Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Sigal Alon and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: "THE VILLAGE GOSSIPS WONDERED WHO HE WAS, WHAT HE WAS, WHAT HE CAME FOR, AND HOW LONG HE INTENDED TO STAY."] QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER AND MASON'S CORNER FOLKS A PICTURE OF NEW ENGLAND HOME LIFE BY CHAS. FELTON PIDGIN Boston C.M. CLARK PUBLISHING COMPANY 1905 REVISED EDITION Respectfully dedicated to the Memory of the late HON JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL the perusal of whose famous poem "THE COURTIN" supplied the inspiration that led to the writing of this book. AUTHOR'S PREFACE. QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER'S only title was plain "Mr." His ancestors were tradesmen, merchants, lawyers, politicians, and Presidents. He, too, was proud of his honored ancestry, and I have endeavored in this book to have him live up to an ideal personification of gentlemanly qualities for which the New England standard should be fully as high as that of Old England; in fact, I see no reason why the heroes of American novels, barring the single matter of hereditary titles, should not compare favorably as regards gentlemanly attributes with their English cousins across the seas. C.F.P. GRAY CHAMBERS, BOSTON, October, 1902. CHAPTERS I. The Rehearsal II. Mason's Corner Folks III. The Concert in the Town Hall IV. Ancestry _versus_ Patriotism V. Mr. Sawyer Meets Uncle Ike VI. Some New Ideas VII. "That City Feller" VIII. City Skill _versus_ Country Muscle IX. Mr. Sawyer Calls on Miss Putnam X. Village Gossip XI. Some Sad Tidings XII. Looking for a Boarding Place XIII. A Visit to the Victim XIV. A Quiet Evening XV. A Long Lost Relative XVI. A Promise Kept XVII. An Informal Introduction XVIII. The Courtin' XIX. Jim Sawyer's Funeral XX. A Wet Day XXI. Some More New Ideas XXII. After the Great Snowstorm XXIII. A Visit to Mrs. Putnam XXIV. The New Doctor XXV. Some Plain Facts and Inferences XXVI. The Surprise Party XXVII. Town Politics XXVIII. The Town Meeting XXIX. Mrs. Hawkins's Boarding House XXX. A Settlement XXXI. An Inheritance XXXII. Aunt Ella XXXIII. The Weddin's XXXIV. Blennerhassett XXXV. "The Bird of Love" XXXVI. Then They Were Married XXXVII. Linda's Birthright XXXVIII. Fernborough LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. _Frontispiece._--"The village gossips wondered who he was, what he was, what he came for, and how long he intended to stay." It was a marvellous rig that he wore when he reappeared The barge led the procession to Mason's Corner And then he landed a blow on Wood's nose "The Deacon and his wife led off" CHARACTERS AND SCENES FROM THE STAGE PRESENTATION OF QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER. Mandy Skinner