D’ye hear? woone cheer!”
—William Barnes
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
91 AND 93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
LONDON AND BOMBAY
1905
These stories originally appeared in Country Life, The Graphic, Longman’s Magazine and The Illustrated London News. The Author’s thanks are due to the Editors of these periodicals for their kind permission to reproduce them.
To the Memory
OF
LADY SMITH-MARRIOTT,
KIND NEIGHBOUR AND TRUE FRIEND.
CONTENTS.
| PAGE | |
| Witch Ann | [ 1] |
| A Runaway Couple | [ 28] |
| Postman Chris | [ 43] |
| Keeper Guppy | [ 60] |
| The Worm that Turned | [ 89] |
| Olf and the Little Maid | [ 109] |
| In the Heart of the Green | [ 127] |
| The Wold Stockin’ | [ 149] |
| A Woodland Idyll | [ 168] |
| The Carrier’s Tale | [ 192] |
| Mrs. Sibley and the Sexton | [ 207] |
| The Call of the Woods | [ 222] |
| The Home-coming of Dada | [ 246] |
| The Majesty of the Law | [ 256] |
| The Spur of the Moment | [ 279] |
| “A Terr’ble Voolish Little Maid” | [ 296] |
| Sweetbriar Lane | [ 317] |
WITCH ANN.
Ann Kerley had lived in great peace and contentment for more than seventy-three years. Her neighbours considered her a good plain ’ooman, who always had a kind word for every one, and was so ready to do a good turn for another body as heart could wish. But, lo and behold! one fine morning old Ann Kerley awoke to find herself a witch.