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    Little Lord Fauntleroy
    Little Lord Fauntleroy
    Little Lord Fauntleroy
    Ebook209 pages4 hours

    Little Lord Fauntleroy

    By Frances Hodgson Burnett

    4.5/5

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    In Frances Hodgson Burnett’s first children’s novel, “Little Lord Fauntleroy”, Cedric Errol, the orphaned son of a sea captain and his mother are surprised to learn that by a strange twist of fate, he is the heir to a large English estate. Going to live with his stern and miserly grandfather, Cedric impresses the old man with his innocence and good nature. Will Cedric have a positive influence on his aristocratic and ill-tempered grandfather? A description of Cedric’s clothing created an impact on fashion when mothers across the country dressed their boys up in velvet suits with lace collars.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media
    Release dateDec 4, 2018
    ISBN9781974908653
    Author

    Frances Hodgson Burnett

    Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924) was an English-American author and playwright. She is best known for her incredibly popular novels for children, including Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden.

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    Reviews for Little Lord Fauntleroy

    4.5/5

    110 ratings102 reviews

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    • 5/5
      One of my favorite childhood books, about the daughter of a British soldier who was raised in India, but is sent to a British boarding school when her father is sent to war.
    • 5/5
      I love love love this story! Such a beautiful tale of a young girl! Of course, the fatherdaughter relationship made me sob in parts, but I loved it! So beautiful, pretty and innocent! A little slow at times, but still amazing!
    • 5/5
      Book downloaded from gutenberg.org

      The other night I was thinking of movies and remembered loving the Shirley Temple movie about a little orpan girl and I wanted to watch it again..I couldn't for the lift of me remember the name of the movie so I spent some time googling and realized that not only was it a movie I wanted to see but a book I would probably enjoy as well. When I saw the publication date was more than 70 years ago I decided to see if gutenberg.org had a copy of it while I wait for my hardcopy to arrive. I downloaded it Sunday afternoon and have been reading it every spare moment that I can use my home computer.

      The book is so much better than I remember the movie being (which isn't saying much since it's been 15 years since I last watched it), but I plan on watching both the original & the new version of the movie sometime after I finish the book.

    • 4/5
      A nostalgic re-read of this feel-good children's book. I wonder how many years it is since I last read this book? It was great to meet Sara in the attic again, as well as her friends Becky and Ermengarde and the monkey. I have just finished a nostalgic re-read of this feel-good children's book.
    • 4/5
      Ich habe das Buch zufällig bei Projekt Gutenberg gesehen und war leicht besorgt: Einerseits mochte ich zwar Der geheime Garten von der selben Autorin, hasste aber (und das nicht mal leidenschaftlich) den Anime Kleine Prinzessin Sara, den es früher gab. Oder vermutlich gibts ihn immer noch, zum Glück wird er aber nicht mehr gezeigt. Auf jeden Fall war meine Sorge unbegründet: Das Buch A Little Princess war toll.

      Ich konnte es kaum aus der Hand legen. Es war eins dieser Bücher, die einen fühlen lassen, als wäre man gefüllt mit warmer Schokolade während man in einem Haufen Welpen und Zuckerwatte liegt.

      “I liked you to listen to it,” said Sara. “If you tell stories, you like nothing so much as to tell them to peolpe who want to listen. I don’t know why it is. Would you like to hear the rest?”

      Einen Kritikpunkt habe ich: Sara war zu perfekt. Wie der Prototyp einer Mary Sue. Alles was sie tat, alles, was sie sagte, alles war perfekt. In ihrer allererste Unterrichtsstunde verkündet der Lehrer, dass er ihr nichts mehr beibringen könne, weil ihr Französisch vollendet sei. Und so geht es gerade weiter. Also ja. Mir sind Charakter mit einem kleinen Fehler natürlich lieber, auch bei Kinderbüchern. Es wäre zumindest schöner gewesen, wenn es nicht auf jeder Seite 10 mal erwähnt würde, wie toll Sara ist. Nach 5 Seiten dachte ich mir dann doch: Okay, jetzt weiß ichs. Muss man mir nicht mehr sagen.

      Als Sara dann jedoch zur Sklavin wurde ist das viel, viel besser geworden. Und ihr abmühen, sich weiter wie eine Prinzessin zu benehmen, obwohl sie seit 2 Tagen nichts mehr zu essen hatte, lässt sie dann doch viel menschlicher erscheinen.

