Holiday House: A Series of Tales

by Catherine Sinclair

  CHAPTER X.

  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 ofhis 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 sitlike a horde of gypsies, and amuse themselves with telling fortunes toeach other. Harry and Laura had no one with them but Betty, who gladlyjoined a group of nursery-maids at a distance, leaving them to their owndevices; upon which they rushed up to Peter and offered theirassistance, subscribing all their pocket-money, and begging him to setforth and obtain provisions for them as well as for himself. NeitherHarry nor Laura cared for eating the trash that was collected on thisoccasion, and would have been quite as well pleased to distribute itamong their companions; but they both enjoyed extremely the bustle ofarranging this elegant dejeune or "_disjune_," as Peter called it. Harrygathered leaves off the trees to represent plates, on each of whichPeter arranged some of the fruit or sweetmeats he had purchased, whilethey placed benches together as a table, and borrowed Laura's whiteIndia shawl for a table-cloth.

  "It looks like that grand public dinner we saw at the Assembly Roomsone day!" exclaimed Harry, in an ecstacy of admiration. "We must havespeeches and toasts like real gentlemen and officers. Peter! if you willmake a fine oration, full of compliments to me, I shall say somethingwonderful about you, and then Laura must beat upon the table with astick, to show that she agrees to all that we observe in praise of eachother."

  "Or suppose we all take the names of some great personages," addedPeter, "I shall be the Duke of Wellington, and Laura, you must be JosephHume, and Harry, you are Sir Francis Burdett, that we may seem asdifferent as possible; but here comes the usher of the black rod todisperse us all! Mrs. Crabtree hurrying into the square, her very gownflaming with rage! what can be the matter! she must have smelled thesugar-plums a mile off! one comfort is, if Harry and Laura are takenaway, we shall have the fewer people to divide these cakes among, and Icould devour every one of them, for my own share."

  Before Peter finished speaking, Mrs. Crabtree had come close up to thetable, and without waiting to utter a word, or even to scold, shetwitched up Laura's shawl in her hand, and thus scattered the wholefeast in every direction on the ground, after which she trampled thesugar-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 putinto the monkey's cage at the GEOlogical gardens! I would not be yourmaid, 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 scarcelyallow 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 amonth, do you think? or to make me as good as Frank, it might possiblyrequire six weeks."

  "Six weeks!" answered Mrs. Crabtree; "six years, or sixty, would be tooshort. You are no more like Mr. Frank than a shilling is to a guinea, ora wax light to a dip. If the news were told that you had been a good boyfor a single day, the very _statutes_ in the streets would come runningalong to see the wonder. No! no! I have observed many surprising thingsin my day, but them great pyramuses in Egypt will turn upside downbefore you turn like Mr. Frank."

  Some days after this adventure of Harry and Laura's, there arrivednewspapers from London containing accounts of a great battle which hadbeen fought abroad. On that occasion the British troops of courseperformed prodigies of valour, and completely conquered the enemy, inconsequence of which, it was ordered by government, that, in every town,and every village, and every house throughout the whole kingdom, thereshould be a grand illumination.

  Neither Harry nor Laura had ever heard of such a thing as anillumination before, and they were full of curiosity to know what it waslike; but their very faces became lighted up with joy, when Major Grahamdescribed that they would see crowds of candles flaming in every window,tar-barrels blazing on every hill, flambeaux glaring at the doors, andtransparencies, fire-works, and coloured lamps shining in all thestreets.

  "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 knowwhether I am in my right wits, or my wrong wits, for joy! I wish wegained a victory every day!"

  "What a warrior you would be, Harry! Caesar was nothing to you," saidFrank. "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, tosee a whole nation rejoicing at once! In general, when you walk out andmeet fifty persons in the street, they are all thinking of fiftydifferent things, and each intent on some business of his own, but onthis occasion all are of one mind and one heart."

  Frank and Harry were allowed to nail a dozen of little candlesticks uponeach window in the house, which delighted them exceedingly, and then,before every pane of glass, they placed a tall candle, impatientlylonging for the time when these were to be illuminated. Laura wasallowed to carry a match, and assist in lighting them, but in the excessof her joy, she very nearly made a bonfire of herself, as her frock tookfire, and would soon have been in a blaze, if Frank had not hastilyseized a large rug and rolled it round her.

