THE PEACE EGG
AND OTHER TALES.
BY
JULIANA HORATIA EWING.
LONDON:
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,
Northumberland Avenue, W.C.
Brighton: 129, North Street.
New York: E. & J. B. YOUNG & CO.
[Published under the direction of the General Literature Committee.]
CONTENTS.
| PAGE | |
| The Peace Egg | 9 |
| A Christmas Mumming Play | 47 |
| Hints for Private Theatricals, I., II., III. | 85 |
| Snap-dragons | 115 |
| Old Father Christmas | 151 |
THE PEACE EGG.
THE PEACE EGG.
A CHRISTMAS TALE.
Every one ought to be happy at Christmas. But there are many thingswhich ought to be, and yet are not; and people are sometimes sad evenin the Christmas holidays.
The Captain and his wife were sad, though it was Christmas Eve. Sad,though they were in the prime of life, blessed with good health,devoted to each other and to their children, with competent means, acomfortable house on a little freehold property of their own, and, onemight say, everything that heart could desire. Sad, though they weregood people, whose peace of mind had a firmer foundation than theirearthly goods alone; contented people, too, with plenty of occupationfor mind and body. Sad—and in the nursery this was held to be pastall reason—though the children were performing that ancient and mostentertaining Play or Christmas Mystery of Good[10] St. George of England,known as The Peace Egg, for their benefit and behoof alone.
The play was none the worse that most of the actors were too young tolearn parts, so that there was very little of the rather tediousdialogue, only plenty of dress and ribbons, and of fighting with thewooden swords. But though St. George looked bonny enough to warm anyfather's heart, as he marched up and down with an air learned bywatching many a parade in barrack-square and drill-ground, and thoughthe Valiant Slasher did not cry in spite of falling hard and theDoctor treading accidentally on his little finger in picking him up,still the Captain and his wife sighed nearly as often as they smiled,and the mother dropped tears as well as pennies into the cap which theKing of Egypt brought round after the performance.
The Captain's Wife.
Many many years back the Captain's wife had been a child herself, andhad laughed to see the village mummers act the Peace Egg, and had beenquite happy on Christmas Eve. Happy, though she had no mother. Happy,though her father was a stern man,