      Ein echter Pluspunkt ist, dass Sara ein Buch nach dem anderen verschlingt. Wie ein Buchwurm wühlt sie sich durch jedes Buch, das sie in die Finger bekommt. Sie fiebert auf Neuerscheinungen hin. Und sie wäre generell ein Buchblogger, wenn sie heute am Leben wäre.

      Never did she find anything so difficult as to keep herself from losing her temper when she was suddelny disturbed while absorbed in a book. People who are fond of books know the feeling of irritation which sweeps over them at such a moment. The temtation to be unreasonable and snappish is one not easy to manage.

      Von daher ist es ein echtes, flauschig-warmes, Wohlfühlbuch.
    • 5/5
      Love this book. Even as an adult, I can appreciate it more than a child. Fun to dip back into this book.
    • 5/5
      I read this book every year. It's about Sarah, doted upon by her father, who gets sent to England to boarding school. While there, her father invests all his fortune in diamond mines, contracts a fever and dies thinking everything is lost. Sarah then becomes an poor orphan until her father's friend finds her and returns her fortune.
    • 5/5
      I recently bought myself a new copy of A Little Princess. My original copy is at my mother's house, boxed up with a lot of other books in the attic. As I remember it's somewhat dog-chewed. My girlhood dog, Cindy, a black standard poodle, had an unerring feel for which things to chew up for maximum effect. She'd get mad, she'd chew up your favorite stuff and leave it in the entryway. She was a great dog, though. In any event, during the time after my father's diagnosis of cancer and before it became clear that he was going to die very quickly I bought and read this book. I loved that I was able to find such a beautiful edition with the essential Tasha Tudor illustrations (it wouldn't be the same book without them in the same way that Arthur Rackham's illustrations for Wind in the Willows are the only correct ones - for me at least).I know I'm supposed to care that this book is firmly rooted in British imperialism and full of various stereotypes of Indian people and the lower classes, but I just don't. I prefer to consider it within the context of the time it was written (early 20th century) and read it for the joy of the story - I don't think a cleansing is required.I love A Secret Garden (I'm going to need a new copy of it, too), but I always liked A Little Princess more. There's something so appealing about Sara Crewe who loves to read and tell stories and uses her imagination to get her through the terrible time after her father's death when she is turned into a ward of her boarding school and horribly mistreated. She's not saccharine-sweet, either. She gets angry and has harsh words and is afraid and cries, but she embodies the notion that emotions are neutral - it's what you do with them that counts. There is an elegant nobility about her that shines throughout the book. It makes her very real and very admirable.The story is pretty standard Gothic fare - the evil headmistress, the orphaned child turned into a slave and mistreated, the father's friend recovering from illness and searching for the heroine. Burnett's addition of fairy tale imagery and Tasha Tudor's beautiful illustrations elevate the tale into a true classic.This book was a favorite of my childhood and a huge comfort to me in a time of uncertainty. It remains a favorite.
    • 4/5
      This must surely be one of the sweetest, loveliest books a girl could read in childhood. It's been a long time but reading it again all these years down the line (in my early 20s), it still holds such charm, wonder and profound messages about class, poverty and happiness that I know it'll be returning to my shelf to read again and pass on to my own children.It tells the story of Sara Crewe, a rich little girl brought up in India by her beloved father, who moves to England to go to boarding school at the gloomy seminary belonging to the formidable Miss Minchin. She is the star pupil, dressed in finery and always happy to share her good fortune and vivid imagination with her classmates. But when a tragic twist of fate strips her of everything, Sara ends up a poor orphan working as a drudge in the seminary where once she was idolised by her fellow pupils. Miss Minchin uses this as a fine opportunity to take a sort of revenge on this strange little girl, who she has never understood but has always indulged thanks to her wealth. But no matter how hard her life becomes, she remains generous and polite to those around her, rich and poor alike, pretending that she is a princess in order to keep her morals and spirits strong. Finally, just as even her fiery spirit is at breaking point, an English gentleman who has been living in India moves into the house next door and magical things start to happen as their interest in each other grows. Of course everything will come right in the end, but I won't give away any more because it deserves to be read and enjoyed...This is a beautiful, moving, and inspiring novel, whether you're 6 or 60! It is well written, with highly individual and well-rounded characters, and a wealth of description which makes it very atmospheric and allows even a child to see Sara's London in vivid detail. There are images in the book which I could still remember clearly and recognise years after I read it as a little girl, and even now I was holding my breath and waiting for everything to fall into place! In today's selfish modern society it also provides a reminder of how a little generosity and kindness goes a long way, and is a perfect fairy tale for littler princesses too. I'd also recommend The Secret Garden for a slightly less girlie but equally sweet, timeless and beautiful story.
    • 5/5
      I first read this book when I was seven years old, and I have loved it ever since. Unfortunately, I lost my copy of the book several years ago, and I had never gotten around to buying another one. But when I saw that it was free at the Kindle store, this book became the first one that I downloaded on my new Kindle. :)This story is still one of my very favorites. Sure, the ending is a little too saccharine and unbelievable, but that's still part of its charm to me. Sara is one of the most memorable heroines I've ever read about; she has the fortitude to survive a horrible situation without losing her moral fiber or character. Even though she suffers greatly, she still thinks of others before herself. Heck, I still think of her as something of a role model, and she's only seven years old at the beginning of the book!Even though the language is definitely a bit dated, I still think that this classic is enjoyable for today's readers. Once my niece is old enough to understand the story, I plan on buying her a copy of this book to read!
    • 5/5
