ousemaid, and borrow half-crowns of the simple
wench, wherewith to buy pomatum to plaster his thin, lank hair. He was
a known sneak, and a suspected tell-tale. The booby fell a-crying in a
dark corner, and we took him with his handkerchief to his eyes. Out of
the respect that we bore our French and Latin masters, we gave them
their liberty, the door being set ajar for that purpose; but we reserved
the usher, that, like the American Indians, we might make sport with
him.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

AN AFFECTING APPEAL THAT EFFECTS NOTHING--THE REBELS COMMENCE THEIR
REJOICINGS--THEY ARE SUDDENLY DAMPED--THE FIREMEN DEFEAT THE FIRE-BOYS
BY MEANS OF WATER--THE VICTORS ARE VANQUISHED, WHO SHORTLY FIND
THEMSELVES COVERED WITH DISGRACE AND THE BED-CLOTHES.

When we informed the captive usher that he was destined for the high
honour of being our Guy Faux, and that he should be the centre of our
fireworks, promising him to burn him as little as we could help, and as
could reasonably be expected, his terror was extreme, and he begged,
like one in the agonies of death, that we would rather bump him. We
granted his request, for we determined to be magnanimous, and he really
bore it like a stoic.

Scarcely had we finished with the usher, than Mrs Root, "like Niobe,
all in tears," appeared; with outstretched arms, in the gallery. Her
outstretched arms, her pathetic appeals, her sugared promises, had no
avail: the simple lady wanted us to go to bed, and Mr Root, to use her
own expression, should let us all off to-morrow. We were determined to
stay up, and let all our fireworks off to-night. But we granted to her
intercession, that all the little boys should be given up to her.

It now became a very difficult thing to ascertain who was a little boy.
Many a diminutive urchin of eight, with a stout soul, declared that he
was a big fellow, and several lanky lads, with sops of bread for hearts,
called themselves little boys. There was, as I said before, no
communication from the schoolroom with the orchestra; we were,
therefore, obliged to pile the desks as a platform, and hand up the
chicken-hearted to take protection under the wing of the old hen.

Our captive usher respectfully begged to observe that though he could
not say that he was exactly a little boy, yet if it pleased us, he would
much rather go to bed, as he had lately taken physic. The plea was
granted, but not the platform. That was withdrawn, and he was forced to