1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:08,359 A Christmas Fantasy with a moral by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, originally from the Century 2 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:16,760 Volume forty three, Issue two, eighteen ninety one. Her name was Mildred 3 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:21,519 Wentworth, and she lived on the slope of Beacon Hill in one of those 4 00:00:21,719 --> 00:00:28,280 old fashioned swell front houses which have the inestimable privilege of looking upon Boston Common. 5 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,719 It was Christmas afternoon, and she had gone up to the blue room 6 00:00:33,039 --> 00:00:37,880 on the fourth floor in order to make a careful inspection in solitude of the 7 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:42,240 various gifts that had been left in her slender stocking and at her bedside the 8 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:48,719 previous night. Mildred was in some respects a very old child for her age, 9 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:53,880 which she described as being half past seven, and had a habit of 10 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:59,679 spending hours alone in the large front chamber occupied by herself and the Governess. 11 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:03,000 This day, the Governess had gone to keep Christmas with her own family in 12 00:01:03,079 --> 00:01:07,959 South Boston, and it so chanced that Mildred had been left to dispose of 13 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:14,159 her time as she pleased during the entire afternoon. She was well content to 14 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:19,519 have the opportunity, for fortune had treated her magnificently, and it was deep 15 00:01:19,599 --> 00:01:23,000 satisfaction after the excitement of the morning, to sit in the middle of that 16 00:01:23,079 --> 00:01:29,599 spacious room with its three windows, overlooking the pearl crusted trees in the common, 17 00:01:30,159 --> 00:01:37,359 and examine her treasures without any chance of interruption. The looms of Cashmere 18 00:01:37,719 --> 00:01:44,640 and the workshops of Germany. The patient Chinaman and the irresponsible polar bear had 19 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:52,239 alike contributed to those treasures. Among other articles, was a small square box, 20 00:01:52,959 --> 00:01:59,359 covered with modeled paper and having an outlandish, mysterious aspect, as if 21 00:01:59,359 --> 00:02:04,120 it belonged to to a magician. When you loosened the catch of this box, 22 00:02:04,799 --> 00:02:09,080 possibly supposing it to contain bond bonds of a superior quality, there sprang 23 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:15,400 forth a terrible little monster, with a drifting white beard like a snow storm, 24 00:02:15,199 --> 00:02:22,479 round emerald green eyes, and a pessimistic expression of countenance, generally as 25 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:29,919 though he had been reading Tolstoy or Schopenhauer. This abrupt personage, whose family 26 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:37,199 name was Heliogabulus, was known for simplicity's sake as jumping Jack, And though 27 00:02:37,199 --> 00:02:40,319 the explanation of the matter is beset with difficulties, it is not to be 28 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:46,280 concealed that he held a higher place in the esteem of Miss Wentworth than any 29 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:53,280 of her other possessions, not excluding a tall wax doll fond de siircle with 30 00:02:53,360 --> 00:03:00,719 a pallid complexion and a profusion of blonde hair. Titania was not more in 31 00:03:00,759 --> 00:03:06,879 love with Nick Bottom the Weaver than Mildred with Jumping Jack. It was surely 32 00:03:06,919 --> 00:03:10,080 not his personal beauty that won her, for he had none. It was 33 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:15,639 not his intellect, for intellect does not take up its abode in a forehead 34 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:21,479 of such singular construction as that of Jumping Jack. But whatever the secret charm 35 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:27,800 was, it worked on a more realistic stage than this. We see analogous 36 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:34,520 cases every day. Perhaps Oberon still exercises his fairy craft in our material world 37 00:03:34,719 --> 00:03:38,840 and scatters at will upon the eyelids of mortals, the magic distillation of that 38 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:46,800 little Western flower which will make or man or woman dadly doped upon the next 39 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:53,360 live creature that it sees for an hour or so. Mildred amused herself sufficiently 40 00:03:53,759 --> 00:03:58,719 by shutting Heliogabulus up in the box and letting him spring out again. Then 41 00:03:58,759 --> 00:04:02,159 she grew weary of the diverse and finally began to lose patience with her elastic 42 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:06,840 companion because he was unable to crowd himself into the box and undo the latch 43 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:13,400 with his own fingers. This was extremely unreasonable, but so was Mildred made. 44 00:04:14,719 --> 00:04:17,879 How tedious you are? She cried at last, you dull little old 45 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:21,439 man. I don't see how I ever came to like you. I don't 46 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:26,360 like you any more, with your glass eyes and your silly pink mouth, 47 00:04:26,399 --> 00:04:30,560 always open and never saying the least thing. What do you mean, sir? 48 00:04:30,639 --> 00:04:33,759 By standing and staring at me in that tiresome way, you look enough 49 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:38,600 like Dobbs the butcher to be his brother, or to be Dobbs himself. 