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diff --git a/44924-0.txt b/44924-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..edda9c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/44924-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10475 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44924 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 44924-h.htm or 44924-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44924/44924-h/44924-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44924/44924-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + the Google Books Library Project. See + http://www.google.com/books?id=2Xo-AQAAMAAJ + + +Transcriber's note: + + Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). + + + + + +[Illustration: _Front._ ZAC WINS THE PIG-RACE.--P. 57] + + +UNCLE JOE'S STORIES + +by + +THE RIGHT HON. E. H. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN, M.P. + +With Illustrations by Ernest Griset + + +London +George Routledge and Sons +Broadway, Ludgate Hill +New York: 416 Broome Street +1879 + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + PAGE + +UNCLE JOE 1 + +ZAC'S BRIDE 40 + +EVELYN WITH THE FAIRIES 106 + +CAT AND DOG 183 + +OPHELIA 223 + +THE CRONES OF MERSHAM 285 + + + + +TO ALL NAUGHTY CHILDREN + +(IF THERE BE ANY SUCH LEFT IN ENGLAND) + +This Book + +IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. + + +MY DEAR CHILDREN-- + +Yes--you are "dear," and will be very "dear" to your parents and +friends if you continue to be naughty. I dedicate this little book to +you because I have been told (though it is scarcely possible to believe +it) that I was once a naughty child myself. If it be true, it was a +_very_ long time ago; and then there were not nearly so many pretty +"children's books" as there are now, so I had not the same chance as +you have of knowing how much best it is to be good. As soon as I found +this out, I began to be good directly, and now I advise you all to do +the same. + +Whilst you are thinking how to manage it, you cannot do better than +read a few stories about Fairies, Pigmies, Witches, and such-like +interesting creatures. In these stories you will find that the good +people always come out right at last, and the naughty people get into +the most disagreeable scrapes. Well, this is just the same with +creatures who are not Fairies nor Pigmies, nor anything of the sort. So +as soon as you have read these stories--or even before doing so if you +can--leave off being naughty and be good as fast as possible. By so +doing you will make everybody about you happy, will become more and +more happy yourselves, and will show that Fairy stories are really of +some use. In this case we must have another book next year, and +meanwhile I remain your affectionate friend, + +E. H. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN. + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + PAGE + +ZACK WINS THE PIG-RACE (_Zac's Bride_) 57 + +EVELYN MEETS THE FAIRIES (_Evelyn with the Fairies_) 122 + +THE CAT'S LAST MUSIC-LESSON (_Cat and Dog_) 212 + +END OF FAMCRAM (_Ophelia_) 280 + +MARY AND BILLY MEET THE CRONES (_The Crones of Mersham_) 305 + +SIMPLE STEENIE AND THE GRAY MAN ON THE STROLL (_The Crones + of Mersham_) 344 + + + + +PREFACE. + + +I had almost made up my mind to write no more Fairy Tales, to let +sprites and elves alone for ever, and to refrain from any further +research into the dark and mysterious doings of warlocks and witches +in the olden time. But fate is stronger than the will of man, and I +am powerless to resist the influences brought to induce--nay, to +compel--me to alter my determination. It is not only that verbal and +written requests have come to me from many quarters which it is +difficult to resist; it is not only that I am tired of being asked when +my new book is coming out, and of being generally disbelieved when I +answer "never." There is a stronger influence still. Fairies and elves +have an extraordinary power which they exercise over those who have +once sought to pry into their mysteries. If once you have dealings with +such creatures, you can rarely, if ever, leave them. There is a +fatality which urges you on--an irresistible fascination in the subject +which brings you back to it again and again, and obliges you to recur +to it in spite of yourself. When I walk out in the woods, or ramble +through the fields alone, the objects which appear ordinary and +commonplace to people who have, unhappily for themselves, neglected to +study Fairy Lore, bear to me quite a different appearance. I see traces +of the little beings which are not visible to the careless, still less +to the unbelieving eye. I hear voices which are inaudible to the ear +of the incredulous; and even without this, Fancy--free, glorious +Fancy--clothes the grass, the flowers, the bushes, the trees, with a +beauty of her own, and peoples every fairy haunt with a spirit company. +Is it only Fancy? Ah! that is just what nobody knows. Only how could I +tell so many different stories if nobody told them to me first? + +That is a question I should like people to put to themselves calmly and +quietly, and if they think, after full consideration, that some person +or persons must have told me these curious stories, I hope they will +come to the conclusion that I am only doing what is right and fair in +passing them on to other people, so that the world may know as much as +I do about the strange and wonderful beings to whom these stories +relate. + + + + +UNCLE JOE'S STORIES. + + + + +UNCLE JOE. + + +I do not think that I ever met so extraordinary a man as Uncle Joe in +all my life. We children were all very fond of him, because he had an +inexhaustible supply of stories, and those, too, of a kind which are +especially popular with children. He had exciting stories of almost +every sort: of thrilling adventures by land and sea, of captures by +pirates, hair-breadth escapes from Red Indians; fearful conflicts with +robbers; terrible struggles with wild animals; and strange encounters +with sea-serpents or similarly wonderful creatures. Then he knew an +immense deal about giants and dwarfs, witches and wizards, ogres and +vampires, and he also possessed no little insight into all that +concerned fairies and fairy-land. He could tell of the little sea fairy +that rode on the crest of the wave, basking pleasantly when the sun +shone down on a calm still ocean, and shrieking madly with frenzied +delight when the winds lashed the waves into fury, and carried her +forward on the great flakes of snow-like foam; of the fairy who looked +after some particular house or family, and always appeared to warn them +of danger just at the right moment, or to disclose a buried treasure, +exactly in time to save them from ruin; and of the happy little +woodland fairies, who are to be found in the deep glades and dark +ravines of the wild forest, and about whom such innumerable legends +have from time to time been written by some of those fortunate mortals +who have visited and been aided by them in time of sickness or danger, +and who have in gratitude chronicled their power. + +Nothing delighted Uncle Joe so much as to tell one of his charming +stories to us, eager listeners as we always were. He liked to get one +child on each knee, and to have the others clustering round as near as +possible, and then he would start off and go on just for all the world +as if he was only reading from a book. + +Looking back now, with the calmer judgment of riper years, I hardly +know which was most wonderful, the unlimited power of invention of +Uncle Joe, or the boundless credulity of us children. Because no man +could by any possibility have gone through half the wonderful +adventures of which he pretended to have been the hero, if he had lived +to twice the ordinary age of man, and kept on searching for adventures +all the time. Besides, it would have been five hundred to one against +his escaping every time, as Uncle Joe always did, "by the skin o' his +teeth." + +Once he was tied to the stake, and just going to be scalped by the +Indians, when some miraculous thing (I forget what at this moment) +occurred to save him; once he was in the very coils of an enormous +snake, and was yet preserved; and at another time, he was actually +swallowed by a crocodile, (I am sure I don't know how he got down its +throat without a disabling nip from some of those teeth which I have +noticed in the mouths of stuffed crocodiles in museums,) and escaped by +means of employing his penknife in a manner too disagreeable to +describe. In short, there never was a man who, according to his own +account, had gone through such a series of remarkable adventures as +Uncle Joe, and I am therefore quite justified in pronouncing him to +have been a most extraordinary man. + +I have never discovered what really was Uncle Joe's profession or +occupation. For anything I know, he may have been a soldier, a sailor, +or a horse-marine; though, for the matter of that, I have so little +conception of what may be the duties of persons engaged in the latter +profession, that I should dispute the claims of nobody who averred that +he had belonged to it. All I know is, that he wore a blue coat with +brass buttons, had a hooked nose and a bright eye, and only possessed +one arm; the other I solemnly declare I have heard him state, on +different occasions, to have been shot off in battle, lost in saving +life from a shipwreck, when it got jammed between two planks of the +sinking ship, and bitten off by a tiger, under circumstances the +details of which I do not happen to remember--it was gone, however, +anyhow, was that left-arm of Uncle Joe's, and its loss must have had +this great consolation, that it furnished a foundation upon which he +built many a romance, pleasing to himself, and interesting to his +listeners. + +He had been a mighty traveller, had Uncle Joe. From Canada to the +farthest extremity of South America, from Constantinople to Hong-Kong, +from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Cape, all was familiar to him; +whilst, as to continental Europe, there seemed to be no hole or corner +which he had not explored. England was like his own house to him; that +is to say, he knew every county and town in one as well as he knew +every room in the other. In fact, to hear him talk on these subjects, +you never would for a moment have guessed that which was the real +truth, namely, that he had never been further from England than Paris, +and had been so particularly ill in crossing the channel that nothing +but the fear of the laughter of his friends, coupled with his total and +entire ignorance of the French language, prevented his settling in +France for the rest of his life, sooner than again undergo the ordeal +of that terrible passage. + +Happily for us children, (for this occurred before we were at the age +of story-hearing, or indeed at any age at all,) he _did_ face the +channel once more, and never sought to tempt it again. But all this I +only learned many years after, and during the whole of the early +portion of my life, I (in common, I am sure, with the great majority of +his acquaintance) set Uncle Joe down as a man who had seen more of the +world than most living men, and knew more of the geography of foreign +lands, as well as of the customs and manners of their inhabitants, than +anyone whom I ordinarily met. + +With all this sin, if sin it be, of exaggeration, (one wishes to use a +mild word in speaking of a relative,) Uncle Joe's virtues greatly +predominated over any defects which he may have possessed. He was +good-natured to a fault--forgiving beyond most men--tender-hearted--a +faithful friend--and full of sympathy for the woes and sorrows of +others. I believe he lost a large sum of money in early life by +becoming surety for some one whom he thought to be a friend, and who +turned out to be an arrant scoundrel. Anyhow, he was far from rich, and +was not one of those uncles who have always got a sovereign ready for a +nephew going to school, or for spending at the confectioner's, if he +comes to see a young relative during school-time. Still, Uncle Joe was +the most popular of all our relations so far as the public opinion of +the school-room was concerned, and every juvenile heart rejoiced when +we were told that he was coming to spend Christmas at our home. + +Upon one occasion he was expected to arrive upon the day before +Christmas Eve, and we were all greatly delighted at the prospect. Fanny +and Kitty, my two eldest sisters, were looking forward with much +pleasure to the visits to the school-room which Uncle Joe always paid +about tea-time, not only on account of the stories we were sure to +hear, but because it was so very amusing to see the violent efforts +which Miss Crinkles, the governess, used to make in order to avoid +going into fits of laughter at some of our uncle's jokes, and the +entire--though only temporary--loss of dignity which followed her +inevitable failure to keep her countenance. Tom and Gerald and I (Harry +is my name, and I was about twelve at the time of this story) were +equally interested, and little Lucy and Mary were employed for several +days beforehand in putting on their dolls' best dresses, that they +might be in a fit state to receive this honoured relation. + +Well, the day before Christmas Eve came--as it always comes every year, +if you only look out for it--and our hearts beat high with expectation +of Uncle Joe. But no Uncle Joe appeared at luncheon time (he often +turned up about that time) and when tea-time had arrived, the hoped-for +visit was not paid. Presently the dressing-bell rang, half-an-hour +before dinner, and still no Uncle Joe. Even my father began to fidget +now, and to wonder where the expected guest could be, and my mother +became positively uneasy. If there was one thing rather than another +about which our uncle was particular, it was the important point of +being in time for dinner. The reason he always gave for this +particularity was his sense of the unfairness to the cook which was +occasioned by unpunctuality. No cook, he said, could contend against +it, and you had no right to expect a good dinner unless you were ready +to eat it at the hour for which it had been ordered. + +The knowledge of this opinion on the part of Uncle Joe, and of the +firmness--not to say obstinacy--with which he always maintained +it--increased the uneasiness of my parents as the dinner hour grew +nearer and nearer without his appearance, and when half-past seven +arrived, and still no Uncle Joe, matters were held to be so serious +that messengers were despatched in several directions to make inquiries +whether anything had been heard or seen of the expected visitor. It was +fortunate that this step was taken, because otherwise there exists a +violent probability that this story might never have been told, and we +children should have had to mourn over the loss of our favourite +relative. + +Uncle Joe was found lying by the roadside, barely a mile from our gate, +at a spot where a path ran parallel with the road, but some twelve feet +above it. His head was bruised and his left-arm broken, and, when +found, he was insensible. There was snow on the ground: it had frozen +during the day, and, about seven o'clock, light flakes of snow had +begun to fall again, so that if my poor uncle had lain where he was +much longer, he would either have been covered with snow, or frozen, +and could in no case have come well out of the business. His story was, +that, finding that he was at the station, some five miles off, in good +time, he thought he would walk over to our house and have his +portmanteau sent for from thence. + +Some two miles from home there stood (and still stands) a convenient +public-house by the road-side, bearing the respectable sign of "The +Duke's Head," a staring picture of the head and shoulders of a man, +displaying the prominent nose and distinctive features of the great +Duke of Wellington, swinging gaily in front of the said inn. I believe +it is a very old inn, and was originally named after the great Duke of +Marlborough, and if England ever has another "great" Duke, I do not +doubt that _his_ picture will replace the present one, and the sign +will do equally well for _him_. + +At this hostelry, said Uncle Joe, he had pulled up to have a glass of +hot brandy-and-water to cheer him on his way, and remembered to have +observed several rough-looking characters hanging about the place at +the time. He journeyed on, and at the spot at which he was found had +been attacked by three foot-pads, whom he declared that he had resisted +stoutly, but a blow with a short stick delivered by one of them had +felled him to the earth with a broken arm, while he had been rendered +insensible by a similar blow upon the head. The robbers seemed to have +had some object other than that of mere plunder, for although Uncle Joe +declared that they had taken all his money but half-a-crown, which was +found in his waistcoat-pocket, yet it was so seldom that he had much +more cash about him, that no one imagined that the robbers' booty could +have been great, whilst they had left his big silver watch and chain +untouched, and also the large old-fashioned silver pencil-case, which +he always carried about with him. This he attributed to the +stubbornness of his resistance, which had made the thieves glad to get +away from the neighbourhood of so desperate a fellow as quickly as +possible. + +They were never traced, and as the snow soon afterwards came on more +heavily, their footsteps could have been scarcely seen after the space +of a very short time, and no one could tell in which direction they had +fled. There were some people, indeed, who winked their eyes wickedly, +and laid their fore-finger waggishly against the side of their noses +whenever allusion was made to the attack upon Uncle Joe. They were +unkind enough to declare that our good relative's story was true enough +up to the time of his stopping at the "Duke's Head," but that at that +point he had quitted the limits of strict veracity. They pretended to +have the authority of the landlord of that highly respectable inn for +the fact, that Uncle Joe, soon after six o'clock, came in and had, not +one glass, but three good "stiff" tumblers of brandy-and-water before +resuming his journey. They further maintained that he had gone on +merrily for a while after this, but that it had had sufficient effect +upon him to have rendered it very desirable that he should have kept in +the road instead of following the pathway above it. Choosing the +latter, however, he had lost his equilibrium at the spot near which he +was found, tumbled down the steep bank into the road, and in this +manner received the injuries to head and arm which he had undoubtedly +sustained. The landlord, moreover, said these unbelievers, indignantly +denied that any "rough-looking characters" had been near his house upon +that day, and declared that the only people there at or about the time +of Uncle Joe's visit were some Christmas ringers and singers preparing +for, or proceeding with, their visits to the neighbouring villages, +with the view of exchanging carols and hymns for pence and half-pence +wherever they found Christian people ready for such a transaction. + +These reports and doubts, however, about Uncle Joe's misfortune never +reached us children at the time, and, if they had, we should not for a +moment have attached the smallest weight to them. In our eyes the +matter was one which placed our esteemed relative still higher in the +rank of heroes to which our childish thoughts had long since raised +him. Nor were we frightened at the idea of foot-pads or highwaymen +having suddenly made their unwonted appearance in our happy and +tranquil neighbourhood. It seemed to us only natural that curious and +unusual things should attend Uncle Joe wherever he went, and it was +with him and his life, and not with our home and its surroundings, that +we connected the circumstance of this new feature in the locality. + +However, the truth or falsehood of the story mattered little to us, so +long as we had got our uncle safe and sound after all. There he was, +and there he continued for several weeks; for a broken head and arm +required attention, and he was nowhere so likely to receive it as at +our house. During this long visit we saw more of Uncle Joe than we had +ever done before, and it soon became an established practice that, +after our tea and before dressing-time, he should narrate to us some of +those wonderful stories of which I have spoken. + +One of these I will relate, as nearly as possible in the words of my +revered uncle, in order that my readers may be able to imagine the kind +of way in which all his stories were told. But the other tales which I +propose to chronicle I will tell after a different fashion, relating +the substance of Uncle Joe's narrative, but leaving out the personal +allusions to his own prowess with which it was embellished. Those who +read have only to imagine that in the chief personage in every story +they discern Uncle Joe, and they will easily discover the little +alterations which I have thought it well to make in order to vary the +form of each tale. The one which I am now going to tell was a favourite +one with us boys, but the girls did not like so much killing, and +rather thought Uncle Joe must have been a more cruel man in the days +when these adventures happened to him than at the time he recounted +them. Since then I have read a great many books from the pen of Cooper, +Captain Mayne Reid, and Gustave Aimard, all dealing with the doings of +Red Indians, their subtlety, their treachery, their implacable revenge, +and other pleasing characteristics, and I have often thought that Uncle +Joe must have intended a parody upon some of their most stirring +recitals of Indian adventure in the following story. But, most +certainly, he told it as having happened to himself, and threw so much +vehemence into his manner of telling it, that we children never for a +moment doubted that such was the case. + +I remember quite well the day he first told it to us; and how intensely +interested in it we all were. He began it at tea-time: I think he liked +to tell his most extraordinary and unlikely stories at tea-time for the +benefit of Miss Crinkles, and I sometimes wonder that the questions she +occasionally asked him did not create a suspicion in our minds that +there was some doubt as to the truth of some of his facts. But no such +suspicion, as far as I can recollect, ever dawned upon our childish +imaginations, and the only result of Miss Crinkles' questions was to +imbue us with increased awe and respect for our uncle, whom even our +governess could not readily understand without asking for further +information. It was, I say, at tea-time that this story was begun, and, +I think, finished. One of us boys had expressed a great desire to hear +of some Indian adventures, and Uncle Joe, ever ready to oblige, at once +commenced the following narrative, perhaps one of the least likely of +the many marvellous tales with which he ever favoured us. + +"It was during the time which I passed in America that some of the +strangest and wildest adventures of my life happened. Perhaps none of +these was more remarkable than that which I am about to relate to you, +and indeed I question whether many people exist who have ever +encountered an adventure so extraordinary. I had roamed some way +through the dense forest, far from any human habitation, accompanied +only by my faithful dog "Jumbo," a magnificent Cuban bloodhound, who +never left my side, and was the cleverest as well as the bravest animal +I ever possessed. I had with me my trusty double-barrelled rifle, a +revolver, and a hunting-knife, and had for many days depended for my +supply of food upon my skill as a marksman. I remember that it was a +lovely day, and as the dense foliage of the woods protected me from the +heat of the sun, I rambled on and on in pleasant and listless security +for many a mile. At length it happened that I approached a large tree, +standing rather apart from its forest companions, and conspicuous not +only by the size of its trunk, but by the magnificent limbs which it +threw out on every side. I was already within a few yards of this tree +when I observed something which caused me to stand still and gaze upon +it before I advanced further. One large branch hung across my line of +march, and in a few seconds I should have passed immediately beneath +it; but it was something in connection with this very branch which +arrested my footsteps. The day was perfectly calm and still; not a +breath of wind was to be perceived, and yet I fancied that I saw the +leaves with which this branch was thickly covered, tremble and rustle +just as if a breeze was blowing through them. As I stood wondering what +could be the cause of this strange occurrence, and doubtful whether or +not to proceed, my doubts were cleared away in a manner more alarming +than agreeable. Suddenly I perceived, rearing itself among the leaves, +the hideous head of a gigantic snake. In another instant, whether to +re-arrange its position or for what other reason I know not, the +reptile dropped down from the branch to the length of some three or +four feet, and swing for a moment or two like the pendulum of a clock, +from the branch around which its tail and part of its body remained +curled. I could not tell how long or large it might be, but I saw quite +sufficient to assure me that it was a snake of very great size, and I +shuddered to think of my possible fate had I passed beneath the branch +in ignorance of its terrible tenant. + +"I hastily retraced my steps for a few yards, and passing the tree at +some little distance, determined to quit the neighbourhood of so +dangerous a creature. The tree upon which it had taken up its position +was upon the side of a somewhat steep hill, and it so happened that I +had walked some way along the said hill very much lower down, and was +now working my way back in a line parallel to my previous passage. + +"I had not gone many yards beyond the snake's tree, before the manner +of my dog attracted my attention. He threw up his head, sniffed the air +uneasily, and then gave vent to a low whine which, from previous +experience, I knew full well to betoken the presence of danger. At the +same moment, listening with eager attention, and with an acuteness of +hearing which those only possess who live such a life of wild, +dangerous activity as mine was at that time, I fancied that I heard the +cracking of a stick under the foot of man. It seemed to be at some +distance off, and apparently far below where I was standing. The trees +were too thick to enable me to see far, but creeping forward a little, +and standing on the trunk of a fallen tree, I endeavoured to look down +the hill as much as the fall of the ground permitted. It so happened +that there was a space of ground somewhat less thickly surrounded by +trees than the rest of the forest, over which I had passed in my +previous journey, and it was upon this space that I looked, being many +feet above it. You may imagine my feelings when I caught sight of an +Indian, fully armed and decked in his war-paint, just crossing this +space, and evidently examining the ground before him with the greatest +care. I should have thought but little of this, indeed, but for that +which followed. He crossed the space, and immediately after him came +nine of his companions, horrible-looking creatures, travelling in +single file and closely following in their leader's footsteps. Horror +of horrors! they were upon my track. I knew it but too well! there was +I, alone in the wild forest, with no less than ten deadly foes after +me, whose object undoubtedly was to take my life, and not improbably +with some of those tortures with which Indians delight to amuse +themselves at the expense of their captives. + +"Now I happened to have a decided preference for living, if I could, +and, if I _must_ die, for dying in a respectable manner. The idea +of having my scalp torn from my head, and hung up in the wigwam of a +wild savage, was extremely repugnant to me, and I determined at once to +avoid such an unpleasant catastrophe if I possibly could. The question +was, however, as to the best way in which this could be accomplished. +If I pushed on through the forest, it could not be long before these +enemies, hardy and used to the woods, and animated with their savage +desire for my life, would overtake me, when, perhaps, I might be too +fatigued to offer any real resistance. If I stood firm where I was, +what could I hope to do against ten men? If, on the other hand, I +assumed a friendly air and advanced to meet them, I knew their +treacherous nature too well to harbour for an instant the thought that +they would treat me otherwise than as a captive taken in war. Indeed, +should it be otherwise, my best fate would probably be to be obliged to +join their tribe, very likely to marry several very unpleasant squaws, +and to drag out my weary existence far away from scenes into which +christianity or civilisation had penetrated. My aim, then, must be to +escape from the clutches of these savages by some method or another, +and I was indeed puzzled what to do. I had not much time to deliberate, +and after a moment's thought, I decided to lie down flat behind the +trunk of the tree on which I had been standing, and calmly await the +event. I looked carefully to my rifle and revolver, both of which I +ascertained to be loaded and ready for action, I bid my brave Jumbo lie +down at my feet, which the intelligent animal immediately did, +crouching quite close to the fallen tree, and then, having so disposed +my body that I could see under one of the branches of the tree, and +watch the approach of my enemies, I remained still and hoped for the +best. It seemed to me hours before they came near. In reality it could +not have been much more than half an hour, for the spot at which I had +seen them could have been barely three miles, even by the zig-zag line +which I had followed, and as I, having had no suspicion of the presence +of a foe, had taken no precaution to conceal my track, they were not +delayed in their pursuit by any trouble in discovering my footsteps. On +they came, steadily and silently, and I saw them from my hiding-place +rapidly approaching me. The foremost Indian had already arrived at the +spot from which I had gazed at the overhanging branch and its fearful +occupant, and stopped for an instant at the place where my footsteps +ended, evidently puzzled as to what I had done, and where I had gone +from that point. + +"Not long, however, did he hesitate, but, casting a glance right and +left, moved rapidly forward towards the tree, to discover whether any +traces were to be found in that direction. Three or four of his rapid, +noiseless strides brought him beneath the fatal branch: enemy as he +was, I longed to warn him, despite the danger to myself, but it was +more than I dared venture to do, and in another instant it was too +late. With sudden and awful rapidity the snake darted downwards from +the branch and struck the unfortunate wretch--a piercing yell rang +through the woods, but the victim cried in vain. Encircled by the coils +of the mighty reptile, his doom was sealed beyond hope, and I turned my +head from the horrible sight of the last struggles of my miserable foe. +His companions rushed hastily back as they saw their leader's fate, and +I earnestly hoped that this misfortune would have induced them to +desist from their pursuit. It was not so, however, but after the lapse +of a few moments only, I saw them making casts like hounds directed by +a huntsman, and presently they discovered the place where I had turned +aside, and came eagerly forward on my track. There was no time to be +lost: they were little more than twenty yards from my tree, and I had a +full view of them. Nine more savage-looking rascals you never saw. +Their war-paint made them appear even more ugly than nature had made +them, although that was somewhat difficult. Only three of them carried +rifles, the rest being armed, as far as I could see, only with +tomahawks and hunting-knives. They were evidently "braves," or +warriors, all of them, and by their appearance and the expression upon +their faces, I felt very sure that they were in that excited state that +my chance of mercy would be but small if I should be so unfortunate as +to fall into their hands. I determined, therefore, to act with vigour +and decision, and, if the worst came to the worst, to sell my life +dearly at all events. When, therefore, my enemies were barely fifteen +yards from me, I suddenly sprang to my feet, uttering at the same time +the loudest and most outlandish howl I could command, by way of a +war-cry, which Jumbo echoed by a bark more like the roar of a lion than +the sound made by an ordinary dog. As I had expected, this sudden +movement on my part took the Indians entirely by surprise, and caused +them to come to a halt on the instant. Whilst they were thus stationary +I fired both barrels of my rifle as quickly as possible, selecting as +their object two of those who had firearms in their hands. The foremost +man threw up his arms and dropped like a log, whilst the bullet of the +second barrel, fired somewhat hastily, only struck an Indian in the +shoulder. Scarcely waiting, however, to see the result, I had no sooner +fired than I bounded down the hill, reloading as fast as I could, and +closely followed by the faithful Jumbo. The Indians, disconcerted by +the suddenness of my appearance and attack, stood still for a moment +without any effort to pursue me. Not long, however, was this the case, +for a wild yell of anger and revenge rang through the air, and I knew +that my relentless foes were again upon my track. I did not run far, +for being expert at loading, my rifle was soon ready, and I well knew +that all depended upon my speedy and effective use of the trusty +weapon. Not fifty yards from the spot whence I had fired my first shot, +I reached an open space, across which I bounded like a deer, and placed +myself behind a large tree upon the further side. A few seconds after, +and the enemy rushed into the space, and at a glance I perceived that +there were only seven. My shots, then, had both told! Inspirited by +this good fortune, I felt my nerves grow steadier on the instant, and +as the foremost savage bounded towards me, I fired upon him with deadly +effect. He fell; and his six comrades immediately sought shelter in the +bushes, but not before the shot from my second barrel reduced their +number to five. Without an instant's delay, I darted down the hill +again, at the base of which flowed a stream which I desired to reach, +hoping to find some place on the opposite bank where I might make a +stand. But my pursuers, grown wise by experience, no longer followed me +together, but, spreading out right and left ran silently yet swiftly +towards me. Full well did I know that they would do so, and that I must +use every stratagem within my power if I desired to escape with my +life. + +"Accordingly, after I had gone a short distance, I seized the branch +of a tree, and swung myself up as quietly and quickly as I could, +motioning to Jumbo with my hand to continue his course, which the +clever animal did for some little way, and then stopped. It fell out as +I had hoped. Presently a light footstep came nearer and nearer to the +tree upon which I sat, and an Indian, creeping softly forward, stole +actually within three yards of the spot. He passed me and went silently +forward for a few steps, when again the report of my rifle rang through +the woods, and I had but four foemen to contend with. But I knew only +too well the risk I had run in order thus to diminish their number. +_I was no longer certain that all my enemies were behind me._ All I +_did_ know was, that four active, unwounded, ferocious men were +somewhere near at hand, thirsting for my blood, and that I had but my +rifle and my trusty hound to depend on to save me from their clutches. + +"I remained perfectly still, not venturing even to reload my rifle, and +listened with an eagerness which became agony. Not a sound could I hear +of any sort or description. The Indians had evidently become alive to +their danger, and were employing all the cunning of their race in order +to avoid their own destruction and compass mine. Jumbo also was +certainly aware that he had a part to play, and was in all probability +lying still until I should summon him to my side. The suspense was +awful, and all the more so as I knew perfectly well that a false +move--or perhaps any move at all--might be fatal to my hopes of escape. + +"How long this state of things endured I can hardly tell you, for my +nerves were strung to that tension that I could take no account of +time. It might have been, for aught I knew, five minutes or five hours, +but probably the former is more nearly correct. As soon as I had shot +the last Indian, I had drawn myself back to the thickest part of the +branch on which I sat, and believed that I was invisible to the eyes of +anyone below. I soon discovered my mistake, however, and that in a +manner which very nearly put an end to me and my adventure together. As +I waited anxiously for the next scene in this exciting drama, I +suddenly felt my hunting cap struck from my head, whilst the sound of a +rifle-shot rang unpleasantly near to my ears: a bullet had passed +through my cap within an inch of my head! + +"One of the Indians had certainly caught sight of me, and, aiming from +some hiding-place hard by, had fired the shot which had so nearly +proved fatal. + +"Of course it would have been sheer madness to remain where I was for +one moment longer, for another shot might, and probably would, prove +more successful. Quick as lightning the thought flashed through my +brain, that my only chance was to deceive my enemy into the belief that +he had accomplished his purpose. Accordingly, in an instant I dropped +heavily to the ground. Fortunately I had no great distance to fall, and +as I did so, I kept my rifle clasped closely to my breast. It happened +as I had anticipated, and even better than I had ventured to hope, for +the next moment all four of my foes came rushing through the wood from +different points, the man who had fired brandishing his rifle over his +head as he approached. He was within three or four yards of me when I +sprang suddenly to my feet, and fired directly into his breast, with +the natural result of checking his career for ever. No sooner had I +fired than I rushed again down the hill at full speed, calling to my +hound as I ran. + +"The three remaining Indians did not stop with their slain friend for +an instant, but, incensed beyond measure at his death and the success +of my stratagem, followed me at best speed, much too closely to be +pleasant. I determined, however, to reach and cross the stream if +possible, and made every effort to do so. There was a small space +nearly clear of trees and bushes between the edge of the wood and the +stream, beyond which the wood again stretched away far and wide. I +reached this space, and was within a couple of yards of the stream when +my foes were upon me. Fearing that they might take me at disadvantage, +I turned and suddenly confronted them--three horrid looking ruffians +they were--their eyes gleaming with fury, and their appearance +altogether enough to frighten any civilised person out of his wits. + +"When I turned they were four or five yards from me--most fortunately +none of them had firearms, not having stayed their pursuit to pick up +the rifles of their deceased companions--each of them, however, had his +tomahawk, and each hurled it at my head as I turned to face them. +Dropping suddenly on one knee, I was fortunate enough to escape these +weapons, which all whizzed harmlessly over my head: the three men were, +however, close at hand, and I had no time to escape them. At this +moment, however, I recollected an old trick of which I had read +somewhere or other, and which I instantly resolved to put in practice. +Rising from my knee, I rushed to meet one of the Indians, and as he +furiously came upon me, I suddenly stooped quite low, evaded the blow +which he struck over me, and seizing him by both ankles, lifted him by +sheer muscular strength over myself, so that he fell with great +violence upon his head several yards behind me, carried forward by the +force of his own weight and impetus. The other two were so confused at +this occurrence, that they lost the single moment in which they might +have struck me a deadly blow without the possibility of my warding it +off. The next moment Jumbo sprang upon one of them, whilst I confronted +the other. + +"My first object was to seize the wrist of the hand which held his +hunting knife. I had no time to draw my own, and my only hope was to +deprive my enemy of his weapon. In an instant we closed and grappled +furiously. I kept firm hold of his wrist, however, well knowing that +this was my safety. After a short struggle we rolled on the ground +together, and the Indian's hand coming in contact with something hard, +he dropped the fatal knife. We were now upon more equal terms, but +still there were many chances against me. My foe was a tall, brawny, +muscular man, a hardy son of the woods, and, like myself, now fighting +for his life. Never shall I forget that moment. In the midst of that +terrible struggle, when I was putting forth all my strength and +concentrating every effort in order to gain the mastery, the pleasant +meadows of dear old England came up in a vision, as it were, before my +eyes, and familiar home scenes flashed like lightning across my sight. +I redoubled my efforts, but the savage had succeeded in grasping my +throat with one of his hands, and it was with the greatest difficulty I +could draw my breath. My eyes seemed to grow dull and heavy, there was +the roar of ten thousand surges in my ears, my temples throbbed as if +they would burst, and I felt creeping over me a terrible sensation of +despair, which I shall never forget whilst I have power to remember +anything. + +"All at once there came upon my hearing the sound as of a short, sharp +roar of fury--the Indian's grasp was loosened--my sight came back to +me, again I heard, I recovered consciousness just sufficiently to see +my faithful Jumbo with his mighty teeth fixed in the throat of my dying +enemy, and then I sank back in a dead faint. + +"How long I remained in this state it is impossible for me to say. I +was awakened by a soft, cooling sensation on my forehead, and opening +my eyes, regained sufficient consciousness to be aware that an Indian +maiden was bathing my feverish brow with cold water from the +neighbouring stream, whilst my dog, usually so ferocious, was couched +near, regarding her with friendly eyes, and evidently quite aware that +she was performing a kindly office, and was not to be interrupted. I +strove to speak; but my benefactress forbade me with an expressive +gesture, placing her finger lightly upon my lips. + +"'White broder no speak,' she said, in the low guttural accents of her +race; 'no open him lips. Silence berry good. Talkee hurt.' + +"I was too confused and, I hope, too grateful to disobey, and remained +perfectly quiet whilst the maiden continued her interesting occupation +for several minutes, during which time I had an opportunity of +attentively observing her. She was certainly one of the loveliest--nay, +_the_ loveliest of Indian maidens. Although she had not quite as +many clothes on as an European damsel would consider necessary, their +absence only served to disclose the perfect symmetry of her form, the +graceful rounding of her limbs, and the natural dignity of her every +movement. Her eyes, large and soft as those of the gazelle, were +fringed with the most magnificent eye-lashes you can imagine, and when +she cast them down, she presented an ideal of female modesty and +refinement, which could not be surpassed by the most fashionable young +lady that ever graced a London drawing-room. When she smiled, her face +lighted up like that of a lovely child when, just awakened, it sees the +loving face of its mother bending over it, and, in a word, purity, +innocence, and natural beauty seemed all concentrated in the form, +features, and expression of this child of the woods. Such at least was +the thought which occupied my breast as I lay still and gazed upon the +gentle being who was ministering to my wants in so agreeable a manner, +and I think I could have stayed in the same position some time longer +without any great desire to move. But, after a little while, the maiden +ceased to bathe my brow, and addressing me in the same tones as before, +said, 'White broder sit up now. Him better. Him no die dis time.' I +mechanically obeyed, sat up, and felt much better already. In fact, +there was no reason why I should not be so, for, save and except the +exertion and excitement which I had undergone, and the near approach to +strangulation from which Jumbo had providentially saved me, I had +really received no bodily injury. It really seems a strange thing to +look back upon, but here had been ten men against one poor wayfarer, +and yet the ten had perished, and he was left alive. I did not think, +however, of looking back at that moment; my thoughts were fixed upon my +new friend: who or what was she,--where did she come from,--could she +possibly be one of the tribe who had been upon my trail? If so, why +did she not kill and scalp me whilst I lay senseless on the ground? +Horrible thought! my head seemed to feel the knife, and I could fancy +the awful wrench with which one's scalp would go; but I had no need for +such thoughts. My scalp was safe and sound, and the maiden evidently +could not belong to my enemies. The only way to find out the truth +about her was to ask, so, adopting my style to her own, I began without +loss of time. + +"'My sister very good;--kind to poor white broder. Where my sister come +from? How she happen to be in woods? Is she far from her home? And what +my sister's name?' + +"The girl laughed, and looked down upon the ground as she replied at +once: + +"'White broder ask many questions. Pale-face always much talkee. +Moon-eye not tell eberything. No good too much talkee.' + +"I doubted what to say next. I had gained one piece of information +certainly, since the damsel evidently referred to herself as 'Moon-eye,' +which was undoubtedly an appropriate name for her, and had been given +by someone who was no bad judge of eyes in general, and hers in +particular. But I wanted to know a great deal more, whilst at the same +time I was anxious not to appear rude or inquisitive. So I remained +silent for a little while, when presently she rose to her feet and +addressed me in the following words: + +"'Pale-face broder come now. "Moon-eye" show way.' + +"I obeyed without hesitation, and prepared to go wherever she led, for +in fact I had no alternative. It was very unlikely that the girl was +alone in the forest, and if not, the eyes and ears of her friends might +even at this moment be within sight and hearing, in which case my +policy, as well as my inclination, would be to appear to be upon the +best possible terms with her, and to approach them in her company and +under her guidance. I felt somewhat weak when I attempted to walk, but +as it was only weakness, I knew it would soon pass away, and so said +nothing, but quietly followed my guide. She walked down to the little +stream before mentioned, then turned along its bank and proceeded for +several hundred yards until she came to a place where the water was so +shallow as to enable us easily to wade over, which we did, and plunged +into the woods on the other side. By this time, I thought I might as +well try to get a little more conversation out of my friend, and +therefore accosted her with some ordinary question, but she immediately +turned round and, placing her finger on her lips, said, in a voice so +low as to be little more than a whisper: + +"'No talkee--enemy in woods. Moon-eye prisoner once. No want catchee +again.' + +"For the first time the truth now dawned upon me, and I understood the +reason of the exceeding kindness bestowed upon me by the Indian damsel, +which I had previously attributed either to her own natural humanity, +or to admiration for my noble and prepossessing appearance. But, as I +afterwards discovered,'Moon-eye' had been carried off from her tribe by +a party of thieving Indians, who, in order to elude pursuit, had +divided in their journey, ten of them being entrusted with the captive +maiden. While passing through this part of the woods, they had struck +my trail, and, seeing it to be recent, had left the prisoner bound, and +hastily followed, intending to finish me off before they continued +their journey. Fortunately for me it had turned out otherwise, but it +might not have been fortunate for 'Moon-eye' had she not succeeded in +freeing herself from the bonds in which she had been left. They must +have been less carefully tied than most Indian fastenings that I have +seen; but I fancy the girl had rather deceived her captors by +pretending to go with them more willingly than was really the case, and +perchance a desire to avoid injuring her in any way had induced the +Indians to fasten her less tightly and securely than they might +otherwise have done. Anyhow, she contrived to get loose, and also to +find her way to the spot where I lay senseless, and where, as we have +seen, she treated me with a care and tenderness which I little expected +to encounter in the depth of the forest. + +"Being admonished to silence I said no more, and we tramped on in +silence, followed by the brave Jumbo. We had gone thus above a mile, +when we heard a yell which proceeded from the direction of the place we +had quitted. My companion stopped short, and turning to me, said, in a +low voice: + +"'More bad Indian. Him hear shot. Him come back and find him broder +shot. Him follow soon now. If catchee Moon-eye and pale-face broder, +him killee for sartain.' + +"This being very much my own opinion, I asked the girl how far off her +friends were, and as she now saw that something more than mere +curiosity dictated the question, she replied at once: + +"'Two--tree--twenty mile. Bad Indian catchee before get to camp.' + +"On further inquiry I found that she thought there must have been full +fifty of the robbers who had attacked the camp of her people when most +of the warriors were absent--that they had captured several other +prisoners besides herself--that they had divided into three parties, +doubtless for the sake of greater safety in their flight, and that one +of these parties had sundry horses laden with plunder, whilst the other +party had the remaining captives. In all probability the shots fired +during my combat with the ten Indians, who had been in charge of her, +had been heard by one or both of these parties, and the cries we now +heard proceeded from them. They would certainly follow upon our trail, +and our chances of escape depended as much upon the numbers of our +pursuers as upon any skill or strength of ours. For if thirty or forty +warriors were behind us, not only would resistance be vain, but we +should probably be surrounded before we had travelled far, whereas if +only a few of the savages had returned, and made the discovery of the +death of their friends, there was greater hope that we might elude +them. Our only chance was to push on, and, having more than a mile +start, we must make the best of it. Accordingly,'Moon-eye' advanced +rapidly and cautiously, and I followed her, through the forest, and we +must have gone quite another mile before we exchanged a word. By this +time we had arrived at a sort of hill, upon which the trees grew less +thickly than at other parts of the forest. At the foot of this hill the +ground broke away to the right, the trees became still more scanty, and +a wide chasm yawned at the distance of some twenty yards from where we +stood, the descent into which was down a precipice many feet in height, +whilst on the other side of the chasm the forest rose again, and grew +on in unbroken continuity. To the left the trees were somewhat thicker, +and some forty or fifty yards before us, as we bore to that side in +ascending the hill, we perceived a building of some sort, towards which +my companion directed her way. Making me a sign to remain where I was +for a moment, she crept forward to reconnoitre, and presently +returning, motioned me to follow her, whilst she made her way directly +to the right, in the direction of the precipice, to the very edge of +which she advanced. Thence we looked down into a frightful abyss, down +which, if one had tumbled, one would have had no chance of escape. Bits +of jagged rock projected here and there; vegetation seemed suspended +for some distance down, and then the eye rested upon thick and tangled +bushes jutting out from the sides of the rock, and completely +concealing the bottom of the chasm, if, indeed, it had any bottom at +all, for it might be endless as far as one could see from the top. +Leaning carefully forward, my companion tore a branch or two from the +bushes growing near the edge of the precipice, and gave the place the +appearance of having been disturbed by the passage of some heavy body. +She then took from my neck a handkerchief, which I had on by way of a +neck-cloth, and which I did not in the least want to part with, but, of +course, gave it up readily at her request; then she calmly dropped it +over the side of the precipice, so that it hung upon one of the few +bushes which grew a little way down the chasm. She then turned to me +and said, in a low voice: + +"'Bad Indian tink him fall down cliff--no follow any more;' and with +these words noiselessly retraced her way, treading so carefully in her +former footsteps as to make it appear as if there was only one trail, +and that pointing _towards_ the precipice. + +"When we had arrived at the spot from which she had previously gone to +reconnoitre, we slowly ascended by the same way she had travelled +before, carefully covering up and hiding all trace of our footsteps +until we had reached the building to which I have already alluded. + +"It was apparently composed entirely of logs, and seemed as if it had +been built for the lodge, or more likely a place of refuge, for some +hunting party. The logs were roughly hewn, but skilfully laid together, +forming a strong building, with only one entrance, and that by means of +a door which had long since been broken down and destroyed. There were, +however, two stories to the building, and as soon as we had entered the +doorway, we found ourselves in a large room, some ten feet high at +least, with a strong flooring of logs overhead. 'Moon-eye' rapidly made +her way to one corner of this place, where stood some rude wooden +steps, above which was an opening in the flooring above. These she +ascended, motioning me to follow, and we presently crept through the +opening into the upper room. This was lighted by two windows, one at +each side, and had a stout roof overhead. There was no furniture +whatever in it, but only a number of dried leaves, which seemed to have +blown in at the windows from time to time, since the place had been +deserted. 'Moon-eye' trod gently across the floor towards one of those +windows, and on following her I found that it commanded a view in the +direction from which we had come, but a view limited of course by the +trees which grew within a short distance of the building. Turning to +me, the girl now whispered in her own guttural accents: + +"'Bad Indian no come here, 'fraid of wicked spirit--kill much hunter +here one day--times ago.' + +"I gathered from this remark that the place in which we were, had been +the scene of some cruel massacre by the Indians in days past, and that +the savages probably avoided it from superstitious fear. This gave me a +double pleasure, for whilst it increased my hopes of safety for the +maiden as well as for myself, it showed me, that she was one of those +Indians whom superior intelligence, and perhaps a better education than +is common among the females of her race, had raised above their common +prejudices. Her plan was easily to be perceived. Could the pursuers be +led to believe that we had fallen down the precipice, perhaps having +turned aside from our path with a natural desire to avoid the haunted +building, they would perhaps abandon further pursuit, and continue +their journey. The place in which we now were, might have been easily +defended by a few men against a much larger number of enemies; and, as +I had my rifle with me, I might have made a stand even where I was, but +it was absolutely necessary to leave the door and the aperture into the +upper room open, inasmuch as the sight of any defence, however slight, +would at once disclose our hiding-place to those who sought us. Nor, +indeed, was there much time for consideration as to the best plan to +adopt. In going to and returning from the edge of the precipice, and +subsequently in concealing our trail, we had occupied some little time; +and scarcely had we reached the upper story, than a yell arose from the +forest which betokened the immediate advance of the foe. There was but +a moment for reflection; through the chinks of the logs near one of the +windows, we could see without being seen, and here we took our station, +watching and waiting in breathless suspense. We had not long to wait. +For some little time all was silence, and the forest looked so peaceful +and lovely, that it was difficult to believe it full of savage enemies +thirsting for our blood. + +"Meanwhile, I have forgotten to tell you of that which was at one +moment our great difficulty, namely, my old friend Jumbo. Invaluable as +he was in a fight, when the question became one of concealing a trail, +he was very much the reverse. His trail was easy enough to discover, +and we were rather puzzled what to do about it. The dog, however, was +so intelligent that I felt sure he would understand the necessity of +our separation for a time. So when we turned from our first track in +order to approach the building, I pointed into the woods in the +contrary direction, and bade him in the most impressive manner to go +and wait for me there. The clever animal looked at me for a moment as +if to fully take in what I had said, and then quietly turned round and +entered the forest in obedience to my command. We were, therefore, +unincumbered by his presence whilst we awaited the coming of our +enemies in breathless anxiety in the upper story of the building. + +"The savages were doubtless following up our trail all this time, +silently, slowly, but surely. The yells we had heard at first, were of +course caused by their discovery of the bodies of their friends: why +there had been a second yell, I have never discovered to this day, +unless it was that they had lost our trail for a moment, and that it +had been found again by some young warrior who had not sufficient +experience or self-restraint to prevent his announcing the welcome fact +by a shout. However this may be, they yelled no more, and after we had +waited for some ten minutes or less, the party arrived at the spot +whence we had ascended the hill, that is to say, within some fifty +yards of the place where we lay. + +"As I have already said, the trees were thinner here than elsewhere, +and we could from this cause see sufficiently well to discern objects +moving about at that distance. + +"It was late in the afternoon now, but the light was still good, and +'Moon-eye' looked with keen and anxious eyes through the chinks of the +logs in the direction of the savages. Though we could not count them, +we soon saw that there were certainly more than twenty of the rascals. + +"The truth was, that _both_ the other two parties had heard the firing +which occurred during my fight with the ten who had attacked me, but +neither party liked to retrace their steps with their captives, and +each had therefore again divided, and sent back a portion of their +number to follow up the matter. These two divisions had met, and their +meeting and explanations had probably caused just that delay which had +enabled us to take shelter in our present place of refuge. + +"All was silence for a few moments longer, whilst we saw the dusky +forms of the savages flitting, like evil spirits, through the trees at +the foot of the hill, and moving in the direction in which we had gone. +Then presently came a tremendous yell of mingled surprise and +disappointment. They had evidently arrived at the spot where we wished +them to believe we had fallen over the precipice. There was no more +silence now, but on the contrary a Babel of tongues arose, and the +savages chattered one to another like a number of old women over their +washing-tubs, if I may make such an irreverent comparison. + +"My companion turned her head to me and smiled pleasantly, whilst her +eyes laughed with joy: + +"'Sioux fool,' she whispered (from which remark I first learned the +tribe to which our foes belonged). 'Pawnee girl cheat him well. No +cheat Pawnee warrior so!' + +"I said nothing, for I did not like the silence that suddenly ensued. +Whether some wiser chief had spoken, or what was the reason, I knew +not, but the clamour and confusion ceased all at once, and the Indians +began to return from the edge of the precipice, and spread themselves +around the foot of the hill as if in search of some new trail, or to +make sure that they had made no mistake. Still we lay quite quiet, +convinced that this was our best chance of safety, and hoping that the +superstitious fears of the savages would keep them from entering our +hiding-place. + +"As they took no particular pains to conceal their movements, we could +plainly hear the leaves rustle, and the dried sticks crash as they +tramped through the surrounding woods; but for some time no one +approached the building. Then, all of a sudden, we heard a footstep +close below us. How we wished that it was a couple of hours later, when +we might have hidden more securely in one of the dark corners of the +room. This, however, was impossible, and we could only lie still where +we were, still trusting that even if an Indian were found bold enough +to enter the place in which we were, he would be content with +inspecting the lower apartment. Presently the step entered the +building, stealthily as that of a wolf creeping after his prey. A +moment of intense anxiety followed, to be succeeded by one of as +intense disgust. The steps creaked beneath the weight of a man, and the +head and shoulders of a powerful savage appeared above the opening. For +one instant he gazed round, his eyes being as yet unaccustomed to the +imperfect light. + +"Had I been alone, I should probably have closed the aforesaid eyes +with a bullet then and there, but my companion restrained me with a +gesture, and in another second it was too late. The Indian naturally +said 'Hugh,' in a deep guttural tone. I never knew or read of an Indian +who did _not_ say 'Hugh' in a similar emergency, and the next moment he +disappeared. Then arose a shout which summoned his comrades, and within +a couple of minutes, my companion and I were standing outside the +unlucky building, with five-and-twenty of the most unpleasant looking +savages howling around us, in a manner doubtless most delightful to +themselves, but to us the very reverse. + +"The gentleman who had discovered us was evidently the chief of the +party. He had got my rifle, confound him, and stood regarding us with +such a complacent, self-satisfied air that I would have paid down +half-a-crown cheerfully to have had one drive at his nose with my +clenched fist. This, however, was out of the question, partly because +it would have been a very rash and foolish proceeding under existing +circumstances, and partly because it would have been somewhat +difficult, seeing that my arms were securely fastened behind my back +with ropes of bark. Poor 'Moon-eye' was also bound, and did not seem +much to approve of the arrangement. + +"The chief now approached us, and looked me steadfastly in the face, +whilst I, having nothing better to do, looked back at him. Presently he +gave a deep kind of cough or clearing of the throat, and after uttering +the usual 'Hugh,' remarked that he was 'Pig-face,' and a very great +chief. To this I responded, in plain English, that I didn't think much +of the name for beauty, but had no doubt but that he was a tremendous +'swell' in his own country, to which remark he gravely bowed assent, +evidently not understanding a word of it. He then came close to me, +and, lightly touching me on the shoulder, exclaimed in a somewhat +excited tone, 'Pale-face tief--no good--kill Pig-face young man--carry +off Pig-face squaw--must die.' + +"Before I could by any possibility reply, 'Moon-eye' had interposed +with a torrent of invective of which I had scarcely supposed her +capable. She was terribly disgusted, I think (and no wonder at it) at +being called Pig-face's squaw by that illustrious chief, and she +certainly told him so in pretty plain terms, if her language (which I +did not understand) at all corresponded to her voice and manner. This +scene, however, could not last long. Although the Indian chief had +kindly informed me of my doom, it was not his intention that it should +be immediately fulfilled. He and his party had travelled many miles +that day, and felt inclined for a rest before going further; added to +which I imagine that they thought it would be more congenial to their +feelings to kill me in their own village. Accordingly, they very kindly +postponed that operation for the present, and leading us to a spot not +more than half a mile distant from our late refuge, prepared to encamp +for the night. Each of us captives, lady as well as gentleman, was +bound to a tree, which is by no means the easiest position in which to +pass the night, especially when vigilant eyes are upon you the whole +time, which was the case in this instance, as the Indians relieved each +other every two hours, so that we were closely watched through the +whole night, and had no opportunity of communicating with each other. +Early in the morning the party again set out, and poor 'Moon-eye' and +I, but little rested, were forced to accompany them, much against our +inclination. I will do the savages the justice to observe that they +loosened the girl's arms during the morning, but as they neglected to +perform the same kindness in my case, I felt remarkably uncomfortable. +We journeyed along for some distance, until we came to an open grassy +space, upon which we halted, and our captors, producing some venison +meat, sat down to make a meal, unbinding my arms for a while, and +pressed both me and my companion to share their food. I had carefully +counted their number during our march, and found that there were +twenty-four men, besides the excellent chief Pig-face, so that even if +I had been free and armed, I could neither have resisted nor escaped +from so great a number. I therefore determined to forbear from any such +attempt, which, besides being useless, might increase the severity of +our treatment. + +"As we sat, the chief again approached us and indulged in some more +conversation. He spoke after the usual fashion of Indians, praising +himself and his people a good deal, abusing me and all white people +generally, and assuring me that my scalp should hang at his belt before +many days were past. I bethought me of all the wise things which I had +read of as having been said by 'Hawk-eye,' in Fennimore Cooper's +immortal books, and could have prated for half an hour about 'White +man's gifts,' and 'Red man's gifts,' if I had been so disposed. As, +however, the only 'gift' which I desired at that moment was one which +would have enabled me to set my companion and myself free, I did not +care to indulge in those sage moral reflections which always seemed to +me as I read them singularly out of place and extremely unlikely to +have formed part of the conversation of a backwoodsman. I therefore +merely thanked the savage, and informed him at the same time that my +scalp was exceedingly comfortable where it was, and that I had no +desire for its removal, a remark which he received with much composure, +and probably imagined to be a reply entirely to the purpose. Then he +began to tell my beautiful Moon-eye that she was foolish to have run +away, that no one could withstand Pig-face, and that she should +undoubtedly share his wigwam before long. + +"The maiden heard him this time in dignified silence, and after a while +he left off talking, and directed his people to prepare to continue +their journey. + +"We walked for a considerable distance, and having re-crossed the +stream near which my first encounter had taken place, travelled for +several miles without the occurrence of any incident worthy of note +until the second evening arrived. Whether the savages felt more secure +on account of being nearer their village, or from any other cause, I +cannot say, but certain it is that they now so far relaxed their +vigilance as to suffer my arms to be unbound for a time, and neither I +nor Moon-eye were apparently so closely watched during the supper hour. +Still, we knew but too well that keen eyes were upon us, and that +flight was out of the question. + +"When the Indians had finished their meal, my companion and I were both +tied again, but not so fast as before, or at least not in so +objectionable a manner. We were suffered to lie down, our hands were +fastened before us, and a rope round one ankle secured each of us to a +tree. So darkness crept over the forest, and the savages were soon +buried in sleep. + +"Presently a low whine attracted my attention, and I perceived my +faithful Jumbo, who had evidently followed us all the journey, too wary +to expose himself to view before he saw an opportunity of being of use. +Creeping gently up to me now, the affectionate brute first licked my +hands and face, though the latter was an attention with which I confess +I could have dispensed. Then he began gently to gnaw the bark ropes +which bound my wrists, and in a very short time succeeded in freeing my +hands. At that instant one of the Indians started up. Jumbo slunk away +in the shadow of the trees, whilst I kept my position, and endeavoured +to appear as if I was fast asleep. The savage was soon satisfied, and +lay down again, but I did not move for some minutes. Then I put out my +hand and reached a knife which one of the party had carelessly left +within my reach; with this I severed the fastening which held me to the +tree, and crawling a few yards, performed the same office for my +companion. + +"Still we were not much better off, for if we ventured to fly, we were +certain to be speedily pursued and brought back. Therefore we looked at +each other with a mutually disconsolate air, and hesitated what to do +next. At this moment the hoot of an owl broke upon our ears. The eyes +of the Indian maiden opened to their fullest extent: her nostrils +seemed to tremble with excitement as she listened, and her features +worked with a convulsive movement. The cry was repeated. + +"'Pawnee near--that him cry,' whispered the girl, and sat upright to +listen again. + +"At that moment Pig-face suddenly sprang to his feet, as if he too had +heard and recognized the sound. But before he had time to utter a word +or cry, a furious yell broke the stillness of the night, and the +well-known war-cry of the Pawnees rang through the air. A band of these +brave people had started in pursuit of their enemies as soon as they +had discovered the theft of the latter, and the carrying off of +Moon-eye, upon their return to the camp. The Sioux would probably have +got clear off if, in the first place, the party of ten had not been so +desirous of getting my scalp, and if, in the second place, their +friends had not thought it necessary to attempt to revenge their death. +The time which they had lost in following and capturing us had enabled +the Pawnees to overtake them, and their surprise was complete. I must +say for the fellows that they lost no time in flying, and that too with +amazing dexterity, for they disappeared like magic on all sides, +Pig-face included. Fortunately for them, the anxiety of the Pawnees to +recover the lost maiden was much in favour of their escape, for it +appeared that the warriors had reasoned, wisely enough, that if they +surrounded the camp, the position of the captives might be dangerous, +whereas if they attacked on one side only the enemy would, in all +probability, be principally occupied in securing his own safety. + +So, indeed, it turned out, and out of the twenty-five savages who had +captured us, I believe that nearly one-half escaped unhurt. More might +have done so if the gallant Jumbo had not thought it necessary to take +an active part in the combat, which he did by pursuing and pulling down +several of the Sioux, who thus became easy victims to their pursuers. + +"Pig-face and four of his men were taken unhurt, and when our friends +re-assembled, and congratulations had passed between them and Moon-eye, +the latter, having introduced me to her tribe, told them of the fate +which the Sioux chief had intended for each of us. + +"The leader of the Pawnees, who rejoiced in the name of 'the +Rattle-snake,' and was painted to represent that interesting animal, +approached the unhappy Pig-face after this, and gave him a piece of his +mind upon the subject. I did not understand what he said, of course, +being, as I told you before, somewhat ignorant of their language; but I +knew by the manner of the two that they were going on after the usual +Indian fashion, the one telling the other that he should soon be tied +to the stake, and what jolly fun it would be to torture him till he +howled again, and the other replying that he was a great chief, that +the other belonged to a nation of women, and that if he tortured him as +he said, he would see that a chief knew how to die. + +"When they had satisfied themselves with this little interchange of +compliments, 'the Rattle-snake' came up to me and spoke in his own +language, saying, I have no doubt, several things which I should have +very much liked to understand. I suppose, however, that my countenance +showed him that he might as well have been talking to one of the trees, +for he presently turned to Moon-eye and beckoned her to approach, which +she accordingly did. Then he spoke to her in the same tongue, and she +interpreted what he said to me in her pretty broken English. + +"'Chief say he tank pale-face broder for kill bad Indian. Pawnee him +friend,--white skin, Pawnee heart.' + +"When I understood what the girl said, I replied at once that I was +very much obliged for his good opinion, but that as a matter of fact my +killing the bad Indians was not on account of any particular friendship +for his tribe, but because if I had not done so, the beggars would +certainly have killed _me_. 