Produced by Ted Garvin, Emmy and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net THE RECTORY CHILDREN BY MRS MOLESWORTH ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER CRANE [Illustration: 'It's the sun going to bed, you know, dear.' P. 37.] London MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1897 TO MY NIECE AND GOD-DAUGHTER Helen Louisa Delves Walthall 85 LEXHAM GARDENS _Shrove Tuesday_, 1889. CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I THE PARLOUR BEHIND THE SHOP 1 CHAPTER II THOSE YOUNG LADIES 18 CHAPTER III A TRYING CHILD 34 CHAPTER IV BIDDY HAS SOME NEW THOUGHTS 51 CHAPTER V CELESTINA 66 CHAPTER VI THE WINDOW IN THE WALL 83 CHAPTER VII ON THE SEASHORE 99 CHAPTER VIII A NICE PLAN 117 CHAPTER IX A SECRET 134 CHAPTER X BIDDY'S ESCAPADE 151 CHAPTER XI AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 169 CHAPTER XII ANOTHER BIRTHDAY 186 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE '----and--oh, Alie, I have so torn my frock, and it's my afternoon one--my new merino' 27 'Little girl,' she called, when she got close to the other child 75 'It's like a magic-lantern; no, I mean a peep-show' 89 'I would like to go there,' she said 115 A secret 148 ----carrying between them a little dripping figure, with streaming hair, white face, and closed eyes 161 'Now, Biddy. Open your eyes' 195 'O little hearts! that throb and beat, With such impatient, feverish heat, Such limitless and strong desires.'--LONGFELLOW. THE RECTORY CHILDREN CHAPTER I THE PARLOUR BEHIND THE SHOP 'I was very solitary indeed.' (_Visit to the Cousins_).--MARY LAMB. The blinds had been drawn down for some time in the back parlour behind Mr. Fairchild's shop in Pier Street, the principal street in the little town of Seacove. And the gas was lighted, though it was not turned up very high. It was a great thing to have gas; it had not been known at Seacove till recently. For the time of which I am writing is now a good many years ago, thirty or forty at least.