“Oh, nothing,” said the lady, skipping out of the dock, and administering a box on the ear to the Clerk; “only boxes of Victoria Lawsenj’s.”
“Lozenges!” shouted the jury. “Oh, give me some!” cried everybody.
BEST MIXTURES.
VICTORIA’S RAIN.
“Certainly,” said she; and before you could count 10, the whole of the jury, counsel, ushers, and spectators were sprawling on the ground, showers of lozenges falling in all directions,—thus once more demonstrating what every one knows, that there’s no rain like Victoria’s, and that Royal Boxes often contain the sweet. As everybody scrambled after the lozenges, the whole court became a scene of confusion. The boys, however, who had a notion that judges must be dignified, remained quite still, only peering over their desks to see what was going on. As the boxes continued, the court got ankle-deep in lozenges, in which the people tumbled about, cramming them into their mouths and pockets by handsful. The pile rose so high that Ranulf could resist the temptation no longer, but with his long pen drew a lozenge towards him, and keeping as grave as he could, stooped down and picked it up. As he had been taught not to be selfish, he broke it in three and handed two of the pieces to Norval and Jaques. They were just going to eat them, when the lady called out—
“Oh, boys, surely you would not eat what was picked up off the floor! that would be being bad judges of sweet things.”
VIRTUE REWARDED.