The Project Gutenberg EBook of I Saw Three Ships and Other Winter Tales
by Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

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Title: I Saw Three Ships and Other Winter Tales

Author: Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

Release Date: November 29, 2004 [EBook #14206]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK I SAW THREE SHIPS ***

Produced by Lionel Sear

I SAW THREE SHIPS AND OTHER WINTER TALES.

BY ARTHUR THOMAS QUILLER-COUCH ("Q").

To T. Wemyss Reid.

CONTENTS.

I SAW THREE SHIPS.

CHAPTER I. The First Ship.

CHAPTER II. The Second Ship.

CHAPTER III. The Stranger.

CHAPTER IV. Young Zeb fetches a Chest of Drawers.

CHAPTER V. The Stranger Dances in Young Zeb's Shoes.

CHAPTER VI. Siege is Lad to Ruby.

CHAPTER VII. The "Jolly Pilchards"

CHAPTER VIII. Young Zeb Sells His Soul.

CHAPTER IX. Young Zeb Wins His Soul Back.

CHAPTER X. The Third Ship.

THE HAUNTED DRAGOON.

A BLUE PANTOMIME.

I. How I Dined at the "Indian Queens".

II. What I Saw in the Mirror.

III. What I Saw in the Tarn.

IV. What I have Since Learnt

THE TWO HOUSEHOLDERS.

THE DISENCHANTMENT OF ELIZABETH.

I SAW THREE SHIPS.

CHAPTER I.

THE FIRST SHIP.

In those west-country parishes where but a few years back the feast of
Christmas Eve was usually prolonged with cake and cider, "crowding," and
"geese dancing," till the ancient carols ushered in the day, a certain
languor not seldom pervaded the services of the Church a few hours
later. Red eyes and heavy, young limbs hardly rested from the _Dashing
White Sergeant_ and _Sir Roger_, throats husky from a plurality of
causes--all these were recognised as proper to the season, and, in fact,
of a piece with the holly on the communion rails.

On a dark and stormy Christmas morning as far back as the first decade
of the century, this languor was neither more nor less apparent than
usual inside the small parish church of Ruan Lanihale, although
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