  In every house within sight, servants and children were to be seenhurrying about with burning matches, while hundreds of lights blazed upin 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 behappy in the dark!"

  "No, Mrs. Crabtree!" answered Frank, laughing. "They cannot be happy inthe dark! People's spirits are always in exact proportion to the numberof lights. If you ever feel dull with one candle, light another; and ifthat does not do, try a third, or a fourth, till you feel merry andcheerful. We must not let you be candle-snuffer to-night, or you will beputting them all out. You would snuff out the sun itself, to save ashilling."

  "The windows might perhaps be broken," added Laura; "for whatever paneof 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 mendthe damage next day, which they will be paid handsomely for doing."

  There were many happy, joyous faces, to be seen that evening in thestreets, admiring the splendid illumination; but the merriest party ofall, was composed of Frank, Harry, and Laura, under the command of uncleDavid, who had lately suffered from a severe fit of the gout; but itseemed to have left him this night, in honour of the great victory, whenhe appeared quite as much a boy as either of his two companions. Formany hours they walked about in the streets, gazing up at the glitteringwindows, some of which looked as if a constellation of stars had comedown for a night to adorn them; and others were filled with the mostbeautiful pictures of Britannia carrying the world on her shoulders; orMars showering down wreaths of laurel on the Duke of Wellington, whilevictory 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 arepresentation in red, blue, yellow, and black, of Europe, Asia, Africa,and America, all doing homage to St. George mounted on a dragon, whichbreathed out fire and smoke like a steam-boat. Nothing, however,occasioned the party such a burst of delightful surprise, as when theyfirst beheld the line of blazing windows more than a mile long, from thebottom of the Canongate to the highest pinnacle of the Castle, wherethey seemed almost to meet the stars shining above, in their perpetualglory. "You see," remarked Major Graham, when he pointed them out to hisyoung companions, "there is a fit emblem of the difference between earthand heaven. These lights nearer and brighter to us at present; but whenthey 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 shinefor ages and generations hereafter, till time itself is no more."

  Occasionally, during their progress, Harry felt very indignant toobserve a few houses perfectly dark; and whether the family were sick,or out of town, or whatever the reason might be, he scarcely becamesorry when a frequent crash might be heard, as the mob, determined tohave their own way this night, aimed showers of stones at the offendingwindows, till the very frames seemed in danger of being broken. At lastuncle David led his joyous little party into Castle Street, in which nota light was to be seen, and every blind seemed carefully closed. A crowdhad assembled, with an evident intention to attack these melancholyhouses, when Major Graham suddenly caught hold of Harry's arm, onobserving that he had privately picked up a large stone, which he was inthe very act of throwing with his whole force at one of the defencelesswindows. And now the whole party stood stock still, while uncle Davidsaid in a very angry and serious voice,

  "Harry! you heedless, mischievous boy! will you never learn to considera moment before you do what is wrong? I am exceedingly displeased withyou for this! What business is it of yours whether that house be lightedup 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 breakthose 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, Isuppose you would assist the conflagration, Harry. Your excuse is a verybad one; and when you hear what I have to say about this house, let itbe a lesson for the rest of your life, never to judge hastily, nor toact rashly. The officer to whom it belonged, has been killed in thegreat battle abroad; and while we are rejoicing in the victory that hisbravery helped to gain, his widow and children are weeping within thosewalls, 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 homethis moment, and not to see a candle again for a week. It was very wrongof me indeed. I shall walk all the way home, with my eyes shut, if youwill only excuse me."

  "No, no, Harry! that is not necessary! If the eyes of your mind areopen, to see that you have acted amiss, then try to behave better infuture. When people are happy themselves, they are too apt to forgetthat others may be in distress, and often feel quite surprised andprovoked at those who appear melancholy; but our turn must come liketheirs. Life is made up of sunshine and shadow, both of which are sentfor our good, and neither of them last, in this world, for ever; but weshould borrow part of our joys, and part of our sorrows, from sympathywith all those we see or know, which will moderate the excess ofwhatever is our own portion in life."

