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Chapter XXIX
Unquestionably Mrs Jarley had an inventive genius. In the midst of
the various devices for attracting visitors to the exhibition, little Nell
was not forgotten. The light cart in which the Brigand usually made
his perambulations being gaily dressed with flags and streamers, and
the Brigand placed therein, contemplating the miniature of his
beloved as usual, Nell was accommodated with a seat beside him,
decorated with artificial flowers, and in this state and ceremony rode
slowly through the town every morning, dispersing handbills from a
basket, to the sound of drum and trumpet. The beauty of the child,
coupled with her gentle and timid bearing, produced quite a sensation
in the little country place. The Brigand, heretofore a source of
exclusive interest in the streets, became a mere secondary
consideration, and to be important only as a part of the show of which
she was the chief attraction. Grown-up folks began to be interested in
the bright-eyed girl, and some score of little boys fell desperately in
love, and constantly left enclosures of nuts and apples, directed in
small-text, at the wax-work door.
This desirable impression was not lost on Mrs Jarley, who, lest Nell
should become too cheap, soon sent the Brigand out alone again, and
kept her in the exhibition room, where she described the figures every
half-hour to the great satisfaction of admiring audiences. And these
audiences were of a very superior description, including a great many
young ladies' boarding-schools, whose favour Mrs Jarley had been at
great pains to conciliate, by altering the face and costume of Mr
Grimaldi as clown to represent Mr Lindley Murray as he appeared
when engaged in the composition of his English Grammar, and
turning a murderess of great renown into Mrs Hannah More - both of
which likenesses were admitted by Miss Monflathers, who was at the
head of the head Boarding and Day Establishment in the town, and
who condescended to take a Private View with eight chosen young
ladies, to be quite startling from their extreme correctness. Mr Pitt in a
nightcap and bedgown, and without his boots, represented the poet
Cowper with perfect exactness; and Mary Queen of Scots in a dark
wig, white shirt-collar, and male attire, was such a complete image of
Lord Byron that the young ladies quite screamed when they saw it.
Miss Monflathers, however, rebuked this enthusiasm, and took
occasion to reprove Mrs Jarley for not keeping her collection more
select: observing that His Lordship had held certain opinions quite
incompatible with wax-work honours, and adding something about a
Dean and Chapter, which Mrs Jarley did not understand.
Although her duties were sufficiently laborious, Nell found in the lady
of the caravan a very kind and considerate person, who had not only a
peculiar relish for being comfortable herself, but for making everybody
about her comfortable also; which latter taste, it may be remarked, is,
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