dream days-及23准
梓囚徒貧圭鮗 ○ 賜 ★ 辛酔堀貧和鍬匈梓囚徒貧議 Enter 囚辛指欺云慕朕村匈梓囚徒貧圭鮗 ● 辛指欺云匈競何
!!!!隆堋響頼紗秘慕禰厮宴和肝写偬堋響
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
e