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27 chapters
MARGARET WILLIAMSON
MARGARET WILLIAMSON
ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BOSTON LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. Published, March, 1910 Copyright, 1910, by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. All rights reserved John and Betty’s History Visit Norwood Press Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood, Mass. U. S. A....
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Two eager young Americans sat, one on each side of the window of an English train, speeding towards London. They had landed only that morning, and everything seemed very strange to them, as they watched the pretty scenes from the car-window. The lady who had met them at the steamer, was an old friend of the family, who had often been to America, and was well known to the children, though they had never seen her son and daughter, whom they had come to visit. Mrs. Pitt soon aroused them by saying:
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THE FIRST EVENING
THE FIRST EVENING
The big library at Mrs. Pitt’s home was a fascinating place, the two visitors thought. The ceiling was high, the wainscoting was of dark wood, and the walls were almost entirely lined with book-cases. John was delighted with some little steps, which you could push around and climb up on to reach the highest shelves. This room suggested great possibilities to both the young visitors, for, as they were to stay many months, there would certainly be days when it would be too wet to go out, and they
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WESTMINSTER ABBEY
WESTMINSTER ABBEY
The first thing that Betty heard the following morning was a gentle knock upon her bedroom door, and a voice saying, “It’s seven o’clock, and will you have some sticks, Miss?” “What sticks? What for?” Betty asked sleepily. They were for a fire, it seemed, and Betty welcomed the idea. She was soon dressed, and Barbara came to show her the way to the breakfast-room. “You can’t think how good it does seem not to be thrown about while dressing, as we were on the steamer! Do you know that I can’t hel
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PENSHURST PLACE: THE HOME OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY
PENSHURST PLACE: THE HOME OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY
In Charing Cross Station one morning, Mrs. Pitt hurried up to the “booking-office,” as the English call the ticket-office, to “book” five tickets to Penshurst. While the man was getting her change, she turned and said to Philip:— “Please ask that guard who is standing there, on which platform we shall find the 9.40 train for Penshurst.” Philip did so, and returned with the information that they should go to Platform 8. So they all mounted the steps and walked over the foot-bridge which always ru
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THE TOWER OF LONDON
THE TOWER OF LONDON
“I should think they’d call it ‘The Towers,’ instead of ‘The Tower,’” remarked Betty, surveying the curious, irregular jumble of buildings before her, as they left the bus. “That’s true,” Mrs. Pitt agreed; “but I suppose the name was first given to the White Tower, which is the oldest part and was built by William the Conqueror as long ago as 1080. Why did they call it the White Tower? Well, I believe it was because they whitewashed the walls in the thirteenth century. Why, what’s the matter, Jo
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ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL AND ITS VICINITY
ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL AND ITS VICINITY
When Betty came down to her breakfast the following morning, she found her plate heaped with letters and fascinating little parcels of different shapes. For a moment she looked puzzled, then she exclaimed: “Oh! I know! It’s my birthday, and I’m having such a splendid time sight-seeing, that I had forgotten all about it! How lovely!” as she glanced again at the presents. “See, John!” she cried, opening the first package, which had an American postmark, “see what mother has sent me! It is such a p
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A SUNDAY NIGHT CHAT
A SUNDAY NIGHT CHAT
It was Sunday afternoon, and the time for John and Betty to send their weekly letters home. The day was a beautiful one in early spring, the grass and trees in the garden behind the house were very green, birds were singing outside, people were continually walking by, and the letters progressed but slowly. Every few moments Betty stole a glance out-of-doors, and John sat leaning his elbow on the desk chewing the end of his penholder, while he gazed steadily out of the window. “Well, what do you
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WINDSOR CASTLE, STOKE POGES, AND ETON SCHOOL
WINDSOR CASTLE, STOKE POGES, AND ETON SCHOOL
“It’s only a little more than twenty miles out to Windsor,” remarked Mrs. Pitt, one June morning. “Suppose we go in the motor, and then we can have a glimpse of both Stoke Poges and Eton School, on the way.” There were always many exclamations of delight at mention of the “motor,” so it was settled, and the party set out at ten o’clock, all in the highest of spirits. It was slow and difficult driving through the city streets, but the English chauffeur was quite used to keeping to the left, as we
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MORE ABOUT LONDON
MORE ABOUT LONDON
