Produced by Suzanne Shell, Josephine Paolucci and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) THE WOULDBEGOODS [Illustration: See p. 47 "'AND PATRIOTIC,' SAID HE"] _THE WOULDBEGOODS_ BY E. NESBIT ILLUSTRATED BY REGINALD B. BIRCH [Illustration] HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON Copyright, 1900, 1901, by EDITH NESBIT BLAND. _All rights reserved._ September, 1901. TO MY DEAR SON FABIAN BLAND CONTENTS PAGE THE JUNGLE 1 THE WOULDBEGOODS 20 BILL'S TOMBSTONE 43 THE TOWER OF MYSTERY 63 THE WATER-WORKS 86 THE CIRCUS 111 BEING BEAVERS; OR, THE YOUNG EXPLORERS (ARCTIC OR OTHERWISE) 135 THE HIGH-BORN BABE 159 HUNTING THE FOX 178 THE SALE OF ANTIQUITIES 201 THE BENEVOLENT BAR 224 THE CANTERBURY PILGRIMS 243 THE DRAGON'S TEETH; OR, ARMY-SEED 267 ALBERT'S UNCLE'S GRANDMOTHER; OR, THE LONG-LOST 292 ILLUSTRATIONS "'AND PATRIOTIC,' SAID HE" _Frontispiece_ "WE LET THE HOSE PLAY PERSEVERINGLY" _Facing p._ 16 "'LITTLE BEASTS!' SAID DICK" " 30 "DENNY HELD ALICE'S AND NOËL'S HANDS" " 84 "DICKY DRAGGED THE TWO HEAVY BARS" " 98 "'OH, DEAR! OH, DEAR!'" " 104 "HE SAT DOWN IN THE HEDGE TO LAUGH PROPERLY" " 128 "FOUND HIMSELF THE DEGRADED NURSE-MAID OF A SMALL BUT FURIOUS KID" " 172 "'WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?'" " 192 "THEN WE PUT IN THE JUGS AND FILLED IT UP WITH EARTH" " 212 "'I THINK YOU MUST LET ME LOOK INSIDE'" " 222 "OSWALD ACTUALLY HIT OUT AT THE BIG MAN" " 240 "A DOG-CART WITH A YOUNG LADY IN IT" " 256 "SO WE LED HIM ALONG TO THE AMBUSH" " 282 THE COUNCIL IN THE APPLE-TREE " 292 "'AND ARE YOU GOING TO MARRY THIS LADY?'" " 304 THE WOULDBEGOODS THE JUNGLE "Children are like jam: all very well in the proper place, but you can't stand them all over the shop--eh, what?"