more soap than I've used for six months 
 in the ordinary way.' 
 
 " ' That 's no good,' ses Joe ; ' give yourself a 
 good wash.' 
 
 " Bill put down the soap then very careful, and 
 went over to 'im and told him all the dreadful 
 things he 'd do to him when he got strong agin, 
 and then Bob Pullin got out of his bunk an' 'ad 
 
FALSE COLOURS 287 
 
 a try on his face. Him an' Bill kept washing, 
 and then taking each other to the light and trying 
 to believe it was coming off until they got sick 
 of it, and then Bill, 'e up with his foot and 
 capsized the bucket, and walked up and down 
 the fo'c's'le raving. 
 
 '"Well, the carpenter put it on,' ses a voice, 
 ' make 'im take it orf 
 
 " You wouldn't believe the job we 'ad to wake 
 that man up. He wasn't fairly woke till he was 
 hauled out of 'is bunk an' set down opposite 
 them two pore black fellers an' told to make 'em 
 white again. 
 
 " ' I don't believe as there 's anything will 
 touch it,' he says, at last. ' I forgot all about 
 that.' 
 
 " ' Do you mean to say,' bawls Bill, ' that we 've 
 got to be black all the rest of our life? ' 
 
 " ' Cert'nly not,' ses the carpenter, indignantly, 
 ' it '11 wear off in time ; shaving every morning '11 
 'elp it, I should say.' 
 
 " ' I '11 get my razor now,' ses Bill, in a awful 
 voice ; ' don't let 'im go, Bob. I '11 'ack 'is 
 head orf.' 
 
 " He actually went off an' got his razor, but, 
 o' course, we jumped out of our bunks and got 
 between 'em and told him plainly that it was not 
 to be, and then we set 'em down and tried every- 
 
288 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 thing we could think of, from butter and linseed 
 oil to cold tea-leaves used as a poultice, and all 
 it did was to make 'em shinier an' shinier. 
 
 " ' It 's no good, I tell you,' ses the carpenter, 
 'it's the most lasting black I know. If I told 
 you how much that stuff is a can, you wouldn't 
 believe me.' 
 
 " ' Well, you 're in it,' ses Bill, his voice all of 
 a tremble ; ' you done it so as we could knock 
 the mate about. Whatever 's done to us '11 be 
 done to you too.' 
 
 '"I don't think turps '11 touch it,' ses the 
 carpenter, getting up, ' but we '11 'ave a try.' 
 
 " He went and fetched the can and poured 
 some out on a bit o' rag and told Bill to dab 
 his face with it. Bill give a dab, and the next 
 moment he rushed over with a scream and buried 
 his head in a shirt wot Simmons was wearing 
 at the time and began to wipe his face with it. 
 Then he left the flustered Simmons an' shoved 
 another chap away from the bucket and buried 
 his face in it and kicked and carried on like a 
 madman. Then 'e jumped into his bunk again 
 and buried 'is face in the clothes and rocked 
 hisself and moaned as if he was dying. 
 
 " ' Don't you use it, Bob,' he ses, at last. 
 
 " ' 'Tain't likely,' ses Bob. ' It 's a good thing 
 you tried it fust, Bill.' 
 
FALSE COLOURS 289 
 
 ' ' 'Ave they tried holy-stone ? ' ses a voice 
 from a bunk. 
 
 "'No, they ain't,' ses Bob, snappishly, 'and, 
 what 's more, they ain't goin' to.' 
 
 " Both o' their tempers was so bad that we let 
 the subject drop while we was at breakfast. The 
 orkard persition of affairs could no longer be dis- 
 regarded. Fust one chap threw out a 'int and 
 then another, gradually getting a little stronger 
 and stronger, until Bill turned round in a uncom- 
 fortable way and requested of us to leave off 
 talking with our mouths full and speak up like 
 Englishmen wot we meant. 
 
 " ' You see, it 's this way, Bill,' ses Joe, soft-like. 
 ' As soon as the mate sees you there '11 be trouble 
 for all of us.' 
 
 " ' For all of us,' repeats Bill, nodding. 
 
 " ' Whereas,' ses Joe, looking round for support, 
 ' if we gets up a little collection for you and you 
 should find it convenient to desart ' 
 
 " ' 'Ear, 'ear,' ses a lot o' voices. ' Bravo, Joe.' 
 
 " ' Oh, desart is it ? ' ses Bill ; ' an' where are we 
 goin' to desart to ? ' 
 
 " ' Well, that we leave to you,' ses Joe ; ' there 's 
 many a ship short-'anded as would be glad to 
 pick up sich a couple of prime sailor-men as you 
 an' Bob.' 
 
 " ' Ah, an' wot about our black faces ? ' ses 
 
 T 
 
290 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 Bill, still in the same sneering, ungrateful sort 
 o' voice. 
 
 " ' That can be got over,' ses Joe. 
 
 *'"0w?' ses Bill and Bob together. 
 
 '"Ship as nigger-cooks,' ses Joe, slapping his 
 knee and looking round triumphant. 
 
 " It 's no good trying to do some people a 
 kindness. Joe was perfectly sincere, and nobody 
 could say but wot it wasn't a good idea, but 
 o' course Mr. Bill Cousins must consider hisself 
 insulted, and I can only suppose that the trouble 
 he 'd gone through 'ad affected his brain. Like- 
 wise Bob Pullin's. Anyway, that's the only 
 excuse I can make for 'em. To cut a long 
 story short, nobody 'ad any more breakfast, and 
 no time to do anything until them two men was 
 scrouged up in a corner an' 'eld there unable to 
 move. 
 
 " ' I 'd never 'ave done 'em,' ses the carpenter, 
 arter it was all over, 'if I 'd known they was 
 goin' to carry on like this. They wanted to be 
 done.' 
 
 "'The mate '11 half murder 'em,' ses Ted Hill. 
 
 " ' He '11 'ave 'em sent to gaol, that 's wot 
 he'll do,' ses Smith. 'It's a serious matter to 
 go ashore and commit assault and battery on 
 the mate.' 
 
 " ' You 're all in it,' ses the voice o' Bill from the 
 
FALSE COLOURS 291 
 
 floor. ' I 'm going to make a clean breast of it. 
 Joe Smith put us up to it, the carpenter blacked 
 us, and the others encouraged us.' 
 
 " ' Joe got the clothes for us,' ses Bob. ' I know 
 the place he got J em from, too.' 
 
 "The ingratitude o' these two men was sich 
 that at first we decided to have no more to do 
 with them, but better feelings prevailed, and we 
 held a sort o' meeting to consider what was best 
 to be done. An' everything that was suggested 
 one o' them two voices from the floor found fault 
 with and wouldn't 'ave, and at last we 'ad to go 
 up on deck with nothing decided upon, except to 
 swear 'ard and fast as we knew nothing about it. 
 
 " ' The only advice we can give you,' ses Joe, 
 looking back at 'em, ' is to stay down 'ere as long 
 as you can.' 
 
 " A'most the fust person we see on deck was 
 the mate, an' a pretty sight he was. He 'd got 
 a bandage round 'is left eye, and a black ring 
 round the other. His nose was swelled and his 
 lip cut, but the other officers were making sich 
 a fuss over 'im, that I think he rather gloried 
 in it than otherwise. 
 
 " ' Where 's them other two 'ands ? ' he ses 
 by and by, glaring out of 'is black eye. 
 
 " ' Down below, sir, I b'lieve,' ses the carpenter, 
 all of a tremble. 
 
292 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' Go an' send 'em up,' ses the mate to Smith. 
 
 " ' Yessir,' ses Joe, without moving. 
 
 " ' Well, go on then,' roars the mate. 
 
 " ' They ain't over and above well, sir, this 
 morning,' ses Joe. 
 
 '"Send 'em up, confound you,' ses the mate, 
 limping towards 'im. 
 
 " Well, Joe give 'is shoulders a 'elpless sort 
 o' shrug and walked forward and bawled down 
 the fo'c's'le. 
 
 " ' They 're coming, sir,' he ses, walking back to 
 the mate just as the skipper came out of 'is 
 cabin. 
 
 " We all went on with our work as 'ard as we 
 knew 'ow. The skipper was talking to the mate 
 about 'is injuries, and saying unkind things 
 about Germans, when he give a sort of a shout 
 and staggered back staring. We just looked 
 round, and there was them two blackamoors 
 coming slowly towards us. 
 
 " ' Good heavens, Mr. Fingall,' ses the old man. 
 ' What 's this ? ' 
 
 " I never see sich • a look on any man's face 
 as I saw on the mate's then. Three times 'e 
 opened 'is mouth to speak, and shut it agin 
 without saying anything. The veins on 'is 
 forehead swelled up tremendous and 'is cheeks 
 was all blown out purple. 
 
FALSE COLOURS 293 
 
 "'That's Bill Cousins' hair,' ses the skipper 
 to himself. 'It's Bill Cousins' hair. It's Bill 
 Cous ' 
 
 " Bob walked up to him, with Bill lagging 
 a little way behind, and then he stops just 
 in front of 'im and fetches up a sort o' little 
 smile. 
 
 " ' Don't you make those faces at me, sir,' roars 
 the skipper. ' What do you mean by it ? What 
 have you been doing to yourselves ? ' 
 
 " ' Nothin', sir,' ses Bill, 'umbly ; ' it was done 
 to us.' 
 
 " The carpenter, who was just going to cooper 
 up a cask which 'ad started a bit, shook like a 
 leaf, and gave Bill a look that would ha' melted 
 a stone. 
 
 " ' Who did it ? ' ses the skipper. 
 
 " ' We 've been the wictims of a cruel outrage, 
 sir,' ses Bill, doing all 'e could to avoid the mate's 
 eye, which wouldn't be avoided. 
 
 " ' So I should think,' ses the skipper. ' You 've 
 been knocked about, too.' 
 
 " ' Yessir,' ses Bill, very respectful ; ' me and 
 Bob was ashore last night, sir, just for a quiet 
 look round, when we was set on to by five 
 furriners. 
 
 "' What?' ses the skipper; and I won't repeat 
 what the mate said. 
 
294 LIGHT FREIGHTS 
 
 " ' We fought 'em as long as we could, sir,' ses 
 Bill, 'then we was both knocked senseless, and 
 when we came to ourselves we was messed up 
 like this 'ere.' 
 
 " What sort o' men were they ? ' asked the 
 skipper, getting excited. 
 
 "'Sailor-men, sir,' ses Bob, putting in his 
 spoke. ' Dutchies or Germans, or something o' 
 that sort.' 
 
 " ' Was there one tall man, with a fair beard,' 
 ses the skipper, getting more and more excited. 
 
 " ' Yessir,' ses Bill, in a surprised sort o' voice. 
 
 " ' Same gang,' ses the skipper, " Same gang 
 as knocked Mr. Fingall about, you may depend 
 upon it. Mr. Fingall, it 's a mercy for you you 
 didn't get your face blacked too.' 
 
 " I thought the mate would ha' burst. I can't 
 understand how any man could swell as he 
 swelled without bursting. 
 
 " ' I don't believe a word of it,' he ses, at last. 
 
 " < Why not ? ' ses the skipper, sharply. 
 
 " ' Well, I don't,' ses the mate, his voice trem- 
 bling with passion. ' I 'ave my reasons.' 
 
 " ' I s'pose you don't think these two poor 
 fellows went and blacked themselves for fun, 
 do you ? ' ses the skipper. 
 
 " The mate couldn't answer. 
 
 "'And then went and knocked themselves 
 
FALSE COLOURS 295 
 
 about for more fun ? ' ses the skipper, very 
 sarcastic. 
 
 " The mate didn't answer. He looked round 
 helpless like, and see the third officer swopping 
 glances with the second, and all the men looking 
 sly and amused, and I think if ever a man saw 
 'e was done 'e did at that moment. 
 
 " He turned away and went below, and the 
 skipper arter reading us all a little lecture on 
 getting into fights without reason, sent the two 
 chaps below agin and told 'em to turn in and 
 rest. He was so good to 'em all the way 'ome, 
 and took sich a interest in seeing 'em change 
 from black to brown and from light brown to 
 spotted lemon, that the mate daren't do nothing 
 to them, but gave us their share of what he 
 owed them as well as an extra dose of our 
 own." 
 
 Printed by T. and A. Constable, (late) Printers to Her Majesty 
 at the Edinburgh University Press 
 
A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS 
 
 AND ANNOUNCEMENTS OF 
 
 METHUEN AND COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS : LONDON 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET 
 
 W.C. 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 FORTHCOMING BOOKS, 
 
 POETRY, .... 
 
 BELLES LETTRES, ANTHOLOGIES, ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED AND GIFT BOOKS, 
 
 HISTORY, . 
 
 BIOGRAPHY, 
 
 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE AND TOPOGRAPHY, 
 
 NAVAL AND MILITARY, 
 
 GENERAL LITERATURE, 
 
 PHILOSOPHY, 
 
 SCIENCE, 
 
 THEOLOGY, 
 
 FICTION, 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, 
 
 THE PEACOCK LIBRARY, 
 
 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERIES, 
 
 SOCIAL QUESTIONS OF TO-DAY 
 
 CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS, 
 
 EDUCATIONAL BOOKS, 
 
 16 
 17 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 2 3 
 24 
 26 
 
 27 
 27 
 
 3 2 
 42 
 42 
 42 
 43 
 44 
 44 
 
 JULY 1901 
 
July 1901. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's 
 
 ANNOUNCEMENTS 
 
 Belles Lettres 
 
 STUDIES IN DANTE. By Paget Toynbee. Crown&vo. 6s. 
 
 Among the subjects dealt with are ' Dante's Latin Dictionary,' ' Dante and the 
 Lancelot Romance,' Dante's references to Pythagoras, Dante's obligations to 
 Alfraganus, to Orosius, to Albertus Magnus ; Dante's theories as to the spots on the 
 moon, the seven examples of munificence in the Convivio, the Commentary of 
 Benvenutoda Imola on the Divina Commedia, etc., etc. 
 
 dfcetbuen's Standard Xtbrarg 
 
 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. By Thomas Carlyle. 
 Edited by C. R. L. Fletcher, Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. 
 Three Volu??ies. Crown Svo. 6s, each. 
 This edition is magnificently equipped with notes by a scholar who has given three 
 years to its preparation. 
 
 THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF OLIVER CROMWELL. 
 
 By Thomas Carlyle. With an Introduction by C. H. Firth, 
 
 M.A., and Notes and Appendices by Mrs. Lomas. Three Volumes. 
 
 6s. each. 
 
 This edition is brought up to the standard of modern scholarship by the addition of 
 
 numerous new letters of Cromwell, and by the correction of many errors which 
 
 recent research has discovered. 
 
 CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL ESSAYS. By Lord 
 Macaulay. Edited by F. C. Montague, M.A. Three Volumes. 
 Crown &vo. 6s. each. 
 The only edition of this book completely annotated. 
 
 Xtttle JBiograpbfes 
 
 Fcap. %vo. Each Volume, cloth, y. 6d. ; leather, 4s. net. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen are publishing a new series bearing the above title. 
 Each book contains the biography of * character famous in war, art, 
 literature or science, and is written by an acknowledged expert. The 
 books are charmingly produced and well illustrated. They form delightful 
 gift books. 
 
 THE LIFE OF JOHN HOWARD. By E. C. S. GIBSON, D.D., 
 Vicar of Leeds. With 12 Illustrations. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Announcements 3 
 
 Zbz TKHorfcs of Sbaftespeare 
 
 General Editor, Edward Dowden, Litt. D. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen are publishing an Edition of Shakespeare in single 
 Plays. Each play is edited with a full Introduction, Textual Notes, and 
 a Commentary at the foot of the page. 
 
 KING LEAR. Edited by W. J. Craig. Demy Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 Zbe Xittle Xiftrarg 
 
 'The volumes are compact in size, printed on thin hut good paper in clear type, 
 prettily and at the same time strongly bound, and altogether good to look upon 
 and'handle.' — Outlook. 
 
 Pott Svo. Each Volume, cloth, is. 6d. net ; leather, 2s. 6d. net. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen are producing a series of small books under the 
 above title, containing some of the famous books in English and other 
 literatures, in the domains of fiction, poetry, and belles lettres. The 
 series contains several volumes of selections in prose and verse. 
 
 The books are edited with the most sympathetic and scholarly care. 
 Each one contains an Introduction which gives (1) a short biography of 
 the author, (2) a critical estimate of the book. Where they are necessary, 
 short notes are added at the foot of the page. 
 
 Each book has a portrait or frontispiece in photogravure, and the 
 volumes are produced with great care in a style uniform with that of 
 ' The Library of Devotion.' 
 
 CHRISTMAS BOOKS. By W. M. THACKERAY. Edited by S. 
 
 GWYNN. 
 
 ESMOND. By W. M. Thackeray. Edited by S. Gwynn. 
 
 CHRISTMAS BOOKS. By Charles Dickens. Edited by 
 George Gissing. 
 
 THE EARLY POEMS OF ROBERT BROWNING. Edited 
 by W. H. Griffin. 
 
 OUR VILLAGE. By Miss MlTFORD. (First Series.) Edited 
 by E. V. Lucas. 
 
 THE COMPLEAT ANGLER. By Isaac Walton. Edited 
 by J. Buchan. 
 
 THE ESSAYS OF ELIA; First and Second Series. By 
 Charles Lamb. Edited by E. V. Lucas. 
 
 STEPS TO THE TEMPLE, and other Poems. By Robert 
 Crashaw. Edited by Edward Hutton. 
 
 A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, By Laurence Sterne. 
 Edited by H. W. Paul. 
 
4 Messrs. Methuen's Announcements 
 
 Illustrated Books and Books for 
 Children 
 
 THE ESSAYS OF ELIA. By Charles Lamb. With 70 
 Illustrations by A. Garth Jones, and an Introduction by E. V. 
 Lucas. Demy Svo. 10s. 6d. 
 This is probably the most beautiful edition of Lamb's Essays that has ever been 
 published. The illustrations display the most remarkable sympathy, insight, and 
 skill, and the introduction is by a critic whose knowledge of Lamb is unrivalled.' 
 
 THE VISIT TO LONDON. Described in verse by E. V. 
 Lucas, and in coloured pictures by F. D. Bedford. Small e,to. 
 6s. 
 
 This charming book describes the introduction of a country child to the delights and 
 sights of London. It is the result of a well-known partnership between author and 
 artist. 
 
 A GALLANT QUAKER. By Mrs. Margaret H. Robertson. 
 Illustrated by F. Buckland. Crown %vo. 6s. 
 
 Zbe Xtttle JBlue ffioofcs tor Cbil&ren. 
 
 Edited by E. V. Lucas. 
 
 Illustrated. Square Fcap, %vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen have in preparation a series of children's books 
 under the above general title. The aim of the editor is to get entertaining 
 or exciting stories about normal children, the moral of which is implied 
 rather than expressed. The books will be reproduced in a somewhat 
 unusual form, which will have a certain charm of its own. The first three 
 volumes arranged are : 
 
 1. THE CASTAWAYS OF MEADOW BANK. By T. Cobb. 
 
 2. THE BEECHNUT BOOK. By Jacob Abpott. Edited by 
 
 E. V. Lucas. 
 
 3. THE AIR GUN : or, How the Mastermans and Dobson Major 
 
 nearly lost their Holidays. By T. Hilbert. 
 
 History 
 
 CROMWELL'S ARMY: A History of the English Soldier 
 during the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth, and the Protectorate. 
 By C. H. Firth, M.A. Crown 8vo. p. 6d. 
 An elaborate study and description of Cromwell's army by which the victory of the 
 Parliament was secured. The ' New Model' is described in minute detail, and 
 the author, who is one of the most distinguished historians of the day, has made 
 great use of unpublished mss. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Announcements 5 
 a history of russia from peter the great 
 
 TO ALEXANDER II. By W. R. Morfill, Jesus College, 
 Oxford. Crown %vo. Js. 6cf. 
 This history, by the most distinguished authority in England, is founded on a study 
 of original documents, and Lhough necessarily brief, is the most comprehensive 
 narrative in existence. Considerable attention has been paid to the social and 
 literary development of the country, and the recent expansion of Russia in Asia. 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE POLICE IN ENGLAND. By 
 
 Captain Melville Lee. Crow7z Svo. Js. 6d. 
 
 This highly interesting book is the first history of the police force from its first 
 beginning to its present development. Written as it is by an author of competent 
 historical and legal qualifications, it will be indispensable to every magistrate and 
 to all who are indirectly interested in the police force. 
 
 ECTHESIS CHRONICA. Edited by Professor Lambros. 
 Demy Svo. net. [Byzantine Texts. 
 
 A HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE: From its 
 Beginning to Tennyson. By L. Engel. Translated from the 
 German by J. H. Freese. Demy 82/0. *js. 6d. 
 This is a very complete and convenient sketch of the evolution of our literature from 
 early days. The treatment is biographical as well as critical, and is rendered more 
 Interesting by the quotation of characteristic passages from the chief authors. 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE BRITISH IN INDIA. By A. D. 
 
 Innes, M.A. With Maps and Plans. Crown %vo, *]s. 6d. 
 
 Biography 
 
 THE LIFE OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON'. By Graham 
 Balfour. Two Volumes. Demy %vo. 2$s. net. 
 This highly interesting biography has been entrusted by Mr. Stevenson's family to 
 his cousin, Mr. Balfour, and all available materials have been placed at his dis- 
 posal. The hook is rich in unpublished mss. and letters, diaries of travel, 
 reminiscences of friends, and a valuable fragment of autobiography. It also con- 
 tains a complete bibliography of all Stevenson's work. This biography of one of 
 the most attractive and sympathetic personalities in English literature should 
 possess a most fascinating interest. The book will be uniform with The Edinburgh 
 Edition. 
 
 THE LIFE OF FRANCOIS DE FENELON. By Viscount 
 
 St. Cyres. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 This biography has engaged the author for many years, and the book is not only the 
 study of an interesting personality, but an important contribution to the history of 
 the period 
 
 THE CONVERSATIONS OF JAMES NORTHCOTE, R.A. 
 and JAMES WARD. Edited by Ernest Fletcher. With many 
 Portraits. Demy %vo. \os. 6d. 
 This highly interesting, racy, and stimulating book, contains hitherto unpublished 
 utterances of Northcote during a period of twenty-one years. There are many 
 reminiscences of Sir Joshua Reynolds, much advice to young painters, and many 
 references to the great artists and great figures of the day. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Announcements 
 
 Travel, Adventure and Topography 
 
 HEAD-HUNTERS, BLACK, WHITE, AND BROWN. By 
 A. C. Haddon, ScD., F.R.S. With many Illustrations and a 
 Map. Demy %vo. x^s. 
 
 A narrative of adventure and exploration in Northern Borneo. It contains much 
 matter of the highest scientific interest. 
 
 A BOOK OF BRITTANY. By S. Baring Gould. With 
 numerous Illustrations. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 Uniform in scope and size with Mr. Baring Gould's well-known books on Devon, 
 Cornwall, and Dartmoor. 
 
 General Literature 
 
 WOMEN AND THEIR WORK. By the Hon. Mrs. Lyttelton. 
 Crown Svo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 A discussion of the present position of women in view of the various occupations and 
 interests which are or may_ be open to them. There will be an introduction deal- 
 ing with the general question, followed by chapters on the family, the household, 
 philanthropic work, professions, recreation, and friendship. 
 
