Sinister Street, vol. 1

his mind could not claim an individual existence amid the uniformity of a long line of fellows. His arrival coincided with a confusion of furniture, with the tramp of men

to wake her up. Nurse retired in an aura of importance, and Michael set out to establish an intimacy with the various iron bars of his cage. For a grown-up person these would certainly have seemed much more alike than even the houses of Carlington Road, West Kensington: for Michael each bar possessed a personality. Minute scratches unnoticed by the heedless adult world lent variety of expression: slight irregularities infused certain groups with an air of deliberate consultation. From the four corners royal bars, crowned with brass, dominated their subjects. Passions, intrigues, rumours, ambitions, revenges were perceived by Micha

om the opposite direction. Stella woke up crying. Michael was too deeply frightened so to soothe himself, as he sat clutching the pointed ears of the grey pillow. Stella, feeling that the fretful tears of a sudden awakening were in

, to wake up you

at noise?" a

ise," said N

't. It w

. "Lions will always come, when little boys

doesn't l

lier days, and with a grave obstinacy of demea

t noise, Nann

urse. There's a mol

rode in from down

down in the country!" Nurse mimic

ions a

ou're a g

or tigers-no

mportation of fancy from

enough," N

ughing

e wasn't enough to do without children

e, gratified by her victory and relieved to find that Stella was crooning happy mysteries to a rag doll, announced that she was prepared in return for the very best behavio

seclusion of spacious visions. On this occasion Michael paid no attention to Stella's salutation of light; he was merely thankful she showed no sign of wishing to be amused by 'peep-bo,' or by the pulling of curious faces. Both these diversions were dangerous to Michael's peace of mind, because at some period of the entertainment he was bound, with disastrous results, to cross the line between Stella's joy and Stella's fear. Michael turned to look out of the window, finding the details of the view enthralling. He marked first of all the long row of poplar trees already fresh and vivid with young May's golden green. Those trees, waving with their youthfulness in the wind, extended as far as could be observed on either side. Three in every garden were planted close to the farthest wall. How beautiful they looked, and how the sparrows hopped from

ing else. Beyond the trellis was the railway; and while Michael was looking a signal shot down, a distant roar drew near, and a real train rumbled past which, beheld from Michael's window, looked like a toy train loaded with dolls, one of whom wore a red tam-o'-shanter. Michael longed to be sitting once again in that moving wonderl

room to interrupt Stella's saga and Michael's growing dread o

left there

t wh

pointed to t

oint!" s

s that

where coal

left there?"

wall and carried you off and left you there

caught h

?" he asked, choki

kittens,"

ack and hairy with yellow cat's

not to let go of the banisters; then down they went, down and down and down-past three doors opening into furniture-heaped rooms, past a door with upper panels of coloured glass in a design of red and amber sparrows upon a crude blue vegetation-a beautiful door, Michael thought, as he went by. Down and down and down into the hall which was strewn with bits of straw and shavings and had another glass-panelled door very gaudy. Here the floor was patterned with terra-cotta, yello

that?" h

he'll have me ov

-that hole? Michael do

t! Frightened by a coal-ce

nto its place with a click: Michael was lifted up and thumped down into another high chair and pushed close up to the table so that his knees were chafed by the sharp edge and his thighs pinched by a loose strand of c

t angles to the first. In the course of dinner, Cook entered. She was a fat masculine creature who always kept her arms folded beneath a coarse and sp

coming at all, th

ichael would not have been so very suspicious had he not observe

ng to stay wit

stay. Stay for ever," assert

re when the furnitu

. "It was funny. That's what I

e what you might call properly ar

arranged," Nurse snapped. "Nothin

e proceeded to cram his mouth with a dessert-spoonful of rice pudding fr

o that in order to cover her confusion and assist her retreat she was compelled to snatch away Michael's plate of rice pudding before he had finished the last few clotted grains. Michael was grateful to Annie f

a, are you enjoying your rice pudding? And, darling

od! Yes. He's very good. O

aths, leaned over him, pulled down his blue and white sa

bedroom or, in fact, any of the rooms except the night-nursery and the day-

e paused a moment doubtfully; then she waved beautiful slim gloves and glided from the room. Michael listened to delic

