"Convalescence," and "The Mill Stream" best.

To the volume of _Aunt Judy's Magazine_ for 1872 she gave her first
"soldier" story, "The Peace Egg," and in this she began to sing those
praises of military life and courtesies which she afterwards more
fully showed forth in "Jackanapes," "The Story of a Short Life," and
the opening chapters of "Six to Sixteen." The chief incident of the
story, however, consisted in the Captain's children unconsciously
bringing peace and goodwill into the family by performing the old
Christmas play or Mystery of "The Peace Egg." This play we had been
accustomed to see acted in Yorkshire, and to act ourselves when we
were young. I recollect how proud we were on one occasion, when our
disguises were so complete, that a neighbouring farmer's wife, at
whose door we went to act, drove us as ignominiously away, as the
House-keeper did the children in the story. "Darkie," who "slipped in
last like a black shadow," and "Pax," who jumped on to Mamma's lap,
"where, sitting facing the company, he opened his black mouth and
yawned, with ludicrous inappropriateness," are life-like portraits of
two favourite dogs.

The tale was a very popular one, and many children wrote to ask where
they could buy copies of the Play in order to act it themselves. These
inquiries led Julie to compile a fresh arrangement of it, for she knew
that in its original form it was rather too roughly worded to be fit
for nursery use; so in _Aunt Judy's Magazine_ (January 1884) she
published an adaptation of "The Peace Egg, a Christmas Mumming Play,"
together with some interesting information about the various versions
of it which exist in different parts of England.

She contributed "Six to Sixteen" as a serial to the Magazine in 1872,