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diff --git a/old/53808-0.txt b/old/53808-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 116d049..0000000 --- a/old/53808-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4540 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Hope of the Katzekopfs, by Francis Edward Paget - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Hope of the Katzekopfs - or, The Sorrows of Selfishness. A Fairy Tale. - -Author: Francis Edward Paget - -Release Date: December 26, 2016 [EBook #53808] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOPE OF THE KATZEKOPFS *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, Mary Glenn Krause, MFR and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned -images of public domain material from the Google Books -project.) - - - - - - - - - - THE JUVENILE - - Englishman’s Library. - - II. - - -[Illustration] - - “Not so Master Marmozet, sweet little boy, - Mrs. Danglecub’s hope, her delight, and her joy. - - * * * * * - - His jacket’s well laced, and the ladies protest - Master Marmozet dances as well as the best; - Yet some think the boy would be better at school.” - - _Anstey._ - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE - HOPE - OF THE - KATZEKOPFS; - OR, THE - SORROWS - OF - SELFISHNESS. - A Fairy Tale. - - - SECOND EDITION. - - LONDON: - JOSEPH MASTERS. - JAMES BURNS. - 1846. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - · LONDON · - PRINTED BY JOSEPH MASTERS, - ALDERSGATE STREET. - -[Illustration] - - - - - PREFACE. - - -The former edition of this little tale was put forth with an -Introduction (which was intended to be in keeping with it) from the pen -of an imaginary author,—that William Churne, of whom Bishop Corbet -writes, and who, two centuries since, seems to have been the great -authority on all matters connected with Fairy-land. - -In this introduction, the object with which the “Hope of the Katzekopfs” -was written was stated. It was an attempt, under the guise of a -Fairy-tale, to lead young minds to a more wholesome train of thought -than is commonly found at the present day in popular juvenile -literature. The Author’s aim was to excite the sympathies of the young -in behalf of _others_, and to set before them in its true colours the -hideous sin of _selfishness_. And the book was put forth as an -experiment, to ascertain whether the youth of the present generation had -patience to glean the lessons which lurk beneath the surface of -legendary tales, and the chronicles of the wild and supernatural; -whether their hearts could be moved to noble and chivalrous feelings, -and to shake off the hard, cold, calculating, worldly, selfish temper of -the times, by being brought into more immediate contact with the ideal, -the imaginary, and the romantic, than has been the fashion of late -years,—whether, in short, a race that has been glutted with Peter -Parley, and Penny Magazines, and such like stories of (so called) useful -knowledge, would condescend to read a Fable and its Moral, and learn -wisdom from a tale of enchantment. - - * * * * * - -The early call for a Second Edition seems to show that the experiment -was not made in vain, and at the request of the Publisher, the Author -appends his name. - - FRANCIS E. PAGET. - - ELFORD RECTORY, - - SEPTEMBER, MDCCCXLVI. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - Page. - - INTRODUCTION xi. - - CHAPTER I. - The Heir and many Friends 1 - - CHAPTER II. - The Hunting of the Heir 23 - - CHAPTER III. - Another Heir started 55 - - CHAPTER IV. - A Hashed Heir 79 - - CHAPTER V. - The Heirs on their Travels 121 - - CHAPTER VI. - Experiments on the Heir 163 - -[Illustration] - - - - - Introduction. - - -“‘A Fairy tale, by William Churne of Staffordshire!’ And who may he be? -I am sure I never heard of _him_ before.” - -“Say you so, gentle Reader? Well, perhaps, after all, there is nothing -very extraordinary in the fact that a man who was born some two hundred -and fifty years ago should be forgotten. Well I wot that William Churne -is not the only one who is in that predicament. And yet my name has had -a better chance of being remembered than that of many of my -cotemporaries, who, in their day, were more illustrious than ever I was; -for it has been wedded, look you, to immortal verse. Doctor Corbet, -Bishop of Norwich,—‘the wittie Bishop,’ as King James the First was wont -to call him—conferred on me the title of Registrar-General to the -Fairies. Have you never read his ‘Fairies’ Farewell’? They say, indeed, -that his poems, like many better things, are little read now-a-days; but -you will find it among the ballads collected by a congenial spirit (a -prelate likewise), Bishop Percy of Dromore. His ‘Reliques of Ancient -Poetry,’ you are surely conversant withal? But stay, I see you have -forgotten the passage, which my vanity, perhaps, has preserved in my -memory for so many years. Thus, then, Richard Corbet speaks of me in -connection with those merry elves, whom he supposes to have taken their -final farewell of that land, which, since their presence was withdrawn, -has deserved the name of merry England no longer:— - - ‘Now, they have left our quarters; - A registrar they have, - Who can preserve their charters; - A man both wise and grave. - An hundred of their merry pranks - By one that I could name, - Are kept in store; con twenty thanks - To William for the same. - - ‘_To William Churne, of Staffordshire_, - Give laud and praises due, - Who, every meale, can mend your cheare - With tales both old and true; - To William all give audience, - And pray ye for his noddle, - For all the Fairies’ evidence - Were lost if it were addle.’ - -There, gentle reader, that was the way in which the Bishop-Poet spake of -me. I warrant you, my cheeks tingle still as I repeat the lines.” - -“Indeed? cheeks that blushed for the first time two centuries and a half -ago, must, I should think, have nearly blushed their last by this time. -I cannot read your riddle. You would not have us believe, would you, -that a man who was born in the sixteenth century, was story-telling in -the nineteenth? I fear you must be story-telling in more senses than -one, or else that the event so much deprecated by the Bishop of Norwich, -hath befallen you, and that the ‘noddle’ is ‘_addle_.’” - -“Ah, gentle reader, is it even so? Can you think of no other solution of -the difficulty? I fear me that you have a larger share of the unbelief -of this dull, plodding, unimaginative, money-getting, money-loving -nineteenth century, than of the humour, and simplicity, and romance of -the seventeenth.” - -“Come then, I _will_ hazard a solution. What if the fairies, whose -official you have admitted yourself to be, carried you off some -moonlight night, two hundred years ago, and hid you for that space in -their secret chambers, amid the recesses of the grassy hills?” - -“Hush! hush! kind reader; speak not so loudly. You know not who may be -listening. However, I do not say but that it may be even as you suppose. -Perhaps, while time and change have worked their will on others, I have -been exempted from their influence.” - -“How? What? Can such things be? Dear Sir, how much I should like to make -your acquaintance. Two hundred and fifty years old! Why, your face must -be a wilderness of wrinkles! And your dress, how strange and antiquated -must be its cut! Are you not greatly incommoded, as you walk the -streets, by the curiosity of the populace?” - -“Nay, my friend, if that which I have hinted be the case, it is more -than probable that I have the secret of fern-seed, and walk invisible.” - -“What changes you must find among us! What advances have been made since -you went to Fairy-land!” - -“Changes, indeed! and advances, too, for that matter! but whether on the -right road is another question. However, of this I can assure you, -gentle reader, that I would I were back again in Fairy-land. I see -nothing here to tempt me to linger among you.” - -“Then why do you linger?” - -“I only wait to see if it be a hopeless task to speak to the youth of -the rising generation, as I spake to their forefathers. I would fain -learn whether it be possible to excite their sympathies in behalf of -anything but _themselves_; whether they have yet patience to glean the -lessons of wisdom, which lurk beneath the surface of legendary tales, -and the chronicles of the wild and supernatural; whether their hearts -can be moved to noble and chivalrous feelings, and to shake off the -hard, cold, calculating, worldly, selfish temper of the times, by being -brought into more immediate contact with the ideal, the imaginary, and -the romantic, than has been the fashion of late years.” - -“In plain English, then, good Master Churne, you desire to ascertain -whether a race that has been glutted with Peter Parley and Penny -Magazines, and such like stores of (so called) useful knowledge, will -condescend to read a Fable and its moral, or to interest themselves with -the grotesque nonsense, the palpable, fantastic absurdities, the utter -impossibilities of a Tale of Enchantment?” - -“Such is my object.” - -“Well, we have lived to see a tunnel under the Thames, and they are -talking of a canal across the isthmus of Darien. But your scheme is a -wild one.” - -“I do not think so.” - -“And suppose you can find readers, is it your object to retail those -‘hundred merry pranks’ of Fairy-land, of which Bishop Corbet tells us -that you are the depositary?” - -“I shall be better able to answer your question, gentle reader, when I -know how far your patience has carried you through the ensuing pages. -Till then farewell.” - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER I. - The Heir and many Friends. - - - “This little one shall make it holy day.” - - _Shakespeare._ - - “Unheard and unespied, - Through keyholes we do glide; - Over tables, stools, and shelves; - We trip with our fairy elves.” - - _Poole’s English Parnassus._ - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - -Never were such rejoicings heard of before as those which took place -at the Court of King Katzekopf when it was announced that Queen -Ninnilinda had got a little boy. It was what everybody had been -wishing for, hoping for, expecting, year after year, but no little boy -came; and so, at length, folks began to despair, and to settle it in -their own minds that, whenever King Katzekopf died, the crown would go -to his second cousin nine times removed, one of the Katzekopfs of -Katzenellenbogen-Katzevervankotsdarsprakenluftschlosser, whom nobody -knew or cared about. - -So when Queen Ninnilinda had an heir, the nation almost went beside -itself with joy. The church bells rang till they cracked; the guns of -the citadel were fired till they grew so hot that they went off of -themselves; oxen were roasted whole in the great square (my dear reader, -never attempt to roast an ox _whole_, either on your own birthday, or on -that of anybody else; the thing is an impossibility, half the meat is -sure to be raw, and the other half burnt, and so good beef is spoiled); -the two chief conduits of the city no longer poured forth water, but one -spouted out cowslip-wine, and the other raspberry-vinegar; the lake in -front of the palace was filled with small beer (this, however, was a -failure, as it killed the fish, and folks said that the beer tasted -muddy); an air-balloon hovered over the principal streets, and showered -down carraway comfits and burnt almonds; Punch was exhibited all day for -nothing; the prisons were all thrown open, and everybody paid the debts -of everybody else. - -Such being the state of things out of doors, you will readily believe -that within the palace, the joy was of the most exuberant kind. -Everything was in confusion; people ran up-stairs and down-stairs, -jostling against one another, and always forgetting whither they were -going, and for what they had been sent. Some were laughing, and some -were crying, but the greater part were all talking at once, each making -his own remarks, and nobody listening to his neighbour. The lords of the -bed-chamber were laying wagers upon the likelihood of a new creation of -peers; the maids of honour were discussing the probable colour of the -infant prince’s eyes; the pages were speculating upon an increase of -salary; nay, the very scullions were counting on a brevet for the -kitchen. - -But if all his court were thus in such a frenzy of pleasurable emotion, -what must have been the condition of King Katzekopf himself? It must be -confessed, that, in the main, his Majesty was one of those easy, -indolent, careless sort of folks, who are content to let things take -their own course, and who can very seldom be roused to make an exertion -of any kind. But the birth of an heir had thrown even him into a state -of excitement. Happily, he was a king, and so he had it in his power to -give vent to his emotions in the manner which was most agreeable to him, -for if such unwonted exhilaration had been pent up too long, there is no -saying what the consequences might not have been. Fortunately, however, -there was a safety-valve, through which he was enabled to let off the -steaming overflow of his spirits. - -So first he sent for the Yeoman of the Mouth, and bespoke a roast goose, -with plenty of sage and onions, for his dinner; then he summoned the -Master of the Robes, and ordered himself four new suits of clothes; then -the head Confectioner was commanded to prepare materials for the -manufacture of the largest christening-cake that the world had ever -seen; and, lastly, he called together his Privy Council, and having -created the new born infant Commander in Chief, and Lord High Admiral, -Inspector General of everything and everybody, and settled on him the -Crown revenues accruing from the sale of shrimps and periwinkles, his -Majesty in a fervour of patriotism and paternal pride, rang the bell, -and desired that the nurse, Mrs. Yellowlily, should bring the heir -apparent into the Council-chamber. - -Accordingly, in a few moments, the folding doors were thrown open, and -nurse Yellowlily appeared with her precious charge swathed in a mantle -of sky-blue taffety and silver, supported by two of the royal rockers. - -“No indeed!” said the Lord Chancellor, dropping his mace and the great -seal, and clasping his hands, as he fixed his eyes on the ceiling, -“never was such a lovely infant seen!” - -“Wait a moment, my Lord,” said nurse Yellowlily, “and you shall have a -peep at his Royal Highness:”—for as yet the Chancellor had not beheld -him. - -With that she gently turned back the mantle, and the Privy Councillors -crowded round her. “There, my Lord,” she exclaimed, “you can now see his -blessed little nose.” - -Everybody was delighted: it was the most exquisite nose ever beheld. The -King was so gratified, that he instantly created the nurse a Baroness in -her own right; upon which she curtsied three times, walked backwards -till she trod upon the Lord Chamberlain’s gouty foot, and then retired -with the rockers, who, as they proceeded down the corridor, chanted the -softest of lullabies. - -The Privy Councillors listened till the last faint echoes of the melody -had died away, when King Katzekopf thus addressed them. - -“My Lords,” said he, “I have called you together on the present -auspicious occasion, for the purpose of making you acquainted with -certain measures which I am about to take with reference to the Prince, -my son. And first, my Lord Chamberlain, I have to announce to you my -intention of giving a most magnificent fête on the occasion of his Royal -Highness’s christening. You will be pleased to send out cards of -invitation according to this list, which I believe contains the name of -every person of reputation in the kingdom.” - -Here his Majesty handed a book to the Lord Chamberlain, which that -functionary received with reverence, and proceeded to inspect with great -attention. Having turned over five or six pages, the Chamberlain -suddenly nodded his head as if a thought had struck him. This was so -uncommon an event that the Lord Steward of the Household immediately -inquired in a whisper what it was that had attracted his attention. The -Chamberlain pointed to the list of names, and said in an under tone, -“Look through the A’s, my Lord, and see if there is not a very important -name omitted.” - -At this moment King Katzekopf’s attention was attracted by the -whispering, and he graciously exclaimed, “Well, my Lords, what’s the -matter?” - -“I apprehend,” said the Chamberlain with becoming diffidence, “that your -Majesty has caused these names to be written in alphabetical order.” - -“Certainly, my Lord,” replied the King. - -“I speak with all possible deference,” rejoined the Chamberlain, “but I -presume that your Majesty did not intend that the Lady Abracadabra -should be excluded from the invitations.” - -“Humph,” said the King, “I never thought about her.” - -“But she is your Majesty’s consort’s great aunt,” observed the -Chamberlain. - -“And a very powerful Fairy,” suggested the Steward of the Household. - -“And, if I may say it without offence, rather capricious in her temper -at times; at least she turned an acquaintance of mine into a tadpole,” -remarked the Groom of the Stole. - -“And your Majesty,” said the Keeper of the Records, interposing, “cannot -have forgotten the very untoward event which took place in your -Majesty’s family, some centuries ago, when all the misfortunes that -occurred to your Majesty’s ancestress, the Sleeping Beauty, arose from -her Fairy relative not being invited to the christening.” - -King Katzekopf would have rather preferred the Lady Abracadabra’s room -to her company, for he was very much afraid of the Fairies, but then, on -the other hand, the bare thought of having the Hope of his House turned -into a tadpole, or put to sleep in a castle in a wood for a hundred and -fifty years, was most alarming. His Majesty grew red and pale -alternately, shifted from one side of his throne to the other, and was -evidently in a state of great anxiety. - -“But how is the Lady Abracadabra to be found?” said he at length. “Who -can tell where to look for her? One moment she may be a thousand miles -off, and the next she may bob up through a crack in the floor, as if she -had passed the night in the cellar.” - -“He! he! he!” cried a shrill tiny voice in the distance, as though the -owner of the said voice was greatly amused at something it had just -heard. - -“How the mice are squeaking behind the arras to-day!” exclaimed the -King. “My Lord Chamberlain, you must send for a cat, and when she has -caught the mice, we will set her to catch the Lady Abracadabra. Ha! ha! -ha!” continued his Majesty, laughing at his own wit. - -But the Keeper of the Records, who, from his study of the archives of -the kingdom, knew better than most people what a dangerous thing it is -to speak disrespectfully of the Fairies, and who was supposed to have -acquired a smattering of the black art himself, immediately endeavoured -to repress King Katzekopf’s laughter, by saying,—“So please you, my -Liege, I apprehend that there would be little difficulty in sending an -invitation to the Lady Abracadabra. If one of the Government messengers -will bury it under a fairy-hill, next Wednesday morning, any time before -noon, turning his face to the East, and calling her by her name three -times....” - -At this point the Keeper of the Records stopped short, for all of a -sudden, a very strange sound was heard at the keyhole of the -Council-chamber door, a scratching, rustling, noise, followed by a -violent blast, such as might issue from the nozzle of a blacksmith’s -bellows. - -The President of the Council looked up to see what was the matter, but -was immediately struck on the nose by a pellet of closely squeezed -paper, which was immediately followed by another, and another, as the -blowing at the keyhole was repeated. At length, when another blast had -produced a shrill whistle, which showed that the aperture was clear, a -little object, about the size of a hornet, darted through it, and -increasing instantaneously in dimensions, presented the appearance of an -old woman, some three feet high, by the time it had reached the floor. - -Whether the Lady Abracadabra (for of course it was she) had been a -beauty in the days of her youth, some eight or nine hundred years -before, there is, at present, no means of ascertaining; but certainly, -when she stood upon the floor of the Council-chamber, her appearance was -anything but prepossessing. Perhaps, gentle reader, you have been in the -habit of supposing that all the Fairies are dainty, little, airy beings, -with butterfly wings, and vests of green and gold, who hide themselves -in a blue-bell, and lose themselves among the petals of a peony. And -such, no doubt, are the elves that live among the green hills, and who -love to dance by moonlight, in the glades of the forest, or beside the -pleasant water-courses. But there are others who mingle more with the -human race, and adopt their habits, and hence, it may be, they become -more subject to the changes which affect mortals. Perhaps this was the -cause why the Lady Abracadabra’s face had become so brown, and shrunken, -and covered with deep-set wrinkles; or perhaps it was the having had her -own way so much; or those long journeys in which she travelled at the -rate of a thousand miles a minute, might have spoiled her complexion; or -perhaps, having arrived at (what even among the Fairies is allowed to -be) _a certain age_, she could not help looking like an old woman. But -be this as it may, she did look very old, and the effect of her short -black velvet jacket, and yellow satin petticoat, did not mend matters. -She wore on her head a tall, steeple-crowned hat, of the same material -as her jacket; had high-heeled shoes with diamond buckles, and bore in -her hand a pliant rod of ebony, with a small star of living light at -each end of it. - -It was evident that she was very angry, for she scowled at the Privy -Councillors, stamped vehemently on the floor, and every muscle of her -face quivered with passion, as she addressed the King. - -“So, nephew! you are determined to keep _me_ out of your palace at any -rate, I see. Let who will come to court, I am to be excluded. There is -always greater difficulty in getting into your house than anybody’s -else.” - -King Katzekopf stammered forth an apology, assured his kinswoman that he -was delighted to see her, that he had just been speaking of sending her -an invitation, and that he had given general orders that she should be -admitted at all times. - -“No such thing!” cried the little lady angrily. “You use me abominably. -You know I always make it a rule to come through the keyhole, and there -it is that you always try to stop me. Either I find a plate of metal -over the opening, or else the key is left in the lock, and so my ruff -gets crumpled to pieces. But the insult you have exposed me to to-day is -intolerable: blocking up the passage with scraps of dirty paper, -squeezed together by fingers of some greasy yeoman of the guard.