The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rectory Children, by Mrs Molesworth

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: The Rectory Children

Author: Mrs Molesworth

Illustrator: Walter Crane

Release Date: April 28, 2006 [EBook #18275]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RECTORY CHILDREN ***

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,