'The Rattle-snake' listened to this +explanation with great attention, and answered through the interpreter +that this was doubtless very true, inasmuch as these thieving Indians +would kill any fellow they found in the woods if it suited their +purpose; but that, nevertheless, a warrior who had assisted in +disposing of so many Sioux _must_ be a friend to the Pawnees, even if +he had never heard of them before. + +"There was no arguing against such a reason as this, and I therefore at +once professed myself as a decided friend to the Pawnees, then and for +ever. To tell the truth, I was not disinclined to become so, since +Moon-eye had made such a deep impression upon me, that I felt a natural +liking towards her people. The thought had several times crossed my +mind during the last few days, whether I should not be much happier if +I gave up the roving life which I had followed so long, and settled +down comfortably in some quiet nook of the world, exchanging continual +restlessness for domestic tranquillity. Coupled with this thought came +another, namely, that I had become so unused to the polished manners of +civilized people, that an Indian home and an Indian bride might +possibly bring me more happiness than a return to my native land. So I +resolved to accept the offer of the Pawnees to return with them to +their own village, and bethought me at the same time that if I could +but win the heart of the lovely Moon-eye, I might settle down among her +people and become a regular Pawnee. + +"Perhaps, my dear children, this might have been the case, and your +dear uncle might now have been walking about with his head shaved for +the most part, with an eagle's feather behind his ear, moccasins on his +feet, and in every respect a perfect Indian. One little circumstance +alone prevented me, and this was the painful fact that Moon-eye herself +took a different view of the case. I soon discovered that her young +affections had long been fixed upon a young chief of her tribe, who +enjoyed the appellation of 'the Rising Sun,' and as he seemed to return +the young lady's feelings, I thought I should only get into hot water +if I acted upon my first idea. So I forthwith made up my mind that it +would be a shocking thing for a white man of my education and position +to marry an ignorant Indian girl, and that it was evidently my duty to +think no more of it. + +"I went to the Pawnee's village with them and stayed for a few weeks +very happily. You will perhaps be glad to hear that Pig-face and his +young men were not tortured after all. They were exchanged for +prisoners whom the Sioux had taken in their last raid, and I never +heard any more about them. Moon-eye was very gracious to me whilst I +was with her people, but it annoyed me to see that fellow 'Rising Sun' +always following her about, and I therefore shortened my stay. + +"Jumbo and I took our departure early one morning, and were accompanied +by a number of the tribe for some distance on our way. We had many more +curious adventures together in the woods, my trusty companion and I, +and very lucky we were to have come so well out of them all. But on +looking back to my forest and wilderness life, I never remember to have +had a more stirring adventure than that of which I have just told you. +It sometimes comes back to me now, as I lie awake at nights: I fancy I +see those ten vagabonds tramping after me through the woods,--then +comes the horrid scene with the snake--the battle--the slaughter--the +waking--the flight with Moon-eye--the capture--the rescue,--all comes +flitting like a vision before my eyes, and I drop to sleep at last, +wondering how I have been preserved through so much trouble and so many +dangers, and thinking how lucky it is for you young ones to have a +respectable old uncle with so many experiences to relate, and such +interesting and curious tales with which to instruct and amuse your +young minds." + + + + +ZAC'S BRIDE. + + +King Fridolin sat gloomily in the ancient halls of his race. A mighty +race, forsooth, had they been for many a long year, and a mighty king +was Fridolin. I shall not tell you the precise situation of his +kingdom, for it is only by avoiding particular descriptions that we +historians escape a variety of impertinent and troublesome questions. +Suffice it to say that the monarch ruled over a territory of goodly +size, containing mountains, forests, houses, vineyards, cornfields, and +everything else which the neighbourhood of a mighty river could supply. +For a river, mighty, indeed, in size and reputation, flowed through his +kingdom, and was the principal glory of his land. The monarch had +succeeded to the throne at an early age, and had reigned for long years +over his people. They, poor creatures, had apparently only been created +in order to minister to his comfort. Ground down by oppressive +taxation, their spirits broken, their bodies subject to the will of +their despotic master, their homes held only at his pleasure, and +scarcely daring to call their very thoughts their own, they dragged on +such a miserable existence as was permitted to them, without a hope or +an idea that their condition could ever be improved by any effort of +their own. But with him, their imperious lord, the case was surely +different. He, one would have imagined, had everything to make him +happy. Lands, vassals, money--what would he more? And yet King Fridolin +sat gloomily in his ancient halls. His crown was upon his +head--surmounted by his favourite crest, representing the figure of an +eagle clapping its wings; his left hand rested upon the hilt of the +mighty sword which he and his fathers before him had so often wielded +in battle, whilst in his right hand he held a watering-pot, by means of +which he tormented his Lord Chamberlain, who, having offended him, and +being troubled with a bad cold, had been ordered to stand below the +balcony upon which his majesty sat, whilst the royal hand let iced +water fall upon his bald head. But even as he watered, King Fridolin +pondered, and melancholy were his thoughts the while. Broad, indeed, +were his lands, full were his coffers, obedient his vassals, but he +lacked that sunshine of the heart, without which life is dull and heavy +at the best. Moreover, he had no one who dared to contradict him, no +one who ventured to suggest to him any alteration in his way of living, +no new occupation which could relieve him from the oppressive dulness +under which he suffered. So there he sat, watering and thinking and +wishing for he knew not what--_anything_ to relieve the dreary monotony +of his existence. Suddenly he started up. + +"I've hit it!" he cried--which, if he referred to the Lord +Chamberlain's head, he certainly had, for, as he spoke, the +watering-pot fell directly upon the bald pate of that unlucky +functionary. + +"I've hit it!" again cried the king--and the Chamberlain was not +prepared to dispute the statement. In fact, the king gave him no time +to do so, for the next moment, apparently forgetting his cause of +displeasure against the high official in question, he eagerly called +him up to the balcony, and bade him listen to the development of a new +idea which had suddenly entered his royal brain. + +"Pompous," he cried (for such was the name of the Lord Chamberlain), +"Pompous, I've thought of something!" + +"Happy the thing which has had the honour of occupying your majesty's +mind," returned the ancient courtier, deeming it right to preserve +honey upon his tongue, although bitter gall was in his heart, in +consequence of the treatment to which he had just been exposed. + +"Don't be an ass, Pompous!" replied the king hastily. "I tell you I've +thought of something. Guess what it is." + +The Lord Chamberlain drew himself up to his full height, bowed low, +coughed, hemmed, and, after repeating this process several times, +meekly answered that he could not tell what his gracious majesty might +have been pleased to think of. + +"Tell? Why, of course not, you old noodle," said the King, whose manner +of addressing his attendants was occasionally barely polite. "Who +expected you to tell? I told you to _guess_, but since you are too +stupid to do so, I may as well tell you what it is. We'll have a +pig-race!" + +"A _what_, your majesty?" faltered out the Lord Chamberlain. + +"A pig-race, you old idiot!" roared the king into his ear. "P I G, pig, +R A C E, race--_pig-race_. Do you hear now?" + +And the old man was obliged to own that he did; but although he heard, +he hardly understood what the king could really mean. Old Pompous, +however, was a thorough courtier, and having had the misfortune to +offend his royal master _once_ that morning, was far too good a +judge to do so again, if he could by any possibility avoid it. He +therefore put on a smiling face, declared that the idea was excellent, +and pretended to enjoy it vastly, all the time wondering what could +have caused the king to think of such a ridiculous project, and by what +means it could ever be carried out. Whether any difficulty had +suggested itself to the mind of the king, or what had put the project +into his head at all, are questions which it is both useless and +unnecessary to ask. It is sufficient to know that there it was, and +when the despotic king of a country has a practical idea, something +generally happens in consequence, and it is a fortunate thing for his +people if it is nothing worse than a pig-race. Now it happened that the +kingdom of Fridolin was famous for its breed of pigs. They grew to a +very large size, and were much thought of by the people of that and +neighbouring countries, who bred, bought, sold, and ate them to a great +extent. A pig-race, however, was not a common event, nor, indeed, had +one ever been heard of in the memory of the oldest inhabitant. A pig +had certainly been more than once turned out, on festive occasions, +with his tail soaped, and a prize given to the rustic who should +succeed in securing the animal by holding on to that appendage; but +this was not what the king meant. He announced his intention of giving +a prize, to be run for by pigs, each pig to be ridden by a boy under +fourteen years of age, and fixed that day month for the event. Pompous +received the order with obsequious readiness, and was too wise to raise +any objection to the project, or express any doubt as to the +possibility of carrying it out. Next morning, accordingly, it was made +known to the world, and the whole kingdom was agitated from one end to +the other. It was not a great racing country; but, if it had been, a +race between pigs, and pigs, too, ridden by boys, would have been a +novelty, and the publication of the king's intentions caused a great +deal of surprise and excitement. The race was to take place upon a +common in the immediate neighbourhood of the capital city of the +kingdom, and the course, which was to be half a mile long, was settled +and marked out long before the day arrived on which the event was to +come off. A great number of competitors had entered for the race, and +it was calculated that at least twenty would start. Some complaints +there had been of the shortness of time allowed for training either +boys or pigs; but that was not a country in which many complaints were +made against anything the king did, as those who made them generally +had their heads cut off with a promptitude which had a signal effect in +preventing others from following their example. So there was very +little said against the arrangements which had been made, and people +only talked of the curious scene they expected to witness, and +speculated upon the chance of success possessed by the pigs which came +from their several neighbourhoods. As the day approached, the +excitement increased, and every available lodging was occupied in +anticipation of the great event. It is right to state, perhaps, that +the intensity of the interest caused by the coming race, was not only +due to the love of sport which existed in that country. King Fridolin +had perhaps no other intention than that of providing amusement for +himself, when he first set on foot the race which now attracted so much +of public attention, although he had, as a truly gracious monarch, no +objection to his subjects sharing that amusement, so long as his own +would not be lessened thereby. But when he came to consider the nature +of the prize which he should offer, another thought struck him, upon +which he had immediately acted. + +He had read and heard of many kings who, upon suitable occasions, when +they wanted their country to be delivered from some misfortune, or if +they desired to obtain the performance of some mighty deed of valour, +or some great feat of agility, had endeavoured to get what they wanted +by offering the hand of their daughter as the prize for which all +efforts should be made. + +This kind of proceeding had, of course, its disadvantages, as, in a +country where only one wife was permitted, the prize would be one which +shut out at once from competition all married men, and thus greatly +limited the possible number of competitors. But Fridolin was in a +peculiar position in this respect. + +In the first place, as only boys of tender age were to ride, there was +very little probability that any of them would be married, and, in the +next place, he had a daughter whom he thought very unlikely to be +married, unless by some clever contrivance such as that which he had +now planned. Belinda was the youngest of three princesses who owned +Fridolin for their father, and she was at this time just ten years of +age. But, unhappily, whilst her two sisters, the Princesses Amabilia +and Concaterina were lovely and well shaped, Belinda had no such +recommendations. Her mother, having had the misfortune to offend a +powerful and wicked witch, had expired, through her machinations, +shortly after the birth of her third daughter. One would have supposed +that the vengeance of a witch would have been satisfied by the death of +its object; but the witch Nuisancenika was not so easily appeased. She +visited the dying queen, made use of language which, always +objectionable in itself, was doubly improper, when used at such a +moment, and solemnly doomed the baby child to ugliness and deformity. +This pretty well finished the poor mother of itself, and she actually +died outright, when, within ten minutes of the cruel doom having been +pronounced, a palpable hump appeared upon the infant's back, and her +features assumed an expression of ugliness seldom seen in the females +of that country. So the child had grown up, deformed and ugly, though +with a sweetness of disposition which atoned for both defects in the +eyes of those who knew her well. This scarcely applied to Fridolin, who +cared little for his children, although he occasionally had the pretty +ones down to dessert to show off to his friends, whilst poor Belinda +was left alone and neglected in the nursery. + +Under these painful circumstances it was singular that Belinda should +not have grown up as deformed in mind as body, and this might very +possibly have been the case but for the unwearied love and devotion of +her foster-mother. This estimable person was the wife of one of the +king's shepherds, and no mother could have watched over her own child +more constantly or more tenderly than she tended Belinda. Being +moreover of a remarkably even temper, and blessed with a kindly +disposition withal, the good woman doubtless did much towards the +development of that remarkable sweetness of character, which the +princess had inherited from her mother. Be this how it may, she +certainly grew up in such a manner as to cause the remark to be +frequently made that her mind evinced a marked and singular contrast to +her body, and she was generally beloved in the royal household. This, +then, was the daughter whose destiny King Fridolin had resolved to +determine by the chances of a pig-race, and the fact was duly notified +to those concerned, and advertised in the newspapers throughout the +whole length and breadth of the country. + +Although, as I have said, the circumstances of that country prevented +people from commenting too freely upon any proceeding of the king's, +yet nothing could prevent this matter being talked about in private +circles, and wherever the conversation could be safely carried on great +surprise was expressed at the course which Fridolin had thought fit to +take. It was argued with some reason that the king, had he so chosen, +might have ordered any of his subjects to marry Belinda, should no +suitable admirer have appeared from among any of the neighbouring +princes, and that, if he deemed it necessary that the princess should +be married at all, he might in this manner have at least secured for +her a husband more eligible than might now fall to her lot. Besides, +the class of people who would be likely to contend for the prize in a +pig-race would be of a varied character. It was undoubtedly true that +many of the highest nobility of the land were breeders of pigs, but it +was equally certain that there were a far greater number of small +farmers and even labourers who could also claim to be included in the +same category. + +Moreover, it was more than probable that the more aristocratic and +refined was a pig-breeder, the less likely would it be that one of his +own sons would ride in the race, and it was to the rider and not to the +owner of the animal that the prize was to be given. So far, indeed, the +king seemed to have been kind and considerate, for this plan would +secure to his little daughter a husband better suited to her tender age +than if she had been bestowed upon some pig-owner of advanced years, to +whom she would have made a most unsuitable wife. But the king's +intention was plainly declared; whoever won the pig-race would win +Belinda too, and although a few years might be permitted to pass, so +that her education might be completed and the age of the bridegroom be +allowed to ripen, yet at the end of that time, which the king would fix +according to circumstances, the nuptials would certainly be celebrated. + +As I have already said, everyone in the kingdom knew the conditions +before the day arrived, and many and various were the speculations as +to the result. + +At last the sun shone upon the eventful morning of the day which was to +decide the issue of the race and the fate of Belinda. From every +quarter people came hurrying into the town; carts, carriages and +vehicles of every description and size thronged the roads, which were +also crowded with foot-passengers, all dressed in holiday garments, and +pushing forward in one direction, namely, to the race-course. There the +crowd was enormous, and the grand-stand was filled with a distinguished +company, as well as by many of those individuals who are only +distinguished by their extraordinary capacity for getting money out of +other people's pockets. + +In a private stand which was appropriated to royalty, sat Fridolin and +his daughters, surrounded by the nobles of the court. The king was in +the highest spirits, chaffing old Pompous, flirting with the maids of +honour, and teasing his two eldest daughters by telling them that if +the affair went off to his satisfaction, he should probably have +another on _their_ account before long. The two princesses tossed +their heads haughtily at this, although they stood too much in awe of +their royal parent to make any open protest. They were both dressed in +the extreme of the fashion, and displayed in their features the beauty +for which their race had always been celebrated. At a little distance +sat poor Belinda, who had been ordered by her father to be present, but +who did not seem much to enjoy it, although she endeavoured to preserve +a cheerful demeanour. The child was simply dressed in white muslin, +and her dress was in no way calculated to remove the disagreeable +impression produced by her ugliness and bodily defect. As her sisters +were known to be the king's favourites, it was naturally around them +that the courtiers clustered, and Belinda sat neglected, and almost +alone, though some of the more kindly disposed and tender-hearted of +the court ladies paid her a little attention. + +There was the usual shouting and betting, card-playing and band-playing, +pick-pocketing and cheating, wrangling and chaffing, which accompany a +race-course, I am told, even down to the present day; and there was a +dog, which issued no one knew where from, and ran down the very centre +of the course, howled at by the crowd and vainly chased by the +policemen, just before the race began. Carriages of all sorts were +drawn up by the side of the course, several rows deep, and the +occupants of many of them appeared to have come there principally for +the purpose of eating and drinking, for there was a vast and continuous +popping of corks, carving of chickens and mixing of salads, apparently +much enjoyed by those who were no more immediately concerned in the +consumption of the same, and as greatly envied by many hungry +lookers-on, who passed and repassed the carriages with eager and +longing eyes. + +At last the bell for saddling rung, and after a while the course was +cleared, and the animals which had been entered for the race came out +of the adjoining paddock for their preliminary gallop. There were +eighteen who actually started, of whom nine were black pigs and nine +sandy coloured. The symmetry of their forms was generally admired, and +as they cocked their little ears, twitched their tails, and grunted +loudly in anticipation of the struggle, great was the interest and +intense the excitement of the spectators. The little jockeys, clad in +their jackets of different colours, sat gallantly on their steeds, and +although the galloping was of a somewhat curious and uncertain +character, no accident occurred, and the eighteen competitors were duly +marshalled at the starting post. Then began the difficulty. It seemed +as if no power on earth could induce the animals to range themselves as +required or to keep any order at all. They grunted, squealed, turned +round the wrong way, and exhibited altogether such restlessness and +queer temper, that a fair start really seemed to be an impossibility. +This went on for nearly half-an-hour, when suddenly the starter +effected his purpose--the flag fell--and a hushed whisper of "They're +off!" ran through the crowd from one end to another. The excitement was +tremendous. Luncheons were abandoned--champagne glasses put down when +in the very act of being lifted to thirsty lips--opera-glasses and +telescopes were everywhere in requisition, and no one in all that vast +assembly had for the moment eyes or ears for anything but the pig-race. +Those who were in the secret knew that seven of the animals which were +running belonged to members of the aristocracy, whilst no less than +eleven were owned by breeders and jobbers of an inferior class. Among +these knowing ones there was great speculation as to the class from +which the winner would come, also as to the colour, black or sandy, +which would be successful. There was no limit as to the sex of the +animals, and the only stipulation was that each competitor should be +two years old, it being considered in that country injurious to the +constitution of pigs that they should be allowed to run in races before +that age. + +It would take too long to describe the dresses of all the jockeys or to +give the names of the animals which they respectively bestrode. If any +of my readers desire to know more than I tell, the matter can be easily +arranged, for the daily journals of that country inserted the fullest +particulars, and were doubtless filed by many racing-men of the time, +so that reference can be made to them by the curious inquirer. It is +sufficient for me to chronicle the fact that cards were everywhere sold +upon the day of the race, which contained the names, weights and +colours of the riders, and from these every information could be +gleaned. The names of the favourite pigs were Lubin, Toby, +Trough-lover, Wallower and Hogwash, and it was thought by those who +had, or who assumed to have, most knowledge of such matters, that none +of the other competitors had much chance. How far the event realised +these expectations will be presently seen. For the first few seconds +after the start there was a breathless silence, whilst all eyes were +eagerly fixed upon the advancing animals. Two or three could hardly be +said to have earned that epithet, for they only advanced a few yards +before they stopped, set their fore feet firmly in the ground and stood +there squealing loudly and defying every effort of their riders to urge +them forward. Another presently turned sharply aside and charged into +the crowd of bystanders, grunting fiercely, and as he was a large hog +of savage aspect and mighty bristles, the people scattered right and +left and he disappeared from the course. But the other pigs pushed on +for a while, until some six or seven appeared to have decidedly +outstripped the others and to be those from whom the winner would +undoubtedly be taken. The "knowing ones" seemed to be pretty right, for +all the five animals whose names I have given were among those who led. + +Trough-lover, a rough built, sandy-coloured pig, with a rider in a +violet jacket with white sleeves, came on with a long steady gallop +which augured well for his chance; the scarlet jacket of the boy who +rode Toby, also a sandy pig, showed well to the front, and Wallower's +dark and bony frame, bestridden by a jockey in pink and white was also +well up. But the principal interest of the race was concentrated upon +Hogwash and Lubin, who were running neck and neck together in the +foremost place, whilst the three already named, with a couple of +"outsiders" were several yards behind. The two favourites were both +black pigs; Lubin, a remarkably well-shaped animal, whose jockey showed +dark blue colours, whilst Hogwash was a beast of huge dimensions, +ridden by a boy of complexion almost as dark as his own, whose jacket +of lilac had been conspicuous in the front rank from the first moment +of the start. They ran on in the order which I have mentioned, after +they had shaken off the "ruck" of pigs, until within about a couple of +hundred yards from home, when Lubin gradually came back to his pigs, +and Hogwash forged slowly but surely ahead. The shouting on all sides +was tremendous, and the excitement of the spectators was at its height, +when at about a hundred yards from the winning post the position of the +leading pigs appeared unaltered, save that Toby seemed to have somewhat +gained on the others in the second rank, and Trough-lover was coming +along by the rails with a stealthy, steady gallop, which made the +backers of Hogwash tremble in their shoes. So it was until within fifty +yards from the finish, when a totally unexpected incident suddenly +changed the aspect of affairs. Out from the second rank darted a pig of +a sandy colour, and with a squeal hardly to be expected from an animal +which had gone nearly half a mile at best pace, shot forward from the +others and rapidly gained upon the leading pig. The shouts from the +crowd now rent the skies, and as the sandy pig closed up with Hogwash, +the rider of the latter was observed to be using his whip freely, +whilst his rival, a boy of light hair and complexion, displaying a +cherry-coloured jacket and black cap, sat firmly but quietly in his +saddle, to all appearance neither using nor requiring whip or spur. At +twenty yards from home he collared Hogwash, at ten yards they were neck +and neck, racing for dear life, and when, amid the most maddening scene +of excitement the sandy-coloured pig galloped past the winning post +nearly a length ahead, the shout that went up from the crowd was +something appalling in its vehemence. There was no doubt about it. +Hogwash was beaten and so were all the favourites, and an outsider had +won. Who was it? The faces of the book-makers fell, and people looked +eagerly to see what number went up, for no one had an idea of what was +the name of the winner, except those who were sufficiently calm to +consult their cards, and ascertain what pig it was that the "cherry and +black" jockey had ridden. It was soon known, Number 17 had won, and +Number 17 was "Sandy Sue," the property of Giles Dickson, a small +farmer very little known among the great pig-breeders of the kingdom. + +Before I go further, I may as well explain the clever manner in which +this great race was actually won, which was thought to reflect +considerable credit upon those who had contrived it. Farmer Dickson, +though not in a large way of business, had plenty of brains, and it has +been remarked by men of undoubted sagacity that there are two classes +of men into which the world may be divided, namely those who have +brains and no money, and those who have money and no brains, the latter +being created principally for the benefit of the former. Now Farmer +Dickson belonged emphatically to the former class, and as soon as ever +the race was announced and the course fixed, he conceived a project +which he immediately carried into execution. + +At the end of the course, and not above a hundred yards or so +therefrom, was a fence, beyond which was situated a small farm, the +homestead of which was thus very near the winning post, or at least not +above three or four hundred yards distant. Being well acquainted with +the tenant of this farm, the sagacious farmer made known his plan to +him and they agreed to carry it out together. "Sandy Sue," as the large +sow was called upon whom Farmer Dickson had resolved to set his hopes +and stake his money, had not long since presented her owner with a fine +litter of pigs. These were all removed forthwith to the farm near the +racecourse, and their mother was also comfortably housed in the +farmyard. Day by day she took her gentle exercise, and day by day was +she well fed at a spot as near to the racecourse as could be managed. +More than this, her favourite food was always given to her about the +time at which the race had been fixed to come off, and to this +precaution the strictest attention was given. The consequence was +exactly that which the confederates had expected. + +Although her condition was probably not quite so good as that of some +of the pigs with whom she had to contend, it was sufficiently so to +enable her to run her best for a course so short as half a mile. Then, +when she came near to the finish, recollections of feeding time not +only crowded upon her, but she had directly before her the very spot +where her daily food was served out to her, and where she was +accustomed to receive the visits of her beloved children. Stimulated to +renewed exertions by these facts, she did exactly that which was +expected from her, and forgetting every other consideration, made such +a splendid "spirt" as to carry her triumphantly to the victory in the +manner which I have described. These things all came out afterwards, +but they did not affect the decision of those who had to judge upon the +race, and "Sandy Sue" was without objection or protest hailed as the +winner. + +As soon as her jockey had dismounted and been duly weighed, he was +summoned to the presence of the king, who was not unnaturally desirous +to behold his future son-in-law. The boy accordingly mounted the stairs +which led to the royal stand, and was forthwith ushered into the +presence of his sovereign. As soon as he appeared, Fridolin advanced a +few steps to meet him, and then stood still and regarded him with a +curious eye. + +He was, as I have said, a boy of light complexion, with light brown +hair and light blue eyes, and by no means of an unprepossessing +appearance, especially in his jockey dress. He stood bashfully before +the king, with blushing cheeks and eyes cast down, until, after a few +moments of silence, Fridolin addressed him. + +"Well, boy," he said, "thou hast won the race and hast gained the +prize. Of what house and lineage dost thou come?" + +"Please, sir, my lord, your kingship's majesty," said the boy in +trembling accents, entirely mistaking the question, "our house bean't +but a small one, and as for linen, mother does the washing and I don't +know nothing about it." + +At this reply the king burst into a fit of laughter, in which his +courtiers joined, although some of them felt a sensation of regret +within their hearts when they considered the illiterate ignorance of +the youth to whom the Princess Belinda was to be sacrificed. This +reflection apparently did not trouble the king greatly, for he +presently remarked, "the bridegroom must be introduced to his bride +without delay. Come hither, boy," and with these words advanced towards +the spot where Belinda was sitting. The poor child, understanding but +too well what had happened and what was about to follow, trembled with +visible emotion as they came near, and would gladly have made her +escape. But Fridolin did not intend that this should be the case by any +means. He called to her as she rose from her seat and bade her be ready +to receive the winner of the race and her future husband. Meekly and +humbly she obeyed, taking her seat again, and fixing her eyes modestly +upon the floor. + +"There," cried the king as he pushed the boy forward towards the +princess, "there is the youth who will one day be your husband, child. +Kiss her, boy, and make friends at once." + +A deep blush suffused the face of the shrinking Belinda, who had not as +yet even looked upon the other's countenance, and she trembled more +than ever. But with a grace which no one had expected from the quarter +from which it came, the boy, immediately on receiving the king's +commands, stepped forward towards Belinda's chair, and, kneeling on one +knee, raised her hand gently to his lips. + +"Bravo, boy!" cried the king with another laugh. "I vow you're half a +courtier already. Two or three years' training and you'll be perfect." + +He then proceeded to inquire more particularly about the youth's age +and condition, and found that he was called Zachariah Dickson, or +usually "Zac" for shortness, that Farmer Dickson had several other sons +and daughters, but that this boy, being just under the limit of age, +had been selected as the rider of "Sandy Sue." He learned, moreover, +that the education of the Dickson family had been somewhat neglected, +and that though Master Zac could certainly read and write, he was no +great proficient at either accomplishment. Altogether it appeared that +the pig-race had secured for Belinda a husband so very much beneath her +in rank, position, breeding and education that her future happiness +could hardly be said to be very certain. + +As, however, Fridolin had made the arrangement without any reference to +its probable effect upon his daughter's happiness, but entirely to +gratify his own whim, he was not greatly concerned with this +reflection. He told the youth, indeed, that he had something to learn, +before he could be really fit to be a king's son-in-law, but as in that +country a king's word was always sacred, and as good as his bond, he +never for one moment entertained the idea of trying to be off the +bargain. + +No: "Zac" Dickson should be Belinda's husband, come what might. "He had +won her and he alone should wear her." So said the king again and +again, at the same time avowing his determination that the boy should +be forthwith sent at the royal expense to one of the best colleges in +the country, in order that he might pursue his studies, and prepare +himself to discharge the duties of that lofty position to which he had +been called by the voice of Fate. This announcement was received with +respectful submission by the boy, and with unfeigned satisfaction by +old Dickson, who, besides having won a considerable sum of money on the +race, now saw the prospect of having one of his boys entirely taken off +his hands and better educated than he could possibly have been without +such aid. + +The king further declared that three years should elapse before the +wedding, but that then, when the bridegroom was seventeen and the bride +thirteen, the marriage should certainly be celebrated, youthful +marriages being always the fashion in that country. After the interview +on the royal Stand, the winner of the race was allowed to return home +for the night, but with orders that he was to take up his abode at the +palace upon the following day. Then the king ordered his carriages and +the royal party left the course. The crowd was already broken up, and +people were streaming in every direction over the common upon which the +sport had taken place. + +The common was ere long left desolate and alone, only tenanted by a +grazing donkey or two, and a few wretched human creatures who wandered +over every spot upon which carriages had stood and luncheons had been +eaten, in the hope of finding something which they might convert into +money in order to aid the necessities of their miserable lives. Soon, +too, these took their departure: the crowd of people returning home +grew smaller and smaller, gradually the road was less and less +thronged, the people were only seen going along it by twos and threes, +then at last these, too, had found their way home, silence reigned +where all had so lately been talk and mirth, noise and revelry, and +night came down upon the earth with her sable cloak, extinguishing the +last flickering rays of the sun which had so gaily and brightly shone +upon the day of the great pig-race. + +The Princess Belinda woke next morning with a load upon her young +heart, and a novel sense of responsibility which made her feel quite a +different being from the child of the day before. She was, indeed, no +ordinary child. Even in her appearance _that_ could hardly be said +of her, poor girl! for she was not so much ordinary as decidedly ugly, +but the epithet was even less applicable to her intellectual powers, +which were undeniably of a superior order. Having moreover been +debarred by her deformity from the more active pastimes of childhood, +she had from a very early period sought her pleasure in books, and was, +even at the early age of ten, far better acquainted with the literature +of the day than many young ladies of twice her age. Well informed, +however, as she was, and fortified as she might be against the storms +of the outside world, as much as the fortifications of a prudent heart +and well-regulated temper can avail against such adversities, she +nevertheless awoke, as I have already said, to a new feeling upon the +morning after the pig-race. Her childhood seemed to be over, and the +real cares of life to have commenced. She had no longer only her own +life to regard, the life of another was thenceforth inseparably bound +up with her own. The actual marriage, indeed, was to be deferred for +three years, but the boy who had been presented to her as her future +husband was practically, for the future, a part and parcel of her life, +and his doings must be always of great and paramount interest and +importance to her. To tell the truth, he had made a very favourable +impression upon the heart of the youthful princess. + +Unaccustomed to go much into that society of which her more fortunate +sisters were at once the ornaments and the delights, Belinda was less +struck than might otherwise have been the case by the somewhat rough +and countrified bearing of the boy, and indeed, as has been already +said, his action in kneeling before her on his first introduction had +been far from ungraceful. She had remarked with pleasure the honest +gaze of his blue eyes, and the healthy clearness of his fair +complexion, whilst no one could deny that his form was well-shaped, and +his figure lithe and active. Still, the age of ten is one at which it +is somewhat early to be engaged to be married, and it is scarcely to be +considered a matter of wonder that the little princess regarded her +prospects with some apprehension. + +The youthful Zac was brought to the palace next day, according to the +king's orders, and forthwith took up his residence in the royal abode. +It was a curious arrangement, and one that was made the subject of much +comment by the court, although it was allowed on every hand that, since +the king had determined upon bestowing the hand of his youngest +daughter upon the winner of the pig-race, there was much good sense, as +well as kindness, in his resolution to have that winner properly +educated. It must be owned, too, that the lad did no discredit to his +teachers. He was diligent, attentive, and showed no small capacity for +learning. Whatever there had been of vulgarity in his accent rapidly +disappeared, uncouth and ignorant language was banished from his +hearing, and consequently very soon from his speech, while his errors +of grammar speedily became things of the past. In short, it was +confessed even by those who had at first shaken their heads with a +gravity befitting the occasion, and had declared that the old proverb +"you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" would be verified in +this case, and that a person of humble birth could by no means be +converted into a gentleman; even these persons, I say, began to take a +different tone, to talk about another proverb, namely that "exceptions +prove the rule," and to express their feelings towards Belinda's future +husband in no unfavourable terms. + +He made such progress in his books that his tutors were quite +astonished, and Belinda was herself delighted. Once a week he was +allowed to visit her for an hour, and from time to time she found a +perceptible difference in his manners and conversation, and a decided +improvement in both. In this manner a whole year passed over the heads +of the people of whom we are speaking, and during that time no event +occurred of a character so specially interesting as to require a +separate allusion. People were born, married and died as usual. Whilst +they lived they ate, drank, and paid their taxes--three things common +to all mankind who happen to be resident in civilized countries--and +after they were dead they were comfortably buried by their relations, +who then went home and remembered them as long as people usually do, +and no longer. The world, in short, went steadily on, and the inmates +of the palace did much the same as the rest of the world. Lord Pompous, +it is true, fell occasionally into disgrace, being rather a stupid man +and apt to offend the king when he most wanted to please him. But as he +always got out again very soon, this did not signify. Fridolin was +rather fond of the old man, if the truth must be told, and though he +enjoyed teasing him now and then, never really meant to get rid of him. +So they jogged on together happily enough, and nothing occurred to +seriously disturb either of them. + +The king, however, felt time hang as heavy upon his hands as is the +case with most people who either have nothing to do, or are too idle to +do what they really _have_ to do in the shape of work. He often +looked back to that idea of a pig-race which had afforded him such a +good day's amusement, and once or twice hinted to his two elder +daughters that it had turned out remarkably well. The princesses, +however, viewed the matter in a different light, for they guessed at +once at their father's intentions, and had no notion of allowing them +to come to any practical issue. It was all very well for Belinda, +indeed: a third sister, with neither beauty nor wealth, might fairly be +disposed of in any way that happened to be most convenient. It was +entirely different, however, with girls who had beauty to recommend +them, and no lack of admirers to tell them so. Wherefore the fair +Amabilia and the sweet Concaterina promptly checked their father's most +distant allusion to the subject, and as they were the only people of +whom he stood at all in awe, he soon abandoned the idea, and gave up +all thoughts of having another pig-race. + +After young Zac's first entrance into the palace, Fridolin had +concerned himself very little about the boy, being content, as many +people are, to let matters drift on as long as they gave no trouble to +himself. But it happened one day that he overheard some of the +courtiers speaking in praise of the lad, and this excited his curiosity +to a degree sufficient to induce him to desire that Zac should be +summoned to his presence. This occurred about the end of the first year +of Zac's residence in the palace, and was really the beginning to him +of another existence. For King Fridolin was so pleased with the +alteration in the youth, that he thought he should like to see more of +him. Having no son of his own, why should not the future husband of one +of his daughters be as a son to him? Thus the result of his great idea +might turn out altogether fortunate, and he should have conferred a +benefit upon himself as well as Belinda after all. He forthwith gave +directions that Zac should be present on all occasions when the king +appeared in public, or gave a reception to any of his subjects, and he +also desired that he should be frequently admitted to the royal +presence upon other occasions. The boy always conducted himself so well +that he gradually became a great favourite with the king, and not only +with the king but with the other princesses. + +This occurrence was the reverse of fortunate, but perhaps it was not +unnatural. Amabilia was little more than a year older than Zac, and +Concaterina about his age. His good looks, his pleasant manner, the +unfailing sweetness of his temper, and the general intelligence which +he evinced, were all calculated to make an impression upon the tender +hearts of the two princesses. Surrounded by flatterers and sycophants, +the simple character and honest bearing of the youth had the additional +charm of novelty, and this was increased by the natural manner in +which, considering these as his future sisters, he accepted his +position and treated them frankly as such. Accordingly they both fell +deeply in love with him. It was very sad, and I am sorry to be obliged +to tell it, but it is no use concealing the truth, and there was and is +no mistake about the matter. The two sisters were not long in +discovering each other's secret, and as soon as they had made the +mutual discovery, a coldness sprang up between them which was most +distressing. I am bound to say that no thought of or for Belinda ever +crossed the mind of either of them. It was not that they disliked their +younger sister, or that they were habitually unkind to her, but they +had got into the way of considering her as a kind of inferior being, +whose thoughts, hopes, and wishes must never for a moment interfere +with their own, and who could on any occasion, and in any matter, be +pushed aside as best suited their convenience, so that it scarcely at +all, if ever, occurred to either of them that it was either wrong, +dishonourable, or unkind to rob Belinda of her promised husband, and if +it _had_ occurred to them, I am afraid that they had both been too +much accustomed to have their own way to have hesitated even under the +influence of such a thought. Nurtured as they had been in their +father's court, surrounded by people who had taught them to believe in +the divine right of kings to reign over their people, and the enormous +privilege which it was to be of royal blood, and the incomparable +superiority of beings such as they were over the common herd of +mortals, one would have thought it probable that their pride would have +prevented them from yielding to the soft influence of love in such a +case as that of the boy of humble birth with whom they had thus +accidentally been associated. But poets and writers of olden time have +always told us that Love is invincible, and I can only suppose that he +chose to give another instance of his prowess by conquering the hearts +of the two princesses, and forcing them to bow before his resistless +sway. At all events, to cut the matter short, they both fell in love +with Zac Dickson, so that his very name (though to me there seems +nothing at all savouring of melody about it) was music to their ears, +their eyes delighted to behold him, and their blushes would soon have +told the tale, if indeed their tender looks and affectionate manner had +not been such as to reveal to the youth the ill-concealed secret of +their young hearts. + +Extraordinary though it be to relate, and difficult to believe, Zac was +considerably more annoyed than pleased by the discovery. Most boys of +fifteen would have been far from insensible to the attentions of +beautiful damsels even of their own rank and station, and few there are +who would not have been flattered--and perchance fluttered too--by the +palpable affection entertained towards them by lovely princesses. +Nevertheless, this was not at all the case with Zac. By some curious +freak of Nature, he had been constituted with an acute sense and +appreciation of the difference between right and wrong, and a steady +desire and determination to avoid the latter whenever he possibly +could. He remembered full well the manner in which he had obtained +access to the palace, and the terms upon which his admission had been +arranged, and the means provided for his education. Strange to say, +moreover, he had conceived a real regard and affection for Belinda. He +remembered her first reception of him as her future husband; he did not +forget the uniformly meek and modest nature which she displayed in her +weekly interviews with him; nor was he oblivious of the kindly interest +she had ever taken in his mental progress and development of those +qualities which go to make a man's life both useful and advantageous to +himself and others. He had perceived, too, in the youngest princess, +that sweetness of disposition for which she had ever been remarkable, +and had learned gradually to understand, and, as he understood, to love +her better. + +If, at his first entrance upon the scene of our history as the winner +of the pig-race, he had been offered the choice of any one of the three +princesses, it is highly probable that he would never have looked upon +Belinda a second time. The beauty of the elder sisters was undeniably +great; their manners pleasant, though occasionally haughty; and they +were girls who would at once have captivated the susceptible heart of +any young man suddenly placed in Zac's position. But a year's residence +in the palace, and that under his peculiar circumstances and +engagements, had made all the difference. Bound in honour to Belinda, +he would as soon have thought of stealing the king's crown as of making +love to either of her sisters, nor could he believe for a long time +that they had any such intentions towards himself. This, however, only +served to make matters worse, because he took no pains to keep out of +their way, and was rather glad when any opportunity for meeting either +of them chanced to occur. Nay, when Amabilia pressed his hand tenderly, +he saw in it nothing more than the regard which Belinda's sister had a +right to entertain towards him, and when Concaterina, as they were +bending together over a photograph, put her arms softly round his neck, +and when their faces were almost touching, pressed her lips softly upon +his cheek, he even then deemed it but a proof of sisterly affection, +and at once returned the compliment, without a suspicion that anything +more was meant. His eyes, however, were opened at last, when the +attentions, looks, and words of the two elder princesses became +unmistakable, and their design of winning him from Belinda but too +apparent. + +The boy was grieved beyond measure, for not only was he sharp enough to +know that his own position at court might be seriously imperilled by +what was before him, but he also felt that, through him, Belinda +herself might be made to suffer. Yet what was to be done? Deceit was +repugnant to his honest nature, and had it been otherwise, it could +scarcely have been long maintained, since not only one, but both +sisters were aiming at the same thing, and to deceive the two would +have been beyond human skill and subtlety. If he appeared to favour +either one, the other would probably be bitterly offended; if he seemed +to care for both, but to hesitate between the two, their mutual +jealousy would be stimulated, and, besides, if Belinda should hear of +it, as would be but too likely, her tender heart would be filled with +sorrow. On the other hand, if he spoke his mind out to the two +princesses, openly and boldly, they had only to agree together to +denounce him to the king, and his position would be most precarious, +whilst Belinda would be quite unable to assist him. + +The matter caused the poor boy much anxious thought. At first, when he +became quite certain that he was not mistaken, he tried, by every means +in his power, to avoid Amabilia and Concaterina, and was never alone +with either of them if he could possibly help it. But very often he +couldn't help it, do what he would. He made his studies a constant +excuse for absence from luncheon, to which meal he had latterly been +invited, and at which the two elder princesses were always present, +although Belinda had her solitary meal in the school-room. + +Sometimes the king was there, and then Zac dared not be away, since +Fridolin liked him to be present, and sent for him if he was not. But +his time of trial was "Five o'clock Tea." + +The two sisters had a joint sitting-room, a very comfortable place, +with inviting arm-chairs, delightful sofas, all the new novels, and +every knick-knack you can imagine, arranged as only a lady's taste +_can_ arrange things, but so managed as to make the room wonderfully +attractive to the male who has the good fortune to be admitted to a +sight of its treasures. Their tea was always brought in on a silver +tray soon after five, and to this most enjoyable meal they frequently +invited such of the courtiers as they specially favoured. Zac had +constant invitations of a general character, but whenever one of the +sisters chanced to be absent from any cause whatever, the other was +sure to send specially to request his attendance. This was his time of +trial. The "request" of a princess in that royalty-loving country was +equivalent to a command, and it was entirely contrary to etiquette for +any one to refuse compliance, save on the score of ill-health, domestic +affliction, or some other equally valid excuse. Therefore it was very +difficult for Zac to refuse, though he knew only too well what awaited +him. Amabilia or Concaterina, whichever it happened to be--no matter +which--was certain to be alone, and always received him with such +overpowering affection as quite bewildered him. His only safety lay in +the fact that the two girls had become so jealous of each other, that +one never left the other alone at five o'clock tea if she could +possibly help it. Still, sometimes such an occurrence was unavoidable, +and if Amabilia was ever kept up-stairs by a bad cold, or Concaterina +had been detained elsewhere by some accidental circumstance, as sure as +fate, one of these special invitations came to Zac, and the poor boy +had to go and face the lovely princess as best he could. + +So things went on for several months, well into the second year of the +youth's residence in the palace, until at last matters seemed coming to +a crisis. For the second time, Concaterina had indulged him with a +kiss, which he could hardly with politeness refrain from returning, and +the lovely Amabilia actually began the same game. + +She secured him for a five o'clock tea, and whilst sitting by his side +on the sofa, and talking in her usually affectionate manner, she +suddenly laid her fair head upon his shoulder for an instant, and the +next moment as suddenly raising it, exclaimed in an energetic and +emphatic tone: "_Dear_ Zac!" and imprinted at the same instant a warm +and loving kiss upon his young lips. + +Poor Zac was terribly perplexed, but more in thought than in action, +for of course he could do no less than promptly return the compliment +just paid him by the princess. But when she took his hand in hers, +pressed it warmly, and regarded him with loving eyes, with her face +still closer to his than any face but Belinda's should have been, he +felt that this was really carrying things too far, and that he must +somehow or other put an end to it. How he would have done so it is +impossible to say, inasmuch as the princess, evidently of a different +opinion, appeared desirous of prolonging the situation, and his +difficulty in preventing her from doing so would probably have been +considerable. + +Fortunately--or unfortunately, as the taste of my readers may lead them +to determine--the door suddenly flew open, and the princess had barely +time to spring to the other end of the sofa when the portly figure of +Lord Pompous entered the apartment. As Lord Chamberlain, Old Pompous +had the general right of entry everywhere, although he rarely ventured +to approach the sitting-room of the princesses without special +invitation, and probably would not have done so upon the present +occasion had he not been sent directly by the king. I do not think that +Amabilia ever quite forgave the old man for his unwelcome intrusion; +but he really was not to blame in the matter. King Fridolin had got +into a difficulty about some curtains which he had recently ordered for +his study, and which, when they came home, he fancied were of colours +which did not match; those destined for one window being of a different +hue to those which belonged to another. Having referred the matter to +Lord Pompous, that worthy ventured to be of an opinion contrary to that +of his sovereign, and held that the curtains matched perfectly. Upon +this Fridolin first threw a footstool at the head of his lord +chamberlain--on dodging which he tumbled over the waste-paper basket +into the coal-scuttle, and spoiled a new white waistcoat--and then +directed him, since he was such a blind old fool as to be unable to +tell one colour from another, to go immediately to Amabilia's room and +ask her to come there and decide the knotty point. Accordingly, the +submissive Pompous hurried off to obey the orders of the king, and +arrived at the particularly opportune or inopportune moment which I +have described. + +As far as Zac was concerned, the intrusion appeared to him to be little +less than providential. The princess could do nothing else than obey, +and as it would not have been etiquette for her either to have invited +him to accompany her, or told him to await her return, she had no +alternative but to dismiss him from the apartment. This she did with a +loving look, which certainly could not be misunderstood by its object, +and could hardly have escaped the observation of any bystander less +blind and stupid than Lord Pompous. + +The princess then sought the presence of her father, and Zac, having +deeply cogitated upon the whole matter, after his return to his own +room, made up his mind that, unless he was to run away--a proceeding +which would be difficult, uncomfortable, ruinous to his future +interests, and very disagreeable to others beside himself--the only +alternative he had was to open his whole heart to Belinda upon the very +first opportunity. + +Having quite resolved upon this he felt somewhat more happy, for that +which had really troubled him most was the apprehension that the young +princess might discover something of the truth, and not knowing from +himself how matters really stood, might imbibe some false impression +concerning the matter, and blame him for having employed unnecessary +and unjustifiable concealment in a business so intimately concerning +her interests and future happiness. He had not long to wait for the +opportunity he desired. At their very next interview he was able to +open his heart to Belinda upon the subject, and to tell her all the +awkwardness of his position as regarded the king, herself, and her two +sisters. + +At first the poor child wept bitterly, and was quite unable either to +control or to conceal her feelings. She had never expected, for she had +never received, great kindness from her elder sisters, but she had +thought herself quite safe from molestation with regard to her future +husband. Amabilia and Concaterina had so scoffed at the idea of the +pig-race when the project was first started, they had laughed so +heartily at the ridiculous notion of the hand of a king's daughter +being given as the reward of a successful jockey, and they had tossed +their heads so high at the idea of a common farmer's son being received +and accepted as the future husband of _their_ sister, that it had never +entered the poor child's head that there was the slightest chance of +either of them ever desiring to obtain his affection. Yet such was the +case. She was attacked upon the very side upon which she had felt +herself most secure, and her surprise was only equalled by her +distress. One consolation, however, she certainly had, than which none +could well be greater. The fidelity of Zac was a comfort which was +beyond all price, as it was also beyond all praise. When she was fully +assured of this--and indeed she was too young and too honest to have +ever doubted it--she felt almost glad that the occasion to prove it had +arisen. In warm but simple language she expressed at once her gratitude +and her affection for the youth, who, on his part, declared his firm +adherence to the troth he had plighted, and in homely words vowed that +he would never be false to his Belinda. + +But this mutual interchange of confidence and regard rendered the +present position of affairs by no means less dangerous and +uncomfortable. Zac offered to go to the king if Belinda desired it, but +to this there was a double objection. In the first place, Fridolin +would probably be slow to believe anything to the disadvantage of his +favourite daughters, and an appeal to him, certain to lead to an entire +denial on the part of the princesses, would not improbably recoil upon +the heads of both Belinda and her promised husband. Then, in the second +place, Zac had a strong and conscientious objection to betraying a +lady's secret, and had only done so in the present case because Belinda +was his affianced wife, and he felt himself bound in honour to tell her +how matters stood between her sisters and himself. + +They decided, therefore, that they certainly would not say anything to +the king upon the subject. There was no one else to whom they could +appeal, for Amabilia and Concaterina were omnipotent in the palace, and +it would have been hopeless to speak to old Pompous or any of the +courtiers. All that Belinda could think of was to tell her old +foster-mother, who was allowed to see her twice a month, and who was so +utterly devoted to her, that if the worst came to the worst, and the +poor child had to leave the palace, she knew she could find a refuge in +that humble cottage as long as the old woman was allowed to live there. +So, after much difficulty, she obtained Zac's permission to confide to +her the whole matter, and to ask her counsel regarding it. + +The youth left his betrothed with a heavy heart, but rejoiced withal at +the thought that, at all events, she knew the truth, and would place in +him the trust which he so well deserved. + +The cottage of Belinda's foster-mother was not far from the palace, and +close to a forest of considerable size, between which and the river +which flowed through the fertile plain upon one side of it, were the +king's pastures upon which grazed his numerous flocks and herds. As has +been already stated, the good old foster-mother was the wife of one of +the shepherds whose duty it was to tend the king's flocks. He was now +somewhat advanced in years, and so was his wife; but they were a hale +and hearty couple, and still performed their duties with diligence and +fidelity. According to her resolution, Belinda confided to her +foster-mother at the very next interview the whole circumstances of her +painful position. The worthy woman was much disturbed at hearing this +news. No one was better informed than she was of the state of affairs +at the palace. She knew that the word of either Amabilia or Concaterina +was law, whilst her nursling had no influence whatever. If, then, the +two sisters could agree between themselves as to which of them should +appropriate Zac, there seemed but small hope that Belinda would be +permitted to retain her lover. True, he might have a word to say upon +the subject himself, and would possibly--nay, probably, according to +Belinda--be firm and true, but how far that would avail against the +will of those with whom he would have to deal, was a very doubtful +matter. So when she had heard her child's story, the old woman +comforted and petted her at first by condoling with her on the badness +of the prospect before her, and the impossibility of its ever being any +better. Having thus made both her nursling and herself as miserable as +she could, and having cried together a good deal more than the urgency +of the case required, they began to think whether anything else could +be done, and for some time no thought entered either head of which any +use could be made. This interview took place in the palace, and the +good old woman said that she never _could_ think in such a grand place +as that, but that if Belinda could manage to come and see her one of +those days at her own cottage, they would be able to talk the matter +over quietly together, and perhaps something might turn up. To this +Belinda consented, and the old woman took her departure. + +For the next few days things went on much the same, the two elder +princesses doing all in their power to attract the affection of Zac, +and the honest lad striving to avoid them as much as he possibly could +do without actual incivility. One day, however, things really came to a +crisis. Zac had finished his work earlier than usual, and went into the +palace garden to enjoy the fresh air. He took a book with him, and +finding a pleasant seat in a little summer-house, which had been built +near a natural waterfall which formed one of the beauties of the place, +he sat himself thereupon, and began to read. + +It was a lovely spot, and the moment was one which occasionally comes +to everybody in the warm summer-time, when the sound of falling water, +the rays of the sun just piercing through a thick leafy screen, the low +singing of the birds and the humming of the insects, all induce a kind +of dreamy happiness which gradually steals over the spirit, and not +seldom ends in the forgetfulness of sleep. So it was with Zac. He read +a page or two with avidity--for his book was interesting--then another +page or two rather less eagerly, then more slowly and lazily still; +then he ceased to turn over the pages at all, and finally the book +slipped from his hands to his knees, and from his knees to the ground, +his eyes closed, and he fell into a sweet, dreamless sleep. + +Now, as luck would have it, the lovely Concaterina had observed the +youth saunter into the garden, as she was watering the mignonette +which grew in a box placed upon her window-sill. The opportunity for a +_tête-à-tête_ seemed too good to be lost, and she therefore shortly +afterwards descended in pursuit of him, having previously made sure +that her beloved elder sister was practising music in their joint +sitting-room. The princess did not find the boy directly, as she +fancied he had gone further into the shrubberies than was really the +case, so that by the time she came upon him in the summer-house he was +stretched at full length upon the seat and sleeping as I have +described. + +She gazed upon him for some few seconds in a transport of maidenly +affection--so young and so handsome did he seem in her eyes, with his +head leaning upon one of his arms which he had carelessly thrown behind +it as he sank to sleep. Should she awaken him? and how? She did not +take long to decide. In that country there was a proverbial saying--and +I believe it is not confined to that country--that if a gentleman finds +a lady asleep he has a right to take a kiss by way of legitimate booty. +Concaterina had no idea that such a privilege could be properly or +fairly confined to one sex, and she therefore leaned gently over the +slumbering Zac, and without more ado kissed him tenderly on the cheek. + +The boy started from his sleep, and blushed deeply at having been thus +awakened and saluted. He stammered forth some apologies for having been +found as he was, but these were soon stopped by Concaterina, who +addressed him in the most affectionate terms, and, sitting down by his +side, asked him whether he quite hated her. + +To this the youth could make but one reply, namely, that it was not for +him to hate his king's daughter, and that even were she not so, she and +her sister had been too kind to him to make it possible for him to +entertain any such feeling towards either of them. + +At the mention of her sister the fair one pouted prettily, and +continued to talk to him in terms of endearment. + +"Dearest Zac," she said, "if you do not hate me cannot you love me a +little? I am so fond of _you_--so _very_ fond." + +Zac did not know how to answer. + +"I _do_ love you," at length he said, "as the Princess Belinda's +sister, and therefore one who will some day be _my_ sister too!" + +"Ah!" sighed Concaterina, "but I want more than that, you dear boy. +Belinda, indeed! you are much too good for _her_, poor ill-favoured, +child! How happy we could be together, Zac. You don't think me ugly, do +you?" + +Zac certainly did _not_, and therefore could not say so, but when the +princess went on in the same way, and tried to persuade him to let her +usurp the place in his affections which belonged to Belinda, he could +only reply that he knew she could not _really_ mean it, and begged her +not to play tricks upon him in that manner. + +"Ah, Zac," she returned, "they are no tricks; I never before saw anyone +whom I could really love, and I do love you, Zac, so _very_ much!" and +as she spoke she passed her arm again round the perplexed boy's neck in +a loving manner. + +What step she would next have taken I am unable to say, for at that +moment who should enter the summer-house but the Princess Amabilia. + +"Pretty conduct this, indeed!" she cried, when she saw the position of +affairs. "Concaterina! I wonder you are not ashamed of yourself, +teasing that poor boy with your affection when you know he wants none +of it!" + +The younger sister had by this time withdrawn the offending arm and +turned sharply upon the intruder. + +"How tiresome you are, Amabilia," she said pettishly; "always +interfering. Zac and I understand each other quite well, and don't want +you here at all. Do go away!" + +"Hoity-toity!" rejoined the other. "_I_ go away, forsooth, that would +be very reasonable, when we both know that dear Zac loves me fifty +times better than he does you. Impudence!" + +At this Concaterina fired up. + +"He does no such thing!" she cried angrily; "he and I are now nearly of +an age, and if you were a real good sister you would be glad to see how +fond he is of me, instead of trying to take him away, you spiteful +thing." + +Amabilia replied with equal warmth, and poor Zac's position