      Rags to riches stories are a common enough trope, but A Little Princess turns that narrative on its head. Little Sara Crewe, who has been given everything by her dear papa, is sent to a London board schooling, as was the custom amongst the wealthy in England at the time. There, everyone - children and adults alike - marvel at her beautiful things and declare her "a little princess." Contrary to the stereotype about rich children, Sara is not spoiled and bratty, but rather is considerate and polite. She makes friends with the other children at school, particularly with those who are overlooked by others - slow Ermengarde, tantrum-throwing little Lottie, and scullery maid Becky - instead of aligning herself with the school "mean girls" Lavinia and Jessie. Sara is also clever and imaginative, which sometimes causes others to view her as a bit peculiar, although overall she is well liked. She has a tendency to become solemn and philosophical, and sometimes wonders if she would be so nice if circumstances had been different and she had been born without wealth and privilege. Perhaps, she surmises, she is only kind because when you have everything, there is no reason to be unkind.One day, everything changes for small Sara, and she is given the opportunity to see just what sort of person she is when the tangible goods are taken from her life. On her 11th birthday, news reaches the boarding school that her beloved father has died and due to his unwise business investments, she is now not only orphaned but also penniless. The boarding school headmistress, Miss Minchin, who never really liked Sara as a person but only for her money, is apoplectic with having Sara's care foisted upon her. She responds by taking all of Sara's possessions away from her and forcing her to become a servant at the school.But all is not lost. Sara's cleverness and kindness served her well in the past and continue to do so, even in her reduced circumstances. Those who loved her for these qualities continue to do so and look out for her well-being to the best of their ability. Little Sara is indeed a model for us all with her kindness even in the face of destitution and misuse. Still, at times it becomes a tragedy of error, almost Shakespearean with mistaken identities and just missed opportunities for enlightenment, as Sara and her father's friend/business partner Mr. Carrisford are literally next door from one another but kept apart due to their ignorance of each other's significance. Meanwhile, poor Sara suffers the ill effects of poverty and misuse while Mr. Carrisford is wracked with guilt over not being able to find Sara. The narrative makes this time period seem to past relatively quickly but at the end it is noted more than once that the full time period is two years. This is hard, long time indeed for this poor little girl. In true fairy tale like fashion, Sara's fortunes eventually reverse and turn out for the better while Miss Minchin and the mean girls of the school get the chance to re-evaluate their actions. While this isn't the reality I've known, it's nice to live in this world for a little while, imagining that all good people eventually get their just desserts and those unkind people will eventually be reprimanded. It was perhaps for this reason that this book was a childhood favorite of mine. Re-reading this book as an adult, I did notice that there are some troubling depictions of people of lower classes, non-Anglo ethnic backgrounds, and less than ideal body figures. But these aren't overwhelming and you have to take the book as a product of its time. Ram Dass talking about he was always watching the child as she sleeps, peering in through her window, and knowing her every coming and going, is also a bit creepy to re-read as an adult but his intentions are the best as he does this to learn what she needs. This ends up being of great benefit to Sara during the worse of her troubles. One final note: Although I still own my hard copy of this book from childhood, I opted to re-read the book as an audio version this time. The audio narrator, Justine Eyre, was stupendous and I highly recommend this version for the audiophile.
    • 4/5
      My mother gave me my copy of this book when I was in third grade. I can remember carrying the book with me everywhere, reading it over and over. I think the story still stands up as classic "girl's" literature. (Side note: The image of London both in this story and in all of Dickens' novels was so vivid in my mind that when I finally got to London as an adult, I was almost shocked that there weren't horse drawn carriages and gaslights on all the streets.)
    • 5/5
      Such a wonderful children's story about a girl who is orphaned at a boarding school and sinks from the richest girl to a servant. Not letting her sad downfall get her down, Sara Crew makes friends with the other servant girl Becky and all the other girls of the school who sneak up to the attic to hear her fantastical stories of magic in India, her previous and beloved home. When real magic starts to encompass her, Sara learns how great friendship and kindness can be with a little magic and a little hope.
    • 5/5
      I must have read this book at least half a dozen times as a child. It had my childhood self imagining vividly the happenings, and cheering for Sarah to overcome what tragedies had befallen her. A perfect book for a imaginative young girl,one just past American Girl book reading age.
    • 5/5
      This is a beautiful book. The cover art is enchanting and the illustrations are equally gorgeous. A beautiful edition of a beautiful book. I have loved this book for as long as I can remember. I wanted so badly to be 11 because that was how old Sara was. I think i admired her bravery and it was nice to know someone whose world was more troubled than mine and still managed to survive. The thought was comforting to me.
    • 4/5
      Lovely as always. I don't know how often I've read this, but my eyes fill up every time at certain scenes. Having just read Sara Crewe, I had a slightly different view than previously - but the events are basically the same; it's just the description, and the evocation of emotion, that this book has and Sara Crewe mostly missed out on. I do like Sara - she manages to stay just this side of saccharine in her goodness.
    • 3/5
      Sara Crewe is a bright, imaginative seven-year-old when she arrives at Miss Minchen's Select Seminary for Young Ladies. Her father, Captain Crewe, is a very rich man, and he and his daughter are the best of friends. Sara has spent the first seven years of her life living in India, but now the time has come for her to attend school in London. At Miss Minchen's Sara is treated like a princess, and is given everything she could ever want; being treated as a princess does not spoil Sara, but instead causes her to be a friendly, generous little girl. Her imaginings delight her fellow pupils, and she treats the scullery-maid, Becky, with such kindness as Becky has never known. One day, tragedy strikes Sara, and she is left a penniless beggar destined to serve the cruel Miss Minchen for the rest of her life. Can Sara overcome this adversity? Can she remain a true princess at heart?A Little Princess is another book that took me down memory lane. Sara's story is one that I read over and over as a little girl, and it was a pleasure to read it again after so many years. Burnett's depiction of dreary London pulls in the reader, and Sara's hardships will make your heart break.That said, Sara is maybe a little too perfect - she is extremely intelligent, puts others before herself, refuses to be goaded into a rage, and continuously puts a positive spin on her horrid existence. Just once I would have liked to see Sara say something mean, or put herself before others - something to make her more of a real, believable character. Sara is always imagining fairy-stories, and Burnett essentially gives Sara her own fairy-story to live. Sure she has hardships, but she is just so unfailingly positive, and the general tone of the book tells the reader that a happy ending is definitely forthcoming. To be honest, it was kind of annoying after awhile.However, A Little Princess is enjoyable to read, and a great book for children. It teaches readers never to give up, and to remain positive, for life will work out in the end. This is a nice lesson to learn - but it really isn't that accurate to real life, is it?
