The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-12-29 00:00:00

BRISKET BOYLE'S MISTAKE.

One evenirg Brisket retired to the calm seclusion of
his attic, and gazing on the after-glow that bathed the
western chimneypots with golden glory, wondered how
and why in a world of so much beauty there could be
so much sorrow,

The twilight deepened into darkness ; the after.
glow died from the west; and from the east a star
gleamed pale and cold. Closer fell night's azure
mantle, gemmed with yet more stare. The busy tide
of life ceased by degrees to roar along the streets
below. Tired, weary, and sad at heart, Brisket sank
to slumber.

Hours crept on. At last he woke startled by a lurid
glare that flooded through the window from without,
the rush of footsteps, the sound of many voices in the
street, the knocking at doors, the pealing of bells, the
fearful shouts that wilder and louder grew each second,
"Fire! FIRE!! FIRE! !l"

In a few moments Brisket was in the street, and
had ascertained with horror that the conflagration was
proceeding from Juniper's premises. A motley crowd
was surging in the deluged street, the panting foam-
ing horses of tho fire brigade (gallant steeds as e'er
looked through bridle) had just dashed up ; above the
shouts of men and screams of women rose the ear, piercing
shriek of the engine whistles ; the gleaming helmets of
the firemen moved to and fro amid the darkness, or
flashed in the glare; while, above all, from casement
and from roof, the giant flames leapt to the sky, like
the dancing demons of an Inferno.
Brisket caught a hurried glimpse of Juniper rushing
here and there, jumping and tumbling over hose and
hydrant; but, in the scene of devastation, where—oh,
where !—was Jemima ? Presently a shout of dismay,
dread, and horror burst from the crowd, for at a
window on the second floor, dark till then, but sud-
denly lit up with flame, was seen a woman's form.
An escape was promptly reared against the window,
From the storey underneath the fierce !Limes shot out
and licked with cruel tongues the framework of the
life ladder, yet the brave hearts of the fire brigade
paused not an instant to count the danger. But ere
ohe of them had time to mount one rung, Brisket
sprang from the crowd, and cried, "Back, brave lads!
This task is mine I "
A mighty shout rose from the crowd as Brisket
bounded up the ladder; a mightier yet when reaching
the top, he burst through glass and sash, and for an
instant disappeared; and when again he stood upon
the casement, bearing in his arms an unconscious form,
every man's voice in that multitude swelled in one
tumultuous cheer, every woman's broke into a sob!
Between the ucturned faces in the street and the
window where he stood hissed and roared a volcano;
but, clasping his still motionless burden closer to his
breast, he murmured, "Mine, in life or death!" and
plunged into the framework of the escape.
At last on terra firma safe and sound, with a hun-
dred hands stretched to greet him, a thousand voices
ringing in his praise! There stood Juniper and—
hallo, this was funny I—there, at his side, stood
Jemima. Brisket glanced more closely at the sup-
posed fainting form for which he had risked his
life, and discovered he had rescued a draped artist's
lay figure—part and parcel of Juniper's stock-in-
trade.

The sides of the oil and colour merchant shook with
triumphant glee. "What did I tell you ?" he shouted
to Jemima ; "there ain't no foolery a man as writes
poetry ain't capable of."
Then, for the first time on record, the gentle
Jemima rose in rebellion against paternal authority.
Placing her tiny hands in Brisket's scorched ones, sho
said, "You believed me to be in danger, and you
braved a cruel death to save me—like a knight of old.
Your heroism was not altogether wasted, since it has
proved that you love me as dearly as—l love you."—
From 'For Love of a Lady," by H. T. Johnson, in
Hood's Comic Annual.