became one +of extreme discomfort, both princesses claiming him as their own, when +he in reality neither belonged nor wished to belong to either. + +Presently, however, they brought their animated discussion to a close +by appealing to Zac himself. Amabilia ingenuously declared that as she +was eldest she ought to have the first choice, and that since matters +had come to this pass, she would not be ashamed of telling Zac to his +face that she loved him dearly, and was prepared to accept him for her +husband. To this she added that in most courts such a hint as she had +given would be considered equivalent to a command, and that she was +thankful to say and feel that, as in their case there was love on both +sides, a command would be quite superfluous. + +Concaterina then put in her claim. She said that in matters of love it +was not a question of being eldest or youngest, the heart must follow +its own promptings. She loved Zac--oh, so dearly! and she felt that he +returned her love, only diffidence forbade him to confess it. But if he +would be hers, she was certain her sister would soon find another mate, +and that the king, her father, would make no objection. Thus accosted +by two young and beautiful princesses, poor Zac would have had a most +difficult task to decide between them, had it not been that the path of +duty lay straight before him, and he had all along resolved to follow +it. + +"Dear ladies!" he said, addressing them both, and bowing respectfully +to one and the other, "I thought you were but playing with me, and I +would fain hope so still. If not--what reply can I make to you? I love +you both--each has been so kind to me since I first entered the palace, +that I should be worse than a brute if I did not love you both. But I +came here as the promised husband of your sister Belinda. My troth is +plighted to her. She believes in and trusts me. How can I break my word +and her heart? Dear princesses, you are so beautiful that you can +command love whenever and wherever you wish it. It is not so with poor +Belinda. She has but me, and I have vowed to be faithful to her!" + +Whilst Zac was speaking thus, his eyes fired with animation, and his +face beaming with excitement, the princesses thought they had never +seen him look so handsome. But when his words showed them that their +efforts to wean his heart from their younger sister had been +unsuccessful, rage gradually took possession of their souls. + +"You despise our love!" they both cried out at once. "You, a mere +peasant boy, who was only taken into the palace out of charity, you +_dare_ to say that you despise our beauty and ourselves, and take +up with that little lump of deformity, Belinda! How can you be such a +fool?" + +Poor Zac protested that he was far from despising either of them, and +admired their beauty greatly, as indeed anyone with eyes must do. This, +however, was far from satisfying the enraged damsels. They insisted +upon it that the youth had encouraged them both, and the only dispute +between them now was as to which of them had been worse treated by him. +They told him, moreover, that his pretended fidelity to Belinda should +not bring happiness either to him or her. They would plague her life +out, for the matter of that. Ugly little toad! why should she have a +husband at all? And as for him--he should be punished handsomely for +this, and that, too, perhaps, sooner than he thought. + +They then left the summer-house, and, I am sorry to say, allowed their +anger to carry them far beyond what could in any way be justified. They +agreed to go to their father that very afternoon, and tell him that Zac +had been very impertinent to both of them, and that Amabilia had +surprized him trying to kiss Concaterina against her will in the +summer-house. This they accordingly did, and the effects were much what +they had expected. + +The king flew into a violent passion, threw both his boots with an +unerring aim at the head of Lord Pompous, and vowed that the world must +certainly be coming to an end. When the courtiers had all agreed to +this as a novel but most reasonable remark, he called them a parcel of +fools for thinking such a thing at all probable, and ordered Zac to be +immediately arrested. When told of what he was accused, the poor boy +was almost beside himself with grief. He was sorry enough for the +trouble he was in, and for that which might fall upon Belinda in +consequence; but he was still more sorry for the cruel conduct of the +two princesses, whom he had really liked, and who had behaved so +heartlessly to him for only doing his duty. Even now, however, he +behaved like a true gentleman. + +When Fridolin asked him what he had to allege in his defence, he bowed +low before the king, and said "Nothing." When asked if he then +confessed himself guilty, he replied: + +"May it please your majesty, I should feel guilty if I allowed myself +to deny any statement made by the noble princesses, your majesty's +royal daughters." + +This speech would have touched many hearts, but Fridolin was in too +great a passion at that moment to be touched by anything, and he gave +orders that Zac should immediately be thrown into a deep dungeon, fed +upon bread and water, and confined there until it should be settled +whether he should be beheaded or banished, which were the only two +punishments which occurred to the king just then. Accordingly, the poor +boy was roughly dragged away from the royal presence, taken down a +great many stone steps, until he arrived at the dungeon door, and then +thrust through it, and left to think over all that had happened. + +The Princess Belinda, meanwhile, was quite ignorant of the whole affair +until the next morning, when her two sisters visited her in her +apartment. They came, as may be supposed, in no very friendly state of +mind, and told their story in a manner which would have greatly +distressed Belinda, if she had not had the most perfect reliance upon +Zac. They pretended to condole with her on the circumstance of his +having repeatedly made love to both of them, playing one off against +the other, and striving to induce them to persuade the king to let him +marry one of them instead of her. They said that they had refrained +from telling her this before, for fear of wounding her feelings, but +that now they were obliged to do so. Then they told their concocted +story about the summer-house, and related all that had subsequently +occurred. Poor Belinda shed bitter tears, but showed her disbelief in +their story so plainly, that they presently changed their tone, asked +who and what _she_ was, forsooth, that a husband should be provided for +her--telling her that she should never have him after all, that they +would take care he was kept in the dungeon until he came to his senses, +and making all kinds of other unpleasant observations, which made the +poor child very unhappy. So as soon as her sisters had left her, she +determined to go down to her foster-mother's cottage, and seek +consolation from her. + +Off she set, and walked down to the forest, crying all the way, until +she got to the cottage. There, to her dismay, she found the door +locked, for the good woman had gone to carry her husband's dinner out +to him on the plain, and had locked up the house until her return. +Belinda did not know what to do, for as she was not very strong, she +felt somewhat tired with her walk, and not equal to walking back again +without rest. So she sat down in the trellised arbour by the cottage +door, and presently fell fast asleep. As she slept, she dreamed a +curious dream. She thought that her mother came and looked upon her. Of +course, Belinda could not remember her mother, for the very good reason +that she had died very shortly after the child was born. Still, somehow +or other, she knew it was her mother, very bright and beautiful, and +with such a loving look upon her face as only mothers have when they +gaze upon their children. When her mother had looked down upon her for +a little while, she stooped down and spoke, in a soft, sweet, gentle +tone of voice. + +"My little one," she said, "do not despair and be down-hearted: all +will yet be well with you. You have had much trouble in the past, but +your happiness in the future will be all the brighter by the contrast. +If you want help, you are near it now, for Canetto, the Prince of the +Forest Mannikins, is my cousin, and you are in his country." + +Belinda started up wide-awake, just as her mother seemed to have +finished speaking. The words were still ringing in her ears, and she +looked round and rubbed her eyes in great amazement. There was nothing +to be seen. A soft breeze from the south gently stirred the leaves of +the honeysuckle and sweetbriar which enfolded the little arbour in +their fragrant embrace. The doves were gently cooing in the fir-trees, +and far, far away she heard the distant bleating of the sheep on the +plain, but there was no mortal being near her. The loving mother, then, +had been but the unreal vision of a dream, and the encouraging words +had been no more than a passing thought or fancy of her own, +mysteriously clothed for a moment with sound. Yet they seemed so +vivid--so true. So certain was she that she had actually heard them, +that almost insensibly she found herself repeating them aloud. + +"Canetto, the Prince of the Forest Mannikins," she exclaimed, and the +next moment started with affright at the effect which her own words had +produced. + +"Who calls Canetto?" said a voice; and at the same instant she +perceived a figure standing a few yards off from the entrance to the +arbour. It was the figure of a little old man, about three feet high, +dressed in a dark green coat, with a velveteen waistcoat and white +corduroys. In his hand he held a hunting-whip, with which he carelessly +flicked off the heads of the daisies as he stood. Upon his head was a +species of wide-awake, as far as Belinda could judge; at least it was +of that kind of shape, and seemed to be made of some light material +suited to the heat of the weather. But the most remarkable thing about +the old gentleman was the marvellous mixture of intelligence and +good-humour which appeared upon his countenance. His eyes sparkled with +a kind of light, which told you at the first glance that he was not a +man to be easily hum-bugged, whilst the smile which seemed constantly +hovering upon his mouth betokened a fund of humour and kind-heartedness +which was very reassuring to the young princess. + +"Who calls Canetto?" he said again, in a kind voice. + +The maiden knew that common politeness, as well as her own interest, +required a prompt reply. + +"Sir," she said, "I am Belinda, King Fridolin's youngest daughter, and +my mother was your cousin, I think, and I am very unhappy, and I don't +know what to do, and I dreamed that my mother came and told me to ask +you to help me; and oh! pray don't be angry with me, for I do not want +to do any harm to anybody, only if I may be a little happier!" + +While Belinda spoke the little man kept on flicking his hunting-whip +and smiling benignly all the time. + +"A little happier, my lambkin?" he said as soon as she had finished. +"To be sure you shall. Why not? Your mother my cousin? That she was +indeed, poor darling! Not only my cousin was she, but we used to be the +best of friends before she married King Fridolin, after which I saw +little of her, and knew nothing of her great trouble until it was too +late to help her." + +At these words the princess quite forgot her own sorrow for the moment, +in the intense desire she had to know the history of the mother of whom +neither her father nor her sisters ever spoke. + +"Oh, sir," she cried in an agitated voice, "please tell me about my +dear mother. I have so longed to know all about her, and I never shall +know unless somebody tells me, for she died when I was quite little, +and no one in the palace ever speaks of her to me." + +A tinge of melancholy replaced the smile upon the little man's face as +he replied to Belinda's question. + +"Your mother," said he, "was neither more nor less than an angel, which +is more than I can say for your royal father; although, after all, his +faults are rather those of his education than any which arise from his +natural disposition, which is far from bad. But it is difficult for +kings, who have the world at their feet and always get their own way, +to be all that one could wish them. Your mother was as near perfection, +in body as well as mind, as any human being can attain. Why she married +your father I could never understand, except it was because she chose +to do so. There were others," (here the small gentleman drew himself up +to his full height, placed his right hand upon his heart, and heaved a +deep sigh), "there were others who loved her as well and might have +made her happier. But Fridolin carried her off, and for a time they +were happy. When your elder sisters were born he was contented, +although he had wished for a prince, but he could not object to +children of such rare beauty. Then came the trouble. + +"The fairy Nuisancenika had, and has, wondrous power over the Plain +country--by which I don't mean the country of 'plain' people, though +_she_ is 'plain' enough in all conscience, but the flat country, +wherever there are no woods and hills. Well, this disagreeable woman +was always jealous of your mother's beauty, because she herself +possessed none, and was the more angry with her because, I think, she +always had a fancy to be queen herself. Still, she dared not injure a +queen who had carefully avoided doing anything which might give her +reasonable cause of offence. True, she did what she could to poison +your father's mind and make him dislike his wife; but, save for an +unfortunate accident, I think she would have failed altogether. The +poor queen dropped her writing-case upon one occasion, and the wicked +fairy, finding it, secured some of her private note paper and envelopes +with her own particular cipher thereupon. Of these she made use by +writing, in exact imitation of your mother's handwriting, some very +disagreeable things about the king, which she took good care should +fall into his hands. This caused unpleasantness between the hitherto +happy couple, and Nuisancenika made it her business to manage that it +should not pass away. Then, most unhappily, in driving out one day in +her pony-carriage, your poor mother had the bad luck to drive over one +of the fairy's favourite adders, which was fast asleep on a grass ride +where it had no earthly business to be, and had no right whatever to +complain of being killed. But the wicked mistress was furious beyond +measure; and as the event occurred when the queen was in the plain +country, driving, I believe, to fetch her husband news how the lambing +was going on, this circumstance somehow or other gave the fairy power +over her which she cruelly used. Had I only known of it in time, the +whole misfortune might have been prevented, but I chanced to be away on +a visit, and when I returned, your mother was dead and the mischief +done. I heard of it too late, and the wretch Nuisancenika had taken +such precautions by her enchantments during my absence that, although +my power is greater than hers, I could do nothing at all in the matter; +nor could I have even disclosed to you the truth, as I have now done, +unless you had, of your own free will, come into my country and asked +me the question outright." + +By the time Canetto had finished his sad story, the poor child to whom +he spoke was bathed in tears. She thought not of herself, for her want +of beauty and good shape were misfortunes which she had been long +accustomed to regard with resignation; but the sorrows and sufferings +of her mother penetrated her gentle spirit with the profoundest +emotion. She looked up through her tears at the little man, and thanked +him in a soft, low voice, broken by her sobs, for his goodness in +satisfying her curiosity. + +After a short pause he began again:-- + +"Dry your tears, my petkin," he said, "for I have not come here to make +you miserable, but the very reverse, if I can but manage to do so. It +was only right that you should know the sorrows of your mother, and the +story of your birth, but I should not have cared to tell you if I could +do nothing more. It is now _your_ turn to speak, and tell me the reason +of your coming here; because I have had no communication with the +palace, and could have none, during the time that the spell lasted, +which you have this day broken by coming here." + +Belinda did as she was told (which young ladies should always do, if +they wish to be respected and beloved, unless they are told to do +something which they dislike, in which case of course it is quite a +different matter) and then proceeded to tell the Prince of the Forest +Mannikins the whole story of her life, her affection for Zac, the +conduct of her sisters with regard to that excellent youth, and her +present affliction in consequence of his imprisonment by her father. + +During the narration of her story, the little man flicked his +hunting-whip continually and appeared at once interested and excited. +When she had concluded, and seemed much inclined to indulge in another +flood of tears, he hastily stopped her. + +"Little petkin," he remarked, "crying can do nobody any good at all, +and least of all anyone who has another and better cure for their +misfortunes. Come with me, Childerkin, and we will see whether +something cannot be done to make matters wear a better appearance." + +With these words Canetto led the way into the forest behind the +shepherd's cottage, and Belinda followed him with the utmost +confidence, being quite sure that he meant to help her if he could. And +here we must leave our little princess for a time, in order to return +to another individual in whom we ought to be equally interested. + +Poor Zac had been cast into a most uncomfortable dungeon, in which +there was only one half-broken wooden form to sit down upon, whilst the +air was close and heavy, the space confined, and the only light came +from a grating in one corner of the ceiling, probably placed there for +the purposes of ventilation, and opening into the bottom of a kind of +deep ditch, which itself could only be reached by the light from a long +distance above. This was indeed a sad change for the poor boy, who had +so long been accustomed to the comforts and luxuries of the palace. He +felt, as was natural, much cast down and dispirited by his sudden +reverse of fortune, and his only consolation was that he had not +brought it on himself by any bad conduct of his own. It was very +unpleasant, certainly, to be accused of behaving badly to the two +princesses, when no one could have possibly behaved better; but he +thought to himself that it would have been much worse if he had really +been guilty. Besides, he had another consolation, in the firm reliance +which he felt in the constancy and affection of Belinda. She, he knew, +would be true to him, whatever happened, and this thought cheered his +drooping spirits. + +He felt rather hungry, and, finding a loaf of black bread and a pitcher +of water near it, determined to satisfy his craving forthwith. Having +done this there was nothing for it but to sit and think, which he +accordingly did, going carefully over in his mind all the events of his +past life, and wondering much at the curious fate which had befallen +him. He could not recollect anything that had happened when he was +_very_ young. He only remembered being very unhappy at his father's +house, being called by his elder brothers and sisters "the little +gentleman," and pushed about here and there and everywhere, as if +everybody wished him out of the way. Then he called to mind how hard he +had tried to be gentle and loving to all, and how he had gradually +seemed to get on better and to be more kindly treated. Then came the +circumstance of his having specially to tend the pigs, and then the +proclamation of the pig-race, when he remembered a discussion about who +should ride "Sandy Sue," and how one of the elder Dicksons had been +anxious to do so, but was forbidden by his father, who said that +"gentleman Zac" was the only one who could win on her, and ride he +should. Since that day of course he remembered everything very +distinctly--how he had been introduced to the little princess, and her +sisters, and the king--how frightened he had been at first, and how +soon he had got over that feeling--how kind they had all been to +him--how he had taken to his learning and delighted in his books; and +then all the sad and trying events of the last few months and his +sudden downfall from his career of promised happiness. + +All these thoughts passed through the poor boy's head as he sat in his +lonely dungeon, and hours slipped by without his taking any count of +them. The shades of evening had now fallen upon the palace, but this +made little difference to Zac, and indeed he found he could see rather +better than upon his first entrance, since his eyes began to become +accustomed to the light. All at once he heard a little noise, as if +some animal was scratching close at hand. He looked listlessly round, +and thought how little it mattered to him what it was. A rat or a mouse +would be a companion to his solitude, but if such a creature appeared +it would probably fly as soon as it caught sight of him. The noise +continued, and in another moment a little mouse poked its head out of a +hole in the corner of the dungeon, and fixed its sharp black eyes upon +the prisoner as if it had come on purpose to see him and was very glad +to find him disengaged. Zac did not move at first, being fearful lest +he should disturb his little visitor; but he need not have been +alarmed, for it presently came quite out of the hole and sat a few +yards off from him, steadily looking him in the face. Seeing the +confidence of the animal, Zac thought there could be no fear of his +driving it away by the sound of his voice, so he said, partly to the +mouse and partly to himself:-- + +"Poor little creature, I wonder what _you_ want here?" + +To his intense surprise the small creature immediately replied, in a +shrill but by no means unpleasant voice:-- + +"I came to see you, Mr. Zac, and to tell you the latest news." + +"To see me!" exclaimed the astonished boy. "Well, you must be the best +mouse that ever was born to come and take pity upon a poor prisoner +like me. And since you can talk so well, perhaps you will kindly inform +me what news it is you have to tell." + +"King Fridolin is very, very angry with you, Mr. Zac," replied the +mouse. + +"Unfortunately, my little darling, _that_ is no news at all," rejoined +the boy; "I knew it, to my cost, some hours ago, and it is for that +very reason that you find me here." + +"But," continued the mouse, "he is so angry that he is determined to +punish you with the most terrible punishment ever known, and is only +doubting now whether you shall be thrown into the adder-pit, or +stripped, smeared with honey and tied to a tree to amuse the wasps and +flies." + +The poor boy shuddered at these words; but, recovering his firmness +immediately, rejoined:-- + +"Whatever it be, it will be in a good cause that I shall suffer, and I +must bear it as best I may." + +The mouse went on:-- + +"You really ought not to have tried to kiss the Princess Concaterina, +Mr. Zac," she said. + +"If you know anything at all, little mouse," said the boy, indignantly, +"you must know that I did no such thing." + +"Then," rejoined the other, "why did you not deny it before the king?" + +"Do you think I would brand Belinda's own sisters as the tellers of a +falsehood?" returned Zac. + +"I think _I_ should, sooner than be thrown into a dungeon, and perhaps +into an adder-pit afterwards," gravely observed his visitor. "But they +say there is some hope for you yet; for the princesses are really fond +of you, and if you will consent to marry Concaterina, all may yet be +well with you." + +"Do you think I would be so base as to save my life upon such terms?" +angrily responded the boy. + +"Well, I don't know," said the mouse in a slow, hesitating tone of +voice, "I think I should, if I were you. I should really advise you to +do so. Just consider what a disagreeable, uncomfortable place this is, +compared with the palace. Then how _very_ unpleasant it would be to +feel the adders, creeping all over you with their cold, slimy touch, +and then stinging you to death at their leisure afterwards. Or how +painful and distressing to feel the wasps and flies biting and stinging +you, cheerfully buzzing about to look out for a tender place. Oh, it +would be a horrible death to die! I should _strongly_ advise you to +marry Concaterina and escape such a fate!" + +"What!" exclaimed Zac, "do you come here pretending to be a friend of +mine, and advise me to be false to Belinda and break my plighted word? +I am quite ashamed of you for giving such advice, little mouse; as I +should be of myself if I could listen to it for one moment!" + +"As for Belinda," replied the animal, shaking its head sorrowfully, "I +do not think you need concern yourself about _her_. She implicitly +believes the charge against you, and is eager that you should be +punished; whilst her tender-hearted sisters are inclined to ask their +father to pardon you." + +At these words Zac started up in a great passion. + +"Belinda false!" he cried. "Belinda believe me _guilty_! Mouse, I will +never believe it! You have betrayed yourself, and are an enemy instead +of a friend. I would sooner believe evil of myself than of the princess +against whom you utter this calumny. Take this for your wicked +falsehood!" So saying, he seized his shoe to throw at the mouse; when, +to his intense surprise, the little animal became suddenly transformed +into a human being, and Belinda herself stood before him. + +"Dearest Zac!" she said, running up at once to the boy and embracing +him tenderly, "forgive me for the trial to which I have put your +constancy. It was not _my_ wish to do so, but the order of those who +have the right to command. I have found a friend who is as able as he +is willing to help us, and by his assistance I believe our happiness +will yet be secured. By his power I have been enabled to visit you in +your dungeon in the shape of a mouse, in order that I might convey to +you some information which is quite necessary to your safety." + +"But who is this powerful friend?" asked Zac, when, having returned her +caress, he found words to express his feelings. + +"He is Canetto, the Prince of the Forest Mannikins," replied Belinda; +"and having been a near relative of my dear mother's, he is very well +disposed towards me." + +"What then am I to do?" asked the boy. "For, shut up, as I am, in this +horrid dungeon, it seems to me that nobody can do anything for me, +unless indeed they would change me into a mouse, that I might pass out +by the same hole as that by which you entered." + +"That," said Belinda, "might doubtless be a very good plan, but it is +not the one which I am directed to follow. You must know that our +friend, all-powerful in the forest, has elsewhere bounds and limits to +his power, the reasons and degree of which you and I cannot understand. +It is for this cause that he does not come here at once and deliver you +from the dungeon; but, though he does not attempt this, he will give +you such help as shall assuredly procure your deliverance in due time. +He bade me tell you that you will certainly be taken out of this place +to-morrow, when the king will advise with his council what to do with +you. Be firm--though this I need scarcely tell you: if they give you +your choice of death, or if they offer you one wish before you die, +choose to be killed in the forest, under the shadow of the trees near +my foster-mother's cottage, and if they grant that wish the rest will +be easy. If (as is of course possible) they offer you no choice at all +in the matter, you must pronounce the magic word which alone can +prevent them harming you, but with which you are invulnerable." + +"And what may that word be?" anxiously inquired Zac. + +"It is not an easy one," replied the princess, "but as I may only say +it twice, listen very carefully whilst I do so, that you may remember +it well, since the least mistake might be attended with disastrous +consequences. The word is--'Ballykaluphmenonabababandleby." + +"_What?_" exclaimed Zac in a horrified voice; upon which the princess +repeated the word again very slowly; but, though it doubtless appears +very easy to the reader, it completely puzzled poor Zac. He shook his +head mournfully-- + +"If it depends upon _that_," said he, "the game is up--I should never +be able to pronounce that word, if I waited till apples grow on peach +trees." + +"I am very sorry," answered the princess in a sorrowful voice, "but you +see I can only tell you what Canetto told _me_, and we must hope for +the best. But now it is time for me to be off, for if I am not back at +the palace soon, my absence will be discovered, and I may be exposed to +unpleasant questions." So saying, she once more embraced the boy, and +then, approaching the hole, muttered some words which the mannikin king +had, no doubt, told her, and in another moment became once more a +mouse, and vanished from his sight. + +The interview had somewhat encouraged Zac, although he had fearful +misgivings about the magic word, which, strange to say, appeared to him +both long and difficult. However, he resolved to make the best of it; +and having finished his loaf of bread and pitcher of water, lay down on +some straw which he found in the corner of his room, and fell fast +asleep. In the morning he was awakened by a surly gaoler, who brought +him a fresh loaf and some more water, of which he partook with all the +relish of a good appetite. Not long after this, he heard the noise of +persons descending the steps which led to his dungeon, and presently +the door was thrown open, and a guard appeared, whose orders were to +conduct the prisoner once more before the king. + +Fridolin was sitting in his chair of state, surrounded by his +courtiers; and near him stood the two elder princesses, with downcast +eyes and cheeks suffused with modest blushes. + +When the boy was brought in, the king frowned angrily upon him, and +shook his royal fist in a threatening manner. + +"Well, you young villain!" he cried; "have you passed the night +bewailing your sins, and making ready for the death which certainly +awaits you?" + +"My lord king," answered the boy, with uplifted head and undaunted eye, +"I have done no wrong against you or yours, and I deserve no death at +your hands." + +"What?" cried the king in a rage. "Didst thou not admit thy crime +yesterday? Art thou not guilty of the charge brought against thee by +our daughters?" + +"Sire," replied the boy, "I said yesterday, and I say again, that I +will not deny any statement made by these noble ladies." + +"This is nonsense," said the king; "this is mere quibbling--again he +admits his guilt. What shall we do with him? I say death!" + +The courtiers all immediately said death too, as they would with equal +unanimity have said anything else if their sovereign had happened to +say it instead. + +"Well, then," rejoined the king, "by what death shall he die? What say +you, Lord Pompous?" + +"Boil him," promptly replied the lord chamberlain, who was quite taken +aback at being thus suddenly addressed, and who was at the moment +thinking of a turkey which he had ordered for dinner, and with which he +confused the prisoner at the moment. + +"Pompous, you are a fool!" shouted the king. + +"As your majesty pleases," responded the old man, with a low obeisance; +and Fridolin went on to ask other opinions, which were all given with a +guarded reservation, that they were subject to his majesty thinking the +same, and if not, were no opinions at all. + +"I think," said Fridolin presently, "that the pit of adders is the best +place for him." + +"Just so, sire." + +"Exactly what we thought." + +"The very thing," were the muttered exclamations which immediately +passed round. + +At this moment, Amabilia, rushed forward and threw herself at her +father's feet. + +"Oh, no! dear father," she cried in piteous tones; "_not_ such a +dreadful fate as that, poor boy. Pray be more merciful, for _my_ sake." + +Fridolin raised her affectionately from the ground. + +"Well, well," he said, "have it your own way, my queenly girl; he shall +_not_ be thrown into the adder-pit if you have the slightest objection. +Gentlemen," he continued, turning to his council, "what say you to the +honey torture, and giving the wasps and bees and flies a treat?" + +"Very good, your Majesty;" "Just the proper punishment for his crime," +and similar observations, again proceeded from the crowd of sycophants. + +But at this instant Concaterina jumped up and performed precisely the +same feat as that of her sister. Throwing herself upon her knees, she +clasped those of her father, and begged him not to subject poor Zac to +such a dreadful fate. + +"All right," said the king, to whom nothing was so disagreeable as to +see his daughters cry, which Concaterina was beginning to do, and that +copiously. "He shall not die thus, if you don't wish it, my beauty; but +what in the name of all that is wonderful do you want me to do with the +fellow, if I am not to execute him according to the regular punishments +of the country?" + +Now both the princesses had begun to be sorry for Zac; for on calmer +reflection they had come to the conclusion that it was rather hard that +he should die so young, and die, too, for keeping his faith which he +had plighted to a lady. True, he was a horrid fool for not preferring +one of them; but then fidelity was a virtue, and a rare one, and he +punished himself by preferring a plain--not to say ugly--wife to a +beauty. They would have been quite content to have given him a little +more taste of dungeon life, and then let him off, and all this talk +about killing him did not at all chime in with their ideas. Still, they +had raised the storm, and, as other people in a similar position have +often discovered, knew not how to allay it. If they recommended Zac's +pardon, they feared that their father would begin to doubt whether he +had really committed any offence at all. So they hung their heads and +said nothing, whilst Zac turned upon them a grateful look for having +saved him from two such unpleasant alternatives as those which had been +suggested. + +After the king had pondered a minute, he struck violently at Lord +Pompous' toe with his sceptre, and gave vent to his usual exclamation +when excited by a sudden idea--"I've hit it!" which, fortunately for +the lord chamberlain, was in this instance untrue. + +"The prisoner," continued the king, "shall choose his own death and the +place of his execution. Thus shall we blend mercy with justice, and +maintain our royal reputation for both." + +On hearing these gracious words, the courtiers naturally turned +their eyes up to the heavens in admiration of such a display of +elevated feeling; and Lord Pompous looked wiser than ever, though +he instinctively edged a little further off from his august sovereign. + +The latter now turned to Zac and demanded of him what death he would +choose to die, and where it should take place; calling upon him, at the +same time, to take notice of the clemency with which he was treated. + +Although this did not strike Zac very forcibly, he was exceedingly glad +that matters had fallen out in this way, especially since his +treacherous memory had already completely forgotten the magic word, +which might otherwise have been his only chance of escape. He therefore +lost no time in answering the king's question. + +"May it please your majesty," he said, "since my death is resolved +upon, I should like to be shot in the breast, so that I may stand face +to face with my executioners. For the place, I should like to be taken +down to the forest, where of old I kept my father's pigs, a simple boy +knowing nothing of palaces and princesses, which have brought me to +this. These were the scenes of my happy childhood. There let me end my +short life." + +When the boy had finished speaking, Amabilia and Concaterina both burst +into tears, and would have interceded once more with their royal +parent, but the stern frown which he wore on his countenance restrained +them from so doing. + +Fridolin directed that preparations should be made for the execution +within two hours of that time, and that all his court should be +summoned to it. It was to take place in a large open space upon the +edge of the forest, not far from the shepherd's cottage; and, in +consequence of the magnitude of the crime, and the exalted position +which the criminal had lately occupied as the affianced husband of one +of the king's daughters, the executioners were to be composed of +members of the nobility, all of whom were ordered to draw lots by which +it should be decided who should undertake this duty. Some little delay +was caused by the name of Lord Pompous being first drawn, who was known +to entertain a rooted aversion to fire-arms. This being properly +represented to the king, and also the extreme probability that the lord +chamberlain would in his confusion certainly shoot the wrong man, his +majesty was graciously pleased to allow the name to be set aside, and +twelve others selected. This done, and all the other arrangements +completed, the royal party set forth at the proper time, and came to +the spot which had been selected for the execution. + +The two princesses who had been the cause of all this were by this time +plunged into the deepest distress, for they had never really intended +it to go so far, and thought that Zac would probably have been brought +to his knees and his senses before this, and would have been pardoned +on condition of his marrying one of them. They had not taken into +account the necessity of satisfying offended royalty, and that their +father, insulted as he believed himself to have been through them, +could not possibly pass the matter over without taking summary +vengeance on the culprit. + +Nobody had thought anything of Belinda; but, to the surprise of many of +the party, she emerged from the door of her foster-mother's cottage, +leaning upon the old woman's arm, and apparently overwhelmed with +grief. + +When the prisoner had been brought forward, the king in a loud voice +declared to the people what his crime had been, and what was to be his +punishment. + +Then Zac, in a firm, calm tone, spoke to the crowd in these words. "I +have only one thing to answer to what is brought against me. I was +betrothed to the Princess Belinda, and I have been loyal and true to +her ever since my betrothal." + +Before any one could prevent her, Belinda here suddenly sprang forward +with an agility of which no one believed her capable, and threw herself +into Zac's arms, exclaiming at the same time--"I believe you, my own +Zac; let us die together." + +The crowd began to murmur. The king began to waver. The elder sisters +cried still more bitterly at the sight of such devotion. There was a +moment's hesitation, and a hope that Fridolin might relent from his +cruel purpose; when at that very moment a loud, hissing noise was +heard, and the figure of a little old woman, long past middle age and +without the slightest pretensions to beauty, came driving into the +middle of the crowd in a car drawn by pole-cats, whilst upon and around +her twined numerous snakes and adders, who hissed in such a threatening +manner at the crowd that the latter parted right and left in every +direction, and made way for her to advance within a very short distance +of the spot upon which stood the royal party and the prisoner. + +Every eye was at once turned upon the new-comer, who waved her hand in +an imperious manner, and looked round with an eye accustomed to +command. As soon as it was evident she was about to speak, the snakes +and adders left off hissing, and there was a dead silence throughout +the whole body of people present. The old woman's voice was not +melodious--rather the contrary, in fact--but she spoke clearly enough, +and there was not the slightest difficulty in understanding her +meaning. + +"I am the fairy Nuisancenika," she said, "and I reign, as many of you +may possibly know, over the Plain country. Having been particularly +busy lately in inventing a new kind of adder whose bite shall be beyond +the power of any antidote, I had not heard of the event which has been +appointed for to-day. As soon as I _did_ hear, I determined to come and +witness a righteous act performed by my old friend, King Fridolin. + +"It is now some years ago since I avenged him upon his abominable wife, +whom I always detested, and who fortunately gave me power over her by +driving over my best viper in my own country. My vengeance, however, +was not satisfied by her death. Although I had no power over her elder +daughters, I was enabled to endow the last child with certain defects +and deformities which it is pleasant to me to find have been rather +increased than lessened by time. But if this girl gets a good and +loving husband, these things will cease to trouble her, and I shall be +robbed of one half my revenge. The low-born person she has chosen for +her husband would be beneath my notice but that she has fixed her +affections upon him. That is enough for me. He must die; and, when +Fridolin considers that this fellow has insulted his elder and +beautiful daughters, I cannot doubt that he will be of my opinion, and +direct that the sentence be carried out without further delay." + +She ceased; and a dead silence prevailed for a few seconds. + +Then Fridolin turned sharply to Pompous. "Lord chamberlain, what had I +better do?" + +"What your majesty deems best under the circumstances," responded the +high functionary thus addressed. + +"Pompous, you are a fool," retorted the king, angrily. + +"If your majesty please to say so," replied the courtier, with a low +bow, and once more the sovereign had to think for himself. "There is +much force, madam, in what you advance upon this subject," he remarked +to the fairy. + +"If there had not been I should not have taken the trouble to advance +it," answered she. "Do not make fool of yourself by pretending to doubt +as to what you ought to do. Have the young man shot directly, unless +you prefer that I should let my adders loose upon him." + +Scarcely were these words out of her mouth, when a clear, flute-like +voice was heard ringing through the assembly. "Who talks of letting +loose adders in _my_ country?" + +The people looked up and beheld a little man in a dark green coat, +velveteen waistcoat, and white corduroys, coming out of the forest with +a hunting-whip in his hand, which he leisurely flicked about as he +walked towards the royal party. + +But this strange figure was not alone. There trooped after him, three +and three at a time, a whole regiment of little men, all dressed in +green, and apparently belonging to the first comer. They had also +whips, but kept them quiet, whilst they gradually increased in number, +until there were really more than you could have easily counted. + +"I say!" repeated the little man in the same voice. "Who talks of +letting loose adders in _my_ country?" + +"_Your_ country?" asked Fridolin indignantly. "It is _mine_!"--but he +was checked by the fairy, who put him aside at once, telling him that +his claim was not disputed, but had nothing to do with the question. + +"_Your_ country?" she asked of the little man. "I like that! why you +know quite well it is _mine_, and has been for ages." + +"I beg your pardon," said the other. + +"I beg _yours_," retorted the fairy. "What do you mean by your mannikin +impudence? It is my country, and I mean to have the prince killed, and +settle once for all with this last child of your doll-faced cousin." + +"Not so fast, madam," replied the little man, calmly. "It has never +been disputed that my kingdom--that is, the forest territory--includes +all the land within the limits of the forest, and the forest is held by +our greatest fairy lawyers, beyond all doubt, to mean all the land upon +and within which trees grow which are not separated from the bulk of +the forest by any fence. Cast your eyes behind you and you will see +that within the last few years, whilst you have been breeding adders, +and I have been hunting and travelling, King Fridolin has planted +largely, and those chestnut plantations, stretching from the forest on +the extreme right, quite across to the fringe of forest on the left, +have enclosed every yard of ground on which we are standing to-day, and +have rendered it beyond all doubt, part and parcel of the forest +territory, and consequently my country." + +The fairy Nuisancenika looked right and left, and her countenance fell +considerably. + +"Upon my word," she said, reluctantly, "I believe you are right. I had +overlooked those plantations. I don't know that I have any right to +interfere--I have given my advice--perhaps I had better go--" and she +took her whip up as if to lash her polecats forward. + +"Stop!" cried the little man in a clear, strong voice. "There are two +words to that bargain: those who enter the forest territory cannot quit +it without my permission!" So saying, he made a sign to his mannikins, +who immediately formed a ring, several deep, around the fairy and the +whole royal party. Then the little man made a courteous bow to +Fridolin, and proceeded as follows: + +"Do not think for a moment, King Fridolin," he said, "that any +usurpation of your rights is intended by my claim, undoubted as it is, +to sovereignty over this forest country. It is yours as kingdoms are +reckoned among mortals, and mine is a species of power which will never +clash with your authority. But you have several things to learn to-day +which it would have been well for you if you had learned before. I am +Canetto, king like yourself, and cousin to your late lamented wife. +Your conduct to her would be perfectly inexcusable if it had not been +that your mind was poisoned and you were utterly deceived by this +vilest of wicked fairies, Nuisancenika." + +"'Tis false, villain!" shrieked this person, on finding herself alluded +to in this uncomplimentary manner. + +"Hag!" replied Canetto, with a glance of wrath at her, "I should be +sorry to be obliged to proceed at once to extremities, but another such +interruption will expose you to the violent probability of being +whipped to death with your own adders immediately." + +The fairy made a gesture of impotent wrath, and gnashed her teeth +savagely while the mannikin thus continued: + +"The letters, king, which you believed to have been written by Queen +Rosetta, were all forged by this wretch, and written upon paper which +she had stolen from my poor cousin. She it was, moreover, who poisoned +the queen by viper-broth, and caused Belinda to be deformed and +afflicted as you see her. Fortunately, she was powerless to deprave her +mind, or debase her intellect, and you are happy in the possession of +such a daughter. But this wrinkled old sinner was not content with this +mischief. She it is who has been endeavouring to sow dissension in your +family, first, by putting it into the heads of both your elder +daughters to try and take away their sister's promised husband, and +next, by hardening your heart and preventing your showing mercy when +all your children would desire you to do so. But for this she has a +reason beyond her hatred of Rosetta, which has lasted even after her +death. Did you hear her mention the word 'prince' just now in speaking +of Zac? Well, Zac _is_ a prince!" + +Here all three of the princesses started, and the two elder screamed +aloud. + +"Yes!" continued Canetto, "that which I tell you is quite true, +surprising though it be. Zac's father is a powerful monarch, the king +of the country of the Red Camellias, which lies beyond my forest. +Having a spite against the king, this vile sorceress stole the boy at +an early age, and left him at a spot where he was found and taken home +by Farmer Dickson, who will verify all that I say. By my magic art I +knew this, but as I could do little or nothing beyond my forest, I +thought it best to keep quiet. Now, however, you know the secret of +Zac's gentle manners and general good behaviour, which, whenever you +observe in a boy, you may be perfectly sure that he is either the son +of a king, or of somebody else. The continuous and cruel hatred of +Nuisancenika has carried her to such a pitch, that she has come here +to-day to gratify her vengeance, and feast her murderous old eyes upon +the death of this poor boy, and the sufferings of your youngest +daughter. Her first punishment, therefore, shall be to witness +something precisely the reverse." + +Then turning to Zac he touched his fetters with the hunting-whip which +he held in his hand, when they immediately fell off. He next raised the +whip and laid the lash lightly across Belinda's shoulders, at the same +time pronouncing the words--"Marlika, Marlika, humphty cambia," which +all the world knows to be Mannikin expressions of vast power. In this +instance their effect was both instantaneous and marvellous. Belinda's +hump fell off, formed itself into a round ball like a cannon ball; +bounded up, hit the wicked Fairy a tremendous blow in the chest which +knocked her backwards for a moment, and then utterly disappeared. But +this was not nearly all. Every defect in the young princess's form and +features vanished as if by magic, and she stood before the king, tall, +upright, straight as an arrow, and blushing in all the pride of +conscious beauty. At this moment, I am glad to say that Amabilia and +Concaterina, instead of showing any jealous feeling at a change which +really made their younger sister more charming than themselves, gave +vent to loud exclamations of joy, and rushed to congratulate and +embrace her. The latter ceremony had already been performed by Zac, and +all the royal family began to shed tears of happiness together. + +But Fridolin had buried his face in his hands, and when he lifted up +his head, the marks of deep sorrow were set upon his features. "Oh, my +Rosetta!" he cried, in bitter anguish. "My lost and loved Rosetta! my +only love! my noble queen!" and as he spoke he swung his right arm +violently round in the extremity of his grief, catching Lord Pompous +full upon the nose with his fist, and causing it to bleed profusely. + +"Do not grieve so much," observed Canetto with a smile; "look behind +you and see what is to be seen." + +The king turned and perceived a lady of great beauty and stately mien +slowly advancing from the shepherd's cottage. + +"'Tis she! 'Tis she!" he shrieked at the top of his voice, hit Lord +Pompous a tremendous blow on the third button of his waistcoat, which +doubled him up in no time, and with another cry of "Rosetta!" rushed +into the arms of his long lost wife. + +"You see," said Canetto, still smiling, "Adder-broth is not so deadly +but what the forest has an antidote. Although I could not disclose it +until now, and even pretended to Belinda that her mother had died +during my absence, it was not so. By my magic art I contrived that you +should bury a waxen figure instead of your queen, whom I safely +conveyed to the forest. Had I not seen that you really repented of your +sins against her, and was I not captivated by Belinda's goodness, I +really think I should never have let you have her again. But, since she +wishes to return to you and to her children, I have agreed that it +shall be so. Take care you treat her well and tenderly for the future. + +"The royal family were now full of joy, and even Amabilia and +Concaterina came in for their share of good luck, for the King of the +Mannikins chucked each of them pleasantly under the chin, told them +that he knew they were good girls at heart, and promised that both +should have royal husbands before they were twenty. Then he turned to +the fairy Nuisancenika with a dark frown upon his countenance. + +"Miserable reprobate!" he exclaimed, apparently taking particular +delight in finding new epithets applicable to the old woman. "It only +remains now to deal with you. During an existence now prolonged to an +extent greater than that which any person kindly disposed towards +mankind could have wished, you have done an infinite quantity of +mischief. You have had considerable power, which you have consistently +employed as badly as possible. You are a pitiless, revengeful, +remorseless, black-hearted old hag. And now at last you are completely +in my power. Nothing can save you." + +"Oh, mercy, mercy, dear, good King Canetto!" piteously whined the +fairy, as she crouched down in her car. + +"Such mercy as you showed Rosetta and Belinda, and such as you wished +to show Zac. Such, I say, and no more, shall be your own portion. And +now for the first scene of the last act. Kill the polecats!" + +He turned to his mannikins as he said this, and in another moment every +polecat was knocked on the head. + +"Now for the adders," said Canetto; and the little men cut them to +pieces with their whips in less time than you would have thought +possible. + +Then the king turned to Nuisancenika and spoke again. + +"I might have you dealt with in the same way," he said; "and if I did +so, there is no one present who would not warmly approve and say, +'served her right.' But a true mannikin is never bloodthirsty, and I +will not adjudge to you that fate which you so richly deserve. Still, +since your power has been always exercised for ill, it must remain to +you no longer. I sentence you to be immediately and henceforth confined +in a cave at the extreme eastern corner of the world, never to emerge +thence until the hour comes when women leave off caring for dress, men +labour no more for power, and donkeys abandon braying." + +Scarcely had Canetto finished speaking, when the unfortunate being, +upon whom he had pronounced this appalling sentence, uttered one +frantic yell, and then disappeared in a whirlwind, which carried her +right away over the forest. Nobody ever saw or heard of her again to my +knowledge, but there is very little doubt that the sentence of the King +of the Mannikins was duly carried out. The wise men, who have studied +these things carefully, say that there is very clear and certain proof +of this. In the spring-time of the year, especially about March, a +cold, bitter, spiteful wind blows from the east, seizes delicate +throats and tender noses, keeps people indoors when they much desire +air and exercise; and if they attempt to get either, afflicts them with +heavy colds, and what modern doctors call "bronchial affections," +meaning much the same thing as that which our poor benighted fathers +and mothers used to call "sore throats." Well, do you think this east +wind is a common, ordinary, respectable wind? Not at all. It is nothing +more nor less (say these wise ones) than the wicked old Fairy +Nuisancenika, who, heartily tired of her imprisonment in the cavern, +fumes and rages madly about, and sometimes gets near enough to the +mouth of the cave to spit and blow out some of her venom into the +world. Then comes disease to man and beast, and whenever I think of it +I regret that Canetto did not serve the wretched old hag as he did her +polecats and adders, and direct his mannikins to cut her in pieces with +their hunting-whips. Just fancy if he had! Perhaps we should have had +no more of those cruel east winds. But it was fated otherwise, and this +is the result. + +At all events, the bad fairy was comfortably got rid of so far as the +royal family of King Fridolin were concerned, and there is very little +more to be said about the rest that followed. Of course everything now +went rightly. Messages were sent to Zac's real father--the story of +Canetto having been entirely confirmed by Farmer Dickson--and the +result was in every respect satisfactory. The king of the country of +the Red Camellias was delighted to recover his long lost son, and +showed his sense of what was right and proper under the circumstances +by dying shortly after the wedding of Zac and Belinda had been duly +celebrated. The young prince consequently conveyed his lovely and +loving bride to his own country, where they reigned for many years in +great happiness and prosperity. + +Amabilia and Concaterina, having a mother's influence to guide them, +improved daily in every respect, and had no difficulty whatever in +securing royal husbands within the time prophesied by Canetto, whose +courts they adorned by their beauty and whose homes they made happy by +their domestic virtues. + +As for King Fridolin, he passed the evening of his days more happily +than any other part of his life. Conscious of his former folly, he +learned to appreciate his restored queen as she deserved, and their +renewed affection for each other was romantic in its strength and +fervour. Canetto paid them occasional visits, and was always received +by them with that respect and regard which his conduct had so well +earned. Everything flourished thenceforward in Fridolin's kingdom. Even +Lord Pompous hailed the change with delight, since his sovereign, +occupied constantly in the enjoyment of his newly recovered happiness, +omitted the practical jokes upon his lord chamberlain with which he had +frequently been wont to solace his idle hours. And during the long +years that followed before Fridolin's reign and life ended, the king +constantly called to mind the thrilling scenes of interest which I have +recounted, and invariably spoke with the greatest thankfulness of the +happy thought which came into his head upon that memorable day when he +first projected the pig-race. + + + + +EVELYN WITH THE FAIRIES. + + +There was once a little girl who was exceedingly fond of fairy tales. +She had read almost all the books that had ever been written about +fairies and elves, and never lost an opportunity of hearing a story +upon the same subject. The result of so much attention to this +particular branch of study was that which might have been expected. She +became the most devout believer in the existence of the dear little +creatures about whom she read, and had no greater desire than that she +might some day or other become personally acquainted with one or more +of them. + +Her chief regret was caused by the fact (which was, unhappily, too +true) that no fairy godmother had presided over her birth, and that +none of those pleasant adventures had befallen her which usually follow +such an event. Not only was this the case, but, so far as she could +ascertain, neither her father, mother, or any of her relations had ever +come in contact with a fairy, and she had been, little by little, +driven to the conclusion that she belonged to a commonplace, unromantic +family, with whom the dwellers in fairyland had no concern and no +connection whatever. + +This was a sad thought to the child, who was possessed of an extremely +lively imagination, and would have liked nothing better than to have +lived in those good old days when either a fairy or a witch, an ogre or +a dwarf, were to be found at every corner. She looked back to those +days with fond delight, and often wished that they might come again. +She loved to muse over the tales she had read and heard, and to imagine +curious scenes and strange creatures on every side of her, as she +rambled through the shrubberies around her father's house, or strolled +away into the great woods on one side of the park. + +One day she had taken a longer stroll than usual, and suddenly came +upon a part of the wood which she never remembered to have seen before. +Somehow or other, she had strayed out of the path, and all around her +were tangled masses of fern, old pollard-trees bowed down to the ground +by age and the weight of their branches, and thickets of thorns and +brambles, and here and there patches of smooth grass and moss, without +either trees, fern or brambles upon them. + +The birds were singing sweetly in the wood, the sun was shining +brightly in the heavens above (although his rays could not penetrate +the dense foliage of the trees), the dewdrops were glistening on the +leaves, and everything seemed as beautiful as human eye could behold or +human heart desire. The child looked around her for a moment, entranced +with the loveliness of the scene; then she heaved a deep sigh (too +deep, you would have thought, for so young a creature, who could hardly +as yet have sorrows heavy enough to cause such a sigh), and said to +herself with a sorrowful air: + +"What a place this would be for my fairy godmother to meet me, if only +I _had_ a fairy godmother! Heigho! Why are there not any fairies here?" + +Scarcely had she spoken when she started back astonished, for the +speech was hardly out of her mouth than the concluding word, "fairies +here," seemed repeated by a myriad of tiny voices all round her, in +tones so soft, so plaintive, and dying away with such a melancholy +cadence that it needed no great amount of cleverness to assure the +child that they came from no ordinary or mortal throats. + +For an instant she trembled, but it was more with expectation than +fear, and she looked around her with eager eyes, to the right and left, +longing to see the beings who had uttered those soft and touching +sounds. She saw nothing, however, and began to fear that, after all, +she would hear and see no more, and that nobody at home would believe +her when she told of the mysterious voices. But, being a child of +courage, and remembering, moreover, that in most of the fairy tales of +which she knew, the mortal to whom the kind fairies condescended to +speak or appear, was never frightened, but always did exactly the right +thing, unless he or she happened to be wicked, when they invariably did +the _wrong_ thing and suffered accordingly. So she looked round once +again, and then said, in her most polite tones: + +"Are there _really_ any fairies here?" + +Scarcely were the words out of her mouth, when the same sounds arose +once more, even more distinctly than before, on every side of her. This +time, however, there was something more than sound. The fern and the +trees, the brambles and the leaves, all seemed to be suddenly agitated +as if by the wind swaying gently through them, though there was not a +breath of wind in the air. + +There was one universal rustling all round, and the next moment Evelyn +(for that was the little girl's name) saw that she was standing in the +middle of a crowd of living, moving, active beings, who looked out upon +her from every corner of the place. Every leaf seemed tenanted by one +of them; each stem of fern appeared to afford cover, every thicket to +give protection to a small creature: they were perched on the trees +above her head, and peeped out from the tufts of moss almost beneath +her feet. Bright restless eyes seemed to peer eagerly out upon her on +all sides, and in an instant she knew that her long-cherished hopes and +dreams were at last realized, and that she was in the presence of +undeniable fairies. + +Although Evelyn had read so many fairy tales, and had so often fancied +herself in the position she now was, and settled what she ought to do +and say in such case, it must be confessed that when the reality came +thus suddenly upon her, she was as much at a loss as if she had never +read or thought anything at all about the subject. + +She stood still and stared with eyes wide open with astonishment, just +as any child would naturally do under similar circumstances. The little +beings about her had nothing in their appearance or demeanour at all +likely to frighten her. They were neither ugly in feature, deformed in +figure, or evil in the expression of their faces. On the contrary they +were graceful, beautiful, and looked remarkably good-natured. Very +little they certainly were, for none of them could have been above a +foot high, and very numerous also, for, turn her head which way she +would, the whole place seemed alive with them. + +Evelyn stood, as I have said, perfectly silent, and looked about her as +if struck dumb with surprise at the unlooked-for appearance of the +little creatures. She had not long to wait before one of them hopped +lightly from the stem of a venerable hornbeam hard by, and stood +immediately in front of her. + +It was a charming little figure that did this: barely a foot high, but +of a form perfectly symmetrical, a face bright with exceeding beauty, +and with an air of nobility conspicuous in its features, and, indeed, +in its whole bearing. It was dressed in some light drapery, which +floated around it in such a manner as to add to instead of concealing, +the beauty of its faultless form, and, as it stood erect before Evelyn, +she thought she had never seen anything so exquisitely beautiful in the +whole course of her existence. + +[Illustration: EVELYN AND THE FAIRIES.