    • 4/5
      This is the book that epitomizes the magic of reading for me. When I think back to childhood days curled up and reading for hours, very few characters drew me in as completely and utterly as Sara Crewe.
    • 5/5
      This book means so much to me. It's one of the few books to deal with make-believe in a respectful, realistic, and positive way. It's also a wonderful book in that it doesn't sugar-coat the life of a child into idyllic scenes without pain or hardship--a very good thing for children of broken homes to find solace and a strong, capable heroine. True, the ending of the story is rather neat; but a happy ending does not mean the story is without worth and value. Sara was and still is my hero, showing me that even with nothing I still had stories to help me through, that kindness and royalty are a way of life, and that everyone is a story.
    • 5/5
      Sara is a little princess who is trapped in her attic penthouse bedroom in her father's house where their next door neighbors are going to stalk her! It's just like the modern contemporary internet age. That's what Bedford, Westchester County is. She can't leave her room.
    • 4/5
      Blake was sure this was going to be the time I steered him wrong with a book recommendation. But by the end when the story all comes together he didn't want to stop listening. Wonderful book. We all enjoyed it immensely.
    • 4/5
      Such a heartwarming little story. Quite different from the movie I watched all the time when I was little. Sara Crewe is an inspiration, and I wish more children were actually as imaginative, selfless, and poised as she is.
    • 4/5
      Such a cute little book of Sara Crewe, whose father, stationed in India, sends her to boarding school in England. When she starts there she has lots of income which satisfies the insecure, jealous matron of the school. However, when things go downhill for Sara's father and his fortune, Sara's daily life takes a landslide downward. However, she is a very mature child and tries to act like she thinks a princess would act, with a fortune or without. And therein lays the story of her reaction to her situation and her encouragement of others. There is also an ongoing search for a mystery child which culminates at the end of the book. I enjoyed this children's book very much, and think it would be a wonderful book to read along with a child and discuss how he/she might react in a similar situation. I highly recommend this book :)
    • 5/5
      Sara Crewe is a very rich little girl.But her father dead,she was poor.I was impressed with Sara's kindness and humility.
    • 3/5
      This review originally appeared at Belle's BookshelfI hate to say it, but I was disappointed with this book.I should note before I go any further that my opinion was probably doomed from the outset by high expectations, and it was pretty much impossible for me to be fair. Because, you see, while I never read this book as a child, I watched the 1995 movie adaptation obsessively and also enjoyed the 1939 version, PLUS have a special place in my heart for Burnett's The Secret Garden - both the book and movie versions. So, like I said, my expectations were pretty damn high - and it was hard for me not to compare this book to all those other things.While it told the story I was expecting - of a kind little girl named Sara being sent to a boarding school by her loving father, who then finds herself suddenly friendless and penniless, having to use her inner strength and imagination to overcome her lot - I was surprised at how different it was from the movies. There was one glaring plot point that I'd assumed was an intrinsic part of the story, because it appears in both film versions (despite them being very different in other ways), and I was shocked and disappointed that it was actually absent from the book. But I tried to be fair and get over that (after all, it's not the book's fault the movie versions changed its story) and instead focus on the magical and whimsical aspects of the plot that I love. Occasionally I succeeded, but unfortunately more often than not my attention was dragged back to things that really annoyed me.For instance, the way the book dealt with race and servants. I know I shouldn't judge it by modern standards, but it was hard not to get irritated at the way poor Becky was treated - even by those who were supposedly kind to her. Similarly, it was difficult not to be disgusted by the descriptions of India and its inhabitants, and Sara's reflection that they were once her slaves - this, coming from a supposedly noble girl!Which brings me to Sara herself. The little princess drove me nuts. Which in itself annoyed me - I wanted to like her SO badly (She reads! She loves stories and imagining things! She's smart! She's brave!) - but the more time I spent with her, the more I disliked her. She was just so perfect that she didn't seem real; on the rare occasions she showed "wickedness" (the few times I started to like her again), she quickly reined herself in. I know she's supposed to be an admirable character, with traits to aspire to, and I did like the message that positive thinking and kindness can be their own rewards, but it was just rammed down my throat so hard that I almost sympathised with the awful Miss Minchin. Who could blame her for wanting to bring Little Miss Perfect down a peg or two?!I feel terrible saying all this because, like I said, I loved the story growing up and I'm surprised at how little I loved it after finally reading it. Of course, it wasn't awful - there's still the magic and whimsy there, and the story itself is enchanting. But with such an archetypal heroine, what should have been just my cup of tea was way too sweet for my tastes.
    • 4/5
      Best classic I have ever read! I usually find old books boring, and uninteresting, but this book is far from it. It lets you into the mind of Sara, who is a girl, with her heart in the right place. But, despite her efforts, she has to learn the hard way that not everyone deals well to a perfect student, daughter and most of all, a kind-hearted little girl.
    • 5/5
      I remember watching the movie version when I was little and finding it to be so fanciful and dreamy that the story has stayed with me even into adulthood.