50 00:04:39,199 --> 00:04:43,800 I wonder you don't up and say steak or chops? Mum, dear me, 51 00:04:44,399 --> 00:04:46,079 I wish you really had some life in you, and could move about 52 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:53,360 and talk with me and make yourself agreeable. Do be alive. Mildred gave 53 00:04:53,399 --> 00:04:58,360 a little laugh at her own absurdity, and then, being an imaginative creature, 54 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:03,600 came presently to regard the ideas not altogether absurd, and finally as not 55 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:08,720 absurd at all. If a bough that has been frozen to death all winter 56 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,600 can put forth blossoms in the spring, why might not an inanimate object, 57 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,000 which already possessed many of the surface attributes of humanity, and possibly some of 58 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:24,839 the internal mechanism, add to itself the crowning gift of speech in view of 59 00:05:24,879 --> 00:05:30,519 the daily phenomena of existence. Would that be so very astonishing? Of course, 60 00:05:30,519 --> 00:05:33,519 the problem took a simpler shape than this. In Mildred's unsophisticated thought. 61 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:39,920 She folded her hands in her lap, and, rocking to and fro, 62 00:05:40,639 --> 00:05:45,560 reflected how pleasant it would be if Jumping Jack or her doll could come to 63 00:05:45,639 --> 00:05:49,319 life like the marble lady in the play and do some of the talking. 64 00:05:50,519 --> 00:05:56,000 What wonderful stories Jumping Jack would have to tell, For example, he must 65 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:00,680 have had no end of remarkable adventures before he lost his mind. Probably the 66 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,639 very latest intelligence from Lilyput was in his possession, and perhaps he was even 67 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:11,519 now vainly trying to deliver himself of it. His fixed open mouth hinted as 68 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:15,519 much. The land of the Pigmies, in the heart of darkest Africa, 69 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,759 just then widely discussed in the newspapers, was of course familiar ground to him. 70 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:26,240 How interesting it would be to learn at first hand of the manners and 71 00:06:26,319 --> 00:06:30,360 customs of those little folk. Doubtless, he had been a great traveler in 72 00:06:30,439 --> 00:06:35,759 foreign parts. The label in German text on the bottom of his box showed 73 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:42,240 that he had recently come from Munich. Munich. What magic there was in 74 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:46,639 the very word. As Mildred rocked to and fro her active little brain, 75 00:06:46,959 --> 00:06:54,439 weaving the most grotesque fancies, a drowsiness stole over her. She was crooning 76 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:59,959 to herself, fainter and fainter, and every instant drifting nearer to the ship 77 00:07:00,079 --> 00:07:03,759 adowy reefs on the western coast of nowhere, when she heard a soft, 78 00:07:04,439 --> 00:07:12,399 inexplicable rustling sound close at her side. Mildred lifted her head quickly, just 79 00:07:12,439 --> 00:07:17,079 in time to behold heliogabulus describe a graceful curve in the air and land lightly 80 00:07:17,079 --> 00:07:21,319 in the midst of her best dressed in China tea. Set Ho ho, 81 00:07:23,079 --> 00:07:28,759 he cried, in a voice preternaturally gruff for an individual not above five inches 82 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:32,720 in height. Ho ho, And he immediately began to throw Mildred's cups and 83 00:07:32,759 --> 00:07:38,439 saucers and plates all about the apartment. Oh you horrid, wicked little man, 84 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:43,639 cried Mildred, starting to her feet, Stop it, Oh you cross 85 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,680 little girl, returned the dwarf with his family, leer you surprise me, 86 00:07:48,399 --> 00:07:55,040 and another plate crashed against the blue flowered wallpaper. Stop it, she repeated, 87 00:07:55,519 --> 00:07:58,879 and then to herself, It's a mercy I waked up just when I 88 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:03,079 did. Patience, my child, I'm coming there shortly to smooth your hair 89 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:07,959 and kiss you. Do, screamed Mildred, stooping to pick up a large 90 00:08:09,079 --> 00:08:15,439 Japanese crystal, which lay absorbing the wintry sunlight at her feet. When Heliogabulus 91 00:08:15,439 --> 00:08:20,040 saw that, he retired to the farther side of his tenement, peeping cautiously 92 00:08:20,079 --> 00:08:24,519 over the top and around the corner, and disappearing altogether whenever Mildred threatened to 93 00:08:24,519 --> 00:08:30,519 throw the crystal at him. Now, Miss Wentworth was naturally a courageous girl, 94 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,960 