Nevertheless he was compelled to believe his friends and enemies when they insisted that “Other People’s Children” was an abler and more amusing story than “Helen’s Babies,” for their opinion agreed with his own. So he has responded gladly to the request of the present publishers that he should give the copy a careful revision. It is extremely unlikely that any reader of the old edition will detect any alterations in the new, for nothing has been added nor has anything of consequence been taken out; yet the author and publishers know that more than a thousand corrections and emendations have been made and that almost all of them were needed.

CONTENTS

Page
CHAPTER I[1]
CHAPTER II[32]
CHAPTER III[71]
CHAPTER IV[103]
CHAPTER V[135]
CHAPTER VI[165]
CHAPTER VII[195]
CHAPTER VIII[224]
CHAPTER IX[251]
CHAPTER X[277]
CHAPTER XI[302]
CHAPTER XII[332]
FAMOUS COPYRIGHT BOOKS IN POPULAR PRICED EDITIONS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The Maid’s General Care of the BoysFrontispiece.
Page
Mrs. Burton Brushed a Tiny Crumb from Her RobeFacing[4]
“It’s Only Jus’ About So Long” [9]
“We’s Makin’ Pickles for You” [17]
“I Got Into a Hen’s Nesht Where There Was Some Eggs” [23]
“Isn’t It Lovaly?”Facing[30]
“Ragged, Dirty Men Talk to My Papa Sometimes” [37]
“Yes, an’ We Put a Little Stone at the Head of the Grave” [43]
“Don’t Either of You Move Out of a Chair?” [47]
“—But I Didn’t Know Ashes Made ’Em” [53]
“Splashin’ In the Bathtub” [59]
“Jump!” Shouted Mr. BurtonFacing[66]
“Cats,” Uttered Mr. Burton [75]
Both Started In Chase of It [79]
“Tell Me What You Think About It”Facing[92]
“We Got Three or Four Nice Bunches” [99]
“So I Putted Crosses on the Door” [101]
“Then You Can Only Have One Bite,” Said Budge [107]
“Where Did the Cards Come From?” [113]
He Kicked, Pushed, Screamed and Roared [119]
The Jardiniére Came Down With a Crash [125]
“Threw a Mean Old Dirty Carpet On Top of It”Facing[130]
Toddie Playing Bear [137]
Budge Taking Up the CollectionFacing[146]
Terry [155]
The General Fell Into the WaterFacing[160]
“Dreamin’ I was In a Candy-Store” [167]
“Wonder How Big Moons Got to be Little Again” [173]
“A Cow Readin’ An Atlas” [175]
“How Do They Get Things to Eat for the Angels?” [181]
The Squeak of the Violin and the Wail of a BadlyPlayed Wind Instrument [187]
Uncle Harry’s Frantic Examination of His BelovedViolin [193]
Both Boys Tumbled Into the Room [199]
Toddie Drank About Two Swallows of WaterFacing[204]
Suddenly Heard a Splash and a Howl [211]
Budge Enlivened the Dust of the Roadway [215]
Further Progress Was ArrestedFacing[222]
“Well,” Said Budge “’Cause You’re Different” [227]
Pretending to be HorsesFacing[232]
Budge Lost His Balance [239]
Two Inquiring Faces Hanging Over the Bread-Pan [243]
A Loud Report Startled the PartyFacing[246]
“Too Much Tea Isn’t Good for People, Is It?” [253]
“When We Cooked ’Em, What Do You Think?”Facing[256]
Budge and Toddie Playing Doctor [265]
Down the Stairs, Dashed Terry [271]
“Why Aunt Alice! How Did You Upset That Table?” [275]
A Red Pepper ExperienceFacing[288]
Candy Making [295]
The Dandelion [301]
“We’re Goin’ Home” [303]
“Some Nashty Medshin” [313]
“Izhe a Shotted Soldier”Facing[322]
Both Boys Sleeping Soundly [333]
The Obedient Member of the FamilyFacing[340]
Making Them What I Would Like Them To Be [351]
A Little Visitor at the Burtons’s [357]

BUDGE AND TODDIE
OR
HELEN’S BABIES AT PLAY

The writer of a certain much-abused book sat at breakfast one morning with his wife, and their conversation turned, as it had many times before, upon a brace of boys who had made a little fun for the lovers of trifling stories and a great deal of trouble for their uncle. Mrs. Burton, thanks to that womanly generosity which, like a garment, covers the faults of men who are happily married, was so proud of her husband that she admired even his book; she had made magnificent attempts to defend it at points where it was utterly indefensible; but her critical sense had been frequently offended by her husband’s ignorance regarding the management of children. On the particular morning referred to, this critical sense was extremely active.