—Oh it’s -atrocious!” And the Lady Abracadabra shook her quilted petticoat as if -she never should be clean again. - -The King looked at his Ministers, and the Ministers looked at the King; -but neither seemed to know how to excuse themselves. At length, the -President of the Council, trembling exceedingly (for he expected to be -changed into a tadpole, or some such reptile), ventured to assure the -Lady, that he was the person in fault; for that, finding that the -door-keeper had got into the habit of applying his ear to the keyhole of -the Council-chamber, and fearing lest state-secrets should thus get wind -prematurely, he had himself obstructed the passage in the manner already -described. - -“The varlet! the knave!” exclaimed the Fairy, as she heard of the -door-keeper’s delinquency, “I’ve a great mind to hang him up by his ears -to the vane of the church steeple. Go look for him, my Lord, and tell -him from me, that if ever he puts his ear to a keyhole again, I’ll blow -mushroom spawn into his brains, and cause his ears to vegetate, instead -of to listen.” - -Fairies, as all the world knows, are hasty and capricious; but it is -only a very few who are spiteful and malignant. And to this class the -Lady Abracadabra had never belonged. If she was angry one moment, she -was pacified the next, and she much more frequently used her -supernatural powers in acts of kindness, than to gratify her freaks of -mischief. - -It was so on the present occasion. After the little ebullition just -recorded, she speedily recovered her equanimity. Her eyes no longer -sparkled with passion, and so agreeable an expression came over her -countenance, that nobody thought about her wrinkles, or the -unbecomingness of her yellow petticoat. - -“I was taking an airing on Mount Caucasus a quarter of an hour ago,” -said she, “when one of our people told me of your good fortune; so here -I came wind-speed to congratulate you, and to see if I could not find -some lucky gifts for my great-great-nephew.” - -King Katzekopf thanked her for her condescension, and immediately -proposed to escort her to the royal nursery. - -“Ha! ha! ha!” cried the Lady Abracadabra, almost choking with laughter -at the absurdity of the suggestion. “You don’t suppose I came to talk to -you before I had seen the baby, do you? Why, I’ve been sitting by his -cradle these ten minutes!” - -“You have?” exclaimed the King in astonishment. - -“Aye, marry,” said the lady, “and have pulled the chair from under the -Baroness Yellowlily, and, he! he! he! have given her such a bump. She -was going to feed the child with pap that would have scalded it; but it -will be cool enough, I warrant me, now, before she has done rubbing her -bruised elbows. Well, nephew, and so you’re going to have a grand -christening, are you? Who are to be sponsors besides myself?” - -It had never entered into King Katzekopf’s imagination to ask the Lady -Abracadabra to be godmother to the young prince. And now she had taken -it as a matter of course, and it would never do to affront her! Was -there ever such a distress? And what would Queen Ninnilinda say, and -what would the Arch-duchess of Klopsteinhesseschloffengrozen say, when, -after a direct invitation, she found an old Fairy was to be substituted -in her place? - -The King was so nervous and frightened that he did not know what to -answer. He could only stammer out something about final arrangements -being as yet undetermined. - -“Well, but, at any rate, I suppose you have settled the child’s name,” -continued the Lady Abracadabra, approaching the Council-table. “Hoity -toity! what is this?” she added, snatching up one of his Majesty’s -memoranda: “Conrad-Adalbert-Willibald-Lewis-Hildebrand-Victor- -Sigismund-Belvidere-Narcissus-Adonis Katzekopf? I never heard such a -string of silly, conceited names in my life. I shan’t allow it, I can -tell you that,” and she stamped on the floor till her diamond buckles -glanced like lightning. “If _I_ am to have anything to do with the -child, I shall give him what name I think proper. Stay; I’ve watched him -for ten minutes, and can read his whole character, and a more wilful -little brat I never saw. You shall call him Eigenwillig. There! that’s -to be his name; Eigenwillig, and nothing else!”[1] - -Footnote 1: - - It is mentioned in the Chronicle of Carivaldus of Cologne, from which - this veracious tale has been extracted, that the word “Eigenwillig,” - in the ancient Teutonic tongue, bears the meaning of Self-willed; a - statement which is the more credible, since it has a corresponding - signification in the modern language of Germany. - -And then, not waiting for a reply, the Lady Abracadabra gathered her -yellow satin habiliments round her, threw out her arms, brought them -together above her head, sprung from the floor, shrunk up to nothing in -a moment, and darted through the keyhole of the Council-chamber door. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - The Hunting of the Heir. - - - “You parents all that children have, - And you that have got none, - If you would keep them safe abroad, - Pray keep them safe at home.” - - _Nursery Rhyme._ - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER II - - -And Eigenwillig he was called. There was no help for it. Even Queen -Ninnilinda soon saw that. She flew into a violent passion, indeed, and -called her husband an old goose, and told him that if he had as much -sense in his whole body as a mite has in the tip of its tail, he would -have contrived to have got rid of the Lady Abracadabra without -affronting her. - -“Shall I send her an excuse, my dear?” asked King Katzekopf meekly. - -“Send her a fiddlestick!” cried the Queen indignantly, at the same time -kicking over her footstool, and upsetting a basin of caudle, scalding -hot, into her husband’s lap.—“How can you make such a ridiculous -proposition? What but mischief can come of offending her? Will she not -vent her spite on me, or the Arch-duchess? Or may not she make the poor -dear baby a victim? May she not dart through the keyhole, and carry him -off to Fairy-land, and substitute in his place some frightful, wide -mouthed, squinting, red haired changeling, as much like your Majesty, -and as little like me, as possible? Oh it is too vexatious, and -ridiculous, and shocking, and foolish!” - -And then Ninnilinda burst out a crying. But her Majesty’s tears and -rages were so frequent that they had lost their effect. Nobody thought -much about them; and besides, King Katzekopf was trying to take out the -stains of the caudle, which had sadly damaged the appearance of the -pea-green brocade that covered his knees. - -So when her Majesty was tired of crying, she ceased: and, in the course -of the afternoon, wrote a note to her “dearest Lady Abracadabra,” -expressing the intensity of her satisfaction at the fact that her sweet -baby had secured the protection of such an amiable and powerful -patroness. - -Then she sent for the Baroness Yellowlily, and told her that, as she had -reason to fear that a malicious old Fairy was disposed to do the child a -mischief, and, perhaps, carry him off altogether, she must immediately -anoint him all over with an unguent, made of three black spiders, the -gall of a brindled cat, the fat of a white hen, and the blood of a -screech owl; and that his cradle must be watched night and day until -after the christening. It was lucky for Queen Ninnilinda that the Lady -Abracadabra wished nothing but well to the little prince, and knew -nothing of these proceedings. - -It is not necessary to fatigue the reader with the details of the fête, -which was given a few weeks after the events which have just been -recorded. There were firing of cannon, and ringing of bells, and beating -of drums, and blowing of trumpets. And there were long processions of -high officers of state, and nobles, and foreign ambassadors, dressed in -gorgeous robes, and glittering with gold and jewels. And there was the -arrival of the Fairy sponsor, in a coach made of a single pearl, and -drawn by a matchless pair of white cockatrices from the mountains of -Samarcand; and there was the flight of birds of Paradise that -accompanied her, each bearing round its neck a chain of gold and -diamonds, from which depended a casket, containing some costly offering -for the Hope of the House of Katzekopf. And there was the Lady -Abracadabra herself, no longer stamping the floor with anger, and -wearing that frightful, unbecoming, ill-tempered dress of yellow and -black, but arrayed in the most delicate fabrics of the fairy-loom, and -bearing upon her shoulders a mantle of gossamer, spangled all over with -dew-drops, sparkling with the colours of a hundred rainbows. No look of -age or ill-nature had she. The refulgence of her veil had obliterated -her wrinkles, and as she passed along the gallery of the palace, side by -side with the Arch-duchess of Klopsteinhesseschloffengrozen, even Queen -Ninnilinda herself was forced to confess that she looked very amiable, -that her manners were exceedingly good, and that, on the whole, she was -a captivating person,—when she chose it. - -When the child was to be named, the Queen gave a supplicatory glance at -her kinswoman, and gently whispered in an appealing tone, “Have you -_really_ any objection to the charming name originally proposed? -Conrad-Adalbert-Willibald....” - -But the Lady Abracadabra cut the catalogue short, with saying the word -“Eigenwillig” in so decided a tone, that the prince was named -Eigenwillig directly, and there was an end of the matter. - -And then followed the royal banquet, and then a ball, and then the town -was illuminated, and at midnight the fête terminated with a most -magnificent display of fireworks. - -Just, however, before the amusements of the evening were concluded, the -old Fairy called her niece and the King into the royal closet, and thus -addressed them: “Kinsmen mine,” said she, “I have shown you this day -that I bear a most hearty good-will both to you and yours; and therefore -if ye be wise,—which I think ye are not—you will listen to what I now -say to you. You have got a fair son: for that you must thank Providence; -and your son has got the fairest gifts that were to be found in all -Fairy-land: for them you must thank me. But if, in spite of these gifts, -your son turns out a wilful, disagreeable, selfish monkey, for that you -will have to thank yourselves. Queen Ninnilinda, if ever I saw a mother -that was likely to spoil a child, you are that person. King Katzekopf, -if ever I saw a father who was likely to let his son lead him by the -nose, you are that man. But attend to what I say,” continued the Fairy, -with a look of great severity, “I don’t intend to have my godchild a -selfish little brat, who shall be a bad man, and a bad king, and a bad -son, whom everybody shall dislike, and whose faults shall be all -attributed to his having a Fairy godmother. No: I have named the child -according to his natural temper. I have called him Eigenwillig, because -his disposition is to be self-willed. And of this it is fit that you -should be reminded continually, even by his name, in order that you may -discipline his mind, and make him the reverse of what he is now called. -Poor child! he has everything around him to make him selfish. Let it be -the object of your life, to make him unselfish. This is my injunction, -and remember I have both the will and the power to enforce it. I am his -godmother, and I am a Fairy besides, so I have a right to insist. And -mark my words, I shall do _my_ duty by the prince, let who will neglect -theirs. I shall watch over him night and day, and shall be among you -when least you expect me. If you manage him properly, you may expect my -help; if you show yourselves unfit for the charge, I shall take the -reins of discipline into my own hands; and if you then resist me ... but -I will not allow myself to imagine that such infatuation and insanity -were possible. Sweet niece, I must take my leave. May I trouble your -Majesty to open the window. Kiss my godchild for me. Good night.” - -As the Lady Abracadabra took her leave, there was a rustling of wings in -the air, the chariot of pearl, with its attendant cockatrices, appeared -on a level with the window: the Fairy sprung into her seat, and, -preceded by a cloud of lantern flies, each insect sparkling with a -different coloured flame, blue, or crimson, or violet, or green, and -followed by myriads of elves, each crowned with asteroids of lambent -light, she wended on her way to Fairy-land, her track through the sky -being marked by a long train of sparks, whose dazzling brilliancy waxed -fainter and fainter as she receded from earth, till it mingled with, and -became lost in the pallid hues of the Milky Way. - -It is needless to say that Queen Ninnilinda did not relish the parting -admonitions of her Fairy kinswoman. First, she (being a Queen) did not -like to submit to dictation; next, she persuaded herself that she had a -full right to do as she pleased, and to spoil her own child as much as -she liked; lastly, being rather timid, she felt very uncomfortable at -the notion of being watched by a Fairy, and still more so at the -possibility of incurring that Fairy’s vengeance. So, as usual, she -vented all her anger on her husband, and then went to bed and sobbed -herself to sleep. King Katzekopf was not easily disturbed; and the -chronicles of the kingdom assure us that he slept as well as usual on -the night after the fête; but upon awaking next morning he felt the -necessity of something being done, and therefore called together once -more his trusty councillors, who, after much grave discussion, -determined that the best method of securing the further favour of the -Lady Abracadabra would be, by immediately appointing proper instructors -for the royal infant. - -Accordingly, a commission was issued to inquire who would be the proper -persons to undertake so responsible an office, and after a year and a -half of diligent investigation, it was decided that the three cleverest -women in the kingdom should be charged with the prince’s education until -such time as he should exchange his petticoats for jacket and trousers. -So the Lady Brigida was appointed to teach him how to feed himself, and -to instruct him in _Belles Lettres_, and the —ologies: the Lady Rigida -was to make him an adept in prudence and etiquette: while the Lady -Frigida was directed to enlighten his mind on the science of political -economy, and to teach him the art of governing the country. - -But alas! nobody thought of appointing a preceptress, who should -instruct him in the art of governing _himself_. - -Meanwhile, Queen Ninnilinda, finding that her husband had become highly -popular in consequence of the pains he was taking to have his heir -properly educated, determined that she would do something which should -set her own character in a favourable light as a wise and discreet -mother. She, therefore, after much careful consideration, drew up the -following rules for the nursery, which were immediately printed in an -Extraordinary Gazette, and which were received with so much applause, -that almost all the ladies in the kingdom adopted them immediately in -their own families, and have, in fact, been guided by them ever since, -even though they have not followed Queen Ninnilinda’s plan of having -them framed and glazed. - - - RULES FOR THE NURSERY. - - 1. The Prince Eigenwillig is never to be contradicted; for - contradiction is depressing to the spirits. - - 2. His Royal Highness is to have everything he cries for; else he - will grow peevish and discontented. - - 3. He is to be allowed to eat and drink when, what, and as much he - pleases; hunger being a call of nature, and whatever nature - dictates is natural. - - 4. His Royal Highness is to be dissuaded from speaking to any one - below the rank of Baron; as it is highly desirable that he should - acquire a proper pride. - - 5. It is to be impressed upon the Prince’s mind continually that - he is an object of the first consequence, and that his first duty - is to take good care of himself. - -Such being the plan laid down for Prince Eigenwillig’s education, it is -not to be wondered at that, by the time he was two years old, he had a -very fair notion of the drift of his mother’s rules, and that they found -great favour in his eyes; insomuch that at three, when the Ladies -Brigida, Frigida, and Rigida commenced the task of tuition, he contrived -to inspire them with the notion that their office, for the present, at -least, was likely to be a sinecure. He even resisted the efforts which -the Lady Brigida made to induce him to feed himself with a fork and a -spoon, and adhered upon principle to the use of his fingers, lest, by -yielding the point, he should seem to allow himself to be contradicted. - -At four years old the precocity of his talents had greatly developed -themselves. He had mingled mustard with the Lady Frigida’s chocolate; he -had pulled the chair from under his father, just as the King was about -to sit down, whereby his Majesty got a tumble, and the Prince got his -ears boxed; he had killed nurse Yellowlily’s cockatoo by endeavouring to -ascertain whether it was as fond of stewed mushrooms as he was himself, -and he had even gone the length of singing in her presence, and of -course in allusion to her bereavement, - - “Dame what made your ducks to die? - Ducks to die? ducks to die? ducks to die? - Eating o’ polly-wigs! Eating o’ polly-wigs.” - -But if the truth must be told, the prince had acquired by this time many -worse habits than that of mischief. And these had their origin in his -being permitted to have his own way in everything. For, indeed, it might -be said, that this spoilt child was the person who ruled the entire -kingdom. The prince ruled his nurse, and his three instructresses; they -ruled the Queen; the Queen ruled the King; the King ruled his Ministers; -and the Ministers ruled the country. - -O Lady Abracadabra, Lady Abracadabra, how could you allow things to come -to such a pass? You must have known right well that Queen Ninnilinda was -very silly; and that King Katzekopf was one of those folks who are too -indolent to exert themselves about anything which is likely to be -troublesome or unpleasant; and you must have been quite sure that the -nurses and governesses were all going the wrong way to work; you must -have foreseen that at the end of four years of mismanagement the poor -child would be a torment to himself and to everybody else. Why did you -not interfere? - -This is a hard question to answer; but perhaps the Lady Abracadabra’s -object was to convince both parties of this fact by actual experience, -as being aware that in such experience lay the best hope of a remedy. - -A torment, however, the child was; there could be no mistake about that. -Though he had everything he asked for, nothing seemed to satisfy him; if -he was pleased one moment, he was peevish the next: he grew daily more -and more fractious, and ill-humoured, and proud, and greedy, and -self-willed, and obstinate. It is very shocking to think of so young a -child having even the seeds of such evil tempers; but how could it be -otherwise, when he was taught to think only of himself, and when he was -allowed to have his own way in all things? Unhappy child! yet happy in -this, that he was likely to find out for himself that, in spite of -having all he wished for, he was unhappy! Unhappy parents! yet happy in -this, that, if so disposed, they might learn wisdom, from the obvious -failure of their foolish system of weak indulgence! - -Prince Eigenwillig had nearly completed his fifth year, when, one day -that the Lady Rigida was endeavouring to explain to his Royal Highness -her cleverest theory on the subject of the Hyscos, or Shepherd Kings -(he, meanwhile, being intently absorbed in a game of bilboquet), a Lord -of the Bedchamber entered the apartment, and announced that the Queen -desired the Prince’s presence in her boudoir. - -“Ha!” exclaimed the little boy, with a start of pleasure and surprise, -as he entered the apartment, “what a beautiful creature you’ve got in -that cage. Whose is it? I should like to have it.” - -“Well, my sweet pet,” replied his mother, “so you shall, if you wish for -it.” - -“Of course I do,” said the Prince; “what a sleek gray coat! what -strange, orange-coloured eyes! what curious rings of black and white fur -on its tail! What is it?” - -“It is a ring-tailed macauco, love,” answered the Queen, “your papa has -just made me a present of it. I don’t know how much money he gave for -it.” - -“Well, mamma, it’s mine now; that’s one comfort,” observed the Prince. -“Let it out,” continued he, addressing the Lord of the Bedchamber. - -“I am afraid, sir,” replied Baron Puffendorf, “that it might do -mischief. I believe it isn’t tamed yet.” - -“Oh, we’ll tame it, then,” replied the Prince; “call Lady Rigida; she’ll -tame it directly, I’m sure. Lady Rigida, here’s a monkey wants taming; -talk to it about the shepherd kings, will you?” - -The Lady Rigida drew up with offended dignity. - -“Ha! ha! my good Rigida,” said the Queen, laughing, “you mustn’t be -angry with these sallies of wit. What a clever child it is!” - -“Is nobody going to open the door of the cage?” asked the boy -impatiently. “I want to see the creature loose.” - -“Oh, my sweet child, leave it where it is. You’ll frighten me to death, -if you let it out,” cried the Queen in alarm. - -The Prince immediately threw himself down on the floor, and began to -roar. - -“Don’t cry, there’s a love,” said his wise mother, soothingly, “and the -Baron shall see if he can’t hold it while you look at it. Wrap your -handkerchief round your hand, Baron; it won’t bite, I’m sure.” - -The Baron did as he was bid, and, in considerable trepidation, opened -the door of the cage, and made an effort to seize the macauco. The -animal immediately darted at his hand, bit it with all its strength, and -dashed out of the cage in an instant. “Sess! sess! sess!” cried Prince -Eigenwillig, springing up from the floor, and clapping his hands. “Now -for a chase! Sess! macauco! Hie at them! Good monkey! Bite Rigida! Bite -Puffendorf!” - -Away ran the instructress, away ran the Lord of the Bedchamber, and -after them pursued the macauco round and round the room, now biting at -the Baron’s heels, and now at the Lady Rigida’s; while the Queen ran -screaming out of the apartment, and the author of all the mischief stood -in the midst, laughing with all his might. In another moment, the agile -monkey had scrambled up the Lady Rigida’s back, and, having half -strangled her in its attempts to tear off her head-dress, took a flying -leap to the top of a cabinet, whence, having dashed down a most precious -vase of rose-coloured chrystal, it proceeded to tear the cap to tatters. - -But Prince Eigenwillig was too highly delighted with the more active -freaks of the animal, and too much pleased at the opportunity of -terrifying and tormenting the Lady Rigida, to allow it to remain long at -the top of the cabinet. So snatching up a book which lay on a table -beside him, he threw it at the macauco for the purpose of dislodging it. - -And therein he succeeded, but at a cost which by no means entered into -his calculations, for the animal, irritated by the blow, now turned on -the naughty boy, and springing on his shoulders, laid hold of one of his -ears with his teeth. - -It was now the Prince’s turn to scream, and the more he screamed and -struggled, the more the macauco bit him, and the child would soon have -fainted with fright and pain; but, just at the critical moment, when he -had fallen to the ground, the sound of many voices was heard outside the -door, which was immediately flung open, and, together with a number of -members of the household, in rushed a great black mastiff, which -immediately flew at the monkey, who, thereupon, quitted its hold of the -Prince’s ear, and retreated to its cage. - -The whole palace was by this time in confusion; messengers were rushing -in all directions for surgeons and physicians; and even King Katzekopf, -who had now grown so fat, that he never left his arm-chair when he could -help it, ran up-stairs, three steps at a time, to know what was the -matter. - -“Ah!” exclaimed the Lord Chamberlain, as soon as he had recovered -sufficient presence of mind to shake his head. “Ah,” quoth he. - -“Yea, forsooth!” replied the Chancellor, with the air of one who _could_ -say a great deal if he chose. - -The Arch-Treasurer of the Empire, who never spoke at all, if he could -help it, and who never allowed his countenance to indulge itself in any -particular expression, shrugged his shoulders slightly, but with what -particular intention no one ventured to imagine. - -The old ladies of the household (including his grace the Keeper of the -Records) were, however, by no means so prudent or taciturn. - -“I knew how it would be!” cried one. - -“I always guessed as much,” rejoined another. - -“I anticipated it from the first,” ejaculated the third. - -“This comes of Fairy-godmothers,” groaned forth he of the Records. - -“No doubt, it is some malicious prank of hers!” said Nurse Yellowlily, -with a shudder. - -“I shouldn’t be surprised if henceforth the poor child were possessed,” -added the first speaker. - -“Or squinting and blear-eyed,” continued the second. - -“Or if his ears mortified, and turned into pigs’ feet!” sobbed out the -third. - -“Oh, too true! too true!” exclaimed the Queen. “I see it all. Unhappy -mother that I am! All the poor child’s misfortunes, past, present, and -to come, are owing to my peevish, spiteful, malicious, capricious, old, -ugly witch of an aunt, Lady Abracadabra! Oh, that