Jeremy

nothing at all-a sugar elephant in a stocking, a box of pencils on a Christmas tree, "Hark, the Herald Angels..." at three in the morning below one's window, a lighted plum-pudding, a postman four hours late, his back bent with bursting parcels. And it is som

n arithmetic, and a stocking change into something that "boys who go to school never have"-the last of the Christmases of divine magic, when the snow fell and the waits sang and the stockings were filled and the t

had a new dress in which, by general consent, she looked ridiculous; how Mary, owing to the foolish kindness of Mrs. Bartholomew, the Precentor's wife, was introduced to the works of Charlotte Mary Yonge and became quite impossible in consequence; how Miss Maple had a children's party at which there was nothing to eat, so that all the children c

was one incident of this Christmas that stands out and away from all the others, an affair that he will never all his days forget, an

ng visit to Polchester of Denny's Great Christmas Pantomime "Dick Whittington." Boxing Night was to see the first performan

hose days trains were not easy, and if you wished to attend an afternoon performance at the Drymouth Theatre you must rise very early in the morning by the candle-light an

the two eldest daughters of the Dean, aged ten and eleven, had been once to London and to Drury Lane Theatre, their sense of glory and distinction so cl

King of the Zanzibar Islands. The King, a Mulatto, sat with his court in a hall with golden pillars, and the rats were to be seen flying in a confused flood towards the golden gates, whilst Dick, in red plush and diamond buckles, stood in dignified majesty, the Cat at his side. Ther

was silent and controlled about the matter, asked very few questions, and although he talked to himself a little did not disturb the general peace of the nursery. On Mary and Helen the effect

rs with gold on them?" no one paid any attention save Ham

Dick Whittington, but this knowledge and experience did not in the least force him to realise that this performance of Mr. Denny's was simply a larger, more developed "dressing up" and pretending. In some mysterious but nevertheless direct fashion

lchester was a very jolly place. So might come any day Ja

ool of himself, so he asked nothing. He dragged out his toy village and tried to make it a bridge in his imagination between the

helped with the boots and the knives, he was always restrained and courteous. He did indeed growl at Aunt Amy, but always with such a sense of humour that everyone (except Aunt Amy) was charmed, and he never actually supported the children in their rebellions against the Jampot, although you could see that he liked and approved of such things. The Jampot hated him with a passion that caused the nursery to quiver with emotion. Was he not the cause of her approac

me to the nursery as a stranger, and saw him sitting, his eyes fixed beamingly upon the machine, his tail erect, and his body here and there quivering a little, that from duties of manly devotion he was protecting the Jampot's property. She knew better; she regarded, in some undefined way, this continued contemplation by him of her

ore. He would slide down to the floor, his whole body collapsing; his head would rest upon Jeremy's foot; he would dream of cats, of rats, of birds, of the Jampot, of beef and gravy, of sugar, of being washed, of the dogs' Valhalla, of fire and warmth, of Jeremy, of walks when every piece of flying paper was a challenge, of dogs, dogs that he had known of when he was a puppy, of doing things he shouldn't, of punishment and wisdom, pride and anger, of love-affairs of his youth, of battle, of

, turning upon Helen; "it c

an?" sh

Dick Whitting

ed "proper presents" on either of those two great present-giving occasions. She was always allowed, however, a "treat"; her requests were generally in the

hey'd let us?" she

it was right for children to see acting, and Mother always does the opposite to wha

silly!"

cat, anyway, and he'd love to see all the rats and things. He

t next him he w

Aunt Amy,"

rd that Lucy and Angela, the aforesaid daughters of the Dea

ut "supporting a very praiseworthy effort. They are presenting, I unders

he readiness with which

storal fashion. "Good for us... good for us... t

said "that nothing

ese sumptuous dates. Jeremy had a sumptuous time; Hamlet had a sumptuous time (a whole sugar rat, plates and

sent-leaving expedition. The excitement of that! The wonderful shapes and sizes of the parcels, the mysterious streets, the door-handles and the door-bells, the glittering stars, the maidservants, the sense

n, Bed... There followed Headache, Ill-temper, Smacking of Mary, Afternoon Walk, Good Temper again, Complete Wearines

y. Say you slept from eight to seven-eleven hours; that left thirteen hours; six thirteen hours was, so Helen said, seventy-eight. Sev

