Christmas Penny Readings Part 25

But joy don't kill, especially at Christmas-time, and when Mrs Brown rose rather late that morning, she could not make out why Sandy was gone out so soon, for his usual custom was to lie half the day in bed after a drinking bout. But Sandy had gone to see about the day's dinner, and--

But there, Sandy's home a year after showed the effect of his meeting with the Christmas spirits, for it was well-furnished, and his wife looked happy, plump, and rosy--another woman, in fact; while as to people saying that Sandy fell down drunk in the churchyard, and that it was the little snow storm that he saw, why that's all nonsense; the story must be true, for a man picked up Sandy's old hat just by the swing-gate, where it fell off when he felt the spirit's breath. And as to there being no spirits out at Christmas-time, why I could name no end of them, such as love, grat.i.tude, kindness, gentleness, good humour, and scores more with names, besides all those nameless spirits that cl.u.s.ter round every good, true, and loving heart at Christmas; ay, and at all times. While among those who have listened to this story and thought of its moral, surely there is at this moment that most gracious of spirits--Forbearance.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

KING BOREAS.

Away with a shout and a shriek from the North, The host of the Storm King in rage hurries forth; With the monarch to lead them away o'er the main, Sweep with whistle and wild shriek the winterly train.

O'er the sea, o'er the waves that spring tossing in wrath, To fly after the host in a storm of white froth, Till they dash in their anger on sand-hill and rock, Or make some ship shiver, and groan with their shock.

Away rush the train with a howl 'mid each cloud, That no longer moon-silvered floats ma.s.sive and proud; But torn by the Storm King, and rent by his crew, Wild and ragged scuds onward in murkiest hue.

'Mid the rocks, through the caves that o'er ocean's waves scowl, Away speeds the King, and his followers howl As they toss the dark sea-weed, and tear up the sand, Which flies frightened in drifts at the touch of their hand.

And away, and away, where the forest trees wave, Where the willow and silver birch drooping boughs lave In the silver-like stream, in the mossy green vale, That ere yet the storm cometh breaks forth in a wail.

Now crashing 'mid beech-tops, now rending the oak, Then laying the larch low with mightiest stroke; While through the frail willow the storm spirits tear, And the boughs stream aloft like a maniac's hair.

Rejoicing and shrieking anew at each feat, Away o'er the moorlands, away sharp and fleet; By the cotter's low hovel, the steep-cresting mill, To the town by the hill-slope, as yet calm and still.

Bursting now o'er the roofs with a brain-piercing yell, Round the old abbey towers they mock at each bell As the past hour's chimed, when they sweep off the tone, And away o'er the woodlands the summons has flown.

Again with a shriek, and again with a cry, The King and his crew keep their revel on high; They bear the cold snow-drift aloft in their train, The sleet-darting arrow, and icy North chain.

They bind up the streamlet, they fetter the lake, The huge rocky mountain they shivering break; They rage through the forest, they strew the sea-sh.o.r.e, While the echoing hill-sides resound with their roar.

King Boreas pa.s.ses, his revel is o'er, But the waves still in anger toss down by the sh.o.r.e; The trees lie half broken and torn by the gale, While the streamlets are fettered and bound in the vale.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

A LADY IN THE CASE.

Well, no, sir, I can't complain, I've risen well in the force, and I'm very well satisfied with my position, but then there's a great deal of responsibility attached to one's office, and, I can a.s.sure you, police inspectors have something else to do besides sitting still and growing fat. Many a smart young fellow would rise and get to be sergeant, inspector, or super in his turn, but for some little failings that creep out--I have my failings, too, of course, but still somehow I've crept up till here I am on the shady side of fifty and busy as ever.

Now you want me to give you an anecdote to put into print, that's what you want, eh? Well, of course it was easy enough to tell that, and I don't mind obliging you, for, as you very reasonably say, truth is stranger than fiction. But that disposition to tattle or talk about their business has been the ruin of more than one promising young officer. Now just think for a moment and suppose us to be always ready to talk of the cases we had in hand, where should we be? Marked men would slip us, planned jobs would be stopped, and many a gaol bird, whose tail we want to salt, would be off and escape. Ah, thirty years in the force have shown me some strange sights, and laid bare some curious tricks, all planned for the purpose of getting hold of somebody's money. I've seen and had to do with robbery, and murder, and garrotting, and burking, and suicide, and swindling, and embezzlement, and every kind of felony or larceny you can find a name for.