“Big Ben,” the great bell on the clock-tower, was just booming ten deep strokes as our party neared the Houses of Parliament. A steadily rushing stream of people, buses, hansoms, and trucks (not forgetting bicycles, which are still numerous in England), was pouring across Westminster Bridge, and swinging around the corner into the wide street called Whitehall; but in the near vicinity of the graceful, long building, with its pinnacles and spires, in which the English laws are made, all was quiet
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RICHMOND AND HAMPTON COURT PALACE
RICHMOND AND HAMPTON COURT PALACE
“Well, I really don’t care much how long the boat is in coming,” exclaimed Betty delightedly. “It’s such fun to watch all the other boats going up and down the river, and to look up at busy Westminster Bridge!” Our friends were at the little landing in the shadow of the above-mentioned bridge, awaiting the arrival of the steamer which was to carry them to Kew Gardens. It was early morning, and the distant roar of the traffic from the great bridge above reached them together with the shrill whist
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STRATFORD-ON-AVON
STRATFORD-ON-AVON
“We’re going to stay in a really, truly old inn at last, aren’t we!” Betty gave a sigh of satisfaction and walked rapidly along by Mrs. Pitt’s side, as that lady led the way from the station at Stratford to the famous Red Horse Hotel. “Stratford is exactly like any other little English town,” John was commenting to Philip. “There are plenty of new houses made of shiny, red bricks, and all put close together in blocks, with their tiny lawns and gardens in front. I suppose they build that way even
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A DAY IN WARWICKSHIRE
A DAY IN WARWICKSHIRE
Betty did spend the evening “writing letters in Washington Irving’s room at the Red Horse,” as she had planned. It was in that quaint, tiny parlor that Irving wrote his well-known paper about Stratford-on-Avon, and perhaps Betty hoped to benefit by the literary atmosphere. At any rate, the letters were accomplished with great ease and rapidity, after her curiosity had been satisfied by an examination of the room. Washington Irving’s armchair is there, and the old poker with which he is said to h
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WARWICK AND KENILWORTH CASTLES
WARWICK AND KENILWORTH CASTLES
The bicycles were returned to their owner in Stratford, and Mrs. Pitt’s plan was to drive to Warwick and Kenilworth the following day. Consequently it was a great disappointment at breakfast-time to see gray and threatening clouds overhead, from which rain very soon began to descend. The day was also very cold, and such a chilling wind was blowing and whistling around the corners of the hotel, that fires were lighted in all the tiny grates. “Whoever heard of such cold weather in June!” John prot
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SHERWOOD FOREST AND HADDON HALL
SHERWOOD FOREST AND HADDON HALL
Betty could scarcely sit still in the train which was carrying her towards Mansfield, from sheer excitement at the anticipation of actually seeing the haunts of Robin Hood. Ever since Mrs. Pitt had mentioned that town as the gateway of the Sherwood Forest of Betty’s dreams, the name had seemed an enchanted one to her. As they had come only the comparatively short journey from Leeds, they arrived at Mansfield in the middle of the morning, and being Friday, the public square presented its usual bu
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WINCHESTER, SALISBURY, AND STONEHENGE
WINCHESTER, SALISBURY, AND STONEHENGE
It was not until they were well on their way toward Winchester, that Mrs. Pitt found a chance to tell the young people something about that ancient city which they were so soon to see. “Winchester has a cathedral, hasn’t it?” Betty had inquired. “I always like to see those.” “Yes, indeed,” replied Mrs. Pitt. “There surely is a cathedral, for it’s the longest one in all Europe with the exception of St. Peter’s at Rome. I’m certain you will enjoy that; but what I think you’ll appreciate even more
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CLOVELLY
CLOVELLY
A big, high, lumbering coach with four horses was slowly carrying Mrs. Pitt and her young charges toward Clovelly,—that most famous of all English fishing-villages. Betty, having discovered a photograph of it some weeks before, had not ceased talking to the others of her great desire to see the place; and finally Mrs. Pitt postponed her plans for visiting other and more instructive towns, packed up the young people, and started for lovely Devonshire. “Well,” the kind lady had thought to herself,
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ROCHESTER AND CANTERBURY
ROCHESTER AND CANTERBURY
As soon as the familiar chugging of the motor was heard at the front door in Cavendish Square, John hurried out. Just as he was examining all the chauffeur’s arrangements for the trip, and looking with approval over the entire automobile, the whir of the engine suddenly gasped, struggled to catch its breath, and then ceased altogether. The chauffeur, perfectly unconcerned, swung himself off from his seat and sauntered around to “crank her up,” but his expression of assurance soon changed, for th
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GOOD-BY TO LONDON
GOOD-BY TO LONDON
“A wire for you, Master John.” The butler’s interruption while the family was at breakfast one August morning, caused a sudden hush of expectancy. “A telegram for me!” replied John, trying to assume sufficient dignity for the momentous occasion,—the arrival of the first message he had ever received. “Why, what can it be?” “Do open it, John. It must be a cable,” Betty pleaded, fearing something might be wrong at home. “Yes, hurry, dear,” put in Mrs. Pitt. Just the second that the contents were re
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THE END.
