E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Emmy, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries (http://www.archive.org/details/americana) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 38567-h.htm or 38567-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/38567/pg38567-images.html) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/38567/38567-h.zip) Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive/American Libraries. See http://www.archive.org/details/eightcousinsorau00alco Transcriber's note: Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). [Illustration: ROSE AND HER AUNTS.--Page 37.] EIGHT COUSINS; Or, The Aunt-Hill. by LOUISA M. ALCOTT, Author of "Little Women," "An Old-Fashioned Girl," "Little Men," "Rose in Bloom," "Under the Lilacs," "Jack and Jill," "Hospital Sketches," "Work," "Silver Pitchers," "Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag." With Illustrations. [Illustration] BOSTON: ROBERTS BROTHERS. 1887. Copyright, 1874, BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT. UNIVERSITY PRESS: JOHN WILSON & SON, CAMBRIDGE. To The many boys & girls whose letters it has been impossible to answer, this book is dedicated as a peace offering by their friend L. M. Alcott PREFACE. The Author is quite aware of the defects of this little story, many of which were unavoidable, as it first appeared serially. But, as Uncle Alec's experiment was intended to amuse the young folks, rather than suggest educational improvements for the consideration of the elders, she trusts that these short-comings will be overlooked by the friends of the EIGHT COUSINS, and she will try to make amends in a second volume, which shall attempt to show THE ROSE IN BLOOM. L. M. A. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. TWO GIRLS 1 II. THE CLAN 10 III. UNCLES 23 IV. AUNTS 37 V. A BELT AND A BOX 47 VI. UNCLE ALEC'S ROOM 59 VII. A TRIP TO CHINA 71 VIII. AND WHAT CAME OF IT 84 IX. PHEBE'S SECRET 93 X. ROSE'S SACRIFICE 108 XI. POOR MAC 118 XII. "THE OTHER FELLOWS" 129 XIII. COSEY CORNER 141 XIV. A HAPPY BIRTHDAY 149 XV. EAR-RINGS 165