Memoirs of a London doll

Contents

CI apter I. My Making 1

II. My First Mamma 8

III. Twelfth Night 19

Chapter II. My First Mamma

I arrived safe at the doll-shop, and Mrs. Sprat took me out of the basket with her finger and thumb, keeping all her other fingers spread out, for fear of soiling my silver paper.

6 Place all these dolls on the shelf in the back parlor,' said the master of the shop. c I have no room yet for them in the window.' As I was carried to the shelf, I caught a glimpse of the shop-window ! What a bright and confused sensation it gave me ! Everything seemed so light and merry and numerous ! And then, through all this crowd of many shapes and colors, packed and piled and hanging up in the window, I saw the crowds of large walking people passing outside in the world, which

MY FIRST MAMMA.

was as yet perfectly unknown to me ! Oh how I longed to be placed in the shop-window! I felt I should learn things so fast, if I could only see them. But I was placed in a dark box, among a number of other dolls, for a long time, and when I was taken out I was laid upon my back upon a high shelf, with my rosy cheeks and blue eyes turned towards the ceiling.

Yet I cannot say that the time I passed on this shelf was by any means lost or wasted. I thought of all I had seen in Mr. Sprat's room, and all I had heard them talk about, which gave me many very strange and serious thoughts about the people who lived in the world only for the purpose, as I supposed, of buying dolls. The conversation of Mr. Sprat with his family made me very naturally think this ; and in truth I have never since been quite able to fancy but that the principal business of mankind was that of buying and selling dolls and toys. What I heard the master of the shop in Holborn often say, helped to fix this early impression on my mind.

But the means by which I learned very much of other things and other thoughts, was by hearing the master's little girl Emmy read aloud to her elder sister. Emmy read all sorts of pretty books, every word of which I eagerly listened to, and felt so much interested, and so delighted, and so anxious and curious to hear more. She read pretty stories of little boys and girls, and affectionate mammas and aunts, and kind old nurses, and birds in the fields and woods, and flowers in the gardens and hedges ; and then such beautiful fairy tales ; and also pretty stories in verse ; all of which gave me great pleasure, and were indeed my earliest education. There was the lovely book called 6 Birds and Flowers,' by Mary Howitt ; the nice stories about ' Willie,' by Mrs. Marcett ; the delightful little books of Mrs. Harriet Myrtle, — in which I did so like to hear about old Mr. Dove, the village carpenter, and little Mary, and the account of May Day, and the Day in the Woods, — and besides other books, there was oh ! such a story-book called ' The Good-natured Bear ! ' But I never heard any stories about dolls, and what they thought, or what happened to them ! This rather disappointed me. Living at a doll-shop, and hearing the daughter of the master of such a wonderful shop reading so often, I naturally expected to have heard more about dolls than any other creatures ! However, on the whole, I was very well contented, and should have been perfectly happy if they would only have hung me up in the shop window ! What I wanted was to be placed in the bright window, and to look into the astonishing street !

Soon after this, however, by a fortunate accident, I was moved to an upright position with my back against a doll's cradle, so that I could look down into the room below, and see what was going on there.

How long I remained upon the shelf I do not know, but it seemed like years to me, and I learned a great deal.

One afternoon Emmy had been reading to her sister as usual, but this time the story had been about a great Emperor in France, who, once upon a time, had a great many soldiers to play with, and whose name was Napoleon Bonaparte. The master himself listened to this, and as he walked thoughtfully up and down from the back room to the shop in front, he made himself a cock'd hat of brown paper, and put it upon his head, with the corners pointing to each shoulder. Emmy continued to read, and the master continued thoughtfully walking up and down with his hands behind him, one hand holding the other.

But presently, and when his walk had led him into the front shop, where I could not see him, the shop-bell rang and Emmy ceased reading. A boy had come in, and the following dialogue took place.

6 If you please, sir,' said the voice of the boy, ' do you want a nice Twelfth-cake 1 '

1 Not particularly,' answered the master, ' but I have no objection to one.'

' What will you give for it, sir V said the boy.

MY FIRST MAMMA.

' That is quite another question,' answered the master ; ' go about your business. I am extremely engaged.'

' I do not want any money for it, sir,' said the boy.

