 visitors to the exhibition, little Nell was not
forgotten. The light cart in which the Brigand usually made his perambulations
being gaily dressed with flags and streamers, and the Brigand placed therein,
contemplating the miniature of his beloved as usual, Nell was accommodated with
a seat beside him, decorated with artificial flowers, and in this state and
ceremony rode slowly through the town every morning, dispersing handbills from a
basket, to the sound of drum and trumpet. The beauty of the child, coupled with
her gentle and timid bearing, produced quite a sensation in the little country
place. The Brigand, heretofore a source of exclusive interest in the streets,
became a mere secondary consideration, and to be important only as a part of the
show of which she was the chief attraction. Grown-up folks began to be
interested in the bright-eyed girl, and some score of little boys fell
desperately in love, and constantly left inclosures of nuts and apples, directed
in small-text, at the wax-work door.
    This desirable impression was not lost on Mrs. Jarley, who, lest Nell should
become too cheap, soon sent the Brigand out alone again, and kept her in the
exhibition room, where she described the figures every half-hour to the great
satisfaction of admiring audiences. And these audiences were of a very superior
description, including a great many young ladies' boarding-schools, whose favour
Mrs. Jarley had been at great pains to conciliate, by altering the face and
costume of Mr. Grimaldi as clown to represent Mr. Lindley Murray as he appeared
when engaged in the composition of his English Grammar, and turning a murderess
of great renown into Mrs. Hannah More - both of which likenesses were admitted
by Miss Monflathers, who was at the head of the head Boarding and Day
Establishment in the town, and who condescended to take a Private View with
eight chosen young ladies, to be quite startling from their extreme correctness.
Mr. Pitt in a night-cap and bedgown, and without his boots, represented the poet
Cowper with perfect exactness; and Mary Queen of Scots in a dark wig, white
shirt-collar, and male attire, was such a complete image of Lord Byron that the
young ladies quite screamed when they saw it. Miss Monflathers, however, rebuked
this enthusiasm, and took occasion to reprove Mrs. Jarley for not keeping her
collection more select: observing that His Lordship had held certain opinions
quite incompatible with wax-work honours, and adding something about a Dean and
Chapter, which Mrs. Jarley did not understand.
    Although her duties
