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member was passing homewards down the road察singing as he went



;Then St。 George此ee made rev'rence此in the stable so dim

Oo vanquished the dragon此so fearful and grim。

So´o grim此and so´o fierce此that now may we say

All peaceful is our wakin'此on Chri´istmas Day 





The singer receded察the carol died away。  But I wondered察with my

hand on the door´latch察whether that was the song察or something

like it察that the dragon sang as he toddled contentedly up the

hill。







A DEPARTURE



It is a very fine thing to be a real Prince。  There are points

about a Pirate Chief察and to succeed to the Captaincy of a Robber

Band is a truly magnificent thing。  But to be an Heir has also

about it something extremely captivating。  Not only a long´lost

heiran heir of the melodrama察strutting into your hitherto

unsuspected kingdom at just the right moment察loaded up with the

consciousness of unguessed merit and of rights so long

feloniously withheldbut even to be a common humdrum domestic

heir is a profession to which few would refuse to be apprenticed。



To step from leading´strings and restrictions and one glass of

port after dinner察into property and liberty and due

appreciation察saved up察polished and varnished察dusted and

laid in lavender察all expressly for youwhy察even the Princedom

and the Robber Captaincy察when their anxieties and

responsibilities are considered察have hardly more to offer。  And

so it will continue to be a problem察to the youth in whom

ambition struggles with a certain sensuous appreciation of life's

side´dishes察whether the career he is called upon to select out

of the glittering knick´knacks that strew the counter had better

be that of an heir or an engine´driver。



In the case of eldest sons察this problem has a way of solving

itself。  In childhood察however察the actual heirship is apt to

work on the principle of the ;Borough´English; of our happier

ancestors察and in most cases of inheritance it is the youngest

that succeeds。  Where the ;res; is ;angusta察─and the weekly

books are simply a series of stiff hurdles at each of which in

succession the paternal legs falter with growing suspicion

of their powers to clear the flight察it is in the affair of

CLOTHES that the right of succession tells察and ;the hard heir

strides about the land; in trousers long ago framed for fraternal

limbsfrondes novas et non sua poma。  A bitter thing indeed 

Of those pretty silken threads that knit humanity together察high

and low察past and present察none is tougher察more pervading察or

more iridescent察than the honest察simple pleasure of new clothes。



It tugs at the man as it tugs at the woman察the smirk of the

well´fitted prince is no different from the smirk of the Sunday´

clad peasant察and the veins of the elders tingle with the same

thrill that sets their fresh´frocked grandchildren skipping。 

Never trust people who pretend that they have no joy in their new

clothes。



Let not our souls be wrung察however察at contemplation of the

luckless urchin cut off by parental penury from the rapture

of new clothes。  Just as the heroes of his dreams are his

immediate seniors察so his heroes' clothes share the glamour察and

the reversion of them carries a high privilegea special thing

not sold by Swears and Wells。  The sword of Galahadand of many

another heroarrived on the scene already hoary with history

and the boy rather prefers his trousers to be legendary察famous

haloed by his hero's renowneven though the nap may have

altogether vanished in the process。



But察putting clothes aside察there are other matters in which this

reversed heirship comes into play。  Take the case of Toys。  It is

hardly right or fittingand in this the child quite acquiesces

that as he approaches the reverend period of nine or say ten

years察he should still be the unabashed and proclaimed possessor

of a hoop and a Noah's Ark。  The child will quite see the

reasonableness of this察and察the goal of his ambition being now a

catapult察a pistol察or even a sword´stick察will be satisfied that

the titular ownership should lapse to his juniors察so far below

him in their kilted or petticoated incompetence。  After all察the

things are still there察and if relapses of spirit occur察on wet

afternoons察one can still nominally borrow them and be happy on

the floor as of old察without the reproach of being a habitual

baby toy´caresser。  Also one can pretend it's being done to amuse

the younger ones。



None of us察therefore察grumbled when in the natural course of

things the nominal ownership of the toys slipped down to Harold

and from him in turn devolved upon Charlotte。  The toys were

still there察they always had been there and always would be

there察and when the nursery door was fast shut there were no

Kings or Queens or First Estates in that small Republic on

the floor。  Charlotte察to be sure察chin´tilted察at last an owner

of real estate察might patronize a little at times察but it was

tacitly understood that her ;title ; was only a drawing´room one。



Why does a coming bereavement project no thin faint voice察no

shadow of its woe察to warn its happy察heedless victims拭 Why

cannot Olympians ever think it worth while to give some hint of

the thunderbolts they are silently forging拭 And why察oh察why did

it never enter any of our thick heads that the day would come

when even Charlotte would be considered too matronly for toys拭

One's so´called education is hammered into one with rulers and

with canes。  Each fresh grammar or musical instrument察each new

historical period or quaint arithmetical rule察is impressed on

one by some painful physical prelude。  Why does Time察the biggest

Schoolmaster察alone neglect premonitory raps察at each stage

of his curriculum察on our knuckles or our heads



Uncle Thomas was at the bottom of it。  This was not the first

mine he had exploded under our bows。  In his favourite pursuit of

fads he had passed in turn from Psychical Research to the White

Rose and thence to a Children's Hospital察and we were being daily

inundated with leaflets headed by a woodcut depicting Little

Annie of Poplar sitting up in her little white cot察surrounded

by the toys of the nice察kind察rich children。  The idea caught on

with the Olympians察always open to sentiment of a treacly

woodcut order察and accordingly Charlotte察on entering one day

dishevelled and panting察having been pursued by yelling Redskins

up to the very threshold of our peaceful home察was curtly

informed that her French lessons would begin on Monday察that she

was henceforth to cease all pretence of being a trapper or a

Redskin on utterly inadequate grounds察and moreover that the

whole of her toys were at that moment being finally packed up in

a box察for despatch to London察to gladden the lives and bring

light into the eyes of London waifs and Poplar Annies。



Naturally enough察perhaps察we others received no official

intimation of this grave cession of territory。  We were not

supposed to be interested。  Harold had long ago been promoted to

a knifea recognized察birthday knife。  As for me察it was known

that I was already given over察heart and soul察to lawless

abandoned catapultscatapults which were confiscated weekly for

reasons of international complications察but with which Edward

kept me steadily supplied察his school having a fine old tradition

for excellence in their manufacture。  Therefore no one was

supposed to be really affected but Charlotte察and even she

had already reached Miss Yonge察and should therefore have been

more interested in prolific curates and harrowing deathbeds。



Nothwithstanding察we all felt indignant察betrayed察and sullen to

the verge of mutiny。  Though for long we had affected to despise

them察these toys察yet they had grown up with us察shared our joys

and our sorrows察seen us at our worst察and become part of the

accepted scheme of existence。  As we gazed at untenanted shelves

and empty察hatefully tidy corners察perhaps for the first time for

long we began to do them a tardy justice。



There was old Leotard察for instance。  Somehow he had come to be

sadly neglected of late yearsand yet how exactly he always

responded to certain moods  He was an acrobat察this Leotard察who

lived in a glass´fronted box。  His loosejointed limbs were

cardboard察cardboard his slender trunk察and his hands eternally

grasped the bar of a trapeze。  You turned the box round swiftly

five or six times察the wonderful unsolved machinery worked察and

Leotard swung and leapt察backwards察forwards察now astride the

bar察now flying free察iron´jointed察supple´sinewed察unceasingly

novel in his invention of new察unguessable attitudes察while

above察below察and around him察a richly´dressed audience察painted

in skilful perspective of stalls察boxes察dress´circle察and

gallery察watched the thrilling performance with a stolidity which

seemed to mark them out as made in Germany。  Hardly versatile

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