'What do you mean by that, my little captain ] ' said the master.

6 Why, sir,' said the boy, ' if you please, I want a nice doll for my sister, and I will give you this large Twelfth-cake that I have in paper here for a good doll.'

' Let me see the cake,' said the master. ' So, how did you get this cake 1 '

'My grandfather is a pastry-cook, sir,' answered the boy, ' and my sister and I live with him. I went to-clay to take home seven Twelfth-cakes. But the family at one house had all gone away out of the country, and locked up the house, and forgotten to send for the cake ; and grandfather told me that I and my sister might have it.'

' What is your name % '

' Thomas Plummy, sir ; and I live in Bishopsgate street, near the Flower Pot.'

1 Very well, Thomas Plummy ; you may choose any doll you fancy out of that case.'

Here some time elapsed ; and while the boy was choosing, the master continued his slow walk to and fro from one room to the other, with the brown paper cock'd hat, which he had forgotten to take oif, still upon his head. It was so very light that he did not feel it, and did not know it was there. At last the boy declared he did not like any of the dolls in the case, and so went from one case to another, always refusing those the master offered him ; and when he did choose one himself, the master said it was too expensive. Presently the master said he had another box full of good dolls in the back room, and in he came, looking so grave in his cock'd hat, and beginning to open a long wooden box. But the boy had followed him to the door, and peeping in suddenly, called out, ' There, sir ! that one ! that is the doll for my cake ! ' and he pointed his little brown finger up at me.

' Aha ! ' said the master, ' that one is also too expensive ; I cannot let you have that.'

However, he took me clown, and while the boy was looking at me with evident satisfaction, as if his mind was quite made up, the master got a knife and pushed the point of it into the side of the cake, just to see if it was as good inside as it seemed to be on the outside. During all this time he never once recollected that he had got on the brown paper cock'cl hat.

' Now,' said the master, taking me out of the boy's hand, and holding me at arm's length, ' you must give me the cake and two shillings besides for this doll. This is a young lady of a very superior make, is this doll. Made by one of the first makers. The celebrated Sprat, the only maker, I may say, of these kind of jointed dolls. See ! all the joints move — all work in the proper way ; up and down, backwards and forwards, any way you please. See what lovely blue eyes ; what rosy cheeks and lips ; and what a complexion on the neck, face, hands, and arms ! The hair is also of the most beautiful kind of delicate light-brown curl that can possibly be found. You never before saw such a doll, nor any of your relations. It is something, I can tell you, to have such a doll in a family ; and if you were to buy her, she would cost you a matter of twelve shillings ! '

The boy, without a moment's hesitation, took the cake and held it out flat upon the palm of his hand, balancing it as if to show how heavy it was.

' Sir,' said he, ' this is a Twelfth-cake, of very superior make. If the young lady who sits reading there was only to taste it, she would say so too. It was made by my grandfather himself, who is known to be one of the first makers in all Bishopsgate street : I may say the very first. There is no better in all the world. You see how heavy it is ; what a quantity of plums, currants, butter, sugar, and orange and lemonpeel there is in it, besides brandy and carraway comfits. See ! what a beautiful

MY FIRST MAMMA.

frost-work of white sugar there is all over the top and sides ! See, too, what characters there are, and made in sugar of all colors ! Kings and Queens in their robes, and lions and dogs, and Jem Crow, and Swiss cottages in winter, and railway carriages, and girls with tambourines, and a village steeple with a cow looking in at the porch ; and all these standing or walking, or dancing upon white sugar, surrounded with curling twists and true lovers knots in pink and green citron, with damson cheese and black currant paste between. You never saw such a cake before, sir, and I'm sure none of your family ever smelt any cake at all like it. It's quite a nosegay for the Queen Victoria herself; and if you were to buy it at grandfather's shop, you would have to pay fifteen shillings and more for it.'

' Thomas Plummy ! ' said the master, looking very earnestly at the boy ; ' Thomas Plummy ! take the doll, and give me the cake. I only hope it may prove half as good as you say. And it is my opinion 2 that, if you, Thomas Plummy, should not happen to be sent to New South Wales to bake brown bread, you may some day or other come to be Lord Mayor of London.'

