THE ILLUMINATION.
A neighbour's house he'd slyly pass,
And throw a stone to break the glass.
One fine morning in Charlotte Square, Peter Grey persuaded a party of
his companions to spend all the money they had on cakes and sugar-plums,
to make a splendid entertainment under the trees, where they were to sit
like a horde of gypsies, and amuse themselves with telling fortunes to
each other. Harry and Laura had no one with them but Betty, who gladly
joined a group of nursery-maids at a distance, leaving them to their own
devices; upon which they rushed up to Peter and offered their
assistance, subscribing all their pocket-money, and begging him to set
forth and obtain provisions for them as well as for himself. Neither
Harry nor Laura cared for eating the trash that was collected on this
occasion, and would have been quite as well pleased to distribute it
among their companions; but they both enjoyed extremely the bustle of
arranging this elegant dejeune or "_disjune_," as Peter called it. Harry
gathered leaves off the trees to represent plates, on each of which
Peter arranged some of the fruit or sweetmeats he had purchased, while
they placed benches together as a table, and borrowed Laura's white
India shawl for a table-cloth.
"It looks like that grand public dinner we saw at the Assembly Rooms
one day!" exclaimed Harry, in an ecstacy of admiration. "We must have
speeches and toasts like real gentlemen and officers. Peter! if you will
make a fine oration, full of compliments to me, I shall say something
wonderful about you, and then Laura must beat upon the table with a
stick, to show that she agrees to all that we observe in praise of each
other."
"Or suppose we all take the names of some great personages," added
Peter, "I shall be the Duke of Wellington, and Laura, you must be Joseph
Hume, and Harry, you are Sir Francis Burdett, that we may seem as
different as possible; but here comes the usher of the black rod to
disperse us all! Mrs. Crabtree hurrying into the square, her very gown
flaming with rage! what can be the matter! she must have smelled the
sugar-plums a mile off! one comfort is, if Harry and Laura are taken
away, we shall have the fewer people to divide these cakes among, and I
could devour every one of them, for my own share."
Before Peter finished speaking, Mrs. Crabtree had come close up to the
table, and without waiting to utter a word, or even to scold, she
twitched up Laura's shawl in her hand, and thus scattered the whole
feast in every direction on the ground, after which she trampled the
sugar-plums and cakes into the earth, saying,
"I knew how it would be, as soon as I saw whose company you were in,
Master Harry! Peter Grey is the father of mischief! he ought to be put
into the monkey's cage at the GEOlogical gardens! I would not be your
maid, Master Grey, for a hundred a-year."
"You would need to buy a thrashing machine immediately," said Peter,
laughing; "what a fine time I should have of it! you would scarcely
allow me, I suppose, to blow my porridge! how long would it take you,
Mrs. Crabtree, to make quite a perfectly good boy of me? Perhaps a
month, do you think? or to make me as good as Frank, it might possibly
require six weeks."
"Six weeks!" answered Mrs. Crabtree; "six years, or sixty, would be too
short. You are no more like Mr. Frank than a shilling is to a guinea, or
a wax light to a dip. If the news were told that you had been a good boy
for a single day, the very _statutes_ in the streets would come running
along to see the wonder. No! no! I have observed many surprising things
in my day, but them great pyramuses in Egypt will turn upside down
before you turn like Mr. Frank."
Some days after this adventure of Harry and Laura's, there arrived
newspapers from London containing accounts of a great battle which had
been fought abroad. On that occasion the British troops of course
performed prodigies of valour, and completely conquered the enemy, in
consequence of which, it was ordered by government, that, in every town,
and every village, and every house throughout the whole kingdom, there
should be a grand illumination.
Neither Harry nor Laura had ever heard of such a thing as an
illumination before, and they were full of curiosity to know what it was
like; but their very faces became lighted up with joy, when Major Graham
described that they would see crowds of candles flaming in every window,
tar-barrels blazing on every hill, flambeaux glaring at the doors, and
transparencies, fire-works, and coloured lamps shining in all the
streets.
