THE CIRCUS PROCESSION
It was a bright, sunshiny morning when the theatre party reached
Lesborough. Not a cloud was to be seen in the sky, and Augustus was in
capital spirits, for he thought that if the fine weather lasted, his
profits would be larger than usual.
On the road leading to the town they passed several small shows bound for
the same destination. There was the show of 'The Lancashire Lass,''The
Exhibition of the Performing Little Pigs,''Roderick Polglaze's Living
Curiosities,' and 'The Show of the Giant Horse.' Augustus knew the
proprietor of nearly every caravan that passed them, and they exchanged
greetings by the way, and congratulated each other on the fine weather
which seemed to be before them.
Then they drew near the town, and heard a tremendous noise in the distance.
As they entered the main street, they saw a cloud of dust in front of them,
and then an immense crowd of people. Rosalie and her mother came to the
door of the caravan and looked out.
Presently the dust cleared away, and showed them a glittering gilded car,
which was coming towards them, surrounded by throngs of boys and girls, men
and women.
'What is it, Toby?' asked Rosalie.
'It's a large circus, Miss Rosie; master said they were going to be here,
and he was afraid they would carry a good many people off from us.'
The theatre party had to draw up on one side of the street to let the long
procession pass.
First came a gilded car filled with musicians, who were playing a noisy
tune. This was followed by about a dozen men on horseback, some dressed in
shining armour, as knights of the olden time, and others as cavaliers of
the time of the Stuarts.
Then came another large gilded car, on the top of which was a golden
dragon, with coloured reins round its neck, which were held by an old man,
dressed as an ancient Briton, and supposed to personate St. George. Then
came a number of mounted ladies, dressed in brilliant velvet habits, one
green, one red, one yellow, one violet; each of them holding long orange
reins, which were fastened to spirited piebald horses, which they drove
before them.
These were followed by a man riding on two ponies, standing with one leg on
each, and going at a great pace. Then two little girls and a little boy
passed on three diminutive ponies, and next a tiny carriage, drawn by four
little cream-coloured horses, and driven by a boy dressed as the Lord
Mayor's coachman.
Then came an absurd succession of clowns, driving, riding, or standing on
donkeys, and dressed in hideous costumes. Then, three or four very tall and
fine horses, led by grooms in scarlet.
And lastly, an enormous gilded car, drawn by six piebald horses, with
coloured flags on their heads. On the top of this car sat a girl, intended
for Britannia, dressed in white, with a scarlet scarf across her shoulders,
a helmet on her head, and a trident in her hand. She was leaning against
two large shields, which alone prevented her from falling from her giddy
height. Some way below her, in front of the car, sat her two maidens,
dressed in glittering silver tinsel, upon which the rays of the sun made it
dazzling to look; whilst behind her, clinging on to the back of the car,
were two iron-clad men, whose scaly armour was also shining brightly.
Then the procession was over, and there was nothing to be heard or seen but
a noisy rabble, who were hastening on to get another glimpse of the
wonderful sight.
There were some girls standing near the caravan, close to Rosalie and her
mother, as the circus procession passed, and they were perfectly enraptured
with all they saw. When Britannia came in sight, they could hardly contain
themselves, so envious were they of her. One of them told the other she
would give anything to be sitting up there, dressed in gold and silver, and
she thought Britannia must be as happy as Queen Victoria.
'Oh,' said Rosalie's mother, leaning out and speaking in a low voice, 'you
would _soon_ get tired of it.'
'Not I,' said the girl; 'I only wish I had the chance.'
Rosalie's mother sighed, and said to Rosalie, 'Poor things! they little
know; I should not wonder if that poor girl is about as wretched as I am.
But people don't consider; they know nothing about it; they have to be
behind the scenes to know what it is like.'
Nothing further happened until the theatre party reached the place where
the fair was to be held. It was a large open square in the middle of the
town, which was generally used as a market-place. Although it was only
Saturday morning, and the fair was not to begin until Monday, many of the
shows had already arrived. The marionettes and the wild-beast show had
completed their arrangements, and one of the whirligigs was already in
action, and from time to time its proprietor rang a large bell, to call
together a fresh company of riders.
The children had a holiday, as it was Saturday, and they rushed home and
clamoured for pennies, that they might spend them in sitting on a wooden
horse, or elephant, or camel, or in one of the small omnibuses or open
carriages, and then being taken round by means of steam at a tremendous
pace, till their breath was nearly gone; and when they alighted once more
on the ground, they hardly knew where they were, or whether they were
standing on their heads or on their feet. And for long after many of these
children were dizzy and sick, and felt as if they were walking on ground
which gave way beneath them as they trod on it.