I had been turned into -a tadpole, and the Grand Duchess of Klopsteinhesseschloffengrozen had -been the only sponsor!” - -It was a long while before anything like tranquillity was restored; but -when the King and the Queen had been assured by the medical attendants -that the Prince’s wound was by no means serious, and the child himself -had ceased screaming, and the macauco had been hanged, the black mastiff -began to attract attention. - -“Whose dog is it?” asked one. - -“Where did it come from?” said another. - -But nobody could answer the question. At this moment the King called the -hound to him, for the purpose of patting it. The mastiff approached, and -laid its heavy fore-paws on the royal knee, and looked very wisely at -the King; and then his Majesty looked as wisely as ever he could (how -could he do less?) at the dog. But what was the King’s amazement, when, -all of a sudden, he perceived the tan portion of the glossy hide -changing into a yellow satin petticoat, and the black part into a black -velvet jacket; the canine features resolving themselves into a human -countenance; the fore-paws becoming hands, and hind-paws a woman’s feet, -enveloped in high-heeled shoes fastened with diamond buckles? - -It was even so. The Lady Abracadabra stood before him, not, however, as -when he last beheld her, all smiles and affability, but stern, grave, -and angry. Her eyes gleamed like coals of fire, her wrinkles were deeper -than ever, and gave her face a most harsh and severe expression,—nay, -her black jacket had acquired a most ominous sort of intensity, and the -yellow petticoat seemed shot with a lurid flame-colour. - -“So!” said she, “you have not only disobeyed all my injunctions, -neglected my advice, and thwarted all my benevolent intentions, but now, -when you are reaping the fruit of your misconduct, you have audacity -enough to charge me with being the cause of it!” - -King Katzekopf declared that he had never suspected her ladyship of -anything but good will towards the prince; and had never attributed to -her agency the mishaps of a spoilt boy. - -“Spoilt boy!” she exclaimed with indignation, “and how comes he to be -spoilt? Yes,” she continued with increasing vehemence, “who has spoilt -him? What is it that makes everybody dislike him? What makes him a -plague and a torment to himself and everybody else? Why is he impatient, -and greedy, and wilful, and ill-tempered, and selfish? Is it not because -Queen Ninnilinda encourages him in all these vices, and because King -Katzekopf, though he knows that everything is going wrong, is too lazy -and indolent to interfere and set them right? You are neither of you fit -to be trusted with your own child. You are doing all you can to make him -wicked and miserable, a bad man, and a bad king.” - -“I’m sure there’s not a child in the kingdom that has such pains taken -with him,” replied the Queen angrily. “He has instructors in all the -different branches of useful knowledge, and if he is a little -mischievous, or self-willed at times, are not all children so?” - -“Niece, niece,” replied the Fairy, “you speak like a fool. What good is -there in knowledge, unless a right use be made of it? And how is he -likely to make a right use of it, if he be mischievous and self-willed? -And how can you expect him to be otherwise than mischievous and -self-willed, if you encourage, instead of checking, his propensities -that way?” - -“I’m sure I cannot check his propensities,” retorted Ninnilinda in a -huff. - -“I never thought you could,” said Lady Abracadabra quietly, “for you -have not yet learned to control your own temper.” - -The Queen coloured and bit her lip. - -“I wish, kinswoman,” said the King in a conciliating tone, “since you -thought the Prince was being so ill brought up, that you would have told -us so a little sooner?” - -“And where would have been the good of that? You know very well that you -would not have listened to me. Nay, I don’t believe that you will listen -to me now. No, no, when I promised to befriend your child, I ought to -have taken the matter into my own hands at once, and carried him off to -Fairy-land, and superintended his education there.” - -When the Queen heard these words, she trembled from head to foot, and -threw herself on her knees before her aunt, exclaiming—“Nay, Lady -Abracadabra, anything but that! anything but that! I know your power, -but oh! as you are powerful, be merciful likewise, and do not take my -child from me!” - -The Fairy saw that Queen Ninnilinda was now in a disposition to submit -to any conditions which might be imposed upon her, and therefore she -answered her kindly: - -“I do not want to separate you from your child, if only you will do your -duty by him.” - -“I will do anything you desire, aunt!” - -“Teach him not to be selfish, then!” replied the Lady Abracadabra. “If -you really are in earnest, I will give you one more trial; _but remember -it is the last_.” - -The Queen grew more frightened than ever, for she felt as if she were a -fly in a spider’s web; that the Lady Abracadabra was spreading toils for -her, and that the little Eigenwillig was already as good as lost to her. - -“But how can I teach him not to be selfish?” she asked at length. - -“By making him consider others as much as himself; by teaching him to -bear contradiction, and to yield up his own wishes and inclinations; and -by letting him associate with his equals.” - -“You forget he is a prince, Lady,” replied the Queen proudly. - -“No, I do not,” answered the Fairy. “A prince may have his equals in -age, I suppose, if not in rank.” - -“Ah! Lady Abracadabra!” cried King Katzekopf. “I believe you have hit -the right nail on the head. I’ve often wished the boy could have had -somebody to play with,—somebody who would set him a good example, and -would not flatter him, as these courtiers do.” - -“Suppose I could find such a companion for him,” said the Fairy, “would -you befriend him, and treat him as you do your own child?” - -“Gladly will I,” answered the King. The Queen could not bring herself to -say that she would do it gladly, but she submitted with as good a grace -as she could. - -“Well then,” said the Lady Abracadabra, “upon those terms I will give -you a fresh trial. I know a fair, gentle boy, whose temper and -disposition the Prince will do well to imitate. His father, foolish man! -is anxious to get him a place at court,—little knowing what he desires -for him. Methinks it would be well that he should see the experiment -tried. It may be of benefit to both parties. So I shall set about it at -once.” - -And thereupon the Lady Abracadabra gradually faded away, or at any rate -seemed to do so, till she wholly disappeared. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - Another Heir Started. - - - “More swift than lightning can I flye - About this aery welkin soone, - And in a minute’s space descrye - Each thing that’s done below the moone.” - - _Ben Jonson._ - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - -Many and many a mile from King Katzekopf’s Court,—in a valley among -those Giant Mountains, which separated his territories from the -neighbouring kingdoms, stood the Castle of Taubennest, in which, at the -date of our tale, dwelt Count Rudolf and his family. - -And a happy family they were, all except the Count, who was a -discontented man. He had spent his youth in cities, and so the country -had no charms for him. He was ambitious, and a time-server. He was never -so happy as among great people, and he longed to meddle with the -intrigues of state, and to be talked of as among the eminent men of the -kingdom. - -He was a very poor man when the Castle and its broad lands were -bequeathed him by a distant relation, and so he was glad enough to take -possession of them, even though he found the bequest coupled with the -condition that he should live on his domains continually. - -Now if, on acquiring this property, the Count had set himself in earnest -to the discharge of the duties for which the possession of that property -rendered him responsible,—if he had turned his talents to bettering the -condition of his vassals, improving his estates, and benefiting his -neighbourhood generally, he would not only have spent his days happily, -but would, in all probability, have arrived at the object of his -desires, and acquired an illustrious name. But instead of this, he spent -his years in murmurs and repinings; now railing at the blindness of -Fortune, who had condemned one of his genius for rising in the world to -a sphere of inactivity, now complaining that he was imprisoned for life -amid the mountains. What a sad thing it is, when people neglect their -present duties, for no wiser reason than because they choose to imagine -that if their duties were of some different kind, they could discharge -them better! Our trial in life consists in our being required to do our -best in _whatever_ circumstances we are placed. If we were to choose -those circumstances for ourselves, there would be an end of the trial, -and the main object for which life is given us would be lost. - -Happily for her children and dependents, the character of the Countess -Ermengarde was a complete contrast to that of her husband. She was one -of those people who seem only to find happiness in doing good to those -around them. Had her destiny placed her in the midst of a court, she -would have added to its dignity and honour by the lustre of her example. -But that example was not lost because her days were spent in comparative -seclusion. The Castle of Taubennest was at a great distance from the -metropolis, but it did not rear its head in a solitary desert. And the -Countess, as she stood on the stone platform, which opened out of her -withdrawing room, and led to the garden below, and gazed at the wide and -fertile valley which lay stretched before her, could count hamlet after -hamlet, the inhabitants of which were tenants to her husband, and over -whom, therefore, she felt that it was in her power to exercise an -influence for good. But the Countess Ermengarde had yet dearer ties, to -whom she well knew that all her care and tenderness were due. There were -her two little girls, Ediltrudis and Veronica, and her son, a boy of -seven years old, the gentle, yet noble-spirited Witikind. In educating -these her treasures, disciplining their youthful minds, and training -them for the duties and trials of active life, the greater part of her -time was spent, and so fully absorbed was she in this labour of love, -that never an hour hung heavy on her hands, and not days only, but -months and years seemed to glide on without her having a wish or a -thought beyond her children, and the vassals of her husband’s house. - -“What a happy family should we be!” exclaimed the Count, as, in spite of -himself, he stood enjoying the evening breeze, and watching his lovely -children in their play, “What a happy family we should be, my -Ermengarde, if we were not condemned to wear out our existence in this -dull wilderness!” - -“I would you were in any place that could bring you a greater measure of -enjoyment than you find here, my dearest Rudolf,” replied the Countess, -soothingly, “and yet, methinks, our lot might have been cast in a less -fair scene than this. What if the setting sun, instead of throwing its -rosy lustre on yonder mountain peaks, and illumining with its declining -rays those verdant meadows, through which our glassy river flows, and -the fields yellow with the ripening corn, and the purple vineyards, and -the deep umbrageous forest, were to light up for us no more joyous scene -than a desert of interminable sand? What if, instead of looking forth, -and seeing nothing so far as eye can reach which does not call you -master, we were landless, houseless wanderers, without bread to eat, or -a roof to cover us, should we not have less to be thankful for, than is -the case now?” - -“Doubtless,” answered the Count; but he made the reply impatiently, and -as if his wife were putting the matter before him in an unfair point of -view. Without being the least aware of it, he was unthankful for all the -blessings which he actually possessed, because a single ingredient which -he supposed necessary to fill up his cup of happiness was wanting. So -long as he had not _that_, all else went for nothing. “Doubtless,” said -the Count; “but, say what you will, this place will never be any better -than a wilderness in my eyes. Is it possible to conceive a more -monotonous life than I pass? nothing to interest one, not a soul within -twenty miles that one cares to speak to!” - -The Countess smiled. “Nay, nay, Rudolf,” she cried gaily, “you shall not -persuade me that the children and I do not make very agreeable society!” - -“The children! there again! what a distressing subject is that! Poor -things, they will not have common justice done them! They have not a -chance of getting on in the world.” - -“For my part,” replied the Countess, “I don’t see what is the necessity -for their ‘getting on in the world.’ They will do very well as they -are.” - -“How can you talk such nonsense as that, Ermengarde?” exclaimed the -Count in a tone of pique. “Why, what is to become of the girls, when -they grow up to womanhood?” - -“Oh,” answered the Countess, “we need scarcely make that a cause of -anxiety at present. Years must elapse before they will be women, and -when they are grown up, I don’t know why they may not become the wives -of honest men, or why they may not find happiness in a single life, if -they prefer it.” - -“Really, Ermengarde, you sometimes provoke one past all patience. ‘Wives -of honest men,’ forsooth! I believe you would be satisfied if you could -see them making cheese on the next farm, or wedded to the huntsman, or -the woodreve. You forget,” added he proudly, “that their birth entitles -them to some splendid connexion, and less than a splendid connexion -shall never satisfy me.” - -“Why, what is it that you covet for them?” - -“That they should see something of courts and cities, instead of being -immured in this mountain-dungeon; that they should take that place in -the world to which their rank entitles them, and that they should be -followed by a host of admirers, and that their cotemporaries should have -cause to envy their good fortune. Yes,” continued he, warming with his -subject, and falling unconsciously into one of those day-dreams in which -he was continually indulging, “I should like to waken and find myself at -the court, with Ediltrudis at my side, the admired of all beholders, -princes and peers struggling to obtain the honour of her hand, while I, -with watchful eyes, would be ascertaining which of her many suitors it -would be most prudent to encourage, and which to reject. Can you -conceive anything more interesting, more delightful to a parent’s -feelings?” - -“Yes, indeed, my Lord,” replied the Lady Ermengarde, “to me it would -afford more satisfaction, if I were permitted to see my child growing up -to maturity, unspotted by the world, and saved from exposure to its -poisonous breath, and from the temptation to yield to its evil -influences. I would rather see her innocent and happy here, than the -star and favourite of a court.” - -Had Count Rudolf listened to this speech it would have probably made him -very angry, but he was too much occupied with his castles in the air to -attend to it. - -“And then my pretty little Veronica,” he continued, “your career shall -be no less brilliant than your sister’s. Come hither,” said he, calling -the child, “and tell us what destiny you would choose. Would you not -like to be a Maid of Honour to the Queen, and to be glittering with -silks and jewels, and to live in a royal palace, and to spend your time -in all manner of pleasures?” - -The little girl seemed puzzled, and did not answer immediately. After a -pause she said, “Must I leave Taubennest, if I were to be Maid of Honour -to the Queen?” - -“Yes, my child, that must you, for where the King lives is many a mile -from Taubennest.” - -“Nay, then, dear father, I would rather be where I am. I should like to -see the royal palace, and all the things you mention, but I should -prefer to _live_ here. Ah! we never could be so happy as we are here, -could we, Witikind? We never could find such pretty walks as we have -here among the hills, nor play such merry games in a palace, as now we -do in the meadows by the river side. And besides, I dare say I should -not be allowed to take my kid with me, nor my birds, nor perhaps,” added -the child in a tone of dismay,—her eyes brimming with tears as the -thought occurred to her—“perhaps you, and Ediltrudis, and nurse, and -papa, and mamma might not be with me. Oh, no, no; I would rather stay -where I am; would not you, Witikind?” - -“Why, what folly!” exclaimed Count Rudolf, interposing. “Even you, -Veronica, must be old enough to know that a boy cannot pass through life -beside his nurse’s apron-string. Witikind must see the world, and learn -to be bold and manly.” - -“Can I not be bold and manly, father, unless I see the world?” asked the -boy rather timidly. - -“No, to be sure not!” answered the Count. - -“Well then of course I must go,” replied Witikind with a sigh. “But I -never can be so happy elsewhere as I am here.” - -“Pooh! you are but a child;” rejoined his father, “you don’t know what -real happiness is.” - -“Did you find real happiness, father, in living among courts and -cities?” - -“Certainly, I did,” said the Count; and then, after some hesitation he -added, “At least I should have found it, if I had not been a poor man, -as I was in those days. Ah! what would I have given for such advantages -as you have, my boy?” - -“Is it possible that there can be so much pleasure to be found away from -home and friends?” asked Witikind, still somewhat doubtfully, and -looking up with anxiety at the expression of sadness which seemed to -spread itself over his mother’s face. - -“Possible, Witikind? I would I had the opportunity of enabling you to -make the experiment this very moment! How I should like to see you a -Page of Honour to the King, It would make a man of you at once.” - -Witikind thought it would be a very fine thing to be made a man of at -once, and his heart was more inclined to a change than it had yet been. -“And I suppose then, father, I should ride a horse instead of a pony, -and wear a sword, and be treated by every body as if I were a man.” - -“Of course, you would,” replied the Count,—“at least, in a very short -time.” - -“Then, father, I do think that I should like to go and live at -court.”—The Count kissed the boy and withdrew. - -It is a very well known, but at the same time a most remarkable -circumstance in the natural history of Fairies, that they are not only -sure to be found in the most unexpected places, but they are certain to -arrive in the very nick of time, for the purpose of overhearing some -conversation which was never intended for their ears, but which they -never fail to turn to account in some manner for which the speakers are -wholly unprepared. It was so on the present occasion. - -Our friend, the Lady Abracadabra, who had been paying a visit to some -old acquaintances among the Gnomes who inhabited the silver mines in the -mountains, in the immediate vicinity of Count Rudolf’s castle, had heard -from her subterranean hosts such an interesting account of the goodness -and benevolence of Countess Ermengarde, that she had resolved to -introduce herself to her. And as she had been led to believe that to be -poor, or afflicted, was a ready passport to that lady’s presence, she -assumed the garb and appearance of a lame beggar-woman, and in this -disguise entered the domain of Taubennest, and approached the castle. No -gate was closed against her, no insolent, pampered menial thrust her -from the door. The Countess had long since forbidden her servants to -turn away one who sought relief at her hands. “We have enough for all,” -she was wont to say, “and, therefore, if we give not according to our -ability, we may expect that the ability to give, will be taken away from -us. If we do not make a good use of our money; our money is like to make -itself wings, and fly elsewhere.” - -Of course where so much was given, there must have been some unworthy -recipients of her bounty. And when this was urged upon her by some of -her less liberal friends, she made no attempt to deny the probability of -the assertion; “but,” said she, “I would rather bestow my alms on a -hundred unworthy recipients, than miss an opportunity of aiding one poor -creature who needed my bounty.” - -And so the weary traveller, and the needy applicant, were under no fears -of being repulsed when they approached the portals of Taubennest, and -thus it happened that the Lady Abracadabra wandered forward unobserved, -or, if observed, unchecked, until she came close to the platform on -which the conversation which has been recorded, took place. - -“And so you would like to see the court, would you, my pretty master?” -said she, as soon as little Witikind had expressed his wish on the -subject. - -The boy started at the sudden inquiry, “What is it you want, good -mother?” he asked after a little hesitation. - -“Nay,” replied the Fairy, “I have expressed no want. I desire to learn -what it is that _you_ want?” - -“Oh! I want some good Fairy to carry me over hill and dale to the court -of King Katzekopf.” - -“Are you quite sure of that?” asked the lame woman. - -“Aye marry, am I,” replied the boy, laughing. “Will you show me the way -to Fairy-land?” - -“May be I will, and may be I won’t,” answered the Fairy. “I must first -see what metal you are made of. Will you go with me to court?” - -“I shouldn’t like your pace, mother,” said Witikind. “I should never get -there, if I kept by the side of your crutches.” - -“Don’t be too sure of that,” rejoined the beggar. “There’s many a worse -hobbyhorse than my crutch. Can you ride, sir boy?” - -“To be sure I can,” replied Witikind, “I were fit for little, if I could -not.” - -“Then let me see how you can sit this nag of mine,” said the Fairy; and -seating herself sideways on one crutch, she waved the other; when, in an -instant, that on which she was seated became a living cockatrice, which -mounted up into the air with its burden, and, after three or four -circumvolutions, descended on the platform, to which allusion has been -made, and then stood still; while the Lady Abracadabra, no longer -disguised as a beggar-woman, but wearing her usual Fairy garb, -dismounted and approached the astonished Countess and her terrified -children. - -“I ought to apologize for this intrusion,” said she, “but a Fairy, who -comes with purposes of kindness, can scarcely conceive herself to be -unwelcome. You do not know me, Countess, for I quarrelled with your -father before you were born; but your mother Frideswida and I were well -known to one another. I doubt not you have heard her speak of -Abracadabra of Hexenberg.” - -The Countess intimated her assent. - -“I recognize in you, Lady,” said the Fairy, “a transcript of her beauty -of feature, and if fame do not greatly misrepresent you, the beauty of -her mind has descended to you. I hear you spoken of as the blessing of -these valleys, and that your days are spent in feeding the hungry, -clothing the naked, and visiting the sick.” - -“I live among my own people,” replied Ermengarde, “and they are a simple -race, who are satisfied with little, and whom small kindnesses gratify -largely.” - -“You are modest,” rejoined the Lady Abracadabra, “but if, as I believe, -you have the means of doing good, and find pleasure in doing it, why -should you be dissatisfied with your abode?” - -“I dissatisfied, Lady?” exclaimed the Countess, “I would gladly live and -die here.” - -“Then, what was the meaning of what I heard no long time since? -Methought as I listened to your converse, your boy seemed to say that he -should like to go and live at court. You would hardly send him to face -such perils alone? That were as unnatural as wicked.” - -The Countess knew not what to answer. The thought of separation from -Witikind had already filled her with sorrow and dismay, but she was -unwilling to excuse herself at the cost of inculpating her husband. She -therefore remained silent, but the tears gushed from her eyes in spite -of her. - -“And how comes it that you, sir boy,” asked the Fairy, addressing -Witikind, “are so eager to leave your home? Can you not be happy here?” - -“Yes, Lady, I am happy as the day is long; but my father assures us -often and often, that our best happiness here is grief and dulness, -compared with what we should find, if we went to the great City, and -lived in King Katzekopf’s court?” - -“Is this true, Lady?” said the Fairy to Ermengarde. “But,” continued -she, “I see it is, and will spare you the pain of answering.” She paused -awhile, and then added, “Countess, I see a black spot on that child’s -fair brow, that, unless we find a remedy, will spread and spread till it -infects his whole nature. What his natural disposition may be I know -not, but I see his father has inoculated him with one of the most -dangerous of all maladies, a love of _self_. He is willing to seek for -pleasure, even though it cost him separation from you. He already thinks -of himself more than of you.” - -“He is but a child, Lady,” said the mother apologetically. - -“Aye, Countess Ermengarde, but the child is father to the man. Such as -you make him now, such will he be hereafter.” - -“Perhaps, Lady, if you spoke to Rudolf, he might be induced to see the -matter as you do,” observed the wife. - -“Nay, nay!” replied the Fairy, with an increase of sternness in her -manner, “I am not one to be trifled with. You _know_ even while you make -it, that your suggestion is a hopeless one. To reason with your precious -husband (of whom I know more than you think) is only to render him more -obstinate. I must devise some other plan. Ah!” she continued, after a -momentary pause, “I see my way clearly. The evil shall be made to work -its own remedy. Go, tell the Count, that an ancient Fairy, a friend of -your mother’s house, and who, on that account, desires to befriend you, -has become acquainted with his wishes as respects his son: tell him that -I have influence at Court, that King Katzekopf and the Queen are not -likely to turn a deaf ear to any request I make them, and that he may -hold himself in readiness to expect, ere long, a summons from his -Majesty. Countess Ermengarde, tell him this; but I charge you at your -peril, tell him no more than this. Meanwhile, keep up good heart, and -trust me to befriend your boy. I will teach him one lesson, that shall -be of more use to him than all his father’s.” - -So saying, she smiled graciously on little Witikind, patted him on the -head, and springing on her cockatrice was soon out of sight. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - A hashed Heir. - - - “Over hill, over dale, - Thorough bush, thorough briar, - Over park, over pale, - Thorough flood, thorough fire.” - - _Shakespeare._ - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - -The events recorded in the last chapter took place, as the judicious -reader will have anticipated, a short time previously to that visit of -the Lady Abracadabra to the Court of King Katzekopf, in which she -asserted her authority, and proposed the companionship of a boy of his -own age as likely to form a salutary check on the growing wilfulness and -selfishness of Prince Eigenwillig. - -Accordingly, many days did not elapse before little Witikind was -transported from the Castle of Taubennest to the royal nursery. - -It was a sad business, that leaving his home. Of the trials that lay -before him, he, poor child, could, of course, know nothing. He had never -lived anywhere but at home, and he could not as yet imagine that any -place could be very different from home; and he had good hope, from all -his father told him, that he would be happy as the day was long at the -court of King Katzekopf. But when it really came to bidding farewell: -when he saw his mother trying to smile and encourage him, yet was sure, -by her appearance, that she had been weeping all night long; when -Ediltrudis and Veronica, quite unable to bear up against this, their -first deep sorrow, clung to him, and sobbed as if their hearts were -breaking. Oh, how bitterly did Witikind lament the rash words he had -spoken! Oh, what would he have given to recall them, and to be allowed -to live on, as heretofore, with those who so dearly loved him, and whom -he so dearly loved! But it was now too late. - -And so it is ever with us all. The blessings which we do not appreciate -are sooner or later withdrawn from us, and when, on their removal, we -feel their value, and would flee after them and secure them, we find -they are gone irrecoverably, and that we can never be again as we were -when we possessed them. For Witikind, we trust that many happy days may -be in store, that he will return to Taubennest better and wiser every -way than when he left it; that his mother will fold him in her arms once -more, and that his sisters will shed more tears of pleasure over him -than now of sorrow; but never, never will he be again as when first he -quitted home: a change will have taken place; he will be different -himself; those around him will be different; fresh hopes, and feelings, -and wishes will have come over them; their confidences will not be the -same confidences, their love will not be the same love that it was -before they knew the sorrows of separation. - -Oh, reader, reader! if _you_ have a happy home, and loving parents, and -affectionate brothers and sisters, try and show yourself worthy of the -blessing while yet it is yours. You know not how soon you may be taken -from them, or they from you: strive, then, so to live with them, that, -when separation comes, you may have no cause to mourn for your behaviour -to them now! - - * * * * * - -Taubennest was a fine old castle in its way, but certainly not at all -comparable to King Katzekopf’s palace; and as for the city, it was a -thing altogether beyond Witikind’s conceptions. Such a labyrinth of -streets and houses! such crowds of people passing and repassing! such -strange, unaccustomed sights and sounds! the boy was in a state of utter -bewilderment! - -And before he had recovered himself, he found he was passing through -marble halls, and corridors hung with silks and satins, and glittering -with gilding; and then he was brought into an apartment where King -Katzekopf was sitting on his throne, with a velvet nightcap on his head, -and his crown over his nightcap (for his Majesty was now growing so fat -and infirm, that when he was not eating or governing the country, he was -usually asleep); and then, when he had been patted on the head by a -real, live king, and had been told to be a good boy by Queen Ninnilinda, -who came into the room on purpose to look at him, he was committed to -the care of Lady Brigida, and immediately became an inmate of the royal -nursery. - -The Prince was quite charmed to have such a companion: he dismounted -from his rocking-horse in a moment, and running up to Witikind asked -whether he was the little boy (Witikind was the biggest of the two) who -was to come and live with him. - -And when Lady Brigida answered in the affirmative, he immediately threw -his arms round Witikind’s neck and kissed him. - -“I shall love you so much, and we shall be so happy together,” said he. -“I know we shall, for you look so good-natured.” - -Witikind could say but little in reply, for he was quite unused to being -with strangers, especially royal ones, and his thoughts were already -reverting to his mother, and Ediltrudis, and Veronica, and the happy -home at Taubennest; but he was grateful to the Prince for his kindness, -and anxious by all the means in his power to show that he was so. He was -a very gentle, amiable, good humoured boy, ever ready to oblige, and not -easily put out of temper, and though in some respects his being an only -son had been to his disadvantage, he was not spoilt like the little -Prince, and had even made some progress in habits of self-control. - -For several days, therefore, the two boys lived very happily together, -and the nurses and governesses began to congratulate themselves on the -improvements which had taken place in their prospects; and that, -whereas, they scarce knew what it was to have five minutes in the course -of the day free from vexation of some kind connected with their royal -charge, the little Eigenwillig seemed all at once transformed into an -amiable child. - -And so he was, as long as he continued without any temptation to be -overbearing and disagreeable. His attendants, whom heretofore he had -tormented so diligently, were now left in peace, because, for the time, -he found more immediate amusement in Witikind than in the art of -tormenting. His companion was, as it were, a new toy: so long as -Witikind was new to him, things were pretty sure to go smoothly. The -trial only began when the novelty ceased. - -And there was a good deal in Witikind’s gentle temper, and in the -feelings natural to his position, which tended to avert, for some time, -the explosion which, sooner or later, was inevitable. - -At first, the Prince treated him as if he were his equal in rank, -offered him his toys to play with, and even went so far as to say that -he would allow Witikind to ride on his pony,—_when he had done with it -himself_. By-and-bye, however, when he saw that his attendants paid more -respect to him than to the son of Count Rudolf, he thought it would be -better to assume a patronizing air, which he did very much to his own -satisfaction. A few more days elapsed, and then, instead of patronizing, -he was domineering. - -All this, however, Witikind submitted to as a matter of course. He had -been already taught to give up his own wishes and inclinations -cheerfully; and his father had inculcated upon him twenty times that he -never was to allow himself to think of anything save how he could best -please the heir-apparent. He felt it was his business to yield his own -inclinations to the Prince’s, and he invariably did yield them amiably, -and as, consequently, the little Eigenwillig continued to have his own -way, there could be no open rupture. It is impossible to have a quarrel, -when there is nobody to quarrel with. - -However, it cannot be said that at the end of a week Witikind thought -his royal companion so full of good nature as he had expected, and at -the end of a fortnight Witikind had begun to compare the ways of -Ediltrudis and Veronica, with those of the Prince, and certainly the -result of the comparison was not in his royal highness’s favour. On the -other hand, the Prince had made the discovery that with his nurse and -instructresses, the gentle-tempered son of Countess Ermengarde was -rapidly becoming a much greater favourite than he was himself. - -This made him very jealous; and his jealousy became insupportable when -Witikind was held out as a model for his imitation. “What a sweet little -boy is Count Rudolf’s son;” nurse Yellowlily would exclaim. “He always -does what he is bid the moment he is spoken to: _so unlike some -people_!” - -“Yes;” the lady Brigida would add, “and so quick at his lessons; never -stupid, never idle, never impatient. Such a contrast, you know!” - -“Every body loves little Witikind,” rejoined the nurse again, “he is so -civil-spoken, and gives so little trouble, and isn’t proud, nor -quarrelsome, nor selfish, nor finds pleasure in teasing and plaguing -people.” - -Thus these silly women took the surest means to prevent the prince from -benefiting by the example of his companion. - -Under such circumstances Witikind grew more and more unhappy every day. -Let him do what he would, the Prince was always disposed to quarrel with -him: and the more he gave up his own will to the Prince’s, the more he -strove to oblige him, the more the Prince seemed to dislike him for it, -for a contrast was sure to be drawn by the attendants between Witikind’s -good nature, and the unamiable disposition of his companion. - -At length Witikind gave up the attempt to please, and would go and hide -himself in some corner where nobody was likely to find him, or would sit -moping on a bench in the palace gardens, thinking of Ediltrudis and -Veronica, and contrasting their affection with the Prince’s ill nature. - -Now it so happened, that the seat to which Witikind was so fond of -betaking himself was one which King Katzekopf could see out of his -window as he sat in his arm chair. Witikind did not know this, or he -would never have chosen it. He was thinking of watching the gold fish in -the fountain, not of King Katzekopf, when he first made it his favourite -haunt. - -“I wonder why that boy sits on yonder bench all day,” observed the King, -one fine afternoon. “I wonder why I never see him playing with -Eigenwillig.” But nobody made any answer in reply to his Majesty’s -observation, and so the matter passed from his thoughts. But when -another day, and another, and another, and another, had elapsed, and -Witikind was still seen on his favourite bench, the King’s curiosity was -quite roused, and he sent for the boy. Witikind was very much frightened -when he heard that the King wanted him; but he could not help hoping -that, since the Prince disliked him so much, he was going to be sent -home again. - -“Why are you not at play with Eigenwillig?” asked the King, so soon as -Witikind was ushered into the room. - -“The Prince, Sire, prefers playing alone,” replied Witikind. - -“But don’t you know that you came here on purpose to be his playfellow?” - -“Yes, Sire.” - -“Why won’t the Prince play with you?” - -“I suppose it is, Sire, because he does not like me,” answered the boy. - -“Have you quarrelled with him?” - -“No, Sire.” - -“I am afraid, Witikind, you are not happy here,” said the King kindly. -“It is my wish that you should be so. I gave orders that you should be -as kindly treated as if you were at home.” - -“Your Majesty is very good to me,” replied Witikind, and he meant to -have gone on to thank the King for all the favours that had been shown -him; but his heart was very full, and that one word “_home_,” which the -King had used, made it overflow. Taubennest and all its dear ones, rose -before his eyes, and he began to sob violently. The King saw there was -something at which he had not yet arrived; but he thought it more -prudent to seek an explanation elsewhere; so, with a few kind words, he -dismissed the boy, telling him that he would speak to him again in a day -or two. - -By-and-bye, Witikind fell in with the Prince. “So!” exclaimed the -latter, as soon as he saw him, “you have been complaining of me to the -King, have you? You little, mean, spiteful creature!” - -“No, Prince, I haven’t. The King asked me why you would not play with -me, and I told him I supposed the reason was because you did not like -me.” - -“Well, I don’t like you. I hated you before, and I hate you now worse -than ever.” - -“Why should you hate me, Prince?” - -“Because I do,” answered the heir of the Katzekopfs. - -“But why will you hate me? I am sure I don’t hate you, Prince; I would -be very glad to love you, if you would only let me.” - -“But I won’t, won’t, _won’t_” shouted the Prince, clenching his fist, -and striking the table with it. “I won’t let you love me. I won’t have -anything to say to such a mean, sneaking creature.” - -“Why do you call me mean and sneaking?” asked Witikind, the colour -mounting in his cheeks. - -“Because you are so,” replied the other. “Are you not always trying to -show off before Nurse Yellowlily, and the governesses, in order that -they may praise you, and blame me?” - -“No, Prince; I would much rather they should never praise me. I would -much rather they would never say a word, unless they could praise us -both. Oh, Prince, you would be so much happier, if you would try and not -be so—so—so self-willed. Indeed, indeed, you would!” - -“How dare you call me self-willed? And what business is it of yours if I -am ever so self-willed? I wish I had never seen your face. You have done -nothing but make mischief ever since you came here.” - -“I never made mischief,” replied Witikind indignantly, “and it is very -unjust of you to say such a thing. You would not have dared to say it to -one who was your equal. But it is no use talking with you. If I am what -you charge me with being, I am no fit companion for you; if I am not, -you are no fit companion for me. So at no rate will I stay here any -longer.” And he immediately proceeded towards the door. - -“Oh, you won’t, won’t you?” cried his enraged companion; “then take this -with you!” And, suiting his actions to his words, the Prince seized a -heavy silver inkstand, which stood upon the table, and threw it at -Witikind. Had it reached him, it might have hurt him very seriously; but -Eigenwillig was in too great a passion to take a deliberate aim, and the -consequence was, that the missile, instead of hitting Witikind, struck -the centre of a large looking-glass, which it broke to shivers. - -The crash of the falling fragments was heard by Queen Ninnilinda, and -she immediately entered the apartment, to see what was the matter. The -first object which met her eyes was Witikind, who ran against her in his -hurry to escape from the Prince. - -“Ah,” said she, laying hold of him, “you need not attempt to run away. I -knew I should find you out sooner or later, and now I have caught you. -How dared you to break that looking-glass, and spill the ink all over -the carpet, you little, good-for-nothing varlet?” - -“Please your Majesty, I did not break it.” - -“Not break it!” exclaimed the Queen, who was much too angry to observe -that her own son was likewise in the room. “Not break it? Are you not -ashamed to utter such falsehoods?” And with that the Queen struck the -little boy two or three sharp blows. - -“Oh, Mamma, Mamma,” cried Prince Eigenwillig, rushing forward, and -seizing her uplifted arm, “it was not his doing; it was mine. I don’t -like him, and I wish he had never come here; but he didn’t break the -looking-glass. I broke it; do not beat him; he doesn’t deserve it. I did -the mischief. He put me in such a rage with what he said, that I took up -the inkstand and threw it at him; but it struck the glass instead of -him.” - -The Prince was a spoilt child, and full of faults; but here was an -evidence that there were redeeming points in his character. Nothing -could have been better than the manner in which he came forward to take -the blame on his own shoulders. There was still something to work upon; -and had his mother been anything but what she was, the incident might -have been turned as much to his advantage as to her own. But her -weakness and vanity were excessive. She saw she had been too hasty; but -was unwilling to confess herself in the wrong; so she availed herself of -an expression of her son, and continued to pour out her wrath on the -unfortunate Witikind. - -“How dared you offend the Prince?” she cried. “How could you presume to -misbehave yourself in such a manner, as to put him in a rage, as he says -you did? And what is the meaning of all these malicious tales you have -been carrying to the King?” - -“I have carried no tales to the King, Madam,” replied Witikind. - -“Yes, you have,” retorted the Queen, “you have been making him believe -that the Prince is cruel to you. And like a little artful, hypocritical -wretch, you have been even setting his own attendants against him.” - -Witikind was so bewildered with all these charges that he was quite -silent. - -“Yes,” continued the Queen, “no wonder you are struck dumb; now you are -found out, you have not a word to say for yourself.” - -“Will you hear me, Madam, or believe me, when I do speak?” replied -Witikind, recovering his self-possession. - -“Believe _you_? you little deceitful creature! No, that will I not.” - -“Then, since your Majesty says that, when you know I have never deceived -you, I had rather say nothing, except that I hope you will confront me -with the King, and the Prince’s attendants.” - -“Leave the room,” said Queen Ninnilinda, in still greater anger, “I am -not going to be argued with by you, I promise you.” - -“Mamma,” said Prince Eigenwillig, as soon as Witikind had left the room, -“I don’t like him, but I don’t think he ever tells lies; and I don’t -think he ever tried to set Nurse Yellowlily against me, though she often -praised him, in order to plague me.” - -Here again, the boy was getting upon a right path; but his foolish -mother, as soon as she perceived it, lost no time in turning him into a -wrong one. - -“Ah, my sweetest boy,” said she, “it was no more than I expected from -your noble, generous nature, that you should try and find excuses for -this odious little brat. You don’t know the world as well as I do: if -you did, you would find it prudent to consider others less, and yourself -more. But I have my own opinion about this Witikind. Everything went on -well enough in the palace till he came, and now every thing goes wrong, -and I can trace his finger at the bottom of all the mischief. I always -misdoubted the intentions of that cross-grained old toad, my Fairy-aunt, -ever since she insisted on giving you your horrid name. I was sure her -professions of kindliness were a blind, and that she was meaning -mischief all the time. And I am quite satisfied now that this creature -which she brought here, is not Count Rudolf’s son. Count Rudolf is a -very respectable man and would not deceive us, but parents are -proverbially blind;” (Yes, indeed, Queen Ninnilinda!) “and I don’t doubt -that this Witikind is a changeling, some imp from Fairy-land, hundreds -of years old, perhaps, sly, and mischievous, and malicious, who is sent -to bring some terrible misfortune on us all.” - -Poor Witikind! he little suspected the nature of this fresh accusation -against him; and while he was weeping in his chamber over the injustice -which he was suffering, and writhing under the indignity of being -charged with saying what was not true, he was being subjected to an -imputation, at once the most cruel, and (in his case) the most difficult -to disprove. - -The idea once started, every body had something to say in confirmation -of it. All the courtiers discovered that, though they had never -mentioned it, they had, from the first, observed something very elvish -in his countenance. The Keeper of the Records had been struck with his -always being dressed in green and gold,—the fashionable colours in -Fairy-land. The Ladies Frigida, Rigida, and Brigida, detected something -supernatural in the precocious aptness with which he received their -lessons. The Baroness Yellowlily had occasionally found great -entanglement in the poor child’s sunny ringlets, when she combed them -after he had been at play: this was a strong presumption they were -elflocks. He was wont to talk with rapture of the happy home he had -left; this, in the opinion of the Lord Chamberlain, was proof positive -that he had come from Fairy-land, for what but Fairy-land could be -preferable to a palace? Finally, even good-natured King Katzekopf, when -he heard all these allegations, was fain to shake his head, and confess -that there was something suspicious in the case, and that the -circumstance which he had himself observed, namely, Witikind’s habit of -sitting moping for hours together, by the side of the fountain, was -certainly very unlike the habits of other boys. - -What was to be done? If they sent him back to his reputed parents, -without the Lady Abracadabra’s permission, they might bring all kinds of -trouble upon themselves. If they kept him longer in the palace, there -was no calculating the amount of mischief which might be effected by -him. However, it was resolved, that of the two evils, this was the -least: and so it was determined, that things should go on as usual, and -that Witikind should be kept in ignorance of the nature of the -suspicions against him. - -Whether all those who contributed to blacken this unlucky boy’s -character, were sincere in their belief of his elvish origin, may be -doubted. To seem so was to follow the fashion, and a ready method of -getting into Queen Ninnilinda’s good graces; and that was enough for -courtiers. - -But, though Witikind knew not of what he was accused, he was not long -kept in ignorance of the fact, that he was out of favour with every -body. It seemed as if nobody, from the King on his throne, to the -scullion in the kitchen, could say a word of kindness to him. Some were -ruder than others, in proportion as they desired to pay court to her -Majesty; but all made it evident that they wished to have nothing to say -to him. A thousand petty mortifications were heaped upon him. He was -kept at his lessons for many more hours than heretofore, and his tasks -were made doubly difficult. He was allowed, as formerly, to take his -meals with the Prince, but those in attendance contrived to give him -whatever was likely to be most unpalatable. He was required to be with -the Prince during his play hours, but was not allowed to play with him, -but only to wait on him; to run after his ball, or to fetch his hoop out -of a ditch, or pick up his arrows which had fallen wide of the mark. - -And yet nothing was said or done in such a manner that Witikind could -lay hold of it. He felt that every body was against him, though it was -their general manner, rather than any particular act, that gave him the -impression. It seemed to him, as if his feet had become entangled in a -net, and that some unseen hand was preventing his escape. And all this -while, Prince Eigenwillig was growing more and more unkind, sometimes -not speaking to him at all, and other times loading him with abuse and -reproaches. For weeks and weeks, this state of things continued, and -Witikind was nearly broken in spirit, and would have been quite so, had -he not been able to cheer himself, by the thought that sooner or later, -he would be sent home, and that the Fairy had promised to befriend him. - -Yet still as time passed on, and he heard nothing from Taubennest, and -his father never came to Court to inquire after him, and the Lady -Abracadabra failed to appear, he grew more and more downcast. Sometimes -he thought of running away; but whither should he run, and how could he -find his way home? Sometimes he resolved to entreat the King to dismiss -him; but then he remembered the Fairy’s commands, that let what would -happen, he must not leave the Court, without her permission. - -However, when things are at the worst, they usually begin to mend; and -just as Witikind began to despair, the crisis came which he feared would -never come. - -In obedience to his mother,—for sometimes, when he had no temptation the -other way, even Eigenwillig could be obedient,—the Prince had carefully -abstained from letting fall any expression which should convey to -Witikind the knowledge that he was suspected of being an elf in -disguise; but at length it happened, as might have been expected, that -the boy forgot his secret. - -It fell out, upon a summer’s evening, that the Prince and Witikind were -alone together in one of the apartments of the palace, which opened out -of the Queen’s sitting-room, and which had a door of communication with -the gardens.