climb up one of the pillars; and, as we were charitably inclined, we
lent him all the impetus we could by sundry, appliances of switches and
rulers, in order to excite a rapid circulation in those parts that would
most expedite his up ward propulsion, upon the same principles that
cause us to fire one extremity of a gun, in order to propel the ball
from the other. He having been gathered with the rest round Mrs Root,
she actually made us a curtsey in the midst of her tears, and smiled as
she curtseyed, bidding us all a good-night, to be good boys, to do no
mischief, and, above all, to take care of the fire. Then, having
obtained from us a promise that we would neither injure the organ, nor
attempt to get into the orchestra, she again curtseyed, and left us
masters of the field.

Now the debate was frequent and full. We had rebelled, and won the
field of rebellion in order to be enabled to discharge our fireworks.
The thought of descending, by means of the windows, was soon abandoned.
We should have been taken in the detail, even if we escaped breaking our
bones. We were compelled to use the school-room for the sparkling
display, and, all under the directions of Saint Albans, we began to
prepare accordingly. Would that I had been the hero of that night!
Though I did not perform the deeds, I felt all the glow of one; and,
unexpected honour! I was actually addressed by Henry Saint Albans
himself as "honest Ralph Rattlin, the brave boy who slept in the haunted
room." There was a distinction for you! Of course, I cannot tell how
an old gentleman, rising sixty-five, feels when his sovereign places the
blue riband over his stooping shoulders, but if he enjoys half the
rapture I then did, he must be a very, very happy old man.

_Revenons a nos moutons_--which phrase I use on account of its
originality, and its applicability to fireworks. Nails were driven into
the walls, and Catherine-wheels fixed on them; Roman candles placed upon
the tables instead of mutton-dips, and the upper parts of the school
windows let down for the free egress of our flights of sky-rockets. The
first volley of the last-mentioned beautiful firework went through the
windows, amidst our huzzas, at an angle of about sixty-five degrees, and
did their duty nobly; when--when--of course, the reader will think that
the room was on fire. Alas! it was quite the reverse. A noble
Catherine-wheel had just begun to fizz, in all the glories of its
many-co