Footprints

"Footprints : A story of the snow by Annette Lyster" is a Victorian-era children's moral novella, likely written in the late 19th century. Set on a Devonshire farm during a rare deep snowfall, it uses the snow—and the footprints it preserves and reveals—as a symbolic and literal means to uncover truth, explore guilt, and affirm repentance and forgiveness within a family. During a snowbound winter, the Marlowe children delight in outdoor play while their elderly kinsman Jasper grows agitated and resolves to tell a long-concealed story. He recounts his youth as Jasper Helps, adopted alongside the generous Harry Franks by stern Hugh Marlowe, and his jealous slide into debt and bad company. Persuaded by a rogue named Harper, Jasper enables a midnight theft from the household bureau; Harper kills the beloved sheepdog, and circumstantial signs point to innocent Harry, who is jailed. A thaw later re-exposes earlier footprints in the snow, tracing Jasper’s and Harper’s movements and proving Harry’s innocence, though Jasper has already fled and fallen ill before eventually being found, forgiven, and restored through Harry’s steadfast kindness. In the present, Jasper confesses everything to the children during the storm; when the thaw returns, he dies quietly, leaving them a clear lesson about pride, truth, and the mercy that follows honest repentance.

Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.