"How delightful! and walking out in the dark to see it," cried Harry;
"that will be best of all! oh! and a whole holiday! I hardly know
whether I am in my right wits, or my wrong wits, for joy! I wish we
gained a victory every day!"
"What a warrior you would be, Harry! Caesar was nothing to you," said
Frank. "We might be satisfied with one good battle in a year,
considering how many are killed and wounded."
"Yes, but I hope all the wounded soldiers will recover."
"Or get pensions," added uncle David. "It is a grand sight, Frank, to
see a whole nation rejoicing at once! In general, when you walk out and
meet fifty persons in the street, they are all thinking of fifty
different things, and each intent on some business of his own, but on
this occasion all are of one mind and one heart."
Frank and Harry were allowed to nail a dozen of little candlesticks upon
each window in the house, which delighted them exceedingly, and then,
before every pane of glass, they placed a tall candle, impatiently
longing for the time when these were to be illuminated. Laura was
allowed to carry a match, and assist in lighting them, but in the excess
of her joy, she very nearly made a bonfire of herself, as her frock took
fire, and would soon have been in a blaze, if Frank had not hastily
seized a large rug and rolled it round her.
In every house within sight, servants and children were to be seen
hurrying about with burning matches, while hundreds of lights blazed up
in a moment, looking as if all the houses in town had taken fire.
"Such a waste of candles!" said Mrs. Crabtree, angrily; "can't people be
happy in the dark!"
"No, Mrs. Crabtree!" answered Frank, laughing. "They cannot be happy in
the dark! People's spirits are always in exact proportion to the number
of lights. If you ever feel dull with one candle, light another; and if
that does not do, try a third, or a fourth, till you feel merry and
cheerful. We must not let you be candle-snuffer to-night, or you will be
putting them all out. You would snuff out the sun itself, to save a
shilling."
"The windows might perhaps be broken," added Laura; "for whatever pane
of glass does not exhibit a candle, is to have a stone sent through it.
Harry says the mob are all glaziers, who break them on purpose to mend
the damage next day, which they will be paid handsomely for doing."
There were many happy, joyous faces, to be seen that evening in the
streets, admiring the splendid illumination; but the merriest party of
all, was composed of Frank, Harry, and Laura, under the command of uncle
David, who had lately suffered from a severe fit of the gout; but it
seemed to have left him this night, in honour of the great victory, when
he appeared quite as much a boy as either of his two companions. For
many hours they walked about in the streets, gazing up at the glittering
windows, some of which looked as if a constellation of stars had come
down for a night to adorn them; and others were filled with the most
beautiful pictures of Britannia carrying the world on her shoulders; or
Mars showering down wreaths of laurel on the Duke of Wellington, while
victory was sitting at his feet, and fame blowing a trumpet at his ear.
Harry thought these paintings finer than any he had ever seen before,
and stood for some moments entranced with admiration, on beholding a
representation in red, blue, yellow, and black, of Europe, Asia, Africa,
and America, all doing homage to St. George mounted on a dragon, which
breathed out fire and smoke like a steam-boat. Nothing, however,
occasioned the party such a burst of delightful surprise, as when they
first beheld the line of blazing windows more than a mile long, from the
bottom of the Canongate to the highest pinnacle of the Castle, where
they seemed almost to meet the stars shining above, in their perpetual
glory. "You see," remarked Major Graham, when he pointed them out to his
young companions, "there is a fit emblem of the difference between earth
and heaven. These lights nearer and brighter to us at present; but when
they have blazed and glittered for one little hour, they come to an end;
while those above, which we see so dimly now, will continue to shine
for ages and generations hereafter, till time itself is no more."
