Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-06-12
The Chimney-svveeps' Festival.

The eChimney-Swceps' Festival.
Even those poor little sooty imps that
used To spend their days in sweep
the dark, winding chimneys of smoky
London, had one grand holiday, and
that was the first day of May
How they must lave looked forward
TO this one day Of the year when they
could dress upand caper. and dance and
shout in the open air, with the lord
and lady" of their own choosing. and
the evergreen moving garland of their
own making.
I never saw but one Of these May-day
merry-makings of the sweeps. but it was
so comical that thought and talked of
it for many days after. and think their
walking green man. rs | called their
garland. is the funniest of all
1t is n great cone six or seven feet in
height, Of holly and ivy framed upon
hoops. Ii goes up smaller and smaller
to the top. where il is tied with gay
Colored ribbons, and decorated with
punches of flowers.
At the very top there will be a crown
made of flowers, or little flag flying.
All down the sides of this evergreen
hillock are knots Of ribbon and punches
of flowers.
Round it as il goes from street to
street, the little sweeps capcr and dance.
Their hats and jackets are trimmed all
over with Colored and gilt paper, and
flowers stuck in wherever they can put
one, while their black legs (for they like
TO leave them sooty for this days fun)
arc colored in figure with Dutch pink,
or white chalk. and some of them leave
their faces black that they may
ornament them in the same way.
II u, r.. IL =
how their bower of green moved along
of itself. but when we looked down close
to the ground-why, there we some
times saw two feet pceping out!
Then we knew all about tit was
"Jack-in-the-Teen.' Yes, there was
pretty big man inside. and this was
something as he looked to my young
eyes.
My lord and lady," however. are in
the eyes of the sweeps the grnndcst Of
all things in their May-day show.
The lord - i, gcncrally chosen from
some other profession than that of
chimney swerPcrs. and j. splcndidly
dressed in cooked hat. trimmed with
red and yellow feathers; laced coat en-
broidered waistcoat; silk stockings ::
large knee buckles, and cane with a
shining knob.
dress, which is gaudy and bedizencd rs
my lords, hut instead Of n cane she car
ries in her right hand brass ladle.
When ".Jack-in the-green stops.
they dance most elegantly round him.
while all the little sootikins make sweet
music by striking their brushes and
shovels together!
Then my lord and lady. bowing and
courtcsying to each other, with cooked
hat and brass ladle in hand. and all the
sweeps with their sooty shoyels. 70
round to the spectators" Smallest do
nations thankfully received" and the
silver and pennies a they drop into the
ladle and shoyeis make n pleasant Jingle
in the ears Of the little swecpcrs.
But. ! am sorry 10 say, their greedy
taskmasters get the lions share Of these
May-day offerings. and tomorrow his
poor little ovcrworked sootikin will be
climbing those dark. crooked chimneys.
scrapng and sweeping. and half stihed
with SCOT and dust.
Still the brave little fellow will toll
up through all those winding ways until.
as he sees daylight at last, you hear a
faint shout. You run out to see the
sooty little imp pcrchcd upon the top Of
the tall chimney. waving his brush. and
il he has breath enough left, shouting.
Sweep or
Did you ever hear the true story of n
little ehimney-sweep. who was sweeping
the chimncys at Arundel Castle, and
was lost?
1t was hot dav in summer when his
master sent him up into those tall
clIimneys. and when noontide came, and
he had not peared at the top, and they
had called aud searched, but could find
nothing of him. they were all terribly
frightened. and even his master began to
think that he had been suffocated in
some ofthose winding fues.
Then they went from one drawing
room to another. and through all those
splendid chambers, shouting up the
chimneys, until they came TO one Of the
handsomest Of the " state chambers
There within the curtains of rich Grim
son silk that surrounded the bed, and
under the whitest and finest of sheets.
with the silken coverlet over him, lay
FIST asleep the lost little Sweep or
II seems that the poor little fellow had
got completely lost in those great Chin
neys leading one into another. and had
come down, frightened. and hot and
tired. into this very comfortable bed
room, and then the bed looked so tempt
ing. and IL was all so quiet, that he laid
his little black head upon the soft pillow,
and was soon sound asleep,
They were nil so glad TO find him that
feel sure the kind duke that lived In
that grand old castle would not allow
his master To punish his little sweep for
taking a nap In ducal bed Houth's
Companion.