--P. 122] + +The little being regarded her for one moment in silence, and then it +spoke. Spoke! it was hardly like speaking: the voice that came from its +throat was a mixture of all the most delightful sounds that ever +rejoiced the human ear. Think of the soothing, contented hum of the +bees in the early summer, when they are sipping the sweetest honey from +their favourite flowers; think of the softest murmuring of the +sea-waves when they gently break upon the shore, and lovingly kiss the +rocks against which, in their hours of anger, they dash so madly; think +again, of the blessed sound of distant church bells heard across the +water as you stand listening upon a silent summer's eve; think of the +warbling of the tender nightingale in the old shrubbery, full of home +memories; and think, more than all, of the loving words whispered for +the first time in the happy ears of the gentle maiden; think, I say, of +all these sounds, and of the music they possess, and you will be able +to form some idea of the melody which sounded in the fairy's voice. + +She spoke in poetry, of course, by which Evelyn was more than ever +convinced that she was a regular, proper fairy, because poetry is the +natural language of such people, and no fairy, who is at all equal to +the position she aspires to hold, ever begins a conversation with a +mortal in prose. Of course they get to it, after a bit, because too +much rhyme bores people, and fairies never do _that_, because there +are so many people in the world who can and do perform that feat to +perfection, and fairies only care to do that which human beings cannot +accomplish so easily of themselves. And thus ran the speech of the +fairy, since such she was beyond all reasonable doubt. + + "Welcome, gentle maiden child, + To the forest grand and wild: + Welcome to the lofty trees + Gently waving in the breeze: + Welcome to the leafy shade, + By their spreading branches made: + Welcome to the mossy bed, + 'Neath their shadows overhead: + Welcome to each grassy mound + In the open spaces found, + And to every flower that springs + Near the mighty forest kings. + Thou hast wandered here full oft, + Never at the fairies scoft, + But hast aye essayed to learn + From the lovely maiden-fern, + From the honeysuckle sweet, + From the dew-drops 'neath thy feet, + Lessons of the fairy race + Not for mortal ken to trace. + But to maid of gentle mind + Fairy elves are ever kind; + If she love them, they can prove + (Giving fondly love for love) + How their might can work to aid + Manly youth or gentle maid. + Say, then, maiden, would'st thou seek + Knowledge which an elf may speak? + Would'st thou (such I scarce suppose) + Fairy succour 'gainst thy foes? + Would'st thou have another's heart + Made thine own by magic art? + Would'st thou wealth--or, better still, + Freedom from some mortal ill? + Speak thy wish, then, maiden dear: + Speak it low and speak it clear." + +Evelyn listened with amazement not unmixed with pleasure. Pleasure it +certainly was to find herself at last in the presence of a real live +fairy, and amazement she undoubtedly felt both at the sight before her, +and at the speech to which she had just listened. She was perfectly +aware that her reply ought to be given in verse, and the difficulty was +that she was particularly stupid at making rhymes. She was one of those +children who always tried to beg off if any of those amusing games was +proposed in the evenings at home, in which either everybody has to make +four rhymes or more on a certain given subject, generally answering a +question and introducing some noun which has nothing to do with it, or +else four rhymes are given out, and everybody has to write the previous +part of the four lines in any metre they please. + +Evelyn, I say, always either begged to be excused playing, or else +nestled up close to her father (who was rather handy at that kind of +thing), and asked him to write her lines quietly for her, which he +unfortunately was in the habit of doing--unfortunately, because the +consequence was that at the present momentous crisis, the poor child +could not by any means think what to say. One reason, perhaps, was that +she had nothing particular for which she wished to ask the fairies, +but, whatever the reason, no rhyme _would_ come to her mind. + +All she could think of was an occasional line of some of Dr. Watts's +hymns, which did not seem to have anything at all to do with fairies, +and one or two old pieces of poetry which she had heard long ago in the +school-room and which kept coming into her head now, and probably +keeping out something which might have answered her purpose much +better. + +The fairy waited for a few seconds without impatience, but as no answer +appeared to be forthcoming, she stamped her foot upon the ground, and +appeared visibly annoyed. Conscious that she was hardly acting either a +wise or dignified part in remaining silent, Evelyn now made a great +effort to remember or to invent something that might be suitable to the +occasion, and as the fairy stamped her foot a second time, somewhat +impatiently, she hastily blurted out:-- + + "Let dogs delight to bark and bite-- + I don't know how to answer right;" + +and then stood blushing and trembling just as if she had certainly +answered _wrong_. Upon this the fairy gave vent to a low, musical +laugh, like the last notes of a _very_ good musical box, and then once +more accosted the child as follows: + + "When fairies speak in kindly mood, + To answer nothing back were rude; + Yet need you never rack your brain + To answer me in rhyme again. + Though verse be sweet to us, forsooth, + Prose, if it comes of simple truth, + From child-like lips and guileless tongue, + May pass with elves as well as song. + But say, fair child, for what intent, + With spirit young and innocent, + Untainted with the world's cold touch; + (Ah! would that we might keep thee such!) + Unfettered yet by Fashion's chain, + Untouched by pride or high disdain, + As yet unvisited by cares + Which fate for mortal life prepares, + Why hast thou left the haunts of men + To seek the lonely fairy glen?" + +Whilst the fairy was speaking, Evelyn gathered together her ideas, and +resolved to show that she not only had something to say, but knew how +to say it. So as soon as the speaker had concluded, she replied, +keeping still to rhyme, as if determined not to appear more stupid than +she really was, + + "How doth the little busy bee + Improve each shining hour-- + For years and years I've longed to see + A fairy's woodland bower. + + How skilfully she builds her cell, + How neat she spreads the wax-- + Since, now, dear elves, I've seen you well, + My spirit nothing lacks." + +As soon as Evelyn had got through these verses, which she did with some +little pride, she was rather surprised and even annoyed to find that +their only effect was to cause all the little beings around her to +indulge in a hearty fit of laughter. Their musical sounds rang through +the forest, and the echo faintly returned them, whilst the child stood +listening and wondering at the result of her attempt. Then the fairy +queen, for such Evelyn thought she must be, spoke once again:-- + + "If nothing lack'st thou, mortal child, + Why wander through the forest wild + And seek, with meditative air, + The beings who inhabit there? + Since hither thou hast found thy way, + Be satisfied awhile to stay: + For those who have not been afraid + To trespass on the fairy glade, + And long, with curious mortal eye, + Our elfin mysteries to spy, + When once they know where fairies hide, + Most there be ready to abide." + +As Evelyn heard these words, a cold chill ran through her veins, for +they betokened to her that something was going to happen upon which she +had never calculated. In an instant her thoughts flew back to the many +instances of which she had read in fairy tales, of children being +changed into dogs, cats, birds, toads, or something which no sensible +child has the least wish to become; and the terrible fear arose that +she was about to become the victim of some such unpleasant +transformation. On second thoughts, however, she remembered that in +most of these cases the child concerned had either been naughty and +disagreeable at home, or disbelieving in or impertinent to the fairies, +and had therefore deserved punishment. In her own case, she had done +nothing recently at home more naughty than accidentally dropping some +marmalade on her clean frock at breakfast, and had entertained such +full and constant belief and respect in and for the fairies, that she +was quite sure she deserved no punishment at their hands. Besides, the +voice of the queen (if such she was), and the looks and gestures of her +companions, had displayed neither anger nor offence at her intrusion +into their glen, and she could not believe that any harm was intended +to her. All these thoughts passed through the child's mind much faster +than I can write them, and although she stood there in uncertainty and +doubt, her momentary fear was gone directly. She was not prepared, +however, for what followed. + +The fairy queen waved a sprig of fern three times over her head, +advancing nearer and nearer to Evelyn as she did so. At each wave of +the hand, the child felt herself growing downwards and becoming smaller +and smaller. Yes! there really was no doubt about it; down and down she +grew, until the horrible thought crossed her mind that she might grow +right down into the earth, and disappear altogether. + +At the same time a strange drowsiness stole over her, everything +appeared to grow less and less distinct, and gradually to fade quite +away from sight; sounds grew fainter and fainter, and she seemed to be +about to sink into a deep, fast, heavy sleep. Then, all of a sudden, +she was as wide awake as ever again, and looked up, bright and lively, +trying to remember where she was, and what had happened to her. There +was very little doubt about _that_. She was a regular fairy like the +rest of them. She was of the same height; she had the same kind of +light dress (though what it was made of, she could never describe, +although she was very often questioned on the subject,) and she felt +such an extraordinary sensation of lightness and elasticity as quite +surprised her. She knew in a moment that she could move about in a +manner which had been quite impossible to her as a mortal child: that +she could stand upon branches and plants and tufts of fern without +causing them to bend or break, that she could tread upon the leaves and +soft moss without leaving the impression of her tiny feet, and that she +possessed new powers, new knowledge, and a new being altogether. + +But more wonderful still, was the transformation which everything +around her seemed to have undergone. The trees, the leaves, the fern, +the moss--all appeared ten times as beautiful as they were before. The +dewdrops that glistened upon the grass and fern sparkled with +twenty-fold brilliancy; the green of the leaves was by far more tender +and exquisite than before her change; the mighty trunks of the old +trees were more majestic than ever, the whole glen was enriched with +greater beauties, and the notes of the woodland birds possessed more +melody than she had ever fancied in her old, childish wanderings +through the forest. + +It was as if all these beauties had been but imperfectly seen, and only +feebly appreciated by the child of mortals, whose natural perceptions +had been blunted by the sin and sorrow of her kind; but, that the +moment the earthly nature and form had been shaken off, a purer and +more intellectual state of being had brought with it the power to see, +to know, and to appreciate in a higher degree the beauties of nature +and of nature's God. Never had Evelyn experienced such a delicious +sensation of entire pleasure as at that moment. + +Curiously enough, no recollections of home, of parents, of relations, +came across her; all seemed blotted out for the moment as if they had +never existed. She only felt the intense pleasure of her present +existence--a pleasure so pure and at the same time so utterly absorbing +and engrossing that it seemed to leave room for no other thought or +sensation, and the child stood as one in a trance--but a trance +exquisitely delightful! + +Presently the fairy queen turned aside, apparently about to occupy +herself with other matters, and having no more to say to Evelyn. The +latter, however, was not neglected. Two of the other fairies took her, +each by one hand, and led her under the great spreading trees, beneath +whose branches was a wide open space, where there was room enough for +hundreds of such small creatures to sport and play. There they began to +dance, lightly and gracefully, first joining hand in hand, then +separating and dancing the most curious figures you can imagine, in and +out of the hollow of the tree under which they were, round its trunk +and its roots, and now and then catching hold of the lower branches and +swinging themselves up. Such a dance it was! And the most extraordinary +thing was that it all seemed to come quite as natural to Evelyn as if +she had been at it all her life. She danced and skipped and swung in +the branches with the best of them, and had not the slightest feeling +of fatigue after the exertion. She felt, moreover, a lightness and +buoyancy of spirit such as she had never felt before, and as to being +shy or bashful in the presence of strangers, she experienced no such +sensation for a single moment. On the contrary, she laughed and talked +with the little elves as happily and merrily as if she had known them +from her cradle, and there was no difficulty about learning their +language, for they all spoke English as well as any English child could +have done. Perhaps they _were_ English children, which would in some +measure account for it. However that may be, Evelyn never had a +cheerier or more enjoyable dance than this one, and she thoroughly +entered into it. + +Presently they took to climbing. Up the trees they swarmed, ran out on +the branches, and balanced themselves on the ends (roaring with +laughter when one or other of them lost his balance and had a fall, +which he always broke by cleverly catching hold of the next branch +below), pelted each other with leaves, and chased one another wildly +through the tops of the trees. Then they played at hide-and-seek in and +around the trees. One hid in a rabbit-hole under the roots, another in +a crevice on the top of one of the hornbeam pollards, and great was the +laughter when one little scamp crept into an old magpie's nest, and lay +hidden there for several minutes before he was found. But perhaps the +best fun of all was when they chased a squirrel, who was thoroughly +puzzled by the proceeding, and caused them immense merriment by his +chattering, as well as by his various dodges to elude his pursuers. +Sometimes he would climb to the very tops of the highest trees, and +appear astonished beyond measure when the little elves followed him so +high; then, again, he would throw himself off, and catch a branch in +falling, as quickly and as cleverly as if he had been himself a fairy. +Once more he would lie pressed up so close against the thick branch of +a tree, that he would appear to be a part of the tree himself; and then +he would betake himself to his nest, and occasionally peer out with +his sparkling little eyes, as if to ascertain whether anyone would be +daring enough to follow him _there_. But the fairies never attempted to +hurt him, and Evelyn soon found that these woodland fairies were not of +a sort which at all enjoyed making other people unhappy. _She_ was +certainly anything but unhappy, and enjoyed her afternoon amazingly. +Nevertheless, as all things come to an end, so at last did these fairy +gambols. + +Suddenly there sounded through the forest a low, sweet, but thrilling +whistle, like an unusually melodious railway whistle heard at a long +distance off in a still evening. Every elf knew it at once to be the +queen's signal, and accordingly they all hurried back to the spot where +Evelyn had first seen them, from which they had been wandering right +and left through the merry green wood in their sports. The queen +graciously smiled as her obedient children flocked around her, and +proceeded to give them her directions for the employment of their +evening. + +"Sprightly," said she, addressing one little fellow, whom Evelyn had +observed to be particularly lively in the dancing and other games, "go +you, with a couple more of your friends, to old Farmer Grubbins. He was +very cross this morning to two poor boys who picked a couple of apples +from one of his trees which overhung the footpath, and is going to take +them before the magistrates to-morrow morning. He goes to bed early and +will be asleep before nine. But you need not wait for _that_, for he is +sure to doze heavily in his arm-chair after supper. Go and plague him +well. Pinch his toe till he thinks it is gout; whisper to him that the +rats are in his barn, and that a man with a lucifer matchbox has been +seen in his rick-yard. And if _that_ neither keeps him from sleep nor +gives him uncomfortable dreams, tell him that wheat is down in the +market ten shillings a quarter, American beef is coming into this +country in such quantities, that homefed beef will never sell well +again, and all his rates and taxes are going to be doubled directly. +Give him a real bad night of it, and when he is lying awake, thoroughly +uncomfortable, whisper to him a few words in favour of the poor lads in +any way you think most likely to be useful. + +"Mirthful, do you go off to poor old Mrs. Marshall at Nettlebush +Cottage. She is down with the rheumatism, very bad, and in a good deal +of pain. Cheer the old dame up a bit, whisper all kinds of pleasant +things in her ear, gently rub her poor aching limbs, and keep the dust +quiet so that her room may be kept cheerful and clean. Sweeten the +taste of what food she has, and do what you can to lighten the time to +her. + +"Flittermouse, Childerkin, Gadaway, go to Doctor Backbrusher's school, +and comfort the hearts of the youngsters there. The old fellow has +flogged a lot of them as usual to-day. Go and cheer them up; and if you +_could_ put a few crumbs--good, hard, sleep-stopping crumbs--into the +doctor's bed, so much the better. Do it just when he has put his candle +out, and is going to step into bed, and one of you take away the box of +matches he always has by his bedside, and hide it in his brown pitcher. +He'll never find it there, and if he is once well in bed with those +crumbs, he'll have a rough time of it. + +"You, Pitiful and Hoverer, go to little Miss Wilson's room at The +Priory, and teach her to remember her French verbs. Poor child! they +are sadly too much for her, and it would be a real kindness to get rid +of the grammar for her, only they would be sure to get another; so the +better way will be to help her to remember. + +"The rest of you go where you like; sleep or play, visit mortals, or +remain unseen by them, only do nothing unkind to anyone, and be sure to +be back here precisely at midnight for the ring dance." + +As soon as the fairy queen had finished speaking, the little elves to +whom she had given special directions set off without any delay to obey +her orders, while the rest scattered themselves in every direction +through the forest, each following the pursuit which seemed best to +him. + +As Evelyn felt herself not only at liberty to go where she pleased, but +able to keep up with any of her companions and to go where they went +and do as they did, she thought she should very much like to see how +Sprightly performed the commission entrusted to him, and as the elf +made no objection, off they tripped together, accompanied by another +little being whose name I forget, but who was as lively and merry as +the rest of them. They went at a pace at which our young friend Evelyn +had never gone before, but which somehow or other seemed quite natural +to her, and which very speedily brought them to the house of Farmer +Grubbins. + +Arrived there, they walked quietly up to the door, which opened to them +without any of the people inside knowing that it had done so, although +the fact of its having opened was proved to Evelyn not only by her +passing through with the others, but by the remark which she heard the +old farmer make as she and her companions entered, namely, that there +was a terrible draught from that door. + +The farmer was an old bachelor, and there was no one in the house with +him but his niece and the servants. He and his niece were just +finishing supper when the fairies entered, and on seeing this Sprightly +winked knowingly at his companions, and they all stood quietly aside +until the old man should be asleep and their duties would begin. + +They had not long to wait. Farmer Grubbins pushed back his chair with a +remark to his niece upon the supper, to the effect that the beefsteak +pie had been uncommon good, to which she readily assented. The old man +then settled himself in his own particular arm-chair by the fireside, +drew a long breath, and quietly composed himself to sleep. In a very +few moments, after a contented snort or two, much after the fashion of +a grampus which found itself more than commonly comfortable, he quietly +dozed off and was immediately in the land of dreams. + +Then Evelyn's companions crept stealthily up to him and began their +games. One climbed up on to the old man's shoulder, whilst the other +seated himself upon the footstool upon which his feet rested, well +encased in large and easy slippers. The first began to whisper in his +ear, while the second tickled his feet with a lightness of touch which +no one but a fairy could have done. Presently the sleeper suddenly +twitched his foot, whereupon the elf waited until it was still again; +and then resumed his tickling. Then the farmer moaned in his sleep, and +uneasily turned his head upon one side, at which movement the other elf +began to whisper more vigorously than ever. A snort, a start, and the +sleeper awoke. + +"Eh, Jane? Did you speak?" he asked his niece, who replied in a low +voice that she had said nothing, and almost before she had answered, +his head fell back again and once more he dozed. Still the tickling and +the whispering continued, and the sleep of the old farmer appeared to +be most uncomfortable. + +Evelyn watched in great amusement, until at last she saw Sprightly, who +had taken his place at the footstool, take out what appeared to be a +pair of pincers, and, applying them to the great toe of the farmer's +right foot, give it a nip with all his force. The old man instantly +woke up with a roar. + +"Oh, my toe!" he called out in evident pain. "Drat that gout, I've got +it again!" and he began to groan sadly. + +His niece got up, put her knitting down upon the table and came across +the room to him, but after another groan or two, the pain seemed to +subside, and he dozed off again. Presently he started once more and +turned in his chair. + +"Rats in the barn, did you say, Jane?" he muttered rather than said; +"can't be--don't bother--keep quiet, there's a good girl," and all was +silent again for a few moments, until Sprightly, again producing the +pincers and applying them to the same toe, pressed them with both hands +as hard as ever he could. The roar which now burst from the farmer's +lips really frightened Evelyn, who fancied for the moment that he +_must_ discover that some hand, mortal or elfin, had inflicted the +injury upon him. + +Not a bit of it: the elves were certainly invisible, and the old man +attributed everything to the gout, and vowed it was the worst pain he +had ever had in the whole course of his life. + +Meanwhile the two elves were laughing ready to split their sides, and, +somehow or other, Evelyn felt very much inclined to do the same. It was +no laughing matter, however, for Farmer Grubbins. He rose from his +chair, not in the best of tempers, nor using the choicest language, and +declared that he should go to bed and try if a good night would put +matters right with him. + +As he spoke, the two elves roared again with laughter, and made the +most extraordinary grimaces at the old man, which seemed to Evelyn all +the more ridiculous from the knowledge that he could not see and was +perfectly unconscious of them. + +Then he slowly ascended the stairs, upon which Sprightly and his +companion beckoned to Evelyn, and they all followed the farmer, +treading very lightly, and still laughing as he muttered expressions by +no means complimentary to the gout. + +When he reached his bedroom he speedily undressed and turned into bed, +having first carefully placed upon his head an old red night-cap, in +which he presented an appearance so ludicrous as greatly to increase +the amusement of his unseen guests. His niece just looked in, and asked +if he wanted anything, and being told that she need not trouble herself +about him, quickly took the hint, and retired for the night. + +Then began the real fun of the little fairies. As soon as the old man +had made himself comfortable, and a drowsy comfortable feeling began to +steal over him, they were at him again. First one of them tickled his +nostrils with a feather until he was obliged to rub his nose violently, +which woke him up at the critical moment when he was just about to go +off into a quiet sleep. Then the same thing happened to his right ear; +then it was his left, and then his nostrils again. Then they left him +alone for a few moments until he was really just asleep, when Sprightly +said in his ear, quite close, and in a voice that was almost above a +whisper, + +"That man has lighted the match--close to the stacks in the rick-yard. +Fire!" + +The old man started up as if he had been shot. + +"Fire!" he cried out; "what the dickens was that? Who said fire?" + +He sat up in his bed and listened, and then he grumbled to himself +about the folly of eating dumplings for supper after beefsteak-pudding, +and how it always made one dream such nonsense, and then back he sank +upon his pillow, grumbling still until he gradually dropped off again. +Then, softly uncovering his feet, the cruel Sprightly, before this +sleep had lasted more than a minute, gave him a sharp and severe nip on +the same toe as before, and again the unhappy man woke with a yell, or +rather bellow, of pain, and said bitter words against that gout to +which he firmly believed himself to be the victim. The pain kept him +awake some minutes, but at last he dozed off again, and then came more +tickling and whispering, so that he could by no possibility get any +real or prolonged repose. + +At last there was a long and careful whisper on the part of Sprightly's +companion, during which the farmer did not indeed awake but turned over +again and again, first on one side and then on the other, muttering to +himself meanwhile: + +"Wheat down again! Ruin--ruin--ruin! Markets awful bad;" and presently +again he groaned out in his sleep, "Drat them Yankees and their beef!" +all of which remarks, distinctly heard by Evelyn as she stood on a +chair by the bedside, told her plainly enough that the little elves +were fulfilling the commands of their queen with great and precise +exactness. Still the old man dozed and woke, and woke and dozed, and +ever and anon turned uneasily in his bed, as if passing a decidedly +uncomfortable time of it, until at last, after another tremendous nip +from Sprightly's pincers, he quite woke up and groaned audibly. + +At that moment, to her great surprise (for there seemed no possibility +of his thinking it a dream _then_) Sprightly and his companion seated +themselves one on each side of the old man's head, and began to wave +their hands gently over his eyes. He appeared to see nothing, and to be +quite ignorant of what they were doing, or indeed that there was any +one there, and presently he closed his eyes, though he did not breathe +heavily, or snore, or give any palpable sign of being asleep. + +Both the little elves now began to whisper eagerly in his ears, and +Evelyn quite plainly heard the words, "poor boys!" "only a couple of +apples," "honest parents," "no such great offence after all," and +various other expressions calculated to appease the wrath of the old +farmer against the culprits of whom the fairy queen had spoken. The old +man soon began to mutter again, and from what he said it was evident to +Evelyn that the words of the whisperers were not without their effect. +Presently he seemed to be quite awake. + +"Curious that I should dream about them lads," he said. "I hope the +poor chaps haven't had such a bad night as I seem in for. Maybe they +didn't know they was doing so wrong. I've took apples myself, before +now, when I hadn't ought to have done so. I don't know as I'll go +against them after all! Dash me if I will, either!" + +Scarcely were the words out of his mouth when the faces of both the +elves lighted up with the brightness of conscious triumph; they knew +that their queen's commands had been obeyed, and her desire +accomplished, and they lost no time in their next proceeding. +Abandoning at once their previous endeavours at whispering, tickling, +and tormenting, they made sundry passes over the old man's face, which +had the effect of immediately plunging him into a profound sleep. Twice +he snored heavily, but this time it was not the snore of restlessness +or disgust, but the contented sound of a peaceful and happy sleeper. + +At this moment the three-quarters past eleven sounded on the chimes of +the neighbouring church clock. The little elves instantly started up, +whispered to Evelyn that the queen would be shortly expecting them, and +beckoning the little girl to follow them, crept quietly and stealthily +from the farmer's bedroom, descended the stairs, and passing through +the front door in the same manner by which they had entered it, hastily +sped back to the forest. + +In the glade they found the queen, standing among a group of elves who +were positively convulsed with merriment. They were listening to the +account which Flittermouse, Childerkin, and Gadaway were giving of the +visit to Dr. Backbrusher, which they had lately paid, and from which +they had but just returned, and they seemed to have given the worthy +doctor rather a rough time of it, having bothered him with hard crumbs +in his bed until he had lost all patience, and bounced out of bed for a +light, in searching for which he had tumbled into his bath, and been +made thoroughly uncomfortable for the night. + +Whether this proceeding on the part of the elves was calculated to make +the doctor more tender of his pupils' feelings was a question which +Evelyn found herself unable to solve, but she hoped for the best when +she heard the fairy queen, after expressing her entire approval of what +had been done, publicly declare her intention of persevering, and +giving orders that Dr. Backbrusher should be persistently and +thoroughly plagued every night until he had been brought to a kinder +and more satisfactory frame of mind. + +When the fairies had laughed enough at the account of the +schoolmaster's disasters, the queen asked the others to relate how they +had fulfilled their several missions, and expressed herself very well +satisfied with the manner in which her wishes with regard to Farmer +Grubbins had been carried out. Nor was she less pleased with the +conduct of the elves who had been sent upon errands of a more +emphatically benevolent nature. + +Tears stood in Evelyn's eyes as she heard little Mirthful relate the +gratitude of the poor old woman whom she had been sent to comfort. To +be sure, she had not exactly known whom to thank, having seen no one, +but for all that she had shown a thankful disposition, and such a +cheerful determination to look at the bright side of a life that seemed +dark enough, poor thing! and to make the best of everything, come what +might, that Evelyn felt quite touched at the narrative. She felt +sincere sympathy, too, for and with little Miss Wilson, whom Pitiful +and Hoverer had vastly assisted with her French verbs. They told of all +her trouble in learning, and how, by their secret help, she had +suddenly found herself able to remember, and had been quite astonished +at finding that she could learn with such unusual and unexpected ease. +She had not the least idea, they said, that she was being helped by +fairies, and of course it was the best thing in the world for her to be +thus deceived, because having once overcome her difficulties, as she +thought, by her own patience and determination, she would always in +future employ the same weapons, and that with an additional confidence +which would go far to insure success. + +From all these accounts Evelyn learned that which she had always hoped +and believed to be true, namely, that it is the pleasure of good +fairies--such as those who principally inhabit forest glades and +mountain wilds--to help and comfort mortals who require it, and +especially such mortals as love to help and comfort others, and have +tender feeling hearts within their breasts. She could not but feel, +moreover, that those mortals whom the elves delighted to plague and +torment were generally, if not always, people who richly deserved it, +and who were not over-scrupulous about hurting the feelings of their +fellow-mortals. + +Thus it appeared to Evelyn that the elfin race performed most useful +functions, and were deserving to the utmost of the affection and +respect which she had ever bestowed upon them. + +While these thoughts passed through the child's mind, the messenger +elves had all finished their accounts of their doings, and the queen +now waved her hand solemnly, upon which they parted right and left, and +she remained standing alone. Then she spoke thus: + + "Midnight hour has struck again, + One more day is with the slain: + One more morn will soon be here, + Heralded by chanticleer. + While as yet 'tis sacred night, + Practise we the mystic rite:-- + Hand-in-hand join, light and free, + All beneath the woodland tree; + Softly o'er the leafy bed + In fantastic measure tread, + Soon to mortal eyes to bring + Traces of the fairy ring." + +When she had thus spoken, the queen stepped forward, and taking the +hand of another elf in each of her own, paused one moment until all the +others had followed her example, and then began the dance. They +completely encircled one of the large oaks, and for some time danced +round and round it with great solemnity, singing sweetly as they did +so. Evelyn found herself irresistibly compelled to join both in the +dance and song, but it was ever after a matter of regret to her that +she could not recollect the words of the latter, which she remembered +to have been full of beauty and most melodious. + +After a time they separated, and, gaily dancing upon one side, came out +into an open space where was luxuriant grass, a perfect carpet of +daisies and buttercups being beneath their feet. Here the class formed +themselves once more into a circle, and danced round and round as if +they were never going to stop. Again they sang, words as pleasant and +music as sweet as before, but again Evelyn found herself entirely +unable to recollect the air or the words afterwards. + +At last, whilst they were still dancing, a faint, very faint streak of +light began to glimmer in the sky, and to lessen the darkness of the +night. Soon after, even as they danced, the note of a robin broke upon +their ears: the earliest songster of the wood, waking up at the first +dawn of light, and carolling forth his morning hymn before setting out +to search for his breakfast. + +Scarcely had the sound been heard when the fairy queen let fall the +hand of her companion elf, and waved her own in the air. Every one of +her attendants immediately and exactly followed her example, and Evelyn +naturally did the same as the rest. Then they turned without another +word or sound, and scampered away as fast as they could go into the +thickest part of their favourite glade. Evelyn unhesitatingly went with +them, having in fact nothing else to do, and she followed the example +of her companions by crouching underneath the fern at the foot of one +of the trees which grew around the glade, and hiding herself as well as +she could from the gaze of any possible passer-by. + +All this time, in everything that she did, there seemed to be nothing +at all strange, or out of the common way. She felt just as if she had +been a fairy all her life, and took everything just as it came with the +most perfect unconcern. She thought not of her parents, her home or the +pursuits which had daily occupied her whilst she was an ordinary mortal +child. All these had passed away from her mind altogether. There was +only an intense feeling of present happiness and light-heartedness, and +not only no wish to return to her former state, but an entire +forgetfulness that she had ever been anything else than that which she +now felt herself to be--a subject of the Fairy Queen, and a woodland +fairy herself to all intents and purposes. + +It has often been disputed, by those learned in the history of elves +and Elf-land, whether the little creatures ever sleep, or whether, like +spirits, they seek and require no rest, but wander over the world at +will without sense of fatigue. + +Evelyn's experience may furnish an answer to the curious inquirer upon +this point. She slept; and slept soundly, and always explained the +matter in a perfectly intelligible manner. It is not, she said, that +fairies are ever really tired: there are different degrees and various +kinds of fairies, possessing greater or less power in relation to the +earth and to mortal affairs, in accordance with their own rank and +position in the great fairy family. But there is no fairy, except some +of the very inferior description, who cannot perform almost any given +feat of strength if required to do so; and no fairy, properly so +called, was ever actually tired in the sense that mortal beings feel +fatigue. + +But that fairies sleep is absolutely certain, and there are two reasons +for their doing so. In the first place, their power is much greater by +night than by day, and many of them have the greatest objection to the +sunlight, though to some few it is little less pleasant than to human +beings. This being the case, they find it on all accounts desirable to +seek shelter from the rays of the sun during the day, and do not see +the use, when doing this, of keeping their eyes open when it is more +comfortable to close them. And their other reason is also extremely +sensible, namely, that they have an opinion that it is monotonous and +tedious to be always running about, sporting, playing, or interfering +with the business of mankind, and that by taking some few hours' rest +in every twenty-four hours, they come again with greater zest to their +ordinary pursuits, and enjoy themselves a great deal more than they +would do if they never left off. + +This was always Evelyn's theory, and having been, as we know, a fairy +herself, I have no reason to doubt that it is the correct one. Be this +as it may, it is quite certain that, upon the occasion in question, +both Evelyn and her companions slept sweetly and quietly, couched under +the grass and plants beneath the fern, and sheltered from the rays and +warmth of the sun by the overhanging branches of the great forest +trees. + +But yet the sleep of fairies is not such but that they awake, readily +and easily enough, if it is necessary that they should be stirring. To +believe Evelyn, the voice of a man, or even the passing footstep of an +animal pushing its way through the brushwood, was always quite enough +to arouse the whole elfin world into activity; and, at the first sound +of the kind, a score or two of little elfin heads might be seen peering +out from their secret hiding-places, eagerly gazing on every side to +discover who or what might be the intruder. + +No one appeared to disturb this first fairy sleep of our little +heroine, and she slumbered calmly on with her new companions. Slowly +the sun rose over the forest, tinging the leaves with his golden rays, +and warming all creation into life as he lighted up the world with his +glorious lamp. Then the sounds in the forest became more and more +frequent. From every thicket birds carolled forth their joyous songs; +the wood-pigeon softly cooed to her mate in the fir-trees; the jackdaw +cackled in the old pollard as he looked out from the hole in which his +nest was built; the jay screamed in his harsh, discordant notes, trying +to put the blackbirds and thrushes out of tune, and failing signally; +the woodpecker began to tap merrily, trying the trees all round till he +found one that suited his beak; the squirrels climbed to the top of the +highest trees to see what sort of a morning it was, and the still +silence of the forest was gradually changed into moving life and +bustling sound. + +Men went out to their daily toil in field and street, in country and +city, busy brains schemed and plotted, and the work of the world went +on as it had done the day before, and would do the next day again. And +there, beneath the green fern of the forest, the little fairies slept +peaceably on, and the mortal child that had donned the fairy form slept +on with them, little recking of the busy world, with all its cares and +woes, its sin and sorrow, its toilings and strife, which lay beyond and +outside the forest, and could not disturb or break that sweet sleep. + +But it has probably struck some of my readers that Evelyn's absence +must, before this time, have caused some disturbance at her home. So +indeed it was. She had gone out very soon after luncheon, and when +tea-time came, Mrs. Trimmer, her governess, began to wonder where she +was, and why she had not come back. Perhaps you will think that Mrs. +Trimmer ought to have begun to wonder rather before, but really I do +not think she was much to blame. She had very kindly started off +directly after luncheon to carry some sago-pudding to a sick woman in +the village; and as Evelyn's mamma had asked her to do this, and knew +she had gone, she naturally supposed that Evelyn would be with her +mamma, or would at least be somewhere with the latter's knowledge and +permission. Moreover, since the young lady was now twelve years old, +and both a sensible and trustworthy child, Mrs. Trimmer would in no +case have had any fears for her safety, especially in that peaceful and +quiet part of the country in which they lived. But when the good lady +bustled in just before tea-time, ran up and took off her things, and +then hurried down to make the tea, lo and behold there was no Evelyn. +So she rang the bell for Betsy, the school-room maid, and asked whether +Miss Evelyn was with her mamma; and on the girl coming back to say she +was not, Mrs. Trimmer began to get rather uneasy, and presently went to +the boudoir and asked for herself. Evelyn's mamma knew nothing more +than that the child had gone out to stroll in the shrubberies after +luncheon, since which time she had seen nothing of her, and had fancied +she was in the school-room. + +Beginning to get alarmed, she went to the study in which Evelyn's +father was writing his letters for the late post. When he heard what +was the matter, he went into the shrubberies and called his daughter's +name loudly, but of course with no result. Then he sent a footman down +to enquire at the keeper's house by the forest, and another to the +stables to order horses to be saddled for himself, the coachman, and +the two grooms, and off they set to scour the country in every +direction, and make every possible inquiry concerning the lost child. + +The poor mother remained at home in terrible anxiety, fearing she knew +not what, but dreading the worst, according to the usual custom of +mothers under such circumstances. + +It was quite ten o'clock before the horsemen returned, but of course +they brought no tidings whatever of the missing young lady, who was, +about that time, as we know, amusing herself with Sprightly at the +house of Farmer Grubbins, and thinking nothing at all of what was going +on at home. + +The poor father was much distressed, for he was devoted to his little +daughter, and the uncertainty about her fate made the affliction still +more hard to bear. He could not imagine what had become of her, and +therefore knew not what steps to take for her recovery. He would have +all the ponds dragged next day, but there were very few in the +neighbourhood, and none into which a girl of twelve was likely to have +fallen. + +At one time there used to be a number of gipsies who frequented that +neighbourhood, and the half frantic mother suggested that some of these +wild people might have stolen her daughter. Her husband, however, +discouraged the idea, since no gipsies had been seen or heard of for +some time past; nor would they have been at all likely to steal a girl +of Evelyn's age. Had any accident befallen her, or even if the unlikely +supposition that she had been stolen, hurt, or killed, had been +correct, it seemed almost impossible but that some trace must have been +left--some portion of clothing, some signs of a struggle, some +suspicious strangers seen about the place. But no: there was absolutely +nothing of the kind, and no clue whatever to account for her mysterious +departure. + +It never once entered her parents' heads that their daughter could have +willingly left her home: she was always so bright, happy, and +affectionate; so devoted to the place and to the dear ones who made it +so pleasant for her. The thought that her absence was voluntary was +banished, if it occurred at all to any of the family, before expression +was given to it; although its rejection of course made the sorrow still +heavier, since if she had been taken away by violence, or lost her life +by some accident, the calamity would really be greater than if she had +wilfully played the truant. + +The only two things left to be done, were attended to next day; namely, +the county police were informed of the matter, and advertisements were +inserted in the local papers. In both cases the usual results followed. +The police arrested two persons who had clearly nothing to do with the +matter, and who consequently had to be compensated; and many weeks +after the occurrence the same authorities declared that they had known +all along that no crime had been committed, and that the child would be +restored to her parents in due time. Still less followed from the +newspaper advertisements; the papers being but little read in the +country districts where Evelyn lived, and having no circulation among +the fairies. + +So the next day passed over in darkness and sorrow for the suffering +parents, who feared that they had lost for ever the child who had been +so lately the light and comfort of their home. + +There were two beings, however, who felt the loss of Evelyn little less +than the father and mother; and these were her brother Philip and his +black terrier Pincher. + +Philip was only two years older than Evelyn--in fact, not quite so +much, and they were great companions whenever he was at home for his +holidays. Whenever he had work to do, to settle down to which he felt +(as boys sometimes will) disinclined, it was Evelyn who encouraged him +to face it boldly, and who helped him in any way she could; and if she +was in any trouble about French verbs or German exercises, as will +sometimes happen even to the best disposed young ladies, it was to +Philip she always flew for sympathy and consolation. And as there was +good fellowship between them in their work, so they loved to play +together whenever they could, and many a time had Evelyn joined her +brother in a game of cricket, or rambled with him in his birds-nesting +expeditions through the woods. + +Sometimes these rambles had extended far into the forest where the +adventures which I have been relating had befallen Evelyn; and during +these wanderings she had often talked to her brother upon her favourite +subject, and told him strange legends of fairies and goblins, at which +he had always laughed heartily. + +He had no great belief in such things himself, he used to say. Perhaps +his head was too full of Latin or Greek, or perhaps he had not turned +his attention sufficiently to fairy-land stories; but anyhow, he +listened to his sister without being convinced by what she said, and +she had more than once been rather vexed at his want of faith. + +Now it so happened that Philip came home for his summer holidays the +very day after his sister's disappearance. Great was his consternation, +as you may suppose, at finding what had happened, and no less was his +sorrow at the loss of his favourite companion. + +He arrived in the morning, and was so overcome by the news that he was +only able to gulp down two plates full of cold beef, some apple tart +and custard, a little bread and cheese, and a couple of glasses of +beer, at the family luncheon. + +After this he went out on the lawn, and thought deeply over the +business; but without being able to arrive at any satisfactory +conclusion. + +Whilst he stood and thought, Pincher came running up to him, and began +to jump upon him with great manifestations of delight. Philip caressed +him, and as he did so, remarked to himself half aloud: + +"Pincher, old boy, why should not you and I have a ramble in the wood?" + +As he spoke, the thought came into his heart that there was someone +else besides Pincher with whom he used to ramble, and a sigh broke +involuntarily from him as he remembered that he had no other companion +now than his faithful dog. + +He took a stick in his hand, sauntered over the lawn, through the +little gate at the end of the meadow, and into the big wood away among +the trees, where he and Evelyn had so often roamed together. + +He strolled lazily along, and happened, strangely enough, to take the +very same line which his sister had taken the day before. + +Presently Pincher started a rabbit, and, according to the invariable +practice of terriers, rushed after it as fast as he could; whilst the +rabbit, also following the custom of its race, fled before him at the +top of its speed, taking the direction straight as a line towards the +fairy glade. + +Philip gave a shout, and dashed after his dog without hesitation, +although he had no expectation either that he would come up with +Pincher, or Pincher with the rabbit. But before he had gone many yards, +he knew, by unfailing evidence, that the chase had come to an end. +Pincher had stopped, probably at the hole into which the rabbit had +made its escape, and was no longer yelping as he had continually done +during the pursuit, but, as the boy thought most likely, scratching +furiously at the hole. Philip pushed his way forward as well as he +could, and called to his dog, who presently responded by a bark, the +sound of which enabled his master to discover where he was. It was near +the roots of a large tree, surrounded by fern and brushwood; and +Pincher was running round and round this tree, and then darting off +into the fern, and as quickly coming back again, as if something had +puzzled him completely and he was anxious to have it set right as soon +as possible. + +The boy stood still for a moment, looked first one way and then +another, but could see nothing. Of course the truth was that the +fairies were there, and Pincher knew it, but had no means of letting +his master know, for he did not happen to understand English or French, +and even in Dog Latin would have made but a poor hand in conversing +with human beings. But animals, as is well known, can often see fairies +and such creatures when they are invisible to human eye; and I suppose +that Pincher very likely had not only discovered the elves, but had +been surprised and utterly disconcerted by perceiving that his master's +sister, his own little friend and kind mistress, was amongst them. + +I do not say for certain that he discovered this; but dogs of the +terrier kind, especially when well-bred as Pincher was, are very keen +scented, and could probably smell out their master or mistress even if +disguised ten times over as a goblin or fairy. So as the dog chanced to +have stumbled upon the very spot where the fairies were all sleeping, +it is only natural to suppose from his behaviour that he not only saw +the little creatures, but recognised Evelyn. + +The fairies, for their part, were nearly as much disconcerted as the +dog, for they had expected no visitor, and had not intended to wake up +and move for two or three hours more at least. They knew that neither +dog nor boy could hurt them, of course; but still they were hastily +roused from their sleep, and I dare say that their movements, running +to and fro to hide themselves wherever they could, considerably added +to the confusion of the dog. + +Philip of course saw nothing at all, for it is a very unusual +circumstance for fairies to allow themselves to be seen by any one who +has not implicit faith in their existence and power. So he called +Pincher to come away, and would presently have quitted the glade +altogether without ever knowing how close he had been to his lost +sister. But, for the first and only time in his life, Pincher seemed +inclined to disobey his master. He ran round the tree again, whined, +sat up on his hind quarters, chattering his teeth and half howling, as +if he saw a polecat or stoat or squirrel in the top branches of the old +pollard, and waited to be put up the tree so as to have a chance of +getting at it. + +Philip thought that this must certainly be the case, and, changing his +mind about leaving the place, turned round and again approached the +tree. As he did so, to his intense astonishment he heard a voice behind +him, which certainly, and beyond all doubt, called him by his name. He +turned sharply round, and to his great surprise could see no one at +all. At the same time a voice again called him from the other side, and +with precisely the same result. This went on for several moments. His +name seemed to be called at intervals from every side, and wherever he +turned, the voice or voices were always behind him. Profoundly puzzled, +and rather vexed by this extraordinary incident, the boy was at a loss +to know what to do, and at last exclaimed: + +"By Jingo, this is a queer thing!" + +Hardly had he uttered these words, when a chorus of laughter burst upon +his astonished ears; and to his unutterable astonishment he heard a +number of voices singing, to a tune he well knew, the following words: + + "We don't want to hide; but by Jingo, if we do, + We've got the fern--we've got the trees-- + We've got the brambles too." + +And again loud laughter ran through the forest, whilst Pincher danced +round the old pollard more frantically than ever. + +Philip stood rooted to the ground with surprise, when a sound, somewhat +different from the rest, attracted his attention; and looking round he +perceived a large white owl attentively regarding him with her eyes +wide open. As soon as she saw that he was aware of her presence, the +owl gravely bowed her head three times, and then began to speak in a +voice so exactly like that of a human being, that you would not have +known the difference, unless you had actually seen her in her feathers, +and been assured by the evidence of your own eyesight that she was a +veritable bird. And these were the words that fell upon the ears of her +astonished listener:-- + + "In every glade of forest lone, + Some mystic word of might is known, + Which, once pronounced, to mortals' eyes + Gives sight they have not otherwise; + Gives mortal ears a hearing new + Of things much disbelieved--yet true; + And suffers mortal hand to trace + The circle of the magic space. + Boy! list--thou hast obtained this aid. + "By Jingo"--motto of our glade-- + Converts all here to friends from foes, + And bids all secrets to disclose. + Break branch from tree where thou dost stand, + 'Twill serve thee for a magic wand; + Around thee then a circle trace + Within this same enchanted place; + Then wish a wish, and speak the word-- + 'Tis granted ere thy voice be heard; + And thou shall rule like any king + Within the sacred Fairy Ring." + +Philip listened with great attention to the observations of the owl, +which appeared to him to be exceedingly clear and distinct, although +the circumstances under which they were made were singular, and the +quarter from which they came unexpected. He felt, however, that he was +"in for the thing," as he afterwards expressed it, and that he had +better comply with the directions of the worthy bird. He therefore +stretched out his hand and broke off a branch from the nearest tree, +which happened to be hazel. He then sharpened the end of the branch, +and drew with it a circle, in the midst of which he remained standing. + +Now, of course, the correct and proper thing for the boy to have done +would have been to have immediately pronounced the magic words; wished +for his sister back at the same moment; for her then to have appeared +and thrown herself into his arms, and for the story to have thus ended +in a comfortable, good, old-fashioned way, which would have been +eminently satisfactory to all parties concerned. Why should not I make +this happen? Well, I really would if I could, but you must remember +that all these stories are as true as the histories of "Don Quixote," +"Baron Munchausen," "Gulliver's Travels," and all those other +histories, upon the veracious nature of which no sensible person has +ever entertained a doubt. So you will see at once that I cannot, as a +fair and true historian, invent anything, even for the purpose of +pleasing my beloved readers, but must go on perforce and relate the +facts as they really occurred. + +Philip was doubtless very fond of his sister, and if it had been put to +him by anyone at the moment that the above course was that which he +ought to pursue, I am sure that he would have done so without the +slightest hesitation. But as nobody _did_ tell him, and the owl +(probably because it was not her business to do so) made no such +suggestion, I regret to say that, for the instant, Philip followed +another line of thought, and when he again pronounced the mystic words, +"By Jingo," he wished--not that his sister might instantly appear, +but--that he might understand what was the nature of the strange place +in which he seemed to be, and the meaning of all that had occurred. You +will see at once that this was rather a different thing from wishing +for his sister; and the reason of his not doing so probably was that, +in the hurry and surprise of the whole affair, he did not connect it +with her disappearance. So, as I say, he wished that he might be able +to understand the mysteries of the place. + +As soon as ever he had formed this wish, the fairies of course became +visible to the boy. They came out on all sides, just as they had come +when they had disclosed themselves to Evelyn. They peered from strange +corners and holes, they darted quickly from spot to spot, and abandoned +altogether the rest and sleep from which the coming of the boy had +disturbed them. + +Soon, however, their proceedings acquired greater regularity. I suppose +it was in consequence of his standing in the magic ring, or perhaps it +might have been by the mere virtue of the mystic words which he had +pronounced; but for some reason or other the fairies had no power over +him as they had had over his sister. More than this, they seemed to +have been constrained by some one of those mysterious rules which +obtain in Fairy-land to pay him some kind of respect and homage. + +They linked hand in hand, and whilst Philip looked on in the greatest +astonishment, they formed in a circle round the space in which he +stood, and danced merrily round him for at least a couple of minutes. +Then they stopped, and whilst all the rest fell back into the fern and +brushwood behind, the queen remained, and after a short pause, +addressed the boy as follows:-- + + "Possessor of the magic words + Which here control both fays and birds: + What would'st thou in this glade to-day, + That we can give thee--if we may?" + +Now Philip was not much of a hand at rhyming: to tell the truth, he +disliked all poetry particularly, from Dr. Watts' hymns up to the Latin +verses he had to do at school. For an instant he doubted whether, in +spite of this, he was not bound to make some reply in rhyme, as well as +he could manage it, having been addressed in this manner by the lady +before him. However, on second thoughts, it appeared to him that +probably this was needless, as he had accidentally acquired a position +which was evidently one of authority. Therefore he replied in the way +ordinarily employed among mortals, that is, in prose; and, having now +remembered the main object of his expedition into the wood, he thus +replied:-- + +"Madam, I want my sister Evelyn. I cannot tell whether or no you can +help me in the matter, but my sister has disappeared and I am looking +for her everywhere." + +The fairy bowed with grave courtesy when Philip had spoken thus, and +then answered him at once,-- + + "Those who invade our magic bower, + And hold--and speak--the words of power, + Have their first wish--and thou hast prayed + To know the nature of the glade. + If thou had'st wished thy sister free, + It had not been denied to thee; + And she no longer might have been + The subject of the Fairy Queen. + But we small children of the moon + Are bound to grant no second boon; + And if thou would'st regain the lost, + Thou now wilt have to count the cost! + Reseek thine home--for one whole day + No single word to mortal say: + And by no sign or look or sigh + Permit them to discover _why_! + For that same time be only fed + With crystal water and with bread, + Then, at the rising of the moon, + Come here and ask the second boon!" + +She spoke; and, even as she ended, her little form appeared to grow +fainter and less perceptible to Philip's eyes, and at last faded away +altogether. He stood at first amazed, and then wrapped in deep thought. +It was evident, from what the fairy had said, that she not only knew +what had become of Evelyn, but had the power to restore her. + +It seemed a very wonderful thing, but he could not disbelieve the +evidence of his own senses, which had assured him of the presence of +fairies; and if they could be present, as he had seen and heard them, +they might certainly possess power of which he had previously had no +idea. There was no doubt in his mind that, if he could only carry out +the directions which the Fairy Queen had given, he would stand a very +good chance of recovering his sister. It was true that there might be +some difficulty in not speaking to anybody for a whole day, especially +as no one would understand or guess the reason, and there would also be +required a certain amount of self-denial--especially in the case of a +schoolboy just come home for the holidays--in restricting himself to +the homely diet of bread and water. However, then and there he made up +his mind to try his best, and all the more so as he could not but feel +that he had been somewhat thoughtless and negligent of Evelyn's +interests in not having made her the subject of his first wish. + +Pincher now showed as much eagerness to leave the spot as he had +previously evinced to keep to the tree. I forgot to mention that he had +crept to his master's side within the magic circle just as the fairies +appeared. Probably, being a sagacious dog, he knew that if he remained +outside it, he might be changed into a rat or a hedgehog, or something +unpleasant, and so made sure of his safety from such a fate. Now, +however, he seemed actuated by one sole desire, namely, that of leaving +the place; and, as his young master was entirely of the same opinion, +they made no longer stay. + +Philip walked back through the wood the same way that he had come, +regained the shrubberies, walked up the lawn and re-entered the house. +There he was at once encountered by his mother, who accosted him with +affectionate words, and eagerly asked him if he had heard any news of +his sister. When the boy for reply merely placed one finger upon his +mouth and said nothing, the good lady seemed, and doubtless was, rather +astonished. + +"My darling boy," she said, "what is the matter? Why don't you speak? +Are you hurt? Have you any pain anywhere?" And withal she poured upon +him such a torrent of questions that Philip did not know what to do. +Still, however, he persevered in his silence, although it was very hard +to do so when his mother kissed him and spoke so kindly to him all the +while. He could hardly bear it, so broke hastily from her, and ran up +to his own room, pushing almost rudely past Mrs. Trimmer, who met him +on the stairs and was quite ready for a chat. + +When he got to his room he threw himself into a chair, and pondered +over all the strange events of that afternoon, which seemed to him +beyond belief, only that, as they had actually taken place under his +own eyes, he could not help believing them. Whilst thus engaged, the +dressing-bell rang, and the servant brought up some warm water and put +out his evening clothes. + +"What time shall I call you to-morrow morning, master Philip?" asked +the man, and was exceedingly surprised to find that the young gentleman +made no reply whatever. He repeated the question with the same result, +and then, supposing that Philip must have some unknown reason for his +conduct, left the room without further remark. + +The boy proceeded to dress and, at the proper time, descended to the +drawing-room, where his father and mother already were. They were both +in a melancholy frame of mind, as may well be supposed, for no tidings +had been heard of their daughter, and they could not but fear that she +was lost to them for ever. Philip walked stealthily into the room, in +the direst perplexity how he should be able to avoid speaking. + +"Well, my dear boy," began his mother directly, "have you found your +tongue yet?" + +The boy made no reply, upon which his father joined in. + +"Philip, my boy, why do not you answer your mother?" + +Still no word came from Philip, and his father, who was accustomed to +be treated with respect and obedience, grew angry at his continued +silence. + +"Why don't you speak, boy?" he asked again. "Your mother and I are in +trouble enough to-day without your adding to it by any childish folly +of this kind. I should have thought you would have felt the same as we +do." + +Still the poor boy spoke not a word, which made his father still more +angry. + +"Have you got no tongue in your head, sir?" he cried, and laid his hand +upon Philip's shoulder somewhat roughly. + +But the mother here interposed. + +"Don't scold him, James," she said. "Don't be cross with the +boy--remember he is the only child we have left now," and she burst +into tears. + +In soothing her the husband forgot the boy, or perhaps found it more +convenient to say nothing further at the moment. They went into dinner, +and were astonished to see Philip shake his head when the servants +offered him soup, fish, and roast veal (of which he was particularly +fond) and content himself with eating his bread and drinking a glass of +water. They began to think that their son must be ill; but it was in +vain that they questioned him. He only put his finger over his mouth +and resolutely declined to speak. Then his father expressed his fear +that something or other must have frightened or hurt him in such a +manner as to have affected his brain, and, at length, he determined to +send for the doctor, who lived about three miles off, in the nearest +town. Still Philip remained silent, and the strangeness of the +occurrence was so far useful to his parents as that it, in some +measure, turned the current of their thoughts from the great sorrow in +which they had previously been absorbed. + +As soon as the doctor came he performed the usual mysteries of his +profession. He looked at Philip's tongue and said it was not unhealthy. +He felt his pulse and declared there was no fever, and he finally +pronounced that his indisposition--for such he termed it--though Philip +was never better in his life, proceeded from some temporary +disarrangement of the nervous system, which he had no doubt of being +able to treat with success. He prescribed two pills to be taken at +night, and a draught (the colour of which was the only pleasant thing +about it) in the morning, and left the patient with a promise to return +next day. During the whole of his visit, however, not one syllable did +he get out of Philip, which, as he prided himself upon his +conversational powers, and the successful manner in which he always got +on, especially with young people, rather annoyed him. + +When Doctor Pillgiver had gone, the parents, somewhat relieved by his +report, strove again to persuade their son to resume his natural habits +of conversation, for Philip was a boy neither sullen nor shy, but one +that generally talked freely, and had plenty to say for himself. As, +however, he entirely declined to say anything, his father at last got +angry, and, telling him that he feared he was giving way to an +obstinacy which, unless conquered, would prove his ruin, sent him +upstairs to bed. + +Poor Philip was really rejoiced at this, for he was not likely to have +any mortal to speak to before morning. But his tender mother, unhappy +at the thought that her boy might be ill, and thinking that he might +repent of his silence after he had left her and his father, came to his +bedside to see him the last thing before she herself retired. This was +hard to bear, for to refuse the last kiss and "good-night" to one's +mother is difficult indeed. Philip felt this, but he also felt that +everything probably depended upon his obeying the conditions of the +fairy queen, so the rogue pretended to be asleep, and said nothing, +even when the dear mother softly kissed his forehead and invoked a +blessing upon her beloved son. + +All that night the boy could scarcely sleep for thinking over the +extraordinary things that had happened. He tossed uneasily to and fro, +then got up and drank some water, then laid down in one particular +position, and determined to remain just so until he _did_ get to +sleep--then changed his mind and turned quite round to try another +position, and altogether managed to have such a restless and +uncomfortable night as seldom falls to the share of a boy of his age +and good health. + +At last morning came, and Thomas, the footman, called him as usual, +wondering again that his young master never wished him "good morning," +or asked him if it was a fine day, as he almost always did. Philip +dressed and came down to prayers and breakfast, according to his +father's rule, or otherwise he would have slipped out of the house and +kept away all day, until the time of his silence should be past. It was +a great trial to him that morning, for his parents were both evidently +vexed with him, and could not understand the meaning of his silence. + +His father spoke so sharply to him that the tears came into his eyes, +but his mother again interceded for him, and as soon as breakfast was +over he stole away to take refuge in the garden. + +Here again he had difficulties to encounter, for the gardener came to +ask him some question about the rolling of the cricket-ground, about +which Philip was always very anxious, and it was exceedingly tiresome +not to be able to answer him, especially as this was the head gardener, +and anyone who has ever had anything to do with such people, knows that +they are personages of dignity and position, with whom it is never safe +to trifle. So the boy knew that he ran no small chance of having his +cricket-ground altogether neglected if he offended Mr. Collyflower, and +would not have run the risk on any account, had not the recovery of his +sister been of paramount importance. + +Next he sauntered into the park, where the gamekeeper presently +appeared to take his wishes as to a hawk's nest which he had found, and +the eggs of which he thought he could get, if so be that Master Philip +would fancy to have them. + +It seemed both uncivil and ungrateful to give no answer, but he felt +the whole weight of his responsibility and said never a word. But his +worst trial was yet to come. + +Flora Malcolm, a young lady who lived near, and of whom Philip was +particularly fond, rode over to luncheon that day, and wanted him to +ride part of the way back with her. She was astonished at his silence +and at his diet at luncheon, and rallied him considerably upon both. +Yet the boy held his tongue. + +Most fortunately for him, his father had again gone off to renew his +search after the lost girl, for had he been at luncheon, I think it +more than probable that he would have resorted to some of those +paternal remedies for filial disobedience which would have rendered +poor Philip extremely uncomfortable, even if it had not ended in his +disobeying the injunction of the fairy queen, and so losing Evelyn for +ever. + +Flora's raillery was hard to bear, but after a while she ceased, and +being a clever girl, took it into her head that there might be a reason +for his silence which she could not understand. For be it observed that +there is no more certain sign of cleverness than when a person is able +to feel and realise that there may be some things above and beyond his +or her comprehension. For the generality of people think they can +understand anything and everything, and that what they cannot +comprehend is sure to be absurd, unreasonable, and foolish, whereas in +all probability these are the epithets which should in reality be +applied to themselves. + +Flora took a different view, and being goodnatured moreover, left off +teasing Philip when she perceived that it was no joke with him, but +that there was something serious as well as singular in his proceeding. +She had to ride back alone, poor girl, for Philip shook his head when +she suggested that he should join her, and of course she could say no +more. She did not stay long after luncheon, finding the distress in +which the family were plunged, and as soon as she was gone, the boy +again betook himself to the garden, and got through the afternoon +without a word. + +He looked forward with the greatest horror to dinner time--a feeling +which had hitherto been as strange to him as to any other schoolboy. So +it was now, however, for he knew he should have a terrible ordeal to go +through. His father, having returned from another unsuccessful ride, +would not only feel angry, but hurt, if his son made no inquiries as to +whether any news had been heard of his sister. If again, he saw him for +the second night remaining silent and refusing everything to eat and +drink save bread and water, his patience would most likely be +exhausted, and he might act in a manner the consequences of which might +be unpleasant. + +Suppose his anger should take the form of sending Philip to his own +room immediately after dinner, and thus preventing his being in the +forest at the time appointed by the fairy queen! + +This was a thought which gave the boy so much uneasiness, that he at +last made up his mind that, as the risk was too serious to run, he had +better shirk dinner altogether. So when the dressing-bell rang at +half-past seven (for his parents always dined at eight), instead of +going in to dress, Philip slipped quietly out of the shrubberies, with +Pincher by his side, and made the best of his way to the forest. The +moon would not rise that night till past nine, and of course he would +be missed before that; but he thought they would very likely not send +for him, or if they did, no one would be likely to find him. + +He marched into the forest full of hope, feeling sure that he had +obeyed the fairy's directions in every particular, and that unless she +had grossly deceived him, he should soon see his dear sister once more. + +On he went, as he thought, exactly in the same direction in which he +had gone the day before. The air was mild and pleasant--a gentle breeze +rustled in the leaves overhead--the birds had hushed their singing, and +Nature seemed to be about taking her rest preparatory to a new day of +life and action. + +The turf was soft and springy under the boy's feet, the trees cast +around him their strange and fantastic shadows, the distant bells fell +faintly on his ears, and more faintly still as he went further into the +forest, and all seemed so peaceful and rest-bringing that he thought it +was no wonder that hermits and such like worthy people should generally +choose some woodland recess in which to dwell when they have had enough +of the outside world, and want to find rest and peace and happiness in +the oblivion of worldly strife which such a solitude would engender. + +But when Philip, thinking these thoughts and a great many others, no +doubt, besides, had walked some distance, it struck him that he must +somehow or other have missed his way, for he seemed to be in quite a +different part of the forest from that in which he had met with his +yesterday's adventure. It was getting darker and darker, as far as he +could see, and he began to be afraid that he might after all miss the +place and never find his sister again. + +Under these circumstances he did not think it of much use to go +wandering on and on, uncertain whether he was going right or wrong, and +therefore sat down upon the gigantic roots of a large oak, and there +took time to consider what he had better do next. It must now have been +getting on for nine o'clock, and presently a soft, tender light began +to steal down through the overhanging branches, and illuminate the +forest with a silvery tinge. The moon was evidently beginning to assert +her dominion over the night, and to tell the darkness that it could not +possibly be allowed to have it all its own way. + +This, then, was the hour of which the Fairy Queen had spoken, when she +told him to come at the rising of the moon and make his second request. + +Yes! beyond all doubt this was the hour; but where the Fairy glade was, +was quite a different question. + +Everything seemed to be quiet and still in the forest, which was going +on in its natural way, as if it had never had a fairy in its shades, +and did not want one either. + +Philip rose to his feet and listened attentively. Nothing was to be +heard but the distant hoot of an owl. + +The moon grew brighter and brighter, and very beautiful did the trunks +of the old trees appear in her silvery light, seeming to assume quaint +and curious shapes, as the boy gazed earnestly around him, in the hope +of seeing or hearing something which might direct his next proceeding. + +For some time he gazed in vain, and then, remembering that he was not +forbidden to speak save to a mortal, that Pincher was probably not +considered a mortal in the sense in which the word had been used, and +that if he was, the command to silence had ceased with the rising of +the moon, he addressed his dog in the following words:-- + +"Pincher, old boy, I wish you would find the glade for me. After making +me hold my tongue so long, and eat nothing but bread and water, it +would be a thundering shame if the fairy sold me after all!" + +Pincher, on being thus accosted, looked up in his master's face, whined +gently, wagged his tail, and seemed inclined to run off, as if for a +hunt on his own account. + +But at that moment the rustling of wings was heard, accompanied by a +rumbling sound inside the oak under which Philip had been sitting, and +an instant afterwards he was startled by the sudden appearance of a +white owl, very similar to that which he had seen and heard in the +fairy glade. She bustled out of the hollow of the tree in just such a +hurry as you might fancy her to have been in if she had overslept +herself and found she should very likely be late for the train, and, as +soon as she got well out, she perched upon a branch for a moment, shook +her head once or twice as if to be quite satisfied that she was awake, +and then pronouncing in a low tone the word "Follow," flew slowly off. + +Philip did not hesitate for a moment to obey the bird's directions, as +he had found it answer so well to do so before. He followed as fast as +he could, though of course, being but a boy, he could not keep up with +a bird, and would soon have lost sight of her if the distance had been +long. Instead of this, however, it was fortunately short, and before +the boy had gone above a hundred yards at the most, he found himself +once more at the entrance of the fairy glade. + +He knew pretty well what to do this time. He advanced to what appeared +to be an eligible spot, pronounced the magic words with great emphasis, +and then, breaking off a branch from a neighbouring tree as before, +drew the mystic circle round himself and the dog, and then stood +quietly waiting to see and hear what would happen next. + +He had hardly completed the circle when the same thing happened as on +the previous day: the same chorus of voices all broke out in the same +tune, only with words slightly different--they sang + + "We don't want to drink--but by Jingo if we do, + We've got the wine--we've got the rain-- + We've got the ev'ning dew," + +and then came peals of laughter from every side. + +As these words rang in his ears, the boy wished as hard as he possibly +could that his sister might be suffered to come back with him safe and +sound, and no sooner had he formed the wish than there she stood under +the old pollard, looking very much as usual, and rubbing her eyes as if +she had just been suddenly awakened from a very comfortable sleep, and +didn't half like it. + +Philip's first impulse was to rush up to her at once, but he +fortunately remembered that he was not in an ordinary place or +discharging ordinary duties. On the contrary, he had a tremendous +responsibility upon his shoulders, and if he should make any mistake it +was impossible to foresee the consequences either to his sister or +himself. He therefore stood perfectly still and said in clear and +distinct tones,-- + +"Evelyn, I want you." + +The child scarcely appeared to see him when bespoke--then she seemed to +make an effort to move forward, but stopped as if something prevented +her, and the next moment the whole troop of little beings came darting +out from every corner of the glade and stood between her and her +brother. Then, as they had done on the previous occasion, they joined +hands and danced round and round the circle in which Philip stood, +although their dance was slower and less merry than before. + +This went on for several minutes, and then they stopped, and fell back +on all sides into the fern and brushwood, whilst the little queen +remained. She stood perfectly still for a full minute, casting a look +upon Evelyn in which pleasure and sorrow were curiously blended, and +seemingly unwilling to break the silence which prevailed. Then she +turned her head round and looked upon Philip, who stood there, full of +anxiety as to what would be the upshot of the whole affair, and +doubtful whether he ought himself to speak or not. Then she said,-- + + "Once again, alas! we've heard + Magic sound of mighty word; + Which, tho' we would fain delay, + Elfins dare not disobey. + Since the maid has joined our ranks, + Shared our dance, and played our pranks + (Wonder not at what I tell), + We have learnt to love her well. + Greater grief has none e'er proved + Than to love--and lose the loved; + And if she would still remain, + Gladly we'd the maid detain. + Still--when magic word is said, + Magic word of mystic dread, + 'Tis not as the Fairies please, + Save the Maiden's will agrees. + Say, dear child, sweet artless maid, + Dost thou love the woodland shade? + Would'st thou in the forest dwell, + Ever haunt the Fairy dell, + Ever leave thy former self, + And remain a woodland elf? + Wish--and thou hast power to be + Thing as wild, from earth as free, + As the Elf who speaks to thee! + Wish it _not_!