6 Thank you, sir,' said the boy. ' How many Abernethy biscuits will you take for your cock'd hat V

The master instantly put his hand up to his head, looking so confused and vexed, and the boy ran laughing out of the shop. At the door he was met by his sister, who had been waiting to receive me in her arms : and they both ran home, the little girl hugging me close to her bosom, and the boy laughing so much at the affair of the cock'd hat, that he could hardly speak a word all the way.

Chapter III. Twelfth Night

That evening little Ellen Plummy begged to go to bed much earlier than usual. She took me with her, and I had the great happiness of passing the whole night in the arms of my first mamma.

The next morning, however, was the day before Twelfth-day, and there were so many preparations to be made, and so many things to do in the house, that the pastry-cook required the help of everybody who could do anything at all ; so he desired Ellen to put me in a box till Twelfth-night was over, because he wanted her to sort small cakes, and mix sugar-plums of different colors, and pile up sticks of barley sugar, and arrange artificial flowers, and stick bits of holly with red berries into cakes for the upper shelves of his shop window.

I was, therefore, placed in a dark box in the bed-room, and lay there thinking.

After I had gone over in my mind all that I had at present seen and heard since I was a doll, I began to wonder how long this confinement in the dark box would continue. The morning seemed so very long. But twice my little mamma, Ellen, came creeping softly up stairs, and ran and opened the box — took me out, gave me a kiss, put me in again, shut the lid of the box, and down stairs she softly tripped back, to continue her work. The afternoon was also terribly long, and I saw nothing of mamma till about six in the evening, when she came and took me out, and embraced me, and said, ' Oh you dear doll ! I shall com© to put you to bed ! ' and away she ran again.

About nine o'clock mamma came and took me out of my box. She had contrived to find time in the course of the clay to make, in a very hasty manner, a little nightgown 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 w r as ! 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 down stairs with me, you poppet ! you shall come with me, Maria, and see Twelfth-night.'

Out of the room she ran with me, and down stairs ! The staircase w 7 as 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 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 fairy-land, 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 j but here scarcely anything could be seen for the blaze of the gas.

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.

I bore all this extraordinary scene as long as I could, until at last, out of too much happiness, I was unable to endure it any longer, and then something happened to me. I felt my eyes twink and twitch and wink, and feel a little sore ; and without knowing it, or knowing anything, except that I was in a state of the most indescribable happiness, I fell fast asleep.

Chapter IV. The Little Milliners

My life at the pastry-cook's passed in a very pleasant manner ; bnt not because of the cakes or pastry. For, in the first place, every night was not like Twelfth-night ; and as for the pastry, though I was delighted to see it for some time, and to notice how much it was admired and longed for, yet, in the course of a few weeks, I had seen so many little girls and boys make themselves unwell by eating too many raspberry tarts and cheesecakes, that I almost ceased to take any farther interest in those things. My eyes were constantly employed in observing the different people who came in and out, or passed by the door and window ; my ears were constantly attentive to all that was said ; and my mind was busily engaged in

THE LITTLE MILLINERS. 29

thinking over all I had seen, and all I had heard, both spoken and read from books, ever since I was a doll. By these means I advanced my education very much, because my memory became stronger by practice, and my understanding was improved by this habit of thinking over everything to myself. I believe no doll ever lived who was more anxious to learn and know about all sorts of things — good, pretty, or wonderful — than I was.

I soon had an opportunity of seeing a very different set of things from the cakes, and tarts, and buns, and sugar-plums. We left our abode at the pastry-cook's. Ellen Plummy was sent to be a milliner to her aunt, who employed a great number of girls in making ladies' dresses. Ellen was only seven years old, and she cried at leaving her kind grandfather's ; but he kissed her, and told her he knew it would be best for her, so she dried her eyes and tried to look cheerful: and her brother Thomas carried her little grey box. She carried me herself in her arms.

30 ME310IRS OF A LONDON DOLL.

Her Aunt Sharpshins was a very tall, thin, pale-faced woman, who was always dressed in a long gown made close up to the throat, of the color of old nankeen, with a faded bed-furniture pattern round the hem at the bottom. She had a nose like a parrot's beak, and always spoke through it. She kept fifteen little milliner girls in the house, who were her apprentices, and obliged to work as long as she pleased. The youngest was about ten years of age; her name was Nanny Bell, and she and my mamma Ellen became great friends directly.

