Tracked by a Tattoo by Fergus Hume

The Colmers, mother and daughter, dwelt at the further end of the village in a cottage adjoining the shop. The former was small, but the latter was quite an imposing structure for so sparsely-populated a neighbourhood. Indeed its owners made an excellent income out of the dressmaking business; and they were fairly comfortable in the position of life into which they had been forced by circumstances. They employed five or six girls in the workroom and three in the shop, so that Anne found her hands full in looking after these underlings, and in supervising the general run of the business. She was an admirable administratrix.

As may be guessed from the nature of her complaint, Mrs. Colmer was a mere cypher in the domestic economy of Briar Cottage -- for so the house was named. The old woman usually sat in a wheeled chair beside a bow window, looking out on to the back garden. This latter sloped down to the river banks, and was prettily laid out, with a summerhouse at the lower end. From her window the paralytic could see the passing of boats and steamers, and enjoy the brightness of the aquatic life. She viewed this panorama from morn to eve; read on occasions, and meditated on her past life, which had been none of the happiest.