PONY’S MOTHER, AND WHY HE HAD A RIGHT TO RUN OFF If there was any fellow in the Boy’s Town fifty years ago who had a good reason to run off it was Pony Baker. Pony was not his real name; it was what the boys called him, because there were so many fellows who had to be told apart, as Big Joe and Little Joe, and Big John and Little John, and Big Bill and Little Bill, that they got tired of telling... more...

THE NEW FARMER. The new house at Woodlawn was nearly completed; and Mr. Curtis now set to work in earnest, clearing the grounds of the rubbish, in order to make the terraces and lay out his avenue in front. Those who have read the other books about Bertie, will know that two wide avenues, enclosed by handsome iron gates, had been already made; one winding along on the shores of Lake Shawsheen, the... more...

A TALK IN THE CHICKENYARD. "Why is it, I would like to know," said young Scratchfoot, throwing the sand over himself, "that every one is talking and carrying on of a hot Summer day the very time you ought to go to sleep?" "Hush up, Scratchfoot," said Topknot, "we are having a very lively conversation. Uncle Red Nose Mike has just asked a riddle, which none of us can guess.... more...

The emotion of love between the sexes has as yet received no thorough scientific treatment. No writer so far as I can find has treated it from a genetic standpoint. The literature upon the subject is therefore meager. In his recent treatise upon “The Psychology of the Emotions,” Ribot remarks: “The sex-instinct, the last in chronological order with man and the higher animals, gives rise to the... more...

LITTLE LOST SISTER PROLOGUE They came up suddenly over a bit of rising ground, the mill-owner and his friend the writer and student of modern industries, and stood in full view of the factory. The air was sweet with scent of apple-blossoms. A song sparrow trilled in the poplar tree. “What do you think of our factory?” asked the man of business and of success, turning his keen, aggressive face... more...

AUNT AMY. As Minnie Brown was walking one day along the principal street of Rosedale, she met Arthur Ellerslie, who said to her,— “Minnie, there is a letter in the post office for you.” “A letter for me!” exclaimed the little girl, her bright eyes flashing at the bare idea of a letter being sent to her. “Yes, there is a letter for you, Minnie. I saw it myself in the post office window,”... more...

INTRODUCTORYThehabit, to which we are so much addicted, of writing books about other people who have written books, will probably be a source of intense discomfort to its practitioners in the twenty-first century. Like the rest of their kind, they will pin their ambition to the possibility of indulging in epigram at the expense of their contemporaries. In order to lead up to the achievement of this... more...

CONVERSATION I. The rain came down in torrents, and beat violently against the parlour windows, whilst a keen autumnal blast made the children shiver, even by the side of a good fire. Their little hearts glowed with gratitude, when they reflected on their happy lot, sheltered from the bitter wind and driving sleet; and contrasted it with that of many miserable little beings, who were, no doubt,... more...

Chapter I. The line of demarcation made between infancy and childhood, both by ancient and modern writers, has always been arbitrary. I would draw the line between the two, at a period of time which appears to me to be the most natural, the most simple, and least likely to lead the reader into the danger of misapplying any part of the practical directions of this, or any future chapter of the work. We... more...

PRELIMINARY CONVERSATION 1. I wish to consult you on many subjects appertaining to the management and the care of children; will you favour me with your advice and counsel? I shall be happy to accede to your request, and to give you the fruits of my experience in the clearest manner I am able, and in the simplest language I can command—freed from all technicalities. I will endeavour to guide you in... more...