Occasionally, during their progress, Harry felt very indignant to
observe a few houses perfectly dark; and whether the family were sick,
or out of town, or whatever the reason might be, he scarcely became
sorry when a frequent crash might be heard, as the mob, determined to
have their own way this night, aimed showers of stones at the offending
windows, till the very frames seemed in danger of being broken. At last
uncle David led his joyous little party into Castle Street, in which not
a light was to be seen, and every blind seemed carefully closed. A crowd
had assembled, with an evident intention to attack these melancholy
houses, when Major Graham suddenly caught hold of Harry's arm, on
observing that he had privately picked up a large stone, which he was in
the very act of throwing with his whole force at one of the defenceless
windows. And now the whole party stood stock still, while uncle David
said in a very angry and serious voice,
"Harry! you heedless, mischievous boy! will you never learn to consider
a moment before you do what is wrong? I am exceedingly displeased with
you for this! What business is it of yours whether that house be lighted
up or not?"
"But, uncle David! surely it is very wrong not to obey the government,
and to be happy like everybody else! Besides, you see the mob will break
those windows at any rate, so it is no matter if I help them."
"Then, for the same reason, if they were setting the house on fire, I
suppose you would assist the conflagration, Harry. Your excuse is a very
bad one; and when you hear what I have to say about this house, let it
be a lesson for the rest of your life, never to judge hastily, nor to
act rashly. The officer to whom it belonged, has been killed in the
great battle abroad; and while we are rejoicing in the victory that his
bravery helped to gain, his widow and children are weeping within those
walls, for the husband and father who lies buried on a foreign shore.
Think what a contrast these shouts of joy must be to their grief."
"Oh, uncle David! how sorry I am!" said Harry. "I deserve to go home
this moment, and not to see a candle again for a week. It was very wrong
of me indeed. I shall walk all the way home, with my eyes shut, if you
will only excuse me."
"No, no, Harry! that is not necessary! If the eyes of your mind are
open, to see that you have acted amiss, then try to behave better in
future. When people are happy themselves, they are too apt to forget
that others may be in distress, and often feel quite surprised and
provoked at those who appear melancholy; but our turn must come like
theirs. Life is made up of sunshine and shadow, both of which are sent
for our good, and neither of them last, in this world, for ever; but we
should borrow part of our joys, and part of our sorrows, from sympathy
with all those we see or know, which will moderate the excess of
whatever is our own portion in life."
At this moment, the mob, which had been gradually increasing, gave a
tremendous shout, and were on the point of throwing a torrent of stones
at the dark, mournful house, which had made so narrow an escape from
Harry's vengeance, when Major Graham, forgetting his gout, hastily
sprung upon a lamp-post, and calling for attention, he made a speech
to the crowd, telling of the brave Captain D---- who had died for his
country, covered with wounds, and that his mourning family was assembled
in that house. Instantly the mob became as silent and motionless as if
they had themselves been turned into stones; after which they gradually
stole away, with downcast eyes, and mournful countenances; while it is
believed that some riotous people, who had been loudest and fiercest at
first, afterwards stood at the top of the little street like sentinels,
for more than an hour, to warn every one who passed, that he should go
silently along, in respect for the memory of a brave and good officer.
Not another shout was heard in the neighbourhood that night; and many a
merry laugh was suddenly checked from reverence for the memory of the
dead, and the sorrow of the living; while some spectators remarked, with
a sigh of melancholy reflection, that men must ever join trembling with
their mirth, because even in the midst of life they are in death.
"If we feel so much sorrow for this one officer and his family, it
shows," said Frank, "what a dreadful thing war is, which costs the lives
of thousands and tens of thousands in every campaign, by sickness and
fatigue, and the other sources of misery that accompany every army."
"Yes, Frank! and yet there has scarcely been a year on earth, while the
world has existed, without fighting in some country or another, for,
since the time when Cain killed Abel, men have been continually
destroying each other. Animals only fight in temporary irritation when
they are hungry, but pride, ambition, and folly of every kind, have
caused men to hate and massacre each other. Even religion itself has
caused the fiercest and most bloody conflicts, though, if that were only
understood and obeyed as it ought to be, the great truths of Scripture
would produce peace on earth, and good-will among all the children of
men."