THE END.
D r. Tappan’s historical works have already become classics for the young, and well do they deserve it, with their entertaining descriptions, perfect English, and historical value. Such books are the best that can be placed in the hands of children; and the fact that while being instructive there is never a dull line is the highest commendation that can be offered. In the Days of Alfred the Great Cloth Fully illustrated Price $1.00 In the Days of William the Conqueror Cloth Illust
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LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
By Harriet T. Comstock. Large 12mo Profusely illustrated with full-page drawings and chapter headings by George Varian $1.00 I t will at once be understood that the “boy” of the story is Alfred the Great in his youth, but it cannot be understood how delightful a story this is until it is seen and read. The splendid pictures of George Varian make this book superior among juveniles. “Not a boy lives who will not enjoy this book thoroughly. There is a good deal of first-class historical information
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A Boy of a Thousand Years Ago
A Boy of a Thousand Years Ago
“Not a boy lives who will not enjoy this book thoroughly. There is a good deal of first-class historical information woven into the story, but the best part of it is the splendid impression of times and manners it gives in old England a thousand years ago.”— Louisville Courier-Journal. “Mrs. Comstock writes very appreciatively of Little Alfred, who was afterward the Great, and from mighty meagre materials creates a story that hangs together well. The illustrations for this volume are especially
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CHILDREN OF OTHER LANDS SERIES
CHILDREN OF OTHER LANDS SERIES
When I Was a Boy in Japan By Sakae Shioya Illustrated from photographs 12mo Cloth $.75 T he author was born fifty miles from Tokio, and at the age of twelve began the study of English at a Methodist school. Later he studied Natural Science in the First Imperial College at Tokio, after which he taught English and Mathematics. He came to America in 1901, received the degree of Master of Arts at the University of Chicago, and took a two years’ post-graduate course at Yale before returning to Japan.
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ELBRIDGE S. BROOKS’S BOOKS
ELBRIDGE S. BROOKS’S BOOKS
The True Story of the United States of America. Profusely illustrated, 4to, cloth $1.50 This is in every sense a companion volume to the series of “Children’s Lives of Great Men.” It tells the true story of the beginnings, rise, and development of the republic of the United States, without the dreary array of dates or the dull succession of events that so often make up history for the young. Its object is to tell the story of the people of America,—to awaken an interest in motives as well as per
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ELBRIDGE S. BROOKS’S BOOKS
ELBRIDGE S. BROOKS’S BOOKS
The Story of the American Soldier. Illustrated, 4to, cloth $1.50 A stirring and graphic record of the American fighting man,—the soldier who has secured peace through war,—from the days of mound-builders and red Indians to those of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and Miles. The Story of New York. ( Story of the States Series. ) Illustrated, 8vo, cloth $1.50 This initial volume of the “Story of the States Series,” of which Mr. Brooks is editor, is a story of the beginnings and development of the Empire
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W. O. STODDARD’S BOOKS
W. O. STODDARD’S BOOKS
12mo Cloth Price per volume, $1.25 DAN MONROE: A Story of Bunker Hill Illustrated by W. F. Kennedy In this volume the hero is one whose name is found in several trustworthy records as the drummer boy of the Lexington militia, his closest friend, Nat Harrington, being the fifer. The Concord fight, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the arrival of Washington are introduced as parts of a carefully preserved historical outline. LONG BRIDGE BOYS Illustrated by I. B. Hazelton It tells the story of an actu
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George Gary Eggleston’s Juveniles
George Gary Eggleston’s Juveniles
The Bale Marked Circle X A Blockade Running Adventure Illustrated by C. Chase Emerson. 12mo, red cloth, illustrated cover, $1.50. Another of Mr. Eggleston’s stirring books for youth. In it are told the adventures of three boy soldiers in the Confederate Service who are sent in a sloop on a secret voyage from Charleston to the Bahamas, conveying a strange bale of cotton which holds important documents. The boys pass through startling adventures: they run the blockade, suffer shipwreck, and finall
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