roofs. The sun shone; and although they had a little rain too, that was good
for the farmer; and when they got wetted thoroughly, they only thought
what a blessing it was for the country.
And what stories grandpapa could tell! As a little boy he had seen all
these fine doings in their greatest pomp. The oldest of the policemen used to
make a speech from the platform on which the shield was hung up, and the
speech was in verse, as if it had been made by a poet, as, indeed it had; for
three people had concocted it together, and they had first drunk a good bowl
of punch, so that the speech might turn out well.
And the people gave a cheer for the speech, but they shouted much louder
for the Harlequin, when he appeared in front of the platform, and made a
grimace at them.
The fools played the fool most admirably, and drank mead out of spirit-
glasses, which they then flung among the crowd, by whom they were
caught up. Grandfather was the possessor of one of these glasses, which had
been given him by a working mason, who had managed to catch it. Such a
scene was really very pleasant; and the shield on the new court-house was
hung with flowers and green wreaths.
“One never forgets a feast like that, however old one may grow,” said
grandfather. Nor did he forget it, though he saw many other grand
spectacles in his time, and could tell about them too; but it was most
pleasant of all to hear him tell about the shield that was brought in the town
from the old to the new court-house.
Once, when he was a little boy, grandpapa had gone with his parents to
see this festivity. He had never yet been in the metropolis of the country.
There were so many people in the streets, that he thought that the shield was
being carried. There were many shields to be seen; a hundred rooms might
have been filled with pictures, if they had been hung up inside and outside.
At the tailor’s were pictures of all kinds of clothing, to show that he could
stitch up people from the coarsest to the finest; at the tobacco
manufacturer’s were pictures of the most charming little boys, smoking
