The English Library
No. 156
THE CUCKOO IN THE NEST
By Mrs. OLIPHANT
IN TWO VOLUMES
| OTHER VOLUMES BY THE SAME AUTHOR PUBLISHED IN | ||
| The English Library | ||
| 77. 78. | The Railway Man and his Children | 2 Vols. |
| 95. 96. | The Marriage of Elinor | 2 Vols. |
| (In the Press) | ||
| The Victorian Age of English Literature. | ||
| Diana. | ||
Copyright Edition
THE CUCKOO
IN THE NEST
BY
Mrs. OLIPHANT
AUTHOR OF
“WITHIN THE PRECINCTS,” “THE RAILWAY MAN AND HIS CHILDREN,”
“AT HIS GATES,” “THE MARRIAGE OF ELINOR,” ETC.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME I.
LEIPZIG
HEINEMANN AND BALESTIER
LIMITED, LONDON
1892
THE CUCKOO IN THE NEST
CHAPTER I.
The Seven Thorns was rather an imposing place for a little country inn. It was a long house, not very high, yet containing some good-sized bedrooms on the upper storey, and rooms below calculated for the entertainment of a much greater company than ever appeared now upon the deserted highroad. It had been an old coaching road, and there were stables at the Seven Thorns which could take in half the horses in the county; but that, of course, was all over now. The greater part of these stables were shut up and falling into decay. So was the large dining-room and half of the extensive accommodation downstairs. The great kitchen, and a little room on the other side of the doorway, which was called the parlour, were all that was ever wanted now in the Seven Thorns. Sometimes there would come some excursion parties from the neighbouring town in summer, and then a large table was placed outside, or, on the emergency of a wet day, in the kitchen. This was the only event which ever broke the quiet in these degenerate days.