AustLit

A family visit from a former sweetheart of her husband's teaches a young wife and mother to improve her appearance and spend less time with baby - to keep him! (PB)

A poor rural doctor treats the local labourers and the lady of the manor alike - with care and respect. When diptheria breaks out he advises the lady and her daughter to go overseas and dies in his care for the poor. His unspoken love for Lady Violet dies with him - unknown even to his maiden sister. (PB)

Civil War tale. A farmer youth goes straight to the war front where he is assigned sentry duty but continues to fall asleep. An officer finds him asleep on duty and he is sentenced to be shot - only his hand falling on to his bayonet wakes him from the dream. (PB)

Anti-old maid humour. A clergyman's toll of a kiss from a bride arouses the older woman's ire. (PB)

Tale of a Spanish ring, once the king's, which caused death to all who owned it. Thus it was finally hung around a statue. (PB)

Romantic comedy. A sister's revenge on her vain brother by setting up a false 'matrimonial' correspondence and having him meet three supposed correspondents instead of one. Satirical. (PB)

The narrator falls into the hands of a mad dentist who extracts all his teeth under gas and is about to kill him when the narrator kicks him out through the window. (PB)

Seaside romance told in clichéd phrases - song titles etc. Reunion of childhood sweethearts. (PB)

SEt in Ross, the tale of an army lieutenant pressed for money who - unable to secure his rich sweetheart's promise to marry - arranges to have her father's house robbed. The father is shot in the attempt which fails. The lieutenant becomes engaged to the orphaned girl but still needs money so arranges with the same friends to hold up the paymaster. The robbery goes wrong, a wounded man confesses the officer's art, and he suicides rather than face disgrace. (PB)

Rural tale. An engagement is broken off when notes are mixed and the handsome farmer mistakenly accepts a fishing invitation and declines to accompany his fiancee to a newly wedded couple's home. All is mended when he is nearly killed rescuing her from her runaway horse - the mixup of notes is discovered during his convalescence. A rival is killed in the runaway horse incident. (PB)

Florence Hillian leaves her boarding school to rush unattended to the side of her seriously ill father. A companion in her carriage changes his clothes and enlists her aid in helping him - a prison escapee - to avoid recapture. Accompanying her to her much restored father's home she discovers he is her Australian cousin paying her back for an April Fool's Joke ten years before. Romance follows. (PB)

Doubly framed tales - one of a young but poor suitor, a second son - who places his worldly savings on a horse which his beloved had dreamed won the race - the Leger - and wins. The other tale was from six years earlier, told by the inn landlord, of a serving maid's dream which had saved her master's favourite horse from ambush and withdrawl from the same race by a cunning villain who had many bets against it. (PB)

A Victorian mounted trooper returns to his father's Riverina station for holidaus and his sister's wedding. He finds her apparently hating her fiancee and her parents fear her mad. Her brother turns detective to watch her and finds her friend - a middle-aged woman companion on a nearby station - to be involved in some plot with her about the wedding day. The groom's murder and the plan by his abandoned wife to implicate Alys too are revealed at the inquest. (PB)