Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.
"WISHING YOU MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY."
RALPH TRULOCK'S CHRISTMAS ROSES
BY
ANNETTE LYSTER
Author of
"The Boy who never lost a Chance," etc.
LONDON
THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY
4 Bouverie Street & 65 St. Paul's Churchyard
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
III. MAY CLOUDESLEY SPEAKS HER MIND
VI. HOW THE CHRISTMAS ROSES BEGAN TO TAKE ROOT
X. RALPH'S CHRISTMAS ROSES BLOOM AT LAST
RALPH TRULOCK'S CHRISTMAS ROSES
CHAPTER I.
LADY MABEL'S REST.
IN one of the midland counties of England, there is a village ofconsiderable size; of such size indeed that the inhabitants sometimescall it a town; but it must be confessed that, in spite of this, it isstraggling of aspect. I think myself that it is a mistake to call it atown, because as a village it is a large place, whereas, considered asa town, it is disappointing; but no doubt this is a matter of opinion.The name of the place is Fairford, and it is divided by a shallowstream into two parts, High and Low Fairford. It took its name from theexistence of a ford, which but is not much used, as there has long beenan excellent stone bridge over the river. None but the Low Fairfordboys, on their way to school in High Fairford, ever use the ford now,but they seem to prefer it to this day.
High Fairford contains not only the school but the post-office, themarket-place, shops, and several houses of respectable size andappearance, which all cluster round the church and parsonage. Then LowFairford, to which you go by a street so steep that it is like the roofof a house, and across the little bridge at the foot of the hill,—ismerely a straggling street of cottages, which stand farther and fartherapart until they are lost altogether, and you reach the border of agreat piece of wood, the remains of a very celebrated forest in whichRobin Hood once carried on business in the very "taking" fashionpeculiar to that class of hero.
In a large flat space, close to the forest, there are twelve prettyhouses all in a row. They stand separate, each in a little garden, anda broad road sweeps all round them, bounded on one side by the lowwalls of the gardens, on the other by a high wall with two gates, onein front and one at the back. That into the fores