FRANCIS & CO.'S

LITTLE LIBRARY:

FOR YOUNG PERSONS OF VARIOUS AGES.

TURNS OF FORTUNE:

BY MRS. S.C. HALL.

Francis & Co.'s Little Library.

C.S. Francis & Co., New York, have published a uniform Series of Choice volumes for Young People, by some of the most distinguished writers for Children. Neatly bound in cloth, and illustrated by Engravings.

L. MARIA CHILD.—FLOWERS FOR CHILDREN: No. 1, for Children eight or nine years old.

—— FLOWERS FOR CHILDREN: No. 2, for Children three or four years old.

—— FLOWERS FOR CHILDREN: No. 3, for Children eleven or twelve years old.

MARY HOWITT.—FIRESIDE TALES.

—— THE CHRISTMAS TREE: A Book of Stories.

—— THE TURTLE DOVE OF CARMEL; and Other Stories.

—— THE FAVORITE SCHOLAR; LITTLE CHATTERBOX; PERSEVERANCE, and other Tales. By Mary Howitt, Mrs. S.C. Hall, and others.

MRS. TRIMMER.—THE ROBBINS; OR DOMESTIC LIFE AMONG THE BIRDS. Designed for the Instruction of Children respecting their Treatment of Animals.

MISS LESLIE.—RUSSEL AND SIDNEY AND CHASE LORING: Tales of the American Revolution.

MRS. CAROLINE GILMAN.—THE LITTLE WREATH OF STORIES AND POEMS FOR CHILDREN.

—— STORIES AND POEMS FOR CHILDREN.

HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN.—A CHRISTMAS GREETING: Thirteen New Stories from the Danish of Hans Christian Andersen.

—— A PICTURE BOOK WITHOUT PICTURES; and other Stories: by Hans Christian Andersen. Translated by Mary Howitt, with a Memoir of the Author.

—— A DANISH STORY BOOK.

CLAUDINE; OR HUMILITY THE BASIS OF ALL THE VIRTUES. A Swiss Tale. By a Mother; author of "Always Happy," "True Stories from History," &c.

FACTS TO CORRECT FANCIES; or Short Narratives compiled from the Memoirs of Remarkable Women. By a Mother.

HOLIDAY STORIES. Containing five Moral Tales.

MRS. HOFLAND.—THE HISTORY OF AN OFFICER'S WIDOW, and her Young Family.

—— THE CLERGYMAN'S WIDOW, and her Young Family.

—— THE MERCHANT'S WIDOW, and her Young Family.

MISS ABBOT.—KATE AND LIZZIE; OR SIX MONTHS OUT OF SCHOOL.

MISS ELIZA ROBBINS.—CLASSIC TALES. Designed for the Instruction and Amusement of Young Persons. By the author of "American Popular Lessons," &c.

MRS. S.C. HALL.—TURNS OF FORTUNE; ALL IS NOT GOLD THAT GLITTERS, &C.

—— THE PRIVATE PURSE; CLEVERNESS, and other Tales.

NEW VOLUMES

OF

Francis & Co.'s Little Library.

Thirty volumes of this series have been published, including some of the choicest books for young people, by Mary Howitt; Maria Child; Mrs. Hofland; Mrs. Hall; Mrs. Gilman; Miss Leslie; Hans Andersen, and others.

The Story Teller; TALES FROM THE DANISH of Hans Christian Andersen.

Containing Ole Lucköie; The Buckwheat: The Wild Swans; The Angel; The Fellow-Traveler; The Elfin Mound; The Flying Trunk; The Bundle of Matches.

The Ugly Duck; AND OTHER TALES: by Hans Christian Andersen.

Containing The Ugly Duck; Top and Ball; The Little Mermaid; The Storks; The Nightingale: The Rose of the Elf; Holger Danske; The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa; The Dying Child.

Little Ellie; AND OTHER TALES: by Hans Christian Andersen.

Containing Little Ellie; The Tinder Box; The Wicked King; The Resolute Leaden Soldier; The Garden of Paradise; The Shepherdess and Chimney-Sweep; Little Ida's Flowers; The Daisy; New Year's Eve.

The Merchant's Daughter; AND OTHER TALES: by Mrs. S.C. Hall.

How to Win Love; OR, RHODA'S LESSON. A story for the Young.

"A delightful little book, which will not only attract the young, but minister instruction to the instructors of youth."—Edin. Witness.

TURNS OF FORTUNE;

AND OTHER TALES.

BY MRS. S.C. HALL.

CONTENTS

TURNS OF FORTUNE

CHAPTER I.

"Hush, Sarah!" exclaimed old Jacob Bond, as he sat up in his bed, while the wind clattered and whistled through the shivering window frames. "Hush! Is that Brindle's bark?"

"No, father; it is one of the farm dogs near the village. Lie down, dearest father; it is a cold night, and you are trembling."

"I don't know why I should feel cold, Sarah," he replied, pointing his shadowy fingers towards the grate, where an abundant fire blazed; "I am sure you have put down as much wood as would roast an ox."

"It is so very cold, father."

"Still, we must not be wasteful, Sarah," he answered; "wilful waste makes woful want." Sarah Bond covered the old man carefully over, while he laid himself stiffly down upon his pallet, re-muttering his favourite proverb over and over again.

She then drew the curtains more closely, and seated herself in an old-fashioned chair beside a little table in front of the fire.

The room had been the drawing-room of the old house in which Mr. Bond and his daughter resided, but for the sake of saving both labour and expense, he had had his bed removed into it; and though anything but comfortable, a solitary, impoverished, and yet gorgeous appearance pervaded the whole, such as those who delineate interiors, loving small lights and deep shadows, would covet to convey to their canvass. The bed upon which the old man lay was canopied, and of heavy crimson damask. In the dim light of that spacious room, it looked to the worn-out eyes of Sarah Bond more like a hearse than a bed. Near it was an old spinnet, upon which stood a labelled vial, a tea-cup, and a spoon. When Sarah seated herself at the table, she placed her elbows upon it, and pressed her folded hands across her eyes; no sigh or moan escaped her, but her chest heaved convulsively; and when she removed her hands, she drew a Bible toward her, trimmed the lamp, and began to read.

The voice of an old French clock echoed painfully through the chamber. Sarah longed to stop it, and yet it was a companion in her watchings. Once, a shy, suspicious, bright-eyed mouse rattled among the cinders, and ran into the wainscot, and then came out again, and stared at Sarah Bond, who, accustomed to such visits, did not raise her eyes to inquire into the cause of the rustling which in a few more moments took place upon a tray containing the remnants of some bread and cheese, her frugal supper.

"Sarah,"