Brothers of Pity and Other Tales of Beasts and Men Read online

  BROTHERS OF PITYAND OTHER TALES OF BEASTS AND MEN

  by

  JULIANA HORATIA EWING

  London:Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,Northumberland Avenue, W.C.Brighton: 129, North Street.New York: E. & J.B. Young & Co.[Published under the direction of the General Literature Committee.]

  DEDICATED

  TO MY DEAR SISTER

  HORATIA KATHARINE FRANCES GATTY.

  J.H.E.

  PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

  These tales have appeared, during some years past, in _Aunt Judy'sMagazine for Young People_.

  "Father Hedgehog and his Neighbours," and "Toots and Boots," were bothsuggested by Fedor Flinzer's clever pictures; but "Toots" was also "areal person." In his latter days he was an honorary member of the RoyalEngineers' Mess at Aldershot, and, on occasion, dined at table.

  "The Hens of Hencastle" is not mine. It is a free translation from theGerman of Victor Bluethgen, by Major Yeatman-Biggs, R.A., to whom I amindebted for permission to include it in my volume, as a necessaryprelude to "Flaps." The story took my fancy greatly, but the endingseemed to me imperfect and unsatisfactory, especially in reference to socharming a character as the old watch dog, and I wrote "Flaps" as asequel.

  The frontispiece was designed specially for this volume, by Mr. CharlesWhymper, and the _Fratello della Misericordia_ (from a photograph kindlysent me by a friend) is by the same artist.

  J.H.E.

  PREFACE TO NEW EDITION.

  The foregoing Preface was written by Mrs. Ewing for the first edition of_Brothers of Pity, and Other Tales_. The book contains five stories,illustrated by the pictures of which my sister speaks; and it is stillsold by the S.P.C.K. "Toots and Boots" was so minutely adapted toFlinzer's pictures, that the tale suffers in being parted from them.Still, it is to be hoped that readers of the un-illustrated version willnot have as much difficulty as Toots in solving the mystery of theMouse's escape! I have added four more tales of "Beasts and Men" to thepresent edition, as they have not been included in any previouscollections of my sister's stories. "A Week Spent in a Glass Pond"appeared first in _Aunt Judy's Magazine_, October 1876, and wasafterwards published separately with coloured illustrations. The habitsof the water beasts are described with the strictest fidelity to nature,even the delicate differences in character between the Great and the BigBlack water beetles are most accurately drawn.

  "Among the Merrows" has not been republished since it came out in _AuntJudy's Magazine_, November 1872. At that time the Crystal PalaceAquarium was a novelty, and the Zoological Station at Naples not fullyformed--but, though the paper is behind the times in statistics, it isworth retaining for other reasons.

  "Tiny's Tricks and Toby's Tricks" as a specimen of versification mightperhaps have been included in the volume of _Verses for Children_, butit seemed best to keep it with the "Owl Hoots," as these papers were thelast that Mrs. Ewing wrote. The first appeared in _The Child's PictorialMagazine_ a few days before her death, and the "Hoots" soon afterwards.The illustrations to both were drawn by Mr. Gordon Browne at my sister'sspecial request, and they are now reproduced with gratitude for hislabour of love.

  HORATIA K. F. EDEN.

  October 1895.

  CONTENTS

  BROTHERS OF PITY

  FATHER HEDGEHOG AND HIS NEIGHBOURS

  TOOTS AND BOOTS

  THE HENS OF HENCASTLE

  FLAPS

  A WEEK SPENT IN A GLASS POND

  AMONG THE MERROWS

  TINY'S TRICKS AND TOBY'S TRICKS

  THE OWL IN THE IVY BUSH