The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-01
By ". B. MAXWELL, Author of "The Guarded Flame, 1, The Ragged Messenger,S
 "Vtvan,o Etc.
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he drowned as he was drowning now his eyebrows made a straight bar. and, in the shadow beneath, his keen gray eyes were almost lost. Yet he was not really angry, even now--in spite of the report.
 Systematic, persistent slacking-that was Dicks report, term after term.
 The Kings Cottage was a pleasant, countrified. old-world house to find in town. MT. Crunden--whose busi- ness it was to know all about houses used to tell people that, in fact, the cottage was here before the town in the good old times, when almost all the twenty-five miles between Medford and London were covered by a royal forest, the cottage was a royal ledge. In 1t lived one of the Kings keepers or bailiffs. That fact accounted for the name. and also for the spacious. solid offices, as fell as for the big room.
 'eThis room. sir Mfr. Crunden would say, was employed as sort of a court room for trying the deer stealers, and make no doubt myself what is now our kitchen was employed as a lookup I judge that by many signs"
 The house had been added to and messed about" as MT. Crunden said. again and again in modern days. but much of the splendid old material re- mained.
 Look, sir. at these ceiling beams, and the span of the hearth, or measure the thickness of this wall--an internal this nowadays. Give me an order to put up a house like this, and I'd be frightened to take the order"
 If people exhibited any interest fn these matters Mir. Crunden would show them the inner hall and the old oak staircase: -stsp this way. sir"- marching the visitor through the sit- ting room. where. perhaps. Lizzie and her governess were busy with their books. Now. sir. I'll give you my own belief about that staircase. It's Charles Two or James Two, all that woodwork is: and believe 1t was taken bodily out of church. If you ask me what church. I say the old church that is marked on the maps up to hundred years ago. hard by where St. Rarnabas now stands I judge that by many signs: and Mir. Bowling. the architect, says he wouldn't care to bet against it."
 Be that as 1t mac, MT. Crunden was not improperly proud of his modest, yet comfortable home, and Lizzie loved
 Outwardly it was white walled. red roofed, with deep caves. It had two front doors: the main door. which opened into the lobby of the big off, sice room. which carried the brass plate-''R. Crunden, Builder and Dec- orator"-which, weather permitting stood open all the morning to admit all comers; and the small state door, which was approached by the tile path. through the narrow strip of garden behind the white paiings. Here, at this second door, Mrs Crunden's cer- ,R~Nk and waited until somebodu happened to hear them-and that was often a very long time.
 1nwardly, 1t was a house of varied charm, or so it seemed to Lizzie and Dick in those days. It was not too big, not too small--no room in it like an- other. full of surprises, hiding places; with quaint, old fashioned furniture, everywehre except in mama's draw new--chosen by mama herself-and it was all frankly magnificent.
 Behind the hosue was a perfect child's garden--a long garden between high walls, with good, climable, treas ure-bearing trees in it: such as the mulberry, the walnut, the apple and the pear; grass lawn, grass grown paths empty potting sheds neglected, broken down greenhOuse--aIl most useful in childish games; fruit bushes turning to jungle, flower borders gone to wild seed and prof1se weed: in fact, a garden unspoiled by too much gar dener. And at the bottom of it, the summer house. from which ono looked out at the roof. chimneys and walls of Medford Town.
 Above all else. Lizzie loved their old, intended garden when Dick was there to play with her.
 (COntInued 'FOmorrOw.)