The whole party had been standing for some minutes opposite to the
post-office, which looked like a rainbow of coloured lamps, and Harry
was beginning, for the twentieth time, to try if he could count how many
there were, when Major Graham felt something twitching hold of his coat
pocket behind, and on wheeling suddenly round, he perceived a little
boy, not much older than Harry, darting rapidly off in another
direction, carrying his own purse and pocket-handkerchief in his hand.
Being still rather lame, and unable to move very fast, Major Graham
could only vociferate at the very top of his voice, "Stop thief! stop
thief!" but not a constable appeared in sight, so the case seemed
desperate, and the money lost for ever, when Frank observed also what
had occurred, and being of an active spirit, he flew after the young
thief, followed closely by Harry. An eager race ensued, up one street,
and down another, with marvellous rapidity, while Frank was so evidently
gaining ground, that the thief at last became terrified, and threw away
the purse, hoping thus to end the chase; but neither of his pursuers
paused a moment to pick it up, they were so intent upon capturing the
little culprit himself. At length Frank sprung forward and caught him by
the collar, when a fierce conflict ensued, during which the young thief
was so ingenious, that he nearly slipped his arms out of his coat, and
would have made his escape, leaving a very tattered garment in their
hands, if Harry had not observed this trick, and held him by the hair,
which, as it was not a wig, he could not so easily throw off.
At this moment, a large coarse ruffianly-looking man hurried up to the
party, evidently intending to rescue the little pick-pocket from their
custody; so Frank called loudly for help, while several police-officers
who had been sent by Major Graham, came racing along the street,
springing their rattles, and vociferating, "Stop thief!"
Now, the boy struggled more violently than ever to disentangle himself,
but Frank and Harry grasped hold of their prisoner, as if they had been
a couple of Bow Street officers, till at length the tall fierce man
thought it time to be off, though not before he had given Harry a blow
on the face, that caused him to reel back, and fall prostrate on the
pavement.
"There's a brave little gentleman!" said one of the constables, helping
him up, while another secured the thief. "You ought to be knighted for
fighting so well! This boy you have taken is a sad fellow! He broke his
poor mother's heart a year since by his wicked ways, and I have long
wished to catch him. A few weeks on the tread-mill now, may save him
from the gallows in future."
"He seems well practised in his business," observed Major Graham. "I
almost deserved; however, to lose my pocket-book for bringing it out in
a night of so much crowding and confusion. Some lucky person will be all
the richer, though I fear it is totally lost to me."
"But here is your pocket-handkerchief, uncle David, if you mean to shed
any tears for your misfortune," whispered Laura; "how very lucky that
you felt it going!"
"Yes, and very surprising too, for the trick was so cleverly executed!
That little rascal might steal the teeth out of one's head, without
being noticed! When I was in India, the thieves there were so expert
that they really could draw the sheets from under a person sleeping in
bed, without disturbing his slumbers."
"With me, any person could do that, because I sleep so very soundly,"
observed Frank. "You might beat a military drum at my ear, as they do in
the boy's sleeping rooms at Sandhurst, and it would not have the
smallest effect. I scarcely think that even a gong would do!"
"How very different from me," replied Laura. "Last night I was awakened
by the scratching of a mouse nibbling in the wainscoat, and soon after
it ran across my face."
"Then pray sleep to-night with your mouth open, and a piece of toasted
cheese in it, to catch the mouse," said Major Graham. "That is the best
trap I know!"
"Uncle David," asked Frank, as they proceeded along the street, "if
there is any hope of that wicked boy being reformed, will you try to
have him taught better? Being so very young, he must have learned from
older people to steal."
"Certainly he must! It is melancholy to know how carefully mere children
are trained to commit the very worst crimes, and how little the mind of
any young boy can be a match for the cunning of old, experienced
villains like those who lead them astray. When once a child falls into
the snare of such practised offenders, escape becomes as impossible as
that of a bird from a limed twig."