  At this moment, the mob, which had been gradually increasing, gave atremendous shout, and were on the point of throwing a torrent of stonesat the dark, mournful house, which had made so narrow an escape fromHarry's vengeance, when Major Graham, forgetting his gout, hastilysprung upon a lamp-post, and calling for attention, he made a speechto the crowd, telling of the brave Captain D---- who had died for hiscountry, covered with wounds, and that his mourning family was assembledin that house. Instantly the mob became as silent and motionless as ifthey had themselves been turned into stones; after which they graduallystole away, with downcast eyes, and mournful countenances; while it isbelieved that some riotous people, who had been loudest and fiercest atfirst, 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 gosilently along, in respect for the memory of a brave and good officer.Not another shout was heard in the neighbourhood that night; and many amerry laugh was suddenly checked from reverence for the memory of thedead, and the sorrow of the living; while some spectators remarked, witha sigh of melancholy reflection, that men must ever join trembling withtheir 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, itshows," said Frank, "what a dreadful thing war is, which costs the livesof thousands and tens of thousands in every campaign, by sickness andfatigue, and the other sources of misery that accompany every army."

  "Yes, Frank! and yet there has scarcely been a year on earth, while theworld has existed, without fighting in some country or another, for,since the time when Cain killed Abel, men have been continuallydestroying each other. Animals only fight in temporary irritation whenthey are hungry, but pride, ambition, and folly of every kind, havecaused men to hate and massacre each other. Even religion itself hascaused the fiercest and most bloody conflicts, though, if that were onlyunderstood and obeyed as it ought to be, the great truths of Scripturewould produce peace on earth, and good-will among all the children ofmen."

  The whole party had been standing for some minutes opposite to thepost-office, which looked like a rainbow of coloured lamps, and Harrywas beginning, for the twentieth time, to try if he could count how manythere were, when Major Graham felt something twitching hold of his coatpocket behind, and on wheeling suddenly round, he perceived a littleboy, not much older than Harry, darting rapidly off in anotherdirection, carrying his own purse and pocket-handkerchief in his hand.Being still rather lame, and unable to move very fast, Major Grahamcould only vociferate at the very top of his voice, "Stop thief! stopthief!" but not a constable appeared in sight, so the case seemeddesperate, and the money lost for ever, when Frank observed also whathad occurred, and being of an active spirit, he flew after the youngthief, followed closely by Harry. An eager race ensued, up one street,and down another, with marvellous rapidity, while Frank was so evidentlygaining ground, that the thief at last became terrified, and threw awaythe purse, hoping thus to end the chase; but neither of his pursuerspaused a moment to pick it up, they were so intent upon capturing thelittle culprit himself. At length Frank sprung forward and caught him bythe collar, when a fierce conflict ensued, during which the young thiefwas so ingenious, that he nearly slipped his arms out of his coat, andwould have made his escape, leaving a very tattered garment in theirhands, 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 theparty, evidently intending to rescue the little pick-pocket from theircustody; so Frank called loudly for help, while several police-officerswho 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 beena couple of Bow Street officers, till at length the tall fierce manthought it time to be off, though not before he had given Harry a blowon the face, that caused him to reel back, and fall prostrate on thepavement.

  "There's a brave little gentleman!" said one of the constables, helpinghim up, while another secured the thief. "You ought to be knighted forfighting so well! This boy you have taken is a sad fellow! He broke hispoor mother's heart a year since by his wicked ways, and I have longwished to catch him. A few weeks on the tread-mill now, may save himfrom the gallows in future."

  "He seems well practised in his business," observed Major Graham. "Ialmost deserved; however, to lose my pocket-book for bringing it out ina night of so much crowding and confusion. Some lucky person will be allthe richer, though I fear it is totally lost to me."

  "But here is your pocket-handkerchief, uncle David, if you mean to shedany tears for your misfortune," whispered Laura; "how very lucky thatyou 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, withoutbeing noticed! When I was in India, the thieves there were so expertthat they really could draw the sheets from under a person sleeping inbed, without disturbing his slumbers."

