Wright American Fiction

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Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, by HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.

TO
MY HUSBAND,
REV. CHARLES W. DENISON,
WHO WAS THE FIRST TO ENCOURAGE MY LITERARY EFFORTS,
I Dedicate my First Volume.

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PREFACE.

IT is certainly with pleasure that I accept the dedication of this first volume of one who is associated with me in the most intimate relations, and comply with her request to write its preface.

But a short introduction is necessary. The title of the book sufficiently indicates its character. It is a series of PICTURES OF HOME, as supposed to be viewed by a country girl, who becomes the wife of a merchant, and sketched by her own hand from real life.

The most of the stories have appeared in the columns of a popular literary paper, where their writer has been engaged for several years as the assistant editor—the "Olive Branch," of Boston, Massachusetts. They have all been carefully revised, in some cases almost re-written, and are now submitted to the public in this permanent form.

Should these "HOME PICTURES" meet with a favorable reception, they will be followed by others of a more extended character.

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CONTENTS.

• THE ACCIDENT. 9
• ABOUT THE MINISTER. 12
• THE CONVALESCENCE. 17
• THE SERMON—THE VISIT. 21
• MR. LANSDEN'S COUNSEL. 26
• THE WALK. 30
• VISIT TO THE CITY. 32
• MISS SUSAN. 37
• LITTLE MILLY. 44
• ACCEPTED. 48
• THE OLD CHURCH. 51
• MY FLOWERS. 54
• FIRST VISIT TO A WATERING-PLACE. 59
• HOME. 62
• CITY LIFE. 65
• FASHIONABLE ENNUI. 72
• THE FARM-HOUSE. 77
• THE OLD QUAKER UNCLE. 82
• SUDDEN DEATH. 88
• LITTLE ALICE. 90
• THE FAILURE. 95
• THE PAINTER'S STUDIO. 101
• KITCHEN TROUBLES. 104
• NOT AT HOME. 108
• THE INEBRIATE'S WIFE. 114
• MY MOTHER'S DEATH. 115
• THE NEW MINISTER. 122
• GRETTA'S SORROW. 124
• THE ANGEL HAND. 129
• LITTLE HERBERT'S TRANSGRESSION. 134
• UNHAPPY AGAIN. 149
• DOMESTIC. 152
• THE SALE. 155
• THE FLOWER-GIRL. 158
• THE OLD BEGGAR'S SYMPATHY. 163
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• THE UNTIMELY DEATH. 170
• THE OLD HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY. 175
• THE FIRST VISITORS. 182
• LOSSA AND NINI, THE LITTLE ORGAN-GRINDERS. 185
• THE VILLAGE SCHOOLMISTRESS. 196
• A LITTLE PRIDE. 201
• THE LIVING TOMB. 205
• POOR BETTY'S TROUBLES. 210
• UNEXPECTED GOOD FORTUNE. 219
• THE STRAWBERRY SUPPER. 224
• THE SAD LETTER. 235
• THE THUNDER-STORM. 239
• THE FASHIONABLE CALL. 244
• THE OLD POET'S GARRET. 250
• THE TWILIGHT WALK. 261
• THE STORY. 266
• OLD SUPERSTITION. 295
• THE CROSS. 304
• THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 306
• DEATH ITSELF. 310
• THE SILVER SERVICE. 316
• THE YOUNG POET. 319
• BIRTH-DAY FESTIVAL. 326
• THE TRICK. 331
• THE TWO STRANGERS. 333
• A GOOD CONCLUSION. 337
• THE DISAPPOINTMENT. 341
• THE PARTY. 351
• THE SICK BOY. 355
• IDA GREY. 359
• ALICE'S CONFESSION. 370
• STARTLING NEWS. 374
• GENERAL LENGORDON. 382
• THE RETURN. 386
• THE RECONCILIATION. 387
• THE WEDDING. 388
• THE DEPARTURE. 389
• THE DREAM. 390
• A LITTLE STORY. 392
• BETTY'S ENCOUNTER. 398
• NEWS FROM ABROAD. 400
• LADY WESTERLIN'S STORY. 403
• THE REUNITED FAMILY. 416