      Suppose...just suppose that one day I become a mother. Oh how I would hope that my baby was a little daughter with whom I could share such charming stories. Wouldn't it be grand?
    • 3/5
      Do I really need to review this? You can tell perfectly well from the title whether it's something you're interested in reading or not.Anyway, there's absolutely no character arc and relatively little in the way of a plot but the novel will draw you along through it by sheer force of charm anyway. You cannot hope to beat Sara Crewe in princess-off. She is simply the best there is.
    • 4/5
      A few months ago I had a sudden memory of a TV-series I liked as a child. Unfortunately I did not remember much of the plot, except that it was about a girl living in some form of orphanage, apparently poor and with a doll as company. Then a little while later, someone mentioned this book. So, I went to check it out. Now, after I read it, I am 99% sure the TV-series was based on this book.And what a delightful little book it is. Frances Hodgson Burnett actually wrote three versions of this story; a novella published as a series in a magazine, a play, and a novel. The reason she rewrote it, was that more and more of Sara Crewe’s story appeared to her while writing the play. Burnett was then asked by her publishers to write “the whole story of Sara Crewe”.Sara Crewe grew up in India with her father, Captain Crewe. Even though they were immensely rich, it was her father’s opinion that India was no places for children to live. Since Sara’s mother was already dead, she was placed in Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies. There, Sara acted as the show pupil, until her father died and left her with no money. Miss Minchin made her a little servant, letting her share the cold attic with poor Becky. Sara is left with nothing but her doll Emily and her vivid imagination to cope with her new life. This story is lovely, enchanting, heart wrecking and warm all at once. Definitely a must read for young girls who like to pretend, who have colourful imaginations or who wants to be a princess. I particularly liked this following quote, which I presume most of you will think familiar. Never did she find anything so difficult as to keep herself from losing her temper when was suddenly disturbed while absorbed in a book. People who are fond of books know the feeling of irritation which sweeps over them at such a moment. The temptation to be unreasonable and snappish is one not easy to manage.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my go to books when I am feeling sad. For some ereason it comforts me.