  "With me, any person could do that, because I sleep so very sou
ndly,"observed Frank. "You might beat a military drum at my ear, as they do inthe boy's sleeping rooms at Sandhurst, and it would not have thesmallest effect. I scarcely think that even a gong would do!"

  "How very different from me," replied Laura. "Last night I was awakenedby the scratching of a mouse nibbling in the wainscoat, and soon afterit ran across my face."

  "Then pray sleep to-night with your mouth open, and a piece of toastedcheese in it, to catch the mouse," said Major Graham. "That is the besttrap I know!"

  "Uncle David," asked Frank, as they proceeded along the street, "ifthere is any hope of that wicked boy being reformed, will you try tohave him taught better? Being so very young, he must have learned fromolder people to steal."

  "Certainly he must! It is melancholy to know how carefully mere childrenare trained to commit the very worst crimes, and how little the mind ofany young boy can be a match for the cunning of old, experiencedvillains like those who lead them astray. When once a child falls intothe snare of such practised offenders, escape becomes as impossible asthat of a bird from a limed twig."

  "So I believe," replied Frank. "Grandmama told me that the very youngestchildren of poor people, when first sent to school in London, are oftenwaylaid by those old women who sell apples in the street, and whopretend to be so good-natured that they make them presents of fruit. Ofcourse these are very acceptable, but after some time, those wickedwretches propose that the child in return shall bring them a book, oranything he can pick up at home, which shall be paid for in apples andpears. Few little boys have sufficient firmness not to comply, whetherthey like it or not, and after that the case is almost hopeless,because, whenever the poor victim hesitates to steal more, those cruelwomen threaten to inform the parents of his misconduct, which terrifiesthe boy into doing anything rather than be found out."

  "Oh, how dreadful!" exclaimed Laura. "It all begins so smoothly! No poorlittle boy could suspect any danger, and then he becomes a hardenedthief at once."

  "Grandmama says, too, that pick-pockets, in London used to have thestuffed figure of a man hung from the roof of their rooms, and coveredall over with bells, for the boys to practise upon, and no one wasallowed to attempt stealing on the streets, till he could pick thepocket of this dangling effigy, without ringing one of the many bellswith which it was ornamented."

  "I think," said Harry, "when the young thieves saw that figure hangingin the air, it might have reminded them how soon they would share thesame fate. Even crows take warning when they see a brother crow hangingdead in a field."

  "It is a curious thing of crows, Harry, that they certainly punishthieves 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. Iremember hearing formerly, that in the great rookery at --------, whenall the other birds were absent, one solitary crow was observed tolinger behind, stealing materials for his nest from those around, butnext morning a prodigious uproar was heard among the trees,--the cawingbecame so vociferous, that evidently several great orators wereagitating the crowd, till suddenly the enraged crows flew in a body uponthe nest of their dishonest associate, and tore it in pieces."

  "Bravo!" cried Frank. "I do like to hear about all the odd ways of birdsand animals! Grandmama mentioned lately, that, if you catch a crow, andfasten 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 ofthem at last alights to help him. Immediately the treacherous prisonergrapples hold of his obliging friend, and never afterwards lets himescape; so, by fastening down one after another, we might entrap thewhole rookery."

  "I shall try it some day!" exclaimed Harry, eagerly. "What fun to hearthem all croaking and cawing!"

  "We shall be croaking ourselves soon with colds, if we do not hurryhome," added uncle David. "There is not a thimbleful of light remaining,and your grandmama will be impatient to hear all the news. This hasreally been a most adventurous night, and I am sure none of us will soonforget 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 tobed, suddenly gave an exclamation of astonishment and dismay when shelooked at Harry, who now, for the first time since the robber hadknocked him down, approached the light, when he did, to be sure, appeara most terrible spectacle! His jacket was bespattered with mud, hisshirt-frill torn and bloody, one eye almost swelled out of his head, andthe 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 wholeshirt in your drawer!"

  "These are honourable scars, Mrs. Crabtree," interrupted Major Graham."Harry has been fighting my battles, and gained a great victory! we mustilluminate the nursery!"