 ENGLISH VILLAGES. By P. H. Ditchfield, M.A., F.S.A. 
 Illustrated. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 A popular and interesting account of the history of a typical village, and of village 
 life in general in England. 
 
 SPORTING MEMORIES. By J. Otho Paget. Demy Svo. 
 I2s. 6d. 
 
 This volume of reminiscences by a well-known sportsman and Master of Hounds 
 deals chiefly with fox-hunting experiences. 
 
 Science 
 
 DRAGONS OF THE AIR. By H. G. Seeley, F.R.S., 
 With many Illustrations. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 A popular history of the most remarkable flying animals which ever lived. Their 
 relations to mammals, birds, and reptiles, living and extinct, are shown by an 
 original series of illustrations. The scattered remains preserved in Europe and 
 the United States have been put together accurately to show the varied forms of 
 the animals. The book is a natural history of these extinct animals, which flew 
 by means of a single finger. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Announcements 
 
 Theology 
 
 REGNUM DEI. The Bampton Lectures of 1901. By A. 
 Robertson, D.D., Principal of King's College, London. Demy 
 Svo. I2J. 6d. net. 
 This book is an endeavour to ascertain the meaning of the ' Kingdom of God* in its 
 original prominence in the teaching of Christ. It reviews historically the main 
 interpretations of this central idea in the successive phases of Christian tradition and 
 life. Special attention is given to the sense in which St. Augustine identified 
 the Church with the Kingdom of God. The later lectures follow out the alter- 
 native ideas of the Church, and of its relation to civil society which the Middle 
 Ages and more recent types of Christian thought have founded upon alternative 
 conceptions of the Kingdom of God. 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. By G. W. 
 Wade. With Maps. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 This book presents a connected account of the Hebrew people during the period 
 covered by the Old Testament ; and has been drawn up from the Scripture records 
 in accordance with the methods of historical criticism. The text of the Bible has 
 been studied in the light thrown upon it by the best modern commentators ; but 
 the reasons for the conclusions stated are not left to be sought for in the com- 
 mentaries, but are discussed in the course of the narrative. Much attention has 
 been devoted to tracing the progress of religion amongst the Hebrews, and the 
 book, which is furnished with maps, is further adapted to the needs of theological 
 students by the addition of geographical notes, tables, and a full index. 
 
 THE AGAPE AND THE EUCHARIST. By J. F. Keating, 
 D. D. Crown Svo. t,s. td. 
 
 THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. A Revised Translation, with 
 an Introduction, by C. Bigg, D.D., Canon of Christ Church. 
 Crown Svo. 2 s - &d- 
 A new edition, carefully revised and set in large type, of Dr. Bigg's well-known 
 version. 
 
 ©jforfc Commentaries 
 
 General Editor, Walter Lock, D.D., Warden of Keble College, Dean 
 Ireland's Professor of Exegesis in the University of Oxford. 
 
 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES : With Introduction and 
 Notes by R. B. Rackham, M. A. Demy Svo. ios. 6d. 
 
 XLbe Cburcbman's Xibratg 
 
 General Editor, J. H. BURN, B.D., Examining Chaplain to the 
 Bishop of Aberdeen. 
 
 THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE NEW SCHOLAR- 
 SHIP. By J. W. Peters, D.D. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 COMPARATIVE RELIGION. By J. A. MAcCULLOCK. 
 Crown Svo. 
 
 THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. By E. T. Green. Crown Svo. 
 
 A POPULAR INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTA- 
 MENT. Edited by A. M. Mackay. Crown Svo. 
 
8 Messrs. Methuen's Announcements 
 Zbe Gburcbman's JBlble 
 
 General Editor, J. H. BURN, B.D. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen are issuing a series of expositions upon most of the 
 books of the Bible. The volumes will be practical and devotional, and the 
 text of the authorised version is explained in sections, which will correspond 
 as far as possible with the Church Lectionary. 
 
 ISAIAH. Edited by W. E. Barnes, D.D., Fellow of Queen's 
 College, Cambridge. Two Volumes. 2s. net each. 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE 
 EPHESIANS. Edited by G. H. Whitaker. is. td. net. 
 
 ftbe Xibrarg of 2>ewtion 
 
 Pott Svo, cloth, 2s. ; leather, 2s. 6d. net. 
 
 1 This series is excellent.' — The Bishop of London. 
 
 ' Very delightful.' — The Bishop of Bath and Wells. 
 
 ' Well worth the attention of the Clergy.'— The Bishop of Lichfield. 
 
 ' The new " Library of Devotion " is excellent.' — The Bishop of Peterborough. 
 
 ' Charming.' — Record. ' Delightful.' — Church Bells. 
 
 THE THOUGHTS OF PASCAL. Edited with an Introduction 
 and Notes by C. S. Jerram, M.A. 
 
 ON THE LOVE OF GOD. By St. Francis de Sales. Edited 
 by W. J. Knox- Little, M.A. 
 
 A MANUAL OF CONSOLATION FROM THE SAINTS 
 AND FATHERS. Edited by J. H. Burn, B.D. 
 
 THE SONG OF SONGS. Being Selection? from St. Bernard. 
 Edited by B. Blaxland, M.A. 
 
 SLeaoere of IReltgion 
 
 Edited by H. C. BEECHING, M.A. With Portraits, Crown Svo. 3s bit. 
 A series of short biographies of the most prominent leaders of religious 
 life and thought of all ages and countries. 
 
 BISHOP BUTLER. By W. A. SPOONER, M.A., Fellow of New 
 College, Oxford. 
 
 Educational Books 
 
 COMMERCIAL EDUCATION IN THEORY AND PRAC- 
 TICE. By E. E. Whitfield, M.A. Crown Svo. 5s. 
 
 An introduction to Methuen's Commercial Series treating the question of Commercial 
 Education fully from both the point of view of the teacher and of the parent. 
 
 EASY GREEK EXERCISES. By C. G. Botting, M.A. Crown 
 Svo. is. 
 
 DEMOSTHENES : The Olynthiacs and Philippics. Translated 
 upon a new principle by Otho Holland. Crown Svo. is. 6d. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Announcements g 
 
 A SOUTH AFRICAN ARITHMETIC. By Henry Hill, 
 B.A., Assistant Master at Worcester School, Cape Colony. Crown 
 Svo. 3j. 6d. 
 This book has been specially written for use in South African schools. 
 
 JUNIOR EXAMINATION SERIES. Edited by 
 A. M. M. Stedman, M.A. Fcap. Zvo. is. 
 
 French Examination Papers. By F. Jacob, B.A. 
 
 Latin Examination Papers. By C. G. Botting, M.A. 
 
 Algebra Examination Papers. By Austen S. Lester, M.A. 
 
 English Grammar Examination Papers. By W. William- 
 son, B.A. 
 
 Fiction 
 
 THE HISTORY OF SIR RICHARD CALMADY: A Romance. 
 By Lucas Malet, Author of The Wages of Sin.' Crown &vo. 6s. 
 
 This is the first long and elaborate book by Lucas Malet since ' The Wages of Sin. 1 
 It is a romance on realistic lines, and will certainly be one of the most important 
 novels of the last ten years. 
 
 This novel, the scene of which is laid in the moorland country of the northern 
 part of Hampshire, in London, and in Naples, opens in the year of grace 1842. 
 The action covers a period of about three and thirty years ; and deals with the 
 experiences and adventures of an English country gentleman of an essentially 
 normal type of character, subjected — owing to somewhat distressing antecedent cir- 
 cumstances — to very abnormal conditions of life. The hook is frankly a romance ; 
 but it is also frankly a realistic and modern one. 
 
 THE SERIOUS WOOING: A Heart's History. By Mrs. 
 Craigib (John Oliver Hobbes), Author of ' Robert Orange.' 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 LIGHT FREIGHTS. By W. W. Jacobs, Author of 'Many 
 Cargoes.' Illustrated. Crown Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 A volume of stories by Mr. Jacobs uniform in character and appearance with ' Many 
 Cargoes. 1 
 
 CLEMENTINA. By A. E. W. Mason, Author of 'The Courtship 
 of Morrice Buckler, ' ' Miranda of the Balcony, ' etc. Illustrated. 
 Crown Svo . 6s. 
 A spirited romance of the Jacobites somewhat after the manner of ( Morrice Buckler.' 
 The Old Pretender is introduced as one of the chief characters. 
 
 A WOMAN ALONE. By Mrs. W. K. Clifford, Author of 
 'Aunt Anne.' Crown Svo. y. 6d. 
 A volume of stories. 
 
 THE STRIKING HOURS. By Eden Phillpotts, Author of 
 ' Children of the Mist, ' ' Sons of the Morning, ' etc. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 The annals of a Devon village, containing much matter of humorous and pathetic 
 interest. 
 
 A2 
 
io Messrs. Methuen's Announcements 
 
 FANCY FREE. By Eden Phillpotts, Author of ' Children of 
 the Mist. ' Illustrated. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 A humorous book. Uniform with ' The Human Boy.' 
 
 TALES OF DUNSTABLE WEIR. By GWENDOLINE Keats 
 (Zack). Author of ' Life is Life. ' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 A volume of stories after the style of ( ZackV well-known first book ( Life is Life.' 
 
 WITH ESSEX IN IRELAND. By the Hon. Emily Law- 
 less. Cheaper Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 A cheaper edition of a book which won considerable popularity in a more expensive 
 form some years ago. 
 
 A NEW NOVEL. By Mrs. B. M. CROKER. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 THE PROPHET OF BERKELEY SQUARE. By Robert 
 Hichens, Author of ' Flames,' ' Tongues of Conscience,' etc. 
 Crown 8z/o. 6s. 
 A new long novel. 
 
 THE ALIEN. By F. F. Montresor, Author of 'Into the 
 Highways and Hedges. ' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 THE EMBARRASSING ORPHAN. By W. E. NoRRlS. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ROYAL GEORGIE. By S. Baring Gould, Author of 'Mehalah.' 
 With eight Illustrations by D. Murray Smith. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 FORTUNE'S DARLING. By Walter Raymond, Author 
 of ' Love and Quiet Life. ' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 THE MILLION. By DOROTHEA GERARD, Author of 'Lady 
 Baby.' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 FROM THE LAND OF THE SHAMROCK. By Jane 
 Barlow, Author of ' Irish Idylls.' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 THE WOOING OF SHEILA. By Grace Rhys. Crown Svo. 
 6s. 
 
 RICKERBY'S FOLLY. By Tom Gallon, Author of ' Kiddy.' 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 A GREAT LADY. By Adeline Sergeant, Author of ' The 
 Story of a Penitent Soul. ' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 MARY HAMILTON. By Lord Ernest Hamilton. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 
 MASTER OF MEN. By E. Phillips Oppenheim. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 
 BOTH SIDES OF THE VEIL. By Richard Marsh, Author 
 of 'The Seen and the Unseen,' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Announcements ii 
 
 THE THIRTEEN EVENINGS. By George Bartram, 
 Author of ' The People of Clopton.' Crown %vo. 6s. 
 
 THE SKIRTS OF HAPPY CHANCE. By H. B. Marriott 
 Watson. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 A NEW NOVEL. By E. H. Cooper, Author of ' Mr. Blake of 
 Newmarket.' Crown &vo. 6s. 
 This book, like most of Mr. Cooper's novels, is chiefly concerned with sport and 
 racing. 
 
 THE YEAR ONE : A Page of the French Revolution. By J. 
 Bloundelle Burton, Author of ' The Clash of Arms.' Crown %vo. 
 6s. 
 
 A vivid story of the Reign of Terror in France in 1792, when the year 1 of the 
 .Republic calendar commenced. 
 
 THE DEVASTATORS. By Ada Cambridge, Author of ' Path' 
 and Goal. ' Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 JOHN TOPP : Pirate. By Weatherby CHESNEY. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 A book of breathless adventure. 
 
 Zbe IRovelist 
 
 Messrs. Methuen are issuing under the above general title a Monthly 
 Series of Novels by popular authors at the price of Sixpence. Each 
 Number is as long as the average Six Shilling Novel. 
 
 XXIII. THE HUMAN BOY. Eden Phillpotts. 
 
 [July. 
 
 XXIV. THE CHRONICLES OF COUNT 
 
 ANTONIO. Anthony Hope. 
 
 \_August. 
 
 XXV. BY STROKE OF SWORD. Andrew Balfour. 
 
 {September. 
 
 flDetbuen's Sijpenns Xibrarp 
 
 A New Series of Copyright Books. 
 NEW VOLUMES 
 
 THE CONQUEST OF LONDON. Dorothea 
 
 Gerard. [July. 
 
 THE MUTABLE MANY. Robert Barr. {August. 
 
 A VOYAGE OF CONSOLATION. Sara J. Duncan. 
 
 [September. 
 
 THE WAR WITH THE BOERS : A Sketch of the Boer War 
 of 1899-1901. With Maps and Plans. By H. Sidebotham. 
 (Double number, is.) [October, 
 
A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's 
 
 PUBLICATIONS 
 
 Rudyard Kipling. BARRACK-ROOM 
 BALLADS. By Rudyard Kipling. 
 68th Thousand, Crown Bvo. 6s. 
 Leather, 6s. net. 
 'Mr. Kipling's verse is strong, vivid, full 
 of character. . . . Unmistakeable genius 
 rings in every line/ — Times. 
 'The ballads teem with imagination, they 
 palpitate with emotion. We read them 
 with laughter and tears ; the metres throb 
 in our pulses, the cunningly ordered 
 words tingle with life ; and if this be not 
 poetry, what is ? '—Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Rudyard Kipling. THE SEVEN 
 SEAS. By Rudyard Kipling. 
 $7th Thousand. Cr. Bvo. Buckram, 
 gilt top. 6s. Leather, 6s. net. 
 1 The Empire has found a singer ; it is no 
 depreciation of the songs to say that 
 statesmen may have, one way or other, 
 to take account of them.' — Manchester 
 Guardian. 
 'Animated through and through with in- 
 dubitable genius.' — Daily Telegraph. 
 
 "Q." POEMS AND BALLADS. By 
 "Q." Crown Bvo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 "Q." GREEN BAYS: Verses and 
 Parodies. By"Q." Second Edition. 
 Crown Bvo. $s. 6d. 
 
 Poetry 
 
 H. Ibsen. BRAND. A Drama by 
 
 Henrik Ibsen. Translated by 
 
 William Wilson. Third Edition. 
 Crown Bvo. 3-r. 6d. 
 
 A. D. Godley. LYRA FRIVOLA. By 
 A. D. Godley, M.A., Fellow of 
 Magdalen College, Oxford. Third 
 Edition. Pott 8vo. zs. 6d: 
 
 'Combines a pretty wit with remarkably 
 neat versification. . . . Every one will 
 wish there was more of it.' — Times. 
 
 A. D. Godley. VERSES TO ORDER. 
 By A. D. Godley. Crown $vo. 
 2S. 6d. net. 
 
 J. G. Cordery. THE ODYSSEY OF 
 HOMER. A Translation by J. G. 
 Cordery. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Herbert Trench. DEIRDRE WED: 
 and Other Poems. By Herbert 
 Trench. Crown 8vo. 51. 
 
 Edgar Wallace. WRIT IN BAR- 
 RACKS. By Edgar Wallace, 
 Crown 8vo. $s. 6d. 
 
 Belles Lettres, Anthologies, etc. 
 
 R, L. Stevenson. VAILIMA LET- 
 TERS. By Robert Louis Steven- 
 son. With an Etched Portrait by 
 William Strang. Third Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. Buckram. 6s. 
 
 ' A fascinating book.'— Standard. 
 
 1 Unique in Literature.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 G. Wyndham. THE POEMS OF WIL- 
 LIAM SHAKESPEARE. Edited 
 
 with an Introduction and Notes by 
 George Wyndham, M.P. Demy 
 8vo. Buckram, gilt top. 10s. 6d. 
 
 This edition contains the ' Venus,' ' Lucrece,' 
 and Sonnets, and is prefaced with an 
 elaborate introduction of over 140 pp. 
 
 'We have no hesitation in describing Mr. 
 George Wyndham's introduction as a 
 masterly piece of criticism, and all who 
 love our Elizabethan literature will find a 
 very garden of delight in it. 'Spectator. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 13 
 
 Edward FitzGerald. THE RUBAI- 
 YAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM. 
 Translated by Edward FitzGerald. 
 With a Commentary by H. M. 
 Batson, and a Biography of Omar by 
 E. D. Ross. 6s. Also an Edition 
 on large paper limited to 50 copies. 
 'Oneofthe most desirable of the many re- 
 prints of Omar.' — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 W. E. Henley. ENGLISH LYRICS. 
 
 Selected and Edited by W. E. 
 
 Henley. Crown 8vo. Gill top. 
 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 ' It is a body of choice and lovely poetry.' — 
 
 Birmingham Gazette. 
 
 Henley and Whibley. A BOOK OF 
 ENGLISH PROSE. Collected by 
 W. E. Henley and Charles 
 WHIBLEY. Crown 8vo. Buckram, 
 gilt top. 6s. 
 
 H. C. Beeching. LYRA SACRA : An 
 
 Anthology of Sacred Verse. Edited 
 
 by H. C. Beeching, M.A Crown 
 
 8vo. Buckram. 6s. 
 
 *A charming selection, which maintains a 
 
 lofty standard of excellence.' — Times. 
 
 "Q." THE GOLDEN POMP. A Pro- 
 cession of English Lyrics. Arranged 
 by A. T. Quiller Couch. Crown 
 8vo. Buckram. 6s. 
 
 W. B. Yeats. AN ANTHOLOGY OF 
 IRISH VERSE. Edited by W. B. 
 Yeats. Revised and. Enlarged 
 Edition. Crown 8vo. y. 6d. 
 
 W. M. Dixon. A PRIMER OF 
 TENNYSON. By W. M. DIXON, 
 M.A. Cr. 8vo. zs. 6d. 
 1 Much sound and well-expressed criticism. 
 The bibliography is a boon.' — Speaker. 
 
 W. A. Craigie. A PRIMER OF 
 BURNS. By W. A. Craigie. 
 Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 ' A valuable addition to the literature of the 
 poet.' — Times. 
 
 G. W. Steevens. MONOLOGUES OF 
 THE DEAD. By G. W. STEEVENS. 
 Foolscap 8vo. 3s. 6d. 
 L. Magnus. A PRIMER OF WORDS- 
 WORTH. By Laurie Magnus. 
 Crown 8vo. zs. 6d. 
 ' A valuable contribution to Wordsworthian 
 literature. ' — Literature. 
 
 Sterne. THE LIFE AND OPINIONS 
 OF TRISTRAM SHANDY. By 
 Lawrence Sterne. With an In- 
 troduction by Charles Whibley, 
 and a Portrait. 2 vols. -js. 
 
 Congreve. THE COMEDIES OF 
 WILLIAM CONGREVE. With an 
 Introduction by G. S. Street, and 
 a Portrait. 2 vols. 7s. 
 
 Morier. THE ADVENTURES OF 
 HAJJI BABA OF ISPAHAN. By 
 James Morier. With an Introduc- 
 tion by E. G. Browne, M.A. and a 
 Portrait. 2 vols. ys. 
 
 Walton. THE LIVES OF DONNE, 
 WOTTON, HOOKER, HERBERT 
 AND SANDERSON. By Izaak 
 Walton. With an Introduction by 
 Vernon Blackburn, and a Por- 
 trait. 3.r. 6d. 
 
 Johnson. THE LIVES OF THE 
 ENGLISH POETS. By Samuel 
 Johnson, LL.D. With an Intro- 
 duction by J. H. Millar, and a Por- 
 trait. 3 vols. ios. 6d. 
 
 Burns. THE POEMS OF ROBERT 
 BURNS. Edited by Andrew Lang 
 and W. A. Craigie. With Portrait. 
 Second Edition. Demy 8vo, gilt top. 
 6s. 
 
 F. Langbridge. BALLADS OF THE 
 BRAVE; Poems of Chivalry, Enter- 
 prise, Courage, and Constancy. 
 Edited by Rev. F. Langbridge. 
 Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 3s. 6d. 
 School Edition, zs. 6d. 
 
 'The book is full of splendid things.' — 
 World. 
 
 /Ilietbuen's Standard Xibrarg 
 
 Gibbon. MEMOIRS OF MY LIFE 
 AND WRITINGS. By Edward 
 Gibbon. Edited, with an Introduc- 
 tion and Notes, by G. Birkbeck 
 Hill, LL.D. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 An admirable edition of one of the most 
 interesting personal records of a literary 
 life. Its notes and its numerous appen- 
 dices are a repertory of almost all that 
 can be known about Gibbon.' — Matt' 
 Chester Guardian. 
 
14 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 Gibbon. THE DECLINE AND 
 FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 
 By Edward Gibbon. A New Edi- 
 tion, Edited with Notes, Appendices, 
 and Maps, by J. B. Bury, LL.D., 
 Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. 
 In Seven Volumes. Demy Zvo. Gilt 
 top. Zs. 6d. each. Also Cr. Zvo. 6s. 
 each. 
 ' At last there is an adequate modern edition 
 of Gibbon. . . . The best edition the 
 nineteenth century could produce.' — 
 Manchester Guardian. 
 ' A great piece of editing.' — Academy. 
 
 Gilbert White. THE NATURAL 
 HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 
 ByGiLBERT White. Edited by L. C. 
 MiALL,F.R.S.,assistedbyW.WARDE 
 Fowler, M.A. Crown Zvo, 6s. 
 
 0. G. Crump. THE HISTORY OF 
 THE LIFE OF THOMAS ELL- 
 WOOD. Edited by C. G. Crump, 
 M.A. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 This edition is the only one which contains 
 the complete book as originally pub- 
 lished. It contains a long Introduction 
 and many Footnotes. 
 
 Dante. LA COMMEDIA DI 
 DANTE ALIGHIERI. The Italian 
 Text edited by Paget Toynbee, 
 M.A. Demy Zvo. Gilt top. 8s. 6d. 
 Also Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 Tennyson. THE EARLY POEMS OF 
 ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON, 
 Edited, with Notes and an Introduc- 
 tion by J. Churton Collins, M.A. 
 Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 An elaborate edition of the celebrated 
 volume which was published in its 
 final and definitive form in 1853. This 
 edition contains a long Introduction and 
 copious Notes, textual and explanatory. 
 It also contains in an Appendix all 
 the Poems which Tennyson afterwards 
 omitted. 
 
 Jonathan Swift. THE JOURNAL 
 TO STELLA. By Jonathan 
 Swift. Edited by G. A. Aitken. 
 Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 Chesterfield. THE LETTERS OF 
 LORD CHESTERFIELD TO HIS 
 SON. Edited, with an Introduction 
 by C Strachey, and Notes by A. 
 Calthrop. Two Volumes. Crown 
 Zvo. 6s. each. 
 
 Zbe Works of Sbafcespeare 
 
 General Editor, Edward Dowden, Litt.D. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen have in preparation an Edition of Shakespeare in 
 single Plays. Each play will be edited with a full Introduction, Textual 
 Notes, and a Commentary at the foot of the page. 
 The first volumes are : 
 
 HAMLET. Edited by Edward 
 Dowden. Demy Zvo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 ' Fully up to the level of recent scholarship, 
 both English and German.' — Academy. 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET. Edited by 
 
 Edward Dowden, Litt.D. Demy 
 
 Zvo, 3$. 6d. 
 1 No edition of Shakespeare is likely to prove 
 more attractive and satisfactory than this 
 one. It is beautifully printed and paged 
 and handsomely and simply bound.' — 
 St. James's Gazette. 
 
