The Peterkin papers

Front matter

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IVCRETIA P HALE ILLUSTRATED BY HAROLD M. BRETT

$3.00

Foreword To The Third Edition

PEOPLE who read this book will see that it is dedicated ‘‘to Meggie, —the daughter of the Lady from Philadelphia, — to whom these stories were first told.”

Meggie remembers, as a very little girl, sitting up in bed in a clean little farmhouse room, with Aunt Lucretia, as she always called her, seated beside her and telling her the first story of them all. So that was the first time that any child ever heard about Mrs. Peterkin’s troubles with her cup of coffee.

It seemed to Meggie, I know, the most natural thing in the world that Mrs. Lesley, the wise Lady from Philadelphia, should have brought these troubles to a fortunate end. For that was just what that dear mother of hers had always done, whenever she came across unlucky people, both in Philadelphia and out of it.

Later, Meggie’s sister Mary listened to these stories, too, sitting on the steps of the farmhouse and looking off toward Mount Wachusett.

And I suppose their mother was there, and perhaps their father, Professor Peter Lesley, who was wise like his wife, and learned too. Very wise people usually feel more for foolish people, and understand them better, than people do who are only rather wise. This may be the reason why the Lesley family were the very earliest friends of the Peterkins.

ELLEN Day HALE

Preface

Tue first of these stories was accepted by Mr. Howard M. Ticknor for the ‘‘ Young Folks” more than fifty years ago. They were afterwards continued in numbers of the ‘‘St. Nicholas.”

The Peterkins originally hesitated about publishing their Family Papers, but were decided by referring the matter to the lady from Philadelphia. A little uncertain whether she might happen to be at Philadelphia, they determined to write and ask her.

Solomon John suggested a postal-card. Everybody reads a postal, and everybody would read it as it came along, and see its importance, and help it on. If the lady from Philadelphia were away, her family and all her servants would read it, and send it after her, for answer.

Elizabeth Eliza thought the postal a bright idea. It would not take so long to write as a letter, and would not be so expensive. But could they get the whole subject on a postal?

Mr. Peterkin believed there could be no difficulty, there was but one question: —

Shall the adventures of the Peterkin family be published?

‘This was decided upon, and there was room for each of the family to sign, the little boys contenting themselves with rough sketches of their india-rubber boots.

Mr. Peterkin, Agamemnon, and Solomon John took the postal-card to the post-office early one morning, and by the afternoon of that very day, and all the next day, and for many days, came streaming in answers on postals and in letters. Their card had been addressed to the lady from Philadelphia, with the number of her street. But it must have been read by their neighbors in their own town post-office

8 PREFACE before leaving; it must have been read along its way: for by each mail came piles of postals and letters from town after town, in answer to the question, and all in the same tone: ‘‘ Yes, yes; publish the adventures of the Peterkin family.”

‘Publish them, of course.”

And in time came the answer of the lady from Philadelphia: —

“Yes, of course; publish them.”

This is why they were published.