Martha Finley

Elsie on the Hudson Martha Finley

Publisher Marketing: Crag Cottage was almost overflowingly full the first night after the arrival of its young mistress and her friends, but with a little contrivance all were comfortably accommodated. Most of them, weary with their journey, slept rather late in the morning, but Captain Raymond and his eldest daughter were as usual out of doors-out in the grounds-early enough to enjoy the beautiful sight of the rising of the sun over the eastern mountains. They met upon the front porch just in time to walk down together to Evelyn's favorite summer house on the edge of the cliff, before the king of day showed his bright face peeping above those eastern heights. "Oh, what a lovely sight!" exclaimed Lucilla. "I am so glad, papa, that we are out in time to see it." "Yes," he said, "it is worth the giving up of an extra hour of sleep. Especially as we can take that during the day if we feel the need of it. I would never have you do without needed sleep, daughter. There is nothing gained by it in the end." "No, papa, but I think I do not need so much as do some others, -Gracie, for instance, -and I do so enjoy these early walks and talks with you-the dearest father that ever any girl had, I am sure," she added, giving him a look of ardent affection. Contributor Bio:  Finley, Martha Martha Finley (1828 1909) was born in Ohio. She was a private educator in Pennsylvania until she became ill and moved to Elkton, Maryland, where at age twenty-six, she began her literary career as a means to support herself. She wrote twenty-eight Elsie books and was one of the most beloved children s authors of all time, with over twenty-five million readers in both America and England.