    Book preview

    Little Lord Fauntleroy - Frances Hodgson Burnett

    I.

    Cedric himself knew nothing whatever about it. It had never been even mentioned to him. He knew that his papa had been an Englishman, because his mamma had told him so; but then his papa had died when he was so little a boy that he could not remember very much about him, except that he was big, and had blue eyes and a long mustache, and that it was a splendid thing to be carried around the room on his shoulder. Since his papa's death, Cedric had found out that it was best not to talk to his mamma about him. When his father was ill, Cedric had been sent away, and when he had returned, everything was over; and his mother, who had been very ill, too, was only just beginning to sit in her chair by the window. She was pale and thin, and all the dimples had gone from her pretty face, and her eyes looked large and mournful, and she was dressed in black.

    Dearest, said Cedric (his papa had called her that always, and so the little boy had learned to say it),—dearest, is my papa better?

    He felt her arms tremble, and so he turned his curly head and looked in her face. There was something in it that made him feel that he was going to cry.

    Dearest, he said, is he well?

    Then suddenly his loving little heart told him that he'd better put both his arms around her neck and kiss her again and again, and keep his soft cheek close to hers; and he did so, and she laid her face on his shoulder and cried bitterly, holding him as if she could never let him go again.

    Yes, he is well, she sobbed; he is quite, quite well, but we—we have no one left but each other. No one at all.

    Then, little as he was, he understood that his big, handsome young papa would not come back any more; that he was dead, as he had heard of other people being, although he could not comprehend exactly what strange thing had brought all this sadness about. It was because his mamma always cried when he spoke of his papa that he secretly made up his mind it was better not to speak of him very often to her, and he found out, too, that it was better not to let her sit still and look into the fire or out of the window without moving or talking. He and his mamma knew very few people, and lived what might have been thought very lonely lives, although Cedric did not know it was lonely until he grew older and heard why it was they had no visitors. Then he was told that his mamma was an orphan, and quite alone in the world when his papa had married her. She was very pretty, and had been living as companion to a rich old lady who was not kind to her, and one day Captain Cedric Errol, who was calling at the house, saw her run up the stairs with tears on her eyelashes; and she looked so sweet and innocent and sorrowful that the Captain could not forget her. And after many strange things had happened, they knew each other well and loved each other dearly, and were married, although their marriage brought them the ill-will of several persons. The one who was most angry of all, however, was the Captain's father, who lived in England, and was a very rich and important old nobleman, with a very bad temper and a very violent dislike to America and Americans. He had two sons older than Captain Cedric; and it was the law that the elder of these sons should inherit the family title and estates, which were very rich and splendid; if the eldest son died, the next one would be heir; so, though he was a member of such a great family, there was little chance that Captain Cedric would be very rich himself.