and when she perceived that the pigmy was afraid of her, she resolved 95 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,960 to make an example of him. He was such a small affair that it 96 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,879 really did not seem worth while to treat him with much ceremony. He had 97 00:08:41,879 --> 00:08:46,679 startled her at first his manners had been so very violent, But now that 98 00:08:46,759 --> 00:08:52,440 her pulse had gone down, she regarded him with calm curiosity and wondered what 99 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:58,120 he would do next. Listen, he said, presently, in a queer 100 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:03,279 deferential way. As he partly emerged from his hiding place. I came to 101 00:09:03,399 --> 00:09:07,720 request the hand of Mademoiselle Yonder, and, nodding his head in the direction 102 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:15,080 of Londella the doll, he retreated bashfully. Her cried, Mildred aghast, 103 00:09:16,399 --> 00:09:18,519 you are very nice, but I can't marry out of my own set, 104 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:26,600 you know, observed Heliogabulous, invisible behind his breastwork. This shyness was mere 105 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:31,960 dissimulation, as his subsequent behavior proved. Who would have thought it? Murmured 106 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:39,440 Mildred to herself, And as she glanced suspiciously at Blondella, sitting bolt upright 107 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,279 between the windows with her back against the mop board, Mildred fancied that she 108 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:48,600 could almost detect a faint roseate hue stealing into the waxen cheek. Who would 109 00:09:48,639 --> 00:09:54,080 have thought it? And then, addressing jumping Jack, she cried, come 110 00:09:54,120 --> 00:10:00,000 here directly, you audacious person, and she stamped her foot in a manner 111 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:05,600 that would have discouraged most suitors. But Heliogabulus, who had now seated himself 112 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,360 on the lid of his box and showed no trace of his late diffidence, 113 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:13,559 smiled superciliously as he twisted off a bit of wire that protruded from the heel 114 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:20,159 of one of his boots. This effrontery increased Miss Wentworth's indignation, and likewise 115 00:10:20,279 --> 00:10:24,879 rather embarrassed her. Perhaps he was not afraid of her after all, in 116 00:10:24,919 --> 00:10:30,120 which case he was worth nothing as an example. I will brush you off 117 00:10:30,159 --> 00:10:33,759 and tread on you, she observed, tentatively, as if she were addressing 118 00:10:33,799 --> 00:10:41,000 an insect. Oh. Indeed, he rejoined, derisively, crossing his legs. 119 00:10:41,519 --> 00:10:46,759 I will, cried Mildred, making an impulsive dash at him. Though 120 00:10:46,799 --> 00:10:52,799 taken at a disadvantage, the Mannikin eluded her with surprising ease. His agility 121 00:10:52,919 --> 00:10:56,159 was such as to render it impossible to determine whether he was an old young 122 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:01,440 man or a very young old man. Mildred eyed him doubtfully for a moment, 123 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:07,440 and then gave chase. Away went the quaint little figure, now darting 124 00:11:07,519 --> 00:11:11,679 under the brass bedstead, now dodging around the legs of the table, and 125 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:15,000 now slipping between the feet of his pursuer. At the instant she was on 126 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,720 the point of laying hand on him, Owing doubtless to some peculiarity of his 127 00:11:18,919 --> 00:11:24,399 articulation, each movement of his limbs, was accompanied by a rustling, wiry 128 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:30,240 sound, like the faint reverberation of a banjo string somewhere in the distance. 129 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:35,679 Heliogabulus may have been a person with no great conversational gift, but his gymnastic 130 00:11:35,799 --> 00:11:41,039 acquirements were of the first order. Mildred not only could not catch him, 131 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:46,360 but she could not restrain the mannekin from meanwhile doing all kinds of desultory mischief, 132 00:11:48,039 --> 00:11:50,519 For in the midst of his course, he would pause to overturn her 133 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:54,960 tin kitchen, or shy a plate across the room, or give a vicious 134 00:11:56,039 --> 00:12:00,960 twitch to the lovely golden hair of Blondella. In spite of, perhaps in 135 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:07,000 consequence of his recent tender advances, it was plain that in eluding Mildred he 136 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:13,240 was prompted by caprice rather than by fear. If things go on in this 137 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,480 way, she reflected, I shan't have anything left. If I could only 138 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:20,840 get the dreadful little creature into a corner. There goes my tureen. What 139 00:12:20,919 --> 00:12:26,759 shall I do to quit the room even for a moment, in order to 140 00:12:26,799 --> 00:12:30,720 call for assistance at the head of the staircase, where, moreover, her 