About nine o’clock mamma came and took me out of my box. She had contrived to find time in the course of the day to make, in a very hasty manner, a little night-gown and night-cap for me, which she immediately put on me, and then took me to bed with her as before.
Next morning was Twelfth-day, and I was again placed in the dark box. Ellen had so much to do, that all this day she was quite unable to come even once to take a peep at me. Oh, how long the dark day was! and how tired I felt of it! However, I was obliged to be as patient as I could and tried to amuse myself with my own thoughts and recollections.
I called to mind the poor, dusky room where I was manufactured and born, with its three beds upon the floor on one side, and the long work-bench at the other, and all the strange shadows of the dolls upon the walls by candle-light; dozens of funny shadows cast from the dolls that hung upon the lines or stood upon the beams. And when the candle was moved about, these shadows danced. I also recollected many conversations that had taken place between the celebrated Mr. Sprat and his wife, when the children were asleep and the candle was out, as to how they should be able to afford an apple-pie for dinner next Sunday week, which was the little man’s birthday. Then I recollected the many cold dark nights, and days almost as dull, which I had passed in the box at the doll-shop, before, by a lucky accident, I was moved to an upright position on the top of the shelf. After that I went over in my mind all the pretty stories and other books that had been read by Emmy in the shop. This made me happier; yet I could not forget the many dark days and nights in the box. Nor did I consider my present condition better, and felt sadly impatient at being thus shut up in a small box, and quite alone besides, without another doll to whisper a word to.
I had just begun to get very sad when suddenly I heard the sound of little feet tripping over the floor; the lid of my box was opened, and I saw a beautiful fairy standing over me! I was taken out by a pair of soft warm hands, and who should it be but my mamma, dressed all in white, with silver bracelets, and roses in her hair, and a bit of most beautiful violet tinsel stuck upon the breast of her frock! ‘Come!’ cried she, clasping me in her arms, ‘come downstairs with me, you poppet! you shall come with me, Maria, and see Twelfth-night.’
Out of the room she ran with me, and downstairs! The staircase was all lighted with gas! I was going to see Twelfth-night! And I had that instant been christened, and my name was Maria Poppet! Oh, how delighted I felt! I tried to jump out of my mamma’s arms, I was so pleased—but I could not; and this was fortunate, because perhaps I could not have jumped back again. But I felt so happy!
She ran straight with me into the very shop itself—the fine front shop with all the cakes! How shall I describe it? How shall I tell the effect it had upon me? Oh, it is impossible. I fainted away.
When I came to my senses I found that my mamma had placed me upright between two tall, round glass jars, one full of glittering barley-sugar sticks twisted, and the other full of large sugar-plums of all colors; and I was close behind the counter where she stood to serve. I saw nothing else distinctly, my eyes were so dazzled, and so indeed were all my senses. Amidst a blaze of gas, crowded with immense cakes, the round, white sugar island of each being covered with its extraordinary inhabitants, there was the front window in all its glory! Scenes in eastern countries, with elephants and dromedaries and great palm trees (the names of all which my mamma told me afterwards), and negro people and tigers sitting under orange trees; and scenes in northern countries, where all is snow and frost and tall rocks of ice, and bears walking round broken ships; and scenes in delightful countries, where the weather is so beautiful, and where people play guitars and sing all day and half the night, too, in groves and gardens; and scenes in many parts of England, where the fields are so very green, and the daisies and buttercups in such thousands and thousands; and wonderful scenes in no country ever yet discovered, but which were all once to be seen in fairyland, if anybody could find them; these and many more things were all upon the tops of the large cakes in the lower part of the window, together with sprigs of holly, oh, so full of bright red berries!—and here and there shining blanc-mange and jellies in the shape of baskets of fruit and flowers, and three round glass bowls full of gold and silver fish, who constantly moved round, staring, with their noses pushing against the glass, in imitation of a crowd of children outside the shop-window, who were all staring and pushing their noses against the glass in just the same way. There was a shelf which ran across the middle of the window, close to the front, and this was also thick with cakes of a smaller sort, and all covered with Twelfth-night characters, in colored sugar; but what they were it was impossible to see for the glitter of the beautiful barley-sugar sticks that were piled up in round glass jars, across and across, and standing between the cakes. There were also cakes on a top shelf, near the top of the window, but here scarcely anything could be seen for the blaze of the gas.
The Old Gentleman, Pastry-Cook, and Great Cake-Maker Himself!
In the shop itself there was continually a crowd coming in to buy cakes or other things, for the counter was also covered with delightful wonders, and the old gentleman pastry-cook and great cake-maker himself walked about in the middle of the shop, dressed in his best, with a large red rose in the button-hole of his coat, smiling and rubbing his hands together, and chatting with all the children that came in, and sometimes going to the door and giving a handful of sugar-plums to children outside who had no money to buy anything. But behind the counter there were his grown-up niece, and the pretty girl who served in the shop, and his grand-daughter, who was my mamma; and all of these were dressed in white muslin, with borders of lace and bright ribbons. His niece, however, was the most like a princess, for she had a blue satin turban on, with feathers hanging down over one side, and a silk scarf with gold fringe edges, and a red cornelian necklace, with beads as large as turnip radishes.