Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed. [Illustration: "I POINTED OUT THE DRAWER, AND HARPER TOOK THE GOLD."] FOOTPRINTS. _A STORY OF THE SNOW._ BY ANNETTE LYSTER AUTHOR OF "THE WHITE GIPSY," "A LEAL, LIGHT HEART," "FAN'S SILKEN STRING," "ETC." ILLUSTRATED BY J. NASH. ————————————— PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. ————————————— LONDON: SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE. W.C.; 43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET. E.C. BRIGHTON: 129, NORTH STREET. NEW YORK: E. & J. B. YOUNG AND CO. [Illustration] CONTENTS. [Illustration] CHAPTER I. SNOW AND SNOW-MEN II. KATIE III. GROWING UP IV. OLD ROVER V. THE THAW [Illustration] [Illustration] FOOTPRINTS. [Illustration] CHAPTER I. SNOW AND SNOW-MEN. VERY early in the reign of Queen Victoria there lived near a large town in Devonshire a farmer named Marlowe, a prosperous, well-to-do man, with a thrifty, good-tempered wife and half a dozen children. Mr. Marlowe owned his farm, which was a large one; and in those good old times farmers could live comfortably, and lay by a little money for their children—a state of things which has well-nigh passed away. In Devonshire, as perhaps most people know, a heavy fall of snow is a most unusual thing. The mild, damp climate forbids the snow to lie long; indeed, it generally melts in the act of falling. But one year, early in the queen's reign, there was a snowstorm in Devon which would have been considered heavy in Scotland or Yorkshire; and with the snow came a hard frost. Farmer Marlowe's five sons and one daughter were in strange glee. There was a large grammar-school not far off, which the three elder lads attended, and some of the boarders who came from colder regions had often described to them the delights of snow and frost—snow-balling, sliding, and even skating; but never had the young Marlowes partaken of those joys. Now they were determined to make the most of them.