  Uncle David then told the whole story, with many droll remarks, abouthis purse having been stolen, and said that, as Harry never complainedof being hurt, he never supposed that anything of the kind could haveoccurred; but he felt very much pleased to observe how well a certainyoung gentleman was able to bear pain, as boys must expect hard blows inthe world, when they had to fight their way through life, therefore itwas well for them to give as few as they could, and to bear withfortitude what fell to their own share. Uncle David slyly added, thatperhaps Harry put up with these things all the better for having so muchpractice in the nursery.

  Mrs. Crabtree seemed rather proud of Harry's manly spirit, and treatedhim with a little more respect than usual, saying, she would fetch himsome hot water to foment his face, if he would go straight up stairswith Laura. Now, it very seldom happened, that Harry went straightanywhere, for he generally swung down the bannisters again, or took aleap over any thing he saw on the way, or got upon some of the tablesand jumped off, but this night he had resolutely intended marchingsteadily up to bed, and advanced a considerable way, when a loud shoutin the street attracted his attention. Harry stopped, and it wasrepeated again, so seizing Laura by the hand, they flew eagerly intoLady Harriet's dressing-room, and throwing open a window, they picked upa couple of cloaks that were lying on a chair, and both stepped out on abalcony to find out what was going on; and in case any one should seethem in this unusual place, Harry quietly shut the window down,intending to remain only one single minute. Minutes run very fast awaywhen people are amused, and nothing could be more diverting than thesight they now beheld, for at this moment a grand crash exploded ofsquibs and rockets from the Castle-hill, which looked so beautiful inthe dark, that it seemed impossible to think of anything else. Some flewhigh in the air, and then burst into the appearance of twenty fieryserpents falling from the sky, others assumed a variety of colours, anddropped like flying meteors, looking as if the stars were all learningto dance, while many rushed into the air and disappeared, leaving not atrace behind. Harry and Laura stood perfectly entranced with admirationand delight, till the fire-works neither burst, cracked, nor explodedany more.

  A ballad-singer next attracted their notice, singing the tune of "Meetme by moonlight," and afterwards Laura shewed Harry the constellation ofOrion mentioned in the Bible, which, besides the Great Bear, was theonly one she had the slightest acquaintance with. Neither of them hadever observed the Northern Lights so brilliant before, and now they feltalmost alarmed to see them shooting like lances of fire across the sky,and glittering with many bright colours, like a rainbow, while Lauraremembered her grandmama mentioning some days ago, that the poor nativesof Greenland believe these are the spirits of their fathers going forthto battle.

  Meantime, Lady Harriet called Frank, as usual, to his evening prayersand reading in her dressing-room, where it was well known that they wereon no account to be disturbed. After having read a chapter, and talkedvery seriously about all it was intended to teach, they had begun todiscuss the prospect of Frank going abroad very soon to become amidshipman
, and he was wondering much where his first great shipwreckwould take place, and telling Lady Harriet about the loss of theCabalvala, where the crew lived for eight days on a barren rock, withnothing to eat but a cask of raspberry jam, which accidentally floatedwithin their reach. Before Frank had finished his story, however, hesuddenly paused, and sprung upon his feet with an exclamation ofastonishment, while Lady Harriet, looking hastily round in the samedirection, became terrified to observe a couple of faces looking in atthe window. It was so dark, she could not see what they were like, but amoment afterwards the sash began slowly and heavily opening, after whichtwo figures leaped into the room, while Frank flew to ring a peal at thebell, and Lady Harriet sunk into her own arm-chair, covering her facewith 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 andLaura!! impossible! how in all the world did you get here? I thought youwere both in bed half an hour ago! Tiresome boy! you will be the deathof me some time or other! I wonder when you will ever pass a day withoutdeserving the bastinado!"

  "Do you not remember the good day last month, grandmama, when I had asevere toothache, and sat all morning beside the fire? Nobody foundfault with me then, and I got safe to bed, without a single Oh fie! fromnoon 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. Nowtake yourselves off! I feel perfectly certain you will tell Mrs.Crabtree the exact truth about where you have been, and if she punishesyou, remember that it is no more than you both deserve. People whobehave ill are their own punishers, and should be glad that some onewill kindly take the trouble to teach them better."