As soon as Augustus arrived at the place where his theatre was to be
erected, he and his men began their work. For the next few hours there was
nothing to be heard on all sides but rapping and hammering, every one
working with all his might to get everything finished before sunset. Each
half hour fresh shows arrived, had their ground measured out for them by
the market-keeper, and began to unload and fasten up immediately.
Rosalie stood at the door and looked out; but she had seen it all so often
before that it was no amusement to her, and she felt very glad, as, one by
one, the shows were finished and the hammering ceased.
But, just as she hoped that all was becoming quiet, she heard a dreadful
noise at the back of the caravan. It was her father's voice, and he was in
a towering passion with one of the men, who had annoyed him by neglecting
to put up part of the scaffolding properly. The two men shouted at each
other for some time, and a large number of people, who were strolling about
amongst the shows, collected round them to see what was the matter.
At length a policeman, seeing the crowd, came and ordered them off, and
they were obliged to retreat inside the theatre.
That night Augustus came into the caravan to smoke his pipe, and informed
his wife that it was very well she was so much better, for he and Conrad
had had a disagreement, and Conrad had taken his things and gone off, so of
course she would have to take her part on Monday night.
Rosalie looked at her mother, and Rosalie's mother looked at her, but
neither of them spoke.
But as soon as her father had left them for the night, Rosalie said--
'Mammie dear, you'll _never_ be able to stand all that long, long
time; I'm sure it will make you worse, mammie dear.'
'Never mind, Rosalie; it's no use telling your father, he thinks I am only
complaining if I do.'
'But oh, mammie dear, what if it makes you bad again, as it did before?'
'It can't be helped, child; I shall have to do it, so it's no use talking
about it; I may as well do it without making a fuss about it; your father
is put out to-night, darling, and it would never do to annoy him more.'
But little Rosalie was not satisfied, she looked very tenderly and
sorrowfully at her mother; and the next morning she went timidly to tell
her father that she did not think her mother would ever get through her
part, she was too weak for it. But he told her shortly to mind her own
business; so little Rosalie could do nothing more--nothing, except watch
her mother very carefully and gently all that long, dreary Sunday, scarcely
allowing her to rise from her seat, but fetching her everything she wanted,
and looking forward, sick at heart, to the morrow.
The church-bells chimed in all directions, crowds of people in their Sunday
clothes passed along the market-place to church or chapel; but to Rosalie
and her mother Sunday brought no joy.
It was a fine, bright day, so most of the show-people were roaming about
the town; but Rosalie's mother was too weak to go out, and her little girl
did not like to leave her.
'Rosalie,' said her mother that Sunday afternoon, 'I'm going to give you a
present.'
'A present for me, mammie dear?' said Rosalie.
'Yes, little woman. Pull that large box from under the bed. It's rather
heavy, dear; can you manage it?'
'Oh yes, mammie dear, quite well.'
Rosalie's mother sat down by the box, and began to unpack it. At the top of
the box were some of her clothes and Rosalie's; but it was a long time
since she had turned out the things at the bottom of the box. She took out
from it a small bundle pinned up in a towel, then, calling Rosalie to her
side, she drew out the pins one by one, and opened it. Inside were several
small parcels carefully tied up in paper.
In the first parcel was a little pair of blue shoes, with a tiny red sock.
'Those were my little Arthur's, Rosalie,' said her mother, with tears in
her eyes; 'I put them away the day he was buried, and I've never liked to
part with them. No one will care for them when I'm gone, though,' said she,
with a sigh.
'Oh, mammie dear,' said Rosalie, 'don't talk so!'
The next parcel contained a small square box; but before she opened it, she
went to the door and looked cautiously out. Then, after seeing that no one
was near, she touched a spring, and took out of the velvet-lined case a
beautiful little locket. There was a circle of pearls all round it, and the
letters N.E.H. were engraved in a monogram outside.
Then she opened the locket, and showed Rosalie the picture of a girl with a
very sweet and gentle face, and large, soft brown eyes.
'Rosalie darling,' said her mother, 'that is my sister Lucy.'
Rosalie took the locket in her hand, and looked at it very earnestly.
'Yes,' said the poor woman, 'that is my sister Lucy--my own sister Lucy. I
haven't looked at it for many a day; I can hardly bear to look at it now,
for I shall never see her again--never, darling! What's that, Rosalie?' she
said fearfully, covering the locket with her apron, as some one passed the
caravan.
'It's only some men strolling through the fair, mammie dear,' said Rosalie.