 Zbe movels of Cbarles 2>fcfcens 
 
 Crown 8vo. Each Volume, cloth 3*. net ; leather 4s. 6d. net. 
 With Introductions by Mr. Georce Gissing, Notes by Mr. F. G. Kitton, 
 
 and Topographical Illustrations. 
 THE PICKWICK PAPERS. With 
 Illustrations by E. H. New. Two 
 
 Volumes. 
 
 1 As pleasant a copy as any one could desire. 
 
 ' The notes add much to the value of the 
 
 edition, and Mr. New's illustrations are 
 
 also historical. The volumes promise well 
 for the success of the edition.' — Scotsman. 
 
 NICHOLAS NICKLEBY. With 
 Illustrations by R. J. Williams. 
 Two Volumes. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 iS 
 
 BLEAK HOUSE. With Illustrations 
 byBEATRICEALCOCK. Two Volumes. 
 
 OLIVER TWIST. With Illustrations 
 by G. H. New. 
 
 THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP. 
 
 With Illustrations by G. M. Brime- 
 LOW. Two Volumes. 
 
 BARNABY RUDGE With Illustra- 
 tions by Beatrice Alcock. Two 
 Volumes. 
 
 Xittle JBiograpbies 
 
 Fcap. &vo. Each volume, cloth, y. 6d. 
 THE LIFE OF DANTE ALIGHIERI. By Paget Toynbee. With 12 
 Illustrations. 
 ' This excellent little volume is a clear, compact, and convenient summary of the whole 
 
 subject. ' — A cademy. 
 
 THE LIFE OF SAVONAROLA. 
 Portraits and Illustrations. 
 
 By E. L. S. Horsburgh, M.A. With 
 
 Zbe Xfttle Xifirarg 
 
 With Introductions, Notes, and Photogravure Frontispieces. 
 
 Pott &vo. Each Volume, cloth Is. 6d. net, leather 2s. 6d. net. 
 c Altogether good to look upon, and to handle.' — Outlook. 
 ' In printing, binding, lightness, etc., this is a perfect series.' — Pilot. 
 'It is difficult to conceive more attractive volumes.' — St. James's Gazette. 
 1 Very delicious little books. ' — Literature. 
 ' Delightful editions.' — Record. 
 ' Exceedingly tastefully produced.' — Morning Leader. 
 
 VANITY FAIR. By W. M. Thacke- 
 ray. With an Introduction by S. 
 GWYNN. Three Volumes. 
 
 THE PRINCESS. By Alfred, Lord 
 Tennyson. Edited by Elizabeth 
 Wordsworth. 
 
 IN MEMORIAM. By Alfred, Lord 
 Tennyson. Edited, with an Intro- 
 duction and Notes, by H. C. Beech- 
 ing, M.A. 
 
 THE EARLY POEMS OF ALFRED, 
 LORD TENNYSON. Edited by J. 
 C. Collins, M.A. 
 
 MAUD. By Alfred, Lord Tenny- 
 son. Edited by Elizabeth Words- 
 worth. 
 
 A LITTLE BOOK OF ENGLISH 
 LYRICS. With Notes. 
 
 EOTHEN. By A. W. Kinglake. 
 With an Introduction and Notes. 
 
 CRANFORD. By Mrs. Gaskell. 
 Edited by E. V. Lucas. 
 
 THE INFERNO OF DANTE. Trans- 
 lated by H. F. Cary. Edited by 
 Paget Toynbee. 
 
 THE PURGATORIO OF DANTE. 
 
 Translated by H. F. Cary. Edited 
 
 by Paget Toynbee, M.A. 
 JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN. 
 
 By Mrs. Craik. Edited by ANNIE 
 
 Matheson. Two Volumes. 
 A LITTLE BOOK OF SCOTTISH 
 
 VERSE. Arranged and edited by 
 
 T. F. Henderson. 
 A LITTLE BOOK OF ENGLISH 
 
 PROSE. Arranged and edited by 
 
 Mrs. P. A. Barnett. 
 SELECTIONS FROM WORDS- 
 WORTH. Edited by Nowell C. 
 
 Smith, Fellow of New College, 
 
 Oxford. 
 SELECTIONS FROM WILLIAM 
 
 BLAKE. Edited by M. Perugini. 
 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. By Jane 
 
 Austen. Edited by E. V. Lucas. 
 
 Two Volumes. 
 PENDENNIS. By W. M. Thacjce- 
 
 ray, Edited by S. Gwynn. Three 
 
 Volumes. 
 LAVENGRO. By George Borrow. 
 
 Edited by F. Hindes Groome. 
 
 Two Volumes. 
 
16 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 Zbe little ffiuiOes 
 
 Pott &vo, cloth 3*. ; leather, 3*. 6d. net. 
 
 OXFORD AND ITS COLLEGES. 
 
 By J. Wells, M.A., Fellow and 
 
 Tutor of Wadham College. Illus- 
 
 tratedby E. H. New. Fourth Edition. 
 
 ' An admirable and accurate little treatise, 
 
 attractively illustrated.' — World. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE AND ITS COL- 
 LEGES. By A. Hamilton Thomp- 
 son. Illustrated by E. H. New. 
 ' It is brightly written and learned, and is 
 just such a book as a cultured visitor 
 needs.' — Scotsman. 
 
 THE MALVERN COUNTRY. By 
 B. C. A. WlNDLE, D.Sc, F.R.S. 
 Illustrated by E. H. New. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE'S COUNTRY. By 
 B.CA.Windle,F.R.S.,M.A. IIlus r 
 tratedbyE. H. New. Second Edition. 
 
 ' One of the most charming guide books. 
 
 Both for the library and as a travelling 
 
 companion the book is equally choice 
 
 and serviceable.' — Academy. 
 
 SUSSEX. By F. G. BRABANT, M.A. 
 
 Illustrated by E. H. New. 
 
 •' A charming little book ; as^ full of sound 
 information as it is practical in concep- 
 tion.' — Athentrum. 
 
 'Accurate, complete, and agreeably written.' 
 — Literature. 
 
 WESTMINSTER ABBEY. ByG. E. 
 Troutbeck. Illustrated by F. D. 
 Bedford. 
 1 A delightful miniature hand - book.' — 
 
 Glasgow Herald. 
 ' In comeliness, and perhaps in complete- 
 ness, this work must take the first 
 place.' — Academy. 
 1 A really first-rate guide-book.' — 
 
 Literature. 
 
 Illustrated and Gift Books 
 
 Tennyson. THE EARLY POEMS 
 OF ALFRED, LORD TENNY- 
 SON. Edited, with Notes and 
 an Introduction by J. Churton 
 Collins, M.A. With io Illustra- 
 tions in Photogravure by W. E. F. 
 Britten. Demy 8vo. ios. 6d. 
 
 Gelett Burgess. GOOPS AND HOW 
 TO BE THEM. By Gelett 
 Burgess. With numerous Illustra- 
 tions. Small a,l o. 6s. 
 
 Gelett Burgess. THE LIVELY 
 CITY OF LIGG. By Gelett 
 Burgess. With 53 Illustrations, 
 8 of which are coloured. Small /[to. 
 6s. 
 
 Phil May. THE PHIL MAY 
 ALBUM. 4/0. 6s. 
 1 There is a laugh in each drawing.' — 
 Standard. 
 
 A. H. Milne. ULYSSES; OR, DE 
 ROUGEMONT OF TROY. De- 
 scribed and depicted by A. H. Milne. 
 Small quarto. 35. 6d. 
 ' Clever, droll, smart. 1 — Guardian. 
 
 Edmund Selous. TOMMY SMITH'S 
 
 ANIMALS. By Edmund Selous. 
 
 Illustrated by G. W. Ord. Fcap. 8vo. 
 
 as. 6d. 
 
 A little book designed to teach children 
 
 respect and reverence for animals. 
 1 A quaint, fascinating little book : a nur- 
 sery classic' — A thenawn. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. THE CROCK. OF 
 GOLD. Fairy Stories told by S. 
 Baring Gould. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' Twelve delightful fairy tales.' — Punch. 
 
 M. L.Gwynn. A BIRTHDAY BOOK. 
 
 Arranged and Edited by M. L. 
 
 Gwynn. Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d. 
 
 This is a birthday-book of exceptional 
 
 dignity, and the extracts have been 
 
 chosen with particular care. 
 
 John Bunyan. THE PILGRIM'S 
 PROGRESS. By John Bunyan. 
 Edited, with an Introduction, by C. H. 
 Firth, M.A. With 39 Illustrations 
 by R. Anning Bell. Crown 8110. 6s. 
 
 ' The best " Pilgrim's Progress.'" — 
 
 Educational Times. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 17 
 
 F. D. Bedford. NURSERY RHYMES. 
 With many Coloured Pictures by K. 
 D. BEDFORD. Super Royal 8w. 
 2J. 6d. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. A BOOK OF 
 FAIRY TALES retold by S. Baring 
 Gould. With numerous Illustra- 
 tions and Initial Letters by Arthur 
 J. Gaskin. Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. 
 Buckram, 6s. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. OLD ENGLISH 
 FAIRY TALES. Collected and 
 edited by S. Baring Gould. With 
 Numerous Illustrations by F. D. 
 
 Bedford. Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. 
 
 Buckram. 6s. 
 
 f A charming volume.' — Guardian. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. A BOOK OF 
 NURSERY SONGS AND 
 RHYMES. Edited by S. Baring 
 Gould, and Illustrated by the Bir- 
 mingham Art School. Buckram, gilt 
 top. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 H. C. Beeching. A BOOK OF 
 
 CHRISTMAS VERSE. Edited by 
 H. C. Beeching, M.A., and Illus- 
 trated by Walter Crane. Cr. 8w, 
 gilt top. y. 6d. 
 
 History 
 
 Flinders Fetrie. A HISTORY OF 
 EGYPT, from the Earliest Times 
 to the Present Day. Edited by 
 W. M. Flinders Petrie, D.C.L., 
 LL.D., Professor of Egyptology at 
 University College. Fully Illustrated. 
 In Six Volumes. Cr. Zvo. 6s. each. 
 
 Vol. I. Prehistoric Times to 
 XVIth Dynasty. W. M. F. 
 Petrie. Fourth Edition. 
 Vol. II. The XVIIth and 
 XVIIIth Dynasties. W. M. 
 F. Petrie. Third Edition. 
 Vol. IV. The Egypt of the 
 
 Ptolemies. J. P. Mahaffy. 
 Vol. V. Roman Egypt. J. G. 
 
 Milne. 
 Vol. VI. EGYPT IN THE 
 MIDDLE AGES. STANLEY 
 Lane-Poole. 
 ' A history written in the spirit of scientific 
 precision so worthily represented by Dr. 
 Petrie and his school cannot but pro- 
 mote sound and accurate study, and 
 supply a vacant place in the English 
 literature of Egyptology.' — Times. 
 
 Flinders Petrie. RELIGION AND 
 CONSCIENCE IN ANCIENT 
 EGYPT. By W. M. Flinders 
 Petrie, D. C. L. , LL. D. Fully Illus- 
 trated. Crown Zvo. zs. 6d. 
 'The lectures will afford a fund of valuable 
 information for students of ancient 
 ethics.' — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 A 
 
 Flinders Petrie. SYRIA AND 
 
 EGYPT, FROM THE TELL EL 
 
 AMARNA TABLETS. By W. M. 
 
 Flinders Petrie, D.C.L., LL.D. 
 
 Crown Zvo. ss. 6d. 
 
 ' A marvellous record. The addition made 
 
 to our knowledge is nothing short of 
 
 amazing.' — Times. 
 
 Flinders Petrie. EGYPTIAN TALES. 
 
 Edited by W. M. Flinders Petrie. 
 
 Illustrated by Tristram Ellis. In 
 
 Two Volumes. Cr. Zvo. 3s. 6d. each. 
 
 1 Invaluable as a picture of life in Palestine 
 
 and Egypt.' — Daily News. 
 
 Flinders Petrie. EGYPTIAN DECO- 
 RATIVE ART. By W. M. Flin- 
 ders Petrie. With 120 Illustrations. 
 Cr. Zvo. 3J. 6d. 
 ' In these lectures he displays rare skill in 
 elucidating the development of decora- 
 tive art in Egypt.' — Times. 
 
 C. W. Oman. A HISTORY OF THE 
 ART OF WAR. Vol. II. : The 
 Middle Ages, from the Fourth to the 
 Fourteenth Century. By C. W. 
 Oman, M.A., Fellow of All Souls', 
 Oxford. Illustrated. Demy Zvo. eis, 
 ' The whole art of war in its historic evolu- 
 tion has never been treated on such an 
 ample and comprehensive scale, and we 
 question if ^ any recent contribution to 
 the exact history of the world has pos- 
 sessed more enduring value.' — Daily 
 Chronicle. 
 
18 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 S. Earing Gould. THE TRAGEDY 
 
 OF THE OESARS. With nume- 
 rous Illustrations from Busts, Gems, 
 Cameos,, etc. By S. Baring Gould. 
 Fifth Edition. Royal Svo. x$s. 
 'A most splendid and fascinating book on a 
 subject of undying interest. The great 
 feature of the book is the use the author 
 has made of the existing portraits of 
 the Caesars and the admirable critical 
 subtlety he has exhibited in dealing with 
 this line of research. It Is brilliantly 
 written, and the illustrations are sup- 
 plied on a scale of profuse magnificence.' 
 — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 F. W. Mainland. CANON LAW IN 
 
 ENGLAND. By F. W. Maitland, 
 
 LL.D., Downing Professor of the 
 
 Laws of England in the University 
 
 of Cambridge. Royal Svo. 7s, 6d. 
 
 ' Professor Maitland has put students of 
 
 English law under a fresh debt. These 
 
 essays are landmarks in the study of the 
 
 history of Canon Law.'— Times. 
 
 John Hackett. A HISTORY OF 
 THE CHURCH OF CYPRUS. 
 By John Hackett, M.A. With 
 Maps and Illustrations. Demy Svo. 
 1 5 s. net. 
 A work which brings together all that is 
 known on the subject -from the intro- 
 duction of Christianity to the co mmence- 
 ment of the •_ British ' occupation. A 
 separate division deals with the local 
 Latin Church during the period of the 
 Western Supremacy. 
 
 E. L. Taunton. A HISTORY OF 
 
 THE JESUITS IN ENGLAND. 
 By E. L. Taunton. With Illustra- 
 tions. Demy Svo, 21s. net. 
 ' A history of permanent value, which covers 
 ground never properly investigated 
 before, and is replete with the results of 
 original research. A most interesting 
 and careful book. ' — Literature. 
 ' A volume which will attract considerable 
 attention. ' — A tkenceum. 
 H. de B. Gibbins. INDUSTRY IN 
 ENGLAND : HISTORICAL OUT- 
 LINES. By H. de B. Gibbins, 
 LittD., M.A. With 5 Maps. Se- 
 cond Edition. Demy Svo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 H. E. Egerton. A HISTORY OF 
 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY. 
 By H. E. Egerton, M,A. Demy 
 
 Svo. 12s. 6d. 
 1 It is a good book, distinguished by accu- 
 
 racy in detail, clear arrangement of facts, 
 and a broad grasp of principles. ' — 
 Manchester Guardian. 
 
 Albert Sorel. THE EASTERN 
 QUESTION IN THE EIGH- 
 TEENTH CENTURY. By Albert 
 Sorel. Translated by F. C. Bram- 
 well, M.A. Cr. 8m 35. 6d. 
 
 C. H. Grinling. A HISTORY OF 
 THE GREAT NORTHERN RAIL- 
 WAY, 1845-95. By C. H. Grin- 
 ling. With Illustrations. Demy Svo. 
 10s. 6d. 
 £ Mr. Grinling has done for a Railway what 
 Macaulay did for English History.' — 
 The Engineer. 
 
 Clement Stretton. A HISTORY OF 
 
 THE MIDLAND RAILWAY. By 
 Clement Stretton. With numer- 
 ous Illustrations. Demy Svo. 12s. 6d. 
 1 A fine record of railway development.' — 
 
 Outlook. 
 'The volume is as exhaustive as it is com- 
 prehensive, and is made especially 
 attractive by its pictures. ' — Globe. 
 
 W. Sterry. ANNALS OF ETON 
 COLLEGE. By W. Sterry, M.A. 
 With numerous Illustrations. Demy 
 Svo. js. 6d. 
 1 A treasury of quaint and interesting read- 
 ing. - Mr. Sterry has by his skill and 
 vivacity given these records new life.' — 
 Academy. 
 
 G.W.Fisher. ANNALS OF SHREWS- 
 BURY SCHOOL. By G. W. 
 Fisher, M.A. With numerous Illus- 
 trations. Demy Svo. ios. 6d. 
 ' This careful, erudite book.' — Daily 
 
 Chronicle. 
 ' A book of which Old Salopians are sure 
 to be proud.' — Globe. 
 
 3. Sargeaunt. ANNALS OF WEST- 
 MINSTER SCHOOL. By J. Sar- 
 GEAUNT, M.A. With numerous 
 Illustrations. Demy Svo. ys. 6d. 
 
 A. Clark. THE COLLEGES OF 
 
 OXFORD : Their History and their 
 
 Traditions. Edited by A. Clark, 
 
 M.A., Fellow of Lincoln College. 
 
 Svo. 12s. td. 
 
 'A work which will be appealed to for 
 
 many years as the standard book.' — 
 
 Athenteum. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 19 
 
 T.M. Taylor. A CONSTITUTIONAL 
 AND POLITICAL HISTORY OF 
 ROME. By T. M. Taylor, M.A., 
 Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, 
 Cambridge, Crown 8vo. js. 6d. 
 ' We fully recognise the value of this care- 
 fully written work, and admire especially 
 the fairness and sobriety of his judgment 
 and the human interest with which he 
 has inspired a subject which in some 
 hands becomes a mere series of cold 
 abstractions. It is a work that will be 
 stimulating to the student of Roman 
 history.' — A thenaum. 
 
 J. Wells. A SHORT HISTORY OF 
 ROME. By J. Wells, M.A., 
 Fellow and Tutor of Wadham Coll., 
 Oxford. Third Edition. With 3 
 Maps. Crown B-vo. 3s. 6d. 
 This hook is intended for the Middle and 
 Upper Forms of Public Schools and for 
 
 Pass Students at the Universities. It 
 contains copious Tables, etc. 
 'An original work written on an original 
 plan, and with uncommon freshness and 
 vigour.' — Speaker. 
 
 0. Browning. A SHORT HISTORY 
 OF MEDLEVAL ITALY, A.D. 
 1250-1530. By Oscar Browning, 
 Fellow and Tutor of King's College, 
 Cambridge. In Two Volumes. Cr. 
 8vo. 5J. each. 
 
 Vol. i. 1 250-1409. — Guelphs and 
 Ghibellines. 
 
 Vol. 11. 1409-1530.- 
 the Condottieri. 
 
 -The Age of 
 
 O'Grady. THE STORY OF IRE- 
 LAND. By Standish O'Grady, 
 Author of ' Finn and his Companions. ' 
 Crown 8vo. zs. 6d. 
 
 ZACHARIAH OF MITYLENE. 
 Translated into English by F. J. 
 Hamilton, D.D., and E. W. 
 Brooks. Demy 8vo. jzs. 6d. net. 
 
 EVAGRIUS. Edited by Professor 
 
 aBgsantine Gejts 
 
 Edited by J. B. Bury, M.A., Litt.D. 
 
 Leon Parmentier and M. Bidez. 
 Demy Zvo. \os. 6d. net. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF PSELLUS 
 By C. Sathas. Demy Zvo. 151. 
 net. 
 
 Biography 
 
 E. L. Stevenson. THE LETTERS 
 OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVEN- 
 SON TO HIS FAMILY AND 
 FRIENDS. Selected and Edited, 
 with Notes and Introductions, by 
 Sidney Colvin. Fourth and Cheaper 
 Edition. Crown Zvo. 12s. 
 Library Edition. Demy 8vo. 2 
 vols. 2$s. net. 
 
 1 Irresistible in their raciness, their variety, 
 their animation ... of extraordinary 
 fascination. A delightful inheritance, 
 the truest record of a "richly com- 
 pounded spirit " that the literature of 
 our time has preserved.' — Times. 
 
 J. G. Millais. THE LIFE AND 
 LETTERS OF SIR JOHN 
 EVERETT MILLAIS, President of 
 the Royal Academy. By his Son, 
 J. G. Millais. With 319 Illus- 
 trations, of which 9 are in Photo- 
 
 vols. 
 
 gravure. Second Edition. 
 Royal Zvo. 32s. net. 
 ' This splendid work.* — World. 
 1 Of such absorbing interest is it, of such 
 completeness in scope and beauty. 
 Special tribute must be paid to the 
 extraordinary completeness of the illus- 
 trations. ' — Graphic. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. THE LIFE OF 
 NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, By 
 S. Baring Gould. With over 450 
 Illustrations in the Text and 12 
 Photogravure Plates. Large quarto. 
 Gilt top. 36J. 
 
 'The main feature of this gorgeous volume 
 is its great wealth of beautiful photo- 
 gravures and finely - executed wood 
 engravings, constituting a complete 
 pictorial chronicle of Napoleon I. 's 
 personal history from thedays of his early 
 childhood at Ajaccio to the date of his 
 second interment.' — Daily Telegraph. 
 
20 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 i > 
 
 W. A. Bettesworth. THE WALKERS 
 OF SOUTHGATE : Being the Chro- 
 nicles of a Cricketing Family. By 
 W. A. Bettesworth. Illustrated. 
 Demy Svo. 7s. 6d. 
 ' A most engaging contribution to cricket 
 literature ... a lasting joy/- — Vanity 
 Fair. 
 G. S. Layard. THE LIFE OF MRS. 
 LYNN LINTON. By G. S. LAY- 
 ARD. With Portraits. Demy Svo, 
 I2s. 6d. 
 ' Mrs. Lynn Linton is here presented to us 
 in all her moods. She lives in the book ; 
 she is presented to us so that we really 
 know her.' — Literature. 
 'A thoroughly good book, very interest- 
 ing, and at the same time in very good 
 taste.' — Daily Graphic. 
 ' Mr. Layard may be congratulated on 
 having produced an honest and interest- 
 ing record of a notable woman.' — 
 Athetueum. 
 
 Stanley Lane-Poole. THE LIFE OF 
 SIR HARRY PARKES. By Stan- 
 ley Lane-Poole. A New and 
 Cheaper Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 Helen C. Wetmore. THE LAST OF 
 THE GREAT SCOUTS ('Buffalo 
 Bill'). By his Sister, Helen C. 
 Wetmore. With Illustrations. 
 Demy Svo. 6s. 
 'The stirring adventures of Buffalo Bill's 
 career are described vigorously and pic- 
 turesquely, and with a directness that 
 inspires the fullest confidence.' — Glas- 
 gow Herald. 
 1 A narrative of one of the most attractive 
 figures in the public eye.' — Daily 
 Chronicle. 
 
