Non-Fiction > Books > London, 1887 - Virginibus Puerisque, and other papers

238 Child' s Play
altogether secondary importance, and might
even have been nauseous, so long as we
seasoned it with these dreams. But perhaps
the most exciting moments I ever had over
a meal, were in the case of calves' feet jelly.
It was hardly possible not to believe — and
you may be sure, so far from trying, I did
all I could to favour the illusion — that some
part of it was hollow, and that sooner or
later my spoon would lay open the secret
tabernacle of the golden rock. There, might
some miniature Red Beard await his hour ;
there, might one find the treasures of the
Forty Thieves, and bewildered Cassim beat-
ing about the walls. And so I quarried on
slowly, with bated breath, savouring the
interest. Believe me, I had little palate left
for the jelly ; and though I preferred the
taste when I took cream with it, I used often
to go without, because the cream dimmed
the transparent fractures.
Even with games, this spirit is authori-
tative with right-minded children. It is thus
that hide-and-seek has so pre-eminent a