--then count the cost-- + To the Fairies thou art lost, + Never more in forest wild + Shalt thou act the elfin child; + Never, free from mortal care, + Flit on elf-wings through the air: + Scorning bolt, or bar, or lock, + Till the crowing of the cock + Summon back thy mates and thee + To moss-couches 'neath the tree. + Form thy wish, then, maiden dear, + None shall dare to interfere!" + +As the fairy queen spoke, Philip listened with great attention, with +some concern, and no little indignation. Her voice was very sweet and +pleasant; the picture she drew of the forest life of an elf was by no +means disagreeable, and as he gathered from her words that Evelyn had +already tasted of its delights, he was apprehensive of the effect which +this temptation still to share it might possibly have. He felt, +moreover, that as he had honestly fulfilled his part of the bargain, it +would be palpably unfair if he got nothing by it, except the knowledge +that his sister was a fairy, which would be but a very small +consolation to the people at home. So he thought he had better strike +in and tell his opinion at once, which he did in the following way:-- + +"I say!" he cried, "this is not fair. I was to come here to-night and +have my second boon--and I have said what it is. It will be no end of a +shame if you don't give me back my sister. In fact, you promised it +yesterday; and no fellow can stand being made to hold his tongue and +eat nothing but bread and water for the best part of a day and a half, +and then be sold after all. Come! I say! this won't do at all, you +know!" + +The fairy listened to him with great politeness, and at once replied to +his remarks,-- + + "I bade thee come by light of moon + If thou would'st crave a second boon. + I bade thee come: and thou art here, + A faithful brother, void of fear; + And thou hast kept conditions two, + Such as had been observed by few. + Yet--ere you blame my words, good youth, + Be moderate, and hear the truth. + When maids or youths o'er fairy lore + Attentively are wont to pore, + Their hearts 'twould mightily surprise + To see how oft our elfin eyes + See, and rejoice to see, them read + Of many a magic Fairy deed. + And when such youth or maiden list + To say that Fairies do exist, + We love them passing well, forsooth, + Because that they believe the truth. + So, when beneath our woodland shade + There wanders tender youth or maid, + On certain spot--at certain hours-- + Our might avails to make them ours. + And when, resisting not herself, + A Maiden once becomes an elf, + Dares from her mortal form t' escape, + And roam the world in Elfin shape, + Unless it be by her free will, + She must remain an Elfin still. + 'Tis true: the words of power have might + To force us into mortal sight, + And, tho' in elfin garment drest, + A mortal maid must stand confest + To eyes of him who once has known + And said these words--to him alone. + Thy sister, then, thine eyes have seen, + But I, thy sister's Fairy queen, + Have right to counsel and persuade + Her--who is half a woodland maid-- + And should she wish it, she must stay + Beneath my loving Fairy sway. + If so--kind youth, oh! ne'er repine, + Or envy this success of mine; + _Her_ fate for ever light and free + From mortal grief, will happy be, + For mortal sin and human woe, + Thenceforward she shall never know!" + +As the fairy queen spoke these words, many thoughts passed rapidly +through the mind of the boy. He saw at once that the victory was not +yet so entirely won as he had supposed, and that people could not +change to and fro between mortal and fairy form as quickly as they +pleased. Of course he had not known his sister's fate until the fairy +queen uttered these rhymes, and even now he was left somewhat in the +dark. Besides, as you will recollect, the excellent elfin had not told +him the exact truth after all, because she led him distinctly to infer +that Evelyn had become one of the elves by her own consent and free +will, whereas we know perfectly well that she had no intention of +becoming anything of the kind, and that as to "resisting not herself," +she had no idea that resistance would do any good, and if she had +thought so, would not have known in what way to resist, when the fern +leaf was waved over her head, and she began to be sensible of the magic +charm which came over her. + +It is quite true that she had taken kindly to the life of an elf, but +it was certainly hardly fair to let her brother suppose she had become +one by choice. This, however, was not a point upon which he was at all +troubled. For one instant he doubted whether, if she were really so +happy, it would be doing her a real kindness to take her away from the +fairies. But it was only for an instant. He felt sure that she must be +under some charm which prevented her declaring her own sentiments, and +therefore he did not at once put the question to her. + +But he remembered to have read in various books concerning elves and +fairies, that though they are a very interesting part of creation, they +are in some respects inferior to mankind, and that they are a kind of +being existing entirely and for ever in their present condition, with +no soul and with no such future as that for which Christian men and +women hope. Therefore, according to this view, his sister's condition +would be materially changed for the worse if she remained an elf, and +it was his duty, if possible, to prevent it. Moreover, his father and +mother had some claim to be considered; and he could not help thinking +that if Evelyn was a free agent and could say what she thought, felt, +and wished, she would not only promptly recognise that claim, but would +long to rejoin the parents of whom she was so devotedly fond. He +thought, perhaps, also of the mutual affection which had so long +existed between his sister and himself; but I will do him the justice +to say that I do not think he would have wished her back if he had been +satisfied that it would be best for her own happiness that she should +stay where she was. + +All these thoughts flashed through Philip's mind during the fairy's +speech, and by the time it was ended he had quite made up his mind what +to do. He looked firmly--though not unkindly--at the little lady, and +then, turning to his sister, he said in a loud, clear, steady voice,-- + +"Evelyn, I wish you to come to me and we will go home together." + +As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a long, low wailing sound +arose on all sides of him, as if the little beings of the glade were +bemoaning an affliction which they saw preparing for them and had no +power to prevent. It hung in the air for a few seconds, and then died +away in mournful cadence among the trees. + +Meanwhile the effect of Philip's words upon his sister were immediate +and wonderful. She threw back her head, rubbed her eyes again, looked +first to the right and then to the left, and then stepped straight +forward for a couple of yards, and stopped, just as if somebody was +trying to hold her back. I suppose that she was too big to be held back +by the little elves, since she had resumed her old mortal form at the +first summons of her brother; but I also suppose from this circumstance +that they tried to keep her, and she always said afterwards, that soft +musical voices were in her ears, telling her of the joys of fairy-land +and the happiness of the little elves, and begging her not to leave +their merry party who had loved her so well. + +Philip, observing her apparent hesitation, deemed it quite necessary to +take forthwith another and a more decided step. Elevating his voice a +little, and speaking in a very firm tone, he said: + +"Come along, Evelyn dear, pray do not dawdle any longer. I wish you +would come directly. By jingo, we shall hardly be in time for tea!" + +The words were scarcely spoken, when the same mournful sound arose, +even more piteous than before, and rang through the evening stillness +with a melancholy cadence which might have melted the hardest heart, so +much did it convey of real sorrow. But at the same moment all attempts +to retain Evelyn ceased--her natural look, colour, and manner seemed +suddenly to have returned, and she bounded into the magic circle, and +ran into her brother's arms. + +"Oh, Philip dear!" she cried. "Where _have_ you been? I haven't seen +you for _such_ a time! How nice it is to have you at home again!" + +The brother returned her affectionate caresses, and reminding her of +the lateness of the hour, said that they must return home at once. He +purposely forebore to say anything of what had recently occurred, not +knowing what the consequences might be, either to his sister or +himself, and putting his arm tenderly round her waist, began to leave +the glade, calling Pincher to follow him. They had not moved many yards +forward, however, before low strains of sweet music were heard behind +them, and turning round, they saw the form of the fairy queen, who was +gazing after them with a look of mingled tenderness and regret. She +gracefully waved her hand to them as they retreated, and in her own +sweet voice thus addressed them: + + "Farewell! ye mortal children twain, + Perchance we ne'er may meet again; + Yet, should we ever chance to meet, + My elves the twain will kindly greet. + And ye, in prose or minstrel lays, + When ye shall read of woodland fays, + Have friendly feeling for the elves + Who love you as they love themselves. + No more amid our glade to roam-- + The brother leads his sister home. + From Fairy-land the twain depart, + To gladden soon a mother's heart, + And make a saddened home, to-night, + Once more enraptured with delight. + True brother! thou hast brought thine aid + To rob us of our captured maid; + Yet wast thou right, and for the same + 'Tis not for fairy lips to blame. + And thou, sweet Eve, who thus has left + Thy elf companions all bereft, + Since thou with us no more wilt dwell, + We wish thee, lovingly, farewell." + +Then the fairy stepped lightly and gracefully back, still waving her +hand; the music grew fainter and fainter, and ere long both the sound +and the fairy form melted away from the sight and hearing of the +brother and sister, though the last lingering word, Farewell, once and +again repeated, still seemed to fall softly on their ears as they left +the glade. + +They hastened home as fast as they could, and you may imagine the +excitement with which their arrival was greeted. Evelyn and her mother +devoured each other with kisses, and the father had such share of them +as was left for him. Philip was at once restored to favour, and not +only was his former silence forgiven, but every amends was made to him, +in the way of diet, for his fasting upon the previous day. + +Mrs. Trimmer was so rejoiced at the happy conclusion of the adventure, +that she did not scold Evelyn for a month, in consequence of which her +progress in French and German was visibly slower than for some time +past. + +Everybody in the house was glad to get the child back, and the only +provoking part of it was that, even after her extraordinary adventures, +disbelief in fairies still existed even in that well-informed +household. One gave one explanation of Evelyn's absence, and one +another; one laid it to the gipsies, another said she had run away and +hid in a hollow tree, but nobody seemed to be entirely satisfied with +the plain, unvarnished truth as I have told it to you. + +But so it is in this wicked world. Invent a perfectly untrue story, but +make it seem a little probable, and everybody will believe you, and not +throw the slightest doubt upon your veracity. On the other hand, let an +extraordinary thing really happen, and if it falls to your lot to tell +it, you are generally considered a "story-teller" in the worst sense of +the word. + +This makes me so cross sometimes, that I think I will give up writing +about fairies altogether, and only write about grave and serious +subjects. But if I do that, I am afraid that nobody except members of +parliament and diplomatists, politicians and teetotalers, and all those +silly sort of people, will read what I write, and so I think I will go +on for a little while longer in my old style. + +_I_ know that elves and fairies exist, and if all the rest of the world +believes differently, it does not cause me the slightest inconvenience; +_they_ can go their way, and I can go mine; and if they don't see any +fairies, it is probably their own fault, as it is, I am sure, their own +loss. + +I have no more to tell you of Philip and Evelyn now, except that they +both grew up and prospered, and that Evelyn often tells _her_ little +girls the story of her adventure with the fairies; and if anyone who +reads this story would like to know more particulars, she is so +good-natured that I am quite sure she will tell them all about it if +they will only take the trouble to ask her when she does not happen to +be particularly engaged. + + + + +CAT AND DOG. + + +To "live like cat and dog" has long been proverbial as a description of +a state of life in which quarrels and bickerings are of frequent +occurrence. No one, however, as far as I am aware, has ever followed to +its sources the proverb which is so familiar to us all; nor has anyone +attempted to explain the reason of the antagonistic spirit which +undoubtedly prevails between these domestic animals. Its prevalence is +certain, its consequences not seldom unfortunate, and many a once happy +household has been rendered miserable by its existence. + +Animated by a sincere desire to acquire information, which might be at +once interesting to myself, and instructive as well as beneficial to my +fellow creatures, I have spared no pains to discover the truth upon +this all-important subject; and if I can succeed in placing that truth +clearly and dispassionately before the world, I shall feel--and I think +I may cherish the feeling without exposing myself to the charge of +presumption,--that I have not lived in vain. + +Whatever rumours may, in a less enlightened age, have prevailed upon +the subject, I believe that there is no doubt as to the origin of the +unfortunate difference which first caused hostility to become deeply +rooted in the breasts of the canine and feline races. Some have +supposed it to have sprung from certain acts of favouritism displayed +by the human race towards one or other of the two species of animals; +others have come to the conclusion that in-bred and natural wickedness +gave rise to the evil, whilst others again have started different, but +equally unsound theories. + +The true reason--the real beginning--the cause and foundation of the +whole thing, is to be found in the words of the old song, so familiar +to nursery people: + + "Hey diddle, diddle; the cat and the fiddle; + The cow jumped over the moon: + The little dog laughed to see such sport, + And the dish ran away with the spoon." + +The author of this ballad is unknown, but it has always been vastly +popular with the race of cats, who see in it at once a tribute to the +musical genius of their people, as being identified with the violin +(vulgarly herein called fiddle) and a recognition of their supremacy +and superiority over other animals, inasmuch as "the cat" is mentioned +first, before either cow or dog, fiddle or moon, and is evidently +pointed out as the chief personage celebrated by the rhyme. + +On the other hand, dogs have never liked the verse. They directly and +positively object to the precedence given to the cat; they dispute +altogether the statement about the cow and the moon, as being +improbable, if not palpably false; and they further say that, if the +laughter of the little dog is intended to refer to this occurrence, it +is a reflection upon the gravity and decorum of the dog race, whilst, +if it is to be referred to the last line of the verse, it displays +their representative as treating with unworthy levity that which, as +far as the dish is concerned, was either an unlawful elopement or a +pitiful theft. + +At one time, when there was still a hope that the enmity of the two +races might be appeased, and a better state of things brought about, a +joint committee of dogs and cats sat upon the question, in order to +submit a report to the great council of animals, which might form the +basis of an amicable settlement. A lengthy and acrimonious discussion +ensued. The cats claimed precedence, and advanced many arguments to +prove their superiority over their opponents. They boldly purred out +their declaration to the effect that nature, custom, and all the +evidence at command was clearly in their favour. They cited the +opinions of mankind, as given in many books, speeches, wise proverbs, +and witty sayings. They called to mind how that, in the case of heavy +rain, men always remarked that "it rained cats and dogs;" placing, as +they averred, the superior animal of the two first, when it was +necessary to mention both, and the inferior one last. Moreover, many +other things in the history of mankind denoted the prevalence and +undoubted predominance of the same opinion. One of their favourite +names for their daughters was Kate--spelt commonly with a C when given +in full, Catherine--and evidently a name adopted from that of cat, and +affording another implied recognition of the general superiority of the +feline race. + +Then, said they, look at the way in which dogs are habitually spoken of +with contempt, and their name used as a reproach. If one man call +another a "dog," it is held to be an insult. Tell anyone that such and +such a person has a "hang-dog" look about him, and it is known you +intend to convey the idea of his being a rascal only fit to be strung +up at once. If a man is tiresome in argument, his companions term him +"dogmatic;" if he is of an obstinate temper and sullen disposition, he +is frequently called dog-ged; whilst on crossing the channel a person +who suffers from the malady of the sea is said to be "as sick as a +dog;" and when mankind desire to express the failure in life, the ruin, +the abject and miserable condition of one of their own race, there is +no more common or proverbial expression than that he has "gone to the +dogs." + +All these, and many other instances, they quoted, as bearing upon the +great question of the superiority of cats to dogs, and in fact, +establishing the same beyond any reasonable doubt. + +The dogs, having listened to these observations and arguments with an +attention which was only equalled by their indignation, advanced their +counter-arguments with great force, and evinced much learning and +erudition. They took a preliminary objection to the evidence founded +upon the manners and habits of human beings; avowing that even if they +admitted every instance which had been adduced, they might appeal to +the general practice of man, and the greater trust and reliance which +he habitually placed in the dog, as utterly negativing the supposition +that he had ever intended to imply the superiority of the feline tribe +by any casual proverb or familiar saying. When was a cat employed to +tend sheep? What keeper would trust a cat to do the office of a +retriever, and to watch the young birds? To what cat was ever committed +the custody of a house, or when was a kennel provided for a cat, to +serve the purpose for which only a mastiff, or some similar specimen of +the noble breed of dogs, was fit? All this forbad the supposition that +men preferred cats before dogs, or esteemed them at all equally, either +as useful or ornamental animals. But if they considered the arguments +brought forward by the cats, one by one, with logical acuteness, they +would not find a single argument which was not susceptible of an +entirely different construction from that put upon it by the cat +orators. + +For instance, the expression that "it rained cats and dogs" clearly +signified (if taken for more than a colloquial expression to convey the +meaning that it rained hard) that the heavens from which the rain came +desired to get rid of the inferior animals first, and that it was only +when the cats had been got rid of that a possible superfluity of dogs +was taken into consideration. The name Kate (which, by the way, was the +abbreviation of Katharine, and had really nothing to do with the name +Catherine) was not derived from anything to do with cats or kittens +either; and it was much the same as if the dogs on their part were to +claim affinity with the ancient Doges of Venice, or to pretend to +unwonted holiness because most of the good books of the early church +were written or translated by the monks into Dog Latin. + +Again, as to one man insulting another by calling him a dog, that was +not exactly the case. Dogs did not speak with human tongues, and +therefore, when a man was called a "dumb dog," it was only implied that +he was as dumb as a dog as far as the human tongue was concerned; dogs, +moreover, did not pretend to universal goodness--there were good dogs +and bad dogs, mad dogs and sad dogs. When men wished to bestow praise +upon one of themselves, they constantly called him a "jolly dog;" and +if they sometimes called one of their own kind a "cur," they alluded to +an inferior species of dog, and in fact acknowledged the superiority of +the canine race by the very fact that they selected it as the race with +which alone they could fairly compare one of themselves. + +The "hang-dog" argument also told directly against, instead of for, the +cats. What did it mean? Why, that any man who was a villain and a +rascal looked as if he would actually be ready to hang a dog; and such +a crime would, in fact, constitute him both rascal and villain at once. +What better proof could be afforded of the high estimation in which +dogs were held by men? + +The dogs further said that the cats had attributed a bad meaning to +the word "dog-matic," but that it was also susceptible of a good +interpretation, being derived from a Greek word, dogma, a settled +opinion, and signifying one who, knowing the truth, and having +confidence in the opinion at which he had duly arrived, had the courage +of his convictions and stuck to them gallantly, which was certainly no +reproach either to dog or man. The word "dogged" also might of course +be taken to mean "sullen" or "sulky," but its primary signification was +rather "pertinacious;" and it really meant that steadiness with which +an honest dog pursued his course through life, yielding neither to +bribes nor temptations, from whatever quarter they might chance to +come. + +With regard to the expression, "sick as a dog," they stated that it was +scarcely more commonly used among men than the equivalent expression, +"sick as a cat;" and they forbore, out of delicacy, to advance +arguments upon so disagreeable a point. It bore but little upon the +question, and they might as well say that men hated cats, because they +were subjected to catalepsy; or that they evinced their dislike to the +feline portion of creation by calling a misfortune a "cat-astrophe," a +bad cough a "cat-arrh," and a disease in the eye, a "cataract." The +last allusion of the cats, namely, that to a man spoken of as having +"gone to the dogs," was the subject of a long and able argument on the +part of the latter; who principally contended that the real meaning of +the phrase, duly considered and wisely interpreted, was quite different +from that which their adversaries supposed; inasmuch as no man, being +ruined and miserable, would go to persons or beings who were held in +contempt or were in disgrace. What was really meant was, that, when a +man had really failed in everything, and, being penniless and wretched, +found neither support, sympathy, nor consolation from those of his own +species, he went where kindness, good faith, honesty, and charity were +ever to be found, and sought among the true-hearted and friendly race +of dogs that kindly welcome and reception which had been denied to him +by his own people. It was a tribute, indeed, paid to dog-nature by +mankind; and nothing of the sort had ever been said with regard to +cats, who were well-known to be much more likely to scratch, than to +comfort, the unfortunate. + +The arguments so forcibly advanced by the dogs made very little +impression on the cats who were upon the joint committee. There was a +good deal of purring, setting up of backs, miawing, and I fear a little +spitting; but they listened with tolerable attention, and then replied +in the same style as before. + +They mentioned a bad, useless fish--which was called the dog-fish, on +account, they said, of its bad qualities; the dog-days--so called +because hotter and more unbearable than any other days in the summer: +they drew attention to the fact that loose, bad rhyme was said to be +"doggerel," and that an inferior kind of flower was termed "dog-rose." + +The dogs rejoined, with spirit, that men called a depository for dead +bodies a "cat-acomb," a disagreeable insect a "cat-apillar," and that +anyone who was made use of by another to obtain his own ends was +contemptuously designated a "cat's-paw." + +A debate carried on in this spirit could clearly lead to no +satisfactory result, and the end of the matter was that the committee +separated without having been able to agree to any report. The +consequence naturally was, that each race continued to regard the other +with suspicion and aversion; and that the relations between the two +became, and seemed likely to remain, exceedingly unpleasant. + +This version of the matter was given me by an animal whose veracity is +above suspicion, being none other than old Jenny, the donkey. She was a +most learned antiquarian, and had lived to a very advanced age before +she had finally settled her opinion upon the merits of the question. +But, being an ass of well-balanced mind, and entirely impartial between +the two races, I believe that she fairly stated the arguments on both +sides, and that her accuracy may be thoroughly relied on. + +She went on to relate to me chronicles of the past, which I found most +interesting; and it is with a view to the better understanding, by +those who care to read them, of those chronicles, that I have ventured +to give the above preliminary facts upon the authority of this +venerable quadruped. + +There was a time, she said, when dogs and cats were certainly upon +better terms than at the present day. It was a happier time for both, +she had no doubt; but still, being but a donkey, and very humble, she +did not wish to put forward her opinion as by any means conclusive upon +that or any other point. She could not recollect the time when the two +races were positively upon friendly terms, but she believed such a time +to have existed, and that within the memory of ravens, if not of asses. + +There was a curious legend which had been told her by a tinker's +donkey, who had been a great traveller, and knew more than most of his +kind, though there was, as a rule, much more knowledge among donkeys +than men supposed. This particular donkey, however, had seen and +learned in his travels a great deal more than many men; who, when they +travel abroad, only seem to try how far they can go, and when they +arrive at a city, live with their own fellow-countrymen as much as they +can, import their own method of life into foreign countries, instead of +living as the people of the country do; and come home again with a very +small addition to the knowledge with which they started. + +The tinker's donkey, being of a very different cast of character, and +much given to careful and attentive observation of all he saw in the +various places he visited, always brought home a vast deal of useful +information, with which he never refused to enliven his brother asses +as they enjoyed a friendly bray over their thistles. And it was during +one of these long journeys of his that he picked up the legend which he +told old Jenny, and which she generously imparted to me. + +At a remote period of history--no matter exactly when and no matter +exactly where--perfect love and harmony existed between the two great +races of dog and cat. There was neither jealousy nor rivalry between +them; and, indeed, why should there have been such at any period of +time? + +Dogs have ever preferred bones, or portions of the carcasses of +slaughtered animals, to any other food; whilst, to cats, the flesh of +the mouse, disdained as a rule by the canine species, and the tender +breast of the newly-fledged bird, form more attractive feasts. + +True it is, that both races are fond of milk, but there is nothing in +that single similarity of taste to excite ill-feeling and bitterness; +and no dog ever clashed with the love of the cat for fish, nor have +cats the same partiality for biscuits which some of the other race have +frequently displayed. + +Then, again, their pursuits in life are of a somewhat different +character, those of the dog being more varied than those of the feline +species. The sheep-dog guards with vigilance the flock entrusted to his +care; the foxhound follows his prey with keen scent and unfailing +ardour; the greyhound stretches his lanky form in eager pursuit of the +unfortunate hare; the mastiff, seated in front of his kennel in the +backyard, warns the inmates of the house of the approach of beggars or +persons of doubtful character: the pug-dog, the terrier, the +pomeranian, all have their separate employments and varied uses, in +none of which does a cat seek to share, and with none of which does she +ever wish to interfere. + +The cat, on the other hand, has amusements and occupations to a great +extent peculiar to herself. She loves to bask in the sun, upon the +window-sill if such be available, on fine days, and in wet or cold +weather to nestle snugly upon the hearthrug. When she goes out, it is +not to run here and there and everywhere, after the fearless and +sometimes intrusive manner of the dog. She prefers to steal quietly and +leisurely along, placing her velvety feet softly upon the ground, and +peering round on each side of her, to see that the country is secure. +Crawling along the top of a wall, or creeping up the stem of a tree, +she strives to capture the unwary bird, who may afford her sport and +amusement first, and a meal afterwards. Or, seated demurely in some +corner of a room or near some tree, where mice frequent, she does not +object to watch patiently, whilst minutes and hours pass away, in the +hope of at last finding an opportunity to pounce upon her favourite +victim. With all this no dog has any reason to interfere, and none has +ever attempted to rival the cat in the pursuit of bird or mouse. + +Again: dogs are more apt to attach themselves to the persons of men or +women, cats more readily become attached to the places in which they +have lived; so that, once for all, if we consider the nature, the +character, and the habits of these two great races, we shall, I am +confident, come to the conclusion that there can be no real cause for +their natural enmity, but that, in the great scheme of creation, they +were intended to be upon as friendly and harmonious terms as was +certainly the case at the time of which we now speak. + +Such were the reflections of Jenny, and I am inclined to endorse them +all, and to think that I see the confirmation of their truth in the +legend which I am about to tell as she told to me. + +It chanced that at this time a worthy couple possessed an animal of +each sort, of which they were extremely fond. The dog was a handsome, +black, curly fellow; of what particular breed I don't know, but this +description of him sounds as if he was a Romney-Marsh retriever, or +something of the sort. The cat was a tortoise-shell, and one of the +most perfect specimens of her kind; with glossy fur, elegantly-shaped +body, and tail like a fox's brush, which swept the ground as she +walked. + +Jenny did not know the names of the worthy couple who owned these +animals; and in fact I have noticed that, in most of the stories which +animals have told me from time to time, men and women are made to play +a very subordinate part, and are indeed for the most part considered as +altogether inferior beings by the excellent animals of and by whom the +stories are told. Thus, in the present instance, although the good ass +knew perfectly well that the dog's name was Rover, and the cat's Effie, +she knew no more than an ignorant calf might have done of the names of +the people with whom they lived. Nay, if I remember rightly, her +expression was that, "Some people lived in and kept the house in which +Rover and Effie dwelt;" so that very likely the donkey, and perhaps the +animals themselves, considered that the premises belonged to +themselves, and that the man and woman were merely lodgers on +sufferance. + +And very likely, as a matter of fact, this is the actual view +entertained by many of our animals--horses, dogs, cats, possibly even +pigs and chickens--at the present day, if we did but know it. Perhaps +it is as well we do not, as we might consider our supremacy challenged +and our rights invaded, and this might make us less kind to the poor +animals, which would be very sad. + +I should not wonder, however, if it was the truth; for I am sure our +servants--or some of them--have firmly-rooted convictions that our +houses and everything in them, are at least as much, if not more, +theirs than ours, and some of us give in to them very much as if we +thought so too. So I do not see why the four-legged creatures, as well +as the two-legged, should not think the same thing,--and perhaps they +do. + +Rover and Effie, as I have said, lived in this house, which, to put the +matter in a way not likely to be offensive to anybody, was also +inhabited by an old couple--I mean a man and his wife; because, of +course, "a couple" might, standing alone, mean a couple of ducks, or a +couple of fowls, or rabbits, or anything else of the kind. But it was a +man and his wife, and they had no children, and they were very fond of +the dog and cat, and petted them both exceedingly. They passed very +happy lives, having very little to trouble themselves about, and being +possessed of a comfortable home, and plenty of agreeable neighbours. + +Rover and Effie used to walk out together, and were for some time, as +most of their respective races were, the very best of friends. Neither +of them would have suffered a strange dog or cat to breathe a syllable +against the other; and in their tastes, thoughts, and actions, they +were as much allied as was possible under the circumstances. + +Things continued in this happy condition until an old weasel, who lived +in the immediate neighbourhood, cast his envious and malicious eye upon +the two friends and determined it possible to interrupt their amicable +relations. He had his own reasons for so doing. + +The family of weasels, though of ancient lineage and old blood, had +never been considered as particularly respectable. In fact they had +always been a set of arrant scamps. The rats and rabbits complained +bitterly of their intrusive habits, and extremely disliked their +abominable practice of entering the holes used by other animals, and +carrying blood and murder into homes that were otherwise peaceful and +contented. The hens also raised their homely cackle in the same strain, +and counting egg-sucking as among the worst of crimes, brought heavy +charges against the weasels on that account. In fact, no one had a good +word for the little animals, except indeed their cousins the stoats, +and some of the unclean sorts of birds, to wit, the jay, the magpie and +the carrion crow, who themselves lived chiefly by thieving. + +The weasel had a great jealousy of the cat, because she interfered with +him in the matter of rats, mice, and small birds, to all of which he +was partial; and he also saw in the dog a rival as regarded rabbits. + +Whilst the two remained in such close alliance, he thought that they +were able to wield a power which, although not actively exerted against +himself, was little likely to be ever used in his favour; and he +therefore resolved to lessen that power if he possibly could, by sowing +the seeds of discord between the hitherto friendly animals. But clever +as he was, the weasel racked his brains in vain for a long time. He +could think of nothing which would effect his object, and could satisfy +himself with no plan by which he might approach the two animals with +that intent. + +It would not, indeed, have been hard for him to have entered the house +by the means open to him, namely, a drain or a rat's hole, of which +there were several. But, should he do so, he ran the greatest risk of +having his intentions mistaken, and of suddenly falling a victim to one +of the very two animals with whom (though not from any kindly feeling) +he wished to communicate. The same fear prevented his accosting them +during their walks, for he could not tell but that they might turn upon +him and seize him before he could escape. Direct communication, then, +appeared to be out of the question; and he accordingly resolved to seek +a confederate, through whom he might perchance accomplish his wicked +ends. + +So he went to a neighbouring magpie, knowing the love of meddling which +characterises that class of birds, and sought her aid in his scheme. +The magpie was a very wary and cunning bird, and would not trust +herself within paws' length of the weasel, for although she knew that, +happily for herself, she was not a morsel which even a weasel could eat +with relish, yet she was also well aware of the bloodthirsty nature of +the animal, and thought it better not to expose him to the temptation +of getting her neck into his mouth. So she sat up in the old hawthorn +tree, and chattered away to herself, whilst the little animal came +underneath and tried to attract her attention. + +When at last she condescended to see him, she would not enter upon +business for some time, but, like many persons who, not being blameless +themselves, are very ready to blame other people, chattered away to him +for a good five minutes upon the subject of his general bad behaviour, +and read him a lesson upon morality, coupled with a homily upon the sin +of thieving, which would have come admirably from the beak of a +respectable rook, but was very ill-placed in that of a notorious bad +liver and evil-doer like the magpie. + +The weasel, however, keeping his object steadily in view, heard her +remarks with great apparent politeness, although as a matter of fact +her advice (like that which many better people give, both in and out of +season) went in at one of his ears and out at the other, and produced +not the smallest effect upon his future conduct. When her chatter came +at last to an end, he unfolded the nature of his business and asked her +counsel and assistance in the matter. + +Now the magpie was by no means friendly to the dog and cat, having an +idea that they were better off in their worldly affairs than she was, +which is always a sufficient cause for evil-minded people to dislike +others. So she had no objection at all to enter upon a scheme which +might annoy and injure them, and indeed her natural love of mischief +would have prompted her to do so, had she had no other feeling in the +matter. Having always, however, an eye to the main chance, she asked +the weasel what she should gain by the transaction, and having been +faithfully promised the eye-picking out of the first twelve young +rabbits he should catch, she at once consented to go into the business. + +The idea of the two confederates was to create in the first place a +coldness between the dog and cat, by means of inducing the couple +already mentioned, to show greater favour to one than the other. + +Here, however, arose another difficulty. How could either weasel or +magpie obtain access to a man and woman, or in any shape exercise an +influence over their conduct and actions? The idea was so preposterous +that they had to give it up. + +Then came the question whether they could not persuade either the cat +or dog to do something which would offend and annoy the other, either +by being opposed to his or her feelings and prejudices, or being +actually unpleasant and disagreeable. If they could only settle on +something of this kind, it did not appear so impossible to carry out +the plan. The weasel need not be seen in the matter, and would incur no +such personal danger as that to which he might have been exposed by any +scheme which entailed his actual communication with the enemy. The +thing must be done by the magpie, who, seated upon the roof of the +house, or in an adjacent tree, could converse with either cat or dog +without the smallest risk, and was sly and crafty enough to poison the +minds of both. + +So it was agreed that this should be the course taken, and what was to +be the precise form of the magpie's address will be speedily gathered +from the story. + +The two innocent animals who were the object of this nefarious plot +upon the part of creatures so vastly inferior to themselves, were all +the while quite unconscious of the conspiracy which was being hatched +against them. They went on just the same, and were as friendly as ever. +Nor was their harmony disturbed by the introduction into the household +of a small poodle, whom somebody gave to the mistress of the house, and +who rather amused them than otherwise by his curious antics and +grotesque behaviour. He was a curious dog, and had some funny tricks, +but old Jenny said that she never heard that there was much against +him, or that he had any concern in the wicked plot of the weasel and +the magpie. + +Having fully determined upon the plan to be pursued, the crafty pair of +rascals waited until they could hit upon a time when the cat and dog +were not together. The opportunity soon occurred. One fine morning the +human occupier of the house (who laboured under the strange but, among +human beings, not uncommon delusion that the place and all that it +contained belonged to him) went out for a walk in the country, +accompanied, as was frequently the case, by honest Rover. + +The sun was shining so brightly that Mrs. Effie thought that she had +better make the most of it, and get some fresh air at the same time, +with no more exertion than was necessary. So she climbed quietly up on +the window-sill, stretched herself at full length thereupon, and basked +luxuriously in the warm rays of the sun. + +Seeing her thus enjoying herself, the magpie flew leisurely into an +apple tree which grew near the house, and began to chatter in a way +which was certain to attract the cat's attention before long. After a +little while Effie began to wink and blink her eyes, move her ears +against the woodwork on which she lay, and appear as if disturbed by +the noise. Presently she lifted up her head, shook it, and sneezed +violently. + +"Bless you, Pussy," immediately said the magpie from the apple tree. + +Effie looked at her in some surprise. + +"Many thanks," she said; "the more so, indeed, since I do not happen to +have the pleasure of your acquaintance." + +"More's the pity," replied the bird; "but that is no reason why I +should refrain from giving a civil blessing to a person who happens to +sneeze, for you know well enough that if you sneeze three times without +someone blessing you, evil is sure to follow within the week." + +"Indeed," answered the cat, somewhat coldly, for she hardly approved of +being addressed by a mere bird, and that, too, a perfect stranger, in +such a familiar manner. "Indeed, I am sure you are very kind." + +And she laid her head calmly down again upon the windowsill. But the +magpie was not to be daunted, and determined not to lose the +opportunity which she had so carefully sought. + +"Although you don't know me," continued she, "which is not surprising, +considering that you move in high circles, whilst I am only, as one may +say, a humble drudge among the inferior parts of creation, it does not +follow, madam, that I am not well acquainted with _you_, and have long +wished to obtain your friendship. The beauty of your fur, the elegant +shape of your body, the graceful action with which you move, and, above +all, the sweetness of your voice (which I have sometimes been fortunate +enough to hear at nights), have all made an impression upon me which +will not easily be removed. I only wish I might know you better." + +As the bird spoke, she hopped from twig to twig of the apple-tree, +until she came within easy speaking distance of Effie, and lowered her +voice so as to make it less harsh, and more impressive in conversation. +Now cats, as is well known to the attentive student of natural history, +are by no means averse to flattery. It has sometimes been said that the +same is true of women, but this is by no means fair as a general +description of the latter, many of them cordially disliking it, and +taking it as anything but a compliment when men bespangle them with +empty flattery, instead of carrying on sensible conversation, and +treating them like reasonable beings. But it is undoubtedly true of +cats. Three things they can never resist: cream, scratching their +heads, and flattery; and as the magpie had no cream, and forbore to +attempt scratching the cat's head for reasons of her own, she fell +back, as we have seen, upon flattery. + +Effie listened, it must be confessed, with pleasure, and drank in the +words of the magpie as greedily as if they had been inspired by the +undoubted spirit of truth. As a matter of fact, her elegance of body, +beauty of fur, and gracefulness of action might all have been fairly +conceded to be matters of opinion, in which many would have agreed with +the magpie. But as to the beauty of her voice, anybody who has ever +lain awake at night and listened to a concert of cats upon the adjacent +roofs will be inclined to stop his ears at the bare recollection of it, +and to confess that the magpie must have well known that she was +telling a--well, a tarradiddle. + +Strange to say, however, the allusion to her voice touched and pleased +Effie more than anything else in the magpie's speech, and this the +cunning bird had fully expected. She knew cat nature well, which +differs but little from human nature in this respect, that people very +often fancy themselves to possess some talent or virtue, in which they +are, as a matter of fact, deficient, and not unfrequently, whilst +priding themselves upon the fancied possession, neglect to cultivate +and develop some other quality which they really have, and which might +be made much more useful to themselves and others. + +So Effie was proud of her voice--where there was nothing to be proud +of--and extremely pleased to hear it praised by the magpie, whom she +instantly set down in her mind as an evidently respectable and +well-informed bird, and one whose acquaintance it might be well to +make. Without lifting her head, however, or disturbing the position of +her body, which was so placed as to get as much sun as possible, she +replied in a languid tone of voice: + +"You are really very kind, Madam Magpie, and I am far from wishing to +decline the acquaintance you offer." + +The magpie broke in at once in a quick chatter, her words tumbling one +over another as if they could not get fast enough out of her beak. + +"Oh, how good, and kind, and nice, and polite, and generous, and +affable, and altogether charming you are! I have often watched you +sunning on the window-sill or strolling about the gardens, or looking +out for mice, or amusing yourself in one way or another, and I have +always looked, and longed, and hoped, and wished, and wondered if I +might make so bold as to speak to such a grand, lady-like, beautiful, +queenly creature; and when I've heard your voice, I've often said to +myself, 'Here's music, and melody, and taste, and feeling, and harmony, +and everything that is delightful in sound, and if the lady would only +learn singing (though little learning it is she wants), and take it up +as a profession, how happy the world and everybody in it would be made: +and what so pleasant as to make people happy with the good gifts we +have, and who has more than she?'" + +As the magpie rattled on, Effie felt more and more pleased, and became +still more strongly convinced than before that the bird was a superior +creature, who had well used her opportunities, and possessed opinions +which were entitled to great weight. + +Meantime the weasel, who was listening to the conversation from an old +rat's hole in which he had hidden hard by, was fit to kill himself with +laughter when he heard the flattery of his ally, and how the cat took +it all in. + +The latter now raised not only her head but her body, and sat up upon +the window-ledge, looking with friendly glance at the old bird in the +tree. + +"Really," she said, in rather an affected tone, "really, you think too +well of me--you do indeed--but now you speak of it, I _have_ (so my +friends say at least) something of a voice, and have often thought of +cultivating it more than I have hitherto done. But all are not of the +same opinion, and I know that my friend Rover the dog thinks +differently." + +Here the magpie quickly interposed. + +"Oh the jealousy of this wicked world and of them dogs in particular! +To hear that black, ugly, shaggy animal howl at the moon, or what not, +of a night. I declare if it isn't enough to drive one crazy; and for +such an animal as _that_ to think anything but good of your lovely, +sweet, tuneful, angelic notes! 'Tis really shocking to think he should +do so--but envy and meanness, my dear creature, and malice and jealousy +was ever in the hearts of dogs--forgive me that I should say so, +knowing as how you live in the same house and bear with him as you do." + +These words rather gave Effie a new idea of her situation, but as they +were evidently intended to be complimentary to herself, though at her +friend's expense, she listened to them with complacency. + +"You must not blame my friend," she demurely answered, "because he has +not such a voice as mine. Few have such, as I think I may say without +being suspected of vanity, and I have no reason to think that he is +either mean or envious. True, he does not evince the same pleasure in +my notes as that which you so kindly express, but this is merely a +matter of taste." + +"Ah, you dear, kind, good, charitable creature," rejoined the magpie, +"it is so like you to take the best and most pleasant view of whatever +anybody else says or does. But never mind, if the dog don't like it, +others do, and for _my_ part, I should like to hear you play and sing +all day and all night long." + +"As for playing," returned the cat, "I do not pretend to do _that_; in +fact I have never learned, and have always been accustomed to trust to +my natural voice without any accompaniment." + +"Never learned to play?" cried the magpie in a voice of astonishment. +"Dear me, dear me, what a pity! I have so often heard good singers like +you speak of the pleasure of being able to accompany oneself, and I am +sure you _could_ play if you liked. Now I have a neighbour who plays +the violin in the most delightful manner, and what is more, he gives +lessons upon that charming instrument. A very few lessons from him, and +I am sure you would play so well that the whole neighbourhood would +flock to hear you!" + +"Really," said Effie, "this sounds very tempting. I have always felt +that one ought to cultivate one's talents, and make the most of the +gifts which Nature has given us. Your words are well worth +consideration," and she mused for a few moments, purring all the while +in a contented and self-satisfied tone. + +The magpie, who had now brought the conversation to the very point she +desired, according to the plan agreed upon with the weasel, began to +press the matter home to the cat, telling her that she was wronging +herself as well as all the other animals in not making her talents of +more avail to them, and taking advantage of the opportunity which now +offered. + +The musical neighbour of whom she had spoken, turned out to be "Honest +John," the hare, and although his services were in great requisition, +the magpie said, she was sure that she should be able to secure them +for so distinguished a person as the cat, provided that she would +consent to take lessons. + +After a little more talk, Mrs. Effie decided to allow the magpie to +sound the hare upon the subject, and appointed another meeting upon the +following day in order to discuss the matter further. Then the magpie, +having done a good morning's work, and successfully laid the train by +which she hoped to carry out her plot with the weasel, flew chuckling +off, whilst the weasel stole silently away, and occupied himself on his +own affairs. + +Meanwhile the cat was much gratified by all that had passed. She felt +that she was appreciated; and that those who lived around evidently +recognized her as a person to be considered and made much of. She +resolved that she would tell the dog nothing whatever of her interview +with the magpie, partly because she thought he would laugh at the +readiness with which she had listened to the bird's flattery, and +partly because she was quite sure that he would entirely disapprove of +her proposed lessons upon the violin. Thus, then, were the first seeds +sown of that unhappy quarrel which was destined to divide the two once +united races. + +Rover returned from his walk in a cheerful and pleasant mood, and +behaved in the most friendly spirit towards his old friend. He could +not help observing, however, that she hardly treated him after the same +fashion. She seemed to hold her head higher than usual, and stood more +upon her dignity than had formerly been the case. Being a good-natured +dog, he took no notice of this, and, in fact, attributed her conduct to +some accidental derangement of the nerves or the digestion. But when +the same thing continued during the whole of the next day, he began to +feel rather annoyed. Still he said nothing, and went for his walk as +usual. As soon as his back was fairly turned, the magpie again made her +appearance, and commenced another conversation with the cat. She had +not been able to see Honest John, she said, but had made an appointment +for the following day, and would call again on the morning after. Then +she went on in her former strain, praising the cat's beauty and +sweetness of voice to the skies, and throwing in all the nasty +insinuations she could think of against poor Rover. Jenny always used +to get angry when she came to this part of the story, vowing that no +faithful person, and, in fact, no real lady, would have allowed anyone +to say such things of an absent friend, but would have stopped the +mischievous gossip at once. + +Effie, however, did no such thing; and after all, we must own that she +only acted in the same manner as a great many men and women, for +everybody likes to hear himself praised, and when a person wants to +abuse or run down another, if he manages to do so in the same +conversation in which he flatters his listener, he has an excellent +chance of escaping without rebuke from the latter. Besides, whatever +Jenny's opinion may have been, we know very well that, after all, she +was but an ass. + +So the second visit passed off as successfully as the magpie could have +wished, and then there was a third, and at each interview she scattered +her poisoned seed so cleverly, that day by day the difference between +the two old friends grew imperceptibly wider. I think it was not until +the magpie had paid her fourth visit that the arrangement about the +violin lessons was finally made. + +"Honest John" had reasons for declining to visit the house in which +Mrs. Effie lived, but, on being bribed by promises of lettuce and +parsley from the garden, freely given by the cat, and conveyed to him +by the magpie, the hare consented to give evening lessons three times a +week to Effie, provided that she would consent to come down and receive +them by the stream which crossed the meadow close to the wood in which +Honest John generally resided. In that meadow lived a most respectable +cow, reputed to be a great lover of music, and John suggested that +after a short time it might be possible for the two to take lessons +together, and that a duet between them would be most melodious. + +Still this arrangement was kept completely secret from the dog, and the +results that followed almost entirely arose from this silence on +Effie's part, which was really as foolish as it was unnecessary. Had +she opened her heart to her old friend, all might yet have been well, +but she had promised the magpie to conceal the matter, and so she did. + +She was obliged to practise deceit in order to go forth to her lessons +without the knowledge of the dog. She therefore pretended to him that +she had a great fancy for cockchafers, which always came buzzing about +in the early summer evenings, which was the best time to catch them. So +she made this the excuse for stealing out of the house somewhat late, +and Rover, finding that she evidently did not want his company, and +being too proud to force himself upon anybody, stayed quietly at home. + +So the lessons began, and it must have been a curious sight to see the +hare and the cat sitting side by side between the wood and the stream, +the former instructing the latter how to hold the violin and to wring +from it those sounds with which, according to the magpie, she would +soon delight the world. + +The worthy Rover, albeit quite unsuspicious of what was going on, saw +no improvement in the manners and behaviour of his old friend. She was +not only cold to him, but not unfrequently behaved with positive +discourtesy, making faces when he wished to engage in a friendly game +of play with her, frequently setting up her back at him, and +occasionally going to the length of spitting. In fact, whatever harmony +she might be learning from the hare, the harmony of the household was +certainly not increased, and a most uncomfortable state of things +prevailed. The good dog became positively unhappy when he found that +such an estrangement had grown up between his old friend and himself, +and often wondered whether he had given her any just cause of offence, +and whether any action on his part would be able to set matters right +again. + +So matters went on for some time, and the magpie and weasel chuckled +vastly over the success of their wicked plot. The cat, meanwhile, made +some progress with her lessons, and received the compliments of honest +John upon her performance, which in reality was execrable. She had not +the slightest idea of time or tune, and could hardly produce a sound +from the violin, whilst her voice was so disagreeable that the cow, far +from consenting to join her in a duet, invariably left that part of the +meadow as soon as she began, and went away to moo by herself as far off +as possible. Still the cat persevered, the foolish hare expressed +himself satisfied, and the magpie lost no opportunity of encouraging +Effie in her praiseworthy exertions. + +She irritated Rover exceedingly about this time by caterwauling +frequently at night, which made the honest fellow quite fidgety, and no +doubt contributed in some degree to the final catastrophe which was now +drawing near. + +The magpie, who, as it may be seen, cared neither for dog, cat, hare, +nor for anything nor anybody except her own interest and amusement, saw +plainly enough that the cat could not be deceived for ever by her +flattery, and that some day or other she would discover the truth, +namely that she was making no progress at all with her music, and was +in fact no further advanced than when she first began. Having no regard +whatever for the hare, upon whose large eyes she sometimes cast a +covetous glance as if longing to peck them out, the wicked old bird +thought that her best plan to turn the cat's possible anger from +herself, would be to persuade her that her progress towards musical +perfection was only delayed by the negligence or stupidity of "Honest +John." + +She began by suggesting to Effie that although her voice was as fine as +ever, and her notes as clear and true, she did not seem to be able to +accompany herself as yet upon the violin. Considering her great natural +talent this was certainly rather strange. Was she _quite_ satisfied +with her master? Hares were jealous animals. Was this one free from the +disease? Would it not be well to ask him why she could not yet +accompany herself as she wished to do? + +By means of such words as these, the cunning magpie succeeded in +gradually instilling into the mind of Effie discontent and suspicion of +the hare, towards whom she had up to that time entertained nothing but +feelings of gratitude and friendship. At her very next lesson she +complained of not getting on fast enough, and questioned Honest John +sharply upon the subject. The hare made the best excuses that he could, +took most of the blame upon himself, denied that there was any such +want of progress as was supposed, and promised that the very next +evening he would persuade the cow to be present, and join in their +musical performance. That night Effie nearly drove Rover mad with her +attempts at a private rehearsal. + +The dog passed a sleepless night, baying angrily but uselessly at the +moon, and wondering how on earth any living creature, cat, dog, or man, +could find pleasure in squalling all night instead of going comfortably +to bed, and seeking their natural rest. When next morning came, he had +nearly had enough of it, and felt cross all day towards the cat, who +had really become such a disagreeable inmate of the house as to have +almost altogether destroyed its comfort as a home. The day wore on, and +as evening approached, the cat made her usual preparations to leave the +house for the purpose of taking her lesson. + +In order fully to understand how it was that the events came to pass +which I am about to relate, I must here remark that the little poodle, +whose name was Frisky, had observed the constant absence of Effie at +this particular time, and had once or twice spoken about it to Rover. + +On this evening, when the same thing happened again, he remarked to the +old dog that it was curious that the cat should so often go out of an +evening, and suggested that they should stroll out together and see if +they could find out where she had gone to, and how she managed to catch +the cockchafers. + +To this Rover consented, partly out of good nature towards the little +poodle, and partly because, being rather out of sorts, and irritated by +all he had lately had to go through, he thought a moonlight stroll +might cool his heated blood and do him good. So, about an hour after +the departure of the cat, when the moon was up and shining brightly, +the two dogs sauntered forth for their walk. + +Meanwhile Effie had gone down to her accustomed trysting place with the +hare, and there she found Honest John, and saw that, true to his word, +he had induced the cow to cross the stream and consent to join in their +performance. + +[Illustration: THE CAT'S LAST MUSIC LESSON.--P. 212] + +They began well enough: the hare playing a solo upon the violin, on +which he was really skilful; and the cow afterwards mooing melodiously; +then the cat, after a gentle "miauw," which hurt nobody's ears, took +the violin, and made a prodigious effort after success, raising her +voice at the same time in tones so discordant that the hare +involuntarily clapped his paws to his ears to keep out the horrible +sounds. This action suddenly and at once disclosed to the cat the real +poverty of her performance; and the manner in which she had been +deceived by those who had flattered her upon an excellence of voice +which she had never possessed. Forgetful of the real culprit, who had +led her to the pass at which she had now arrived, she turned the full +current of her rage against the master who had failed to supply her +with that voice and taste for music which nature had denied. Dropping +the violin in a paroxysm of rage, she clasped the unhappy hare suddenly +round the neck, as if in a loving embrace, perhaps meaning at first +only to give him a good shaking for his misbehaviour. As she did so, +she exclaimed-- + +"Honest John, Honest John, do you laugh at your pupils, then, and stop +your ears against the sounds you yourself have taught them to make?" + +The hare could only reply by a faint squeak, for the cat held him +tight, and pressed his body close to her own. As she did so, I suppose +nature asserted itself in her breast, and she could not resist the +temptation of fastening her teeth in the throat which was so invitingly +near her mouth. A fatal nip it was that she gave the poor hare. The +warm blood followed immediately. The tiger's thirst was awakened in the +cat at once, and, all the more excited by the struggles of the hare to +escape, she threw her paws more closely around him, and bit so fiercely +that the poor wretch soon knew that he was lost indeed. Forgetful of +music, of the cow, of the violin, of everything but the mad passion of +the moment, Effie clung tightly to the dying hare, purring to herself +with a savage and horrible satisfaction as she did him slowly to death, +and his large liquid eyes, turned to her at first with a piteous look +as if to ask for mercy, grew fixed and glassy and dull as he yielded up +his innocent life and lay dead beneath his cruel pupil. + +All this passed in a minute, and so indeed did that which followed. The +cow, too utterly astonished at what had happened to think of +interfering, even if her peaceful disposition would not in any case +have prevented her doing so, stood aghast during the short struggle, +rooted to the ground with horror and amazement. Then, when the horrid +deed was done, she gave vent to a mighty, unearthly bellow, turned +round, rushed to the stream, in which the reflection of the glorious +moon above was clearly shining at the moment, leaped straight over it, +and ran wildly away to the other end of the meadow. + +Other actors appeared upon the scene at the same moment. Rover and +Frisky had by chance come that way in their stroll, and had seen the +musical performers just at the very moment when the cat gave vent to +those discordant notes which had so offended the ears of the +unfortunate hare. + +They had precisely the same effect upon worthy Rover, who no sooner +heard them than he threw himself upon the ground, buried his head in +his paws, and tried to shut them out altogether. As he shut his eyes at +the time, he did not immediately see what followed. In fact he lay +still, groaning audibly for a minute or two, until aroused by shouts of +laughter from his little companion. + +"Look, Mr. Rover," exclaimed little Frisky, still holding his sides +with merriment. "See what fun they are having! Effie and a hare are +rolling about together so funnily. And see--oh, _do_ look. Here comes +the cow! Oh, what a jump!" + +And he went off into another fit of laughter as the cow came thundering +by them in her mad career. + +But when Rover raised his head and looked forward, he comprehended the +scene at once, and knew that it was no laughing matter, at least for +one of the actors. For an instant--but only for an instant--he paused, +but in the next moment his resolution was taken. With a loud, indignant +bark, he sprang forward, and rushed towards the spot where the +treacherous Effie still held her lifeless victim in her fatal embrace. + +"Murderess!" he shouted, as he sprang across the stream. "Vile +murderess, these then are your cockchafers, and this the meaning of +your moonlight rambles! But you shall be punished for this abominable +crime, and that without delay!" + +Perhaps if good Rover had made a shorter speech, or rushed upon the cat +without making one at all until he had caught her, he would have +succeeded in his object, and avenged the poor hare. + +But Effie was no fool, and as soon as she heard the honest bark of her +old companion, she knew by instinct that the game was up, and that the +sooner she was off the better. Therefore, without a moment's delay, she +tore herself from the still panting body of the luckless hare, and +darted into the wood scarce half-a-dozen yards in front of the pursuing +Rover. In fact I think he would actually have caught her, and possibly +changed the whole current of the future relations which were +thenceforward to exist between their respective races, but for her +skill in climbing, of which she took advantage by rushing up a large +leafy oak which stood near the outside of the wood, and from the lofty +branches of which she presently sat licking her lips and looking down +in safety upon her late friend, but now justly incensed enemy. + +With bitter words did the good dog upbraid her with her cold unkindness +and deceit towards himself, and with her still worse treachery and +cruelty towards her more recent acquaintance, the hare. He warned her +against approaching any more the house which had hitherto been their +joint home, and declared that for his part he could no longer have any +friendship for one so utterly base and wicked. + +The cat, having no real defence to make against honest Rover's attack, +contented herself with setting up her back, and spitting violently +until she had somewhat cooled down. Then, with consummate craft, she +began to excuse herself, declaring that the dog was himself in fault, +that his arrogance and overbearing manners had become perfectly +insufferable, and that if she had done anything unworthy of her noble +race, it was not to a dog that she looked to be reproved for the same. + +The bitter language which passed between these two animals is believed +by Jenny to have been the source and origin of the subsequent +estrangement of the two races, and there seems no reason to doubt the +accuracy of her information. Certain it is that Effie never returned +home; whether remorse for her disgraceful conduct had any share in +producing this result, or whether it was simply from the fear of +Rover's threats, it is at this distance of time impossible to say. + +But from that day to this not only did this particular cat never +associate with dogs upon friendly terms, but for any cat to do so, +after she had left kittenhood and reached years of discretion, was and +is quite exceptional conduct. + +Some of Effie's race frequent the woods and mountain fastnesses, +avoiding altogether the abodes of men; others, indeed, consent to be +considered as "domestic" animals, but they, for the most part, regard a +dog as an intruder if he enters the house-door, and keep him at arm's +length as much as possible. + +Rover returned home on that eventful night tired in body and sad at +heart. To his honest and confiding nature it had been a cruel blow to +find that one whom he had of old trusted and loved had turned out to be +both treacherous and cruel. Singularly enough, in his return home, whom +should he encounter but the weasel, who, forgetful of his usual +caution, and desirous of annoying his enemy, let him know that he was +aware of the cat having deceived him, and too plainly showed his +exultation at the quarrel which had taken place, and his hope that it +would be permanent. Rover rushed upon the little beast before he could +escape, and made an end of him with a single shake. + +The result as regarded the magpie was more curious still. Being an +inveterate thief, she no sooner saw that both the dogs, as well as the +cat, were out of the house, than she flew in through the window, and +seized a silver spoon which was lying upon an ordinary meat dish for +the usual purpose to which such articles are devoted, namely, the +helping of the gravy. Delighted with her booty, she flew to the +window-sill, and having hid the spoon in the ivy which clustered round +it, had just hopped into the room again, when the door suddenly opened, +and the window blew to with a bang in consequence of the sudden +draught. + +As it was a self-fastening window, the bird was unable to get out, and +sat there trembling whilst the man-servant belonging to the house +entered the room. Looking round, he presently perceived some gravy +spilt on the clean table-cloth, and another glance satisfied him that +the silver gravy spoon was missing. + +As he knew he should be held responsible for the loss, the plate being +all in his charge, the man was naturally much annoyed, and looked right +and left to see where on earth the spoon could have flown to. Soon he +espied the magpie crouching in the corner of the window-seat, and +trying to hide herself. + +"There's the thief, I'll be bound!" he cried, and stepped towards her. + +The bird, quite beside herself with fear, fluttered on this side and +that, vainly endeavouring to escape through the window. + +"No you don't!" said the man. "You've been stealing, have you, Mistress +Mag. Where's the silver gravy spoon?" + +"Oh!" shrieked the magpie; "I never stole it!