 Constance Baehe. BROTHER MUSI- 
 CIANS. Reminiscences of Edward 
 and Walter Bache. By Constance 
 Bache. With Sixteen Illustrations. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. net. 
 
 P. H. Colomb. MEMOIRS OF AD- 
 MIRAL SIR A. COOPER KEY. 
 By Admiral P. H. Colomb. With 
 a Portrait. Demy Svo. i6j. 
 
 C. Cooper King. THE STORY OF 
 
 THE BRITISH ARMY. By Colonel 
 
 Cooper King. Illustrated. Demy 
 
 Svo. ys. 6d. 
 
 ' An authoritative and accurate story of 
 
 England's military progress.' — Daily 
 
 Mail. 
 
 R. Southey. ENGLISH SEAMEN 
 (Howard, Clifford, Hawkins, Drake, 
 
 Cavendish). By Robert Southey". 
 Edited, with an Introduction, by 
 David Hannay. Second Edition. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 'A brave, inspiriting book.'— 2?/acA and 
 White. 
 
 W. Claris RusselL THE LIFE OF 
 
 ADMIRAL LORD COLLING- 
 
 WOOD. By W. Clark Russell. 
 
 With Illustrations by F. Brangwyn. 
 
 Fourth Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' A book which we should like to see in the 
 
 hands of every boy in the country.' — 
 
 St. James's Gazette. 
 
 Morris Fuller. THE LIFE AND 
 WRITINGS OF JOHN DAVEN- 
 ANT, D.D. (1571-1641), Bishop of 
 Salisbury. By Morris Fuller, 
 B.D. Demy Svo. iai. 6d. 
 
 J. M. Rigg. ST. ANSELM OF 
 CANTERBURY: A CHAPTER IN 
 the History of Religion. By 
 J. M. Rigg. Demy Svo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 F. W. Joyce. THE LIFE OF 
 SIR FREDERICK GORE OUSE- 
 LEY. By F. W. Joyce, M.A. 7s. 6d. 
 
 W. G. Collingwood. THE LIFE OF 
 JOHN RUSK1N. By W. G. 
 Collingwood, M.A. With Por- 
 traits, and 13 Drawings by Mr. 
 Ruskin. Second Edition. 2 vols. 
 Svo. 32J. Cheap Edition. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 
 C. Waldstein. JOHN RUSKIN. By 
 Charles Waldstein, M.A. With 
 a Photogravure Portrait, Post Svo. $s. 
 
 A. M. F. Darmesteter, THE LIFE 
 OF ERNEST RENAN. By 
 Madame Darmesteter. With 
 Portrait. Second Edition. Cr. Svo. 6s. 
 W. H. Hutton. THE LIFE OF SIR 
 THOMAS MORE. By W. H. 
 Hutton, M.A. With Portraits. 
 Second Edition. Cr. Svo. 5J. 
 1 The book lays good claim to high rank 
 among our biographies. It is excellently, 
 even lovingly, written.' — Scotsman. 
 S. Baring Gould. THE VICAR OF 
 MORWENSTOW: A Biography. 
 By S. Baring Gould, M.A. A 
 new and Revised Edition. With 
 Portrait. Crown Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 A completely new edition of the well known 
 biography of R. S. Hawker. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 21 
 
 Travel, Adventure and Topography 
 
 SvenHedin. THROUGH ASIA. By 
 Sven Hedin, Gold Medallist of the 
 Royal Geographical Society. With 
 300 Illustrations from Sketches 
 and Photographs by the Author, 
 and Maps. 2 vols. RoyalZvo. zos.net. 
 ' One of the greatest books of the kind 
 issued during the century. It is im- 
 possible to give an adequate idea of the 
 richness of the contents of this book, 
 nor of its abounding attractions as a story 
 of travel unsurpassed in geographical 
 and human interest. Much of it is a 
 revelation. Altogether the work is one 
 which in solidity, novelty, and interest 
 must take a first rank among publica- 
 tions of its class.' — Times. 
 F. H, Skrine and E. D. Ross. THE 
 HEART OF ASIA. By F. H. 
 Skrine and E. D. Ross. With 
 Maps and many Illustrations by 
 Verestchagin. Large Crown Svo. 
 10s. 6d. net. 
 ' This volume will form a landmark in our 
 knowledge of Central Asia. . . . Illumin- 
 ating and convincing.' — Times. 
 
 R. E. Peary. NORTHWARD OVER 
 
 THE GREAT ICE. By R.E. Peary, 
 Gold Medallist of the Royal Geogra- 
 phical Society. "With over 800 Illus- 
 trations. 2 vols. RoyalZvo. 32s.net. 
 f His book will take its place among the per- 
 manent literature of Arctic exploration. ' 
 — Times. 
 T. H. Holdich. THE INDIAN BOR- 
 DERLAND : being a Personal Re- 
 cord of Twenty Years. By Sir T. H. 
 Holdich, K.C.I.E. Illustrated. Demy 
 8vo. i$s. net. 
 1 Probably the most important work on 
 frontier topography that has lately been 
 presented tothe general public' — Litera- 
 ture. 
 ' Interesting and inspiriting from cover to 
 cover, it will assuredly take its place_ as 
 the classical on the history of the Indian 
 frontier. ' — Pilot. 
 'A work that should long remain the 
 standard authority. '—Daily Chronicle, 
 
 A.B.Wylde. MODERN ABYSSINIA. 
 By A. B. Wylde. With a Map and 
 a Portrait. Demy 8vo. 15J. net, 
 'The most valuable contribution that has 
 
 yet been made to our knowledge of 
 
 Abyssinia.' — Manchester Guardian. 
 1 A book which will rank among the very 
 
 best of African works. ' — Daily Chronicle. 
 ' A repertory of information on every branch 
 
 of the subject.' — Literature. 
 
 Alex. Hosie. MANCHURIA. By 
 
 Alexander Hosie. With Illustra- 
 tions and a Map. Demy Bvo. 10s. 
 6d. net. 
 A complete account of this important pro- 
 vince by the highest living authority on 
 the subject. 
 ' This book is especially useful at th e pre- 
 sent moment when the future of the 
 country appears uncertain.' — Times. 
 
 E. A. FitzGerald. THE HIGHEST 
 ANDES. By E. A. FitzGerald. 
 With 2 Maps, 51 Illustrations, 13 of 
 which are in Photogravure, and a 
 Panorama. Royal &vo, 30J. net. 
 Also a Small Edition on Hand-made 
 Paper, limited to 50 Copies, 4/0, 
 
 £S* 5 s - 
 
 The record of the first ascent of the highest 
 mountain yet conquered by mortal man. 
 A volume which will continue to be the 
 classic book of travel on this region of 
 the Andes.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 F. W. Christian. THE CAROLINE 
 ISLANDS. By F. W. Christian. 
 With many Illustrations and Maps. 
 Demy 8vo. 12J. 6d. net. 
 
 'A real contribution to our knowledge of 
 the peoples and islands of Micronesia, 
 as well as fascinating as a narrative of 
 travels and adventure.' — Scotsman. 
 H. H. Johnston. BRITISH CEN- 
 TRAL AFRICA. By Sir H. H. 
 Johnston, K.CB. With nearly 
 Two Hundred Illustrations, and Six 
 Maps. Second Edition. Crown ^to. 
 \8s. net. 
 ' A fascinating hook, written with equal 
 skill and charm — the work at once of a 
 literary artist and of a man of action 
 who is singularly wise, brave, and ex- 
 perienced. It abounds in admirable 
 sketches.' — Westminster Gazette. 
 L. Decle. THREE YEARS IN 
 SAVAGE AFRICA. By Lionel 
 DECLE. With 100 Illustrations and 
 5 Maps. Second Edition. Demy Svo- 
 ioj. 6d. net. 
 
22 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 A. Hulme Beaman. TWENTY 
 YEARS IN THE NEAR EAST. 
 By A. Hulme Beaman. Demy 
 8vo. With Portrait. lor. 6d. 
 
 Henri of Orleans. FROM TONKIN 
 TO INDIA. By Prince Henri of 
 Orleans. Translated by Hamley 
 Bent, M.A. With 100 Illustrations 
 and a Map. Cr. uto, gilt top. 25s. 
 
 Chester Holcombe. THE REAL 
 CHINESE QUESTION. By Ches- 
 ter Holcombe. Crown. 8vo. 6s. 
 1 It is an important addition to the materials 
 before the public for forming an opinion 
 on a most difficult and pressing pro- 
 blem.' — Times. 
 'It is this practical "note" in the book, 
 coupled with the fairness, moderation, 
 and sincerity of the author, that gives 
 it, in our opinion, the highest place 
 among books published in recent years 
 on the Chinese question.' — Manchester 
 Guardian. 
 
 J.W.Robertson-Scott. THE PEOPLE 
 
 OF CHINA. By J. W. Robertson- 
 
 Scott. With a Map. Crown 8vo. 
 
 3-r. 6d. 
 
 ' A vivid impression . . . This excellent, 
 
 brightly written epitome.' — Daily News. 
 
 1 Excellently well done. . . . Enthralling.' 
 
 ■ — Weekly Dispatch. 
 
 S. L. Hinde. THE FALL OF THE 
 CONGO ARABS. By S. L. HlNDE. 
 With Plans, etc. Demy 8vo. izs. 6d. 
 
 A. St. H. Gibbons. EXPLORATION 
 AND HUNTING IN CENTRAL 
 AFRICA. By Major A. St. H. 
 Gibbons. With full-page Illustra- 
 tions by C. Whymper, and Maps. 
 Demy 8vo. 151. 
 A. H. Norway. NAPLES: PAST 
 AND PRESENT. By A. H. NOR- 
 WAY, Author of ' Highways and 
 Byways in Devon and Cornwall. 
 With 40 Illustrations by A. G. 
 Ferard. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 In this book Mr. Norway gives not only a 
 highly interesting description of modern 
 Naples, but a historical account of its 
 antiquities and traditions. 
 
 3. Baring Gould. DARTMOOR : A 
 Descriptive and Historical Sketch. 
 By S. Baring Gould. With Plans 
 and Numerous Illustrations. Crown 
 Zvo. 6s. 
 
 ' A most delightful guide, companion, and 
 
 instructor. — Scotsman. 
 ' Informed with close personal knowledge. 1 
 
 — Saturday Review. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. THE BOOK OF 
 THE WEST. By S. Baring 
 Gould. With numerous Illustra- 
 tions. Two volumes. Vol. I. Devon. 
 Second Edition. Vol. II. Cornwall. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. each. 
 ' Bracing as the air of Dartmoor, the legend 
 weird as twilight over Dozmare Pool, 
 they give us a very good idea of this 
 enchanting and beautiful district.'— 
 Guardian. 
 S. Baring Gould. A BOOK OF 
 BRITTANY. By S. Baring Gould. 
 With numerous Illustrations. Crown 
 8vo. 6s. 
 Uniform in scope and size with Mr. Baring 
 Gould's well-known books on Devon, 
 Cornwall, and Dartmoor. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. THE DESERTS 
 OF SOUTHERN FRANCE. By 
 S. Baring Gould. 2 vols. Demy 
 8vo. 32J. 
 
 J. F. Fraser. ROUND THE WORLD 
 
 ON A WHEEL. By John Foster 
 
 Fraser. With 100 Illustrations. 
 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' A classic of cycling, graphic and witty.' — 
 
 Yorkshire Post. 
 
 R. L. Jefferson. A NEW RIDE TO 
 KHIVA By R. L. Jefferson. 
 Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 J. K. Trotter. THE NIGER 
 SOURCES. By Colonel J. K. 
 Trotter, R.A. With a Map and 
 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 5$. 
 
 W. Crooke. THE NORTH- 
 WESTERN PROVINCES OF 
 INDIA : Their Ethnology and 
 Administration. By W. Crooke. 
 With Maps and Illustrations. Demy 
 8vo. lot. 6d. 
 
 A. Boisragon. THE BENIN MAS- 
 SACRE. By Captain Boisragon. 
 Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 3$. 6d. 
 
 H. S. Cowper. THE HILL OF THE 
 GRACES : or, the Great Stone 
 Temples of Tripoli. By H. S. 
 Cowper, F.S. A. With Maps, Plans, 
 and 75 Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 
 jos. 6d. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 23 
 
 W. B. Worsfold. SOUTH AFRICA. 
 By W. B. Worsfold, M.A. With 
 a Map. Second Edition. Cr. Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' A monumental work compressed into a 
 very moderate compass.' — World. 
 
 Katherine and Gilbert Macquoid. I N 
 PARIS. By Katherine and Gil- 
 bert Macquoid. Illustrated by 
 
 Thomas R. Macquoid, R.I. With 
 2 maps. Crown Svo. is. 
 ' A useful little guide, judiciously supplied 
 with information.' — Athentsum. 
 
 A. H. Keane. THE BOER STATES : 
 A History and Description of the 
 Transvaal and the Orange Free State. 
 By A. H. Keane, M.A. With 
 Map. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 F. H. E. Cunliffe. THE HISTORY 
 OF THE BOER WAR. By F. H. 
 E. Cunliffe, Fellow of All Souls' 
 College, Oxford. With many Illus- 
 trations, Plans, and Portraits. In 2 
 vols. Vol. I., 15*. 
 
 ' The excellence of the work is double ; for 
 the narrative is vivid and temperate, and 
 the illustrations form a picture gallery 
 of the war which is not Hkely to he 
 rivalled. . . . An ideal gift book.' — 
 Academy. 
 
 G. S. Robertson. CHITRAL: The 
 Story of a Minor Siege. By Sir 
 G. S. Robertson, K. C.S.I. With 
 numerouslllustrations, Map and Plans. 
 Second Edition. Demy Svo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 1 A book which the Elizabethanswould have 
 thought wonderful. More thrilling, more 
 piquant, and more human than any 
 novel.' — Newcastle Chronicle. 
 
 ' As fascinating as Sir Walter Scott's best 
 fiction.' — Daily Tclegrafh. 
 
 R. S. S. Baden-Powell. THE DOWN- 
 FALL OF PREMPEH. A Diary of 
 Life in Ashanti, 1895. By Maj. -Gen. 
 Baden-Powell. With 21 Illustra- 
 tions and a Map. Third Edition. 
 Large Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 R. S. S. Baden-Powell. THE MATA- 
 BELE CAMPAIGN, 1896. By Maj. - 
 Gen. Baden-Powell. With nearly 
 100 Illustrations. Fourth and Cheaper 
 Edition. Large Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 J B Atkins. THE RELIEF OF 
 LADYSMITH. By John Black 
 Atkins. With 16 Plans and Illus- 
 trations. Third Edition. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 
 H. W. Nevinson. LADYSMITH : The 
 Diary of a Siege. By H. W. Nevin- 
 
 Naval and Military 
 
 son. With 16 Illustrations and a 
 Plan. Second Edition. CrownZvo. 6s. 
 Barclay Lloyd. A THOUSAND 
 MILES WITH THE C.I.V. By 
 Captain Barclay Lloyd. With 
 an Introduction by Colonel Mac- 
 Kinnon, and a Portrait and Map. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 Pilson Young. THE RELIEF OF 
 MAFEKING. By Filson Young. 
 With Maps and Illustrations. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 
 J. Angus Hamilton. THE SIEGE 
 OF MAFEKING. By J. Angus 
 Hamilton. With many Illustra- 
 tions. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 ' A thrilling story.' — Observer. 
 
 H. F. Prevost Battersby. IN THE 
 
 WEB OF A WAR. By H. F. 
 Prevost Battersby. With Plans, 
 and Portrait of the Author. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 ' The pathos, the comedy, the majesty of 
 
 war are all in these pages.' — Daily 
 
 Mail. 
 
 Howard C. Hillegas. WITH THE 
 
 BOER FORCES. By Howard C. 
 
 Hillegas. With 24 Illustrations. 
 
 Second Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 'A most interesting book. It has many 
 
 and great merits.' — Athentpwn. 
 ' Has extreme interest and scarcely less 
 value.'— Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 H. C. J. Biss. THE RELIEF OF 
 
 KUMASI. By Captain H. C. J. 
 
 Biss. With Maps and Illustrations, 
 
 Second Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' Pleasantly written and highly interesting. 
 
 The illustrations are admirable. '—Queen. 
 
 ' We should say it will remain the standard 
 
 work on its very interesting subject.' — 
 
 Globe. 
 
24 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 E. H. Alderson. WITH THE 
 MOUNTED INFANTRY AND 
 THE MASHONALAND FIELD 
 FORCE, 1896. By Lieut. -Colonel 
 Alderson. With numerous Illus- 
 trations and Plans. Demy 8vo. 
 10s. 6d. 
 
 Seymour Vandeleur. CAMPAIGN- 
 ING ON THE UPPER NILE 
 AND NIGER. By Lieut. Seymour 
 Vandeleur. With an Introduction 
 by Sir G. Goldie, K.C.M.G. With 
 4 Maps, Illustrations, and Plans. 
 Large Crown 8vo. xos. 6d. 
 
 Lord Fincastle. A FRONTIER 
 CAMPAIGN. By Viscount Fin- 
 castle, V.C., and Lieut. P. C. 
 Elliott-Lockhart. With a Map 
 and 16 Illustrations. Second Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 E. N. Bennett. THE DOWNFALL 
 OF THE DERVISHES : A Sketch 
 of the Sudan Campaign of 1898. By 
 E. N. Bennett, Fellow of Hertford 
 College. With a Photogravure Por- 
 trait of Lord Kitchener. Third 
 Edition. Crown 8vo. 3J. 6d. 
 
 W. Kinnaird Kose. WITH THE 
 GREEKS IN THESSALY. By 
 
 W. Kinnaird Rose. With Illus- 
 trations. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 G. W. Steevens. NAVAL POLICY : 
 ByG. W. Steevens. DemyZvo. 6s. 
 
 D. Hannay. A SHORT HISTORY 
 OF THE ROYAL NAVY, FROM 
 Early Times to the Present Day. 
 By David Hannay. Illustrated. 
 2 Vols. Demy 8vo. "js. 6d. each. 
 Vol. I., 1200- 1688. 
 
 * We read itfrom cover to cover at a sitting, 
 and those who go to it for a lively and 
 brisk picture of the past, with all its faults 
 and its grandeur, will not be disappointed. 
 The historian is endowed with literary 
 skill and style.' — Standard. 
 
 E. L. S. Horsburgh. WATERLOO : A 
 Narrative and Criticism. By E. L. S. 
 Horsburgh, M. A. With Plans. 
 Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 51. 
 
 'A brilliant essay — simple, sound, and 
 thorough.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 H. B. George. BATTLES OF 
 ENGLISH HISTORY. By H. B. 
 George, M.A., Fellow of New 
 College, Oxford. With numerous 
 Plans. Third Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s. 
 ' Mr. George has undertaken a very useful 
 task — that of making military affairs in- 
 telligible and instructive to non-military 
 readers — and has executed it with a 
 large measure of success.' — Times. 
 
 General Literature 
 
 S. Baring Gould. OLD COUNTRY 
 
 LIFE. By S. Baring Gould. With 
 
 Sixty-seven Illustrations. Large Cr. 
 
 8vo. Fifth Edition. 6s. 
 
 ' " Old Country Life, "as healthy wholesome 
 
 reading, full of breezy life and move- 
 
 inent, full of quaint stories vigorously 
 
 told, will not be excelled by any book to 
 
 be published throughout the year. 
 
 Sound, hearty, and English to the core. ' 
 
 —World. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. AN OLD ENGLISH 
 HOME. By S. Baring Gould. 
 With numerous Plans and Illustra- 
 tions. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 'The chapters are delightfully fresh, very 
 informing, and lightened by man y a good 
 story. A delightful fireside companion. ' 
 — St. Janes' s Gazette. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. HISTORIC 
 ODDITIES AND STRANGE 
 EVENTS. By S. BARING Gould. 
 Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. FREAKS OF 
 FANATICISM. By S. Baring 
 Gould. Third Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. A GARLAND OF 
 COUNTRY SONG : English Folk 
 Songs with their Traditional Melodies. 
 Collected and arranged by S. BARING 
 Gould and H. F. Sheppard. 
 Demy n,to. 6s. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. SONGS OF THE 
 WEST: Traditional Ballads and 
 Songs of the West of England, with 
 their Melodies, Collected by S. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 25 
 
 Baring Gould, M.A., and H. F. 
 Sheppaed, M.A In 4 Parts. Parts 
 I., II., III., 3 s. each. Part IV., $s. 
 In one Vol., French morocco, 151. 
 ' A rich collection of humour, pathos, grace, 
 and poetic fancy.' — Saturday Review. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. YORKSHIRE 
 ODDITIES AND STRANGE 
 EVENTS. By S. Baring Gould. 
 Fifth Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 S. Baring Gould. STRANGE SUR- 
 VIVALS AND SUPERSTITIONS. 
 By S. Baring Gould. Cr. Zvo. 
 Second Edition. 6s. 
 
 Marie Corel!! THE PASSING OF 
 THE GREAT QUEEN : A Tribute 
 to the Noble Life of Victoria Regina. 
 By Marie Corelli. Small uto. is. 
 
 Cotton Minchin. OLD HARROW 
 DAYS. By J. G. Cotton Minchin. 
 Cr. Zvo. Second Edition. 5J. 
 
 W. E. Gladstone. THE SPEECHES 
 OF THE RT. HON. W. E. GLAD- 
 STONE, M.P. Edited by A. W. 
 Hutton, M.A., and H.J. Cohen, 
 M.A. With Portraits. Demy Zvo. 
 Vols. IX. and X., izs. 6d. each. 
 
 M. N. Oxford. A HANDBOOK OF 
 NURSING. By M. N. Oxford, of 
 Guy's Hospital. Crown Zvo. 3s. 6d. 
 ' The most useful work of the kind that we 
 have seen. A most valuable and prac- 
 tical manual.' — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 E. V. Zenker. ANARCHISM. By 
 E. V. Zenker. Demy Zvo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 Emily lawless. A GARDEN DIARY. 
 
 By the Hon. Emily Lawless. 
 
 Demy Zvo. 7s. td. net. 
 S. J. Duncan. ON THE OTHER 
 
 SIDE OF THF LATCH. By SARA 
 
 Jeannette Duncan (Mrs. Cotes), 
 
 Author of ' A Voyage of Consolation. ' 
 
 Crown Zvo. 6s 
 W. Williamson. THE BRITISH 
 
 GARDENER. By W. WILLIAMSON. 
 
 Illustrated. Demy Zvo. 10s. 6d. 
 Arnold White. EFFICIENCY AND 
 
 EMPIRE. By Arnold White. 
 
 Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 'Stimulating and entertaining throughout, 
 
 it deserves the attention of every patriotic 
 
 Englishman.' — Daily Mail. 
 ( A notable book.' — Literature. 
 ' A book of sound work, deep thought, and 
 
 a sincere endeavour to rouse the British 
 
 to a knowledge of the value of their 
 
 Empire.' — Bookman. 
 ' A more vigorous work has not been written 
 
 for many years. ' — Review of the Week. 
 
 A. Silva White. THE EXPANSION 
 OF EGYPT: A Political and His- 
 torical Survey. By A. Silva White. 
 With four Special Maps. Demy Zvo. 
 15J. net. 
 ' This is emphatically the best account of 
 Egypt as it is under English control that 
 has been published for many years.' — 
 Spectator. 
 
 Chas. Richardson. THE ENGLISH 
 TURF. By Charles Richardson. 
 With numerous Illustrations and 
 Plans, Demy Zvo. x$s. 
 