—The Prince was amusing himself with a game of battledore, -and Witikind stood near to pick up the shuttlecock for him as it -occasionally fell. But the Prince was expert with his battledore, and -would keep the shuttlecock bounding in the air for a long time together. -Consequently the services of Witikind were not often needed. - -No wonder, therefore, that he crept towards the window to look at the -gay flower beds, and to watch the waters of his favourite fountain as -they rose sparkling in the air to a vast height, and then fell into -various fantastic basins, from which they issued into the grand -reservoir below; and no wonder, as he listened to the soothing plash of -the waters, and watched the clouds, painted with all the gorgeous hues -which the setting sun threw over them, that his thoughts reverted to -Taubennest, and that fatal evening when he had expressed a wish to quit -it. Surely the error had brought its recompense of punishment! If he had -done wrong, he had suffered for it, and had learned a lesson which would -last him his life. Oh bitter and sincere was his repentance! What would -he not now give to turn his back for ever on the hateful palace! What -would he not give to see the towers of Taubennest, and look from its -ramparts on the mountains, barren as they were; and the valley, and the -winding river! What would he not give, were it but for a few brief -minutes, to hear the sweet voices of his sisters, and to be clasped in -his mother’s arms! - -The shuttlecock had fallen, but he heard it not, and remained -inattentive to his duties. How could it be otherwise! he was hundreds of -miles away. - -“Why don’t you pick up the shuttlecock?” cried the Prince, in a sharp, -impatient tone.—Witikind started, and ran forward in a random way; but -he could not see it: tears were blinding his eyes. - -“Not there, blockhead!” shouted the Prince “look behind the statue.” -There were two statues; Witikind went towards the wrong one. - -“What a stupid _elf’s-brat_ you are!” cried the Hope of the Katzekopfs -to the child of Countess Ermengarde, when he brought back the -shuttlecock. - -“What did you call me, Prince?” said Witikind with a look of surprise -and anger. - -“I called you what you are,—what all the world knows you to be—an -elf’s-brat: the good-for-nothing, impish son of some malevolent old -Fairy, or some old hag of a witch!” - -“How dare you call my mother evil names?” exclaimed Witikind, his eyes -sparkling with anger, and his whole frame quivering with emotion. His -patient endurance and gentleness seemed to have fled from him for ever; -his entire character appeared altered on the instant. Anything personal -he had long since proved that he could submit to, but the insult to his -mother called forth in a moment the long-sleeping energies of his -character. “How DARE you to abuse my mother?” he cried in a still louder -tone. “How dare you utter such a base, cowardly lie?” - -The Prince, wholly unprepared for such an outbreak, was too much -terrified to answer. He saw that in Witikind’s gleaming eye which told -him, boy as he was, that Countess Ermengarde’s son was not to be trifled -with. The Hope of the Katzekopfs turned pale, quailed, and continued -retreating towards the corner of the room nearest to his mother’s -apartments. - -“Unsay what you have said,” cried Witikind, following close upon him as -he retreated step by step. “Unsay what you have said, and beg my pardon -on your knees for this insult to my mother!” - -Down sank the Prince on his knees in the corner of the room, while over -him stood Witikind, pale with anger, his arm outstretched, and his fist -clenched, repeating in tones hoarse from excitement, but waxing louder, -and louder every moment, “Unsay what you have said, unsay what you have -said!” - -Such was the sight which presented itself to Queen Ninnilinda’s -wondering eyes, when she issued from her boudoir to ascertain the cause -of the noise which had alarmed her. - -“Take him away! take him away!” cried the Prince, as soon as he saw his -mother. “Take him away, or he will kill me!” - -“Help! help!” shrieked the Queen, “or the Prince will be bewitched by -this spiteful elf—this Fairy’s changeling.” - -Her screams brought one of the yeomen of the guard into the room, who -instantly seized Witikind. - -“Hold him fast!” exclaimed her Majesty. “Get ropes and tie him hand and -foot, and then flog him till he faints. He has been trying to bewitch my -son!” - -But the Queen’s commands were not destined to be obeyed. Even when the -hubbub was at its height, a pause ensued, for the well-known whistle of -the Fairy at the keyhole, loud and shrill above all other sounds, was -heard. Forth from the aperture the Lady Abracadabra sprung, and with a -single bound darted into the midst of the group. Her expression was that -of the deepest indignation, and her robe seemed glowing with living -fire. Throwing her wand down upon the nearest table, she caught hold of -Witikind with one hand, and with the other sent the burly yeoman of the -guard reeling to the extremity of the apartment, from whence he rushed -forth in an agony of terror. - -“And this is the way you keep your promises, is it, Queen Ninnilinda? -This is the way you treat the poor child whom you engaged to bring up -with the same kindness which you exhibit to yonder unhappy boy? Think -not that I am not cognizant of all your proceedings! Think not that I -have not witnessed the indignities and unkindnesses you have heaped upon -him! Think not that I have not overheard your shameless words of -ingratitude towards myself. Think not, above all, that I, his friend and -protector, have kept Witikind an hour longer than was necessary for his -future happiness, in this abode of folly and weakness: think not, that -I, your own child’s sponsor, will allow him to be longer exposed to your -mismanagement, and evil influence. I gave you a fair warning; and you -must now take the consequences of having neglected it. You have had your -trial. It is over. Now comes your punishment.” - -The Queen threw herself on her knees. - -“No:” replied the Lady Abracadabra; “it is too late now. The sooner you -take leave of your son the better. But first, Prince Eigenwillig, come -here to me.” - -“I won’t!” cried the Prince doggedly. - -“It will be the worse for you if you don’t,” said the Fairy. - -“I won’t, I tell you!” repeated the Prince. - -“Oh Eigenwillig,” cried his mother, “for mercy’s sake, do as you are -bid; you know not what the consequences of disobedience may be!” - -“Come, when I call you!” said Lady Abracadabra calmly, but fixing her -eye upon him, “come here and beg Witikind’s pardon for all your -abominable conduct towards him.” - -Eigenwillig approached Witikind, who had already a smile of -reconciliation on his face, expecting that the Prince would now gladly -make up for his error. But the Hope of the Katzekopfs had no such -intention. He advanced indeed close to Witikind, and stretched out one -hand towards him, but with the other he snatched the Fairy’s wand off -the table, and before she could prevent him, he struck Witikind over the -head, and exclaimed, “Detestable creature! be thou turned into a timid -hare! Mays’t thou be hunted to death by dogs and men!” - -In another instant he was gazing in amazement at what he had done; for -such was the portentous power of Abracadabra’s wand that, even in his -hands, it failed not to work the required transformation. Witikind was -crouching before them, a terrified trembling hare! - -“Well!” cried the Fairy, “be it so. You have but anticipated my purpose, -evil-minded child that you are!” She opened a door that led into the -garden, and said, - - “Hare! Hare! hurry away! - Neither halt nor rest, - And at Taubennest - You shall safely be, by the break of day. - No huntsman harm thee! - No hound alarm thee! - From evil I charm thee! - Bound forth! away! away!” - -She paused a moment to see the little creature safe on its route, and -then closed the door. - -“And now,” said she to the author of the mischief, “I come to settle my -account with thee. But first surrender my wand.” - -“I’ll turn you into a toad first,” shouted the Prince, striking at her; -but with indecision in his voice and manner; for, in spite of his recent -triumph, he was utterly terrified at what he had done, and at what he -was doing. He already had a misgiving that Fairies are not to be trifled -with. - -The Lady Abracadabra was, as may be supposed, in no humour to be turned -into a toad. She, therefore, merely stretched out her hand, and caught -hold of the extremity of the wand as the Hope of the Katzekopfs struck -her with it. - -“Give me the wand!” said she. - -“I shan’t!” cried Eigenwillig. - -“Give it me directly!” - -“I won’t, won’t, WON’T!” screamed the naughty boy, clinging fast to one -end of the wand, while the Fairy held the other. - -“I shall make you glad enough to loose it before I have done with you.” - -“Leave it alone, Eigenwillig,” cried his mother, clasping her hands. - -“I won’t,” exclaimed the boy, “I won’t do anything you tell me. If you -had not spoilt me, I shouldn’t be in all this trouble now! I _won’t_ -give it up, I say!” - -“Then take the consequences!” said the Lady Abracadabra. As she said -these words, she darted up into the air, still keeping hold of the wand, -and lessening in size, as she rose, made her way towards the keyhole. By -the time she had reached it, dragging the Prince after her, she had -shrunk to the size which enabled her to go through it. But she paused -for a moment before she disappeared, and, standing on the handle of the -door, she cried out in a shrill, thin voice, such as might be expected -to issue from one of her diminutive size:— - - “Follow wand, - Follow hand.” - -Then she sprung through the keyhole, and in another instant her wand was -seen following her. - -“Drop it now, my darling!” exclaimed the Queen. “Let her take her wand, -if she’ll only take herself off, too!” - -All this time the wand was passing through the keyhole. Less and less of -it was left in sight. Now not more than an inch; now not half an inch; -now the tips of the Prince’s fingers seemed sucked up towards the -keyhole. - -“Drop it,” cried the Queen, “why don’t you drop it?” - -“Oh, mother, mother!” screamed the struggling, breathless boy, in an -agony of terror, “I can’t, I CAN’T; it has grown to my fingers; it -sticks to them! Oh dear! dear! what shall I do? my fingers are being -dragged through the keyhole! they are being stretched into strings! Oh -help me! help me!” - -The Queen rushed to the door, before which her son was kicking and -writhing. But his efforts to escape were fruitless. To her horror, the -Queen beheld each joint tapering and elongating itself, till it could -pass through the narrow aperture; now, the wrists had disappeared; now, -in a twinkling, the elbows were out of sight; now the upper portion of -the arm was gone. - -“Surely,” thought Ninnilinda, “she will never attempt to drag his head -through.” But she was wrong; the boy’s hair was rapidly sucked through -the keyhole, and the head began to lengthen itself out for the purpose -of following. - -This was too much for endurance. The Queen strove with all her power to -open the door; but it was as fast as if it formed part of the original -wall. Then, in her dismay, she seized hold of the body of the Prince, -for the purpose of dragging him back; but a miserable, elongated drawl -from the other side of the door conveyed the boy’s entreaty that she -would not hurt him. - -“Never mind what he says, niece,” cried the voice of the Fairy. “Hold -his legs tight, and in half a minute I shall have finished my work, and -wound him up!” - -The Queen was so transfixed with dismay, that she stood motionless, -watching the receding body of the Prince, till the soles of his feet -caught her despairing eyes. - -“There! ‘tis done now,” cried the Lady Abracadabra. “He makes a very -compact ball, and will travel well!” - -The Queen, in her despair, now rushed to the door leading into the -flower-garden; but she was too late. - -The Fairy had reached the extremity of the terrace, kicking before her -something that seemed like a ball of rope; but which ball was, in fact, -the convoluted form of Prince Eigenwillig. - -In another moment, the lady Abracadabra and the Hope of the Katzekopfs -had bounded over the parapet, and were lost to view; and Queen -Ninnilinda fell, for the first time in her life, into a real swoon. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - The Heirs on their Travels. - - - “O see ye not yon narrow road, - So thick beset with thorns and briers? - That is the path of righteousness, - Though after it but few inquires. - - “And see ye not that braid, braid road, - That lies across that lily leven? - That is the path of wickedness, - Though some call it the road to heaven. - - “And see ye not that bonny road, - That winds about the fernie brae? - That is the road to fair Elf-land, - Where thou and I this night maun gae.” - - _Thomas the Rhymer._ - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - -How is it that the faithful hound succeeds in finding his way back to -his master’s house, from a distance of many miles, and through a country -which he has never been permitted to see? How is it that the -carrier-pigeon, when loosed from the bag in which it has been confined, -mounts up into the air, makes one brief circuit, and then pursues his -way, through an unknown region, in a straight line homeward? Mysteries -these, which the more we attempt to investigate them, the more do they -bewilder us, and, in the attempt to elucidate which, the learned and the -ignorant are alike at fault. - -However, our daily experience of the fact that such things are, at once -removes any antecedent improbability which might otherwise suggest -itself to the sceptical, when it is mentioned that Witikind, though -transformed into a hare, found little difficulty in discovering his -route to Taubennest. Had he been even a hare only, his instinct would -probably have guided him in the right direction; but being a -sharp-witted boy, as well as a hare, there seems little cause for wonder -in the matter. The circumstance most worthy of remark is, that he should -have performed his journey of many hundred miles in the course of a -single night. The spells of the Lady Abracadabra had secured him from -the perils of huntsmen and hounds; but how had she bestowed upon him -such marvellous speed of foot? The sun was setting, as we know, when the -son of Count Rudolf received his unexpected dismissal from the Court of -King Katzekopf: ere the moon had risen, the towers and cupolas of the -city scarce broke the line of the distant horizon: by midnight, a -distance which, to the ordinary traveller, would have been equivalent to -a six-days’ journey, had been mastered, and when the chilliness of the -first grey dawn refreshed the heated frame of the breathless quadruped, -the giant forms of his own loved mountains were looming dim and -indistinct in the shadowy distance. What was it that gave to Witikind -the speed of the winged wind? Was it solely the boon of his patroness? -or was it not the magic of deep affection,—of filial and fraternal love, -and the spells of _home_—which infused into his tender frame a vigour -with which even the supernatural gifts of Fairy-land would have been -unable to inspire him? - - “Over the mountains, - And over the waves, - Under the fountains, - And under the graves; - Over floods that are deepest, - Which Neptune obey; - Over rocks that are steepest, - Love will find out the way. - - “Where there is no place - For the glow-worm to lie; - Where there is no space - For receipt of a fly; - Where the midge dares not venture, - Lest herself fast she lay; - If Love come, he will enter, - And soon find out his way.” - -And thus it was that Love urged Witikind on his way, and inspired him to -task to the uttermost the extraordinary powers with which he had been -endowed. No loiterer, nor lingerer was he; “he stay’d not for brake, and -he stopp’d not for stone,” till the turrets of his happy home at -Taubennest caught his eyes, glittering in the brightness of the morning -sun. - -But Taubennest, whatever it might be in his imagination, had scarce -deserved the name of _happy_ Taubennest, since the day he quitted it. It -was not that his sisters had not had many a pleasant walk, and played at -many a merry game together, during his absence. It was not that no -smiles had ever lightened his mother’s brow of care. Things had gone on -much in their usual course; a year (for it was no more) of separation -had not wrought many obvious changes, save that Count Rudolf’s health -was declining; disappointed hopes, and ungratified ambition are worse -diseases than fever or consumption, and they were wearing his life away. -Countess Ermengarde had spent many days in calm content, and in active -usefulness, and these things bring their reward of peace with them. The -little girls had not lost the gaiety of disposition which is natural to -their years, and their minds were in a process of training, which is -sure to produce a happy temper. So Taubennest seemed to the friends of -the family the same bright joyous scene as ever. - -And yet they who watched closely, would see a tear falling at times, -from the mother’s eye, or mark that now and then an involuntary sigh -would escape from her. And they who looked for it might observe, that -ever and anon some game was laid aside by the children, because _two_ -felt that they could find no pleasure in it, when the _third_, who had -been used to join in it, was absent. And walks were chosen, because they -had been favourites with some one who was no longer of the party. And -every thing that awakened an association of this description was most -dearly prized. Surely they did not err who deemed that at such seasons -Witikind was foremost in his mother’s and his sisters’ thoughts. - -“I wonder,” said Veronica to Ediltrudis, “whether we shall find the -rosebud blown this morning. Mamma said she thought it would not be out -for three days. What a pity he planted such a late-flowering rose in his -garden. It would have been such a nice present for Mamma on his -birthday.” - -“Dear Witikind!” exclaimed Ediltrudis, “how few besides himself would -ever have thought of such a delicate attention to Mamma, as his choice -of that tree involved! ‘What kind of rose shall we plant against the -trellis which surrounds your garden?’ asked the gardener. ‘Shall it be -the blush-moss from Candahar? it is the choicest rose grown; but I have -a promise of one for you, if you wish it.’ ‘No, Florian, that will not -suit me, unless it be the latest, as well as the choicest rose that -grows. I do not care for a rose that I can gather when roses are in -plenty; you must find one for me that will be in flower when all others -are gone. You know how the Countess loves flowers. I want to be able to -provide her with a nosegay, when nobody else can do so.’” - -“Ah!” replied Veronica, “that was just like Witikind. A more -affectionate heart than his never beat. How I hope we shall find one of -his buds in flower! It is quite too soon to expect it; but that was a -chance cluster which we observed yesterday, and, perhaps, one of the -buds may be far enough advanced by this time. If it be open ever so -little, I would gather it for Mamma.” - -“How I wish some good Fairy would touch the buds with her wand, and -provide us each with a full-blown rose; one for Mamma; one for you; and -one for me.” - -“Nay,” said Veronica, “I shall be satisfied if only a few petals of that -single bud be open. I shall hail it as a good omen that we shall have -Witikind himself among us before the year is over.” - -“What a fanciful notion!” answered Ediltrudis, laughing. “There is no -end to your romantic imaginations. Now, I confess that, for my part, I -shall be quite surprised if I find that——why look here!” she suddenly -exclaimed, as, being a little in advance of her sister, she caught the -first glimpse of the rose-tree. “Look here, Veronica; make haste, make -haste, a Fairy must have been here.” - -“How very extraordinary!” cried the child, running up. “Four full-blown -roses on this cluster! And yet, when we were here yesterday, there was -but one bud at all advanced, and the others were tiny, tiny things, -which I thought would not be in bloom for months to come! You may say -what you will, Ediltrudis, but this _must_ be a good omen. There is not -only a rose for Mamma, and for each of us, but one for Papa likewise.” - -“You forget that Papa does not care for flowers.” - -“Ah, poor Papa, the smell is too strong for his head now; but, perhaps, -he would not dislike a rose if he knew it was gathered from Witikind’s -tree.” - -Ediltrudis shook her head. - -“But what if it should be for Witikind himself?” cried Veronica with -eagerness, as so pleasant a thought struck her. “Depend upon it, this is -a token that Witikind will be here before long, to gather his own -roses!” - -“I hope you don’t mean to leave these ungathered till he comes. Why, if -you don’t cut them now, they will shed their leaves with the noon-day -heat. You are not hesitating about gathering them, surely, Veronica?” - -“Why I don’t know what to think,” replied Veronica doubtfully. “Suppose -we wait till we come in from our walk.” - -“Nonsense!” said Ediltrudis; “lend me your knife, and let us carry them -in to Mamma at once.” - -“Very well,” answered Veronica; “only let me tie up this -clove-gilliflower first. How sadly,” she continued, “its leaves have -been eaten. I wish we could keep those tiresome hares out.” - -“It won’t be easy to do that while they are as bold as they are at -present. See there! there is one coming now to the bed, though we are -standing here. I wonder what people mean by talking of timid hares. I am -sure here they are as bold as lions. Sh! sh! get away with you!” cried -Ediltrudis, clapping her hands, and making a noise which was likely to -have put any ordinary hare to flight. - -But the little animal made no attempt to retrace his steps. - -“Sh! sh!” cried Ediltrudis once more; and taking up a pebble, made as -though she was about to throw it. - -“Nay,” said Veronica, “do not hurt it. See how weary the poor creature -looks; how faint and breathless; and how soiled is its fur! It has been -hunted, and has fled here for succour. Come here, poor thing. I will -protect you!” - -The animal approached Veronica, and crouched at her feet. “Get some -water, Ediltrudis! it is going to die; I am sure it is; its eyes look so -dim and glassy.” - -Ediltrudis ran to a fountain close at hand, and brought some water in a -shell which lay at its side. Veronica stooped down to place the water -within reach of the exhausted animal, and, as she did so, she was about -to pat it gently; but no sooner did her hand light upon its head, than a -shock like that from an electric battery, ran through her frame, and -made her start violently. Before she could recover herself, the hare had -disappeared, and Witikind was in his sisters’ arms. - -For a time, the children were too much overwhelmed with terror and -amazement, to be able to speak. Veronica would have fainted, but for the -timely supply of water which was close at hand; and even when she came -to herself, she could not persuade herself that she was not dreaming. -But there was something too hearty in the embraces of Witikind, and his -kisses were altogether too vehement to have come from Dreamland. -Briefly, but clearly, he made them acquainted with the events which had -befallen him, and when, by degrees, they began to comprehend the reality -of what they saw, he sent them into the castle, to prepare the Countess -for his arrival. - -Poor children! it was an arduous task. The excess of their joy made them -as timid and afraid to speak, as excess of sorrow might have done. -However, the roses helped them, and, as it were, prepared the mother’s -mind for some unexpected intelligence of her boy; for, in those days, -people thought more about the unseen world, and the interference of -spiritual beings in men’s affairs, than they do now. And so, at length, -the Countess Ermengarde, and the other inhabitants of Taubennest, were -brought to understand that Witikind was once more among them. - -Oh! how vain it were to attempt to describe the scene which then -ensued!