You know, our part is decidedly, I think, more lively than the city, for with the exception of a good bold robbery now and then at a bank or big gentleman's, there's seldom anything much there, while in our part we're always busy. For somehow or another there's always so many really clever rascals laying their heads together and making schemes, and then you have something new coming out all at once, like a clap of thunder over the town, and people are very much disgusted because the police have not bad more foresight, when all the while it's like a game of chess, and though we who play with the white pieces can to a certain extent see through the manoeuvres of black, yet we cannot see through everything as a matter of course.

Now I'm going to tell you of a little affair that happened one Christmas-night about twenty years ago, when I was only number so and so. It was a bright, clear, frosty night; no moon, but plenty of snow had fallen, quite late in the evening, so that the streets were regularly m.u.f.fled; and in spite of feeling a bit ill-tempered at having to be on duty while other people were enjoying themselves, I could not help thinking of what a seasonable night it was, and how jovial and pleasant every place seemed to look. There were the bright lights and glowing fires, shining ruddy and warm through the drawn curtains; music and laughing might be heard every here and there, and more than once I stopped to hear a sweet voice singing, and felt envious like of the comforts other people enjoyed. Everywhere there seemed jollity and festivity, but in the midst of my growling I could not help recollecting that my beat that night was all in the better part, while down in the slums there was plenty of misery, enough to make even a policeman's heart sore.

Well, I felt better then, and I went on quietly through the deep snow, now making a little noise where it was a bit trampled, and now stealing along as quietly as could be. Once I caught myself humming a bit of a song I had just heard some one singing, then I whistled a bit, and still I kept on, b.u.t.toned up and gloved, thinking how pleasant it would have been spending Christmas at some jolly farm-house in the country, far away from the noise and worry of London.

All at once I came upon a merry party of some half-dozen ladies and gentlemen, just going in at a large house, when one of the gentlemen stopped and gave me quite a cheerer.

"How long are you on for, my man?" he says.

"Six o'clock to-morrow morning, sir."

"Hum; long hours on a bitter night like this. Bring a gla.s.s, John."

And then I heard him rattle his keys as he says, "stop a minute," and directly after he came back into the large, handsome hall with a decanter in his hand, while just about the same time the servant brought a wine gla.s.s on a little silver tray.

"There, my man," says the jolly-looking old gentleman, filling me up a gla.s.s of wine. "You take care of us, so it's only fair that we should take care of you. Thank you, my man, I hope I may have good health.

There tip it down and have another gla.s.s. That's twenty port, that is, and a couple of gla.s.ses of that won't hurt you. Here, take hold of this lump of cake."

I didn't know anything then about twenty port, but I thought I should like twenty gla.s.ses of the rich red wine, which trickled down your throat like molten sunshine, and made you feel as if it was a jolly thing to be out on a cold Christmas-night; so I drank my second gla.s.s, wishing the pleasant, smiling old chap a merry Christmas, and then next minute, feeling like a new man, I was slowly tramping down the long street.

As I told you, in places I went along as quiet as a mouse, when I suppose it was about one o'clock that, in the middle of one street, I came all at once upon a tall, well-dressed young fellow inside some area railings, same as you may have seen, sometimes, where, beside the rails, the top of the area is all covered with iron bars, which make it like the top of a cage; while, as a matter of course, you can walk up to the dining-room windows.

Well, that's what this young fellow had done; and, as I went quietly up, there he was, close up, resting one foot on a ledge of the stucco, while one hand was on the sill of the open parlour window.

"Hallo!" I said quietly, for I had taken my gentleman quite by surprise; and I felt very good-tempered and comfortable from the effects of those two gla.s.ses of sunshine; so "Hallo!" I said, "what is it?"

knowing all the while that I must have my gentleman, for he was regularly caged, and looking at me through the bars.