 'As a record of horses and courses, this 
 work is a valuable addition to the litera- 
 ture of the Turf. It is crammed with 
 sound information, and with reflections 
 and suggestions that are born of a 
 thorough knowledge of the subject.' — 
 Scotsman. 
 
 'Abookwhichis sure to find many readers ; 
 written with consummate knowledge 
 and in an easy, agreeable style.' — Daily 
 Chronicle. 
 
 ' From its sensible introduction to its very 
 complex index, this is about the best book 
 that we are likely for some time to see 
 upon the subject with which it deals.' — 
 A thenceum. 
 
 Philip Trevor. THE LIGHTER 
 SIDE OF CRICKET. By Captain 
 Philip Trevor (Dux). Crown Zvo. 
 6s. 
 A highly interesting volume, dealingwith 
 such subjects as county CTicket, village 
 cricket, cricket for boys and girls, 
 literary cricket, and various other sub- 
 jects which do not require a severe and 
 technical treatment. 
 ' A wholly entertaining book.' — Glasgow 
 
 Herald. 
 ' The most -welcome book on our national 
 game published for years.' — County 
 Gentleman. 
 
 Peter Beckford. THOUGHTS ON 
 HUNTING. By Peter Beckford. 
 Edited by J. Otho Paget, and 
 Illustrated by G. H. Jalland. 
 Demy Zvo. tos. 6d. 
 ' Beckford's "Thoughts on Hunting" has 
 
26 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 long been a classic with sportsmen, and 
 the present edition will go far to make it 
 a favourite with lovers of literature.' — 
 Speaker. 
 E. B. Michell. THE ART AND 
 PRACTICE OF HAWKING. By 
 E. B. Michell. With 3 Photo- 
 gravures by G. E. Lodge, and other 
 Illustrations. Demy Zvo. 10s. 6d. 
 ' No book is more full and authoritative than 
 this handsome treatise.' 
 
 — Morning Leader. 
 
 H. G. Hutchinson. THE GOLFING 
 PILGRIM. By HORACE G. 
 Hutchinson. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' Without this book the golfer's library will 
 be incomplete.'— Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 J. Wells. OXFORD AND OXFORD 
 LIFE. By Members of the Uni- 
 versity. Edited by J. Wells, M.A., 
 Fellow and Tutor of Wadham College. 
 Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. y. 6d. 
 
 C. G. Robertson. VOCES ACADE- 
 MICS. By C. Grant Robertson, 
 M.A., Fellow of All Souls', Oxford. 
 With a Frontispiece. Pott Zvo. yt.6d. 
 ' Decidedly clever and amusing.' — 
 Athenteum. 
 
 Rosemary Cotes. DANTE'S GAR- 
 DEN. By Rosemary Cotes. With 
 a Frontispiece. Second Edition. Fcp. 
 Zvo. 2s. 6d. Leather, 3J. 6d. net. 
 *A charming collection of legends of the 
 flowersmentioned by Dante.' — Academy. 
 
 Clifford Harrison. READING AND 
 READERS. By Clifford Harri- 
 son. Fcp. Zvo. as. 6d. 
 'An extremely sensible little book.' — Man- 
 cluster Guardian. 
 
 t. Whibley. GREEK OLIGARCH- 
 IES: THEIR ORGANISATION 
 AND CHARACTER. By L. 
 Whibley, M.A., Fellow of Pem- 
 broke College, Cambridge. Crown 
 Zvo. 6s. 
 
 L. L. Price. ECONOMIC SCIENCE 
 AND PRACTICE. By L. L. PRICE, 
 M.A., Fellow of Oriel College, Ox- 
 ford. Crown Zvo, 6s. 
 
 3. S. Shedlock. THE PIANOFORTE 
 SONATA : Its Origin and Develop- 
 ment. By J. S. SHEDLOCK. Crown 
 Zvo. ss. 
 ' This work should be in the possession of 
 every musician and amateur. A concise 
 and lucid history and a very valuable 
 work for reference.' — Athcnaum. 
 
 A. Hulme Beaman. PONS ASIN- 
 ORUM; OR, A GUIDE TO 
 BRIDGE. By A. Hulme Bea- 
 man. Fcap Zvo. 2s. 
 A practical guide, with many specimen 
 games, to the new game of Bridge. 
 
 E.M. Bowden. THE EXAMPLE OF 
 BUDDHA : Being Quotations from 
 Buddhist Literature for each Day in 
 the Year. Compiled by E. M. 
 Bowden. Third Edition. i(mo. 
 zs. 6d. 
 
 F. Ware. EDUCATIONAL RE- 
 FORM. By Fabian Ware, M.A. 
 Crown Zvo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Sidney Peel. PRACTICAL LICENS- 
 ING REFORM. By the Hon Sid- 
 ney PEEL, late Fellow of Trinity 
 College, Oxford, and Secretary to 
 the Royal Commission on the Licens- 
 ing Laws. Crown Zvo, is. 6d. 
 
 Philosophy 
 
 L. T. Hobhouse. THE THEORY OF 
 KNOWLEDGE. By L. T. Hob- 
 house, Fellow of C.C.C., Oxford. 
 Demy Zvo. sis. 
 1 The most important contribution to 
 English philosophy since the publication 
 of Mr. Bradley s " Appearance and 
 Reality." ' — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 W. H. Fairbrother. THE PHILO- 
 SOPHY OF T. H. GREEN. By 
 W. H. Fairbrother, M.A. Second 
 Edition. Cr. Zvo. 2 s - 6</. 
 
 ■In every way an admirable book.'— 
 Glasgow Herald. 
 
 F. W. BusselL THE SCHOOL OF 
 PLATO. By F. W. Bussell, D.D., 
 Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. 
 Demy Zvo. 10s. 6d. 
 
 F. S. Granger. THE WORSHIP 
 OF THE ROMANS. By F. S. 
 Granger, M.A., Litt.D. Crown 
 Zvo. 6s. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 27 
 
 Science 
 
 E. H. Colbeck DISEASES OF THE 
 HEART. By E. H. Colbeck, 
 M.D. With numerous Illustrations. 
 Demy Svo, I2j. 
 
 W. 0. C. Pakes. THE SCIENCE OF 
 
 HYGIENE. By W. C. C. Pakes. 
 
 With numerous Illustrations. Demy 
 
 Svo. 15s. 
 
 *A t thoroughgoing working text -hook of 
 
 its subject, practical and well-stocked.' 
 
 — Scotsman. 
 
 A. T. Hare. THE CONSTRUC- 
 TION OF LARGE INDUCTION 
 COILS. By A. T. Hare, M.A. 
 With numerous Diagrams. Demy 
 Svo. 6s. 
 
 J. E. Marr. THE SCIENTIFIC 
 STUDY OF SCENERY. By j! E. 
 Marr, F.R.S., Fellow of St. John's 
 College, Cambridge. Illustrated. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 ' A volume, moderate in size and readable 
 in style, which will be acceptable alike 
 to the student of geology and geo- 
 graphy, and to the tourist.' — A thence-urn. 
 
 3. RitzemaBos. AGRICULTURAL 
 ZOOLOGY. By Dr. J. RitzemaBos. 
 Translated by J. R. Ainsworth 
 Davis, M.A. With an Introduction 
 by Eleanor A. Ormerod, F.E.S. 
 With 155 Illustrations. Crown Zvo. 
 y. 6d. 
 ' The illustrations are exceedingly good, 
 whilst the information conveyed is in- 
 valuable.' — Country Gentleman. 
 
 Td. von Freudenreich. DAIRY 
 BACTERIOLOGY. A Short Manual 
 for the Use of Students. By Dr. 
 
 Ed. von Freudenreich, Trans- 
 lated by J. R. Ainsworth Davis, 
 M.A. Second Edition, Revised. 
 Crown Zvo. ss. 6d. 
 
 Chalmers Mitchell. OUTLINES OF 
 
 BIOLOGY. By P. Chalmers 
 
 Mitchell, M.A. Illustrated. Cr. 
 
 Svo. 6s. 
 
 A text-book designed to cover the new 
 
 Schedule issued by the Royal College 
 
 of Physicians and Surgeons. 
 
 George Massee. A MONOGRAPH 
 
 OF THE MYXOGASTRES. By 
 
 George Massee. With 12 Coloured 
 
 Plates. SoyalZvo. iZs. net. 
 
 1 A work much in advance of any book in 
 
 the language treating of this group of 
 
 organisms. Indispensable to every 
 
 student of the Myxogastres. ' — Nature. 
 
 0. Stephenson and F. Suddards. 
 
 ORNAMENTAL DESIGN FOR 
 WOVEN FABRICS. By C. 
 
 Stephenson, of the Technical 
 College, Bradford, and F. Suddards, 
 of the Yorkshire College, Leeds. 
 With 65 full-page plates. Demy Zvo. 
 Second Edition, ys. 6d. 
 1 The book is very ably done, displaying an 
 intimate knowledge of principles, good 
 taste, and the faculty of clear exposi- 
 tion.' — Yorkshire Post. 
 
 C. C. Channel- and M. E. Roberts. 
 LACE-MAKING IN THE MID- 
 LANDS, PAST AND PRESENT. 
 By C. C. Channer and M. E. 
 Roberts. With 16 full-page Illus- 
 trations. Crown Svo. 2S. 6d. 
 1 An interesting book, illustrated by fascin- 
 ating photographs. ' — Speaker. 
 
 Theology 
 
 W. R. Inge. CHRISTIAN MYSTI- 
 CISM. The Bampton Lectures 
 for 1899. By'W. R. INGE, M.A., 
 Fellow and Tutor of Hertford 
 
 College, Oxford. Demy Zvo. 12s. 6d. 
 
 net. 
 1 It is fully worthy of the best traditions 
 connected with the Bampton Lecture- 
 ship.' — Record. 
 
28 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 Lady Julian of Norwich. REVELA- 
 TIONS OF DIVINE LOVE. By 
 the Lady Julian of Norwich. 
 Edited by GeaceWarrack. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 A partially modernised version, from the 
 MS. in the British Museum of a book 
 which Dr. Dalgairns terms ' One of the 
 most remarkable books of the Middle 
 Ages.' Mr. Inge in his Bampton Lec- 
 tures on Christian Mysticism calls it 
 ' The beautiful but little known Revela- 
 tions' 
 R. M. Benson. THE WAY OF HOLI- 
 NESS : a Devotional Commentary 
 on the 119th Psalm. By R. M. 
 Benson, M.A., of the Cowley 
 Mission, Oxford. Crown Svo. 5J. 
 1 His facility is delightful, and his very 
 sound and accurate theological sense 
 saves him from many of the obvious 
 dangers of such a gift. Give him a 
 word or a number and at once there 
 springs fori • a fertile stream of thought, 
 never commonplace, usually both deep 
 and fresh. For devotional purposes we 
 think this book most valuable. Readers 
 will find a great wealth of thought if 
 they use the book simply as a help to 
 meditation. ' — Guardian. 
 
 Jacob Behmen. THE SUPERSENS- 
 UAL LIFE. By Jacob Behmen. 
 Edited by Bernard Holland. 
 Fcap Svo. 2 s - 6d. 
 
 S. R. Driver. SERMONS ON SUB- 
 JECTS CONNECTED WITH 
 THE OLD TESTAMENT. By S. 
 R. Driver, D.D., Canon of Christ 
 Church, Regius Professor of Hebrew 
 in the University of Oxford. Cr. Svo. 
 6s. 
 
 *A welcome companion to the author's 
 famous " Introduction." ' — Guardian. 
 
 T. K. Cheyne. FOUNDERS OF OLD 
 TESTAMENT CRITICISM. By 
 T. K. Cheyne, D.D., Oriel Pro- 
 fessor at Oxford. Large Crown Svo. 
 ys. 6d. 
 A historical sketch of O. T. Criticism. 
 
 Walter Lock. ST. PAUL, THE 
 MASTER-BUILDER. By Walter 
 Lock, D.D., Warden of Keble 
 College. Crown Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 'The essence of the Pauline teaching is 
 condensed into little more than a hun- 
 dred pages, yet no point of importance 
 is overlooked.' — Guardian. 
 
 F. S. Granger. THE SOUL OF A 
 CHRISTIAN. By F. S. Granger, 
 M.A., Litt.D. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 A book dealing with the evolution of the 
 
 religious life and experiences. 
 ' A remarkable book.' — Glasgow Herald. 
 ' Both a scholarly and thoughtful book.' — 
 Scotsman. 
 H. Rashdall. DOCTRINE AND 
 DEVELOPMENT. By HASTINGS 
 Rashdall; M. A. , Fellow and Tutor 
 of New College, Oxford. Cr.Svo. 6s. 
 H. H. Henson. APOSTOLIC CHRIS- 
 TIANITY: As Illustrated by the 
 Epistles of St. Paul to the Corinthians. 
 By H. H. Henson, M.A., Fellow of 
 All Souls', Oxford, Canon of West- 
 minster. Cr. Svo. 6s. 
 H. H. Henson. DISCIPLINE AND 
 LAW. By H. Hensley Henson, 
 M.A., Fellow of All Souls', Oxford. 
 Fcap. Svo. zs. 6d. 
 H. H. Henson. LIGHT AND 
 LEAVEN : Historical and 
 Social Sermons. By H. H. Hen- 
 son, M.A. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 J. Houghton Kennedy. ST. PAUL'S 
 SECOND AND THIRD 
 EPISTLES TO THE CORIN- 
 THIANS. With Introduction, Dis- 
 sertations, and Notes, by James 
 Houghton Kennedy, D.D., 
 Assistant Lecturer in Divinity in the 
 Universityof Dublin. CrownSvo. 6s. 
 Bennett and Adeney. A BIBLICAL 
 INTRODUCTION. By W. H. 
 Bennett, M.A.,andW.F. Adeney, 
 M.A. Crown Svo. js. 6d. 
 ' It makes available to the ordinary reader 
 the best scholarship of the day in the 
 field of Biblical introduction. We know 
 of no book which comes into competi- 
 tion with it.' — Mancliester Guardian. 
 W. H. Bennett. A PRIMER OF 
 THE BIBLE. By W. H. Bennett. 
 Second Edition. Cr. Svo. 2s. 6d. 
 ' The work of an honest, fearless, and sound 
 critic, and an excellent guide in a small 
 compass to the books of the Bible.' — 
 Manchester Guardian. 
 0. F. G. Masterman. TENNYSON 
 AS A RELIGIOUS TEACHER. 
 By C. F. G. Masterman. Crown 
 Svo. 6s. 
 ' A thoughtful and penetrating appreciation, 
 full of interest and suggestion.' — World. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 29 
 
 William Harrison. CLOVELLY 
 SERMONS. By William Harri- 
 son, M.A., late Rector of Clovelly. 
 With a Preface by ' Lucas Malet.' 
 Cr. Zvo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 Cecilia Robinson. THE MINISTRY 
 OF DEACONESSES. By Deacon- 
 ness Cecilia Robinson. With an 
 Introduction by the Lord Bishop of 
 Winchester. Cr. Zvo. 3s. 6d. 
 *A learned and interesting book.' — Scots- 
 man. 
 
 E. B. Layard. RELIGION IN BOY- 
 HOOD. Notes on the Religious 
 Training of Boys. By E. B. 
 Layard, M.A. iZmo. is. 
 
 T. Herbert Bindley. THE OECU- 
 MENICAL DOCUMENTS OF 
 THE FAITH. Edited with Intro- 
 ductions and Notes by T. Herbert 
 Bindley, B.D., Merton College, 
 Oxford. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 A historical account of the Creeds. 
 
 H. M. Barron. TEXTS FOR SER- 
 MONS ON VARIOUS OCCA- 
 SIONS AND SUBJECTS. Cora- 
 piled and Arranged by H. M. BAR- 
 RON, B.A., of Wadham College, 
 Oxford, with a Preface by Canon 
 Scott Holland. Crown Zvo. 3s. 
 6d. 
 
 W. Yorke Fausset. THE DE 
 CATECHIZANDIS RUD1BUS 
 OF ST. AUGUSTINE. Edited, 
 
 with Introduction, Notes, etc., by 
 W. Yorke Fausset, M.A. Cr. 8vo. 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 J. H. Burn. THE SOUL'S PILGRIM- 
 AGE : Devotional Readings from 
 the published and unpublished 
 writings of George Body, D.D. 
 Selected and arranged by J. H. 
 Burn, B.D. Pott Zvo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 F. Weston. THE HOLY SACRI- 
 FICE. By F. Weston, M.A, 
 Curate of St. Matthew's, Westmin- 
 ster. Pott Zvo. 6d. net. 
 
 A Kempis. THE IMITATION OF 
 
 CHRIST. By Thomas a Kempis. 
 
 With an Introduction by Dean 
 
 Farrar. Illustrated by C. M. 
 
 Gere. Second Edition. Fcaf. Zvo. 
 
 3J. 6d. Padded morocco, §s. 
 
 ' Amongst all the innumerable English 
 
 editions of the "Imitation," there can 
 
 have been few which were prettier than 
 
 this one, printed in strong and handsome 
 
 type, with all the glory of red initials.' — 
 
 Glasgow Herald. 
 
 J. Keble. THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. 
 By John Keble. With an Intro- 
 duction and Notes by W. Lock, 
 D.D., Warden of Keble College. 
 Illustrated by R. Anning Bell. 
 Second Edition. Fcap. Zvo. 3s. 6d. 
 Padded morocco, 5s. 
 1 The present edition is annotated with all 
 
 the care and insight to be expected from 
 
 Mr. Lock.' — Guardian. 
 
 ©jforo Commentaries 
 
 General Editor, Walter Lock, D.D., Warden of Keble College, Dean 
 Ireland's Professor of Exegesis in the University of Oxford. 
 
 degree of appreciation. To the busy 
 worker and the intelligent student the 
 commentary will be a real boon ; and it 
 will, if we are not mistaken, be much in 
 demand. The Introduction is almost a 
 model of concise, straightforward, pre- 
 fatory remarks on the subject treated.' — 
 A tkcnceum. 
 
 THE BOOK OF JOB. Edited, with 
 Introduction and Notes, by E. C. S. 
 Gibson, D. D. , Vicar of Leeds. Demy 
 Zvo. 6s. 
 ' The publishers are to be congratulated on 
 the start the series has made.' — Times. 
 1 Dr. Gibson's work is worthy of a high 
 
 Ibanoboofts of abeologs 
 
 General Editor, A. Robertson, D.D., Principal of King's College, London. 
 
 THE XXXIX. ARTICLES OF THE 
 CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Edited 
 with an Introduction by E. C. S. 
 GIBSON, D.D., Vicar of Leeds, late 
 
 Principal of Wells Theological Col- 
 lege. Second and Cheaper Edition 
 in One Volume. Demy Zvo. 12s. 6d. 
 ' We welcome with the utmost satisfaction 
 
30 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 a new, cheaper, and more convenient 
 edition of Dr. Gibson's_ book. It was 
 greatlywanted. Dr. Gibson has given 
 theological students just what they want, 
 and we should like to think that it was 
 in the hands of every candidate for 
 orders. ' — Guardian. 
 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE 
 HISTORY OF RELIGION. By 
 F. B. Jevons, M.A., Litt.D., Prin- 
 cipal of Bishop Hatfield's Hall. 
 Demy Svo. 10s. 6d. 
 * The merit of this book lies in the penetra- 
 tion, the singular acuteness and force of 
 the^ author's judgment. He is at once 
 critical and luminous, at once just and 
 suggestive. A comprehensive and 
 thorough book.' — Birmingham Post. 
 THE DOCTRINE OF THE INCAR- 
 NATION. By R. L. Ottley, M. A. , 
 late fellow of Magdalen College, 
 Oxon. , and Principal of Pusey House. 
 In Two Volumes. Demy Svo. i$s. 
 
 ' A clear and remarkably full account of the 
 main currents of speculation. Scholarly 
 precision . . . genuine tolerance . . . 
 intense interest in his subject — are Mr. 
 Ottley's merits.' — Guardian. 
 
 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE 
 HISTORY OF THE CREEDS. By 
 A. E. Burn, B.D., Examining Chap- 
 lain to the Bishop of Lichfield. Demy 
 
 Svo. xos. 6d. 
 ' This book may be expected to hold its 
 place as an authority on its subject.' — 
 Spectator. 
 
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION 
 
 IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA. 
 
 By Alfred Caldecott, D.D., 
 
 Demy Svo. ios. 6d. 
 
 'Singularly well-informed, comprehensive, 
 
 and fair.'. — Glasgow Herald. 
 'A lucid and informative account, which 
 
 certainly deserves a place in every 
 philosophical library.' — Scotsman, 
 
 Zbe Gburcbman's Xfbrarg 
 
 General Editor, J. H. BURN, B.D., Examining Chaplain to the 
 Bishop of Aberdeen. 
 
 THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH 
 CHRISTIANITY. By W. E. Col- 
 lins, M.A. With Map. Cr. Svo. 
 3J. 6d. 
 ' An excellent example of thorough and fresh 
 historical work.' — Guardian. 
 SOME NEW TESTAMENT PRO- 
 BLEMS. By Arthur Wright, 
 M.A., Fellow of Queen's College, 
 Cambridge. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 ' Real students will revel in these reverent, 
 acute, and pregnant essays in Biblical 
 scholarship. — Great Thoughts. 
 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 
 HERE AND HEREAFTER. By 
 Canon Winterbotham, M.A., 
 B.Sc, LL.B. Cr. 8vo. 3 s. 6d. 
 
 Zhc Gburcbman's 333ible 
 
 General Editor, J. H. BURN, B.D. 
 Messrs. Methuen are issuing a series of expositions upon most of the books 
 of the Bible. The volumes will be practical and devotional, and the text of the 
 authorised version is explained in sections, which will correspond as far as 
 possible with the Church Lectionary. 
 
 ( A most able book at once exceedingly 
 thoughtful and richly suggestive.'— Glas- 
 gow Herald. 
 
 THE WORKMANSHIP OF THE 
 PRAYER BOOK : Its Literary and 
 Liturgical Aspects. By J. Dowden, 
 D.D., Lord Bishop of Edinburgh. 
 Crown Svo. ^s. 6d. 
 'Scholarly and interesting.'— Manchester 
 Guardian. 
 
 EVOLUTION. ByF.BjEVONS.M.A, 
 Litt.D., Principal of Hatfield Hall, 
 Durham. Crown Svo. 35. 6d. 
 1 A well-written book, full of sound thinking 
 happily expressed.'— Manchester Guar- 
 dian. 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO 
 THE GALATIANS. Explained by 
 A. W. Robinson, Vicar of All 
 Hallows, Barking. Fcap. Svo. is. 6d. 
 net. 
 
 ' The most attractive, sensible, and instruc- 
 
 tive manual for people at large, which 
 we have ever seen.' — Church Gazette. 
 ECCLESIASTES. Explained by A. 
 W. Streane, D.D. Fcap. Svo. 
 is. 6d. net. 
 'Scholarly ^suggestive, and particularly 
 interesting. ' — Bookman. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 31 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE 
 APOSTLE TO THE PHILIP- 
 PIANS. Explained by C. R. D. 
 Biggs, B.D. Fcap. Zvo. it. 6d. 
 net. 
 
 ' Mr. Biggs' work is very thorough, and he 
 
 has managed to compress a good deal of 
 information into a limited space.' 
 