141 00:12:30,799 --> 00:12:33,879 voice was not likely to reach any one was to leave everything at the mercy 142 00:12:33,879 --> 00:12:39,879 of that small demon. Mildred was out of breath with running and ready to 143 00:12:39,919 --> 00:12:45,320 burst into tears with exasperation. When a different mode of procedure suggested itself to 144 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:50,600 her, she would make believe that she was no longer angry, and possibly 145 00:12:50,639 --> 00:12:56,000 she could accomplish by cunning what she had failed to compass by violence. She 146 00:12:56,039 --> 00:13:01,120 would consent, at least seemed to consent, to let him marry Blondella, 147 00:13:01,799 --> 00:13:07,679 though he had lately given no signs of very fervid attachment. Beyond this, 148 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:13,240 Mildred had no definite scheme. When the story of the Fisherman and the Evil 149 00:13:13,279 --> 00:13:18,600 Afright flashed upon her memory from the pages of the Arabian Nights, her dilemma 150 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:22,320 was exactly that of the unlucky fisherman, and her line of action should be 151 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:28,799 the same, with such modification as the exigencies might demand. As in his 152 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:33,559 case too, there was no time to be lost. An expression of ineffable 153 00:13:33,559 --> 00:13:39,519 benevolence and serenity instantly overspread the features of miss Wentworth. She leaned against the 154 00:13:39,519 --> 00:13:45,679 wardrobe and regarded jumping Jack with a look of gentle reproach. I thought you 155 00:13:45,759 --> 00:13:50,639 were going to be interesting, she remarked softly. Ain't I interesting, asked 156 00:13:50,639 --> 00:13:56,200 the goblin, with a touch of pardonable sensitiveness. No, said Mildred, 157 00:13:56,279 --> 00:13:58,879 candidly, you are not. Perhaps you try to be. That's some, 158 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:03,399 to be sure, though it's not everything. Oh, I don't want to 159 00:14:03,399 --> 00:14:07,080 touch you, She went on, with an indifferent toss of her curls. 160 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:13,279 How old are you? Ever so old and ever so young? Truly? 161 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,919 How very odd to be both at once? Can you read? Never tried? 162 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:22,960 I'm afraid your parents didn't bring you up very well, reflected Mildred. 163 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:28,120 I speak all languages. The little folk of every age and every country understand 164 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,799 me. You're a great traveler, then I should say so. You don't 165 00:14:31,799 --> 00:14:35,960 seem to carry much baggage about with you. I suppose you belong somewhere, 166 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,440 and you keep your clothes there. I really should like to know where you 167 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:43,360 came from, if it's all the same to you. Out of that box, 168 00:14:43,399 --> 00:14:48,720 my dove, replied, jumping Jack, having become affable in his turn, 169 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,440 never, exclaimed Mildred with a delightful air of incredulity. I hope I 170 00:14:54,519 --> 00:15:00,240 may die, declared Heliogabulus, laying one hand on the left breast of his 171 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:05,840 main spring. Ah. I don't believe it, said Mildred confidently. Ho, 172 00:15:05,039 --> 00:15:11,639 ho, you are too tall and too wide and too fluffy. Ah. 173 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:15,120 I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but you are fluffy, and 174 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,919 I just want you to stop that hoe hoeing. No, I don't believe 175 00:15:18,919 --> 00:15:24,440 it, you don't, don't you behold and placing both hands on the floor, 176 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:30,840 Heliogabulus described a circle in the air, and neatly landed himself in the 177 00:15:30,879 --> 00:15:35,240 box. He was no sooner in than Mildred clapped down the lid and seated 178 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:41,240 herself upon it victoriously. In the suddenness of her movement, she had necessarily 179 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:46,639 neglected to fasten the catch, but that was a detail that could be attended 180 00:15:46,679 --> 00:15:50,759 to later. Meanwhile, she was mistress of the situation and could dictate terms. 181 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:56,720 One thing was resolved. Jumping Jack was never to jump again tomorrow. 182 00:15:56,919 --> 00:16:00,360 He should be thrown into the charles at the foot of Mount Vernon Street, 183 00:16:00,799 --> 00:16:04,320 in order that the tide might carry him out to see. What would she 184 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:08,120 not have given if she could have sealed him up with that talismanic seal of 185 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:14,919 Solomon, which held the cruel Mariage so securely in his brazen casket. Of 186 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,919 course, it was not in Mildred's blood to resist the temptation to tease her 187 00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:22,279 captive a little. Now, mister Jack, I guess I've got you where 188 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:26,679 you belong. If you are not an old man this very minute, you 189 00:16:26,759 --> 00:16:30,600 will be when you get out. He wanted to carry off my blondella. 