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Transcriber's note:

      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).

      Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=).




[Illustration: Book Cover]




TWO LITTLE WAIFS




[Illustration: "Well, dears," she said, "and what are you playing
at?"--Page 4.]




TWO LITTLE WAIFS


BY
MRS. MOLESWORTH

AUTHOR OF 'CARROTS,' 'CUCKOO CLOCK,' 'TELL ME A STORY'


[Illustration: Two small figures, hurrying along hand-in-hand, caught
the attention of several people.--Page 166.]


ILLUSTRATED BY WALTER CRANE


London
MACMILLAN AND CO.
1883




CONTENTS.


  CHAPTER I.    PAPA HAS SENT FOR US                                   1
  CHAPTER II.   POOR MRS. LACY                                        17
  CHAPTER III.  A PRETTY KETTLE OF FISH                               33
  CHAPTER IV.   "WHAT IS TO BE DONE?"                                 52
  CHAPTER V.    IN THE RUE VERTE                                      72
  CHAPTER VI.   AMONG THE SOFAS AND CHAIRS                            90
  CHAPTER VII.  THE KIND-LOOKING GENTLEMAN                           109
  CHAPTER VIII. A FALL DOWNSTAIRS                                    128
  CHAPTER IX.   FROM BAD TO WORSE                                    148
  CHAPTER X.    "AVENUE GERARD, NO. 9"                               165
  CHAPTER XI.   WALTER'S TEA-PARTY                                   183
  CHAPTER XII.  PAPA AT LAST                                         200




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


  "WELL, DEARS," SHE SAID, "AND WHAT ARE YOU
    PLAYING AT?"                                          _Frontispiece_
  IN ANOTHER MOMENT THE LITTLE PARTY WAS
    MAKING ITS WAY THROUGH THE STATION                 _To face page_ 48
  SHE PLACED THE WHOLE ON A LITTLE TABLE WHICH SHE
    DREW CLOSE TO THE BED                                             82
  "OH DON'T, DON'T CROSS THAT DREADFUL STREET," GLADYS EXCLAIMED     112
  ANNA OPENED THE DOOR SHARPLY, AS SHE DID EVERYTHING, AND IN SO
    DOING OVERTHREW THE SMALL PERSON OF ROGER                        156
  "GO ALONG THERE," SHE SAID, "AND THEN TURN TO THE LEFT, AND
    YOU WILL SEE THE NAME 'AVENUE GERARD' AT THE CORNER"             170
  WALTER WAS HAVING A TEA-PARTY!                                     185




      "It would both have excited your pity, and have done your heart
      good, to have seen how these two little ones were so fond of each
      other, and how hand-in-hand they trotted along."

  _The Renowned History of Goody Two-Shoes._




CHAPTER I.

PAPA HAS SENT FOR US.

  "It's what comes in our heads when we
  Play at 'Let's-make-believe,'
  And when we play at 'Guessing.'"

  CHARLES LAMB.


It was their favourite play. Gladys had invented it, as she invented
most of their plays, and Roger was even more ready to play at it than at
any other, ready though he always was to do anything Gladys liked or
wanted. Many children would have made it different--instead of "going
over the sea to Papa," they would have played at what they would do when
Papa should come over the sea to them. But that was not what they had
learnt to look forward to, somehow--they were like two little swallows,
always dreaming of a sunny fairyland they knew not where, only "over the
sea," and in these dreams and plays they found the brightness and
happiness which they were still too young to feel should have been in
their everyday baby life.

For "Mamma" was a word that had no real meaning to them. They thought of
_her_ as of a far-away beautiful angel--beautiful, but a little
frightening too; cold and white like the marble angels in church, whose
wings looked so soft, till one day Roger touched them, and found them,
to his strange surprise, hard and icy, which made him tell Gladys that
he thought hens much prettier than angels. Gladys looked a little
shocked at this, and whispered to remind him that he should not say
that: had he forgotten that the angels lived up in heaven, and were
always good