"The Background " originally appeared in the LEINSTERS' MAGAZINE; "The Stampeding of Lady Bastable " in the DAILY MAIL; "Mrs. Packletide's Tiger," "The Chaplet," "The Peace Offering," " Filboid Studge " and "Ministers of Grace " (in an abbreviated form) in the BYSTANDER; and the remainder of the stories (with the exception of "The Music on the Hill," "The Story of St. Vespaluus," "The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope," "The Remoulding of Groby Lington," and "The Way to the Dairy," which have never previously been published) in the WESTMINSTER GAZETTE. To the Editors of these papers I am indebted for courteous permission to reprint them.