"Hush!" he said, not in the least taken aback; "Hush! hold your tongue: there's a lady in the case. Here, catch hold, and be off, there's a good fellow;" and then he gave me half-a-crown.

Now, seeing that it was light enough for me to make out that he was a well-dressed, smart-looking young chap, I took the half-crown, and as it didn't seem to be part of my work to interfere with a bit of billing and cooing, I went on, leaving my friend whispering to some one inside.

"All right, my fine fellow," I said to myself, turning it over in my mind; "All right, but I don't mean to be done if there's anything else on the way." So I went slowly on, and turned the corner; and then, knowing that my steps couldn't be heard, I slipped into a doorway, and made myself as small as I could.

Well, I hadn't been there a minute before I fancied I heard a sound like somebody sneezing, and trying to smother it down; and then my heart beat a little heavier, for I knew there was something more than a lady in the case; while, as I stood squeezed up there, I could make out my friend coming along by the shadow sent forward by the gas-lamp just round the corner. At last, very slowly he peeped round to look along the street where I was, but he could make nothing out, for I kept very snug in my doorway; though, if he had only come down half-a-dozen yards, he must have seen me, for there was a light burning over the door.

But the very openness of the place concealed me, and I breathed easier again as I made out by the shadow that he was going back.

"My turn now," I said; and then, going down on hands and knees, I crawled quietly and quickly over the snow, and had my peep round the corner after him, when there he was, slipping along as fast as he could go. "Stop a minute, my boy," I said, and then I runs as hard as I could down two streets to where I knew I must meet our sergeant and another man; for, you see, we all have our points to cross one another at certain times of the night, so that one man acts as a check on another; and the sergeant soon knows that, if a man's not at his place, there's either something wrong or the constable's neglecting his duty.

Just as I thought, there were the sergeant and the man, and the next minute we were going over my ground again, so as to pa.s.s along the street and come up to the open window, as I did at first. They were close behind me when I reached the street, and down on my knees I went again, held my hat behind me, crept to the end of the railings, and peeped like a boy playing "whoop."

"All right," I whispered back to the sergeant, for there was my friend at the other corner down on his hands and knees peeping round too, and watching for me to come back again.

Well, we sent our man back through the mews behind the houses to try and catch the watcher, while the sergeant and I crawled very quietly along close to the railings towards the open-windowed house, and next moment we were safe in the doorway, when I saw a head pop back from the open window as we came up; and so did the sergeant--by the way he nipped my arm. But there, we waited quiet and still for our other man to do his work and take number one, as I'll call the generous half-crown gentleman, when we meant to take proceedings against the one or two inside.

About five minutes slipped away very slowly when the sergeant whispered, "He's a very long time!" But the words were hardly out of his mouth before we heard some one coming down the street as hard as he could run, with another in full chase. So we let the first come on without our showing ourselves, when, as he came near the open window, he gave a low, peculiar whistle--one which was replied to from inside by a sort of warning chirrup. But, if meant for a warning, it was of no use, for, stooping in the shadow of the railings, we darted out just at the right moment, tripped my amorous friend up; and, though he tried to jump clear, it was of no use, for down he went, over and over in the snow, our other man a-top of him, and then we had the "darbies" on him in a moment.

"I hope we shan't alarm that lady that's in the case," I said to my friend, as we hauled him up into the doorway; and then with another pair of bracelets we fastened him tight to the sc.r.a.per, where he was quite safe till we liked to take him off.

"Hum," said the sergeant; then, looking at me and chuckling, as he stood brushing the snow off the knees of his trousers; "Hum, that's the c.o.c.k bird, Jones, but I'm afraid the hen will prove rather tough."

"Yes," I says, "and I'm afraid there'll be one or two awkward chicks as well."

The next thing the sergeant did was to ring well at the door after sending another man, who now came up, round to the mews at the back to be on the look-out for escaping in that direction; and then, as he climbed over the railings to get at the parlour window, we heard a most tremendous screaming.

"Come now, there is a lady in the case after all," said the sergeant; and then, telling our other man to mind the prisoner, he made ready to get in at the window, where all looked very uncomfortably dark and treacherous.