--I never stole it!" + +"What has become of it?" said the man. + +"Oh, I don't know--indeed I don't know! The dish ran away with it!" +shrieked the magpie, in great distress of mind, as the man reached out +his hand to seize her. + +"Tell that to the marines!" replied the man, which was an idle and +useless saying, for there were no marines there; and if there had been, +it was highly improbable that the magpie would have told _them_. + +He seized the bird by the wing, and in the agitation and confusion of +the moment, she resented the affront by giving him a sharp peck on the +hand, a compliment which he returned by immediately wringing her neck. + +Thus (said Jenny invariably, when she reached this point in her story) +you see that treachery and cunning, although they may be successful for +a time, in the long run always bring those who practise them into +trouble. So the magpie and weasel, who, by their malicious tricks +brought disunion among friends, and introduced strife into a once +united family, both lost their own lives within a very short time after +the success of their wily arts had been accomplished. + +It was upon this old legend that the song was founded to which I +alluded at the beginning of the story. I confess that I am not quite +clear about the first words, "Hey diddle diddle!" Wise men and learned +writers have given several interpretations of this interjaculation, or +invocation, or exclamation, or whatever you please to call it. + +Some think that the word "diddle" (not to be found in any English +dictionary of repute) must be a proper name, and that either it +belonged to the man who, owning the house in which the dog and cat +lived, knew all the circumstances of the story, and being likely to be +interested in it, was naturally invoked by the author at the beginning +of his song; or that it was, in fact, the name of the author himself, +and that the words mean that "I, Diddle, wish to call your attention to +the following extraordinary facts." Others, however, equally learned, +hold that the word to "diddle" signifies, in slang or common language, +to "do"--to "get the better of"--"to cheat," and that so the words +intend to convey the moral of the whole story; namely, that those who +try to cheat others generally suffer for it in some way or other. +Another interpretation is that it is only another form of the word +"Idyll," and that this song about the cat and dog is meant as a species +of "Idyll" or "Diddle," on one of the most important topics which has +ever agitated the animal world. But, whatever be their origin, there +the words are, and they are the only words in the song which have +caused me the slightest doubt. They are the more curious if the story +be true that the song was composed by a very respectable jay, who was +fully acquainted with the facts as they occurred. + +_She_ could have known nothing about "Diddle," if he was a man; and +very likely only put the words in to suit the jingle of the rhyme. +There can be no doubt that "the cat and the fiddle," are words in which +is intended a satirical allusion to Effie's lessons on the violin with +the unfortunate hare; and "the cow jumped over the moon," is an +unmistakeable allusion to the cow's leap over the stream in which the +image of the moon was reflected at the moment. + +When I think of the palpable reference in the next words to the conduct +of the little poodle who had accompanied Rover, and remember the +unhappy magpie's attempt to avoid her well-deserved fate by attempting +to impute her crime to the dish, I can have no difficulty whatever in +coming to the conclusion that it is upon Jenny's legend that this +remarkable song has been founded. + +Judging, moreover, from the acknowledged antiquity of the legend, and +the extraordinary way in which the facts it relates seem to fit and +dove-tail in with the circumstances we all know of as bearing upon the +general relations between cat and dog, I am inclined to strongly favour +the opinion that the story is the correct version of the first +beginning of the great and terrible schism which exists between the +races. It should be a warning to us human beings to be careful how we +place confidence either in dog or cat with regard to the other. + +If a breakage occurs in my house, and the servant in whose department +it has happened brings forward the not altogether unfamiliar statement +that "the cat did it," I always suspect that some dog has probably +whispered it in his or her ear; and any imputation upon the conduct of +my dogs I invariably attribute to the suggestion of some old cat. +Still, the world is wide enough for both races; and, looking at it from +a selfish point of view, their feud does not so much matter, so long as +they are both obedient and useful to mankind. + +Wherefore, after I had heard Jenny's narrative, and duly rewarded her +with a carrot, I always used to go home and think how much we may all +learn from the habits of the different animals with which our world is +peopled, and how their errors are in reality no greater than our own. +For I am sure I have before now heard people both sing and play the +fiddle, without any more pretension than Effie to be able to do either; +I have heard people boast of having done things quite as impossible as +that the cow should really have jumped over the moon; I have known +people over and over again laugh in the wrong place like the little +dog, and call things sport which are nothing of the kind, and I have +listened to those who could accuse their neighbours of crimes just as +unlikely as that which the magpie attributed to the dish. + +I will say no more, save that I hope it never happens _now_ among men +and women, that husband and wife ever live in such a manner as to +justify the description of their existence as being "like Cat and Dog!" + + + + +OPHELIA. + + +Next to an insane Giant there is nothing more terrible than a mad +Pigmy. It was therefore a dreadful event for all people concerned when +the King of the Pigmies went out of his senses. The disease came on +gradually, and was not immediately discovered. + +His majesty had never been of a very lively disposition, and the court +was therefore not much amazed when he withdrew from the public gaze, +little by little, until he was very rarely visible beyond the precincts +of the palace, and was understood to be deep in his studies. Those, +however, who had the privilege of being immediately about his royal +person, were well aware that his majesty was seriously indisposed. At +first the symptoms were only those of profound melancholy. He declined +his food repeatedly, refused to open his letters, buried his face +constantly in his hands, and went to bed when the dinner bell rang. + +This was unpleasant, as the royal household were forbidden by the laws +of that kingdom to have any dinner except at the same time with the +king, and as pigmies are invariably blessed with good appetites, much +inconvenience would have been caused but for the recognised fact that +nobody ever obeyed the laws unless it happened to suit him to do so. In +this manner the difficulty was got over, and the illness of the king +might have been concealed from his people if no other symptoms had +appeared. But from silent melancholy the unhappy monarch shortly passed +to the stage of frantic violence. + +He threw anything he could lay hands on at the head of any individual +who came near him, used the most fearful language, and gave the most +extraordinary orders. These at first were evaded or received in silence +in the hope they might be forgotten as soon as spoken. But when the +king insisted upon it that the Prime Minister should be cut in pieces, +the Lord Chamberlain fed upon rabbit skins and oil, and the Chief +Justice baked without further delay, these functionaries severally and +together came to the conclusion that the thing could go no further. + +The laws of Pigmyland were clear and well known; upon the death or +incapacity through illness of the reigning sovereign, his eldest son +always ascended the throne as a matter of course, and, failing sons, +his nearest relative succeeded to the sceptre. + +Unfortunately, however, the King of the Pigmies had neither son nor +relative of any kind, which arose principally from the fact of his +having destroyed his father's and mother's families, owing to those +jealous fears which often disturb and distract the minds of tyrants, +and from the additional circumstance that he had never seen fit to +marry. Thus King Pugpoz was the last of his race, and although he was +undoubtedly no longer fit to govern the nation, the question as to his +successor was, as will readily be imagined, one of very great doubt and +difficulty. + +The three great officers of state, that is to say, the Prime Minister, +the Lord Chamberlain and the Chief Justice, who rejoiced in the ancient +and highsounding names of Binks, Chinks and Pigspud, laid their heads +together several times before they could by any means agree as to what +should be done. Each of them would have been willing to undertake the +government himself, and each thought that he was the best person to +whom it could possibly be entrusted. But the other two held quite a +different opinion. Chinks and Pigspud well knew that Binks, eaten up +with gout and rheumatism, was not a person whom the Pigmy nation would +ever accept for their king: Pigspud and Binks were perfectly well aware +that Chinks had a wife and family, whose combined arrogance and +extravagance would certainly ruin the kingdom if he were placed upon +the throne, and Binks and Chinks were thoroughly acquainted with the +evil life which caused the public to regard Pigspud as one of the worst +of men though the best of judges. + +So, since it was evident that none of the three could be safely +elevated to the throne, it became necessary to look about for somebody +else. + +The names of all the great people about the court were duly considered, +but although there were several who would have been very willing to +undertake the business, there were objections to all. One was too old, +another too idle, a third of too tyrannous a disposition, and a fourth +too stupid for the place. So for a time it really seemed as if it would +be impossible to find a king, and that they must either put up with +their mad sovereign or go without one altogether. + +Neither of these results, however, would have been satisfactory, either +to the court or to the nation, and it was therefore with joy rather +than anger that the three great officers of state received the news +that a relation of the royal family had been discovered to exist, in +whom a successor to the unhappy madman might be found. This was the +only son of the king's uncle, who, having been cruelly treated by his +father in early youth, had left Pigmyland in disgust and had been +currently reported to have died shortly afterwards. This, however, had +not been the case. + +Prince Famcram had done nothing of the kind, and had never intended to +leave the world unless compelled to do so, by circumstances beyond his +control. He had embarked on board a vessel which was bound on a long +voyage, and had possibly cherished the hope that his absence from home +would soften his father's heart, and procure for him kinder treatment +upon his return. It is impossible to say whether this might or might +not have been the result, inasmuch as the opportunity of proving the +same never occurred. + +It was not long after the prince's flight, that his cousin the king +took it into his royal head to destroy all his blood relations, among +whom his uncle, the prince's father, naturally perished. When, +therefore, the young man next received news of his family, he learned +that there were none of them left alive except the royal destroyer of +the rest. This news, strange as it may appear, afforded him no +inducement to return to the land of his nativity, for, dear as one's +country should be to every well regulated mind, life is not +unfrequently dearer still, and Prince Famcram was unable to discover +any sufficient reason why he should imperil the one by visiting the +other. + +He stayed away, therefore, and lived as best he could in foreign lands, +until the insanity of his cousin King Pugpoz had been officially +proclaimed and publicly made known. Then, having no longer any fear for +his life, he returned to Pigmyland without delay, and at once advanced +his claim to the sovereignty. + +There were, as is usual in such cases, some persons who pretended to +doubt his identity and declared that he was only an impostor. The +evidence in his favour was, however, too strong for these disloyal and +worthless persons. + +The prince had all the characteristics of his noble family. His hair +was of a bright, staring red; he squinted frightfully with both eyes, +had one leg considerably shorter than the other, and was gifted with a +protuberance between his shoulders which was not far removed from a +hump. He had, moreover, the family dislike to cold water, a strong +propensity to drink spirits, and a temper which of itself was enough to +stamp him as one of the royal line which he claimed to represent. Add +to this, that his language was by no means well chosen or polite, that +his disposition was cowardly and cruel, and that he cared for nobody in +the world but himself, and you have a fair and accurate picture of the +prince upon whose head the crown of the unhappy Pugpoz was about to +descend. + +It may readily be inferred that the prospects of Pigmyland did not seem +to have been much brightened by the change. Indeed, between a mad king +and a bad king the difference appeared so small to some people that +they were unable to see what the country had gained by the substitution +of the one for the other. Nevertheless, the unswerving devotion to +royalty which has always distinguished Pigmies did not fail that mighty +nation upon the present occasion. + +Famcram was welcomed by the voice of the people, and those who doubted +his identity were got rid of as soon as possible. His first act, +indeed, put beyond doubt the righteous nature of his claim. He directed +Pugpoz to be immediately strangled, partly to avenge the death of his +relatives, and partly because he thought it a safer and more +satisfactory arrangement that any chance of his returning to a sane +condition of mind should at once be destroyed. + +Being now undeniably the only legitimate claimant to the throne of his +ancestors, he determined to enjoy himself as much as he possibly could. + +There were considerable treasures in the royal coffers, which had been +amassed by Pugpoz and his predecessors, and with which King Famcram +might have purchased as much enjoyment as would have served him for a +prolonged life-time. Being, however, of opinion that to be merry at +other people's expense is by far the best plan if you can possibly +manage it, he gave out that he expected the principal grandees of the +country to entertain him at banquets, balls, croquet and lawn-tennis +parties, and in order to encourage them in their endeavours to out-do +each other in pleasing their beloved monarch, he declared his intention +of marrying the daughter of the nobleman who, at the end of the next +six months, should have best succeeded in that laudable attempt. The +influence of such a promise was of course prodigious. + +To be the father-in-law of the king was an object well worth the +attainment, and every great man throughout the length and breadth of +the country felt his heart beat high at the royal announcement. Some +indeed there were, who, having no daughters, were not particularly +impressed by the circumstance, and spoke of the whole affair as a whim +of the monarch to which slight importance was to be attached. Others, +who, having seen the manner in which the late king had disposed of his +relations, doubted the advantage of becoming too closely connected with +the royal family, proposed to themselves to take no particular pains to +surpass their neighbours in the attempt to please King Famcram. But, to +tell the truth, the great majority of those who heard the royal +determination, and who happened to have marriageable daughters, +received the news with great delight, and determined to spare no +exertion which might secure such a son-in-law for themselves. + +Conspicuous among these would-be competitors for the prize were the +three great officials, Binks, Chinks, and Pigspud. Each was married, +and none was daughterless. To all three, therefore, the field was open, +and hope beat high in their official breasts. + +Since they first heard of the arrival and claims of Famcram, the three +statesmen had unitedly and steadily welcomed and supported him. They +had therefore some claims upon the royal gratitude, and hitherto their +interests had been so far identical that they had been able to work +together. Now, however, the interests of each were opposed to those of +the other two. + +According to the laws of Pigmyland, the king could only marry one wife, +and therefore his selection of the daughter of either of the three +ministers would at once throw the others in the shade, and place the +father of the bride in a position far superior to that of the other +two. This circumstance, as might have been expected, caused some slight +interruption of the harmony which had hitherto prevailed between these +three illustrious personages. At first, however, the only intention of +each of them was honestly to outdo the other two in the splendour of +the reception which he should afford his sovereign. To Binks, as Prime +Minister, fell the first opportunity, and King Famcram gave him due +notice that he should shortly honour him with a visit to his villa, +which was situate near the Pigmy metropolis. + +Now it so chanced that Binks was a widower, principally in consequence +of his wife having died, and of his having thought it unnecessary to +seek another. He had, however, two fair daughters, gems of their sex, +and bright ornaments of the court of Pigmydom. + +Euphemia was above the height ordinarily allotted to her race, and +could not have been less than three feet and a half high. Her nose was +aquiline, her cheeks flushed with the red blossom of youth, her eyes +dark and piercing, her figure all that could be desired, and her voice +clear as a lover's lute in a still evening. + +Araminta, less tall than her sister, had a delicacy of complexion +unrivalled in Pigmyland; her blue eyes were modestly cast down if you +accosted her. She spoke in tones soft and low like the south wind +whispering in the mulberry-trees, and whilst her sister took your heart +by storm, she stole into it unawares, and made you captive before you +knew you were in danger. + +Such is the description of the two daughters of the noble house of +Binks, as given by a Pigmy writer of eminence at that time, and such +were the charms against which King Famcram had to contend at the +beginning of the campaign. The Prime Minister had intended that his +entertainment should take the shape of a banquet; but the ladies +insisted upon a ball, and a ball it was consequently to be. Immense +preparations were made for days, nay, for weeks beforehand. The villa +was gorgeously decorated, the ball-room tastefully arranged, the +choicest music was provided, and no pains spared to ensure the desired +success. At last the day arrived, and the hearts of Binks and his +daughters beat high with expectation. + +The villa was beautifully placed upon the slope of a mountain, at the +foot of which a broad river wound through flowery meads and fertile +fields, enriching and beautifying both in its onward course. The +grounds of the villa stretching along the banks of the river, were +beautiful to a degree seldom seen out of Pigmyland, and never had they +appeared to greater advantage than on the present occasion. Gay flags +streamed from staffs placed in the most conspicuous positions as well +as from many of the tallest of the trees which abounded in those +magnificent gardens; sounds of lively music were wafted upon the soft +summer breeze to the entranced ear of the listener; and every heart was +filled with rejoicing and merriment. + +King Famcram was received at the entrance by a crowd of well-dressed +courtiers and obsequious attendants, who awaited his coming with all +that exuberant loyalty which is pre-eminently characteristic of the +true Pigmy. He appeared somewhat late, as was in those days always +deemed becoming in royal personages, and his coming was announced by +the enthusiastic cheers of the dense crowd which thronged the +approaches to the garden gates. + +Seated in the hereditary coach of the Pigmy monarchs, drawn by eight +cream-coloured guinea-pigs, and clad in rich garments of various hue, +Famcram drew near to the habitation of the honoured Binks. In his hand +he held the ancient sceptre of his race, which was nothing less than +the petrified skull of an early occupant of the Pigmy throne, who had +by his will left his head to be devoted to this purpose, and directed +that it should be rivetted in gold settings upon his favourite +walking-stick, and further ornamented by such gifts as his faithful +subjects might choose to bestow out of respect for the memory of their +deceased lord. As his successors, each upon his accession to the +throne, invited new gifts to the sceptre as a test of continuous +loyalty and devotion to the throne, the head of the dead king had +practically brought greater wealth to his family than it had ever done +during his life-time, and although an additional precious stone or two +was set in the skull after each recurrence of gifts, the greater +portion of these were, it was more than supposed, converted into cash +by the various monarchs who received them, and appropriated to their +own royal purposes. This valuable weapon King Famcram waved in his hand +as he neared his prime minister's dwelling, and looked round upon his +people with a proud and kingly gaze as he passed along. + +Binks, as was but natural, met his royal master at the gate, and +prepared to escort him up the avenue to the door of the villa, across a +profusion of flowers with which the way thereto was covered. + +Famcram alighted from his carriage, and suffered his host to conduct +him through the great gates, and to go bowing and scraping before him +up the avenue. He followed, squinting around him in a friendly manner, +and graciously expressing his approval of the beauty of the place. But +as soon as he had reached the stone steps which led up to the villa +door, the latter was thrown open, and, one on each side of the doorway, +stood the two daughters of the ancient house of Binks, clad in gorgeous +attire, and each holding in her hand a magnificent bouquet of the +choicest flowers, which it was their intention to humbly offer to their +august sovereign, and which they lost not a moment in presenting. +Scarcely, however, had Famcram set eyes upon the sisters and perceived +their intention, than he positively snorted with disgust, and starting +hastily backwards, (during which process he planted his heel firmly +upon the gouty toe of his Prime Minister,) he turned round fiercely +upon the latter and accused him of having intended to poison him: + +"Wretch!" he cried, "there is poison in those flowers which your +daughters--if such they be--offer to me, and doubtless it has not been +placed there without the knowledge and consent of their vile parent. I +know it but too well. Make no excuses, for they will all be useless. +The nose of a Pigmy of the royal race is never mistaken. My +great-great-grandfather was poisoned by a subtle venom concealed in a +carnation, and in the similar flowers which are conspicuous in each of +the bouquets I see before me, I detect the fate you had in store for +your sovereign. But you shall bitterly rue it! Seize him, guard!" + +The unhappy Binks, overcome with astonishment and terror, in vain +raised his voice to protest that nothing was further from his thoughts +than to perpetrate such a terrible crime as that which the king +suspected--and that, too, against a prince whose cause he had espoused +from the first, and in whose favour his whole hopes were placed. He +vowed that his daughters were certainly as innocent as he was, and +implored that the bouquets might be carefully examined, in order to +prove that no poisonous substance had been placed therein. It was all +to no purpose. Famcram only flew into a still more violent passion. + +"No poison in the flowers!" he cried. "The villain doubts his king's +nose and his king's words! Off with him, guards, at once; and let his +daughters be taken too!" + +At these words Euphemia and Araminta, who had listened with awe-struck +countenances and beating hearts to the extraordinary remarks of the +king, gave utterance to wild shrieks, and fell fainting upon the +doorway, from which they were speedily dragged by the king's orders, +and hurried away, with their unhappy father, to the dungeons of the +palace. + +Having thus got rid of his host and hostess, Famcram allowed himself to +calm down gradually, and, entering the ball-room, permitted those to +dance who wished to do so, whilst he himself proceeded without delay to +the supper-room, and made himself as comfortable as possible. He then +directed all the plate and valuables of the luckless Binks to be packed +up and taken to the palace; and, having placed a guard over the villa, +which he declared should in future be a royal residence, he departed, +with the satisfactory feeling of having made a good night's work of it. + +When news of what had been done reached Chinks, the soul of the Lord +Chamberlain was greatly exercised thereat. He did not for a moment +imagine that Binks or his daughters had been guilty of the crime +imputed to them by their royal master; but in the acts of the latter he +discerned a steady determination to possess himself of the wealth of +his richest subjects, and to reign more absolutely and despotically +than his predecessors. + +How to escape the fate of Binks was a problem by no means easy of +solution. He was blessed with three daughters, Asphalia, Bettina, and +Paraphernalia, so much alike that they could not be known apart, and so +beautiful that nobody could see them without immediately becoming +devoted to them. In these damsels Chinks placed his hopes, and could +not but believe that the king, however hardly he had dealt with his +Prime Minister, would not be insensible to the charms of his Lord +Chamberlain's daughters. Still, he received with some fear and +trembling the notice which Famcram shortly sent him, that he would +visit him at his country house in the following week. + +As the selection of a ball had not turned out well in the case of +Binks, the Chinks family resolved upon another sort of entertainment, +and at vast expense hired a celebrated conjuror to perform before the +sovereign and his court. + +The preparations were great--the company numerous--the weather all that +could be desired, and the monarch, with his attendant courtiers, +arrived in due time at the house, and was ushered into the spacious +hall, where everything had been arranged for his reception. The three +daughters of the house, dressed exactly alike, were there to receive +him; but not a flower was to be seen about any of them, so that the +fatal error of the Prime Minister's children might be avoided. They +were dressed simply, and reverently knelt before the king as they +raised their voices to sing (in tones as true as they were sweet) an +ode which their father had himself composed in honour of his +sovereign's visit. + +Scarcely, however, had they finished the first verse, when the little +tyrant roared out at the top of his voice-- + +"They sing out of tune! they sing out of tune! A royal ear is never +deceived! He has made them do it because he knows I cannot bear a false +note. Seize him, guards! away with him and his shabbily-dressed girls!" + +Chinks stepped forward to explain matters in his most courtly fashion, +when the king brought down his sceptre upon his head with such a +"thwack," that you might have heard it at the other end of the hall, +and, though his wig, which was particularly large, partially saved him, +he dropped senseless upon the floor, whilst his daughters broke into +shrieks of despair which were really out of tune, and were painful +indeed to hear. + +Famcram stopped his ears, and howled loudly for his guard, and before +many minutes had passed, the Lord Chamberlain and his daughters were on +their way to the same dungeons whither Binks and his girls had preceded +them, and the king was occupied in selecting everything in the house +which appeared to be most costly and beautiful, and directing that it +should be forthwith sent to his palace. + +Thus within a few days were two out of the three great functionaries of +the kingdom dismissed, disgraced, and left in great peril of their +lives, whilst the king had added considerably to his wealth, and had +got rid of two people whom he had either suspected or pretended to +suspect of being likely to be troublesome. + +These events made a profound impression upon the mind of Pigspud, and +all the more so when notice came from the king that he should pay him a +visit in the following week. The Lord Chief Justice was a wily and +astute man. Although his life had not been reputable, the peccadilloes +of great lawyers in that country were so usual as to be regarded by the +public with a lenient eye, and, late in life, his appearance had become +so eminently respectable, that a stranger would certainly have taken +him for a dean rather than for a judge, for a deep divine rather than +for a learned lawyer. + +He had but one daughter. Tall, majestic of stature (for she was nearly +four feet high), and with dark hair and eyes so bright that they seemed +to look right through you, Ophelia Pigspud was a most remarkable woman. +She was well read; so well read that people said she could have passed +an examination with credit in almost any subject she had been pleased +to try. Reading, in fact, was no effort to her, and her powers of +memory were extraordinarily great. It was even said that she knew more +of law than many lawyers of the day, whilst no one could deny her skill +in modern languages, and her astonishing proficiency in general +literature. + +As the venerable Chief Justice gazed upon his child, who was indeed the +pride of his heart, he could not but feel uneasy at the prospect of her +being sent to join the families of Binks and Chinks in the dungeons of +the royal palace. + +"Never," he exclaimed, "shall such a fate befall my peerless Ophelia!" + +And having given utterance to this exalted sentiment, he thought for +three days and three nights how to carry it out, and utterly failed to +discover anything at all likely to succeed. Then he bethought himself +of consulting the young lady herself, of whose opinion he thought so +highly that it is curious he had not done so before. + +She smiled calmly when he laid the case before her, reminding her at +the same time that there wanted but three more days to the time fixed +by the king for his visit. + +"Be not alarmed, my beloved father," said she, "but be assured that the +blood of a true Pigspud will not be untrue to itself in the coming +trial. Besides, the education which your kind care has provided for me, +has taught me means of escape from even worse dangers than those which +can proceed from our tyrannical sovereign. Doubt not that it will turn +out well." + +With such reassuring words did the daughter of the Chief Justice +restore courage to the heart of her parent, and he began to look +forward with less fear to the banquet at which it had been arranged +that he should entertain his royal master. It was to be served in the +large banqueting hall of his town house, and great preparations were +set on foot for several days before that appointed for the festive +gathering. But instead of busying herself about the matter, Ophelia +treated it as if it was one wholly indifferent to her, and refused to +be troubled about it in any way whatever. It was in vain that the +domestics, who were accustomed to take all orders from her, besought +her to give various directions upon different questions which arose. +She declined altogether; deputing everything to Mrs. Brushemup, the +housekeeper; and telling old Winelees, the butler, not to come near her +on pain of instant dismissal. + +Her own rooms were in a wing of the house which stretched down to the +banks of the river already mentioned, and from a private door she could +get down upon the banks without coming in sight of the windows of the +principal apartments. + +But before I relate that which happened to the fair Ophelia at this +eventful time, it is but right to inquire what had become of the +unhappy families who had already felt the weight of the tyrant +Famcram's displeasure. Binks, with his two, and Chinks, with his three +daughters, had been cast into the dungeons of the Royal Palace, and the +wife of Chinks having been added to the party, greatly increased the +misery of all by her continual upbraidings of her husband and his +friend as the cause of the misfortune which had befallen their two +families, which were all the more hard to bear, because they were +totally unreasonable and without foundation. + +The dungeons were small, hot, and unsavoury, and the prisoners suffered +greatly, especially as the food supplied to them was scanty in quantity +and wretched in quality. The young ladies endeavoured to pass away the +time in composing epitaphs upon their parents and themselves, which +after all did but little towards raising their spirits, being, as such +things not uncommonly are, of a somewhat melancholy character. Euphemia +and Araminta, however, were so proud of one of their compositions, that +it would be a pity that it should be lost to the world:-- + + "Here lies the minister, great Binks, + No more he for his country thinks; + No more he eats--no more he drinks-- + But, conquered by misfortune, sinks." + +The daughters of the Lord Chamberlain were scarcely equal to such a +poetic effort as the above; but, determined not to be behindhand, +presented their parent with the following stanza:-- + + "Look through these bars with eye of lynx, + And see the chamberlain, Lord Chinks! + He scarce can breathe, and feebly winks, + Quite done to death by prison stinks." + +In this manner did the innocent maidens endeavour to lighten the hours +of captivity which passed over their heads, and when, upon the second +week of their imprisonment, they were moved into larger and more airy +apartments, hope at once revived within their drooping bosoms. It must, +however, be confessed, that in the midst of their distress both Binks +and Chinks contemplated with silent but real satisfaction the probably +speedy advent of Pigspud to join them in their prison, and share their +sorrows. This event they both regarded as quite certain to occur, and +without having any particular ill-feeling towards the Chief Justice, +the three had been too long in the position of rivals to make either +two sorry for any misfortune that befell the third, especially if it +had previously fallen upon themselves. + +Leaving these worthies to their expectations, we will now endeavour to +discover what was passing at the abode of Pigspud. It was the evening +but one before the projected banquet. The shades of evening were fast +closing in around the city, and the mists of the river were beginning +to rise like vapoury spirits from the water, when the private door of +Ophelia's wing was stealthily and quietly opened, and a figure emerged, +clothed from head to foot in a cloak of dark gray. Slowly but surely, +as one who knew the road well, the figure passed along the low +terrace-walk that led down to the bank of the river, and stood at the +brink, silently for a few moments, and then began to murmur words in a +low tone. A listener, however attentive, could scarcely have made out +the meaning of that which Ophelia (for it was none other than the +daughter of the house of Pigspud) was reciting, for the language in +which she spoke was strange, and her tone somewhat indistinct;-- + + "Marley-quarley-pachel-farley, + Mansto macken furlesparley, + Mondo pondo sicho pinto, + Framsigalen hannotinto." + +Such were the mystic words which issued from the lips of the maiden. +Nor was it long before a response was given. A low murmuring sound +proceeded from the river, and out of the rushes which fringed the bank +there presently arose a form of strange and weird appearance. It was +that of an old, a very old woman, with a red cloak wrapped around her, +an umbrella in her hand, and a poke bonnet upon the top of her head. +She was small, though not much below the ordinary height of a Pigmy; +but the most remarkable thing about her was the extreme keenness of her +eye, which seemed to pierce you through and through when she fixed it +upon you. Slowly she rose from among the rushes, and scrambled, somehow +or other, up the bank, until she stood opposite to the maiden who had +summoned her. As soon as she had accomplished this feat, she struck her +umbrella upon the ground, and remarked in a somewhat masculine tone of +voice: + + "What is it, Ophelia, and what do you fear, + That you've called your affectionate godmother here? + Has your 'Pa' been unkind? (since no 'Ma' you have got), + Or a lover appeared when you'd rather he'd _not_? + Are you ill, or unhappy, or is't for a freak + That your godmother's presence you suddenly seek?" + +Ophelia listened with respectful attention whilst the old woman uttered +these words, and then replied in a low, sweet voice:-- + + "Did I not deem the crisis grave + I had not called thee from thy wave: + And if in doing so I err, + Forgive me, gracious godmother! + My father knows thee not, great dame; + My mother told me, all the same, + Thou _wast_ my godmother, and so + I love thee in my weal and woe. + O'ercome by cruel destiny, + Poor Binks and Chinks in dungeons lie, + And our bad king--a grievous sin-- + Hath likewise put their daughters in. + Dear godmother! 'twere sad, you know, + My father should to prison go; + But sadder still (you'll hardly fail + To see) that _I_ should go to gaol. + Yet is the time but two days hence + When Famcram comes; on some pretence + He'll surely send us both to pris'n, + And make _our_ valuables hisn. + Dear Godmother! Pray leave thy wave + Thy loving god-daughter to save, + Or tell me how, by thy kind aid, + The tyrant's power I may evade!" + +Whilst Ophelia was speaking, the old woman kept tapping her umbrella +upon the ground in visible wrath, and a frown appearing upon her face, +which was otherwise not particularly beautiful, did not greatly improve +her personal appearance. As soon as the maiden ceased, she lost not a +moment in making her reply:-- + + "I'm ready, my darling, to do your behest, + For tyrants like Famcram I greatly detest, + And if your good father was not such a dolt, + From the land of the despot he'd speedily bolt. + For Binks and for Chinks I have nothing to say, + And they're probably just as well out of the way; + But as to their daughters--I'm really inclined + To think that the king has gone out of his mind, + And in _your_ case, I'll teach him, as well as I can, + A woman has rights just as much as a man, + And he's vastly mistaken, poor wretch, if he thinks + A god-child of mine is the same as Miss Binks. + Now listen to me: when King Famcram comes here, + Betray not the slightest suspicion of fear, + But enter, quite calmly, the banqueting room + Arrayed in your commonest morning costume. + He'll show irritation; and rage, beyond doubt + (You know he could scarcely be royal without); + But never mind _that_, tho' he rages meanwhile, + Bestow on the fool a contemptuous smile; + In spite of his anger, continue the same, + And ask 'If he isn't content, why he came?' + Whate'er he replies, pray be careful of this, + And do not one word or one syllable miss; + As soon as he threatens, stand just as you are, + But hold up before him this earthenware jar, + Remarking, 'King Famcram, determined I am + To ask you to taste of my raspberry jam.' + He'll do it--he must--since, the truth for to tell, + This jar carries with it a wonderful spell; + And when I've said o'er it the words I'll now say, + Whoever you choose will acknowledge your sway. + While kept in your hand (not a difficult task) + Each person you speak to will do what you ask; + And once the jam tasted, you'll have for your slave + King Famcram, and teach him the way to behave. + But keep the jar safe, for, broken or chipped, + Of your spell and your sway you'll be speedily stripped." + +With these words the old lady, who, whilst speaking, had pulled out of +some pocket or other, or else from the folds of her umbrella, a small +jar, now held it aloft in her hand and displayed it before the eyes of +Ophelia. As soon as she had done so for as long a time as she thought +fit, she stuck her umbrella firmly into the ground, and holding the jar +immediately over it, pronounced certain mystic and fearful words, which +no mortal of ordinary nature could utter, much less write, and which +there is the less reason to mention, because if they were written or +uttered, no child of man could possibly understand them. But when she +had finished this fearful muttering to herself, she spoke out more +loudly, addressing herself thus to the jar and its contents: + + "Jar! possessed of mighty spell, + Do thy work, and do it well. + Serve Ophelia night and day-- + Famcram bring beneath her sway. + Jam! do duty day and night; + Tempt the royal appetite-- + Be to Famcram wine and meat, + Bring him to Ophelia's feet; + Cause him eagerly to crave + Life but as Ophelia's slave; + Bow him humbly, bring him down, + At her footstool place his crown, + And, thy mission to fulfil, + Let him live but by her will." + +Having finished her incantation, and repeated these lines in a voice +sufficiently distinct, though not unlike the croak of a raven, the old +woman now turned once more to Ophelia, as if to ascertain whether she +had anything more to say. The maiden smiled sweetly upon her, and at +once expressed her thanks in the following words:-- + + "Dear godmother! how good thou art! + The burden now has left my heart, + Which like a weight has bowed me down + With fear of tyrant Famcram's frown. + Well do I know 'twere hard to find + A councillor more wise and kind; + And, with thy might and magic aid + No longer shall I feel afraid. + I'll use the jar and jam as told, + And very tight the former hold, + And when King Famcram is subdued + I, with this magic power imbued, + Will make him slave--and let him know it-- + And ne'er forget to whom I owe it!" + +So speaking, Ophelia held out her hand for the promised jar, when the +old woman, making a stride forward, placed it in her hands, and then, +throwing both her arms round the maiden, clasped her tightly in a long +and loving embrace with which she could very well have dispensed. +Gratitude, however, for the immense favour which she was about to +receive at the hands of her excellent godmother, prevented her from +disclosing the repugnance which she probably felt at the vehemence of +the old lady's affection, and having endured it with silent fortitude, +she took the jar into her hands, and, bidding her companion a +respectful farewell, forthwith re-entered the private door through +which she had come, and shortly disappeared within the house. + +The old woman then took up her umbrella, and slowly descending the bank +of the river to the rushes from which she had emerged, speedily became +invisible. The shades of night closed in, and darkness soon set its +seal upon the Pigmy capital and nation. + +The Chief Justice did not see his daughter that evening, and although +he had great confidence in her sagacity, talents, and resources, it +must be confessed that he rose next morning with a heavy heart. In all +probability, he thought, it was his last day of office, and not only of +office, but of freedom. With the fate of the Prime Minister and the +Lord Chamberlain before his eyes, how could he possibly hope to escape? +For a moment the thought of flight crossed his mind, but was as +instantly banished. His hopes, his wealth, his relations, his +home--everything that could make life pleasant was fixed and centred in +his native country, and at his age no change was to be thought of or +could be endured. And then, where could he fly to, and how escape from +the tyrant's spies? + +No: the thought was madness--the event, be it what it might, must be +encountered: the morrow must come in its due course, and, after all, +he, a lawyer, a statesman and a philosopher, ought to be able to put up +with his fate at least as well as other people. + +While the worthy Pigspud thus mused upon the melancholy prospect before +him, he was interrupted by the approach of his daughter, the calmness +of whose countenance and demeanour was certainly calculated to reassure +her anxious parent. However, although she spoke hopefully and bade the +old man take courage and be sure that things would turn out better than +he expected, she told him not one word about her secret interview of +the previous evening, or of the powerful assistance she had procured. + +So the old gentleman passed but a sad day, and could only console +himself by resolving to be loyal to the last to his sovereign, and to +provide him an entertainment of which he should not be ashamed. + +Vast, indeed, were the preparations made for that banquet. So many +delicacies had probably not been collected together for one repast +within the memory of man. Nothing was omitted. From the oysters with +which each guest was to be furnished at the beginning, down to the +liqueurs at the end of the feast, everything was there, and everything +was in perfection. + +Pigspud had even hired a special poet to compose and recite an ode in +praise of the King, but there were doubts expressed as to the complete +success of the composition, confined as it was to the doings of the +table, and celebrating dishes which were made to tickle the palate by +their taste rather than the ear by their well-sung praises. The ode +began,-- + + "Come servants all, the table put on + Well-roasted beef and tender mutton. + Guests, down your throats white veal and lamb cram, + And drink the health of good King Famcram! + Consume the oaten cakes and wheat-bread, + The calves-foot jelly and the sweet-bread, + And own the table splendid, that is + So well supplied with oyster-patties." + +There was much more of this, in a similar strain, but in the confusion +that afterwards followed, and in the interesting events which I shall +presently have to chronicle, the ode itself was lost, and as no copies +could be afterwards obtained, I am unable to supply the rest of it to +the anxious reader. With regard to the entertainment, generally, there +was certainly no fault to be found. + +Old Winelees and Mrs. Brushemup had surpassed themselves, and the +confectioners, cooks and pastrycooks to whom had been assigned the +duties connected with the preparation of the affair, had exerted +themselves beyond all praise. + +The decorations were gorgeous, and everything appeared to have been +arranged with such care and good taste, and with such an utter +disregard of expense, that there were not wanting many, even among +those who were acquainted (as who was not) with the upshot of the +efforts made by the Prime Minister and the Lord Chamberlain to do +honour to their sovereign, who prophesied a greater success and even a +triumphant result to the Chief Justice. The hour drew near at which +Famcram was expected, and ere long the distant trumpets heralded his +approach. The mob cheered him lustily along the streets, not because he +was popular, but because he was handsomely dressed, had his crown upon +his head and the famous sceptre in his hand, which facts were quite +sufficient to justify a mob in cheering anybody. + +Nearer and nearer his carriage drew, and at last stopped before the +door of Pigspud's mansion. Then, after one last loud flourish, the +trumpets ceased to sound. The king alighted to his feet. The Chief +Justice received him kneeling on one knee. + +Famcram bowed coldly, glanced right and left, and then slowly entered +the banqueting room, while his host tremblingly followed behind, his +heart balanced between hope and fear, but much, it must be owned, +inclining to the latter. The king paused at the entrance of the room. +Everything was so beautifully arranged that it was difficult to find +fault, even for one who was determined to do so. The flowers, the +fruit, the flags, the garlands, the decorations which met his eye were +all so splendid, that those who saw them, and knew at the same time +that the tyrant was certain to find some occasion to carry out his +purpose, marvelled within themselves, what cause for fault-finding he +could possibly discover, or what excuse he would be able to invent for +his action. + +They had not long to marvel, however, for the next moment the eyes of +all were turned upon Ophelia, who came sauntering down the room, +between the tables, very leisurely, even carelessly, and advanced +towards the king. + +She was dressed in her morning dress of an unpretending brown colour, +fitting closely to the figure, and unadorned by ornament of any kind +save a steel chatelaine, from which hung sundry useful articles, +scissors, thimble, needlecase and the like; but which added to the +suspicion which her general appearance created, that she had merely +walked from her sitting-room to the banquetting-hall without any change +of toilet in honour of the king. + +This was quite enough for Famcram, and furnished him with an excuse for +anger against his Chief Justice, far more legitimate than those which +had been made the pretext for the punishment of his two brother +officials. The king lost no time in flying into a violent passion. + +"What ho!" he cried, in as loud a voice as his anger would permit him +to raise. "What bold hussey is this who comes to meet her sovereign in +common everyday garments? What malapert conduct have we here?" and he +strutted forward puffing and fuming like a turkey-cock. + +Ophelia, who had learned her lesson well, and knew how much depended +upon it, paid not the smallest attention to the anger of the king, but +advanced towards him with the same careless step, and a contemptuous +smile upon her countenance. Of course this made matters worse, and the +unhappy Pigspud trembled in his shoes in dire anticipation of what +would follow, whilst the courtiers and attendants opened their eyes +wider than they had ever done at the strange conduct of the infatuated +maiden. + +The sight of the smile upon the maiden's face incensed Famcram to a +still greater degree. He stamped violently upon the floor, and turning +to the Chief Justice demanded in imperious tones what was the meaning +of this insult. + +"Who is it?" he cried, "who is this brazen-faced daughter of a demon +who dares to come thus into our presence?" + +The unhappy Pigspud in trembling tones admitted that it was his own +daughter. + +"Your daughter?" exclaimed the king, with a smile or rather grin in +which fury, triumph and revenge contended for the mastery. "It is then +in your house and by your daughter that I am thus treated? I will deal +with you presently, Chief Justice. What do you mean, hussey, by this +shameful impudence?" + +To the surprise of the king himself and of every person present, +Ophelia actually yawned whilst the monarch was speaking, and when he +had concluded, kept smiling upon him with palpable contempt, and +glancing round at the decorations and beautiful objects right and left +of her, remarked in a languid, drawling tone--"If you are not content, +King Famcram, why did you come?" + +This filled up the measure of her iniquity, and drove the king nearly +mad. Half beside himself with rage, he seemed to those about him to +foam at the mouth as he spluttered forth his furious answer. + +"Vile wench! you and your father shall suffer for this! You shall, by +all that a Pigmy holds dear I swear it. The fate of Binks and Chinks +shall be paradise to _your_ lot, you wretched scum of the earth. Ho! +guard, seize these traitors at once, and have the lowest and darkest +dungeon made ready for them without delay!" + +A groan burst from the lips of the unfortunate Pigspud as the royal +lips pronounced these words, for in them he naturally saw the +realisation of his worst fears. But before one of the guards could move +hand or foot, the fair Ophelia, with the same smile continuously upon +her lips, took a step or two forward, and, holding out in her hand the +little jar of which we know--but of the existence of which everyone +present was profoundly ignorant, said in a remarkably calm and clear +voice-- + + "Pray listen: King Famcram, determined I am + To ask you to taste of my raspberry jam!" + +Scarcely were the words out of her mouth when a perceptible change came +over the face, voice, and manner of Famcram. The first turned ghastly +white; the second sank to a low whisper; and the third lost all its +violence, and became as quiet as the manner of a sheep when in the +hands of its executioner. + +One shiver passed over the king's frame, as if there was a strong +internal struggle; but it was over in a moment. Murmuring something so +indistinctly that no one was quite sure what he said, but apparently +something about "not liking to refuse a lady," he shuffled forward to +meet Ophelia, whilst the crowd around was plunged in the deepest +amazement at his strange and altered conduct. + +The maiden, as he approached, took a small silver salt-spoon from the +table near her, scooped out of her jar a good spoonful of the jam, and +held it to Famcram's mouth. He meekly received the spoon therein, and +devoured the jam without a word, good, bad, or indifferent. The next +moment he grovelled--literally grovelled--at Ophelia's feet, covering +them with kisses, and vowing that he was her slave for life. + +The people could hardly believe their eyes, and looked at each other as +if they felt that they must all be in a dream, or suffering from some +optical delusion, and that it could not be a reality which was passing +before them. But Ophelia took it all quite as a matter of course. + +She ordered Famcram, in haughty tones, to kneel on all fours, and as +soon as he had done so, she sat down upon him with the greatest +calmness. + +Wonder upon wonders! The tyrant, who had shown every disposition to +treat his people like miserable slaves, seemed now to be reduced to +more abject slavery than the meanest of his vassals. + +A moment before, he was uttering threats of vengeance against his host; +now, he was prostrate and humble, the meek servitor of that host's +daughter. + +No one could imagine whence or how this mighty change had come, but the +voice of Ophelia soon turned their thoughts to other things. Still +seated upon her living stool, she bade the guests be seated, and told +them that her father would do the honours. + +Having seen her power displayed in so miraculous a manner, no one felt +the least inclined to disobey her, the more particularly as her +commands were by no means of an unwelcome nature, and the feast was one +of a very inviting description. + +No one offered to interfere between the lady and the sovereign, being +probably of opinion that to do so would expose themselves to danger +without benefit to their lord and master, for whom, moreover, none of +them had any very particular affection. Accordingly they obeyed +Ophelia's commands without either reluctance or hesitation, seated +themselves at the tables and began to attack the good things thereupon +without any unnecessary delay. + +Meantime Ophelia kept her seat, and Famcram, not being particularly +strong, soon groaned beneath her weight, especially as she did not try +to lighten his burden, but sat as heavy as she could, occasionally +lifting her feet from the ground to give greater weight to her body. +The king spoke not a word, however, being apparently restrained by some +power. He merely panted and breathed deeply, once or twice trembling so +as to shake the maiden. Whenever he did so, she struck him a sharp blow +on the side of the head with the back of her hand, addressing him at +the same time with epithets the reverse of complimentary. + +"Beast, keep quiet." "Be still, you stupid brute," and such like +ejaculations were all the king got from his fair mistress, and this +continued until the banquet was well nigh over, and most of the good +things consumed. Then Ophelia arose, and taking the king by the ear +(which she pinched and twisted so that an involuntary yell broke from +the unhappy sufferer), led him to the head of the table at which her +father was presiding. The latter trembled even then, partly for fear of +the extraordinary power possessed by his daughter, and perhaps in a +greater degree lest it should suddenly fail her after all, and the +vengeance of the enslaved monarch be worse to endure than would have +been his first anger. + +No such fear, however, troubled Ophelia, who had her own purpose in +what she was now about to do. She desired to show to the people her +great and full power over their sovereign, and this she had already +done; but it was by no means part of her plan that they should cease to +pay him deference, or at least obedience, for it was through him that +she could alone possess that power over them which she fully intended +to gain. She therefore caused him to be seated at her father's right +hand, and to be supplied with food and drink of which she directed him +to partake. Famcram obeyed at once, meekly and without complaint, and +ate what was given to him with a grateful glance at Ophelia, such as a +dog might have given to a master who had thrown him a bone. + +She, meanwhile, seating herself on the other side of her father, +listlessly asked for some boiled chicken, and, whilst she trifled with +her knife and fork, began to converse upon indifferent subjects, making +no allusion whatever to the incidents of the day. This behaviour caused +the Chief Justice the greatest astonishment, and at another time he +would have demanded explanations of his daughter without delay. + +But his joy at the unexpected turn which things had taken, and at his +own safety, at least for the time, from the peril with which he had +been so recently threatened, caused him to take less notice of the +matter than he would otherwise have done. + +To speak the truth, moreover, his joy had been somewhat increased and +his spirits in no small degree elated by an unusual quantity of dry +champagne which he had imbibed in the excitement of the moment, so that +things appeared natural and reasonable to him which would generally +have seemed most extraordinary. + +Ophelia meantime was playing her game well. She judged--and judged +rightly--that the conduct of the king in throwing himself at her feet, +in allowing her to sit upon him as if he were a chair or stool, and in +afterwards meekly following her to the head of the table, would be +attributed to nothing else than devoted love by a great many of those +who were present, and especially by such as had not been near enough to +witness his first outburst of anger, or to hear his first words, which +had certainly not been those of affection. + +This idea would be speedily followed by another, when the guests saw +her seated on one side of the Chief Justice and King Famcram on the +other. + +What _could_ it mean save that she was about to be raised to the +highest dignity in the kingdom, and to share the throne and power of +Famcram as his queen? + +This was in fact the resolution which she had formed, and determined to +omit no precaution which might ensure its success. So she sat and ate +at the banquet, already looking and feeling like a queen, and her +device fully succeeded in making the people believe that things were as +she desired. + +But all this would be insufficient without some public avowal on the +part of the king, and she resolved that this should be given. + +Presently, therefore, she leant forward across her father, and, +steadily looking Famcram in the face, thus addressed him:-- + +"King, your wish--the anxious wish of your heart--shall be gratified. I +consent to become your queen, and you may at once announce the happy +tidings to this august assembly." + +As she said these words, the luckless Famcram turned quite red in the +face, and there was visibly another struggle within his breast between +contending passions. This struggle lasted longer than the first, and +not only did he make no sign of acquiescence to the lady's proposal, +but there were those who afterwards declared that they heard--deep and +low like the sound of fire struggling to burst loose from walls within +which it is enclosed--a sepulchral voice within the king which muttered +the words--"I don't want any queen." + +But, whether such words were spoken or not, Ophelia was equal to the +occasion. + +"Jam, dear, did you say?" she asked in her most winning tones, and in +another second the salt-spoon was out, and a portion of the contents of +the little jar transferred without delay to the king's mouth, whilst in +a low, determined voice, the maiden continued, speaking in tones which +could scarcely be heard by anyone save the king himself and the Chief +Justice. + +"Speak out, slave, at once, and acknowledge me as your only queen." + +Mechanically, as if moved by springs, uprose King Famcram. There was a +dead silence for a moment; then there burst forth a loud cheer, for the +guests naturally supposed that the king was about to speak, and knew +that it was proper to cheer before he said anything, in order to show +that they were ready to do so afterwards. + +Then again there was a silence, and Famcram spoke these words: + + "Ophelia Pigspud is my queen, and only she." + +And down he sat again so suddenly that everybody thought it was by +accident, and there must be something more coming. + +As, however, there was _not_, it was evidently the duty of all present +to cheer again, and this they did most lustily, again and again, though +a great many of them had not heard what the king had said, a great many +more thought there was something in the proceeding which they could not +understand, and still a great many more did not care sixpence, one way +or other, about the announcement. + +Nevertheless, Ophelia had gained her end: the king had publicly +declared that she, and she only, was his queen, and the rest appeared +to depend upon herself. + +By this time the Chief Justice was in a condition which rendered it +desirable that no further business of importance should be transacted, +for the excitement of the afternoon had proved altogether too much for +him. He was therefore assisted to his room, and retired amid loud +cheers from such of the guests as had not made sufficient noise before. +Then Ophelia directed the butler and his attendants to conduct Famcram +to the state chamber, and to direct the guards to be placed in the +usual manner. + +The courtiers and guests were forthwith dismissed, and the eventful day +drew to its close. + +Many and deep were the thoughts which occupied Ophelia's mind that +night; she had a difficult game to play, and though her spirit was high +and her courage undaunted, it was impossible that she should not feel +some anxiety as to the result. So far, indeed, all had gone well. + +Famcram, who had evidently entered the banqueting-room with no better +intentions towards her father and herself than those which he had +entertained and carried out in the case of the unhappy families of +Binks and Chinks, had been entirely overcome by the magic assistance of +her godmother. + +The jam had proved most efficacious indeed, and the evening had been +one continued triumph. + +But doubts and fears still remained as to the future. At the very +moment of the king's recognition of her as his queen, he had but too +plainly evinced a disinclination to the step which appeared to indicate +that the power of the jam was but temporary, unless, indeed, it was the +last struggle of his obstinate nature against that power. He had +certainly yielded, and nothing could have been more complete than +Ophelia's victory. But then came the question, if the jam had not +sufficient force to keep the king enchained as her slave for a longer +time than the duration of the banquet, might not its power die away +altogether before morning? In that case, what would be her position if +the monarch, too wary to see her, and so run the risk of being again +subjected to the same treatment, should issue orders directed against +her and hers, and fully revenge himself for the events of the previous +evening? + +True--if she retained the jar, she might operate upon his messengers in +such a manner as to prevent their inflicting personal injury upon +herself, but she would probably be unable to protect her father or his +property, as the power she possessed seemed to be personal, closely +connected with the jam, and such as could only be exercised when she +had the jar in her hand. + +Suppose, again, that Famcram should awake during the night, discover +that he was not in his own palace, summon his attendants, and surprise +her father and slay or capture him whilst asleep. Or suppose he should +leave the house by stealth, and that next morning it should be +surrounded by royal guards before she was awake, and her jar possibly +taken from her. + +All these thoughts passed constantly through the mind of the daughter +of Pigspud, and she got but little rest throughout the whole of that +long and dreary night. + +Early in the morning she arose, performed her toilet with the greatest +care, and forthwith descended to the grand drawing-room of the mansion, +where several of the courtiers had already assembled. The king had not +yet made his appearance, and it must be owned that Ophelia awaited his +coming with some anxiety. Presently, however, the doors were thrown +open, and the sun shining through the great windows on the staircase, +fell full upon the bright red hair of the little monarch, making it +brighter than ever. + +As he slowly descended, Ophelia grasped tightly in her hand the little +jar, which she kept concealed in the folds of her dress, quite prepared +to have recourse to it again immediately, if occasion should require. +She soon saw, however, that she need be under no immediate +apprehension. There was a submissive look about Famcram's general +appearance, and a humility even in his squint (which seemed that +morning to be more frightful than ever), which greatly re-assured the +maiden. + +He came limping into the room, and bowed before her as he entered. Now +was the moment when Ophelia's course of action must be clear and +certain. She had already resolved upon it, and proceeded according to +her determination. + +To keep Famcram in awe of herself--to preserve their last evening's +relations of mistress and slave--was positively necessary, but it was +equally desirable not to lower her future husband in the eyes of his +courtiers and attendants. She therefore saluted him with a graceful +bend of the head, and invited him to the breakfast-room, where they +took their seats side by side. + +The Chief Justice was rather late that morning, at which nobody +manifested any surprise, having seen that his fatigue was great on the +previous evening. Ophelia therefore had everything to do, and she did +it admirably. The guests were well treated, the breakfast was +excellently arranged, and everybody appeared satisfied and in good +spirits. + +At the conclusion of the repast, Ophelia notified to the king that he +should appoint a time that morning at which he would receive his +subjects, and publicly fix the day upon which their marriage should be +celebrated. + +The little man made no objection, and trembled visibly when the maiden +fixed her eyes upon him. So it was arranged that at a public audience +to be held at twelve o'clock, the king should make solemn proclamation +of his intended marriage, and that, as delays in such matters were +undesirable, the ceremony should be performed the very next day. + +Thus far had Ophelia Pigspud certainly overcome the evils with which +fate had threatened her, and she began to feel confident that all would +go well, and that her triumph would be final and complete. Twelve +o'clock came, and the appointed reception was duly held, the +proclamation that it would be so having attracted many of the better +class of Pigmies. The shortness of the notice was no hindrance to this +result. + +In some countries, I have been told, when subjects are admitted to the +presence of their sovereign, they are compelled, whether men or women, +to adopt a costume which they never think of wearing at any other time, +which is exceedingly inconvenient and sometimes ridiculous. Although +these ceremonies take place, like the royal receptions in Pigmyland, in +the broad daylight, the ladies who attend are obliged to do so in +dresses more fit for evening parties, with their heads fantastically +arranged and crowned with feathers, more ludicrous than imposing, +while, irrespective of weather, their throats and chests are exposed in +a manner exceedingly likely to produce colds and coughs and such like +undesirable ailments. + +The gentlemen, all armed with swords, as if the sovereign was likely to +order a sudden attack upon them, or to require their services in order +to repel one upon himself, are dressed in various degrees of absurdity, +according to the particular rank or grade to which each belongs, but no +one wears an ordinary dress, and the whole thing is somewhat like a +fancy ball or a masquerade without the masks. These, however, are of +course only half civilized people, and not an intelligent and +progressive race such as the Pigmies. The latter appear before their +monarch in their ordinary clothes, the only regulation being that they +shall be decent and respectable, as in fact they always are. Thus the +sovereign sees his people as they really are, whilst they on their part +come into the royal presence without restraint, or the uncomfortable +feeling of presenting an appearance similar to that of a jackdaw in +peacock's feathers. This ensures a large attendance on reception days, +which are also the more frequently held, and at short notice, since +they do not entail upon the people, as in the countries to which I have +alluded, the necessity of long notice to dress-makers and tailors, and +the not inconsiderable expense contingent upon dealings with such +people. So although the proclamation was only made upon the same +morning, the greater part of the aristocracy of Famcram's capital, +together with many of the middle classes, who were not excluded from +that court, attended his reception. + +Ophelia stood by his side, carefully retaining the jar of jam all the +time, and the little monarch was as submissive as upon the previous +day. The people saw and recognised her position. + +Whether they murmured at all, or entertained any