'Because I wouldn't have your father see this for the world; he would soon
sell it if he did. I've hid it up all these years, and never let him find
it. I could not bear to part with it; she gave it to me my last birthday
that I was at home. I remember it so well, Rosalie dear; I had been very
disagreeable to Lucy a long time before that, for I knew I was doing wrong,
and I had such a weight on my mind that I could not shake it off, and it
made me cross and irritable.
'Lucy was never cross with me, she always spoke gently and kindly to me;
and I sometimes even wished she would be angry, that I might have some
excuse for my bad behaviour.
'Well, dear, when I woke that morning, I found this little box laid on my
pillow, and a note with it, asking me to accept this little gift from my
sister Lucy, and always to keep it for her sake. Oh, Rosalie darling,
wasn't it good of her, when I had been so bad to her?
'Well, I kissed her, and thanked her for it, and I wore it round my neck;
and when I ran away that morning, I put it safely in my bag, and I've kept
it ever since. Your father has not seen it for many years, and he has
forgotten all about it. When we were so poor, I used to be so afraid he
would remember this locket and sell it, as he did all my other jewels. It
was hard enough parting with some of them; but I did not care so much so
long as I kept this one, for I promised Lucy that morning that I would
_never_, _never_ part with it.'
'It is pretty, mammie dear,' said Rosalie.
'Yes, child; it will be yours some day, when I die; remember, it is for
you; but you must never let it be sold or pawned, Rosalie, I couldn't bear
to think it ever would be. And now we'll put it back again, it won't be
safe here; your father might come in any minute.'
'Here's one more parcel, mammie.'
'Yes, keep that out, dear; that's your present,' said her mother. 'I can't
give you the locket yet, because I must keep it till I die; but you shall
have the other to-day.'
She took off the paper, and put into Rosalie's hands a small black
Testament. The child opened the book, and read on the fly-leaf, 'Mrs.
Augustus Joyce. From her friend Mrs. Bernard, in remembrance of little
Arthur, and with the prayer that she may meet her child in heaven.'
'I promised her that I would read it, Rosalie; but I haven't,' said the
poor woman. 'I read a few verses the first week she gave it to me, but I've
never read it since. I wish I had--oh, I _do_ wish I had!'
'Let me read it to you, mammie dear.'
'That's what I got it out for, darling; you might read a bit of it to me
every day; I don't know whether it will do me any good, it's almost too
late now, but I can but try.'
'Shall I begin at once, mammie dear?'
'Yes, directly, Rosalie; I'll just write your name in it, that you may
always remember your mother when you see it.'
So Rosalie brought her a pen and ink, and she wrote at the bottom of the
page--'My little Rosalie, with her mother's love.'
'And now, child, you may begin to read.'
'What shall it be, mammie dear?'
'Find the part about your picture, dear; I should think it will say under
the text where it is.'
With some trouble Rosalie found Luke xv. and began to read--
'And He spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an
hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine
in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And
when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when
he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto
them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto
you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,
more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.'
'_I_ need repentance, Rosalie, child,' said her mother.
'What is repentance, mammie dear?'
'It means being sorry for what you've done, Rosalie darling, and hating
yourself for it, and wishing never to do wrong again.'
'Then, mammie, if you need repentance, you must be like the _one_
sheep, not like the ninety-nine.'
'Yes, child, I'm a lost sheep, there's no doubt about that; I've gone very
far astray,--so far that I don't suppose I shall ever get back again; it's
much easier to get wrong than to get right; it's a _very, very_ hard
thing to find the right road when you've once missed it; it doesn't seem
much use my trying to get back, I have such a long way to go.'
'But, mammie dear, isn't it just like the sheep?'
'What do you mean, Rosalie darling?'
'Why, the sheep couldn't find its way back, could it, mammie? sheep never
can find their way. And this sheep didn't walk back; did it? He carried it
on His shoulder, like my picture; I don't suppose it would seem so very far
when He carried it.'
Rosalie's mother made no answer when her child said this, but she seemed to
be thinking about it. She sat looking thoughtfully out of the window; much,
very much was passing in her mind. Then Rosalie closed the Testament, and,
wrapping it carefully in the paper in which it had been kept so many years,
she hid it away in the box again.
It was Sunday evening now, and once more the church-bells rang, and once
more the people went past with books in their hands. Rosalie wished very
much that she could creep into one of the churches and hear another sermon.
But just then her father and the men came back and wanted their tea; and,
instead of the quiet service, Rosalie had to listen to their loud talking
and noisy laughter.
And then her father sent for her into the large caravan, and made her go
through her part of the play. She was just finishing her recital as the
people passed back again from evening service.