XXXVII. FAREWELL TO THREE MILE CROSS 350 XXXVIII. SWALLOWFIELD 360 XXXIX. PEACEFUL CLOSING YEARS 372 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Portrait of Mary Russell Mitford. (_By A. Burt, taken in 1836_) _Frontispiece_ Grove Cottage, Frognal, Hampstead _Preface_ x The Mitfords’ house in Broad Street, Alresford 3 Antique girandole 8 Mary Russell Mitford’s birthplace 11 Mary Russell Mitford at the age of four years. (_After a miniature_) _To face_ 16 The Cross-house 21 Southampton Street, Reading 24 The “Walk” by the sea, Lyme Regis 31 The Great House, Lyme Regis 35 Old ironwork 39 The panelled chamber 41 The drawing-room 47 Blackfriars Bridge in 1796 52 Dr. Mitford’s house in the London Road, Reading _To face_ 58 Antique ironwork 65 Hans Place in 1798 69 Ceiling decoration (1714) 81 A purse-bag 91 A skit on the “Pink of the mode” _To face_ 92 A quaint tea-set 100 Gosfield Hall _To face_ 110 Le Comte d’Artois (afterwards Charles X) _To face_ 112 The Dining-room in the Deanery, Bocking 115 Dr. Valpy’s school _To face_ 122 Country cottages 143 Bertram House 147 Inlaid tea-caddy 160 The Mitfords’ cottage in Three Mile Cross 163 The village shop 169 The Swan Inn 173 A country wheelbarrow 178 Miss Mitford’s writing-parlour 181 The wheelwright’s workshop 185 Fragment of the Silchester Roman wall 189 Where the curate lodged 193 The curate’s parlour 197 An old Berkshire farm 213 Frith Street, Soho Square 225 Old houses in Great Queen Street 233 A French bonbonnière 249 The West Gate, Southampton 251 Pulteney Bridge, Bath 254 Arabella Fermor as a child. (_After a picture in the possession of Frederick Cowslade, Esq._) 259 The Porch, Ufton Court 261 Arabella Fermor, the “Belinda” of the “Rape of the Lock,” afterwards Mrs. Perkins. (_From a painting by W. Sykes in the possession of Lord Treowen_) _To face_ 262 Francis Perkins. (_By W. Sykes, from a painting also in the possession of Lord Treowen_) _To face_ 262 Belinda’s parlour 265 The garden steps 267 A dandy of the period 291 An old shoeing forge 297 A bridge on the Loddon 303 In Aberleigh (Arborfield) Park 307 Dr. Mitford. (_From a painting by John Lucas in the possession of W. May, Esq._) _To face_ 330 Ironwork in the balcony of Sergeant Talfourd’s house 338 Verses by M. R. Mitford written in a friend’s album (_facsimile_) _To face_ 344 Old house near Swallowfield 355 A teapot which belonged to M. R. Mitford 359 M. R. Mitford’s last home at Swallowfield 363 Swallowfield Church 380 MARY RUSSELL MITFORD CHAPTER I AN AUTHOR’S BIRTHPLACE