Magazine_ for 1873, "The Willow Man," "Ran away to Sea," and "A Friend
in the Garden"; her name was not given to the last, but it is a
pleasant little rhyme about a toad. She also wrote during this year
"Among the Merrows," a fantastic account of a visit she paid to the
Aquarium at the Crystal Palace.

In October 1873, our Mother died, and my sister contributed a short
memoir of her[22] to the November number of _Aunt Judy's Magazine_. To
the December number she gave "Madam Liberality."

[Footnote 22: Included in "Parables from Nature." By Mrs. Alfred Gatty.
Complete edition. Bell and Sons.]

For two years after Mother's death, Julie shared the work of editing
the Magazine with me, and then she gave it up, as we were not living
together, and so found the plan rather inconvenient; also the task of
reading MSS. and writing business letters wasted time which she could
spend better on her own stories.

At the end of the year 1873, she brought out a book, "Lob
Lie-by-the-Fire, and other Tales," consisting of five stories, three
of which--"Timothy's Shoes," "Benjy in Beastland," and "The Peace
Egg,"--had already been published in _Aunt Judy's Magazine_, whilst
"Old Father Christmas" had appeared in _Little Folks_; but the first
tale of "Lob" was specially written for the volume.[23]

[Footnote 23: Letter, August 10, 1873.]

The character of McAlister in this story is a Scotchman of the Scotch,
and, chiefly in consequence of this fact, the book was dedicated to