the Jampot's sewing machine in it with more quivering intensity than ever. The Day Before The Day arrived, the evening befo

wful thing

thinking-then he was up, running about the nursery floor as though he were a young man in Mr. Ro

with immense speed, as though that would hasten the coming of the evening. He

leaving them all in a week and was a strange confusion of sentiment

Fasten it," he s

ter Jeremy, and well you know it," sh

hat he realised that he had not. He flushed. The Jampot eyed him with a sudde

back-but something held him as though a stronger than

y cleaned th

s on the ground. Never was there a

my sensation about his heart. Slowly, very slowly, the consciousness stole upon him

y held him. He was not going to give the Jampot an opportunity for triumphing over him. After all, he

rew heavier and heavier. He watched, from under his eyelids, the Jampot. In a moment she must go into Helen's room. But she did not. She stayed for a little arranging the things on the breakfast-table-then suddenly

appeared again. She stood in the

ass isn't touched, nor your toothbrush... You wicked, wicked boy. S

ttered sullenly.

smile of appr

ew you'd told a lie. It was in your

sure, was enraging. Jeremy could feel the wild fury at himself, at h

you paid me all the gold in the kingdom. I mayn't be good enough to keep my place and look after such as you, but any

her own vindication and the just condemnatio

d. "You can tell anyone you like. I don't

said, her voice low and trembling. "I'm not here to be called names by s

into a damp clammy depth of degradation. What must this world be that it could change itself so i

ked. He only felt miserable, sick and defiant. Mary and Helen came in, their eyes open to a crisis,

as his daily habit-for a m

cried. "Ready for to-night? N

e atmosphere was sinful, he changed his voice to that of the Chil

y to 'ave to tell you, sir, that Master Je

said, turning to hi

to his father's, was h

ned my teeth when I hadn't. Nurse went and l

grieved and at the same time t

Cole's voice was full

said

you s

ie, but I'm not sorry I ca

rem

. She is a b

ven though it were only a small boy of eight. He took r

nishment, Jeremy, will show you how wrong you have been. I'

at moment, into something shapeless and old. His heart had given a wild leap of

he always was by Jeremy

by yourself. I shall forbid your sisters to speak to you. Mary and Helen

ther," s

n't he come to-n

, I'm afr

e said. She wished to make the further sacrifice of saying that she wo

e dumb misery of Jeremy's face the Jampot's hear-in r

say your father will take you, after all; and we won't think

of bacon, nor the advances of Hamlet, nor the flood of sunl

ent that he had felt. They had not dreamt of it for days and nights and nights and days, as he

middle-aged philosophers assure us that children are light-hearted and unfeeling animals? Let

sted again; he would be pointed at, as the boy who had

are terrible tragedies, because a child has no sense of time; a moment's dismay is eternal; a

ner by the fire. He did not attempt conversation with anyone. Once or twic

o and tell your father you're sorry..." or "Well, then, Master Jeremy,

Here they were, sulks of the worst-and so, like many wiser than herself, she cov

at there, not speaking, not raising his eyes, a condemned creature. Mary

ere taken downstairs by Nurse, who had her evening ou

ned, voices echoed, car

let were left

I

one had gone and that he might behave now as he pleased,

down upon his arms, and his body squeezed together so that his knees were close to his nose and his hair in his boots. Hamlet restored him to himself. Instead of assisting his master's grief, as a sentimental dog would hav

e only little shudders, rather pleasant and healthy. He looked about him, rubb

d so they were scarcely lies... Now, in some strange way, the publication of his lie had shown him what truly impossible things lies were. He had witnessed this effect upon the general public; he had not believed that he was

d history of Dick Whittinglon, the history that he had pursued ceaselessly during all these days and nights-

with it.... After all, he was going to school in September. His punishment could not be quite limitless. Hamlet had just shown his approval of this manly

up at him from the floor, where he was squatting

urry. He did not wear his blue painting-smock, but was in a comparativel

aid, "or we sha

. "Too late?"