I know she's gon

ded Nurse. "She's

wailed. "She always g

Yes-tut-tut!-but goodness gracious, she wo

une?" Mic

ou'll go to bed, young man; but if you

nice long story

now my story's begun. I'll tell you another abo

complacent look, as she smacked

id Michael sullenly. "Wh

at's enough,

e reached June? His sleepy eyelids uncurled to the scented vision of his beautiful mother. But it was only gaslight playing and fluttering over the figure of an?mic Annie taking hairpin after hairpin from her hair. Yet there was a certain interest in watching Annie undress. Her actions were less familiar than those of Nurse. Her lips were softer to kiss. Then the vision of June, rising and fall

now whether to feel more sorry for the little girl or the dog; some sort of compassion, he thought, was demanded. It was a problem picture insoluble over many years of speculation. The night-nursery seemed always full of Nurse's clothes. Her petticoats were usually chequered or uniform red, preternaturally bright in contrast with the blackness of the exterior apparel. The latter of heavy serge or similar material was often sown with jet bugles which scratched Michael's face when he played 'Hide-Oh' among the folds of such obvious concealment. Apart from these petticoats and skirts, the most individual possession of Nurse's wardrobe was a moon-shaped bustle of faded crimson which Michael loved to swing from the bedpost whence out of use it was suspended. There was also in a top drawer, generally unattainable, a collection of caps threaded with many different velvet ribbons and often coquettish with lace flowers. Michael was glad when Nurse put on her best cap, a proceeding which took place

ght in the roof. Yet this skylight Michael could have wished away. It was a vulnerable spot which made the day-nursery just a little uneasy at dusk-this and the cistern cupboard with its dark boomings and hammerings and clankings and utter inexplicableness. However, the day-nursery was a bright room, with a cosy atmosphere of its own. The pleasantest meal of the day was taken there, and in a black cupboard lived the golden syrup and the heraldic mugs and the dumpy teapot and the accessories of tea. What a much pleasanter cupboard this was than the smaller one in the night-nursery which revealed, when opened, slim and ugly ipecacuanha, loathsome Gregory-powder with wooden cap and squat cork, wicked envelopes of grey powders and slippery bottles of castor-oil. There, too, was the liver-coloured liquo

earthrug very comfortable to lie upon beside the cat and her two black kittens. There was Nanny's work-table in the window, gay with coloured silks and wools. There was a piano locked up unti

e coal-cellar and the area-door with its grinning errand boys. The windows afforded foothold to strange cats that stared abominably with yellow eyes. Tramps and sweeps walked past the area-railings or looked

ow cupboard that included upon an attainable shelf jars of currants, sultanas, and rice much more edible in the raw state than cooked. There was the electric-bell case, recording with mysterious discs a far-off summons. There was the drawer in the kitchen table that contained, besides knives and forks, a rolling-pin, a tin-opener, a corkscrew, skewers and, most exciting of all, a club-shape

ness. All day long for many golden days he pattered up and down the house and in and out of all the rooms at his mother's heels. He held coils of picture-wire and hooks and hammers and nails and balls of wool and reels of silk and strands of art-muslin and spiders of cotton-wool and Japanese fans and plumes of pampas grass and all the petty utilities and beauties of house arrangement. By the end of July every room was finally arranged, and Michael and Stella with their mother, accompanied by Nurse and Annie, went down to the seaside to spend two wonderful months. Michael was often allowed to sit up an extra half-hour and even when he went to bed his mother would c

ot of strawberry jam. After breakfast, Michael would walk round the heap of clinkers in the middle of the parched seaside garden while his mother read her letters, and very soon they would set out together to the beach, where in time they would meet Nurse and Stella with the perambulator and the camp-stools and the bag of greengages or William-pears. Sand castles were made and boats were sailed or rather were floated upside down in pools, and just as the morning was getting too good to last, they would have to go home to dinner, joining on to the procession of people returning up the

-breeches with a sword-a prince evidently by his splendid dress and handsome face. He speculated during his mother's sleep upon t

f mine," sa

pri

ot a p

prince," said Mic

he, da

look like a pri

y go

hael asked. "Oh, mother,

you're

. I want to read writin

his mother

way

es

hat? Alwa

n 'always,'" s

y writing. W

in the

hy

ease m

lways' when I can

rse, da

is that

d friend of

said Michael

his mother, and then s

concluded and he was lying very still in

egan, "there was a very l

," Michael interrupted. "Tell

he window, and after a moment'

ales without a prince," sa

lived in an old old country house three sisters

id she

was

ghed sympa

ther went on, "lived with the

kind t

have her own way and one day when she was feeling very cross because her father had t

rrupted Michael,

good morning, and she said good mor

hadn'

as very handsome and brave and after that they met very often, and then one day he said, 'Won't you ride aw

rned her face to

all?" Mic

t's

appy ever a

appy-to

ey happ

appy-to

live in

a beautiful ship and went sailing away t

el go with y

y, it's a f

he said d

g up late that evening for a great treat. He did not want to sit up late, and when his mother whispered there was a surprize for him in the drawing-room, he did not care at all for a surprize. But nothing could make the minutes stay still. He was allowed to watch the cab going down the road, but he had no heart to wave his handkerchief in farewell, and when presently he went back with Nurse into the thin red house and was triumphantly led into the drawing-room, he was not rais