— - - “Eager steps the threshold pressing; - Open’d arms in haste advancing; - Joyful looks through blind tears glancing; - The gladsome bounding of his aged hound, - Say he in truth is here! our long, long lost is found.” - -The reader’s imagination must delineate to him the ecstatic joy of that -meeting; how embrace followed embrace, and a thousand questions were put -to him, ere Witikind had time to answer ten: how Count Rudolf, having -first forgotten his ambitious schemes, in the joy of seeing his son, -soon began to express his belief that the Lady Abracadabra had -mismanaged things shockingly; that she was a Fairy without either talent -or discrimination; that she ought not to have allowed the boy to quit -the palace till she had secured a handsome pension for him; and that it -was quite inexcusable of her to allow a child of Witikind’s high rank to -return home in the form of a hare, and to be liable to be barked at by -every village cur; how Witikind poured forth his regrets that he had -ever been selfish enough to desire to leave his home; how ardently he -hoped that all he had gone through had cured him of some of his worst -faults; how useful a lesson he had been taught; how truly he appreciated -the blessing of a home; and how earnestly he trusted that his future -life would be spent in doing good to his neighbours and dependants at -Taubennest. - -“I have seen enough,” said he, “young as I am, to cure me of ambition. I -would rather pass my days in retirement here, striving to benefit those -among whom I dwell, and to repay, so far as I can, my dear parents’ care -of me, than have the highest place and the highest honours, in the -greatest kingdom in the universe.” - -“Wait a few years, and we shall see!” said Count Rudolf. - -“May Heaven strengthen you to keep to such a determination, my dearest -Witikind,” exclaimed the Countess Ermengarde. “The Fairy has proved -herself a true friend to us, by giving you an opportunity of learning, -by your own experience, to estimate, at their proper value, those things -which are so commonly looked on as advantages, and which the world so -earnestly covets. How I long to express my thanks to our kind patroness! -How earnestly I hope she will continue to help you with her counsels and -advice!” - -“Mother,” replied the boy, “I am as grateful to her as you could wish me -to be; but so long as I can be guided by _you_, I will seek no other -counsellor!” - -As he said this, he threw himself into his mother’s arms, and mingled -his kisses with her tears of affection and joy. - -And thus engaged we must leave them for the present. - - * * * * * - -Bump, bump, bump! never was ball so elastic and springy. Caoutchouc was -as lazy and lumpish as lead itself when compared with it! Bump, bump, -bump! and a bound of twenty feet between each bump. Down to the ground -as light as a feather, and then up in the air again, ever so high, -almost before you could say it had touched the earth. A single kick from -the Lady Abracadabra, and away it went, down the broad gravel terrace, -as if it took pleasure in its feats! - -Poor Prince Eigenwillig: it was lucky for you that that same process of -drawing you through the keyhole, which, so to speak, had elongated you -into a coil of living catgut, had also transformed your bones into -gristle. Had there been any brittle material left in your fabric, it -must have been fractured; but you were more mercifully dealt with than, -considering your conduct to little Witikind, you deserved. The Fairy had -no malevolent intentions towards you, though she did not choose that -your audacious misbehaviour should go unpunished. She made a foot-ball -of you, and kicked you before her, which was very much the kind of -treatment you had bestowed upon all your attendants; but she had no wish -to do you a mischief in life or limb; she only desired to administer -some wholesome discipline. - -Down the broad terrace bounded the involuntary traveller, and over the -parapet in which it terminated. Fifty feet and more did the contorted -Hope of the Katzekopfs traverse in the air before a bed of nettles -received him. Over and over did he turn, to escape the stinging torment, -but in vain: even the most elastic of balls cannot raise itself out of -the bottom of a ditch. - -Another kick from the Fairy was necessary; and as she kicked him, she -exclaimed, “This is your punishment for having endeavoured to turn me -into a toad: you may thank your lucky stars, and my good-nature, that -this ditch is filled with nothing worse than nettles: it would have -served you right had it been full of vipers.” - -The Prince was smarting all over, so, perhaps, he did not feel as -grateful as the Lady Abracadabra seemed to expect. But however that -might be, there was no time for talking. Up the bank he flew, and -pursued his painful way, “through bush, and through briar,” now over a -wide expanse of gorse, now over thistly wastes, till there was not a -quarter of an inch on the whole surface of the ball which had not -received its share of castigation. - -“Stop!” cried the Lady Abracadabra at length; and the Prince was but too -glad to obey. “Come hither!” she continued. The Prince rolled towards -her. As soon as he was within reach, she slipped off her girdle, and -passing it through two or three of the living coils, lifted the ball -from the ground, and threw it over her shoulder with a jerk, much in the -same manner that a porter raises a sack on his back. Then she whistled -three times; her cockatrice appeared at the sound; she sprung on her -embroidered saddle,—her burden still suspended from her shoulder:—she -gave the word; the monster spread forth his wings, and rose in the air; -and in a few seconds the Hope of the Katzekopfs was far away from the -scene of his errors, and from the influence of those whose weak -indulgence had contributed to confirm him in them. - -Darkness was now coming on apace, and the Prince was too much entangled -in his own circumvolutions to be able to see very accurately whither he -was wending, even had he known the country; but he was conscious that he -was mounting higher and higher, and that he was being borne along with -such increasing rapidity, that he thought within himself that they would -certainly reach the world’s end by sunrise. On, and on, and on. The moon -rose and set. The night air grew colder and colder: the clouds among -which they travelled seemed denser and denser. Shivering at once and -smarting; exhausted and hungry; terrified and indignant, the unhappy son -of Queen Ninnilinda at length sunk into a state of apathy or -unconsciousness. - -How far, therefore, or in what direction he had been conveyed he knew -not, but when he came to himself, morning had dawned, and he was aware -that the Fairy was hovering at no great distance above the summit of a -grassy hill, in the midst of a wooded country. - -“Stop!” cried the Lady Abracadabra to her steed. The cockatrice poised -in mid air. “Now, Eigenwillig,” said she, “you are going into -Fairy-land. Take care how you behave there, for my countrymen are not to -be trifled with.” - -As she spoke she slipped one end of her girdle, and at the same moment -the Prince became conscious that he was falling as rapidly as he had -risen. But this was not all, for still, as he fell, he was conscious -that he was no longer a compact ball, but that he was unrolling—yard -after yard—with the greatest velocity; and not only so, but that his -elongated form was shrinking back again to its original dimensions. - -No sooner was he aware of this than a fresh terror seized him. “I am -being restored to my natural shape,” thought he, “only to be dashed to -pieces when I reach the summit of the hill beneath me.” - -In a few moments he touched the earth; but instead of receiving a -concussion which shattered him to atoms, he fell as lightly on the -summit of the grassy knoll, as if a featherbed had been placed there to -receive him; and, stranger still, the green turf immediately parting -asunder beneath him, he continued to fall through a chasm which opened -below him, and closed above him, till suddenly he found himself once -more emerging into daylight, and entering into a country altogether new -to him, in the bowels of the earth. - -A single glance sufficed to show that he was in Fairy-land; for where -else grow trees with fruits that gleam like precious stones? where else -is the whole surface of the country covered with flowers of the most -dazzling hues, and most delicious fragrance? where else is every -dwelling a palace, and every palace built of gold and silver, and -mother-o’-pearl? and of what but Fairies could those troops of delicate, -ethereal forms consist, some of which were chasing each other in mid -air, and some, with robes as green as the grass upon which they scarce -deigned to tread, were hurrying hither and thither to discharge the -various tasks assigned them by their sovereign? - -Prince Eigenwillig had scarcely reached the ground before he was -surrounded by a crowd of them, while, in a moment, scores more were -swarming over him in the air. - -“Ho! ho! who are you? How came you here?” cried a little sprite, who, by -his crabbed face, and the bullrush which he carried in his hand like a -mace, was probably the holder of some such office among the elves, as, -with us mortals, is occupied by the parish beadle. “Ho! ho!” said he, -poking the Prince with his staff of office. “Who are you? How came you -here?” - -“The Lady Abracadabra, whom perhaps you know, dropped me just now from -the clouds,” replied the Prince. - -“Ha! ha! ha!” shouted the whole troop laughing immoderately, “what a -comical lady she is! Why, how come you with such fine clothes? Who are -you?” - -“I am the Prince Eigenwillig, eldest son of King Katzekopf,” replied the -boy, throwing as much dignity into his manner as possible, for he was -altogether unaccustomed to such interrogations, and had no idea of not -being treated with profound respect. - -“Ha! ha! ha!” laughed the elves louder than ever. “What a _very_ comical -fancy! Why this is the spoilt boy, that gave himself such airs, and was -so selfish that nobody could endure him! What a strange choice to fix on -_him_ of all people! To think of sending us a prince for our new -apprentice! Well, Prince, what can you do?” asked he of the bullrush. - -“_Do!_” said the Prince. “I don’t know what you mean. But I wish, -gentlemen, you would let me have something to eat, for I am very -hungry.” - -“Ha! ha! ha! how very ridiculous, the apprentice wants something to eat! -I tell you what, my young friend, you must take care what you are about, -or you’ll make some of us laugh till we go into fits!” - -“I don’t see anything laughable in asking for food when one’s hungry!” -observed the Prince rather sulkily. - -“No, no;” answered the first speaker as soon as he recovered breath, -“the oddity consisted in the notion that you could get it by asking for -it, and without doing anything to earn it. Nothing for nothing, is the -rule here.” - -“Well, I’ll pay for it honestly,—I’ll give you money for it,” said the -Hope of the Katzekopfs. - -“Money! what is money?” inquired a very young Fairy. - -The man in authority laughed louder than ever. “Little bits of the -stones we build our houses of, my child,” said he. “No, Prince, you must -offer us something more to our taste than money, before we can find you -provisions. Money is of no use here: we often mend the roads with it.” - -“Then what is it you require of me?” asked the Prince, in a perturbed -and astonished tone. - -“Why you must work, work, work, like a dutiful apprentice, and then, as -often as it is proper, you shall have something to eat.” - -“Who am I to work for? what work am I expected to do?” inquired the -scion of royalty. - -“Oh you’re to work for me!” answered a shrill voice. - -“And for me.” “And me.” “And me,” added a hundred more. - -“Why, of course, you are to work for all of us,” observed the bearer of -the bullrush gravely, “how could you be our apprentice else?” - -“My chimneys want sweeping,” cried one. - -“My garden wants digging,” said another. - -“My house wants scouring,” observed a third. - -“My ditches want cleaning,” remarked a fourth. - -“I’m sure I shan’t clean ditches, or sweep chimneys for anybody,” said -the Prince, in a most resolute tone. - -“Ha! ha! ha! nobody asked you!” shouted the sprites, and away they all -swept like a flight of starlings, making the air ring with their shrill -laughter, while some of them sang,— - - “Our apprentice has got an obstinate fit; - Hunger and thirst shall cure him of it. - He shall not eat - A morsel of meat, - He need not think - A drop to drink, - Till he works and earns it every bit!” - -The Prince was now left alone. Not a Fairy remained in sight. So long as -there was a single spectator, the boy’s pride enabled him to seem bold -and unyielding; but when he was sure that no eye was upon him, overcome -with weariness and vexation, he threw himself down upon the ground and -sobbed as though his heart would break. - -Poor child, he was to be pitied! There he was, without a friend—so far -as he knew—near him; unable any longer to command attention on the score -of his exalted rank; conscious within himself that all his misfortunes -were the consequences of his own errors; and yet, at present, so rooted -in his bad habits, that he was rather disposed to punish himself to any -amount, than do anything which seemed to imply a disposition to yield -and submit. - -Long and sore he wept; but, in the end, hunger and thirst prevailed, and -induced him to dry his tears, and to endeavour to obtain for himself -that sustenance which the inhospitable Fairies would not provide him -withal. - -And he did not long hesitate as to the quarter whence he would seek -refreshment. Those trees, laden with glittering fruits, had caught his -eye the moment he entered Fairy-land, and he now resolved to help -himself. To be sure the trees were high, and he was unused to climbing, -but he did not feel much apprehension of not being able to get as much -fruit as he needed; but he soon found greater difficulties than he -expected. The first tree which he attempted to ascend had such an -unctuous, slippery bark, that he only mounted a few yards, before he -involuntarily slid to the ground. And this happened again and again. The -next tree he approached had the most luscious-looking pears imaginable, -hanging quite within his reach; but when he had advanced within a few -yards of it, he beheld a tiger, glaring at him with blood-shot eyes, -from within the tangled thicket. A third tree offered him its fruits, -but the rind was so hard that his teeth could not penetrate it: in a -fourth, the products, though beautiful to the eye, seemed to the taste -like liquid fire;—his lips scarce touched them before they were -blistered. - -So he soon gave up the fruit trees in despair, and hastened towards a -lake, which seemed at an inconsiderable distance, in order to satisfy -his thirst with its sparkling waters. But soon he discovered that, as he -advanced, the lake retreated, and that a shadowy vapour was mocking his -aching sight. - -Faint and weary he threw himself upon the ground once more and wept. But -his tears this time were not those of offended pride, but of real -suffering and distress. - -“Alas!” thought he to himself, “how much I wish that I had considered -more about the sufferings of those beneath me,—the poor, and sick, and -hungry, and thirsty in my father’s kingdom! If I die here of hunger and -thirst, nobody will miss me; nobody will mourn for me! Even Nurse -Yellowlily, and the governesses, will be glad to find that they are not -to see me any more; and no wonder! for I used to plague them -shamefully.” - -Thus did self-reproach mingle with the bodily discomforts of Prince -Eigenwillig. Ah! if those whom he had most wearied and irritated with -his naughty tricks, could have seen him now, they would have pitied and -soothed him! And what a lesson would it have been for silly Queen -Ninnilinda, could she have witnessed the end of her foolish indulgences! - -It was a happy thing for the Hope of the Katzekopfs, that he _had_ no -one to pity and soothe him. The bitterer his pains now, the more hope -that he would escape them hereafter. The more searching and nauseous the -medicine, the more hope that he would be careful not to render it -necessary again, the more prospect that it would work an entire reform -in his constitution. The experience of the last twelve hours was doing -more for Prince Eigenwillig, than could have been acquired in as many -years at his father’s court. The course of self-examination upon which -the usage he had received in Fairy-land had caused him to enter was of -more real value to him than all the jewels in his future crown. The -sharp and trying process by which he was now in progress of being taught -the defects of his character, was a more certain evidence of the -good-will of his Fairy-godmother towards him, than all the precious -gifts which she had heaped upon him, on the day when she named him -Eigenwillig. - -There is no night in Fairy-land; for elves have no need of that rest and -sleep which are indispensable to more gross and corporeal forms; so the -Prince knew not, save by the increase of his hunger and thirst, that -another day (as we mortals count time,) was drawing to its close. Hour -after hour he had lain upon the grass, alternately weeping and -meditating, and still uncertain what to do. Once or twice he felt -disposed to remain in his obstinacy. “I’m not going to be a slave,” -thought he, “and nobody shall compel me to work for them.” But then, -after a while, he reflected that there was no compulsion in the case. -So, when he got very hungry indeed, he determined he would apply to the -first Fairy he saw, for some job of work which should be worth a good -meal to him. No sooner had he made this resolution, than he felt rather -more comfortable in his mind, than when he was struggling with his -self-will; but his appetite was by no means relieved. “I shall see a -Fairy, no doubt, very soon,” said he. But he waited a long time, and not -one appeared in sight. “I wish I could see a Fairy!” he cried, after a -while. “What a terrible scrape I shall be in, if they have left this -part of the country! Perhaps I had better get up and walk onward!” - -Up he got: but he was so faint and exhausted, he was obliged to rest at -the end of half-a-mile. “Alas! alas! how rash was I to offend them: how -wrong to give way to my pride and bad temper! But what a terrible -punishment they are inflicting! They have certainly left me to starve!” -And the Prince buried his face in his knees, and wept once more. He had -not sat long, when he heard a rustling in the air above him, and, -looking up, he beheld, within a few yards of him, two Fairies, bearing -between them a basket laden with most delicious-looking grapes. - -“Gentlemen,” said the Prince, “can you set me to work? I should be very -glad to earn a meal.” - -“Who are you?” asked the first. - -“Oh,” replied the second, “he’s our new apprentice; the self-willed -Prince, who expected to live among us in idleness.” - -“No, my little master,” said the first, addressing himself to the -Prince, “I’ve no work for you. You should have asked me when I was going -to the vineyard, not when I was coming from it. Let me find you here -twelve hours hence, and I dare say we can find you something to do.” - -“But I shall be dead in twelve hours; I am so faint for want of food -now, I can hardly walk.” - -“I am sorry for that,” observed the second Fairy. “What a pity you -didn’t sweep the chimneys, and clean the ditches, when you had the -offer. But it can’t be helped. Nothing for nothing is the rule here. -Farewell, Prince Wilful. Come, Tomalin, forward with our burden.” - -“Nay, nay,” replied Tomalin, who was the more amiable-looking of the -two; “if it be as he says, and if he be willing to work, we may as well -do somewhat for him. Maybe he is inclining to mend his ways.” - -“You are the ruin of our apprentices with your good-nature,” replied -Claribel, “but I suppose it must be as you wish. Suppose we give him the -grapes to carry. Come Prince-Apprentice, here’s work for you, if you -want it. Carry our load for us over the hill yonder, and you shall have -some of the fruit for your pains.” - -The Hope of the Katzekopfs came forward with alacrity: at least, with -all the alacrity in his power. - -“Take care you don’t drop any!” said Tomalin, helping him to throw the -basket over his shoulder. “Now, then, away with you!” - -The Prince bent under his burden with hearty good-will. The elves had -seemed to bear it through the air without the slightest difficulty, and -he anticipated that, after all, he had got an easy task. But he was -wofully disappointed. The grapes might have been bullets, to judge from -their weight. The basket, instead of resting easily on his shoulder, -nearly dragged him backwards. He was tempted to relinquish his task -almost at the outset. Fortunately, however, his natural resoluteness of -character, which so often had assumed the shape of obstinacy, now -displayed itself in a more praiseworthy form; he determined to prove his -sincerity, by doing his best. - -And he was rewarded. For, after reeling and staggering a few steps, the -burden at his back seemed somewhat lighter. At first the relief was -almost imperceptible, but the further he advanced, the more his load was -lessened, so that, at the end of two or three hundred yards, he found he -was getting on with tolerable ease. - -He ventured to remark the change to his companions. They only smiled, -and said, “It is ever so when folks are in earnest.” It was a long tug -up the hill, and the Prince was a good deal out of breath; but he did -not lose heart, and, before long, had arrived at a mansion built of -mother-o’-pearl, and adorned with cupolas and domes of silver, according -to the usual form of Fairy architecture. Here, still bearing his burden -on his back, he passed through a tennis-court of ivory, thence through a -hall of blue sapphire, down a long corridor of agate, into a kitchen of -crystal, with doors of nutmeg, and pillars of green ginger. Here he was -bidden to set down his load, and was allowed to refresh himself with the -grapes. - -“You have worked hard and shown hearty good-will,” said Claribel, “so -you may eat as many grapes as you like, while we take our own repast.” -And a strange repast it seemed. If the Prince had not been too much -occupied with the grapes, he might have ventured to ask its nature, and -perhaps would have received some such reply as the following:— - - “A roasted ant that’s nicely done, - By one small atom of the sun; - These are flies’ eggs, in moonshine poach’d; - This a flea’s thigh, in collops scotched— - ‘Twas hunted yesterday i’ the park, - And like t’have ‘scaped us in the dark. - This is a dish entirely new— - Butterflies’ brains, dissolved in dew; - These lovers’ vows, these courtiers’ hopes, - Things to be eat by microscopes; - These sucking-mites, a glow-worm’s heart, - This a delicious rainbow tart.”