I am afraid it is too true; and the idea made me so hot, that if I had known she was really coming to call on us again, I should certainly have kept out of the way.  But when Uncle Patrick said, “If the yellow chariot rolls this way again, Bayard, ye need not be pursuing these archaeological revivals of yours in a too early English costume,” I thought it was only his chaff.  But she did come.

I was pegging out the new gardens for the little ones.  We were all there, and when she turned her eye over us (just like a cockatoo), and said, in a company voice—­

     “What a happy little family!”

I could hardly keep my countenance, and I heard Edward choking in Benjamin’s fur, where he had hidden his face.

But Lettice never moved a muscle.  She clasped her hands, and put her head on one side, and said—­in her company voice—­“But you know brother Bayard is so good to us now, and that is why we are such A HAPPY FAMILY.”

* * * * *

The present Series of Mrs. Ewing’s Works is the only authorized, complete, and uniform Edition published.

It will consist of 18 volumes, Small Crown 8vo, at 2s. 6d. per vol., issued, as far as possible, in chronological order, and these will appear at the rate of two volumes every two months, so that the Series will be completed within 18 months.  The device of the cover was specially designed by a Friend of Mrs. Ewing.

The following is a list of the books included in the Series—­

1.  MELCHIOR’S DREAM, AND OTHER TALES.

2.  MRS. OVERTHEWAY’S REMEMBRANCES.

3.  OLD-FASHIONED FAIRY-TALES.

4.  A FLAT-IRON FOR A FARTHING.

5.  THE BROWNIES, AND OTHER TALES.

6.  SIX TO SIXTEEN.

7.  LOB-LIE-BY-THE-FIRE, AND OTHER TALES.

8.  JAN OF THE WINDMILL.

9.  VERSES FOR CHILDREN, AND SONGS.

10.  THE PEACE EGG—­A CHRISTMAS MUMMING PLAY—­HINTS FOR PRIVATE THEATRICALS, &c.

11.  A GREAT EMERGENCY, AND OTHER TALES.

12.  BROTHERS OF PITY, AND OTHER TALES OF BEASTS AND MEN.

13.  WE AND THE WORLD, Part I

14.  WE AND THE WORLD, Part II.

15.  JACKANAPES—­DADDY DARWIN’S DOVECOTE—­THE STORY OF A SHORT LIFE.

16.  MARY’S MEADOW, AND OTHER TALES OF FIELDS AND FLOWERS.

17.  MISCELLANEA, including The Mystery of the Bloody Hand—­Wonder Stories—­Tales of the Khoja, and other translations.

18.  JULIANA HORATIA EWING AND HER BOOKS, with a selection from Mrs. Ewing’s Letters.

* * * * *

S.P.C.K., NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, LONDON, W.C.