TWELFTH-NIGHT
That evening little Ellen Plummy begged to go to bed earlier than
usual. She took me with her, and I had the great happiness of passing
the whole night in the arms of my first mamma.
The next morning, however, was the day before Twelfth-day, and there
were so many preparations to be made, and so many things to do in
the house, that the pastry-cook required the help of everybody who
could do anything at all; so he desired Ellen to put me in a box till
Twelfth-night was over, because he wanted her to sort small cakes,
and mix sugar-plums of different colors, and pile up sticks of barley
sugar, and arrange artificial flowers, and stick bits of holly with red
berries into cakes for the upper shelves of his shop-window.
I was, therefore, placed in a dark box in the bedroom, and lay there
thinking.
After I had gone over in my mind all that I had at present seen and
heard since I was a doll, I began to wonder how long this confinement
in the dark box would continue. The morning seemed so very long. But
twice my little mamma, Ellen, came creeping softly upstairs, and ran
and opened the box--took me out, gave me a kiss, put me in again, shut
the lid of the box, and downstairs she softly tripped back, to continue
her work. The afternoon was also terribly long, and I saw nothing of
mamma till about six in the evening, when she came and took me out, and
embraced me, and said, ‘Oh, you dear doll! I shall come to put you to
bed!’ and away she ran again.
About nine o’clock mamma came and took me out of my box. She had
contrived to find time in the course of the day to make, in a very
hasty manner, a little night-gown and night-cap for me, which she
immediately put on me, and then took me to bed with her as before.
Next morning was Twelfth-day, and I was again placed in the dark box.
Ellen had so much to do, that all this day she was quite unable to come
even once to take a peep at me. Oh, how long the dark day was! and how
tired I felt of it! However, I was obliged to be as patient as I could
and tried to amuse myself with my own thoughts and recollections.
I called to mind the poor, dusky room where I was manufactured and
born, with its three beds upon the floor on one side, and the long
work-bench at the other, and all the strange shadows of the dolls
upon the walls by candle-light; dozens of funny shadows cast from the
dolls that hung upon the lines or stood upon the beams. And when the
candle was moved about, these shadows danced. I also recollected many
conversations that had taken place between the celebrated Mr. Sprat and
his wife, when the children were asleep and the candle was out, as to
how they should be able to afford an apple-pie for dinner next Sunday
week, which was the little man’s birthday. Then I recollected the many
cold dark nights, and days almost as dull, which I had passed in the
box at the doll-shop, before, by a lucky accident, I was moved to an
upright position on the top of the shelf. After that I went over in my
mind all the pretty stories and other books that had been read by Emmy
in the shop. This made me happier; yet I could not forget the many dark
days and nights in the box. Nor did I consider my present condition
better, and felt sadly impatient at being thus shut up in a small box,
and quite alone besides, without another doll to whisper a word to.
I had just begun to get very sad when suddenly I heard the sound of
little feet tripping over the floor; the lid of my box was opened, and
I saw a beautiful fairy standing over me! I was taken out by a pair
of soft warm hands, and who should it be but my mamma, dressed all in
white, with silver bracelets, and roses in her hair, and a bit of most
beautiful violet tinsel stuck upon the breast of her frock! ‘Come!’
cried she, clasping me in her arms, ‘come downstairs with me, you
poppet! you shall come with me, Maria, and see Twelfth-night.’
Out of the room she ran with me, and downstairs! The staircase was
all lighted with gas! I was going to see Twelfth-night! And I had
that instant been christened, and my name was Maria Poppet! Oh, how
delighted I felt! I tried to jump out of my mamma’s arms, I was so
pleased--but I could not; and this was fortunate, because perhaps I
could not have jumped back again. But I felt so happy!
She ran straight with me into the very shop itself--the fine front
shop with all the cakes! How shall I describe it? How shall I tell the
effect it had upon me? Oh, it is impossible. I fainted away.
When I came to my senses I found that my mamma had placed me upright
between two tall, round glass jars, one full of glittering barley-sugar
sticks twisted, and the other full of large sugar-plums of all colors;
and I was close behind the counter where she stood to serve. I saw
nothing else distinctly, my eyes were so dazzled, and so indeed were
all my senses. Amidst a blaze of gas, crowded with immense cakes, the
round, white sugar island of each being covered with its extraordinary
inhabitants, there was the front window in all its glory! Scenes in
eastern countries, with elephants and dromedaries and great palm
trees (the names of all which my mamma told me afterwards), and negro
people and tigers sitting under orange trees; and scenes in northern
countries, where all is snow and frost and tall rocks of ice, and bears
walking round broken ships; and scenes in delightful countries, where
the weather is so beautiful, and where people play guitars and sing all
day and half the night, too, in groves and gardens; and scenes in many
parts of England, where the fields are so very green, and the daisies
and buttercups in such thousands and thousands; and wonderful scenes in
no country ever yet discovered, but which were all once to be seen in
fairyland, if anybody could find them; these and many more things were
all upon the tops of the large cakes in the lower part of the window,
together with sprigs of holly, oh, so full of bright red berries!--and
here and there shining blanc-mange and jellies in the shape of baskets
of fruit and flowers, and three round glass bowls full of gold and
silver fish, who constantly moved round, staring, with their noses
pushing against the glass, in imitation of a crowd of children outside
the shop-window, who were all staring and pushing their noses against
the glass in just the same way. There was a shelf which ran across the
middle of the window, close to the front, and this was also thick with
cakes of a smaller sort, and all covered with Twelfth-night characters,
in colored sugar; but what they were it was impossible to see for the
glitter of the beautiful barley-sugar sticks that were piled up in
round glass jars, across and across, and standing between the cakes.
There were also cakes on a top shelf, near the top of the window, but
here scarcely anything could be seen for the blaze of the gas.
[Illustration: The Old Gentleman, Pastry-Cook, and Great Cake-Maker
Himself!]
In the shop itself there was continually a crowd coming in to buy cakes
or other things, for the counter was also covered with delightful
wonders, and the old gentleman pastry-cook and great cake-maker himself
walked about in the middle of the shop, dressed in his best, with a
large red rose in the button-hole of his coat, smiling and rubbing
his hands together, and chatting with all the children that came in,
and sometimes going to the door and giving a handful of sugar-plums
to children outside who had no money to buy anything. But behind the
counter there were his grown-up niece, and the pretty girl who served
in the shop, and his grand-daughter, who was my mamma; and all of these
were dressed in white muslin, with borders of lace and bright ribbons.
His niece, however, was the most like a princess, for she had a blue
satin turban on, with feathers hanging down over one side, and a silk
scarf with gold fringe edges, and a red cornelian necklace, with beads
as large as turnip radishes.
I bore all this extraordinary scene as long as I could, until at last,
out of too much happiness, I was unable to endure it any longer,
and then something happened to me. I felt my eyes twink and twitch
and wink, and feel a little sore; and without knowing it, or knowing
anything, except that I was in a state of the most indescribable
happiness, I fell fast asleep.
[Illustration]