Books Should Be Free Loyal Books Free Public Domain Audiobooks & eBook Downloads |
|
Mattie:—A Stray (Vol 1 of 3) By: F. W. (Frederick William) Robinson (1830-1901) |
---|
![]()
BY F. W. ROBINSON THE AUTHOR OF "HIGH CHURCH," "NO CHURCH," "OWEN: A WAIF," &c., &c. "By bestowing blessings upon others, we entail them on ourselves."
HORACE SMITH. IN THREE VOLUMES VOL. I. LONDON:
HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS,
SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN,
18, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.
1864. The right of Translation is reserved. LONDON:
PRINTED BY MACDONALD AND TUGWELL, BLENHEIM HOUSE,
BLENHEIM STREET, OXFORD STREET.
INSCRIBED
TO
ALFRED EAMES, ESQ.,
ROYAL NAVAL SCHOOL, NEW CROSS,
BY
HIS OLD AND ATTACHED FRIEND
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
BOOK I. FIGURES IN OUTLINE. I. LIFE IN GREAT SUFFOLK STREET II. MATTIE III. LODGERS IV. MR. HINCHFORD'S EXPERIMENT V. SET UP IN BUSINESS VI. THE END OF THE PROLOGUE
BOOK II. THE NEW ESTATE. I. HOME FOR GOOD II. A GIRL'S ROMANCE III. OUR CHARACTERS IV. A NEW ADMIRER V. PERSEVERANCE VI. "IN THE FULNESS OF THE HEART," ETC. VII. CONFIDENCE VIII. SIDNEY STATES HIS INTENTIONS
BOOK III. UNDER SUSPICION. I. AN OLD FRIEND II. STRANGE VISITORS TO GREAT SUFFOLK STREET III. SIDNEY'S SUGGESTION IV. PERPLEXITY V. MR. WESDEN TURNS ECCENTRIC VI. A BURST OF CONFIDENCE VII. THE PLAN FRUSTRATED VIII. A SUDDEN JOURNEY
MATTIE: A STRAY.
BOOK I. FIGURES IN OUTLINE.
CHAPTER I. LIFE IN GREAT SUFFOLK STREET.
It was not an evening party of the first water, or given by people of
first rate position in society, or held in a quarter whither the
fashionable classes most do congregate. It was a small party ostensibly
a juvenile party held on the first floor of a stationer's shop in Great
Suffolk Street, Southwark. Not even a first rate stationers', had the shutters been down and the
fog less dense to allow us to inspect Mr. Wesden's wares; but an
emporium, which did business in no end of things cigars, tobacco pipes,
children's toys, glass beads by the skein or ounce, fancy work, cottons
and tapes. These, the off shoots from the stationery business, the
news vending, the circulating of novels in four, five, and six volumes
at one penny per volume, if not detained more than three days; a
stationery business which report said had not turned out badly for old
Wesden, thanks to old Wesden's patience, industry and care, say
we thanks to his screwing and his close fistedness that would not have
trusted his own mother, had she lived, said the good people for there
are good people everywhere in Great Suffolk Street. Certainly, there
were but small signs of "close fistedness" about the premises on that
particular evening; the shop had been closed at an earlier hour than
business men would have considered suitable. They were wasting the gas
in Mr. Wesden's drawing room; feasting and revelry held dominion there.
There had been three separate knocks given at the door from three
separate Ganymedes No. 1, with oranges; No. 2, with tarts from the
pastry cook; No. 3, with beer, which last was left in a tin can of
colossal proportions, supper not being ready, and beer being liable to
flatness in jugs especially the beer from the Crown. We watch all this from the outside, in the thick fog which made things
unpleasant in Great Suffolk Street. There is more life, and life that
appertains to this chapter of our history, outside here than in that
first floor front, where the sons and daughters of Mr. Wesden's
neighbours are playing at forfeits, romping, jumping, and laughing, and
thoroughly enjoying themselves. They are not thinking of the fog, the
up stairs folk shut away from the rawness of that January night; it
would have troubled Mr. Wesden had his shop been open, and led him to
maintain a stricter watch over the goods, and upon those customers whose
faces might be strange to him; but he had forgotten the weather at that
juncture, and sat in the corner of the drawing room, smoking his pipe,
and keeping his daughter a bright faced, golden haired girl of
twelve within his range of vision... Continue reading book >>
|
eBook Downloads | |
---|---|
ePUB eBook • iBooks for iPhone and iPad • Nook • Sony Reader |
Kindle eBook • Mobi file format for Kindle |
Read eBook • Load eBook in browser |
Text File eBook • Computers • Windows • Mac |
Review this book |
---|