fficers
very good naturedly gave an entertainment of songs and dances and a
magic-lantern, to which Arick and Austin were allowed to go. At the door
of the hall there were crowds of black boys waiting and trying to peep
in, the way children at home lie about and peep under the tent of a
circus; and you may be sure Arick was a very proud person when he passed
them all by and entered the hall with his ticket. I wish I knew what he
thought of the whole performance; but the housekeeper of the lean man,
who sat just in front of him, tells me what seemed to startle him the
most. The first thing was when two of the officers came out with
blackened faces like Christy minstrel boys and began to dance. Arick was
sure that they were really black and his own people, and he was
wonderfully surprised to see them dance this new European style of
dance. But the great affair was the magic-lantern. The hall was made
quite dark, which was very little to Arick's taste. He sat there behind
the housekeeper, nothing to be seen of him but eyes and teeth, and his
heart beating finely in his little scarred breast. And presently there
came out on the white sheet that great bright eye of light that I am
sure all you children must have often seen. It was quite new to Arick,
he had no idea what would happen next; and in his fear and excitement,
he laid hold with his little slim black fingers like a bird's claws on
the neck of the housekeeper in front of him. All through the rest of the
show, as one picture followed another on the white sheet, he sat there
gasping and clutching at the housekeeper's neck, and goodness knows
whether he were more pleased or frightened. Doubtless it was a very fine
thing to see all these bright pictures coming out and dying away again
one after another; but doubtless it was rather alarming also, for how
was it done? And at last, when there appeared upon the screen the head
of a black woman (as it might be his own mother or sister), and the
black woman of a sudden began to roll her eyes, the fear or the
excitement, whichever it was, wrung out of him a loud shuddering sob.
And I think we all ought to admire his courage when, after an evening
spent in looking on at such wonderful miracles, he and Austin set out
alone through the forest to the lean man's house. It was late at night
and pitch dark when some of the party overtook the little white boy and
the big black boy marching among the trees with their lantern. I have
told