 — Guardian. 
 
 THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES. 
 Edited by H. W. Fulfokd, M.A. 
 Fcap. %vo. is. 6d. net. 
 
 Zbe Xibrarg of Devotion 
 
 Pott %vo, cloth, 2.S.; leather, 2s. 6d. net. 
 
 * This series is excellent.' — The Bishop of London. 
 
 'Very delightful.' — The Bishop of Bath and Wells. 
 
 ' Well worth the attention of the Clergy.' — The Bishop of Lichfield. 
 
 ' The new " Library of Devotion " is excellent.' — The Bishop of Peterborough. 
 
 ' Charming.' — Record. ' Delightful.' — Church Bells. 
 
 THE CONFESSIONS OF ST. AU- 
 GUSTINE. Newly Translated, 
 with an Introduction and Notes, by 
 C. Bigg, D.D. , late Student of Christ 
 Church. Third Edition. 
 'The translation is an excellent piece of 
 English, and the introduction is a mas- 
 terly exposition. We augur well of a 
 series which begins so satisfactorily.' — 
 Times. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. By John 
 Keble. With Introduction and 
 Notes by Walter Lock, D.D., 
 Warden of Keble College, Ireland 
 Professor at Oxford. 
 
 THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. A 
 Revised Translation, with an Introduc- 
 tion, by C. Bigg, D.D., late Student 
 of Christ Church. Second Edition. 
 A practically new translation of this book, 
 which the reader has, almost for the first 
 time, exactly in the shape in which it 
 left the hands of the author. 
 
 A BOOK OF DEVOTIONS. By J. 
 W. Staneridge, B.D., Rector of 
 Bainton, Canon of York, and some- 
 time Fellow of St. John's College, 
 Oxford. 
 ( It is probably the best book of its kind. It 
 deserves high commendation.' — Church 
 Gazette. 
 
 LYRA INNOCENTIUM. By John 
 Keble. Edited, with Introduction 
 and Notes, by Walter Lock, D.D., 
 Warden of Keble College, Oxford. 
 
 ' This sweet and fragrant book has never 
 
 been published more attractively.' — 
 Academy. 
 
 A SERIOUS CALL TO A DEVOUT 
 AND HOLY LIFE. By William 
 Law. Edited, with an Introduction, 
 by C. Bigg, D.D., late Student of 
 Christ Church. 
 This is a reprint, word for word and line for 
 line, of the Editio Princeps. 
 
 THE TEMPLE. By George Her- 
 bert. Edited, with an Introduction 
 and Notes, by E. C. S. Gibson, 
 D.D., Vicar of Leeds. 
 This edition contains Walton's Life of 
 Herbert, and the text is that of the first 
 edition. 
 
 A GUIDE TO ETERNITY. By 
 Cardinal BONA. Edited, with an 
 Introduction and Notes, by J. W. 
 Stanbridge, B.D., late Fellow of 
 St. John's College, Oxford. 
 
 THE PSALMS OF DAVID. With an 
 
 Introduction and Notes by B. W. 
 
 Randolph, D.D., Principal of the 
 
 Theological College, Ely. 
 
 A devotional and practical edition of the 
 
 Prayer Book version of the Psalms. 
 
 LYRA APOSTOLICA. With an In- 
 troduction by Canon SCOTT HOL- 
 LAND, and Notes by H. C. Beech- 
 ing, M.A. 
 
 THE INNER WAY. Being Thirty- 
 six Sermons for Festivals by John 
 Tauler. Edited, with an Introduc- 
 tion, by A. W. Hutton, M.A. 
 
32 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 Xea&ers of IReligion 
 
 Edited by H. C. BEECHING, M.A. With Portraits, Crown Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 A series of short biographies of the most prominent leaders of religious 
 life and thought of all ages and countries. 
 The following are ready 
 
 CARDINAL NEWMAN. By R. H. 
 
 HUTTON. 
 
 JOHN WESLEY. By J. H. Over- 
 ton, M.A. 
 BISHOP WILBERFORCE. By G. 
 
 W. Daniell, M.A. 
 CARDINAL MANNING. By A. W. 
 
 Hutton, M.A. 
 CHARLES SIMEON. By H. C. G. 
 
 Moule, D.D. 
 JOHN KEBLE. By Walter Lock, 
 
 D.D. 
 THOMAS CHALMERS. By Mrs. 
 
 Oliphant. 
 LANCELOT ANDREWES. By R. 
 
 L. Ottley, M.A. 
 
 AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY. 
 
 By E. L. Cutts, D.D. 
 WILLIAM LAUD. By W. H. 
 
 Hutton, M.A. 
 JOHN KNOX. By F. MacCunn. 
 JOHN HOWE. By R. F. Horton, 
 
 D.D. 
 BISHOP KEN. By F. A. Clarke, 
 
 M.A. 
 GEORGE FOX, THE QUAKER. 
 
 ByT. Hodgkin, D.C.L. 
 JOHN DONNE. By Augustus 
 
 Jessopp, D.D. 
 THOMAS CRANMER. By. A. J. 
 
 Mason. 
 BISHOP LATIMER. By R. M. Car- 
 
 lyle and A. J. Carlyle, M.A. 
 
 Other volumes will be announced in due course. 
 
 Fiction 
 
 Marie Corelli's Novels 
 
 Crown %vo* 6s. each. 
 
 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS. 
 
 Twenty-Second Edition* 
 VENDETTA. Sixteenth Edition. 
 THELMA. Twenty-Fifth Edition. 
 ARDATH: THE STORY OF A 
 DEAD SELF. Thirteenth Edition. 
 THE SOUL OF LILITH. Tenth 
 
 Edition. 
 WORMWOOD. Eleventh Edition. 
 BARABBAS : A DREAM OF THE 
 WORLD'S TRAGEDY. Thirty- 
 sixth Edition. 
 1 The tender reverence of the treatment 
 and the imaginative beauty of the writ- 
 ing have reconciled us to the daring of 
 the conception, and the conviction is 
 forced on us that even so exalted a sub- 
 ject cannot be made too familiar to us, 
 provided it be presented in the true spirit 
 of Christian faith. The amplifications 
 of the Scripture narrative are often con- 
 ceived with high poetic insight, and this 
 1 ' Dream of the World's Tragedy " is 
 a lofty and not inadequate paraphrase 
 of the supreme climax of the inspired 
 narrative.' — Dublin Review, 
 THE SORROWS OF SATAN. 
 Forty-Fourth Edition. 
 1 A very powerful piece of work. . . . The 
 
 conception is magnificent, and is likely 
 to win an abiding place within the 
 memory of man. . . . The author has 
 immense command of language, and a 
 limitless audacity. . . . This interesting 
 and remarkable romance will live long 
 after much of the ephemeral literature 
 of the day is forgotten, i . . A literary 
 phenomenon . . . novel^ and even sub- 
 lime.' — W. T. Stead in the Review 
 of Reviews. 
 THE MASTER CHRISTIAN. 
 
 \x6oth TJwusand. 
 'It cannot be denied that "The Master 
 Christian " is a powerful book ; that it is 
 one likely to raise uncomfortable ques- 
 tions in all but the most self-satisfied 
 readers, and that it strikes at the root 
 of the failure of the Churches — the decay 
 of faith — in a manner which shows the 
 inevitable disaster heaping up . . . The 
 good Cardinal Bonpre is a beautiful 
 figure, fit to stand beside the good 
 Bishop in " Les Miserables" . . . The 
 chapter in which the Cardinal appears 
 with Manuel before Leo xiii. is char- 
 acterised by extraordinary realism and 
 dramatic intensity ... It is a book with 
 a serious purpose expressed with abso- 
 lute unconventionality and passion . . . 
 Andthis is to say it is a book worth 
 reading.' — Examiner. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 33 
 
 Anthony Hope's Novels 
 
 Crown Svo. 6s. each. 
 
 THE GOD IN THE CAR. Ninth 
 Edition, 
 'A very remarkable book, deserving of 
 critical analysis impossible within our 
 limit ; brilliant, but not superficial ; 
 well considered, but not elaborated ; 
 constructed with the proverbial art that 
 conceals, but yet allows itself to be 
 enjoyedby readers to whom fine literary 
 method is a keen pleasure.'— The World. 
 A CHANGE OF AIR. Sixth Edition. 
 ' A graceful, vivacious comedy, true to 
 human nature. The characters are 
 traced with a masterly hand.' — Times, 
 A MAN OF MARK. Fifth Edition. 
 'Of all Mr. Hope's books, "A Man of 
 Mark" is the one which best compares 
 with " The Prisoner of Zenda." ' — 
 National Observer. 
 THE CHRONICLES OF COUNT 
 ANTONIO. Fourth Edition. 
 'It is a perfectly enchanting story of love 
 and chivalry, and pure romance. The 
 Count is the most constant, desperate, 
 and modest and tender of lovers, a peer- 
 less gentleman, an intrepid fighter, a 
 
 faithful friend, and a magnanimous foe.' 
 — Guardian. 
 PHROSO. Illustrated by H. R. 
 Millar. Fifth Edition. 
 * The tale is thoroughly fresh, quick with 
 vitality, stirring the blood. ' — St. James's 
 Gazette. 
 SIMON DALE. Illustrated. Fifth 
 Edition. 
 1 There is searching analysis of human 
 nature, with a most ingeniously con- 
 structed plot. Mr. Hope has drawn the 
 contrasts of his women with marvellous 
 subtlety and delicacy.' — Times, 
 THE KING'S MIRROR. Third 
 Edition. 
 1 In elegance, delicacy, and tact it ranks 
 with the best of his novels, while in the 
 wide range of its portraiture and the 
 subtilty of its analysis it surpasses all his 
 earlier ventures. '—Spectator. 
 QUISANTE. Third Edition.^ 
 ' The book is notable for a very high liter- 
 ary quality, and an impress of power 
 and mastery on every page.' — Daily 
 Chronicle. 
 
 Gilbert Parker's Novels 
 
 Crown Zvo. 6s. each. 
 
 PIERRE AND HIS PEOPLE. 
 Fifth Edition. 
 'Stories happily conceived and finely ex- 
 ecuted. There is strength and genius in 
 Mr. Parker's style.' — Daily Telegraph. 
 
 MRS. FALCHION. Fourth Edition. 
 * A splendid study of character.' — 
 
 A theneeum, 
 
 THE TRANSLATION OF A 
 SAVAGE. 
 ' The plot is original and one difficult to 
 work out ; but Mr. Parker has done it 
 with great skill and delicacy. * 
 
 — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 THE TRAIL OF THE SWORD. 
 
 Illustrated. Seventh Edition. 
 ' A rousing and dramatic tale. A book like 
 this, in which swords flash, great sur- 
 prises are undertaken, and daring deeds 
 done, in which men and women live and 
 love in the old passionate way, is a joy 
 inexpressible.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 WHEN VALMOND CAME TO 
 
 PONTIAC: The Story of a Lost 
 
 Napoleon. Fifth Edition. 
 
 ' Here we find romance— real, breathing, 
 
 living romance. The character of Val- 
 
 mond is drawn unerringly. ' — Pail Mall 
 Gazette. 
 AN ADVENTURER OF THE 
 NORTH : The Last Adventures of 
 ' Pretty Pierre. ' Second Edition. 
 1 The present book is full of fine and mov- 
 ing stories of the great North, and it 
 will add to Mr. Parker's already high 
 reputation.' — Glasgow Herald. 
 THE SEATS OF THE MIGHTY. 
 Illustrated. Eleventh Edition. 
 Mr. Parker has produced a really fine 
 historical novel.' — Atheneeum. 
 ' A great book.' — Black and White* 
 THE BATTLE OF THE STRONG: 
 a Romance of Two Kingdoms. 
 Illustrated. Fourth Edition. 
 1 Nothing more vigorous or more human has 
 come from Mr. Gilbert Parker than this 
 novel. It has all the graphic power of 
 his last book, with truer feeling for the 
 romance, both of human life and wild 
 nature.' — Literature. 
 THE POMP OF THE LAVILET- 
 TES. Second Edition. y 6d. 
 'Unforced pathos, and a deeper know- 
 ledge of human nature than Mr. Parker 
 has ever displayed before.' — Pall Mall 
 Gazette,, 
 
34 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 S. Baring Gould's Novels 
 
 Crown %vo. 6s. each. 
 
 ARMINELL. Fifth Edition. 
 
 URITH. Fifth Edition. 
 
 IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA. 
 
 Seventh Edition. 
 MRS. CURGENVEN OF CURGEN- 
 
 VEN. Fourth Edition. 
 CHEAP JACK ZITA. Fourth Edition. 
 THE QUEEN OF LOVE. Fifth 
 
 Edition. 
 MARGERY OF QUETHER. Third 
 
 Edition. 
 JACQUETTA. Third Edition. 
 KITTY ALONE. Fifth Edition. 
 NOliMI. Illustrated. Fourth Edition. 
 
 THE BROOM-SQUIRE. Illustrated. 
 Fourth Edition. 
 
 THE PENNYCOMEQUICKS. 
 Third Edition. 
 
 DARTMOOR IDYLLS. 
 
 GUAVAS THE TINNER. Illus- 
 trated. Second Edition. 
 
 BLADYS. Illustrated. Second Edition. 
 
 DOMITIA. Illustrated. Second Edi- 
 tion. 
 
 PABO THE PRIEST. 
 
 WINEFRED. Illustrated. Second 
 Edition. 
 
 THE FROBISHERS. 
 
 Conan Doyle. ROUND THE RED 
 LAMP. By A. Conan Doyle. 
 Seventh Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 1 The book is far and away the best view 
 that has been vouchsafed us behind the 
 scenes of the consulting-room.'- — Illus- 
 trated London News. 
 
 Stanley Weyman. UNDER THE 
 RED ROBE. By Stanley Wey- 
 MAN, Author of ' A Gentleman of 
 France.' With Illustrations by R. C. 
 WOODVILLE. Sixteenth Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 1 Every one who reads books at all must 
 read this thrilling romance, from the 
 first page of which to the last the breath- 
 less reader is haled along. An inspira- 
 tion of manliness and courage.'— Daily 
 Chronicle. 
 Lucas Malet. THE WAGES OF 
 SIN. By LUCAS Malet. Thir- 
 teenth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 Lucas Malet. THE CARISSIMA. 
 By Lucas Malet, Author of ' The 
 Wages of Sin,' etc. Fourth Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 Lucas Malet. THE GATELESS 
 BARRIER. By Lucas Malet, 
 Author of 'The Wages of Sin.' 
 Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' The story is told with a sense of style and a 
 dramatic vigour that makes it a pleasure 
 to read. The workmanship arouses en- 
 thusiasm.' — Times. 
 W. W. Jacobs. A MASTER OF 
 CRAFT. By W. W. Jacobs, 
 
 Author of ' Many Cargoes.' Illus- 
 trated. Fourth Edition. Crown 
 8vo. 3J. 6d. 
 ' Can be unreservedly recommended to all 
 who have not lost their appetite for 
 wholesome laughter. ' — Spectator. 
 ' The best humorous book published for 
 many a day.' — Black and White. 
 W. W. Jacobs. MANY CARGOES. 
 By W. W. Jacobs. Twenty-fifth 
 Edition. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. 
 W.W.Jacobs. SEA URCHINS. By 
 W. W. Jacobs. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. 
 EdnaLyall. DERRICK VAUGHAN, 
 NOVELIST. 42nd thousand. By 
 Edna Lyall. Crown 8vo. y. 6d. 
 George Gissing. THE TOWN TRA- 
 VELLER. By George Gissing, 
 Author of ' Demos,' ' In the Year of 
 Jubilee,' etc. Second Edition. Cr. 
 8vo. 6s. 
 ' It is a bright and witty book above all 
 things. Polly Sparkes is a splendid bit 
 of work.' — Pall Mall Gazette. 
 ' The spirit of Dickens is in it.' — Bookman. 
 George Gissing. THE CROWN OF 
 LIFE. By George Gissing, Author 
 of ' Demos,' ' The To*n Traveller,' 
 etc. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 Henry James. THE SOFT SIDE. 
 By Henry James, Author of 'What 
 Maisie Knew.' Second Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' The amazing cleverness marks the great 
 worker. '—Speaker. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 35 
 
 H. James. THE SACRED FOUNT. 
 By Henry James, Author of ' What 
 Maisie Knew.' Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' " The Sacred Fount" is only for the few, 
 but they williprize it highly, for it is 
 worthy of its illustrious author.'— Pall 
 Mall Gazette. 
 S. E. Crockett. LOCHINVAR. By 
 S. R. Crockett, Author of 'The 
 Raiders,' etc. Illustrated. Second 
 Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' Full of gallantry and pathos, of the clash 
 of arms, and brightened by episodes 
 of humour and love.' — Westminster 
 Gazette. 
 S. K. Crockett. THE STANDARD 
 BEARER. By S. R. Crockett. 
 Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' A delightful tale.' '—Speaker. 
 
 * Mr. Crockett at his best.' — Literature. 
 Arthur Morrison. TALES OF 
 
 MEAN STREETS. By Arthur 
 Morrison. Fifth Edition. Cr. 
 Zvo. 6s. 
 
 Told with consummate art and extra- 
 ordinary detail. In the true humanity 
 of the book lies its justification, the 
 permanence of its interest, and its in- 
 dubitable triumph.' — A thenteu-m. 
 'A great book. The author's method is 
 amazingly effective, and produces a 
 thrilling sense of reality. The writer 
 lays upon us a master hand. The book 
 is simply appalling and irresistible in 
 its interest. _ It is humorous also ; with- 
 out humour it would not make the mark 
 it is certain to make.' — World. 
 Arthur Morrison. A CHILD OF 
 THE JAGO. By Arthur Morri- 
 son. Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. 6s. 
 ' The book is a masterpiece.' — Pall Mall 
 Gazette. 
 
 * Told with great vigour and powerful sim- 
 
 plicity.' — Athentzum. 
 Arthur Morrison. TO LONDON 
 TOWN. By Arthur Morrison, 
 Author of ' Tales of Mean Streets, ' 
 etc. Second Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 1 We have idyllic pictures, woodland scenes 
 full of tenderness and grace. . . . This 
 is the new Mr. Arthur Morrison gracious 
 and tender, sympathetic and human.' — 
 Daily Telegraph. 
 Arthur Morrison. CUNNING 
 MURRELL. By Arthur Mor- 
 rison, Author of 'A Child of the 
 Jago,' etc. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 'The plot hangs admirably. The dialogue 
 
 is perfect.' — Daily Mail. 
 'Admirable. . . . Delightful humorous 
 
 relief . . .^ a most artistic and satis- 
 factory achievement.' — Spectator. 
 
 MaxPemberton. THE FOOTSTEPS 
 OF A THRONE. By Max Pem- 
 BERTON. Illustrated. Second Edi- 
 tion. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' A story of pure adventure, with a sensa- 
 tion on every page.' — Daily Mail. 
 
 M. Sutherland. ONE HOUR AND 
 THE NEXT. By The Duchess 
 of Sutherland. Third Edition. 
 Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 'Passionate, vivid, dramatic' — Literature. 
 Mrs. Clifford. A FLASH OF 
 SUMMER. By Mrs. W. K. Clif- 
 ford, Author of 'Aunt Anne,' etc. 
 Second Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' The story is a very beautiful one, exquis- 
 itely told. ' — Speaker. 
 
 Emily Lawless. HURRISH. By the 
 Honble. Emily Lawless, Author of 
 'Maelcho,' etc. Fifth Edition. Cr. 
 Zvo. 6s. 
 
 Emily Lawless. MAELCHO : a Six- 
 teenth Century Romance. By the 
 Honble. Emily Lawless. Second 
 Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' A really great book.' — Spectator. 
 
 Emily Lawless. TRAITS AND 
 CONFIDENCES. By the Honble. 
 Emily Lawless. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 Eden Phillpotts. LYING PRO- 
 PHETS. By Eden Phillpotts. 
 Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 Eden Phillpotts. CHILDREN OF 
 THE MIST. By Eden Phillpotts. 
 Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 Eden Phillpotts. THE HUMAN 
 BOY. By Eden Phillpotts, Author 
 of 'Children of the Mist.' With a 
 Frontispiece. Fourth Edition. Crown 
 Zvo. 6s. 
 ' Mr. Phillpotts knows exactly what school- 
 boys do, and can lay bare their inmost 
 thoughts ; likewise he shows an all-per- 
 vading sense of humour.' — Academy. 
 
 Eden Phillpotts. SONS OF THE 
 MORNING. By Eden Phill- 
 potts, Author of 'The Children of 
 the Mist.' Second Edition. Crown 
 Zvo. 6s. 
 'A book of strange power and fascination.' 
 
 — Morning Post. 
 ' Inimitable humour.' — Daily Graphic* 
 
36 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 Jane Barlow. A CREEL OF IRISH 
 STORIES. By Jane Barlow, 
 Author of ' Irish Idylls. ' Second 
 Edition, Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 'Vivid and singularly real.' — Scotsman. 
 
 Jane Barlow. FROM THE EAST 
 UNTO THE WEST. By Jane 
 Barlow. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 J. H. Findlater, THE GREEN 
 
 GRAVES OF BALGOWRIE. By 
 
 Jane H. Findlater. Fourth 
 
 Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 'A powerful and vivid story.' — Standard. 
 
 ' A beautiful story, sad and strange as truth 
 
 itself.' — Vanity Fair. 
 'A singularly original, clever, and beautiful 
 
 story. ' — Guardian. 
 1 Reveals to us a new writer of undoubted 
 
 faculty and reserve force.' — Spectator. 
 ' An exquisite idyll, delicate, affecting, and 
 beautiful.' — Black and White. 
 
 J. H. Findlater. A DAUGHTER 
 
 OF STRIFE. By Jane H. Find- 
 later. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 J. H. Findlater. RACHEL. By 
 Jane H. Findlater. Second 
 Edition, Crown Svo. 6s. 
 f A not unworthy successor to " The Green 
 Graves of Balgowrie." ' — Critic. 
 
 J. H. and Mary Findlater. TALES 
 THAT ARE TOLD. By Jane H. 
 
 Findlater, and Mary Findlater. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' Delightful and graceful stories for which 
 we have the warmest welcome. ' — 
 Literature. 
 
 Mary Findlater. r A NARROWWAY. 
 
 By Mary Findlater, Author of 
 
 'Over the Hills.' Third Edition. 
 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' A wholesome, thoughtful, and interesting 
 
 novel.' — Morning Post. 
 ( Singularly pleasant, full of quiet humour 
 and tender sympathy. ' — Manchester 
 Guardian. 
 
 Mary Findlater. OVER THE 
 
 HILLS. By Mary Findlater. 
 Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s. 
 ' A strong and wise book of deep insight and 
 unflinching truth.' — Birmingham Post. 
 
 Mary Findlater. BETTY MUS- 
 
 GRAVE. By Mary Findlater. 
 
 Second Edition, Crown 8vo. 6s, 
 
 * Handled with dignity and delicacy. . . . 
 
 A most touching story.' '—Spectator, 
 
 Alfred OUivant. OWD BOB, THE 
 
 GREY DOG OF KENMUIR. By 
 
 Alfred Ollivant. Fourth Edition. 
 
