Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print archive. Transcriber's note: Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). [Illustration: Book Cover] THE CARVED LIONS. [Illustration: OUR CONSULTATION TOOK A GOOD WHILE.--p. 44.--_Frontispiece._] THE CARVED LIONS BY MRS. MOLESWORTH ILLUSTRATED BY L. LESLIE BROOKE [Illustration] 1895 LONDON MACMILLAN & CO COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY MACMILLAN AND CO. CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTER I. OLD DAYS 1 CHAPTER II. A HAPPY EVENING 17 CHAPTER III. COMING EVENTS 33 CHAPTER IV. ALL SETTLED 48 CHAPTER V. AN UNPROMISING BEGINNING 63 CHAPTER VI. A NEW WORLD 81 CHAPTER VII. GATHERING CLOUDS 98 CHAPTER VIII. "NOBODY--_NOBODY_" 113 CHAPTER IX. OUT IN THE RAIN 131 CHAPTER X. TAKING REFUGE 148 CHAPTER XI. KIND FRIENDS 163 CHAPTER XII. GOOD NEWS 182 ILLUSTRATIONS. OUR CONSULTATION TOOK A GOOD WHILE _Frontispiece_ "GOOD-BYE!" _To face page_ 71 "LITTLE GIRLS MUST NOT CONTRADICT, AND MUST NOT BE RUDE" 82 "MY POOR LITTLE GIRL, WHAT _IS_ THE MATTER?" 108 I CREPT DOWNSTAIRS, PAST ONE SCHOOLROOM WITH ITS CLOSED DOOR 141 THE BROTHER LIONS ROSE INTO THE AIR 154 MYRA CAME FORWARD GENTLY, HER SWEET FACE LOOKING RATHER GRAVE 174 CHAPTER I. OLD DAYS. It is already a long time since I was a little girl. Sometimes, when I look out upon the world and see how many changes have come about, how different many things are from what I can remember them, I could believe that a still longer time had passed since my childhood than is really the case. Sometimes, on the contrary, the remembrance of things that then happened comes over me so very vividly, so very _real_-ly, that I can scarcely believe myself to be as old as I am. I can remember things in my little girlhood more clearly than many in later years. This makes me hope that the story of some part of it may interest children of to-day, for I know I have not forgotten the feelings I had as a child. And after all, I believe that in a great many ways children are very like each other in their hearts and minds, even though their lives may seem very different and very far apart.