THE LOST BRACELET
The next events of my life were two pleasures and one pain. The
pain was a change of circumstances, and the first pleasure was the
possession of a new wardrobe. How could I have a new wardrobe, when my
mamma was only the little sister of a poor Italian organ-boy, and had
but one dress for herself? It all came about through what I considered,
at the time, a great misfortune; it was the change of my present
mamma for another; and I was very fond of my little Italian mamma, and
therefore was sorry to be obliged to leave her.
The day after Lord Mayor’s day was cold and wet; but, notwithstanding,
we all went out with the organ, for Marco said we must earn some money
to make up for yesterday, which was a day of pleasure; so we went round
to several houses where he was accustomed to play. At last we got in
Finsbury Square, and there began to play before a house where a little
girl called Lydia Thomson lived. Her papa was a partner in the house
of Barclay and Perkins, the great brewers, and she used to come out
on the balcony when Marco played, and always threw him a penny, and
sometimes danced up and down the balcony to his music. Well, while
we were playing on this cold wet day, it began to snow, and little
Lydia, who was dancing on the balcony, was obliged to run into the
warm drawing-room for fear she should catch cold; and when she looked
out, she thought Brigitta seemed so wet and cold in the snow, that
she almost began to cry, and asked her mamma to let us all come in.
Her mamma gave us leave, so down she ran and brought us all in, and
placed us by a warm parlor fire. Then away she ran to her mamma again,
and presently came back dancing and skipping about before a servant,
who carried a tray with two plates full of roast mutton and potatoes
from the servants’ dinner, and she told Marco and Brigitta to begin to
eat, and they laughed and looked so pleased, and ate away, and began
to look so much warmer and more comfortable. Then away she ran again,
and brought down a box full of sweetmeats and sugar-plums, and put it
down before Brigitta, and said, ‘That is for you,’ and Brigitta kissed
her hand to her so prettily, and said, ‘Thank you, dear little lady.’
Then Marco asked if he might play to her, and she said, ‘Oh yes;’ so
he played all his tunes, and she danced up and down the passage, and in
and out of the room.
When all the tunes were done, Marco said, ‘Now we must go;’ so they
bid good-bye, and the servant opened the door, and the wind blew in
very cold. So the little girl said, ‘Shut the door again, and wait a
minute,’ and ran away again to her mamma; and after about five minutes,
down she came, bringing a warm woollen shawl for Brigitta, and an old
cape of her papa’s for Marco, and she said, ‘My mamma gives you these.’
Oh, they were so much obliged to her. They thought her such a dear,
kind little girl; and Brigitta’s large black eyes filled with tears
while she thanked her, but little Lydia only danced and jumped about.
Then Brigitta put on the shawl, and took me up, and I thought she was
going to carry me away with her, but she said, ‘Dear, kind little lady,
take this doll from me; it is such a great pleasure to me to have
something to give you.’ Lydia said, ‘But you like to have the doll.’
‘No, no!’ answered Brigitta, ‘take it, dear little lady!’ So she and
Marco hurried away, and left me with Lydia Thomson.
I was at first very sorry to be parted from my merry Italian mamma; but
I soon became very fond of this kind little Lydia. She used to play
with me a great deal, and she took off that ugly tin bracelet from my
arm, but not till she had read my name--‘Maria Poppet.’ She dressed me
very nicely, too, so that I had, as I have said, a new wardrobe; and a
very few days after I was settled in this new home, I had the second
pleasure I have mentioned. It happened in this manner.
One very cloudy morning, a voice crying ‘Clo’! clo’!’ came down
Finsbury Square, and stopped in front of our house. Again the voice
said, ‘Clo’!’ and then, after stopping a little, said very quickly,
‘Clo’! clo’!’ I recollected whose voice that was in a moment, and
it made me tremble. It was the old Jew who had bought me of Punch’s
showman.
Lydia had left me sitting at the nursery window, with my nose and
cheek resting against the glass; I could therefore look out, and I
now saw him walk up to the area, and poke his head through the iron
rails, looking down, so that I saw only his round shoulders and his
rusty black bag. Now I heard the area door open, as if one of the maids
was coming out, and instantly the Jew said, ‘My dear, I want to speak
something!’ ‘Speak then,’ said the merry voice of my mamma’s nursery
maid.
‘Come up the area steps, my dear,’ said the Jew; ‘it’s a cold wind, and
I’m rather hoarse to-day; and besides, my dear, I’ve something of great
consequence to speak.’
The nursery maid ran up, saying, ‘Well, be quick then.’
‘Yes, my dear,’ said the Jew, and then, lowering his voice, he said,
‘You’ve got a wooden doll in this house, my dear.’ I trembled more
than ever at this; I thought he had come for me.
‘Well,’ said the nursery maid, ‘and what of that?--is that all you’ve
got to say, with your whispering and winking, and screwing your face?’
‘Not all, my dear,’ said the Jew. ‘Your doll is a doll of some rank
and consequence, and her family name is Poppet, and her other name is
Maria.’
‘Well, lauk now!’ said the maid, ‘how did you guess that?’
‘Guess it, my dear,’ said the Jew, ‘I knew it long ago. She used to
have a bracelet upon her arm, with the name engraved upon it.’
‘Yes, so she had, so she had,’ said the maid; ‘a tin one it was.’
The Jew laughed, and said, ‘A gold one, my dear. It was tin when you
had her, I dare say; but formerly, in the days of her greatness, my
dear, she had one made of pure gold, and I can tell you what’--here he
again lowered his voice--‘I know where the gold one is. I can find it.
Yes, my dear, I can, and I may as well just let you have a peep at it.’
Here the Jew drew something in a paper out of his pocket, and held it
up.
‘Oh my!’ said the nursery maid, ‘well, if ever! There’s Maria Poppet
engraved upon it--and you’ve brought it back to young missis. Oh, how
pleased she will be!’
‘Yes, my dear,’ said the Jew, putting it back into his pocket. ‘You
can tell them what you’ve seen, and say that I have no objection to
selling it, to oblige them--and it’s pure gold, you know, my dear, and
I’ll come again to-morrow morning. Clo’! clo’! clo’!’ and away he went,
leaving the poor nursery maid calling out after him in vain.
Well, this was the talk of the whole house. Everybody was so much
interested about it. Next morning the Jew came, and asked to see Mrs.
Thomson. He was shown into the passage, and then he produced the gold
bracelet, which fitted my wrist exactly, and everybody admired it very
much, particularly Lydia, who kissed it several times.
‘You will sell it, of course?’ said Mrs. Thomson.
After long hesitation and consideration, the Jew names his price. Mrs.
Thomson then made him an offer of some money for it, but the Jew said
he could melt it, and make more by it than that.
At the sound of ‘melting’ it, Lydia began to cry bitterly, so we were
all sent away into the nursery, and told to wait till Mrs. Thomson came
to us. How it was settled I do not know, but after waiting about half
an hour, we heard the sound of ‘Clo’! clo’!’ and Mrs. Thomson came
upstairs, bringing the bracelet in her hand, and that very day it was
fastened on my wrist, as at first.
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