 Cr. 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' Weird, thrilling, strikingly graphic.'— 
 
 Punch. 
 1 We admire this book. . . . It is one to read 
 with admiration and to praise with en- 
 thusiasm.' — Bookman. 
 1 It is a fine, open-air, blood-stirring book, 
 to be enjoyed by every man and woman 
 to whom a dog is dear.' — Literature. 
 
 B. M. Croker. PEGGY OF THE 
 BARTONS. By B. M. Croker, 
 Author of ' Diana Barrington.' 
 Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 1 Mrs. Croker excels in the admirably simple, 
 easy, and direct flow of her narrative, the 
 briskness of her dialogue, and the geni- 
 ality of her portraiture.' — Spectator. 
 
 B. M. Croker. A STATE SECRET. 
 By B. M. Croker, Author of ' Peggy 
 of the Bartons,' etc. Second Edition. 
 Crown Zvo. 3J. 6d. 
 
 * Full of humour, and always fresh and 
 
 pleasing. ' — Daily Express. 
 1 Ingenious, humorous, pretty, pathetic.'— 
 
 World. 
 
 H. G. Wells. THE STOLEN BA- 
 CILLUS, and other Stories. By 
 H. G. WELLS. Second Edition. 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' The impressions of a very striking imagina- 
 tion.' — Saturday Review. 
 
 H. G. WeUs. THE PLATTNER 
 
 STORY and Others. By H. G. 
 
 Wells. Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. 
 
 6s. 
 
 ' Weird and mysterious, they seem to hold 
 
 the reader as by a magic spell.' — Scots' 
 
 man. 
 
 Sara Jeannette Duncan. A VOYAGE 
 OF CONSOLATION. By Sara 
 Jeannette Duncan, Author of ' An 
 American Girl in London.' Illus- 
 trated. Third Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s. 
 1 The dialogue is full of wit.'— Globe. 
 
 Sara Jeannette Duncan. THE PATH 
 
 OF A STAR. By Sara Jeannette 
 Duncan, Author of ' A Voyage of 
 Consolation.' Illustrated. Second 
 Edition, Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 C. F. Keary. THE JOURNALIST. 
 By C, F. Keary. Cr. 8vo. 6s, 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 37 
 
 W. E. Norris. MATTHEW AUSTIN. 
 By W. E. Norris, Author of • Made- 
 moiselle de Mersac,' etc. Fourth 
 Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' An intellectually satisfactory and morally 
 bracing novel.'— Daily Telegraph. 
 
 W.E. Norris. HIS GRACE. By W.E. 
 
 Norris. Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. 
 
 6s. 
 W. E. Norris. THE DESPOTIC 
 
 LADY AND OTHERS. By W. E. 
 
 Norris. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 W.E. Norris. CLARISSA FURIOSA. 
 
 By W. E. Norris. Cr. 8vo. 6s. 
 1 As a^ story it is admirable, as a/eu d 'esprit 
 it is capital, as a lay sermon studded 
 with gems of wit and wisdom it is a 
 model.'— The World. 
 W. E. Norris. GILES INGILBY. By 
 W. E. Norris. Illustrated. Second 
 Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' Interesting, wholesome, and charmingly 
 written." — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 W. E. Norris. AN OCTAVE. By 
 W. E. NORRIS. Second Edition. 
 Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 W. Clark Russell. MY DANISH 
 SWEETHEART. By W. Clark 
 Russell. Illustrated. Fourth 
 Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 Robert Barr. IN THE MIDST OF 
 
 ALARMS. By Robert Barr. 
 
 Third Edition. Cr. Zvo. 6s. 
 
 ' A book which has abundantly satisfied us 
 
 by its capital humour.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 Robert Barr. THE MUTABLE 
 
 MANY. By Robert Barr. Second 
 
 Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 ' Very much the best novel that Mr. Barr 
 
 has yet given us. There is much insight 
 
 in it, and much excellent humour.'— 
 
 Daily Chronicle. 
 
 Robert Barr. THE COUNTESS 
 TEKLA. By Robert Barr. Third 
 Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 'Of these mediaeval romances, which are 
 now gaining ground, "The Countess 
 Tekla " is the very best we have seen. 
 The story is written in clear English, 
 and a picturesque, moving style.'— Pall 
 Mall Gazette. 
 Robert Barr. THE STRONG ARM. 
 By Robert Barr, Author of ' The 
 Countess Tekla.' Illustrated. Second 
 Edition. Zvo. 6s. 
 
 C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne. PRINCE 
 RUPERT THE BUCCANEER. 
 By C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne, Author 
 of 'Captain Kettle.' With 8 Illus- 
 trations by G. Grenville Manton. 
 Second Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 A narrative of the romantic adventures of 
 the famous Prince Rupert, and of his 
 exploits in the Spanish Indies after the 
 Cromwellian wars. 
 
 Mrs. Dudeney. THE THIRD 
 
 FLOOR. By Mrs. Dudeney, 
 
 Author of 'Folly Corner.' Second 
 
 Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 ' One of the brightest, wittiest, and most 
 
 entertaining novels published this 
 
 spring. ' — Sketch. 
 
 Andrew Balfour. BY STROKE OF 
 SWORD. By A. Balfour. Illus- 
 trated. Fourth Edition. Cr. Zvo. 6s. 
 ' A recital of thrilling interest, told with 
 unflagging vigour.' — Globe. 
 
 Andrew Balfour. TO ARMS! By 
 
 Andrew Balfour. Illustrated. 
 
 Second Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 ' The marvellous perils through which Allan 
 
 passes are told in powerful and lively 
 
 fashion. ' — Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Andrew Balfour. VENGEANCE IS 
 MINE. By Andrew Balfour, 
 Author of 'By Stroke of Sword.' 
 Illustrated. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' A vigorous piece of work, well written, and 
 abounding in stirring incidents.' — Glas- 
 gow Herald. 
 
 R. Hichens. BYEWAYS. By Robert 
 Hichens. Author of 'Flames,' etc. 
 Second Edition. Cr. Zvo. 6s. 
 ' The work is undeniably that of a man of 
 striking imagination.' — Daily News. 
 
 R. Hichens. TONGUES OF 
 
 CONSCIENCE. By Robert 
 
 Hichens, Author of 'Flames.' 
 
 Second Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 ' Of a strange, haunting quality.' — Glasgow 
 
 Herald. 
 
 Stephen Crane. WOUNDS IN 
 THE RAIN. War Stories. By 
 Stephen Crane, Author of 'The 
 Red Badge of Courage.' Second 
 Edition. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 ' A fascinating volume.' — Spectator. 
 
38 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 Dorothea Gerard. THE CON- 
 QUEST OF LONDON. By 
 Dorothea Gerard, Author of 
 'Lady Baby.' Second Edition. Crown 
 8vo. 6s. 
 ' Bright and entertaining.' — Spectator. 
 ' Highly entertaining and enjoyable.' — 
 Scotsman. 
 
 Dorothea Gerard. THE SUPREME 
 
 CRIME. By Dorothea Gerard. 
 
 Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' One of the very best plots we have met 
 
 with in recent fiction, and handled with 
 
 that quiet unerring realism which always' 
 distinguishes the author's best work.' — 
 Academy. 
 C. F. GOSS. THE REDEMPTION 
 OF DAVID CORSON. By C. F. 
 GOSS. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 ' Dramatic instinct and a vigorous imagina- 
 tion mark this soul history of a Quaker 
 mystic. ' — A thenozum. 
 ' A really fine book.'— Public Opinion. 
 'A powerful and original book, and un- 
 usually striking. 1 ' — Pilot. 
 ' Worthy to stand high in the ranks of 
 modern fiction.' — Literature. 
 
 OTHER SIX-SHILLING NOVELS 
 
 Crown %vo. 
 
 A SECRETARY OF LEGATION. 
 
 By Hope Dawlish. 
 THE SALVATION SEEKERS. By 
 
 Noel Ainslie. 
 STRANGE HAPPENINGS. By W. 
 
 Clark Russell and other Authors. 
 THE BLACK WOLF'S BREED. 
 
 By Harris Dickson. Illustrated. 
 
 Second Edition. 
 BELINDA FITZWARREN. By the 
 
 Earl of Iddesleigh. 
 DERWENT'S HORSE. By Victor 
 
 Rousseau. 
 ANNE MAULEVERER. By Mrs. 
 
 Caffyn (Iota). 
 SIREN CITY. By Benjamin Swift. 
 AN ENGLISHMAN. By MARY L. 
 
 Pendered. 
 THE PLUNDERERS. By Morley 
 
 Roberts. 
 THE HUMAN INTEREST. By 
 
 Violet Hunt. 
 THE KING OF ANDAMAN : A 
 
 Saviour of Society. By J. Mac- 
 
 laren Cobban. 
 THE ANGEL OF THE COVE- 
 NANT. By J. Maclaeen Cobban. 
 IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY. 
 
 By J. Bloundelle- Burton. 
 DENOUNCED. By J. Bloundelle- 
 
 Burton. 
 THE CLASH OF ARMS. By J. 
 
 Bloundelle-Burton. 
 ACROSS THE SALT SEAS. By J. 
 
 Bloundelle-Burton. 
 
 SERVANTS OF SIN. By J. Bloun- 
 delle-Burton. 
 PATH AND GOAL. Second Edition. 
 
 By Ada Cambridge. 
 THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN. 
 
 By Richard Marsh. 
 MARVELS AND MYSTERIES. By 
 
 Richard Marsh. 
 ELMSLIE'S DRAG-NET. By E. H. 
 
 Strain. 
 A FOREST OFFICER. By Mrs. 
 
 Penny. 
 THE WHITE HECATOMB. By 
 
 W. C. Scully. 
 BETWEEN SUN AND SAND. By 
 
 W. C. Scully. 
 SIR ROBERT'S FORTUNE. By 
 
 Mrs. Oliphant. 
 THE TWO MARYS. By Mrs. 
 
 Oliphant. 
 THE LADY'S WALK. By Mrs. 
 
 Oliphant. 
 MIRRY-ANN. By Norma Lorimer. 
 JOSIAH'S WIFE. By Norma 
 
 Lorimer. 
 THE STRONG GOD CIRCUM- 
 STANCE. By Helen Shipton. 
 CHRISTALLA. By Esm£ Stuart. 
 THE DESPATCH RIDER. By 
 
 Ernest Glanville 
 AN ENEMY TO THE KING. By 
 
 R. N. Stephens. 
 A GENTLEMAN PLAYER. By 
 
 R. N. Stephens. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 39 
 
 THE PATHS OF THE PRUDENT. 
 By J. S. Fletcher. 
 
 THE BUILDERS. By J. S. 
 Fletcher. 
 
 DANIEL WHYTE. By A. J. Daw- 
 son. 
 
 THE CAPSINA. By E. F. Benson. 
 
 DODO : A DETAIL OF THE DAY. 
 By E. F. Benson. 
 
 THE VINTAGE. By E. F. Benson. 
 Illustrated by G. P. Jacomb-Hood. 
 
 ROSE A CHARLITTE. By Mar- 
 shall Saunders. 
 
 WILLOWBRAKE. By R. MURRAY 
 
 THINGS THAT HAVE HAP- 
 PENED. By Dorothea Gerard. 
 
 LONE PINE: A ROMANCE OF 
 MEXICAN LIFE. By R. B. 
 
 TOWNSHEND. 
 
 WILT THOU HAVE THIS 
 
 WOMAN ? By J. Maclaren 
 
 Cobban. 
 A PASSIONATE PILGRIM. By 
 
 Percy White. 
 SECRETARY TO BAYNE, M.P. 
 
 By W. Pett Ridge. 
 ADRIAN ROME. By E. DAWSON 
 
 and A. Moore. 
 GALLIA By Menie Muriel 
 
 Dowie. 
 THE CROOK OF THE BOUGH. 
 
 By Menie Muriel Dowie. 
 A BUSINESS IN GREAT WATERS. 
 
 By Julian Corbett. 
 MISS ERIN. By M. E. Francis. 
 ANANIAS. By the Hon. Mrs. Alan 
 
 Brodrick. 
 CORRAGEEN IN '98. By Mrs. 
 
 Orpen. 
 THE PLUNDER PIT. By J. Keigh- 
 
 LEY SNOWDEN. 
 
 CROSS TRAILS. By Victor Waite. 
 
 SUCCESSORS TO THE TITLE. 
 By Mrs. Walford. 
 
 KIRKHAM'S FIND. By Mary 
 Gaunt. 
 
 DEADMAN'S. By Mary Gaunt. 
 
 CAPTAIN JACOBUS: A ROMANCE 
 OF THE ROAD. By L. Cope Corn- 
 ford. 
 
 SONS OF ADVERSITY. By L. Cope 
 
 Cornford. 
 THE KING OF ALBERIA By 
 
 Laura Daintrey. 
 THE DAUGHTER OF ALOUETTE. 
 
 By Mary A. Owen. 
 CHILDREN OF THIS WORLD. 
 
 By Ellen F. Pinsent. 
 AN ELECTRIC SPARK. By G. 
 
 Manville Fenn. 
 UNDER SHADOW OF THE 
 
 MISSION. By L. S. McChesney. 
 THE SPECULATORS. By J. F. 
 
 Brewer. 
 THE SPIRIT OF STORM. By 
 
 Ronald Ross. 
 THE QUEENSBERRY CUP. By 
 
 Clive P. Wolley. 
 A HOME IN INVERESK. By T. 
 
 L. Paton. 
 MISS ARMSTRONG'S AND 
 
 OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES. By 
 
 John Davidson. 
 DR. CONGALTON'S LEGACY. By 
 
 Henry Johnston. 
 TIME AND THE WOMAN. By 
 
 Richard Pryce. 
 THIS MAN'S DOMINION. By the 
 
 Author of ' A High Little World.' 
 DIOGENES OF LONDON. By H. 
 
 B. Marriott Watson. 
 THE STONE DRAGON. By 
 
 R. Murray Gilchrist. 
 A VICAR'S WIFE. By Evelyn 
 
 Dickinson. 
 ELSA. By E. M 'Queen Gray. 
 THE SINGER OF MARLY. By I. 
 
 Hooper. 
 THE FALL OF THE SPARROW. 
 
 By M. C. Balfour. 
 A SERIOUS COMEDY. By Herbert 
 
 Morrah. 
 THE FAITHFUL CITY. By 
 
 Herbert Morrah. 
 IN THE GREAT DEEP. By J. A. 
 
 BIJLI, THE DANCER. By James 
 
 Blythe Patton. 
 THE PHILANTHROPIST. By 
 
 Lucy Maynard. 
 vaussore. by francis brune. 
 
4 o 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 THREE-AND-SIXPENNY NOVELS 
 
 Crown 8vo. 
 
 THE MESS DECK. By W. F. 
 
 Shannon. 
 A SON OF THE STATE. By W. 
 
 Pett Ridge. 
 CEASE FIRE! By J. Maclaren 
 
 Cobban. 
 THE KLOOF BRIDE. By Ernest 
 
 Glanville. 
 THE LOST REGIMENT. By 
 
 Ernest Glanville. 
 BUNTER'S CRUISE. By Charles 
 
 Gleig. Illustrated. 
 THE ADVENTURE OF PRIN- 
 CESS SYLVIA. By Mrs. C. N. 
 
 Williamson. 
 A VENDETTA OF THE DESERT. 
 
 By W. C. Scully. 
 SUBJECT TO VANITY. By MAR- 
 GARET Benson. 
 FITZJAMES. By Lilian Street. 
 THE SIGN OF THE SPIDER. Fifth 
 
 Edition. By BERTRAM MlTFORD. 
 THE MOVING FINGER. By Mary 
 
 Gaunt. 
 JACO TRELOAR. By J. H. Pearce. 
 THE DANCE OF THE HOURS. 
 
 By 'Vera.' 
 A WOMAN OF FORTY. By Esme 
 
 Stuart. 
 A CUMBERER OF THE GROUND. 
 
 By Constance Smith. 
 THE SIN OF ANGELS. By Eve-lyn 
 
 Dickinson. 
 
 AUT DIABOLUS AUT NIHIL. 
 
 By X. L. 
 THE COMING OF CUCULAIN. 
 
 By Standish O'Grady. 
 THE GODS GIVE MY DONKEY 
 
 WINGS. By Angus Evan Abbott. 
 THE STAR GAZERS. By G. Man- 
 
 VILLE FENN. 
 
 THE POISON OF ASPS. By R. 
 
 Orton Prowse. 
 THE QUIET MRS. FLEMING. By 
 
 R Pryce 
 DISENCHANTMENT. By F. Mabel 
 
 Robinson. 
 THE SQUIRE OF WANDALES. 
 
 By A. Shield. 
 A REVEREND GENTLEMAN. By 
 
 J. M. Cobban. 
 A DEPLORABLE AFFAIR. By 
 
 W. E. Norris. 
 A CAVALIER'S LADYE. By Mrs. 
 
 Dicker. 
 THE PRODIGALS. By Mrs. 
 
 Oliphant. 
 THE SUPPLANTER. By P. Neu- 
 mann. 
 A MAN WITH BLACK EYE- 
 
 LASHES. By H. A. KENNEDY. 
 A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS. By 
 
 S. Gordon. 
 AN ODD EXPERIMENT. By 
 
 Hannah Lynch. 
 TALES OF NORTHUMBRIA. By 
 
 Howard Pease. 
 
 HALF-CROWN NOVELS 
 
 Crown %vo. 
 
 HOVENDEN, V.C. By F. Mabel 
 
 Robinson. 
 THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. By 
 
 F. Mabel Robinson. 
 MR. BUTLER'S WARD. By F. 
 
 Mabel Robinson. 
 ELI'S CHILDREN. By G. Man- 
 
 VILLE FENN. 
 A DOUBLE KNOT. By G. Man- 
 
 VILLE FENN. 
 DISARMED. By M. Betham 
 
 Edwards. 
 
 IN TENT AND BUNGALOW. By 
 
 the Author of * Indian Idylls. ' 
 MY'STEWARDSHIP. By E. 
 
 M 'Queen Gray. 
 JACK'S FATHER. By W. E. 
 
 Norris. 
 A LOST ILLUSION. By Leslie 
 
 Keith. 
 
 THE TRUE HISTORY OF JOSHUA 
 DAVIDSON, Christian and Com- 
 munist. By E. Lynn Lynton. 
 Eleventh Edition, Post 8vo. is. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 4i 
 
 Zbe IRovelist 
 
 Messrs. Methuen are making an interesting experiment which constitutes a 
 fresh departure in publishing. They are issuing under the above general title 
 a Monthly Series of Novels by popular authors at the price of Sixpence. Many 
 of these Novels have never been published before. Each Number is as long as 
 the average Six Shilling Novel. The first numbers of ' The Novelist ' are as 
 follows : — 
 
 I. DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES. 
 E. W. HORNUNG. 
 
 II. JENNIE BAXTER, JOURNA- 
 LIST. Robert Barr. 
 
 III. THE INCA'S TREASURE. 
 
 Ernest Glanville. 
 
 IV. Out of print. 
 V. FURZE BLOOM. S. Baring 
 
 Gould. 
 VI. BUNTER'S CRUISE. C. 
 
 Gleig. 
 
 VII. THE GAY DECEIVERS. 
 
 Arthur Moore. 
 
 VIII. PRISONERS OF WAR. A. 
 
 Boyson Weekes. 
 
 IX. Out of print. 
 X. VELDT AND LAAGER: Tales 
 of the Transvaal. E. S. VALEN- 
 TINE. 
 
 XI. THE NIGGER KNIGHTS. 
 
 F. NORREYS CONNELL. 
 
 XII 
 
 A MARRIAGE AT SEA. 
 Clark Russell. 
 
 W. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 XV. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 XVII, 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 XX. 
 XXI. 
 
 THE POMP OF THE LAVI- 
 LETTES. Gilbert Parker. 
 
 AMANOFMARK. Anthony 
 Hope. 
 
 THE CARISSIMA. LUCAS 
 Malet. 
 
 THE LADY'S WALK. Mrs. 
 Oliphant. 
 
 DERRICK VAUGHAN. 
 Edna Lyall. 
 
 IN THE MIDST OF 
 ALARMS. Robert Barr. 
 
 HIS GRACE. W. E. 
 
 NORRIS. 
 
 DODO. E. F. Benson. 
 
 CHEAP JACK ZITA. S. 
 Baring Gould. 
 
 XXII. WHEN VALMOND CAME 
 TO PONTIAC. Gilbert 
 Parker. 
 
 iiftetbuen's Sispenng Xtbrarg 
 
 A New Series of Copyright Books 
 
 I. THE MATABELE CAMPAIGN. 
 By Major-General Baden-Powell. 
 
 II. THE DOWNFALL OF PREM- 
 PEH. By Major-General Baden- 
 Powell. 
 
 III. MY DANISH SWEETHEART. 
 By W. Clark Russell. 
 
 IV. IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA. 
 By S. Baring-Gould. 
 
 V. PEGGY OF THE BARTONS. 
 By B. M. Croker. 
 
 VII. BADEN-POWELL OF MAFE- 
 KING: A Biography. By J. S. 
 Fletcher. 
 
 VIII. ROBERTS OF PRETORIA. 
 By J. S. Fletcher. 
 
 IX. THE GREEN GRAVES OF 
 BALGOWRIE. By Jane H. Find- 
 later. 
 
 X. THE STOLEN BACILLUS. 
 H. G. Wells. 
 
 XI. MATTHEW AUSTIN. 
 E. Norris. 
 
 By 
 ByW. 
 
42 
 
 Messrs. MethUen's Catalogue 
 
 Books for Boys and Girls 
 
 A Series of Books by well-known Authors, well illustrated. 
 THREE-AND-SIXPENCE EACH 
 
 THE ICELANDER'S SWORD. By 
 
 S. Baring Gould. 
 TWO LITTLE CHILDREN AND 
 
 CHING. By Edith E. Cuthell. 
 TODDLEBEN'S HERO. By M. M. 
 
 Blake. 
 ONLY A GUARD -ROOM DOG. 
 
 By Edith E. Cuthell. 
 
 THE DOCTOR OF THE JULIET. 
 By Harry Collingwood. 
 
 MASTER ROCKAFELLAR'S VOY- 
 AGE. By W. Clark Russell. 
 
 SYD BELTON : Or, The Boy who 
 would not go to Sea. By G. Man- 
 ville Fenn. 
 
 The Peacock Library 
 
 A Series of Books for Girls by well-known Authors, handsomely bound, 
 and well illustrated. 
 
 THREE-AND-SIXPENCE EACH 
 
 THE RED GRANGE. By Mrs. 
 Molesworth. 
 
 THE SECRET OF MADAME DE 
 MONLUC. By the Author of 
 1 Mdle. Mori.' 
 
 OUT OF THE FASHION. 
 T. Meade. 
 
 By L. 
 
 DUMPS. By Mrs. Parr. 
 
 A GIRL OF THE PEOPLE. By, 
 L. T. Meade. 
 
 HEPSY GIPSY. 
 
 zs. 6d. 
 
 By L. T. Meade. 
 
 THE HONOURABLE MISS. By 
 L. T. Meade. 
 
 University Extension Series 
 
 A series of books on historical, literary, and scientific subjects, suitable for 
 extension students and home-reading circles. Each volume is complete in 
 itself, and the subjects are treated by competent writers in a broad and 
 philosophic spirit. 
 
 Edited by J. E. SYMES, M.A., 
 
 Principal of University College, Nottingham. 
 
