E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Emmy, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustration. See 27607-h.htm or 27607-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/7/6/0/27607/27607-h/27607-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/7/6/0/27607/27607-h.zip) ROSIN THE BEAU * * * * * The Captain January Series By LAURA E. RICHARDS Over 350,000 copies of these books have been sold CAPTAIN JANUARY $ .50 Same. Illustrated Holiday Edition. 1.25 Same. Centennial Edition Limited. 2.50 MELODY .50 Same. Illustrated Holiday Edition. 1.25 MARIE .50 ROSIN THE BEAU .50 NARCISSA .50 SOME SAY .50 JIM OF HELLAS .50 SNOW WHITE .50 Each volume attractively bound in cloth, with handsome new cover design. Frontispiece by Frank T. Merrill DANA ESTES & COMPANY PUBLISHERS Estes Press, Summer Street, Boston * * * * * [Illustration] ROSIN THE BEAU by LAURA E. RICHARDS Author of "Captain January," "Snow-White," "Three Margarets," "Queen Hildegarde," etc. [Illustration] Boston Dana Estes & Company Publishers TO My Sister Maud ROSIN THE BEAU. CHAPTER I. MELODY, MY DEAR CHILD: I SIT down to write my story for you, the life-story of old Rosin the Beau, your friend and true lover. Some day, not far distant now, my fiddle and I shall be laid away, in the quiet spot you know and love; and then (for you will miss me, Melody, well I know that!) this writing will be read to you, and you will hear my voice still, and will learn to know me better even than you do now; though that is better than any one else living knows me. When people ask me where I hail from, our good, neighbourly, down-east way, I answer "From the Androscoggin;" and that is true enough as far as it goes, for I have spent many years on and about the banks of that fine river; but I have told you more than that. You know something of the little village where I was born and brought up, far to the northeast of your own home village. You know something, too, of my second mother, as I call her,--Abby Rock; but of my own sweet mother I have spoken little. Now you shall hear.