    But it so happened that Nature had given to the youngest son gifts which she had not bestowed upon his elder brothers. He had a beautiful face and a fine, strong, graceful figure; he had a bright smile and a sweet, gay voice; he was brave and generous, and had the kindest heart in the world, and seemed to have the power to make every one love him. And it was not so with his elder brothers; neither of them was handsome, or very kind, or clever. When they were boys at Eton, they were not popular; when they were at college, they cared nothing for study, and wasted both time and money, and made few real friends. The old Earl, their father, was constantly disappointed and humiliated by them; his heir was no honor to his noble name, and did not promise to end in being anything but a selfish, wasteful, insignificant man, with no manly or noble qualities. It was very bitter, the old Earl thought, that the son who was only third, and would have only a very small fortune, should be the one who had all the gifts, and all the charms, and all the strength and beauty. Sometimes he almost hated the handsome young man because he seemed to have the good things which should have gone with the stately title and the magnificent estates; and yet, in the depths of his proud, stubborn old heart, he could not help caring very much for his youngest son. It was in one of his fits of petulance that he sent him off to travel in America; he thought he would send him away for a while, so that he should not be made angry by constantly contrasting him with his brothers, who were at that time giving him a great deal of trouble by their wild ways.

    But, after about six months, he began to feel lonely, and longed in secret to see his son again, so he wrote to Captain Cedric and ordered him home. The letter he wrote crossed on its way a letter the Captain had just written to his father, telling of his love for the pretty American girl, and of his intended marriage; and when the Earl received that letter he was furiously angry. Bad as his temper was, he had never given way to it in his life as he gave way to it when he read the Captain's letter. His valet, who was in the room when it came, thought his lordship would have a fit of apoplexy, he was so wild with anger. For an hour he raged like a tiger, and then he sat down and wrote to his son, and ordered him never to come near his old home, nor to write to his father or brothers again. He told him he might live as he pleased, and die where he pleased, that he should be cut off from his family forever, and that he need never expect help from his father as long as he lived.

    The Captain was very sad when he read the letter; he was very fond of England, and he dearly loved the beautiful home where he had been born; he had even loved his ill-tempered old father, and had sympathized with him in his disappointments; but he knew he need expect no kindness from him in the future. At first he scarcely knew what to do; he had not been brought up to work, and had no business experience, but he had courage and plenty of determination. So he sold his commission in the English army, and after some trouble found a situation in New York, and married. The change from his old life in England was very great, but he was young and happy, and he hoped that hard work would do great things for him in the future. He had a small house on a quiet street, and his little boy was born there, and everything was so gay and cheerful, in a simple way, that he was never sorry for a moment that he had married the rich old lady's pretty companion just because she was so sweet and he loved her and she loved him. She was very sweet, indeed, and her little boy was like both her and his father. Though he was born in so quiet and cheap a little home, it seemed as if there never had been a more fortunate baby. In the first place, he was always well, and so he never gave any one trouble; in the second place, he had so sweet a temper and ways so charming that he was a pleasure to every one; and in the third place, he was so beautiful to look at that he was quite a picture. Instead of being a bald-headed baby, he started in life with a quantity of soft, fine, gold-colored hair, which curled up at the ends, and went into loose rings by the time he was six months old; he had big brown eyes and long eyelashes and a darling little face; he had so strong a back and such splendid sturdy legs, that at nine months he learned suddenly to walk; his manners were so good, for a baby, that it was delightful to make his acquaintance. He seemed to feel that every one was his friend, and when any one spoke to him, when he was in his carriage in the street, he would give the stranger one sweet, serious look with the brown eyes, and then follow it with a lovely, friendly smile; and the consequence was, that there was not a person in the neighborhood of the quiet street where he lived—even to the groceryman at the corner, who was considered the crossest creature alive—who was not pleased to see him and speak to him. And every month of his life he grew handsomer and more interesting.

    When he was old enough to walk out with his nurse, dragging a small wagon and wearing a short white kilt skirt, and a big white hat set back on his curly yellow hair, he was so handsome and strong and rosy that he attracted every one's attention, and his nurse would come home and tell his mamma stories of the ladies who had stopped their carriages to look at and speak to him, and of how pleased they were when he talked to them in his cheerful little way, as if he had known them always. His greatest charm was this cheerful, fearless, quaint little way of making friends with people. I think it arose from his having a very confiding nature, and a kind little heart that sympathized with every one, and wished to make every one as comfortable as he liked to be himself. It made him very quick to understand the feelings of those about him. Perhaps this had grown on him, too, because he had lived so much with his father and mother, who were always loving and considerate and tender and well-bred. He had never heard an unkind or uncourteous word spoken at home; he had always been loved and caressed and treated tenderly, and so his childish soul was full of kindness and innocent warm feeling. He had always heard his mamma called by pretty, loving names, and so he used them himself when he spoke to her; he had always seen that his papa watched over her and took great care of her, and so he learned, too, to be careful of her.