"So I believe," replied Frank. "Grandmama told me that the very youngest
children of poor people, when first sent to school in London, are often
waylaid by those old women who sell apples in the street, and who
pretend to be so good-natured that they make them presents of fruit. Of
course these are very acceptable, but after some time, those wicked
wretches propose that the child in return shall bring them a book, or
anything he can pick up at home, which shall be paid for in apples and
pears. Few little boys have sufficient firmness not to comply, whether
they like it or not, and after that the case is almost hopeless,
because, whenever the poor victim hesitates to steal more, those cruel
women threaten to inform the parents of his misconduct, which terrifies
the boy into doing anything rather than be found out."
"Oh, how dreadful!" exclaimed Laura. "It all begins so smoothly! No poor
little boy could suspect any danger, and then he becomes a hardened
thief at once."
"Grandmama says, too, that pick-pockets, in London used to have the
stuffed figure of a man hung from the roof of their rooms, and covered
all over with bells, for the boys to practise upon, and no one was
allowed to attempt stealing on the streets, till he could pick the
pocket of this dangling effigy, without ringing one of the many bells
with which it was ornamented."
"I think," said Harry, "when the young thieves saw that figure hanging
in the air, it might have reminded them how soon they would share the
same fate. Even crows take warning when they see a brother crow hanging
dead in a field."
"It is a curious thing of crows, Harry, that they certainly punish
thieves among themselves," observed Major Graham. "In a large rookery,
some outcasts are frequently to be observed living apart from the rest,
and not allowed to associate with their more respectable brethren. I
remember hearing formerly, that in the great rookery at --------, when
all the other birds were absent, one solitary crow was observed to
linger behind, stealing materials for his nest from those around, but
next morning a prodigious uproar was heard among the trees,--the cawing
became so vociferous, that evidently several great orators were
agitating the crowd, till suddenly the enraged crows flew in a body upon
the nest of their dishonest associate, and tore it in pieces."
"Bravo!" cried Frank. "I do like to hear about all the odd ways of birds
and animals! Grandmama mentioned lately, that, if you catch a crow, and
fasten him down with his back to the ground, he makes such an outcry,
that all his black brothers come wheeling about the place, till one of
them at last alights to help him. Immediately the treacherous prisoner
grapples hold of his obliging friend, and never afterwards lets him
escape; so, by fastening down one after another, we might entrap the
whole rookery."
"I shall try it some day!" exclaimed Harry, eagerly. "What fun to hear
them all croaking and cawing!"
"We shall be croaking ourselves soon with colds, if we do not hurry
home," added uncle David. "There is not a thimbleful of light remaining,
and your grandmama will be impatient to hear all the news. This has
really been a most adventurous night, and I am sure none of us will soon
forget it."
When the whole party entered the drawing-room, in a blaze of spirits,
all speaking at once, to tell Lady Harriet what had occurred, Mrs.
Crabtree, who was waiting to take a couple of little prisoners off to
bed, suddenly gave an exclamation of astonishment and dismay when she
looked at Harry, who now, for the first time since the robber had
knocked him down, approached the light, when he did, to be sure, appear
a most terrible spectacle! His jacket was bespattered with mud, his
shirt-frill torn and bloody, one eye almost swelled out of his head, and
the side of his face quite black and blue.
"What mischief have you been in now, Mr. Harry?" cried Mrs. Crabtree,
angrily; "you will not leave a whole bone in your body, nor a whole
shirt in your drawer!"
"These are honourable scars, Mrs. Crabtree," interrupted Major Graham.
"Harry has been fighting my battles, and gained a great victory! we must
illuminate the nursery!"
Uncle David then told the whole story, with many droll remarks, about
his purse having been stolen, and said that, as Harry never complained
of being hurt, he never supposed that anything of the kind could have
occurred; but he felt very much pleased to observe how well a certain
young gentleman was able to bear pain, as boys must expect hard blows in
the world, when they had to fight their way through life, therefore it
was well for them to give as few as they could, and to bear with
fortitude what fell to their own share. Uncle David slyly added, that
perhaps Harry put up with these things all the better for having so much
practice in the nursery.