[2] - -Footnote 2: - - King’s Works, Edit. 1776, vol. III., p. 112. - -“I begin to have hopes of our apprentice,” observed Tomalin, when he had -finished his supper. “There’s plenty of work for him in the meadow -yonder. I want to have all the worm-casts stopped. You had better go and -set about it, my little master.” - -Prince Eigenwillig coloured, and, for a moment, he had a struggle with -himself not to say that as he had now got a meal, he did not intend to -do any more work; but experience had taught him wisdom; so he expressed -his willingness to do what he was bidden, only hinting that he should be -better up to his work, if he could be allowed a few hours’ sleep. - -“Oh, true,” said Claribel, “I forgot that;” Then he showed the Hope of -the Katzekopfs a soft bed of moss, and bade the weary child rest -himself. - -Prince Eigenwillig—king’s son as he was—had never eaten so delicious a -meal as those few bunches of grapes, earned with the sweat of his brow, -and never had he slept so sound between sheets of the finest cambric, as -now on that mossy couch. - -And better still, when he woke, he woke with a light heart—light, though -he was far from home, and forced to work for his bread, as the Fairy’s -apprentice. From the moment in which he made up his mind to take his -trial cheerfully, and do what he was bidden, the whole prospect seemed -to brighten before him. - -And the Fairies, who, at first, appeared cross, and spiteful, and -capricious towards him, by degrees softened in their manner. The feeling -that he was at every body’s call, and that he had more masters to please -than he could count, was certainly very disheartening at the outset; but -in a few days he got reconciled to it. And then, moreover, he had the -satisfaction of finding that the kind of labour to which he was put was -changed. At first, and while the Fairies thought him disposed to be -obstinate and self-willed, and inclined to rebel, they set him to all -the dirtiest and hardest tasks they could think of; but, as they -observed him growing more willing and good-humoured, they made more of a -companion of him than a servant, and at length he became such a -favourite, that he was allowed to join in their sports. - -Hitherto he had seen nothing of the Lady Abracadabra; but when the -Prince had thus gained the regard of her countrymen, she suddenly -appeared among them, and inquired how their apprentice had conducted -himself. - -All were open mouthed in his praise. Even the beadle with the bullrush, -had a word to say in his favour, and Claribel declared that he thought -the Lady Abracadabra’s object was accomplished, and her godchild might -be allowed to revisit his family. - -But the Lady Abracadabra, though smiling kindly on him, shook her head. -“Alas,” said she, “you know not how much he has to unlearn every way, -and how great are the trials to which he would still be exposed at home. -But so far, so good. He has learned to obey orders. We must now see -whether he has learned to govern _himself_.” - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - Experiments on the Heir. - - - _Portia._——“Now make your choice. - - _Morocco._ “The first of gold, who this inscription bears: - ‘Who chuseth me, shall gain what many men desire.’ - The second silver, which this promise carries: - ‘Who chuseth me, shall get as much as he deserves.’ - This third, dull lead, with warning all as blunt: - ‘Who chuseth me, must give and hazard all he hath.’ - How shall I know if I do chuse the right?” - - _Shakespeare._ - -[Illustration] - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - -The Hope of the Katzekopfs was alone once more: the Lady Abracadabra had -brought her countrymen another apprentice, in his place, and Prince -Eigenwillig’s term of servitude was ended. But, as has been already -intimated, this measure was only the prelude to a further trial; for his -Fairy-sponsor had no intention of allowing him to quit Fairy-land, till -his mind had been so far disciplined as to give every reasonable hope -that in spite of the temptations to which he was likely to be exposed at -home, he would turn out a good man and a good king. - -The Prince was once more alone; for the Lady Abracadabra had suddenly -transported him to a district in Fairy-land, which he had not hitherto -seen; but instead of being, as on a former occasion, an ill-tempered, -unhappy, weary, hungry boy, he was there with a light heart, expecting -companions whom his godmother promised should meet him, and anticipating -no small pleasure, from being allowed to roam at will through the realm -of the Fairies. - -The part of the country in which he found himself was even more -beautiful than that with which he had been made acquainted at first. The -flowers were of a more dazzling brilliancy, and more perfect fragrance. -The fruits upon the trees were even more tempting in their appearance. -The waters sparkled like diamonds, and the mingled forms of hill and -valley arranged themselves into the most exquisite landscape imaginable. - -While the Prince stood gazing on the scene, listening to the enchanting -songs of the birds, and watching the flight of butterflies, each more -delicate in form and colouring than the other, he observed a figure -approaching him out of a neighbouring thicket. The form was that of an -aged man, with white hair, and white beard, and a long grey robe -reaching down to his feet. He was very pale, and very thin, and his -shoulders were rather bent. He was not different in height and size, -from the generality of the inhabitants of Fairy-land; and so the Prince -supposed, at first sight, that, in spite of the stranger’s unusual -dress, he was one of the ordinary inhabitants of that country. And so, -perhaps, he might have been. But there was a gravity in his manner, and -calm severity in his eye, which was unlike other Fairies, whose -countenances have generally a merry, sly, or mischievous expression. - -The Prince continued to gaze on him, and as he gazed, their eyes met. -Immediately, and without being able to account for the feeling, the boy -felt himself fascinated. The old man’s expression was stern and even -repulsive. Under ordinary circumstances, the Prince would have said to -himself, “What an odd, disagreeable face is that!” would have turned -away from it, and never thought of it again. But now the face rivetted -him, and as he looked on it, its severity seemed to relax, and the mouth -had something of inexpressible sweetness in it. - -“Good-morrow to you, my Prince,” said the old man, “I have been long -looking for you, and am glad to have found you at last.” - -There was nothing peculiarly attractive in his voice, which, indeed, to -Eigenwillig’s ears, sounded rather harsh and grating; but the old man’s -manner was very kind and winning, though his words surprised the Prince -not a little. - -“I thank you, good father,” said he; “but how is it possible that you -should have been long looking for me? Are you a friend of King -Katzekopf, or of Queen Ninnilinda?” - -“No, my son. I knew them once for a short time; but they have long since -forgotten my very existence.” - -“Then who are you, aged man?” - -“Never mind who I am. I am not wont to tell my name at first. I have -found that it raises a prejudice against me. But you may be satisfied of -my good-will towards you, since it was by the Lady Abracadabra’s -direction that I came to seek you here. I am ready to be your companion, -if you are willing to accept my services.” - -“I fear I should weary you out in a few hours,” replied the Prince, “you -forget that I have the active limbs of youth, and that you, my father, -guide your steps with a staff.” - -“Nay,” answered the old man, “the fear is on the other side. I am more -like to weary you, than you to weary me.” - -“Have you ever travelled with any as young as I am?” - -“I have set out upon pilgrimage with multitudes such as you are,” -answered the stranger with a sigh, “and some,” he added, “have I -accompanied to their journey’s end. And dearly have they loved me.” - -“I think I should love you, too, and like you for a companion,” said the -Prince, “for though you look severe, and speak gravely, your manner -bespeaks kind intentions.” - -“Stay,” said the old man, “perhaps you choose me because no more -acceptable guide appears at hand. The Lady Abracadabra did not mean to -restrict you in your choice. If I mistake not, we have another companion -hard at hand. Lo you there!” - -The Prince following the direction of the old man’s eyes, turned himself -a little to the left, and there, close by his side, he perceived a tiny -sprite, scarce a span high, who was eyeing the old man with a most -malevolent and insulting expression of countenance. - -The Prince gazed at him in wonder; he had never seen a creature so -small, wearing the human form. “Surely!” he remarked to his aged -companion, “this must be the most diminutive of elves.” - -“All persons think him so,” replied the old man, “when first they see -him; indeed, many declare that, except in a strong light, and after a -good deal of exertion, they are unable to see him at all. And what is -very remarkable, he never appears alike to two persons at the same time. -For instance, I will be bold to say that he looks quite different in -your eyes and mine at this very moment. I think him a very hideous -little ape.” - -“An ape!” exclaimed the Prince, “how you surprise me! To me he seems to -have the features of a good-looking boy.” - -The old man gave a glance of peculiar meaning at the Prince, and -smiling, said, “Did you ever see any boy like him?” - -“No!” answered the Hope of the Katzekopfs. - -“There is nothing remarkable in that,” replied the grey-robed stranger, -with the same smile, and quiet tone, “some persons are more quick at -finding resemblances than others. What think you of his dress?” - -“Oh,” said the Prince, “I see nothing to find fault with in that; it is -just like _my own_.” - -The old man smiled once more. - -Meanwhile the little Sprite was fidgetting about uneasily, endeavouring -to attract attention, as it should seem, and provoked at not finding his -efforts more successful. - -“Good day to you, my fair and gracious Prince,” it said at length, in -tones which, to the Prince’s ear, sounded the softest and most agreeable -he had ever heard; “may I venture to address your royal highness?” - -“Wait a moment longer,” said the old man, waving his hand. The Sprite -made a movement of impatience, which the Prince, involuntarily and -unconsciously as it were, repeated. The old man saw it. “Bear with me, -Sir, for a single instant. I was only going to say this to you. I am -aware that the merry gentleman yonder is more likely to find favour in -your eyes than I am. I can only engage that I will be a safe and -faithful friend to you, and that I ever keep the promises which I make. -If _he_ makes large professions to you, perhaps you will do well to -consider his probable ability to fulfil them. I will now leave you to -make your decision. I will not interrupt your colloquy, nor attempt to -bias your judgment. You have heard me without interruption. You will now -have an opportunity of hearing him. It may be that I already anticipate -your decision; but of that I say nothing at present. If, hereafter, you -find yourself in trouble or difficulty, and have need of me, I shall not -be so far off as not to be within call. Clap your hands thrice, and I -will speedily be at your side.” - -There were some things in this speech which the Prince did not like, and -others which he did not understand. But he felt that, at any rate, the -old man’s intentions towards him were kind, and, therefore, he was about -to express his thanks; but, as he turned to do so, the aged stranger had -vanished. - -“Ehem!” said the little Sprite, resolved to gain the Prince’s attention -at last; “did your royal highness speak? Perhaps you wished that that -venerable gentleman should be called back; shall I run after him, and -endeavour to find him?” - -“Why, no,” replied the Prince, with a little hesitation, “it is -unnecessary; but perhaps you can do me the favour of informing me who he -is?” - -“He was an entire stranger to your royal highness, was he?” - -“Yes,” answered the Hope of the Katzekopfs, “I am pretty sure I never -saw him before.” - -“Just what I apprehended,” observed the Sprite; “he is an old fellow of -the most insufferable presumption; one who is continually endeavouring -to obtrude himself into the best society; and if by any chance accident -he gets admission therein, he is sure to meddle with matters that don’t -concern him, to volunteer advice when nobody wishes for it, and to throw -a restraint and gloom over any company into which he is allowed to -enter.” - -“His name?” inquired the Prince. - -“Ah,” responded his companion, “it has escaped me; but I shall recall it -presently. Meanwhile, allow me to tender my own allegiance, and to -assure you that if you should so far condescend as to choose me for the -companion of your leisure, your royal highness—” - -“I observe that you have given me that designation very frequently,” -observed the Prince, “what reason have you for supposing it belongs to -me?” - -“My Prince,” replied the Sprite; “had I never set eyes upon you till -this moment, there is that in your form and figure which could not have -failed to betray to the most unobservant that you could be sprung from -none but the very highest. You bear that in your eye, and on your brow. -But, my gracious Prince, though you see me now for the first time, you -are no stranger to me. I am of a race who walk invisible, and, if I may -be allowed to say such a thing without presumption, you have been the -object of my tender regards since the very hour of your birth. In fact, -I may say that I have never been parted from you during your whole -existence.” - -“You amaze me,” said Eigenwillig; “explain, I pray you, how such a thing -can have happened without my being conscious of it.” - -“I would gladly do so,” replied the Sprite; “but it is among the -mysteries which we are forbidden to reveal to mortals.” - -“But may you not tell me who you are? How call they you, and what is -your name?” - -“Selbst, at your service,” answered the tiny elf. - -“And why have you sought me here?” asked the Prince. - -“Because our interests are identical, and because the Lady Abracadabra, -being well aware of my anxiety to befriend you, permitted me to offer -myself as a companion to you on your travels.” - -“You know this country then?” - -“Intimately, my Prince; and I flatter myself that I am sufficiently -conversant with your tastes to be able to make myself agreeable to you, -which (I say it with all diffidence) is a great deal more than our -friend in the gray habiliments undertook for himself. I can fly, while -he can only creep. I am ready to join in any merry sport; but he seems -fit for nothing but a hermitage in a desert. I can watch over you, and -defend your interests; he, poor old gentleman, is fit for nothing but a -scarecrow.” - -“Why certainly,” answered the Prince, with a smile, “there is no denying -that externals are in your favour. He looks so austere, and his dress -and appearance are so unlike those of the rest of the world, that if I -was to ask him to accompany me, every body would think I was travelling -with an old schoolmaster.” - -The sprite laughed contemptuously at the notion of the Hope of the -Katzekopfs being so attended. And that laugh settled the matter, for the -Prince was not accustomed to be laughed at, and the thought of appearing -ridiculous to anybody was what his pride would not brook for a moment. -So he said, “Well, Selbst, I fix my choice on you. Will you be my -companion?” - -“With the greatest pleasure imaginable, my gracious Prince, if you will -grant me one condition.” - -“And what will that be?” - -“Oh, it is by no means an onerous one,” replied Selbst. “My limbs, -though active, are so slight, that I am a bad walker, and soon wearied. -Have you any objection to taking me on your back. I am as light as a -feather.” - -“None in the world,” answered Eigenwillig, “I can stow you away in my -pocket if you like it. Come, jump up.” - -The sprite waited for no second bidding. - -“You’re heavier than I expected,” exclaimed the Hope of the Katzekopfs -in some surprise. - -“You’ll soon get used to it,” returned Master Selbst, in the most -nonchalant tone imaginable. “Thank you, I’m quite comfortable now,” he -continued, clasping his arms round the Prince’s neck. - -“Why, Sprite, Sprite, how have you contrived to make your hands reach in -front of my neck? A moment ago, and your arms scarce seemed two inches -long?” - -“Oh, I’m obliged to stretch them to the utmost; but I’m comfortable -now,” replied the Sprite with an air of great self-satisfaction. - -“Yes, but you are throttling me,” said the Prince, “unclasp your -fingers.” - -“No, I can’t do that, my Prince: you’ll soon get used to the pressure; -and I am sure you would not wish me to be uncomfortable.” - -“Let go your hold, I say,” cried the Prince angrily, “you are -suffocating me;” and he endeavoured to unloose the tiny fingers which -clutched round his throat. The sprite only increased his pressure. - -“I shall be strangled,” cried the Prince, gasping for breath. - -“Oh no, you won’t,” replied Selbst; “do not struggle, and you will be as -comfortable as I am directly. Why should not we both be comfortable? It -is useless to writhe about in that way, my Prince. See, it forces me to -drive my knees into your side.” - -And suiting the action to the word, the sprite contrived to shoot down -those knees which, but a minute before, were so tiny as to be scarce -perceptible, and to give them a very firm hold on the Prince’s ribs. - -Now, if Prince Eigenwillig had only possessed the courage and resolution -to have continued the struggle, and had remembered to have called the -old man to his aid, he would have been able to master Selbst, to shake -him off, and prevent him from gaining the upper hand. To be sure it was -a grievous oversight to have allowed such a mischievous-looking elf to -get upon his back at all; but for this there was now no help; the only -question was, how to get rid of him. If the Prince had given himself -time for consideration, it might have occurred to him as probable that -such a boastful little creature, as Selbst had already shown himself to -be, was not likely to have much resolution about him when fairly -encountered. Selbst, in fact, was little better than a cowardly bully, -full of presumption and bravado, who was in the habit of endeavouring to -carry matters with a high hand, by using great swelling words, and who, -when persons yielded to him, tyrannized over them more and more, the -more they yielded. But though there was a good deal of obstinacy and -importunity in his character, he was very mean and pitiful when he met -with a determined opponent. - -Unhappily for himself, Prince Eigenwillig was soon cowed. When he found -that he could not shake off the sprite at once, his heart failed him, -and he thought within himself that, having given Selbst such an -advantage over him, there was no help for it, and he must e’en make the -best bargain he could for himself. - -“There!” cried the Sprite, as, breathless and exhausted, Prince -Eigenwillig desisted from further efforts to free himself, “There! now I -hope you will be satisfied. It is no use struggling with me. I am sure -to carry the day. So, that point being settled, we shall be good friends -directly, and I will see if I cannot make my weight less of an -incumbrance to you.” - -This was said so pleasantly that the Prince felt disposed to be -appeased; and being immediately followed up by an effort on Selbst’s -part to sit more lightly, and by an apparent relaxation of his hold, the -royal traveller became much better reconciled to his companion, and -proceeded cheerfully on his way, Selbst directing him as to the route -which would prove most agreeable, and beguiling the path with narrative -and song. - -They had not gone far together before the Prince became so well used to -his burden, that he would have disliked the thought of being released -from it. He ceased to find it troublesome, and grew so intimate with -Selbst, that he felt as if he must needs consult him, and take his -opinion upon every thing, and that there would be no getting on without -him. - -This was precisely the object at which the sprite was aiming: he desired -to make the Prince wholly subservient to him, but he did not choose that -his victim should become aware of the extent to which he was enslaved, -and therefore he contrived to appear to submit, when, in fact, he was -dictating. - -The Hope of the Katzekopfs was travelling with the object of seeing all -that was most remarkable in Fairy-land, and he had been particularly -anxious to witness the process by which dew-drops were crystallized into -diamonds, and also to learn the method by which sunbeams can be -extracted from cucumbers. Remembering how much his mother was apt to -suffer from cold in the winter season, he felt desirous to be able to -carry home a recipe which might materially increase her comforts, and -also, being aware of her strong penchant for diamonds, he affectionately -proposed to himself to acquire the secret by which diamonds could be -made as plentiful as blackberries. - -The sprite made no sort of opposition to the Prince’s proposal that they -should visit these manufactories; but, while secretly resolving that he -should see neither, this sly elf affected to give his cordial consent to -the scheme. However, what with enlarging on the length of the journey, -and the difficulties to be encountered, he contrived so effectually, -though so skilfully, to work on the Prince, that his royal highness gave -up the scheme in the full belief that the change of plan originated in -himself, and that it was owing to himself only, that the evening found -them in the self-same spot from which they had started in the morning. - -Throughout the course of his long day’s walk, the Prince had been -carrying Selbst on his back, and very much surprised he felt that the -sprite had never offered to get down, and allow the Prince to rest -himself. But no: no such thought ever seemed to enter his mind; he -pointed out the road, complained, now and then, of the roughness of the -ways, and expressed his own great satisfaction at finding himself in -such a comfortable position; but he evidently thought of nobody but -himself. If the wallet of provisions was opened, Selbst, while appearing -anxious that the Prince should take refreshment, contrived to lay his -own hands on the delicacies which were choicest: if the flask of wine -was produced, Selbst drained it all but a few drops. And what was -stranger still, even the little which the Prince secured seemed of no -service to him, it appeared to refresh the sprite, and not himself; he -continued as hungry and thirsty as if neither victuals nor drink had -entered his mouth. And yet, all the while, Selbst talked so pleasantly, -and was so amusing, and there was so little appearance of intentional -greediness