190 00:16:30,679 --> 00:16:37,080 Did you the idea? I hope you're quite comfortable let me out, growled 191 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:41,240 Heliogabulus in his deepest bass. I couldn't think of it, Dear, you 192 00:16:41,279 --> 00:16:45,840 are one of those little boys that shouldn't be either seen or heard. And 193 00:16:45,919 --> 00:16:48,559 I don't want you to speak again, for I'm sitting on your head and 194 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:52,240 your voice goes right through me. So you will please remember not to speak 195 00:16:52,279 --> 00:16:56,759 unless you are spoken to. And Mildred broke into the merriest laugh, imaginable, 196 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:00,320 recollecting how many times she herself had been extinguished by the same instructions. 197 00:17:02,159 --> 00:17:06,680 But Mildred's triumph was premature, for the little man in the box was as 198 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:11,119 strong as a giant in a dime museum, and now that he had fully 199 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:15,880 recovered his breath, he began pushing in a most systematic manner with his head 200 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:21,319 and shoulders, and Mildred, to her great consternation, found herself being slowly 201 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:25,039 lifted up on the lid of the box do what she might. In a 202 00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:29,279 minute or two more, she must inevitably fall off and jumping Jack would have 203 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:33,000 her. And what mercy could she expect at his hands after her treatment of 204 00:17:33,079 --> 00:17:37,799 him? She was lost. Mildred stretched out her arms in despair, gave 205 00:17:37,799 --> 00:17:40,880 a shriek, and opened her eyes, which had been all the while as 206 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:45,440 tightly shut as a couple of morning glories. At sundown, she was sitting 207 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,920 on a rug in the middle of the room. Though the window panes were 208 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:52,880 still flushed with the memory of the winter sunset, the iridescent lights had faded 209 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:57,200 out in the Japanese crystal at her feet. She was not anywhere near the 210 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:03,279 little imp. There he was over by the fireplace, staring at nothing in 211 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:07,720 his usual senseless fashion. Not a piece of crockery had been broken, not 212 00:18:07,799 --> 00:18:15,359 a chair upset, and Blondella, the too fascinating Blondella, had not had 213 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:21,279 a single trest disarranged. Mildred drew a long breath of relief. What had 214 00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:26,920 happened? Had she been dreaming, she was unable to answer the question, 215 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,559 but as she abstractedly shook out the creases in the folds of her skirt, 216 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,160 she remarked to herself that she did not care on the whole to have any 217 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:41,440 of her things come to life, certainly not jumping jack. Just then, 218 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:47,000 the splintering of an icicle on the window ledge outside sent a faint whiteness into 219 00:18:47,039 --> 00:18:52,119 her cheek and caused her to throw a quick, apprehensive glance toward the fireplace. 220 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:59,519 After an instant's hesitation, Mildred, unconsciously, dragging Blondella by the hair, 221 00:19:00,559 --> 00:19:03,559 stole softly from the room, where the specters of the twilight were beginning 222 00:19:03,559 --> 00:19:08,480 to gather rather menacingly, and went downstairs to join the family and relate her 223 00:19:08,519 --> 00:19:15,240 strange adventure. The analysis of miss Wentworth's dream if it were a dream, 224 00:19:15,839 --> 00:19:21,160 for later on she declared it was not, and hurriedly gave Heliogabulus to an 225 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:25,279 unpleasant small boy who lived next door. The analysis of her dream, i 226 00:19:25,319 --> 00:19:30,880 repeat shows strong traces of a moral Indeed, the residuum is purely of that 227 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:37,880 stringent quality. Heliogabulus must be accepted as the symbol of an ill considered desire, 228 00:19:38,559 --> 00:19:45,240 realized the earnestness with which miss Wentworth invoked, the phantasm and the misery 229 00:19:45,279 --> 00:19:51,160 that came of it. Our common experience painfully to attain possession of what we 230 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,599 do not want, and then painfully to waste our days in attempting to rid 231 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:59,319 ourselves of it, seems to be a part of our discipline here below. 232 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:03,359 I know a great many excellent persons who are spending the latter moiety of life 233 00:20:03,599 --> 00:20:08,000 in the endeavor to get their particular jumping jack snuggly back into its box again. 234 00:20:11,519 --> 00:20:12,480 End of a Christmas fantasy.