By Abbie Farwell Brown SURPRISE HOUSE. Illustrated. KISINGTON TOWN. Illustrated. SONGS OF SIXPENCE. Illustrated. THEIR CITY CHRISTMAS. Illustrated. THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL. Illustrated. JOHN OF THE WOODS. Illustrated. FRESH POSIES. Illustrated. FRIENDS AND COUSINS. Illustrated. BROTHERS AND SISTERS. Illustrated. THE STAR JEWELS AND OTHER WONDERS. Illustrated. THE FLOWER PRINCESS. Illustrated. THE CURIOUS BOOK OF BIRDS. Illustrated. A POCKETFUL OF POSIES. Illustrated. IN THE DAYS OF GIANTS. Illustrated. THE BOOK OF SAINTS AND FRIENDLY BEASTS. Illustrated. THE LONESOMEST DOLL. Illustrated. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON AND NEW YORK Surprise House [Illustration: “I DIDN’T!” PROTESTED JOHN. “IT WAS--SOMETHING, I DON’T KNOW WHAT--THAT SPOKE” (_Page 19_)] SURPRISE HOUSE BY Abbie Farwell Brown _With Illustrations_ [Illustration] BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY The Riverside Press Cambridge 1917 COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY THE YOUNG CHURCHMAN COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY ABBIE FARWELL BROWN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED _Published October 1917_ --_And I as rich in having such a jewel As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl, The water nectar, and the rocks pure gold._ Contents I. THE HOUSE 1 II. THE LIBRARY 10 III. A VISITOR 17 IV. THE BOOKS 25 V. INSTRUCTIONS 34 VI. THE LANTERN 43 VII. CALIBAN 50 VIII. THE BUST 58 IX. THE ATTIC 72 X. THE PORTRAIT POINTS 84 XI. GEMS FROM SHAKESPEARE 91 XII. THE PARTY 99 NOTE:--Thanks are due to the publishers of _The Young Churchman_ for courteous permission to reprint chapters of this book which appeared as a serial in that publication under the title of “Aunt Nan’s Legacy.” Illustrations “I DIDN’T!” PROTESTED JOHN. “IT WAS--SOMETHING, I DON’T KNOW WHAT--THAT SPOKE” _Frontispiece_ “OH, KATY, WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE AUNT NAN MEANT THIS TIME?” 62 THINGS THAT HAD BEEN WAITING THROUGH GENERATIONS OF AUNT NAN’S ANCESTORS FOR SOME ONE TO MAKE THEM USEFUL 80 “OH, THEY ARE VERY BEAUTIFUL,” SAID MARY 96 _From drawings by Helen Mason Grose._ SURPRISE HOUSE CHAPTER I THE HOUSE On the main street of Crowfield stood a little old red house, with a gabled roof, a pillared porch, and a quaint garden. For many weeks it had been quite empty, the shutters closed and the doors locked; ever since the death of Miss Nan Corliss, the old lady who had lived there for years and years.