E-text prepared by Mary Glenn Krause, Wayne Hammond, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See https://archive.org/details/misscrespigny00burn [Illustration: MRS. BURNETT’S Earlier Stories. MISS CRESPIGNY BY FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT. NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS] * * * * * * Authorized Editions. _MRS. BURNETT’S_ EARLIER STORIES. BY FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT. LINDSAY’S LUCK, Price, 30 cts. KATHLEEN, Price, 40 cts. PRETTY POLLY PEMBERTON, Price, 40 cts. THEO, Price, 30 cts. MISS CRESPIGNY, Price, 30 cts. ⁂ _For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent, post paid, upon receipt of the price by the publishers_, CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS, 743 AND 745 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. * * * * * * MISS CRESPIGNY. by FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT, Author of “Haworth’s,” “That Lass o’ Lowrie’s,” “Surly Tim and Other Stories.” New York: Charles Scribner’S Sons, 743 & 745 Broadway. Copyright 1879, By Charles Scribner’S Sons. New York: J. J. Little & Co., Printers, 10 to 20 Astor Place. Author’s Note. These love stories were written for and printed in “Peterson’s Ladies’ Magazine.” Owing to the fact that this magazine was not copyrighted, a number of them have been issued in book-form without my consent, and representing the sketches to be my latest work. If these youthful stories are to be read in book form, it is my desire that my friends should see the present edition, which I have revised for the purpose, and which is brought out by my own publishers. FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT. _October, 1878._ CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE LISBETH 7 CHAPTER II. ANOTHER GENTLEMAN OF THE SAME NAME 17 CHAPTER III. PANSIES FOR THOUGHT 27 CHAPTER IV. A LUNCH PARTY 40 CHAPTER V. GEORGIE ESMOND 52 CHAPTER VI. A SONG 61 CHAPTER VII. A NEW EXPERIENCE 70 CHAPTER VIII. I WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH FOR ONCE 80 CHAPTER IX. WE MUST ALWAYS BE TRUE 88 CHAPTER X. PEN’YLLAN 96 CHAPTER XI. A CONFESSION 104 CHAPTER XII. A VISITOR 114 CHAPTER XIII. A GHOST 123 CHAPTER XIV. IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN VERY SWEET 132 CHAPTER XV. WE WON’T GO YET 141