Now this tall Aunt Sharpshins, with the parrot's nose, made her fifteen little milliners all work together in the same room, all seated upon small chairs without backs, so that they could not lean backward to rest themselves. And she made them work the whole day, from six o'clock in the morning till eight o'clock at night, with only about half an hour's rest at one o'clock, when they were all called down stairs to dinner in the back parlor of the house. Some of the poor

THE LITTLE MILLINERS. 31

girls often cried, or fell asleep and tumbled off their chairs, they were so tired. If this misfortune happened to them, Mrs. Sharpshins used to give them only bread and water for dinner ; and sometimes she was so cruel as even to give them a loud slap on the shoulders.

One day my mamma Ellen and Nanny Bell were sitting alone together in the back parlor after dinner, to talk a little, as Aunt Sharpshins had gone out to take some dresses home. ' Ah,' said Ellen, 'I do so wish to go back to my grandfathers, he was such a kind pastry-cook; and my brother Tom w r as so very fond of me always. I am so sorry to be a milliner ; and although my aunt says I am to be her partner, perhaps, when I grow up, yet I do not like it.'

4 But then,' said Nanny Bell, ' you would be much kinder to all of us than your aunt is. You w^ould not make us work so long every day, would you? and have so little rest, would you, Ellen 1 and such poor, cold dinners, with not enough either — now, would vou 1 '

' That I would not ! ' exclaimed Ellen, giving me a toss in the air with both hands, ' that I would not ! You should only work as long as I worked myself; and when I was tired, then I should know that all of you must be tired, and I should say, ' Now let's go down stairs, and have each a large slice of cake.' Then, in the evening, as soon as it was dark, and we began to feel our eyes sore with looking at the work, we would again go down stairs, and all have tea together, and after that a dance ; and we would dance reels, and jigs, and hornpipes, and quadrilles, but mostly reels. — Hark ! Aunt Sharpshins is ringing at the door ! ' And away the two little girls ran scampering up stairs ; and in her haste and terror Ellen gave my head such a knock against the banisters ! But she was so sorry, and kissed me so often to make it well.

Up to this time I had never been properly dressed ; for, excepting a strip of bright blue ribbon round my waist, and a small cap of purple silk stuck on the back of my head, I

THE LITTLE MILLINERS. 33

was in the very same long white night-gown which Ellen had made for me when I first went to the pastry-cook's honse, and in which I made my first appearance in the shop among all the gas-lights and cakes on Twelfth-night. So my dear mamma and Nanny Bell determined to make me a proper dress.

Chapter V. My First Frock And Trousers

There were plenty of little odcls and ends of silks, and stuffs, and velvets, and muslins, which Ellen had already collected, and which her aunt had told her she might have ; and with these they knew they could make me a beautiful dress. They finished their dinner as fast as possible, and ran up stairs again, in order to be alone for this pleasant work.

They accordingly began by carefully measuring me round the waist and round the shoulders ; and then across the back down to the waist, measuring from the right shoulder crossing down to the middle of the left side, and from the left shoulder across to the middle of the right side. Their little fingers were busy about me in all directions : they did so tickle me !

Then they measured my arms ; first from the top of the shoulder to the elbow when bent, and next from the tip of the elbow to the wrist. Lastly, they measured me from the back of my neck down to the middle of the waist, just where there is, or ought to be, the most bend in a doll's back ; and from this they measured for the skirt right down below my knees, and for the trousers they measured down as low as my ankles.

But how were these two little girls to find time to do all this work for me \ The whole day they were engaged, from six o'clock in the morning till bed-time. So, as it was now summer, and quite light at five o'clock, Ellen and Nanny both determined to get up at that time, and thus have an hour every morning to themselves, in order to make me a frock and trousers. And they calculated that by doing this for a week, they could easily finish the task they had set themselves.

But the poor little girls had to work so hard for more than thirteen hours every day, that neither of them could awake in time. After several mornings, however, Ellen did manage to wake up enough to speak, and call Nanny; and Nanny woke up enough just to answer. After which clown sunk their cheeks upon the pillow, and they were fast asleep in a moment.