ou-to the Pantomime? The

ce's feast in the "Looking Glass," and swung round, lurching from side to side,

rstand," Jere

of the show at all. Go on. Wash your face. There are streaks of dirt all down it as t

t included every thing that he had most loved-fish-cakes, sausages, ices, strawberry jam, sponge-cake, chocolates, and s

nd his boots and cap and coat and then, deliberately keeping from him

eady,

fusia look

u take everything so quietly-but, th

whether perhaps the dream would extend to

can't," said Unc

e. She'll wonder

t a conscientious infant you are. Ju

e he shut his eyes in order to continue the dream so long as it was possible. Then

true? Are we

. Come on-step out or

ep breath. "Then they don'

ey-

Mother and

out them. You'd bet

ldn't go to the Panto

so much. You know I hate you children

lamp-posts ran up to you as though they were going to knock you down, and the way that the stars crackled and sputtered and trembled overhead. But Uncle Samuel's hand

remy having become so breathless that Uncle Samuel

ng to sit with your father and mother-there isn't room for you there. So don't you go calling out

uiet," gas

of tea. Jeremy caught the jingle of money. Then they moved forward, stumbling in the dark up a number of stone

loudly indeed: "Oh, my great aunt! Oh, my great aunt! Oh, my great aunt!" A roar of laughter rose about him, alm

ere clapping in his very nose, of falling into a seat and then clinging to it as though it was his only hope in this strange puzzling world

ch figures were dimly moving, and from the heart of which the strange voice came. He heard a woman's voice, then several voices together; then suddenly the whole scene shifted into focu

large boots, and a red nose. It was from this strange creature that the deep ugly voice proceeded. She had, this old woman, a number of bales of cloth under her arms, and she tried to carry them all, but one slipped, and then another, and then another; she bent to pick them up and her hat fell off; she turned for her hat and all the bales tumbled together. Jeremy began to laugh-everyone laughed; the strange voice came again and aga

with a sudden creaking and darkness and clattering did this one) into gardens by the s

Even at Drury Lane thirty years back there were many things that they did not know, and it is not likely that a touring company fitted into so inadequate an old building as our Assembly Rooms

le, the cat as large as he watching sympathetically beside him. In the distance were the lights of London, and then, out of the half dusk, fairies gl

were two hand instruments worked by a youth in shirt sleeves behind the scenes so energetically that the High Road and the painted London blew backwards and forwards in sympathy with his movements. Jeremy, happily, was not so worldly wise as his uncle. This scene crea

better." Little by little he withdrew himself from the other world and realised his own. He could see that he and his uncle were certainly not amongst the Quality. Large ladies, their dresses tucked up over their knees, sucked oranges. Country farmers with huge knobbly looking sticks were there, and even some sailors, on their way probably to Dry

ways the old times. The huge lady in the seat next to Jeremy almost swallowed him up, so that he peered out from under her thick arm, and heard every crunch and crackle of the peppermints that she was enjoying. He grew hotter and hotter, so that at last he seemed, as once he had read in some warning tract about a greedy boy that Aunt Amy had given him, "to swim in his own fat." But he did not mind. Discomfort only emphas

em?" he asked excit

iedly. "Nonsense. They wouldn't se

nged places with them for anything. He gave a little sigh of satisfaction. "

aid Uncle Samuel. "You'r

emy. "It's beautifully hot her

" said Unc

e all swallowed by a whale, cast up by a most lucky chance on the Zanzibars, nearly cooked by the natives, and rescued by the King of the Zanzibars' beautiful daughter, killed all the rats, were given a huge feast, with dance and song, and finally Dick, although tempted by the dusky Princess, refused a large fortune and returned to Alice of Eastcheap, the true lad

deeply excited that he did not know whether it were he or the lady next to him who was eating peppermints,

, and stumbled out over knees

, hearty young woman!" and so on. He was dragged through th

n't the end

" said his uncle. "And I w

said

nd. Come on;

nd then, once again in the old

ry, and then they'll never k

eremy. "But you said

sn't exactly true. As a matter of f

r of his mouth turning down.

Samuel impatiently. "It

tter your telling

or Uncle Samuel, interrupted by the arrival of the h

l, his great coat still on and his muffler round his

'd forgiven him and sent for him to come, after all. He'

ut. Mrs. Cole looked at her son. His body defiant, sleepy, excited. His mouth was obstinate, but hi

ugged

a lie again, will

n the steps, Mother, wasn't it lovely? And the fairies in Dick Whitt

there was this puzzle: Uncle Samuel had told a lie, and no one had thought that it mattered. There we

y half asleep. There was Hamlet watching

o think about for year

as the

led you a beastl

snif

u'll be a good b

ut, Nurse, are there some people

"And now, Master Jeremy, come along and take your things