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THE STRANGE ADVENTURES

OF

A HOUSE-BOAT

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PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,

STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

DEM AOBK

THE STRANGE ADVENTURES

OF

A HOUSE-BOAT

CHAPTER I.

"See! from the bower a form majestic moves,
And, smoothly gliding, shines along the groves;
Say, comes a goddess from the golden spheres?
A goddess comes-or Rosalind appears!"

"AND do choose a nice one this time!" says a small woman, with pleading, soft, brown eyes. "Just fancy those long days and weeks—in far out-of-the-way places: of course I want someone who is very, very pretty, and very, very delightful, to be my companion. Never mind about her being a heroine. Everybody can't be a heroine. I want somebody who will be merry at dinner, and cosy to walk with on the moonlight nights; and I don't care twopence about her character

"What?"

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"You know quite well what I mean. minded women-they should all be sitting on School Boards, with spectacles on their noses, like a row of owls. Character! What's the use of character? You can't kiss force of character ; but you can kiss Peggy Rosslyn."

"You mean you can."

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"Well?" says Mrs. Threepenny-bit, with a stare. "Isn't that enough?"

"Hm! . . . However, it's Peggy Rosslyn, is it, you've fixed upo Well, I shouldn't have called her so uncommonly pretty. Let's see. Her eyes her eyes are rather glassy, aren't they?"

"I think they are most beautiful eyes," says this small create, warmly. "Why, they have the clear shining blue of the eyes of a child!"

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