or ill-breeding in his manner, that the Prince did not feel -that he had any cause of complaint. - -But as he continued plodding on his way, wondering why it was that his -food did him so little good, a circumstance occurred which afforded him -a probable, though certainly a very strange explanation of his -difficulty. Happening, while the sun was shining brightly, to catch a -glimpse of his own shadow on an opposite rock, he perceived that Selbst -had increased in bulk to such a degree that, instead of being any longer -a span high, he was now larger than the Prince himself. By some -mysterious process he was not only absorbing all the nourishment in the -Prince’s body, but was intercepting, as it were, the supplies on which -existence depended. - -No wonder the Hope of the Katzekopfs felt low and sinking. - -“Why, Selbst,” exclaimed he, “how enormously you are increased in size, -since you mounted on my shoulders! I shall never be able to carry you.” - -“Go on, go on,” answered the sprite. “I am quite comfortable. I dare say -you will do very well.” - -The Prince was very much alarmed when he perceived that Selbst was -growing so rapidly, and that all the sustenance which he himself took -was turning to his companion’s nutriment. But the excitement and alarm -passed off almost immediately; somehow or other he got reconciled to the -state of things, and grew quite apathetical about it. If he felt any -increase of weight on his shoulders, he speedily became indifferent to -it, and he even ceased to wonder that his food seemed to do him no good. - -Thus they went on roaming about, with no particular object in view; -Selbst directing the Prince to go in this direction or that, as the -fancy happened to take him, and the Prince obeying implicitly, in a sort -of listless, unresisting manner. - -“Go to yonder fountain,” said the sprite, after they had journeyed some -hours longer. “Your body is so warm it quite heats and fatigues me. Why -don’t you keep yourself cool?” - -“How can I,” asked the Prince, “under such a broiling sun, and with you -on my back? I wish you would get down for a little while.” - -“No indeed,” answered the sprite, “I shall do nothing of the kind. I am -quite comfortable, all except the heat, and I shall be cooler when you -have stood a little while in the fountain.” - -“Oh, Selbst, surely you forget how hot _I_ am: to stand in a fountain -would kill me.” - -“And what does that matter to me, so long as I can keep myself -comfortable? I am master now, and intend to remain so.” - -“Master!” exclaimed Prince Eigenwillig, his natural disposition breaking -out for a moment, “Tyrant, you mean.” - -“Well, tyrant, if you like,” said the sprite. “Call me what you please, -I care not; only do what I tell you. Go into the fountain.” - -The Prince groaned, but obeyed mechanically, for resistance seemed to be -useless; but when he approached the water’s edge, he saw a sight -reflected on its glassy surface which made him start back. Selbst had -become double the size which he was when the Prince had seen his shadow -on the rock. - -“What’s the matter? why don’t you go in?” cried the sprite impatiently. - -Fear, and the strong impulse of self-preservation now aided the unhappy -victim, and he replied, “Look at your own reflection in the water. How -can you expect me who am but half your size, to carry you in there? Your -weight is enough to drown me.” - -“Do as you are bid, slave!” cried the sprite angrily, giving the boy a -violent kick in the side. Hitherto he had contrived to keep his limbs -out of the Prince’s sight, but Eigenwillig had now the opportunity of -observing that his tormentor’s foot was the size of that of a full-grown -man. - -“You may drag me into the water if you will: you are stronger than I am, -and I can’t help myself, but go, of my own free will, I won’t.” - -The Prince spoke these words in a tone of resolute determination, and -the sprite seemed to hesitate for a moment what he would do; but his -mind was soon made up, for he gave the boy another kick, and much more -severe than the first. It quite took the Prince’s breath away, and he -was very near falling. - -“If you kick me in that manner,” said he, “you will break my ribs, and -then I shall be unable to carry you at all.” - -“Go into the water, slave, or it will be the worse for you!” rejoined -Selbst, and tried to force him forward. The Prince threw his arms round -a young tree, and clung to it with all his strength. - -“You’re as obstinate as a pig,” exclaimed the sprite, “and I have a -great mind to throw you into the water, and hold you there till you are -drowned,—only I don’t choose to make myself hotter than I am already.” - -Thus he yielded the point, and proved himself a mere blustering bully. - -As for the Prince, he was so amazed and confounded at so unexpected a -change, that he was unable to avail himself of his own victory. Had he -been sufficiently self-possessed, he would have reflected that now was -the time to follow up his advantage, and never to rest till he had -shaken off his troublesome companion. But the boy had been so cowed and -alarmed at the sight of the prodigious size of his adversary, that he -felt it would be hopeless to prolong the struggle,—that he must be -worsted,—and so he hesitated and lost heart, at the very moment when -Selbst was beginning to fear that his tyranny was at an end. - -He, the crafty elf! had no lack of self-possession; and so, though -foiled in his object, he contrived to make it seem as if his yielding -was rather the result of good-nature than necessity, whereby he hoped -that, before long, he should reduce the unfortunate Prince to his former -condition of listless docility. - -But if young Eigenwillig had not yet acquired sufficient resolution to -enter on a further struggle with his oppressor, he was no longer -inclined to look on him in the light of an agreeable companion. He had -now learned the falseness and hollowness of his professions; he began to -see through his artifices; he was no longer unconscious of his unwieldy -size; he had contrived to catch a glimpse of his features, and to see -that they were hideous and ape-like, and to perceive that his very -breath was loathsome and pestilential. - -And this was a great point gained, though much more remained behind to -be accomplished. It set the Prince upon reflecting on the Lady -Abracadabra’s last words to him, and on the ill-considered haste of his -recent decision. - -But why did he not summon to his aid the venerable stranger who had -first appeared to him, and who had promised to be close at hand to help -him? - -It is not difficult to find an answer to this inquiry. Greatly as Prince -Eigenwillig had been improved by his recent trials, he had a good deal -of false pride still hanging about him, which disinclined him to own -himself in the wrong; and then, though the old man had been so kind to -him, it is sometimes difficult to get over first impressions, and the -stern, austere countenance, and grave manners of that venerable person, -rendered him unattractive. The Prince was afraid of him, and he felt as -if he could not make a friend of any one of whom he stood in awe. Still -he had grateful feelings towards the grey-robed stranger, and desired to -have an opportunity of seeing more of him. - -Moreover, he had a secret conviction that the old man was the only -person who could protect him against the tyranny of Selbst, and he -determined upon any fresh act of tyranny, to call the old man to his -aid. - -It was not long before his resolution was put to the test. - -Though Selbst, like a cowardly bully, had given way when he found he was -manfully resisted, and though, like a cunning knave, he had endeavoured -to make his defeat appear like a voluntary concession, still he was too -fond of having his own way, and of domineering upon all occasions, to go -on for long without further exasperating his victim against him. - -When he yielded the point upon the fountain, he commanded the Prince to -carry him to the top of a hill at some distance; the air, he said, would -be less hot and oppressive there than in the valley. This was his -nominal reason; his real object was to punish the Prince, by wearing him -out with fatigue and exhaustion. - -The Prince, bending under his burden, accordingly set forth towards the -hill; but he had now been on foot many hours, and every step he took, -Selbst seemed to grow heavier and heavier; however, he contrived, though -very weary and breathless, to reach the bottom of the hill; but there he -stopped. - -“Prithee, Selbst,” said he, “let us rest awhile.” - -“Rest forsooth!” cried the sprite in a tone of surprise, “what should we -rest for? I am quite comfortable. I am not at all tired.” - -“Likely enough!” replied the Prince, “for you have not walked a step all -day. But I, who have had to carry you, am quite tired out; so rest I -must.” - -“Get to the top of the hill first, then,” answered Selbst. The Prince, -dispirited and unwilling to begin a fresh contest, made an effort to -ascend the precipitous bank; but he had not gone many yards before he -stumbled and fell. Nor was it a simple fall; for he continued rolling -over the sharp stones, Selbst and all, till he reached the bottom of the -hill. - -He was not much hurt himself; but Selbst was a good deal scratched and -bruised. This misfortune, however, as might be expected, threw the -sprite into a great rage. He abused the Prince, called him all manner of -evil names, declared that he had fallen on purpose, and ended by -bestowing on him a shower of blows. - -“Get up again, you idle hound,” cried he, “and mount the hill directly. -I’ll soon teach you who is master.” - -“Indeed I would get up if I could,” said the Prince, “but you know, -Selbst, how weary I am.” - -“Get up, or I’ll strangle you,” screamed the malicious sprite, -tightening his hold round the Prince’s neck. - -The poor boy made an effort to get up, but fell backwards. Harder and -harder, tighter and tighter, grew the grasp upon his throat. His -eyeballs seemed ready to start from his head; his ears were tingling and -his veins swelling through the impeded circulation of the blood. He -struggled, but his struggles were powerless; he endeavoured to shriek -for help; but a gasping, gurgling sound was all that proceeded from his -lips. In another minute he would have been strangled. Hitherto his hands -had been employed in vain endeavours to wrest the sprite’s fingers from -his throat; on a sudden, however, he looses them, and leaving his -adversary to do his worst, claps his hands once—twice. - -Selbst sees his object, and looses his hold round the boy’s neck, in -order to secure his hands, and prevent his making the signal a third -time. - -The relaxing of the monster’s grasp enables Prince Eigenwillig to draw -his breath, and with his returning breath, returns, in some measure at -least, his strength. It is a struggle for life or death; long it -continues. Longer far than could have been expected from the exhausted -powers of the boy. But in his struggles lay the secret of his strength. -The more he struggled, the stronger he became, and the weaker waxed his -adversary, and not only weaker, but smaller. He shrank and shrank at -each fresh effort of the Prince to master him, till from the size of a -full-grown man, he became no bigger than a dwarf. - -Who could fail to be encouraged to persevere in such a contest? Each -effort of the Prince became more vigorous and effectual, till, at -length, after a violent exertion, he contrived to liberate both hands, -and, for the third time, made the required signal. The sprite no sooner -heard the sound, than he howled like a maniac, and gnashed his teeth -with disappointed rage. - -The Prince had scarcely clapped his hands for the third time, when there -seemed a change in the appearance of the air before him, as when a -shadow is cast: and then the shadow assumed the form and consistency, as -it were, of a thin vapour; and the vapour thickened and thickened till -it became a dense grey cloud; and the outline of the cloud grew sharper -and more defined, till the form of the old man with his white hairs and -flowing beard, and long sombre robes, were developed, and Prince -Eigenwillig saw before him the companion he had rejected, and whose aid -had now come so opportunely. - -“Well, my son,” said the old man, “you are now able to judge who was -your truest friend; he who made few promises, and kept them; or he, who -after multiplied professions of regard, has made you first his slave, -and who then nearly destroyed you.” - -No sooner had the old man begun to speak, than Selbst shuddered from -head to foot, and ceased to struggle with the Prince, who now, breathing -freely once more, looked up timidly at the old man, expecting to see -nothing but severity depicted on his countenance. How was he surprised! -Gravity, indeed, there was in the old man’s face and manner; but all -sternness had passed from his eyes, and a smile of the utmost gentleness -and benignity lit up his features. - -“Oh, my kind friend and protector!” exclaimed the Prince, “how little -have I deserved such a timely interference from you,—_you_ whom I -treated so unthankfully and ungraciously!” - -“If you _be_ grateful, as you intimate you are,” replied the old man, -“give me now the proof of it by following my advice.” - -“Advise me, father,” said the boy, “and you shall judge whether or no I -be grateful.” - -“My son, you know not yet to what you may be pledging yourself. My terms -are hard,—my conditions difficult to be fulfilled.” - -“I will not shrink from the hardest,” exclaimed the Prince with fervour, -“if you will but free me from this clinging reptile. Command him to -loose his hold.” - -“Ha! ha!” cried the sprite in a mocking, gibing tone, “there go two -words to that bargain. Old greybeard may command if he pleases, and as -long as he pleases, but he cannot force me to obey.” - -“It is even so, my son,” observed the old man, “I cannot compel him; -nay, I can be of no service at all, without your hearty cooperation. -And, even then, the most I can do for you will be to show you how to -treat him; so that, for his own sake, he will be glad to quit you.” - -“Oh, good Father, prithee teach me how to gain the mastery over him!” - -“STARVE him, and CONTRADICT him continually,” said the old man; “keep -him from every kind of food—from all that can, in any way, nourish him. -And so soon as ever you ascertain what his wishes are—be the subject -what it may—make it your rule to do the reverse. Follow this plan, and -he will soon be your slave; you will be no longer his. My long -experience enables me to pledge myself to this.” - -“Then others, father, besides myself, have been exposed to his malignant -influence; and you have befriended others as well as me!” - -“My son, none ever mastered that odious sprite, but he received -assistance from me. It is only by the aid of DISCIPLINE that any one can -hope to conquer SELF!” - -Then the Prince knew the old man’s name, and he ceased to wonder why he -had been so unwilling, on a former occasion, to make it known; for it -has a stern, repulsive sound in it, which is sure to disgust the -thoughtless and the pleasure-seeking. - -“Father,” said the Prince, “if thy name be Discipline, then will I be -thy Disciple. Had I known thee sooner, from what faults and errors -should I have been saved! If thou hadst but taken a part in the -education of my earliest years, how different should I now be from what, -alas! I am.” - -“Prince,” replied his venerable friend, “heretofore you have been -greatly to be pitied, for you have deserved, as well as possessed, the -name of Self-willed. But sharp trials have brought you to your senses, -and I trust that you have already laid the foundations of a character in -which shall be united all the best qualities of your race. But you have -still an arduous task before you, and your first and most pressing duty -is, to effect the entire subjugation of that hateful sprite whom I still -see clinging to you.” - -“Father,” said the Prince, “will you now be my companion, and will you -advise and help me to master Selbst!” - -“That will I gladly, my child,” answered Discipline, and forthwith they -wended on their way. - -Steep, and rugged, and narrow was the route: now among tangled thickets -of thorns and briers, now over parched and arid sands, now in a waste -and howling wilderness. Often, when the Prince was most hungry and -thirsty, did Discipline enjoin him to go without food or drink, or, just -as he was about to partake of them, to give them to some wayfarer on the -road. Often, when most weary, was he advised to pass the night in -watching. Often, when he desired to go one way, was he recommended to -pursue another. - -Now all this was done in order to master Selbst, and make him glad to -relax his hold, and quit a companion who would give him nothing to eat, -and who led him through thorns and briers for the purpose of wounding -and hurting him. - -And all this Prince Eigenwillig continued to do day after day, and still -he found the wisdom of those oft repeated sayings of his aged companion: -“=Learn to live hardly=; =Deny yourself in things lawful=; =Love not -comforts=; =Think of others first=, =and of yourself last=.” And thus, -when they drew near to their journey’s end, and the palace of the Lady -Abracadabra was in sight, the sprite Selbst, who had exercised such -tyranny over the little boy, was no longer to be seen. For some -time,—much longer than the sanguine Prince had expected,—for it was when -Discipline had been for some time his companion, he continued to feel -inconvenience from the presence of the malicious elf. But in due time, -_starving_ and _contradiction_ did their promised work. The evil -creature dwindled, and withered, and shrank, till at length, from sheer -weakness and exhaustion, he relaxed his hold round the Prince’s throat, -and fell to the ground. - -The Prince himself was not aware of the precise moment when this event -took place, and Discipline did not think good to make him acquainted -with it immediately. And even when he made the circumstance known, he -accompanied it with a word of caution. - -“Prince,” said he, “you are released from the grasp of your adversary. -He has fallen to the ground, mastered by your perseverance and -resolution. But I entreat you bear this in mind, that, though invisible, -he still runs at your side; and if ever you give him opportunity or -encouragement, he will yet again be your master!” - -They had now reached the palace of the Lady Abracadabra, and as they -stood before its portals, the Fairy godmother came out to receive them. -Once more she was radiant with smiles; the flame-coloured petticoat had -faded into the palest primrose, and instead of seeming haggard and -wrinkled, her complexion had that dazzling lustre which is peculiar to -Fairy-land. She threw her arms round her godson and embraced him with -tenderness. - -“I have been a secret witness,” she said, “of all your trials and -struggles. I have watched your endeavours to rid yourself of your -selfish, and self-willed habits, and being satisfied of the pains you -have taken, and are taking with yourself, I am not afraid to restore you -to your family. The Court of King Katzekopf is not a wholesome -atmosphere for you; but every place has its trials, and I am satisfied -that you will profit by your past experience.” - -“Lady,” replied the Prince, “the time has been that I have feared you, -and even hated you; but I now know how much I owe to you. You have -taught me that the secret of happiness is in myself, and that I am most -happy when I am showing most consideration to others. I hope, dear Lady, -that now you are about to send me home, you will not cease to befriend -me, and that this venerable man may accompany me to the upper world.” - -“Follow the rules he has given you here, and you will not need his -bodily presence. They that dwell in kings’ houses, and the rich, and the -indolent, and the lovers of comforts, bear a deadly hatred to him, and -therefore he is not wont to expose himself to their insults. You, -however, he has adopted as one of his children, and so long as you do -not forget him, he will not forget you. For myself, you may count on my -protection. If I loved you because I saw the elements of good in you, -when I brought you into this country seven years ago, how much more do I -love you now, when I have witnessed your endeavours to become master of -yourself.” - -“_Seven years ago!_” These were almost the only words in the sentence -which the Prince heard. Why, the time he had spent in Fairy-land seemed -hardly as many days. But so it was; and when he came to reflect, he -remembered to have heard, over and over again, that nobody who enters -Fairy-land is allowed to return under seven years. - -So it was; and when he arrived at his father’s court (where he found -himself already expected; for, little as Queen Ninnilinda deserved it, -the Lady Abracadabra had never kept her in ignorance about her son’s -place of abode, and general well-doing,)—when he arrived at his father’s -court, he saw changes which soon satisfied him that a long period had -elapsed since he had quitted it. King Katzekopf had become quite -childish, and Queen Ninnilinda was so occupied with her lap-dogs and -parrots, that, though very glad to see her son, she was not likely to -spoil him again. The Baroness Yellowlily was dead, and the Ladies -Rigida, Frigida, and Brigida had quitted the court for scenes more -congenial to their taste. - -But the greatest surprise of all to Prince Eigenwillig, was to hear -himself spoken to as if he were almost a young man. It seemed but the -other day, since he was a little naughty child, and now grave -counsellors were discussing the propriety of appointing him Regent of -the kingdom, and easing poor old King Katzekopf’s shoulders from the -burden and cares of state. - -Prince Eigenwillig had, however, too much distrust of himself, and felt -the responsibilities of the position too deeply to desire such a charge; -but when he saw that the welfare of the nation in a great measure -depended on it, and found that the Lady Abracadabra heartily approved of -it, he consented to become Regent. - -And his first act, when he assumed the office, was to write an -affectionate letter to Witikind, intreating him to forgive him his past -misconduct, and come and give him his assistance in ruling the country. - -Count Rudolf had been dead some years, and Witikind was in possession of -his father’s estates, and he found such abundant scope for the best -energies of his mind in contributing to the welfare of his neighbours -and vassals, that he could not (especially after his past experience,) -make up his mind to quit his beloved Taubennest for a court. So he -declined the Prince’s offer of place and power; but was, through life, -his sound adviser and faithful friend. - -As for the Prince, though he could not shake off the _name_ of -Eigenwillig, he entirely ceased to be the _thing_: in a few years he -became king in his father’s place; reigned long and happily; ruled his -subjects well; his family better still; and himself best of all: so that -his name was cherished in his native land long after his bones were -mouldering in the grave; and it is mentioned in the Chronicles of -Carivaldus of Cologne, that he whose real name was Eigenwillig, and who -for some years of his life was called the Hope of the Katzekopfs, is now -only remembered by that name which the universal consent of his -countrymen assigned him while still living, and that his designation in -the annals of Christendom is that of King Katzekopf _the GOOD_. - - _And so my Story ends._ - -[Illustration: L’Envoy.] - - “If we shadows have offended, - Think but this, (and all is mended,) - Think you have but slumber’d here, - While these visions did appear. - And this weak and idle theme, - No more yielding but a dream; - Gentles, do not reprehend, - If you pardon, we will mend.” - - - J. 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Changed all instances of 'Shakspere' to 'Shakespeare'. There was - originally one 'Shakespeare' in the book. - 2. Silently corrected typographical errors. - 3. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - 4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - 5. 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