Rosemary A Christmas story   By: Alice Muriel Williamson (1869-1933)

[Illustration: Evelyn and Rosemary climbed hand in hand, while Hugh carried the two huge baskets.

Frontispiece. Rosemary. ]

ROSEMARY A Christmas Story

By C. N. and A. M. WILLIAMSON

[Illustration]

With Eight Illustrations By WILLIAM HATHERELL

NEW YORK A. L. BURT COMPANY PUBLISHERS

Copyright, 1906, by McClure, Phillips & Co.

To Minda

CONTENTS

[Illustration: Contents]

CHAPTER PAGE

I. THE WHITE GIRL ON THE TERRACE: THE ROSE GIRL AT THE CASINO 3

II. THE ROSE GIRL'S LITTLE STORY, AND GREAT EYES 21

III. WHEN THE CURTAIN WAS DOWN 40

IV. DOGS AND FATHERS 48

V. ROSEMARY IN SEARCH OF A FATHER 62

VI. FAIRY FATHERS MUST VANISH 78

VII. THE WHITE FIGURE AT THE DOOR 94

VIII. WHEN A MAN GOES SHOPPING 108

IX. THE LAST WORD OF MADEMOISELLE 128

ILLUSTRATIONS

[Illustration: Illustrations]

EVELYN AND ROSEMARY CLIMBED HAND IN HAND, WHILE HUGH CARRIED TWO HUGE BASKETS Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

HE TOOK OFF HALF, AND WAS LEAVING THE REST TO RUN, WHEN A VOICE CLOSE TO HIS SHOULDER, SAID, "OH, DO TAKE IT ALL OFF" 12

WITH A CRASH OF MACHINERY HE BROUGHT THE BIG BLUE CAR TO A STOP 70

HE CRUSHED THEM IN HIS, THEN BENT HIS HEAD AND KISSED THEM 102

THEY CAME NEARER, NEAR ENOUGH FOR MADEMOISELLE TO RECOGNISE THE MAN WITH THEM 124

THEIR FLUFFY LACES BURNT AND BLACKENED. CHIFFON FICHUS TORN IN RIBBONS STREWED THE CARPET 138

[Illustration: CHAPTER ONE]

THE WHITE GIRL ON THE TERRACE: THE ROSE GIRL AT THE CASINO

[Illustration: T]

There was a young man in Monte Carlo. He had come in a motor car, and he had come a long way, but he hardly knew why he had come. He hardly knew in these days why he did anything. But then, one must do something.

It would be Christmas soon, and he thought that he would rather get it over on the Riviera than anywhere else, because the blue and gold weather would not remind him of other Christmases which were gone pure, white, cold Christmases, musical with joy bells and sweet with aromatic pine, the scent of trees born to be Christmas trees.

There had been a time when he had fancied it would be a wonderful thing to see the Riviera. He had thought what it would be like to be a rich man, and bring a certain girl here for a moon of honey and roses.

She was the most beautiful girl in the world, or he believed her so, which is exactly the same thing; and he had imagined the joy of walking with her on just such a terrace as this Casino terrace where he was walking now, alone. She would be in white, with one of those long ermine things that women call stoles; an ermine muff (the big, "granny" kind that swallows girlish arms up to the dimples in their elbows) and a hat which they would have bought together in Paris.