Olive Briarford – illustratör

This carefully crafted ebook: "Christmas-Tree Land (Illustrated)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents.Mary Louisa Molesworth (1839-1921) was an English writer of children''s stories who wrote for children under the name of Mrs Molesworth. She is best known as a writer of books for the young, such as Tell Me a Story (1875), Carrots (1876), The Cuckoo Clock (1877), The Tapestry Room (1879), and A Christmas Child (1880). She has been called "the Jane Austen of the nursery".Excerpt:''There must be somebody living over there,'' he said. ''I see smoke rising—you can hardly see it now, the light is growing so dim, but I''m sure I did see it. There must be a little cottage there somewhere among the trees.'' ''Oh, how nice!'' exclaimed Maia. ''We must find it out. I wonder what sort of people live in it—gnomes or wood-spirits, perhaps? There couldn''t be any real people in such a lonely place.'' ''Gnomes and wood-spirits don''t need cottages, and they don''t make fires,'' replied Rollo.

"Under the willows at the edge of the pool a young girl sat daydreaming, though the day was nearly done. All in the valley was wrapped in shadow, though the cliffs and turrets across the stream were resplendent in a radiance of slanting sunshine. Not a cloud tempered the fierce glare of the arching heavens or softened the sharp outline of neighboring peak or distant mountain chain…."Charles King was an American soldier and a distinguished writer. King served in the Army during the Indian Wars under George Crook but he was wounded in the arm and head during the Battle of Sunset Pass forcing his retirement from the regular army as a captain in 1879. During this time he became acquainted with Buffalo Bill Cody. King would later write scripts for several of Cody''s silent films.

"One Sabbath morning more than two hundred years ago, the dawn broke clear and beautiful over New England. It was one of those lovely mornings that seem like a benediction, a smile of God upon the earth, so calm are they, so full of unutterable rest and quiet. Over the sea, with its endless line of beach and promontory washed softly by the ocean swells; over the towns of the coast,—Boston and Salem,—already large, giving splendid promise of the future; over the farms and hamlets of the interior, and into the rude clearings where the outer limits of civilization mingled with the primeval forest, came a flood of light as the sun rose above the blue line of eastern sea..." Frederic Homer Balch was born in Oregon but had converted to Christianity at the age of 21. He became a preacher and helped establish a lot of churches in Oregon. His keen interest in Native Indian folklore and belief gave him a deep insight into their customs and rituals.

Santa Claus''s Partner is a heart-warming story of the spirit and magic of Christmas. The wealthy old man realizes that he is miserable and that his life is lacking the things that are most important, so he decides to change his ways. He takes on the young daughter of his clerk to become Santa Claus''s partner and the two of them distribute gifts to poor children who would not have gifts otherwise. He saves his last gift for the little girl and her family.Thomas Nelson Page (1853-1922) was a lawyer and one of the best-known American writers of his day. After his service in presidential administration Page returned home and continued to write for the remainder of his years. Page''s fiction featured a nostalgic view of the South in step with what is termed Lost Cause ideology. He also wrote books for children and teenagers.