 Crown Svo. Price (with some exceptions) zs. 6d. 
 
 The following volumes are ready : — 
 THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF 
 
 ENGLAND. By H. DE B.GlBBINS, 
 Litt.D., M.A., late Scholar of Wad- 
 ham College, Oxon., Cobden Prize- 
 man. Seventh Edition, Revised. 
 With Maps and Plans. 3*. 
 
 A HISTORY OF ENGLISH POLITI- 
 CAL ECONOMY. By L. L. Price, 
 
 M.A., Fellow of Oriel College, Oxon. 
 Third Edition. 
 
 PROBLEMS OF POVERTY : An 
 Inquiry into the Industrial Condi- 
 tions of the Poor. By J. A. HoBSON, 
 M.A. Fourth Edition. 
 
 VICTORIAN POETS. By A. Sharp. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 43 
 
 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. By 
 J. E. Symes, M.A. 
 
 PSYCHOLOGY. By F. S. Granger, 
 M.A. Second Edition. 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF PLANT 
 LIFE : Lower Forms. By G. 
 MASSEE. With Illustrations. 
 
 AIR AND WATER. By V. B. Lewes, 
 M.A. Illustrated. 
 
 THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE AND 
 HEALTH. By C. W. KlMMINS, 
 M.A. Illustrated. 
 
 THE MECHANICS OF DAILY 
 LIFE. ByV. P. Sells, M.A. Illus- 
 trated. 
 
 ENGLISH SOCIAL REFORMERS. 
 By H. de B. Gibbins, Litt.D., M.A. 
 
 ENGLISH TRADE AND FINANCE 
 IN THE SEVENTEENTH CEN- 
 TURY. By W. A. S. HEWINS, B.A. 
 
 THE CHEMISTRY OF FIRE. The 
 Elementary Principles of Chemistry. 
 By M. M. Pattison Muir, M.A. 
 Illustrated. 
 
 A TEXT-BOOK OF AGRICUL- 
 TURAL BOTANY. By M. C. 
 Potter, M.A., F.L.S. Illustrated. 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE VAULT OF HEAVEN. A 
 
 Popular Introduction to Astronomy. 
 
 By R. A. Gregory. With numerous 
 
 Illustrations. 
 METEOROLOGY. The Elements of 
 
 Weather and Climate. By H. N. 
 
 Dickson, F.R.S.E., F.R. Met. Soc. 
 
 Illustrated. 
 
 A MANUAL OF ELECTRICAL 
 SCIENCE. By GEORGE J. BuRCH, 
 M.A., F.R.S. With numerous Illus- 
 trations. 3-T. 
 
 THE EARTH. An Introduction to 
 Physiography. By EVAN SMALL, 
 M.A. Illustrated. 
 
 INSECT LIFE. By F. W. Theo- 
 bald, M.A. Illustrated. 
 
 ENGLISH POETRY FROM BLAKE 
 TO BROWNING. By W. M. 
 Dixon, M.A. 
 
 ENGLISH LOCAL GOVERN- 
 MENT. By E. Jenks, M.A., Pro- 
 fessor of Law at University College, 
 Liverpool. 
 
 THE GREEK VIEW OF LIFE. By 
 G. L. Dickinson, Fellow of King's 
 College, Cambridge. Second Edition. 
 
 Social Questions of To-day 
 
 Edited by H. de B. GIBBINS, Litt.D., M.A. 
 
 Crown &vo. 2s. 6d. 
 The following Volumes of the Series are ready : — 
 
 TRADE UNIONISM— NEW AND 
 OLD. By G. Howell. Third 
 Edition. 
 
 THE CO - OPERATIVE MOVE- 
 MENT TO-DAY. By G. J. Holy- 
 oake. Second Edition. 
 
 MUTUAL THRIFT. By Rev. J. 
 Frome Wilkinson, M.A. 
 
 PROBLEMS OF POVERTY. By J. 
 A. HOBSON, M.A. Fourth Edition. 
 
 THE COMMERCE OF NATIONS. 
 
 By C. F. Bastable, M.A., Professor 
 
 of Economics at Trinity College, 
 
 Dublin. Second Edition. 
 THE ALIEN INVASION. By W. 
 
 H. Wilkins, B.A. 
 
 By P. 
 
 By 
 
 THE RURAL EXODUS. 
 Anderson Graham. 
 
 LAND NATIONALIZATION. 
 Harold Cox, B.A. 
 
 A SHORTER WORKING DAY. 
 By H. de B. Gibbins, D.Litt., M.A., 
 and R. A. Hadfield, of the Hecla 
 Works, Sheffield. 
 
 BACK TO THE LAND : An Inquiry 
 into the Cure for Rural Depopulation. 
 By H. E. Moore. 
 
 TRUSTS, POOLS AND CORNERS. 
 By J. Stephen Jeans. 
 
 THE FACTORY SYSTEM. By R. 
 W. Cooke-Taylor. 
 
44 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 THE STATE AND ITS CHIL- 
 DREN. By Gertrude Tuckwell. 
 
 WOMEN'S WORK. By LADY DlLKE, 
 Miss Bulley, and Miss Whitley. 
 
 SOCIALISM AND MODERN 
 THOUGHT. By M. Kaufmann. 
 
 THE HOUSING OF THE WORK- 
 ING CLASSES. By E. Bowmaker. 
 
 MODERN CIVILIZATION IN 
 SOME OF ITS ECONOMIC 
 ASPECTS. By W. Cunningham, 
 D.D., Fellow of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. 
 
 THE PROBLEM OF THE UN- 
 EMPLOYED. By J. A. Hobson, 
 B.A. 
 
 LIFE IN WEST LONDON. By 
 Arthur Sherwell, M.A. Third 
 Edition. 
 
 RAILWAY NATIONALIZATION. 
 By Clement Edwards. 
 
 WORKHOUSES AND PAUPER- 
 ISM. By Louisa Twining. 
 
 UNIVERSITY AND SOCIAL 
 SETTLEMENTS. By W. REASON, 
 M.A. 
 
 Classical Translations 
 
 Edited by H. F. FOX, M.A. , Fellow and Tutor of Brasenose College, Oxford. 
 
 ^ESCHYLUS — Agamemnon, Choe- 
 phoroe, Eumenides. Translated by 
 Lewis Campbell, LL.D. , late Pro- 
 fessor of Greek at St. Andrews. 5*. 
 
 CICERO— De Oratore I. Translated 
 by E. N. P. Moor, M.A. 3.1. 6d. 
 
 CICERO— Select Orations ( Pro Milone, 
 Pro Murena, Philippic 11., In Catili- 
 nam). Translated by H. E. D. 
 Blakiston, M.A., Fellow and Tutor 
 of Trinity College, Oxford, y. 
 
 CICERO— De Natura Deorum. Trans- 
 lated by F. Brooks, M.A., late 
 Scholar of Balliol College, Oxford. 
 3J. 6d. 
 
 CICERO DE OFFICIIS. Translated 
 by G. B. Gardiner, M.A. Crown. 
 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 HORACE: THE ODES AND 
 EPODES. Translated by A. 
 Godley, M.A., Fellow of Magdalen 
 College, Oxford, zs. 
 
 LUCIAk — Six Dialogues (Nigrinus, 
 Icaro - Menippus, The Cock, The 
 Ship, The Parasite, The Lover of 
 Falsehood). Translated by S. T. 
 Irwin, M.A., Assistant Master at 
 Clifton; late Scholar of Exeter 
 College, Oxford. 35. 6d. 
 
 SOPHOCLES — Electra and Ajax. 
 Translated by E. D. A. Morshead, 
 M.A., Assistant Master at Win- 
 chester. 2s. 6d. 
 
 TACITUS— Agricola and Germania. 
 Translated by R. B. Townshend, 
 late Scholar of Trinity College, Cam- 
 bridge. 2S. 6d. 
 
 Educational Books 
 
 CLASSICAL 
 
 THE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS 
 
 OF ARISTOTLE. Edited with an 
 
 Introduction and Notes by John 
 
 Burnet, M.A., Professor of Greek 
 
 at St. Andrews. Demy Svo. 15s. 
 
 net. 
 
 ' We must content ourselves with saying, in 
 
 conclusion, that we have seldom, if ever, 
 
 seen an edition of any classical author in 
 
 which what is held in common with other 
 
 commentators is soclearly and shortly 
 
 put, and what is original is (with equal 
 
 brevity) of such value and interest.' 
 
 — Pilot. 
 
 THE CAPTIVI OF PLAUTUS. 
 Edited, with an Introduction, Textual 
 Notes, and a Commentary, by W. 
 M. Lindsay, Fellow of Jesus College, 
 Oxford. Demy 8vo. lor. 6d. net. 
 
 For this edition all the important mss. have 
 been re-collated. An appendix deals 
 with the accentual element in_ early 
 Latin verse. The Commentary is very 
 full. 
 
 ' ' A work of great erudition and fine scholar- 
 ship.' — Scotsman. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 45 
 
 A GREEK ANTHOLOGY. Selected 
 by E. C. Marchant, M.A., Fellow 
 of Peterhouse, Cambridge, and Assis- 
 tant Master at St. Paul's School. 
 Crown Zvo. %s. 6d. 
 
 PASSAGES FOR UNSEEN TRANS- 
 LATION. By E. C. MARCHANT, 
 M.A., Fellow of Peterhouse, Cam- 
 bridge ; and A. M. Cook, M.A., late 
 Scholar of Wadham College, Oxford ; 
 Assistant Masters at St. Paul's School. 
 Crown 8vo. y. 6d. 
 ' We know no book of this class better fitted 
 
 for use in the higher forms of schools.' — 
 
 Guardian. 
 
 TACITI AGRICOLA. With Intro- 
 duction, Notes, Map, etc. By R. F. 
 Davis, M.A., Assistant Master at 
 Weymouth College. Crown Zvo. zs. 
 
 TACITI GERMANIA. By the same 
 Editor. Crown Zvo. zs. 
 
 HERODOTUS : EASY SELEC- 
 TIONS. With Vocabulary. ByA.C. 
 LlDDELL, M.A. Fcap. 8vo. is. 6d. 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE ODYS- 
 SEY. By E. D. Stone, M.A., late 
 Assistant Master at Eton. Fcap. Zvo. 
 is. 6d. 
 
 PLAUTUS: THE CAPTIVI. 
 Adapted for Lower Forms by J. H. 
 
 Freese, M.A., late Fellow of St. 
 John's, Cambridge, it. 6d. 
 
 DEMOSTHENES AGAINST 
 CONON AND CALLICLES. 
 Edited with Notes and Vocabulary, 
 by F. Darwin Swift, M.A. Fcap. 
 Zvo. zs. 
 
 EXERCISES IN LATIN ACCI- 
 DENCE. By S. E. Winbolt, 
 Assistant Master in Christ's Hospital. 
 Crown Zvo. is. 6d. 
 An elementary book adapted for Lower 
 Forms to accompany the shorter Latin 
 primer. 
 NOTES ON GREEK AND LATIN 
 SYNTAX. ByG.BuCKLANDGREEN, 
 M.A., Assistant Master at Edinburgh 
 Academy, late Fellow of St. John's 
 College, Oxon. Crown Zvo. zs. 6d. 
 Notes and explanations on the chief diffi- 
 culties of Greek and Latin Syntax, with 
 numerous passages for exercise. 
 
 NEW TESTAMENT GREEK. A 
 Course for Beginners. By G. Rod- 
 well, B.A. With a Preface by 
 Walter Lock, D.D., Warden of 
 Keble College. Fcap. Zvo. 3J. 6d. 
 
 THE FROGS OF ARISTOPHANES. 
 Translated by E. W. Huntingford, 
 M.A., Professor of Classics in Trinity 
 College, Toronto. Cr. Zvo. zs. 6d. 
 
 GERMAN 
 
 A COMPANION GERMAN GRAM- 
 MAR. By H. DE B. Gibbins, D.Litt., 
 M.A. , Headmaster at Kidderminster 
 Grammar School. Crown Zvo. is. 6d. 
 
 GERMAN PASSAGES FOR UN- 
 SEEN TRANSLATION. By E. 
 M 'Queen Gray. Crown Zvo. 
 zs. 6d. 
 
 SCIENCE 
 
 GENERAL ELEMENTARY 
 SCIENCE. By J. T. Dunn, D.Sc, 
 and V. A. Mundella. With 114 
 Illustrations. Crown Zvo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 [Methuen's Science Primers. 
 
 THE WORLD OF SCIENCE. In- 
 cluding Chemistry, Heat, Light, 
 Sound, Magnetism, Electricity, 
 Botany, Zoology, Physiology, As- 
 tronomy, and Geology. By R. 
 
 Elliott Steel, M.A., F.C.S. 147 
 Illustrations. Second Edition. Cr. 
 Zvo. zs. 6d. 
 THE PRINCIPLES OF MAGNET- 
 ISM AND ELECTRICITY: an 
 Elementary Text-Book. By P. L. 
 Gray, B.Sc, formerly Lecturer in 
 Physics in Mason University College, 
 Birmingham. With 181 Diagrams. 
 Crown Zvo. _ 3s. 6d. 
 
4 6 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 Gejtboofts of Gecbnologg 
 
 Edited by Professors GARNETT and WERTHEIMER. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE A DRESS. By J. 
 A. E. Wood. Illustrated. Second 
 Edition. Cr. Svo. is. 6d. 
 
 CARPENTRY AND JOINERY. By 
 F. C. Webber. With many Illustra- 
 tions. Second Edition. Cr. Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 1 An admirable elementary text-book on the 
 subject.' — Builder. 
 
 PRACTICAL MECHANICS. By 
 Sidney H. Wells. With 75 Illus- 
 trations andDiagrams. Cr.Svo. 3s.6d. 
 
 PRACTICAL PHYSICS. By H. 
 Stroud, D.Sc. , M.A. , Professor of 
 Physics in the Durham College of 
 
 Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Fully 
 illustrated. Crown Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 MILLINERY, THEORETICAL, 
 AND PRACTICAL. By Clare 
 Hill, Registered Teacher to the 
 City and Guilds of London Institute. 
 With numerous Diagrams. Crown 
 8vo. 2S. 
 
 PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY. 
 By W. French, M.A., Principal 
 of the Storey Institute, Lancaster. 
 Part I. With numerous diagrams. 
 Crown Svo. is. 6d. 
 ' An excellent and eminently practical little 
 book.' — Schoolmaster. 
 
 ENGLISH 
 
 ENGLISH RECORDS. A Companion 
 to the History of England. By H. E. 
 MALDEN, M.A. Crown Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE ENGLISH CITIZEN : HIS 
 RIGHTS AND DUTIES. By H. E. 
 Malden, M.A. is. 6d. 
 
 A DIGEST OF DEDUCTIVE 
 LOGIC. By Johnson Barker, 
 B.A. Crown Svo. zs. 6d. 
 
 A CLASS-BOOK OF DICTATION 
 PASSAGES. By W. Williamson, 
 B.A. Fourth Edition. Cr.Svo. is.6d. 
 
 A SHORT STORY OF ENGLISH 
 
 LITERATURE. By Emma S. 
 
 Mellows. Crown Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 ' A lucid and well-arranged account of the 
 
 growth of English literature.' — Pall 
 
 Mall Gazette. 
 
 TEST CARDS IN EUCLID AND 
 ALGEBRA. By D. S. Calder- 
 wood, Headmaster of the Normal 
 School, Edinburgh. In three packets 
 of 40, with Answers, is. Or in 
 three Books, price 2d., 2d., and 3d. 
 
 THE METRIC SYSTEM. By Leon 
 
 Delbos. Crown Svo. 2s. 
 A theoretical and practical guide, for use 
 in elementary schools and by the general 
 reader. 
 
 METHUEN'S COMMERCIAL SERIES 
 
 Edited by H. DE B. GIBBINS, LittD., M.A. 
 
 BRITISH COMMERCE AND 
 COLONIES FROM ELIZABETH 
 TO VICTORIA. By H. de B. 
 Gibbins, Litt.D., M.A. Third 
 Edition. 2S. 
 
 COMMERCIAL EXAMINATION 
 PAPERS. By H. DE B. GlBBINS, 
 Litt.D., M.A. is. 6d. 
 
 THE ECONOMICS OF COM- 
 MERCE. By H. de B. Gibbins, 
 Litt.D., M.A. is. 6d. 
 
 FRENCH COMMERCIAL COR- 
 RESPONDENCE. ByS. E. Bally, 
 Master at the Manchester Grammar 
 School. Second Edition, ss. 
 
 GERMAN COMMERCIAL COR- 
 RESPONDENCE. ByS. E. Bally. 
 With Vocabulary. 2s. td. 
 
 A FRENCH COMMERCIAL 
 READER. By S. E. Bally. Second 
 Edition, ss. 
 
Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 47 
 
 A GERMAN COMMERCIAL 
 READER. By S. E. Bally. With 
 Vocabulary, zs. 
 
 COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY, with 
 special reference to the British Em- 
 pire. By L. W. Lyde, M.A. Third 
 Edition, zs. 
 
 A PRIMER OF BUSINESS. By S. 
 Jackson, M.A. Third Ed. is. 6d. 
 
 COMMERCIAL ARITHMETIC. By 
 F. G. TAYLOR, M.A. Third Edition, 
 is. 6d. 
 
 WORKS BY A. M. 
 
 INITIA LATINA: Easy Lessons on 
 Elementary Accidence. Fourth 
 Edition. Fcap. Bvo. is. 
 
 FIRST LATIN LESSONS. Sixth 
 Edition. Crown Bvo. zs. 
 
 FIRST LATIN READER. With 
 Notes adapted to the Shorter Latin 
 Primer and Vocabulary. Fifth 
 Edition revised. iBmo. is. 6d. 
 
 EASY SELECTIONS FROM 
 CAESAR. Part I. The Helvetian 
 War. Second Edition. iSmo. is. 
 
 EASY SELECTIONS FROM LIVY. 
 Part I. The Kings of Rome. iBmo. 
 Second Edition, is. 6d. 
 
 EASY LATIN PASSAGES FOR UN- 
 SEEN TRANSLATION. Seventh 
 Edition. Fcap. 8vo. is. 6d. 
 
 EXEMPLA LATINA. First Lessons 
 in Latin Accidence. With Vocabulary. 
 Crown Bvo. is. 
 
 EASY LATIN EXERCISES ON THE 
 SYNTAX OF THE SHORTER 
 AND REVISED LATIN PRIMER. 
 With Vocabulary. Eighth and 
 cheaper Edition, re-written. Crown 
 Bvo. is. 6d. Issued with the consent 
 of Dr. Kennedy. Key y- net. 
 
 THE LATIN COMPOUND SEN- 
 TENCE : Rules and Exercises. 
 Second Edition. Cr. Bvo. is. 6d. With 
 Vocabulary, zs. 
 
 NOTANDA QUAEDAM : Miscellan- 
 eous Latin Exercises on Common 
 Rules and Idioms. Fourth Edition. 
 Fcap. Bvo. is. 6d. With Vocabulary. 
 zs. Key, zs. net. 
 
 PRECIS WRITING AND OFFICE 
 CORRESPONDENCE. By E. E. 
 Whitfield, M.A. zs. 
 
 A GUIDE TO PROFESSIONS AND 
 BUSINESS. By H. Jones, is. 6d. 
 
 THE PRINCIPLES OF BOOK- 
 KEEPING BY DOUBLE ENTRY. 
 By J. E.B.M 'Allen, M.A. Cr.Bvo. zs. 
 
 COMMERCIAL LAW. By W. 
 Douglas Edwards, zs. 
 
 M. STEDMAN, M.A. 
 
 LATIN VOCABULARIES FOR RE- 
 PETITION : Arranged according to 
 Subjects. Ninth Edition. Fcap. 
 Bvo. is. 6d. 
 
 A VOCABULARY OF LATIN 
 IDIOMS. iSmo. Second Edition, is. 
 
 STEPS TO GREEK. Second Edition, 
 
 Revised. iBmo. is. 
 A SHORTER GREEK PRIMER. 
 
 Crown Bvo. is. 6d. 
 EASY GREEK PASSAGES FOR 
 
 UNSEEN TRANSLATION. Third 
 
 Edition Revised. Fcap. Bvo. is. 6d. 
 
 GREEK VOCABULARIES FOR 
 REPETITION. Arranged accord- 
 ing to Subjects. Second Edition. 
 Fcap. Bvo. is. 6d. 
 
 GREEK TESTAMENT SELEC- 
 TIONS. For the use of Schools. 
 Third Edition. With Introduction, 
 Notes, and Vocabulary. Fcap. Bvo. 
 zs. 6d. 
 
 STEPS TO FRENCH. Fifth Edi- 
 tion. iBmo. Bd. 
 
 FIRST FRENCH LESSONS. Fifth 
 Edition Revised. Crown Bvo. is. 
 
 EASY FRENCH PASSAGES FOR 
 UNSEEN TRANSLATION. Fourth 
 Edition revised. Fcap. Bvo. is. 6d. 
 
 EASY FRENCH EXERCISES ON 
 ELEMENTARY SYNTAX. With 
 Vocabulary. Second Edition. Crown 
 Bvo. zs. 6d. Key 3s. net. 
 
 FRENCH VOCABULARIES FOR 
 REPETITION : Arranged according 
 to Subjects. Ninth Edition. Fcap. 
 Bvo. is. 
 
4 8 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Catalogue 
 
 SCHOOL EXAMINATION SERIES * 
 
 Edited by A. M. M. STEDMAN, M.A. Crown Svo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 FRENCH EXAMINATION 
 PAPERS IN MISCELLANEOUS 
 GRAMMAR AND IDIOMS. By 
 A. M. M. Stedman, M.A. Eleventh 
 Edition. 
 
 A Key, issued to Tutors and 
 Private Students only, to be had 
 on application to the Publishers. 
 Fourth Edition. Crown Svo. 
 6s. net. 
 
 LATIN EXAMINATION PAPERS 
 IN MISCELLANEOUS GRAM- 
 MAR AND IDIOMS. By A. M. M. 
 Stedman, M.A. Tenth Edition. 
 
 Key (Fourth Edition) issued as 
 above. 6s. net. 
 
 GREEK EXAMINATION PAPERS 
 IN MISCELLANEOUS GRAM- 
 MAR AND IDIOMS. By A. M. M. 
 Stedman, M.A. Sixth Edition. 
 
 Key (Second Edition) issued as 
 above. 6s. net. 
 
 GERMAN EXAMINATION 
 
 PAPERS IN MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 GRAMMAR AND IDIOMS. By 
 
 R. J. Morich, Clifton College. 
 
 ■ Fifth Edition. 
 
 Key (Second Edition) issued as 
 above. 6s. net. 
 
 HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY EX- 
 AMINATION PAPERS. By C. H. 
 Spence, M.A., Clifton College. 
 Second Edition. 
 
 PHYSICS EXAMINATION 
 PAPERS. By R. E. STEEL, M.A, 
 F.C.S. 
 
 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE EX- 
 AMINATION PAPERS. By A. 
 M. M. Stedman, M.A. Third 
 Edition. 
 
 Key (Second Edition} issued as 
 above, js. net. 
 
 EXAMINATION PAPERS IN 
 ENGLISH HISTORY. By J. Tait 
 Plowden-Wardlaw, B.A., King's 
 College, Cambridge. Crown 8vo. 
 as. 6d.