objection to the +sudden elevation of the daughter of Pigspud, I cannot say, but at all +events no such feeling was evinced, the reception passed off as well as +Ophelia could possibly have wished, and Famcram was as much her slave +as ever. + +For greater security, she gave him a small piece of bread and jam +immediately after luncheon, and he really seemed to require no more in +order to keep him perfectly submissive and obedient to the will of his +mistress. Of course it was necessary to make great preparations for the +next day. + +Chief Justice Pigspud, finding his daughter's position, to all +appearance, firmly established, took heart again, recovered much of his +former confidence, and began to hold up his head and to prepare to take +a full share in the future government of the kingdom. He naturally took +the lead in arranging the proceedings of the following day, the more +especially as Famcram seemed to have suddenly changed his character. +Instead of being captious, jealous, ill-tempered, arbitrary, and +tyrannical, he appeared to have subsided into a meek, quiet, timid +being, who hardly dared call his soul his own. He spoke, looked, and +moved as if in a kind of stupor, and obeyed every command of Ophelia +without a protest or even a murmur of objection. + +The Chief Justice, seeing that this result had been obtained in some +mysterious way, was too well satisfied with it to trouble his daughter +by inquiries into the means she had used or the agencies she had +employed. It is due to the old man to say that he suspected nothing +unlawful, but even had he entertained such suspicions, I do not know +that he would have deemed it necessary to take any action upon them, +since, whatever the means taken, the end secured had been one so +desirable. + +With all his faults Pigspud was not without generosity, and now that he +saw good prospects of prosperity before him and his house, he bethought +himself of his old associates, Binks and Chinks, and determined, if +possible, to effect their release from unmerited imprisonment. + +With this object he went to his daughter in the afternoon of the day +before the wedding, representing to her that it would be a graceful act +on her part, and one likely to be popular with the people, if she were +to persuade the king to release his old ministers and their families, +and invite them to be present at his approaching nuptials. + +Ophelia was somewhat vexed at the request. She hardly felt as yet +sufficiently secure in her position to run any risks, and, although she +would have been glad enough to have aided in the release of the Prime +Minister and the Lord Chamberlain, an indefinable something seemed to +tell her that in the daughters of the two ministers she would find +enemies who had better not be placed in any position in which they +could possibly do harm. + +She knew the power which jealousy has over the female mind--that is to +say, in Pigmyland, though, of course, in ordinary countries, such a +feeling is unknown to the softer sex--and she feared she knew not what. +However, she felt that it would be ungracious, as well as ungrateful, +to refuse her father his first request, and she, therefore, told +Famcram that the prisoners must be released in order to be present at +the wedding next day. The king raised no objection, but did as he was +told, and orders were immediately sent to the dungeons for the +liberation of the ex-ministers and their families, at which they were, +of course, delighted; but some difficulty was experienced after their +release from prison, as to where they should go to, inasmuch as King +Famcram had appropriated all their property. As, however, their +respective houses remained unoccupied, they were permitted to return +thither, and make themselves as comfortable as they could. The ladies +of the party were the worst off, and great were their complaints of +total inability to appear in proper dresses at the festivities on the +ensuing day. + +Ophelia felt for their difficulty, and did all she could to remove it, +supplying them with many articles of dress from her own wardrobe, and +assuring them of her sincere sympathy for their sufferings in the past, +and her readiness to promote their happiness in the future. So when the +morning fixed for the royal marriage dawned, all seemed likely to go +well, and content reigned upon the face of every Pigmy. + +Owing to a conflagration which, at a subsequent period, destroyed all +the records in the public offices of that country, I am unable to +supply my readers with a full and accurate account of all the details +of the interesting ceremony which united Ophelia to her royal husband. + +Various accounts were written and published at the time, but none of +them by authority, and I am unwilling to trust to unauthorized +narratives when dealing with a subject of such immense importance. That +which it most concerns us to know, however, is that the wedding +actually took place, which fact having been once ascertained, even the +appearance of the bride and the dresses of the bridesmaids become +matters of comparatively little moment Of this great fact there is +happily no doubt. + +King Famcram was legally married to Ophelia Pigspud after the custom of +Pigmy marriages, and the maiden was undoubtedly Queen of the Pigmies. +Her first act was at once gracious and becoming. She caused Binks and +Chinks to be reinstated in their former offices, and arranged that +pecuniary compensation should be given them for the losses they had +sustained. Furthermore, she appointed Euphemia and Araminta Binks, +together with the three daughters of the lord chamberlain, Asphalia, +Bettina, and Paraphernalia, as her ladies in waiting, and promised to +them and to herself that the court should ever be made the scene of +gaieties and entertainments to which it had long been a stranger. + +But however good were the motives of Ophelia, however kind her feeling +towards these five young ladies, however pleasant her plans might have +appeared to them under other circumstances, I am sorry to say that they +neither believed in nor appreciated them. + +Feelings of jealousy had sprung up within their tender breasts, from +the first moment that they had found Ophelia preferred to the throne +before themselves. Possessed, as has been related, of beauty, wit, and +fascination in different degrees, but in the case of each of them, a +superior degree to the generality of maidens, they felt that they had, +each and all, as good a right to have shared the throne of Famcram as +the more fortunate damsel who had obtained that position. + +Instead, therefore, of being loyal to Ophelia, and grateful for her +kindness towards them, they regarded her with envy and spite, and their +beautiful faces but ill reflected the ugly feelings which occupied +their hearts. Ignorant of this, Ophelia had forgotten her first fears +and doubts upon the question of their release, and, unsuspicious of +evil, kept one or other of the maidens constantly near her. + +For a day or two all went well. The king kept in the same state of +torpor, and his passive obedience to his wife made him, in the general +opinion of Pigmy ladies, a model for all husbands. Ophelia, however, +knowing the source from which her power was derived, kept her jar +always at hand, so that she might be able to have immediate recourse to +it if the occasion should arise. It was not extraordinary that, under +these circumstances, her ladies in waiting should become acquainted +with, and take notice of, the fact. It became, very shortly after their +appointment, a matter of conversation amongst them, and of wonder that +the Queen should always carry about with her a common looking little +jar, of which they knew neither the use nor the contents. + +Paraphernalia, the youngest and prettiest of the Chinks family, wished +to ask a question about it outright, but the worldly wisdom of her +elder sisters checked her, for they feared that their position at court +might be imperilled by any forwardness or impertinence of the kind. + +Whether Ophelia, if asked, would have given such information, or at +least have dropped such hints, as might have prevented the occurrence +of the facts I am about to relate, cannot now be known. The opportunity +was not afforded her, and the five ladies in waiting remained in +ignorance upon the subject. + +On the third day after her marriage, Ophelia was to receive the ladies +of the court and such of the fairer portion of Pigmyland as desired to +be presented to her. She was richly arrayed in garments well suited to +the occasion, and looked right royal as she stood to receive her +guests. The king, with meek and submissive gait, stood by her side, and +never had she looked more lovely or felt more triumphant. Resolved, +however, to take care of safety as well as of appearance, she kept in +her left hand the little jar, having a scarf lightly thrown over her +arm and concealing it from view. It had not, however, escaped the sharp +eyes of Paraphernalia Chinks, who determined in her own mind that the +day should not pass by without her knowing something more about the +evident mystery to which that jar related. The ladies in waiting were, +naturally enough, near the queen, and stood looking on whilst those who +were presented to her majesty trooped by, making their reverent +obeisances as they did so. + +After a while, Ophelia began to feel rather tired of bowing and +smiling, but still continued graciously to do so, until an elderly dame +in passing, tripped over her train and seemed in danger of falling. The +queen made an involuntary movement forward as if to save her, and in so +doing happened to loosen her hold upon the jar in her left hand. At the +very same instant, Paraphernalia, who had been watching her opportunity +all the time, started forward as if to assist her majesty, and, as if +by accident, gave a violent push to her left arm, when, sad to relate, +the jar fell from her hand upon the marble pavement at her feet, and +was instantly broken in pieces. + +At the sight of the contents, which appeared to be ordinary jam, the +ladies-in-waiting could hardly restrain themselves from exclamations of +surprise, and all the more so when they perceived the pallor which +immediately overspread the countenance of the queen. But their +attention was at once directed to something else. + +Scarcely had the accident happened, and the jar slipped from Ophelia's +grasp and met with the fate I have described, when a great and +marvellous change came over the appearance and demeanour of the king. +No longer meek and subdued, his countenance flushed with rage, his +squinting appeared more furiously malicious than ever, and he stood +before the Court, not the obedient slave and husband, but once more the +tyrant Famcram, restored to his former self. + +He passed his hand across his brow, as if to sweep away from him some +unpleasant memories, and then glared fiercely around him for a minute +without uttering a syllable. There was a dead silence. Everybody feared +some dreadful outburst, and nobody knew what to expect. + +Then Famcram broke forth in fury-- + +"What sorcery is here?" he cried. "What witchcraft has been going on? +What drab is this whom I see beside me assuming a place as if she were +queen? Who are these over-dressed peacocks on every side? Toads, +vipers, serpents! Ho, guards! away with them!" and again he looked with +frightful grimaces upon those who stood about him. + +Binks, Chinks, and Pigspud fell instantly on their knees, all in a row. +The ladies-in-waiting, between trembling and fainting, did nothing for +the moment, whilst Ophelia, recognising at once that her power of +compulsion was gone, resolved to make an instant appeal to the better +feelings of the king. + +"Sire," she said, turning round and confronting him with dignity, "I am +your lawful queen. Three days ago you wedded me, and I share your +throne. Pray let us govern with justice and mercy, and you shall never +have cause to repent of having elevated me to this position." + +"Position! You! Throne! Queen! _Us_ govern!" shrieked Famcram at the +top of his voice, now perfectly beside himself with fury. "You fool! +You idiot! You jackanapes! You witch! You vile creature! _You_ a queen, +forsooth! Out upon your folly, that led you to try and deceive Famcram. +Seize her, guards!" he continued; "seize the whole lot of them! Strip +off their fine robes, and away with them to the palace dungeons! We +will soon see who is to be king and master here!" + +As he spoke, the obedient guards came forward; and, in spite of all +that Ophelia could do or say, stripped her of her ornaments, and cloak +of rich fur, took from her head the crown with which the queens of that +country were always decorated on state occasions, and began to drag her +away. + +Famcram grinned with malicious spite as he saw her in the hands of his +rough attendants. + +"Ah!" said he, "this is _real_ jam, now!" and from these casual words +of the king sprang an expression which has now become proverbial in +that country, indicating some special pleasure or remarkably gratifying +incident. + +Ophelia was not alone in her misfortune. Her five ladies-in-waiting +were all seized at the same time, their fine clothing taken from them, +and themselves conveyed back again to the same dungeons which they had +previously occupied, and which the wretched Ophelia now shared with +them. + +Their behaviour to the fallen queen was, I am sorry to say, neither +ladylike nor generous. Forgetful of the fact that it was to her they +had owed their liberty, and that she had shown them all possible +kindness during her brief period of prosperity, they only remembered +that it was through her discomfiture that they were themselves +suffering at the moment They overwhelmed her with reproaches, in which +Paraphernalia, herself the real cause of their joint misfortune, was +especially forward, and not content with this, the three daughters of +Chinks set upon her, cuffed her, scratched her, slapped her, pulled her +hair, and vowed that they would do much worse before they had done with +her. + +Paraphernalia went so far as to suggest cutting off all her hair, and +spoiling her beauty by burning or otherwise marking her face; but the +others had hardly come to such a state of wickedness and malice as +this, although they joined in making the poor girl more miserable than +she would otherwise have been, and showed a want of consideration and +good feeling which was much to be blamed. + +The discomfort and misery of all the ladies were, as may be supposed, +considerable; nor was their condition at all improved by the news that +Famcram had resolved that the parents of the three families, Binks, +Chinks, and Pigspud, should be executed in the public market place +within three days. This news, conveyed to them by some of those +officious persons who always like to bring unpleasant tidings, if only +that they may watch their effects upon the people they are likely to +make unhappy, plunged all six ladies into the deepest sorrow. + +Nor was the next piece of news at all calculated to lighten the burden +of affliction which weighed them down. Famcram sent a special messenger +to inform the captives that they should all suffer the extreme penalty +of the law also. At first he had declared that they should be publicly +whipped in the square opposite the palace, and afterwards be beheaded, +but upon an earnest representation being made to him by a deputation +from the anti-flogging society, who were numerous in the city, he +consented to forego that part of the punishment, and to have them sewn +up in sacks and thrown into the river, which was a form of punishment +much in vogue in that part of the world. + +Resolved, however, to make them suffer as much as possible, he directed +that their execution should take place upon the day preceding that of +their fathers, and that the latter should be obliged to tie the mouths +of the sacks, and roll their own children into the water. + +The girls heard this doom with horror, but there was no way of averting +it. On the morning of the day on which the sentence was to be carried +into effect, the daughters of Chinks became more furious than ever +against Ophelia, and declared that she ought to be scratched to death +in the dungeon, and not share the fate of honourable damsels like +themselves. But a better spirit had come over Euphemia and Araminta, +the daughters of the late Prime Minister. + +They had felt some compunction at the treatment of Ophelia by their +friends and prison companions, and had not joined in the personal +attack which had been led by Paraphernalia. And when they remembered +how Ophelia had behaved as queen, and saw how meekly she bore the cruel +insults now heaped upon her by the others, they spoke out boldly, and +interfered to prevent further violence. + +So the hours passed by until the afternoon arrived, and all six ladies, +having a thick coarse white sheet cast round each of them, as if about +to stand and do penance, were led forth from the palace dungeons and +taken to the appointed place of execution. + +Everything had been arranged under the direct orders of the tyrant +himself. Marshalled two and two between their guards, the poor girls +found that they had to pass through a crowd of gaping and staring +people, and to walk over the mud and stones upon their bare feet. + +Their beauty attracted general notice, but Ophelia's form and bearing +made by far the greatest impression upon the bystanders. + +Side by side she walked by Euphemia Binks, but the latter's beauty was +entirely eclipsed by that of the late queen. The daughter of Pigspud +walked with a royal air--upright, majestic in figure, with a look of +resignation and yet contempt of fate--she excited an universal feeling +of pity and admiration. + +Low murmurs were heard among the crowd, and whispers which, had they +come to Famcram's ears, would certainly have caused the whisperers +trouble. The tyrant, however, was so much feared, and the loyalty of +Pigmies is ever so devoted, even when their sovereign is one whom no +one can love or respect, that no sign of an outbreak was shown. + +Slowly the mournful procession marched upon its way, until it reached +the road leading directly to the river. + +At this moment the great cathedral bell began to toll, filling the +hearts of those who heard it with a certain awful feeling impossible to +be described in words, which was increased in intensity when men in +black garments, with masks over their faces, appeared, carrying the +sacks which were to be employed in the execution of the unhappy +maidens. + +With a refinement of cruelty, the brutal tyrant had directed that the +procession should turn aside and pass through the hall of the Chief +Justice's house, so that Ophelia in her disgrace and misery, should be +made to look upon the place in which her recent but shortlived triumph +had occurred. So they marched into the house and through the great +banqueting-room, and out into the gardens, and as they slowly descended +to the river, again the solemn deep death-warning clang of the +cathedral bell sounded in their ears, and the girls knew that now +indeed their end was very near. + +Close to the spot which he had fixed for the execution, in a +magnificent arm-chair upon a kind of temporary dais erected for the +occasion, sat Famcram himself, uglier than ever, with his crown upon +his head, and the famous sceptre in his hand. As the procession drew +near he arose from his chair, around which stood his principal +courtiers, whilst at a little distance might be observed the wretched +Binks, Chinks, and Pigspud, each guarded by two armed attendants. + +When the ladies had approached quite close to the king, he grinned upon +them with more than his usual malice, and began to sneer at and abuse +them. + +"Is this our queen?" he asked in a jeering tone. "The queen that was to +share our throne, and it was to be 'us' who would govern, was it not? +Poor wretch! the bed of the river will soon be your royal couch, and +you shall share it with the eels--if" (and here he grinned horribly) +"they can make their way through the sack which will hold your lovely +form. _You_ to be queen, you nasty, staring, goggle-eyed vixen! And +here come our Prime Minister's and Lord Chamberlain's children! Pretty +ducklings, you shall be sown up nice and tight, and your own fathers +shall give you to the pike and the rats. Nice tender morsels for these +ye will be!" + +To these taunts the poor girls made no reply, and the tyrant continued +to insult them, having ordered the procession to stand still for the +purpose. And still the great bell tolled on. + +They had stopped very near to the river, and now, at a signal from the +king, the men clothed in black came forward with the sacks, the white +sheets were taken from the fair shoulders of the victims, and each was +thrust into her sack in the dishevelled garments she wore, and left +there for a few moments until the unhappy fathers should perform the +duties assigned to them. + +Up to this time Ophelia had kept silence. She despised the wretched +Famcram too much to condescend to answer his taunts. If death was to be +met, she would meet it like a true daughter of Pigspud, and her ancient +lineage should never be disgraced by her behaviour. + +But, at this extreme moment, a ray of hope darted suddenly into her +heart. Where was she? Upon the very spot where she had received the +mystic jar which had worked for her such wonders. The place was the +same--the hour, though not so late, was possibly not unpropitious, for +the sun was beginning to sink behind the higher buildings of the city. +Was it impossible that the same power which had helped her before might +again befriend her? The effort was at least worth making, and failure +could make matters no worse. + +So, even in the sack, before it was closed over her head, with enemies +seemingly all around, and death staring her in the face, Ophelia lifted +up her head and looking towards the river, slowly pronounced these +words. + + "Marley-quarley-pachel-farley-- + Mansto macken furlesparley,-- + Mondo pondo sicho pinto, + Framsigalen hannotinto!" + +Everybody was surprised at the words and behaviour of the unfortunate +lady. + +But what followed surprised them infinitely more. A curious whining, +murmuring, incomprehensible sound came along the banks of the river, +filling the hearts of those who heard it with a strange sense of fear, +and a feeling that something wonderful was about to happen. + +The river, too, instead of flowing on in its usual quiet and majestic +manner, seemed perturbed in an extraordinary manner, and became as +rough as the open ocean in a storm. + +By common consent everyone who was present stood as if struck by one +feeling of awe, which palsied and unfitted them for action. The men who +were supporting the sacks in which the unhappy maidens stood, shivering +with fear, remained rooted to their places, and mingled fear and wonder +sat upon the faces of the people. + +Then slowly arose from the rushes by the waterside the same grotesque +figure which had once before held converse with Ophelia. The red cloak, +the umbrella, the poke bonnet, the keen eye, were all there, and the +old woman stood upon the bank within a very short distance of the +sacks. + +She looked round upon the people as if rather surprised at seeing them +there, but appeared after a short time to have eyes only for Ophelia, +upon whom she fixed her gaze attentively, and striking her umbrella +upon the ground accosted her in the following words: + + "What is it, Ophelia! and what do you fear + That you've called your affectionate godmother here? + Have matters gone wrong since you wanted me last? + I fear that they have, as my eyes round I cast-- + You haven't got on the same dress that you wore + When you came down to see the old lady before-- + And unless my old eyesight its certainty lacks + You seem hampered and bound in the coarsest of sacks, + And some other girls, too! in what sad plight you are; + My darling; has aught gone amiss with the jar?" + +In a mournful voice Ophelia replied at once:-- + + "Dear godmother! my woes are great, + And miserable is my fate: + The jar is broken! and I am + Both 'out of luck' and 'out of' jam! + This cruel tyrant, whom I wed + (I would I'd been at Bath instead!) + His senses managed to recover, + And, now no more obedient lover, + Used language really quite past bearing + (He always _was_ too prone to swearing), + Swore I no more his wealth should sponge on, + And clapt me in a dirty dungeon. + And then, his wrath no way abating, + My ladies--five of them--in waiting + He also sent there--scarce politely-- + And tho' they've not behaved quite rightly, + They scarcely have in crime abounded + So much--as to be sacked--and drownded! + Tho' if my throne I once were back in + _I_ should have given _three_ a "sacking"-- + But, godmother, see what I'm brought to! + That naughty king!--he didn't ought to!" + +Ophelia sobbed aloud when she had concluded these words, which were +uttered somewhat incoherently, as if the poor girl was quite overcome +by her misfortune. But scarcely had she finished, when the old woman +strode up to the sack without another word, and drawing a large pair of +scissors from her belt, immediately cut it open in such a manner that +the maiden was set free. + +Up to this time King Famcram had remained quiet, as if sharing in the +general fear and astonishment. No sooner, however, did he see that the +old woman's purpose was to set free at least one of his prisoners, and +that the chief offender, than fear gave way to wrath, and he leaped up +from his armchair in a tremendous passion. + +"Who is this?" he cried loudly, "who is this that interferes with the +King's sentence? Seize her, guards! Vile hag, you shall soon receive +your deserts." + +But not a guard moved. Some power greater than that of Famcram seemed +to restrain them, and the old woman quietly accomplished her task +without taking the slightest notice of anybody but Ophelia. + +When the latter was free, and standing by her side, she once more spoke +in the same masculine voice as at first, and smiling upon the maiden, +thus addressed her:-- + + "Tho' jars may be broken and jam may be spoiled, + The plans of your godmother never are foiled, + And power and good-will I must certainly lack + Ere my favourite god-child be drowned in a sack. + Yet if you desire it, my god-daughter sweet, + These ladies of thine shall their recompense meet-- + And since they've behaved, dear, so badly to thee, + We'll give them a ducking--just say--shall it be!" + +Ophelia, who now began to feel sure that she was safe, was too much +rejoiced thereat to wish harm to anyone else, and in a few well chosen +words she begged her godmother not to be severe on the poor creatures, +who, she was certain, would never do it again. + +She also told her of the better behaviour of the two daughters of +Binks, upon which the old lady cut their sacks open immediately, but +could hardly be restrained from punishing the others, especially +Paraphernalia, who cried like a great baby from sheer fright and begged +Ophelia to forgive her. The godmother then took from her finger a ring +which she held before Ophelia and addressed her in these words. + + "I give thee, my daughter, this emerald ring + (Its colour, you see, is a wonderful green), + And tho' you may lose your detestable king + You still shall be owned as the Pigmy-land queen. + Reign long and be happy--through many bright days, + May all your past troubles your happiness prove, + And would you be safe--hear what godmother says, + Be kind to your people, and govern by love!" + +As she said these words the old woman placed the ring upon Ophelia's +finger, and smiled upon her in an affectionate manner. + +At this moment Famcram's rage grew beyond all bounds. He literally +foamed at the mouth with fury--both at the scene which was being +enacted before his eyes, and the unwillingness or impotence of his +guards to help him. He yelled out to them again at the top of his +voice, whilst his red hair seemed to blaze with fury as he whirled his +sceptre round his head. + +"Seize the vile witch, I say!" he shouted. "Who dares to talk of any +one reigning here while Famcram lives? Seize her and burn her! Varlets! +Will none of ye stand by your king?" + +With these words the king jumped from the dais on which he had been +sitting, and rushed forward himself, calling loudly to his guards to +come on. + +But his cries were to no purpose--every man stood rooted to the ground, +and not a hand was lifted to help the tyrant. Then the smile left the +face of the old woman, and she turned from Ophelia to face the king. He +paused, as she raised her hand and pointed at him with her umbrella, +while she spoke again in the same voice as before. And these were her +words:-- + + "Thou slayer of women, disgrace to thy line, + The vengeance is near--be thy punishment mine-- + You wished my dear god-child in river to drown. + No, no, tyrant Famcram, _this_ time you're 'done brown!'" + +She had no time for more, for, overcoming his fear or whatever had +hitherto restrained him, the little tyrant rushed upon her. + +The old woman now adopted a most curious course. Dropping her umbrella +upon the ground, she made no more ado, but seized Famcram the moment he +was within reach, wrenched his sceptre from him, and shook him +severely. + +He struggled, bit, kicked and yelled, but it was all in vain. That +fearful grasp was upon him, against which twenty times his strength had +been of no avail. + +The fight, if such indeed it could be called, was soon over. The +wretched creature writhed in the hands of his enemy, who shook him to +her heart's content, and then, raising him with apparent ease by the +scruff of the neck, calmly placed him in the sack from which she had +just liberated her goddaughter. + +In spite of his continued struggles, she swiftly tied the mouth of the +sack in a knot, which she managed to make; and then, without a word +more, good, bad, or indifferent, descended the bank, threw in the sack, +and sat down upon it. + +[Illustration: OPHELIA.--P. 280] + +To the surprise of the people, instead of sinking, the sack floated +away into the midst of the river, which boiled and surged around it, so +that every now and then it went down, and then came up again in sight +of the crowd--the old woman keeping her seat upon it all the time, and +smiling grimly as she bobbed up and down in a manner which would have +made many respectable old ladies of my acquaintance feel remarkably +unwell. No such effect, however, was produced upon the old woman, and +she apparently enjoyed the whole thing very much. + +When they first left the bank, stifled screams were heard issuing from +the sack, but these soon died away, and it was plain enough that the +wretched Famcram must have been very speedily drowned. + +In a little while the old woman and the sack had floated out of sight, +and the people began to recover somewhat from their amazement. Then +occurred another marvellous thing. + +The river suddenly rose in several places, in the form of a waterspout, +and came dashing over the crowd. But the extraordinary part of it was +that whilst it drenched and half drowned the black executioners and all +Famcram's particular friends, Ophelia and those who were on her side +were not touched by it. The courtiers and guards of Famcram turned and +fled. Then, after a short pause, the three late ministers, Binks, +Chinks, and Pigspud came forward together and knelt at Ophelia's feet. +Binks was the spokesman of the party. + +"Madam," he said, "after what has just happened, we cannot doubt that a +higher power than ours has designated you as our queen. I am sure that +I speak in the name of all that is great, good and powerful in +Pigmyland, when I ask you to reign over us in the place of him who has +proved himself so unworthy to do so." + +Ophelia replied at once:--"Rise, sir," she said, "and you too, dear +father, for it is not meet that you should kneel before your child. +There might, doubtless, have been found worthier sovereigns for our +country, but since Fate has thus decreed it, I accept the position +which is offered." + +As soon as the words were out of her mouth, loud shouts of joy broke +forth from the surrounding people. At a sign from Ophelia, the other +damsels were all set free, and they now came and stood humbly before +her, expressing in meek and lowly tones their deep contrition for the +offences they had committed against her. + +Paraphernalia was especially vehement in her expressions of regret, +vowing that she had always entertained the greatest affection for +Ophelia, and that if some demon had not possessed her, she should never +have acted as she had done. Her sisters made various protestations of +the same sort, whilst Euphemia and Araminta stood with blushing cheeks +and downcast eyes awaiting the queen's decision. + +Ophelia did not keep them long in suspense. She told the two daughters +of the Prime Minister that she freely forgave them all that had +occurred, being satisfied that it was not from them or their hostility +that it arose. Moreover, they had been the playmates of her childhood, +and she should wish still to retain them about her person. She told the +daughters of the Lord Chamberlain, however, that she must take a +different course with them. + +At these words Asphalia, Bettina, and Paraphernalia burst into a +dreadful howl, and the latter threw herself at the feet of Ophelia and +endeavoured to kiss them. But the queen bade her arise, and told her +that she and her sisters need not fear that the commencement of her +reign would be sullied by the infliction of any severe punishment upon +those who had been her companions in misfortune. + +Upon this Paraphernalia turned joyous again, and began vociferously to +express her thanks, but was again stopped by the royal lady. + +"I cannot have about my court," she said, "persons who have behaved as +you have done, nor indeed can I retain you in my service. I wish that I +could have done so for your father's sake, but he must himself +acknowledge that it is impossible. Out of respect to him I will only +condemn Asphalia and Bettina to be confined to the limits of the city +walls for a year, and during that time they will be forbidden to attend +my court. As for Paraphernalia, she must be banished from Pigmyland +altogether, until I shall have proofs--which I much doubt my ever +receiving--of her entire reformation of character." + +At this decision the unhappy Paraphernalia raised a shrill scream and +fell fainting upon the ground, but was speedily carried off by the +attendants. Her sisters, who felt that they had deserved, and fully +expected, to share her fate, returned thanks to Ophelia for her great +clemency, and vowed to lead such lives as should convince her of their +undying loyalty and sincere devotion to her throne and person. + +These professions the queen received with a gracious inclination of the +head, and expressed her hope that they might prove to be founded on a +true desire on the part of the damsels to repent of the past and do +better for the future. She then turned to her father and requested that +he, Binks, and Chinks would again resume their former offices, and +render her their best assistance in carrying on the government of the +country. + +To this the three statesmen readily assented, having, in fact, desired +nothing better. Ophelia in the first place directed them to prepare a +proclamation, announcing her accession to the throne, and her +determination to govern upon constitutional principles, which, being a +high sounding phrase, and one which nobody exactly understood, +naturally gave great satisfaction. + +One or two discontented people did indeed whisper that as the +constitution of Pigmyland had always been a pure despotism, Ophelia +only meant to say that she should rule as other Pigmy kings and queens +had ruled before her. These murmurs, however, were soon silenced, and +this the more effectually when the queen issued the next day a second +proclamation, in which she gave free pardon to all those who had +supported Famcram in his late acts of tyranny, provided they would at +once acknowledge her as their sovereign and obey her authority. + +Some people indeed objected to this proclamation, on the ground that +those who had obeyed Famcram, whether he had been right or wrong, were +only acting in accordance with the country's laws in carrying out the +orders of their lawful sovereign (which he undoubtedly was), and +required no pardon at all. + +But these people, again, were held to be mere cavillers and idle +talkers, and so general was Ophelia's popularity that whatever she +might have chosen to make the subject of a proclamation would have been +hailed with delight by her loving and loyal subjects. + +She ascended the throne under the happiest auspices: the good-will of +her people filled her heart with happiness and strengthened the +stability of her throne, whilst her great talents secured for her +kingdom the blessings of good government, her many virtues afforded a +bright example to all her subjects, and her reign was throughout, that +which it promised at the first to become, an era of unmixed happiness +and prosperity to Pigmyland. + + + +THE CRONES OF MERSHAM. + + +Things are very dull now-a-days in the country districts of England. + +The country gentlemen have got into the habit of going to London a +great deal more than they used to do before railroads were made as +extensively as has been the case of late years. The farmers, too, move +about more than they did in the olden days, and act very differently in +many respects from their forefathers. + +Nor are the labourers quite the same; they ask more wages, touch their +hats to master, squire, and parson less than they did, and discuss +matters of politics and the government of the country, which formerly +never entered their heads. + +I dare say it is all right: it is a wise and good frame of mind to +cherish, which teaches one that whatever _is_, is right, although +it is sometimes very difficult to think so. + +For instance, when my tooth takes to aching without any obvious cause, +and certainly very much against my will, the fact of its doing so is +well established, but the existing state of things in my face is not +recognised by me--not for one single moment--as right because it _is_ +the existing state. And when I have overdrawn my account at my +banker's, and the state of things is that he will not let me do so any +more, the circumstance that it is so does not reconcile me to the fact +in the very slightest degree. + +Still, as regards the progress which this country has made, and the +condition at which we have now arrived, I am ready to bow my head +meekly, and allow that as a general maxim, the general results may be +admitted by me to be "all right." + +There _are_ the railroads, and (though the carriages are not always +comfortable, and the trains generally late) they afford such facilities +for the gentryfolk to go to town, that we cannot wonder at their doing +so. If it is not right that they should, surely railroads would never +have been permitted, cutting up the beautiful country as they do, and +sending their screaming engines along through the green fields and +thriving plough-lands, where all before was peaceful and quiet. + +Then if the farmers are changed, it is also all for the best without +doubt. Changed they are, beyond all question. They are a different +class of men from the old species of farmer who existed fifty years +ago, and who seldom went further than his market town. + +Our farmers, now-a-days, have all visited London again and again, and +instead of the homely talk over a market dinner which used to take +place in old days, they have got "Chambers of Agriculture," in which +they evince a remarkable ability in discussing anything which +Parliament proposes to do about agricultural matters, and talk nearly +as wisely, I am told, as the members of the House of Commons itself! + +Still, however, I stick to my text, and say that, being as it is, it +must be all right. + +Of course it is, and so also with regard to the labourers. When I was a +boy they did not know half as much as they do now, but they worked well +for all that. + +I have lodged in two rooms in this farmhouse in which I write for +twenty-seven years come next Michaelmas, and I have often heard farmer +Barrett say that his best labourers were generally those who could +neither read nor write. + +Most of them can do both now, and people used to say that it was a sin +and a shame that every labourer should not be able to read his Bible +and write his name in it. + +"All right," again say I, only unfortunately (as I sometimes venture to +think) it is not their Bibles they read, so much as the penny papers, +and these sometimes teach them different lessons from the Bible, I +fancy. Then there is a lot of cheap--well, trash I was going to say, +and I think I must, too--a lot of cheap trash which is sent about all +over the country, or which they pick up here and there, and which +teaches them lessons altogether mischievous. + +Moreover, they have societies, which are curious sort of concerns, I am +told, and through which they are taught actually to demand an increase +of wages, and various other things which were never thought of in old +times. + +All these things have made the country districts of England very +different places from what they used to be when I first knew them. That +is now a long time ago, but I know a great deal that happened before I +knew anything from my own eyesight and observation--I mean before I was +born. + +I am an old man now, and having enough money to live upon and be +comfortable, I have all my lifetime indulged my inclination for living +in the country. + +I used to make it my principal endeavour to avoid railways. I hired +lodgings in rustic villages, and lived quietly therein, studying the +ways and habits of the people, and picking up old legends, which was +always my chief delight. But wherever I went, a railroad was sure to be +immediately afterwards projected through that particular district. + +The steam fiend seemed to have marked me out as an involuntary pioneer +to herald his advance; and, move where I would, he and his myrmidons +very shortly appeared in my wake. + +This continued for five and twenty years--for I began my system of +country-lodging when I was a tolerably young man--barely turned thirty. +When I tell you, as I did just now, that I have been in my present +abode for twenty-seven years, a little calculation will show you that I +shall never again see my eighty-second birthday. You will therefore, I +hope, excuse the garrulity of old age, and forgive me if I have +somewhat wandered from the tale which in fact I have not yet begun, but +which I have been leading up to all this time. + +For you must know that the changes of which I have been speaking have +had great effect upon other people besides gentry, farmers, and +labourers. There are nothing like so many witches, wizards and curious +creatures of that kind as there were, in country places, in the good +old times. + +I do not for one moment say that this is to be regretted. On the +contrary, I say again, that being so, I have no doubt it is "all +right." + +But, right or wrong, it is undoubtedly true that the witches, warlocks +and wise women have greatly diminished, if indeed they have not +altogether vanished. I hope it will be understood that by "wise women" +I do not allude to the ladies who give scientific lectures and talk +about a variety of subjects upon which they evidently know much more +than an old gentleman like I am could ever know, and, I must say, more +than I should like to know about some things. + +This is a different kind of wisdom altogether, and there are plenty of +persons who possess it, or think they do, which serves their purpose +quite as well. I mean "wise," in the sense of possessing an unusual and +supernatural insight into things which are commonly hidden from mortal +knowledge. + +Of these people there are few, if any, left in the present day; or if +there are such, they do not come to the front as they once did. There +are, indeed, many persons in the world now, who actually disbelieve in +witches and all creatures of that sort, and who not only disbelieve in +their existence now, but who stoutly maintain that they never _did_ +exist. + +I don't know how they get over the Witch of Endor, or the various other +allusions to witches in the Bible, but I suppose they _do_ somehow or +other. + +People are much too clever for me, nowadays, and get over any +difficulty that comes in their way--or fancy that they do so, and +trouble themselves no more about it. I have even heard people +disbelieve in fairies, but that of course is sheer nonsense; and no one +who wanders--as I have often done, at all seasons and at all +hours--through the glorious English woodlands, can doubt the existence +of the dear little elves. + +Doubt their existence! I should as soon think of doubting my own! How +do the fairy-rings come, I should like to know? Whence comes the name +of "the Fairy Well"--not uncommon by any means? Oh, no! I do not +believe that anybody disbelieves that fairies exist, though I know that +there is a dreadful amount of unbelief in the world regarding warlocks +and witches. + +I am glad to say that good Farmer Barrett was never one of the +unbelievers. He was near upon seventy when I first came to lodge under +his roof, so that if he had lived till now he would have been +ninety-seven. As he didn't, however, it is no use making the remark. He +died some twelve years ago, when about eighty-five; cut off, as one may +say, in the prime of life. + +Ah, me! how our friends, young and old, fall around us, like grass. My +godson, Jack Barrett, here remarks, with less of reverence than I could +have wished, in speaking of his grandfather, that a man taken away at +eighty-five would be better compared to hay than grass. Well, well, +Jack is young; barely forty, and boys _must_ have their jokes, as we +all know. + +I was going to say that good Farmer Barrett's death affected me very +much. He was a very great comfort to me, was Farmer Barrett. It was not +only that we agreed upon most points, and thought alike in a manner +most satisfactory to both of us. _That_ was a great comfort, living as +we did under the same roof, and sitting together, either in his kitchen +or my parlour, almost every evening, to enjoy a quiet gossip. But there +were other comforts too, and the chief one--that which I may fairly +consider the principal advantage which I reaped from the society of +Farmer Barrett--was derived from his extraordinary knowledge of the +legends and traditions of his native county concerning witches and +wizards. + +Many and many an evening have we sat talking upon such matters, till I +have really felt quite nervous about going to bed. Not that I am a +nervous man: not by any means; but I own that more than once, after +discussing witches and their cats to a late hour, I have felt a curious +sensation when the house cat came rubbing herself against my shins, and +have looked with a species of creepy feeling over my left shoulder as I +went upstairs to bed, almost thinking I should see something "uncanny" +close behind me. + +I never knew any man with such a collection of stories and legends as +old Barrett. He had tales without end of the "Warlock of Coombe," the +"Wizard of Bockhanger," and the "Witch of Brook Hollow." He could tell +of the dark doings of the "Hag of Hothfield," and the fearful creature +who so long inhabited the regions of Charing, and darkened the woods of +Longbeach with her awesome shadow. + +I do not believe that any witch or wizard ever existed in Kent whose +story was not well known to Barrett. Of his own knowledge he could tell +something. Once there happened a curious thing in his stables. + +His two teams of horses, fed alike, housed equally well, and treated +with precisely the same care, strangely varied in their appearance and +condition. One team were always sleek and slim, "fat and well-liking," +like Pharaoh's fat kine, and the admiration of all beholders. The other +team were just the reverse. Nothing they took seemed to agree with +them, they fell away, their bones started through their skins, and +their appearance was a disgrace to the farm. This state of things +greatly puzzled and annoyed the farmer and his men. + +Barrett himself laid the blame upon the waggoner and his mate, and +threatened to discharge both of them if things went on so, as he felt +sure they petted one team of horses at the expense of the other. The +men earnestly denied the charge, and were evidently much vexed at its +having been made. + +Things went on the same until at last the waggoner, who was a clever +and withal a courageous man, determined to sit up all night and watch. +He did so, being carefully hidden in the corner of the stable. The +horses fed well, and lay down as usual. All was quiet until twelve +o'clock struck. At that moment several little men, about a foot high, +leaped down from the loft above the stables, and going to the favoured +team, began to brush and comb them with great care and energy, rubbing +them well all over and uttering no words to anybody as they did so, +save to each other as they worked, as if to encourage themselves to +greater exertions. + +"I work--you work, I work--you work," they kept saying, and the coats +of the horses rapidly became more smooth and glossy, until, when the +little men had finished, they were perfect models of what horses should +be. + +They merely looked at the other team with funny faces, and then +hastened up again to their loft. All this the waggoner duly told his +master next morning, and, of course, with the natural incredulity of +man, he at first refused to believe it. + +But when, upon the man again and again assuring him of its truth, he +determined to put the matter to the proof by hiding himself that same +night, he saw precisely the same thing, and was of course convinced. + +I forget how the story ended, but I know that, somehow or other, he +managed to get some "wise" person in the neighbourhood to speak up for +the poor, thin team, and prevent the little elves, or whatever they +were, from "spiting" them any more. + +Then the farmer had a tale which had been told him by a groom he had +once in his service, who came from the hill above Charing. Up over the +hill there was a reputed witch, Mrs. Dorland. + +I questioned the groom about this woman myself, so I may as well give +the story in his own words. + +"She were a noted witch, she were," he said. + +"How do you know?" I asked, not because I myself doubted for a moment, +but because I wanted to glean all the particulars I possibly could. + +"Bless ye, sir," replied the youth, "I knows all about it because o' my +grandfather. She wouldn't never let him alone. I expect he'd affronted +her, one time or other. I recollect when I was a-staying along with him +once, and the door locked and all--he looked over the stairs and there, +sure enough, was old Dame Dorland on the mat at the bottom, and her +eyes! oh they _glounded_ in her head, they did!" + +"But how did she get in?" I asked. + +"That's just what I want to know," answered the boy. "The door was shut +and fast locked; but there she was, anyhow. Another time my grandfather +had to drive some bullocks down to Ashford market, and he overtook Dame +Dorland. She had a basket on her arm, and she asked my grandfather to +carry it for her. He wouldn't. I expect he didn't know what bad game +might be up. Well, do you think he could keep his bullocks in the road, +after that? Not he: they was over the hedge, first one side and then +another, and then they was for running back. He couldn't do nothing +with them, so he turns back and offers to carry the old girl's basket. +Then the bullocks was all right directly, and he hadn't no trouble in +getting them along all the way to Ashford." + +Since Farmer Barrett had lived all his life in a county where such +people as Dame Dorland were to be found, there can hardly be much +surprise felt at his entire and implicit belief in witchcraft. + +But the most wonderful tale that he ever told me was that which not +only concerned the county, but the very district in which he dwelt. It +is a story to which I listened with intense interest when first I heard +it, and my interest was never lessened by its repetition. + +Again and again I asked the old farmer to go over it once more, and I +cross-examined him upon all the particulars of his tale in a manner +which would really have offended some people of my acquaintance. He, +however, was not only not offended, but pleased at the perseverance +with which I questioned him. + +He told me the story, in fact, so often, that I got to know it nearly +by heart; and I think it is one which I ought to relate for the benefit +of a world, in which, as far as I can see, belief of any kind, and +certainly belief in witches and the like, will shortly be extinct. + +The parish of Mersham has long been known as a favourite resort of +queer people of the kind of whom I am speaking. It is a very long, +narrow parish: much narrower, of course, at some parts than others. + +Its north end runs into and beyond the park of Mersham Hatch--that is, +the west side of the park, the east side being in the parishes of +Brabourne and Smeeth. The south part of the parish joins Bilsington and +Aldington, and on the south west you are very close upon the Ruckinge +and Orlestone big woods--so close that I am not sure whether a portion +of that vast tract of woodland does not actually lie within the +boundaries of the parish of Mersham. Be that as it may, it is a wild +part of the world, and just the very sort of place in which you would +fancy witches and their confederates to abound. Whether you fancy it or +not, however, beyond all doubt such was the case, in the good old times +of which I speak. + +No one ever dreamed of being out at night in those parts if he could +possibly help it. The roads were wretchedly bad, full of deep ruts and +big stones, with ditches inconveniently exposed on either side, and +bushes jutting out from the adjoining woods in the most awkward manner +for the traveller. + +But it was not the badness of the roads which deterred people from +moving about at night, or towards evening, but something much worse, +namely the strange and terrible beings who frequented the locality. + +All kinds of rumours were current with respect to witch meetings, and +gatherings held by wicked creatures, upon which, if a mortal man of +ordinary mould happened to come, he ran a terrible risk of some +dreadful misfortune happening to him and his, shortly afterwards. + +Cottages were few and far between: there was scarce a public house to +be found in the neighbourhood, save one or two which had an evil +reputation as the haunt of smugglers and outlawed men. + +No gentleman's house was near, and Bilsington Priory had passed away +with all its holy train of priests, and nothing was to be seen of their +former glory, and no vestige of themselves either, unless it was true +that a monk walked occasionally round the walls with ghostly tread, and +moaned, deeply and sadly, as he compared the past with the present. In +short, it was a wild, weird country, and wild, weird people dwelt +there. + +From Aldington Knoll, right away down to the other side of Ham-street, +the thick woods contained a class of beings who, if they lived there +nowadays, would be a horror to all Christian men, and an intolerable +nuisance to the Kent County Constabulary. There were, however, honest +men there, as everywhere else; and, although for the most part such +people preferred to dwell nearer Mersham-street or immediately below +the church, yet the scattered cottages further south were not +altogether without inmates, who, having nowhere else to live, lived +there. + +John Gower was one of these, a respectable middle-aged man, who won his +bread by the sweat of his brow, and was proud of the name of a Kentish +labourer. + +John had married early in life, lost his wife after the birth of their +fourth child, and remained a widower ever since. Although he could +neither read nor write, he was blessed with good common sense, and was +able to give his children plain and sensible advice, which might serve +them, he said, in as good stead as book-learning, if they would only +lay it to heart and act upon it. + +His eldest girl, Mary, was as good a girl as you would meet in a day's +journey. She had her good looks (as most Mersham girls have), but she +had that which is even better than good looks, an even temper and a +good disposition. She was about seventeen when our story begins; her +brother Jack, between fifteen and sixteen, was away at work "down in +the sheers" (shires), as the neighbours called all other counties but +their own; and two little ones, Jane, under fourteen, and Billy, just +twelve, were at home, the former helping her sister as well as she +could, and the latter doing such odd jobs as could be found for him, +and doing no more mischief than a boy of his age could help. + +The cottage in which they lived was very near the big woods--too near +to be pleasant for anyone who feared witches or wizards--and it must be +confessed that John Gower was not without his fears. + +He had various horse-shoes nailed up about his premises to keep the +evil creatures off, and he carefully barred his doors and windows every +night, not knowing what might happen if any of them were left open. He +could tell of strange cries heard in the woods at night, and if you +suggested that they might proceed from owls, he shook his head sadly +and gravely, as one who knew better, and grieved over your doubting +spirit. + +But in spite of his fears and precautions, and the strange locality in +which he lived, Gower could not be called otherwise than a cheerful +man. He worked all day, got home as soon as he could, was pleasant and +happy with his children (of whom he was very fond), and was certainly +of a contented disposition, and one who made the best of the world and +took things as he found them. + +Such was he and such was his family at the time that the occurrences +took place which I am about to relate. + +Some years before the date at which our story commences, there had +lived at the extreme south of the parish of Mersham a woman of the name +of Betty Bartlet. She was not only a reputed witch, but the fact of her +being so was testified to by a great number of credible witnesses who +had either suffered in their own persons from her evil power, or had +seen and heard things which could not have been had she been an +ordinary and Christian woman. + +She lived to a very great age--nobody knew exactly how old she was when +she died; and, although the rumours respecting her career caused the +clergyman of the Parish to entertain serious doubts as to the course he +should pursue, she was eventually carried to Mersham churchyard to be +therein interred. + +But if I am correctly informed--and I obtained my information from +highly respectable people--there were strange and terrible doings at +her funeral. + +She was carried on a waggon, from the cottage in which she had breathed +her last, as far as the bridge over the river Stour, which flows, as +all the world knows, a few hundred yards south of the church. There, +from some unknown cause, the horses would not cross the bridge; and it +was told me that they seemed quite exhausted with the short +journey--little over three miles--which they had performed. + +So the people unharnessed them from the waggon, placed all that +remained of old Betty on the shoulders of eight stout bearers, and +marched forward towards the churchyard. But not only was their burden +wondrously heavy, but it seemed to grow heavier as they went on, and +they had the greatest difficulty in making their way up the short hill, +and so round to the right towards the churchyard. And just before they +got to the gate, why or wherefore nobody could tell, one of the bearers +stumbled, and in doing so tripped up another, and down came the whole +concern with a great crash upon the ground. Everything connected with +their burden suddenly disappeared: a vast cloud of black dust arose and +blew all over the place, and out of the dust flew a great black bird, +with a strange and awful croak, with which it terribly frightened the +bystanders and bearers, as it flew off directly in the contrary +direction to the churchyard. + +What happened immediately afterwards Farmer Barrett never heard, or, at +least, he never told me, but nobody ever doubted that the old witch had +flown off in the shape of the black, fearsome bird, being unable to +enter the holy ground of the churchyard. Be this as it may, the ancient +woman left behind her three daughters, who had all inherited their +mother's wickedness, and were witches every one of them. Their actual +names were Betty, Jane, and Sarah, but they were popularly known as +Skinny, Bony, and Humpy, the two elder sisters being thin and gaunt, +whilst the youngest was shorter, and had a species of hump between her +shoulders. + +Every one in Mersham, and, for the matter of that, in the adjoining +parishes also, knew these three sisters by sight, and avoided them as +much as possible. No conceivable misfortune ever happened in that +neighbourhood that was not attributed to their influence, and all that +went wrong was immediately laid at their door. + +The sisters were well aware of the awe with which the neighbours +regarded them, and took good care that it should not diminish, never +losing an opportunity of frightening those simple people with whom they +came in contact. They lived in a long, low cottage--scarcely worthy of +the name of cottage--so miserable was it both as regards the outside +building and the inside accommodation. The roof was of thatch, and the +dwelling itself was at one end built of Kentish rag-stone, but badly +constructed, and all the rest of it was composed entirely of wood, and +apparently afforded but poor shelter against wind and rain. + +The women lived mostly at the stone-built end of their house, for there +was their kitchen, such as it was; but very little was known of the +interior of this place, inasmuch as nobody came near it who could +possibly go another way. It was situate, however, barely half a mile +from John Gower's cottage, a fact which caused him and his no little +annoyance, inasmuch as the three Crones of Mersham, as they were +usually called, were not the best of neighbours, and never very +particular as far as other people's property was concerned. + +Now John Gower had a great number of relations; in fact there was and +is an old proverb in his native parish, to the effect that "if you know +the Gowers, you know all Mersham;" and certainly the knowledge would to +this day make you acquainted with a large quantity of people. + +They were none of them rich relations, certainly, unless you might have +applied that adjective to the wife of a certain Farmer Long who lived a +few miles off, and whose husband might certainly be said to be +thriving. + +Sally Long was a stout, comfortable-looking dame, who could not fairly +have found fault if you had called her fat, but who, unlike most fat +people, was not gifted with the best of tempers. If all reports were +true, she led her husband rather a life of it, and scolded pretty +equally all her household. She had no children, and her husband's son +by a former wife being a trifle weak in the head, and for that reason +generally known by the name of "Simple Steenie," there was no one to +dispute her authority in house, yard or farm. + +These worthy people lived in the parish of Aldington, and although John +Gower was no looker after dead men's shoes, and a man who would have +scorned to bow down before any one for the sake of their wealth, he +thought it was but right and fair towards his children to encourage +them to maintain friendly relations with his distant cousin, Dame Long. + +She had noticed the children more than once, when they were quite +little things; and when a woman of a certain age, with no children of +her own, notices the children of other people, who happen to be her own +relations, there is no telling what may come of it. So the boys had +orders to take their caps off and the girls to drop a respectful +curtsey whenever they passed Mrs. Long, and any little act of civility +which they could possibly perform was never forgotten. + +Now it happened that someone, many years ago, had given to the Gower +family a very particular cat. When I use the word "particular," I do +not mean to imply a very strict or fastidious cat, but one that was +particular in the sense of being different from the general run of +cats, which was certainly true of this individual cat. + +She was jet black, which you will say is not at all uncommon; but +Farmer Barrett always maintained that no cats that he ever heard of +were _so_ jet and so glossy as the Gower cats. She was a magnificent +animal: her whiskers unusually long, her tail splendidly bushy, her +body beautifully and symmetrically made, and her head, in size, shape, +and the intelligence which was displayed upon her face, little short of +perfection. + +This cat lived until a great age, and nobody exactly knew when or where +it died. To tell the truth there was always a legend in the Gower +family that it never _did_ die, at least not in their cottage, but that +it disappeared on the very day of old Betty Bartlet's death. + +I do not know--for Farmer Barrett could not tell me, though I asked him +more than once--how they connected the two events, but nevertheless +they had this legend, if so I may call it. + +But whatever happened to this cat, of one thing there is certainly no +doubt, namely, that during her lifetime she several times went through +the ceremony of kittening, and that her race seemed by no means likely +to be extinct. Her kittens were always black, always very glossy and +always remarkably clever and intelligent, and people were always glad +to get a kitten of the Gower breed. + +So when, upon a fine summer's morning, one of the descendants of the +famous animal of which I have spoken was found by John Gower with a +little family of four kittens around her, he and his children were not +displeased at the addition to their household. And when, after a few +days, one of these kittens appeared to be developing into an animal +more comely and more sprightly than the rest, the worthy man thought it +would be a proper and becoming compliment upon his part if he made a +present of it to good Mrs. Long. + +So he told Mary that she should take it up in a little basket the very +next day, give his "duty" to "old aunt Sally" (for so they called her +in the cottage when they spoke of her among themselves, though it was +always "Mrs. Long" when they spoke _to_ her) and ask her acceptance of +the gift. Mary made her preparations accordingly. She could not go up +to the farm in the morning, for she had the rooms to "do," the house to +sweep, father's dinner to get ready and carry to him, and a number of +little jobs to get done which it was necessary to finish before she +could feel herself at liberty to go out. + +At last, however, every duty seemed to have been discharged, as is +always the case, at some time or other, if people will only set +themselves at work to do resolutely that which they have before them to +do, instead of sitting down with folded hands and sighing over the +prospect of it. + +It must have been between three and four o'clock in the afternoon when +Mary found that she could get away with a clear conscience. Then she +put on her little straw hat, donned her grey cloak, put the kitten in a +little basket with a little hay for it to lie on, and called her +brother Billy to come with her, wisely thinking this the most likely +way to keep him out of mischief. + +It was a truly glorious afternoon, such as an English summer's +afternoon often is. + +"Talk to me about foreign countries," as Farmer Barrett often used to +say, snapping his fingers audibly, "_that_ for your furrineerers; there +an't no land like old England, to my mind;" and, being myself old and +prejudiced, I confess that I am very much of the good old farmer's +opinion. + +It is very charming, no doubt, to roam through foreign lands, and there +is doubtless much to admire. When I shut my eyes and muse over +beautiful views that I have seen, many such come back to me with +pleasing memories. + +I see the sparkling Rhine with castle-crowned heights, and scenery +world-worshipped for its varied beauty; I gaze with a delight tempered +with awe upon the mighty snow-clad mountains of life-breathing +Switzerland; I sit upon the shores of the sea of seas, the +Mediterranean, and I cast my eyes upon its waters of eternal blue; and, +most wonderful sight of all, I stand upon the plateau opposite the +Cascatelle at Tivoli, and, with the waterfall and town on one side, +Adrian's Villa nestling below on the left, and the hills behind, look +out over the vast Campagna with its ever-changing lights, see +Rome--grand, glorious Rome--in the far distance, and feel carried out +of myself and away from all ideas of mere earth and earthly things as I +lose all individuality of being in the absorbing contemplation of a +beauty so divinely sublime. + +And then--as the magic power of thought enables me to move faster than +railroads, steamers, or electric telegraphs--I suddenly transport +myself to a quiet, homely, English scene upon a summer's afternoon; and +I think to myself that neither the Rhine, Switzerland, nor Italy can +produce anything more pleasing to the eye, more soothing to the senses, +or more entirely enjoyable to any person capable of enjoyment, and not +given to despise the beauties of scenery merely because they can be +seen at home without hurrying off to foreign lands. + +[Illustration: MARY AND BILLY MEET THE CRONES.