[Illustration: MRS. TREE.] MRS. TREE By Laura E. Richards _Author of_ "Captain January," "Melody," "Marie," etc. Boston Dana Estes & Company Publishers _Copyright, 1902_ BY DANA ESTES & COMPANY _All rights reserved_ MRS. TREE Published June, 1902 Colonial Press Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. Boston, Mass., U. S. A. To My Daughter Rosalind CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Wedding Bells 11 II. Phoebe's Opinions 25 III. Introducing Tommy Candy and Solomon, his Grandfather 41 IV. Old Friends 55 V. "But When He Was Yet a Great Way off" 75 VI. The New Postmaster 92 VII. In Miss Penny's Shop 107 VIII. A Tea-party 124 IX. A Garden-party 142 X. Mr. Butters Discourses 161 XI. Miss Phoebe Passes on 175 XII. The Peak in Darien 189 XIII. Life in Death 201 XIV. Tommy Candy, and the Letter He Brought 217 XV. Maria 233 XVI. Doctor Stedman's Patient 249 XVII. Not Yet! 267 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Mrs. Tree Frontispiece "She put out a finger, and Jocko clawed it without ceremony" 119 "'Careful with that Bride Blush, Willy'" 143 "'Perhaps this is as good medicine as you can take!' he said" 262 MRS. TREE CHAPTER I. WEDDING BELLS "Well, they're gone!" said Direxia Hawkes. "H'm!" said Mrs. Tree. Direxia had been to market, and, it was to be supposed, had brought home, beside the chops and the soup-piece, all the information the village afforded. She had now, after putting away her austere little bonnet and cape, brought a china basin, and a mystic assortment of white cloths, and was polishing the window-panes, which did not need polishing. From time to time she glanced at her mistress, who sat bolt upright in her chair, engaged on a severe-looking piece of knitting. Mrs. Tree detested knitting, and it was always a bad sign when she put away her book and took up the needles. "Yes'm; they're gone. I see 'em go. Ithuriel Butters drove 'em over to the Junction; come in yesterday o' purpose, and put up his team at Doctor Stedman's. Ithuriel thinks a sight of Doctor Strong. Yes'm; folks was real concerned to see him go, and her too. They made a handsome couple, if they be both light-complected."