Mrs. Crabtree seemed rather proud of Harry's manly spirit, and treated
him with a little more respect than usual, saying, she would fetch him
some hot water to foment his face, if he would go straight up stairs
with Laura. Now, it very seldom happened, that Harry went straight
anywhere, for he generally swung down the bannisters again, or took a
leap over any thing he saw on the way, or got upon some of the tables
and jumped off, but this night he had resolutely intended marching
steadily up to bed, and advanced a considerable way, when a loud shout
in the street attracted his attention. Harry stopped, and it was
repeated again, so seizing Laura by the hand, they flew eagerly into
Lady Harriet's dressing-room, and throwing open a window, they picked up
a couple of cloaks that were lying on a chair, and both stepped out on a
balcony to find out what was going on; and in case any one should see
them in this unusual place, Harry quietly shut the window down,
intending to remain only one single minute. Minutes run very fast away
when people are amused, and nothing could be more diverting than the
sight they now beheld, for at this moment a grand crash exploded of
squibs and rockets from the Castle-hill, which looked so beautiful in
the dark, that it seemed impossible to think of anything else. Some flew
high in the air, and then burst into the appearance of twenty fiery
serpents falling from the sky, others assumed a variety of colours, and
dropped like flying meteors, looking as if the stars were all learning
to dance, while many rushed into the air and disappeared, leaving not a
trace behind. Harry and Laura stood perfectly entranced with admiration
and delight, till the fire-works neither burst, cracked, nor exploded
any more.
A ballad-singer next attracted their notice, singing the tune of "Meet
me by moonlight," and afterwards Laura shewed Harry the constellation of
Orion mentioned in the Bible, which, besides the Great Bear, was the
only one she had the slightest acquaintance with. Neither of them had
ever observed the Northern Lights so brilliant before, and now they felt
almost alarmed to see them shooting like lances of fire across the sky,
and glittering with many bright colours, like a rainbow, while Laura
remembered her grandmama mentioning some days ago, that the poor natives
of Greenland believe these are the spirits of their fathers going forth
to battle.
Meantime, Lady Harriet called Frank, as usual, to his evening prayers
and reading in her dressing-room, where it was well known that they were
on no account to be disturbed. After having read a chapter, and talked
very seriously about all it was intended to teach, they had begun to
discuss the prospect of Frank going abroad very soon to become a
midshipman, and he was wondering much where his first great shipwreck
would take place, and telling Lady Harriet about the loss of the
Cabalvala, where the crew lived for eight days on a barren rock, with
nothing to eat but a cask of raspberry jam, which accidentally floated
within their reach. Before Frank had finished his story, however, he
suddenly paused, and sprung upon his feet with an exclamation of
astonishment, while Lady Harriet, looking hastily round in the same
direction, became terrified to observe a couple of faces looking in at
the window. It was so dark, she could not see what they were like, but a
moment afterwards the sash began slowly and heavily opening, after which
two figures leaped into the room, while Frank flew to ring a peal at the
bell, and Lady Harriet sunk into her own arm-chair, covering her face
with her hands, and nearly fainting with fright.
"Never mind, grandmama! do not be afraid! it is only us!" cried Harry;
"surely you know me?"
"You!!!" exclaimed Lady Harriet, looking up with amazement. "Harry and
Laura!! impossible! how in all the world did you get here? I thought you
were both in bed half an hour ago! Tiresome boy! you will be the death
of me some time or other! I wonder when you will ever pass a day without
deserving the bastinado!"
"Do you not remember the good day last month, grandmama, when I had a
severe toothache, and sat all morning beside the fire? Nobody found
fault with me then, and I got safe to bed, without a single Oh fie! from
noon till night."
"Wonderful, indeed! what a pity I ever allowed that tooth to be drawn,
but you behaved very bravely on the occasion of its being extracted. Now
take yourselves off! I feel perfectly certain you will tell Mrs.
Crabtree the exact truth about where you have been, and if she punishes
you, remember that it is no more than you both deserve. People who
behave ill are their own punishers, and should be glad that some one
will kindly take the trouble to teach them better."