--P. 305] + +Such a summer's afternoon fell on this particular day of which we are +now speaking. There was hardly a breath of air, but the woods having +got their shady green dress on, kept off the heat of the sun from the +traveller on the road which intersected them. It was very warm, though, +and very still; and you might hear the voices of the woodland birds, +singing in notes which seemed somewhat subdued, as if the heat forbade +the songsters to exert themselves to their full strength. + +But, warm as it was, there was a very pleasant feeling in the air. +Nature seemed to be basking in the sun and thoroughly enjoying +herself--the rabbits hopped across the road as quietly as if there were +no such things as weasels in the world, and keepers had never existed: +the old jay flitted heavily from tree to tree, her hard note softened +down to a low guttural sound--all insect life was on the move, and +every living being seemed to delight in the genial weather. + +Of course, under these circumstances, Mary and Billy Gower did not walk +very fast. On the contrary, they rather dawdled, for Billy saw now and +then a butterfly, now and then a birds' nest, and was constantly +tempted to leave the road and dive into the woods on either side, +whilst his sister did not like to hurry on and leave him, and saw no +reason for particular haste. + +They passed along for some way without adventure, until Aldington Knoll +came in sight, although they were still in the shady lanes of their own +parish. Then, on turning a corner, they came suddenly upon two figures +approaching them from the opposite direction, that is to say, as if +they had come from Aldington Knoll. The children needed no second +glance to tell them that they were in the presence of two of the +Mersham crone. "Lanky" and "Skinny" were the lovely pair whom they had +the good fortune thus to meet, and the children felt by no means +comfortable when they saw them. Mary, indeed, being now seventeen, and +hardly to be deemed a child any longer, felt no babyish fear at the +sight of the old women. She was, as I have said, a good sort of girl, +and one who tried to do her duty; and she had a feeling within her (as +such people generally have) that as long as she did so, no great harm +would be allowed to happen to her. + +But, as for little Billy, who had occasionally been threatened, when +naughty, that he should be given to the crones, he could by no means be +restrained from great manifestations of fear. He trembled greatly as +soon as he saw the two, clutched hold of his sister's gown, and begged +her to turn back and run away, as they were still forty or fifty yards +from the old women. This, however, would have been contrary to Mary's +sense of right. + +She had been sent by her father to perform a certain duty, and that +duty, come what would, she meant to discharge, unless prevented by +superior force. So she trudged on steadily along the road, and her +brother accompanied her, probably because he thought it the least of +two evils, and was too much terrified to run away. As they neared the +two crones, they could not but feel that there was nothing either +prepossessing or agreeable in the appearance of the latter. + +Their clothes were untidy and ill-fitting: each had a kind of hood half +drawn over her head; but not sufficiently so as to conceal her +decidedly ugly features, whilst a certain wild, haggard look, which sat +upon their faces, was anything but calculated to put the traveller at +his ease. They walked, or rather crawled, along one side of the road, +and close behind them followed a gaunt cat, which, if formerly black, +was now gray with age, and which wore upon its face the same haggard +look which was so plainly discernible upon those of the hags +themselves. + +Mary and Billy walked quietly on, and were just passing these strange +beings, and really beginning to hope they might be allowed to do so +without interruption, when they were suddenly pulled up by the harsh +voice of the crone nearest to them, who called out "Stop!" in a voice +harsher than the croak of a raven, but with such a tone of authority +that no thought of disobeying her entered the head of either of those +she addressed even for a single moment. + +"Stop, young people!" she said a second time; "whither away so fast +this afternoon?" + +Mary civilly replied, "We are going up to Farmer Long's, ma'am; father +sent us." + +"Ah!" replied the crone; "going up to Farmer Long's for father, are ye, +my chickens? Fine times, forsooth, when John Gower's children go +visiting instead of minding their business at home. But pray, what have +you got in that basket, my pretty Minnikin?" + +"Only a kitten, ma'am, that father is going to give to Aunt Sal--I mean +to Mrs. Long," replied the girl. + +"_Only_ a kitten!" cried the other crone, who had not yet spoken; +"_only_ a kitten, indeed! and how does John Gower the labourer have +kittens to give away, I should like to know? Our poor old Grimalkin +here has lost a kitten lately--I wonder whether this can be the same, +strayed over to John Gower's house. If he _had_ a kitten to give away, +he might have thought of his poor neighbours, methinks, instead of the +rich farmer's wife!" + +When Mary heard these words she begin to tremble for the safety of her +kitten, for as I have already remarked, the Crones of Mersham were not +famous for distinguishing clearly between other people's property and +their own. + +So she made reply very quickly in these words: "Please, ma'am, this +kitten can't be your cat's, because we've known it ever since it was +born, and its mother too, and it has never been out of our charge yet." + +"No matter, no matter," said the crone in a testy voice; "let me see +it, and I shall soon know all about it." + +Mary did not dare refuse, nor would it have been of much use if she had +done so. + +The crone stretched out her long, skinny hand, and lifting the +basket-lid, saw the little black kitten; which, immediately that it saw +her, crouched down in the corner of the basket and uttered a low +moaning sound. + +"Poor little thing!" said the old hag. "Poor little thing! I can hardly +see it so. Look, sister Jane!" and the other crone came and peered also +into the basket, whilst the kitten continued to crouch and moan. + +"The very image of our grimalkin, I do declare!" cried the second crone +after a moment. "It _must_ be hers--there can be no doubt at all about +it." + +So saying, she put her hand down and stroked the back of the kitten, as +if about to take it out of the basket. + +As soon as she touched it, however, the little animal, young as it was, +appeared to go into a paroxysm of fear and fury; it growled and spit, +made as if it would spring out of the basket, and suddenly inflicted a +severe scratch on the hand which was about to seize it. + +The old woman's face immediately became distorted with rage, and as she +hastily withdrew her hand, she fixed her eyes steadily upon the kitten, +muttering at the same time some words which the children could not +understand, but which sounded in their ears like anything but a prayer. +Neither of the crones, however, tried further to interfere with the +kitten, but begged of the children to give them money, saying that they +were nearly starving. + +Billy of course had nothing, and Mary only a penny, but she thought it +best to give that for fear of being bewitched if she refused; so, +sorrowfully enough, the poor child drew out her only coin and placed it +in the hand of one of the hags, who grinned frightfully by way of +thanks, and allowed the children to proceed on their way--although +before they did so they could not help noticing the strange conduct of +grimalkin, who threw herself on the side of the road, turned over and +over, grinned like a Cheshire cat, and appeared to be convulsed with +laughter at all that had occurred. + +Mary and Billy, however, glad to have got away from the old women, +hurried forward towards Farmer Long's dwelling. + +But now the conduct of the kitten became inexplicable. Up to the time +of their meeting the crones, it had behaved like a decent little animal +of tender years, nestling quietly in its basket, and giving no trouble +to anybody. + +It now took quite a different course. It moaned and whined as if it +wanted to get out--it pushed against the basket, first on one side and +then on the other, as if trying to force its way through, and behaved +in all respects as if it was a mad kitten,--although, as I never saw a +mad kitten, I am not sure how they _do_ behave exactly--but this was +Farmer Barrett's expression, and a man of his years and experience was +not likely to be wrong. + +But more than this, although the kitten was young and small, and had +therefore been very light and easy to carry, scarcely had the children +passed the crones than its weight seemed to increase vastly, and it +became four times as heavy as before, until poor Mary's arm quite ached +with carrying it. + +Billy, seeing her trouble, advised her to turn it out into the woods; +but Mary would not do this, being determined to obey her father's +orders, so she trudged steadily on until they came to the farm to which +they had been sent. + +There they asked if Mrs. Long was at home, and were presently ushered +into the presence of that good lady, to whom they told the object of +their visit. She received them very graciously, and expressed herself +much pleased with John Gower's attention in sending her the kitten, +saying that she had always desired to have one of that breed. + +They opened the basket, and she was going to take the creature out, +when it looked her straight in the face, and she drew back her hand at +once. + +"Lawkes! child!" she said to Mary; "how the thing's eyes do shine! Like +live coals of fire, I do declare. I never seen such eyes in all my born +days, that I never did!" + +As she spoke, the kitten saved her the trouble of removing it from the +basket by jumping out of its own accord on to the table, where it sat +glowering at the party, and making a low noise between a purr and a +growl, until Mrs. Long brought it some milk, with which it proceeded to +regale itself, and the children, having had a slice of cake each, and +been duly charged with the good lady's thanks to their father, took +their departure, and reached the cottage without further adventure. + +Now I verily believe that the doings of that kitten at Farmer Long's +farm were of such a wonderful and unheard of character that a whole +book, and a very amusing book, too, might be written about them. But +people did not write many books in those days, and Farmer Barrett could +not recollect many particulars about this part of his story. At all +events, there can be no doubt (to use his own expression) that the +animal's "tantrums" were extraordinary; the cream was constantly +devoured, and the best cream-jug broken on one occasion, in order to +get at it; the milk was for ever being upset; the marks of dirty paws +were daily to be seen on clean table cloths, or on the counterpanes of +beds just made, and, in short, just wherever they ought not to be. + +Mrs. Long's best cap, having mysteriously disappeared one afternoon, +was seen in the kitten's clutches upon the hearthrug, a perfect wreck +of a cap, and useless for ever afterwards. Then the perverse little +animal appeared to entertain a strong and marked partiality for young +ducks and chickens, which she ruthlessly murdered whenever she could +lay her paws upon them, neglecting to touch any of the rats upon which +her energies might have been much more beneficially employed. + +Day by day depredations were committed, all of which were attributed to +the kitten, and most of which were probably perpetrated by her. From +the moment of her arrival at the farm, nothing seemed to prosper with +the Longs. + +Everything turned out just the reverse way to that which they had +hoped, and it really seemed as if some evil spell had been cast upon +them. Looking calmly back upon the whole history, I have no doubt at +all but that the crones had bewitched the kitten when they met the +children on that memorable afternoon, and that to this must be +attributed all that afterwards occurred. + +However this may be, it was certainly an unlucky day for the Longs when +that kitten came upon their premises, and that they very soon found +out. + +Still, people do not always put the saddle upon the right horse +immediately, and they did not at first believe that the animal had +anything to do with their ill-luck. Mrs. Long, however, who had an eye +to business, could not stand the constant inroad upon her ducks and +chickens, to say nothing of the cream-jug, and the loss of her cap very +nearly brought matters to a climax. + +She might perhaps, however, have borne it a little longer, had not an +event occurred which was really beyond anybody's bearing. One morning, +when the worthy couple were at breakfast, the kitten calmly jumped on +to the table, seized a piece of bacon which the farmer was about to +place upon his own plate, and deliberately carried it off. + +After this it was quite evident that she must be got rid of. No man can +stand being robbed of his breakfast in such a barefaced manner, and the +good farmer spoke up pretty strongly on the subject. As the breed was +supposed to be a particularly good one, he did not order the animal to +be killed, nor indeed would he have ventured to do so unless his wife +had especially wished it, but he expressed himself in forcible terms as +to the desirability of its quitting his premises with as little delay +as possible. + +Mrs. Long had by this time become so entirely of the same opinion, that +she resolved to take immediate steps to carry out the joint views of +her husband and herself. She accordingly directed that the cart should +be got ready the same afternoon, and that Tom the Bailiff should drive +her down to Mersham, where she determined to restore the kitten to the +Gowers with her own hands. + +Accordingly, at the appointed time the cart was brought round, old +Dapple, the steady pony, was in it, and Tom prepared to drive. Mrs. +Long got in, and the kitten, who had shown an unwonted and marvellous +docility in submitting to be placed once more in a basket, was safely +deposited in her lap. + +Off they went, out of the farmyard into the lane, and taking a turn +which brought them near to Aldington Knoll, descended towards the woods +through which runs the road from Mersham and Aldington to the canal, +and so away across Romney Marsh to Dymchurch. + +You must understand that Tom and his mistress were heading away from +the canal, only they had come into that road in order to reach the +lower part of Mersham, in which was situate John Gower's cottage. So +when they came past Aldington Knoll, and descended the hill, the marsh +road led back to the left, nearly parallel with that from which they +came, whilst they pushed straight forward along the road through the +woods. + +As soon as they got well into the wood, or rather, into the road on +each side of which the wood was wide and thick, old Dapple began to +show visible signs of uneasiness. He swerved first on one side of the +road, and then on the other, abandoning all the good, quiet habits of a +respectable middle-aged pony, and behaving much more like a giddy young +colt who had never been broken to harness. + +Tom the Bailiff who was a simple country lout, did not know what to +make of it, and was both confused and frightened when his mistress +began to tell him that it was only his bad driving. But this was +evidently not the case. Dapple wanted very little driving at all, and +the best "whip" in the world could not have kept him straight when he +was in the mood which seemed now to have possessed him. Another cause +also disquieted good Mrs. Long. + +The kitten began to fidget in her basket in a most unaccountable way, +and to give vent to various discordant sounds, whilst the weight upon +the good lady's knees, as the basket had been on Mary's arm, was really +unpleasantly heavy. + +They managed to get through the wood somehow or other, until they were +well out of the parish of Aldington and had entered that of Mersham. +Here all their troubles increased--the kitten's struggles were more +violent than before, and Dapple became perfectly unmanageable, until +all at once they perceived a large black cat upon one side of the road, +which suddenly darted in front of the cart, and so startled the pony +that he shied quite across the road, brought the wheel of the cart over +the side of the ditch, and in another moment it was overset and its +occupants were tumbled into the brambles and bushes with which the +ditch was choked. + +Had it been winter, or had there been much rain lately, poor Mrs. Long +would probably have been drowned, or at best would only have escaped +with a severe ducking. As it was, the principal risk of life or limb +she ran was from the kicking of the pony and as Dapple was too fat to +indulge in any great manifestations of this kind, she was tolerably +safe from personal injury. + +But a stout woman overturned into a ditch full of brambles, is, after +all, a pitiable object, and is not likely to be improved either in +temper or in appearance by the event. So as soon as the good lady could +scramble up into a sitting position she began to abuse everybody and +everything to the best of her ability, which was not inconsiderable +when applied to such an attempt. She told Tom he should certainly "get +the sack" as soon as they got home; she declared Dapple was old and +worn out, and only fit to draw the dung-cart in future, and she abused +the kitten in no measured terms. + +But where was the kitten? In the tumble and scrimmage, the lid of the +basket had come off, and the animal had disappeared. Disappeared, +however, only for a moment, for Tom the bailiff suddenly exclaimed in a +terrified voice,-- + +"Look'ee, missis, do look'ee now--there be our kitten sure-ly!" and +casting up her eyes, Mrs. Long beheld--or at least so she always +declared to her dying day--the kitten, seated upon the back of the +large black cat which had been the cause of their disaster, and which +was now careering full tilt down the road with this rider upon it. + +The old lady, being brave as she was stout (which is saying a great +deal) felt nothing but rage when she saw what had happened, not only at +the impudence of the cat, but because this occurrence threw a light +upon the past, and at once opened her eyes to the truth, and disclosed +the reason of the kitten's abominable behaviour at the farm. + +After a moment's pause she broke out in great wrath: + +"It's them crones!" she cried in loud and excited tones. "It's them +crones, or some like 'em! That kitten's been bewitched--that's what +come to it, Tom, you may depend upon't. Drat them witches!" Scarcely +were the words out of her mouth when she shrieked loudly--"Ah-a-ah!" + +"What's the matter, missis?" said Tom. + +"Why," replied she, "something scratched me;" and pointing to her arm, +the sleeve around which had been pushed up high in her struggles to sit +upright, there indeed was a long, red scratch as if inflicted by the +nail of a hand or the claw of an angry cat. + +To be sure, a lady who is seated in the middle of a bed of brambles +cannot be expected to escape unscratched, and no supernatural agency +need be invoked in order to produce such a misfortune. Still Mrs. Long +always declared that this was no bramble scratch, and coming as it did +at the very moment when she was speaking strongly against the witches, +there could be very little doubt as to the source from which the injury +really came. However, witches or no witches, it was impossible to sit +all the livelong afternoon in a ditch full of brambles, so with much +difficulty and many struggles, Mrs. Long contrived to get up, and Tom +the Bailiff having looked to Dapple, found there was no very serious +damage done either to him or to the cart. So they righted the latter, +and having got into it, proceeded on their journey. + +True it was that there was now no kitten to take back to the Gowers, +but the farmer's wife was determined to let them know the extraordinary +manner in which the animal had conducted itself, and had a great +dislike to turning back without reaching the place for which she had +started. So she directed Tom to drive on along the cross road which +leads from the Aldington woods to Bilsington, and comes out into the +main road from Mersham to Romney Marsh. At that point, if you turn to +the left you can go to the Marsh, or to Ruckinge and Orlestone by a +road which lies a little further south, and if you turn to the right, +you pass through the end of the great range of woods which occupy so +much of that district, and presently come from Bilsington into Mersham. + +Of course it was to the right that Mrs. Long turned, having made a kind +of half-circle round Bilsington Priory, which was thus at her right +hand all the time. + +It is necessary to be thus particular, in order that no innocent parish +may be wrongfully suspected of having harboured the strange and wicked +creatures whose power was almost entirely confined to parts of Mersham, +Bilsington and Aldington, and some parishes further west on the borders +of the Marsh. A good name is a great possession, and the adjacent +parishes of Sevington, Hinxhill, Smeeth and Sellinge have always been +so free from the worst class of witches that, in writing of this +neighbourhood, one wishes to be precise. + +After they had turned to the right, as I say, a short mile brought our +travellers to John Gower's cottage; but before they reached it, they +had to pass within a hundred yards or so of the abode of the crones, to +which a very little-frequented by-road led, branching off from the road +on which they were driving. It showed courage in Mrs. Long to take this +route, especially after what had happened, but she was naturally a bold +woman, and perhaps she thought that the witches had probably done all +that they cared to do in having overturned her cart once, and stolen +her kitten. + +Be this as it may, she reckoned without her host, for Dapple, who had +been quiet enough since the accident, began to grow restive again as +they neared the part of the road which I have mentioned, and, when +within fifty yards of it, suddenly stopped and refused to move an inch. + +Tom the Bailiff laid the whip over the pony's back with a will, but the +only effect was to make him rear and back, so that they were in +imminent danger of a disaster similar to the first. Then, to make +matters worse, there arose a cloud of fog before them, which was so +thick they could see nothing, and had a disagreeable smell of smoke +about it. Whence or wherefore it came they could not tell, for the sun +was still high in the heavens and the sky above their heads clear and +blue. + +It was evident that something evil was at hand and at work, and neither +Mrs. Long nor her servant knew what to make of it. + +Presently the good lady called out angrily, "How dare you pinch my arm, +Tom?" and gave a short, sharp scream as she said so. + +"Oh, don't, please don't, missis!" cried the man at the same moment, as +a hand hit him a cruel box on the ear. + +It need scarcely be said that neither of the occupants of the cart had +touched the other; but the matter did not end there. Pinches, pushes, +scratches, thumps, hair-pulling, and kicking began to a most +extraordinary extent. + +No one could be seen, but invisible hands assailed both Mrs. Long and +Tom so fiercely and so vigorously, that they both shouted aloud with +pain and terror, whilst, as if in answer to their cries, hoarse +chuckles and deep bursts of laughter rang in their astonished ears, +although no human being of any description was to be seen. + +Never was there a more unpleasant experience than that which the worthy +pair underwent, and how it would have ended I really cannot say, but +for an unlooked-for and fortunate event. + +All of a sudden the pinching and beating ceased, the laughter came to +an end, and the fog or cloud disappeared, as it had come, by magic, as +a cheery voice shouted out, close at hand,-- + +"Halloo! who is this making such a noise in the road. My good people, +it is too bad that you should let drink get the better of you in this +way!" + +Glancing indignantly round, they beheld no less a person than the +worthy rector of Mersham himself, riding upon a stout gray cob, and +evidently coming home from some expedition to the further extremity of +his parish. + +Mrs. Long knew not what reply to make, but as soon as she recovered +herself sufficiently, she answered the appeal. + +"I am sure, sir, there is no call to say a word about drink, to which +some folk lays everything that happens, be it what it will. But if +you'd keep your parish clear of these here witches, you'd find things +go a good deal better!" + +The clergyman gravely shook his head. + +"You must know, my good woman," he replied, "that there are no such +beings as witches, and you ought not to wrong elderly and respectable +females by using such terms. There is nobody here, and nothing to +hinder your journey. I am quite ashamed to see you stopping your cart +in the middle of the road and quarrelling as has evidently been the +case. Take my advice, and get home as fast as you can." So saying, the +good man passed the cart and began to trot gently on. + +Dapple, as if his difficulties were suddenly over, and his objections +to advance removed, immediately started after the rector's cob, and +thus they passed the dreaded by-road without further trouble. But to +her dying day, Mrs. Long always declared that she was sure they never +would have got past if the rector hadn't come along just when he did. +This shows the great and proper respect for the clergy which then +existed, and is, moreover, a proof that Mrs. Long was a decent and +respectable woman, whose word may be taken as establishing beyond doubt +the truth of the events which I have undertaken to relate. But it lay +heavy on her soul, for many a long day, that the reverend man should +have thought she had been drinking, and made her more than ever angry +with the crones whose wicked dealings had caused such an imputation to +rest upon her. + +The rector had trotted briskly on, and was before long out of sight, +but the cart was soon close to John Gower's cottage, between which and +the road was a bit of waste land; it might be as much as two or three +perches in size, for in those days every strip of land was not enclosed +as it is now-a-days, but there were plenty of green patches by the side +of the roads, and in many places you could ride on grass for miles +together. + +It is very different now, and although it may be said on the one hand +that we travel faster, witches are not heard of, and England is richer +than in those days; yet I often say to Jack Barrett that I think there +were a good many pleasant things in the old times, especially in +country life, which we do not get now, and for my part I should not +mind having them back again, even with a few witches here and there +with them, provided we could get rid of some of the strange new-fangled +ideas and curious goings on which we have got instead, and which are +much worse for all of us, than a witch or two or even a stray wizard. +Well, Mrs. Long told Tom the Bailiff to drive upon this bit of waste as +near to the garden gate of John Gower's cottage as he could manage to +get, and then down she scrambled and went into the house. John had not +yet come home from his work, though he was expected every moment; but +Mary received her guest with much civility, for she was a good-mannered +girl, and knew how to behave to her betters. + +So she did the honours of the house, whilst her sister and Billy sat +still and listened. Mrs. Long was, as you may suppose, not exactly in +the best of humours, nor was her dress in precisely that condition in +which ladies like their dresses to be when they go out visiting. You +cannot be overturned into a ditch, scratched, pinched, hustled, and +pushed, without some little disarrangement of your attire, and Mrs. +Long's dress consequently required a good deal of "putting tidy," in +which Mary Gower assisted her to the best of her ability. Whilst doing +so, she listened to the account of all that had occurred since the day +upon which she and Billy had left the kitten at the farm, and, upon +being questioned by Mrs. Long as to the possible cause of its +behaviour, she told her of their having met the two crones as I have +described. + +The farmer's wife then said that, had she known the circumstances, she +would have had nothing to do with the kitten; but that she did not +blame Mary for not having told her, as of course she had not suspected +that there was anything wrong with the animal. As she spoke, in came +John Gower from his work, and to him the whole story was soon told. + +John expressed his great regret at what had happened, and went so far +as to offer the farmer's wife another kitten, but, under the +circumstances, she deemed it better to decline the offer; and, +presently afterwards departed, taking good care to avoid the road by +which she had come, and turning up instead by the road, at the corner +of which the "Good Intent" public-house now stands; by which means she +kept to the north of the big woods, and got safely home. Her adventure, +however, made no little talk in the neighbourhood, and people shook +their heads, gravely and wisely, whenever the matter was mentioned. +Mrs. Long herself was so angry at the disrespectful manner in which she +had been treated, and the unjust suspicion that had been raised in the +clergyman's breast, that she could by no means be satisfied to rest +quiet. + +Before taking any steps, however, to get matters set right, she +determined to make an expedition to Brabourne, where lived a wise woman +named Goody Flaskett, from whom she obtained sundry charms against +witchcraft, with which she decorated herself, in order that she might +be able to speak and act against witches with impunity. Thus armed, she +never lost an opportunity of doing both the one and the other; and I +suppose the charms must have had a certain power, because Farmer +Barrett declared that the good woman, when she had them on, never felt +any of those strange scratches from invisible hands which she had +experienced when speaking against witches on the occasion already +mentioned. + +Still, say and do what she would, the power of the Mersham crones did +not seem to be diminished. They seldom appeared all three together, but +might be said, generally, to "hunt in couples," although sometimes they +were met singly, but hardly ever without a great black cat. + +The kitten was never again seen by its former owners, but in all +probability had been taken by the crones to form one of the guardian +cats by which they were thus attended. + +Petty thefts abounded in the neighbourhood, and no one suffered from +them more than Farmer Long, although his farm was at a considerable +distance from the cottage of the crones. + +At last things got so bad that the farmer really thought he could stand +it no longer. So one day, after the disappearance of a fine lamb from +one of his fields, when the crone Humpy had shortly before been seen in +the immediate proximity of the flock, and one man went so far as to say +he had seen her driving a lamb before her in the road, the farmer +boldly applied to the nearest justice of the peace for a warrant to +search the cottage. + +There was some little difficulty in the matter, owing to the +circumstance that old Finn, the Mersham constable, positively declined +for some time to go near the place, but upon being encouraged by the +parish constable of Smeeth, bold Joe Worrell, who offered to go with +him, they proceeded to perform their duty, accompanied by the farmer. + +Mrs. Long had gone to Dymchurch that day for a breath of sea air, so +that he knew she would not be uneasy about him, and deemed it but right +to back up the officers of justice, whom he met by appointment at the +foot of Collier's Hill in Mersham, and they advanced together. But the +road appeared to be endless, for although it could not be much more +than two miles, if so much, to the cottage, it seemed as if they would +never get there. + +Then, although the weather had been fine, there came on a hailstorm +which nearly blinded them, and, notwithstanding that Finn had been born +in the parish and the others knew it well, they actually lost their +way, and found themselves close to Kingsnorth Church, which everybody +knows to be in quite an opposite direction. They hastily retraced their +steps, but then it suddenly became dark. Finn and the farmer both had +their hats plucked off their heads by invisible hands, and although +Worrell was untouched (it being well-known that no witch dare lay hands +on a Smeeth man) yet he felt far from comfortable. Determined, however, +to do their duty, the men made another attempt, and going round towards +Aldington, were about to try and approach that side, when, all darkness +having cleared away, they saw at a distance a light in the sky which +betokened a fire, and from the direction, it appeared to be burning +somewhere very near to Farmer Long's house. This put out of his head +altogether the business upon which he was out, and he immediately +retraced his steps as fast as possible, accompanied by the constables. +When he got near home the flames seemed to have died away, but a heavy +smoke hung over the place, and as he approached still nearer a sad +sight indeed met his eyes. His stables were utterly burned to the +ground, and three valuable horses destroyed, despite every effort to +save them. Farmer Long rushed hastily to the spot, but all he found was +his poor half-witted son sitting calmly on the grass contemplating the +smouldering embers with a vacant expression of countenance. + +"What has happened, Stephen lad? Where's Tom? How did all this begin? +Who has done it?" were the eager questions of the excited man; but to +all of them the youth replied with the stolid indifference of idiocy, +"Steenie not know." + +Subsequent inquiries proved that two (as usual) of the crones had been +seen in the vicinity of the farm that day. As a public road ran very +near, this may perhaps be deemed by some to have been slight and +inconclusive evidence of their guilt; but it was universally accepted +at the time as beyond all doubt connecting them with the affair. + +Some few there were who insinuated that the idiot boy had set the +stables on fire for amusement, unconscious of the mischief he was +doing; but these of course were some of those foolish and obstinate +people who always like to differ from the rest of the world, and put +forward their own views against those of everybody else. Of course it +was the Mersham crones who had done the thing, else why should it have +occurred at the very time when Farmer Long was engaged on an +expedition, the object of which was to search their cottage? At all +events, so entirely convinced upon the subject was the whole +neighbourhood, that it was resolved that the matter could not rest +there, but must be taken up seriously. + +The question was, how to do it? Inquiry before the magistrates appeared +useless, for if two constables, and one of them a Smeeth man, too, +could not even approach the crones' dwelling, of what avail was it to +invoke the authority of the law? The church might be tried, but the +rector of Mersham was known to have steadily set his face against any +belief in witches, and it was more than probable that no other +clergyman would like to interfere in his parish without his knowledge +and consent. + +Long consultations were held, and wise heads laid together about the +business, and at last it was determined to rouse the honest people of +the neighbourhood round, most of whom had suffered more or less from +the pilfering habits of the crones, and, covered with as many charms +and magic tokens as they could obtain from old Goody Flaskett and one +or two other wise women who lived near the place, to advance in great +numbers against the enemy, in order to try what ducking in a horsepond +would do for them. So on one fine afternoon, a great concourse of +people, meeting in several parties, bore down from different quarters +upon the cottage of the crones. + +It was a mellow day in autumn, and hopping was just over at the time +when this proceeding took place. John Gower had come home that day to +dinner, and a memorable day it was in his family. Mary, Jane, and Billy +were all at home and they had just sat down to their homely meal when a +low, hurried knocking was heard at the door. At this very moment it so +happened that the horse-shoe which was usually nailed over that door +had fallen down, owing to one of the nails which supported it having +given way, and consequently it lay on the grass near the door instead +of hanging in its usual place. Farmer Barrett was always particular in +mentioning this circumstance, else, he said, people might think that a +horseshoe is not a real protection against witches, whereas it is the +best and surest safeguard, only it must be nailed up against a wall or +over a door. John bade his son open the door, and as soon as he had +done so, they perceived a good-looking young woman leading two others, +apparently older than herself, but perfectly blind, whilst on her arm +each carried a basket. They were quite strangers to John and his +family, and appeared to have walked some way. + +"Might we ask to rest awhile in your cottage, good friend?" asked the +young woman. "I and my two blind sisters have walked all the way from +Ashford to-day, and are bound to Romney." + +"Sartainly, ma'am," said John in reply. "But surely this be a long walk +for such as ye?" + +"Ah!" replied the other, "we should have thought so once, but a cruel +landlord has turned us out of our house, these poor afflicted creatures +and me, and having relations at Romney we are going there in the only +way the poor can travel--on our feet, and we have nothing with us but +our tame rabbits, poor creatures, which we always carry in our baskets. +We should be very thankful if we might come in for a couple of hours or +so." + +"By all means," said worthy John, whose simple heart was at once +touched by this tale. "Come in, come in by all means," and stepping +forward, he helped one of the blind girls over the threshold and they +all entered the cottage. + +The moment they were inside, Mary's favourite cat, who had been seated +by the fireside, intently watching the proceeding, jumped up and sprang +through the open window without saying a word to anybody, which indeed, +as a respectable but ordinary cat, she was not likely to have done +under any circumstances. Mary observed this, and wondered at the animal +being so shy of strangers; but nobody made any remark upon the +incident, and seats being found for the new comers, they not only sat +down, but condescended to share the family dinner, and that with such +appetites, that the children of the house themselves came off but +second best. John Gower asked several questions which were +satisfactorily answered, but he always said afterwards that he never +felt quite at home with his visitors, which he put down to their being +better educated and of a position apparently somewhat above his own. As +they sat and ate and talked, a distant shout was heard, and then +another. + +"Father, what's that?" asked Billy. + +"Oh!" replied Gower, "I expect it's the people out after the crones. I +forgot all about it, not being a busy man in such matters, or I ought +to have helped my neighbours, perhaps, for those old women are no +better than they should be--ah! oh! oh, dear!" and whilst the words +were still in his mouth, John Gower jumped up and began to hop about +the room upon one leg, having been suddenly seized, he said, with a +violent fit of cramp therein. + +"What are they going to do with the crones, father?" asked Billy. + +"Duck 'em, I expect, boy," replied he; upon which the lad rejoined,-- + +"Oh, what fun! how I should like to see it!" and almost immediately +afterwards burst out crying, saying that he had such a bad pain come in +his inside. + +Meanwhile more shouting was heard, and not very far off, and presently +the door was thrown open, and in came a neighbour, James Firminger by +name, and a noted enemy to witches, besides being so worthy and +well-thought-of a man that he had more than once been spoken of as fit +to be parish churchwarden. + +"Neighbour Gower!" he shouted, as he came in, "why ar't not out with +the rest of us after the crones? 'Twill be a grand day for Mersham if +we get quit of them. But you've got company, I see--bless us, what a +smell of sulphur!" + +As he spoke, he turned his eyes on the young woman and her two blind +companions, and started as he did so. Firminger never went about +without some potent witch-charm upon him, which at once protected him +from the malice of such creatures, and enabled him to detect them when +disguised, and upon this occasion he had nothing less than a relic of +the great Kentish saint, Thomas à Becket, being a small piece of the +hair-shirt of that holy man, cut off shortly after his death by one of +the monks of Canterbury, who happened to be a Firminger, and +religiously preserved in the Firminger family ever afterwards. + +Naturally, as Farmer Barrett observed, no witch could stand against +_that_, and Firminger was a lucky man to possess it. It was doubtless +in consequence, and by virtue of this relic, that as soon as the good +man was well inside the cottage, he not only smelt the sulphur which +had not been smelt by the family, but saw what was the real character +of John Gower's visitors. He took no second look, but shouted aloud, +"The crones! the crones!" and seizing the little case in which was his +relic in his hands, displayed it openly before them. + +The effect was instantaneous. All beauty disappeared from the face of +the young woman, her form changed, her countenance shrivelled, and she +stood confessed before the party as Humpy, the youngest of the three +Crones of Mersham. + +No less sudden and complete was the alteration in her two companions, +who recovered their sight at once, but together therewith resumed the +unpleasant forms and features of Skinny and Bony, the two other sisters +of this disreputable family. There was a visible agitation at the same +moment in the baskets which the sisters had carried upon their arms, +and which they had deposited on the floor upon taking their seats. + +The lids shook, the baskets quivered, and in another instant +overturned, when out sprang three enormous black cats upon the floor of +the room. + +With a yell, which seemed to burst simultaneously from the throats of +all the crones and all the cats, they rushed out at the door; flying +from the charm which James Firminger kept earnestly shaking before +their eyes. Out of the door, over the green space in front of the +cottage, into the road, and as far and fast as they could get away from +the object of their terror. + +John Gower and his children sat stupified with mingled surprise and awe +for some seconds; and then, jumping from their seats, they all rushed +through the door after Firminger; who, having done so, stood still +outside, eagerly gazing after the retreating crones. He knew well +enough that, if nought had prevented them, the honest people who were +out after the witches, would by this time have attacked and harried +their home. Whither, then, would they fly? + +If they had quitted their cottage ignorant of the coming of their +enemies, and only bent on paying John Gower a visit--doubtless +intending to do him some mischief or other; it might be that they would +hurry home, and encounter the angry mob of people, in which case there +would be wild work one way or the other. If, however, as was more +probable (and as was generally believed to be the case when the matter +was considered afterwards), the three crones had been well aware of the +projected attack upon them, and had purposely left home--hoping that +they might lie safely hid in the abode of so honest and quiet a man as +Gower until the danger was over, then it became a serious question as +to what other refuge they would seek, now that they had been so +manfully driven from their intended place of safety. The doubts of the +lookers-on, however, were soon solved. + +A strange thing happened, which would never have been believed in +those days, but that Firminger and Gower both solemnly declared it, +and which perhaps actually will _not_ be believed in these days of +doubt and want of faith, but which I must nevertheless relate as +Farmer Barrett told it to me. As soon as they were well on the other +side of the road, each crone jumped upon her cat, and the animals, +lightly springing over the hedge into the next field, set off full +gallop in an easterly direction--or, in other words, heading as +straight as a line to Aldington Knoll, well-known in those good old +days as the great fortress of witches. That was their point, no doubt, +and it looked very much as if they were going to give up Mersham as a +bad job, and betake themselves to other and safer quarters. + +As soon as Firminger saw the line which the crones took, he turned to +Gower and said in a hasty tone, "Come on, mate, this must be seen to at +once. Let us join the chaps who are gone to the old cottage as fast as +we can, and tell them what we have seen, and all that has happened." + +John Gower was too wise a man to hesitate. Had he done so, he knew well +enough that he would be suspected of having knowingly harboured the +crones, and of being in league with them, a suspicion which would have +ruined him for ever in his native parish, and probably driven him from +the county. + +So he bade Mary mind the house, and keep Jane and Billy at home, and +then he set off at best pace with Firminger down the road in the +direction of the cottage of the crones. They very soon reached it, and +found it surrounded by a number of people, who were engaged in +demolishing the premises altogether. They had not found much, probably +because there was not much to find; and the owners of the place, as we +know, had taken themselves off before the arrival of their unwelcome +visitors. But they broke everything they could find, tore down the +thatched roof to search for magic charms, none of which they found, but +only a number of mice, and a great deal of dust. They pulled to pieces +the wooden part of the cottage, and knocked down a great part of the +stone corner, counting everything as fair game, as witches' property, +and striving their utmost to destroy as much as they possibly could. + +There were more than a couple of hundred people, all told, Farmer +Barrett believed, and he gave me a great many names, but I forget most +of them. There was Bully Robus, of the "Farriers' Arms," I know, and +little Dick Broadfoot, the tailor, of Mersham Street, and Bill Parsons, +all the way from Warehorne Green. There were Gowers, and Farrances, +Sillibournes and Swaflers, Swinerds and Finns--in short, not a family +in that or any of the other parishes which was not represented, and +they all seemed to vie with each other, which should do the most +mischief, and be foremost in pulling down and destroying that evil +place. + +It was several minutes before James Firminger and John Gower could +command the attention of people so eagerly occupied about their +business as these witch-seekers, and it would have been still longer, +but for the position and character of Firminger, and his known hatred +of all that pertained to witchcraft. He presently succeeded in making +them listen to the wonders he had to relate, and when they knew for +certain what had happened and the direction which the crones had taken, +the whole current of their thoughts was turned into one eager desire to +follow, and, if possible, to make an end of the inmates of that awful +cottage as well as of the abode itself. + +They lost no time, therefore, in finishing the work on which they were +then engaged, and immediately afterwards the whole party swarmed up the +road in the direction of Aldington Knoll, keeping up each other's +courage by many brave words, and shouting uncomplimentary epithets with +regard to the three crones. So they pushed on until they came to the +spot where four roads met; one, that which our party had traversed in +walking from the cottage, another bearing back to Bilsington and +Ruckinge, a third to Newchurch and the Marsh, and the fourth to +Aldington Knoll. + +Down this last road the people turned, and then, immediately before +them they had the mass of wood upon the side of the hill, which then, +as now, encompassed the knoll itself upon the north, west, and south, +the ground to the east being somewhat less woody. The knoll--apparently +a grass hill, only that the grass being a good deal worn away, showed +the bare rock at several places--peered over the woods, and the road to +it lay right through the latter for some distance, until by turning +into a gate upon your right hand, you entered the field out of which +the knoll rose, and from the higher points of which were magnificent +views over the Marsh and all the country east, west, and south, the +hills behind shutting out the view to the north. + +The people were now some three-quarters of a mile from this gate, and, +if the truth could be known, I have no doubt whatever that some of them +would very gladly have been a great deal further off. + +The power of the crones themselves was so well known, and the +reputation of Aldington Knoll was so bad, that no one felt sure that +some terrible misfortune might not result from braving the one and +attacking the other. + +They had all heard strange tales of people bewitched, changed into +animals, losing their senses, and all kinds of other disagreeable +things, and of course such tales _would_ recur to them at such a +moment. But there were brave hearts--then as now--among the men of +Kent, and although fears and doubts may have been there, they did not +operate so as to turn any man back from the work he had undertaken. The +people moved down the road towards Aldington, and reached the point at +which the woods began. At that moment a loud clap of thunder pealed +through the air, and vivid lightning flashed across the sky. + +A shudder passed through many a stout frame, but the men pushed boldly +on. Then came a severe hailstorm--so severe that the people took +shelter beneath the trees, and waited until its violence seemed to be +passed. + +But none turned back. Then came a bitter, chilling wind, though it had +been a lovely, soft, mellow day: the wind cut through the trees with a +moaning sound, and pierced the people like a mid-winter blast. + +Still they pressed on, knowing that witchcraft was at work, and that +retreat would be ruin. They were half-way between the point at which +the road entered the woods and the gate before mentioned, when a loud +and terrible roaring was heard upon the right, from the woods which +stretched up close to the knoll itself. So strange and so dreadful was +this sound, that it made the blood of those who heard it run cold, and +for a moment the foremost men of the throng paused. + +But three men there were in that crowd who neither quailed nor paused +for a moment, so resolutely determined were they to carry out the work +they had commenced that day. These men were James Firminger, Farmer +Long, and old David Finn, the parish clerk of Mersham. The last named +knew but little of crones or witches, but tradition said that there +always must be a Finn for parish clerk, and that Mersham would not be +Mersham without one. This being the case, the old man felt it to be his +duty to take such prominent part in an affair like the present as +became one of an ancient family, filling an hereditary office. + +Therefore, although he knew that the rector would most likely have +disapproved of the step he was taking, he had started early that day, +and in company with Bully Robus and sundry other notables of the +parish, had taken an active part in the proceedings from the beginning. + +These three men, then, were not deterred by the roaring, though it much +resembled that of wild and savage beasts desiring their prey, and +seeing it before their eyes. And when no beasts appeared, and it seemed +to be nothing but sound, the rest of the people regained their courage, +and all continued to push on towards the gate into the knoll-field. +About a hundred yards before they reached it, however, they found that +they had to encounter an unexpected obstacle in the shape of several +enormous elms which lay stretched across the road in such a manner as +to most effectually bar any further progress. + +But to the astonishment of all, no sooner had Firminger, Long, and Finn +(who were now recognised as the leaders of the expedition) approached +close to the barrier, than it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, +and left the roadway free. + +Encouraged by this result, as unexpected as it was satisfactory, the +party advanced a few yards farther, to find a great ditch yawning in +front of them, and evidently intended to stop their farther advance. On +seeing this, Finn rushed to the front, and standing close to the edge +of the abyss, pronounced in a loud voice the word "Amen," which he had +long held to be the most sacred and powerful form of invocation known +to the world, and one which never failed to repel any evil creature to +whom it was addressed. + +Whether from the effects of his utterance, or from any other reason, I +cannot say, but certain it is that as the worthy clerk put one leg +forward as if to step into the ditch, it closed up as if it had never +been dug, which perhaps was the case. At all events, whether it was a +real ditch or only a delusion of the eye, the chasm disappeared +altogether, and once more the party proceeded, until they reached the +gate of the field, and faced it, about to enter and approach the knoll, +which now lay upon their right, the field in which it was situate +stretching back into the woods. + +On entering the gate, they were at once struck by the novel and curious +appearance of the knoll. Smoke appeared to envelope it on all sides, +and a deep rumbling proceeded from within it, as if a volcano were at +work, and a volcano that meant mischief too. The party paused for a +moment, looked at each other and then at the knoll, and began to wonder +what they had better do next. Everybody thought that everybody else was +stopping quite unnecessarily, but nobody seemed inclined to move on +first. + +Even the three bold men, Firminger, Long, and Finn, seemed less eager +than hitherto, and whispered to each other in low, mysterious tones, +that they fancied they saw dark and fearful figures moving about among +the smoke in which the knoll was enveloped. It was well known to these +men, and indeed to most or all of their companions, that Aldington +knoll was reputed to be the abode and principal gathering-place of all +the evil creatures in that part of the country. + +By common consent men had for a long time past shunned it as a haunted +and wicked spot, and it was no common evidence of courage that so many +men had been found to approach it upon this occasion. After a few +moments, the three men recollected the responsibility of their +position, and the absolute certainty that if their party returned home +defeated, the neighbourhood would thenceforward be worse off than ever. +The crones would never forget the plunder and destruction of their +cottage, and would doubtless exact a severe compensation from the +perpetrators of that ruthless deed. + +Moreover, for a couple of hundred people to have it said that they had +been circumvented and beaten by three old women, was a thing not to be +thought of; so, shame overcoming their reluctance, they boldly marched +forward again, and encouraged their followers to charge up to the very +foot of the knoll. They had got quite close to it when, either by +accident, or because he pulled it too hard in his nervous fidgeting +with it, the string by which James Firminger's relic was tied round his +neck suddenly broke, and the charm itself fell to the ground. + +Hardly had this occurred, when a yell, most discordant in its tone, but +appearing to express a mingled feeling of joy, triumph, fury and +revengeful longing all in one, broke from the interior of the mount. +The next instant the knoll itself opened wide, just like the mouth of a +man preparing for a tremendous yawn, and a whole volley of cinders and +ashes came bursting over the approaching party in a most disconcerting +and unpleasant manner. At the same time strange and uncouth figures +suddenly appeared issuing from the knoll, some with goat's heads and +horns, others with the bodies of men but a pig's head, snout and +bristles, others like monkeys (but oh! such frightful monkeys as never +were seen) and all with eyes that rolled fearfully in their heads and +glittered like fire. Conspicuous among this awful band appeared the +figures of the three crones, Bony, Skinny, and Humpy, each carrying a +broomstick in her hand, and followed by her cat, which bounded forward +as if to attack the invaders of the haunted hill. This was more than +the latter could stand--they wavered--looked round--tottered a step or +two backward, and then, as the cinders, hot cinders too, came upon them +and the evil creatures almost touched them, they turned round with one +accord, and fled down from the knoll as fast as their legs would carry +them. Farmer Long was the first of the three leaders who gave way, for +he afterwards declared that he recognized the lost kitten in a cat +which seemed to select him as her particular object of attack, and as +he ran, he vowed that he felt a scratch which penetrated, sharp and +deep, in such a manner that he could not sit down comfortably for a +fortnight, and felt perfectly sure that only the claws of that kitten +could or would have dealt him such a wound. As for Finn, he so lost his +head, that he ran off, bawling out "Amen" continuously at the top of +his voice, but in a tone which conveyed so little of the real +importance and dignity attaching to the word, that it is little wonder +that it had no effect. + +James Firminger--as became a man of his character and position--stood +his ground longest, but his charm being gone, he felt less confidence, +and when he, too, turned and ran, he felt himself belaboured by an +invisible stick all the way down to the gate of the field. + +Shouts, shrieks and yells of laughter, followed the retreating party, +and there was scarcely a man in whose breast, amid all his fears, the +thought did not arise that the result of this day's work had turned out +to be one so utterly unfortunate for the people, and so triumphant for +the crones, that the neighbourhood would have to submit to be +witch-ridden for ever after. + +But, sometimes, in human affairs, whether those of an individual or a +community, at the very moment when things seem to be at their worst, +they begin to mend, and that amendment is not unfrequently brought +about by some agent which, to the wise and knowing of mankind, would +have appeared the most insignificant and the most unlikely to have +effected the change. So it was in the present instance. The affrighted +people came rushing through the gate, and, avoiding the road through +the wood, which was their natural way home, turned in an easterly +direction, and ran up the road leading away from the woods, and into +the main road leading from Aldington Corner to Hythe. They had run but +a very short distance when they came upon the "innocent," simple +Steenie Long, sitting on the bank of the road side, apparently looking +for flowers. He looked up with a vacant expression upon his face (which +I am told was not unusual with idiots in those days) and seemed +astonished to see so many people all running in such a hurry. + +Several of the party hurried past the boy, too much occupied about +providing for their own safety to think either of him or of anybody +else. Presently, however, Farmer Long came running by, already somewhat +out of breath, and burning with rage and shame at having been unable to +resist the impulse which had made him fly before the power of the evil +creatures of the knoll. When he came to the place where his son was +sitting, he stopped short in his flight, and seizing the boy by the +arm, hastily exclaimed, "Come along, lad, come along; this is no place +for the likes of you!" endeavouring at the same time to hurry the youth +away with him. + +But "Simple Steenie" was by no means of the same opinion. He drew +himself away from his father's hold, opened his large blue eyes to +their fullest extent, and observed in a calm but very decided tone. +"Steenie not." + +"Not _what_, boy?" said the farmer eagerly. "You'd better not stop +here, anyhow; leastways if you do, the witches will have you." But the +boy, who had by this time risen to his feet, only smiled pleasantly +upon his father, with the simple smile of the weak of intellect, and +answered in a gentle tone. "Steenie not 'fraid. People run. Steenie not +run." + +At this moment up came James Firminger, already bitterly repenting the +flight which seemed certain to lead to such disastrous consequences. +Overhearing the words of the boy, the thought instantly struck him that +they might be turned to good account. + +Well did stout Firminger know that whatever be the power of witches and +warlocks, it has no effect upon those whom Heaven has deprived of their +full share of reason and intellect, and it occurred to him (and perhaps +it was true) that this unexpected meeting with "Simple Steenie" was not +accidental, but that it was possibly so ordered, that the victory of +the evil ones might be prevented. + +He stopped instantly, and shouted aloud to the rest of the party. +"Mates!" he cried. "Are we not shamed by the words of this innocent? +_He_ will not run, he--why then should _we_ do so? The power which +protects _him_ can protect _us_. Let us turn once more, and never give +way like this to the evil ones." + +The words of Firminger produced a great effect upon those who heard +him. Some indeed there were who had already made their way so far that +they neither saw nor heard anything that followed, but fully two-thirds +of the party checked their flight, and waited to see what would follow. + +They were much reassured by that which immediately occurred. James +Firminger went up to the boy and spoke to him kindly to the following +effect. "Steenie boy, that's right! _You_ won't run, will you, lad? +_You_ ban't afraid of no witches nor crones neither, be you?" + +Thus addressed, Steenie drew himself up to his full height, smiled upon +his questioner as he had upon his father, and said very gravely. "No. +Steenie not 'fraid. Good people help Steenie." + +As this was immediately interpreted by all who heard him to mean that +the half-witted lad was assured of supernatural assistance in any +encounter which might ensue, it had a wonderfully comforting effect +upon the whole party. + +The courage which, in the case of most of them, had been "oozing out at +their fingers' ends," suddenly and miraculously returned to its natural +home in their hearts, and they began to encourage each other by speech +and gesture, and to ask what there was to be afraid of. + +Seeing his opportunity, Firminger used all his arts of persuasion, and +the result was that those of the party who had not got beyond hearing +when the above mentioned incident took place, wheeled boldly and bodily +round, and retraced their steps towards the knoll-field, Firminger and +Long leading the way, preceded by "Simple Steenie," who declined to +walk with any of them, but trotted on ahead. As for Finn, he had +disappeared and was no more seen that day, having been so completely +overcome by the total failure of the great invocation to which he had +pinned his faith, that he was incapable of further action for the time, +and was indeed never quite the same man afterwards. + +When the party got near the gate, there was no sign of anything +unusual, but as soon as they set foot within the field, the same +roaring arose which they had heard before, and the same smoke began to +puff out from the knoll and to enwrap it once more in dark wreaths. At +this moment Firminger, Long, and their followers suddenly started with +surprise. + +"Simple Steenie" was indeed walking before them, having left the +trotting pace at which he had started, but he was no longer alone! A +short, thick-set man, clad entirely in gray from head to foot, was +leading the boy by the hand as they advanced together. In his hand he +held a long staff, but otherwise appeared to be entirely unarmed. +Whence he had sprung from no one could tell; they had not seen any of +their own party rush forward, and certainly no one had descended from +the knoll. However, there was the Gray Man, sure enough, and on he +marched by "Simple Steenie's" side, as if they were the best friends in +the world, and had long ago arranged the enterprise on which they were +jointly bound. The others followed at a respectful distance, more and +more astonished as matters went on. + +The roaring continued and presently the same process was repeated as +that which the people had previously witnessed and undergone. Figures +moved rapidly amid the thick smoke, and ever and anon a lurid flame +flashed from one side of the knoll to the other, affording a momentary +glimpse of awful forms with threatening gestures directed towards those +who appeared desirous to invade their territory. + +Still "Simple Steenie" and his companion walked calmly on until they +were within a very short distance of the knoll, when, as before, it +opened, and a volume of cinders and ashes was again poured forth. But, +at the same instant, the Gray Man raised his staff high above his head +and shook it in the air. Suddenly, without a cloud in the sky or any +appearance whatever of rain, a perfect torrent of water descended from +the heavens upon the knoll, the effect of which was to produce just +such a "fiz" as when you throw a tumbler of water upon the fire, only +this sound was as if several hundred thousand tumblers had been thrown +upon the same number of fires all at once, producing the loudest and +most wonderful "fiz" that you can imagine. At the same moment a +prolonged and terrible howl arose from inside the hill, as if the +effects of the water had caused great discomfort therein. + +Next happened a remarkable incident. The mouth of the knoll opened with +the same kind of yawning action as has been already described, as if +the same onslaught as before was about to be repeated. But instead of +waiting for this, "Steenie" and the "Gray Man" both raised a loud +shout, the latter brandished his staff once more over his head, and +both of them rushed boldly forward into the mound, which immediately +closed behind them. The bystanders were struck with horror and +amazement. + +Was the Gray Man in league with the enemy, and had he thus lured poor +Steenie to his destruction? If so--why and whence the torrent of water, +which had evidently not been relished by the inhabitants of the knoll? +What on earth did it all mean? + +For a few moments the whole party stood fearful and irresolute. Soon it +became evident that warm work was going on inside the knoll. Shouts, +yells, rumblings, howls, and the most discordant noises were heard +within, whilst there were those among the people, and notably James +Firminger and Bully Robus, who always declared that they heard, in and +above the outcry, the word, "Dunstan! Dunstan!" repeated ever and anon, +and the same thought crossed the minds of both of them at the same +time, namely, that the appearance of the Gray Man greatly resembled the +description of the great Saint Dunstan, so famous for the manner in +which he tackled the arch-enemy upon one occasion with a pair of tongs, +and whose name was said to be especially dreaded by all evil creatures. + +Be this as it may, the noise had not continued above a minute or two, +before the spirit of James Firminger became too much excited to allow +of his remaining quiet any longer. + +Calling to his companions to come on and help poor Steenie, he rushed +boldly forward, and was followed by most of the others. But they were +still several yards away from the scene of action, when they were +stopped by an occurrence so extraordinary that no one who witnessed it +ran the smallest chance of ever forgetting it. + +The knoll burst open in at least twenty different places, and from it +there issued the same sort of creatures as those who had previously +attacked and routed the Mersham forces. But their aspect was now as +completely changed as their behaviour. Cowering, shrieking, huddling +together as if to escape some terrible pursuer, they rushed frantically +away on all sides, with heart-rending cries of despair and anguish. + +Then, in the very middle of the knoll, rushing after the retreating +foe, appeared no less a personage than the Gray Man, flourishing his +staff, and closely followed by "Simple Steenie," whose features were +glowing with excitement, and whom they distinctly saw in the act of +administering a violent kick to a repulsive-looking creature with a +serpent's head and man's body, who was beyond all question an evil one +of the worst description, but whose departure was much quickened by the +action of the "innocent." + +As everybody among the lookers-on was greatly confused and alarmed at +the extraordinary spectacle suddenly presented to their view, one +hardly knows how far it would be safe to rely upon the many different +accounts which were afterwards given of the details of the transaction +of which I am writing, and good Farmer Barrett always used to warn me +against believing as gospel every particular of this part of the story. + +However, there were many worthy people out upon this day who declared +solemnly that among the strange and horrible creatures who were turned +out of Aldington Knoll that day, they recognised the faces and features +of several of their neighbours, dead and gone, who had been reputed +witches in their life-times. And little Dick Broadfoot, the tailor of +Mersham Street, an acute man as well as an honest, and one that would +not willingly either lie or exaggerate, always took his bible oath that +he saw, as plainly as he ever saw anything in his life, three awful +creatures, with cats' heads and bodies, but with horns and wings, and +with claws longer than any possessed by mortal cat, fly out of the +mount and down the woods, each having fast hold of and carrying with it +a form which writhed and struggled as if in fearful agony, but writhed +and struggled in vain. And furthermore, Dick avowed that he saw--though +how he had time to see it I don't know--he saw, I say, and knew it for +a certain fact, that these three unhappy wretches were the three crones +of Mersham, doubtless being carried off to their own place by the three +evil ones who had hitherto served them under the form of cats. + +Whether to believe the little tailor or not I hardly know, but Bully +Robus backed him up in the story, and as the three crones never again +appeared in that part of the world, it may have been quite true. + +Certain it is that all those creatures who issued from the knoll in the +way I have described were evidently driven out against their will, +utterly defeated and brought to tribulation by a superior power. In a +very short time they had utterly disappeared, a strong smell of sulphur +being the only remaining token that they had ever been there, whilst +upon the knoll, which had closed up behind them, "Simple Steenie" and +his companion remained, standing alone in triumph. + +The people saw the Gray Man lay his hand upon the lad's head for an +instant, as if calling down a blessing upon him; then there came a mist +or cloud over the knoll, and when they looked again, Steenie was +standing alone. They hurried towards him, instinctively knowing that +there was no more danger to be apprehended from the place, and he +turned smilingly to meet them with an air of triumph. + +"Steenie not 'fraid," he said. "Naughty people run 'way! All gone!" + +[Illustration: SIMPLE STEENIE AND THE GRAY MAN ON THE KNOLL--P. 344] + +But to all their questions about his late companion he could only +answer by a vacant smile and incoherent words, which left them as +ignorant as before. They had, however, the great consolation of knowing +that, whether it had come about by the aid of "Simple Steenie's" +innocent efforts, or whether the Gray Man had of his own accord planned +the whole affair, and arranged for the discomfiture of the wicked ones, +that discomfiture was certain and complete. + +From that day forth Aldington Knoll has been a peaceful quiet spot, +from whence the views to which I have already alluded may be +contemplated without any fear of interference by any unpleasant inmates +of the mound, for there are none worse than rabbits now. More might be +told about some of the characters of our story, but short and casual +allusions are not desirable, and to do more would be to lengthen the +story too much. So I will leave my readers to fancy for themselves all +that happened afterwards to John Gower and his family, as well as to +Farmer Long, Simple Steenie, and all the rest of them. It is a good +many years ago now since these things occurred, and the actors in the +stirring scenes which I have related have long since passed away. + +If I had not chronicled them now, from my recollection of good old +Farmer Barrett's gossips, I dare say Jack Barrett--who is a careless +fellow at best, and not equal to his father--(young men seldom are in +these days, according to my opinion) would have told the story +differently, and only in fragments, to his children, and they would +have varied it again in telling it to _their_ children, so that in +a couple of generations it would have been quite uncertain, and the +real truth never would have been known. + +This is why I have thought it right to tell it. I drove down in my +pony-carriage the other day, with a young lady by my side, to see the +very spot where the crones' cottage used to stand, and to go through +all the places where these scenes occurred. I could make them all out +pretty clearly, though there is no vestige of the cottage left. We +drove on to Bilsington and back towards Aldington by the same road that +Mrs. Long and Tom the Bailiff drove, when they were taking the kitten +back to the Gowers. + +We did not see any witches for certain, and perhaps there are none +left, though, as it is a good way from a railroad, I am not very sure +on this point. In a secluded spot by one of the woods, there was the +figure of a man seated by the side of the road breaking stones, and I +thought there was something in his look more than common. It was on a +hill, up which I was walking, and if I had been alone I might have +stopped and tried to find out more. But as I did not want to run the +least chance of the young lady with me being frightened, I only took +care to walk on the side of the road between the pony-carriage and the +figure, and as we passed it I laid my right hand on my heart, and +pronounced that famous mystic word of power---- Oh! I forgot, I must +not write it, because that is forbidden, but if any little girl wants +to know (boys are never curious, of course, so they won't mind not +being told) she must just write me a pretty little letter and ask, and +as I am very easily coaxed, I shall very likely either come and tell +her, or make some arrangement by which she shall be able to find out +for herself. It answered very well that day (as, indeed, it always +does) and we got home quite safe. Home is the best place at which to +leave one's friends, and therefore, having brought myself there in my +writing, I think I will stop, and only hope that others beside myself +will be interested in hearing the famous legend of the "Crones of +Mersham." + + +BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. + + + + + * * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's note: + +Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. + +Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained +as printed. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44924 *** |