    So when he knew his papa would come back no more, and saw how very sad his mamma was, there gradually came into his kind little heart the thought that he must do what he could to make her happy. He was not much more than a baby, but that thought was in his mind whenever he climbed upon her knee and kissed her and put his curly head on her neck, and when he brought his toys and picture-books to show her, and when he curled up quietly by her side as she used to lie on the sofa. He was not old enough to know of anything else to do, so he did what he could, and was more of a comfort to her than he could have understood.

    Oh, Mary! he heard her say once to her old servant; I am sure he is trying to help me in his innocent way—I know he is. He looks at me sometimes with a loving, wondering little look, as if he were sorry for me, and then he will come and pet me or show me something. He is such a little man, I really think he knows.

    As he grew older, he had a great many quaint little ways which amused and interested people greatly. He was so much of a companion for his mother that she scarcely cared for any other. They used to walk together and talk together and play together. When he was quite a little fellow, he learned to read; and after that he used to lie on the hearth-rug, in the evening, and read aloud—sometimes stories, and sometimes big books such as older people read, and sometimes even the newspaper; and often at such times Mary, in the kitchen, would hear Mrs. Errol laughing with delight at the quaint things he said.

    And, indade, said Mary to the groceryman, nobody cud help laughin' at the quare little ways of him—and his ould-fashioned sayin's! Didn't he come into my kitchen the noight the new Prisident was nominated and shtand afore the fire, lookin' loike a pictur', wid his hands in his shmall pockets, an' his innocent bit of a face as sayrious as a jedge? An' sez he to me: 'Mary,' sez he, 'I'm very much int'rusted in the 'lection,' sez he. 'I'm a 'publican, an' so is Dearest. Are you a 'publican, Mary?' 'Sorra a bit,' sez I; 'I'm the bist o' dimmycrats!' An' he looks up at me wid a look that ud go to yer heart, an' sez he: 'Mary,' sez he, 'the country will go to ruin.' An' nivver a day since thin has he let go by widout argyin' wid me to change me polytics.

    Mary was very fond of him, and very proud of him, too. She had been with his mother ever since he was born; and, after his father's death, had been cook and housemaid and nurse and everything else. She was proud of his graceful, strong little body and his pretty manners, and especially proud of the bright curly hair which waved over his forehead and fell in charming love-locks on his shoulders. She was willing to work early and late to help his mamma make his small suits and keep them in order.

    'Ristycratic, is it? she would say. "Faith, an' I'd loike to see the choild on Fifth Avey-NOO as looks loike him an' shteps out as handsome as himself. An' ivvery man, woman, and choild lookin' afther him in his bit of a black velvet skirt made out of the misthress's ould gownd; an' his little head up, an' his curly hair flyin' an' shinin'. It's loike a young lord he looks."

    Cedric did not know that he looked like a young lord; he did not know what a lord was. His greatest friend was the groceryman at the corner—the cross groceryman, who was never cross to him. His name was Mr. Hobbs, and Cedric admired and respected him very much. He thought him a very rich and powerful person, he had so many things in his store,—prunes and figs and oranges and biscuits,—and he had a horse and wagon. Cedric was fond of the milkman and the baker and the apple-woman, but he liked Mr. Hobbs best of all, and was on terms of such intimacy with him that he went to see him every day, and often sat with him quite a long time, discussing the topics of the hour. It was quite surprising how many things they found to talk about—the Fourth of July, for instance. When they began to talk about the Fourth of July there really seemed no end to it. Mr. Hobbs had a very bad opinion of the British, and he told the whole story of the Revolution, relating very wonderful and patriotic stories about the villainy of the enemy and the bravery of the Revolutionary heroes, and he even generously repeated part of the Declaration of Independence.

    Cedric was so excited that his eyes shone and his cheeks were red and his curls were all rubbed and tumbled into a yellow mop. He could hardly wait to eat his dinner after he went home, he was so anxious to tell his mamma. It was, perhaps, Mr. Hobbs who gave him his first interest in politics. Mr. Hobbs was fond of reading the newspapers, and so Cedric heard a great deal about what was going on in Washington; and Mr. Hobbs would tell him whether the President was doing his duty or not. And once, when there was an election, he found it all quite grand, and probably but for Mr. Hobbs and Cedric the country might have been wrecked.

    Mr. Hobbs took him to see a great torchlight procession, and many of the men who carried torches remembered afterward a stout man who stood near a lamp-post and held on his shoulder a handsome little

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